Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 1998)
le Battalion purchased seastl e 1998-1999 ?e| 's Basketball :k them up begir 7 a.m. in room lie White inion Page 9 • Tuesday, November 3, 1998 Technically Foul hsketball problems reveal petty disputes lers who do not tickets by 4 p.n leir tickets insj ance to Reed ig at 5 p.m. ji t h all stheirseasoJA/ theex _ ition game W\ cite . :sl at ReedA-t*^ j n f v j a j or & uo Baseball sses can alsot«[ NCAA Foot _ the tickets. |i this year, i will have free Inyhave for- ilght s game:■ 0 | :en about an- mdividual heme L ro { Ameri- purchasea'' ys favorite M :ket Office, lege Station, )x Office, and ocations' RICHARD PADDACK also be pur- Web througli om. its who I o would I ile on the e at u. : announce- nade in the 4 gaw sday against •Stars, stralian times: professional basketball. Many sports fans do not even ilize the sport has begun. Well, hould have begun, but it did |t. If this is confusing, do not irry because you are not alone. The reason for the “lockout,” as Website at s debate of the money hungry >been labeled, is about as shady Michael Olowakanidi in the af- can pull the’ n00 n sun. But its disruption of feed Arena Bo » S p 0r t jt se lf will be devastating. The root of all problems with ■Sessional sports is money, and other gameseflsthe main reason the basket- owners and players are argu- There is too much money, dthey cannot agree how it is to distributed. Money leads to greed, greed dsto regulations and over-or- aization, and these in turn lead lockouts. The fact an entire month of sketball has been canceled due disputes over the payroll and ntracts of some of the nation’s ’hest-paid athletes is ridiculous. Eastern Kent! The long-term effects of this ainst Mercer :kout may be beneficial to pro- after lean isional basketball, but the )een in a a ort-term effects will be felt by two men arre llions of Americans. ;ion charges, As soon as football is over, ■ssion, Smitb is will be wandering the streets the players search of something to satisfy nage of the: eirhunger for professional von its seitlorts. And what happens to all March. Be bi-fans? Yes, it is the ’90s and a was arrestfilany sports fans are now admit- ving charge* to being bi-fans and not loyal orward to Kjljustone sport. Bi-fans are sim- 1 Wayne' tember fans who prefer more than ie sport at a time. Without B- it in LexiifiH, there is no balance in the sion came sit: I irld of professional sports, mself took: The harmony of the delicate ident in ant: |ofessional sports ecosystem is itroversy. not the only aspect that will be lost due to the untimely disputes between the owners and players. Everyone loses during the lockout. Why were these problems not resolved during the off-season? Did players and owners fear the meetings would cut into their six- month vacation time? Maybe it is just an experiment to see how long Americans can survive with out basketball — or if they will miss it at all. Whatever the reason for dragging out these proceedings, the ends better justify the means. The revenue lost dur ing this down time will be enormous. Skip Wollenberg of the Associated Press Business said, “The NBA and its 29 teams had ex pected to generate an as tounding $2 billion in revenue this year through sales of tickets, arena suites, broadcast rights and advertising signs and its (NBA) share of an estimated $3 bil lion-plus in merchandise sales worldwide.” The networks will feel the brunt of the cancela tions. They have already planned a lineup of ac tion movies and classic NBA games to replace telecasts of canceled game, hoping to hold on to viewers and advertis ers during the lockout. Re-runs are not going to make it all better. Most people will be more inclined to go play putt-putt golf. Frito-Lay and beer companies will probably be hurt by this as well. Who wants to watch Rain Man or Thelma and Louis with a six- pack of beer and some french onion dip? Why do the American people have to suffer be cause some first draft pick cannot make the payments on his Ferrari? It must be tough for them to consider they may have to settle for a four-story house. Some of the players’ maturity levels have not quite caught up with their pituitary levels. Grow up and play some ball. Richard Paddack is a senior journalism major. Lockout provides time to address league issues I t is Nov. 3. Sports enthusi asts should be preparing to treat themselves to the squeak of sneak ers on hardwood, the swish of bas ketballs dropping through nets as the 1997-98 NBA season kicks off tonight. MATT WEBER TIM KANG/Tiii. Baitauon Instead, they are being subject ed to continued bickering be tween wealthy athletes and their equally well-off employers over just how their millions should be divied up. And that, at least in the long run, is a good thing for the sport. Many are saying the National Basketball Association should have learned a lesson from Major League Baseball and the fallout from that sport’s disas trous 1994 strike. But the NBA is not baseball. Baseball is an Amer ican icon, a century-old tradition that aborted a potentially record- breaking campaign in midseason, losing both a World Series and a lot of followers, then tried to substitute no-name replacement players for striking fan favorites. The NBA, by com parison, is an upstart operation that has out grown itself and its own expectations over the past 20 years to be come America’s most visible sports league. Along the way, the NBA has neglected to address a lot of big- league problems. The most notorious of these, skyrocketing player salaries, is a prime example. As players like Michael Jordan and Minnesota forward Kevin Garnett sign astronomical con tracts, owners are forced to pay out less and less to their non star players. This re sults in a dwindling NBA “middle class” and a growing body of minimum-wage talent. These two groups make up a “silent ma jority” that often is ig nored in player-man agement negotiations. This year’s work stoppage — the first in league history — should do a lot to change that. Maybe union leaders like Patrick Ewing and Dikembe Mutombo will not mind a few missed pay- checks, but the players on the end of the bench will feel it in their pocketbooks when the money stops coming. And when the checks quit coming, those lower- paid players will have a lot to say about how the union, and the league, should be run. Another, more important issue that will finally be addressed is proposed revisions to the NBA’s laughable drug-abuse policy. A study conducted earlier this year by ESPN showed more than half of the NBA’s 350 play ers abuse alcohol or marijuana on a regular basis, but some players put the number closer to 80 or 85 percent. The NBA drug policy, written in the early ’80s and lacking guidelines concerning marijuana or mandatory drug tests for veter ans, has come under scrutiny in recent years. Several high-profile players have been arrested for drug possession, and some still charge the death of Boston Celtics star Reggie Lewis, who collapsed in the summer of 1993 from heart failure, was caused by cocaine use that went unnoticed or unchecked by league officials. It is a shame basketball fans will have to wait a few months to see the NBA in action. It is a shame a lot of borderline athletes will have to find jobs in lesser leagues such as the Continental Basketball Asso ciation or with teams overseas. It is a shame the league will have to spend time and effort luring fans back to the game. But the game will go on, and when it does the fans will come back. And a few months’ worth of missed games now to fix some pressing problems is a lot better for the league and the fans than a forfeited season down the road. Matt Weber is a junior journalism major. J. ., she ranks im with eijj! its. Pickerii right time sparing for nt. Tensive MV mament ’ aroon Out success relies on Aggie fans ■hat be gan as an idea nongst friends pmed into one tKyle Field’s 5red two go: rnemo " ad the ble scenes. On Oct. 10th, e Twelfth Man eated a sea of las begun, an see intin# in the w mmate KYLE VALENTINE lenti is on. , , aeementm aroon and a charged atmos- ^ "erethat definitely made a dif- rence in the outcome of the Ne- aska football game. The success of Maroon Out 'as dependent upon the student v m use Jy’ s ea g erness to participate. ^ the matd an ^ y° u ^ or making it happen. „ intimW A SS; es - both current r itpfl tnli ™former students, have ap- irni j toached the Maroon Out staff ondering where Maroon Out ill go from here. Following the victory over Ne ka, the class councils decided not to promote another Maroon Out, but instead to wait to see how the students responded. At the Texas Tech game, about half of the student fans at Kyle Field chose to wear maroon. And that is exactly how this practice needs to continue: as a choice. The students of Texas A&M University do not need the class councils to launch a huge media circus before each game to en courage people to wear maroon. Rather, we need to allow each individual to make his or her own decision. Therefore, the class councils have decided that we will promote a Maroon Out game once a year in the interest of pre serving the anticipation, intensity and unique atmosphere Maroon Out creates. The rest of the games are up to the Aggie fans. Maroon Out was simply an event that enabled Aggies to stand united in Kyle Field and ig nite the Aggie spirit that lies with in each Aggie. Even though it is an individ ual’s choice whether or not to wear maroon, it is the class councils’ sincere hope the stu dent body will take it upon it self to choose to wear maroon to all games. The class councils will now move onto other responsibilities including Elephant Walk, Ring Dance and Boot Dance just to name a few. It is the councils’ duty to work as diligently on these pro jects as they did on Maroon Out to ensure they too are a success. We look forward to serving the students of this University, and we hope you will take part in the many services the class councils provide here at Texas A&M. Kyle Valentine is Maroon Out director and a junior finance major. mpetitivend of team has a stron on everyo® lid. “I can , sf side to TESTS ON JOHN GLENM IN SPACE 'WILL DETERIWNE- HPVnI KU AvGING BCD'/ ADJUSTS TO NOT HEARING ABOUT taonkA lena/inskv constantly Wlteiucko^i MAIL CALL Holiday attacked by propaganda In response to John Lemons’ Oct. 30 column: I would like to remind John Lemons the opinion page is for opinions and not for false infor mation and urban legends. By claiming Halloween began as an evil holiday, Lemons pass es along false propaganda start ed by Christians centuries ago. When one religion takes over an area where another religion is prominent, the first thing that happens is the conquering reli gion demonizes the traditions of that culture and spreads lies about it. This happened to the Celts, the Native Americans, Africans and Asians. It is true the Celts did perform human sacrifices using criminals and war prisoners (not babies). This was a common practice for many of the world’s past cul tures. Christianity is not without its questionable acts in history. One only has to think of the thou sands of innocent people killed during the Inquisition. It seems every Halloween someone opposes the holiday us ing false fear propaganda such as Satanic infant sacrifices (proven false by police and child abuse centers around the country) or se rial killing sprees caused by play ing Dungeons and Dragons (again, an urban legend). Not only is spreading fear pro paganda unethical, it leads to in tolerance, misunderstandings, and in the most extreme in stances, hate crimes. Kimberly Gilliam Class of ’01 Violence requires serious attention In response to Oct. 30 coverage: As a co-sponsor of the Clothesline Project, I was pleased to see the coverage of the shirts on display in the MSC Flagroom. I was taken aback, however, by the header reading “Airing their laundry.” That phrase evokes the phrase “airing their dirty laun dry,” or talking in public about things we should keep private. It reflects the belief we should deal with our problems on our own, in isolation. Domestic and dating violence are dirty issues, but they are not issues we can afford to keep private. Far too many women and chil dren have died as a result of so ciety’s expectations that we keep our “nasty little secrets” to ourselves. Far too many people live in an isolated hell because we refuse to talk openly, publicly and honestly about the abuse that is taking place within the supposed sacred confines of our homes and relationships. Although I can excuse the header, I was horrified by the car toon, Fish, on the back page. Finding a cartoon making a joke out of a man with a chain saw looking for his ex-wife at the end of National Domestic Vio lence Awareness Month makes a mockery of those individuals who work to end domestic vio lence. That is to say nothing of what it does to the victims of do mestic violence. Before joking about this top ic, think about the following: an estimated one in three college- aged individuals experienced vi olence in their dating relation ships; and, of all women murdered in 1995, one in four was murdered by a current or former husband or boyfriend. People’s lives are at stake. Please stop joking about domes tic and dating violence. Becki Elkins Nesheim Coordinator, Gender Issues Education Services Studies support marijuana use In response to Oct. 28 columns: I have read several opinions in The Battalion discussing the le galization of illicit drugs such as marijuana, and Thursday’s columns were no different. Although I am not endorsing the use of such drugs, one must use reason to determine whether or not these drugs are as harmful as anti-marijuana crusaders would have us believe. Elizabeth Strait supports her belief that cannabis should re main banned by citing the find ings of spurious studies suggest ing marijuana is as harmful as tobacco. Strait also contends a marijuana user cannot be a suc cessful student. In fact, G.D. Mellinger’s 1978 study on drug use and academic performance shows frequent users of marijuana who were col lege students have been shown to have higher grade point ratios than non-users. Another study by S. Cohen pub lished by the New York Academy of Sciences suggests users score higher on standardized achieve ment tests than non-users. Because of length, I cannot expound further on actual find ings about marijuana, but there are many legitimate studies that anti-marijuana crusaders will never cite. Do not believe everything the government or other prohibition ists would have you believe. Find out for yourself by doing research rather than just being another type of “dittohead.” John David Young Class of '98 The Battalion encourages letters to the ed itor. Letters must be 300 words or less and in clude the author’s name, class and phone number. The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 013 Reed Mc Donald with a valid student ID. Letters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 Campus Mail: 1111 Fax: (409) 845-2647
