San Diego State Football

A former San Diego State football player is suing the school and Coach Al Luginbill over what he says was a broken promise to award him a partial athletic scholarship. A hearing will be held Monday in San Diego Superior Court. Mike Spinello, a linebacker from Mission Viejo High School, has charged that Luginbill reneged in February, 1989, on an oral agreement to award him a $2,000 scholarship.

If football and baseball are apples and oranges, it still would seem reasonable to expect that they could peacefully coexist in the same bushel basket. Not San Diego State football and Padre baseball. No way. Let these parties try to share the same stadium or radio station, and it seems to be like asking the Hatfields and McCoys to sit across the same breakfast bar without getting into a hard-boiled egg fight.

The San Diego State football team might have lost more than a game to Miami last Saturday. The Aztecs might have lost several key players for their Western Athletic Conference season-finale Saturday night against Brigham Young. Reserve offensive tackle Chuck Hardaway (ankle) is out, and three starters and the Aztecs' two long snappers are listed as questionable for the 7:05 game at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

The seconds ticked away from the San Diego State football season Saturday in the dusk at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium with the Aztecs trailing No. 3 Miami, 30-28, and desperately trying to come back. They had the ball on their six-yard line with nine seconds to play and no timeouts. Dan McGwire completed a short pass to Patrick Rowe and he was tackled at the 10. After nearly four hours of big plays, the Aztecs ran out of them.

The San Diego State football team's injury list remains extensive, but Coach Denny Stolz is optimistic that he will have the majority of his healing players ready to play Saturday against Stanford at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. Primary on the list is tailback Paul Hewitt, the team's leading rusher. Hewitt on Thursday had his most extensive practice since he bruised his left shoulder against Texas El Paso last Saturday. Hewitt is listed as questionable by trainer Don Kaverman.

Bart Kalbach, a center on the San Diego State football team, has been arrested on suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol in connection with a weekend accident that has left him bedridden with a fracture of the spine near the neck. It is too early to tell if Kalbach's injuries will result in permanent paralysis from the neck down, said Debbie Gelbart, a spokeswoman for St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix.

Denny Stolz, San Diego State football coach, said Monday he does not know when or if Iowa quarterback Dan McGwire will transfer to SDSU. Stolz, who returned this weekend from Yokohama, where he served as a coach in the Japan Bowl, said he has not had time to discuss fully the possible transfer with his athletic department or coaching staff. Fred Miller, SDSU athletic director, is in Nashville, Tenn., this week for the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. annual convention.

A couple of ballgames last weekend proved to be just the tonic the San Diego State football team needed to soothe a wounded ego. One of the games, of course, was the Aztecs' 39-36 upset of Air Force Sunday evening. But that victory may be attributed in part to another game--one that was at the heart of several discussions at the Aztecs' practice Monday. UCLA thrashed Nebraska Saturday, 41-28, and the Aztecs liked what they saw. Nebraska entered the game ranked No. 2. UCLA was No. 5.

The troubled San Diego State football career of running back Darrin Wagner apparently is over. Wagner has been suspended for the remainder of the season, and his return next year is unlikely, Coach Al Luginbill said Sunday. Luginbill said he took the action because Wagner missed practice Thursday without permission. The incident was one of a series over the past three months that included missed practices, a missed flight and an earlier one-game suspension.

First of all, let's make it clear that the Brigham Young University Cougars are not the same as the Los Angeles Raiders. When BYU comes to town, it is not necessary to get the women and children off the streets, lock up family heirlooms and hide civic treasures. Homeowners' insurance companies need not cringe when the Cougars arrive. However, it is a good idea to get the San Diego State football team out of sight. Send it to Ensenada . . . or maybe Saskatchewan . . . for the weekend.