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Show ( Scoreboard C5 t v -- n r--i f -- v (f t The Daily Herald Thursday, March 21, 1996 Jazz Fehlberg walks plank for Pigskin Three ejected in By ANTON GARRITY Special to The Daily Herald Rondo Fehlberg once told his boss several jobs ago that he would be willing to crawl out on a limb so far that the boss could saw off the branch and be safe. "1 craw led out on a branch on this one." Fehlberg. BYU's athletic director, told the Cougar Club Wednesday about promising operators of the Pigskin Classic "more than a million dollars" if ( L J 4 Dick Harmon Sidelines they would bring Texas A&M and their nationally televised game to Provo Aug. 24. "Now it's time for you to help me make good on the promise." Fehlberg "guaranteed" BYU could come up w ith that amount, despite no parking revenues, a questionable guess on concessions, a 10 a.m. kickoff, no ticket sales and the game set for the heat of summer on national television. "I've gone out on a limb." he said. "It's breezy." BYU's main ploy in keeping Fehlberg alive on the branch, is to kick off a rigorous ticket sales campaign. And he announced all season ticket holders will get their renewal notices within weeks and the Pigskin Classic tickets will be included as part of a rare seven-gam- e home package w ith a price break for that game. In addition, season ticket holders will get the first crack at buying up the east-sid- e Pigskin Classic seats usually reserved for students. "There is no limit. I'd suggest you hold your family reunions in Provo that week and buy them tickets," said Fehlberg. Cost for those prime-seatin- g the tab for sintickets are $30 gle g me purchases of the Texas A&M :unie. End zone tickets for the Puskin Classu. will be SIS. A searenewal of a regular son ticket is ($17 per game prime seating) or $102. Now. with the seven-gam- e package and Classic, it w ill be $ 27. explained Assistant Athletic Director Val Hale. To help himself on the end of the limb. Fehlberg asked all 10 BYU football coaches to come to the Cougar Club meeting, where LaVell Edwards and offensive and defensive coaches gave updates on their players. Fehlberg also announced for the first time publicly that BYU is installing a video replay screen which will d take up of the top of the south end zone. That means BYU fans can now officially question officials and quarterbacks tw ice w ith empirical evidence. and "It will be y the enhance game-dasignificantly experience in Cougar Stadium." said Fehlberg. Fans can see not only live broadcast action of the game, but focus in on immediate replays. "We will be the first stadium in the Rocky Mountain area with this type of video capability and we're excited about the possibilities." Fehlberg publicly praised Edwards and his staff for meeting challenges this past year. "They hav e done or surpassed everything we have asked of them in recent months and I am proud of the job they have done as a staff with recruiting and preparing their team." Fehlberg then told club members BYU had just finished extending a home and home agreement with UCLA for football and a similar arrangement with Notre Dame. "You will probably see more Pac-1- 0 teams coming to Cougar Stadium in the future. We are working out a schedule with that kind of flavor. That is where our fans want to see more scheduling." said Fehlberg. So Fehlberg made a call from his end of the limb. He rolled out special announcements, lined up coaches to talk football and simply made his plea for others to crawl out with him. He believes the branch can take it. i six-ga- 1 state-of-the-a- rt one-thir- state-of-the-a- rt KO The SALT LAKE CITY Utah Ja easily defeated a pathetic Philadelphia 76ers team 07-8- 5 Wednesday in a game where most of the excitement came with the ejection of three players over the course of the contest. Once again the always unstable Vernon "Mad Max" Maxwell lost his temper and was given an an automatic appropriate award ejection. He had been mouthing off to the officials for most of the second period before he finally talked his way into a technical with less than five minutes left in the first half. He didn't quit and two seconds later he was given his second technical and the automatic ejection that comes with it. Then early in the third period, both Philadelphia's Jerry Stack-hous- e and Utah's Jeff Hornacek got into a running verbal confrontation that finally erupted. As Hornacek went in for a layup, Stackhouse gave him an extremely hard foul that was whistled as flagrant. They then got in each other's face and a fight broke out w ith Stackhouse throwing at least four punches. Both players were ejected. The only good that came from the incident for the Jazz w as that it seemed to finally inject some life into a lethargic Utah effort. The Jazz took control from that point and never let up. Philadelphia came into the Delta Center with the w orst record in the NBA at which explains why it was the first in 20 games. "After the light broke out. they responded and we didn't respond. Losing Jerry and Vernon makes it tough for us when it's already tough being as shorthanded as we are and losing those two guys really hurt," said Philadelphia coach John Lucas. "1 felt we retreated and they attacked us. Karl Malone 13-5- 3. non-sello- ut ... ........... I . Daily Herald PhotoJohn Blodgett Utah's Karl Malone clears some space between him and Philadelphia's Clarence Weatherspoon Wednesday Wolverines advance to 'Final Four' The Utah TYLER. TEXAS baswomen's State Valley College ketball team continued its run in the NJCAA Women's National Basketball Championships with a d win over stunning 84-6- 5 John A. Logan College. The win earned UVSC a spot in the NJCAA's version of the "Final Four." The Wolverines' opponent in the semifinal game w ill be Independence College of Kansas. "This was our biggest win of the year." said UVSC coach Cathy Nixon following the game. "Big because that was the best team we hav e played this year. And because w inning also put us one step closer to the championship." Nixon made it very clear that her squad did not come to Tyler with the attitude of just showing up. "We believed from the beginning that we could w in this tournament. We are showing that our region and UVSC plays strong, competitive basketball." Nixon said. Strong indeed. The buzz around Wagstaff Gym is that you had better be ready for non-sto- p physical play and tenacious defense w hen you play Utah sixth-ranke- (See UVSC, Page C2) night at the Delta Center. The Jazz whipped the Sixers 107-8- 5 in a game where three players were ejected. Majerus jokes way through Sweet 16 By DICK JERARDI Philadelphia Daily News If Utah is MINNEAPOLIS going dow n Thursday night in its Midwest Regional semifinal against Kentucky, it's leav ing the NCAA Tournament with some laughs. Coach Rick Majerus would have it no other way. Beyond the smiles, however, are a serious basketball coach and a serious team. The Utes can play the game. But rules say they must play Kentucky tonight (6 p.m. MST) at the Metrodome. This is not good new s if you are Utah. It might not be good new s if you are any team this side of the NBA. "Their pressure stems from the fact that they've got great depth and size with it." Majerus said Wednesday. "They're certainly terrific athletes. They could go from this to the (Southeastern Conference) track and field (meet) and probably w in that, too ... Is anyone in our league like that? No. No one in our league is the best team in America." The coach's and in the are lifestyle legendary clone-lik- e world of college hoops. While winning 15 games and losing just 50 in sev en years one-line- rs n , Over HUTCHINSON. Kan. the years, several junior college players have contributed to the success of BYU. Utah. Weber State and all sorts of other schcxtls. Trevor Ruffin. who was a thorn in BYU's side when he played at Hawaii, got his start at Arizona Western. UTEP's Nate "The Skate" .Archibald also began at Arizona Western. BYU's Bryon Ruffner and Utah's Ben Caton played at Utah Valley and Ricks, respectively, last season. It's little wonder, then, that the NJCAA National Tournament sometimes looks a lot like a coaches' convention. Weber State's Ron Abegglen and Southern Utah's Bill Evans were among those watching the proceedings with interest. So too were BYU head coach Roger Reid and assistant Lynn Archibald. "This tournament has always been a prime tournament (and recruiting ground." said Reid. "If major college coaches are not here, then I don't think they're doing their job." the Cougars have signed five high school stars, including Michael Vranes and Brighton's Dave Nielsen, both of whom were first team "We're not in need of a jaycee kid necessarily." Reid said Wednesday. "What we're doing here is looking at freshmen and making a list..." According to some sources. Reid wouldn't mind finding a big win 107-8- 5 took it upon himself and started moving people around and changed the physical play of the game and I thought w e real ) backed up." Malone led the Jazz with a 24 points and 10 game-hig- h rebounds. John Stockton added 12 points and 15 assists. Greg Ostertag continued to play better for Utah. He came off the bench to play 26 minutes. He scored points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked four shots. "Ostertag has skills if he just works at it. I can't go out there and walk up and down the court and tell him what to do. At some point, he's got to learn things on his ow n out on the court," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. "We had no life until the skirmish kind of gave us some energy. But that's not the way I like to see our team get motivated." Philadelphia was led by Sean Higgins with 18 points. But 16 of his points came in the first half. Clarence Weatherspoon and Tony Massenburg added 14 and 13 points respectively. There are a lot of outside distractions for this Philadelphia team. Rumors indicate Lucas may be fired at the end of the season. The team has apparently been sold within the last two days and with the record the team has, coupled with new ownership, you could sense the complete frustration of this franchise. That could help explain the short tempers of the 76ers. came back "He Hornacek with an elbow at me and then he walked up to me and that was it. I regret the whole situation, it was just the heat of the moment. wish I could have it all back but I can't," Stackhouse said. "I think there is a lot of uncertainty not only with the players but with the coaching staff and with everybody. When you don't have any confidence that the coach you are playing for is going (See JAZZ, Page C5) I 1 1 o u c ' at Utah. Majerus has lived in a Salt Lake City hotel and made certain nobody who listens to him ever feels cheated. Is he worried about Kentucky? "I'm staying awake at night worrying about where I'm going to eat the next morning," said Majerus, once 325 pounds, now allegedly just 275. Is there a way to stop them? "Food poisoning," he suggested. When his team was ranked in the Top 10 a few years ago. Majerus said. "The voters must not have cable." According to the coach. Utah has won the last few years because it has been able to take one or two players away from its opponents. "There is no one or two guys you can take out for Kentucky," Majerus said. "They've got six guys who are going to be in the NBA." Trying to downplay his team w ithout success last weekend. Kentucky coach Rick Pitino suggested his team would be the underdogs. "If we're getting in a sumo (See MAJERUS, Page C2) .V M o ri f AP Photo coach Rick Majerus directs his players during a team practice Wednesday at the Metrodome. The Utes play Kentucky this evening. Utah J.C. tourney prime recruiting ground By BOB HUDSON The Daily Herald Assistant Sports Editor Siners man to replace the graduated Kenneth Roberts. Otherwise, the Cougars' fortunes in the middle may depend upon the developJarkko ment of Ahlbom. Since the big Finn didn't contribute a lot and didn't play a lot. it might be a stretch to expect big things from him next year. Not many big men appear on the rosters of the 16 teams in Hutchinson. Two of the biggest. UVSC freshmen Jake Fugal and Mark Michaelis, likely won't be available for a couple of years. Both will probably accept LDS mission calls sometime this summer. They could conceivably be the answer to BYU's post problems in the future. But. of course, the Cougars need some answers now. Weber Stale, which finished second in the Big Sky. is in need of a point guard. According to Abegglen, "We're Derrick looking at UVSC's Elliott. We haven't been recruiting him, but we like him a lot." The Wildcats have had pretty good success with UVSC players. Andy Smith and Justyn Tebbs were major contributors for them this season. And Justin Nielsen had his moments as well. This really isn't junior college news, but... Chicago-are- a star Scott Sonnenberg, who is scheduled to walk on to BYU's team next year, isn't thrilled that's he's not getting much notice. According to his brother. Paul, who plays at UVSC. he received the second-highes- t number of votes in Illinois balloting. The leader was all-sta- (See NJCAA. Page C2) Video coming to BYU stadium By DICK HARMON Sports Editor Daily Herald football During the BYU-Uta- h game last November in Cougar north Stadium, the end zone scoreboard malfunctioned. And it wasn't because the Utes were outscoring the Cougars. Technicians said they could no longer guarantee the Scoreboard's reliability on demand. University officials had cannibalized parts in Salt Lake City to make repairs and the maker of the scoreboard had gone out of business. That prompted BYU's athletic department to look into a replacement and a bold move to look into buying a giant video screen similar to Dodger Stadium and other major sports venues. Surprisingly quick. BYU officials locked into not only a new scoreboard for the north end zone, (See I DEO, Page C2) ' |