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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 12, 2000)
t Monday. June II rief jath row initial tacks chaplaii HUNTSVILLE (APj — Apiis plain injured in a deatL tck was out of surgery; ed in fair condition Sate Vestbrook was doingvo - ministry on death rovni was attacked by Juan So who is facing execution! nth for a 1985 robberys in Fort Worth, Departmer ninal Justice spokesman; itzgerald said. )n Friday, a death row ini icked William Paul Weste 8-year-old volunteerchapi erely cutting the minis! it wrist, authorities said. BY J. GOLDFll M~F f04 ► - 6 San f - $ immatfi ?? fid ak I nte matching m ciaf good through (Jl$M roe your Rood f Oillm J Monday, June 12, 2000 Sports THE BATTALION Page 3 Gillom to coach for USA Matthew L. Thigpen The Battalion Sydney, Australia beware: The Americans are coming and they are bringing an Aggie with them. Texas A&M women's basketball coach Peggie Gillom will be an as sistant coach at the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney as the USA women's basketball team com petes for one of the most coveted awards in sports. Coaching an Olympic team is nothing new to Gillom, who coached the 1999 Women's Pan American basketball team and the 1999 USA basketball women's se nior national team. Gillom will be an assistant to Neil Fortner, the USA women's head coach. In 1998, Fortner guid ed the USA to a 9-0 record at the 1998 World Championship. The two have coached together before, on the Pan American team and the USA national team. "I have learned a lot from [Fortner]," Gillom said. "We work well together." Joining Gillom on the bench will be Gene Auriemma, the head coach of the 2000 NCAA women's basketball champion University of Connecticut. When asked whether she ex pects to bring the gold to America, Gillom said that in order to win the gold, the U.S. team must de feat a powerful Australian team that will have a home court ad vantage. "They have a great playpr and a great team," Gillom said. "They will be a tough team to beat." In college, Gillom played for the University of Mississippi, where she still holds records in scores and rebounds for both male and female. After college she Texas A&M Women’s basketball coach Peggie Gillom was selected to help coach the USA’s Women’s Basketball team this summer in Sydney, Australia during the Summer Olympic Games. played for the Dallas Diamonds from 1980 to 1981, then returned to Ole Miss as a coach. In 16 years at Ole Miss, her teams missed the post-season only twice. Gillom also spent some time on the bench coaching for the Houston Comets before coming to A&M. Along with coaching the Olympic team, Gillom has also taken on the challenge of building a program at A&M. "When 1 first got here, every one was telling me how hard it was going to be, but 1 never looked at it that way," Gillom said."l think it was meant for me to be here." Even when she visited A&M for her job interview, Gillom doubted she would come here, but now she i,s thankful for the opportupity. "If 1 had not come here, I would not have been selected to coach the Olympic team," Gillom said. "I have even had other offers since 1 came here, but this is some thing 1 want to do." When asked about the Olympic team and the Aggie women's team, she said that she expects to win the gold and that the Aggie Women's team to break the .500 mark. "We can compete and hope fully reach the post-season," Gillom said. The USA Olympic women's basketball team will begin play against Canada on Aug. 23, in San Antonio in a three-game series. Johnson to be named to ABCA Hall of Fame Mike Moran The Battalion Texas A&M baseball coach Mark Johnson will be inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame in 2001. Johnson, along with Guy Anderson of Cordova High School in California and Sam Suplizio of the National Junior College Ath letic Association, will be recognized for his outstanding coaching career and representa tion of the coaching profession. "The award is about a total package — how you present yourself as a baseball coach to the public and to the players," Johnson said. Johnson was twice-named Southwest Con ference Coach of the Year, twice-named Big 12 Coach of the Year, National Coach of the Year in 1993 by The Sporting Neivs, and ABCA Re gional Coach of the Year four times. Johnson says being named to the ABCA Hall of Fame is special because it is recognizes an entire ca reer, not just one good season. "This is about as high as it gets," Johnson said. "It covers a long period of time and 1 am deeply honored and privileged to have that selection." Johnson's .687 winning percentage over the last 16 years makes him the "winningest" coach in A&M baseball history. His teams have averaged 45 wins per year, with a total record of 691 -314-2. During 30 years as an as sistant and head coach, his only losing sea son was last year, when the 2000 Aggie base ball team finished 23-33. Johnson's teams won the Southwest Conference three times and the Big 12 title twice and ad vanced to the College World Series in 1993 Mark Johnson and 1999. Johnson's 58 victories in 1989 hold the A&M single-season record. Another number Johnson is proud of is "90." More than 90 percent of baseball players who complete their team eligibility also grad uate from A&M. Away from the field, Johnson gives back to the community through summer camps and coaching clinics. He says camps are one way a coach can promote baseball to the community. "Coaches need to share and enhance the growth of the profession," Johnson said. Johnson served as president of the Ameri can Baseball Coaches Association in 1994. He is also active in the Fellowship of Chris tian Athletes. He speaks at baseball-related functions and gatherings for church groups. Johnson leads workshops on team-working concepts and gives motivational speeches. Johnson attributes some of his success to coaches he worked with before becoming head coach at A&M. "1 have had the opportunity to work with outstanding coaches in the past —Jerry Kin- dall (Arizona), Ron Polk (Mississippi State) and Tom Chandler (Texas A&M) — elite, leg endary coaches in the field," Johnson said. Besides coaching baseball, Johnson teach es his players values that are important on and off the field. "1 hope to instill integrity, character, class out on the field, sportsmanship, and compet itiveness," Johnson said. "1 would hope play ers leave here with the idea of character, in tegrity, responsibility, accountability — all of those things that go into coaching." After spending more than half of his coach- * ing career at A&M, Johnson said he loves coaching in College Station. "When the war hymn comes on, 1 get chills. I'm big on patriotism; I'm big on loyal ty, traditions; I'm a conservative; [A&M] just fits who I am," Johnson said. SI out of line Sports Illustrated displays irresponsibility with coverage of Bob Knight, John Rocker Two of the biggest scapegoats in America to day are Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker and Indiana University basket ball coach Bobby Knight. Who decided to sacrifice these two people on the al tar of political correctness? Nond’other than Sports Illustrated (SI). A Sports magazine making value judgments — could this be a sign that the apocalypse is here? The more SI preaches morality, the more it becomes apparent that it should stick to swimsuit issues, not social ones. Its "expos es" on Rocker and Knight certainly exposed the inner workings of these two people — they also exposed how sports reporting should not be done. Si's agenda was stated succinctly by Eric Burns, the host of Fox News' "Newswatch": "They (SI) are attempting to push their liberal — not Democratic, but liberal — beliefs on so ciety, and that's not their job." In other words, give readers the score and don't remind them to hold hands and sing "Kum Ba Yah." For those who have forgotten, a sports writer's role is writing about sports. At tempting to tell society how people are sup posed to think is not part of the job. Not only that, it is annoying to have a writer who is supposed to be covering the Bulgarian luge team preach about how society is depraved MARK PASSWATERS because people want to watch some redneck throw a fastball. Since when did players' and coaches' personalities become related to their perfor mance on the field? Or, in the case of Rocker, did the personality become more important than performance on the field? In his article about Rocker, Si's Jeff Pearlman did not discuss Rocker's performance on the field — he simply wrote about things that Rocker said when he was under the impression that he was "off the record." As soon as the story was written, other SI writers and their associates at CN N / SI began to use Rocker as a symbol of everything they deemed wrong with American society. Last week, still on his moral high horse, Pearl- man confronted Rocker in the Braves' club house to ask him if he had any further comment. Not sur prisingly, Rocker was less than cordial — if threatening to dismember someone can be consid ered simply less than cordial. After more media outcry, the Braves sent Rocker down to the minor leagues. TAMARA CUELLAR/The Battalion With the Knight situation, CNN/Si's "ex clusive" consisted of a video taken by a for mer Indiana assistant coach who was fired by Knight the season before and sued the school for wrongful termination. After the school re fused to settle out of court, the assistant re leased the tape to CNN/SI. The video shows Knight grabbing former player Neil Reed by the throat. This video started a month of accusations and condemnations of Knight from all cor ners, with SI leading the charge. After Indi ana officials decided to sanction Knight in stead of fire him. Si's cover screamed, "WHITEWASH!" The articles relating to the story all had the same theme: the evil Knight, the greatest threat to society since Hitler, had gotten away with "it." By not firing Knight, the reasoning continued, Indiana supported such evil. What once was, and occasionally still is, a fine sports magazine has gone overboard in an arena where it has no business being. The job of shaping public«opinion is best left to public relations firms, not a magazine that is supposedly in business to cover sports. Is John Rocker an idiot? Yes. Should Bobby Knight have been fired for his actions (which reportedly included punching players and coaches and throwing the university presi dent out of practice)? Probably. But Si's cover age of these situations went beyond reporting and became preaching. Do the writers really think their readers pick up the magazine to be told how to think? What's next? Car and Dri ver with an article on how to raise kids? Knight and Rocker have become scape goats involving issues that should be beyond STs scope. A writer for SI is as qualified to point out the flaws in society as Rosie O' Donnell is to be a cover girl for Hard Body magazine. There is no reason for these issues to continue to come up in conversation, un less someone does not want them to die. That "someone" would be the member of the press — SI, in this case — who wants to leave its own lasting impressions on Ameri can culture. This is not what a journalist is supposed to do. A journalist is supposed to report facts and allow readers to make an informed deci sion. This should not be difficult for sports writers, who have the facts play out in front of them on the field. If writers do not think the job is "challenging" enough for them, hotjobs.com is just a click away. This is an election year, which means that American citizens should be interested in hearing someone's views on how America can be improved. Unfortunately for Sports Il lustrated and its writers, they are not invited to the debate. Let A1 Gore and George W. Bush speak on the ills of society, and go back to watching the game. Please. Mark Passwaters is a senior electrical engineering major. K»ROFIT/VBI. NUMBER! 845-0569 The Battalion Classified Advertising SUBS & SALADS FREE SCOOP of ICE CREAM - 26 flavors to choose from! w/ the purchase of a Combo Meal at regular price. Offer good thru 08/00. 110 Nagle St. uTs 260-3384 MSC Barber Shop Serving All Aggies! Shampoo, Cuts and Styles Regular cuts start at $8. Now Offering: Full Service Hair Stylist with Highlighting & Waxing Available for men & women Call for an appointment! 846-0629 Open: Mon. - Fri. 9-4 Located between the main floor and Hullabaloo in the Memorial Student Center
