Sulphur Springs News-Telegram (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 148, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 22, 1989 Page: 8 of 14
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More Sports
—Rangers. Pe tralli rip Boston......... .....• N* *
_Foreman singing B« * tune now .............Page 9
—M*jor league reports, leaders...............***** 10
Sports
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•-THE NEWS-TELEGRAM.
Sulphur Spring*, Taxaa,
Thursday, Juna 22,19W.
Sports Commentary
-*------opuila
Big-time college sports not much fun anymore
______ ,h,v htp nan nf .ha. exnerience at many schools is naive. They are an An Oklahoma football player shoots a teammate Jhree players art
By ED SCHUYLER, Jr.
Associated Press Sports Writer
Upon resigning as Oklahoma’s head football coach, Barry Switzer
sard, “It’s no fun anymore.”
Fun?
It’s not fun being part of a game tied to alumni egos, television
demands, the gambling that involves hundreds of millions of dollars,
and — please pardon the guffaw — to higher education?
There’s no joy in a good game of charades?
Big-time college athletics in many instances is a charade. It is sup-
posed to be part of the college experitnee, a fun-loving brother of
academics. Instead it often is an undisciplined brat which makes
amends for its behavior with gifts.
The size and regularity of those gifts make it easy for academia to
make excuses for the excesses of sports.
Sports certainly have a place in the college experience, but to say
they are part of that experience at many schools is naive. They are an
important part of this nation’s huge^leisure-time industry. Employees
(the athletes) are paid with adulation and promises of big money
down the road.
Many of the promises made, but not always kept, are beyond the
rules set by the watchdog NCAA. . _ _
The 52-year-old Switzer, in announcing his resignation after 16
years at Oklahoma, said he was “totally frustrated working within a
set of rigid rules that does not recognize the financial needs of young
athletes.” . .
“I am not making excuses, but simply giving an explanauon when
I say it was difficult to turn my back on these young men when they
needed help. We have created a system that does not permit me or the
program to buy a pair of shoes or a decent coat for a player whose
family can’t afford these basic necessities.”
Many NCAA rules are petty and should be liberalized or
abolished. "" »
A larger problem, however, is that many of today’s college athletes
not only feel themselves to be above NCAA rules, but above the
rules of society. •
An Oklahoma football player shoots a teammate. Three players are
charged with raping a woman in the athletic dorm. Quarterback Char-
les Thompson is arrested on charges of selling coacaine to FBI agents
for 51,400.
Reponsibilties cannot be taken off like shoulder pads and helmets
and put on again the next time the players show up for practice or a
game. And it is the coach’s job to make sure off-the-field respon-
siblities are shouldered by the athletes. The ultimate responsibilty,
however, lies with the institution, which reaps the financial rewards
from sports.
Academia might wring its hands at recruiting violations by the ath-
letic department and at the misbehavior by student athletes, but it
cannot wash its hands of responsibilty.
Switzer said coaching was more fun in the 1970’s “than it is today
because of all the problems.”
So he has walked away.
The problems remain — for as long as sports is the tail that wags
the academic dog.
Open win means a lot to Curtis
Nicklaus, Watson advise Strange to savor triumph now
Sulphur Springs High School AD and head
football coach James Cameron, above, delivered
the feature speech when six Dixie Ball graduates
and five adult workers were honored here Monday
night prior to a playofT game. Athletes recognized
for outstanding sportsmanship were Sharon
Heard, Rob Cody, Brent Barclay, Steven Spencer
and Heath Hyde. Receiving Merit Awards for
volunteer service to the summer program here
were Bob Cody, Ronnie Russell, Jay Chester,
Ronnie Landers and Dave Davidson.
—Stm/T Photo fcy Dana 1. Ott.tr
Spencer spins gem for Eagles
PITTSBURG — Steven Spencer
has found the groove as an
American Legion pitcher. The hard-
throwing righthander spun a no-hit-
ler Wednesday as the Hopkins
County Post 66 Eagles blanked Mt.
Pleasant 6-0 in the first game of a
doubleheader.
Damon Darnels belted a pair of
solo home runs to spark MP’s 7-5
win in the nightcap. The games
w.ere played on the neutral Pit-
jjmrg High School diamond.
& Spencer, coming off a one-hit,
14-strikeout performance against
Marshall, fanned seven and walked
only one batter in posting his third
legion victory without a loss.
Jimmy Chester and Dan Blohm
each garnered three singles to ac-
count for half of the Eagles’ 12 hits
in the first game. The latter drove in
the final two Post 66 runs in the
seventh inning. Kyle Spangler’s
RBI single fueled a three-run upris-
ing in the fourth.
Chester and Jason Brownlee
each had a single and a double to
lead the Eagles at the plate in the
second game. Greg Ponder and
Doyle Preston each added two
singles in a losing cause.
Rodney Carpenter was saddled
with his second loss in three deci-
sions. Carpenter fanned six and
walked one.
The local legionnaires, now 3-3
in district play and 8-5 overall, will
host Mt. Pleasant in a doublcheader
today before facing Lone Star Steel
of Daingerfield and Longview in
back-to-back twinbills on Saturday
and Sunday at Eagle Park.
Ftnt Giw
Eagles..............W 344 3-4 11 1
ML Pleasant.........••• 44# 4—4 • •
Steven Spencer and Dan Blohm, Brett Jonee and
Mike Hatch. W- Spencer (3 0). i Jana
Second Game
Eagles..............444 41* 4—S It 3
ML Pleasant.........«1 «J1 *—7 • I
Rodney Carpenter and Bnan Bain. On Zachry.
Mike Arruck (7) and Chria Mayo. W-Zachry L-
Carpenter (1-2).
2B-Eaglea: Jimmy
Ml Pieaaant: Dam “
HR: Ml!
Jaaan Brownlee
: Damon Deniela (2).
OU chief says Barry earned ‘bonus’
> OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) —
Barry Switzer is no longer football
Coach at Oklahoma, but he will
Continue to draw his regular $7,250
ibonthly salary until next June and
jhen will pocket $145,000 as part
df a “farewell” settlement
< Interim university president
David Swank discussed terms of
ibe $225,000 settlement on Wed-
nesday after it was approved by the
m iversity’s board 6f regents.
Y The regents also voted un-
at mously to hire former defensive
K
coordinator Gary Gibbs as Swit-
zer’s successor.
Swank called the settlement with
Switzer “abundantly fair consider-
ing the contributions he has made
to the university and the state” for
the past six years.
Switzer announced Monday he
was stepping down as coach of the
Sooners after 16 seasons, during
which his teams won three national
titles and 12 Big Eight Conference
championships. He was the fourth-
coach
football history.
in college
In addition to hiring Gibbs and
approving a salary of $88,000 a
year for him, the regenu also ap-
proved the settlement with Switzer
and gave basketball coach Billy
Tubbs a yearly salary of $88,000.
The $88,000 for Gibbs is S1<000
me re than Switzer made.
The Switzer settlement included
Please see Sooners, Page 9
By BOB GREEN
Associated Press Golf Writer
OAKVILLE, Ontario (AP) —
Now, Curtis Strange said, he knows
'/hat Tom Watson and Jack Nick-
laus had in mind.
“After I won (the U.S. Open) at
Brookline, each one of them, at dif-
ferent times, told me to enjoy it,”
Strange said. “I really didn’t know
what they meant. I think I do know
now.
“They meant I should take the
time to savor it, to reflect on it. I
guess 1 thought that was something
you didn’t do until you were near
the end of your career, on your way
out.”
But now, after becoming the first
You’re invited
to Mavs party
DALLAS — The 1989 NBA
College Draft will be held at 6:30
p.m. Tuesday . Once again the pub-
lic is invited to observe the
Mavericks draft proceedings, which
will be conducted for the fourth
straight year at Reunion Arena.
Mackericks broadcasters Allen
Slone and Ted Davis will emcee the
proceedings. They will give the
fans a behind-the-scenes look at the
draft by conducting interviews
from the Mavericks “war room”
with Chief Operating Officer-Gen-
eral Manager Norm Sonju and
Head Coach John MacLeod.
Reunion’s doors wll open at 5
p.m. and there is no admission
charge. From 5-6 p.m. a live band
will entertain, and a barbecue din-
ner will be available. All fans in at-
tendance will receive an NBA Draft
Guide and a copy of the June issue
of the club’s official publication.
The Mavericks own the eighth
pick in the first round. There is a
hve-minute time limit between
first-round selections, therefore the
Maericks pick should come at ap-
proximately 7:25 pm. Dallas aim
holds the 35th and 53rd (from
Cleveland) choices in the second
round. The draft has been reduced
this year from three rounds to two.
The TBS omnM fun Ml contra! in Nnw
Yo* will be tiled a Reunion Arana on e laqp
•croon from 6:33 p.a. nail 10 pjn.
One-htlf hour pnnr to the run ct the theft, et
tpproeimtteiy 6 pm, da 144149 IhfhhMn film
nfl be pranueran The Kara film, which ie
man in -38 years to successfully
defend a U.S. Open title, he’s at-
tempting to find the time to fully
appreciate the triumph at Oak Hill
just outside Rochester, N,Y.
“I’m enjoying it now,” he said.
“My mind keeps going back to
Oak Hill. I’d like to have a couple
of days’ rest, just so I could reflect
on it”
“I’m trying to get ready for this
week,” he said of preparing for
today’s opening round of the
Canadian Open.
“I won the U.S. Open again. I
won under pressure. I won for the
second time in a row.
“And I have no idea what it
means. I have no idea what it
means to me, what it means to golf.
I have no idea. Maybe someday I’ll
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find out. Maybe someday someone
will tell me. I think maybe it means
a lot.
“I know it means a lot to me. I
know it feels good,” he said.
Strange, a two-time winner of
the Canadian Open, faces a 156-
man field that includes Masters
champion Nick Faldo of England,
defending champion Ken Green
and PGA champ Jeff Sluman.
Other leading contenders for the
$210,000 first prize are former
Canadian Open winner Greg Nor-
man of Australia, three-time cham-
pion Lee Trevino, Bruce Lietzke,
who has scored two victories in this
event, and Mark Calcavecchia.
The tournament will be televised
in the United States by ESPN and
in Canada by CTV.
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CURTIS STRANGE-He’ll try to savor his triumphs.
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Challenge of coaching in bigger program luresYantis' Smith
Randy Smith is deeply appreciative of his five-year coaching stint
31 He*has a*ton of respect for the kids he coached there and for the
athletic program.
Obviously, the man grew a great deal as a coach in his first as-
signment out of East Texas State. It isn’t easy for him to break his
ties at the Class A school, for there are so many fond memories —
like i
BL» MV M VMQV. ■
ketball coach at Su.,/..*. r----<,----------
volleyball and possibly an assignment in girls golf.
“Pm excited about coaching in a bigger program. I think that chal-
lenge was the major factor in my decision to leave Yantis. It was a
tough one to make because my five years there have been such a pos-
itive experience for me,” Smith explained.
Although he didn’t watch the Lady Wildcats play a game last year,
Randy feels he’s not coming into his new job cold turkey.
“We played Sulphur Springs in volleyball last year and I aw some
of the girls who will also play basketball for the Lady Wildcats I saw
enough to know several of the girts are outstanding athletes.' he ob-
served.
He feels his involvement in volleyball here this year will help
familiarize him with many of the girls who wiB be in his hoops pro-
gram.
“I was deeply impressed with the talent of Teressa Johnson in our
volleyball match last year. Our girls couldn’t believe her jumping
ability," Randy mused.
He’s also bullish on the athletic ability of Sharon Heard. “I know
she didn’t play basketball last year but I certainly believe she could
fit into our program,” he said, hopefully.
“I’ve heard some fine reports on several of our returning players.
It’s nice to know you have an excellent starting point with a
returning starter like Teressa to build an.”
Smith, a native of Paris, believes he’ll know a lot about his Lady
Wildcat team and the teams they'll be competing against before the
Christmas break next December.
“I believe in knowing all I can about the people we'll be playing. I
^ a kx of scouting. I think I owe that to our girts,” he said firmly.
Smith said be’Hhave to evaluate his varsity talent before deciding
and defense he’ll use here. He hinted the Lady
Off the Cuff
By L*w Johnson
I’m excited and eager to get saned.” Randy added.
I both boys I
He coached both boys and nrts hoops fee last two yean at Yantis.
“I really have no preference. T jnst want to conch good athletes who
will work hard and do whai they 're asked to do.
will wort hard and do what they're artced to do.
“1 have every reason to believe Fat moving
that type athlete,” he declared.
i a program with
on what type offe----------------------
Wildcats would use quite a bit of pressure defense if he has very
many players with the quickness of Teressa Johnson
The sky could be the limit for the talented lass as a senior, no
doubt about that. She played in the shadow of four strong senior sot-
ters last winter. This year, she’ll have to step forward as the take-
charge gal “We ll definitely do a lot of things to build on her talents.
I’m sure of that," her new coach allowed.
This is not to say the offense win be one dimensional. “We ll
strive for balance but it would be a mistake not to take advantage of
Teressa*s skills. If they double cover her, it will leave the ocher girts
----*4
open.
It should not be a mayor adjustment in Saudi’s life style to coat*
here. After all, he hat been living here ever since he took the Yantis
job. “I won’t mist making that drive every day. It was i
I
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Keys, Clarke. Sulphur Springs News-Telegram (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 148, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 22, 1989, newspaper, June 22, 1989; Sulphur Springs, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth823761/m1/8/?q=%22~1~1~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Hopkins County Genealogical Society.