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THE BATTALION lidate ed from page ic of diversity, from being the for undergraduate iderson is a profes or education atNt itate University, ther two candidate; A&M this week® a Hurtado from of Michigan and ft Rochon from tie ' of Wisconsin-La ' McClendon, co lic vice president ind associate proi ional diversity sea , said that these three e only possible the job. ive three he said. “But the I continue until will it ion,” he said. id ?d from page 1 Malta and Lithu; y approved EU m th referendums. Hie ablic votes next wed ' Latvia and Estonian Cyprus is leaving the parliament, leaders campaigner membership, sayingit derate modemizatioa still recovering ' communist rule that ?89, and end histone Europe, the EU, Poland, ust 42 percent of the ;, would never th the West, leaden re opposed by a tween ultraconserva- ics worried about i raditional values ami ters who warned dial million sustenance Id disappear under ipetition. at poor first-day ust 18 percent mob i-roots call to vote on ith EU supporters i the Polish Mass, dr pulpits, priests ly Roman Catho! rinded people of voting, aw, where ti is the highest r f percent, j irly from weekend >te, creating a arlier than the S IN BRIEF ox confirmet ? dog owners Wis. (AP) - Tests ied that four peo contracted the mi after coming ii :t with pet prai g the first time I been discovered Hemisphere. ;s at least t monkeypox has jutbreak of rashes ills in people across dwest since May more people suspected of sutler- virus. At least th are suspected diana. lTTALION ue Brown tor in Chief IN #1055-4726) is tay through Friday during g semesters and Monday during the summer ses- arsity holidays and exam &M University. Periodical ollege Station, TX 77840. d address changes to Die ;M University, 1111TMIU, 77843-1111. ion news department is Jdents at Texas AM ivision of Student Media, partment of Journalism, in 014 Reed McDonald n phone: 845-3313; Fax: news@thebatt.com; Wet ebatt.com ation of advertising does lip or endorsement by Hie pus, local, and national call 845-2696. Forclas- all 84 5-0569. Advertising eed McDonald, and office i 5 p.m. Monday through 78. it of the Student Services xas A&M student to pick The Battalion. First copy lies 254. Mail subscrip- hool year, $30 for the fall $17.50 for the summer ith. To charge by Visa, ;r, or American Express, The Battalion Page 3 • Monday, June 9, 2003 Newnham: Washington should fire coach Neuheisel on ropes after gambling allegations By Blaine Newnham KRT CAMPUS W hat if it had been one of Washington's players caught wagering in a high-stakes pool on the NCAA men's basketball champi onships? Instead of its coach. The player, even though he hadn't paid attention when counseled about the dangers of gambling, even though the pool had nothing to do with ille gal gambling, even though he played football and not basketball, would lose his eligibility. Rick Neuheisel is about to lose his. The NCAA will make a big deal out of this even if many, including Neuheisel, are shocked that it is. Jack Sikma, the former Sonics great, said he also was involved in the neigh borhood auction pool on the 2002 NCAA basketball tournament. "It was a kind of office pool, just another way to go about it," Sikma said. "I don't think any of us thought it was inappropriate. We were just having fun. "I'm totally stunned. I hate to see Rick hurt by something like this." He will be. The NCAA is more concerned about gambling in college athletics than it is about recruiting violations. Its punish ments have been swift and harsh. A year ago, Florida basketball player Teddy Dupay was declared ineligible for his final season for gambling on col lege sports. A year before that, an assistant foot ball coach was fired and suspended from college coaching for two years after he repeatedly gambled $200 to $300 on college and pro games. A head coach such as Neuheisel, and especially someone already under NCAA sanctions, will be treated at least as sternly. You can understand Sikma's confu sion, and his compassion for a friend. When does an office pool become something sinister? It isn't illegal in this state, it isn't run by the mob. It's just rich guys having fun. But when the money bet on a team is in the thousands, which it apparently was, when one college coach bets on another college team, when inside infor mation could be important, when play ers could be influenced, then the NCAA gets involved big time. To his credit, Neuheisel didn't try to sidestep the issue. Or lie about it. He admitted involvement in the pool in 2002 and again this year. But the lat ter came after the NCAA had sanc tioned him and his university president had told him to walk the straight and narrow. Even his boss, athletic director Barbara Hedges, admitted last night that he should have known the NCAA rules, which don't differentiate between organized gambling and an office pool. "You can't minimize this," Hedges said. "The university will take this seriously. I do believe Rick should have understood the rules. He just did n't relate them to the particular situa tion he was in." It shouldn't have escaped Neuheisel that there is no office pool in the UW athletic department for NCAA basket ball tournaments. Hedges might not have to decide whether this is the straw that breaks her coach's back, the culmination of prob lems that began in Colorado and embar rassingly followed him at Washington. The NCAA may give her no option but to find a new coach. Washington can't conduct a program with a coach who is suspended for a season or two. Or would want to, given Neuheisel's regrettable track record. For many, the casual betting among friends is less embarrassing to the uni versity than Neuheisel's decision earlier this year to lie about his interview with the San Francisco 49ers. But it all adds up, from the begin ning when he didn't understand the rules about when he could and couldn't recruit athletes, to what may well be the end, when he didn't realize that he shouldn't be gambling on college sports. He was more thoughtless than arro gant about the rules this time, but the stakes got so much higher when gam bling was involved. Hedges said all Neuheisel had to do was ask for an interpretation if he was confused about rules. He never asked about gambling. Neuheisel seemed per fect for college coaching, his ability to relate to kids, his passion for the game and all that surrounded it. In the end, one mistake might take him down, but it was an attitude, an arrogance, that put him in the position to take the fall. RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION What will Hedges do? She seems to have no choice but to fire Neuheisel, and, at this late date, move to either replace him with offen sive coordinator Keith Gilbertson, who has head-coaching experience, or go after another link to the past, Gary Pinkel, the Missouri coach. If she doesn't act, the NCAA will. ’Stros extend win streak to seven, Rangers lose again Wagner collects team-record 200th save HOUSTON (AP) — Billy Wagner set the Astros’ record for saves and promptly thanked Todd Jones. “When I first came up, they wanted me to start,” Wagner said. “If it hadn’t have been for Todd Jones going on the DL that year, 1 might never have gotten a chance to close. Thanks to Jonesy for getting me started.” Wagner pitched a one-hit ninth inning Sunday that completed Houston’s seventh straight win, a three-hit, 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. It was his 200th save, one more than Dave Smith’s previous team record. Wagner made 72 starts in the minors, but wasn’t all that interest ed in starting. “I tried to talk them out of it when they first said I’d start,” he said. “They told me it would be good for me to work on my curve. But I never enjoyed starting. I couldn’t stand that.” Wagner has 19 saves in 20 chances, converting his last 15 opportunities. “He is, to say the least, a tremendous closer,” Astros manager Jimy Williams said. “He’s a standup guy who accepts responsibility for what ever he does. Maybe that’s why he’s so good as a u He wants to be out there with the game on the line. Thafs what it takes to be an outstanding closer. closer. He’s like an everyday player. He wants to be out there when the game is on the line. That’s what it takes to be an outstanding closer.” Tampa Bay was surprised by a slick pickoff move Wagner made to throw out pinch-runner , Jason Tyner for the second out of the ninth inning. “Wagner is slow to the plate, so if you can read him right you, can steal some bases,” Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella said. “He just didn’t read him right.” Tim Redding (4-4) allowed one run and two hits in seven innings, struck out five and walked one, retiring his final 18 batters. He has won three straight starts. Houston’s Geoff Blum was 2- for-3 and drove in the go-ahead run. The Astros matched their longest winning streak this season. Tampa Bay took the lead for the third straight day. Rocco Baldelli singled in the first, stole second and scored on a throwing error by shortstop Jose Vizcaino, who was trying to complete a double play on Travis Lee’s grounder. Houston, which had six hits, went ahead in the second when Lance Berkman doubled, Orlando Merced tripled and Blum hit a sacrifice fly. Astros second baseman Jeff Kent made a leaping stab to catch Marlon Anderson’s liner in the sixth. 99 Texas loses ninth straight to Expos, 2-1 — jimy Williams Astros head coach By Josh Dubow THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Brad Wilkerson made sure the Montreal Expos would leave San Juan in a much better frame of mind than when they arrived. Wilkerson’s second run-scoring double broke a tie in the eighth inning and helped the Expos send the Rangers to their ninth straight loss, 3-2 Sunday. The Expos started their 22-game trip away from Montreal with eight losses in nine games, including two blowouts against Anaheim in San Juan. They finished their second Puerto Rican homestand with four straight wins — all after los ing All-Star Vladimir Guerrero with a herniated disc in his back. “It’s good to turn it around after such a disas trous start to the road trip,” manager Frank Robinson said. “We still have a lot of work to do. But we’ll enjoy the off-day.” The powerful Rangers were held to two runs over their final 16 innings at cozy Hiram Bithorn Stadium and are on their longest skid since also dropping nine straight in June 2000. Texas fin ished its road trip 2-10. “We have an off-day to regroup and to think about what is ahead of us,” Rangers manager Buck Showalter said. “It was a long trip that was not good for us. I’m very disappointed.” GONZALEZ The Expos went 10-6 in their first two trips to San Juan, with the final six games coming in September. Despite the low-scoring finale, there have been 63 homers in the 16 games in San Juan and an average of I 1.6 runs per game compared to 7.9 in Montreal’s other games. Trailing 2-0, the Expos came back to win the game in the eighth innings. The Rangers went ahead in the fourth with consecutive longballs that probably wouldn’t have been out of any other major league stadium. Carl Everett and Juan Gonzalez both hit drives to right-center for Texas’ fifth set of back-to-back homers this season. Gonzalez, playing in front of his home fans, got a standing ovation, and the sellout crowd of 18,001 chanted his nickname, “Igor! Igor!” until he took a curtain call and blew kisses to the fans. Gonzalez moved within one RBI of Orlando Cepeda’s career record for Puerto Rican natives. But he couldn’t break the mark here as he struck out in his final two at-bats. “It was a dream to play in front of the home crowd here in Puerto Rico,” Gonzalez said. “Even when you try your best, sometimes you fall short.” NEWS IN BRIEF Texas A&M football players in trouble Texas A&M Head football Coach Dennis Franchione announced Friday that junior linebacker Randall Webb has been suspended indefinitely. Franchione said that Webb vio lated team policy but did not elaborate on if or when Webb could return to the team. Franchione also said junior defensive lineman Brandon Johnson is ineligible to play for the Aggies due to academics. "It is unfortunate when these things occur," said Franchione in a statement released on Friday. "We will move forward with the players who are eligible to com pete." Webb had seven sacks and 61 tackles in 12 games last year. Johnson recorded just seven tackles and one sack in 2002. Spurs beat Nets, 84- 79, lead series 2-1 EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ. - Out of the Jersey swamps emerged a horrific sight, a game so ugly it was almost frighten ing. They called it Game 3. On a night that featured the lowest-scoring first half in the history of the NBA Finals, the San Antonio Spurs didn't really care how morose it may have looked. They took control of the game with a 14-2 run to open the fourth quarter, putting them back in charge of the series with an 84-79 victory Sunday for a 2- 1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Tim Duncan had a night that was nothing too special by his standards, scoring 21 points with 16 rebounds — the 15th of which was most crucial. Qlniiieftsitij Simme ft ^Peftjoftmance fiefties 9/tesenfs IMMANUEL & HELEN OLSHAN TEXAS World Tour! MUSIC "(Russian icons' 1 FESTIVAL Chamber Concert JUNE 1 - JUNE 28, 2003 MOORES SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF OF MUSIC HOUSTON Monday, June 9, 7:30pm Bush Conference Center TICKETS! 845-1234 Chamber music of Russian composers, performed by TMF artist/faculty, including cellist Vagram Saradjian and mezzo- soprano Katherine Ciesinski. Featuring Tchaikovsky's great string sextet. Souvenir de Florence, songs by Shostakovich, and more. Student $5 - Regular $10 I* j/j4Er KW'jyf'• 'CARKEEPEr BRAKES I * 1 YEAR/12,000 MILE WARRANTY I as — ^TTCi'l 2818 9 99 Front disc or rear shoes ■ Installation extra CyJdLt ■ LIFETIME VS DB RAKE SI Ask For Kevin Store Hovrs: Mon-Sat 7:00am-6:00pm 2715 S. Texas Ave - (979) 764-1844 ^ Mi MR MR MR MM MM MM MV MM MM ^ ^ I i MIDAS MAINTENANCE 11 i TUNE-UP I* : $ao99 491 ^M’89? 4-cylindef Many can, figiif (rucks end vom. ‘There may be s«bs(onlid extra cost fa odfaoncl ports and labor. Coupon must be presented at lime o( purchase. 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