Thursday, January 17, 1974 THE MICHIGAN DAILY gage Nine 'WILL TO PREPARE' CIT ED .~....... Tactics, desire key mat By CLARKE COGSDILL To many p e o p 1 e, amateu wrestling is as mysterious a Nixon's explanations of Water gate. This is unfortunate. Cc herent patterns of events tend 1 recur from match to match, an an understanding of them can g a long way toward increasin the enjoyment one can get fror watching a wrestling meet. Most wrestling meets are d cided before the whistle blows t start the first match. The na ural differences between cor petitors in such a s p e c t s a strength, quickness and wrest ing know-how are often wel known in advance. But thes aren't the only factors which df termine wrestling success. Meets and championships ar determinied by the drill, repet tion, sweat and enthusiasm th wrestlers expend in practic each week. Bay emphasizes th point with his favorite Fieldin H. Yost quote: "It's not the wi to win that counts-it's the wi SPORTS NIGHT EDITOR: THERESA SWEDO hold, and you can counter my counter, and so on forever. It's the ability to react and react more quickly than your opponent that counts-and that's what we try to drill in practice." Once on the mat, the grap- plers' objectives become brutally hopes tling strategy. Nearly all wres- tlers will follow the script close- ly. But the Maize and Blue have. a glaring exception - Rob Hui- zenga-whose style is so unique and successful that it deserves an article of its own. e- . to to prepare to win." Elaborating, t- he notes that "when you and n- the other guy are out on the as mat, in front of a big crowd, l- you both want to win-real bad. - That's not what's important. se "What's important is whether e- you wanted to win just as bad on Monday, Tuesday, Wednes- day, Thursday and Friday, or i- whether the other guy wanted e it more. If he did, he's going to beat you." is Wrestlers are statistics freaks, ig and some interesting correlations ll have turned up from their tons ll of data. For example, the wres- full court _RES i Spartan Ganakas . . . S00 Cheer in adversity tier who scores the first take- down of the match-forcing his opponent to the mat and estab- lishing himself in control of the other man's body-will win the match ninety per cent of the time. Bay offers a pair of hypotheses as explanations: the man who makes the first takedown is the more aggressive wrestler; and the man who makes the first takedown has the most confi- dence in his own ability. Except in desperation, very few wrestlers will rush blindly at their opponents in the hope that sheer momentum and de- sire will do the job. In fact, it usually won't: a charging wres- tler is partially out of control and if the defending wrestler is in position, he can maneuver quickly and turn the attacker's aggressiveness to his own pur- poses. To maximize hischances of scoring, a wrestler needs to dis- orient his opponent just enough so that he will be able to rush in and 'grab a leg before the other man can retaliate. This process is called the "set up" and can be done in many ways: bobbing and weaving, flopping the arms around, slapping the hand, or moving in for a test of strength. When the wrestler believes he has his adversary sufficiently out of position or confused, he "shouts," that is, he moves in to grab one or both of the oppo- nent's legs. If he does so suc- cessfully, he is said to have "penetrated," and his accom- plishment is a "single" or a "double" according to whether he grabs oneor two legs. But this isn't enough. Having penetrated, the wrestler must move swiftly to use his advant- age before the other man has an opportunity to react. "Research is so important," Bay notes, "because there is no such thing as a foolproof hold in wrestling. If I show you a hold, you can show me a counter-hold, and I can counter your counter- By JOHN KAHLER The most interesting match-up in Saturday's Michigan State- Michigan clash will not be on the court. It will be on the side- lines where the Big Ten's two most maligned coaches, MSU's Gus Ganakas and Michigan's Johnny Orr, will do battle for the first time this campaign. This has not been a particularly outstanding year for Ga- nakas' Spartans. Playing a nondescript schedule, they've played some nondescript ball and go into the Michigan game with a 7-5 mark for the year, 2-1 in the Big Ten. The Spartans must now journey to Crisler, where the wound from Burt Smith's blunder is still fresh. Ganakas is not too concerned. "Sure, there will be a lot of interest because of this Burt Smith thing, but there would be a lot anyway, this being a Michigan-MSU contest." But any flak Ganakas gets at Crisler will be mild in com- parison to what he had to take last year. Virtually the entire East Lansing campus was demanding his head, because he was play- ing a 5-5 guard named Gary Ganakas in his starting lineup. To compound the issue, Gary happened to be Gus' son. Young Ganakas earned his starting role because he had the ability to run the offense. Without him, the Spartans have degenerated into a group of five one-on-one players this year. But this was not notied by the paying fans, who only saw that Gary could not shoot very well and was a definite liability on defense. We've had some problems replacing Gary this year. No- body quite realized just how much he meant to the team. We haven't got anybody who can quite replace his passing," notes Ganakas. The anti-Gary Ganakas movement touched off a whole wave of criticism of Ganakas' coaching tactics. The MSU student newspaper ran letters from students, professors, and interested persons suggesting better coaching methods to use on the Spar- tan cagers. The storm died down after the season ended, but the memory is still fresh to Gus Ganakas. "It seems like everybody nowdays is anti-coach. A coach just has 'to realize that most fans out there are astute people who see why a person is playing out there and appreciate his particular skills. You've just got to keep faith in the good fans. "Look at Johnny Orr. Last year people were really down on him, and now he is 10-2 and doing a great job. "It seems like fans really get down on the small guy. Most of them seem to think, 'I couldn't play college ball because I'm too short,' and they see this small ggy out there and it gets them mad. Joe Johnson had that problem last year. You had a player a few years back - Dave Hart -- who really got the criticism from the fans." But even if Gary Ganakas had 'v decided to enroll at Ball State, Gus Ganakas would have had problems. Part of the reason MSU hopes were so high last year was the appearance on their roster of Lindsay Hairston, who as a prep star was considered to be the r equal (or superior) of Campy Rus- Gus &ai Ri(kLs sell. Lindsay, however, came through with a mediocre sopho- more year. Although he's the Spartan's top rebounder this year, Hairston does not appear to have superstar potential. Possibly the problem is desire. As a State student put it, "Lindsay can be a real stud when he wants to play. Un- fortunately, I've only seen him want to play twice." Ganakas retains faith, though. "Lindsay has really im- pressed me this year. You know, he's a very frail person (6-7, 186). In spite of that, he's done the job for us on the boards."' But the biggest burdent Ganakas labors under is his uni- versity. The school by the Red Cedar is a basketball waste- land. The general feeling among students and alumni is "A winning basketball team is fine; but if they don't win, there is always spring football." Jenison Fieldhouse, where the Spar- tans play their home games, is a large barnlike building more suited for track meets and cattle shows than basketball. "It definitely hurts our recruiting, this lack of emphasis on the game and general apathy," notes Ganakas. "It's very dif- ficult for us to get people from out of state. There hasn't been much progress here on a new arena, which hurts us because we have to recruit against schools with good faicilities." simple. The man on top is re- quired by the rules to try and turn his man over on the back, to work for a pin. Simultaneous- ly, the man on the bottom is simply trying to get out of there. Reversals, in which the man on the bottom makes a quick move to put himself in control, are uncommon. They're worth two points, but an escape fol- lowed by a successful takedown is worth three. Furthermore, a man falling to the mat during a successful take- down is most vulnerable to being pinned: he's totally out of con- trol, and if his back can be turn- ed to the mat before he lands, a pin can follow in short order. The strategy for escaping is straightforward. Since a wrestler on his belly can't do very much, he must first try and struggle to his hands and knees-the "base" -from which he can exert some leverage on his opponent. Natur- ally, the other man will be doing his best to stoD him: if he forces his opponent back to the mat, this is called "busting him down." From there, the man attempt- ing to escape will usually seek to grab the other guy's hands, rip them off his body, step up cu 2kly, and get away. Once on his feet, he can begin sparring around, trying to set up a take- down of his own. These are the basics of wres- JV's impressive TAKEDOWN PROFICIENCY CHART wrestler w-L-L Op. Takedowns N T-L TEF Huizenga 5-0 12 10 2 - .92 Curby 5-0 21 16 5 - .88 Hubbard 5-0 16 15 0 1 .84 Brown 5-0 24 18 5 1 .79 Ernst 5-0 9 5 3 1 .56 Davids 5-0 18 14 1 3 .56 Schuck 4-1 20 10 8 2 .55 Johnson 1-1-1 12 5 5 2 .38 Brink 4-1 29 13 8 8 .17. T. space 0-1 1 1 - - 1.00 Ryan 0-1-1 5 2 1 2 -.10 Valley 2-1 10 3 3 4 -.15 D.Space 0-1 7 0 2 5 -.93 TEAM 41-7-2 184 112 43 29 .49 Key: O-Opportunities: any situation during a match in which both wrestlers are on their feet; T-Takedowns: when a wrestler forces his opponent to the mat under his control; N-Neutrals: whenever a period ends with both wrestlers on their feet; TDL-Takedowns lost (scored by opponent); TEF-Takedown Efficiency, computed by the formula [2 (takedowns) plus I (neutrals) minus 3 takedowns lost)]/2 (opportunities). MICHIGAN HEAVYWEIGHT Gary Ernst struggles to "bust down" Iowa's Jim Washeck in a match won last year by Ernst, 7-1. While the doomed Hawkeye vainly tugs at the iron-muscled Saline native's right hand, the crafty Ernst counters with a tug at Washeck's ankle. Truly a clutch performance, Ernst's victory made the difference in an 18-17 Wolverine triumph. O.J. named AP's Man of the Year Michigan's junior varsity wrestlers came up on the short end of a 28-7 tally against Grand Rapids Junior College last night, but Wolverine assistant mat mentor Bill Johannesen found much to be encouraged about. "Actually we'd have only lost 18-12," Johan- nesen commented, "but we were forced to for- feit two matches and wrestle exhibitions that resulted in a Michigan win and a draw. "We forfeited at 158 because we may want to use Ed Neiswender at the varsity level on Saturday, and an official result would have made him ineligible. Gary Jonseck at 177 is a transfer student who is ineligible to register team points." Jonseck pulled off the surprise of the meet, according to Johannesen, by drawing his ex- hibition match with Grand Rapids' Bob An- keny, 3-3. "Ankeny is the defending national junior college champion at 177 pounds," Jo- hannesen explained. Other grapplers singled out for praise in- cluded 150-pounder Bill Goen and Steve Shuster at 190. Both lost close matches: Goen suc- cumbed 13-11 on a takedown in the closing seconds, while Shuster fell 7-5 after trailing 5-0 at the 30-second mark on a takedown and near fall. "Steve actually outwrestled King for 7% minutes of an eight minute match," Johanne- sen claimed. 118-Mark Burdick (GR) pinned Lance Becker (M), 1:15. 126-No match 134-Mark Woronko (GR) sup. dec. Tom Fillion (M), 14-3. 142-Tom Herter (M) dec. John Roberts (GR), 9-4. 150-Ken Corner (GR) dec. Bill Goen (M), 13-11. 158-Forfeit to Grand Rapids. Exhibition-Ed Neiswender (M) dec. Ken Korolewicz (GR), 6-2. 167-Ted DeLuca (M) sup. dec. Bill Seary (GR), 17-6. 177-Forfeit to Grand Rapids. Exhibition-Gary Jonseck (M) drew Bob Ankeny (GR), 3-3. 190-Harold King (GR) dec. Steve Shuster (M), 7-5. Hwt.-No match. -JEFF SCHILLER * * * LOS ANGELES (P)-O. J. Simpson admits he's prejudiced when he says, "I think foot- ball players are the best athletes." Named the Male Athlete of the Year for 1973 by The Associated Press, Simpson voiced his thanks, saying: "This means quite a bit to me obviously since you're considering all the great athletes in all the sports. "But I think it is based on individual ac- complishments in that one sport and I broke a few records this year in football. "Generally speaking, I think it takes prob- ably more athletic ability to play football and basketball. I would put basketball players in the same mold as football. There are so many things involved. I think even from the mental side there is so much involved in football that you just don't have in a baseball game, for instance. "The basic rules in baseball you learned in Little League and I don't think they change much from Little League to the, professional level. In football there is constant change year in and year out. I think that adds to the ver- satility of the athlete." Simpson won the award over a baseball player-Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves who was a distant second in the voting. Simpson set a National Football League rec- ord by rushing for 2,003 yards last season with the Buffalo Bills who finished second to Super Bowl Champion Miami in the American Foot- ball Conference East. SPORTS OF THE DAILY in mat Ioss M1ANTLE AND FORD INDUCTED Yankee duo gains Lame C 4 El _ . .. By The Associated Press Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford, inseparable as longtime New York Yankee teammates, moved into baseball's Hall of Fame together yesterday. Both were named on more than: 75 per cent of the 365 ballots cast by members of the Baseball Writ-{ ers Association of America. MantleR received 322 votes and became the seventh man in history voted into1 the Hall of Fame in his first year, of eligibility. His sidekick, Ford,: who fell 29 votes short last year, got 284 in his second appearance on the ballot, 12 more than the required 272. Robin Roberts finished third, with 224 votes and Ralph Kiner was fourth with 215. "I wasn't disappointed when Ia didn't make it last year," said Ford. "I was thrilled by the num- ber of votes I got. I thought to myself that if I could get 29 more, I'd be able to go in with Mickey this year because I was sure he'd make it. I'm glad it worked out the way It did." Mantle expressed the same feel- ings. "It means so much more to me to be going in with Whitey. He was the best pitcher I ever saw and I thought he should have made! it last year." Mantle batted .298 with 536 ca- reer home runs-most ever by a switch hitter-in 18 seasons with the Yankees. He led the American League in homers four times ano was named Most Valuable Player three times including 1956 when he won the Triple Crown, pacing all AL hitters with a .353 batting average, 52 home runs and 1301 runs batted in. He was troubled! throughout his career with crip- pling leg injuries and often played ".r.- in pain. Ford, a crafty left-hander, compiled a 236-106 won-lost rec-7 ord for a .690 percentage, best1 in history for a pitcher with over+ 200 victories. He had a career earned run average of 2.74. The pitcher and slugger were a study in contrasts when they join- ed the Yankees in the early '5s at the height of the club's domina-, tion df the American League. Ford was New York born and bred, a cocky, confident pitcher, who suc- ceeded as much on guile as talent. Mantle was a shy country boy from Commerce, Okla., who was getting his first look at the big city. "We just always enjoyed being around each other," said Mantle, nodding at his longtime pal. "He and Billy Martin and I stuck to- gether. Whitey and Billy' were out- spoken guys and said anything that needed to be said. I was the quiet one." Mantle said Ford used to tease him about his country-way of talk- ing. "I always say 'down yonder,' " drawled Mantle. "One day, Whitey said to me, 'Hey Mick, where the hell is down yonder?" Ford recalled Mantle's great determination as a player, suc- ceeding in spite of his many ail- ments. "I can remember sitting at dinner with him when he'd have trouble just getting tip from the table," Ford said. Mantle admitted that his fre- quent injuries often gave him sec- ond thoughts about continuing to play. "We'd lose a game and I'd be hurting," he said. "Afterwards, especially if I was alone, I'd say to myself, 'What's it all for? W by don't I quit and just go home?' Then the next day I might hit one that would help Whitey or some- body win a game and afterwards I'd see the look on their faces and I'd know what it was f)r. 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