Thursday, April 13, 1972 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page .Nine It Thursday, April 13, 1972 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Nine' - :. Vin. :z =f;; 4 1 SS_. YtiY _. . L y: } 4 .'i}"i yi S,'.,. the upper deck OWNERS, PLAYERS TO MEET TODAY Baseball Darla-vs i b ' y~r. "":'M."C~XE"::i?}.""3 :"":":?}i"^ ":"':"::'":{i .8 "::.}?"::i.:V.:"{P::V}::.::..:.;.. 1 NHL expansion .. B;.. major league? By CHUCK BLOOM SINCE the weather has finally turned warm, and spring offi- cially can be said to have arrived, I'd like to regress and talk about hockey. It isn't so unusual to talk about a winter sport in the middle of spring. Three months after the last Stanley Cup game be- comes history, training camps will, open, and the season begins in October. Like most other sports, hockey is becoming a year- round venture. Anyway, in a few days, hockey owners will get together to expand the league once more. At present, the National Hockey League consists of 14 teams with two more newcomers, Long Island and Atlanta, scheduled to join next season. Now the league wants to add two more teams for the 1974-75 schedule. What the owners don't realize is that the NHL is too weak, both in fans and talent, to support two (or four) new teams. This proposed move will be only one of the many mistakes the NHL has made since 1966. In that year, the expansion was too large and came too soon for all the established teams to take. Six teams, a whole new division, was unnecessary at the time. The expansion de- pleted several good teams and a couple have never recovered. The Detroit Red Wings lost two complete lines and have only made the playoffs once since that time. The Boston Bruins were also hurt by the draft but promptly stole Phil Esposito from Chicago to ease the pain. The biggest mistake, however, was the location of the new franchises. Teams were put into Minnesota, St. Louis, Philadel- phia, Pittsburgh, Oakland, and Los Angeles. Minnesota and St. Louis immediately took to their newly-acquired teams. Both are fine hockey towns and their fans are very knowledgeable about the game. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have been beset by both bad teams and financial troubles but are finally bail- ing themselves out. However, Oakland and Los Angeles were clearly bad choices. The West Coast is not the place for hockey, es- pecially hot huge metropolises like L.A. and the Bay Area. Neither team has been successful financially or standings- wise. Even many American Hockey League teams average more fans than do the Kings and Seals. So next' year, we will see the contingent from Long Island and Atlanta. Again, another mistake in location. The Islanders were chosen because the money-hungry owners want a piece pf the new Nassau County Arena, reasoning which has been typical of Miost moves to new cities. Arenas, not talent, are the new drawing cards. But. Atlanta? They've got to be kidding. Atlanta is not only too warm a city to play hockey, but it has never been exposed to major league hockey in any form. A better place to expand to, if expansion is inevitable, would be Denver or another Canadian city. Denver is a fine sports town with a nice arena to play In. Canada deserves another team because . . . well, It's the national sport, isn't it? And where are all the players going .to come from? How can the league field inferior talent and still be justified in calling itself a "major league?" At first, the NHL wanted to go into San Diego where crowds averaging close to 10,000 come to see their beloved Gulls play. But the town of San Diego, a good hockey town for Calif- ornia, said no. They didn't want to be "prostituted" by so-called "big-time hockey." Expansion itself isn't a terrible thing but, when handled improperly as in the case of the NHL, it becomes an albatross around the sport's neck. Fans have to realize that hockey must reach out over the vast areas of two countries. Television has deemed this so. The days of the old six-team division - those wild and woolly good old days - are over. But for God sakes, put hockey into cities that want it and that can support it. Owners, stop screwing up the sport just to fill your pockets full of greenbacks. If you expand, do it right, or don't do it at all. Gus Johnson traded to Suns; lady ump hancocks contract By The Associated Press 0 BALTIMORE - GUS JOHNSON, the injury-plagued forward of the Baltimore Bullets, was dealt yesterday to the PHOENIX SUNS. The 33-year-old veteran, whose spectacular dunk shots off re- .. bounds have excited National Basketball Association Fans for nine years, was used sparingly this season after undergoing two knee op- erations. In return, Baltimore received a second round choice in Monday's draft of college players and are, due to get "other considerations" not yet revealed. 0 BUFFALO - BERNICE GERA, a New York City housewife, has signed a contract to umpire in the Class A New York-Pennsyl- vania Baseball League, president Vince McNamara said yesterday. He said the contract had been sent to Henry Peters, president of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues in Colum- bus, Ohio, for approval. * ANN ARBOR - RONNIE BULL, last season's leading ground gainer for the Philadelphia Eagles, announced his retirement from football yesterday. The former All American from Baylor University said he will become president of a racing stable in Ann Arbor. * DETROIT - Management of two suburban Detroit race tracks say thye will "regretfully" comply with a new Michigan law which forbids the tracks from holding Ladies Days. New statutes hold that such special offerings are discriminatory. HAZEL PARK RACE TRACK had been admitting women for half price on Thursday afternoons, while WOLVERINE RACEWAY in Livonia offered free admission to women on Tuesday nights. NEW YORK (kP) - Baseball's player strike continued through a 12th day yesterday but Marvin Miller, executive director of the LOS ANGELES-Jim McMil- Hans career high 42 points, in- cluding 25 in the second half led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 135-134 victory over the Mil- waukee Bucks last night to tie their NBA Western Division playoff series at one game apiece. Los Angeles took the lead for good 131-130 on McMillian's two free throws and Jerry West, who finished with 28 points, iced the win with a bucket with 27 seconds left. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led the Bucks with 40 points.- striking Players' Association re- ported the parties were "closer to a settlement." After two separate bargaining, sessions with John Gaherin, rep- resentative of the club owners, Miller called a press conference to deny reports that the two sides had reached an agreement. "Noth- ing could be more false," Miller said. "But we have worked out a new offer and we are closer to a settlement. Tom Haller, player representa- tive of the Detroit Tigers, said the strike could end soon, perhaps as soon as today, when the 24 owners meet in Chicago. "I'm very optimistic that it might be settled this week," said Haller, "maybe in Chicago on Thursday. It's very possible." Haller said that Gaherin was carrying a new offer from the players over the issue of pay for any games postponed by the strike and made up later in the season. daily sports NIGHT EDITOR: CHUCK BLOOM "We have had a meeting of the minds," said the Tiger catcher. "There has been an inter-twining of minds for a soluble solution. Now we await the decision of the owners in Chicago." Bob Reynolds, a sportscaster for WJR in Detroit, reported yester- day that the strike had been set- tled and that official announce- men would be made either late last night or this morning after the owner's meeting in Chicago. In New York, a spokesman in remain the office of Players' Association- negotiator Marvin Miller said the Detroit report wasnot true. In Minneapolis, Bob Short, own- er of the Texas Rangers, said, "I expect it will ,be settled tonight and ratified at the meeting in Chicago. The question is still the back pay issue and it's a very knotty problem." Gaherin said the only matter blocking settlement of the strike is pay for any games made up after the players go back to work. "Everything else is in place," he said. According to Gaherin, the cur- rent stalemate involves the Play- ers Association's demands that the athletes receive their full salaries if the owners decide to play the full schedule. Pro Standings NHL Today's Games New York at Montreal, Sew York leads best-of-7 series, 3-2. Minnesota at St. Louis, Minnesota leads best-of-7 series, 3-2. NBA Yesterday's Results Los Angeles 135, Milwaukee 134, best- of-7-series tied 1-1. Today'ssGames New York at Boston, 1st game of best-of-7 series. ABA Today's Games New York vs. Virginia at Richmond, 1st game of best-of-7 series. Denver at Indiana, best-of-7 series tied, 3-3. deadlocked BIG TEN CO-FAVORITES Ruggers to tackle title By ANDREW WHITEHALL The sixth annual Big Ten Rugby Tournament will be host- ed by Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., this weekend. Michigan will be trying for its first title, having finished run- ners-up in the last three years. The Blue will be sending a representative team of 20 play- ers in hopes of capturing the illusive trophy. The players were chosen on the basis of their per- formances in the spring season. Saturday morning Michigan will play Purdue, with the win- ner playing the victor of the Illinois-Michigan State contest in the afternoon. In the other quar- ter finals, Indiana will battle Iowa with the winner going on to tackle the winner of the Wis- consin-Ohio State clash. If fall season performances are used as indicators of who might emerge as the champion, it would be a toss up between Michigan, Purdue, and defend- ing champion Wisconsin. Illinois however could be a sleeper pos- sibility. The Blue rolled over their spring opposition with a high powered offense and a stingy de- fense. The forwards have built themselves for endurance and hard hitting while the backs have Volleyball Vle Midwest toj The University of Michigan Vol- v leyball C l u b will h o s t the f Midwestern Volleyball Association championships starting at 10 a.m. t Sunday in the Intramural Build- n ing. The public is invited free of c charge. n In the undergraduate and grad- f uate divisions, the followingt schools will enter teams in theF competition: Michigan, Kellogg Community College, Toledo Uni-b versity, Purdue, Oberlin College, I George Brown University, Western Michigan, Michigan State, and An- derson College. The Michigan Volleyball Club began about four years ago as a club sport as a more competitive alternative to intramural volley- ball. The team plays Olympic-style power volleyball which features more action and precise play. Coached by Sandy Vong, a re- search engineer at Ford, the club has expanded into three teams, the undergraduate, graduate, and open, For The Student Body. LEVI'S Denim BelIls 8.50 club hosts urnament which includes non-students and acuity. So far this year, the graduate eam, under captain Mike Culli-' ane, has played against many ollege teams and in several tour- laments, and has a second place inish at the Flint Mott Invitational o its credit. The team is presently fifth in Region Seven of the U.S. Volley- all Association and leading in ocal Michigan League play. become a coordinated unit with blazing speed and excellent team- work passing. The backfield will consist of Cleland Child at scrum half with Todd Peterson in reserve. Rich- ard Thompson, Terry Larrimer, Dave Osborn, and John Bohlke will attack from the wide side of the field while Ron Smith bolts down the blind side. Captain Dick Moon will have the task of backing up the backs from his fullback post. Because of the grueling task that the forwards will undergo in the three games that are necessary for the crown, the Blue will make the trip with 12 forwards. Each of the scrum- mers will probably play at least one game. "I think that we're going to be as good as any team on the pitch," said Moon. "We've got some of ."the best forward play in the midwest, and if they can keep it up, we should win." In the opening game, Jeff Grill and Chris Penoyer will prop for hokker Hank Lukaski. Jacque Passino and Flint Larson will provide the second row support with Steve Chapman at number eight. Vern Plato and Pete Hend- rickson will start from the wing forward posts. Ron Story, Walt Holloway, Bob Jagonich,band Dave Noyes will be the back up depth in for- wards. -Associated Press From Me to You Milwaukee's Oscar Robertson floats a pass to teammate Kareem Abdul Jabbar (33) over the efforts of the Laker's Jerry West in playoff action last night. I § § on white backgrdunds. § § § § § § § This half-sleeve Gant button down will stay § § crisp and wrinkle-free around the clock. And it never has § § to be ironed. Tailored with singular precision § § ~in a zephyr-weight blend of cotton and§ § polyester. Trim Hugger body. In varied stripings. § All exuberant. § $11.00 9§ § § § _ CHECKMATE State Street at Liberty FRI AMPLIFIER CLINIC THURSDAY AND FRIDAY-12-9 P.M. 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