Pa e 20-Saturday, May 6, 1978-The Michigan Daily
THE SPORTING VIEWS
Detroit soccer legit...
... despite corny names
By JAMIE TURNER
GATHERING ALL my nerves, and in hopes of seeing something com-
pletely differeot, I left Ann Arbor a while back in search of the unique
sports event.
Not that I haven't tried this search before. I am a sports-aholic, in-
corrigible division. Saturdays and Sundays I can be found in front of my
trusty television eagerly awaiting an afternoon of "trashsport" - that often
looked-down-upon creature that provides post-football season classics like
"The Superstars", "Three on Three" and "Celebrity Horseshoes."
But I am a creature that is not easily satisfied by taped action. Working
for The Daily has allowed me to view many sporting events live and in per-
son (though some people would say that going to a Pistons game is more akin
to cruel and unusual punishment), with the following result that the beloved
boob tube isn't doing the job anymore.
So, in an effort to pacify my yearnings, I accepted an offer to travel to
Pontiac to view the newest Southeastern Michigan athletic team, the Detroit
Express.
Pip, pip and cheerio
I had been to the Silverdome once before in the Lions' initial season
there, and all I really remembered for my troubles was a blocked Errol
Mann field goal being returned for a touchdown, and the choking tobacco
fumes that accumulated under the roof. The stadium authority, in efforts to
quell the growing protests, was opening huge vents that emptied the stadium
of the smoke, but also froze the 70,000 fans.
My only exposure to soccer (or football, my good man,) was occasional
glances at All-Star Soccer before Monday Night Football. I realized that you
had to kick the silly bloke through bodies into the net. I also knew the terms
offsides and penalty kick. But that was about all.
Driver Paul and I entertained ourselves trying to think of all the teams
in the NASL (pronounced "Nasal") with their nicknames. There are twenty-
four teams, split into twelve in a conference and four to a division. I wassable
to name eight.
The stumpers are due to the fact that the NASL put teams into such
unlikely places as Rochester (Lancers), Tulsa (Roughnecks), Vancouver
(Whitecaps) and San Jose (Earthquakes). Visions of Aztecs and Metro-
Croations danced through my head as we neared the big Muffin.
The San Diego Sockers were to provide the Express' second home op-
ponent. The locals had botched the opener before 27,00 curious fans 2-, but
the biggest question was not whether the Express would win but how many
would show up on a rainy night that had the Tigers and Red Wings both
playing at home that very day.
In hopes of persuading the hockey fans to come out, the Wings-Montreal
game was shown on the large instant replay screen before the game and
even through the distortion, the 8-0 rout came through loud and clear.
A jolly good show
Ah, but on to the game. There were the beautiful "Choo-Choo Girls" (I
guess they were beautiful, but they were too far away and I had left my
binoculars at home) inspiring the lively crowd. Yes, I know, the reports after
the game said that there were only 7,815 people at the game, but don't you
believe it.
For the thing that impressed me the most was the knowledgeability of
the crowd. They were excited and reacted well to the ebb and flow of play.
The crowd, though slight in number, seemed to appreciate and understand
the game, something that the larger crowd the week before didn't show.
The entire operation was run professionally and left me with the im-
pression that the Express were here to stay. Gordon Preston (another of
those funny-speaking English sorts) seemed to have had an idea of how to
treat the press. The food was good, the stats arrived quickly and were infor-
mative and the staff was cheerful.
Paul and I left the game with an Express win and the feeling that
perhaps the ill-fated Detroit Cougars weren't conclusive evidence that soc-
cer could not survive in Detroit.
I think the Express will survive and I think more people will come out to
see them, after all - how can you not love a team when the opposition has
players with names like Igor, Attila, Axel and Laszlo.
PETE ROSE, Cincinnati's homegrown superstar, delivered a fifth-inning single to
left last night to become the thirteenth player in baseball to accumulate 3,00 hits.
3-,000 for Pete
CINCINNATI (AP)-Cincinnati's Pete Rose singled in the fifth inning
off Montreal's Steve Rogers Friday night and became the 13th player in
major league history to reach the 3,000-hit mark.
It was the second hit of the, game for the 37-year-old Rose, in his 16th
season. He got No. 2,999 in the third inning high chopper back to the mound
that Rogers was unable to field cleanly.
In the fifth, the switch-hitting Rose, batting left-handed, lined a 1-0 pitch
from Rogers over shortstop into left field for the milestone hit.
The crowd gave Rose, a Cincinnati native, a standing ovation for five full
minutes and his teammates on the Reds left the dugout to congratulate him
at first base. He was officially presented the milestone ball by Montreal first
baseman Tony Perez, a former teammate and long-time friend who broke
into pro ball with Rose in 1960.
Standing at first base, rose waved several times to the crowd, which had
been standing when he left the dugout to make his third appearance at the
plate. The crowd continued to applaud even after the next batter, Ken Grif-
fey, approached the plate and Griffey waited until the ovation died down
before preparing to bat.
The last player to achieve the feat was Detroit's Al Kaline in 1974. He
finished with 3,007. Roberto Clemente of Pittsburgh was the last National
Leaguer, ending his career in 1972 with an even 3,000 hits.
Blue bats-m en to host
Indiana andOS
By JAMIE TURNER
With intentions of keeping their Big
Ten lead and possibly eliminating some
contenders to the title, the Michigan
baseball team hosts Indiana and Ohio
State today and tomorrow at Fisher
Stadium.
Moby Benedict's crew, 7-1 in the Big
Ten and 18-11 overall, face a much
easier task in being the front runners
this year in chase of their second Big
Ten title in the last three years.
"THERE'S NO question, when you're
on top they've got to catch you," said
Benedict, "instead of you chasing them
and needing someone to knock off Ohio
State or someone."
Last year the Wolverines chased
Minnesota all season only to find them-
selves falling short on the final weekend
of the season by one game. After star-
ting off slowly this season in the non-
league games, Michigan has parlayed
brilliant pitching with balanced hitting
en route to a two-game lead over
Michigan State and the Buckeyes with
ten conference games left.
"Every weekend that you play in the
Big Ten is an important weekend," ad-
ded Benedict. "You must treat each
weekend like the World Series, because
one bad weekend and you can be out of
it before you're in it."
BENEDICT WILL use his two best
pitchers to open each game of the
doubleheaders. Graig McGinnis (5-2,
2.20 ERA) will start today's action
against the Hoosiers, while sophomore
sensation Steve Howe (6-2, 2.08) will
start in Sunday's first game. Steve
Perry and Bill Stennett will fill the
other two starting positions.
TIDBITS ... With six wins already to
his credit, Howe is almost a shoo-in to
break the season record of nine vic-
tories, held by seven other pitchers in-
cluding Howe himself. . . Sophomore
George Fousiannes, who batted all of
.167 while sitting on Benedict's bench as
a freshman, has an outside chance at
setting school records in home runs and
RBI's. Foussiannes has six round trip-
pers and 25 ribbies in chase of former
Wolverine and Tiger Bill Freehan's 10
and 44 ... Michigan's team ERA has
dropped to an impressive 3.05, as com-
pared to the opposition's inflated
4.71 ... Michigan has now won 11 of its
last 14 games.
V
Big Ten Standings
Team W L Pct. GB
MICHIGAN 7 1 .875 -
Ohio State 4 2 .667 2
Wisconsin 7 5 .583 2
Mich. State 5 3 .625 2
Iowa 6 5 .545 212
Northwestern 6 6 .500 3
Indians 2 3 .4CC 3 r
Minnesota 4 6 .400 5
Purdue 3 7.300 5
Illnois 3 9 .250 6
NBA Playoffs
Washington 123, Philadelphia 108
(Washingtonleads best of seven serie
Baseball
Baltimore2.82Minnesota I
SCORES
Stianta 5. Houston 2
\ew York Yankees 5. Texas 2
s, 2-1 ) Montreal 4. Cincinnati 3
LosAngeles; ,Pittsburghz
San D kego ., . Looss 1
Mlwaukee s, Kansas citvo1
-j