TheMichiganDaily-friday, May 11,1979--Page 17
NEFF
Is
h ~ENOUGH'
By Billy Neff
Minor league team .. .
.. .but Turner's a pro
NEW HAVEN
If you're half crazy and a sports nut, drive seven hours someday and see
a minor league hockey game. You're bound to learn something. I did.
I thought I would learn the decrepit state of minor league sports.
However, the situation was quite to the contrary. The dressing rooms were
almost as nice as dressing rooms could be, the teams often travel by plane,
and there was a sufficient number of spectators.
Interestingly enough, my biggest lesson came from one of this game's
players. Dean Turner, the former Michigan hockey player, who left school
last year to enter the professional ranks, was my teacher.
Turner was described to me in less than a complimentary way, both by
his former coach Dan Farrell and by colleagues of mine. They couldn't have
been more wrong!
In the hockey game itself, Turner's team, New Haven, lost 5-3. Turner
was on the ice for the first three goals, goals which broke the game open for
the winners, the Maine Mariners. On each of those goals, Turner could
receive a large share of the blame-lost the puck in his own zone for the first
two goals and, on the third Maine goal, he was watching the play in the cor-
ner while a man was left alone in front to tap it in.
I entered the locker room with my preconceived ill notions about Turner
and expected the worst. But I received the best as he greeted me quite war-
mly.
He had played a horrible game and he knew it. "I played a brutal game
tonight," said Turner, New Haven's leader in penalty minutes this past
season.
One reason for his ineffective play could have been that he was saddled
with chicken pox. "I don't have the wheels. I get out there 30 seconds and I'm
just gassed, but that's no excuse," Turner said.
And he wasn't making excuses. He had accepted his situation and the
criticism he deserved like a real gentleman.
Next, I related to Turner some of the criticism he unknowingly received
from his former college mentor, Farrell. Farrell, in fact, bristled at even the
mention of Turner's name in the beginning of the past hockey season. Ap-
parently, Farrell was very angry with Turner because he had left school af-
ter only two years.
Now, I knew the worst was to come. Turner became indignant and
responded with: "You put this down. As far as I'm concerned, I thought
highly of him (Farrell). i think Danny is a super coach as far as knowing the
game. He knows the game as good as anybody," Turner reported.
Can you believe that response? This 20-year old kid had played maybe
the worst hockey game of his life, was being criticized by his old coach, and
all he could respond with were compliments. That says a lot for him.
As far as his decision to turn pro, Turner had this to say: "That's one
thing I really wanted to do. I might not have gotten the offer I got again. I
definitely hit it right. With the contract I got there, there was no way I could
turn them down."
He added, "Getting out of college was very good for me to do. I don't
know if my head was really there."
Those two reasons make sense to me, even if they don't to Farrell. In this
day and age, a coach must have an attitude like that of Michigan State
basketball coach Jud Heathcote (with Earvin Johnson) and realize that he
might lose a player to the lure of big money, anytime.
Turner's whole view of professional sports is much more sensible than a
person his age should have. The 6-2, 215 puound defenseman realizes "You
go out and you do your job. It's a dog-eat-dog business, If you get a break,
you get a break. There are some guys on this team (New Haven) who could
play for St. Louis. The most important thing is getting a break."
Not only is Turner's whole attitude sensible, it is also quite mature. For
instance, his response to his play in training camp demonstrates this charac-
teristic. "I had a terrible camp. My biggest problem in training camp was
thaat I was in complete awe. I wouldn't touch Espo (Phil Esposito) Hedberg
(Anders), or Nilsson (Ulf). Now I realize they're not that great. They're
made out of flesh, too." He reasoned out his training camp problems and
anxiously looks forward to next year's camp.
As we walked up the steps out of the locker room, Turner won me over
completely when he stopped and chatted for a good ten minutes with adoring
nine ad ten year olds. He had just played a terrible game, but still had time
for these girls. Turner had analyzed this game and accepted his faults,
something we all should learn.
He taught me something I should have learned years ago-never judge a'
person by what you've heard. It's too bad people do with Dean Tur-
ner-they're missing quite a person.
A 'Magic moment APPhoto
Earvin Johnson, the 19-year-old Magic man who helped lead Michigan State
to two Big Ten titles and this year's NCAA championship, will announce his
decision today whether he'll play professional basketball next season or remain
with the Spartans.
SPORTS OF THE DAILY
Blue seeks net title
The 70th annual Big Ten Tennis
Championships will be held today
through Sunday at Ohio State's Herman
Wirthwein Tennis Center, with
Michigan the strong favorite to retain
the crown they've held for 11 straight
years.
Heading into the final week of action,
the Wolverines have lost only two mat-
ches in 20 tries, losing the season
opener to Tennessee 5-4, and to Trinity
8-1 three weeks ago. Undefeated in con-
ference play, Michigan returns five of
Jeff Etterbeek, Matt Horwitch, Jack
Neinken and Jud Shaufler, and the No. 1
doubles team of Etterbeek, and Hor-
witch.
Looking to end the Wolverines'
dominance in tennis will be Ohio State,
Minnesota and Wisconsin, all with iden-
tical 7-2 records. Michigan defeated the
Badgers and the Buckeyes by identical
7-2 scores, and beat the Gophers 6-3
earlier this season. The Badgers return
1978 Big Ten champ Ken Thomas, the
No: 3 singles winner.
--DAILY SPORTS
Big Ten tees off
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Ohio State's
Buckeyes will be heavily favored to
capture the Big Ten golf championship,
which will open today at the University
of Illinois Orange Course.
Ohio State has won five tournaments
already this year and is paced by John
Cook and Rocky Miller. The Buckeyes
will be seeking their fourth straight Big
Ten title.
"Ohio State is obviously picked to
win," said Coach Ladd Pash of the host
Illini. "I just don't know of anyone that
can beat them."
Pash, like others, figures the real
fight will be for second place.
"After Ohio State it really depends on
how a team is playing on a given
weekend," said Pash. "Iowa and Pur-
due both have strong teams, Michigan
and Michigan State have been coming
on strong lately and Indiana got off to a
fast start so it could go any way.
-AP
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