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[ SPOktS 5 \ A >r ] Owners Hold the Key to Success By Corey Brown Ink Sports Columnist The 30 to 13 victory of Dallas over Buffalo proves that a new era has arrived in sports. The age of 0wno: involvement has become essential to guarantee a winning franchise. Jerry Jones, owner of the Cowboy s, has played as big a part in thetwochampionshipsascoach Jimmy Johnson. He is dedicated to having a winning squad. Too bad that the same cannot be said for everyone else. Why does it seem like some teams stay at the top, while other teams are always at the bottom? It’s because their owners are not committed to building a winner and maintaining a supmor level. The bottom line in ‘94 is the dollar sign. If big name players are not sought after and paid the crazy dollars, then the franchise will remain in the cellar. Eddie DebartaloandJack Kent Cooke, in San Francisco and Washington respectively, have also shown this aggressive fe/'/or. These owners have an intangible about them. They all have foresight They have been good about predicting talented players coming outof college and are not afraid to pay the big bucks to sign them. Average talent cannot win in the 90s. In the age of free-agency and arbitration, the only way a team can excel with a low payroll is to just happen to capture young talent. This was the case with the Braves going from worst to first, and believe itor not, the Cowboys had one of the lowest payroll in the league two years ago when their rise to greatness became complete. If you’ve ever wondered why bad teams are always bad, the finger has to point to the owners with winning. So much so that they can ruin a good thing. A1 Davis has become so overbearing that I really think he is the one calling plays in L.A. But if any Speaking of Spbrts more than anyone else. For example, Tampa Bay has lost at least ten games for the last five years. It can’t be because they lack access to talent Just in losing so much they average one of the top ten draft picks every year. Teams like the Bucs and Colts in football and the Mavericks and Kings in basketball are perennial losers because their owners are not committed to winning. On the opposite spectrum is an owner that is too concerned coach isn’t intimidated by Davis, it’s Art Shell.) These are the same type of owners that are more concerned about generating revenue than making the playoffs. They would rather threaten to move the franchise than making moves to win more ball games. They have gone through coaches faster than beer flows through a drunk. These are all signals of a loser. The owners of winning teams have been committed to the conceptsandsystemsof the coach they have chosen. Chuck Knoll. BUI Walsh, Don Shula, Joe Gibbs etc. all have been coaches who were allowed to implement their p'lilosophies. This of course has resulted in numerous Super Bowl appearances among them. Few teams coaches in any professional sports arenas have the open lines of communications wi'Ji management that Jones and Johnson have. Despite reports of them not getting along their professional relationship is one to be envied. Judging by thier results, more teams need to copy their formula. New Fraternity Seeks To Change Athletes Image By Jacqueline Charles Ink Editor-in-Chief With track and field season heating up at Universities across the nation, a group of athletes at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will have much more to worry about than hurdles and distance runs. These athletes are members of Trac Phi Track Fraternity, Inc., or T Phi T, a new fraternity at the University, whose purpose is to provide track and field athletes with an opportunity to serve their communities. “A lot of people have the perception that athletes don’t really care,” said T Phi T co founder and president Henry McKoy. “That’s not really true, and that’s the basis of why we started this organization.” Formed at the end of last semester, by seven track and field athletes, T Phi T has about 21 members, the majority of whom are black. To join, individuals must be a member of the University’s track and field program, have a certain standing on the team, have a desire to help his community and go through an initiation process. “I want our members to first of all get a sense of how fortunate we are to be where we are,” said McKoy, a junior business and accounting major from Fayetteville. McKoy said members are not hazed. Sophomore Maurice Smith, a jumpCT on the team, said he never thoughtaboutjoininga fraternity. But when the opportunity arose to join T Phi T, he seized it “It was an opportunity to get real close with the track guys and at the same time, to do some service for the community,” said Smith, a biology major from Raleigh. While there are T Phi T fraternities throughout the country at predominantly black colleges and univCTsities, McKoy said the community service aspect of UNC’s program is what makes this T Phi T different from the rest Sprinter Curtis Johnson (not the football player) said it was the existence of these chapters which inspired the fraternity’s founding on campus. “We thought it was essential to have one over here,” said Johnson, one of the founders who is from Palmetto, Fla. “It promotes team unity while, at the same time, allowing us to do something for the community and give our track team some recognition.” Although the organization is African-American based, resembling the traditionally black Greek-lettered organizations, T Phi T’s membership is not exclusively black. There are four whites in the fraternity. “We are not in competition with the Greek fraternity system,” McKoy said. “We want to gain support from these organizations. We don’t want them to think that we’re stepping in their territory.” Currently, fraternity members are busy trying to fundraise and organize committees for upcoming projects. A project currently in the works will involve athletes visiting area schools and talking to young people about the importance of setting goals and getting a good education. “We want the kids to see that there is hope in the future and that we care,” McKoy said. The fraternity has already demonstrated this. Last semester, fraternity members took part in an annual Christmas party that the track team sponsored for two disadvantaged families in the area. Members bought Chrisunas presents for the children and presented its first service award to Janice Hillard, who helped memBers’ academic progress. Interest Meeting 4 p.m. Tiiesday, Feb. 8 in Upendo Lounge Dorm Assistant and Counselor positions available. If interested in a position you must be in attendance. Applications will be available at the meeting. Conflicts should notify Camille Gaddy at 962-6962 or come by 04 South Building. “We are just regular people,” said Smith. “We actually care about each other. It’s just that it’s time to take it out from the track scene and take it to the community.” In addition to McKoy and Johnson, other founders include Tony Pough, Chad Black, Tony McCall, Kendrick Morgan and Jeremy Young. ir t // t r r t r > I* »♦ I '( I /• f I* )• ‘I# / 7 • i I ' • V( : *, m ■ #
Black Ink (Black Student Movement, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
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Feb. 4, 1994, edition 1
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