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SPORTS 3B wm Classifieds continued from -b 21) ,2« issioos ill, Tientcat) MW allei' If intetes 09. ce seriooi periencai, endly, am 2921. Shop Bt' ''Ploymem ia/ Bnaro- lilding, I? i to guide Ihe Rodg he larges rica. Wife ort Road website a: :ts. Espe- and Bust ily online: i-8785. itom pain! Call Ban lack, HMF it, perfect rithout tits or TAMU weddings kali Jost 135). lessons ir lessons ilock, pro ializing in its/smoke rlyl! 693- am ppies, kil os Amina/ ijntt.org ROOMMATES Roommate wanted $300 month, 1/3 bills free cable/ internet everything furnished 979-224-4400. SERVICES MA Texas Defensive Driving. Lots-of- fun, Laugh-a-lotl! Ticket dismissal/insur ance discount. M-T(6pm-9pm), W- Tti(6pm-9pm), Fri.&Sat.- Fri(6pm-8pm) JSat(10am-2:3Opm), Sat(8am-2:30pm). Fotmer student serving you 20yrs. In offi ces above Aggieland Kiva Inn, Ste.200 (next door to Applebee's). Walk-ins wel- »me. $25/cash. Lowest price by law. 104 Texas Ave. S. 846-6117. Show-up 30/min. early. 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Jerem i each. 525-6076 roommaK ivillea, :ob at 97S , free DSt 16. house / s include! ibdmi/f^ oute, avaf or sum®! all Chris* IN PRINT ONLINE ON RADIO (musi in aliver tl* 3 phons Bryan* OR ists, l |,c - E o o & (Q 0 <D £ News Sports Opinion Mailcall Aggielife Photo Graphics Comics AP News Classifieds THE BA FT A LION Tuesday, February 17, 2004 Rodriguez traded to Yankees By Ronald Blum THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — It’s a done deal: Alex Rodriguez is a Yankee. Commissioner Bud Selig approved the record-setting swap Monday, allowing the reigning American League MVP to be traded to New York by the Texas Rangers. “I’m pretty excited. This is a big, big one,” Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said. “It ranks with when we signed Reggie,” he said, a refer ence to when slugger Reggie Jackson joined the Yankees before the 1977 season. Texas will pay $67 million of the $179 million left on Rodriguez’s $252 million, 10- year contract, the most cash included in a trade in major league history. The Rangers get All-Star second baseman Alfonso Soriano and a player to be named — but they also will pay Rodriguez through 2025. “1 am very concerned about the large amount of cash con sideration involved in the transaction, and the length of time over which the cash is being paid,” Selig said. “I want to make it abundant ly clear to all clubs that I will not allow cash transfers of this mag nitude to become the norm. However, given the unique cir cumstances, including the size, length and complexity of Mr. Rodriguez’s contract and the quality of the talent moving in both directions, I have decided to approve the transaction.” Rodriguez will move from shortstop, a position at which he’s been an All-Star seven times, to third base, where he will replace injured Aaron Boone. The Yankees will keep Derek Jeter at shortstop. “Jeter is the captain. He is the leader,” Steinbrenner said at the team’s minor league complex in Tampa, Fla. Both Jeter and Yankees man ager Joe Torre were expected to s,;„ 11.. praised Rodriguez’s decision to move to third. “I was very impressed. He’s an outstanding young fellow. He’ll be very big in New York,” Steinbrenner said. Rodriguez, who waived his no-trade clause, was desperate to play for a winner. “I don’t think he ever thought about playing another position until the concept came up,” Rodriguez’s agent, Scott Boras, said Sunday. “He decid ed it didn’t make a difference — shortstop, third base, center field. He wanted the opportunity to play on a competitive team.” The Rangers will wind up paying $140 million for three seasons with Rodriguez, an average of $46.7 million annual ly for three last-place finishes in the AL West. The Yankees will owe him $112 million over seven years. “Since the end of last season we said we would not trade Alex unless it made sense for our organization,” Texas Rangers general manager John Hart said. “This deal is a win-win-win situation for the Rangers, the Yankees and Alex Rodriguez. This trade is about flexibility. We’ve traded the best player in the game, and we’re getting tremendous financial flexibility.” Baseball’s biggest spenders will raise their payroll to about $190 million. “The disparity is not healthy for the sport,” Arizona Diamondbacks owner Jerry Colangelo said Sunday. “But everyone runs their team the way they see fit, and they did it by the rules.” Boras said the possibility of a trade first came up last Monday while he was talking to the Yankees about another player. Boras then called Rodriguez. “I said, There may be an opportunity. We have to talk about your goals, about win ning,’” Boras recalled telling his client. “He called me back Tuesday and discussed it fur ther and said, ’Why don’t you call (Texas owner) Tom Hicks and let him know we’re ready to do that,”’ Boras said. Trade talks began the follow ing day, and the sides reached the agreement Sunday. The Yankees will pay Rodriguez $15 million in each of the next three seasons, $16 million each in 2007 and 2008, $17 million in 2009 and $18 million in 2010, according to contract information obtained by the AP from player and man agement sources. In each of the first four years, $1 million would be deferred without interest, to be paid in 2011. The trade calls for Texas to pay $43 million of Rodriguez’s salary over the remaining seven years. In addition, the Rangers will pay the $24 million remain ing in deferred money from the original contract, with the inter est rate lowered from 3 percent to 1.75 percent. All the deferred money owed by Texas — $36 million, includ ing salaries from 2001-03 — will be converted to an assign ment bonus, which makes the money guaranteed against a strike or lockout. The payout schedule will be pushed back to 2016-25 from 2011-20. In exchange for the alter ations, which devalue the pre sent-day value of the contract by $5 million, Rodriguez will receive a hotel suite on road trips, have the right to link his Web site to the Yankees’ site and get a guarantee that the deferred money won’t be wiped out by a work stoppage. SPORTS IN BRIEF Softball goes 2-3 in Phoenix The No. 17 Texas A&M softball team wrapped up the Fiesta Bowl Tournament this past weekend in Phoenix, Ariz., with a 2-3 record, including an 8-3 win over No. 16 Oregon University. A&M (5-3) dropped contests with No. 2 Arizona and No. 5 Washington, and was no-hit by No. 21 Fresno State in Bulldog pitcher Jamie Southern’s third perfect game of her career. A&M head coach Jo Evans said the weekend was a great oppor tunity to develop as a team. “I think it is a situation where we continue to learn," Evans said. ‘‘We had a great win against Oregon." Freshman pitcher Jill Weynand pitched the Aggies to their win over Oregon as well as a 6-0 win over New Mexico. A&M will return home to face the University of Houston in a doubleheader this Wednesday at the Aggie Softball Complex. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. Baseball Continued from page 1 B I think our guys will be better the second time out. The hitters will be better and learn some (situational things).” While the Bearkats are not highly regarded by their peers - they were picked to finish sev enth in the Southland Conference - the Aggies know from experience that traveling to Huntsville is no easy task. “(Sam Houston State) will be good. They always are,” Johnson said. “And going over there, we have a history of struggling and having ball- games over there that are really tough, so I’m sure that they’ll be waiting for us.” With the history of a good rivalry, both teams are anxious to get out on the field and play. “1 think our guys are up to the challenge,” Gutzman said. “We know there’s a program with a great tradition corning in here, but I think our guys are always ready to go and certain ly eager to get that first home game underneath their belt.” Patton Continued from page 1 B wants to do,” Bobbie Patton said. “If something happens, then he has to support us and he knows that.” Patton said he had nights where he would lie awake in the summer pondering his deci sion, but in the end, his love for A&M’s baseball program and for his new family, proved to overcome the money that came with his signature. “It was difficult with the money, but he just wanted to come back so bad,” Bobbie Patton said. Now with the decision behind him and sitting in the A&M club house still wearing his No. 15 Aggie jersey, Patton is confident he made the right call. A&M is thankful that he stayed too. “(San Diego) let me know they wanted me bad,” Patton said. “I didn’t want to have to call coach Johnson and tell him I had decided to go pro. I had told the coaches that I was going to come back, so I want ed to stick to my word.” ■f3"Aggieland DepotH^ Aggie Prints www.aggieland-depot.com * l|_^Culpq)pcrJMaz^69^^422 jr If You Have Something To Sell, Remember: Classifieds Can Do It Call 845-0569 The Battalion tJiofie. 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Across from campus, next to Taco Bell. www.united-rico.com :: travel curs See the woiid your way Toll Free 1-800-592-CUTS (2887) usareservations@travelcuts.com www.travelcuts.com Join us for the Fifth Annual Ecological Integration Symposium Demonstrating Ecological Value: Promoting Conservation and Sustainability Friday, Feb. 20, 2004: 8:00 am - 6:00 pm George Bush Presidential Conference Center College Station, Texas Speakers include: Robert Costanza (U. of VT), Brian Czech (steadystate.org), Claire Kremen (Princeton U.), Peter Moyle (U. of CA - Davis), Richard Rice (Conservation International), Michael Rosenzweig (U. of AZ) For more info and free registration: http: //symposium. tamu. edu Social to Follow 'ruxA-w i\«i*t4UMSvaiiteftrrY Career Fair Wednesday, February 18, 2004 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Room 225, Bright Athletic Complex Internships, Full-time, and Summer Positions All Students & Majors Welcome a -a* t M MM* Career Center Texas A&M University