"(Baseball) is about as racist as America generally.
... Baseball has a long way to go."
Former baseball commissioner Fay Vincent
PORTS
The Daily Tar HeelFriday, December 4, 19925
5
yNl Adam
f To I Davis
; W Staff
I N Writer
Who's the best?
You can't be sure
with bowl system
Welcome to the 1992-93 NCAA foot
ball championship drawing. We've
carefully selected 10 contestants for
this year's title.
My lovely assistant is now placing
the names Miami, Alabama, Florida
State, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Syra
cuse, Michigan, Georgia, Colorado and
Washington into a giant hat. I'm sorry,
Mr. Paterno, there are no preseason
bids to this contest. The winner will
receive this neat trophy, which can be
redeemed for a Big Mac and a large
fries at McDonald's. Good luck, gentle
men. OK, maybe the situation hasn't got
ten that bad, but it's getting there. Who's
the last team to win the NCAA football
championship? This should be one of
those questions that's only worth $100
on Jeopardy because even the accoun
tant from Topeka knows the answer.
Instead, it's a loaded question.
There are three possible answers:
Washington (1991), which won last
year's "McDonald's Trophy" as cham
pion of the CNNUSA Today coaches
poll; Miami (1991), which won the AP
poll ; or Miami (1989) the last team to
win unanimously.
Like every other self-respecting sport,
college football should settle its cham
pionship on the field, not in the press
box or in the coach's office.
The simple solution is a 16-team
playoff. Now, before you have a seizure
about the possible loss of the Federal
Express Orange Bowl and the Weiser
Lock Copper Bowl, please hear me out.
The first step to implementing a play
off is to force all teams to complete their
schedules by the end of November (yes,
ABC, that includes your over-hyped
SEC title game).
At that point, 16 teams would be
' selected: the winners of the ACC, Big
East, Big 8, Big Ten, Pac 1 0, SEC, SWC
and WAC, plus eight at-large teams
chosen by a committee. These teams
would play two rounds of games on the
first two Saturdays in December.
Then there would be a nice break, so
that the college presidents wouldn't have
to fret over students missing finals.
On New Year's Day, a traditionally
important day in college football, the
semifinals would be held. Finally, the
champion would be decided on the sec
ond Saturday in January, in a game that
would be promoted almost as vigor
ously as NBC's Olympic "Triplecast."
A real champion would be crowned,
and the bowls would not have to be
excluded. The last three rounds would
be played at the sites of the seven largest
bowls (Cotton, Fiesta, Florida Citrus,
Hall of Fame, Orange, Rose and Sugar),
and they could retain their exciting
names such as the Mobil Cotton Bowl.
The other 1 1 bowls would still be played
prior to New Year's Day.
Many people will claim that the al
mighty bowl coalition has made such a
playoff unnecessary. After all, assum-
See PITCH, page 7
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A sizzling border rivalry:
You got the right one, baby
By Steve Politi
Assistant Sports Editor
Don't talk about preseason hype with
the Tar Heels anymore especially
when it comes time to play South Caro
lina tonight at 9 in the Diet Pepsi Tour
nament of Champions.
They learned their lesson two years
ago.
That's when No. 4 UNC went into
the Charlotte Coliseum to play the over
matched Gamecocks. The Tar Heels
entered the game with a 39.5-point
margin of victory in their first two con
tests and boasted what was dubbed the
best freshman class ever to play on a
college basketball team.
And, true to form, the Tar Heels
totally dominated the first half and held
a 12-point halftime lead.
Then something happened.
The Gamecocks got hot on offense.
The Tar Heels committed 14 turnovers
in the second period. The UNC players
rushed their shots. And, despite a late
74-72 lead, North Carolina lost at the
buzzer, 76-74.
While UNC dropped from fourth to
10th, South Carolina won the tourna
ment and charged into the AP Top 25.
The Gamecocks wavered in the mid
teens of the poll but then faded late in
the season and missed the NCAA tour
nament Last year, the Gamecocks continued
the slide, finishing 11-17 and last in the
Southeastern Conference's Eastern Di
vision. The forecast for this season is not
much better, as the Gamecocks return
one starter from the 1991-92 team.
That one starter, unfortunately for
the Tar Heels, is Elm City native Jamie
Watson. Thejuniorriddled UNC in that
first-round tournament game two years
ago with 10 points, four rebounds and
four steals.
The Tortoise or the Hare?
Slow Tigers meet quick 'Horns in other Diet Pepsi semifinal'
By Steve Politi
Assistant Sports Editor
Liken the Texas-Princeton matchup
to what you will.
The Tortoise versus the Hare. Wil
liam "The Refrigerator" Perry versus
Raghib "The Rocket" Ismail. What
ever. Two styles of basketball that fall on
opposite sides of the spectrum will
clash in the first round of the Diet
Pepsi Tournament of Champions to
night at 7. The victor takes on the
winner of the UNC-South Carolina
game Saturday at 7 p.m. The losers of
Friday's games meet at 4:30 p.m. Sat
urday. Princeton frustrates the opposition
with its slow style of play slow
enough to help the Tigers claim the
NCAA scoring defense title 10 times
in the past 17 seasons under 26-year
head coach Pete Carril.
The Tigers even managed to hold
Texas to 57 points in a losing cause in
Kf2W 1
IJ
HOME
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S SWIMMING in Carolina Invitational, Koury
Natatorium, Fri.-Sun. All Day
AWAY
MEN'S BASKETBALL vs. S. Carolina in Tournament of Champions,
Charlotte, Fri. 9 p.m. and Texas or Princeton, Sat. 4:30 p.m. or 7 p.m.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL at Robert Morris, Coraopolis, Pa., Fri. 7:30
p.m. and at Duquesne, Pittsburgh, Sun. 1 p.m.
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S FENCING at New York University, New York,
Sat. All Day
It was only his fourth career game
but it's the game that set Watson's ca
reer in motion. Now Watson is a team
leader, coming off a year in which he set
the school record for dunks and finished
second in team assists.
"Jamie is a very experienced junior,
an explosive athlete who has grown
bigger and stronger over the last year,"
said second-year head coach Steve New
ton. "He is going to be called upon for
leadership and to have an outstanding
junior year with the loss of six seniors."
Watson' s '9 1 -' 92 season wasn ' t picture-perfect.
He hit 5 of 25 3-point at
tempts and turned the ball over 21 times
in USC's final six games. But in his first
game this season, he scored a career
high 27 points as the Gamecocks
whipped Florida Tech in their home
opener, 119-82.
Center Edmond Wilson has the dubi
ous honor of matching up with Eric
Montross, who seems primed to take
charge of the North Carolina offense.
Montross scored 20 points against Old
Dominion. Wilson averaged just 2.3
points and 1.8 rebounds per game last
year as a junior.
The other USC starters played their
first games against Florida Tech. In
Pete Carril
last year' s Pre-Season NTT. Texas went
on to average more than 90 points a
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fact, none of the remaining three start
ers have any experience in the South
Carolina system.
The Gamecocks will need forward
Emmett Hall, a junior transfer from
Cloud Community College (Kan.) to
match his opening-game performance
of 19 points and nine rebounds. He
replaces the Gamecocks' top defensive
player, Jeff Roulston.
Terry By num, a transfer from Ander
son Junior College, and Carey Rich, a
sophomore transfer from Western Caro
lina and the Southern Conference's
Freshman of the Year, start at guard,
with Rich at the point and Bynum at the
shooting-guard slot. Despite their sup
posed positions, Rich outscored Bynum
14 to 4 in the opener.
Facing two inexperienced guards
perhaps will make Dean Smith breathe
a sigh of relief. Point guard Derrick
Phelps' knee injury should keep him
from playing, but Henrik Rodl (11 as
sists Tuesday) and Donald Williams
(21 points) played well against Old
Dominion.
Should a repeat performance of the
disaster two years ago not occur, the Tar
Heels will face the winner of today's 7
p.m. Texas-Princeton game for the tour
nament title.
game.
And the Longhoms figure to aver
age even more this year. They ex
ploded for 136 points in an opening
season thrashing of Oral Roberts.
Texas is led by "TNT." Guards B.J.
Tyler and Terrence Rencher touted
by many as the best backcourt tandem
in the nation combined for 1,228
points last season.
So what if Princeton's backcourt
tandem of Mike Brennan and Chris
Yetman combined for 1 3 points in the
Tigers' first-game 65-48 win against
Lafayette? It's not explosiveness that
keys Princeton. It' s eating up the clock,
well-executed back-door plays and
timely 3-pointers.
Texas lives on fast breaks; Princeton
lives on stopping them.
Texas slams and jams; Princeton
lulls and dulls.
But it's important to remember:
The Tortoise beat the Hare. It remains
to be seen if The Fridge and The
Rocket will ever race.
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Friday, 9 p.m., (WRDCCh. 28)
Charlotte Coliseum
1 When a team starts
1 J I
Carey Rich and Terry Bynum. UNC will do without
Derrick Phelps again, but Henrik Rodl is a more than
suitable replacement. Shooting problems? Donald Will
jams had 21 in the opener against Old Dominion.
10 points, four steals
UNC here two years
then, scoring a career
his inexperienced
up with the likes of
If South Carolina's starters are untested, its bench is really
untested. Four Gamecock starters and two reserves don't
return to this season's team. UNC coach Dean Smith
stands behind freshman Dante Calabria, now the Tar
Heels' backup point guard, although Calabria fouled out
with no points or assists late in the opening-game win.
n
Steve Newton, the Gamecocks' second-year head coach,
led Murray State to the NCAA Tournament's field of 64
three times. South Carolina counts on him to rebuild the
school's faltering program. But a repeat of last year, when
the Gamecocks started at 8-1 and finished at 11-17, won't
help Newton's recruiting efforts.
Prediction: UNC 105, USC 78
North Carolina
host tough field
By Rodney Cline
Staff Writer
The UNC men' s and women' s swim
ming and diving teams each look to
rebound from recent losses to Georgia
at this weekend' s Carolina Invitational,
to be held in Koury Natatorium today
through Sunday.
The 1 Oth-ranked women stand at 2-1
overall, 1-0 in the ACC, while the men,
ranked 18th, are 1-1, 1-0 in the league.
The competition figures to be as tough
as any the Tar Heels will face this sea
son, as all 10 teams come to Chapel Hill
ranked in the nation's top 30. The men
will face fifth-ranked Tennessee, sixth
ranked Florida, No. 20 Georgia, No. 21
Virginia and No. 28 South Carolina.
Meanwhile,, (he .UNC, women will
compete.again.sit third-ranked Florida,
se"venth-ranked Georgia, No. 16 Ten
nessee, No. 21 Virginia and No. 22
South Carolina.
Senior Sarah Perroni leads the UNC
women. Perroni won the 200-yard and
50-yard freestyle events in the Nov. 21
meet at Georgia. She also teamed with
Jenny Huber, Kari Haag and Ann Hart
to win the 400 medley relay.
The Tar Heel men are sparked by
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UNC v. S. CAROLINA
two transfers at the guard spots, disaster
T-U.' C...U C 1: L
The Gamecocks' only returning starter, Jamie Watson, had
and four assists when his team upset
ago. And he's gotten better since
- high 27 points in USC's opener. But
teammates on the front line don't match
Eric Montross and George Lynch.
South Carolina's upset win two years ago has to be on the
minds of players on both teams. The Gamecocks realize
that an upset can get them national recognition. The Tar
Heels know a loss could be devastating. But Watson is the
only USC player left who had a role in that game, and
Smith won't let an accident like that happen again.
-Compiled by Steve Politi
swimmers, divers
in Carolina Invite
senior David Monasterio, sophomore
Yann deFabrique and senior William
Keever, who each won two events at
Georgia.
The meet will begin Friday morning
with preliminaries at 10:30, while the
finals are slated for 7 p.m. The same
schedule will hold for Saturday, and the
finals are scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday.
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