Wednesday, Sept. 18, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
Ted Tollner has had better weeks. But things could get worse for San Diego State's coach before they improve.
The Aztecs came up short last Saturday against California, 42-37, despite a record-setting performance by wide receiver Will Blackwell. They were supposed to play Oklahoma on national television Saturday, only to be bumped by Major League Baseball and the Fox Network.
And if the San Diego Pad res make it to the postseason, as many as two home games could be affected.
On top of all that, the George Jones saga continues. The star running back remains suspended indefinitely because of possible NCAA extra-benefits violations.
"There's not much I can do," Tollner said Monday. "As the head coach, you can be out of the loop in certain matters and that's the case here. I don't have any control over the television situation and as far as George is concerned, our people are looking into it.
"There are still some unanswered questions and he'll remain suspended indefinitely until those questions are answered."
Jones sat out the Aztecs' opener against Idaho along with Blackwell and defensive back Ricky Parker. The school discovered their use of an automobile in connection with some charity work is an NCAA violation.
Last Thursday, San Diego State learned that Jones had free use of another car and kept him out of the Cal game. There are also reports that Jones is involved with an agent regarding the other car.
"We didn't expect it," Tollner said of the new allegations, which were first reported last week in the San Diego Union-Tribune. "We thought we were through. He practiced all week as if he was going to start.
"But until we get the answers, he'll remain suspended."
As for the potential of having games moved, the Oct. 5 game with Air Force may have to be switched to Friday the 4th because baseball won't allow two events to be played in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium on the same day. There's also a chance the Oct. 12 game with Hawaii may have to be switched to another day, or possibly played in Honolulu.
WAC commissioner Karl Benson said the conference was looking into the situation and hoped to have it resolved in the next day or so.
"My concerns are keeping the competitive balance of the games as well as the financial balance," he said. "We need to get a decision from Major League Baseball immediately so we can move on this."
Benson said the loss of ABC exposure could be made up with a conference game shown later in the season on ESPN2 or moving a game to Thanksgiving Day and having ABC show it.
Saturday's San Diego State-Oklahoma game will kick off at 8 p.m. The Padres play the Dodgers at 1 p.m.
Hell in paradise
A long trip to the mainland last week took a lot longer than anyone at the University of Hawaii anticipated.
The Rainbow Warriors became Road Warriors after needing 21 hours to fly from Honolulu to Laramie for their game with Wyoming. Delays in the air and later on the ground at San Francisco International Airport made for a very long and tiring voyage.
Throw in the fact the game began at 8 a.m. Honolulu time and it's little wonder Hawaii got hammered 66-0.
"There's got to be a better way to do this," said coach Fred vonAppen.
Most teams charter an airplane to get to games, thus avoiding having to deal with commercial schedules and standard airport problems. But Hawaii flew commercial and was at the mercy of the delays.
Compounding the team's problems in the air was there was only one bus to transport the players to and from the airport to their hotel.
"I'm not used to this," said vonAppen, who spent many years in the National Football League as an assistant. All NFL teams charter to their games.
Showdown in Laramie
Is it too early to call a game in late September a "must-win" affair? Wyoming coach Joe Tiller doesn't think so, though he admits Saturday's game between his undefeated Cowboys and 2-0 Air Force is crucial.
"It's a critical game," he said. "But I don't think the loser of the game is out of anything."
Wyoming is off to a 3-0 start and there's talk of the Cowboys getting some recognition in the polls. But Tiller said the WAC is more important than the AP at this point.
"It's more significant to us from a league perspective than a national one," he said.
Extra points
* PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: San Diego State WR Will Blackwell and Wyoming DE Jeff Leonard and WR Kofi Shuck were the WAC Pacific Division offensive, defensive and special teams players of the week. In the Mountain Division, Utah QB Mike Fouts, UTEP LB Micheal Comer and New Mexico P Jason Bloom earned similar honors.
* PAC-10 RULES: So far, the WAC has struggled against the Pacific 10 Conference head-to-head. The Pac-10 won all four meetings last weekend and is 7-1 against the WAC. The only blemish is Stanford's 17-10 loss to Utah Sept. 7.
* COUGARS SLIP: Brigham Young's loss to Washington knocked the Cougars out of the Associated Press poll and dropped them to No. 25 in the USA Today/CNN poll. ... Texas Christian committed six turnovers in its 52-17 loss to Kansas. ... The Big Ten, already 2-0 vs. the WAC, tries for three straight Saturday when Iowa visits Tulsa.
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