jesilay. January 20.1
ent:
H Battalion
Sports
Page 9 » Wednesday, January 20, 1999
dmatRockets prepare for takeoff
Hoops
retir?
mew look Rockets get ready for future with All-Stars Pippen, Barkley and Olajuwon
■HOUSTON (AP) — The Hous
ton Rockets didn’t wait for a signed
l Rfy//c fnni collective bargaining agreement
^ before joining the other NBA teams
T5 tlCW CttJiin launching a plan to win back
their fans.
3RK (AP) - . apirst they went after Chicago
he colortul ar.:B U |i s forward Scottie Pippen. Then
seven-time cocci', Rudy Tomjanovich handed
. leader, has :. ollt i oqq free tickets to Saturday’s
om professionip*eason game at home against tlie
agent said yes: San Antonio Spurs. Another 14,000
;ets were given to current sea-
’ T son ticket holders.
^^^■If the new contract is approved
in time for the game, fans could
ge: their first chance to see their
^ ne v superstar in a Rockets uni-
foi in.
HThe Bulls will sign Pippen to a
_ five-year, $67.2 million contract
Rowland then trade him to the Rockets
for a second-round draft choice and
^^^^^^■rd-year forward Roy Rogers,
aid the ChicagcHThe Rockets’ giveaway plan is
e him the nev pa t of a league-wide move to
ternoonover: soothe fans’ feelings following the
lengthy lockout. The contract agree
ing even thous ment still had not been ratified on
re interested rijlesday but plans remained in
. He declined -
place for Saturday’s game.
The Rockets also have distrib
uted 14,000 free tickets for a
scrimmage session in Compaq
Center on Jan. 28. A similar give
away is planned for a Jan. 30 game
against the Spurs in San Antonio.
“The (NBA) Board of Governors
came up with some ideas on how to
make it right with
the fans, and this
was one of those
ideas,” Rockets
spokeswoman
Angela Blakeney
said in reference
to the free tickets.
As word
spread of the
pending deal for
Pippen, excitement swelled among
Rockets players working out at
their practice facility on Tuesday.
Hakeem Olajuwon thinks the
Rockets are back in the champi
onship chase.
“No question,” Olajuwon said.
“I think he’s a complete player, of
fensively and defensively. He
knows how to win; he’s been there
TOMJANOVICH
many times. The most important
thing is to make (the new team)
work. We must be competitive and
at the same time make it fun.”
Mayor Lee Brown saw Pippen’s
arrival as an aid to the proposed new
basketball arena for the Rockets.
“I think it is a good opportunity
for another championship,” Brown
said following his state of the city
address. “I’d like to go to the vot
ers and ask approval for a new sta
dium with a championship under
our belts.”
Rockets rookies are even more
eager to get the season started.
“It’s going to be a dream camp
for us,” rookie forward Michael
Dickerson said. “Now we’ve got to
go to camp and take it all in.”
Dickerson is no longer intimi
dated at being the teammate of fu
ture Hall of Famers Olajuwon, Pip
pen and Charles Barkley.
“Before this I would have been.
But I’ve been working out with
these guys, so now it’s just a mat
ter of playing our games,” he said,
adding that the Pippen deal came
as no surprise.
Guard Bryce Drew didn’t
realize he’d have such an exciting
rookie experience.
“It’s a blessing to come
into the league and have a chance
for a ring,” Drew said. “Many peo
ple play their whole careers and
don’t get one, and we come in our
rookie year and we have a chance
with those three players.”
Team officials just hope
the fans stick around for a possible
championship. Blakeney said only
a handful of season ticket holders
had called to cancel.
“We asked them to give us
a chance and see what the team
looks like and see if they want to
stay, and they’ve agreed to wait,”
she said.
Don Harris, a season tick
et holder for 13 seasons, never con
sidered turning in his tickets.
“I understand the eco
nomics of the game. It goes on in
all sports,” Harris said. “The short
ened season and the news of Scot
tie Pippen turned the people
around. I think everyone is excited
about the opening game.”
Continued from Page 7
KU should not get much of a
challenge on their way to the best
record in the North but should be
challenged in the Big 12 tournament
by OSU, OU and Texas.
• Missouri Tigers
The Tigers are 3-2 in conference
and 12-4 overall. Norm Stewart has
done much to quiet his doubters af
ter two subpar seasons in a row.
Mizzou failed to defeat KU for
the third time in a row at home but
should be competitive for the con
ference crown.
John Woods has led Mizzou’s
balanced offense with 13.7 points
per game.
If Albert White ever meets his
potential the Tigers could be an
NCAA tournament team.
• Nebraska Cornhuskers
Nebraska is basically a
mediocre team with a mediocre
record. NU is 2-2 in conference and
10-7 overall.
They can give some teams prob
lems because of Venson Hamilton’s
inside presence but will end up in
the NIT in March.
Hamilton is an all Big 12 caliber
player averaging 13.8 points and
2.1 blocks per game.
• Iowa State Cyclones
ISU is 11-7 overall but just 2-3 in
conference. A few juco transfers
failing to qualify coupled with in
juries have left the Cyclones short
on numbers this year. Marcus Fiz-
er averaging 17.7 points per game
is the only bright spot in a rebuild
ing year in Ames.
• Colorado Buffaloes
Where have you gone Chauncey
Billups. When Billups left the Buffs
for NBA riches two years ago, the
CU basketball program went with
him. CU is 1-3 in conference and
12-6 overall.
Colorado is led by Kenny Price’s
11.6 points per game. The Buffs
should not be much of a challenge
to the rest of the North teams.
• Kansas State Wildcats
KSU is the North’s version of
A&M.
The Wildcats started off the sea
son at 11-2 but have lost five out of
their last six to go 1-4 in conference
and 12-6 overall.
Tom Asbury is a good coach and
KSU’s stifling defense keeps them
in almost every game they play, but
they need senior post Manny Dies
to step up his game or they are NIT
bound in March.
lUT’s Williams honored once more
iR'K
think that wi
teams,” he
won three
the Chicago
and 1998, aultk DALLAS (AP) — Surrounded
te Detroit Pis: ■ escla y n 'gl' lt by football greats of
30. bygone years, Ricky Williams re-
was also marM' ve d his second Doak Walker
antics, from Award as the nation’s top college
flying off to JI nnin S back -
as several tii» Williams has already won the
marrying ht isman Trophy and will spend the
'tra to seekir: ne<t severa l weeks scooping up a
> dressing in fS s P* a y case wort h of additional
'g-
honors. But the Doak Walker Award
Iso made an if Id special significance, said the
rofessional v Ul iversit y of Texas star.
“Last year, this was the ONLY
ope I got, and it was dear to my
heart,” Williams said. “I’m also
happy that the award’s namesake
■as a great guy.”
I Williams met Walker last year
Bid the two struck up a friendship
Brass racial and generational lines.
nmer and sai
to continue:
going to repn
” said Manley,
/ miffed at hi;
on.
efused to pi
man would cli
said his decisii
iting him “is
But the Southern Methodist All-
America and 1948 Heisman winner
was paralyzed in a skiing accident
and died last spring at 71.
Williams, who wore 34 on his jer
sey throughout his Longhorn career,
honored Walker by wearing his
number, 34, when Texas played Ok
lahoma at the Cotton Bowl — “the
house that Doak built.”
Former football players and
sports writers were nearly unani
mous in again voting Williams the
top college running back —
Williams made their job easy by
leading the nation in rushing and
setting major-college records for ca
reer rushing yards, scoring and all
purpose yards.
The voting took place in De
cember, and Williams received the
trophy, a foot-high figure of Walk
er, at a banquet of the SMU Athlet
ic Forum. Also at the event, former
Kansas and Chicago Bears star Gale
Sayers was given a special award
for retired athletes who have con
tributed to their communities.
In a month, Williams will report
to the Texas Rangers’ spring camp
to take another shot at professional
baseball. But his attention will also
be on the April NFL draft, when he
is almost certain to be either the first
or second player chosen.
“I don’t really care where I play,
I just want to go and play football,”
said Williams, who earned a repu
tation at Texas for saying tjhe nice
thing and doing such good deeds
as talking to high school kids about
avoiding drugs.
Xxxxx Xxxxxx/The Battalion
Texas back Ricky Williams cashed in Tuesday, receiving his
second straight Doak Walker Award and signing with the Rangers.
Heisman winner a Ranger
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas
Rangers on Tuesday agreed to terms on a one-
year, $425,000 contract with catcher Gregg
Zaun.
Zaun, who was eligible for arbitration,
earned $280,000 with the Florida Marlins last
year before the Rangers acquired him on Nov.
23.
He played in 106 games with Florida, hitting
.188 with five homers and 29 RBIs. He has spent
four years in the majors with Baltimore and
Florida.
Texas also agreed to terms on one-year con
tracts with five rookies, including Heisman TYo-
phy winner Ricky Williams. The former Texas
Longhorns running back spent four minor-
league seasons in the Philadelphia Phillies’ or
ganization. The Rangers purchased his rights
from the Montreal Expos on Dec. 15.
The other rookies who agreed to contracts
were pitchers Brandon Knight, Corey Lee and
Mike Venafro and outfielder Mike Zywica.
retirement ®
i to the breaks;
3 have captures
ight NBA cha:
ist week Mid
etired and All
ie Pippen, stai
mgley and re;
err have agree
? deals sent
3uston Rocket;
is and the
, respectively.
I
I
I
r
r
i
>
advertisement.
If yOU take any reasonably smart person and tell them to
spend a year researching an industry, they can become
an expert if they work at it.'
crazy," she recalls. "But I figured the worst thing that
could happen would be that the business wouldn’t fly
and Id end up being a lawyer after all.”
As President of her class at law school. Christy already
possessed the leadership skills that entrepreneurs need.
Her publishing experience, however,
was limited to editing the Stanford
%
%
V'
The Secret Success Series
Christy Haubegger
women's magazine aimed at African-Americans.
Christy convinced the magazine’s president to meet
with her, and his company agreed to help fund her
start-up. Christy launched Latina magazine in 1996, and
it was an immediate hit. Today, it has an impressive
circulation of almost 200,000, but it wasn’t easy getting
there. One of the hardest things about being a young
entrepreneur is simply the fact that you are young.
Potential business partners often
Name:
Christy
Haubegger
30
Age:
Career Entrepreneur-
Founder & Publisher
Latina Magazine
1 or someone
who is only 30
years old, magazine
magnate Christy
Haubegger has already put
together a pretty impres
sive resume. She’s won an
award from the Ms.
Foundation (also given to Oprah Winfrey and
Madeleine Albright), and Tom Brokaw named her one
of the "most influential people of the year” in 1996.
So how did she end up in company like that? Turns
out it all started with one simple question. "I took a
few business classes in school with some great profes
sors, and they always talked about the search for that
mythical big idea,” she recalls. "As a Mexican-American,
I’d always wondered why no one had ever produced a
magazine for Latina women. Then I wondered if I
could do it myself.”
Christy graduated from the University of Texas in 1989
with a philosophy degree and immediately headed off
to Stanford University Law School. But as law school
graduation approached, she couldn't shake the maga
zine idea from her head, so she decided to devote a
year to chasing her dream. "My friends thought I was
brings you information designed to help you achieve your personal and career goals
Watch for the rest of this series in future issues of your school newspaper.
Law Review. Still, she figured she could learn what she
needed to know pretty quickly. "If you take any
reasonably smart person and tell them to spend a year
researching an industry, they can become an expert if
they work at it,” she says. "All the data I needed was in
the public library. Census data, information about the
magazine industry, books on how to write a business
plan, it was all there.” In the meantime, she lived on the
cheap in San Francisco’s Mission District and did legal
research to pay the bills.
Once Christy’s business plan was done, she started to
show it to people who might be willing to invest the
millions of dollars she would need to launch a glossy
publication. "192 people told me no. I counted,” she
says. "But most of them didn’t slam the door in my
face, and I was able to learn a lot by asking them how I
could improve my business pitch.’’
Eventually, some good old-fashioned networking led
her to her first big investor. "If you don’t believe that
stuff about using all of your contacts, you should,” she
says. Turns out that Christy’s classmate’s aunt's
neighbor (follow that?) knew the editor of Essence, a
assume you are inexperienced.
"Nobody saw me walk into a
meeting and thought they were
looking at a magazine publisher. But
I persevered. You have to be prepared
to get over your pride and fake your confidence when
you need to.”
While there is a certain glamour associated with being
the publisher of a major magazine, Christy still relishes
the role of underdog. "Each milestone means so much
more when you’re a start-up,” she says. "A major retailer
just advertised with us for the first time. To a larger
publication, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. But when
they agreed to be in our magazine, we jumped up and
down and cried and hugged. Then, "she laughs, "we
ate ice cream.”
As an owner of a growing company and Publisher of
Latina, Christy has continued to nurture her dream
magazine into a leading lifestyle publication, read by
thousands of dynamic, educated young women just
like herself. She
says that she
hopes to inspire
other young
women to pursue
their dreams
as well.
Secret
"Strong enough for a Man. But Made for a Woman;