Pressing the Issue 808 MILLER 1 The Michigan Daily-Thursday, February 22, 1979-Page 11 WISCONSIN INVADES CRISLER TONIGHT Bad ers brace for worst on road Writing and cheering* ..L.ou Grant style MENTION THE NAME of Lou Grant, and what is the image that comes to mind? Probably a guy with his shirt sleeves rolled up, his tie loosened, a pencil perched on the top of his ear and numerous empty cups of coffee littering his desk. This stereotypical scribe is gruff, stubborn, intimidating and cunning. He is knowledgeable in his field and he likes to call the shots. Realistically, a reporter blends in well with many parts of this image.' Now picture Lou Grant with ribbons in his hair, wearing a pleated skirt, socks that come up to his knees, saddle shoes, and a letter sweater waving pom-poms in the air and yelling "rah-team-rah!" That is the way most college coaches would prefer sportswriters to ap- pear. Now this isn't another attack on college coaches; it is supposed to describe a situation which is prevalent at the intercollegiate level, but rarely at the professional level. The professional coach deals with the press'with a professional attitude. Win, lose or draw, they speak to reporters and do not stand in the way of any athlete that wishes to do the same. However, the college coach deals with the press with a sophomoric attitude, imposing personal rules and regulations enabling them to call the shots. For instance, at Michigan the football players are not allowed to talk to reporters until it is cleared by a coach or the sports information department. When I covered hockey here, the players were off limits after the games unless the coach specifically gave us permission to talk to them. Most sportswriters resent the fact that athletes on the college level are' not given enough responsibility to handle the press on their own. For some reason, the, coaches feel it is necessary to protect them from us, and sometimes from themselves. After all, there's no telling what an athlete might say in all honesty away from a coach's clutches. When a coach holds the trump card like that, Joe Falls of the Detroit News calls it, "building a cotton candy world." Falls is critical of this aspect of intercollegiate athletics, and singled out Bo Schembechler to illustrate his opinion. "Bo is doing the players a disservice by not letting them speak with the press. It is part of his (the athlete's) education by and large. When they leave college and go into the professional ranks, they are going to have to deal with the'press as part of everyday life." The problem as Falls sees it, is not with what is written, but with how an article is interpreted. "If Rick Leach throws a bad pass, I say he threw a bad pass;" he said. "That is reporting. But all the people at Michigan who view things through Maize and Blue glasses read that and say 'oh my God, he's picking on him,"' Falls added in a falsetto voice mimicking righteous in- dignation. Hitting hard is fun Although the point is well taken, the problem still exists and probably will continue to do so for quite some time because "a lot of people take sports too seriously," explained Chicago Tribune columnist David Israel. Woody Hayes chewed out Israel in the locker room after losing to Michigan last November. But if anyone had a right to bitch, it was the reporter, not the coa h. "Some people involved in sports refuse to let it be fun," Israel said, "it's all those guys who say it's fun, and then they go out and hit someone. That's not fun." Hayes' beef with Israel stemmed from the kind of articles he wrote which made a name for himself. "The cliche they use is 'hard hitting,"' Israel said. The fact was that Hayes battled an independent thinker, and as was to be expected, lost. Sportwriters were well aware that the best (and most likely only) way to successfully approach Hayes was to appear to be a cheerleader. Paul Hor- nung of the Columbus Dispatch did it, and earned the dubious honor of Hayes' trust. Dubious, because many felt he compromised professional ethics, but Hornung steadfastly disagreed. "I am probably a throwback to another era before it was popular to 'tell it like it is,"' Hornung said. "I prefer to dwell on the favorable rather than the unfavorable. "I don't think I overlooked things that were bad," said Hornung, reflec- ting on his 38 years at the Dispatch, "I just didn't emphasize them." If that style of reporting was acceptable years ago, it isn't anymore, according to Israel. "Sports reporting has grown up a bit. So has the rest of journalism, but there is no place for a cheerleading reporter today," Israel said adamantly. Yet Hornung defends his situation. "My basic nature is to be positive, not negative. I was an Ohio State booster, but I never really thought I was a cheerleader or an unpaid publicity man for Ohio State and Woody Hayes," he said. "Paul is a man who is totally wrapped up in Ohio State, he is a basic cheerleader," sayd Kaye Kessler from the crosstown Columbus Citizen- Journal. Ignorance is not bliss The unsettled conflict serves a purpose. It proves that no coach has to change his attitude while there are still reporters around who are willing to comply with his wishes. Kessler didn't have it easy working in the same city as Hornung, but he didn't feel the problem was unique to just Columbus. "Bo believes that all the people covering his Wolverines should be cheerleaders. But he also believes that if you cover Ohio State, you should cheer for Ohio State and if you cover UCLA, you should cheer for UCLA. I disagree with him 100 per cent," Kessler said. I do, too. I covered the Wolverines last season and I was amazed at how sensitive Bo was to criticism. I also found out how sensitive Rick Leach was. Unfortunately, neither one ever told me to my face when they were displeased with anything I wrote. It is my nature to be positive, however. I refuse to go overboard. Would Rick and Bo feel any better if I had written, "Michigan fought gamely and bravely staged a furious rally, but lost to a talented Michigan State squad, 24-15. The normally spectacular Rick Leach had a sub-par day, throwing three interceptions." It sounds like a mockery of the facts whether it was intended to be or not. Unless the press is allowed the freedom guaranteed it by the first amen- dment, nobody benefits, not the coaches, not the players nor the fans, and especially not the reporters. But the writers are aware of this, and they as much as any group bend and twist with the times. After all, Woody Hayes didn't last forever, just 28 years. And just like coaches, the press is constantly changing. "We go through phases," Kessler said. "Negative, positive, in- vestigative reporting. I don't know if we can report just the facts anymore. We are telling it like we think it is. There is a lot more editorializing in what used to be straight stories. I realize everything isn't peaches and cream and sweetness in life." "My philosophy is to write the true story and the whole story and make my judgments from there," said Hornung. "I try to tell the truth and tell it interestingly," Israel said, expounding a simple, yet extremely effective method. "I can only report and analyze and give my opinion," said Falls. "Human nature will show that people will remember the negative and forget the positive, but I can live with that. I feel as a columnist, it is my job to ex- press my opinion." r T r 1 I I By GEOFF LARCOM In the jargon of gangsters, they call it the squaring of accounts. In athletics, and, in this case, Big Ten basketball, there's a more simple phrase: revenge - sweet revenge. That's what the Michigan cagers will be seeking tonight at Crisler, when they take on slumping Wisconsin, in phase one of Johnny Orr's late-season retribution program. It was Wisconsin, you remember, that applied a second-half buzzsaw to the Wolverines in a 77-66 humbler in Madison a month ago. The Wisconsin, loss followed a similar defeat at Pur- due, and the two defeats have come back to haunt the Wolverines this season in their efforts to vault into the Big Ten's first division. Revenge opportunities two and three take place Saturday at Crisler against the Boilermakers, then at Iowa a week from today. The Hawkeyes handed Michigan its first Big Ten loss this season back in early January in Crisler, 85-79. AT FIRST glance, phase one success appears a strong possibility. The Badgers, currently 2-12 in the Big Ten, have only the Michigan upset and a vic- tory over cellar-dwelling Northwestern to show for their efforts, while losing their last ten games in a row. Yet while Wisconsin has been pitiful of late, earlier this season the Badgers were able to knock off Marquette, currently ninth in both polls, while also beating St. John's on the road in win- ning six of their first seven. So what gives with the Big Red? Wisconsin Coach Bill Cofield has little THE LINEUPS man press in the second half, which resulted in. eighteen Wolverine tur- novers. "HAVING SMITH back, along with Phil Hubbard's improvement, should make a big difference for them," said Cofield. The Badgers finished at the bottom of the Big Ten last year with a 4-14 slate. And with only sfour games to go, and Ohio State and Michigan State on the MICHIGAN Mike McGee Alan Hardy Phil Hubbard Tom Staton Keith Smith WISCONSIN (6-5),......... (6-6)............. (6-7)............ (6-3) .......... (6-0).............+ F F C G G .............(6-7) ..........(6-8) .............(6-9) .............(6-4) .............(6-1) Joe Chrnelich Claude Gregory Larry Petty Arnold Gaines Wesley Mathews trouble answering the question. It's simple. Marquette and St. John's are no problem, compared to the Big Ten headaches his team has faced. "Marquette is not the Big Ten," said Cofield. "I don't think Marquette would be fighting for the Big Ten champion- ship 'if they were in the conference. They'd be towards the bottom." HMMMM, PRETTY Arong stuff. But the Badgers were still able to stick it to the Wolverines earlier. What about that game, Coach? "That was at home," Cofield said. "Whether you beat a team at home is insignificant in the Big Ten. It's very tough to win on the road." Indeed. Both Wisconsin's wins came in friendly confines, while the Wolverines are two for seven in their road contests. In the Madison loss, Michigan was without the services of playmaking guard Keith Smith, enabling Wisconsin to smother the Wolverine with an aggrbssive man-to- schedule, Wisconsin will be lucky to better that mark. There have been a few bright spots for Wisconsin this year, including the improved play of center Larry Petty. After a disappointing freshman year, Petty lost weight and has this year given the Badgers a semblance of con- sistency in the pivot. "LAST YEAR, we got almost nothing from the post position," said Cfield. "This year, with Petty healthy and lighter, we're sure to get eight to nine rebounds and 12 points from that spot." In addition to Petty, Badger guard Wesley Mathews is waging a battle with Michigan's Mike McGee for seventh place in the Big Ten scoring race, both having hit for slightly over 17 points per game. We specialize in ladies's and children's hairstyling DASCOLA STYLISTS " 615 E. Liberty-668-9329 " 3739 Washtenaw-971-9975 * 613 N. Maple-761-2733 e 611 E. University-662-0354 Deadline for the Nontraditional fellowship is March 2nd contact the Fellows hip' Office for details 764-2218 i Bill Cofield Pistons rule in OT over crippled Sixers fle~ AmqSwp&a~ GI WOLBAKT Reg. $16.98 NOW $9.98 Arnold Gaines, a 6-4 guard, alonge with forwards Claude Gregory (13.8 ppg) and Joe Chrnelich round out the Big Red lineup. AS FOR MICHIGAN, the task at hanxd is rebounding from last Saturday's massacre in East Lansing while attein- pting to square away that first account. "If we had to play the next day of even Monday after the Michigan State game, I think we'd have a lot of trouble," said Johnny Orr. "Instead we don't play again until (today), so I think we'll be ready." Cofield, who has learned to expect the worst while on the road in the Big Ten, readily agreed. By JAMIE TURNER Special to the Daily PONTIAC-John Long, M.L. Carr, and Earl Tatum sparked the Detroit Pistons to a 106-99 overtime win over Philadelphia at the Silverdome last night. Tied at 91 by a Steve Mix tap-in with just one second left in regulation, the Pisltons held Philly to just one basket in the first four minutes of the extra period, while winning their fourth in a row and first over the Sixers in nearly two years. The Pistons were aided by the absen- ce of Julius Erving from the visitor's lineup. Doctor J is currently nursing an ankle injury. Kevin Porter and Carr dominated the extra period, Carr finishing with 20 points and Porter adding 18 assists to his league-leading total. "When they made that last shot, I wondered if it would be another irritating, frustrating loss," said a vic- torious Dick Vitale afterward. "But I thought we controlled thef flow and were taking better shots from the floor." Long staked Detroit to a 50-46 half- time lead with 17 of his 23 game-high points. The seesaw affair stayed that way in the second half largely due to the efforts of the little-used Tatum. The of- ten-maligned guard canned seven long range second-half jumpers to keep Detroit even with the resurgent 76ers. In the wild last moments of the fourth quarter, Detroit took the lead with just five seconds left when Bob Lanier scooped up a loose ball in the lane and laid it in to the delight of 10,563 Piston fans. But Philly tied it on Mix's rebound off a-Henry Bibby jumper and sent the con- test into overtime. Mix was the leading scorer for Philadelphia with 21 points, while Bib- by added 20. Porter collected 18 points along with as many assists, as the Pistons had six players in double figures. " ALL SWEATERS 50% OFF t e SALE ENDS 2/24/79 201 E. WASH INGTON-994-3572 Mon-Sat 9-6 HUGE O OZ freshly ground BURGER Village Bell S. University near Washtendu1 eumnuer Print or Type legibly in 1Idto3If the space provided,r I upplenuent the copy as you would like it to appear.2Rdo (ACTUAL SIZE OF AD)-=AIR NAME NDT ADDRESS l _________________bSQ ft ?s. 4 4 do S PHONE ___________or_______________ . d Mail or Bring in Person with payment to: C'e &S °I: 420 MAYNARD STREET d4. tI MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: THE MICHIGAN DAILY 0 fish0 ONLY S81 L .a.5,s0 .. m.nrh2..1979 C'.