- ADHIS CORNER.. Mark Mihanovic olverine base ball ... .. most entertainin g show in toawn * T HE MOST ENTERTAINING team in Michigan athletics is not cracking pads under the gleaming eye of Bo Schembechler on the Tartan Turf. , or did it just finish its season getting blown out on the hardwood at Syracuse. Nor on the ice at Michigan Tech. 4?Rather, it is in Florida at the present, winning a game here and losing one Were, priming itself to come north and play the type of baseball that sent it Q the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska last summer. : It's exciting baseball that Bud Middaugh's Wolverines play, the kind that given non-hardball fans can grow to enjoy. A bunt single .. hit and run .. . double steal ... suicide squeeze ... Middaugh had them doing all that last year, and he had them doing it all the time. A walk down to Ray Fisher Stadium last April or May and a buck to get in- side was all that was necessary in order to witness the epitome of the percen- tage gambler in action. And the more Middaugh gambled, the more the per- centages seemed to swing in his favor. The 1980 Michigan baseballers Seemed almost an extension of their coach. They added a new dimension to the phrase "take the extra base." Once in a while, outfielder Jim Paciorek or catcher Gerry Hool would flex their muscles and allow themselves the pleasure of jogging around the basepaths. But for the most part, it was a track meet. To truly appreciate the extent to which the Blue batsmen caught the imagination of those who watched them last spring (many of whom are cer- tain to be perched in the Fisher stands at next Tuesday's opening doubleheader versus Grand Valley State), one should be aware of the squad's status as it entered the campaign. Nobody gave him a chance Middaugh assumed the significant task of replacing a 17-year fixture in the Wolverine dugout, Moby Benedict. He also assumed the task of replacing ' , graduates Steve Perry and Steve Howe on the pitcher's mound and Rick Leach in the outfield. He took one look at the Michigan roster and decided that he would, ap- propriately enough, have to gamble with young pitchers in order to be successful. Nobody gave him much of a chance to finish in the first division in the Big Ten. After a mediocre Florida swing in which S they went 6-7 (similar to their current 5-4 mark), the Wolverines hadn't changed many minds. Somewhere on the flight nor- th to Ann Arbor, however, the team changed its identity, Because that ridiculously inexperienced pitching staff, sporting three freshmen (Scott Dawson, Middiaaaugh Steve Ontiveros, and Scot Elam) and .. made team exciting junion Mark Clinton, threw six shutouts in Michigan's first eight outings. The momnentum carried over into a 14-2 Big Ten season and the conference championship. They followed that by sweeping through its three Mideast regional contests by the combined score of 28-7 to advance to the World series. There they defeated powerful California, 9-8 in a classic 11-inning "heartstopper before succumbing to the superior talent present in Omaha. Unusually exciting baseball Those are the facts. The Wolverines weren't supposed to beat anybody, and they beat about everybody. But what made them so much fun to watch was their style of play. As the Michigan weather became more and more cooperative in late April-early May, fans trekked to the stadium, their .sunglasses set on their foreheads and twelve-packs of Budweiser (or Miller, for the sake of fairness) under their arms, anticipating an afternoon of ex- citement unusual for a baseball crowd. Much of baseball's charm lies in its relaxed, easy pace. Spectators can go to the game, eat, drink, talk to friends, and still catch all of the action. With Middaugh running the show, though, one better not take one's eyes off the field too often or for too long. Now, however, the coach faces an opposite set of circumstances from those of one year ago. This time around, the Wolverines are top dogs and won't be surprising anyone, unless the surprises are of a negative nature. With the exception of All-American George Foussianes and Chuck Wagner who hit .424 in conference play last season), essentially everyone is retur- ning. So will the Wolverines, to use a cliche, forget what got them where they ale? Will overconfidence be a factor? Z No. Emphatically. Not with Bud Middaugh driving them. In fact, we may fee a perennial Mideast power developing here. As long as the coach keeps rolling the dice. . 1M SCORES TUESDAY Volleyball Independent C N F For Mash 15-15, Spuds Boys 4-7 A vagrants 15-15, Spud boys 6-10 Fraternity 'A' Sigma Phi Epsilon 15-15, sigma Chi 0-9 Evans Scholars, Acacia 15-15, Acacia 5-3 3 Michigan Locations Women's Sweetie Pis 15-15, Bogey Busters 0-0 (forFeit) Michigan House 15-15, Thronson Iv 0-13 Graduate hi Alpha Kappa 9-15-15, Agent Orange ii 15-7-12 Co-Rec Competitive S H.W. Demons 15-15, Hospital Administration 12.2 George's Giants 15-13-15, Cert Denied 9-15-9 Recreative High Balls 13-15-15, K.U. Jayhawks 15-8-1t Habs 15-8-15, Jukes 5-15-3 E. Umlauts 15-15, Borderlites 9-11. SPRING/SUMMER And FALL VACANCIFS The Rudolph Steiner House 1923 Geddes Avenue -Near the Arboretum Offers simple, clean, cooperative living conditions at very modest cost to stu- dents interested in Steiner's philosophic, The Michigan Daily-Thursday, March 26, 1981--Page PURDUE WINS CONSOLA TION Tuilsa takes NIT title, 86-84 NEW YORK-Despite Erich Santifer's 29 points, the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes turned back the Orangemen, 86-84, in overtime, to capture the NIT Championship at Madison Square Garden last night. After grabbing Eric Moss's airball, Santifer scored on a layup at the buzzer to send the game into over- time at 82-82, Syracuse trailed in the game until 15 minutes left in the second half. They eventually built up a seven- point lead behind a tough zone defense and clutch shooting by Santifer. ONCE THEY got the lead Syracuse went into a slow down offense and suddenly lost momentum as Tulsa fought back. The game see-sawed back and for- th before Tulsa built up a 79-74 lead with only two minutes left in regulation. Sparked by missed Tulsa foul shots, Syracuse stormed back and sent the game into overtime. From watching the first half one can see why Tulsa and Syracuse were in the NIT instead of the NCAA tournament. Turnovers, fouls, and just sloppy play plagued both teams from the outset. Tulsa, relying on the fast break and awesome of- fensive rebounding, took the early lead, 9-2. Syracuse cut the margin to 15-14 but couldn't pull any closer as they were unable to get into a set pattern. Meanwhile, Tulsa was hitting 11 of its first 15 shots. AS THE HALF wore on Syracuse went into a zone defense which cooled off the Golden Hurricanes, who were only able to hit on four of their next 18 shots. However, Syracuse kept turning the ball over as they committed 15 in the first half and fell behind, 41-30. Both teams continued to trade baskets until the last two minutes of the half when Syracuse's tenacious zone defense narrowed Tulsa's lead to six, and the Orangeman went into the locker room trailing only 48-42. Purdue 75, West Virginia 72 NEW YORK (AP)-Drake Morris scored 18 points, including two clinching free throws in overtime, as Purdue captured third place in the National In- vitation Tournament with a 75-72 victory over West Virginia last night. Five different Purdue players scored two points apiece in the extra period after the game was tied 65- 65 at the end of regulation time. KEITH EDMONSON, who had 17 points for Pur- due, and Mike Scearce, who had 14, were among the Boilermakers with baskets in overtime. Morris' two free throws gave Purdue a 73-67 lead with 17 seconds remaining in overtime. Purdue, which finished its season with a 21-11 record, led by as many as 12 points in the first half and had a 38-31 lead at the intermission. But West Virginia, 23-10, passed the Boilermakers at 50-49 on Russel Todd's basket with :13 left in regulation. After Todd's basket, there were nine more lead changes and four ties before the game went into over- time. TODD AND VIC Herbert paced the Mountaineers with 16 points apiece while Greg Jones and Donnie Gipson had 12 and 10, respectively. Jones and Gipson scored all their points after halftime. Purdue took a 12-2 lead in the first five minutes and twice led by as many as 12 points in the first half. A three-point play by Herbert, who scored 12 of his points in the first half, brought West Virginia within 12-11 but Purdue went on a 16-5 run to take a 28-16 lead and the Boilermakers later led 32-20 before the Moun- taineers cut the margin at halftime. Football grew too big for Criser By GARY LEVY College football, as Fritz Crisler kn- ew it as head coach at Michigan, was vaguely similar to college football as we know it today. Athletic scholarships, freshman eligibility and recruiting did not exist when Crisler coached the Wolverines from 1937-47. Yet he still managed to compile a 71- 16-3 mark, plus capture a couple of Big Ten Championships and a mythical national championship. And in the opinion of the 82-year-old Crisler, college football would have been better off without them. In fact, recruiting was the reason he left coaching 33 years ago. Crisler's 1947 team had gone through the regular season undefeated, capping off the perfect year with a 49-0 Rose . Bowl victory over Southern California, earning him coach-of-the-year honors. Then, at the pinnacle of his coaching success, he surprised the college foot- ball world by announcing his retirement from coaching to concen- trate on his duties as Michigan's Athletic Director. "I QUIT BECAUSE of a rule allowing coaches to recruit," recalled Crisler. "I knew it would change the game.,, A s Michigan coach Bo Schembechler would surely attest, recruiting has made coaching all the more difficult with traveling across-the-country in or- der to bid for blue-chip high school seniors. Crisler foresaw what recruiting would entail and decided that he didn't want any part of it. "I never had to recruit players," said Crisler in a telephone interview from his Ann Arbor home. "We just took the players who would come to the Univer- sity for a degree." FORTUNATELY FOR Crisler, players like Tom Harmon, Bob Westfall and Peteand Chalmers Elliot andtBob Chappius wanted to call Michigan their campus home. Back then, athletes didn't have a lower grade point requirement for ac- ceptance into college. Crisler also didn't have to worry about players being declared academically ineligible or deciding not to take classes during football season, which happens frequently these days. The student- athlete was truly a student-athlete. For these reasons, Crisler said that coaching is much tougher today than it was back when he led the Wolverines to Top Ten ranking in the national polls nine years in a row. "MY ONLY CONCERN other than football was that my players should get a desirable degree," said Crisler. High school recruiting has caused professional football to take control of the collegiate game, according to Crisler. He said that college teams have merely become "a free farm club for the pros." Crisler is known as a coaching genius for his development of two-platoon football which his young unexperienced team unveiled against a powerful Army squad at Yankee Stadium in 1945. As chairman of the College Football Rules Committee, he engineered the adoption of the two-point conversion. But to Crisler, his most important achievement in college football was simply winning football games. No one can deny the fact that he did that with remarkable success. UNISEX Long or Short Haircuts by Professionals at .. . 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