The Daily Collegian
* 5144S 144
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idelines
A brief look at the world of sports
Scores`;
NHL
Washington 5, N.Y. Rangers 3
Edmonton 4, Boston 3
Detroit 6, N.Y Islanders 2
Pittsburgh at Vancouver, late
NBA
Charlotte 88, Milwaukee 84
Chicago 120, Minnesota 99
Indiana 101, Portland 87
Philadelphia 121, Dallas 115
Houston 105, Toronto 100
Denver 96, Washington 92
Cleveland 92, Golden State 80
Miami 93, New Jersey 90
L.A. Clippers 95, San Antonio 90
c ee tosdules
No*-
Baseball, it's back
University of Miami vs. Florida Mar
lins at Viera, Fla., 1:05 p.m.
Edison College vs. Minnesota Twins
at Fort Myers, Fla., 7:05 p.m.
NHL
Edmonton at Hartford, 7 p.m.
Buffalo at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.
Boston at N.Y. Rangers, 7:30 p.m
Philadelphia at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Toronto at Winnipeg, 8:30 p.m.
Tampa Bay at LA., 10:30 p.m.
Montreal at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m.
NBA
Charlotte at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Miami at Orlando, 7:30 p.m.
Portland at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Detroit at Seattle, 8 p.m.
Phoenix at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Washington at Utah, 9 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Vancouver, 10 p.m.
New York at Sacramento, 10:30
p.m.
•
in-brie.,./kamf
Ice Devils advance;
ready to play Icers
The Icers will be playing Ari
zona State, which defeated Tow
son State in the first game of the
ACHA national championships,
7-1.
Delaware beat West Virginia
and advanced to the next round
of the other bracket.
Lions' defensive coach
moves on to NFL Bears
Penn State defensive sec
ondary coach Greg Schiano is
leaving Happy Valley to go to the
Windy City. He was appointed as
a defensive assistant to Chicago
Bears coach Dave Wannstedt.
Schiano has been on the Lion's
coaching staff since 1990. He is a
former defensive starter and
team captain at Bucknell. He is
filling the Bears former line
backer coach Dave McGinnis,
who is now the defensive coordi
nator for the NFL Arizona Cardi
nals.
'Great one' becomes
Blue, leaves L.A.
ST. LOUIS Wayne Gretzky,
the hockey icon who failed to win
a Stanley Cup in Los Angeles,
was traded to the St. Louis Blues
last night, ending weeks of
rumor and speculation about his
future.
Al Kerth, spokesman for the
Kiel Center Partners, the owner
of the Blues gave no details on
the deal involving the greatest
scorer in NHL history, other
than he will be a Blue.
The Kings would not confirm
that the trade had been complet
ed.
Quote of the day
"We're not willing to
put into athletics what it
takes to compete if we
have to sacrifice the aca
demic quality."
Walter K. Gordon
Rutgers-Camden president on the
decision to eliminate the Div. 111
men's basketball program after this
year due to its poor record.
Compiled from Collegian staff and
wire reports.
Lions already losing injured players
By GEOFF MOSHER
Collegian Sports Writer
When the Penn State football team takes the
field for spring practice, it will be without some
key players from the previous year.
One of the biggest losses the team will suffer
is the absence of the tailback-turned-defensive
back, Ambrose Fletcher. After suffering three
strokes, Fletcher's mother, Albertha, said he is
at home and doing better. His strokes came as a
complete surprise to her.
"Ambrose Fletcher has never been sick in his
entire life," she said. "It was a total shock to
me." Linebacker coach Tom Bradley described
Fletcher's injury as "not a good situation" and
an unfortunate occurrence the team must face.
"I'm not sure exactly what the cause is,"
Bradley said. "It's just unfortunate that things
like that happen, but you just have to deal with
it."
The Lions can also count on defensive tackle
Floyd Wedderburn to be absent during the
spring. Wedderburn likely will not recover
from the torn anterior cruciate ligament that he
suffered before the start of spring practice last
year. Bradley said Wedderburn's recovery
requires a nine-month rehabilitation, and miss
ing spring practice is no surprise.
In the spotlight
Remaining games determine Lions' NCAA fate
By BRAD YOUNG
Collegian Sports Writer
Jarrett Stephens had a remote
control dilemma this past week
end.
With Purdue leading Stephens
and the rest of the Lion basket
ball team by two games as the
Big Ten season settled to an end,
Stephens wanted to watch the
Boilermakers take on Indiana
Sunday afternoon. A Hoosier win
would pull the Lions to within a
game and a half and a prayer
of the conference champi-
onship.
But something kept Stephens'
clicker stuck predominantly on
an NBA game, not on Purdue's
chance to solidify itself at the
top.
"I was sort of scared to watch
it," Stephens said. "I would
switch to it to see what the score
was and then turn away from it.
It seemed like every time I was
watching it Purdue was doing
good."
Apparently, Gene Keady's
crew also did just fine when
Stephens wasn't tuning in. A
three-pointer from guard Chad
Austin gave the Boilers a 74-72
win, and as a result they remain
two up on the Lions with just
three games left on their sched
ule.
They will clinch a third
straight Big Ten crown with
home wins this week over Min
nesota and Northwestern.
So when those same purple
clad Wildcats (7-17, 2-13 Big Ten)
come to the Bryce Jordan Center
for an 8 p.m. tussle tonight with
the No. 12 Lions (19-4, 10-4), a
win for the home squad won't
have big ramifications on the
conference race.
Only some kind of miraculous
Doug Henning-type thing would
give the Lions a shot at Purdue
now.
But the Lions know their
remaining four games still mean
a whole lot to the NCAA Tour
nament selection committee
which will decide on March 10
where the Lions will be heading
for the Big Dance's first round
Bridget Foley performs on the beam during
the Feb. 17 meet against Ohio State.
Wedderburn said he wants to play, but knows
that he can't rush the recovery. He initially felt
he might be ready for the spring, but said he
would work hard in the summer to make sure
he's ready for the 1996-1997 season.
"Any ordinary player would want to play,"
Wedderburn said. "But I can't help it. I don't
want to risk anything. I thought I would be
ready at this time, but there are a few things
that set us back but not too far back."
Wedderburn admits that the injury has been
frustrating, but he said he tries not to let it
bother him.
The team will be short another linebacker for
the spring Brandon Short. He reinjured the
same left foot that he broke last year, which
kept him out for the season.
The injury occurred while playing a pick-up
basketball game in the Intramural Building this
semester. Short said the foot broke in the exact
same place as it did last time, which is very
unusual.
"At first it was very frustrating," Short said.
"But then I had to put things in perspective, at
least it didn't happen during a game again."
Coming out of McKeesport, Short was the
Pennsylvania MVP of the Big 33 Football Clas
sic.
Punter Scott Stephens left the squad after
Glenn Sekunda reaches over Northwestern's Brian Chamberlain
during last year's game at Rec Hall. The two battle again tonight.
and how advantageous a seed the
Lions deserve.
"Just because they beat Indi
ana," forward Matt Gaudio said,
"that doesn't mean our job's done
in getting ready for March."
So tonight against Ricky Byrd-
Falls don't falter unflappable Foley
By CAMERON McGAUGHY
Collegian Sports Writer
When she was four years old, Lady Lion
gymnast Bridget Foley kissed George Burns
on the cheek. She was with her family in
upstate New York, visiting her father on a
business trip and lounging by a hotel pool
when the celebrity was spotted.
"Her father told her to go talk to him,"
recalled Foley's mother, Sue. "And she went
right on up and kissed George Burns."
That is a happy memory for the co-cap
tain. But she has other memories, too ones
she'd like to forget. Foley has no problem
recalling everything about March 12, 1995.
It was a Sunday, and the Lady Lions were at
Georgia for the last meet of Spring Break.
Penn State was on its first rotation, the
uneven bars, and Foley was second to last
up. During her first release move, she fell.
"I don't ever fall on that. And I was fine, I
got back up," the senior remembered. "When
I fall on my first release move I tend to have
more energy for my second one, and then I
fell on that. I landed straight-legged when I
fell, and that's when I tore it."
"It" was her ACL in her right knee. End of
routine, end of season. At first, doctors said
it was just the cartilage, that she would be
back in time for the Big Ten championships.
Ilegian File Photo
song's lowly club, the Lions will
be primping themselves for their
first trip to the dance since 1991.
Northwestern is again chal
lenging for the conference base
ment, but they do have one very
Please see CAGERS, Page 16.
"Then I saw the orthopedic surgeon here,"
Foley said, "and he told me I was done."
To that point in the season, Foley was on
fire, posting career highs on balance beam
and floor exercise and hoping to soon enter
the vault lineup.
"I had played such an important role last
year," she said. "I was doing so well, our
team was doing so well. I finally got my full
difficulty in on floor, I finally felt like I was
personally giving a lot to the team."
But missing the most crucial part of the
season took its mental toll on Foley, who did
n't travel with the team for the first time in
her career. She had to sit back as the Lady
Lions finished eighth at the NCAA champi
onships.
"That drove me more to get back," Foley
said. "But it was hard. You see a lot of
progress in the beginning of rehab and then
there's a lot of deadtime. I was very hard on
myself at the beginning of this year."
But just 11 months out of surgery, Foley is
content with her rate of progress, and yes,
she is officially back. At the Lady Lions'
home meet with Ohio State, she turned in
her best-ever performance on bars and gave
the team confidence when it needed it the
most.
After her teammates fell five times, the
veteran mounted the balance beam and per-
failing to beat out Darrell Kania for the starting
job. Stephens, the North Little Rock, Ark.,
native, said he wasn't accustomed to Northern
culture and was "miserable and ready to get
out" after his sophomore season.
Stephens said the coach's demand to get the
ball off his foot in less than two seconds caused
him to punt with inconsistenly throughout prac
tices.
Stephens also felt homesick, so after leaving
the Penn State, the punter went home and will
be punting for Central Arkansas, only 20 min
utes away from his hometown.
"I was only about 1,000 miles away from
home," Stephens joked. Stephens said he no
longer values being a big-time football player
because of his devout religious beliefs. "I'm a
strong Christian and I have strong belief in
God, and it helped me understand that playing
(professional) football was not a desire and goal
now whereas it used to be."
Stephens' mother, Luci, said she and his
father initially wanted Scott to stay at the Uni
versity, but are glad that he is now home and
enjoying himself.
"We thought that Penn State could give him a
great education," Luci said. "But we didn't feel
like we should force him to stay somewhere
that he wasn't comfortable."
Top teams await
tourney tensions
No. 1 lowa will contend
for Big Ten title against
the No. 2 Lady Lions this
weekend in Indianapolis,
Ind.
By ROB AMEN
Collegian Sports Writer
Midway through the second half
of the Penn State women's basket
ball team's 72-69 win over Ohio
State Sunday, all one could do was
just sit and watch in enjoyment.
The Katina Mack/Katie Smith
match-up was one of the best of the
year in the Big Ten, if not the
nation. One of the country's leading
scorers in Smith versus perhaps
one of the best all-around players
in Mack. The Lady Lions' 5-foot-8
senior guard constantly hounded
Smith and her shot. Frustration
appeared to grow within the senior
Lady Buckeye, although she later
denied it.
But if Smith thinks she has rid
herself of Mack, she might be sore
ly mistaken. The two could meet
again this weekend in the Big Ten
Women's Basketball Tournament
in Indianapolis, Ind. Penn State and
Ohio State are both situated in the
lower bracket, with the Lady Lions
seeded No. 2 and Lady Buckeyes
seeded No. 6 for the tournament,
played at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Ohio
State opens the tournament on Fri
day against Minnesota while Penn
State first takes the court at 6 p.m.
Saturday.
Despite the hype surrounding
the tournament, Lady Lion coach
Rene Portland has her focus on
something else.
"This week for us," she said, "is
to lay low and try to get healthy."
However, No. 3 seed Wisconsin
has other things on its mind, like
trying to figure out why the team
fell apart the last weekend of the
regular season. The Badgers, sit
ting in second place behind lowa
before the weekend, dropped their
final two games to two very weak,
beatable teams Indiana and
Michigan to finish third overall.
"I think the top four teams,"
Michigan coach Trish Roberts said,
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 1996
"there's a lot of parity there. I
think this year showed a lot of par
ity in the league than before."
Despite that, lowa ran away with
the regular season title, winning it
by two games over Penn State, and
will be the No. 1 seed. At times, the
Hawkeyes appeared invincible. In
fact, only one team really gave
lowa a game for the entire 40 min
utes and that was Purdue, which
handed lowa its lone conference
loss.
Nonetheless, the Hawkeyes enter
the tournament as the favorite.
lowa relies heavily upon Tangela
Smith, but will likely be without
two of their key players, Amy Her
rig (stress fracture on her left
ankle) and Tiffany Gooden (hyper
extended knee).
One team, though, that should
cause problems for many is No. 4
seed Purdue. With Lin Dunn as
coach, the Boilermakers can never
be counted out of any game, and
with the steady improvement of
their younger players, the Boilers
just might sneak up on someone,
such as lowa in the semifinals.
"We have finished the season
getting better," Dunn said. "Our
young players, particularly our
freshmen and sophomores, are
growing up."
Whether it is Purdue or any
other team, it is going to take sharp
shooting and a little bit of luck to
capture the Big Ten tournament
title.
formed with ease, earning a 9.75 and getting
her team back on track.
"She's a very experienced competitor,"
Penn State coach Steve Shephard said.
"Coming through in the clutch like that is
pretty impressive."
When things were looking bleak again on
the floor exercise and the Lady Lions'
lead was slipping Foley did it again, earn
ing a 9.7.
"The only thing that did kind of scare me
was when I was doing triple fulls again on
the floor, because I don't wear a brace,"
Foley said. "I just don't want to wear one.
And I competed it (against Ohio State), so
obviously I'm OK, but it was a little scary at
first."
Even with the anniversary of her night
mare creeping closer, Foley insists it's the
furthest thing from her mind. She feels
strong and her knee is holding up fine. If
there is anything to remember from a year
ago, it's an incident that occurred on the way
home.
"We were in the Pittsburgh airport and I
looked over, and these two people had Planet
Hollywood jackets on," Foley said. "And I
said, 'Oh my God, that's definitely Peter and
Cindy Brady.' "
Former Lady Lion Kerry Slattery chal-
Please see FOLEY, Page 16.
Brandon Short
Lion linebacker
Courtesy of Penn
Katina Mack
Lady Lion guard