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Show Signpost Tuesday. 15 July 1986 7 A SIDEJINES. Dan Taylor Staff Reporter Editor's note: Dan Taylor played two years with the Dallas Cowboys and experienced first hand, the pressures involved with professional sports. Pressures which may have contributed to the drug related deaths of Len Bias and Don Rogers. The excitement was a natural high. You had a feeling of being indestructible . . . There's been a lot of talk lately about sports and drugs. In the last two months there've been two athletes who died from overdoses of cocaine. They were struck down in their prime by having the money to indulge in cocaine. Everyone wonders why sports figures would use it. They're products of our society, human's like you and me. There is one difference, however, they have more money and prestige than most people and so can indulge in drugs. People don't understand the relationship an athlete has with his sport. I will express my feelings of joy, pain and fear I experienced during my football career. I started to play football as most people would work at a job in high school. I attended Capital High school in Olympia, Washington. From there I played and started four years at Idaho State University as left offensive tackle. During this time we were National Champions. I was also first team all Big Sky and honorable mention all-American. From there I was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 11th round. I was with them for two years before a knee injury ended my football career. When players participate in a sport like football, it's a love-hate relationship. They love game day because everything they've been doing for the last five months leads up to it. The night before a game I never had a full nights rest. My mind was going over every possibility that the enemy could give me during the war. Game days started early for me as I would go watch film on the people I had to block and then eat breakfast. After the pre-game meal I would go to the locker room to organize my equipment, thoughts and take a nap. I was a nervous wreck until the first down, then I just did the best job I could to totally control the person I was assigned to block on that play. The high of playing a good game is the greatest. The feeling I got when I destroyed the person I was assigned to block is second to nothing. Everyday life is boring compared to game days. The lowest feeling is when I played a bad game. When the enemy had beaten us. I was either high or low with no middle ground. The painful side was having to play with all the bruises, aches and pulled muscles. I loved the excitement of games and hated practices. But they were necessary if I wanted to play. Playing professional football puts a person in a world that isn't like the real world. When I was playing for Dallas, I never had so many people wanting to be my friend. Everyone had some super deal for me to spend my money on. If it hadn't been for my wife providing stability in my life I might have made some bad investments. When I played professional ball, I would get up around 10 in the morning during the off season, thereby missing the rush hour traffic. After getting to the clubhouse I would workout, view films and play racquetball. It was great. I still have moments when I miss it . Weber State inks television contract Dave Allison Sports Editor In an effort to put Weber State athletics more in the public eye, WSC signed a one year television contract with KOOG-TV Channel 30 last Friday to broadcast selected footbalf and basketball games. Channel 30 agreed to broadcast four live football and 1 1 tape delayed basketball games while developing weekly "Coach's Shows" for both head football coach Mike Price and head basketball coach Larry Farmer. Details of the contract were not disclosed but the package deal will net the college 15,000 dollars while putting Wildcat sports into 19,000 Weber County homes. "We want to make Weber State (football and basketball) the most notorized in the state," said Russ Sorensen KOOG-TV general manager. "Weber State (sports) has taken a back seat although being on the top row." All football games scheduled to be televised are road games and include: Northern Arizona Sept. 20, Boise State Oct. 18, Eastern Washington Nov. 1 and Idaho Nov. 15. Channel 30 is also considering a fifth game for broadcast which is the Portland State matchup on Sept. 27. Coach Price is enthusiastic about the TV opportunity and the exposure his team will get this fall. "This is going to be great," said Price. "Last year we had 34 Utah athletes on the team and in our spring game this year, out of 22 starters, 14 were instaters. It will be nice for their family to be able to see their kids play. This is (TV) going to help our program immensely. It will really help recruiting and the kids seem to play a little harder on TV." KOOG-TV's Wildcat basketball schedule is not complete but 11 tape delayed broadcasts will be televised the following day of the game during prime time. Channel 30's preliminary schedule has seven Big Sky conference road games and three preseason home games for basketball fans with an additional live telecast of another road game which is undetermined. There is also a possibility of instate games with BYU, Utah and Utah State airing, depending on sellouts and KOOG-TV's ability to bid with other stations for the broadcast rights. "I am very, very thrilled about this opportunity with Channel 30," Farmer said. "We've got an exciting schedule this season. . . the toughest ever for the basketball team." Weber State athletic director, Gary Crompton is pleased with the Wildcat TV opportunity, one which BYU and Utah sports programs have enjoyed. "We have a chance to become competitive in TV coverage," said Crompton. "We want that exposure." , , Broadcasters for the Wildcat football and basketball games will be Randy Kerdoon and Dutch Belnap. Kerdoon has worked for KSL radio for nine years and will handle the play-by-play duties while Belnap will add color commentary. Belnap has previous broadcast experience with KTVX Channel 4. Price given one-year contract extension Michael J. Tupa Ass't Sports Editor Weber State head football coach Mike Price, the second winningest coach in Wildcat history, signed a one-year contract extension last week. Price's contract, which was approved by the WSC Institutional Council, will now run through January 1, 1988. Price said he was pleased by the extension, but the contract would not make his job any easier. "It's not going to win any games for me, "said the five-year coach. However, Price said he would be happier with a longer contract for recruiting reasons because parents and players want to know the coach is going to be around. The Wildcats led all Division II teams in the nation last year in total offense with an average of 516.1 yards a game to earn a 6-5 record. This brought Price's WSC mark to 28-27. WSC athletic director Gary Crompton said the contract would take pressure off Price for the upcoming season in which only six starters return from last year's squad. Among those lost to graduation were Big Sky all-conference quarterback, Dave Stireman, and the entire defensive backfield. At the recent press conference to annouce television broadcasting of WSC football games for the first time in school history, Price said he's anxious to start the upcoming season, especially with the TV contract. "Players seem to play harder when they're on TV," he said. Price still hasn't accomplished the main goal he has for WSC football and doesn't intend to leave the job unfinshed. "It's about time we got a pennant like the basketball team has for a Big Sky championship," Price concluded. t -. ' 1 j 2" A 1 4 if .-. V i 1 WEBER STATE will have head football coach Mike Price direct the gridiron Wildcats through 1988. |