Battalion Sports Page 3 • Monday, July 5, 1999 mn favorites not always best All-Stars loday is the day starting lineups as selected by the fans will be an- Hnced for this year’s Ma tt League Baseball All-Star ■ne. This year’s game at ■ton’s Fenway Park will Bk the 66th edition of the ii|season event. Unfortu- Mark ly, it also will mark the PASSWATERS m of Bob Costas behind le microphone — another horrible side effect jfthe NBA lockout. Aren’t the fans entitled to lore than three weeks of peace? »s usual, there will be players elected to the Jl-Star Teams whose statistics do not merit leir selection, as well as players whose num- iers will be overlooked by the fans. Here is >ne fan’s ballot of who he thinks should be farting. AMERICAN LEAGUE First Base — Mo Vaughn, Anaheim (.286, 16 HR, 49 RBI) /aughn was the heart and soul of the Red Sox 1 Boston general manager Dan Duquette ran out of town in one of the most classless [ives of the decade. It is only fitting he should t. Maybe he can hit Duquette with a foul ball. Second Base — Roberto Alomar, Cleve- I land (.333, 10 HR, 53 RBI, 20 Steals) jGet out your spit shields — Alomar is once again playing like the best second baseman in the game. I Shortstop — Nomar Garciaparra, Boston (.354, 14 HR, 55 RBI) ■ This game is in Garciaparra’s home ballpark and is having a great year. He is the sentimental choice. ■ What about Derek Jeter? No way he could get this vote, for two reasons. First, there has to he some law against starting a Yankee in Fenway iPark. Second, he hit on my ex-girlfriend before Game 1 of the 1996 World Series. No soup for him. Third Base — Cal Ripken Jr., Baltimore (.315, 10 HR, 30 RBI) This is not a sentimental choice. Since his re turn from the disabled list, Ripken has been by far the best third baseman in the American League. And to think some moron wrote in this very paper this spring that he was washed up. Catcher — Ivan Rodriguez, Texas (.315, 13 HR, 46 RBI) Pudge is the best all-around catcher in the game, and maybe the best of all time. This is a no-brainer. Outfield — Ken Griffey Jr., Seattle (.311, 27 HR, 74 RBI) “Do you know me? I’m the best player in baseball.” B. J. Surhoff, Baltimore (.341, 17 HR, 56 RBI) Surhoff has been the Orioles’ offensive spark all season long. He has better numbers than big- money free agent Albert Bell, and has done so with fewer tantrums. Manny Ramirez, Cleveland (.348, 19 HR, 81 RBI) At the moment, Ramirez is putting up num bers that will make him the American League MVP. Designated Hitter: Harold Baines, Baltimore (.348, 15 HR, 52 RBI) The 40-year-old Baines has put up these re markable numbers in only 61 games. However, it is a wasted vote, since Jose Canseco will win out. NATIONAL LEAGUE First Base — Jeff Bagwell, Houston (.320, 24 HR, 67 RBI) Bagwell is putting up MVP-type numbers, but this is another wasted vote. Mark McGwire will start here. Second Base — Jay Bell, Arizona (.284, 22 HR, 55 RBI) Excuse me, please take down the “reserved for Craig Biggio” sign. In this year of the rabbit Lone Star All-Stars Texas Rangers and Houston Astros players among top five vote-getters by position as of June 29: TEXAS RANGERS: C Ivan Rodriguez IB Rafael Palmeiro OF Juan Gonzales OF Rusty Greer HOUSTON ASTROS: IB Jeff Bagwell 2B Craig Biggio 3B Ken Caminiti OF Derek Bell ball, Bell has taken advantage by putting up the best numbers of any NL second baseman. Shortstop — Barry Larkin, Cincinnatti (.312, 9 HR, 50 RBI) Healthy once more, Larkin has returned to his role as the NL’s best shortstop. Third Base — Matt Williams, Arizona (.324, 21 HR, 70 RBI) You were expecting Chipper Jones? A look at the stats shows Williams leads in every offensive category in spite of the fact he is 161 years old. Catcher — Mike Piazza, New York Mets (.317, 16 HR, 44 RBI) Piazza is the best hitting catcher around. An other no-brainer. Outfield — Larry Walker, Colorado (.380, 19 HR, 65 RBI) This is the one guy who can make a run at the triple crown. Sammy Sosa, Chicago Cubs ( .288, 29 HR, 66 RBI) Sosa has become the power threat in the NL with 30 homers before the All-Star Game. Luis Gonzalez, Arizona (.370, 13 HR, 49 RBI) A quiet candidate, Gonzalez is having a ca reer year, including a 31-game hitting streak. Don’t like these choices? Please use all the options available to fans to make sure your will is done for next year. And have some fun doing it. Mark Passwaters is a graduate student in electrical engineering. BCS announces formula change GAINESVILLE, Fla. (U-WIRE) — Bowl Championship Series (BCS) coordinator Roy Kramer said Wednesday one of the major changes in the new formula that decides which football teams will play for the 2000 national champi onship is actually quite simple. Instead of adding three numbers and dividing by three, simply add sev en and divide by seven. While the 1999 BCS formula still will consist of subjective polls, com puter rankings, schedule strength and number of losses to determine a na tional championship matchup, Kramer announced a few minor changes to the system. One difference in effect for next season is the addition of five com puter rankings that will join the three already in place in 1998. Seven of those rankings will be added togeth er and divided to formulate one quar ter of a team’s BCS standing. Computer rankings by Richard Billingsley, the Dunkel Index, Ken neth Massey, David Rothman and the Matthews/Scripps-Howard join the New York Times, Jeff Sagarin’s USA Today and the Anderson-Hester/Seat tle Times in the formula. “If you have a disease it’s always good to get a second, third, fourth or fifth opinion,” Kramer said. “What this does is give us a broader diversi ty of opinion and ranking system, and I think it does add credibility to that by giving us a broader spectrum of in formation.” However, only the seven highest computer rankings for a team will count in the formula, with the lowest being dropped. Though the new rankings will provide five extra opinions, Kramer Rank and file Sources to contribute to the 1999 BCS ranking formula: COMPUTER RANKINGS: Richard Billingsley Dunkel Index Kenneth Massey Matthews/Scripps Howard David Rothman NEWSPAPERS: New York Times USA Today Anderson-Hester!Seattle Times said the result of the 1998 final rankings still would have remained the same with the University of Tennessee, Florida State University, Ohio State University and Kansas State University occupying the top four spots. The BCS, which will not release standings until the seventh week of the season on Oct. 25, also will re quire teams to have nine regular sea son victories and a top-12 ranking at the end of the season, to have a chance to receive an at-large bid. Kramer said beginning with the 2003 standings, a conference whose champions in four previous seasons do not average a top-12 ranking could lose their automatic bid. The conferences that currently have automatic berths include the At lantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and Southeastern Conference. The 1999 national championship game will be at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans Jan. 4 at 8 p.m. Robbie Neiswanger writes for the Independent Florida Alligator (University of Florida). week-Worke?! month o jse an< begin to ale*' I thogenthau jod policy. M common sW adozenpeo? th officials >und in o not cause ;e severe sto' liting, nausei ■ ■ . ' m iSS Till ■ '' ... ■ i —*1 ANTHONY DISALVO/Thk Battalion xas A&M Archery Team coach Frank Thomas will serve as an assistant coach for the U.S. Men’s and Women’s chery Teams this summer at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg. &M archery coach to assist Pan American Team VERSlV BY REECE FLOOD The Battalion One of the coaches of the xas A&M Archery Team will be ading to this year’s Pan Amer- Han Games as an assistant coach r the U.S. Archery Team. -Frank Thomas, who also is nion Ecii || a j r 0 f a&M’s Physical Educa- \lews £d it0, |bn Activity Program, said he is ; Editor idoking forward to the opportu- Producef Ity to coach in the Games. : ditor very exc iting,” he said. " fThe tournaments that I’ve been 0 ©at this point have just been ^ aSter •tfiihhery tournaments. One of the M Unlversl Mpvciting things about this though a 0ZAT. f IS it s 15-2647: : :JS it’s not just archery. fi “It’s going to be athletes in all idoiseirert 1 ;,kinds of sports, so that is really : orclassifi^jgoing to be fun.” ;ehoursar r ^ mpjyg an d women’s ic^pi-feams will be attending the jeopers*'[Games, from July 23 to August 9 To charge 1,1 jin Winnipeg. This will not be Thomas’ first coach on the in- during cept College: IcDonald ap P earance aS 3 u ternational level. In 1997, he was In assistant coach in the World Championships and the Russian Grand Prix. Thomas also served as assistant coach in the 1998 German Grand Prix and worked as the archery competition man ager for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. “It [the Pan American Games] is going to be athletes in all kinds of sports, so that is really going to be fun” — Frank Thomas Texas A&M archery co-coach Thomas credits A&M for help ing him become a nationally rec ognized archery coach. He said he only had a little experience with the sport before coming to A&M and learned most of what he knows about it here. “It (A&M) has really devel oped me into what I am as an archery coach,” he said. Thomas already has met with the U.S. team once during open ing trials and is familiar with one of the players. Junior wildlife and fisheries sciences major Vic Wunderle will join the U.S. men’s team in Winnipeg. Wun derle played under the direction of Thomas while on the Texas A&M Archery Team, winning the Collegiate National Champi onship three times. He also has won two Junior World Champi onships. Although the Games’ opening ceremonies will be July 23, the team will not arrive in Winnipeg until July 31 for three days of practice. The competition begins Aug. 4, and will last until Aug. 8. The first day of the competition will be what Thomas calls a “ranking round,” in which players are seeded into brackets according to their total score. Thomas said each shooter can I see Archery on Page 4. A Central Texas Managed Health Care Program Makes More Sense Than Traditional Health Insurance That’s why Bryan-College Station has FIRSTCARE. No annual deductible No claim forms to complete Low co-payments Brazos Valley Physicians Organization Quality health care and controlled costs Bryan-College Station employers have an affordable solution to their group health care needs: FIRSTCARE, a health care program created to help control your rising medical costs. FIRSTCARE is a service of HiJlcresf.