Page 12-Thursday, July 13, 1978-The Michigan Daily
FRANCIS' FIVE PACES 10-0 ROUT:
Express derails Earthquakes
I
Puckihff
PONTIAC (UPI) - Trevor Francis
scored five goals to lead the Detroit
Express to a 10-0 triumph over the San
Jose Earthquakes in a North American
Soccer League game Wednesday night
at the Silverdome.
Francis' performance tied the NASL
record for most goals in a game and
helped the Express raise its record to
15-9 with a 48-point lead in the Central
Division of the American Conference.
Danny Vaughn, who came in midway
through the second half, added two
goals for Detroit while Alan Brazil,
David Bradford and Ian Davies con-
tributed single goals.
Francis' astonishing five-goal per-
formance boosted his season goal total
to 13, three better than teammate Keith
Furphy, who was the club's leading
scorer prior to last night's contest.
The Earthquakes, the worst team in
the league at 5-18, suffered their 11th
straight setback - just one loss shy of
the league record.
Detroit now can clinch the division
title in its debut season by defeating
Houston in Sunday's game at the
Silverdome.
I
Turner turns pro.. .
. . .but is he ready?
By GARY KICINSKI
SAY IT ain't so, Deano.
Tell me you didn't really skip out on your final two years of eligibility at
Michigan. Tell me it's April Fool's, tell me that the New York Rangers didn't
sign you to a three year contract for $250,000.
Tell me you'll be back on the Yost Arena surface next fall, lumbering up
and down the ice, booming your patented slap shots six feet wide of the net,
and taking your occasional dumb penalties.
Because for all your shortcomings, you were still one of Michigan's most
exciting players, loved by both the fans and players for making things hap-
pen on the ice.
But now he is gone to play with the big boys, where games mean dollars
and penalty minutes mean fans.
Apparently that's what the Rangers had in mind when they drafted the
20-year-old defenseman in the third round of the NHL amateur draft several
weeks ago.
But while most amateur collegiate players stay their final two or three
years and then turn pro, Turner couldn't pass up the get-rich-quick oppor-
tunity and decided to sign right away.
"When I actually saw the figures in dollars, I looked at it and said, 'Well,
I think I can pass up the glory and take the money.' You know? I gotta be
realistic about it. I could get hurt. Now it's signed and now it's final," Turner
said.
"It's not how much you make. It is how much you can keep and I am
going to try to keep as much as I can. If you are going to become a
millionaire, you gotta do it in business."
A big surprise
It would be easy to brand Turner as a money-hungry egotist who suc-
cumbed to the whimsical influences of the American buck. But the fact is
that you or I might just as easily have done the same thing if we were in
Deano's skates.
It's easy for the average Joe to criticize sports figures for signing big
money contracts, but the average Joe probably has never had $250,000
dangled in front of his bulging eyeballs.
But the pertinent question that needs to be asked is not, Is Dean Turner a
fathead, but rather, Is Dean Turner ready to play in the NHL?
More than one person was surprised when Turner was the first
American college defenseman drafted, to say nothing of the shock waves
generated when he decided to sign right away.
The reason being that anyone who has seen Turner play knows that he
has occasion to make some less-than-professional plays. For every time he
has made a legal crushing body check he has made an illegal one, and for
every time he has blasted a slap shot on target from the left point he has been
caught up ice on breakaways.
Deano's Jekyl and Hyde play leaves one with the distinct impression
that he isn't quite ready for the pros. Maybe after two more years of
seasoning, but not quite yet.
Having viewed the Michigan defense on the whole for the past season,
it's hard to imagine that somewhere in the group lurked a ready-made NHL
player.
Michigan Coach Dan Farrell was hardly distraught over the loss of Tur-
ner. "We feel that when we sign a guy we make a commitment to him for
four years and we would like to think they'd do the same for us. And if they
don't want to do that, we're not going to try to talk them out of it."
But no one can deny that Turner is an exciting player when he's playing
well. One game I'll never forget was the Friday night home game against
North Dakota, when Coach Dan Far ' stuck the rugged defenseman in the
slot on the power plays in an attempt up the team.
Turner parked himself in front of the crease and drew a couple of NoDak
penalties from defensemen who practically had to behead the 6-2, 215 poun-
der in order to move him. Turner sparked the club to score six goals in
coming back from a 4-0 deficit.
Whether Deano can create that kind of excitement in the NHL remains
to be seen. One thing is for sure though -- his ominous presence will be
missed on the Yost Arena ice.
IF Itctja League SkLediag6
AMERICAN LEAGUE
EAST
W L Pct. GB
Boston .............57 26 .687 -
Milwaukee .......... 48 35 .578 9
New York ........... 46 38 .548 11 /
Baltimore ..........45 40 .529 13
Detroit .............42 42 .500 15 /
Cleveland ........... 39 46 .459 19
Toronto ............32 53 .376 26
WEST
California ..........46 40 .535 -
Kansas City .........44 40 .524 1
Texas............42 41 .506 21/
Oakland ............43 44 .494 3%/
Minnesota ..........39 42 .481 4%
Chicago ............38 46 .452 7
Seattle ............30 58 .341 17
Today's Games
Chicago (Wood, 9-5) at New York (Guidry, 13-1), 2
p.m.
Texas (B. Ellis, 7-4) at Boston (lee, 9-3), 7:30 p.m.
Minnesota (Goltz, 8-5) at Baltimore (Flanagan, 12-
6), 7:30 p.m.
Kansas City (Splittorff, 10-7) at Milwaukee (Cald-
well, 9-5), 8:30 p.m.
Toronto (Lemanczyk, 3-10) at California (Tanana,
12-5). 10:30 p.m.
Cleveland (Waits, 6-9) at Oakland (Johnson, 5-5),
10:30 p.m.
Detroit (Rozema, 4-4) at Seattle (Aboott, 3-7),
1035p.m.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
EAST
W L Pct.
Philadelphia ........47 34 .580
Chicago ............43 39 .524
Pittsburgh ..........40 41 .494
Montreal ...........41 45 .477
New York ........... 36 50 .419
St. Louis ............34 53 .391
WEST
San Francisco......52 34 .605
Los Angeles .........50 36 .581
Cincinnati ..........49 37 .570
San Diego ........... 42 45 .483
Atlanta .............37 47 .440
Houston ............36 46 .439
GB
4%
7
8%
131/
16
2
3
101/
14
14
Today's Games
San Diego (Perry, 9-4) at Chicago (Roberts, 4-3),
2:30 p.m.
San Francisco (Barr, 4-6) at Pittsburgh (Can-
delaria,8-8), 7:35 p.m.
Houston (Niekro, 5-5 or Lemongello, 7-8) at Mon-
treal (Grimsley, 11-6), 7:35 p.m.
New York (Koosman, 2-9) at Cincinnati (Seaver, 9-
7(, 8:05 p.m.
Los Angeles (John, 10-6) at St. Louis (Denny, 7-6),
8:35 p.m.
AP Photo
Slide-swiped
Kansas City Royals' second baseman Frank White grimaces with effort as he
attempts to score, but it's all in vain as Baltimore catcher Rick Dempsey applies
the tag. Somehow the satisfaction of getting his man has not yet registered on
Dempsey's face.
...