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Sports Bye-bye Deion I know that I'm a little late chiming in on the Deion Sanders trade, and I know that what I have to say has already been said. That being said, I'm glad Neon Deion is out of Atlanta and is in a Reds uniform. There is no question that the Reds received a talented athlete; but, I am still not convinced that Sanders is not the player that was released by the Yanks a couple years back. Remember, this is the guy who was hitting so low he couldn't even see the Mendoza line. Sanders had a wonderful year last year. As a reward, Otis Nixon was traded to give him centerfield, and he was given a large contract. At the time Nixon was sent to the Redsox, I was afraid that the Braves lost the wrong centerfielder. As much as I am concerned, or was concerned, about Sanders lack of baseball ability, which is not to be confused with athletic talent, I was also concerned about his lack of team play. As the cliche goes, there is no I in team. I'm glad that Sanders took his circus to the Reds. The last thing the Braves needed was Sanders leav ing the team in the middle of a pennant race because he wasn't get ting the "respect”—in terms of money, playing time, etc. —he thought he needed. In return for Sanders we got a good team player, Roberto Kelly, from the Reds. There is no worry about Kelly taking a three week unannounced vacation in the middle of the season. Also Kelly is a proven hitter who can play centerfield. While he will not be mistaken for a Van Slyke in center, he is much better than Sanders and more than ade quate. Already he has proven his worth to the Braves. I hope Sanders returns to the Falcons. He seems to be more of a team player in football. But, he also has great ability, ability that allows him to overcome the need to be Prime Time all the time. *** * * A lot of people were concerned that we would lose pennant races with the move to three divisions and the inclusion of a wild card team. However, if the season ended today, and it could with a strike, all six divisions would have a pennant race and the wild card position would also be up for grabs. Atlanta has the best record in baseball with 37-19 mark. How ever, they are just three games above the Expos in the N.L. East. The N.L. Central is deadlocked be tween Houston and Cincinnati with identical 33-25 marks. Only one team has a winning mark in the N.L. West, the Dodgers, but they are only one game above .500, two games in front of San Francisco and two-and a-half in front of the surprising Rockies. In the National League wild card race, Montreal has the lead, but only by two over Cincinnati and Houston. One of the most competitive di visions in baseball, the American League East, is led by the New York. Boston is close behind, just two games back, and Baltimore is nipping at the Yanks heels, just three games back. The Central division of the ju nior circuit features the Chisox leading a closely bunched pack of four teams. The Indians are playing like they really are in danger of moving to New Orleans, and are two back. Puckett gave up a better deal elsewhere, stayed with the Twins, and they are five back. The Royals are without hitman Brett, but they are still only five games off the lead pace. The worst division in baseball finally got a leader over .500 as the Stßangers put together two weeks of good ball to go one game over break-even. California and Seattle are just five games back, and you've got to wonder if Texas' good play is a fluke. The wild card race is tightly bunched. Boston leads a four team field separated by only two-and-a half games. Cleveland is just a half game out of contention, while Bal timore is a game out. The Twins bring up the rear of the four team pack. If we don’t h**M«*e, 1995 m shaping up as one of Hie belt pen nant races in baseball history. Knee injury gives Crowe start at FSU By VETO F. ROLEY Sports Editor In John Crowe's sophomore year, the Seminoles of Florida State ran two free safety blitzes against Miami on consecutive plays. On the first safety blitz, the first string free safety went out of the game with a knee injury. The sec ond blitz cost the team their second string free safety. Crowe, who was recruited to play receiver at Florida State, had also practiced a little on the defen sive side of the ball. For that, he was put in the game at free safety, a position he held until his gradua tion. "We didn’t run another free safety blitz that year," said Crowe. "It was my senior year before we ran an other safety blitz. i| W ~ bITuo ■aPr i vEfflfr h A JIBkIuI > 1 .11 v**!" w II 7 0/1 IwL'' : - Jaf.. i Jeff Evans (left) examines a putter In the pro shop at Perry Country Club with head professional Bill Hobbs. Evans joins P.C.C. as asst, pro By VETO F. ROLEY Sports Editor Jeff Evans is the newest addition to the staff of Perry Country Club, joining the staff at the position of assistant pro. Evans comes to Perry Country Club after a stint as an instructor at Pioneer Driving Range in Ohio. After playing tight end for the Mountaineers of West Virginia, Evans broke into golf working in maintenance at Bowden Golf Club in Macon. After a while, he was promoted to the position of assis tant pro under Jim Hickman. "I was fortunate to get into the business because of Jim," said Evans, who said that he did not Ochlahatchee junior girls playoffs start Monday at 5:30 By JIMMY SIMPSON Staff Writer A brand new season of sorts will get underway at Ochlahatchee Field here Monday when teams in the girls junior softball league begin post-season tournament play. Pennington 111 Plumbing, the league’s second-seed team, will face the third seeded team, Family Footwear, at 5:30. Graffiti Hair Salon, the number one seed in the tourney, will face fourth-seeded First Family Finance in the second Indians restore football with summer camp at Middle Georgia The Dennis Roland Football Camp will be held June 27-July 1 at Middle Georgia College in Cochran. The camp is for boys, ages 10- 18, who arc interested in learning football, working hard and having a good lime. Cost of the camp is S3O. A non-rcfundablc deposit is re quired with each participant applica tion. Coach Roland will deduct $5 ” off the camp cost for participants who register before June 17. I* ** 1 HE; John Crowe "I never played another down of fensively." Free safety seemed to suit Crowe just fine. In his senior year, Crowe was involved in over 100 tackles play golf for the Mountaineers. However, he added that he has al ways been a recreational golfer. "I've played golf all my life." While with the football Moun taineers, Evans suffered several shoulder injuries, resulting in two reconstructive surgeries to the shoulder. ”1 knew they (Perry Country Club) had an accident, that their clubhouse burned down," said Evans. "1 heard a lot of good things about Perry Country Club. Once I got here, I found them all to be true. "The members are very hos pitable. They have made me feel ex match-up at 6:45. The two winners will advance to play each other at 5:30 on Tuesday, while the two losers will clash at 6:45. Wednesday action will see the loser of Tuesday’s first game face the winner of that same day’s second contest. Then, on Thursday, a championship game will be played to crown the tournament’s top team. That winning team will receive a first-place trophy. Coach Roland is the head foot ball coach at Middle Georgia College. Assisting with the foot ball camp will be other Indian coaches—Kim Raynor, Rainer Caldwell, Bill Bonds, Brad Almon, Tate Parker and Kent Green. For more information on the camp, or to register, call 912-934- 3152. Middle Georgia recently revived its foolbali program, and will play 10 games in Fall, 1994. Houston Times-Journal from his free safety spot and picked off five passes. In all, Crowe picked off 11 passes in his college career, having three games where he picked off two passes in the game. "That is what a defensive back lives for." Crowe was later named to the Florida State Hall of Fame. "I feel lucky to have made it," he said. Crowe played a Florida State un der Bill Peterson, who was one of the first coaches to introduce the pro-style offense to college foot ball. While Peterson did not enjoy the success that Bobby Bowden en joyed, he did get Florida State established in major college foot ball, taking his Seminoles to bowl games all three years that Crowe played. One of the reasons that Peterson had good teams, said Crowe, was tremely welcome here." Evans said the strongest asset he brought to Perry Country Club was his instruction. "I would like to obtain my PGA Class 'A' membership," said Evans of his next goal in golf. The first step he takes will be a June 27 players ability test. Perry Country Club head profes sional Bill Hobbs said that he liked Evans' personality, character and at titude. "They are all very positive," said Hobbs. "He has the qualities that we are looking for in making Perry Coun try Club one of Central Georgia's Finest clubs," said Hobbs. "He has a service-minded mentality that he is here for the members." Hobbs said the addition of Evans to his staff was the last addition to Perry Country Club. Evans, a 1989 graduate of West Virginia, is married to Lisa Evans, who is a gymnastics instructor. 4%- Off to Florida State Perry head student trainer James Spicer Is shown a cardiac monitor by Perry Hospital EMT Robert Yancey. Spicer will attend a summer camp for high school trainers at Florida State next week. Saturday, June 11,1994" Houston Times-Joumal Page 6A that he had good coaches. Bobby Bowden, Don James, Don Gibbs and Bill Purcells were assistant coaches during the time Crowe played at Florida State. "I will always remember playing Bear Bryant and Kenny Stabler at Legion Field (in 1966)," said Crowe. "Probably, my greatest thrill was when we tied them 37-37 in the opening game.” Alabama would overcome the opening tie to win the national championship in 1966, one of a dozen titles the Crimson Tide has won. 1966 featured three other key games in the rise of Florida State football. In the middle of the year, the Seminoles played the Orange men, who had Larry Czonka in the backfield. "We had tackles that were not as big as Czonka," said Crowe. Pennington drops a game By JIMMY SIMPSON Staff Writar Graffiti Hair Salon was looking for a perfect season. Pennington 111 Plumbing was looking for redemption. Only one would get its wish. Taking the field for the final game of the regular season at Ochlahatchee Park, the Pennington girls erupted for 15 runs in a Tuesday clash to coast to a 15-5 win. The win denied Graffiti the opportunity to post what is believed to be the first perfect record in the history of the girls junior softball league. “Everything we did, on offense or defense, seemed to go our way,” said Pennington 111 coach Diane Pennington. “Our girls played a great game.” The latest outing was the fifth match-up of the year for the two teams. It was in one of those recent contests that Graffiti was forced to rely on a last-inning rally to BBanaßi H Rodeo winner Susan Good (right) rode home with $2,300 worth of goodies after winning the Dodge Truck Rodeo drawing during the Georgia National Rodeo In April. "He was a horse to bring down." The team also played the na tion's highest scoring offense in the Houston Cougars. The week before the Seminoles played the Cougars, Houston had broken the century mark in a game against Tulsa. "When you watch a game film, and it seems likes season highlights, it scares you," said Crowe. However, Crowe and his defen sive teammates were able to limit the high flying Texans to just 25 points, coming away with the 40- 25 win. The 1966 season ended with the Gator Bowl against Joe Patemo and Penn State. Playing against one of the top teams in college football, the Florida State season ended as it had started, with a tie. Also, that year was the first year Please see Crowe, page 9A narrowly escape the wrath of defeat. One of the most remarkable things surrounding the winning team is that it was able to field only 10 players when the game got underway. Graffiti fielded 14 girls. In other action, Family Footwear and First Family Finance came out of the batter’s box like lightning, only to have the actual flash of light across the sky doom their finish. The game was called after umpire Anne Maurer conversed with the two coaches who decided to take their players off the field in the final inning of play. That game will not be concluded, and both teams will be credited with a tie. Due to severe thunderstorms hitting the area on Thursday, two additional games were also cancelled and will not be replayed. Graffiti finishes the regular season at 13-1. Pennington takes over the second spot with a 6-8 Please see Softball, page 9A