Emotional Aikman announces his retirement
By Jaime Aron
The Associate Press
IRVING, Texas — As always,
Troy Aikman came to Texas Stadi
um with his game face on.
He brought an inch-thick stack of
index cards and enough family and
friends to fill a ballroom. Banners
from the three Super Bowls he won
hung from the hole-in-the-roof visi
ble behind him.
But when it came time to talk
about the end of his 12-year career,
the usually unflappable quarter
back was overcome by emotion.
A few sentences into his nearly 1
1/2-hour retirement news confer
ence Monday, Aikman put down
the cards, took a breath and dragged
a finger beneath and above his left
eye.
“You watch and you think your
time will never come,” Aikman
said slowly. “And my time’s come.”
Aikman called it a career 33 days
after being waived by the Dallas
Cowboys.
While he believes he can still be
a starting quarterback in the NFL,
the right job wasn’t out there.
So rather than risk suffering an
11th concussion or taking another
hit on his aching back, the 34-year
old Aikman ended his playing ca
reer and is preparing to start anoth
er as a broadcaster.
“I know it’s the right thing for me
because of my health, concussions,
the back problems I’ve had,” Aik
man said. “It took its toll.”
Aikman is close to finalizing a
deal with Fox to replace Matt
Millen as the partner for play-by
play announcer Dick Stockton, an
industry source told The Associat
ed Press on condition of anonymi
ty. An announcement could come
as early as Tuesday, the source said.
Aikman’s life is rapidly chang
ing. He recently moved to Califor
nia and in late August his wife is
due to have their first child. The
couple also is raising an 11-year-old
daughter from her previous mar
riage.
“I wanted to play. I just can’t do
that anymore,” Aikman said. “I
think when all things are consid
ered it was the right thing for me
and my family.”
Aikman bit his lip as Cowboys
owner Jerry Jones introduced the
first player he ever drafted and rem
inisced about the rise of the team
and the quarterback.
Before he turned the microphone
over to Aikman, Jones presented a
video prepared by NFL Films. It be
gan with home movies from Aik
man’s youth and featured great mo
ments from his career.
Aikman told about going to the
Green Bay Packers’ final game in
1988 and rooting for them to win so
Dallas would have the top pick in
the draft. The Packers won and, be
fore leaving the stadium, Aikman
bought a Cowboys cap.
Dallas made Aikman the first
pick in 1989 and also drafted Daryl
Johnston, Mark Stepnoski and
Tony Tolbert.
Aikman anchored the Cowboys
teams that won the 1992, ’93 and
’95 Super Bowls.
Blazers’ Wells declared out for season with injury
By Landon Hall
The Associated Press
PORTLAND — Bonzi Wells, the
talented guard who bumped Steve
Smith from the Portland Trail Blaz
ers’ starting lineup, will miss the
rest of the season with a knee injury.
Wells has a torn anterior cruciate
ligament in his left knee.
Monday’s announcement was a
huge blow for the struggling Blaz
ers, who have lost 11 of 17 games to
fall from first place in the Western
Conference overall standings to
sixth. The team also is dealing with
the departure of reserve forward
Shawn Kemp, who is seeking treat
ment for cocaine abuse and won’t
return this season.
Wells, the team’s third-leading
scorer behind Rasheed Wallace and
Smith, was hurt in the second quar
ter of Friday night’s 31-point rout of
Golden State. He crashed to the
floor while going up for a pass from
Damon Stoudamire. It appeared
Wells’ left foot came down on the
instep of his right foot as he was try
ing to get past a defender.
The injury came when the Blazers
had the game in hand against the out
matched Warriors, But Portland, hav
ing lost three straight games, wanted a
convincing victory. The Blazers led by
as many as 4 7 points and won by 31.
At first, the Blazers thought
Wells’ knee was sprained. But it had
swelled since, and a tear in the ACL
was found during a more thorough
examination Monday afternoon.
Wells’ teammates and coach
Mike Dunleavy didn’t know the ex
tent of the injury after finishing
practice earlier in the day, but they
seemed to sense it was serious.
“It’ll definitely be a blow,” point
guard Stoudamire said. “Bonzi is
one of the only guys on this team
that can really get easy buckets. He
brings a lot of enthusiasm to the
game, and it’ll hurt us. We have to
just find some way to overcome it.”
Coach Mike Dunleavy wasn’t
ready to think about losing one of
his best offensive players.
“I really don’t want to even go
there,” he said. “But if it were the
case, that’s 53 percent field-goal
shooting percentage out of your
lineup, and that’s obviously tough.”
At 24, Wells is the youngest player
in the Blazers’ rotation, and he’s dan
gerous in the open court. The former
Ball State star has had a breakout
third season in the NBA, averaging
12.7 points and 4.9 rebounds. He has
made 53.3 percent of his shots, sec
ond in the league only to Shaquille
O’Neal’s 57.3 percent.
Wells filled in for Smith as the start
ing shooting guard against Vancouver
on Dec. 29, when Smith had the flu.
Wells scored 14 points on 7-of-10
shooting, and Smith didn’t start again
until Sunday’s game at Sacramento.
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Horoscope by Linda C. Black
TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (April 10). Ever been
to Tahiti? Bora Bora? Paris? Madrid? Pick one,
or all, or choose your own destination. Save
this year, and then you soar. The planning
comes in April. Make the choice in May. Learn
the language in June. Pul together provisions
and supplies in July. From then through No
vember, accumulate wealth. Then, in Decem
ber, it’s bon voyage! You’ll have new friends by
February, perhaps in a whole new environ
To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10
is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.
ARIES (March 21-April 19) — Today is a 7
—Get serious and take care of business today.
Pay your bills and stash some extra cash into
your savings account. Then, when you figure
you've been good long enough, boogie.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) — Today is a 5
—You and your mate or partner need to have a
serious discussion. Sure, you want the best, but
part of that plan may take a while. Luckily
you're both good at deferring gratification. If
not, this will be good practice.
GEMINI (May 21 -June 21)—Today is a 6 —
It's been hard to talk about a work-related mat
r- ter, but that will soon change. It's best to stay
mum just a little while longer. Give plans a
while to gel. You can discuss it with a distant
end who's in the know, but nobody else.
NCER (June 22-July 22) — Today is a 6
Confer with your sweetheart and/or kids —
i. Together, you can make a tough job easy,
ay should you have to do everything all by
urself? That’s no fun, and it's inefficient.
-EO (July 23-Aug. 22)—Today is a 7 — Just
couple more stumbling blocks to get past,
■* id you'll have it made. Don't expect to get an
■crease in your allowance; you'll have to make
do with what you have. Don't worry: You can.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is a 6 —
You hardly ever ask for a personal day off. To
day could be right for one, but there are also
things at home that demand attention. Is there
anywhere else you can hide? In a couple of
weeks, you’ll be the lucky one. Hang in there.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct 22) — Today is a 6 —
You'll run out of money before your imagina
tion mns dry. But that's no problem — there are
books that tell you how to get or make every
thing you need. Can't make it or afford it? Then
you don't need it.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today is a 6
— Pushing won't get you where you want to
go. Consider the tide. What happens when you
push against it? You end up back where you
started. You can cover some distance if you
take it at an angle, though.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today
is a 6 — An interesting situation could devel
op at work. You could get a change of instruc
tions in mid-project. This could be due to an er
ror or a whim. Don't waste time worrying
about who's to blame. Be alert, and let your
lightning-fast reflexes save the day.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) —Today is
a 5 — Don't rip into a new project, even if
you're being urged to do so. You're not quite
ready yet. The more planning you do now, the
fewer catastrophes later.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)—Today is a 7
— First you have to pass some sort of exam or
inquisition. You already know what's expected;
it's the same as always, so try not to stir things
up. You can do that later, with your friends.
They'll be in the mood to party, even on a Tues
day night.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) — Today is a 6
— Something you've recently learned in your
personal life can be applied to your career. It's
not information as much as an attitude. By act
ing like you can do anything, you might get a
chance to try something new. You'll learn
quickly, so don't worry.
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720 E. 13th.* 345-5099
DVD’s: buy, sell, trade, rent
Emerald City Comics
770 E. 13th * 345-2568
2 ACDC tickets April 19, Rose Gar
den, Portland. Preferred seating.
Best offer. 686-0671
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chine. $30 offer. Mike 344-7904.
“Give Me Five!*
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
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130 CARS/TRUCKS
150 TV & SOUND SYSTEMS
91 Camaro 3.1 L Power everything.
Looks good, runs good. $3500 obo,
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1997 Toyota Tercel CE. 50K, great
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178 CHILD CARE
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185 BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
BHJVER mWAM
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liability for ad content or response. Ads are
screened for illegal content and mail order
ads must provide a sample of item for sale.
Otherwise, ads that appear too good to be
true, probably are.
Respond at your own risk.
Spring 2001 Tutorial Support
Academic Learning Services, 68PLC 346-3226
CH 223
PHYS 203
FR 103
FR 203
SPAN 103
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SPAN 203
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$80/group
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3:30 UH
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To participate in these groups, register and pay fees at ALS, 68 PLC.
All groups meet 2 hours per week. If you need assistance in courses
other than those listed, registry printouts are available that list
qualified tutors. There is no charge for this printout.
For more information contact, ALS: 68 PLC, or call 346-3226.
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