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^ The softball team plays its final hoi games. Friday, USC plays Arkansas at Saturday, Carolina hosts No. 13 LSU a The No. 8 baseball team hosts Gee They play at 7 p.m. Friday and Satun at 1 p.m. Sunday. Friday, April 10,1998 * mi i_ > inanK ^ you, Bj, for staying ^ 1 ^ *" ^ William FOLKS mine from ^ Common Folklore school. After exchanging some quick, polite small talk about old friends and the old times, Willis shifted the conversation to an issue that had been at the forefront of a lot of people's minds over the past few weeks: Bj Mckie and the NBA Draft. "So you know him," Willis asked. "What do you think he's going to do?" I replied that I didn't know, that I roallu BnHn't snnlcpn with Bi ahout it % yet, but that I was sure he would approach the decision with the same kind of discretion and level-headed consideration that he gives everything else in his life... you know, that "avoid-esque," official-sounding sort of talk. Blah, blah, blah. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Truth-be-told, I hadn't really thought about it at that particular moment or even talked to anybody about it. Why not? Because I didn't ^ really want to think about it or talk to anyone about it. To be quite honest, the thought of him leaving scared the living rat pissel (yes, that is a word) out of me. Quite expectedly, then, my neatly polished PR-pronouncements didn't cut it with Willis. "Hmmm, whatever," he answered back. "Why don't you do what you can to make him stay." _ Such is the tenuous relationship ? between a star athlete and his fans: Beat the world, then they'll expect the universe. But also, such is the depth and warmth of the relationship that USC fans have come to enjoy with one Bjorn Aubre Mckie over the past three years. From the moment he first took the floor in his No. 3 Gamecocks jersey on Nov. 24,1995, Bj Mckie has amazed, excited and in ^ spired all of us who follow collegiate athletics, and in the process and helped take Carolina basketball to another level, a championship level. In three years, Bj has already done more for the South Carolina basketball program than perhaps any player in two decades; and the easy-going, kind-hearted way in which he's done it has endeared him to teammates, media and fans alike. His parents, Bernard and Bever^ ly, have also become integral members of the Gamecock family. Anybody who has come into contact with young man over the last three years didn't just want him to stay for his talent, they wanted him to stay for who he is (and the quality, selfless student-athlete that he represents). That's why Bj's announcement Monday that he would not make himself eligible for the NBA draft was front-page news; not just front-page sports news. It was be^ cause of Bj Mckie the person, not just Bj Mckie the player. I know all of this may sound a bit hokey, and I'm sure in the coming months I'll immerse myself in all of , the same "on-court" talk every other sportswriter wants to discuss (i.e. "Will Bj play the point or won't he?"); but for the time being I'm just happy. ' A good friend is going to stick around for a little while longer. Equestrian team takes regional title iav Ainyy Staff writer WC yumn Amy Bell displayed her talents at Softwinds Farm this past weekend as (% she came away with the Reserve High Point Rider Regional Title. The 1 California native received a first- place * finish in Open Fences. Along with Bell, Mikel Cole received 1 a first place in the Walk, Trot, Canter division. 1 Stacey George won a blue ribbon in Walk, Trot and Jenifer Connor won the < Intermediate Flat Division. 1 _ The Carolina equestrian team trav^ I els to Rome, Ga., for the Zone Finals April 18 and 19. If they win there, the 1 team will travel to Syracuse, N.Y., for the National Finals. i me SEC : 6 p.m. it 1 p.m. ,fgia. day and ii^alvieb orts editor BRYMi JOHNSTON USC women's basketball coach Sun Woltniio annnnnoo^ Thnrtj^ow ai tt oxviuo aiuiuuiiV'CU imuouajr uic jning of Katrina Lazic to a national ?er of intent to enroll and play basitball for Carolina next year. Lazic joins an early signing class nked 16th-best in the nation by Girls l-Start Report. Those early signees include Shaunnski Gortman, Jemecca Harrell, aristina Hill, Melanie Murray, Jocen Penn and Shannon Segres. This is Walvius' first recruiting class ace arriving in Columbia less than a ar ago. Her staff signed three of the p five players in the state as selected Bauer, C sports editor BRYAN JOHNSTON Led by the strong pitching of Peter Bauer and the consistent hitting of Mike Curiy, Carolina picked up its 30th win of the season with a 8-2 victory over Furman Wednesday night at Sarge Frye Field. USC has its own version of "The Big Unit" in 6-foot-8-inch Bauer. The freshman from Silver Spring, Md., went five strong innings, picking up his fifth win of the season. "Peter hasn't had a lot of innings lately," USC coach Ray Tanner said. "He's been rested a little more than we'd like him to be, but he came out and gave us five quality innings. Then [Jamie] Poston and [Patrick] Sextor finished it up for us." Furman was plagued by poor field ing all night, committing a seasonhigh seven errors. The Gamecocks took advantage o: those errors immediately, scoring ai unearned run in the first. Junior Mike Curry led off the in ning with a single to left and reachec third on an error by the rightfielder He then scored when senior catchei Mpn's. wot ? 7 -w? sports editor BRYAN JOHNSTON pro incl In the first-annual South Carolina State Collegiate Track and 17? Field Championships, the USC men's and women's track and field sid< teams both won the team titles, ters with the men winning 14 events La] and the women winning 13 ter events. me Freshman Terrance Trammell me proved to everyone he is back ten on track by automatically quali- Sot fying for the NCAA Champi- nas onships in the 110-meter hurdles, (hij breaking the school record at 13.64. wei Trammell actually finished ter second in the race to Olympic gold ten medalist Allen Johnson, who Ka ;rains under USC coach Curtis Nai ?rye. Bro Johnson broke the facility ven< ecord set by Gus Kirkland in vau L980 in the race, with the win- and ling time of 13.58. Tonique Williams broke her poii iwn school record in the 100 me- ond :ers to win the women's side at fini 11.60. poii Williams later won the S.C women's 200 meters at 24.50. Ryan Harrison won the ham- Ari mer with a season best and NCAA An; Spc The Gan all signs by the South Carolina Coaches Association (Gortman, Hill and Murray). Walvius led USC, in her first season as head coach, to the team's best record in four years and best conference record in five years. At this year's SEC Tournament, Walvius led the Lady Gamecocks to their first-ever victory in the conference Dostseason Dlav in seven tries with a 76-61 win over LSU and an appearance in the conference quarterfinals. Lazic will come to USC rated as one of the best talents in Europe as noted by the Sports International Group. The six-footer is a starter on the Yugoslavian National team, averaging 23.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists and South Carolina PTim Angioli a swing Wo in the Gar victory ove right, Petei five innings six batters his record U SEAN RAYFC . 1 urry lead Ryan Bordenick reached on ap error by the shortstop. The Gamecocks struck again in the fourth, scoring two runs. Junior Eric Stanton led off with a walk and moved to second when freshman Mic Knox was hit by a pitch. With two out, both runners advanced when Curry laid down a perfect bunt to reach i base. An error by the second baseman on a routine grounder allowed both i Stanton and Knox to score, making it 3-0. i But Furman would battle back in the fifth when it put two on the board, i But the Gamecocks answered the Fur; man challenge in the bottom half of i the inning, answering with two of their i own. Bordenick led off with a walk and moved to third on Adam Poe's double to the left-center gap. Knox's single to center scored both runners, giving Carolina a 5-2 advantage, f Curry led off the sixth with his i eighth homerun of the year, a line-drive shot over the left-field wall. "It was a fastball, kind of over the 1 heart," Curry said. "I didn't really think it was gone; the ball really wasn't carr rying that much tonight, but I hit it nen's track visional mark of 201-feet-7- I ties. Harrison won the discus at l-feet-ll-inches. Other winners on the men's i were Riian Dempers (200 mes), Marvin Watts (400 meters), Monte Pennington (800 me- * s), Graham Newman (1,500 ters), Martin Kerrigan (3,000 ters), Chad Bignell (5,000 mei), Brad Snyder (shot put), Bert in (javelin), Patrick Tvarkui (pole vault) and C J Anderson jhjump). Winners on the women's side re Charmaine Howell (400 mes), Andrea Hallmon (800 me 3), Tonya Povey (1,500 meters), iff ren Padula (3,000 meters), Erin zinski (long jump), Crystal wnlee (shot put), Loren ThouDt (javelin), Kylene Nixon (pole I It), Lisa Misipeka (hammer) 1 Michelle Fournier (discus), ul The men's team totalled 252 its, 164 points ahead of sec- flHP^ -place S.C. State. The women V ished with 205 points, 111 its better than second-place . State. Carolina travels to Tempe, Kylene 1 z., this'weekend for the Sun women's *el Classic at Arizona State. Field Ch )RTS lecock i Yugosla three steals per game. She will add Ini depth and contend for a starting spot ret in next year's backcourt. pei Gortman is one of the most highly Mj touted point guards in the nation and was named The State newspaper's South Gr Carolina Player of the Year after av- Vii eraging 24.5 points, 15.6 rebounds and avi 5.2 assists per game. ass The six-footer from Keenan High Hi School has been named a Nike, Reebok and Parade All-America and was se- to lected as the 18th-best player in the ag country and third-best player at her po- ga sition by The Blue Star Report. ph Harrell, a 6-foot-4-inch center, was named a Nike All-America and the 21st- SE best player at her position by Blue Star na A Piirman 7 1# R Ml R 11II11 *m nl (left) takes i J Inesday night I't f lrl necocks' 8-2 11 h 1^ r Furman. At PI || || llh^f ? Bauer went [ ww striking out >RD The Gamecock i ** H r :" r i USC over ] just good enough for it to get out of I w here." th< In his next at-bat, Curry led off the eighth inning with a double down Qa the left-field line. He moved to third SC( on Derick Urquhart's sacrifice bunt ja and scored on Adam Everett's single ceg to left, pushing the lead to 7-2. ., Everett moved to third on Bor- 1 y denick's single to left and scored on Poe's single to left field, giving Car- to1 olina to 8-2 lead. * j11 After walking the first batter of tin the game, Bauer sat down 13 straight kii Paladin batters. He allowed just two hits, two unearned runs and struck 10 out six in running his record to 5-0. wil Sophomore Jamie Poston pitched two Fr innings of shut-out ball, striking out gu three and senior Patrick Sexton worked the final two innings, allow- ^ ing two hits. ^ Bauer said he felt confident, but was shaky after walking the leadoff man. "After I walked the first guy, I we looked in the dugout and coach Tan- to ner was like 'Come on Peter','' Bauer in said. "I kind of turned it up after that er and realized that I had to get it going, th A teams cruis v #4 * m ^ Nixon failed to clear the bar on this i pole vault Wednesday in the South C< ampionships at USC's Weems Baskln tra Nate says the Blowf is Monday Scheduled Dan Patri< Marino an ivian, w lex. Harrell averaged 18 points, 12 xmnds, 4 blocked shots and 2 steals i? r game at Oxon Hill High School in th iryland. " Tl Hill, a 5-foot-H-inch guard from St eenville, chose USC over Clemson, Ai rginia Tech and Wake Forest after sraging 17.6 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.8 At iists and 2.3 steals per game for Wade re unpton High School. Murray led Columbia High School Vi the state championship after aver- to ing 17 points and 11 rebounds per ye me. She was voted one of the top five lyers in the state by the SCCA. er Penn will look to join her sister, All- 2.' !C forward Annie Lester, in Caroli- pe 's frontcourt next year. fr( " I Li i V tc tl ft. s ii Furman \ as in the rhythm pretty much from F } get-go... after that first batter." e Curry was the star at the plate for t rolina, going 4-for-5 with three runs ^ >red and an RBI. The junior from cksonville, Fla. said part of his suc;s came from Furman's lack of qualon the mound. "I guess I was seeing it pretty good r light, but the pitching wasn't all r it good," Curry said. "I was hitg the ball solid tonight, and they f id of fell in for me." / Up next for the Gamecocks (30-7, 1 4 SEC) is a three-game homestand i th Georgia. USC will play at 7 p.m. iday and Saturday and at 1 p.m. nday. ^ Curry said he isn't familiar with e Bulldog pitching, but expects a lot offense in the series. r 1 don't know how much pitching ( ey have, but they hit the ball real v ill," Curry said. "It's probably going be a slug-fest. Maybe if we can mix ? a good outing from one of our pitch- 1 s nriH shut them down one of the i ree days." I t ] ;e to titles ; - - ] s ;> ; *j \ 1 J A * m 1 7 idk r .jt-j, ' -if i mm t ^kL v f J l||i L 1 1 P ] QIP^V i i SEAN RAYFORD The Gamecock attempt but held on to win the irolina State Collegiate Track and ck facility. the fourth-annual Hootie and ish Monday After the Masters r at the University Club. I to appear are Tiger Woods, :k of ESPN, Brett Favre, Dan id Hercules' Kevin Sorbo. Page 7 >rtman Both a Nike and Reebok All-Amer i, the 5-foot-11-inch Penn was rated e 15th-best player in the country by ie All-Star Girl's Report and was a reet & Smith Honorable Mention Allnerica. A two-time All-State selection from lanta, Penn averaged 25 points, 10 bounds and three steals per game. Segres, who hails from Dale City, u, helped lead Gar-Field High School the state championship her senior ar. A Reebok All-America, Segres avaged 19.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 7 steals per game while shooting 56 ' rcent from the field and 71 percent )m the free throw line. 5ro baseball )verrated i"l Before I week's diawould like Bj* usually g don't say to many peo \ ' pie. Thank ;hawn SINGLETON you, Bj, for <ingkton}:16 electing to _ I play one more sea>n here at USC and not leaving earto play with the greedy bastards of le NBA. All I ask is that you lead us i the second round of the NCAA luraament. After taking a week off to outwit le Feds, USC's Most Dangerous [an has returned with more bitches, ripes and complaints for your readlg pleasure. It's that time of year again when ithers take their sons to see jerks lil seven out of 10 times and get aid millions to do it. If you guessed aseball season, you get a cookie. With expansion in Tampa and 'hoenix, pitching is further diluted, specially in the already pitching-opional American League where more iomers are hit than at a Dartv at louth Tower. Not even Pedro Marinez can keep Ken Griffey, Jr., Albert Belle, or Juan Gonzalez from hattering Roger Maris' record. Yes, I lid say that the single-season homeun record will be broken in the Jurior Circuit. My pick to make the World Series rom here is the New York Yankees. Is much as I hate them, they're oaded from top to bottom like bullets n Chow-Yun Fat's 45. With the addiions of Chuck Knoblauch and Chili )avis, they should power past Cleveand and Baltimore. On to the National League, where eal baseball is played. Milwaukee las been welcomed back to the Selior Circuit with open arms and may :ontend in a division that's about as lgly as Paula Jones. In 1997, Houston won this division with an 84-78 record. Had my ^ew York Mets, who finished third n the NL East last year, played in iiis cheesy division, they would have won it by four games. Look for the Mets to challenge Atlanta this year. Don't look for the Marlins to win 75 games this year. Their new motto is "Wait til last year." Maybe Wayne Huizenga took a page from the brains in Montreal. Oh, I forgot. This is Canada, where stupidity runs rampant and flatulence is commonplace, according to Terence and Philip. The Montreal Expos have had more fire sales since 1994 than a flea market in Pelion. Larry Walker, Pedro Martinez, Marquis Grissom and other all-stars have been dealt away by these tightwads. If you hate Canucks as much as I do, and you want to get out of Montreal, become an all-star for the Expos. I haven't forgotten about you idiots in Toronto, either. I will never forgive the Braves or the Phillies for embarrassing the National League by losing to these guys. They embarrassed Major League Baseball and the United States with their treachery and should be deported there. My pick to make the Series from lere are the guys who made choking stylish long before Latrell Sprewell ? the Atlanta Braves. Who else is oetter from the National League? Look for them to get past the Dodgers and Astros. Finally, as much as it pains me to write this, I will pick the Yankees to defeat the Braves in seven games. I am already preparing my wall for the front Page of the New York Times when it says, "Yankees Burn Atlanta ? For The Third Time." ~~