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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas

Sports

Friday, July 24, 1998

Pecos faces Lubbock after wins


By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
MIDLAND, July 24 -- It will be Pecos vs. Lubbock, Pecos vs.
Lubbock and -- in a rematch -- Pecos vs. Lubbock this
evening, in subsectional baseball play for the Little League
`A' and `B' and Junior League All-Star teams.

Pecos' 11-12 year old team will face Lubbock Midwest at 7
p.m. today at the Midland North Central's Little League
Complex, following their 14-1 victory on Thursday over the
Highway 15 All-Star team from the far northeastern Texas
Panhandle. The winner will advance to Sunday's tournament
championship game.

Pecos' 13-year-old Junior League squad will open their
subsectional tournament at the Roy Anderson Sports Complex
in Big Spring this evening against Lubbock Southwest,
beginning at 6 p.m. Pecos drew a first round bye in the
three-team tournament while Lubbock downed Big Spring
American on Thursday, 12-4.

Pecos' 9-10 year old squad already has faced Lubbock Western
once, and they'll do it again at 7 p.m. today in Lubbock, in
an elimination round game. The `B' All-Stars stayed alive on
Thursday with a 10-1 victory over Childress after their 12-0
loss to Lubbock on Wednesday. Western was edged by Midland
Northern on Thursday, 6-5, in the subectional semifinals.

Robbie Saldana was staked to a 6-0 lead after one-half
inning of Thursday's Little League `A' game, and allowed
just one run in the second inning, by which time Pecos had
an 8-0 lead.

"Robbie did the job with his little curveball," said coach
Lee Serrano. "We've only been working on it for one week,
and he did a nice job with that, and he worked a little
knuckleball in there.

"We knew he'd have to have some kind of change-up against
those kids," Serrano said.

The Highway 15 team was made up of players from Booker,
Darsouzett and Follett, three towns so far north in the
Panhandle they're closer to Kansas City than to Midland. A
trip there to watch the Texas Rangers beat the Royals
Thursday would probably have been more enjoyable, as Saldana
led off a parade of seven first inning hits off pitcher Cody
Freeman that gave Pecos the early lead.

Elario Bustamantes added a double, while Rigo Ramirez, Jose
Reyes, Oscar Parada, Zo Serrano and Jesse Gonzales added
singles in the inning. In the second, a Victor Reyes single,
Ramirez double and Parada ground out made it 8-0, while in
the third it was a Greg Barrera single, a triple by Saldana
and a Bustamates ground out that added two more runs.

Pecos was retired in order in the fourth and fifth innings
but in the sixth Saldana, Bustamantes and Victor Reyes
opened with singles and Ramirez doubled for a 13-1 lead. He
would score the final run of Gerardo Mendoza's two-out hit.

Jody Ferguson's second inning home run was the lone
highlight for the Highway 15 team, which will face Midland
Northern in the elimination game tonight. Northern was
blanked by Lubbock Midwest 10-0, in Thursday's other game.

The 9-10 year olds took a little longer to get their runs,
and did it despite getting only four hits. "Childress had
trouble finding the plate. We had 10 walks," coach John
Salcido said.

Two of the four hits came from Isiah Rayos and Eddie Vela in
thefirst inning, when Pecos scored twice. They added another
run in the second inning, three more in the third and scored
twice in each of their final two at-bats.

"They didn't score their run until their last at-bat,"
Salcido said, as Rayos and Jacob Jaramillo combined on a
one-hitter. "They had eight strikeouts, and the one hits was
off Jacob in the last inning."

"Basically, we played good defense and got good pitching
from Isiah in the first three innings, and then Jacob came
in an pitched the final three," said Salicdo, who added that
Vela will start on the mound tonight against Lubbock.

"Hopefully they'll see a different team, but Lubbock is
tough. They're a solid fastball hitting team, and that's all
we've got," said Salcido. "But if we can win tonight, I
think we have a good chance to win the whole thinng, because
I think Lubbock is better than Midland."

If they win, Pecos would play in the finals against Midland
at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

Pecos' Junior League team would like to earn a berth in
Sunday's finals, though they could be out of the tournament
as early as tonight. A win would advance them to the 5:30
p.m. game on Sunday in Big Spring, while a loss would force
them to play again at 8 p.m. tonight against Big Spring to
advance to Sunday's title game.

Garrett finally gets Cowboys' No. 2 job


By DENNE H. FREEMAN
AP Sports Writer
WICHITA FALLS, July 24 -- Remember Thanksgiving Day, 1994
when Jason Garrett saved the game with one of the most
dramatic performances in the history of the Dallas Cowboys?

Well, it took three years but Garrett has finally been
promoted to No. 2 quarterback for the Cowboys, taking over
for Wade Wilson, who was not re-signed and ended up at
Oakland.

Garrett completed 15 of 26 passes for 311 yards and two
touchdowns over the Green Bay Packers to earn NFC Player of
the Week as a sub for the injured Troy Aikman.

From that day forth, Garrett has had the confidence of the
players on the Cowboys team.

The promotion hasn't changed Garrett, the young man who
played at Princeton and signed as a free agent.

``My focus has always been to work and be prepared if you
have to go into the game,'' Garrett said. ``We all know Troy
is going to be in there but if he goes down I have to be
ready. I have to be ready to play every snap this year if I
have to.''

Aikman is one of Garrett's biggest fans.

``Nothing has been handed to him, he's earned the right to
be No. 2,'' Aikman said.

Garrett is thriving in the new Chan Gailey offense in which
the quarterback and the receiver have to make the correct
reads.

``I love this offense,'' Garrett said. ``It's a lot of fun
to run.''

Wide receiver Ernie Mills said Garrett ``has a nice touch on
the ball and he gets it there. He's an excellent backup to
Troy.''

Gailey certainly thinks so.

``He's not as big, fast, or have as strong an arm as you
would like,'' Gailey said. ``But the issue with me is
decision making and he does a great job.''

Garrett is expected to play against Seattle in the July 31
preseason opener in Texas Stadium.

``We want to get Jason a lot of action in this offense,''
Gailey said.

Agent says Floyd definitely to get job


CHICAGO, July 24 (AP) -- If Phil Jackson gives the word, Tim
Floyd's new job with the Chicago Bulls might be the shortest
one he's ever had.

For now, the former Iowa State coach's official title is
director of basketball operations. But that's just
temporary, something to tide him over while chairman Jerry
Reinsdorf asks Jackson one more time if he wants to come
back. If Jackson says no, the head coaching job is Floyd's.

Make that when, Jackson's agent said.

``For a long time, they have known that Tim Floyd would
replace Phil Jackson, and for a long time, they have known
that the '97-98 season would be Phil's last with the club,''
Todd Musburger, Jackson's agent, said Thursday. ``It is more
than a little disingenuous to suggest they have held the
door open for him.

``Does it have something to do with Michael and taking
responsibility for Michael's ultimate decision?'' he asked.
``Maybe.''

That would be Michael as in Michael Jordan, perhaps the
game's greatest player ever. The same guy who led the Bulls
to six NBA titles in eight years. And the same guy who
insisted again last week that he won't play for anyone but
Jackson.

That includes Floyd, who has a solid record as a college
coach but no NBA experience.

``This is all about Michael's wishes,'' Floyd said during
the news conference the Bulls held Thursday to introduce
him.

``We're in agreement that Michael will get together with Mr.
Reinsdorf, if he can get Michael to come back, and try to
talk Phil Jackson into coming back to join the team,'' Floyd
said. ``I'm not going to do anything to deter that
possibility from happening.''

Reinsdorf said he didn't know what the prospects are of
getting Jackson to return. Every time Reinsdorf asked,
Jackson said he didn't want to come back.

``We're going to try one more time,'' Reinsdorf said. ``And
maybe Michael can talk him into it.''

It won't happen, Musburger said.

``Is there, within the realm of reasonable possibilities, a
scenario that would force Phil to change his mind? The
answer is no,'' Musburger said. ```Any' is a big word. But
reasonable possibility? Absolutely not.''

Jackson, who returned almost two weeks ago from a vacation
in Turkey with his wife and former Sen. Bill Bradley and his
wife, wasn't available for comment.

A message on his answering machine in Montana said he was
``... uh, occupied right now. That could be a variety of
things from riding a bike, rocking on the porch, fishing off
the dock.''

Maybe that's why Floyd looked a little uneasy as he sat at a
table with Reinsdorf and general manager Jerry Krause in
front of dozens of reporters. With his wife, daughter and
mentor Don Haskins looking on, he cracked jokes, smiled and
did his best to win everyone over.

But he knows the person he really has to impress is Jordan,
who was on a golf course. Jordan has said he won't make any
official decision on his future until the NBA lockout ends.

``My interest is trying to play for a seventh world
championship,'' Floyd said. ``I'm really not interested in
changing a whole lot about what's taken place here because
this has been pretty special.''

A fishing buddy of Krause's -- ``don't call me Jerry
Krause's boy,'' Floyd said Thursday -- Floyd has long been
considered Jackson's replacement. The Bulls also interviewed
current NBA assistants Rick Carlisle, Ron Rothstein, Scott
Skiles and Paul Silas.

Floyd, 44, was 243-130 during his college coaching career
and his only losing season (12-18) was his last one. He was
81-47 in his four years at Iowa State and was runner-up for
the AP's national coach of the year award in 1995-96, when
the Cyclones finished 24-9 despite losing four starters.

``Certainly the coaching situation is one piece of the
puzzle, but it's not the only piece of the puzzle,'' said
David Falk, Jordan's agent. ``It would be unfair to Tim
Floyd for people to think Michael would make a career
decision based on an individual he's never met.''

Floyd said he is sincere about not wanting to change things.
He wants to keep veteran assistant Tex Winter, the creator
of the Bulls' vaunted triangle offense, as well as
assistants Frank Hamblen and Bill Cartwright. He plans to
stick with the same offense, and he has always been
defensive-minded.

There are some things about coaching in the NBA that he has
to learn, but Floyd said the lockout gives him time to
prepare. He might not be Jackson, but Floyd said he'll do
the best he can.

``I want our players to expect from Tim Floyd honesty,
forthrightness, respect, individual attention, direction and
expectations of greatness. I'm going to expect the same
things in return,'' he said. ``I don't think we're going to
have any problem. I think we're going to be on the same
page.''

Gymnas hope experimental drug


NEW YORK, July 24 (AP) -- The 17-year-old Chinese gymnast
paralyzed during practice for the Goodwill Games is
receiving an experimental drug that doctors say is her only
hope of ever walking again.

Doctors at Nassau County Medical Center initiated gymnast
Sang Lan's 57-day synthetic protein treatment Thursday night
after repre¬ sentatives of China's delegation spent the day
signing complicated consent forms.

``Because of liability concerns, everything must be
explained, and nobody speaks English,'' hospital spokeswoman
Shelley Lotenberg said. ``We want to make sure they
understand everything.''

Sang, the 1997 Chinese national vault champion, began
learning about the severity of her condition Thursday from
doctors who re¬ quired interpreters to deliver their somber
news.

Sang's parents remained half a world away, trying to get
the appro¬ priate visas to see their injured child -- a trip
that was likely their first outside China, officials said.

Sang was injured during a routine practice vault when she
missed her landing and struck the mat with her head. The
resulting fracture and dislocation of two neck vertebrae
left her with no movement in her legs.

She was still in critical but stable condition at the
Nassau County Medical Center on Thursday night.

Sang's parents were due in Saturday night, hours after
planned fu¬ sion surgery to stabilize their daughter's
spine. The family lives in the fairly remote town of Ningbo,
in Shanghai.

Sang's father, a government housing worker, and her mother,
a leather-factory employee, speak a different Chinese
dialect and will need different translators to communicate
with doctors, Lotenberg said. Hospital officials were
already arranging that.



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Pecos Enterprise
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324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321
e-mail news@pecos.net

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Copyright 1998 by Pecos Enterprise