ySPORTS Friday, March 27, 1981 The Michigarn Daily Page 8 scrimmages with an eye on opener. }By RON POLLACK The regular season for the Michigan football team may seem a long way off, but don't tell that to Bo Schembechler and his football players. The Wolverine pursuit of perfection gives the im- pression that their opening day game at Wisconsin is this Saturday rather than over five months from now. In order to make the practices as close to game conditions as possible, referees and yard markers are used during scrimmages, while a cameraman takes in all the action from =/. F'J 0tPONDE oSA March 20 thru April17 atONDEO I Caw Eat rim' and Salad Bar - - FOR A LIMITED TIME... enjoy all the fish filets and all the salad you can eat. Dinner also includes baked potato and warm roll with butter...allfor one low price! a tower above the practice field. It would seem that the only thing missing is 100,000 screaming fans. THESE DAYS, not even the weather can be considered a formidable foe to practices. The Wolverines will practice in rain, sleet or snow. But unlike the mail man stereotype, the Michigan gridders can go about their business in comfort. The Wolverines' new indoor practice facilities only require them to walk in the cold for all of the 15 seconds that are required to get there from the locker room next door. Attempts to accomplish as much as possible during spring do not end with cameramen, yardsticks, referees and indoor facilities. Once these objects and people are in place, the players them- selves can try to emulate these attem- pts atrealism. When opposing players do battle during games, it is not just a matter of two individuals trying to beat up on each other. In addition to the physical aspect of the game, a tremendous amount of technique and instinctive knowledge is required. PRIOR TO SCRIMMAGES, the team breaks down into individual positions, where technique takes priority. To the untrained eye, each block or tackle might look exactly alike. But this is not the case for the Michigan coaches who find, and try to correct, the flaws in the players' game. "Widen your base. Don't keep your feet two inches apart. Keep them wide," yelled offensive line coach Jerry Hanlon to his players during a practice. Although this might seem easily corrected, flaws in technique sometimes don't disappear as quickly as the Wolverine coaches might hope. "YOU'RE ALWAYS coming off the back hip and that's a bad habit,'' said defensive coordinator Bill McCartney to the team's linebackers. When not working on technique or scrimmaging, the players are given various situations in which they must react quickly. During these drills the coach calls out a play to which the players move in response to. During practice, a coach calls out, "70 jump, check 40, mike, nine, nine, black, black." To this, the player has little time to react, making it a prerequisite that his reaction be instinctive. After erring on a play, a player told Hanlon that he "thought" he was sup- posed to do something else, prompting the Michigan assistant to explode: 'Don't think. If you think, we're all in trouble. You (should) know." ALTHOUGH A significant amount of SPORTS OF THE DAILY: .9 Atlanta axes Brown 1 time is spent on technique and learning to act instinctively, physical contact is. still a large part of the practice. When Woody Hayes spoke to the team following a practice last week, he ex- pressed surprise at how early in J.he spring Michigan began hitting. Although there are not as many bone crushing tackles as in a game, a failure to hit with enough intensity will draw criticism from the coaching staff. "Put your helmet into him Ed (Muransky). Punish him," said Schembechler during a scrimmage. ATTEMPTS TO COVER all phases of the game are evident in the other drills used in practice. Every conceivable situation is practiced. The offense and. defense work on the running, passing, and kicking games. They do this from midfield to inside the ten yard line. An even greater variety is incorportated@$ by running these plays from the middle of the field along with the left and right hash marks. Although all the work that the football team is now doing does not guarantee them a return trip to the Rose Bowl, it should assure them of at least being well prepared next season. WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) -' Atlanta Coach Hubie Brown, who led the Hawks to the Central Division title a year ago, was fired yesterday, the National Basketball Association Club announced. The vote by the five members of the board of directors, who met in West Palm Beach, was unanimous, accor- ding to Mike Gearon, president of the NBA club. IN A STATEMENT, Geardon said Brown would be relieved of his duties During f his five seasons in Atlanta, Brown had a 199-208 record. He took over in 1976-77 and had a 31-51 record: his first year but improved each season until the current one. Washed out 0 THE AIR FORCE has immediate openings for Dental Specialists in Endodontics and Pedodontics. Starting salaries and entry grade are commensurate with expe- rience. If you are under 40 years of age, investigate this outstanding-career opportunity. CONTACT: 23400 Michigan Ave., Village Plaza Dearborn, Michigan 48124 collect (313)561-7018 3354 East - Woshtenaw Ave. {Acrgsfrom Arborlond Shopping Center) On West Stadium Blvd.. (Just North of Intersection of Stadium & liberty) iHrown ..ex-coach immediately. Assistants Mike Fratello and Brendan Suhr would coach the Hawks during their remaining three games. Atlanta, 31-48, victimized by injuries this season, failed to make the playoffs after three consecutive seasons in post- season play under Brown. Brown, 47, had three years remaining' on his contract. No corryoutoders. Applicale taxes not included. At Prticipoting Stekhouses. © 1481 Ponderosa System, inc. Special to theDaily MIAMI, Fla. - The Michigan baseball team migrated south to "sunny Florida" for one reason - good game weather. Unfortunately, this was not the situation yesterday and the Wolverines' game against Bowling Green was rained out. Michigan, who is 5-4, has four games remaining on its spring trip before returning to Ann Arbor for Tuesday's home opener, a doubleheader against Grand Valley State. Michigan faces Glassboro State and Miami (Fla.) today, and Florida Inter- national and Miami again Saturday. Weather permitting of course. Seminoles charged TALLAHASSEE, Fla: (AP) - Leon CountyState Attorney Don Modesst Thursday filed charges of aiding an abetting a thief° against six Florida State University football players ac- cused of buying stolen television sets. The third-degree felony charges against 1979 All-American noseguard Ron Simmons and five of his Seminole teammates carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $5,0010 fine. Arraignment for the players was set for Monday. BESIDES SIMMONS, a 21-year-old senior from Warner Robins, Ga., other players charged are Ken Lanier, a 21 year-old senior tackle from Columnbus Ohio; Sam Platt, 22, a senior tailback from Jacksonville; Eric Riley, 18, a freshman wide receiver from Fort Myers; Herbert Harp, a 19-year-old defensive tackle from Winter Garden, and Tommy Young, a junior running back from Lake City. The players were arrested March 11 and charged with buying 'color television sets from Robert Harris, a 19 year-old former Seminole football player who flunked out of school. Modessit said he also had filed charges of trafficking in stolen proper- ty against Harris, in connection with the theft of about $27,000 worth of mer- chandise from a large department store. Techsters No. 1 EUGENE, Ore. CAP) - Lousiana, Tech was named the top women's college basketball team in the countr for the 1980-81 season by an unanimous. vote of the 50 women's coaches Thur- sday. The unbeaten Techsters, 32-0, remained at the top all season - the> first school to go wire-to-wire in the five: years the poll has existed. ii ViA Air Force. A great way of life. IM SCORES WEDNESDAY Water Polo Fraternity Class C Playoffs Sigma Chi 6, Sigma Phi Epislon 4 Class D Playoffs Theta Chi 2, Zeta Psi 0 (forfeit) ' Volleyball Womens Recreative Daring Deltas 2, School of Nursing i The Clones 2, Hot Legs 0 ' a p' _ ~" +y r_ J'. J i . y i " , hCiik1Jlr'. 14 Give the gift of music. ATTE NiON Creative People - Artists Craftsmen Need extra money for your creative work? We will disnlav yu r works and sell i PFECORflS