al SPORTS The Michigan Daily Thursday, January 29, 1981 Page 8 Wolverines launch weekend road trip against lowly 'Cats EX-'M' QB ENJOYS NEW POST Elliott heads NFL Hall C By JON MORELAND Special to The Daily EVANSTON-After surviving the fir- st six games of the Big Ten season, the Michigan basketball team will be looking for a break when it takes the McGaw Hall floor tonight against Nor- thwestern. Unfortunately for the cagers, the Wildcats promise to provide anything but a soft spot on the battle-worn Wolverines' schedule. "This team doesn't stay down long," warns Northwestern coach Rich Falk, whose team is riding a four-game losing streak and is 1-5 in the conference. "We'll show up ready to play." On the other hand, the Wolverines' 3-3 conference record is as good as anyone could have expected at this point. In thpt stretch, Michigan played each of the teams expected to battle for the conference title. Despite being outplayed in its three lesses, Michigan has managed to stay at .500 with three overtime wins, two of which were double'OT affairs. Tonight's game kicks off a six game stretch which appears to be at least a little more enticing for the Wolverines. Five of these games will be played against the bottom three teams in the league. That's not to say, however, that Michigan will win' just by showing up tonight. "Tenth place in our league is no disgrace," points out Michigan coach Bill Frieder. "It's always tough when you gointo Evanston." To the untrained ear, it may sound like Frieder has simply stolen the lines that his football counterpart at Michigan uses when the gridders go up against the likes of Northwestern. But most Big Ten followers know better. Just about everyone can recall the triple-overtime thriller a year'ago when Michigan came out on the short end of an 85-82 score in the same gym. "Last year we were three and three at this time, too," reminds Frieder.. "Then we lost to Michigan State and, Northwestern. To contend in this league, you've got to beat these teams." In order to beat Northwestern, Michigan will have to tangle with a couple of pretty decent Big Ten basket- ball players. The most notable of these are senior guard Rod Roberson and junior forward Jim Stack. Roberson is averaging 15.0 points per game while Stack is hitting at a 12.6 clip. The Wildcats suffered a jolt when they learned that junior center Bob Grady has been lost for the season with a broken wrist. As Northwestern's number one pivotman, Grady has been the Wildcats' leading rebounder and fourth leading scorer. Freshmen Murray Colin and Paul Schultz will share the task of filling in for Grady. Despite the loss of its top center, the Northwestern quintet could give the Wolverines quite a battle. Frieder ex- presses concern over the Wildcats. Af-' . ter witnessing the rash of upsets last weekend, the coach knows anything can and will happen in the Big Ten race. By MARK MIHANOVIC. The Executive Director of the Profes- sional Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio sits behind his desk in the most relaxed of manners, feet planted atop it, broad shoulders eased back, an amiable smile creasing his face. He revels in the discussion-because the discussion is aboutfootball and his life involved in it. With the exception of a short stint in business in the late 1960's, every full- time job Pete Elliott has ever held has had something to do with the gridiron. Elliott won All-American honors in 1948 at Michigan, as he quarterbacked one of Fritz Crisler's most powerful Wolverine squads to the national title. HE WAS DRAFTED by the Detroit Lions of the National Football League and the Los Angeles Dons of the American Football Conference, but declined both teams' offers. "At the time when I graduated," Elliott ex- plained, "it wasn't nearly as lucrative as today, and a smaller percentage of Roberson ... top Wildcat threat Cagers' Corner many consider it the finest, most com-, plete of the professional halls. "I don't think our plans right now are for more expansion, because we can overdo," Elliott said. "The, continued upgrading of the Hall of Fame and the representation of the NFL are the major concerns. "I've been fortunate to have a great staff at the Hall of Fame, which means that I can get involved in every aspect of the organization," he continued. "The great thing about it is that you can be around football people all the way. It's been my life, so I enjoy it. ELLIOTT NONETHELESS LOOKS Back on his college days with greatest satisfaction. His greatest thrill? "The 1947 Rose Bowl," is the answer. "We played Southern Cal and won the game, 49 to zip. The other time that was right with it was the next year, 1948, when we won the national champion- ship. At that time, you couldn't go to the Rose Bowl twice in a row..., in fact, you, had to sit out two years. As was so common in his day, Elliott was a three-sport man at Michigan, also competing in basketball and golf. But his All-American status in football U MICHIGAN (12-3, 3-3) 40- Mike McGee, 6-5 Sr. (23.5) 45- Thad Garner, 6-7 Jr. (9.5) 15- Paul Heuerman, 6-8 Sr. (7.6) 24- Marty Bodnar, 6-3 Sr. (6.9) - 34- J. Johnson, 6-4 Sr. (15.3) NORTHWESTERN (7-8, 1-5) 25- Jim Stack, 6-8 Jr. (12.6) 33- Gaddis Rathel, 6-5 So. (12.1) 54- Colin Murray, 6-11 Fr. (1.0) 21- Rod Roberson, 6-3 Sr. (15.0) 31- Michael Jenkins, 6-2 So. (8.4) S GAME TIME: 8:35 p.m. EST (McGaw Hall, Evanston) TV/RADIO: No local television. Radio stations WUOM-FM(91.7 FM), WWJ(950), WPAG(1050), and WAAM( 1600) will carry the game. EXPECTED CROWD: 4,000 THE WILDCATS ... come off a devastating 93-56 loss to Indiana, in which center Bob Grady was lost for the season with a fractured left wrist. Guard Michael Jenkins is coming off a sprained ankle he suf- fered a week ago. Northwestern is once again in a familiar place, the Big Ten cellar at 1-5. STRENGTHS: Smart, aggressive defense, particularly from guards Jenkins and Rod Roberson. Team is usually solid on the defensive end. WEAKNESSES: Shooting. Northwestern is hitting on slightly more than 42 percent of its shots from the floor. Wildcats are also lacking a reliable scorer. IM SCORES MOTORCOACH TRIP FROM ANN ARBOR TO TORONTO FOR THE VINCENT VAN GOGH EXHIBITION ONLY NORTH AMERICA SHOWING OF 120 PAINTINGS OF VAN GOGH, GAUGUIN, TOULOUSE-LATREC,;BERNARD, AN- QUETIN. TUESDAY Paddleball Fraternity Sigma Alpha Mu 2. Theta Delta Chi i Phi Delta Theta 3, Kappa Sigma 0 (forfeit) Table Tennis Fraternity Chi Phi 3, Zeta Psi 0 Fiji 3.Sigma Nu 0 Basketball Independent Raging Phlegmon 77, Chews 64 Excaliber 52, Wildcats 40 ASCE Basketeers 47,NROTC Blue 23 Fraternity A' Evans Scholars 41, Sigma Phi Epsilon 39 Omega Psi Phi 42,Psi Upsilon 38 Theta Chi 38, Kappa Sigma 18 Sigma Phi 34, Alpha Tau Omega 24 'B' Lambda Chi Alpha 2i, Phi Delta Theta 15 Phi Beta Sigma 63, Sigma Chi 36 Sigma Phi Epsilon 23. Beta Theta Pi 15 Sigma Alpha Epsilon 2, Psi Upsilon 0 (forfeit. Graduate Blast 52, Grateful Dead 42 9-0 Silk 45, Biochem 40 Law Dogs 50, DSD 'C' 25 Legal Ease 45, DSD 'E' 43 Co-Rec Oxford Plus 73, Wasps 30 Amoebas 69, Blue Bombers 13 Women's Stockwell 52, Happy Hookers 37 C.W. 38, Barbour'A' 22 Breaks 24, Derelicts 22 Andi's Bar and Grill 27. Bursley PlayerettesI Residence Hall 'A. Huber Challengers 29, Wenley 28 Elliott 43, MoJo Risers 30 Couzens Gold 35, Fletcher 1 32 Butler 28, Gomberg BAMF 26 ' players went to the pros." Instead, after graduating with his B.A. degree in Liberal Arts in June of 1949, he entered the exhilarating, albeit insecure, world of coaching. He began as an assistant at Oregon State before hooking on with the staff of the legendary Bud Wilkinson at Oklahoma in 1951. He stayed in Norman through 1955, with two national cham- pionships serving as the highlights, and the two men's mutual respect increased with each campaign. So when Wilkin- son asked Elliott to come along with him as he attempted to make his coaching comeback with the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals in 1977, the latter ac- cepted. Within two years, though, they both were gone. ELLIOTT ISN'T ABOUT to admit that the Cardinals made a mistake in ) hiring the old college mentor, however. "Bud did a very commendable job, and I think, had he stayed on there, he would have been a great professional coach, as well," he said. "He was a great, great coach." In the intervening 26 years between his stints as an assistant to Wilkinson, Elliott gave head coaching a shot. One year at Nebraska, three at California, seven at Illinois, and three more at Miami (Florida) provided him the op- portunity to do what he liked to do best and see much of the country in the meantime. Another place his travels took him to included Pasadena, California, where his Pacific Coast champion Cal Golden Bears lost to Iowa in the 1959 Rose Bowl and his Big Ten titleholding Fighting Illini took the 1964 classic with a 17-7 defeat of Washington. There you have it, a lifetime of foot- ball: playing, coaching, and even an administrative post as Athletic Direc- tor (added to his coaching duties) at Miami. It's the association with football people that Elliott loves-which is why he jumped at the opportunity to assume direction of the Hall of Fame when its Board of Trustees offered the post of Executive Director to him. FOOTBALL'S HALL IS a con- tinuously expanding edifice housing tributes to the greats of the game; A FEB. 21-23 and FEB. 27-29 $118.00 MOTORCOACH, WESTBURY HOTEL, ADMISSION TICKETS TEMPLE TRAVEL 584-6160 .13349 Michigan Ave., Dearborn, MI. Elliot HOF director was an early indicataion of wheeie tA s heart really lay. ELLIOTT DOES NOT expect t return to his alma mater in any capacity. "I coul'd not forsee anything like that happening, but I've never had anything -but great respect, for Don Canham ever since Ifirst knew him. And obviously that respect has grown, as he's done a great job up there." In fact, Elliott isn't sure just what to expect in his future. "I've enjoyed coaching all my life, but I have no idea what the future may bring, and I plan on working at the Hall of Fame. It's great. I've been in football all my life, and I love it." It's the people. Join News Staff Catch the thrill of the moment! Be there when news happens in your University Community Find out how at: MASS MEETINGS: Bursley-Wed., Jan. 28 7:30 p.m., East Lounge 0 0 0 k l& w~E'~~i 1~t ~t ~ E~ t'*"i !d" #'1:##4! k rsxri '~T . llAT.J...