The Brazosport Facts from Clute, Texas · Page 13

SPORTS THE BRAZOSPORT FACTS Wednesday, August 23,1995 3B Tight end Davis among Dallas cuts IRVING (AP) — The John Davis experiment is over. Davis, a tight end who was taken in the fifth round of last • year's supplemental draft out of tiny Emporia State, was among 17 Dallas Cowboys cut on Tuesday to get the roster down to 60 players. The 6-4, 257-pound Davis, who had caught four passes for 50 yards in the preseason, and safety Darren Studstil! of West Virginia, a sixth-round draft pick in 1994, were the only players with any experience cut. "We gave Davis an opportunity," coach Barry Switzer said. "We took him out of a small college because we thought he had . the speed and athletic talent to "make it. But he didn't improve better than the guys we brought in and we can't keep four tight ends." Rookies Eric Bjornson and Kendell Watkins beat out Davis. "Maybe Davis will be a player someday but we had him in a camp, then for a season, and then in camp," Switzer said. "He had his at-bats." Studstill's biggest impact on the team came last year in practice before the NFC champion Cowboys game when quarterback Troy Aikman hurt his thumb on Studstill's helmet. "He's a good kid and a hard worker but he didn't arrive at the spot where we wanted him to arrive," Switzer said. "He didn't make plays." Others cut included linebacker Wayne Dickson of Oklahoma, defensive tackles Demetrius Edwards of Fresno State and Josh Evans of Alabama-Birmingham, wide receivers Rodney Harris of Kansas, Jeff Thomas of Georgia and Oronde Gadsden of Winston- Salem. Cuts also included running backs Roger Graham of New Haven, Michael McClenton of Northern Alabama, and Dominique Ross of Valdosta State, center Mike Gruttadauria of Central Florida, tackle Jim Hmielewski of Kansas State, cor- nerback Artis Houston of California, guard John Jones of Kansas, linebacker Odell Parks of Navarro Junior College, and quarterback Scott Semptimphelter of Lehigh. Wellman among Oiler cutdown day casualties HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Oilers, given special permission by the NFL to carry three extra players, waived 12 players on Tuesday, trimming their roster to 63. While other NFL clubs were required to cut their teams to 60 players, the Oilers and San Diego Chargers will be allowed to carry 63 players because their exhibition game was canceled in the Astrodome on Saturday when the field was judged unplayable. "I think that was fair on behalf of the league, considering what happened last weekend," coach Jeff Fisher said. The Oilers and Chargers exhibition game in the Astrodome on Saturday night was canceled 70 minutes after it was supposed to begin when NFL officials ruled that the playing surface was dangerous. "We missed an opportunity to '. look at a lot of players and now ; we don't have a lot of practice \ time and we have to look ahead," 1 Fisher said. ! "We worked on Jacksonville ! (the regular season opener) today. 1 They've been looking at us since Deal with debt. last spring." The Oilers will return to practice on Wednesday preparing for Saturday's exhibition game in San Antonio's Alamodome against the Dallas Cowboys. Among the players cut was veteran wide receiver Gary Wellman, who caught 41 passes for 542 yards in three seasons with the Oilers. He started three games in the 1993 season. Also waived were defensive end John DeWitt, running backs Sean Jackson and Jared Kaaiohelo and Dennis Lundy, wide receiver Keith Neal, guard Chuck Johnson, center Richard Saenz, safety Mike Salmon, linebackers Jimmy Witherspoon and Shannon Jones, and tight end Butch Rolle. "This is a difficult time for us as always when you have to let guys go," Fisher said. "It's tough when you have to let veteran wide receivers go like Gary Wellman." Call CCCS for free advice on financial matters 265-2699 • 1-800-873-CCCS Have a Sports tip? Call 265-7411 Banner Towing Promotions - Special Occasions Grand Openings - Birthdays Anniversaries Etc. BRAZORIA COUNTY AVIATION 409-849-0844 SUMMER SERVICE SPECIAL OFF Service & Parts: I jj j ! •Air Conditioning -Engine Cooling System Service & Repair -Auto. Trans. Service & Repair -Brake Work Offer Good Thru Labor Day, 1995 All Of Our Qualified Technicians Are Certified! John Landeche invites you. to call with any service problem you have. John has 20 years experience in this area. He welcomes all of his past customers and friends to come see him. I ^ — -""*""'• — J" • DISCOUNT ON RENTAL CARS While your Vehicle Is In Our Service Dept. Hwy. 36, West Columbia 345-5111 Rodeo Continued from Page IB AP Photo NO CUT FOR SMITH: Cowboy running back Emmitt Smith wasn't part of the cutdown Tuesday but will play little against the Oilers Saturday in the preseason final. He was hooked on the sport after that. So much so Lincoln, who rides bulls in competition, went to a school to learn how to ride rough stock, bulls and bucking horses. "I never went to a school," Payne said. "I was a graduate of the school of hard knocks." Payne has been involved with rodeo all his life. He got his first horse when he was 2 and was in his first rodeo when he was 7. "Until I was 16 my parents would take me from one part of the country to another going to rodeos," Payne said."I was kind of born into it." Even though they are part- timers, both men own Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association cards. Payne has had his since 1984 while Lincoln has had his for about a year. "It's fun going down the road with all the cowboys that you know," Lincoln said. "My biggest fear is not winning anything when you go to a rodeo, but time heals." Even though it is supposed to be fun, injuries do happen. Payne, who rides broncs and does some rodeo clowning, was injured while clowning at a rodeo in Angleton last year. "I tore all three ligaments in my knee," Payne said, who has had to go through months of rehab. "It's just a matter of time before you get hurt," Lincoln said. "It's part of it." Both men want to rodeo as long as they can physically can. "I'll do it until I can't do it anymore," Lincoln said. "When rodeo gets in your blood, you just don't want to quit." Ware looks to future after being cut by Jaguars JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Andre Ware won the Heisman Trophy and set myriad passing records in college. He's still only 27, but his NFL days may be numbered following his release by yet another team. , This time, it was the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars who decided there wasn't room for Ware in their future. Considering he was beaten out by journeyman Steve Beuerlein, career backup Mark Brunell and fourth-round draft pick Rob Johnson, this must have been the most crushing blow of all. What's left for Ware, who also has been cut by the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings in the past year and a half? The Canadi?n Football League might be his only option, and even that's up in the air considering its season is at the midway point. "I think he could get plugged in somewhere in this league, certainly," said John Jenkins, offensive coordinator for the CFL's Birmingham Barracudas who held the same post at the University of Houston when Ware won the 1989 Heisman. "But he needs to go through the learning process," Jenkins said Sunday. "It would be disappointing for him to be thrown in on one of the lesser clubs, with very little protection in the offensive line and a deficiency in the receiver corps, and be told to come in and save us." Ware was supposed to be the savior for the Lions, who selected him No. 7 in the 1990 draft. But he missed his first training camp in a contract dispute and never seemed to catch up. "The Detroit coaches told me, 'Hey, had he been here and signed, he would have been our guy from day one,'" Jenkins recalled. "Many times when the train flies by, if you don't grab it right then you've got to wonder how many shots you're going to have." Ware has complained over and over again that he never got a fair shake in Detroit. In four years, he started only six games, saw action in eight others and wound up completing just 83 of 161 passes for 1,112 yards with five touchdowns and eight interceptions. Those numbers look especially paltry compared to what he did in college. Despite playing only 27 games before skipping his senior season, Ware threw for 8,202 yards, 75 touchdowns and 26 NCAA records. "There's no doubt in my mind that he could play and play well," Jenkins said, despite the mounting evidence to the contrary. "He's got to get the reps. That's the key thing. It's not carrying the clipboard as the third-team guy for the Eagles or Jets." After he was let go by the Lions following the 1993 season, Ware signed with the Vikings. He was cut again near the end of training camp and spent the latter part of the year on the practice squad of the Ottawa CFL team. Ware said he never was given a fair shot by the Jaguars, who picked Beuerlein in the expansion draft, traded for Brunell and drafted Johnson from Southern Cal. Ware played sparingly in two preseason games, completing 2 of 7 passes for 11 yards. His last two plays in a Jaguars uniform were a fumbled snap and a handoff in the last moments of a 19-3 exhibition loss at Detroit. "I knew the first day of camp that it would be the most difficult situation you could place someone in," Ware told The Florida Times- Union. "After you keep hitting the brick wall so many times, it kind of makes you wake up after awhile." Ware said he was ready for life after football. "It's a fresh start and that's the way I look at it," he told the newspaper. "If I decide I don't ever want to take another snap, it won't be a tough transition. I don't have to play football to be successful in life." Jenkins said it was too early to speculate on whether the Barracudas might be interested in Ware. Birmingham already has Matt Dunnigan, one of the top quarterbacks in the CFL, though that could ease the'transition for a player who hasn't competed in a real game in nearly two years. "The ideal thing in this league would be for him to go through the learning process this year and get that full offseason work," Jenkins said. "Next season, he would be ready to come out as a regular player somewhere and be ready to light up the Scoreboard again." 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