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Show Friday, April 6JQ0ZM The Utah Statesman Matsuzaka shines in Red Sox's 4-1 win over KC Royals Charlie Riedet/AP Photo OIASUKE MATSUZAKA, FROM JAPAN, delivers a pitch during the Boston Red Sox's 4-1 win over the Kansas City Royals on April 5. KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Daisuke Matsuzaka looked about as carefree after his highly anticipated major league debut as he did before taking the mound. In between, he validated the heavy price tag and huge expectations. Matsuzaka struck out 10 in seven innings, allowed six hits and walked one to lead the Boston Red Sox over the Kansas City Royals 4-1 Thursday before a crowd that appeared to be as interested in the Japanese pitcher as it was in the Royals. The 26-year-old righthander spent the hours leading up to the first pitch lounging on a leather sofa in the clubhouse, occasionally laughing and pointing at an ESPN segment that talked about his mystical, perhaps mythical, gyroball. If the $103 million rookie had any indication the entire baseball world was waiting for his performance, he never let on. "For me it didn't quite feel like the very first time," Matsuzaka said through an interpreter. "I was able to approach the game as usual." Matsuzaka mania reached a crescendo in Kansas City when he emerged from the dugout for warmups, a flotilla of fans taking up perches down the left field line. Rick Boudreau and his family stood about six rows up, holding two pieces of cardboard with a picture of dice on one and a large "K" in black marker on the either. Beneath that, scrawled in crude Japanese characters, Boudreau had written "Thanks Japan!" "It's amazing. To see all the Japanese media, I think it's great for baseball," said Boudreau, who moved to Kansas City from Boston two years ago. "I can see him being the staff ace this year." He certainly looked like it on a day when the gametime temperature was 36 degrees t and a stiff northwest wind had fans and players shivering. No fewer than 19 photographers gathered oehind home plate for Dice-K's warmup pitches before the bottom half of the first inning, just part of a media contingent that numbered at least 200. After allowing a base hit to his first batter, David DeJesus, Matsuzaka settled down and allowed only one more runner to reach base before the fifth inning. "I thought from the getgo he was sharp with all his pitches, and he had to be," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "On a day when it was hard to score, the way the conditions were, we got one early and we added on and he made it stand up. He was terrific." Dice-K notched his first strikeout on a 94 mph fastball in the second inning, then struck out another in the third before fanning the side in the fourth inning on only 14 pitches. "A lot of guys have a good fastball or have good offspeed stuff, but he seems to have both," said the Royals' Ryan Shealy, who went 0for-4 with three strikeouts. "He's a tough guy. There's a lot of tough guys in the big leagues. But he's good." Matsuzaka appeared to get stronger as the game wore on, his fastball still reaching 95 mph when he struck out two in the seventh inning. With his pitch count at 108 - including 74 strikes - Francona and pitching coach John Farrell decided they had seen enough. Dice-K exited to a resounding ovation in a ballpark 1,500 miles from Fenway and half a world away from Japan. "Up to now, given all the expectations that have surrounded me, I've felt happy about those expectations," Matsuzaka said. 'At the same time, feeling like perhaps they were a little bit extreme. Speaking for myself and all the fans that have supported me here, it's great that I was able to come out here and record a victory in my first start." It was precisely 1 he performance th;n Kony Ratigan and bur imsb:ind, Kurt Marchl, came all the way from Madison, Wis., to see. The couple held up a sign that read "Good Luck Matsuzaka" in Japanese, as if Matsuzaka needed any on this day. "It's pretty exciting to see his first major league game," said Ratigan, who grew up in Boston. "There's no way you can get tickets to Fenway anyway." Paralyzed Stingley dies at age 55, a result of a heavy tackle 29 years ago (AP) - Darryl Stingley spent more than half his life in a wheelchair, a symbol of the violence of the NFL, where large bodies collide at high speeds on every play. He was only 26 when he clashed head-on with the Raiders' Jack Tatum during an exhibition at the Oakland Coliseum as they leaped for a pass. That play has haunted the NFL for nearly three decades. On Thursday, the aftereffects of Stingley's grievous injury finally took his life at age 55. He was pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital after he was found unresponsive in his Chicago home, according to Tony Brucci, an investigator with the Cook County medical examiner's office. An autopsy revealed contributing factors were bronchial pneumonia, quadriplegia, spinal cord injury and coronary atherosclerosis, the medical examiner's office said. "I am deeply saddened by the death of Darryl Stingley," Tatum said in a statement released by the Raiders. "Darryl will be forever remembered for his strength and courage. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family." Stingley was a star receiver with the New England Patriots when he collided with Tatum on Aug. 12,1978. With one jolt, his life was forever changed. His neck was broken; he was left a quadriplegic. In time, he regained limited movement in his right arm and was able to operate his electric wheelchair on his own. "I have relived that moment over and over again," he said in a 1988 interview with The Associated Press. "I was 26 years old at the time and I remember thinking, 'What's going to happen to me? If I live, what am I going to be like?' And then there were all those whys, whys, whys? "It was only after I stopped asking why, that I was able to regroup and go on with my life," he said. His death instantly rekindled the debate over the circumstances of the accident. "I've thought about that throw over and over the years. Could I have changed anything or done anything differently?" Steve Grogan, the Patriots quarterback who threw the pass, said Thursday. "That hit probably was not necessary in a game with no meaning." But Chuck Fairbanks, the Patriots' coach at the time, said he couldn't find anything illegal or dirty about it. Nor did the officials; no flag was thrown on Tatum. "I saw replays many, many times, and many times Jack Tatum was criticized," Fairbanks said. "But there wasn't anything at the time that was illegal about that play. I do think probably that play was a forerunner for some of the changes in rules that exist today that are more protective AP File Photo • REMEMBERING STINGLEY see page 10 OAKLAND RAIDER'S JACK TATUM (32) hits New England Patriots receiver Darryl Stingley (84) during an NFL preseason football game in Oakland, Calif., on Aug. 12,1978. Stingley, who was paralyzed as a result of the hit, died Thursday, April 5 in a Chicago hospital. • T A C K L E LIKE A LADY From page 8 anybody." In fact, a lot of the g^rls on the rugby team played soccer or other sports in high school but didn't have a chance to play in college. Now, some say it would be very hard for them to go back to just playing soccer. "If someone were to put me on a soccer field right now, I think I'd tackle someone just out of habit," Gordon said. Winder agrees. She said she found herself trying to take out girls during intramural basketball games. But the release of built-up aggression doesn't usually carry on after the match is over. "On the field you're wanting to kill each other and afterwards, you're such good friends," Wright said about opponents. After the match is over, the girls from both sides usually take part in lady-like activities like drinking beer and singing crude, explicit-laced songs. Teams, especially those that are losing, have been known to start chanting "10 minutes to beer," Sammann said. It's all a part of the postmatch social setting of a rugby tournament. Since all the teams know the same songs, they all get together and sing while they eat pizza and drink beer, Wright said. And although drinking isn't as big of a part of USU's team, it is a huge thing outside of Utah, Hodgson said. Gordon said all the tournaments have a beer garden that players 21 and over can frequent after the match. In San Diego, the team competed in the tournament's beer Olympics. And, according to team members, USU would have won these Olympics if it wasn't for a mishap at the bat spin. Apparently, a USU beer Olympics competitor crashed into a table and knocked over a bunch of cups full of beer. But it's all a part of the social atmosphere that is at the core of rugby - one that isn't all about drinking. Many of the girls tell stories about getting dressed up and going out when they travel to tournaments. Several of the girls live together. Others hang out. Winder jokingly pins their camaraderie on the fact that they've all seen each other naked. No matter what it is, the girls seem to enjoy each other's company and the release they get from being able to pitch and catch the ball, tackle and kick ass on the field. -dabake@cc.ttsu.edu MEXICAN FOOD MEXICAN FOOD OPEN HOURS °f the perks we offer free <West We will rock you. Ulie Jji'amonw z^alle alleru your CjHjacj<?im?nt Miny (jpec/a//s/ 45 North Main^togan (Next ( N t to t tthe h PorsinnJ*eacock) P i J * k 435 753-4870V Ask about your USU student discount. |