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Attenlance key to new team staying in garden city
Aujusta Drive ownership to mimic Art Modell?
By Timm(ox
AUGUSTFOCUS Sportswriter
Owneyof Augusta’s new pro
fessionajasketball team will not
stage anirt Modell repeat perfor
mance, ad will apparently give
local fana fair chance to latch on
to the Agusta Drive.
Poor ttendance during the
Drive’s ebut performances at the
Augustßichmond County Civic
Center apparently not justifica
tion for American Major Basket
ball Legue (AMBL) to consider
abortinAugusta as a viable mar
ket for ro basketball.
Unlik Cleveland Browns own
er Mdell, who recently an
ncuncéhis franchise would leave
Ohio’s ake Erie shores tobecome
the Baimore Browns next year,
the Dre is prepared to give Au
gusta’sports at least two years to
fully aopt and appreciate the new
team.
Acceding to Drive spokesman
DcugTunziato, league ownership
is tomnitted to fully promote and
mirkd¢ the Drive throughout the
CSRAduring this first year, then
hpefdly witness positive feed
bak fiom fans with increased tick-
AC tennis serves up great season
Byimmy Cox
AWIUSTA FOCUS Sportswriter
‘or years, Augusta College’s
tenis program has been consid
erd the proverbial doormat in
th Peachbelt Conference. Based
orthe fall of ’95, things are a
chnging’for the goodinboth AC’s
mn’s and women’s tennis teams.
Vhile hosting the Jaguar Colle
gite Invitation tournament at
thir home courts at the Newman
Tanis Center on Wrightsboro
Rad, five players from AC’s six
mmber men’s team either won or
pkedsecond in theirsingles flight
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Augusta Drive—will poor attendance push team from city?
et sales during the 96-97 season.
Ultimately, however, gate re
ceipts will determine whether the
Drive remains in Augusta.
category. While the ladies team
didn’tfarequite aswell, head coach
Dick Hatfield is ecstatic about both
squads.
“These are without a doubt the
best teams we've ever had at Augus
ta College,” Hatfield said. “We're
very excited. Thisisatough confer
ence and our improvement is just
phenomenal,” said the six-year
coach. A year ago, AC men hada 7-
11 record, while the ladies had a
perfectly blemished 0-17 mark.
Assistant coach Guido
Baumann, a native of Germany,
enjoys his role in helping the pro
gram to rise from the depths.
“It’s our job to win and make
people want to out.” The spokes
man said the league has hired a
marketing consultant to stimu
“When I played at Georgia Col
lege (Milledgeville), we never took
AC tennis seriously. Our objec
tive wasto makeimprovements to
the program. Thad noidea we’d be
so successful this quickly”
Akeymemberofthe men’steam
is another native German, Volker
Bargenda. Along with being the
only returning member of last
year’s squad, the sophomore is
also AC’s No. 1 player. Addition
ally, the team includes another
German, along with players from
Egypt and Sweden. The ladies
team has representatives from
Puerto Rico and South Africa.
late interest throughout the
league.
The Drive’s inaugural game on
Nov. 2 against the Anderson
Shockers attracted 550 spectators,
while the Saturday Nov. 4 contest
attracted about 850 fans. Augus
ta lost the first game 96-86, and
earned a 114-93 victory over the
Dothan (AL) Blast. Civic Center
capacity is just under 9,000.
Nunziato said results from an
informal poll taken during Satur
day’s game revealed local fans felt
the new team played an exciting
brand of basketball; different
from games typically played in
this area by local high school and
college teams.
The spokesman also ensured
that the league owners were
pleased with team’s direction and
realize AMBL success , will not
happen overnight.
The Drive, along with seven oth
er teams comprising the AMBL,
are owned by Anderson, S.C.-
based AMBL president Keith
McAdams and vice-presidents
Ken Hoey and Rodger Huiatt.
“This is just our first week. We
have to give it time to work. We're
very optimistic it will,” said
Nunziato.
This year’s tournament includ
ed teams from Armstrong State
(Savannah), Erskine College (SC),
UC-Aiken, Queens College (NC),
Radford University (Va.), South
Carolina State (Orangeburg) and
Gardener Webb University (SC).
Ifrecent successful performanc
es persist throughout the winter
and upcomingspring season, both
Hatfield and Baumann are confi
dent the men’s team will be con
sidered one of the premier teams
inthe Southernregion. Both men
tors feel the team just may earn
NCAA Division Il rankings by the
completion of the 95-96 season.
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AUGUSTA FOCUS November 9, 1995
A
Greed alive and well in the NFL!
Cleveland
Browns own
er Art Modell
has proven
once again
that the no
tion of NFL
teams having
a commit
ment and a
sense of loy
alty and com
munity pride
is a dream!
_ Py
d ,
? (»
Tony Cornish Jr.
Earlier this week in Baltimore,
Modell announced to the world
that heisindeed moving his fran
chise from the city by the lake to
the land of crabcakes.
Millions of Brownie fans across
thenation, and throughout Geor
gia-Carolina were shocked by the
announcement.
Could Modell really be serious
about moving the franchise from
Ohio to Maryland?
Theansweris painfully clear ‘yes!
Money is the bottom line that
makes this move possible.
The city of Baltimore, along
with the state of Maryland, have
been courting every NFL team
that would look their way since
the days when the Colts bolted
the city for the friendly indoor
confines of Indianapolis.
The craziness, the Colts and
Rams perfected it, and now the
Browns are running it into the
ground.
Art Modell’s loyalty to the city
of Cleveland was as far reaching
as his wallet.
Modell had the nerve to an
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nounce after 35 years ofloyal fan
support in Cleveland, that he
had “no choice!”
Nochoice, Art? What does that
mean?
That your greed and non-com
promising attitude would not let
you work out a plan that would
work for both you and the city of
Cleveland?
Art Modell’smove to Maryland
reeks of the filth that affected
our nation during the “greed is
good” mind set that was born
during the Ronald Reagan era of
the early 80s!
Art, where is your compassion
and your commitment towards
the long suffering Brown fans?
Fans whohave year after year,
braved sub-zerotemperatures to
cheer on the poor excuse of a
team that you sadly fielded for so
many years?
Art, where is your compassion
for all those rabid fans that man
the dog pound and offer a “real
reason” for national TV audienc
es to watch the Brownies take on
the best in the NFL!
Art, did you think they were
watching because your team was
exciting to watch? I hope not!
Pro football fans in other NFL
cities better beware.
What happened to Cleveland
NFL fans could happen to you.
Ifanyone thinks the CSRA has
any phone conversation with the
NFL commissioner in the next
few days, please relay this mes
sage to “Tags” for me.
Modell’s move in a word . . .
“stinks!”
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