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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 25, 1996)
Sports Thursday, April 25, 1996 Page 9 Free agency . gives players ticket to NFL The National Football League wants players. Undrafted college players want jobs. Free agency brings them to gether. On Tuesday, free agency gave three former Huskers a chance to prolong their football careers. Former Comhusker tight end Mark unman signed a iree-agent contract with Cincinnati. The New York Jets, who passed on former Husker running back Lawrence Phillips in the first round Saturday, signed former Nebraska running back Clinton Childs as a free agent. And fullback Jeff Makovicka will get a chance with Houston to prove he can block for Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George. But the free-agency market isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The free-agency process starts immediately after the draft. First, players who were not se lected in the draft wait to hear from NFL teams about the possibility of free agency. A high-profile free agent may receive calls from seven to 10 teams. “I was lucky enough to have a couple of teams call me,” Gilman said. In addition to the Bengals, the Carolina Panthers also expressed interest in Gilman. A player who receives an offer from a team does not have a chance to think the con tract over or negotiate for a better deal. “If you ask a team to let you think about the contract,” Gilman said, “they’ll say ’Fine,’ and go look for another player and not call you back.” A free-agency contract is for two years, and a player earns the league minimum of SI78,000 per year. Most teams also will offer players a signing bonus. But there are no guarantees with free agency. “They could bring you in for mini-camp and decide within the first 10 minutes that you’re not a player and kick you out,” Gilman said. And once you’re gone, so isyour contract and your salary. In fact, Gilman’s salary is not guaranteed until he earns a spot on the Bengals’ roster. “It’s very straightforward,” he said. “The NFL wants players. They can’t promise anything, and you have to prove yourself. I’m just thankful to get a shot and get my foot in the door.” On the other hand, i f a pi ayer has an all-star rookie year, he still makes the league minimum in his second year. But for those who get only the 10-minute chance, they’ll still be be able to tell their grandkids about it. “This is the last level of sports, the top of the mountain,” Gilman said. “It’s a dream of a lot of kids, and I’m just happy and lucky. It’s something to be proud of.” Klnck ts a graduate stndent In Jour nalism and a Dally Nebraskan senior reporter. Big Eight leaders sweep Huskers By David Wilson Staff Reporter The 21 st-ranked Missouri baseball team, which finished last in the Big Eight last season, padded its first-place lead in the conference with a double header sweep ofNebraska on Wednes day at Buck Beltzer Field. The Tigers defeated the Comhuskers 8-2 and 14-10, improv ing to 32-12 overall and 15-5 in the Big Eight. “They’re a good ball club,” Ne braska coach John Sanders said. “I tip my hat to them. Their swings were more productive than ours.” Nebraska, which sits 2 1/2 games behind sixth-place Iowa State in the conference, fell to 18-25-1 overall and 7-15 in the league. The last-place club in the seven-team conference does not a advance to the Big Eight Tournament, May 16-19, in Oklahoma City, Okla. Missouri now has a 2 1/2-game lead over Oklahoma State.The Tigers, on a six-game winning streak, swept the Cowboys in Columbia, Mo., last weekend. “I told the guys after the OSU series that the biggest challenge for the rest of the year is to not look ahead,” Mis souri coach Tim Jamieson said. “We’ve done a great job all year of not looking back. We need to keep focused on the Big Eight Tournament.” The Tigers, who clinched a berth to the conference tournament Wednes day, were powered by six home runs. Sophomore first baseman Aaron Jaworowski hit four home runs in the doubleheader. He finished the day 5 for 10 with 10 RBI, including seven in the second game. Jaworowski now leads the Big Eight with 72 RBI. “He’s really been on the verge of doing that all year,” Jamieson said. “He could easily have 100 RBI.” The Huskers scored their only two runs in the first game on a two-run homer to right-center by fresliman third baseman Craig Moore in the bottom of the ninth. Junior Pat Driscoll, who has started three games over the past nine days, lasted six innings and allowed eight runs. Nebraska took the lead for the first time of the afternoon in the bottom of the first inning in the second game. All nine Husker batters took a turn at the plate as Nebraska took a 3-1 lead. Junior center fielder Francis Collins, who leads Husker hitters with a .412 average, extended his hitting streak to a school-record-tying 28 games with a single to lead off the inning. I ... ..~..1 In 1987, Ken Ramos hit in 28 straight, a streak that ranks second in Big Eight history. Robin Ventura hit in 58 straight in 1987 with Oklahoma State. “He’s really stepped up and played like a veteran,” Sanders said. “He’s a lot like Kenny Ramos — very, very competitive. He has a very good disci plined approach to hitting. He’s a scrappy, good player to have on the team.” Missouri came back with seven in the second, including a grand slam by junior center fielder Malt Nivens. Not to be outdone, Jaworowski led a si x-run Tiger third with a grand slam, his third home run of the day. The Huskcrs, who have lost seven of their last nine, will face UNO in a doubleheader today at Buck Beltzer Field beginning at 4:30 p.m. Scott Bruhn/DN Missouri’s Torre Tyson beats out a bunt single in the sixth inning Wednesday as Husker first baseman Todd Sears takes a throw from pitcher Pat Driscoll in the Huskers’ 8-2 loss in the first game of a doubleheader. NU gymnasts like chances By Gregg Madsen Staff Reporter TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — After a regular season of record-breaking learn and individual performances, the Nebraska women’s gymnastics team is hoping its high-scoring habit will continue at the NCAA Cham pionships. Nebraska, the No. 8 seed in the 12-tcam field, will begin competi tion today in Coleman Coliseum at 1 p.m. in the even-seed bracket. The six odd-seeded teams will start the evening session at 7 p.m. Husker coach Dan Kendig said he was pleased with Nebraska’s bracket. “I feel like, with the rotation we’re in, we have a great chance of makingthe Super Six,” Kendig said. The Huskers will have to place in the top three today to advance to the finals Friday at 7 p.m. Standing in Nebraska’s way are No. 2 Georgia, No. 4 Arizona, No. 6 UCLA, No. 10 Brigham Young and No. 12 Penn State. “I think that it’s the best rotation we could have been in,” freshman Courtney Brown said. “We think that we can be second or third to morrow.” The most important thing for Nebraska, Brown said, will simply be to hit its routines. “If we don’t hit, we won’t make Super Six,” she said. “But if we do hit, we’re in.” Two other Nebraska freshmen will have to worry about something other than hitting their routines. Amie Dillman isrecovering from mononucleosis, but will still com pete in the floor exercise and the vault. Laurie McLaughlin, who redshirted last season after arthroscopic knee surgery, will com pete on the bars today despite a broken foot. McLaughlin said she had not performed her dismount since the Midwest Regional two weeks ago in Salt Lake City. “I’m a little nervous because it’s only going to be a one-time thing,” McLaughlin said. Senior Joy Taylor is healthy, though, and she will try to close out her career at Nebraska on a high note with a strong performance in the all-around. Taylor won the Big Eight title on March 30 with a school-record 39.375. The New Palestine, Ind., native has the top score on the team this season on the balance beam, shares the top vault score with Misty Oxford and the top uneven bars score with junior Kim DeHaan. With McLaughlin limited to the uneven bars, DeHaan will step in to See GYM on 11 Patriots release Peter FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) — The New England Patriots released their rights to former Nebraska defensive tackle Christian Peter on Wednesday, saying his off-field behavior was un acceptable. Three days after the Patriots se lected Peter in the fifth round of the National Football League draft, Peter learned he was being dumped by the team. Peter was recently convicted of dis turbing the peace in an incident in which he was accused of grabbing a woman by the throat in a Kearney bar. Another woman claims in a sex dis crimination suit that Peter raped her in 1991. Mary Peter, Christian’smother, said her son was puzzled by the team’s See PETER on 11