June 30 - Pre-season HS Football Poll Out

June 30 - Athletes More and More Above the Law Now (column)

June 30 - Elster Helps Rangers Win: Johnny Oates merely shrugged and kept playing with a rubber band when someone brought up the Texas Rangers' mystery man after the game.
...."I don't even try to explain Kevin Elster any more," Oates said, shaking his head. "There's no explanation for what he's done. The story hasn't changed all year."
....Elster, 31, who missed most of the 1992, '93 and '94 seasons because of major shoulder surgery, drove in four runs to help the Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 9-5 on Saturday.
...."Who is the real Kevin Elster?" Oates asked. "Did we expect him to be where he's at now? I don't think so."
....Elster set a career single-season high with 56 RBI and hit his 13th homer. With a 3-for-4 day, he improved his batting average to .275.

June 30 - Mavs Trade Parks: The Dallas Mavericks traded forward Cherokee Parks to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday in a deal that will put the Mavericks about $3 million under the new NBA salary cap.
....In exchange for Parks, a first-round pick last year, Minnesota agreed to remove 2-6 lottery protection on the 1997 first-round pick Dallas acquired from the Timberwolves in the 1994 Sean Rooks trade.

June 30 - PDogs Win 4th in Row: The Abilene Prairie Dogs captured their fourth consecutive victory Saturday night as Paul Coleman and Rod Brewer provided home runs in a 6-2 decision over Alexandria.
....The win keeps the Prairie Dogs 2-1/2 games ahead of second-place Lubbock in the Texas-Louisiana League baseball standings. Abilene is now 27-15 on the season. Lubbock moved to 24-17 with its 4-2 win over Rio Grande Valley.
....Abilene pitcher Sam Arminio went the distance to improve to 4-2 on the season. Both runs were earned, and he walked three and struck out two.

June 29 - Livingston Just Wants to Make Rockets Team

June 29 - ACU's Florida Qualifies: Abilene Christian University's Casi Florida qualified as an alternate for the U.S. Junior Track and Field team Friday at Ohio Wesleyan University.

....Florida placed third in the 5,000 in the USA Junior Track and Field National Championship, running a 17:19.04. She still has a good chance of competing in the World Junior Championships, because the two runners who beat her must still run a good enough time to qualify for the event, which will be Aug. 20-26 in Australia.
....Florida has already qualified.
....ACU's Jaime Hallmark cleared 5-53/4 to place 15th in the high jump while Big Spring's Drexell Owusu, competing for Rice, placed sixth in the triple jump with a leap of 49-41/4.

June 29 (early) - Paige has Second Surgery: Carey Paige's comeback has suffered as setback. The former Cooper pitcher had a second surgery on his right shoulder a couple of weeks ago.

....Paige, you'll remember, was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays' 40-man roster last winter after being picked up in the Rule 5 draft from the Atlanta Braves. But Paige, who had surgery on his shoulder in the spring, had hoped to back throwing by mid-June.
....His shoulder wasn't making the progress he expected, however, so the Blue Jays sent him to Dr. James Andrews, who had done the initial surgery in Birmingham, Ala. He's the doctor who operated on Troy Aikman's shoulder and Bo Jackson's hip.
....Andrews apparently found something he overlooked the first time, and went in and did surgery immediately.
....Paige, who is cotinuing his rehabilitation during extended spring training at the Blue Jays' training facility in Dunedin, Fla., doesn't yet have a timetable when he'll be back throwing, but indications are he might go to Venezuela to pitch in a winter league.

June 29 (early) - ACU Trio Named All-America: Three members of the women's tennis team from Abilene Christian University have been named to the all-America team for the 1996 season for NCAA Division II by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

....They are Allena Canon, a sophomore from McAllen Rowe; Dannett Jordan, a senior from Borger; and Julie Mavity, a freshman from Katy.
....Cano and Jordan were named ITA all-America in singles, and Cano and Mavity in doubles. In the final ITA rankings for 1996, Cano was sixth in singles, Jordan 18th in singles, and Cano and Mavity third in doubles in NCAA Division II.
....The Lady Wildcats were ranked second as a team in the final ITA poll.

June 28 - PDogs Win Again: With two outs in the seventh inning Thursday night, the Abilene Prairie Dogs were staring at a first-place tie with Lubbock and a four-game road trip to Alexandria.

....That is until the smallest Prairie Dog came up with the biggest play of the night.
Second baseman Eric Gonzalez, all 5 foot, 4 inches of him, doubled home Darryl Monroe with the go-ahead run to spark a 4-2 Abilene win over Lubbock in front of 1,192 fans at Scott Field.
....The victory gave Abilene three wins in the five-game home-and-home series with the Crickets. But, more importantly, it pushed the Prairie Dogs' lead in the Texas-Louisiana League back to two games over the Crickets.

June 28 (early) - Man Indicted in Ridgway Murder: A man accused in the fatal shooting three years ago of former Dallas Cowboys kicker Colin Ridgway was indicted Thursday on a charge of capital murder.

....Kenneth Bicking III, 35, was arrested June 7 in Tamarack, Fla., on a warrant issued by University Park Municipal Judge James Paul Barklow. Bicking was being held in the Broward (Fla.) County Jail, pending extradition.
....Ridgway, 54, was shot seven times in the living room of his duplex in the Dallas enclave of University Park on the evening of May 13, 1993.
....According to a police affidavit filed in support of an arrest warrant, Bicking killed Ridgway in a murder-for-hire plot brokered by Bicking's father, Kenneth A. Bicking Jr., and paid for by the victim's wife, Joan Ridgway.

June 28 (early) - Sweetwater Gets Tourney: Delbert Davis of the Sweetwater Senior League Baseball Association announced Thursday that his organization has secured the 1996 Senior League state baseball tournaemnt.

....It will be held July 23-26, with 13 teams statewide coming to Sweetwater for the tournament.

June 28 (early) - Lady 'Cats Sign 6-2 Center: Audra Ruston, a 6-2 center from Boerne, has signed an agreement to attend Abilene Christian University and compete in women's basketball.

....Ruston was a three-year letterman, averaging 17.0 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.7 blocked shots, 2.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game as a senior last season. She was all-district and all-greater San Antonio as a junior and a senior.

June 27 - Mavs Draft to Improve Inside Game

June 27 - Houston U Could Lose Athletics Because of Deficit

June 27 - Gonzalez Powers Rangers to Win: Juan Gonzalez hit a three-run double in the eighth inning Wednesday night, rallying the Texas Rangers past the Baltimore Orioles 6-5.

....The Rangers, who trailed 5-1 in the sixth, won the season series from Baltimore 10-3.
....The Orioles led 5-3 in the eighth when Mark McLemore led off with a single and stole second. After Kevin Elster walked, Darryl Hamilton sacrificed.

June 27 - PDogs Lose to Crickets: The Abilene Prairie Dogs' No. 1 nemesis did it to them again Wednesday night, and in the process he cut their lead in the Texas-Louisiana League to just one game.

....Ryan Brewer improved to 2-1 on the season against Abilene Wednesday night by pitching 71/3 innings of three-hit ball in a 6-3 Lubbock win over Abilene in front of 1,057 fans at Scott Field.
....The Crickets' victory pulled to them to just one game behind league-leading Abilene, which falls to 23-15 with the loss. Abilene and Lubbock will conclude a crucial five-game series tonight at Scott Field.

June 27 - Bam Pleads Guilty: Pittsburgh Steelers running back Bam Morris pleaded guilty Wednesday to a felony marijuana possession charge in exchange for prosecutors' recommendation that he not be imprisoned.

....Rockwall County District Attorney Ray Sumrow said Morris, who has no prior criminal record, agreed to the plea in exchange for Sumrow's recommendation of probation. Also, a felony cocaine possession charge was dropped.
....Morris, 24, could still be sentenced to 10 years in prison and be fined $10,000 for the third-degree felony at a hearing set for July 11 before state District Judge William B. Lofland.
....However, Sumrow said he would recommend 6 months' probation, a $7,000 fine and 200 hours of community service, along with other restrictions that include random drug testing.
....Morris had been scheduled for a July 15 trial.

June 27 (early) - Frush Selected to Academic Team: Former Cooper standout Jimmy Frush was has been selected to baseball's Academic All-America first team by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

....Frush, a first-team all-Southwest Conference selection, helped lead the Red Raider baseball team to a postseason berth this past season.

June 27 (early) - Schlueter Named Top Scholar-athlete: Shannon Schlueter of Sweetwater has been named to the 1996 FINA/Dallas Morning News all-state scholar-athlete team.

....Schlueter, who attends Sweetwater High School, was one of 12 members on the team with straight-A averages. He was also a member of the all-Big Country Super Team in football, as selected by the Abilene Reporter-News.
....The 12 members of the team will be honored at weekend activities in Dallas, including a banquet Saturday night.

June 26 - Houston Abuzz Over Charles Barkley Rumors

June 26 - Mavs Try to Improve Luck in Draft

June 26 - Edwards Takes Job: Ronnie Edwards, formerly of Abilene High, has taken the job as the head boys basketball coach at Class 4A Brazosport.
....Edwards was hired last summer as the assistant coach to Gerald Coppedge at AHS.
....Coppedge, though, was re-assigned after the 1995-96 season, leaving Edwards to look for another job.

June 25 - PDogs Split Twinbill: A seven-run fifth inning powered Abilene to a 9-1 win over Lubbock in the second game of a doubleheader, salvaging the Prairie Dogs a split of their twin-bill with the Crickets.

....The Prairie Dogs improved to 22-14 with the second-game win, keeping them in first place in the Texas-Lousiana League by a game over the Crickets.
.....Chris Norton's two-run home run helped lift Lubbock to a 5-2 win in the first game.
....In the nightcap, Lance Schuermann pitched a complete game for the Prairie Dogs. He allowed nine hits and one run while striking out three and walking just one.

June 25 - Orioles Beat Rangers: Cal Ripken went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, including a solo homer, as the Baltimore Orioles won for the fourth time in five games, 8-3 over the Texas Rangers on Monday night.
....Mike Mussina (10-4) strengthened his All-Star credentials as the Orioles beat the Rangers for only the third time in 11 meetings this season. Mussina allowed three runs and six hits in 6 2-3 innings.

June 25 (early) - Kidd's Ultimatum Not Appreciated: If All-Star point guard Jason Kidd thought he could push around the Dallas Mavericks' new front office, minority owner Frank Zaccanelli said Monday he had better think again.
...."No one player is bigger than the Dallas Mavericks organization," said Zaccanelli, the frontman for the new owners. "This is not going to alter our direction one inch."
....Kidd told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in Monday's editions that if neither he nor Jackson are traded, he would consider sitting out next season. The pair began squabbling early last season over who should be the team's leader.

June 25 (early) - PDogs Reserved Tickets Sold Out for 4th: The Abilene Prairie Dogs have announced that all reserved seats for their July 4 game against the Tyler Wildcatters have been sold, and that advance general admission tickets are now available for that game.
....General admission tickets specifically for the July 4 game are available for $4.50 each, $3.50 for children under 12 and senior citizens.
....The July 4 game will be followed by a spectacular fireworks display, sponsored by the Abilene Reporter-News, the Abilene Area-Wide Phone Book and Abilene Regional Medical Center. It will be Abilene's only public fireworks display on Independence Day.

June 25 (early) - Area Athletes Honored: Six area athletes have been selected to play in the Texas High School Coaches Association McDonald's All-Star game last this summer.
....Defensive lineman Jerry Chavira of Roscoe, offensive lineman J.J. Barton of Stephenville, linebacker Daniel Franks of Big Sprign and kicker Duane Toliver of Knox City will play for the North team in the McDonald's all-star football game.
....Ryan Dollar of Graham and Brandon Franklin of Rising Star were named to the North team for the McDonald's all-state basketball game.
....The basketball game will be Monday, July 29 at the University of Houston's Hofheinz Pavilion and the football game on Tuesday, July 30 at Rice Stadium on the Rice University campus in Houston.

June 24 - Former Tech Asst. AD Warns Allegations May Ring True

June 24 - PDogs Back on Track: For the first time in a little more than a week, everything clicked for the Abilene Prairie Dogs.

....David Haas pitched eight strong innings, Rod Brewer drove in three runs and the Dogs played mostly solid defense in a 6-3 win over Rio Grande Valley in front of 1,009 fans at Scott Field.
.....The victory - Abilene's 11th in 21 home games - pushes its record to 21-13 on the season.
....Abilene and Lubbock will start a three-game, two-day series in Lubbock tonight with a 5:05 p.m. doubleheader at Dan Law Field. The third game of the series will be played Tuesday in Lubbock.
....The two teams will then return to Abilene Wednesday to play a two-game series at Scott Field.

June 24 - Rangers Lose: Jose Canseco's two-run single in the eighth inning snapped a tie and the Boston Red Sox went on to a 6-4 victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday night, ending a five-game losing streak.

June 23 - Rodriquez Leads Rangers to Win: Ivan Rodriguez drove in four runs with a triple and a double, and Roger Pavlik won his 10th game as the Texas Rangers handed the Boston Red Sox their fifth straight defeat, 8-2 Saturday night.


Pavlik (10-1) allowed six hits in his league-leading fifth complete game, matching his previous career total. Pavlik, off to the best record by a Rangers starter after 11 decisions, struck out seven and walked one.

June 22 - Rangers Beat BoSox: Juan Gonzalez homered twice and Dean Palmer hit a three-run shot Friday night, leading Ken Hill and the Texas Rangers to a 14-4 rout of the Boston Red Sox.
....Hill (8-5), handed an 8-1 lead after four innings, allowed four runs and nine hits over seven innings to win for the first time in four starts.
....Texas scored five runs in the second inning off Nate Minchey (0-1), who was making his 1996 debut after being recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket earlier in the day.
Jose Canseco and Mo Vaughn homered for the Red Sox, who dropped their fourth straight game.

June 22 - Montross Traded to Mavs: The Boston Celtics traded center Eric Montross and the ninth pick in the NBA draft to Dallas on Friday for the No. 6 pick and the Mavericks' first-round choice next year.

...."We believe there's a quantum leap from six to nine," Celtics boss M.L. Carr said. The team's coach and director of player personnel said he was eager to make another move up the order for Wednesday's draft.
....The Mavericks were badly in need of a center last season, primarily starting 6-foot-9, 213-pound Lorenzo Williams, who averaged three points and eight rebounds in 65 games.

June 22 - PDogs Lose at Home: After a 7-3 road trip that propelled the Abilene Prairie Dogs into first place in the Texas-Louisiana League, they returned home Friday night and go through the motions in a 5-1 loss to Rio Grande Valley in front of 2,024 fans at Scott Field.

....The loss cuts the Abilene lead to just one game over Lubbock, which beat Tyler, 5-2, Friday night. Third-place Amarillo lost and is still two games behind Abilene in the standings.
...."We just did some stupid stuff at the plate, in the field and on the bases," Abilene manager Phil Stephenson said. "We just made some stupid mistakes tonight."
Abilene, 20-12 on the season, is 10-3 on the road, but just 10-9 at the so-far unfriendly confines of Scott Field.

June 22 (early) - Estes Named All-State: Cooper catcher John David Estes has been named to the 1996 all-state team, selected by the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association.

....Estes, the top defensive catcher in the district besides being the cleanup hitter for Cooper, was named the most valuable player in District 4-5A this season, leading the Cougars to the district championship. Cooper advanced to the Region I-5A championship game before losing to eventual state champion Lubbock Monterey.

June 22 (early) - Grand Jury to Hear Ridgway Evidence: A Dallas grand jury is to hear evidence Tuesday against the man accused of the fatal shooting three years ago of former Dallas Cowboys kicker Colin Ridgway, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Friday.

....Ridgway, 54, was shot seven times in the living room of his duplex in the Dallas enclave of University Park on the evening of May 13, 1993.
....Kenneth Bicking III, 35, was arrested June 7 in Tamarack, Fla., on a warrant issued by University Park Municipal Judge James Paul Barklow. Bicking is being held in the Broward County Jail, pending extradition, which he is resisting.
....A police affidavit filed in support of the Bicking arrest warrant said Bicking killed Ridgway in a murder-for-hire plot brokered by Bicking's father, Kenneth A. Bicking Jr., and paid for by the victim's wife, Joan Ridgway.

June 21 - Jim Cleamons Wades into New Job with Mavericks

June 21 - PDogs Win Again: Another great pitching performance capped a 7-3 road trip as the Abilene Prairie Dogs beat the Tyler Wildcatters, 4-1, Thursday.

....Kerry Knox, who had his third straight good outing to improve to 3-1, Scott Jones and Brian Dunne limited the Wildcatters to 7 hits and had a shutout until Ken Shamburg hit a home run with two outs in the ninth inning.
....Until then the Texas-Louisiana League-leading Prairie Dogs were in control, despite having their own troubles at the plate.
....The Prairie Dogs, now 20-11, collected only 7 hits themselves, but took advanatage of wildness by Steve Long to take the early lead.

June 21 - Rangers Lose: It isn't often that a leadoff hitter grabs a share of the major-league lead in home runs this late in the season. It's also quite uncommon to see a center fielder throw out a runner trying to score from second base on a single.

....Brady Anderson pulled off both those feats Thursday.
....Anderson hit his 25th homer and preserved the victory with a stellar defensive play in the eighth inning as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Texas Rangers 3-2.

June 21 (early) - Fastpitch Tourney On: The annual District 11 Amateur Softball Association girls fastpitch softball tournament will be held today through Sunday at Nelson Park and Jane Sellers Park.

....A total of 46 teams from the Big Country area, including one from Abilene, will compete in the double elimination tournament.
....Divisions are set for 12-and-under, 14-and-under, 16-and-under, and 18-and-under.
....A coaches meeting will be held at 5:15 p.m. today. Opening cermonies are set for 6:15 p.m. today, and games will start at 7 p.m.

June 20 - Charles Coody Credits Son with Improved Play, Win

June 20 - PDogs Sweep Tyler in Twinbill: The Abilene Prairie Dogs finally got to play for the first time since Sunday, sweeping Tyler in a doubleheader Wednesday night to move into first place in the Texas-Louisiana League standings.

....In the first of the two 7-inning games of the twinbill at Mike Carter Field, Abilene downed the Wildcatters 8-1. The Prairie Dogs then rallied for three runs in the top of the seventh of the second game to grab a 5-3 victory.
....The wins moved the Prairie Dogs ahead of former frontrunner Amarillo, which was 19-13 after Wednesday night's 3-1 road loss to Rio Grande Valley.
....Abilene improved to 19-11 with the doubleheader sweep. The Prairie Dogs had an open date on Monday, and the first game of their three-game series at Tyler was postponed by rain, setting up the doubleheader.

June 20 - Rangers Still Have O's Number: This one was closer than usual, although the result was agonizingly familiar to Baltimore Orioles manager Davey Johnson.

....Bobby Witt came within an out of a shutout and Warren Newson homered as the Texas Rangers beat the Orioles 3-2 Wednesday in the first game of a doubleheader.
....The scoreless second game was stopped by rain in the second inning and postponed after a delay of two hours. The game was rescheduled for Thursday afternoon.
....In the first game, Darryl Hamilton had three hits and Dean Palmer had a double and a single as Texas improved to 8-1 against Baltimore this season. The Rangers have outscored the Orioles 69-32 in those games.
...."It seems like this is getting a little repetitious against this Texas ballclub," Johnson said. "I don't know what it is, but it seems they have their way against us."

June 20 (early) - Oilers Sign Dorsett: Cornerback Anthony Dorsett, son of Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett, has agreed to a contract with the Houston Oilers.

....Dorsett was a sixth-round pick out of Pittsburgh.

June 20 (early) - Former Tech Player Admits Cheating: A former Texas Tech football player has told the NCAA that an assistant coach and an academic counselor helped him cheat on a Bible college correspondence course, the Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday. ....Stephen Gaines, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound defensive lineman who started for Texas Tech in 1992 and 1993, said the assistance helped him get credit for a course from Southeastern College of the Assemblies of God in Lakeland, Fla.

June 19 - Local Man to Referee at Summer Olympics

June 18 - ACU Wins Second-Best Overall Sports Program in Division II: Young coaches, veteran coaches. Impressive facilities, excellent recruiting. Attractive campus, administrative support.

...All have contributed to one thing - winning the Wildcat way.
...Abilene Christian University narrowly missed claiming the 1995-96 Sears Directors' Cup for NCAA Division II which is awarded annually to the school with the best overall sports program.
...This year, ACU was nipped at the wire by the University of California at Davis. ACU's banner year included national championships in men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field.
...The school also recorded top 10 national finishes in women's cross country, women's basketball, women's tennis and men's golf.
...ACU Director of Athletics Stan Lambert, who was appointed to his current position just a year ago, has witnessed remarkable success by the Wildcats in a short time.
..."Our coaches have demonstrated the things you have to do that makes it necessary to win," Lambert said. "It takes a lot of hard work in the off-season and our student-athletes really came forward and performed at extremely high levels."

June 17 - The Sunburn is Supposed to be Painful

June 17 - Abilene Olympic Hopeful Falls Short in Atlanta: Former ACU track standout Tim Bright failed in a bid to make his fourth straight U.S. Olympic team when he no-heighted in the pole vault finals Sunday at Olympic Stadium.
...Bright, who made the U.S. team in 1984 and '88 in the decathlon and in 1992 in the pole vault, passed at the opening height of 18-01/2, then missed all three attempts at 18-41/2.
Merkel's Brit Pursley cleared 18-41/2 and finished 8th.
...Former ACU hurdler Eric Thomas qualified as the alternate for the U.S. team in the 400-meter hurdles. He finished fourth in the finals Sunday night, matching his previous best of 48.54.
...Former Rice hurdler Brian Bronson was the winner in 47.98. Derrick Adkins, who was the world champion last year, finished second in 48.18. Calvin Davis just edged Thomas for third in 48.32.
...ACU strength coach Cliff Felkins had a disappointing day in the discus qualifying. Two fouls put the pressure on for his third attempt and he managed only a 167-9 throw, over 30 feet under his season best. That was the 32nd best throw and only the top 12 made it to today's finals.
...The only ACU competitor in today's action is senior Kevin Dilworth. He is in the men's long jump qualifying at 2 p.m.

June 16 - Prairie Dogs Come Up Short: The Abilene Prairie Dogs tried to mount one of their patented comebacks Saturday, but this time the hill was just too steep to climb.
...Rio Grande Valley held on for an 11-7 victory over Abilene, halting the Texas-Louisiana League-leading Prairie Dogs' four-game winning streak.
The Prairie Dogs, who have trailed after six innings in eight of their 17 wins this season, fell behind 11-1 after seven innings.
...But Barry Jones - facing reliever Mike Hartung who was traded to the WhiteWings a week ago to make room on the roster after Jones was activated from the injured list - blasted a three-run homer in the top of the eighth.
...Eric Gonzalez followed with a two-run homer to trim the WhiteWings' lead to 11-6. ...Abilene, sending 11 batters to the plate in the eighth inning, then loaded the bases before another former Prairie Dogs' pitcher, Doug Piatt, struck out Rod Brewer to end the Abilene threat.
...Jones opened the ninth inning with his second straight home run of the game, his fifth homer in 32 at-bats since returning to the Abilene lineup a week ago. But Piatt retired the Prairie Dogs without further damage to save the victory over winning pitcher Ralph Bonelli, although Abilene had runners on first and second when the game ended.
...Rio Grande Valley grabbed a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning. Pat O'Connor drove in two runs with a double that bounced over Abilene third baseman Manny Gagliano's head. O'Connor scored on Luke Oglesby's bloop single.
...Ramon Cedeno belted a two-run homer in the fifth as the WhiteWings increased their lead to 5-0. Rio Grande Valley then made it 7-0 with two more runs in the sixth inning. The big blow was John O'Brien's RBI double.
...Abilene scored its first run in the seventh when Scott Bethea's RBI single scored Gagliano.
...But the WhiteWings added four more runs in the bottom of the seventh off reliever Troy ...Hirsch, the third Abilene pitcher of the game. Starting pitcher Sam Arminio (2-1) suffered his first loss of the season.

June 15 - Sunburn Grand Prix Bigger and Better than Ever

June 14 - PDogs Finally in First Place

June 14 - Tech Assistant Indicted for Fight: A Texas Tech assistant basketball coach was indicted Wednesday on an aggravated assault count after a fight in a Lubbock restaurant and bar.
....The Lubbock County grand jury returned an indictment against Greg Pinkney, a Red Raiders coach since 1992 and one of the team's primary recruiters.
....Witnesses said Pinkney broke the arm of a Texas Tech medical school student in a scuffle over cigarette smoke.
...."The gentleman came after me," said Pinkney, who expects an acquittal. "I defended myself by hitting him one time."
....Tech interim athletic director Gerald Myers said the fight "was an unfortunate incident and totally out of character" for Pinkney. Head coach James Dickey and Myers said the school plans no action against Pinkney.

June 14 - Rangers Put Clark on DL: The Texas Rangers placed first baseman Will Clark on the 15-day disabled list and activated Kurt Stillwell, who started at second base Thursday night against the Boston Red Sox.
....Stillwell was put on the disabled list May 18 with a pulled muscle in his right rib cage. In a four-game rehabilitation assignment at Oklahoma City, he batted .235.

June 13 - UIL Takes Aim at Non-School Sports Participation

June 13 - Rangers Win: The Texas Rangers, behind the hitting of Mickey Tettleton outscored the Milwaukee Brewers, 13-6, Wednesday.
....Tettleton had two home runs.

June 13 - Edwards Named Albany Coach: Brian Edwards, Hardin-Simmons University's all-time leading scorer, has been named the new boys basketball coach at Albany High School.
....He replaces Eddie Barker. Albany athletic director Denney Faith said Barker asked to be reassigned to coaching in junior high where he also will remain as a teacher.
....Edwards, who played high school basketball at Gatesville, scored 1,973 points during his HSU career (1990-94). He was first team all-Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (TIAA) as a sophomore and senior and was honorable mention all-America his senior year. He was also the TIAA freshman of the year.
....This is his first coaching job. He'll also teach junior high science.

June 13 - McMurry's Edwards honored: McMurry University's Ken Edwards has been named a 1996 NAIA Baseball all-America Scholar-Athlete. He is one of 37 athletes selected to this year's team.
....Edwards, a senior outfielder from Grapevine, is a finance major and had a 3.60 grade-point average.

June 12 - ACU Second in Sears Cup Competition

June 12 - Rangers Lose: John Jaha had four hits and four RBIs and Milwaukee starter Ben McDonald survived a shaky outing as the Brewers pounded out 20 hits to beat Texas 14-4 Tuesday night, snapping the Rangers' four-game winning streak.
....McDonald (6-3) improved his career mark against Texas to 6-1 despite giving up five hits in the first two innings, escaping with only one run.

June 12 - Estes to play in all-star game: Cooper catcher John David Estes has been selected to play in the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association All-Star game.

....The game will be played Saturday at noon at the University of Houston's Cougar Field. Estes will play for the North squad in the game.
....Estes, a three-year starter, hit .410 during District 4-5A play and was named the Most Valuable Player in the district.

June 12 (early) - UIL Controversy Heats Up: The Texas Legislature's effort to give local control to school districts has coaches and school administrators outraged over the number of teams a student-athlete can play on during a season.
....The University Interscholastic League's policy committee on athletics Tuesday held its annual hearing on proposed rule changes, which include adding wrestling for boys and pole vault in track for girls.
....But the meeting was dominated by complaints that the Legislature's revision of the state education code stripped the UIL's ability to regulate a student's participation in non-school sanctioned sports.

June 11 - Rangers Win Again: Darryl Hamilton went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs against his former team as the Texas Rangers won their fourth straight, an 8-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.


.....The Rangers stretched their lead over second-place Seattle in the AL West to 6-1/2 games, the largest in franchise history. Texas improved to 39-23, its best record ever after 62 games.
....Ivan Rodriguez and Kevin Elster each drove in two runs for the Rangers, while Mark McLemore went 3-for-4, making him 16-for-31 in June.

June 11 - PDogs Lose Again: For the second straight night, the Abilene Prairie Dogs missed a chance to move into first place in the Texas-Louisiana League, falling 7-2 Monday night to Alexandria.

....The second straight loss for Abilene dropped the Prairie Dogs to 13-9 on the season, tied with Lubbock for second place in the league at 13-9. Amarillo, which lost to Lubbock 10-3 Monday night, is 14-9, one-half game ahead of the Prairie Dogs and Crickets.

June 11 (early) - Arrest Made in Former Punter's Death: More than three years after former Dallas Cowboys punter Colin Ridgway was found dead in his home, police finally have arrested a suspect.

....Kenneth A. Bicking III, 35, was in custody of Florida officials on Monday awaiting an extradition hearing to face a Dallas County charge for the capital murder of Ridgway, who was a punter and kicker for the Cowboys in 1965.
....Bicking was arrested Friday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. for the May 13, 1993, shooting death of Ridgway. The 54-year-old ex-football player was shot nine times shortly after returning home from dinner with his wife, Joan.

June 10 - Hey, the Rangers May Just Be for Real This Time

June 10 - PDogs Skunked by Crickets: The Abilene Prairie Dogs closed out their 14-game homestand Sunday night with their flattest performance of the season.

....Lubbock scored four runs in the third, five in the sixth and one in the ninth to take a 10-0 win over Abilene in front of 3,289 fans at Scott Field.
....Despite the loss, Abilene remained just one-half game behind Amarillo, which lost to Tyler, 12-9. The Prairie Dogs closed out their longest homestand of the season with a 10-4 record.

June 9 - PDogs Win, Sign Jones: The Prairie Dogs, who beat the Lubbock Crickets Saturday, 6-5, also completed the Barry Jones deal the same day by signing him and trading relief pitcher Mike Hartung.

....Hartung was traded to Rio Grande Valley for future considerations in order to clear a roster spot for Jones, who was activated from the injured reserve list and was in the starting lineup as the designated hitter.
....Jones hit seventh in the batting order, the first time since he was at AAA Richmond that he has hit that low in the order.

June 9 - Chicken Here: Tonight is the return of the world famous Chicken. Prairie Dog officials said there are 300 reserved tickets and an unlimited number of general admission tickets left.

....When the reserved tickets are sold, the general admission tickets will go on sale and the Prairie Dogs will accomodate all fans who want to go to the game.
....Game time is 7:05 p.m.

June 9 - Oliver Pitches Rangers to Win: Darren Oliver, whose 1995 season was cut short by rotator cuff surgery, pitched his first major league shutout Saturday night, leading the Texas Rangers over the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0.

....Oliver (5-2) allowed five hits, struck out four and walked one. It was his first career complete game in 18 starts.
....Oliver won only four games last season before undergoing surgery to repair a partial tear in his left shoulder.

June 9 - Monterey Wins Title: Dusty Hart delivered a clutch two-run single in the sixth inning and Mark Martinez threw dizzying curve balls to help Lubbock Monterey come from behind and defeat Klein Oak 5-4 in the Class 5A championship game early Saturday morning.

....Monterey (36-3), making a record tying 12th appearance at the state tournament, won its fourth state title in a game that began just before midnight due to a four-hour rain delay earlier in the day.

June 9 - Hawk in Championship: Brandon Hawk has reached today's championship match in the Boys 18 singles draw at the Texas Junior Super Sectionals tennis tournament at Hamilton Park Tennis Center.

....Hawk, who is seeded No. 1, defeated 14th-seeded Andy Murillo of San Antonio 6-1, 6-1 in his semifinal contest on Saturday.
....In today's 10 a.m. final, Hawk will take on Ali Ansari of Houston, the No. 7 seed.

June 9 - Reds to hold tryout camps: The Cincinnati Reds will hold tryout camps on Friday at Howard Payne in Brownwood and Saturday at Abilene Christian University's Scott Field. Both camps begin at 9 a.m. and will be under the direction of Johnny Almaraz, the scouting supervisor for the Reds in Texas and Louisiana.

....Players must be between the ages of 15-23 and must supply their own glove, shoes and uniform. Members of an American Legion team must have a note of permission from their coach or legion post commander.

June 9 - Twins to hold tryout in Big Spring: The Minnesota Twins will hold an open tryout camp on Monday, June 17 at the Big Spring High School field.

....Players must be between the ages of 16-22 and undrafted in the 1996 June free agent draft. Players must supply their own gloves, spikes and bats. American Legion players need written permission from their coach or legion post commander in order to participate.
....The camp, which begins at 9 a.m., will be under the direction of Marty Esposito, the Twins' scout for Texas and Louisiana.

June 8 - It Wasn't Easy, But PDogs Keep On Winning

June 8 - Rangers Beat Blue Jays: Dean Palmer and Rusty Greer drove in three runs each, and bad defense by Toronto led to several more, overshadowing a big night by Carlos Delgado as the Texas Rangers beat the Blue Jays 10-7 Friday night.

....The Rangers led 5-0 one out into the game off Toronto rookie Marty Janzen (3-2), then added two runs in the fourth, one in the fifth and two in the sixth.

June 8 - Pursley in Olympic Trials: Former Merkel pole vaulter Brit Pursley has qualified for the Olympic Trials next week in Atlanta.

....Pursley cleared 18-10-1/2 in a qualifying meet at Oklahoma State University last sunday. ....The automatic qualifying standard is 18-10.
....The graduate of Texas Tech will travel to Atlanta for the Trials June 14-17.

June 8 - Wylie's Brown signs with Southern Mississippi: Former Wylie pitcher Caleb Brown has signed a letter-of-intent to play baseball at the University of Southern Mississippi, an NCAA Division I school in Hattiesburg, Miss.
....Brown, a left-hander, has played the last two seasons for Howard College in Big Spring. He compiled an 11-4 record this season with a 2.28 earned run average. During his freshman year, he was 7-1 with a 3.67 ERA.

June 8 - Cooper golfers take 1-2: Cooper golfers Josh Smithson and Damien Mitchell finished first and second, respectively, Thursday in the boys 16-18 division at a North Texas PGA Junior Tour golf tournament at Pecan Valley Golf Course.
....Smith won with a 77, and Mitchell was second with a 78.

June 8 (early) - Hawk Wins Honor: Clyde's Brandon Hawk won the McFarlin Award Tuesday night,an honor given to the top junior male tennis player who displays superiorskills, competitiveness, sportsmanship and character.

....He was presented the award at the Texas Tennis Association's annualbanquet.
....Hawk, who will be a junior at Clyde High School next year, is ranked fifthin the nation in boys 16s. Hawk is the top seed at the Dr Pepper SuperSectionals in which he is currently competing here.

June 8 (early) - Soccer Coach Needed: Odessa High is looking for a head boys soccer coach and an assistant in football with teaching fields in English and physical education. For more information, contact Don Ford at (915) 334-7172 or fax resumes to (915) 335-9277.

June 7 - PDogs Keep on Winning Against White Wings

June 7 - Graham Advances in Championship Game in Austin

June 7 (early) - Tech Coach Recovering from Surgery: Texas Tech football coach Spike Dykes has returned home, and declared himself ready to "hit the ground running," after undergoing elective triple-bypass surgery.

....Dykes told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal doctors performed the surgery last week.
...."The prognosis is great," said Dykes, 56, who got home on Tuesday. "I got to go home early. I've got to take it easy for a couple of weeks and get my strength back, but there are no problems."
....Several Tech officials confirmed last Friday that Dykes had undergone minor surgery earlier in the day, but would not divulge the nature of the procedure. They said Dykes didn't want friends or fans to worry about him.

June 7 (early) - ACU Wins LSC's All-Sports Competition: After winning seven of the league's 10 sports, Abilene Christian University captured the all-sports competition for the Lone Star Conference for the 1995-96 school years.

....The Wildcats won the LSC all-sports race for the 10th time in the last 12 years and for the 12th time in the 23 years that ACU has been a member of the conference.
....ACU won LSC championships in men's and women's cross country, men's and women's track and field, baseball and women's tennis and tied West Texas A&M for the league title in women's basketball.

June 6 - PDogs Get Revenge on White Wings

June 6 - ACU Announces First Signing for Softball Program

June 6 - Rangers Lose to Brewers: Ben McDonald pitched six solid innings for his first victory in more than a month and Dave Nilsson drove in two runs as Milwaukee defeated Texas, 6-4.
....McDonald (5-3) allowed two runs on five hits with four strikeouts and one walk for his first win in six starts since May 5. Mike Fetters worked the ninth for his ninth save.

June 6 (early) - Larry Brown Files Suit Against Bank: Financial troubles just won't go away for Super Bowl MVP Larry Brown.
....Brown has filed suit in 352nd State District Court in Fort Worth against the bank that financed his failed business, Boxies Cafe, contending the institution conspired to hurt him financially.
....The former Dallas Cowboy cornerback, who intercepted two passes in Super Bowl XXX and recently signed with Oakland, has been in a yearlong feud with the First National Bank of Grapevine, which charged that Brown falsified a 1994 loan application.

June 6 (early) - State Baseball Playoffs Begin...: Lubbock Monterey will be making a record-tying 12th appearance in the state baseball tournament Thursday, and the Plainsmen appear to have strong pitching to go with the highest scoring average of the Class 5A semifinalists.
....Monterey (34-3), which is averaging 10.62 runs per game this season, will send left-handed curveballer Mark Martinez (15-0) against League City Clear Creek (25-7), the 1991 5A champions, on Thursday night.
....In the other 5A semifinal, Klein Oak (28-4-1) will meet Eagle Pass (24-8), which knocked off Corpus Christi Moody in the regional finals to reach the state tournament for the first time since 1988.

June 6 (early) - ....And Graham to be Part of Them: The Graham Steers are down to their last Dollar, but are hoping to cash in that valuable currency for the jackpot in their second straight trip to the Class 3A state baseball tournament.
....The Steers (21-9) will meet Mineola (28-4) in their semifinals Thursday, and the winner will play at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Disch-Falk Field against either Crockett (25-6) or Dripping Springs (25-6) for the state title.

June 5 - New Abilene High Football Coach Ready for Challenge

June 5- White Wings Rough up PDogs

June 5 - Brewers Beat Rangers: The Milwaukee Brewers took advantage of a rusty Kevin Gross, scoring five times in the first inning on their way to beating the Texas Rangers.
....Ricky Bones (4-8) gave up two runs on seven hits in 7 1-3 innings in beating Texas for the fourth straight time. Since 1994, he has given up just four earned runs in 29 1-3 innings against the Rangers for an ERA of 1.23.

June 5 (early) - Stewart Named at A&M: Tracy Stewart was named a Texas A&M women's assistant basketball coach on Tuesday.
....Stewart, 31, comes from Westark Community College In Fort Smith, Ark., where she served as an assistant for the Lady Lions. She organized recruiting for Westark, which finished the 1996 season with a 29-3 record and the Bi-State East Conference championship title.

June 5 (early) - Gainey Inks New GM Pact: Bob Gainey, who stepped down as Dallas Stars coach to concentrate on being general manager, has solidified himself in that position with a new three-year contract.

....Gainey, who relinquished coaching duties to Ken Hitchcock in January, has agreed to basic terms for a deal, new owner Thomas Hicks said Monday.

June 4 - Gaines Leaving Unfair for Abilene High (Lance Fleming column)

June 4 - Gonzalez Standing Tall for Streaking Prairie Dogs

June 4 - Rangers Bop Brewers: Dean Palmer hit a 437-foot homer and Bobby Witt won for the first time in five starts Monday night as the Texas Rangers routed the Milwaukee Brewers 9-6.

....Rangers All-Star catcher Ivan Rodriguez left the game in the first inning after getting hit on his right wrist by a wild pitch and was replaced by Dave Valle. X-rays were negative and he's listed day-to-day.
....Witt (5-4) gave up two earned runs and five hits with four walks and seven strikeouts in six innings for his first win since April 8 against Toronto.
....The Brewers rallied for four runs in the ninth against Texas' bullpen before Mike Henneman finally closed it out for his 16th save.

June 4 (early) - HSU Ranked 10th in Poll: Hardin-Simmons University is ranked 10th in the nation in Bob Griese's 1996College Football preseason poll.

....The Cowboys finished last year with a 9-2 record and tied Howard Payne forthe Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association champoinship. HSU also advancedto the NAIA Division II quarterfinals for the fourth straight year.
....Hardin-Simmons has 11 starters returning from last year's team which lostto Central Washington in the quarterfinals. Central Washington tied Findley,Ohio, for the national championship.
The magazine also selected punter Rusty Oglesby to its all-America team.

June 4 (early) - Astros Cut Swindell: Three disappointing seasons after signing pitcher Greg Swindell to a $17 million contract, the Houston Astros cut their losses Monday by releasing the lefthander and promoting a rookie.

....Swindell, 31, lost back-to-back games and had an 11.37 ERA in a pair of relief appearances for the Astros last week after returning from a groin injury. He had been dismal in four starts before the injury, going 0-1 with 13 earned runs in 7 1/3 innings.

June 3 - Hot PDogs Keep on Winning

June 3 - Rangers Lose in the 9th: Minnesota rallied for three runs with two outs in the ninth off Texas relievers Jeff Russell and Gil Heredia for a 6-5 victory.

....Juan Gonzalez hit a 449-foot home run, the second-longest in the three-year history of The Ballpark in Arlington, giving Texas a 5-3 lead in the seventh.
....Russell (1-1), trying for his first save, gave up a one-out single to Paul Molitor and a tying home run to Dave Hollins with two outs in the ninth.

June 2 - Cooper Season ends with 8-0 Loss to Lubbock Monterey

June 2 - Estes 4-5A MVP; AHS Gets 5 on All-District Team

June 2 - PDogs Win Thriller before Largest Crowd

June 1 - Cooper vs. Monterey Today: Cooper faces Lubbock Monterey today at noon at Christensen Stadium in Midland in a one-game playoff in the I-5A regional finals.

.... The winner advances to the state finals in Austin. Cooper is 26-9, and Monterey is 33-3.

June 1 - Turning the Prairie Dogs Around

June 1 - Rangers Beat Twins: Rusty Greer, starting for the first time in 10 games, hit a two-run single during a six-run third inning Friday night as the Texas Rangers won their sixth straight, 7-2 over the Minnesota Twins.
....Greer and Darryl Hamilton drove in two runs apiece in the third as the Rangers (34-19) moved 15 games over .500 for the first time since 1977.
Mickey Tettleton and Warren Newson added RBI singles in the third when Texas sent 11 batters to the plate.
....Kern Hill (7-3) took advantage of the early run support for his fourth victory in five decisions while lowering his league-leading ERA to 2.66. He allowed one earned run and seven hits in 7 1/3 innings.

June 1 - Aces Surprise PDogs: Good pitching performances have been few and far between this season for the Alexandria Aces.
....But Friday night, Josh Montgomery delivered one of the few as the Aces beat Abilene, 4-0, in front of 1,187 fans at Scott Field.
....Montgomery scattered six hits over 82/3 scoreless innings before leaving with two men on base in the bottom of the ninth. Jerry Santos got Paul Gonzalez to ground out for the final out of the game, preserving the shutout victory.

June 1 - Bryant finalist for Smith Award: Clemson pitcher Kris Benson, Cal State Fullerton outfielder-pitcher Mark Kotsay and Texas Tech third baseman Clint Bryant are the finalists for the Smith Award, it was announced Friday.
....The Smith Award, college baseball's version of the Heisman Trophy in football, goes to the nation's top player. The honor is presented by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Rotary Club of Houston.
....Bryant is the two-time Southwest Conference most valuable player and has had 193 RBIs in 130 Red Raider games.
....The winner will be named June 27 in Houston.

June 1 (early) - Mavs Make Cleamons Official: Jim Cleamons, who has been with the two winningest teams in NBA history, was introduced today as the Dallas Mavericks' head coach.
....Cleamons was an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls, whose 72-win season broke the NBA record set by the 1972 Los Angeles Lakers, for whom Cleamons played. Cleamons also helped coach Chicago to three NBA championships in the 1990s.
...."It made me feel good that the Mavericks wanted me," Cleamons said. "Our visions are the same."
....He becomes the sixth coach in the franchise's 16-year history and the first under new owners Ross Perot Jr. and David McDavid.
....Cleamons, 47, who has never been an NBA head coach, emerged as the leading candidate from a list of finalists that included former Phoenix coach Paul Westphal, former Boston coach Chris Ford and former Mavericks player and assistant Brad Davis.

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