Page 8-Friday, March 3, 1978-The Michigan Daily
PLAYOFF SCRAMBLE WINDS DOWN:
Blue icers i
By PAUL CAMPBELL
Making the playoffs in the Western
Collegiate Hockey Association really is
no major feat. Ten teams are in the
league-eight make the playoffs. If the
NHL used the same format, the Red
Wings would -be a cinch qualifier for
post-season play.
Yet, despite the generosity of the
WCHA system, Michigan heads into its
home-and-home. series against
Michigan State this weekend looking
for help in making the first round of the
conference playoffs.
Right now, the Wolverines are in nin-
th place, one point behind eighth place
Duluth and the final playoff spot.
Still, there may well be a St. Bernard
out there somewhere waiting to help
Michigan by biting another of the
second division teams struggling for a
berth.
If not a St. Bernard, maybe a
Michigan Tech Husky. If Tech beats
Duluth twice this weekend, the
Wolverines would only have to beat
MSU once to sneak into the playoffs. If
Tech, battling for second place, splits
with the Bulldogs, Michigan would need
a sweep.
The Huskies should feel obliged to
pitch in. They have done enough harm
this season, beating Michigan five
times out of five.
But if the Huskies are ungracious,
Minnesota could do the job. If the
Gophers could defeat North Dakota '
twice in Grand Forks and Michigan
sweeps, the Wolverines are in.
In fact, if Michigan sweeps the Spar-.
tans, they could move as far up as a
share of fifth place.
But the Wolverines could also win
twice and miss the playoffs.
"It is bad that things aren't in our
hands," said Michigan coach Dan
Farrell. "But we're just getting ready
for Michigan State-if we can win twice
I think we'll get in."
Which isn't to say that Farrell is con-
fident his charges can beat the Spar-
tans in the home-and-home series,
especially Friday night in noisy Munn
Arena.
The home ice advantage plays a huge
part in this intra-state rivalry. Earlier
in the season, Michigan eased by the
Spartans 8-4 at Yost and then were
crushed 9-4 in East Lansing.
r t o s
"It (Munn) is a very tough place to
play," said Farrell. "The crowd is close
to the ice and very loud-especially
when we're up there."
So, though the situation is far from
hopeless. A lot of things will have to go
right these next two days to keep the
Wolverines from missing the playoffs
for the first time in Farrell's five year
tenure.
Things could be worse though. One
need only look at Michigan State to be
assured of this..
The Spartans are suffering their wor-
lip in
Ford, Lee head list
of All-Americans
WCHA Standings
I
st season since the mid-50's, when they
suffered back-to-back drought years. In
the WCHA, Michigan State is 7-22-1.
Add four losses to that to get the overall
record, and it spells one of the most
dismal seasons in coach Amo Bessone's
27 years in East Lansing.
Russ Welch leads the Spartans in
scoring, and their goaltending is at
least solid with three year starter Dave
Versical between the pipes. And the
Spartans are never lacking in
motivation when Michigan is the op-
ponent.
"It's easy to get up for Michigan,"
said Bessone. "I don't have to do much
and the players still will come out
higher than kites."
ICE CHIPS.. . Saturday night Ot 7:30
p.m. is your last chance to see
Michigan's seniors perform for the
home fans. Dave Debol, Kip Maurer,
Bill Thayer, John McCahill, Ben Kawa,
Dan Hoene, Frank Zimmerman and.
Rick Palmer will be making their last
home appearances in a Michigan
uniform . . . Mark Miller needs two
goals to reach the 20 goal plateau, a
level already reached by Debol, Dan
Lerg and Kip Maurer.
First Team
Phil Ford (Sr.)..........N. Carolina
Butch Lee (Sr.)..........Marquette
Mychal Thompson (Sr.) . Minnesota
Larry Bird (Jr.).......Indiana St.
David Greenwood (Jr.).......UCLA
Second Team
Jack Givens (Sr.).......Kentucky
Freeman Williams (Sr.)Portlagd St.
Ron Brewer (Sr.).......Arkansas
Reggie King (Jr.).....:.. Alabama
Dave Corzine (Sr.).......De Paul
Third Team
Sidney Moncreif (Jr.) .... Arkansas
Rod Griffin (Sr.) ......Wake Forest
Rick Robey (Sr.).........Kentucky
Earvin Johnson (Fr.) . Michigan St.
Mike Evans (Sr.)........Kansas St.
The veteran backcourt duo of Phil
Ford and Butch Lee headed yester-
day's listing of the Associated Press'
first team all-American selections.
Ford, the master playmaker for
North Carolina and the lone first-
team repeater, and Lee, Marquet-
te's quarterback on offense, were
joined by Minnesota's Mychal
Thompson, Indiana State's Larry
Bird and David Greenwood from
UCLA. In all, three All-American
teams plus over 70 honorable men-
tions were released. The players
represent the elite of college basket-"
ball according to a nationwide poll of
sportswriters and broadcasters con-
ducted by the wire service.
NO MEMBERS of the Michigan
Wolverines were among any of the
listings.
Ford and Lee ran away with the
balloting, garnering 905 and 866
points respectively. Thompson
collected 686 and Bird 608, while
Greenwood narrowly edged out Por-
tland State's high scoring Freeman
Williams for first team honors.
The lone freshman named on the
top three squads was Michigan
State's rookie Earvin Johnson.
Johnson and Thompson stood as the
Big Ten's two representatives.
W L
Denver .................. 25 5
Wisconsin ............... 19 9
Michigan Tech .......... 20 10
Minnesota ............... 17 12
Colorado College.........13 17
Notre Dame ............. 12 16
North Dakota ............ 12 18
Minnesota-Duluth........11 18
MICHIGAN ............. 11 19
Michigan State ........... 7 22
This weekend's games
T TP
0 50
2 40
0 40
1 35
0 26
1 25
0 24
1 23
0 22
1 15
Wrestling Classic Coming
To Crisler Arena March 4-5
Big Ten'
Championships
Michigan-MSU (h&h) Notre Dame at Wisconsin
Colo. Coll.-Denver (h&h) Michigan Tech at UMD
Minnesota at North Dakota
I I
EYE TIGER ROSTER
V
U
LAKE
opened
on Feb
familia
Like
The
singing
nknown hurler
By BOB MILLER pearing to have a whale of a time.
Special to The Daily Those are a couple of the major
leaguers, those assured of making the
lELAND-When spring training trip back to Detroit for the 1978 season
for the Detroit Tigers' pitchers oee nArl esn
bruary 24, there were some opener on April 6.
ibrnam 24,n hrcawerpUnlike them, people such as Ed
r names in camp. Glynn, Bob Sykes, and Vern Ruhle are
Mark Fidrych. the hurlers who will have to battle for a
Bir ad w ackwtsiol . b orjob.
aind dancinc drhnint racti 0
S
headed for top?
O
g g g pis Ct UUil6U urPdtle,
jumping up and down when he got
bored and generally acting as only the
Bird does.
AND DAVE Rozema, who in his own
way is a close counterpart to Fidrych.
Rozema was shadow-boxing with the
water cooler, cracking jokes and ap-
Thomnpson Agrtments
furnished efficlenctes
1 and 2 bedroom,apartments
available for Fall 1978 occupancy
Located of corner of
William and Thompson
call65.2284
FINALLY, there are the non-roster
pitchers who toiled in Double-A and
Triple-A ball last season. Their names
are not as familiar as a Fidrych or a
Rozema, but in a couple years they
might be.
These are the young guys-Roger
Weaver, Pat Underwood, Mike Chris
and Steve Baker among them-who,
like the song says, 'You can't keep
down on the farrm.'
Between them is a grand total of only
nine years of professional experien-
ce-all in the minors. However, the
Tigers recognize their talent and it'may'
only be a matter of time before one or
two of them crack the lineup as a star-
ting pitcher for Detroit.
ALTHOUGH it may not seem like it,
these guys have the least amount of
worries.'They know that there are only
ten spots open and 28 pitchers in camp,
and it wouldn't surprise them if they
didn't make the parent team this year,
no matter what they do in Lakeland.
The know the best thing for them
would be to work regularly for another
season in the minors to get more
seasoning. Their statistics show that
they are progressing rapidly, but just
one step at a time.
For instance, Weaver, the 23-year-old
righty, pitched for the Tigers' rookie
team at Bristol after being drafted by
Detroit in June, 1976. In just 13 games,
Weaver went 6-3 and led the league with
an eye-popping 1.43 ERA while walking
only 21 batters in 82 innings.
BUT EVEN he admits that bringing
him up too early would be detrimental.
"I could definitely use one or two more
years experience in the minors," said
Weaver, a native of Amsterdam, New
York. "To bring someone up too early
might shatter their confidence.'
Weaver believes that he has a good
chance to make the Tigers' top farm
club in Evansville by the end of training
camp. "But I won't be disappointed if I
pitch for Montgomery this year. I have
a good slider which got me out of a lot
of trouble last year and with some good
control I'd be ready to move up
whenever they need me," the reliever
said.
Underwood's progression has been
equally as fast and impressive. The lef-
ty from Kokomo, Indiana started at
Lakeland in 1976 but found himself just
one step below the major leagues when
he finished last season in Evansville.
"I don't expect to make the bigs at
the break of camp, but the Tigers
weren't concerned with Fidrych pit-
ching in the spring two years ago,"
pointed out the 21-year-old Underwood.
"I would like to make it to the majors
before the end of the year, or even
before that."
If Underwood and Weaver do come
through, and the chances for that are
pretty good, the Tigers' once barren
cupboard of pitchers might soon be
over-stocked with talent. And that's a
problem every manager would like to
have.
Michigan's Mark Churella in Action
Four NCAA Finalists Battle
For Titles
Mark Churella (150) of Michigan and Wisconsin's Lee Kemp
(158) are defending NCAA Champions, and among the four
NCAA finalists who will compete for titles in the Big Ten
Wrestling Championships March 4-5. Watch all the action
Saturday and Sunday (tickets $7 each for all sessions).
Single Sessions Saturday ($3 each) scheduled at 1 & 7:30
p.m., with consolations and finals ($4) beginning at 1 p.m.
Sunday. Special student prices ($2, $3, & $5 with IDs)
available at Crisler Arena during the tournament. Tickets
Available at Michigan Ticket Dept., 1000 S. State St., or at
Crisler Arena before each session. Make your plans now to
see this premier wrestling event.
SPECIAL FOR
SPRING BREAK
M-PIN BOWLING and reduced
rates for BILLIARDS
at the UNION
MARCH 5-11 Open 1 PM
Bo fills coaching hole
Milan Vooletich has been named an assistant football coach, Athletic
Director Don Canham announced yesterday.
The 36-year-old Vooletich, formerly a defensive back coach at Colorado,
will become Michigan's defensive line coach, replacing Tom Reed who ac-
cepted the head post at Miami of Ohio last month.
Vooletich coached at Colorado since 1974 as the Buffalos compiled a 29-
14-1 record. In addition to his four years at Colorado with Bill Mallory,
Vooletich coached at Miami of Ohio from 1969-73, also under Mallory.
Cards call Wilkinson from booth
ST. LOUIS-Bud Wilkinson, former University of Oklahoma football
coach, has been named head coach of the St. Louis Cardinals of the National
Football League
Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill announced yesterday that Wilkinson, who
has been out of coaching since he made an unsuccessful bid for the U.S.
Senate in 1964, will replace Don Coryell as the Cards' mentor.
Wilkinson won national.championships with the Sooners in 1949, 1955 and
1956, and is considered to be one of the winningest coaches in college football.
-AP
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