Page 10-Tuesday, April 4, 1978-The Michigan Daily
NEW FACES TO HIGHLIGHT 'SECOND SEASON':
NBA gears uj
By SCOTT M. LEWIS
Forget about the past six months.
Never mind that 95 percent of the
regular season has been completed.
The NBA season begins NOW.
Next Wednesday, in the wake of
this weekend's baseball openers, the
NBA playoffs will get underway. And in
case that doesn't thrill you, the cham-
pionship series may end on Memorial
Day!
The upcoming playoffs will hardly be
anticlimatic. Nearly all teams are
likely to entersthe playoffs with at least
a .500 record, and each features a
recognized superstar. As of Monday
night, eight of the 12 spots had been
filled.
Among those conspicuously absent
from the title chase are the Boston
Celtics, Detroit Pistons and Houston
Rockets. The Celtics, for the first time
since Dave Cowens joined the team in
1971, failed to qualify for the spring
classic, nor did the troubled Pistons for
the first time in five years. Houston, a
semi-finalist last year, was decimated
by injuries to standouts Rudy Tom-
janovich and Moses Malone and never
recovered from a disastrous start.
Straining to make their first playoff
appearance in a number of seasons are
the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta
Hawks.
The Bucks' new coach Don Nelson
has molded a crop of first-round draft
choices into a disciplined, competitive
squad. Rookies Marques Johnson and
Kent Benson add youthful energy to a
team that 'relies heavily on the shar-
pshooting guard Brian Winters.
Quickly, name the starting lineup of
the Atlanta Hawks. Give up? Now you
know what Atlanta coach Hubie Brown
was confronted with when he opened
camp. Pre-season prognosticators,
basing their predictions on last year's
pathetic showing, buried Atlanta in the
Central Division basement with little
hope of escape. Forward John Drew
and guard 'Armond Hill led Atlanta's
resurgence, although they have little
depth.
. for layofs
have won 68 percent of their games this fered various ailments, while poor
year. shooting has plagued Elvin Hayes and
Here is a capsule overview of the Phil Chenier throughout the year. The
other probableplayoff participants: Bullets are staggering into the playoffs,
EASTERN CONFERENCE having lost four of five over the past
PHILADELPHIA-76ers coach Billy week.
Cunningham's men fell on hard times WESTERN CONFERENCE
Cver h 'mweekend, losing three con- PORTLAND-Jack Ramsay's Trail-
over the weknlsn he o-blazers have also been victimized by a
secutive road games. As long as Dr. J.,brshavenalsosteeii i ba
Big Mac, and friends stay happy and rash of injuries, most serious being Bill
healthy, though, Philadelphia will be Walton's injured foot. Maurice Lucas
hard to stop. and Lionel Hollins have tried to pick
NEW YORK - A starting five up the slack, but the Blazers are
that includes Earl Monroe, Bob struggling. A sub-par Walton would
appear to be awesome. Unfortunately, destroy Portland's title defense.
Pt (1Ti NiTY.7 T1..i . nT hal 1 9 K
EASTERN CONFERENCE WESTERN CONFERENCE
W .L GB W L GB
Philadelphia .......... 53 24 - Portland .............. 56 22 -
San Antonio......... 50 28 31/2 Phoenix ............... 48 30 8
Washington.........41 37 121/2 Denver ................ 46 32 10
New York...........,40 39 13% Seattle ................ 44 34 12
Cleveland ............. 39 39 14% Los Angeles ........... 43 35 13
Atlanta.............38 40 151/2 Milwaukee ............ 42 36 14
New Orleans ........ 36 43 18 Golden State...........40 38 16
Despite this the Hawks, barring a
collapse in their final four games, will
grab the sixth playoff spot in the
Eastern Conference. Credit must go to
Brown and owner Ted Turner for
revamping the franchise.
This week will find the top teams
jockeying for position in an effort to
gain a home-court advantage in the
opening round of the playoffs. In a best-
of-three series, playing two games on
the road is quite 'an unenviable task.
Understandably so, as the home teams
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neither they nor many of their Knick
playmates are known for their defense.
Because of this shortcoming, it is im-
probable whether the Knicks will
seriously contend for the champion-
ship.
SAN ANTONIO-The Spurs' fast-
paced play, combined with the zany
atmosphere inside the Hemisphere
Arena, frustrates visiting opponents.
George Gervin and Larry Kenon
spearhead a high-powered offense,
while Billy Paultz mans the middle for
the streaking Spurs. Their defense,
second worst in the league last year,
has improved significantly and will
determine how far San Antonio advan-
ces in the playoffs.
WASHINGTON-An assortment of
injuries has crippled the once-feared
Bullets, Mitch Kupchak, tom Hender-
son, and Bob Dandridge all have suf-
BILLBOARD
There will be an organizational meet-
ing for all undergraduates interested in
playing on the intercollegiate soccer
team Thursday, April 13, at 8:30 p.m. at
the Sports Coliseum located on the cor-
ner of Fifth and Hill;
ru txruwestp (2 t5.6
ppg), Walter Davis, and ron Lee pace a
balanced, cohesive Suns team. Alvan
Adams (6'9", 215), flanked by Gar
Heard and Davis, form a three-forward
front court. Phoenix' lack of bulk may,
hurt them against a team with a
dominant center.
DENVER-The Nuggets clinched a
post-season berth with a victory over
Houston Sunday, but have been winning
less than 45 percent of their games sin-
ce February 26. Guard David Thom-
pson (26.6 ppg) is vying with Gervin
and New Orleans' Pete Maravich for
the league scoring honors.
LOS ANGELES-The Lakers haven't
sewed up a playoff spot yet, but they
will soon. An inspired Kareem Abdul-
Jabbar, aided by competent supporting
cast, is capable of subduing anyone in
the conference, including Portland.
SEATTLE-Lenny Wilkens' Sonics,
are evidence of what can happen when
an industrious coach and a determined
team coalesce their skills. Since
Wilkens seized the coaching reins in
November, Seattle has played at a .696
clip (39-17). Sparked by crowd-pleasing
guards Gus Williams and Fred Brown,
the Sonics are especially tough at
home.
This Week in Sports {
Spring sports on campus are just about ready to shift into high gear,
as we take a look at the Wolverine sports schedule for the week of April 4-10.
Baseball
With a lot of cooperation from Mother Nature, Michigan's baseball
team will be by far the busiest squad around, slated to play four
doubleheaders in just five days. Three of the four will be right here at Fisher
Stadium, beginning with today's season opener against Western Michigan.
Tomorrow the Toledo Rockets come to town, and then the Wolverines
engage in a home-and-home with another Ohio club-Bowling Green. On
Friday the Blue '9' will be the visitors before coming back the next day to
host the Falcons. Eight games in five days-let's hope that coach Moby
Benedict has plenty of fresh pitching arms in his bullpen for this week.
Women's Softball
Whats that, you say? That's women's softball, the newest varsity sport
at Michigan. Piloted by Gloria Soluk, the women make their debut this
Saturday in Evanston, playing a doubleheader with Northwestern and In-
diana. The team will make its first appearance before the home fans on
Monday the tenth, facing Grand Valley in another twinbill.
Men's and Women's Track
Jack Harvey's men's track team is looking to continue-its winning ways,
kicking off the outdoor season by competing in the Ohio University Relays at
Athens this Saturday. Indoors, the thinclads strode to the Big Ten title.
Meanwhile, with one outdoor meet already under their belt, the women's
squad is also in action this Saturday, facing Illinois in an away dual meet.
Women's and Men's Tennis
After initiating their campaign by registering a triple victory in a quad-
rangular meet, the female netters get their first chance to do their thing in
Ann Arbor, hosting local rival Eastern Michigan tomorrow.
Their male counterparts will be a bit busier, playing in two matches,
both at home. On Friday Brian Eisner's defending Big Ten champs take on
the Minnesota Gophers, before entertaining Iowa the following afternoon.
Elsewhere
The Detroit Tigers are set to go for '78, opening with a three-game
set against the Toronto Blue Jays starting on Thursday afternoon before an
expected crowd of over 55,000. Down in Augusta, Ga., the top golf pros will
square off in one of the sport's most prestigious events, the Masters, Thur-
sday through Sunday.
KARZEN, WEBER STRONG
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By BOB WARREN
They sang Queen's "We are the
champions," all the way to Madison
and they sang it on the way back. The
Michigan women's tennis team must
have had a premonition as they com-
pleted a sweep of the Wisconsin
Quadrangular meet held this weekend
at Madison, Wisconsin.
Despite injuries, illness and inex-
perience, Michigan edged out im-
proving Northwestern and surprising
Wisconsin both by the score of five
games to four. Michigan State was a
pushover, as the women crushed the
Spartans eight to one.
"THIS WEEKEND was real ex-
citing," exclaimed Michigan coach
John Atwood. "We discovered that
there are other good teams in the Big
Ten besides us and Ohio State. North-
western could beat us on a given day
and Wisconsin might too, although that
would be unlikely."
"It was great to beat Northwestern,
because they have a good schedule,
good scholarships and a great program
while we have a good program but no
money or anything," said co-captain
Kathy Karzen a winner of two singles
matches by default and two. doubles
matches with teammate Ann Kercher.
Kercher began the weekend well with
a victory in her first singles match.
However, Ann did' not feel mentally
tough to continue with her singles play
and opted to play just doubles with Kar-
zen, allowing Elaine Crosby the oppor-
tunity to play at number six singles.
"WITH ANN OUT it gave me the op-
portunity to take advantage of a rare
chance to play," said victorious Elaine
Crosby whose victory Saturday clin-
ched the win over Northwestern.
"I have more confidence now, but I
was also lucky that my opponent Julie
Nolan hit me shots that I like to hit."
"Elaine played real good, but her op-
ponent was not responsible enough to
break down her game," Atwood com-
mented. "Elaine's victory was crucial
but that shouldn't overshadow the other
crucial matches we won."
SOME OF those other crucial mat-
ches included Lisa Wood's three vic-
I
I
I
Rec Spots
I
tories in doubles with partner Kathy
Krickstein.
"I was real happy with our doubles
play because we played well together,"
said Wood, a member of one of the two
all freshwomen doubles teams on the
Michigan squad. "I think I put too much
pressure on my singles play and that's
why I lost in straight sets three times."
Another freshwoman who had a pret-
ty good tournament was second singles
player Sue "Little Webby" Weber,
victorious in three singles matches.
"I PLAYED as well as I expected
to," Weber said. "It was great to get off
these slow courts (referring to
Michigan's indoor tennis surface) and
play on some fast courts. What I need to
do the most is work more with Leticia
(doubles partner Diaz-Perez) so we can
get ourselves together and not lose like
we did twice this weekend."
Although there were some' losses in
spots that victories would normally be
expected such as Diaz-Perez' losses at
singles and doubles and Karzen's loss
at first singles, the weekend tour-
nament showed that Michigan can
overcome different types of adversity
that may affect an athleticteam.
With Whit Stodghill out with a stress
fracture, Diaz-Perez and Krickstein
both playing with illness, the team
came through as inexperienced Crosby
and Wood filled in well in substitute
roles to key Michigan's weekend sweep
for the "championship."
SCORES
Exhibition Baseball
Pittsburgh 6, Toronto 5
Montreal 5, Philadelphia 4
Atlanta 9, St. Louis 4
Kansas City 11, Chicago (A) 4
Boston 6, New Nork (N) 0
Milwaukee 9, Minnesota 2
Houston 8, Texas 3
Cleveland 4, Chicago (N) 3
DON'T LET THE UNIVERSITY
SCREW YOU AGAIN!
YOU TOO CAN LET IT FLY ON THE FOLLOWING COM-
MITTEES:
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
BUDGET PRIORITIES
CIVIL LIBERTIES BOARD
OFFICE OF STUDENT SERVICES POLICY BOARD
STUDENT RELATIONS
UNION BOARD OF DIRECTORS PLUS MANY MORE'
Apply at MSA Office - 3909 Michigan Union
Deadline: April5, 1978, 5 PM
The Department of Recreational
Sports is sponsoring a Bicycle Clinic
this evening at 6:30 in room 2230 CCRB.
Sunday, April 9th, the Rec Depar-
tment is sponsoring a Bike Rodeo from
3-5:00 p.m. The Bike Rodeo is for kids of
all ages and will include special races,
an obstacle course, a safety check,
films and much more. It will be held at
the NCRB. A student ID, facility user's
pass or a guest pass is required. For
further information contact Rochelle
Bast, 763-3084 or Ellen Gold, 763-4560.
On Monday, April 10th, a fitness film
- "Coronary Counter-Attack" will be
shown at 7;00 p.m. in the exercise room
of the NCRB.
If you have a permanent locker in
NCRB, CCRB or the IM building and it
expires April 28th, you must have the
locker cleared out by April 28th or the
contents will be removed. If you wish to
renew your locker, you may do so
before April 28th. If you wish to pur-
chase a new locker in any building,
there will be a special sale on May 13th.
SEI and MSA lections
Will 6e Held the second week of April
We urge all undergraduate and graduate students
at the School of Education to make sure that candi-