Card Shows a Good Deal for SDSU

Jim Dietz’s fund-raising woes may soon be a thing of the past. Dietz is a baseball coach who has only begun to discover the phenomenon of baseball cards. And in his never-ending crusade to gather money for his San Diego State program, he recently promoted a baseball card show.

Many who attended the event, which featured an autograph session with several former Aztecs now in the major leagues, told Dietz the show was a raging success. It raised approximately $3,000 for SDSU’s baseball team. Yet that hardly put a dent into Dietz’s annual fund-raising goal of $35,000-$40,000.

But Dietz, 52, said he watched in amazement as the proceedings at the Doubletree Hotel unfolded Jan. 12. He realized the revenue potential of a card and memorabilia event should be in multiples of $3,000.

“We undersold the product,” he said. “I’m just shocked at how people are fanatics about this stuff. It’s like a feeding frenzy. It’s like the kelp bass being around the bait at the harbor.

“I’ve never been interested in baseball cards. I am now, because I know they can help support the program.”

What made the show such a big, if not lucrative, event was that former Aztecs Tony and Chris Gwynn, Mark Grace, Dave Smith, Mark Williamson and others were on hand to sign autographs at a price of $5 for one or $8 for “two or three.” Dietz, however, caught “little blue-eyed shysters and their parents” paying $8 then bilking the stars for 10 to 15 signatures.

Dietz got hustled. He figured several thousand customers had attended when most of them left to do business in the hotel lobby or parking lot then later returned to the show. The same people kept coming through the door.

Dietz said soon he will be doing the hustling. He plans to update a set of 3-D cards of former Aztecs now in the majors. He originally had 5,000 printed two years ago. They sold out. SDSU will host another card show next January, only this time it will be at Smith Field in a festival-like atmosphere.

“We’re just novices at this,” Dietz said. “We have plans to make it bigger and better for next year. We’re already working on it.”

Out of the wreckage: There are many reasons for U.S. International men’s basketball’s 1-21 season. The Gulls have a shortage of money, facilities, fan support and coaching. But mostly, they suffer from a lack of talent on the court. Only one USIU underclassman--Isaac Brown--would appear to have a promising Division I future ahead of him when the program folds after the current season.

Going into this week, Brown, a sophomore from Queens, N.Y., who turned 19 in December, was playing like a man possessed. In seven games since he was switched from guard to forward he averaged 19.5 points and 12.8 rebounds. He scored no less than 14 points in a game and was in double figures rebounding all but twice.

Brown is only 6-feet-4 but his quickness, instincts and leaping ability have helped him become a force inside. In two games at home last week, he averaged 23 points and 17.5 rebounds. Gull Coach Gary Zarecky said other schools have begun to notice that Brown is trying to make the best of a bad situation.

“He can write his own ticket to any big Division I school,” Zarecky said.

“I’m just playing now on pride,” Brown said. “I’m just doing my job.”

Loyola Marymount, Miami and Florida International are said to be doting on Brown. San Diego State could also come into the picture if Brown puts up similar numbers against the Aztecs Feb. 27.

“I’d consider it,” Brown said of a possible transfer across town. “I love San Diego.”

Toreros on radio: The University of San Diego men’s basketball team is making enough noise this season to be heard on radio. XTRA 690 will broadcast the Toreros’ home game against Portland Saturday tape delayed at 10:30 p.m. Brad Cesmat will do the play-by-play. This will be the first radio broadcast of a regular-season USD game in the 10-plus seasons since the Toreros moved to Division I.

XTRA will also carry USD’s game against Pepperdine Feb. 23. The Toreros are in first place in the West Coast Conference for the first time since the 1986-87 season. That year they finished 13-1 in the WCC and got a berth in the NCAA tournament. The only previous radio coverage the Toreros have received has come during NCAA tournament games.

Picking up slack: Point Loma Nazarene’s women’s basketball team was 9-5 when its best player, Shannon Abrams, fractured her shooting hand. Abrams, a senior, has missed seven games and might not return the rest of the season. The Crusaders, however, have gone 5-0 and have won seven of eight without her and are in first place at 4-0 in the Golden State Athletic Conference.

Coach Bill Olin said he knew he had a good team but he was concerned about its prospects without Abrams, who still ranks second in the GSAC in scoring (20.5 ppg) and rebounds (11.7). But her loss has made everyone else work harder.

“She was on her way to becoming our first all-American,” Olin said. “I wasn’t sure things would keep up without her. But we have real good depth and a lot of different people have come in and done the job. We haven’t let down a bit.”

132% attendance: With other San Diego area college teams suffering from low home attendance, Christian Heritage basketball provides an interesting contrast. The Hawks average 379.2 fans at Grossmont College’s gym. That’s 132% of the university’s enrollment of 286. A season-high 1,050 took in Christian Heritage’s homecoming game against The Master’s Jan. 19.

Low-impact practice: USIU’s basketball team dismantled its hardwood floor last week and moved out of the unheated Poway warehouse where the Gulls paid $5,000 a month to practice. Tuesday, USIU found a new practice site for the rest of the season: the M. Larry Lawrence Jewish Community Center in University City. The center has given the Gulls a half court for 90 minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

When asked who occupies the other half of the court at those times, Coach Gary Zarecky said: “An aerobics class and elementary school kids. Can you imagine that? But it’s a nice gesture on their part.”

Aztec six is sixth: The season’s first American Volleyball Coaches Assn. collegiate poll, released this week, ranked SDSU’s men’s volleyball team sixth in the country. That’s the highest rating for an Aztec team in 10 years. A key for SDSU (2-0) is the return of senior outside hitter Mike Schlegel, who took a year off to play on the Pro Beach Volleyball tour. In a match against Pepperdine last week, Schlegel had 25 kills.

SDSU will test that lofty ranking against No. 2 USC (4-0) at Peterson Gym Saturday. Match time is 7:30 p.m.