PAGE SIX THE MICHIGAN DAILY Sr'1rTURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3.1966 PAGE SIX THE MICHIGAN DAILY SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3. 1966 * >;;The Margi for Error Gil Sanberg What Might Have Been I agree. It's a little early in the year for eulogies or lamentations. But what has probably been lost is not a game or a title. It's the kind of thing that we'll never really be certain about.S Jim Detwiler is hobbled now, almost a full year after the initial damage was done, by the athlete's well known and dreadedt enemy. At this point I believe that it is unlikely that Detwiler, Michigan's Al-American calibre halfback, will make it back toe the line-up by opening day, Sept. 17, 1966. Further, it seemst doubtful that he will play at all in 1966. And even if he could make it back this season, it is almost certain that he would not be able to play the brand of ball that we came to expect in his sophomore year, and it is certain that the great poten-1 tial which he showed in pre-season play last fall would not be realized. The knee is perhaps the weakest area of the body, and the1 , most vulnerable. What little can be done to strengthen it through the use of weights, etc., has little meaning when you considerr this joint's lack of physical insulation, the tremendous pressures put on it, and the peculiar uni-directional leverage that it has. In other words, the back who is gunning down the sidelines fis, consciously or not, asking for trouble. Unfortunately, a blind- side crusher-or, for that matter, any solid block or tackle made low from the side-is a normal part of the game of football. How do you train for it? How do you prevent it? Well, that's one the philosopher-coaches of all contact sports have been pondering since Sparta. Right now Jim Detwiler, formerly nicknamed "The Diesel," is number one on the list of famous knees at Michigan. For the Wolverines, what's past has.been forgotten. Detwiler suits up for all the practices. He does the calisthentics. He runs a little. He hobbles a little. He goes through the motions of the non-contact drills .. . for a little. Then he tries to trot away on the legs-one a strong, hard, piston. The other almost imperceptively smaller from lack of exercise over a period, draped and pasted in white at the knee, testy. It is more than just too bad. The knee-even if improve- ment is rapid from this point forward-seems through for the season. The speed just isn't there. The cuts aren't there. The power isn't there. And, most obvious of all, when Jim finally stops favoring the leg, it sure doesn't appear to be worth risking in contact. Sure, Mickey Mantle plays a game which is demanding on the legs with the only thing between his knee bones and the outside world being a few yards of plastic bandage. That's heart. That's also base- ball.- You just cant play the violent game of the '60s in any way, shape, or form when you depend on being held upright by cardio- vascular tissue. With Detwiler out, of course, something else crumbles too. It would've been a dream backfield. After that great Rose Bowl year of 1964-65, I for one couldn't wait to see it. Fisher, Ward, Detwiler, and Vidmer. Last fall it looked like gangbusters, with Vidmer's leg appar- ently sound, Ward and Fisher more experienced and sharp, and the Diesel even bigger, shiftier, and, incredibly, faster than the year before. As the weeks passed it crumbled before my eyes. Detwiler was ac- tually injured before the opening game at Chapel Hill, and then Vidmer, for all his talents, became a scared runner-probably shy because of his own leg injury-and couldn't get the Blue jugger- naut to jug. And this year? With Dick Vidmer more confident it might have been the best backfield in the Big Ten. Perhaps more. It had balance. It had a smart passing quarterback. It had a tough, rugged little breakaway halfback. It had a low-geared, low-slung power fullback who could churn out the yards up the middle with regularity and turn the corner strong on occasion. And it had the guy who could do some of everything. Big and strong, he could go inside or outside. He was fast enough to run back kick-offs. And as one of the team's best receivers, he could've been the extra pair of hands in the backfield that was so conspicuously and cripplingly absent in 1965. In addition he had been slated to do the team's place-kicking with a left toe which had plenty of range. It might have been. It might have . . . but Detwiler has his troubles just walking around campus. What sort of effort would it take to play Big Ten football on one leg. In fear. And so that balance, the wonderful balance that makes for the kind of flexibility that throws opposing defenses into fits of frustration, is shattered. The range of effective alternatives is limited. The defense can concentrate. And that's the name of the game. Sure, for all we know there's a junior named Ernie Sharpe who can put Michigan's Humpty Dumpty together again. Maybe he will. But, what might have been. I can't see Jim Detwiler making it back into the starting alignment this year, especially behind a less than experienced line. But if he just gets up and does it, I'd appreciate the chance to be first in line to shake his hand. And walk away amazed. Light Practice Enlivened by Yearby By RICK STERN "Go and get a uniform," yelled BumpElliott, half in jest and probably half wishing to Jae obeyed. Bill Yearby ambled gamely on- to the Wolverine practice field yesterday, but he wore gray plaid slacks and a sport shirt rather than a football suit. A group of blue and red jer- seyed Wolverines made a mock charge on Yearby as he was greet- ed warmly by the coaches and trainers. The New York Jets broke their training camp Thursday so Year- by has a few days off. The Jets paid him $230,000, a thousand dol- lars a pound, to sign a contract last year. Yearby was unusually talkative yesterday. Usually he is reticent with reporters. "The practices are really much easier in the pros than in college. There's not as much contact work and we don't Major League Standings Yearby did acknowledge that he' was glad to have signed his con- tract before the NFL-AFL merger which will protect teams from paying out large sums to green rookies. Now each player can be drafted by only one team. Defense Emphasized The Wolverine workout yester- day was light, emphasizing block- ing and defense in preparation for this afternoon's full-scale scrim- mage in Michigan Stadium, The scrimmage begins at 1:30 p.m., but is closed to the general public. Elliott said he plans to go with a starting backfield of quarter- back Dick Vidmer, halfbacks Carl Ward and Jim Detwiler, and full- back Dave Fisher. He indicated, however, that junior halfback Ernie Sharp will be a frequent stand-in for Detwiler who under- went knee surgery last winter. Missing from practice yesterday were Dave Porter, who remains out of action after losing several teeth, and Ken Wright, who has undertermined knee injury the team physicians said it wasn't serious. Week of Conditioning Elliott summed up the past week of practice. "Mainly it's been a week of conditioning. Most of the players have made good progress, though a few have missed practice due to injuries. The heat makes things a little tougher-the boys are tired-but it's better than the rain we've had in previous years." Observers have felt that the 'team has been worked harder than last year for a corresponding period. Elliott disagreed with this. "It's really no different from last year. We're priming for an alert, sharp squad as we always do." IElliott said he hoped that to- day's scrimmage "will give us an overall feel of what we are cap- able of doing. We will make some judgments on the basis of what we see in the scrimmage."- Back to class? Go with class! GO HO"NDA! Just the ticket for campus traffic, crowded parking lots or just plain fun. And, instead of walking her to class, you can ride her to class! Hondas are more fun than a barrel of coeds. See all the Honda models (there's one just right for you) at DOWNTOWN HONDA '-S vt::t Wenk Sales& Service st~ve. 310E. Washington 4A Returning Students Note WE MOVED IN ,MAY Pt BILL YEARBY AMERICAN LEAGUE Wv L Pet. Baltimore 83 51 .619 Detroit 74 61 .548 Minnesota 73 63 .537 Chicago 72 66 .522 Cleveland 70 67 .511 California 68 67 .54 New York 61 75 .449 washington 62 77 .446 Kansas City 60 77 .438 GB 11 13 141 15Y24 23 2314 24Y- scrimmage. But the games are rougher, much rougher. "There isn't much spirit by comparison in the pros either.' Most of the guys play for the' money and treat it as a job." Concerning his weight, Yearby said, "I have to get it up to about 2-35. Right now, I'm at 226. In Chicago for the All Star game, I was at 218." Yearby lamented the All Star experience. "I learned a lot but I ended up three weeks behind when I got to training camp. On the whole, playing in the All Star game hurt me." Questioned about the 38-0 shel- lacking which the Packers handed the All Stars, he said "we 'scrim- maged the Bears a week or so be- fore the game and did well. After that, we might have been abit cocky." nature closed. ed of a SCORES AFL Regular Season Oakland 23, Miami 14 NFL Exhibition Chicago 22, St. Louis 20 Dallas 28, Minnesota 24 Cleveland vs. Pittsburgh (i of which has not been dis- Fullback Fisher complain- knot in his right knee, but Make WAHR'S your for all your textbook and college supplies SERVING U OF M STUDENTS SINCE 1883 -II w 4 A inc) YESTERDAY'S RESULTS Detroit 4-7, Cleveland 2-5 (2nd game 10 inn) Chicago 9, Baltimore 8 (11 inn) Kansas City 5, Boston 1 Minnesota 8, New York 5 Washington 6, California 5 TODAY'S GAMES Washington at California Boston at Kansas City (2) New York at Minnesota Baltimore at Chicago Detroit at Cleveland NATIONAL LEAGUE W L Pct. GB Pittsburgh 79 56 .587 - San Francisco 78 57 .578 1 Los Angeles 76 57 .573 2 Philadelphia 73 64 .534 7 St. Louis 69 66 .512 10 Cincinnati 68 67 .502 11 Atlanta 65 69 .485 13!/2 Houston 61 75 .450 18 f New York 59 77 .432 201f Chicago 47 87 .448 31, YESTERDAY'S RESULTS Philadiphia 6, New York 0 Atlanta 6-2, Houston 5-1 Pittsburgh 7, Chicago 3 Los Angeles 6, Cincinnati 1 St. Louis 6, San Francisco 5 (12 inn) TODAY'S GAMES Philadelphia at New York (n) Houston at Atlanta 2 (t-n) Chicago at Pittsburgh Los Angeles at Cincinnati (n) San Francisco at St. Louis SPORTS NIGHT EDITOR: BILL LEVIS To readers and admirers of "The Fountainhead," "Atlas Shrugged" and "For the New Intellectual" Enrollment is now open for the NATHANIEL BRANDEN lectures on basic principles of OBJECTIVISM the philospohy of RAND and its application to psychology For a descriptive brochure please write or phone the local business representative of NATHANIEL BRANDEN INSTITUTE Irving J. Ralph-2635 W. Delhi Rd. Ann Arbor, Mich. 48103 NO 3-3205 0 *, t Bk1 :4!Iit~ Campus Is Coming to orth 0 .3 'n Search of Reporters.I * ii' * Mass Meeting, 7:15 p.m., iept. 6 I I-w -0.