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Press ig ^By PAULA COBB W Staff Writer Could someone please give King Dixon a break?!? I am absolutely amazed every time I hear another Gamecock fan poor-mouthing our athletic director. If it's not for firing George Felton, then it is for not publicly revealing the names and status of every candidate to replace our departed basketball coach. The fact is, King has done a tremendous ^)job, and fans and press alike are not giving him enough credit Dixon intended to fire Felton on May 14. A meeting between the two, during which Felton was to be dismissed, had already been scheduled. Unfortunately, one or more members of our university's Board of Trustees leaked the news to the press. Felton, therefore, became aware of his fate prior to his meeting with Dixon. Is this King's fault? I think not. The entire episode is somewhat reminiscent of ex-Clemson football ?poach Danny Ford's firing. People ^vvere outraged. Fans from all parts of South Carolina labeled Ford's ouster a BIG mistake. Ford was a good coach, but he was gone. Now Felton, who was a ..., well, a coach, is gone. Firing a person, coach or otherwise, is never easy. Or pleasant. I, like so many others, hate the way Felton became aware of his fate. King Dixon, however, is not the one to blame. Not only is Dixon being criticized for the manner in which FelM?n learned of losing his job, he is ^also being assailed for not revealing the specific reasons behind what is essentially a private personel matter. Dixon investigated the basketball program's current state of affairs, with an obvious emphasis on Felton's performance as coach. And at this investigation's conclusion, a decision was made. Upon apprising Felton of his dismissal, Dixon had to give ^^elton, and Felton only, his rea fons for firing him. Funny, but I sure haven't seen Felton going public with the details. By GIL Staff Wrtl<* 31-29 J j i zjr, \ That's 31 wins against 29 losses. 1 ova* .500. Wto would have 'Ihunk" iUn ej Braves won't win the National Lea But at the same time, how many Mfc lieved the "Bad News Braves" wou tending in June? Not many. This, I might add, is the one and With the egfception of George "Who Spira, anyway?" Steinbrenner's Y 1976-81, forking out the big buc -.a* _ 1 I forked. A . 9 Witness this year s editions of til City Royals and San Francisco Gia two teams emptied their wallets. ch< "bS")1rinmntw^nefAnd^gi Both teams are in last place, injuries landing. They were both healthy last; still were pathetic. Actually those ch insult to pathetic teams. I You could take a long sh letting the tap run while y Message Softball - Entrie open Mon. 6/17 a ^ Close Thurs. 6/2C $10 per team. M< and Co-Rec team Summer Intramui Contact the Office of Campus Re for more information (#777-5 a 0 Singles & Dout Tennis - Entries Mon. 6/17 and Clc Thurs. 6/20. No e fee. Men, Womer *wj ~ ^ Co-Rec divisions. ;nores Di I don't see Felton going to court, either, despite past coaches and athletic directors who felt they were unjustly fired. King Dixon handled an uncomfortable situation as professionally as possible without jeopardizing Felton's future or reputation. I see no reason for the media to know USC's, and Felton's, business. Sure, I'm as curious as the next person, but if George Felton wanted us to know, he could have told us. If King Dixon wanted us to know he would have told us, with Felton's permission. Well, this has led to the search for a new basketball coach which, by golly, has the fans and media "King Bashing" again. Call me dumb, but how many coaches blurt out to the world that they are interested in a vacant coaching position. Imagine their fans' reaction. Who wants to know their coach is unhappy where they work, or are even interested in another job? That would really boost fan support the next year! If King Dixon came running out with a list of names every time the mail came in, the applications would be seriously curtailed. Let's get real, folks! People, coaches included, like their privacy. Coaches such as George Glymph and Russ Bergman are interested in taking a step up the career ladder. For this reason, they have chosen to make public their interest in the USC job. Their fans certainly understand their position. They're chasing the American dream. But it is each candidate's decision, and his alone, whether or not to make his interest public. I was in Five Points this weekend when I heard the most disturbing statement of all: "Things were much better before Dixon was athletic director." Was this person born yesterday? Yes, j: j . _ i * " - wc uiu go lu oowi games in iootball, right as our administrators headed to court in response to the now infamous steroids scandal that occured before Dixon arrived. Has everyone forgotten the praise they only recently heaped I the N.L. RBI leader wit ting average is the leag Nixon's 359 is the leagi 32. His six swipes in Sui trly April? ued the all-time record s te Atlanta ^ Colljns of ^ Ph,|ad gue West. man Terry Pendleton is treally be- .31itoboot. Id be c?- Even R? 0im, whil lino ? <ll,0U8h 45 P?'1,IS high? Wig a vm- hit 12 dingers to go aloi m system. in. Wait ..mil hr. warms ^y- ;'a 30-30 man-one Of OB s Howard history.That's a long tim aniens 01 I Lonnic Smith's consi; 68111 * the Braves' cause. Pint t ? cas carried his weight. And Th! pleasant Miiprise, deservt xk baotah R'661' hon0fS 18X1 week ess what? prevented Blauser from v! : notwiths- The Braves are also tl Jbs are an ^ight be the most amazit swings, is to be a very effective com ower everyday with the wal ou shave and brush your te I- I- - /VI .-I -X- * IK ^ ^ =? uy 0Tuafc?ni5 Mined tor a Greene -j r i 1 l' A" i ^Is I Tr,P'es (creation Vo'leyball- | 61. Entries open 1 1 Mon. 6/17 and >I?S Close Thurs. open 6/20. No entry )se fee. Men, ntry Co-Rec, and l, and Womens teams. 1 L Lxon's su .J'-y '1' * " & la? .*$?' III '' v ; f;>'t ^ /.J f^ xjfcj^^nBo.y*i ..... . WszgjppF ">fc^,. , . _s . . . ? T j&kdiL M * ... :jJ[\ USC athletic director King Dixon on Dixon for his efforts in securing membership in the prestigious Southeastern Conference? Has anyone seen the new Roost? What about the new practice facility? And does the dramatically improved student-athlete GPAs mean anything? I hope so. When one person is faced with a budget, a handful of coaches, hundreds of athletes and thousands of fans, and still manages to lure overwhelming crowds to football, basketball, baseball, soccer, etc., how can he be criticized? King Dixon has done great things for our athletic program. Under his leadership, we have moved forward. He has set goals and achieved them, and then set more goals. Every time we hear "2001" before a football game, we h 48 and his .312 bat- Steve A\ |1P?*C CPVPnfh hpct AtlO nnl.i 11 ?>/!< te's" s^<^Tbe^"batting foe he m oday's loss to Montreal perhaps ttw ^tom2byEd- Pi^we, r than last week!), has try Smolu upl^ememberf GanS SiTa s ly 13 in major league aheUofac ? folks . ^ ^^ The addn outsfSto^ S^VtheCaS'801 0 (firaty!) w tird, that's right, third, traditionally ational League. That quick fix. C ig sta^o^all.^onsider- for Manager It. son would b ing as one of the best rection. Ban , 2.37 ERA with only appears to fc 4 strikeouts). Charlie contender, f 2.89 and has proven But remei rnl nitchcr. fore. GO BR fer you might waste by eth. TURN IT OFFS r Earth mm mm mm mm mm wm* mm mm mm mm m Lunch Sf Bi veLim pen Comer ofCollege and Main Street k 252-0O6O Cc Expires 6 ccesses p / should remember what it stands for. The goals of the university, to be great in academics and 4 - it 1 * - amieucs. ? I heard a story about King Di- J xon once. A fan went to a North ? Carolina State football game and ? ate a bag of roasted peanuts. It cost fifty cents less than the pea- a nuts at Williams-Brice Stadium. ? Also, the peanuts tasted much bet ter, so he called Dixon up and told J him about it Dixon looked into the situation and found out not only were N.C. State's peanuts less ex- J pensive, but also more profitable. Not only that, the peanuts DID taste better. Well, the next home * game, there was a new brand of peanuts on sale at Williams-Brice. Who said King Dixon wasn't a good man? rery has been up and down, but he's irs old. Sandy Koufax turned 26 bede his mark, so don't count young out just yet And Pete Smith, he's most vital cog. If he can continue to 11 as he has thus far, he WILL be the urter in the game. oltz has been a puzzle. Still, he's tter in the second half of the season his 1989 AH-Star season). Why not as a closer? Remember Dave RighSiTtut ?^m??umn thfe"4 ~ I loser. ion of Terry Pendleton, Sid Bream lways a pitiful infield in the past only Brave to play in every game season, has been nothing short of at shortstop. Pendleton, of course, iold-Glover at the hot corner. >x deserves a salute for not doing hat other Braves' managers have done: empty the farm system for a of the Year. as a twenty-year Braves fen, that f ibly not their year. But a .500 sea- > ring front office blunders, Atlanta IftIMM#! r^JHH I DUUVLE ^JTI >ecial! I I I ay one menu item st 2nd menu item j 1/2 price I with student ID. | Valid M-F until 2 p.m. | I lappy Hour M-F 4-7 pm imp. Buffet Thurs. & Fri. -25-91^ J - Fastest man in NFL will be in Columbia wearing war paint good football will get your tickRich Tavlor etS ear,y' U's goin8 10 ^ a ^ npir ayior mendous evening of football, so L . don't miss out! JP ChiD Shots -Quoting Pete Vecsey of USA ' V Today here, "Where was the first ...Washington Redskin corner- Placef Michael Jordan planned to back Darrell Green has rightly ?? after,e!T,mIf.his P" . reclaimed his title as the "NFL's 'onshlP? To D,sney World? 10 Fastest Man". Green beat defend- y lL ing champion Ron Brown of the ...On the subject of the Bulls, Raiders this past Saturday in the has Scottie Pippen emerged as a 60-yard final, but only by a whi- bonafide superstar, or what?!? sker. Both men were clocked in Incredible as it may seem, Pip6.17 seconds, with Green break- pen enrolled at tiny Central Arking the tape an instant before ansas to be the basketball team's Brown. The title was Green's manager. He was so impressive fourth since the competition be- while working out with the team gan six years ago. The question during the preseason, the is, where was "Prime Time"? school's coach wisely offered ...Speaking of Green and the him a scholarship. As they say, Redskins, I'm getting major ex- the rest is history, cited about the August 24 JetsRedskins NFL preseason game at ...Sorry to see The National Williams-Brice. The mighty sports daily go under last week. 'Skins are probably the most po- The paper was a blessing to pular pro football team in the sports nuts like myself, but a Columbia area (sorry Atlanta), weak economy proved to be its and I hope ALL of you who love undoing. Damn shame. 1991 All-NBA Teams j v ? T,rSt Team F Karl Malo^ftJtah Charles Barkley, ffriladelphia > C David Robinson, San Antonio % ; G Michdbi:Jordan, Chic^^^xMagQjphnson, Los An|eles jlPII I if I 1 1 Second Team! I } 'X Xvlvlvl-iv^'! wM \VA -X ^ > F I>pipihi^iK| WijBns, A|fanta Chris Mullin, Golden State J-York I G Kevin JfMiisnn ?: I # S:ySfSSSSSS89ftS^aS^^ F James Worthy, Los Angples).^ Etej^ar& King, Washington C Hakeen^P^iwcdi^ Houston * G John Stockton, Utah JC Je&Dumars, Detroit => ' V I IB H ^f|gj pres?nts -MSm 41 L#J N =1*! J Friday, June 21 * 8PM | All ages * Tickets $7 I On sale NOW at Manifest Disks & Tapes, at the door-night of show, OR charge Visa/MC/American Express 723-1075 KOcrid IPnOa?? 1000 King St. * Charleston