The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, July 03, 1991, Page 5, Image 5
Wednesday, July 3, 1991
South Carolina
Florida State
/mUTHEAST,
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
All-star voting i
fans just don't
By AARON SHEININ
Baseball fan
Its time now to take a break and
enjoy a few comments on our national
pastime on the eve of the
country's birthday.
Lets jump right in with a few
heartfelt comments about the allstar
voting. It's totally WRONG.
In no other professional sport will
you rind such a totally screwed up
way of picking so-called all-stars.
If you don't know about this
travesty, in baseball, the fans alone
pick the teams. Sure, the manager
of each team gets to pick a few reserves,
but for the most part, what
the fans say, goes.
Well, where should I start? How
about with the fact that its wrong
because not every fan that votes
actually knows what the hell they
are talking about. Sure, its nice for
the kid at the ballpark to pick up a
fan ballot and get to participate.
But let's be honest. Every little kid
wearing an A's hat is going to vote
for Jose Conseco. Which isn't
even the worst case.
Let's move to Los Angeles,
where Darryl Strawberry, who is
hitting just barely over .200, and
isn't even playing now, was leading
the voting for National League
outfielders as of this past week.
Hmmm. Looking over the league
leaders as of Sunday, I don't see
his name anywhere. He has only
played in 52 games, not enough to
warrant a vote.
He is ahead of San Diego's
Tony Gwynn, (1st in batting, .357;
first in triples, 8; first in total
bases, 151; sixth in slugging perPPntarro
/OA* *%9+A civtH in Koofl
rvuuigv, .-T7V, aim aiAui iii v/iruiub
percentage, .386) who will, however
still make the game. He was
second to ol' Darryl in voting.
However, Atlanta's David Justice,
this past season's Rookie of
the Year, was down around
seventh in the voting. Let's check
out his stats: .297 average, good
for tenth in the league, 17 doubles,
tied for sixth, 51 in RBI, fourth in
the league, and a .517 slugging
percentage, which ranks him fourth
in the N.L. Isn't something wrong
here?
Okay, so you say that's just one
example, right? Well then, let's
move behind the plate to catcher,
where currently Benito Santiago is
slated to get the start. Hmmm. I
don't see his name anywhere on
the leader board. Imagine that. But
I do see Houston's Craig Biggio
hitting .323.
Do somet
Feel some
from now on in America, any definition i
To find out how you can help in your con
OPOIN
F O U
Arkansas I partn<
Alabama i j years
171* Tb x 7 1 Hi Thl
Ill most
* Auburn ? brin*
Pwussam m&smmr.. I franc
I . H0SSH 11 NFL
Louisiana State | add*
Mississippi $
are al
Mississippi State Sacra
vying
"T1
Raleij
portai
lot of
said
leeds changing; . nea
know enough
"It
Alright, how about another ex- case
ample. Chris Sabo of the Reds was with
I- atop the voting at third base BUT, cess
incredibly enough, he is nowhere game
to be seen either. I do see, how- Th
ever, the Mets' (as much as I hate name
them) Howard Johnson with 17 two i
homers and 55 RBI. Not only that, critic
but there is Terry Pendleton of At- sion
lanta hitting at a .327 clip, good the g;
1 enough for third in the league, of Or
Pendleton hit .517 with 15 hits this Re
past week, incidentally. St. Louis' Nortl
Todd Zeile is hitting a very nice force;
.288, also. ing tl
Okay. I will, however, give the Jim i
fans the benefit of the doubt. Their Camj
vote should count. It should, however,
be weighed. It should be "X"
weighed along with the votes of
the players (who better to vote V_.
than the players' peers?) and with
members of the media. Okay, you B R
think the media doesn't know any glQrt
more than the fans, right? Wrong. -~~
The voting should be limited to se- .
nior baseball reporters who do
know what's going on. It is, after w
all, their livelihood. Not only, that, accel
but the media, the people who lea8u
cover this game day in and day
out, would be the least biased torU
among voters. coc^
This way every one gets a vote. relea:
The game would be propelled the "tent
level of a pitching-duel, because [J118.1
invariably that's what it is. No J^v.ir
matter what, a good pitcher is go- ^ e
ing to start and good pitchers are counl
going to pitch throughout the ??it
game. When you get a pitcher 0f ar
who's averaging around 2 earned the g
runs per nine innings facing a .200 and t
hitter, the majority of the time, the dedic
numbers won't lie, and the pitcher varsil
will when the duel. This is the from
case more often than not in mod- past!
em all-star games. ing a
In the American League, the ju- Th
nior circuit playei^ who deserve to
be there are there more than in the su^.ce
NL. The Henderson boys from ^ .et
Oakland, Rickey and Dave prob- '
ably will be together in the out- u
field in Toronto come July 8. This y^'
is good. Their teammate, Mark s JP
McGuire probably will be on first ^
and Baltimore's Cal Ripken Jr. . y'
will be at shortstop. This is all in<\u|
well and good. However, move ??
back behind the plate and again, 631
we find a mistake. Sandy Alomar y~W
from Cleveland is leading the vot- '
ing. Why? This guy is hitting a flat
.200 and has only played in 32
games. Where is the justice in
this? Where is Detroit's Mickey By (5
Tettleton. He is hitting .272 with staff
18 dingers. Come on Fay Vincent,
wake up. Change this thing. Done
of th<
t? SO
1 1 heav3
hinggood, 7
;thing real. !
"expe
of 0 successful life must include serving others. (or w
unity coll I (800) 677-5515. US?
ts of Light m
N D A T i O N (Sind rrrrr
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Sport
IGAMECOCK
JFL teams t
ICH TAYLOR to show support
s Editor bring a franchise
e Washington Redskins and Having the g(
York Jets meet on August 24 ^elPsu SUPP<
illiams-Brice Stadium in the ^ut ^eir PresenC
ason finale for both teams, stration to the N1
*ame is being staged by Ri- ^ the Carolinas 1
Ison Sports, the 16-member our political lea*
jrship group which has pro- verY important tc
1 preseason sellouts in Ra- chardson explains
and Chapel Hill the last two "This isn't tli
governors have !
e Redskins-Jets encounter is Richardson contii
important in the quest to formed a coaliti
; a professional football business and pc
hise to the Carolinas. The help win a fran*
recently announced plans to met with NFL o
vo teams for the 1994 season, officials and hai
the final decision to come in preseason games
ill of 1992. In addition to support from oi
Carolinas, the cities of St. delegations and
, Memphis and Jacksonville the Charlotte art
iso staging games. Baltimore, and county wen
mento and Oakland are also putting together
for a franchise. stadium."
tie two games we staged in Politics aside,
u;il W/?ro mflk-p. for a tremp
?11 OllU V^UapV/1 liiu rrytv lilt" ?? ? ????
at to our effort and attracted a jng evening, with
' attention for the Carolinas," *ng ^ primary,
Mark Richardson, general onty> attraction a
iger of Richardson Sports. agesgame
in Columbia will come The USC ban
ime when The NFL is in the stands, Gamecc
iportant evaluation process." will lend their c
will be important to show- sidelines and <
the Carolinas in Columbia USC's acclaim<
the same enthusiasm and sue- mance group, wil
we had for the past two time. But that is i
s," Richardson added. Pregame and
e game has been officially will feature over
d the "Victory Bowl", for many native Can
reasons. First, because of its fans that enjoy
al significance in the expan- Carolina fan doe;
process. Secondly, because lots surrounding
ame is dedicated to the troops will feature roam
jeration Desert Storm. cians and other !
cently, the governors of both pre-game atmosp
1 and South Carolina joined not enough, a b;
s for a television spot promot- tioned in the pari
le game. In the ad, Governors pany those fe;
Martin of N.C. and Carroll chicken, barbequ<
>bell of S.C. urge the public Once inside t
JSC officia
ICH TAYLOR I
s Editor ]
[ July 1, 1991, the University of South Car- enc
officially became the twelth member of sea
loutheastem Conference. The school had the
pted an invitation to join the all-sports def
le on September 25,1990. 8th
his is indeed a monumental step forward pat
le South Carolina Gamecocks," said Game- and
athletic director King Dixon in a statement the
sed by the USC sports information depart- Bo
. "As we look ahead to the last decade of Sm
century and beyond, we're excited about B
ig the opportunity to compete in what we wa!
ve is the finest all-sports conference in the Ye<
try ? the Southeastern Conference." enc
was important that we become a member
i all-sports conference in order to sustain SQn
;rowth of our programs at the University ^
he SEC should allow us to do that. We're ^
ated to competing consistently in all of our
ty sports within the SEC and by judging
the performances of the SEC schools this ,
sports season, we certainly will be compet- ..
gainst the best"
e best indeed. A quick review of recent I
sses ui memoer scnoois ana ineir student- shij
;es paints an overwhelming portrait of ath- Om
excellence within the conference. yea]
ring the course of the 1990-91 school tear
the SEC produced six national champion- all,
teams, 25 individual national champions NG
97 (!!!) All-America performers. Addition- IV
86 SEC teams made NCAA appearances, SEC
ling four bowl appearances in football, V
hree athletes were named Player of the in tl
in their respective sports. LSI
>son pro\
IL MARTIN <
Writer fidd
n Mike Tyson's 12-round decision over Si
ivan "Razor" Ruddock didn't, in the eyes done
5 "experts" (i.e. idiotic fools), do anything few
lidify, or rather resolidify, his place in the Rud
^weight division as the obvious (though un- blou
led) champion. (yes
le, Evander Holyfield holds the claim as fore
puted (according to Dan Duva) heavy- ? ?
it champion of the world. No argument ^
But, because Tyson didn't show up one
in Tokyo (true, he got his ? handed to | r(7
does that make him less of a fighter, as the .
its" (i.e. idiotic fools) say? Hardly. Buster ^Ult(
as it "Busted") Douglas got humiliated by If
it-heavyweight-turned-heavyweight for the hire
reason Tyson lost his title to begin with. Cus
, f'l r1 r-r"f r r rr-rrrr i i1 r f r r r r r r r "f- f1
/ r r r r r. t r p r lc crrrrrrrr n_r- r r r r r r
r r rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr r r r r r r
- r. r.-n r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r
r r r I- I- r r rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rr / .-Vr
s
:o battle in
for the effort to {BEL
to the Carolinas.
)vernors in the ad
3rt for the game, , r
i is also a demon- ^JljS
that expansion
las the backing of
dership, which is
) the league," Rile
first time our Jm
stepped forward,"
nued. "They have m
ion of top civic, fl
ilitical figures to mk
chise. They have
wners and league {Mr
/e attended other LW
. We've also had
nr Congressional
local officials in
ja where the city ^
s instrumental in
the site for our
the game should
ndously entertaini
great football bebut
far from the
vailable to fans of Former USC great Br<
will return to Williams-Bric
id will be in the
>ck cheerleaders will be treated to watr.hina
inthusiasm to the i considered by many to be
Carolina Alive, bia's most loved NFL tea
id vocal perfor- Redskins, square off against
11 perform at half- pidly improving N.Y. Jets,
lot all. the final tune-up for the
halftime shows season, both teams will alrm
1000 entertainers, tainly go with their starters i
ilinians. For those the way. And for those wh
tailgating (what never seen an NFL game
sn't?), the parking son, the action is, to boi
r Williams-Brice phrase from the NBA, "F
ing clowns, magi- tastic!".
folk to add to the Tamera Majors, a Rich
there. As if that's Sports representative, ca
and will be posi- game "an exciting opportu
ting lot to accom- show the people of South C
as ting on fried what the NFL is all about."
5 and the like. "This is more than just s
he stadium, fans though," Majors added. "0
lly membei
xt's take a look at the SEC sport by sport:
football. As previously stated, four confer- in
? teams made bowl appearances this past ti<
son. If Florida had not been on probation,
number would have been five. Tennessee to
eated Virginia in the Sugar Bowl to finish
in the final AP poll. SEC teams also particied
in the Peach (Auburn), Gator (Ole Miss) *
I Fiesta (Alabama) Bowls. As most realize, (
SEC perennially features Ail-Americans like
Jackson, Cornelius Bennett and Emmit ^
ith. (2
den's basketball. LSU's Shaquille O'Neal
s the AP college basketball Player of the
tr. Five member schools, half of the confer- n
e, received NCAA tournament bids, while p
itucky was denied only because of proba- N
i. The Wildcats nonetheless finished the searanked
ninth in. the final AP poll. N
Vomen's basketball. Tennessee won the na- ai
tal championship, their third title in five
rs. The Lady Vols' Daedra Charles was the w
ion's Player of the Year. Seven of the is
pie's ten teams were in the NCAA tourney, pi
h Georgia joining Tennessee in the Final
ir. K
taseball. LSU won the national champion- S<
), winning the College World Series in
aha, Neb. It was the second consecutive 'e
r the national championship went to an SEC sa
n, as Georgia won the crown in 1990. Over- m
four league teams were invited to the e?
AA regionals. ni
fen's indoor track. Ole Miss was the Pr
:*s best, finishing ninth in the nation. m
Women's indoor track. Four teams finished
le top ten nationally, led by national champs f?
J. th
C3 1IC 3 311
iidn't show up (nothing personal to Holy- al
: he won fair and square).
C)
nee that night in February 1990, Tyson has ^
5 quite well in his comeback. He killed a
nobodies, but beat a competent fighter in UI
dock (twice). Ruddock hit Tyson with jn
fs that would have wasted all heavyweights ^
, even George "Give me some burgers"
man). Because Mike didn't paste Ruddock v(
ne or two rounds, he's washed up? Right!
Dan Quayle is competent enough to be e*
ident. Razor hit Tyson as hard, if not
er, than anyone else he's fought (yes, in- ,
ing Buster Douglas). Mike won both times ,'
j clearly (Richard Steele notwithstanding). <,v
Tyson could get away from Don King and er
a good managerial team, as he had before is
D'Amato died, he would dismantle any and bi
WrWr^r^rVrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
KY, YOU'LL ONUMjOS
c r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r -
5
Carol inas
Agit. 9# j
MHHF jJtfH
jmjm v
^EP^ * * ?i*i
&**
ad Edwards of the Washington Redskins
:e in the Victory Bowl August 24.
what is game and halftime show, along
Colum- with the fireworks and other enterim,
the tainment, will guarantee an excitthera
ing evening for everyone in
Being attendance."
regular Tickets for the game, a Saturday
ost cer- night contest scheduled to begin at
most of 7 p.m., can be purchased through
10 have South Carolina Automated Ticketin
per- ing at (803) 777-SCAT and
rrow a through Ticketmaster at
'aannn- 1-800-326-4000, or by visiting any
- Ticketmaster outlet. Tickets are prardson
iced at $24 for reserved grandstand
lis the seats and $19 for end zone seats,
inity to Here's urging EVERYONE to
'arolina purchase your tickets early and
support the movement to bring an
i game, NFL franchise to the Carolinas.
ur pre- With your support, we can't lose!
r of SEC
Men's outdoor track. Five schools finished
me i op zu, wiin 1 ennessee claiming the na3nal
championship.
Women's outdoor track. Three teams in the
p six, with LSU winning it all.
Men's swimming. Five teams in the Top 20
: season's end, with Florida (3rd) and Tennes?
(5th) leading the way.
Women's swimming. Seven teams finished
le year ranked 35th or better, with Florida
>rd) and Georgia (8th) the conference's best
Men's tennis. Georgia finished as national
inners-up, with star A1 Parker named ITCA
layer of the Year. Five other teams made the
CAA playoffs.
Women's tennis. Five teams advanced to the
CAA playoffs, led by semi-finalists Florida
id Georgia.
Women's gymnastics. Alabama won it all,
ith Georgia, Florida, LSU and Auburn all finhing
in the Top Ten. USC does not field a
ogram in this SEC dominated sport
Volleyball. LSU went to the Final Four and
entucky advanced to the South Region
jmifinals.
Obviously, the SEC is an incredible all-sports
ague. The Gamecocks will be challenged, to
y the least, in every spent. What is perhaps
ost exciting about competing in the conferice,
though, is knowing that a team that fishes
at the top of the SEC standings is in all
obability also near, if not at, the top of the
ttional standings.
Let's get behind the Gamecocks and look
rward to the challenge of competing against
e very best!
11 best
1 challengers, without question.
Unfortunately, that probably won't happen,
fen though Tyson seems disenchanted with
ing. He appears lost and misguided. That is
lite a pity. Tyson should be undefeated and
^challenged, but because of the one big void
i his life (not women or partying or bareluckled
contests with Mitch Green or others
jmb enough to cross the monster), boxing
ay well may be robbed of one of its greatest
)Otential" fthcre's that wnr/t attaint r>hamr\ir?nc
w ? ? *? vf?%? Hgtuiiy viiuiiipvuo
'er.
True, he probably would have been wasted
f Ali in his prime, but Iron Mike is the best
without question) heavyweight going today,
idly, it appears, lie doesn't want it badly
lough. Like him or not, too bad. Cus D'Amato
no longer here to guide this very troubled,
it immensely talented, young man.
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