Page 8-Thursday, January 25, 1979-The Michigan Daily BIG TEN ROUNDUP: Illini duel Iowa for 2nd LATTANY CLEARS 7'I" AT EMU ' By The Associated Press Illinois and Iowa, crippled by injuries to key players, battle for second place in.the Big Ten tonight at Iowa. .,"The last week was the best seven days of basketball we've played since I've been at Iowa," said Coach Lute Olson, whose Hawkeyes whipped In- diana and Purdue before falling to Michigan State. "The game should be a battle bet- ween two exceptional teams. And, I think we can play with anybody when we play with enthusiasm," Olson said. Both teams are 4-2 in the conference. Illinois, ranked eighth nationally, is 16-2 for the season, and Iowa is 11-4. Illinois beat Wisconsin on the road last week before losing to Purdue at home Saturday. For the Iowa game, the Illini will be without the services of 6-foot-11 center Derek Holcomb, who has a sprained ankle, and 6-foot-4 guard Steve Lanter, who has a sore knee. Illinois Coach Lou Henson has been working with 6-foot-10 freshman James Griffin and 6-foot-6 Levi Cobb in the post since Holcomb's injury. Ohio State coach Eldon Miller isn't so concerned about winless Northwestern as he is about his own Ohio State basketball squad, leading the Big Ten and ranked 10th nationally. Big Ten Standings Conference All Games !/ The Wildcats, crippled by injuries and grade problems, still have pushed Michigan and Minnesota to the limit before losing by two points to each. Northwestern is 0-6 in the Big Ten. "The only thing we're concerned with is getting better ourselves," said Miller, responding to a question about preparing mentally for a last-place team. Iowa may be without starting center Steve Krafcisin, who suffered a con- cussion and a cut over his eye during Saturday's game. In addition, forward Vince Brookins has a broken hand, and forward Clay Hargrave has been declared academically ineligible. Fighting to stay out of the cellar are the Wisconsin Badgers, who travel to Bloomington to face Bobby Knight and his "disciplined" Hoosiers. The Badgers will try to attain the intensity that they displayed during their comeback and eventual upset of Michigan. In the final Big Ten game, the upset kings Purdue Boilermakers journey to Minneapolis to confront Jim Dutcher's young Gophers. Purdue has knocked off Illinois, Michigan State and Michigan during a very topsy-turvy campaign. Striders host Michi1 By JOHN LIBBE nis Building. Elliott, Baumgartner and The Wolverine indoor track season Tim Thomas are all coming off strong began quite promisingly last Saturday performances last Saturday. Thomas as high jumper Mike Lattany cleared7, won the 600 yard dash in 1:11.6. and 1" at the Eastern Michigan Open to Elliott and Baumgartner placed one qualify for the NCAA Championships in and two in the 1000 yard run, with times March. But head coach Jack Harvey of 2:11.6 and 2:12.5, respectively. and assistant Ron Warhurst are not "WE WANTED TO get a race under about to stop with the success of Lat- our belts," said Harvey. "The people tany. Qualifying the two-mile relay we did take did real well. Elliott looked team is next on the agenda. real strong." Warhurst added.that "we The team of Greg and Tim Thomas, just wanted to give them something Jim Baumgartner and Steve Elliott faster to do (in preparation for this will be shooting for the qualifying stan- weekend)." dard this Saturday in the Michigan This Saturday's meet consists mainly. Relays to be held at the Track and Ten- of relay events, andthat's the area in :><,:;r r: r...,. :?za ;; ><.;'events.''f ?:1 s: in Relaysj peting Saturday. Tentatively, nine teams besides Michigan are entered: Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Toledo, Saginaw Valley, Ohio University, Hillsdale, Wayne State and Michigan State. BOTH COACHES are pleased with how the team is shaping up, but they foresee much improvement. "We're pretty strong right now in every event from the 60 through the three mile," commented Warhurst. "We've got two good high jumpers and two good long jumpers. We're light in the pole vault, indoor shot, and triple jump. At this point in time we don't believe we're in top form," added Har- vey. "We don't know where we are." It may seem that the Wolverine two- mile relay squad should race to an easy victory Saturday. But don't count on it. : ('uckrin9 'r . 4P0run4 Too early now . .u. ... to bury the icers Ohio State Iowa Illinois Mich. State Purdue MirInesota Wisconsin MICHIGAN Indiana Northwestern W 6 4 4 4 3 3 2 2 2 0 L 0 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 6 W 11 11 16 11 13 8 8 8 10 4 L 4 4 2 3 5 7 7 6 8 11 Today's Games Michigan State at MICHIGAN Illinois at Iowa Northwestern at Ohio State Purdue at Minnesota Wisconsin at Indiana daily hoto by gRAD,Bt,IJAM,,, IN PAST ACTION at Yost Arena, Notre Dame's Brian Walsh knocks a Michigan attacker off the puck as goalie Len Moher defends. Michigan hopes to improve its 5-15 WCHA record when they twice face the Irish this weekend. The Blue dekers will attempt to avenge two earlier losses to Notre Dame this year, along with trying to break their eight-game losing streak. Ignorance claimed by Stabler in frame-up to Bee sports writer Padeckythat a packet of cocaine was planted on Padecky's rented car Monday - the day Padecky said he came for an inter- view and got something of a runaround. instead. Padecky, in a copyrighted account .Qf the incident in yesterday's Sacramento Bee, said Maples had a submachine gun beside him in his car as he drove him to the Pensacola, Fla., airport for his departure. Maples said yesterday he felt it was in the writer's best interests to leave town. Stabler told the Mobile Press that he didn't have any knowledge of Padecky's arrest. He was quoted by Padecky earlier as saying, "I don't mind telling you it's strange, but it's not strange for Gulf Shores." The police chief said, "We have no suspects as to who put the stuff on his (Padecky's) car at this time, but we are investigating." Padecky said Stabler voiced irritation with him and accused him of being "the first reporter who came into my town trying to dig up dirt." Padecky earlier had written a three-part story on Gulf Shores' view of the Oakland quarterback. The police chief also confirmed to the Mobile Press that, after it was deter- mined Padecky was the target of a cocaine frameup, charges against the writer were dropped and he escorted Padecky on a hurry-up exit from Gulf Shores. By BILLY SAHN The slogan, "Keep the faith baby," was popularized during the tumultuus 1960's when the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement occupied the front pages of newspapers around the nation. Yet, the statement is just as pertinent to the Michigan hockey team, but in a different sense. Based on recent events concerning Michigan sports, I question if losing is becoming a common demoninator to the most publicized athletic teams on this campus. Needless to say, the football team's third consecutive Rose Bowl loss has brought doubts to my mind about that team. Furthermore, I find the Wolverine basketball team in a precarious position. With a 2-4 Big Ten record, the Conference championship appears to be out of reach for the cagers, as are their chances of making post-season NCAA competition. Another major athletic team to come upon hard times is the Blue hockey team. The Wolverines are 7-17 overall, and 5-15 in the tough WCHA. With these kind of statistics, doubt exists that the icers will see any postseason action. Currently, Michigan occupies the tenth spot in the ten team conference. Yet, the icers. are not sunk yet. Injuries and inexperience Considering that eight of the 10 teams will be involved in the post-season playoffs, and that the two teams ahead of Michigan, Denver and Michigan State, are not strong teams, the Wolverines still have that chance. They are not mathematically eliminated as of yet. Granted, they probably would not get very far if they do make it to the playoffs, but that's no reason for the icers to bow their woeful heads. They're a good team., What is the problem then? The answer lies in two words: inexperience and injuries. .At 'the outset, Michigan had a very young team. This youth can be tran- slated-into inexperience. The WCHA is no easy conference. The top college hockey teams in the country are in it. Naturally, it takes any kid coming out of high school time to adjust to this quick, hard hitting and intense style of play. Short on centers One kid that seemed to adjust well was rookie center Terry Cullen. Unfortunately though, Cullen, whom icer coach Dan Farrell looked upon as a future leader, sustained a serious neck injury after the first four games of the season. Likewise, junior center Dan Lerg fell victim to the disabled list because of a knee injury. But the list doesn't stop there: freshman center Murray Eaves sprained his knee last weekend in North Dakota. The result is that Michigan has gone through the season with its three top centers out of action at one poiht or another. With all three icers healthy, Michigan won its first three games. Since the injuries have occurred, the team's record has been 4-17. "The center problem is overpowering," said Farrell. "Every week I see teams with centermen not as accomplished as ours. Without the injuries, we'd be challenging for the top spot in the conference." Despite the ifs, the reality of the situation is obvious. The icers are in deep ice-the cellar. But, it's not fair to judge them solely by their record. Farrell has succeeded in building a nucleus of very fine hockey players for future seasons. Repeatedly, Farrell has commented that the bunch of kids he's coaching now are the greatest. They are a very tight group of athletes facing cold stats with optimism. Likewise, Farrell is optimistic. "This team is going to be a super team next year," remarked the Wolverine coach. According to Farrell, Michigan is two or three players away from being a contender. As for this year, it's not over yet. The guys on this team are not a bunch of quitters. Their mental attitude is a good one. With 12 regular season games left (including series against MSU and Denver), I would not rule out the Blue icers. The playoffs are still a realistic goal. They will reach them only if they start winning now. V U I Grand9pen i WCHA Standings New Bar at the Village Bell. All drinks halt price this Thursday, ~ Fridav& North Dakota Minnesota Minnesota-Duluth Notre Dame Wisconsin Michigan Tech Colorado College Denver Michigan State MICHIGAN W 14 13 12 11' 11 9 8 7 6 5 L 6 6 6 8 8 9. 11 11 16 15 T 0 1 2 1. 1 2 2 t 0 0 Pts 28 27 26 23 23 20 18 15 12 10 This weekend's games Notre Dame at MICHIGAN North Dakota at Michigan Tech Wisconsin at Minnesota-Duluth Minnesota at Denver WE CARE ABOUT HOW