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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
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