Colored Rock Map of Texas at I-20 in Pecos, Click for Travel Guide Pecos Enterprise

Enterprise

ARCHIVES
Archives 62
Archives 74
Pecos Country History
Archives 87
1987 Tornado Photos
Rodeo Photos 88 |
Archives 95
Archives 96
Archives 97
News Photos 1997
Rodeo Photos 97 |
Archives 98
News Photos 1998
Rodeo Photos 98 |
Parade Photos 98 |

Area Newspapers
Advertising
Classified


|

Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas

Sports

Wednesday, Augsut 19, 1998

Williams deals with AD job, new district


By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
Longtime Pecos Eagles' baseball coach Bubba Williams has
been dealing with some extra responsibilities since adding
the duties of Pecos-Barstow-Toyah athletic director to his
resume earlier this year.

He's also added on some extra travel as well, including at
least one unnecessary trips to Clint a week ago.

That's where Williams and Pecos-Barstow-Toyah Superintendent
Don Love were today, after making the 185-mile drive last
Monday, only to find out the district administrators'
meeting had been canceled.

The meeting was designed to discuss fall sports and other
items for the new District 2-4A, which the Eagles were put
into last January by the University Interscholastic League.

The realignment came just weeks after Williams was named as
the new athletic director for the district, and setting up
schedules for Pecos -- which now has no district game closer
than a 350-mile round trip -- was one of the first things
the longtime Eagles coach had to deal with.

"The job has been challenging, but I'm grateful to have the
opportunity to try and change something and get our kids to
make a commitment," he said. "I'm proud of Pecos schools and
I'm going to try and get it done."

"This was a job opportunity I thought would never come
true," said Williams, who thanked Love -- his former
assistant baseball coach in the late 1980s and early 1990s
-- and P-B-T school board members for giving him the chance.
"I'm going to try to the best of my abilities to make this a
situation everyone can be happy with."

Williams, who graduated from Pecos High School, has served
in a variety of coaching positions at PHS for nearly 25
years, including head baseball coach since 1982. Last week,
he was busy making up the non-district portion of his 1999
baseball schedule.

Williams said coaches for each sport handle scheduling for
the non-district portion of their seasons, after he, Love
and new head football coach Dan Swaim traveled to Clint in
February to help draw up a 2-4A schedule that cost Pecos
athletes as little missed class time as possible. To do
that, virtually all of the Eagles' out-of-town trips this
year will be on Friday or Saturday.

Outside of some District 4-4A swimming titles and a couple
of third place playoff spots in volleyball, Pecos' success
has been limited to individual events for the past couple of
years. However, in the new 2-4A, the Eagles are favored to
win or compete for district titles in football, volleyball
and tennis this fall.

"We're going out west and I feel like the kids are very
motivated," Williams said. "They're working hard, not only
in football, but the volleyball, tennis and the others all
are working hard, so things seem to be looking up.

"I've had great support. All the coaches have been very
supportive, and sitting in a position like this you have to
have that type of support to be successful."

Along with scheduling changes, Williams said the athletic
budgets also had to be altered with travel to district games
alone covering 2,000 miles apiece for the Eagles' varsity
volleyball, basketball baseball and softball teams, along
with the JV and freshman teams in volleyball and the JV
squads in basketball. That's about twice the travel distance
each team had to make as a member of District 4-4A the past
two years.

"It's a lot different from the district we've been in, with
a lot more travel, but I feel like the kids will adjust to
it, because we had to travel to Sweetwater and (San Angelo)
Lake View, so it's not like we're not accustomed to it," he
said. "It's just the atmosphere is different compared to the
other district, but we'll just have to go out there and
compete."

"I'm looking at all the athletes eventually being
successful." Williams said. "I want them to be successful
both in the classroom and on the field, and I want them to
participate in as many sports as possible."

The numbers already are up in volleyball, and were expected
to climb in football and tennis, after classes got underway
on Thursday. Williams' job includes keeping up on all the
P-B-T athletic teams, which he began doing last January at
the Eagles' home basketball games and at the District 4 swim
meet in Monahans.

"I'm happy to be where I am, and I thank the Lord for giving
me this opportunity," Williams said. "Hopefully, He will
guide me through."

"For every sport we have to allow more for mileage, more for
food," he said. "One thing the administration stressed is to
take care of the kids.

Bucks make Eagles pay for errors


By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, Aug. 19 -- The Pecos Eagles played pretty much at the
same level in both their season opening matches Tuesday at
the Pecos High School gym. It was the level of their
opponents' play that was different.

The Eagles missed 17 serves in their opener against Odessa
High, but weren't punished for it, as the shorthanded
Bronchos could generate no offense, allowing Pecos to first
rally for a 15-12 opening win, then complete the sweep with
a 15-7 victory.

But the Alpine Bucks were nowhere near as generous as Odessa
High had been when the Eagles faced them an hour later.
Alpine committed few unforced errors, and while Pecos'
serving improved by the end of the match, they were the ones
who had problems generating offense and came out on the
short end of a 15-7, 15-3 decision.

"Our serving and our passing was terrible," coach Becky
Granado said following their win over Odessa High, which was
without their leading hitter, Shelby Fitzgerald, who was
sidelined with a foot injury. "We have to play better than
that."

Unfortunately, the Eagles didn't step up their level of play
in the second game, which left the Granado unhappy.

"We didn't help our case by being out there and just
dragging around," she said. "I don't know if it was that
they were just tired, but they lost it mentally.

"I told them in between games (against Alpine) what they
were supposed to do, but they did not concentrate on what I
told them," she said. "I guess the figured they could go out
on the court and do what they did against Odessa High and
still win."

Against OHS, the Eagles took an early 5-1 lead, only to see
the Bronchos come back and take a 12-10 lead at one point,
off a dink shot by Molly Jorgensen. But the Eagles were able
to break serve and then four unforced errors, plus an ace
serve by Philonicus Fobbs, allowed Pecos to win the game.

Things went Pecos' way so much at the start of the second
game that a serve by Amy Carrasco that was headed over the
back line hit OHS' Shilo Williams, giving the Eagles a 7-2
lead at that point. Twelve of the Eagles' other 14 points
were off unforced errors, with the only earned ones on a
Sherrie Mosby spike and an ace by Linsey Hathorn.

In the loss to Alpine, Bucks hitters Amy Vaughn and O'Lita
McWilliams did score some points off kills, but in both
games it was the Bucks taking advantage of Eagle errors to
slowly pull away -- going from 3-1 leads to 14-3 advantages
both times.

A sequence in the second game typified Pecos' problems, as
Mosby blocked two Alpine spikes, then killed a Bucks'
overset to apparently break serve, only to be called for
touching the net, giving Alpine an 8-1 lead.

"Sherrie had two good blocks, but then she got into the net.
I don't know if she was just tired or if it was a lack of
concentration," Granado said.

Pecos' freshman and junior varsity teams also split their
season openers, but in reverse order, losing to Odessa High
then beating Alpine.

The ninth graders dropped 15-7, 15-6 games to OHS'
sophomores, before beating the Bucks, 15-13, 15-9. The
Eagles' JV was beaten by the Bronchos, 15-10, 15-13, then
swept Alpine, 15-3, 15-1, after the Bucks had fallen to OHS,
15-17, 15-13.

Pecos' JV will see Odessa High again on Friday, in pool
round play at the Ector County ISD Tournament at Odessa
Permian High School. They'll meet to close out pool play at
1 p.m., after the Eagles' 9 a.m. match against Midland Lee's
sophomores and a noon meeting with Lamesa.

Pecos' varsity will also face Lamesa in pool round play on
Friday, at Odessa High. They'll meet the Tornadoes as 12
noon, in-between a 9 a.m. match with Midland High and a 2
p.m. contest against El Paso Coronado.

Pecos' freshmen will be in the Monahans Sandhills Tournament
beginning Thursday. The Eagles' gold team will play Fort
Stockton and Monahans green in pool round play, at 4:50 and
6:30 p.m., while the purple team faces Kermit at 4 p.m. and
has a rematch with Alpine, at 7:20 p.m.

Gordon saves pair of games over Rangers


By KAREN RUSSO
Associated Press Writer
BOSTON, Aug. 19 -- During spring training, it was uncertain
if Red Sox pitcher Tom Gordon could make the transition from
starter to closer. Now with 36 saves, and 33 straight,
there's no question about where Gordon belongs.

Not that Gordon is keeping track of his statistics.

After his second save of the day in the 5-4 win over the
Texas Rangers on Tuesday night, Gordon confessed that he
didn't even know he picked up a save in the first game of
the day-night doubleheader, until he looked at the
scoreboard at the concluding on Boston's 4-1 victory.

``It's just wins and losses,'' said Gordon said, adding that
he doesn't think about his saves, or his winning streak.

``I'm not that interested in his record, and I don't think
he's concerned either,'' Red Sox pitching coach Joe Kerrigan
said. ``He has great work ethics and it comes as no surprise
that he's been so successful. He's basically done it
himself.''

Luis Alicea and Roberto Kelly hit consecutive home runs in
the night game to give Texas a 4-2 lead after five. The Red
Sox tied it in the sixth on Mike Stanley's RBI double and
Jason Varitek's sacrifice fly. Mo Vaughn's homer in the
seventh broke the tie.

Derek Lowe (3-7) pitched 2 1-3 scoreless innings in relief
of Bret Saberhagen to pick up the win. Danny Patterson (1-5)
took the loss after allowing one run on two hits and a walk
in 1 1-3 innings in relief of Rick Helling.

Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez (16-4), who struck out 10 in 8
2-3 innings in the day game, feels comfortable leaving the
game in Gordon's hands.

``Any time the manager asks me to, I'll give Flash the
ball,'' Martinez said. ``He's been great all year. He's been
very consistent, and you can't ask for more.''

Juan Gonzalez's 34th homer -- his first in seven games and
his first RBI in six games -- had give the Rangers a 1-0
lead in the second inning. Gonzalez has 120 RBIs this
season, a pace that would give him 157, far behind Hack
Wilson's record of 190 in 1930.

John Burkett (7-13) didn't allow a hit until Nomar
Garciaparra doubled leading off the fifth. Burkett lost a
chance at his first shutout of the year when Mike Benjamin
singled leading off the sixth, took second on a sacrifice
and scored on John Valentin's double.

Vaughn followed with a single and, after Garciaparra lined
out, Troy O'Leary singled to score Valentin. Eric Gunderson
replaced Burkett, and pinch-hitter Damon Buford doubled to
make it 4-1.

Texas put two on in the ninth on singles by Mark McLemore
and Will Clark. Gordon retired Ivan Rodriguez on a flyout
for the save.

Gordon said he's thankful Red Sox closer Dennis Eckersley,
one of only a handful of closers to save more than 50 games
in a season, is guiding him through the transition from
started to closer.

``It's a blessing for him to be here with me,'' Gordon said.
``There's so much to learn to be one of the best closers in
the game.''

Baseball rejects ESPN2, yanks games


NEW YORK, Aug. 19 (AP) -- Unable to settle their dispute
over which channel would show nationally televised Sunday
night baseball games, major league baseball and ESPN are on
a legal collision course.

Baseball officials announced Tuesday they are giving ESPN's
final three Sunday night games back to the teams to sell
locally instead of allowing them to be moved to ESPN2 to
accommodate the cable network's new $17.6 billion,
eight-year deal with the NFL.

This could be the first step in a legal challenge between
baseball and its major cable partner, with both sides
claiming there has been a breach of contract.

``We are extremely disappointed that major league baseball
would take this position,'' ESPN said in a statement. ``This
action violates our contract, which expressly provides for
preemption and distribution on ESPN2.''

But baseball claims its contract is with ESPN, which is
available to about 74 million homes, and balked at the
network's plans to move the games to ESPN2, which is
available in about 60 million.

``These will be important and critical games in September
and we are disappointed that ESPN has chosen not to carry
our games,'' said Paul Beeston, baseball's chief operating
officer. ``ESPN2 was never an option. Our contract specifies
that Sunday games are to be on ESPN.''

Baseball spokesman Rich Levin said the contract only
permitted a switch to ESPN2 with the sport's permission,
something baseball agreed to in May to accommodate the NHL
playoffs.

Baseball officials had threatened to nullify the contract
and move to another network during the season, but decided
to wait until the offseason to either make a legal move or
demand significant concessions from ESPN, a baseball lawyer
said on the condition he not be identified.

In order to file a lawsuit, baseball would need to show
tangible damages, something that would be difficult to prove
if baseball found a new cable partner.

Also, the six teams participating in these games can now
profit by selling the rights locally. The Yankees, for
example, might be able to fetch about $250,000 from the
Madison Square Garden Network for their Sept. 20 game
against Baltimore. MSG has a $486 million, 12-year contract
with the team.

The short-term losers in this dispute are baseball fans, who
will be blocked from seeing these three late season games,
including Mark McGwire and the St. Louis Cardinals against
Houston on Sept. 13. The third game is San Francisco at Los
Angeles on Sept. 6.

``Among its proposals, ESPN offered to augment its ESPN2
coverage with local over-the-air telecasts in the competing
teams' markets and to televise additional games on ESPN
during September,'' ESPN's statement said. ``We are baffled
by baseball's decision which provides less exposure to the
games.''

The NFL games to be shown on those dates are Oakland at
Kansas City, Indianapolis at New England and Philadelphia at
Arizona.




Search Entire Site:


Pecos Enterprise
Mac McKinnon, Publisher
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.

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

Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium.

Copyright 1998 by Pecos Enterprise