Tuesday, February 19, 2002

by Shavaugn Lewis
Gazette Sportswriter

February 19, 1940: “Smokey” Robinson is born

William “Smokey” Robinson was born in Detroit,
Michigan in 1940. He
loved to sing and write songs early on and formed his group
the
Matadors when he was still in high school (1955). The group
later
changed its name to the Miracles, but before the change they
would
record their first hit “Shop Around” in 1960 and
then “The Way You Do
the Thing You Do”. In 1961, Smokey became Vice-President
of
Mowtown and in 1972 he launched his solo career, which included
several hit songs such as “Cruisin” and Grammy Award
winnning “Just
to See Her”. As he continued to sing his way into the
hearts of
Americans, Smokey was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame
(1987) and won the Grammy Legend Award for Ongoing Contributions
and Influence in Music (1990).

*****

* The trial of Houston mother, Andrea Yates, 37, who drowned
her five
children last June, began yesterday. Defense attorney George
Parnham will be
trying to convince the jury that Yates was suffering from
severe postpartum
psychosis, and so is innocent by reason of insanity. Prosecutor
Joseph Owmby
however, says he intends to prove beyond a reasonable doubt
that Yates was
fully aware that she was killing her children. Yates’ husband,
Russell,
remains supportive of his wife and insists that she is innocent.
He has
placed pictures and videos of his family on the web at www.yateskids.org
.
The trial is predicted to continue for over a month. The defendant
is
charged with two counts of capital murder, but if acquitted,
will be
committed to a mental hospital.

* Kosovo Albanian Mahmut Bakali became the first witness
to testify against
Slobodon Milosevic in his war crimes trial, when he took the
stand Monday.
Bakali, once the top Communist party official in Kosovo, related
that David
Gajic, then head of Serbian state security in Kosovo, revealed
a government
“scorched earth” policy to him in 1998. “Gajic
said to me, ‘we have a
plan…with a codename scorched earth policy’…Gajic said
the purpose of
this policy would be to destroy 700 Albanian-populated settlements
and to
destroy property and to destroy people.” The witness
further accused the
Serbs of persecuting the majority Albanians in Kosovo in governmental,
professional, educational, cultural, and social spheres. “It
appeared to be
an imposed apartheid which is a crime against humanity, it
would seem to
me.” Milosevic remained calm and defiant, witnesses report.

* President Bush openly displayed his support of Japanese
Prime Minister
Koizumi yesterday on the first stop of his six-day, three-nation
Asia tour.
He praised Koizumi’s efforts at economic reform and said he
was confident in
his leadership capabilities. In return, the Japanese prime
minister
reassured Bush that Japan was ready to “carry forward
this fight against
terrorism”. The next stop on the American president’s
tour however, does not
seem like it will be this smooth: Bush will be speaking in
Seoul, where
leaders have voiced concerns about Bush’s harsh condemnation
of North Korea
as part of the “axis of evil”.

* In Buenos Aires, hundreds of angry protestors used hammers
and rolling
pins to bash in the windows of their banks in the most violent
demonstration
against the freeze on bank deposits to date. The Argentine
government has
decreed the emergency freeze in a desperate attempt to halt
inflation and
protect the collapsing economy. President Eduardo Duhald has
tried to ease
the restrictions, but is unable to offer much help because
of the frailty of
the banks and the need to prevent a massive depreciation of
the peso.
Meanwhile, the public continues to riot as restrictions depress
consumer
spending and suck up tax revenues.

* In a meeting after the expulsion from Zimbabwe of Pierre
Schori, leader of
the European Union observer team, EU foreign ministers decided
to impose
sanctions on Zimbabwe’s ruling elite. They will also pull
their election
observers – currently numbering about 30 – out of the country.
Just weeks
before highly debated presidential elections and amid growing
political
violence, the sanctions are designed to hit the political
elite, not the
already damaged economy. They would prohibit travel to countries
in the EU,
freeze financial assets held there, and enact an arms embargo.
Humanitarian
projects such as educational work will not be affected.

* Former newscaster, Howard K. Smith died at home on Friday
in Bethesda,
Maryland at the age of 87. Known as one of TV’s broadcasting
pioneers, Smith
was famous for his role as one of “Murrow’s Boys”
on CBS during World War II
as well as a co-anchor and analyst on ABC. He was also well-known
for
moderating the 1960 presidential debate between Kennedy and
Nixon, which was
said to have been vital towards Kennedy’s win. His son, Jack,
said he died
of pneumonia aggravated by congestive heart failure.

*****

American Red Cross Blood Drive
Upper Tarble, 7:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.

“Rocky Mountain High”
Informal lunch lecture with Chuck Hinkle and John Manion
Scheuer Room – Kohlberg, 12:00 p.m.

Philadelphia School District Information Session
Kohlberg 230, 4:00 p.m.

Darwin’s Birthday Party
Mephistos – Willets, 4:00 p.m.

IMF/World Bank and Structural Adjustment Policies
Film Screening: “Two Trevors go to Washington”
Speaker: Thomas Callaghy, UPenn
LPAC Cinema, 4:30 p.m.

Empty the Shelters Meeting
Kohlberg 115, 7:30 p.m.

Argentine Tango Lesson
Upper Tarble, 9:00 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

Katie Robinson ’04 was named the Centennial Conference Women’s
Basketball
Player of the Year yesterday, while Heather Kile ’02, the
only other Swattie
to ever win that accolade, was selected to the All-Conference
First-Team.

Robinson, who was chosen by the 11 Conference coaches, led
the Centennial in
scoring (19.6), free throw percentage (86.4), and steals (4.21).
In
addition, the four-time Conference Player of the Week, is
seventh in
rebounding (8.0) and twelfth in assists (3.0).

Kile also had an excellent regular season campaign, finishing
second in the
Conference in rebounding (10.7) and third in scoring (18.7).
In her
selection to the elite squad, she becomes the first player
in Conference
history to earn first-team honors all four years. Kile is
the Garnet’s
all-time leading scorer and rebounder, and is second in those
career
categories in the Centennial record books.

Fresh off their postseason recognition, the women and their
teammates will
travel to Franklin & Marshall tomorrow for a Conference
semifinal game
against the Diplomats.

*****

The women’s indoor track and field team displayed some strong
performances
across a number of events at this past weekend’s Keogh Invitational.
The
event, which took place at Haverford, saw Sarah Selling ’03
take fifth place
in the pole vault with an impressive height of 7′. Meanwhile,
Jessica
Zagory ’05 tied for seventh in the 55 meter hurdles, and Njideka
Akunyili
’04 took eleventh in the 800 meter race. Also competing were
Chelsea
Ferrell ’05, in the 55 meter and 200 meter events, Christine
Hancock ’02, in
the 3000 meters, and first-years Rachel Jacobs and Virginia
Smith-Bronstein,
in the 800 meter competition. The men’s results were published
yesterday.

*****

* The U.S. Olympic team did not win any medals yesterday,
after claiming a
record 18 in the first nine days. The men’s hockey team did
earn a spot in
the quarterfinals after defeating Belarus 8-1. They will play
Germany on
Wednesday; the other match-ups are Finland/Canada, Czech Republic/Russia,
and Sweden/Belarus.Germany won the gold in team ski jumping
by one-tenth of
a point over Finland, while Slovenia took home the bronze,
its first medal
in Salt Lake City.The German team also won the 30-kilometer
biathlon relay,
finishing ahead of Norway and Russia.Alisa Camplin of Australia
won the
women’s freestyle skiing aerials, with Canadians Veronica
Brenner and Deidra
Dionne collecting the silver and bronze.Meanwhile, the International
Skating
Union is proposing a new judging system, in which 14 judges
would award
points for each technical element. Seven of the judges’ scores
would then
randomly be thrown out, theoretically eliminating the possibility
of a
judging bloc.

* The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hired former Oakland Raiders coach
Jon Gruden to
replace Tony Dungy, who was fired in January. After talks
had fallen through
with Bill Parcells, Marv Lewis, Nick Saban, Mike Mularkey,
Norv Turner,
Ralph Friedgen, and Steve Mariucci, Gruden and the Bucs were
able to agree
on a five-year deal. The specific terms of the agreement will
be released on
Wednesday. Gruden had one year left on his contract with the
Raiders but has
not concealed his desire to leave Oakland, despite compiling
a 40-28 record
in the past four seasons with the team. Dungy has already
been hired as head
coach in Indianapolis.

* Five-time Pro Bowler and Tony Boselli was the first pick
in the expansion
draft for the Houston Texans yesterday. He was followed by
former New York
Jets Ryan Young and Aaron Glenn, and Jacksonville Jaguars
defensive tackle
Gary Walker, another Pro Bowler. Also included in the draft
were Baltimore
Ravens Jamie Sharper and Jermaine Lewis. The Jaguars, Ravens,
and Jets had
the worst problems with salary caps in the NFL, which led
to these players
being left exposed for the draft. The Texans’ first game will
be an
exhibition game on August 5 against the New York Giants, following
the Hall
of Fame inductions.

*****

Today:
Badminton hosts Bryn Mawr, 7:30 p.m.

Tomorrow:
Women’s basketball at Franklin & Marshall – Conference
Semifinal, 6:00 p.m.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.”
–Napoleon

*****
.
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World Sports: Jeremy Schifeling

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