i , ^ Tiur Jay. November 9, 2()()()
SPORTS
THE BATTALION
Page 3B
Cowboys still hurting
ihnaris back requires more injections; Lett out
RVING (AP) —- Dallas quarter-
jack Troy Aikman practiced for the
Ht time in nearly two weeks
PpBD/adnesday, and was optimistic he
start this week against Cincinnati.
The practice came two days after
\i man received a second round of
nj :ctions in the lower left side of his
ic ing back.
haven't gotten the relief 1 got
weeks ago, but got enough to get
and do what needed to be done,”
man said after the two-hour
r (|rkout at an indoor facility.'“I’m
: PHOTO
, ^■imistic that if it doesn’t regress,
; l ’ll be okay.”
^ l0nsia jAftcr Aikman got the first series
>tateinV,)f shots before the Oct. 29 game
thereisaBinst Jacksonville, he said his back
;vas feeling better than it had in years,
ill be^Sut he was knocked out of the 23-17
lown thii.'|vtrtime loss with back spasms after
whatiBng slammed to the turf by Tony
ise, then Be kens in the first quarter.
~ inec *' BAikman did not even travel for last
'fiek’s 16-13 overtime loss at Philly.
youmfcBwith Randall Cunningham sitting
■ practice with fluid on his knee,
\ikman got a full workout with the
Played*! team Wednesday. Third-stringer
don’t hfQn it Stoerner also took some snaps.
leyballir*"He looked fine,” running back
t to seeti*mitt Smith said of Aikman. “I
They're|B)ught he moved around and didn’t
ipate,, really grimace, nothing like that. I’m
Burning that he’s fine. But there’s
te Aggie a
will get:
. Theta
the physical aspect of it in terms of the
pounding that remains to be seen.”
Coach Dave Campo said no deci
sion has been made on Aikman’s sta
tus for Sunday.
“Troy looked good, he felt good
and threw the ball well,” Campo said.
“He practiced a full practice and
looked pretty good, but I have to see
how he reacts overnight. That will be
the determining factor.”
On the same day that Aikman re
turned to practice, the Cowboys lost
defensive tackle Leon Lett for the
season. Lett sprained his left knee
during a drill on the artificial turf at
the Coppell High School facility.
“We’re disappointed for Leon. He
was a solid contributor in our defen
sive front this year, and this is a dif
ficult setback,” said Cowboys owner
Jerry Jones.
The Cowboys had placed defen
sive tackle Chad Hennings on the in
jured reserved list earlier in the day.
Hennings is out with a possibly ca
reer-ending neck injury.
“The loss of Leon and Chad is a
blow in terms of experience, produc
tion and leadership on the line,”
Campo said. “We will probably go
with Michael Myers at Leon’s spot
this Sunday, and then we will deter
mine our defensive line rotation as
this week progresses.”
As for Aikman, who turns 34 lat
er this month, Jones expressed con
cern earlier this week about whether
the quarterback will return after this
season.
In addition to being sidelined be
cause of his back the past two games,
Aikman missed two games after a
concussion suffered in the first half
of the season opener.
“About four or five years ago, I re
alized that I’d have a tough decision
to make someday. I don’t know if the
time is now,” Aikman said. “I’m not
ready to say anything is inevitable.
My primary concern is to get ready
for Cincinnati.”
Aikman said he will do as he does
every year when evaluating his fu
ture. But he also knows how tough it
was for him last weekend, when, for
the first time in his 12-year career, he
watched the Cowboys play from his
living room.
“It was very difficult to do. I stood
up most of the second half,” Aikman
said. “I’m hopeful that the caipet in
my living room was softer than the
turf in Philly.”
Also Wednesday, the Cowboys
placed receiver Raghib Ismail (tom
right ACL) on the injured reserve list.
They signed defensive end Aaron
Fields, who was with the Cowboys in
training camp this year, and safety
Greg Myers, who had been with the
Bengal s.
Horned Frogs coping with loss
an
>urnal 1 I
I FORT WORTH (AP) — One unexpected loss an-
'swered the questions for Texas Christian. No undefeat
ed season. No BCS bowl.
■ Now comes what may be an even tougher challenge
for the Horned Frogs than their attempt to reach those
lofty goals. They have to bounce back from the bitter
disappointment of losing to try to salvage a conference
title arid other goals.
I “The problem that everybody has had to deal with is
that the things they lost were rare and hard to get,” said
iTCl) coach Dennis Franchione. “There’s still a lot on
§the table. The difficult thing is they seem pale compared
wo what you lost.”
TCU had a 12-game winning streak, the nation’s
longest, and had moved to ninth in
the BCS standings. While a long-
|hot for a national title shot, the
homed Frogs were getting closer to
a possible BCS bowl.
I Until a 27-24 loss at San Jose
State late Saturday night.
I “If we go 11-1 and go to a bowl
lame, that game will be with me for
the rest of my life. That’s how dev-
stating it was to me,” said line-
acker Shannon Brazzell.
After the loss, the Frogs (7-1, 4-
WAC) fell out of the top 15 of the
|CS standings, and tumbled nine
■pots in the AP poll just one week
lifter ending a 41-year hiatus from
the top 10. No. 1 Oklahoma is now the nation’s only un
defeated team.
“Not really believing that we had lost, that’s what it
felt like,” said LaDainian Tomlinson, the nation’s lead-
|jng rusher (181 ypg). “It felt like a dream, and I’m
I thinking I’m okay, I’m going to wake up.
I “The key is to realize you still have a lot to play for.
gput it’s so hard to think about it actually when you had
I It right there in front of you.”
E The stakes are not as high, but still important.
E The Frogs are trying to claim a share of the Western
[ Athletic Conference title in their last season in the
league before moving to Conference USA. They are
lied for second in the WAC with San Jose and Fresno
jptate (5-3, 4-1), their opponent Saturday, and play
league-leading Texas-El Paso (7-2, 6-0) the next week.
People have got to
realize, and Pm not
making excuses,
but in a couple of
years, we've come a
long way/'
— LaDainian Tomlinson
TCU running back
They can still be the first TCU team to go to three
straight bowl games, though the postseason trip most
likely will be back to Mobile, Ala., against a C-USA
team. The Frogs beat East Carolina last year in the in
augural Mobile Bowl.
Franchione, who possibly took the loss harder than
any of his players, is reminding them not to give up on
the goals that are still in reach.
“We can still finish ranked, we can still win a piece
of the conference championship, we can still go to post
season play ... We can be the first team ever to go to
three bowl games in a row,” Franchione said. “So
there’s a lot of specialness left to achieve in the season.
That’s part of the challenge.”
The irony is that no matter what the
Frogs now accomplish, this season will
be considered by some as a disap
pointment.
Forget that this team was just 1-10
and lost 10 straight games in 1997, the
year before Franchione arrived. Expec
tations were high, and talk of an unde
feated record had been prominent since
months before the season even began.
“People have got to realize, and I’m
not making excuses, but in a couple of
years, we’ve come a long way,” Tom
linson said. “There’s still things you
learn along the way while you are
climbing. This team is still learning
how to deal with things like what hap
pened Saturday night on the road.”
Even with TCU’s loss, Tomlinson remains a legiti
mate Heisman Trophy candidate.
After leading the nation with 1,850 yards rushing last
season, including an NCAA I-A single-game record 406
against UTEP, he leads the nation in rushing and scor
ing (12.8 ppg) this year. He has rushed for at least 119
yards in every game, including 155 at San Jose.
Still, Franchione expresses some concerns about the
loss on Tomlinson’s chance to win the Heisman.
“I don’t think it helped,” Franchione said. “I think
some of it will deal with how we finish. There’s still
some time yet and he didn’t have a bad game. We’ve al
ways had some odds to fight in that. Maybe they’re a
little bigger than they were.”
Houston
approves
arena bill
HOUSTON (AP) — The
Rockets will not be jettisoning to
New Orleans, after all. Houston
voters approved the proposed are
na referendum on Tuesday to pre
vent the second major sports fran
chise from leaving their city.
With all precincts reporting, the
arena issue passed 65 percent to 35
percent, ensuring Houston will
keep its pro basketball team and
boosting efforts to draw major-
league hockey.
The referendum asked voters to
apply existing hotel and rental car
taxes to construct a $256 million
home for the Houston Rockets, who
say their existing home, 25-year-old
Compaq Center, lacks the luxury
boxes and other amenities needed to
compete financially with other Na
tional Basketball Association teams.
Last November, voters rejected
a similar deal by 10 percentage
points after months of hot debate.
After the referendum failed. Rock
ets owner Les Alexander explored
moving the team but never found a
suitable alternative. The Florida
businessman’s lease at Compaq
Center expires in 2003. The new
building would open later that year.
Unlike the previous election,
no well-organized anti-arena
campaign surfaced, and some
former leaders of the opposition
backed the new proposal.
“What a difference a year
makes,” said Harris County-Hous-
ton Sports Authority chairman Bil
ly Burge. “I think this thing came
together at the right time for all of
Houston. The people of Houston
wanted the right deal, and I think
they got it.”
The main difference is the re
vised deal does not include a tick
et surcharge, which was allowed in
last year’s referendum. Arena
backers'pushed the “no new tax
es” theme in broadcasting ads that
blanketed local television and ra
dio stations.
“Eleven big corporations and
the Rockets spent a lot of money
promoting special interests down
town,” said conservative activist
and anti-arena leader Bruce Hotze.
Under the proposal, the city
will supply land near the George
R. Brown Convention Center and
the sports authority will use bonds
supported by the hotel and rental
car taxes to build the arena.
Alexander will pay about 30
percent of the total bill, according to
figures from Harris County Tax As
sessor-Collector Paul Bettencourt,
who fought the 1999 proposal but
was publicly neutral this time.
Chuck Watson, chainnan of
natural gas trading giant Dynegy
hie. and Alexander’s leaseholder at
Compaq Center, gave $100,000 to
the anti-arena campaign last year.
But he endorsed the 2000 ballot is
sue after receiving assurances he
might be able to bring in a Nation
al Hockey League franchise.
Watson, owner of the minor-
league Houston Aeros hockey
club, complained last year the deal
structure gave Alexander carte
blanche to establish his own NHL
franchise.
MSC Open House
Tables Are On Sale!
November 1,2000 - January 16, 2001
Reserve space for a recognized
student organization in 3 easy steps!
1. Go to the MSC Box Office in Rudder Tower.
2. Complete a registration form and read the rules,
3. Pay a $30 registration fee. Cash, checks,
Aggie Bucks, or credit cards are accepted.
Hurry...First come, First serve
Sponsored By: MSC Marketing Team
If you have any questions, contact the MSC
Executive Director of Marketing at 845-1515.
LEARN TO
Easily awarded student loans now available. You can learn
to fly for as little as $50. 00 per month. Located next to campus
at Easterwood Airport.
Discount Discovery Flight
(with presentation of coupon)
w ki
Cessna
■ Student Loans
■ Aviation Career Tracks
■ Private thru advanced training
■ Aircraft rental, Pilot Shop
■ F.A.A. approved 141 school
■ VA Eligible Benefits
United Flight Systems, Inc.
Easterwood Airport
College Station, TX
409 260-6322
LUKt
DINE IN
Tuesday - Saturday
11am - 9pm
Sunday Brunch
Ham - 2pm
2319 Texas Avenue • College Station • 695-0985
Sunday
Champagne Brunch
Luncheon Buffet
Tuesday-Friday I I:30am-2pm
House Menu
1 I a.m. - Close
Over 42 domestic and imported beers, s 2 each
Extensive Wine List
Private seating banquet room available for social ei'cnts or meetings.
- We also offer a wide variety of delicious desserts -
Triple Chocolate Cheese Cake • Cream Brake • Italian Cream Cake
' CASUAL GOURMET '
Where quality is our tradition,
serving the Brazos Valley since 1983
MSC Film Society presents .
tmmmmmm
mmammmsLmr.
mmum ma mom
SNFAKFR!
7 j : *2 • lillI
We could tell you what it
is about. But then, of
course, we would have to
kill you.
November 10 th , 7:00 & 9:30pm
Persons with disabilities please call 845-1515 to
inform us of your special needs.
Questions? Call the Aggie Cinema
Hotline - 847-8478.
’ Website:
Tickets: $3.50 at the door or
$3.00 in advance at the MSCBox
Office (845-1234).
f)r Avoid long lines and buy a
season pass for $10. /m 4-
| All films shown in Rudder Theatre Complex, llttp fr/tllmS.tamU.eClU
CBam-eY'S
W 3 Bars in One ™
$ 1 pints all night!
THE OUTER LIMITS
This Thursday Is Ladies Night!
FREE cover for all Ladies all night!
Plus, this week 1 0 3.9 the X is picking up the cover
for all guys till 1 1 p.m.
Manhattan
Room
Come out and
experience live music
featuring
the Full House
Blues Band
Remember, we have the
best Martini’s in town!!
Thursday is ladies night
in the Sportsbar with
2 for 1 appetizers for
all ladies until 9 p.m.
Plus, the Sportsbar has
happy hour everyday
from 4 till 8 p.m.
with
FREE POOL!
c.s.
701 University Dr., Ste. 300
691-0484 * Across from Blockbuster