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SPORTS
AUG. 28, 2013
No. 7 Texas A&M mum about Manziel’s status
COLLEGE STATION (AP) — Johnny Football was the elephant in the room Tuesday at Texas A&M. The seventh-ranked Aggies head into Saturday’s home opener against Rice with questions still swirling about whether Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel will play against the Owls. The NCAA is investigating whether he was paid for his autograph, a potential violation of amateurism rules that could threaten his eligibility. It was the only thing anyone really wanted to talk about on Tuesday when the Aggies addressed the media. The topic, however, was off limits. Athletic director Eric Hyman said Monday night that he’d instructed everyone in the program not to talk about Manziel. And if that wasn’t clear enough, a member of the sports information department slowly and sternly read the statement, not once, but twice during the session.
Reporters asked anyway, and coach Kevin Sumlin did what Hyman asked. “We’re not discussing that,” he said. “I thought we went over that right from the beginning.” He later added that they have a plan for any number of situations that could happen with their players and team, and that they plan for the possible absence of players every week. ESPN, citing an anonymous source, reported that Manziel met with NCAA investigators over the weekend. CBSSports.com, also citing anonymous sources, reported that Manziel told the investigators he didn’t take money for his autograph. While Sumlin wouldn’t discuss Manziel’s availability for Week 1, he had no problem talking about whether football has helped the quarterback deal with everything going on off the field. “I know he likes to play football,”
Sumlin said. “I think the structure that he has had since Aug. 4 has been nothing but helpful.” If Manziel doesn’t play against the Owls, the Aggies will use either junior Matt Joeckel or freshman Kenny Hill. Joeckel is more of a pocket passer and Hill is a dual-threat quarterback. Joeckel has thrown just 11 passes in his college career. Hill, who starred at Texas high school powerhouse Southlake Carroll, threw for 2,291 yards and 20 TDs and ran for 905 yards and 22 more scores as a senior last season. Sumlin said the competition between the two is ongoing, and that he’s been pleased with the progress of both players. He said it helps his team because they’ve always allowed all quarterbacks to get work with the first team. “Anybody who has been around knows that we rotate players with the first team, has seen us rotate snaps with the first team and because of that I
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BALL SECURITY
think it gives your team a chance to develop a relationship or camaraderie with that first team if something happens,” Sumlin said. Sumlin is confident that Texas A&M’s offense will be OK no matter who’s running the show because of his offensive line. The group, led by left tackle Jake Matthews, is expected to be a strength despite losing Matt’s twin brother, Luke Joeckel, when he was selected second overall in the draft. Matthews, the son of NFL Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews, will be joined on the line this season by little brother Mike Matthews at center. “We’ve got a really solid offensive line which takes a little bit of the pressure off Matt and Kenny,” Sumlin said. “When Johnny’s taking snaps, when he’s in there he’s really trying to help the perimeter guys. Our offensive line gives us an opportunity to rotate those quarterbacks and have them be successful.”
FOR RELEASE AUGUST 28, 2013
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Pierzynski homers as Rangers beat Mariners 8-3
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis
ACROSS 1 Stockpile 6 A.L. West player 11 Place to see reeds 14 Like some trains and anesthetics 15 “Gigi” star Leslie 16 Pollution-policing org. 17 Put down toddlers? 19 It’s in many poems 20 Wirehair of whodunits 21 Start of a morning diner order 22 Hunt illegally 24 Petty of “A League of Their Own” 26 Sediment 28 Put down formal education? 33 Handle the helm 35 They’re not from around here, briefly 36 Ship of Greek myth 37 Rand who created Dagny Taggart 38 Went by 42 The Matterhorn, e.g. 43 Plumbing concern 45 GI entertainers 46 British __ 48 Put down thoroughfares? 52 Hook’s sidekick 53 Caesarean rebuke 54 “Me too!” 57 Pay, as expenses 59 Russian assembly 63 Fuss 64 Put down a rock genre? 67 Spruce cousin 68 Soothing application 69 Cockamamie 70 Comics cry 71 Ancestral diagrams 72 Dumas swordsman DOWN 1 “The West Wing” Emmy winner
8/28/13
By Pancho Harrison
2 Homer’s hangout 3 IRA part: Abbr. 4 Big name in frozen desserts 5 Crafty 6 Thorny shrub 7 “Elephant Boy” actor 8 Rare sights in nurseries 9 Lobster eggs 10 How many writers work 11 Greek salad topper 12 Larger-than-life 13 1950s Rambler maker 18 Virologist who worked with Epstein 23 Worker protection agcy. 25 Storybook baddie 27 To be, to Brutus 28 Wrangler material 29 Station 30 47-Downs have to talk their way out of them 31 Look at lecherously 32 Cuts off 33 H.S. sobriety crusaders
Tuesday’s Puzzle Solved
(c)2013 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
34 Spare, in Soho 39 Moon over Marseille 40 Put together 41 Waist management 44 Cuban cabbage? 47 Loan recipient, often 49 In the center of 50 Popular pieces 51 Rock follower? 54 Sound partner
8/28/13
55 Drooling comics dog 56 Idiot 58 Water-draining aid 60 Canyonlands National Park locale 61 Hand, to Jorge 62 Pub server’s trayful 65 Tuner’s asset 66 “Mamma __!”
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SEATTLE (AP) — When August started, Travis Blackley was a reliever on the worst team in the majors. Now he’s starting for the AL West leaders. Blackley pitched six effective innings and A.J. Pierzynski hit a three-run homer, leading the Texas Rangers to an 8-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Monday night. It was Blackley’s first win since he was acquired in a trade with Houston on Aug. 14. “It’s a good feeling,” Blackley said. “I’m really excited about the rest of the way.” Alex Rios had two hits and two RBIs as the Rangers picked up their fifth win in seven games. Elvis Andrus celebrated his 25th birthday with three hits and an RBI. It was more than enough run support for Blackley (2-1), who allowed three runs and five hits in his second start of the season. “With all the injuries we’ve had, especially pitching injuries, anyone we can get that can come in and give us six innings and a quality start and give us a chance, that’s an added bonus,” Pierzynski said. “We’ve had a bunch of guys step in kind of from out of nowhere and done some good things for us.” Kyle Seager hit his 20th home run of the season for the Mariners, who have lost four in a row. It was Blackley’s longest outing since Oct. 2, 2012, after making 42 relief appearances for Houston this season. He had a similar experience last year, when he joined Oakland mid-season and made 15 starts for the A’s during their playoff run. “Coming back here with another chase and another go at the postseason,
We’re Kind of a
a little older and I’ve been through it — it’s really not as hard when you’ve got this team behind you,” Blackley said. “They play so well and they score a lot of runs most of the time.” Blackley was designated for assignment by Houston on Aug. 9. He was sent to Triple-A Round Rock after the trade, but he came up when right-hander Alexi Ogando went on the disabled list. “I don’t know what the Astros were thinking, I think they just wanted to try out young guys. I wasn’t having the best season in that role, but it was a blessing in disguise,” Blackley said. “I wanted to start all year and they didn’t have a spot for me to do that, and a spot opened up here, picked me up and I’m trying to run with it.” It was a much different night for Seattle starter Joe Saunders (10-13), who turned in another sluggish outing. The left-hander allowed seven runs and nine hits in seven innings to fall to 1-5 with a 7.71 ERA in his last seven starts. “It was one of those weird nights where I thought I pitched better than the results,” Saunders said. “I’ve just been having some bad luck.” The Rangers led 4-3 before Pierzynski hit a drive to right after Adrian Beltre was intentionally walked with two out and a runner on second in the seventh. It was Pierzynski’s 15th homer in his first season with Texas. Mitch Moreland added his 19th homer in the eighth, giving the Rangers an 8-3 lead. Saunders got off to a slow start, and the Rangers took advantage. Saunders hit Craig Gentry leading off the game and Andrus followed with a single. The runners moved up on Ian Kinsler’s sacrifice before Beltre was walked intentionally to load the bases.
PHOTO BY DANIELLE ZARAGOZA/The Daily Toreador
EVAN ESTES, A freshman energy commerce major from Longview, tries to stop Donny Dondeo, a senior media strategies major from Arlington from catching the football during practice for their intramural team Tuesday outside the Robert H. Ewalt Student Recreation Center.
Tadlock completes spring coaching staff Texas Tech baseball coach Tim Tadlock made a new addition to his 2013-2014 coaching staff Tuesday with the hiring of Matt Gardner as volunteer assistant coach. Tadlock said Gardner’s experience in the Big 12 Conference as a coach and tutoring the Cape Cod League Pitcher of the Year, Lukas Schiraldi, were factors in his decision. Gardner will assist with the Tech pitchers and catchers and also will serve as the team’s outfield instructor. He began his collegiate career playing for Tadlock at Grayson County College in 2004-2005 and spent the previous two seasons as pitching coach at Lubbock Christian University (2012-2013) following three seasons as both a graduate assistant coach and volunteer assistant at his alma mater, Oklahoma State University. Gardner coached 21 picks from the Major League Baseball Draft while at Oklahoma State — 10 of which were pitchers. Five of the OSU players were selected in the top-10 rounds of
the MLB First-Year Player Draft. In addition to coaching numerous draft picks at his alma mater, Gardner mentored 18 All-Big 12 selections, 21 Academic All-Big 12 honorees, two Big 12 Pitchers of the Week and one All-American. Prior to arriving at Tech, Gardner served as pitching coach for the Chatham Anglers in the Cape Cod League during Summer 2013. He helped lead the Anglers to the President’s Trophy, which is awarded annually to the team with the best overall record (26-17). Gardner coached several Red Raiders during his year in the Cape Cod League, including outfielder Brett Bell, catcher Hunter Redman and right-handed pitcher Dominic Moreno. Gardner said he is excited about the opportunity to be part of Tech’s baseball program and is fortunate to join Tadlock’s staff. Gardner replaces Russell Raley who now works as an assistant coach at Incarnate Word. ➤➤sports@dailytoreador.com
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