Friday, January 24, 1969
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Nine
.P-W- NIne
I
Icers attack
. By JIM FORRESTER
The Wolverine icers warily wend
their way. north tonight to con-
front the Michigan State Spar-t
tans in their green and white lair
-- the MSU Ice Arena.
Michigan finds itself in a tight
race for the WCHA lead - only o rts
two games behind league pacing
North Dakota and but a slim one- NIGHT EDITOR':
half game ahead of tough Michi-
gan Tech. Even one loss to the JIM FORRESTEA ,
Spartans in this weekend's home
and home series could put t h e
Wolverines out of the race for the Swanson is a junior and anch-
league championship. ors the Spartan defense. His goal
"It's a big series for us," com- last Saturday night sent the game
mented Michigan mentor Al Ren- into overtime and eventually led
frew. "State is the toughest team to the Spartan victory.
for us in the league, both physic- The other members of the der-
Spartan
defense
KNEES KNOCKING:
Joe ponders grid farewell
U,
ally and mentally.'
Though every team in the lea-
gue is tough, State through the
years has been 'the team t h a t
tripped tp the icers in champion-
ship drives and in playoffs. And
this year has been no exception.
The first two times the teams met,'
In early December, the Wolverines
came away with a p a i r of ex-
tremely, close 2-1 victories.
But at the third meeting, in the
Great Lakes Tourney, the Spar-
tans handed Michigan a 4-2 de-
feat in what must be described. as
the Wolverines worst performance
to date.
In the Big Ten Tournament, the
last time the two clubs met, Mien-
igan rebounded to overwhelm
State by an 8-3 margin.
ThebSpartans are carrying a 2-
5-, won-loss-tie WCHA record
and the success they have had can
be attributed to their defense.
MSU has given up only an average
of 2.75 goals in # WCHA clashes to
put itself among the league lead-
ers in team defense.
Defense was the primary factor
in state's 2-2 tie and 2-1 over-
time victory at Minnesota 1 a s t
weekend. "We played our best de-
fense of 'the year against Minne-
sota,", commented an elated Amo
Bessone, Spartan Head Coach. "If
I had to pick three stars t h e y
would be Alan Swanson,.Richard
Duffett and Bob Johnson.
fense are equally tough, especial-
ly Bob DeMarko and sophomores
Mike DeMarko and Dan O'Con-
nor.
The other t w o stars Bessone
mentionednaregoal tenders Bob
Johnson and Rich Duffett. Duf-
fett made 29 saves in the first
Gopher clash and Johnson kicked
out 40 enerhy shots the next night
to, lead the Spartans to victory.
"They were superb," said Bes-
sone. "It is hard to tell which one
played the better game."
But while the Spartans h a v e
fine talent for keeping the puck
out of their net, they are decidedly
lacking in ability to put the hard
rubber disc into the opposing goal.
In their eight "WCHA clashes,
State has managed a miserable
goals scored average of only 2.5.
Bessone complains that his men
"don't shoot enough."
Probably State's steadiest line
consists of juniors Pat Russo, Bob
Pattullo and Charles Phillips.
Russo is the play maker and prob-
ably the most solid of the frontline
Spartans.
Bessone, in looking at Michigan,
likes the Wolverines style of hard
forechecking play a n d promises
only that his team will "try, to
keep up."-
Michigan takes a 6-2 WCHA
record to State in probably the
best over-all condition the team
NEW YORK (R)-Joe Namath of the N'ew York Jets forcefully
reiterated yesterday his intention to consider quitting pro football for
a business venture-and revealed that the major reason was concern
for his ailing legs.
"The legs are the main problem," Namath said dispassionately
as he elaborated on the hint he dropped in an off-hand manner
Wednesday. "It's been a long season and with rest they might be
better. But the way I feel now, retirement is something that has to
be considered.
"I know this talk could be misconstrued, but it is definitely not
a contract wedge. It's something that's just simply logically sound
to consider.",
What Namath is considering is several business offers that have
been made-particularly in the entertainment field-since he quarter-
backed the Jets to a stunning upset over the Baltimore Colts in the
Super Bowl.
There also is the realization' that his legs could pull his career
up short any day-he has undergone three operations on them and
plays in pain. That's apparently what first made him hint at retire-
ment Wednesday when he said:
"Jimmy Brown got out while he was still healthy. You want to
make it while you're on top-before you get destroyed."
Namath re-emphasized his position at a luncheon at his Bach-
elors III night spot in mid-Manhattan, where American Airlines an-
nounced that the Jet star and Mickey Mantle of the New York Yank-
ees would represent New York, City in the third annual Astrojet Golf
Classic Feb. 14-16 at the La Costa Country Club near San Diego,
Calif.
"What I said Wednesday was quoted verbatim as it was written,"'
Namath said. "There's not much to elaborate. If I can't play, I can't P
play. I'll just be physically not capable. The doctors will have to de- e
cide that. c
Namath said another big factor in any decision he would make E
would be his teammates, "There would be a sense of letting themI
down if I quit. But I don't want to play the way I feel now."
Namath said he already had told Weeb Ewbank, the Jets' coach L
and general manager of his intention to consider quitting. He added C
that Ewbank and the owners would be the first to know of any de- S
cision he might make. S
The Jets, meanwhile, announced that Ewbank was staying on p
with the team in his dual capacity as coach and general manager.
There had been speculation he might relinquish the coaching reins,
particularly with one of his top assistants, Clive Rush, being pursued
by the Boston Patriots for their vacant head coaching job.
Ewbank is believed to have been working on a three-year con-
tract at $50,000 a year. There was no indication of the length or
terms of any new contract.
NBA Standings
-Daily-Jay Cassidy
WOLVERINE FORWARD MERLE FALK (12) sends a pass to teammate Paul Gamsby by the out
stretched stick 'of Michigan State's Ken Anstey in the season's first clash between the two squads
last December. Michigan won the game 2-1 and has met the Spartans three times since, winning
two more decisions while dropping only one. State is hoping to improve its 2-5-1 record.
Baltimore
hiladelphia
Boston
Kew York
incinnati
Detroit
iilwaukee
Eastern Division
W L
35 12
a 31 14
31 16
$3 20
26 22
20 28
15 35
has been in all season. The team.
has not been hurt by ill health
or injuries but rather suffered
from a lack of balance in the scor-
ing department,
Until. last weekend the line cen-
tered by Paul Gamsby had carried
most of the point producing load,
picking up 25 goals through the
Denver series. But in the games
at Colorado College, the line led
by Brian Slack came to life. In
the Friday night game Slack fig-
ured on all the scoring as he col-
lected two goals and four assists.
It was the first consistent per-
formance Slack and company had
exhibited since the season's open-j
ing series with State, in which
Slack collected three of the four
goals the Wolverines netted in
that series.
While 'Michigan has the stronger
team, State is "due" for a big
series. "We are going to break out
against someone this season,"
promises Bessone. And the Spar- fr
tans would like nothing better M
than to clobber the Wolverines. m
"If they win the first night," s
worries Renfrew, "they're going to t
be tougher the second."'
e
WCHA Standings f
Pct.
.745
.689
.660
.623
.542
.417
.300
.673
.633
.444
.417
.404
.309
.184
GB
3
4
5
1536
11
12 j
13
24
This Weekend in Sports
TONIGHT
HOCKEY-Michigan at Michigan State
TOMORROW
BASKETBALL-Michigan at Michigan State
GYMNASTICS-Michigan at Western Michigan
HOCKEY--Michigan State at Colesium, 8 P.M.
INDOOR TRACK-Michigan Relays at Yost Field House, prelims
begin at 11 A.M.
Western
os Angeles
.tlanta
Chicago
an Francisco
an Diego
eatte
Phoenix
Division
33 16
<31 18
22 28
20 28'
20 29
16 36
9 40
Tonight's Games
Philadelphia at Boston
Chicago at Phoenix
Los Angeles at Atlanta
San Diego at San Francisco
New York at Detroit
Only games scheduled.
.. . _._.. .... r as ...rte r .r. t =,. i .i... .. ..i _ i
SWIMMING-Southern Illinoisa
IN THE SWIM:
Frosh dunk
By ROD ROBERT
Special To The Daily
EAST LANSING - Michigan's
reshman swimmers drowned
Michigan State 75-48 in a dual
neet last night. The Wolverine
quad got little competition from
;he Spartan yearlings as they took
irst place -in 9 of 13 events.
Stager, however, did make one
sxception in. Pat McCord. The
reshman sprinter from Plymouth,
von the 50-yard freestyle in a
ecord 22.1, and also took first in
he 100-yard freestyle with a 50.1.
The Michigan swim coach said
f his first-year speedster, "Mc-
ord is a horse. He is strong and
as real potential in the sprints.
Then McCord makes up his mind
o start swimming he'll go far."
The Wolverine mentor was also
leased with another freestyler,
arry Duffield. "Harry doesn't
wim fantastic times but swims
o win the race. He won the 200-
ard freestyle because he out-
at Matt aMnn Pool, 3:30 P.M.
State, 75-48
smarted State's John Thuerer."
Michigan's Dave Kelly also set $1 0
a meet record as he won the 1000-
yard freestyle in 10:35.5. Kellyp month
took second place in the 200-yard per A e:'i'
individual medley and the 500-a d ~ v r
yard freestyle but Stager thought C a .
he could have taken three first
places.
Byron MacDonald and Greg NEJAC TV RENTALS 662-5671
Goshorn also took first places for!
Michigan. MacDonald won the
200-yard butterfly in 2:03.9 while SERVING BIG 10 SCHOOLS SINCE 196
Goshorn captured first in the 200-
yard backstroke with a 2-02
* 4Fs-
NorthIDakota
MICHIGAN
Mich. Tech
Denver
Minnesota
Mich. State
Colorado College
Minn.-Duluth
W
10'
6
5
8
4
2
2
1
L
2
2
4
5
5
7
11
T
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
Pct.
.833
.750
.714
.667
.450
.312
.222
.083
w
re
ti
6of
C
h
V
tc
p
H
sv
to
yf
Tonight's Games
MICHIGAN at Michigan State
Michigan Tech at Minnesota
Colorado College at Denver,
I I
..___. ___-- _.__ _.._w _ _ . __ _,_. _ _ ----
.__._ ,
-Associated Press
Bob Foster stands over challenger Frankie De Paula after decking
him three times Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. By
virtue of his first round TKO Foster, who now wants to fight as
a heavyweight, retains his light heavyweight title.
CRW
IR'
HELP CREATE...
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9-12 P.M.
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JAN. 24, 1969
BURSLEY SNACK BAR
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