The Battalion
ir 6, l| Monday • July 6,1998
PORTS
iai
Hot summer nights
ien he’s not on the gridiron, Chris Valletta spins tunes for KHLR 103.9 the X
By Jeff Webb
Sports Editor
Irom smashing defenders to Smashing
Pumpkins, Chris Valletta has done it
all in college. And the great thing is,
istill has three years of eligibility left.
gValletta, listed by the A&M athletic de-
pient as a 6-foot, 2-inch, 306-pound
isive lineman, does a show for KHLR
B[9 the X during the summer months to
iaki some cash on the side.
;fl[e works in the summer like many
college athletes, taking advantage of
iA. provisions that allow student-ath-
tes un full scholarship to hold jobs dur-
ig official institutional vacations.
■ recent amendment allows athletes to
ave part-time jobs during the regular
;hcol year, a rule Valletta was not able to
I ike full advantage of before he started.
^|They just changed the rule," he said.
forked three weeks for free until the
;le went into effect. You're not allowed
■ork until the day after your last final,
as the spring semester ends."
IfcV, | iome athletes get jobs working in con-
[ction or for the 12th Man Foundation,
jt Valletta's is a huge departure from
■nal summer job fare. Getting the job.
his first in broacasting, was an unusual
break for the Plano native.
"I wanted to get into radio at some
point," he said. "One of the DJs that used
to work here was in one of my classes and
I asked him if they were hiring. He said
they weren't, but I went up there anyway
and filled out an application."
I always wanted
to get into some aspect of
broadcasting. It gives you
an opportunity to make a
few extra bucks.”
— Chris Valletta
KHLR 103.9 the X disc jockey
Valletta is no stranger to being in the
spotlight. He helped Plano High School to
the Class 5A Division I state champi
onship as a junior and came to A&M as a
highly-touted Prep All-American by
Bluechip Illustrated and SuperPrep.
■'
r
A&M currently lists him as a backup
to Cameron Spikes at the left guard posi
tion where he may see some action in the
upcoming season.
However, Valletta's job at the radio sta
tion takes up most of his time during the
summer. He said working for the radio
provides excellent experience for his
speech communications major.
"It helps to develop articulate speech
skills," he said. "You have to think about
what you want to say. It's not really that
difficult, but you just have to get over the
initial idea of not looking at anyone while
you're talking and try to be funny."
The full-time 6 p.m. to midnight shift
on Monday through Friday and the 10
hours he worked on the weekends were
cut back to only weekends because Vallet
ta's class load next session will be twice
the hours he is taking this session.
Valletta said he knows that having a
summer job is a nice bonus to playing
football, and he is grateful for the chance
to make the cash and get the experience.
"I always wanted to get into some aspect
of broadcasting," he said. "It gives you an
opportunity to make a few extra bucks.
Some athletes are blessed to get school paid
for, but it's nice to have this option."
: ; i
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Photo By Jake Schrickling/ The Battalion
Kickin’ Back Sophomore offensive lineman Chris Valletta works a show for KHLR
103.9 the X on summer weekends while attending Texas A&M.
cGwire leads Coors hopefuls
Lewis leaves A&M for LSI) Astros defeat D-backs 5-2
wcMirpS;.
'ENVER (AP) — Imagine the NBA holding a slanv-
|ik contest on a 9-foot hoop or golfers playing the U.S.
n on a par-3 course.
Ihat is what Monday's All-Star Home Run Derby
ill be like with some of baseball's biggest sluggers
launching balls
into mile-high air.
"To me, that's
going to be the
highlight of this
whole All-Star
Game," San Diego's
Tony Gwynn said.
In this, the Year
of the Homer in
feeball, there is no more fitting venue to host St. Louis'
irk McGwire and the other long-ball contestants than
ors Field, where more homers have been hit the past
a seasons than in any other major league ballpark.
The lineups had not yet been completed Sunday for the
nt, which for the first time will be televised in prime time,
among the most likely partidpants are: McGwire, At-
ta's Chipper Jones and Andres Galarraga, and Colorado's
ny Castilla for the NL; Seattle's Alex Rodriguez, Cleve-
d's Jim Thome, Detroit's Damion Easley, Baltimore's
: ael Palmeiro and Anaheim's Darin Erstad in the AL.
Ken Griffey Jr. of the Seattle Mariners, leading the AL
lomers, announced last month that he would skip this
'ear's event because it messes with his swing. And the
s' Sammy Sosa, who set a record with 20 homers in
June, had to pull out Sunday with a sore left shoulder.
Still, Sosa was planning to attend the festivities in
Denver as a spectator.
"You know me, I want to be there," he said. "I'll be
there watching McGwire."
McGwire should test the laws of gravity and may crush
the stadium record for the longest homer, a 496-shot be
longing to Mike Piazza. In fact, some of the restaurants and
art galleries surrounding Coors Field may want to board
up some windows with Big Mac coming to town.
And although Sosa and Griffey — who with McG
wire will be chasing Roger Maris' record of 61 homers
— will not be participating, the St. Louis first baseman
was looking forward to his sixth home-run contest.
"I've enjoyed it. I think that's probably the best part
of the All-Star game," he said. "Everybody has their own
opinions about it, but I enjoy it. I'm sure they have their
reasons (for pulling out)."
Before the homers start flying on Monday, NL man
ager Jim Leyland and the AL's Mike Hargrove will an
nounce their lineups and starting pitchers for the 69th
All-Star game. Atlanta's Greg Maddux (12-2) is expect
ed to be Leyland's choice while Yankees left-hander
David Wells (11-2) may get the nod from Hargrove.
Also on Monday, four teams — each made up of a
celebrity, a major league rookie and a retired All-Star —
will compete in a new event, the MCI Hitting Challenge.
Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway, actor Kevin
Costner, George Brett, Andre Dawson, Dave Kingman
and Robin Young are some of the participants.
Irazil, France advance to World Cup final four as
expected; Croatia conquers Cup powers for berth
i a
IsK
I The World Cup semifinals look strangely like an
[CAA Final Fou r, with three high seeds and one outsider.
Nobody can be surprised that Brazil, the defending
aid four-time champion, has made it this far. Nor can
ie host French be a shock.
The Netherlands has not been this far in 20 years.
But generally is a soccer power and was regarded as
v a contender entering the tournament. It plays Brazil
Ithe Ion Tuesday.
Croatia, though, is something different: a first-time
participant and conqueror of two of Europe's
prongest teams, Germany and Romania. It faces
France on Wednesday.
What, no Italy, Germany
|r Argentina in the semis?
|/ell, Duke, UCLA and Ken-
lacky don't get there all the
time, either.
Brazil vs. the Netherlands
at Marseille
I The Brazilians have been
rilliant at times, ordinary at
thers. Their 3-2 victory over
)enmark in the quarterfinals
lemonstrated their sensational
coring power, but also dis
mayed once more the problems
Lyii hey've had on defense.
Because this is Brazil, it
dll always play aggressively with the ball. It will at-
ack, and will do so with style — what Pele, the
;ame's all-time greatest star, has always called
'beautiful football."
"We are obligated to that type of game," Cafu said,
|e^ (defender who, like everyone else, frequently gets into
he offensive mix. "Brazil is not only expected to win,
|)l/ >ut to win with class."
But the Brazilians have not outclassed their op
ponents here. Except for Chile in the second round,
-1 win, the games against solid foes have been
dose. That does not bode well for them because of
he leaky defense.
Still, if any team can make up for not being stingy
enough, it is Brazil, with the likes of Ronaldo, Rivaldo,
ui Bebeto and Cesar Sampaio.
The Dutch have also had their moments, good and
Pad. They had a shaky first round marred by Patrick
Kluivert's two-game suspension after elbowing a Bel
gian opponent in a lackluster 0-0 opener. They routed
South Korea, but then blew a 2-0 lead in the second half
against Mexico. The 2-2 tie allowed them to win the
group, but not in the manner they preferred.
But the Netherlands, which last made it this far in
1978 when it lost to Argentina in the title game, has
opened things up since. The Dutch needed last-
minute goals to beat Yugoslavia and Argentina, but
were the better team both times.
"If we play the same way, not as individuals, I think
we will do well against Brazil," coach Guus Hiddink
said. "But they are a totally different opponent."
France vs. Croatia at Saint-
Denis
Host teams usually do well
in the World Cup, although
none has won since 1978.
France just might do it while
not looking particularly like
champions.
The French squeezed by
one-dimensional Paraguay
1-0 on a sudden-death over
time goal by Laurent Blanc in
the second round. Blanc had
the deciding shot in a penal
ty kick shootout against Italy
in the quarterfinals.
While France clearly was
superior in both games, it could not finish off a multitude
of scoring chances. It got impatient, even frustrated.
"I know the problem and there is no explanation,"
captain Didier Deschamps said.
Croatia can withstand physical play, as it did
against Germany. It also has impressive counterat
tacking skills, and its defense has been among the
staunchest in the Cup.
And do not be misled by the debut stuff, because
many of its players have solid international back
grounds. Croatia made the European Championship
field two years ago, so its achievement as the first new
comer to make the semis is somewhat misleading.
"When I heard (German coach) Berti Vogts called
us a small country, this raised our morale by 200 per
cent," star striker Davor Suker said. "We were fired
up to send the Germans packing. This shows that
small can beat big."
But can small beat the home team?
Ashley Lewis, a freshman pitcher and first baseman
for the Texas A&M Softball Team this past spring, will
transfer to her hometown of Baton Rouge, LA to play
for Louisiana State University. A&M released Lewis from
her scholarship for her transfer.
Lewis earned All-Big 12 utility player honors while post
ing a 12-9 record as a pitcher with a 2,02 ERA in 23 ap
pearances for the Aggies. Lewis was the third-leading hit
ter on the team with a .289 average and four home runs.
"One of her former coaches (Glen Moore) was
named the head coach at LSU and she also wanted to
go back home to pursue her education and play soft-
ball," A&M coach Jo Evans said. "We hate to see her
go, but we wish her well."
Evans coached the Aggies to a 32-25-2 overall
record in 1998.
HOUSTON (AP) — Brad Ausmus drove in three runs,
Moises Alou and Craig Biggio homered and Sean Bergman
recorded his career-high eighth victory as the Houston As
tros defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-2 Sunday.
Bergman (8-4) pitched five innings, allowing five hits
and two runs while walking five and striking out two. Willie
Blair of Arizona suffered his major league-leading 12th loss.
Ausmus' two-run double gave Houston a 3-1 lead in the
fourth. Carl Everett began the inning with a double to right
and moved to third on Ricky Gutierrez' single. Ausmus' line
drive down the third-base line scored both runners.
Ausmus added a RBI single in the seventh to give
Houston a 5-2 lead.
Alou's homer, his 20th, came with one out in the sev
enth on a 1 -2 pitch from Blair and increased Houston's
lead to 4-2.
Sampras regains dominance
Fifth Wimbledon title for Sampras ties Bjorn Borg’s record;
veteran Novotna sheds ‘choker’ image, topples No. 1 Hingis
Men's Final
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) —Just when everyone
thought it was safe to play Pete Sampras, a champion
beset by burnout, he unleashed his finest tennis in his
toughest Grand Slam final Sunday and captured a
record-tying fifth Wimbledon title.
Pressured by a barrage of 32 aces that often left him
shaking his head, Sampras could not afford even a
moment's letdown in a 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (11-9), 6-4, 3-6, 6-
2 victory over brokenhearted, three-time runner-up
Goran Ivanisevic.
"Now I guess I'm out of my slump," Sampras said
with a smile.
Sampras had been shut out of every major final
since winning Wimbledon a year ago, briefly lost his
No. 1 ranking, and the whispers on the men's circuit
were that he had lost his edge, the desire it takes to
train and win. Sampras himself admitted burnout had
gotten to him after ruling tennis for five years. Former
Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek even weighed
in last week with the idea that Sampras was playing
more like a No. 10 than a No. 1.
Not in this tournament, and certainly not in the final.
A month shy of 27, Sampras showed the full range
of his tennis artistry in tying Bjorn Borg for the most
Wimbledon men's championships of the 31-year Open
era, and matching Borg and boyhood idol Rod Laver
with 11 Grand Slam titles. Only Roy Emerson, with 12,
has won more majors.
"Borg's five I thought would
never be broken," Sampras said,
who also won $722,0000 to push his
career earnings past $33 million. "1
think I've got some years left in me
so that I can, hopefully, do it again."
Sampras took this one — his first
five-set Grand Slam final — as much
with his craft as with consistency
and will. Stroke for stroke, little sep
arated him from Ivanisevic, whose
left-handed serves are among the
most intimidating in tennis. The
radar speed gun clocked them both
with serves up to 134 mph.
"Compared to all the finals I've
played, this is by far the toughest," Sampras said. "I
didn't think I was quite in control of the match, and
Goran was playing huge. I got a little bit lucky out
there, I must admit, and raised my level just enough in
the fifth set. And before I knew it, I won it."
For Ivanisevic, performing in front of Croatia's prime
minister in the Royal Box, the loss hurt more than any
in his career. He had played one of the greatest Wim
bledon finals, serving 37 aces against Andre Agassi in
1992, and lost. He fell to Sampras after two tiebreakers
in the 1994 final. But he described this as one that would
torment him the rest of his career.
"It hurts most because this time I had the chance,"
Ivanisevic said. "He didn't play well."
As Sampras carried his trophy around the court in a
lap of honor for the fifth time in six years, Ivanisevic
slumped in his chair in the deepest gloom.
Women's Final
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Jana Novotna's first
Wimbledon title might not be her last.
She turns 30 in October — elderly by tennis standards
— but she's still going strong, as Martina Hingis, Venus
Williams and Nathalie Tauziat can attest.
Novotna beat them all at Wimbledon. With a 6-4, 7-6
(7-2) victory Saturday over Tauziat, Novotna earned the
first Grand Slam title in her 13-year career.
"I'm quitting now," she joked. "It's over."
In truth, Novotna plans to continue playing. And
with her reputation as a choker finally eradicated, she
may become a more formidable force than ever.
"If she doesn't win another match, it doesn't matter,"
her coach Hana Mandlikova said. "But of course she'll
keep playing and fighting. I think she'll play for anoth
er two or three years. This is a huge thing for her and will
give her even more motivation."
The future may belong to Hingis, Williams and
the rest of tennis' teen-age vanguard, but Novotna
and Tauziat, 30, proved there's still room at the top
for a veteran.
"I'm pleased about that," Tauziat said. "It's im
portant to show them we're here. They have to real
ize everybody can play well, whether you are young
or older. Age has nothing to do with tennis right now,
especially on grass."
Grass is Novotna's best surface, which is why she
could remain a threat at Wimble
don. Her athleticism and serve-
and-volley game have always
been perfectly suited to the sur
face, and only a fragile psyche
held her back.
She sobbed on the shoulder of
the Duchess of Kent after blowing
a big lead in the 1993 Wimbledon
final. She led again in the 1997 final
before losing to Hingis.
On Saturday, Novotna over
came a slow start to win the first set,
and she was the player with more
poise in the second-set tiebreaker.
She dedicated the victory to Mand
likova, a four-time Grand Slam
champion and Novotna's coach since 1990.
"I was the one who always believed that she
could do it if she put the hard work in," Mandliko
va said. "I've always tried to instill security in her.
I tried to instill positive thinking. It took four years
to get it into her, talking every day to her, telling her
to give 100 percent to the sport."
Novotna caught a break when she drew the No. 16
seed in the final, but her path to the championship was
hardly easy. She eliminated Williams in the quarterfinals
and the top-ranked Hingis in the semifinals.
"To win a championship when you beat the No. 1
player in the world, it makes it really special,"
Novotna said.
The Czech will climb from third place to second
place behind Hingis in this week's rankings, matching
a career high.