Page 12-Sunday, April 20, 1980-The Michigan Daily
Racqueteers volley
with off-court woes
El
Blue Lines
By Mark Borowski
By KENT WALLEY
Have you ever tried to reserve a
racquetball court at the University?
If so, then you're probably familiar
with the endless line of people waiting
for courts, sometimes extending all the
way down the corridor at the Central
Campus Recreation Building. And if
you have tried to make a reservation by
telephone, chances are excellent that
you encountered a constant busy signal.
THESE FRUSTRATING conditions
are facts of life forced upon -devoted
racqueteers in Ann Arbor. But what is
being done - what can be done - to
alleviate the problem?
At present, not very much. There are
32 courts available on campus, more
than at any other university, according
to Recreational Sports Associate Direc-
tor Bill Fanning. But 32 is simply not
enough.
Five of the courts are located at the
North Campus facility, one of the
toughest places to obtain a reservation.
At the CCRB, courts are more abun-
d4 t, but also in greater demand.
ItHE INTRAMURAL Building has
the most courts, but they are almost as
old, (51 years) as the building itself.One
student waiting in line for a court Thur-
sday at the CCRB said that once, while
he was playing on an IM court, a
wooden board sprung loose and hit him
in the ankle.
Canning offers little hope that the
situation will improve in the near
future. Money is the major stumbling
block. An estimate conducted two years
ago placed the cost of constructing ten
courts at the Sports Coliseum at
$230,000.
"At present there are no funds,
available," said Canning. However, he
did mention a plan to expand the num-
ber of hours available during the peak
months (December through March) to
Ta.m.-11p.m.
OVER THE years department ad-
ministrators have contemplated a
number of possible solutions. One of
these involves using a phone system
that would answer many calls and put
some people on hold, but the in-
stallation and operation costs were too
high.
Another option is to centralize the
reservation area so that everyone could
come to or call the same place to secure
court time. However, Canning said this
alternative "would just be compoun-
ding the problem, not improving it."
"It (the present system) may not be
the best, but it's the best with the
existing facilities we have now," he
said.
THE TIGERS OPENED their home season Friday. It was the first
chance for Detroiters to witness the actions of their baseball team. And
one of the most enthusiastic crowds ever to observe that premiere spectacle
filled the stadium to its brim.
The 50,000-plus fans were willing to forget the six consecutive losses the
Tigers suffered in the last 10 days. As their team was introduced before the
game, no one jeered. In fact, each and every player was given an ear-
piercing ovation.
And when the game got underway it looked like the Tigers would provide
their followers with what they were all hungry for - a victory.
Pitcher Dave Rozema easily retired the first three Kansas City batters.
After Lou Whitaker started the Tigers off with an out, Lynn Jones ripped a
triple through the gap in right-centerfield. Kemp brought him home with a
sacrifice fly to put the Bengals ahead 1-0. But the false start was just begin-
ning; Lance Parrish, Jason Thompson, John Wockenfuss and Tom Brookens
each followed with hits to stretch the lead to four runs after only one inning.
Rozema continued to mow down the Royals' batters until the fifth in-
ning, then everything returned to normal. Boom, Kansas City notched four
runs on six hits and Rozema headed for the showers.
Detroit came back with two runs in the eighth only to let it slip away as
K.C. tied it in the ninth. Reliever Aurelio Lopez then heralded three runs in
the eleventh to send the opening day crowd home empty-handed.
The atmosphere just wasn't right for a Tiger triumph Friday. There was
just too much missing in the old gray barn at Michigan and Trumble.
For some strange reason, the weather was perfect, atypical for a
baseball game in April. .
The rickety wooden seats have now been replaced by blue and orange
plastic chairs. The crowd couldn't bank them up and down until the whole
place was engulfed in the sound of thunder.
Only the third deck, which is still painted monster green, reminded me
Of Tigerfans..
...and a trade.
of the old days when the Tigers were winners.
The great Detroit fans kept cheering right up to the end, even though
their team wasn't a winner. Certain fans weren't all that great, however. A
few bad apples got very ugly. By the time the fifth inning rolled around,
fights were breaking out every 20 minutes. It was nauseating. Instead of
booing and thus harmlessly venting their frustration on the losers, they were
taking it out on each other.
Last year some of the so-called spectators got ugly, too. Only they took
out their frustration on someone who is no longer part of the Tiger Stadium
atmosphere. They threw bottles and cans at this man. He was a key in-
dividual to this team, a winner, a gate drawer. But tight-fisted Tiger general
manager Jim Campbell peddled Ron LeFlore off to Montreal for unproven
left handed pitcher Dan Schatzader.
The Tigers miss LeFlore because he was a perfect lead-off man. He
could get on base and then wreak havoc on the opposing team. They knew he
was going to run, but they didn't know on what pitch, so oftentimes they paid
more attention to LeFlore than the batter.
Whitaker has tried to fill in as the lead-off man, but he has floundered
terribly at that spot. He's batting under .200 and has scored only three runs.
LeFlore was a right-handed hitter, something Detroit doesn't have
enough of. Even his fielding was superior to Kirk Gibson and Dave Stegman
who are trying to fill his shoes.
Kemp and Thompson will miss LeFlore at the end of the season when
their RBI totals are smaller than in the '79 campaign.
The fans will miss LeFlore because he was exciting. Everytime he got
on base the crowd would squirm to the front edge of their seats anxiously
awaiting the pitch on which he would steal. They are also going to miss him
when the Tigers don't win as many games.
If Ronnie were here the only thing the fans would throw his way would be
rn"p"
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