The Yellow Jacket (Brownwood, Tex.), Vol. 89, No. 14, Ed. 1, Friday, February 5, 1999 Page: 6 of 12
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Softball team ready to begin season
oecona year swings into
action against Sul Ross
DUSTIN KARNES
YJ STAFF WRITER
Mth.uigh Mltlill piaelice
Mil. hean on Jaiuuiv 21 Co.ii.li
Ratnlv 1 ewallvn is picdicting a
SUcCC'sstul SCilSOIl
I Ik- How aid Payne solthall
u.im w as huthed only last year and
last season's dismal rccoul was le-
fliMive ol a new piogiam How-
evei theie have been a lew key
changes thai should rectify then
pievious record
I he team is now composed
ot Coai.li Lew ally n. ssistant
Coaches Camion Stotts and Iodd
Puvle. 13 very capable players and
a new l aecinred pitching maelnne.
"We don't mind being lairly
mepei leneed: experience is mev i-
photo by Bryan Ratltff
During practice Clifton Heston serves the ball. The
team is preparing for their spring season as they host
Hardin Simmons on Friday.
Inexperience gets
first test on Friday
DUSTIN KARNES
YJ STAFF WRITER
Practices are becoming more
intense as the time tor focusing on
conference play nears 'I he tall sea-
son on the tennis court was a time
tor mdi iduals to shine and begin-
ners to gain experience but it is
now a new season.
"We hae worked harder as
a team during the last three das in
practice" Coach Chris Duplar said.
"More than weeerdid in the tall."
Team is the key word for
conference play in the spring. If
the number six seated player on the
team loses it damages the stand-
ings of the number one seated
player.
This brand of play relieves
competitiveness between the
table " Melame Cnaes said "Ml
that leally matieis is talent and de-
teimination "
1 his eai the 'lellow Jackets
will no longer be playing scholar-
slup schools I he aie competing
in the ineiic.iii Southwest Conlei-
Cllce. wlllcll lllcltllles Mississippi
College. Man. Haulm-Bay loi. Sul
Ross and Shiienei College
ContereiKC pla w ill be
kicked oil on the tirst weekend ol
pnl. and will conclude with the
post-season tournament April 23-
24 I he Jackets are hosting their
first non-conleience game February
o. against Sul Ross as part ol a
double header.
The tirst game will start at I
p.m. and the second game will be-
sim at approximate 3 p.m.
Jacket players and necessitates
unit.
"We understand that we are
coming in as underdogs" Chiton
Heston said. "But we also under-
stand that we are coming in to up-
set a lot of teams."
Howard Payne's toughest
competition in conference will
come from Mississippi College and
Hardin Simmons. Coach Duplar is
confident in his team's ability.
"They have the talent"
Duplar said. "It just depends on how
bad they want it and how hard they
work."
Coach Duplar is proud of the
team's work ethic thus far and has
high expectations for conference
play. Conference play begins on
February 12 as the Jackets host
Hardin Simmons at 2:30 p.m.
FEBRUARY 5 1999
SPORTS
mimsms &m
photo by Bo Gillespie
During a recent practice Melanie Graves practices her
hitting. The season starts up on Saturday with a
doubleheader against Sul Ross State University.
Expectations high for Spurs
Rockets as season draws near
Caleb
IUU-IJ""1.
KS
Blitzed
by
Sport
The NBA could not hae
picked a better time to get its act
together. With the NFL season hav-
ing only one meaningless game lelt
to play (the pro bow ). baseball be-
ing quite a ways horn Spring '1 rain-
ing and hockey being the tout ih
most popular spoil in this aiea. pro-
lessiona! basketball provides a
much needed spoits option
With labor negotiations ap-
pearing to be never ending the
poweis that be finally sat down and
came up w ith a pioposal that made
everybody happy
hue. some playeisaie upset
with the tact that they die limited
to $15 million d season and they
have to wail 10 years to leach lh.it
point but they consider it bettei
than a luture without a cash How
A close elimination ol the
final contract docs seem to reveal
that it is un-American with its lim-
its of what individual players can
be paid but professional sports has
always seemed to have some son
of Constitutional exemption.
This will probably never
change because you would be hard
pressed to find someone who feels
sorry for professional athletes.
The good news for fans is
that the NBA is virtually guaran-
teed to be there for the next seven
years. Even without Michael Jor-
dan and the dominating Bulls more
and more people are coming out of
the closet with their excitement
mmr:.
Rackley JSfi
LH
6
about the highest brand ot basket-
ball in the woild.
This is witnessed by the
25.000 tans claiming the tree tick-
ets lor I louston Rockets pie-season
games just one ol many stadiums
lull ol tans watching games that
don't count tor anything
Speaking ol Rocket tans they
have a huge reason to be excited.
Charles Barkley has returned lor
one more season and they signed
what is arguably the biggest lice
agent pi ieol alLScottiePippen It
the team can avoid the urge to lake
naps on the bench dm ing games the
odds ate high that they m claim
another championship
Nnotlui le.is squad also be-
lieves thev have put the linal pieces
in place to gain the title i Hie !av
cricks will not be mentioned in this
paiagraph i I he Spins have added
loimer Houston guard Mario 1 he
andlormci Bulls shaipshootei Steve
Ken
Indiana though has last
season's entrie starting hne-up back
at this time along with most ot the
leserves and they have spent the
lockout tune practicing logethei lo
improve team chemistry fhev will
be interesting to watch this year be-
cause we all want to see how l.airy
Bird fares in his second season as
head coach and how long n w ill be
betore his competitiveness drives
his players over the edge.
Other notable i osier changes
include the number one player taken
in the dralt two years ago Joe
Smith who signed a one-year SI
million dollar contract with the
Trmberwolves. He replaces Tom
Gugliotta who is the new power
forward of the Suns. "Googs" takes
the place of Antonio McDyes now
property of his original team the
iora
T?j3ii
ON WHICH HOLIDAY
WEEKEND DOES THE
INDY 500 TAKE PLACE?
A) Veteran's Day
B (Memorial Day
C) Fourth of July
D) Labor Day
The answer will appear in the
next issue of the Yellow Jacket
Nuggets
Othei players changing
teams include Denick Coleman
(Hoi nets) and LaPhonso bills
(Hawks). Kobe Biyant will not be
changing teams in the near luluie.
having signed a si year. $71 mil-
lion dollar contiact extension with
the Lakers.
'I his will be a "Check youi
piogiam to figure out who that guy
is" type of year but that is pan ol
the tun of this shoit season.
It might lead to some highei
scoiing games also since delenses
take longer to gel than ollenses
many times in basketball. What
ever happens I am simply excited
that lip-olt 1 WJ is no longei a tig-
mem ol my imagination
Key Dates for the '99
season include:
24 Rosters set
25 Season begins
311 Trade deadline
55 Regular season ends
58 Playoffs begin
516 Quarterfinals begin
522 Draft lottery
529 Western Finals begin
530 Eastern Finals begin
613 Finals begin
630 Draft
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The Yellow Jacket (Brownwood, Tex.), Vol. 89, No. 14, Ed. 1, Friday, February 5, 1999, newspaper, February 5, 1999; Brownwood, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth103422/m1/6/: accessed July 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Howard Payne University Library.