PIRATES PICKED IN NL EAST: Nobody By GEOFF LARCOM Since divisional play was instituted in 1969, a baseball ,team can lead its division for a whole summer - possibly winning 100 games in the process - and still not participate in the World Series. The National League East has specialized in win- ning these half-pennants, but failing to get to the Fall Classic. This, courtesy of the Cincinnati Reds and the Los Angeles Dodgers. This summer the Philadelphia Phillies go for their third straight divisional crown, which would equal the feat of the Pittsburgh Pirates of 1970-72. PREDICTION: THE BUCS will keep their record intact while the Phils tag closely behind. Montreal's Expos will open some eyes, while the Cardinals and Cubs fight the sub-.500 blues. Ya gotta believe the Mets are in for a long summer: After winning 96 games last year and still finishing five games' back of the torrid Philly pace, the Pirates feel that their time is at hand. . The, off-season trade of hard-hitting Al Oliver brings former Texas Ranger Bert Blyleven to the Bucs, who combines with lefty John Candelaria (2.34 ERA, tops in NL last year) to give them the best 1-2 pitching punch in the division. . Strong years from Jerry Reuss, Jim Rooker, Bruce Kison, and free agent Jim Bibby should spell doom for Philadelphia chances. THE ONE QUESTION mark is the bullpen, where Kent Tekulve, Grant Jackson and Elias Sosa will have to replace free agent departees Terry Forster and Rich Gossage. High-scoring will continue to be a Pirate feature, with NL batting champ Dave Parker, leftfielder Bill Robinson (.304, 104 RBI) and rejuvenated bomber Willie Stargell ready to provide the lumber. Jackrabbits Omar Morena, Frank Taveras (league-leader with 70) and Rennie Stennett com- lined for 151 stolen bases last year, complete the Bucs thunder and lightning run-scoring system. passes ti THE PHILADELPHIA Phillies have won 101 regular-season games for two years in a row, the best record in the NL. Small wonder. Philly boasts the majors' best 1-2 homerun punch in left fielder Greg Luzinski and third baseman Mike Schmidt, with 39 and 38 round-trippers respectively. Captain and Admiral Crunch are assisted by a class infield of Larry Bowa at short, Ted Sizemore at second, and first-sacker Richie Hebner. Speed merchants Bake McBride and Garry Maddox round out the out- field. The Phillies are three-deep behind the plate with Bob Boone, Tim McCarver and Barry Foote, and four-deep in the bullpen : Tug McGraw, Gene Bar- ber, Warren Brusstar and Ron Reed combined for a 2.60 ERA last year. The Pirate-Phil difference lies in the Phil's star- ting rotation, where aging veterans Jim Kaat and Jim Lonborg, along with second-year man Randy Lerch must provide needed depth. Cy Young award winner Steve Carlton (23 wins) and Larry Christen- son (19) are the aces in the Philadelphia hand. The addition of lefthanders Ross Grimsley, Rudy May, and Darold Knowles has Montreal Expo fans thinking .500 for the first time in their ten-year existence. Outstanding catching prospect Gary Carter direc- ts a veteran infield of Tony Perez at first, Dave Cash at second, shortstop Chris Speier (remember him?) and Larry Parrish or Wayne Garrett at third. ADD A YOUNG run-producing outfield of Ellis Valentine, Andre Dawson, and Warren Cromartie and the Olympic Stadium shouldn't be quite so cold this year. While all-time base-stealing leader Lou Brock made his mark on baseball history last year, quiet superstars Ted Simmons (catcher) and shortstop Garry Templeton (.332 BA) led the St. Louis Car- dinals to respectability, as they won 83 games. But as second-year manager Vern Rapp asserts, "They'll go as far as their pitching will take them." lie Bucs Twenty-game winner Bob Forsch begins and ends the Redbird mound strength as Eric Rasmussen, John Denny and Pete Falcone must rebound from disappointing years. HARD-THROWING Mark Littell and Pete Vuckovich will be relied on to replace the effec- tiveness of departed Mad Hungarian Al Hrabosky. Third baseman Ken Reitz, (79 RBI), along with outfielders Jerry Mumphrey (287 BA) and Jerry Morales anchor a lineup capable of putting men on base. Driving them in is another matter as the Car- ds still lack a bonafide power hitter and must scrat- ch for runs. With a healthy Bruce Sutter (1.35 ERA) in the bullpen, the Chicago Cubs actually led the division by eight and a half games last year. However, Sut- ter was injured and the Cubs faltered badly, even- tually finishing fourth. Sutter is back now, but things don't look much better. Along with Sutter, the Cubs feature 20-game win- ner Rick Reuschel and a lot of unprovens. Another .starting pitcher is badly needed. BOBBY MURCER remains in the outfield, while a versatile infield of Bill Buckner at first (.284). Manny Trillo (.280) at second, Ivan DeJesus (.266) at short and Steve Ontiveros (.299) at third should get on base often. Speed is a problem here as DeJesus' (24 steals) represented over a third of the Cubs' last place total in '77. The addition of feast or famine slugger Dave Kingman (143 strike-outs) will add excitement, but few notches in the win column. The New York Mets have run the gamut, from chumps in 1962, to champs in '69 to the bottom again in '77. John Matlack and Tom Seaver are gone, leaving only Jerry Koosman from what was once the best pitching staff in baseball. Last season the Mets were last in the league in batting average, runs and homers. Ed Kranepool, a veteran of the Casey Stengel glory days of '62, will experience deja vu with this year's team. The Mets need help. The Michigan Daily-Wednesday, March 29, 1978-Page 7 Blue linksters await sprgin tourney By BOB EMORY Led by smooth-swinging seniors Doug Davis and John Morgan,' Michigan's golf team will participate in its final southern warm-up, before} resuming play up north in two weeks. The 14th annual Cape Coral Intercollegiate, in Cape Coral, Florida; which begins today and runs through Saturday, will feature twenty teams, mostly from the south, in a 72-hole competition. These teams are expected to provide ample competition for the still-rusty Wolverines. 'We've only played in one tournament so far," said assistant coach Jim Lipe, "while most of these teams have been playing all winter long. "Even with that advantage, I would still like to see us finish in the top Y five," he added. Each team is allowed to use six players, with the four lowest scores ofU { each day counting toward the team total. While emphasis is mostly on team r finish, there will be trophies given for individual low scores. One Wolverine golfer who has his sights set on winning the individual competition is Davis. "I've got myself to a point now where I go in looking to r win," he said. "My third place finish over spring break in the Carolina Classic tells me that I'm ready." The course, a 6,865-yard layout, dotted with many small lakes and,{> waterways, seems to suit Davis well. "It's a fine course," he said. "The weather has always been good to us and I've managed to do well here in the,. past." Besides Davis and Morgan, the other four Michigan golfers will be juniors Frank Sims and Rod Pafford, and two freshmen, Tom Pursel and Ed Humenik. Although freshmen have a reputation for.not playing well in their firs few tournaments, coach Lipe and Davis both agree that this shouldn't be any trouble. "Sure, freshmen scores can go sky high, but these two guys (Pursel and Humenik) have impressed me immensely," said Lipe. "They both have had plenty of junior tournament experience, so I'm not worried." Teams expected to place high are Florida, Miami, and the University of Southern Florida. Big Ten rival Indiana will also be participating, giving some insight into the coming Big Ten season. Michigan, Ohio State and In- diana are pre-season favorites. After this tournament, the linksters will head back to play in the Kepler * Invitational, at Columbus, Ohio, on April 14th. This is the start of the "real" season for the Wolverines, in which players and teams will determine if they deserve an invitation to the NCAA Championships in June. While the weather may not be very warm when they return, the players themselves should be. In addition to the 72-hole tournament, each golfer will play a couple of practice rounds, and that should be enough to get all the win ter kinks out. . . I SCORES i NHL DetroitT, Buffalo 0 NBA Detroit 123, Buffalo 118 Cleveland 112, Seattle 100 Atlanta 105. Los Angeles 104 I SPORTS OF THE DAILY 0 Guards lead Pistons by Braves From Wire Services BUFFALO, N.Y.-Eric Money and Chris Ford led a late Detroit rally last night as the Pistons defeated the Buf- falo Braves 123-118 in a National Basketball Association game. Money scored 14 of his 31 points in the final priod. Ford added 11 more in that quarter as the Pistons-caught the Braves with 4:05 to go. Buffalo, in front 92-84 after three quarters, went ahead 112-109 on Smith's basket with 4:59 remaining. Detroit tallied nine unanswered points, four by Money, and the Pistons were in com- mand 118-112 with a little over two minutes left in the game. Ford scored the go-ahead basket on it long shot that made the score 113-112. Then Money scored twice, Ford hit again and Money added a free throw to give Detroit a 121-116 lead with just 21 seconds remaining. The Pistons hit 16 of 23 shots and out- rebounded the Braves 13-7 in the final period. Leon Douglas, replacing the injured Bob Lanier, contributed 22 points and 16 rebounds. Former Braves John Shumate and Jim Price had 14 and 13 points respectively and M.L. Carr 12 as Detroit kept its slim.playoff hopes alive. Randy Smith paced Buffalo with 29 points, 25 in the opening half and Swen Nater had 28 points and 16 rebounds. Bird Averitt added 22 points. York Knicks to a 106-103 ,National Basketball Association victory over the Denver Nuggets. The loss trimmed Denver's lead over Milwaukee in the Midwest Division to 3%1 games. The triumph, accomplished despite the absence of starters Bob McAdoo and Spencer Hayward, put the Knicks one game above the.500 mark and kept them one game in front of Cleveland in the race for the fourth best record in the Eastern Conference. Cutdown time LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) - The Detroit Tigers dropped nine players yesterday from their spring training roster and announced plans for three others to get down to the 25 player limit before leaving Florida on April 4 for the upcoming baseball season. Optioned to Evansville of the American Association and scheduled to report immediately were pitchers Sheldon Burnside, Ed Glynn, Jack Murphy and Bob Sykes; catcher Bruce Kimm and infielders Tom Brookens and Chuck Scrivener. Optioned to Montgomery of the Southern League and scheduled to report immediately was pitcher Steve Viefhaus. Pitcher Fernando Arroyo, recovering from a knee operation, was placed on a 21-day disabled list. General Manager Jim Campbell, who announced the moves, also said pitcher Jack Morris and catcher-first baseman Bob Adams are being optioned to Evan- sville, but will not report until the end of spring training, The one non-roster player who wad, still in camp, outfielder Dave Stegman, will also remain with the club until the end of camp and then be assigned, Campbell said. Probably the most notable of the cuts were Sykes and Scrivener. Sykes, a left- hander, was a rookie last season and spent the entire season with Detroit. He had a 5-7 record and a 4.41 ERA, and pitched a two-hitter in one start. Scrivener has been the Tigers' utility infielder for the past two seasons. COUPON COLOR COPIES REG. .95 NOW .60 SLIDES 1.20 NOW .75 T-SHIRTS 1.90 'NOW 1.25 DOLLAR BILL COPYING ABOVE BLUE FROGGE Featuring XEROX 9200 and 6500 BRING COUPON expires 4/5/78' AP Photo Buffalo Sabre defenseman Bill Hajt tries to clear Red Wing forward Bill Lochead from the Sabre goal crease in last night's 7-0 Red Wing rout.-Hajt was unsuccessful as Lochead's teammate Terry Harper got the puck to Lochead and the third year forward deposited it behind Sabre goalie Don Edwards. The Wing victory moved them ahead of Los Angeles for the second place spot in the Norris Division. FIRST WINGS SHUTOUT, 7-0: Wings soar past Sabres last two goals of the second period, By PAUL CAMPBELL Special to The Daily DETROIT - Respectability is no longer an issue with the Detroit Red' Wings. Their new goal is superiority. The Wings destroyed Buffalo 7-0 at Olympia l'ast night, reaching the .500' mark for the first time in 1978. They achieved their first shutout of the year, and they slipped into second place in the Norris Division, one point ahead of Los Angeles and only 47 behind the Montreal Canadiens. But, if the Canadiens don't feel threatened, the rest of the league just may. Buffalo is no shoddy outfit, being one of only four teams to pass the 100 point mark this year. Seven different Detroit players beat Sabre goalie Don Edwards, the win- ningest goalie in the league, to give the Wings their 30th win. Four of those goals came in the first period, possibly the best 20 minutes of hockey Detroit has played all season Reed Larson and Bill Lochead san- dwiched tallies between goals by two of the Dennis', Hull and Hextall. Before the 16,052 disbelieving fans had a chance to wonder if it was a fluke, Paul Woods pumped in his 16th goal moments into the second stanza to lift the lead to 5-0. Dale McCourt and Thommie Bergman finished the scoring with goals in the final period. Larson assisted on both goals bringing his .niarth' toa tonn nal and four inducted into the Red Wing Hall of Fame earlier in the night. Another of the six inductees, Marcel Pronovost was not thrilled by Larson's perfor- mance. Pronovost is the coach of Buf- falo. Wing' goalie Ron Low spent most of the first two periods watching his teammates raise their arms in triumph at the other end of the ice. But, when Detroit relaxed with the big lead later in the game, Low was sharp and recor- ded 13 third period saves to seal the whitewash. The Wings are hot, and the question is no longer whether they'll make the playoffs for the first time in seven years, but how high they will finish among the 12 teams that will be battling for the Stanley Cup. If Detroit can maintain its lofty perch in second place, it will probably face an easier opponent in the first round. Chicago, three points ahead of the Wings, is the next team to pass. Doing so could enhance Detroit's position in the second round of the playoffs. Cap-ties LANDOVER, Md., (AP) - Guy Charron's second and third goals of the game enabled the Washington Capitals to overcome a 4-2 third-period deficit and earn a 4-4 National Hockey League tie with the Boston Bruins Tuesday night. The Caps, who have never beaten scored 47 seconds into the final period to give the Bruins a 4-2 lead. But the Knicks slide Caps, who have won only 13 games all NEW YORK (AP) - Lonnie Shelton season, rallied to tie on Charron's two fired in 31 points and Earl Monroe ad- goals - the first on a power play. ded 25 Tuesday night, leading the New FALL HOUSING inr Resildence Halls Applications will be available MONDAY APRIL 3, 1978 THE HOUSING INFORMATION OFFICE 1011 S WDENTACTIVITIES BUILDING A drawing will be used to establish priority for assignment. Apply anytime between 8:00AM and 4:30PM April 3, 1978