By Rusty Simmons sports editor The TCU women's basketball team had a different leading scorer for the third time this season en route to an 86-59 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff Wednesday night. "That's what has been nice about this team," head coach Jeff Mittie said. "Somebody different has stepped up every game." Against the Lions of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, it was junior forward Janice Thomas' turn to step into the spot light. She scored 18 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, the third highest total in school history, before fouling out midway through the second half.
Thomas led an early surge for the Frogs. She and senior guard Diamond Jackson combined for 12 of TCU's first 16 points. At the 15-minute mark in the first half, the Frogs had built a 16-4 lead. Mittie said he liked the squad's play in the initial minutes of the game. "You always want to jump out to an early lead," he said. "It was especially nice in this game, because we were able to get some players some more minutes." Some of the extra minutes were dispersed to junior forward Sally Spencer. She added 13 points and three steals to Thomas' double-double, the first of the season for TCU. Mittie said Spencer gave TCU a lift in the first half. Spencer's 11 first-half points led the Frogs to their biggest lead in the initial frame, 40-16, with 7:11 left in the period. The Lions cut the TCU lead to 21 points at the half, and they continued the run into the second half. The second half was filled with 26 personal fouls, and Arkansas-Pine Bluff cut the deficit to 16 points with under eight minutes remaining in the game. Mittie said he was not especially pleased with the play during the span, and characterized the game as poorly played. "This wasn't one of our best efforts," he said. Jackson freed herself for some open shots in the final five minutes of the game. She connected on 7-of-15 field goal opportunities for 18 points, but Jackson was only 2-of-6 from the arc. Jackson's back-to-back jumpers at end of the game pushed the TCU lead back up to 27 points, where it ended 86-59. Junior guard Amy Sutton added nine points, eight assists and four steals for the Frogs. Junior guard Jill Sutton also dished out eight assists, and junior center Karen Clayton pulled down seven rebounds. But Mittie said the game had two points that were more important than the statistics. He said it was important to see some different combinations in the line up, and sophomore forward Tricia Payne, the team's leading scorer, got to rest her sore feet. Payne was plagued with a stress fracture in her left foot last year. The team's trainers have experimented with several different in-soles to combat the problem this season, but Payne developed blisters on both feet in the Frogs' last game against Wichita State. "(Payne) could have played tonight, but we felt that if we played her 20 minutes, the problem could have been worse," Mittie said. Mittie said Payne will be in the line up for the Frogs' when they host the Cook Children's TCU Hoops Invitational Dec. 3-4.
Rusty Simmons
When I wrote about Pete Rose previously, a loyal reader informed me via e-mail that I ought to keep my opinions on Rose in "that virtual abyss I call a brain." Well, dude, I'm sorry, but since Charlie Hustle won't go away, neither will I. On Tuesday, Rose posted an Internet petition for his reinstatement into baseball and, presumably, his induction into the Hall of Fame. Let's examine the reasons most people have for his reinstatement. First, people will argue that gambling isn't that bad. Baseball players have done a lot worse things over the years, from cheating to fighting to drugs, and were not banned from baseball. Well, all of these things are true. Pete Rose was not the worst person ever to play baseball, and it probably wasn't Joe Jackson or any member of the Black Sox either. The man whose record Rose broke, Ty Cobb, was a dirty player and noted racist, known for assaulting both fans and umpires and refusing to room with Babe Ruth on barnstorming tours because he was convinced Ruth had some African blood in him. And of course, Darryl Strawberry has three World Series rings despite his drug problems. The problem is that while racism, cheating, drug use and many other sins have proliferated baseball since it began, none of those things undermine the competitive effort of those involved. As baseball historian Bill James writes, "In any profession, there are things which are not criminal, but which will get you fired because they are not compatible with that profession. If you're a priest, you can get fired for having affairs. If you're a psychiatrist, you can get into deep trouble for gossiping and in baseball, you get fired for gambling." Baseball has to protect itself from gambling interests infecting the game because it changes the way those whose bets are down approach it, even when he bets on his team to win. This may seem like a small point, but this manager is putting his real job aside for his own individual monetary interests. That is dangerous to the integrity of the competition and of the sport. In Rose's particular case, we don't know for sure whether he's guilty or not. In launching this new petition, he also said he has new evidence that points to his innocence. I encourage Bud Selig to hold a public hearing to determine, once and for all, whether Rose is guilty or not. If Rose is indeed innocent, then baseball owes him a sincere apology and probably a few million bucks in reparations. If he is guilty, he should remain banned from baseball and the matter should never be brought up again. Forgiveness is great. People should forgive anybody that has wronged them. But this is not about forgiving or not forgiving Pete Rose, any more than the impeachment hearings were about forgiving Bill Clinton. It is about holding to a rule that protects the integrity of the game. That's the last word from the Abyss.
Stephen Suffron is a senior broadcast journalism major from League City, Texas. He can be reached at (sdsuffron@delta.is.tcu.edu). |
"I had to adjust. This is all new to me," said
Thomas, the transfer from West Los Angeles College. "I'm finally starting
to adjust. I guarantee (I'll put up more numbers like this)."| The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |