Cubs’ pitcher still haunted by beaning episode
■ Christensen hopes to move on after off-plate beaning
leaves player with damaged eye and possible lawsuit
By Rick Gano
The Associated Press
MESA, Ariz. — Ben Chris
tensen threw one warmup pitch
that changed two lives — his own
and Anthony Molina’s.
Now he’s trying to put the ugly
incident behind him as he attends
his first spring training with the
Chicago Cubs.
It won’t be easy.
“Other than the media, it does
n’t get brought up,” Christensen,
the Cubs’ first-round pick, said
Tuesday. “It’s in the past. But ob
viously it’s not over. ... There is a
possible civil litigation, but noth
ing has happened. I can’t control
anything. I have nothing to do
over what is going to happen. So
I don’t let it worry me.”
While with Wichita State last
April, Christensen threw a
warmup pitch and struck Molina
in the left eye as the Evansville
batter was standing near the on
deck circle, an off-the-plate
warning apparently made to dis
courage Molina from timing
pitches.
Molina sustained three frac
tures in surrounding bones, leav
ing a 1-inch gash above the eye,
which swelled shut. His vision in
the eye was measured at 20/400
after the injury. He underwent
glaucoma surgery in June and
lens-replacement surgery in De
cember, and recently his eye test
ed at 20/60, though retinal dam
age has left it with two permanent
blind spots.
Molina has resumed his career
with Evansville and went l-for-4
in his first game back.
“He’s back playing and that’s
good,” Christensen said.
“It’s not over for me,” Molina
told The Daily Herald of Arling
ton Heights last week, adding he
will need surgery every seven or
eight years to relieve pressure in
side his eyeball. “There will be a
lawsuit. We have until April 23 to
do it and we will do it.”
Christensen wrote Molina a let
ter and offered a public apology
when he signed with the Cubs
last summer.
“The only thing I didn’t do is, I
was told not to go see him or any
thing like that by his coach and by
our coaches,” Christensen said.
The Cubs took their share of
criticism for selecting Chris
tensen, including some from
then-second baseman Mickey
Morandini, who is no longer with
the team.
Cubs president Andy MacPhail
said Tuesday that extensive back
ground checks convinced the
team that Christensen was not a
risk and worth taking.
“I don’t think we looked at is as
exonerating him from the inci
dent,” MacPhail said. “There are
a lot of people we choose not to
take because we were concerned
about their personality. Our peo
ple were satisfied with other than
the incident that he will have to
deal with in a variety of ways,
that he was worthy of being in the
organization.”
MacPhail realizes the 22-year
old Christensen, who went 21-1
in three years at Wichita State be
fore he was suspended following
the incident, will have to answer
a lot of the same questions.
“I don’t for a minute think it’s
going to be easy for him to over
come the burden of the incident,”
MacPhail said. “It’s hard to be
come a major league player. This
is an added burden. He is going to
have to be strong to get through it
because he’s going to get asked
that question everywhere he goes
as his season progresses. The de
gree of difficulty increases.”
Cubs manager Don Baylor said
Christensen made a mistake but
comes to camp with a clean slate
as far as he is concerned. He
added that the 6-4 right-hander
can’t hesitate to throw pitches in
side because he’s worried about
hitting someone.
“Ben came here and bad some
baggage,” Baylor said. “I told him
to leave the baggage at the door.”
Good news for Duncan: muscle
strain won’t break game streak
■ What was thought to be
a torn abdominal muscle
won’t keep Spurs’ forward
from missing a game
By Kelley Shannon
The Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO — Tim Dun
can’s strained abdominal muscle
is not torn, meaning the All-Star
forward might be able to keep
alive his streak of never missing
an NBA game.
Duncan, listed as day to day,
will travel with the San Antonio
Spurs for a three-game road trip
and there is a chance he will
play Thursday night in Char
lotte.
While the Spurs’ reserves prac
ticed Tuesday and the rest of the
team took the day off, Duncan
took a magnetic resonance imag
ing test on his lower abdomen
and began rehab, which includes
workouts in a pool.
Duncan has played in 185
consecutive regular-season
’games during his three years in
the league. Shaquille O’Neal of
the Los Angeles Lakers had an
abdominal strain during the
1997-98 season and missed 21
games.
Duncan left Monday night’s
game against Phoenix early in
the second quarter of the Spurs’
98-89 loss. There did not ap
pear to be any unusual contact
that might have caused an in
jury.
“He just came over and said
that I needed to sub for him,”
Spurs coach Greg Popovich said.
“Then I knew right away that
something was wrong. I didn’t
need to question him what was
wrong. I just got him out of
there.”
If Duncan is sidelined, San An
tonio is expected to give addi
tional playing time to Malik
Rose, with David Robinson pick
ing up his offensive game. Robin
son had 31 points and 18 re
bounds, and Rose scored 17
points.
“If we play the way we did last .
night then we’ll be in good
shape,” Popovich said. “It’d be
great to shoot a little bit better.
But the effort and the defense
and the execution, I’m really
proud of.”
Guard Antonio Daniels, Dun
can’s closest friend on the team,
sprained his left wrist during
Monday night’s game and also is
listed as day to day. He will make
the upcoming road trip and
could play Thursday.
New York delivers KO
to eight-second count
By Joel Stashenko
The Associated Press
ALBANY, N.Y. —New York
plans to follow the lead of other
states by proposing the elimina
tion of the standing eight count
in all professional bouts.
The Athletic Commission also
intends to change rules governing
judge selection and payments
prompted by the disputed Evander
Holyfield-Lennox Lewis draw last
year at Madison Square Garden.
The rules in both instances are
expected to be approved in April.
The standing eight count was
designed to protect boxers by al
lowing the referee to step in and
give an overwhelmed fighter an
eight-second respite.
Dr. Barry Jordan, a neurologist
and ringside physician during
many New York bouts, said think
ing has changed among doctors.
“If a boxer is sustaining
enough punishment to have to
count to eight to assess his con
dition, then he’s probably suf
fered enough punishment to
stop the fight,” Jordan said.
Athletic Commission counsel
Lawrence Mandelker said boxing
officials believe some referees
were unfairly using the count to
give beleaguered boxers a rest.
New rules will provide for
judges at championship bouts in
New York to be selected by the
Athletic Commission and not box
ing’s sanctioning organizations.
They also create a sliding scale
for what referees and judges at
such bouts will be paid, based
on the fight’s purse.
The state will require a decla
ration that no one at a bout’s
sanctioning body received pay
ment from the fight’s promoter.
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EDITOR
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681-9004
Let me assist you! Fast, accurate
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Call Linda at 895-2470.
At 344-0759, ROBIN is GRAD
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Run your “FOR SALE” ad (items
under $1,000) for 5 days. If the
item(s) doesn't sell, call us at
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Student/Private Party Ads Only«No Refunds ^
Wednesday is New Comic Day
at Emerald City Comics.
770 E. 13th. 345-2568.
■nadlUWfcllhWMJIMittMl
Former UO student must sell nice
furniture. CHEAP. Bed set, couch
es and desks. Please call 949-497
2886 or 949-280-8830.
1980 VW Camper Van. Good con
dition, newly rebuilt engine, $2500.
Call 242-0819 noon-6.
PowerMac G3/4Q0 graphic design
system with 21" ColorSync monitor.
$2300. Epson Stylus 3000 inkjet
printer, $700. 942-7981.
CASH! We Buy, Sell & Service
VHS VCR's & Stereos. Thompson
Electronics, 1122 Oak, 343-9293
TROMBONE FOR SALE
silver, used, prof, model
bach stradt 16 — 346-8333
MEXICO SPRING BREAK 2000.
South Padre Island, Acapulco,
Cancun from $399. Round trip air
fare. 7 nights hotel, 14 free meals,
night life you won’t be able to tell
your mom about! Leisure Tours.
Call now for details 1 -800-584-7533.
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Jobs in Campus Recycling!
Campus Recycling Now hiring work
study/ tech fee funded students for
positions beginning now.
Contact Campus Recycling at 346
1529. Leave message with a mail
ing address and phone number to
obtain application.
UO Summer Enrichment
Program
Counselor & Teacher Positions
Positions available at the most
unique camp in Eugene. Creative
and energetic people needed for life
changing employment. Enrich the
lives of local talented and gifted
youth while gaining valuable experi
ence. Must be available June 21
July 22. Camp held on UO campus.
Visit our website at:
interact.uoregon.edu/tag/jobs.html
for online application and informa
tion, or call Andrew at 346-1405
New Gourmet Pizza Restaurant in
downtown Eugene is hiring a com
plete staff. If you want a challenging
and exciting job in an excellent
working environment, please call us
at 541-284-6267.
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Winter Work-Study Positions Available
A Programming Assistant position is now available.
This position like all positions at The Break, work at
the front desk and coordinate another aspect of the
operation of our facility. Stop by The Break or call
346-4378 for more info.
Application deadline
is Fri., Feb. 25th, 4pm.
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