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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 17, 1998)
Sports ; riday • AprilliJcJay Lottery Winner Texas’Williams insures a prosperous fu Teams have to overlook Moss’ history, draft possible all-time great receiver Jeff Webb sports editor Ihe best part of the NFL season is just around the corner. Pre pare for draft time. As a life long New Or leans Saints fan, these are usually lean times. In fact, the Saints have good drafts about as often as guys miss a football game to go see Disney’s Hercules on Ice. It simply doesn’t happen. However, I can’t blame anyone who criticizes my team. In the dog- eat-dog world of the NFL, drafts will make or break a franchise. Take a look at the San Francisco 49ers. A trade garnered them UCLA receiver JJ. Stokes to be heir apparent to Jerry Rice a few years ago, and savvy picks have led to their continuing success. Keeping these facts in mind, I di rect your attention to the freakshow. That is, “The Freak” himself, Marshall University receiver Randy Moss. How many people remember the NBA draft that saw the emer gence of Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan? One other player was taken ahead of Jordan who has since disappeared from the NBA landscape. That player? Sam Bowie. Many years from now after oth er receivers, like Utah’s Kevin Dyson, have been squeezed out of the league, teams that don’t draft Moss will be looked upon like the team that passed on His Airness. Despite his past problems, a general manager who passes on Moss should be forced to watch game film with a Hanson CD blar ing in the background for a time pretty close to infinity. There have been too many players like Lawrence Philips that come into the league with problems they haven’t solved. Moss’s problems are behind him. He assaulted a schoolmate in high school that led to the dismissal of his scholarship at Notre Dame. Once he got a second chance at Florida State, a positive test for marijuana ru ined his scholarship there. Hey, it did n’t hurt Bill Clinton’s chances at pres ident to take a flit, why should it hurt a football player? Moss ended up at Marshall, an obvious third-chance school. He didn’t make a mistake the third time. He led the nation in re ceiving like he was destined to do. Moss is too smart to ruin his chance at millions in the NFL by making another stupid mistake. Many bad boys of the NFL waited until they were professionals to mess up. Take Michael Irvin for example. If he had made his mistakes in college, they would likely not be repeated. Actually, the Dallas Cowboys might not want to draft Moss. That would be the equivalent of sending an overweight person to work in a chocolate factory. Teams that want to win will draft Moss. His talent far outweighs any baggage that comes along with him. When he breaks all of Jerry Rice’s records and is inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame, teams like the Saints who thought they needed an offen sive lineman to shore up the right side of the line will be kicking themselves all the way to the draft lottery... again. —JeffWebb is a junior journalism major. AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas running back Ricky Williams has insured his future after de ciding to turn down millions in the NFL and re turn for his senior season with the Longhorns. The nation’s leading rusher last year has se cured $2.8 million in insurance against the pos sibility of serious injury. In 1990, the NCAA, seeking to give college football players a reason to stay in school for their senior seasons, began offering Excep tional Student-Athlete Disability Insurance policies against injuries that could end their pro prospects. The program covers athletes projected to be taken in the first three rounds of the NFL or NHL drafts and the first rounds of the NBA and Major League Baseball amateur drafts. These projections are made after the under writer consults with pro scouts. With the emer gence of the Women’s NBA and the American Basketball League, the NCAA is working to make policies available to women basketball players. The policy was not the idea of Williams, but rather his mother and the Longhorns’ men’s ath letics compliance coordinator, Leroy Sutherland. For Williams, an education major who plans to teach grade school someday, the notion of a shrewd business decision didn’t seem so pressing. “I’m not afraid of getting hurt,” Williams said. “I can just do what I can do. I really don’t care if I have insurance or not. Enough insurance is my col lege education.” Sutherland, however, wanted to make sure that Williams took every precau tion necessary to safeguard his future. "A lot of kids like to think it will happen to the other guy,” Sutherland told the Austin American-Statesman. “... until it happens to them.” If Williams suffers an injury that results in permanent total disability, he’ll get $1.8 mil lion through the insurance program spon sored by the NCAA. His advisors also have worked with Suther land to secure an additional policy worth $ 1 mil lion. That policy would pay off if Williams is not Williams drafted in the first three roundsoftltf The premiums for Williams, wtioi a paycheck playing pro baseball in phia Phillies farm system, will totals The coverage through theNCM for a maximum of 24 months,n through American Special Unde Stoneham, Mass. Athletes certified as eligible bytlif get loans through Mercantile Banking with the athlete required topaytbt when he signs a pro contract, whenc ty benefits are paid or when the cove with neither of the aforementionedo, It pays, according to MarkIdelson ident of ASU, if “after six months, its; by a physician that the athlete can't]: fessional level for three consecutive Former Miami defensive ta: Medearis, who suflered a serious kn 1992, and returned briefly in’94 attht ing his leg amputated, is one of the! who have needed to collect. He col $500,000 policy in 1993. He tried brit back in 1994 but had to give it up. Elsik’s Lewis officially passes up college for shot at NBA career through draft Aggie Sports from staff and wire reports HOUSTON (AP) — Rashard Lewis, a 6-foot-10 high school standout, declared his eligibility for the NBA draft Thursday, becoming the latest prep school star to bypass college for the lure of the pros. “This has been a very hard deci sion for me to make — the hardest decision of my life,” the 18-year-old Elsik High School center said at a news conference. “I had a dream to go the NBA ever since I was a little kid, and it was very hard for me to step away from that.” Brushing off criticism that he may not be ready for the NBA, Lewis pointed to the successful transitions of former prep stars Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett. “I’m sure people told Kobe that and people told Garnett that, so it doesn’t bother me,” he said. “If the whole world says that about me, then I’ll shock the world.” Elsik coach Jerrel Hartfiel also discounted the critics. “He’s very advanced at this age,” Hartfiel said. “He has great focus on U Aggie Dad and Artist Timothy W. Vanya knows: Maroon Memories Only Get Better With Time!” v ; s» i Signed and numbered “...The Aggies are WE!’ Full Color 15” X 1(T You can now obtain Timothy's award winning Aggie prints at the Newest and Largest Aggie Owned Gallery in Bryan/College Station: The Red Brick Studios and Gallery 202 South Bryan at 27th Street Historic Downtown, Bryan, Texas 77803 (409) 775-3796 1(800) 460-3321 as A&NVjeVfeVty TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY WATCH by SEIKO Someday all watches will be made this way. A Seiko quartz timepiece officially licensed by the University. Featuring a richly detailed three dimensional re-creation of the University seal on the 14kt gold-finished dial. Electronic quartz movement quaranteed accurate to within fifteen seconds per month. Full three year Seiko warranty. FRIDAY & SATURDAY ONLY All Gold $285.00 2-Tone $265.00 Leather Strap $200.00 Douglas jewelry C 16 67-B TEXAS AVE. I I E( *E STATION, I X 77840 Class of ‘75 Mail Orders Weleoine 1 -409-693-0677 team instead of individual stats. He’s a complete player.” This past season, Lewis hit 73 percent of bis field goals and 40 percent of his 3-point shots, aver aging 28.2 points, 12.4 rebounds, five blocks and 4.3 steals per game. In his four years at Elsik, Lewis broke every record for all-time career stats, racking up 2,346 points, 1,480 rebounds, 436 blocks and 419 steals. Despite his success as a center in high school, Lewis’ 212-pound frame won’t be able to handle that position in the NBA. He projects himself as a small forward or pow er forward. Last week Korleone Young, a 6-8 power forward at Hargrave Military Academy (Va.), declared himself el igible for the draft. Garnett began the recent trend of high school stars jumping to the NBA when he was taken fifth by Minnesota in 1995. The next year, Bryant went 13th and Jermaine O’Neal was 17th. Last year, Tracy McGrady was taken at No. 9. tudcl kdL I iPversj dng idpartil jod ! ()( k| lets of I i celiU' I Bui ilil ibe <in11 jpOll'Tl latindij ays igaboul tuslc SI I Pe ; [ ientsl ai fmed a| Bto Texas A&M diver Rolex places^ makes U.S. squad top 40 natiorf; I lies Texas A&M junior all-American diver Mark Naftanel qualified for the United States National Diving Team on Thursday at the 1998 Cin- ergy-PSI National Diving Champi onships in Indianapolis by virtue of finishing among the top-eight divers in the semifinals of the IO meter platform competition. Naftanel also earned Big 12 Con ference Diver of the Year for the sec ond time in two seasons by repeat ing as the conference three-meter springboard and platform diving champion, in addition to setting a new A&M and Big 12 record in the platform event with 757.70 points. A&M Diving Coach Kevin Wright was named a U.S. National Team coach for coaching Naftanel into the finals. Wright is in his sixth year at the helm of the Aggie diving team and is the two-time defending Big 12 Con ference Diving Coach of the Year. Texas A&M freshman!p®igail Rafael de Mesa has beer;™ ;ili\l Team USA. as namec pi'il States Tennis Association Bn Sal Team USA, which reptaBakel S. National Team.consistsiBit h;| top ranked players in ttiepuBie cf year-end USTA rankingsf»)Bnis| girls in the 18-and-unbe. jthadJ der and 14-an(kin<Jer{i(Bma ESt l i ('| USinal De Mesa is currently is 36 in the latest rankings. The A&M Men's Tea :|)ti UT [ two spots to No. 17 intte Rolex rankings. Doubles partners Slwiij and Carlos Tori are rankefikl the men’s doubles rankiifi The A&M Women's Trii dropped six places to No iil Rolex Rankings. I The University of fel team is ranked sever#f| women’s team is ninth* tol f he [ Rvitl 1 Apply for The Battalion Today Application due: Wednesday, April 22, BY5pJ|nouH Itild per tl lel [ tine her TTAIJO 013 Reed McDonald Building • Telephone (409) 845-3313 • FAX (409) 845-2647 our Name: •Staff Application • □ Summer 1998 □ Fall 1998 Please check box to indicate semester(s) for which you are applying. Number of hours you will take: erilik Phone Number(s): Major: Classification: E-mail Expected graduation (semester): If you have another job, what is it? How many hours per week? Will you plan to keep it if hired? Please check the position(s) for which you are interested in applying. If you are interested ini one position, number them in order of preference with / being your top choice. 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