The `B' Line . . . September 12, 2002
9/11/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sept. 11, 2002
This is another "B" Line column, a periodic collection of news items of particular interest to members of the Baylor "B" Association. Contribute news about you or your teammates via e-mail to Dutch Schroeder (Dutch_Schroeder@baylor.edu), Reba Cooper (Reba_Cooper@baylor.edu), Kyle Penney,(Kyle_Penney@baylor.edu) or Jack Loftis (Jack.Loftis@chron.com). The mailing address is Baylor "B" Association, P. O. Box 8120, Waco, TX 76714
BAYLOR'S MARCO POLO - Houston Rockets general manager Carrol Dawson kept tablemates well entertained at the sixth annual BU Athletic Director's Hall of Honor Recognition Dinner in Waco on Sept. 6. Far from having "off time" following Houston's 2001-2002 season, Dawson got caught up in what almost could be called foreign intrigue after Houston selected 7-foot-5 Yao Ming of China as the Rockets' No. 1 draft pick. Negotiations, which still are not complete, resulted in Dawson accompanying team general counsel Michael Goldberg to China to resolve all kinds of complex issues, including a work visa for Yao, blessings from the China Basketball Association and a timetable for the talented center to schedule an appearance in Houston. Dawson said the Chinese treated him very well, but he agreed he never expected to be involved in the Asian game after leaving Baylor in 1977 following four years as head basketball coach. Prior to his BU coaching stint, Dawson performed as a Baylor player from 1958-60, making the All-Southwest Conference team in his senior year. He was inducted into the BU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998. Just for the record, the money involved in Dawson's quest for Yao isn't exactly chicken feed. But it might be viewed as fortune cookies, depending on how well Yao pans out in the National Basketball Association. Insiders project the Rockets will pay Yao more than $3.8 million next season and $15.6 million over a four-year period - with wads of the money going back to the Chinese government . . .
TEAFF REMINENCES - At yet another table in the Gale and Connie Galloway Executive Suite at Floyd Casey Stadium, former Baylor head football coach Grant Teaff patiently answered questions about his legendary career - particularly events connected with Baylor's 1974 championship season. After claiming their title the Bears were ushered to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas where on New Year's Day 1975 they were introduced to Coach Joe Paterno and his Penn State Nitany Lions. All Baylor fans old enough should remember what happed in the fourth quarter of that game. Penn State scored 24 points while moving toward a 41-20 final decision - with one touchdown coming with only two seconds left on the clock. The final points came as the result of an onsides kick by Baylor being caught by Penn State linebacker Joe Jackson, returned it 50 yards for the TD (terrific trivia factoid). Teaff, now the executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, says his good friend Paterno had no intention of running up the score, but Layne Teaff, Grant's youngest daughter - who probably was about 9 then - felt otherwise. "She was so mad that she waited outside the Penn State dressing room with a rock in her hand," Teaff said. After disarming her and calming her down - somewhat - Teaff had another problem on his hands when Paterno accepted an invitation to come to Waco for a dinner honoring the '74 Bears. What made it even more delicate was the plan for Good Ol' Joe to visit the Teaff household, where resided the still-miffed Layne . . .
ALWAYS A WAY TO WIN - At their greatest, great coaches often depend on instinct and intuition to win. So it was with Paterno. He showed up with gifts for the entire Teaff family, including a stuffed Nitany Lion and a box of chocolates from Hershey, Pa., for Layne. "By the time we were ready to drive Coach Paterno to the airport for his trip home, he had absolutely won Layne over," Teaff remembers. "In fact, she was upset over not being able to go to the airport with us." . . . Incidentally Teaff believes 12-game, regular-season schedules likely will be a collegiate fixture in the near future. Confiding recently to Houston Chronicle writer Michael Murphy, Teaff noted that while school administrators are saying they only plan to permit teams to add an extra game every four years, college presidents are apt to do the math and notice that they can bring in an additional $1 to $2 million in revenues with a 12th game. "It won't happen next year because it's not in the legislation, but there's a good possibility it will happen," Teaff said . . . Among BU lettermen honored at the AD Dinner were James Sartain (football, 1969-70) and James Wieland (basketball, 1953-54). They and their wives received Gold Bear awards for contributing to Baylor athletics beyond the $150,000 level . . .
JACK LOFTIS
CO-CHAIRMAN
COMMUNICTIONS COMMITTEE
