By Chris Gibson staff reporter Usually a basketball high-top and a track spike wouldn't go together. But Horned Frog Janice Thomas makes them fit like a pair. Basketball pays the way for this junior from Los Angeles, but Thomas said that track and field has always been a passion. "I started running track long before I started playing basketball," Thomas said. "In junior high and high school I did both, and I went on to play basketball in junior college. I really missed running track (in junior college) though so I'm glad the coaches here at TCU are letting me do both." Thomas said that one of the main reasons she chose TCU was head basketball coach Jeff Mittie's and head track coach Monte Stratton's support of her choice to do both. "Janice showed an interest in track and field from the beginning," Stratton said. "She said she wanted to be a part of it, and coach Mittie has been real good about letting her and working around her off-season workouts and all the things that go along with being a basketball player." The decision wasn't that difficult for Mittie either, he said. Not only did Thomas's abilities on the court convince him that a player could do both, but Mittie himself was a two-sport athlete at Missouri Western State College. "I played both basketball and baseball in college, so I can relate to her situation," Mittie said. "It was never really a problem for me because most of the things that she does in track can help her in basketball. She may miss a little fundamental work, but the increased speed and agility she will get with track will make up for it." Thomas agrees with her coach but says that while the things she does in track help her on the court, the opposite is not necessarily true. She also said that she uses her experiences in both to help her be a better player and runner. "Track is more of an individual sport than basketball is, but there are still a lot of individual things that you can do that help your team in both sports," Thomas said. "In basketball, you are responsible for making good passes and guarding your man, and in track you are responsible for making clean hand-offs (during relays). It still comes down to whether you do your job or not, and both can really affect your team." Thomas has had a dramatic effect on the two basketball teams she has played for in college. At West Los Angeles College in California she averaged 20 points and 11 rebounds a game. She was named Most Valuable Player of her team that won the Southern California Junior College title and was voted runner-up for the Southern California Junior College Player-of-the-Year award. This past year at TCU Thomas averaged 11.8 points a game (in conference play). She also had 17 blocks and 25 steals while leading the team in rebounding. Thomas and Stratton said they hope she can bring some of that success onto the track. "While she is a little behind (by missing the indoor season), Janice is a good enough athlete where she can compete in almost any event," Stratton said. "An athlete is an athlete, and her skills in basketball will carry over. She is someone who can give us some help, and you can always use someone like that."
Chris Gibson
Texas Rangers general manager Doug Melvin must feel pretty smart right about now. On the eve of the Rangers' second game, Melvin should be looking forward to seeing outfielder Gabe Kapler. Kapler might give Rangers' fans a reason to smile when they hear Melvin's name mentioned on sports talk shows across the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Kapler captivated fans Monday at the Rangers' home opener. He hit two home runs and a single, driving in three runs and scoring three runs himself. He is the first Ranger to ever hit two home runs in his first two at bats. Along with his bat, he dazzled fans with his glove, his arm and his hustle. Kapler, who replaced the high-priced outfielder Juan Gonzalez, impressed fans and coaches when he had two strong throws from the warning track in right field. He also received a standing ovation when, appropriately enough, he made a running catch to make the last out of the ball game. Unexpectedly, Kapler apologized for a base-running error that almost cost the Rangers a run. He apologized after he ran through a stop sign from third-base coach Jerry Narron and scored when he, luckily, knocked the ball out of the catcher's mitt. Kapler told reporters, "I got a really good break and was sure that I was going to score easily, but I apologized to Jerry because it makes the third-base coach not look so good. I know that's not going to happen again." Meanwhile in Oakland, former Rangers' outfielder and perennial All-Star Gonzalez went hitless with a walk, as the Detroit Tigers defeated the Oakland A's. After the game, Gonzalez told reporters that he was placed in the designated hitter spot in the lineup, instead of his usual position of right field, because of a lingering hamstring injury. He was smug when reporters asked about his performance at the plate saying that he was just glad that his team had won. Gonzalez, who has been in the major leagues for 11 years, needs to take some lessons from the second-year man, Kapler. Kapler praised the fans and the coaches for the opportunity to play in Texas. He also played to his potential, something he did not do last year in Detroit, where he hit .245 with 18 home runs. Kapler also apologized for his mistakes on the field, which is something that Gonzalez would never do. While Gonzalez was with the Rangers last season, he was the focal point of much controversy on the team. His refusing to play in the All-Star game if he was not a starter was disgraceful, and it made the Rangers organization look bad. Only more embarrassing to Gonzalez and the Rangers was the "baggy pants incident" in which Gonzalez once again refused to play in the Hall of Fame game because he was unhappy with the way that his pants fit. All the while, people were terribly disappointed when Gonzalez was traded. Supposedly, Kapler had large shoes to fill when he came over with some of his ex-Tiger teammates in the blockbuster trade for Gonzalez. People around the Dallas/Fort Worth area and the Major League wrote off the Rangers in November. Sports talk show hosts said the Rangers would not be contenders this year and that the Gonzalez trade would come back to haunt the Rangers. However, Kapler has most people who saw the opening-day game asking the question, "Juan who?" People all around baseball have seen the potential that made Kapler the Double-A minor league player of the year in 1998. People also are ready for an all-around athlete who can be a role model for children. Although Gonzalez oohhed and aahhed fans with his titanic home runs, he was, at best, an average outfielder who often fell asleep on the base path. In the clubhouse, he was a disruption to the team chemistry, so much so that catcher Pudge Rodriguez's wife publicly insulted him. He was moody, and oftentimes, he acted like a child with Rangers' management and manager Johnny Oates. Kapler has told fans and coaches that he is glad to be here. During spring training, he kept a low profile, and he let his bat, his glove and his arm do the talking. The funny thing is that people weren't listening. However, people will listen now that they have seen how Kapler plays the game.
Adam Vilfordi is a senior advertising/public
relations major from Dallas. |
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