Saturday, April 3, 1976 PRETZEL LOGIC By RICK BONINO Foot ball play-offs ... . . 'whose decision?' WHILE MICHIGAN'S basketball players w e r e busy tinting Philadelphia's fan-filled Spectrum Maize and Blue, a group of their somewhat bulkier peers remained occupied with the earthier colors of pale grass and pigskins as they worked to- ward their own goals in seculsion. Though some may question the difference between football and basketball Big Ten-style (just ask Phil Sellers), there is- an important distinction. In addition to their on-field perform- ances, the Wolverine gridders will have to rely on those much- maligned men known as the pollsters for national honors. To football die-hards, the image of sedate, ill-informed newsmen naming the country's front-runners curdles the blood.. Many even distrust the UPI's board of college coaches to make accurate judgments regarding teams they haven't seen or played. But while the pollsters may not be flawless, a playoff sys- tem would not prove much better, particularly in light of the problems it would cause for athletes and administrators alike. Despite all the furor, the NCAA has yet to devise a feasible tournament blueprint. Most recently, a special committee toiled for over a year on a proposal for last January's convention, but the player backers decided to punt the plan right off the podium in the face of 'stiff opposition. The mechanics of tournament scheduling provide complex if not unsolvable complications. The NCAA committee's plan would have matched the four major bowl winners in a two-week playoff, further lengthening an already strenuous schedule and arousing the ire of those who feel the bowls would suffer. Still, the dilemma doesn't seem totally hopeless, par- ticularly if profits are involved. Perhaps the playoffs could be held before the bowls, with the Rose and Orange bowls hosting the finals and consolation. Or the college game might expand on an NFL idea and send the top teams' dominant linemen to a championship arm-wrestling tourney (games are won in the pits, aren't they?). But even if a serious, workable scheduling solution could be found, there remains a far more formidable problem. The main objection to a football playoff is that it would "rip up the academic schedule," according to Marcus Plant, Michigan's Big Ten faculty representative and former NCAA president. Indeed, both pre- and post-bowl playoff plans would catch most athletes during the exam crunch. Not only do athletics require much game, travel and practice time, but the resulting fatigue can make concentration on academic endeavors extremely, difficult. While a college education may no longer open all doors, it certainly can't hurt the vast majority of student-athletes who'll .*eer get a shot atthepros. So, without making even more of a farce out of our academic system, we're stuck with the pollsters. But if the basketball raters' recent performances serve as any indi- cation of overall poll quality, things may still be better than they seem. Over the past 15 years, the AP writer-rater's season-ending poll favorite has survived the NCAA tourney unscathed a, respectable nine times. Their second choice has taken four titles, with the other two crowns going to No. 3 picks. THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Seven ALSO OBTAIN HOLTZMAN Birs drab Jack son WHY WALK FURTHER! LEVI'S BRAND Available at Wild's' Varsity Shop FEATURING: " Demin Bells " Flannel Shirts 0 Ponatella " Brush Denims " Denim Jockett K n Jeans " Work Shirts " Corduroys " Pre-Wash Slaks Wild's Varsity Shop 311 S. STATE STREET By The Associated Press MESA, Ariz. - The Oakland A's traded superstar outfielder Reggie Jackson and pitcher Ken Holtzman to t h e Baltimore Orioles for outfielder Don Bay- lor and pitcher Mike Torrez in; a six-player deal yesterday. In addition to the two big- name players, the A's sent pitcher Bill Van Bommel to the Orioles for pitcher Paul Mit- chell. FINLEY SAID it was a "straight three-for-three trade with no money involved." Jackson and Holtzman were among nine A's regulars who} hadn't signed their contracts. But Finley denied that any ill feeling figured in the deal. "None whatsoever," he said in reply to a reporter's ques- tion. "This trade was made be-{ cause I feel this deal will lead us to another world champion- ship. I feel that Baylor is the equal of Reggie Jackson. I don't mean this out of disre- spect to Jackson. I think Baylor is outstanding and will be even more outstanding in the next few years." ASKED HOW Jackson and Holtzman had received news of the trade, Finley said: "They were very nice about it." Finley made the announce- ment in a conference call to baseball writers in the San Francisco Bay area. The origi- nal reaction of the writers was stunned disbelief, but Finley in- sisted, "I think under thecir- cumstances it will turn out to be one of the best trades weI have ever made. "There's no question about it, Jackson and Holtzman are two proven ballplayers. We are go- ing to naturally miss both of them. However, I do firmly be- lieve that the trade of these three will help us considerably over-all. "WE FEEL that we needed another starting pitcher. We feel that Paul Mitchell is one of the coming stars. He's very outstanding. I am quite certain that he will be one of our start- ing pitchers." He said he has been "trying to consummate this deal for the: past two months. I think get- ting Mitchell along with Torrez will mean the end of our pitch- ing problem." Jackson batted a dismal .253,' but slammed 36 home runs and I knocked in 104 runs, last year, compared to Baylor's .252 aver- age, 25 home runs and 76. RBI's. Holtzman notched an 18-14 record with a 3.05 ERA. Torrezj had an excellent 20-9 season,~ due to a 3.06 ERA. The definite key to the trade, however, was Paul Mitchell. Last year in the International League, Mitchell was 10-1 with a 2.07 ERA for Rochester. Van Bommel was not nearly as suc- cessful in the minors last year. He was 7-9 with a 2.90 ERA at Birmingham, along with 0-4 at Tucson thanks to a 9.00 ERA. BUY SELL TRADE BASEBALL CARDS, AUTOGRAPHS, YEARBOOKS, TICKET STUBS, UNIFORMS, ETC. SEE on display uniform worn by Al Kaline in his final oame at the second Ypsilanti SPORTS COLLECTORS CONVENTION TO BE HELD AT THE SPAGHETTI BENDER 23 N. WASHINGTON, YPSILANTI SUNDAY, April 4-9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Admission $1.00 Information 485-2450 YOU CAN KILL A FREEDOM FIGHTER But you can't kill the desire to be free -Fred Hampton THE MURDER OF FRED HAMPTON ro Andy nixes Yanks; is Kuhn near decision A film about Illinois Black the life and death of the Panther Party leader. By The Associated Press C NEW YORK - Andy Messer-c smith appeared before baseballi Commissioner Bowie Kuhn for seven hours yesterday and in-1 dicated that if the commissioner rules against him in his dispute with the New York Yankees heg might sit out the 1976 season. A spokesman for Kuhn said yesterdaykt he dcommissioner; would make a decision soon. There is a possibility that the decision may come today. The free agent pitcher con- tends he is not bound to the Yankees and that they altered the terms originally offered. The Yankees contend that Messersmith's agent, Herb Osmond, acting on Messer- smith's authority, signed a memorandum committing the pitcher to the Yankees. Messersmith was asked if he would play with the Yankees if they changed their offer to his satisfaction. "They're not going to do that," he said. "They did say, 'Let's try to get together.' I said, 'Not at this point in time.'h- Messersmith sought a no-cut contract, similar to the one re- ceived by Catfish Hunter, who signed as a free agent with the Yankees after winning his re- lease from Oakland. Hunter signed a five-year agreement with the Yankees for a reported' $3 million before the 1975 sea- son. Watch Out! GARGOYLE Is Corning! Speaker--JEFF HAAS, attorney Saturday, April 3-8 p.m. Room 100 Hutchins Hall STATE & MONROE $1.50 Benefit for the Fred Hampton case AP Photo DETROIT Pistons' star Bob Lanier (16) is shown grabbing a rebound early in the second period of the Pistons win over New Orleans. While the win was Detroit's sixth in a row, it was a costly vctory as Lanier suffered a back injury late in the quarter. The extent of the injury was not known as the big center was immediately sent to the hospital for tests. I LANIER SUFFERS INJURY Pistons roll to sixth straight DETROIT (UPI)-Star center Bob Lanier was injured last night as the Detroit Pistons whipped the New Orleans Jazz, 116-102, for their sixth National' Basketball Association victory, to virtually wrap up a playoff position. Lanier, the Pistons' top scorer and rebounder, suffered a cer- vical spine injury when he fell to the floor under his team's offensive basket with 31 seconds left in the second quarter. LANIER w a s immediately sent to a hospital in suburban Warren for x-rays to determine the extent of his injuries. The Pistons, who hadn't won seven games in a row since the 1973-74 season, roared from a one-point lead with two minutes' left in the first half to a 17-point bulge midway in the third per-, iod, chiefly on the hot shooting of guards Eric Money and Chris Ford. A NEW ORLEANS rally, paced by Pete Maravich, pulled the Jazz to within six points of a tie with six minutes left in the last period, but an 11-2 spurt quickly gave Detroit a 15-point advantage with three minutes to go. Seven Pistons finished scor- ing in double figures led by Howard Porter with 19 points. Oddly enough, the tourney embarrasses often inthe runnerup spot. Michigan was bridesmaid in the last ten years which had AP's final four. the pollsters mostI the eighth tourney failed to make the r t 't c l , 'Of the 60 teams finishing in the tourney's final four over those years, 37 were included in the AP's top five. This figure would undoubtedly be higher if not for pre-semifinal top five matchups like this year's Indiana-Marquette game. Of course, the tournament finishes represent no more "objective reality" than the ratings. The tourneys remain as affected by luck of the draw (a la Marquette), injuries (a la Tennessee) and off-nights as the polls are by ignorance or sub- jectivity. These factors, coupled with the methods' high correla-I tion, seem to indicate neither is significantly superior. SCORES GOING-OUT-OF-BUSINESS SALE DAVID'S BOOKS 529 E. LIBERTY Prints & Posters.............40% off New Books .................40% off Used Hardcovers........ 40 % off Used Paperbacks ..........60% off Calendars............... ..70% off Shelving, etc. ALBERT'S COPYING NBA Philadelphia 96, Washington 94 Boston 119, Houston 115 Buffalo 101, Atlanta. 93 New York 110, Chicago 95 ABA San Antonio 118, Indiana 108 NHIL Atlanta 4, Minnesota 2 Cincinnati 3. Cleveland 2 Indianapolis 3, Toronto I I 'If If So the final question is whether the student-athletes prefer to sacrifice academic opportunities to gain at best a slightly better measure of national qual- ity. Only the athletes themselves can and should answer that. Fri.-Sat.-Sun. But this raises a final problem- do we merely poll them for their JOHN ROBE R opinions, or then let them fight it out? and TIIWY RARRA II MicJ Will Continue in Business at LOCATION for Years into the 6:30 A.M.-10:O0 P.M. the SAME future. 994-4028 hi'gan $2.50 TS NwD ... . , + e , N 1 Ih!1I Cheerleader Midwest's Larest Selection of European Charters Canadian and U.S. from $259 CALL 769-1776 j m6e.thPaes ,A 216 S. 4th Ave, Ann Arbor 1 g/11 VMX"l1A from the British Isles . . guitar, banjo, concertina English music hall (vaude- ville) drinking songs, sea chanteys, ballads, novelty songs. DANCE WORKSHOP-FREE Try Outs SAT. 1 P.M.-MORRISI I Tues.-BIFF ROSE-comedy-4 1421 HILL 8:30 761-14511 Career Assistance International pro-: "vib you with the material nces-. 'sury to find the career of your choice: on yourown at a fraction of the cost; s chatsW by employmentagnes * * 8eWORLD-WOE " Listing more than 700 multi-nation-;" *at companies with complete names: "and addresses. (Excellent sources: : for interesting occupations)., Select" Feminine & Masculine Principles in YOGA by GAGPA "r y Anita Montero CAMPUS INN DINNER THEATER Regency Ballroom APRIL10, 11 15, 16, 17 22, 23, 24 Dinner 7:00 p.m. Show 8:00 p.m. Cocktail Show 10:30 p.m. Phone 769-2200 for reservations and information r -.- -.---_ _ _ .. _ _ ...._-.....-. Family Day DINNER SHOW 2:00,Show r, rrrfi~ rn Anr10M l1r-M APRIL 8-6:30 P.M. CRISLER ARENA FOR FOOTBALL POM- POMt GIRLS iii I III M ill