V- < Page 8-Sunday, March 6, 1983-The Michigan Daily Gophers gag 'NI', 88-75 (Continued from Page 1) NOT KNOWN for its running game, Minnesota converted Wolverine turnovers-mostly blocked shots-into fast-break baskets. The Gophers were relentless, turning 3-on-3 and 4- on-4 situations into baskets simply by filling the passing lanes and outhustling Michigan down the court. "Because of the blocks, everybody else came out and got stronger," Frieder said. "Not only the blocks hurt us, but it was how they led to so many easy baskets." Minnesota stretched its lead to 14 at one point, but settled for a 45-33 halftime advantage. Because of Minnesota's pressure-zone defense, Eric Turner, Michigan's leading scorer, managed only two shots in the half. MINNESOTA WAS in control the entire second half, despite the offensive emergence of Turner, who scored 14 in the second stanza, but couldn't put the game away early. After stretching the lead to 63-44, Minnesota's largest of the day, Michigan scratched back. Freshman forward Butch Wade hit three consecutive jump shots and Turner canned another to cut the Gopher advantage to11 with 9:52 left. "We though we had them under control," said Dutcher, "but Wade hit three straight shots and got them right back into it." BUT THE WOLVERINES never did make a serious run. A Turner jump shot with three minutes to go cut Minnsota's MICHIGAN MinFG/A FT/A R A PF Pts A lead to single digits, 77-68, but the Wolverines couldn't get any closer. Minnesota cruised to its eighteenth victory in 26 games, and upped its conference record to 9-7. The victory was crucial for the Gophers, who are fighting for a possible NCAA tournament bid. Going into the game the Gophers were sixth in the Big Ten, and the win moved them into a tie for fourth. The loss dropped the Wolverines to 13-13 overall and 4-12 in the Big Ten. On the plus side for the Wolverines, McCormick's 24 points were a career high. In addition he grabbed 10 rebounds and was 12 of 13 from the foul line. "I TRIED to work as hard as I could," said the 6-11 junior. "Personal highs don't mean much to me now (with the loss) but when I look back I'll probably be pleased with my per- formance." Tommy Davis led Minnesota vAith 22 points. The Wolverines now return home for their final two games-Thursday against Iowa and Saturday against Nor- thwestern-and Frieder has not yet given up on coaching his Wolverines. "Our defense has to get better," he said. "I hope we can return home and have some pride, and play well for the fans at Crisler." Henderson Rellford McCormick Person Turner Jokisch Wade Pelekoudas Tarpley Team Rebounds Totals 25 2/11 2/2 8 20 3/11 0/0 3 38 6/13 12/43 10 20 3/7 0/0 4 40 8/12 2/2 3 7 0/0 0/0 0 20 4/7 0/0 3 22 1/3 0/0 1 8 2/7 0/0 4 3 29/71 16/17 39 0 0 0 10 10 0 0 1 0 6 6 24 7 18 a 8 2 4 Brooks Howell Breuer Wilson Davis Petersen Wohler Shasky Skanes Scott Team Reliounds Totals MINNESOTA MinFG/A FT/A 31 5/8 4/6 27 4/5 5/6 36 6/13 5/6 34 2/11 5/6 35 6/13 10/10 20 4/4 0/1 7 0/2 1/2 6 1/1 0/0 3 1/1 0/0 1 0/0 0/0 29/58 30/37 R 2 3 10 3 5 7 0 1 2 35 12 22 75 A PF Pts 1' 1 14 0 2 13 .2 4 17 6 1 9 0 2 22 1 2 8 1 11 1 1 2 0 1 2 1 012 13 15 88 E Technical foul: McCormick. Halftime score: Minnesota 45, Michigan 33 Attendance: 16,791 tull court PRESS TV's college hoop 'experts'.,. .what do they know? By JESSE BARKIN MINNEAPOLIS TELEVISION BASKETBALL commentators sometimes infuriate me with their continualhedging and their lacking "expert" opinions. Yesterday on NBC's Big Ten Game-of-the Week, color man Fred Taylor was talking about Ohio State guard Troy Taylor (no relation). "He may be one of the quickest guards around." What does that mean? Is he one of the quickest guards around? Are some quicker? Or is everyone quicker? And around where? Around the house? Why can't he just say "he is one of the quickest guards in the nation." That would be a statement. It is not like he said "the quickest." Then he would be smart in hedging his bet. The other one I hear over and over, and which makes my sto n, is "that- may have been travelling." This genre of statement usually occurs after a player has tra ed (or committed a foul, or whatever) but the officials made no call. Generally, when a commentator makes this statement, the infraction has indeed been committed, albeit undetected. Wh'y can't he just say "he travelled?" Is the announcer protecting the referees? I wish I had a clue. After all, aren't these commentators supposed to be experts? Hell, with all the replay equipment and numerous camera views, a chi:mpanzee from the booth would know if a player walked a couple of steps without dribbling. But they aren't all bad. Three nights ago on the USA Network, former Texas coach Abe Lemmons did the color for the Houston-Arkansas game. He didn't hedge. He would say "he fopled him ... he travelled.. . the ref blew the call." That is what television needs; honesty. ESPN's Dick Vitale is a winner also. He offers no-nonsense, straightfor- ward opinions. Dare to be obnoxious, that's probably his motto. But it works because he is honest. Some have labeled him a poor man's Al McGuire. If he is, I'd take poverty any day. Something about Vitale's personality makes him likeable, while McGuire, NBC's designated egomaniac, spends much too much time on theatrics, and having the only right answer. Listen Al, your microphone works fine, you don't have to scream. Also, it was refreshing, even cute, the first time you used the terms "aircraft carrier. . . tap city.. . you can't play man-to-man on an inbounds play because you're going to get burned." But you play those broken records over and over again, and I cringe every time you repeat your pet cliches. So who is good and who is bad? Don't look for the answers here because I don't have the space to rate the dozens of "experts" and play-by-play men on the scene today. Besides, why should anyone listen to me, I'm no expert either. Keeping up with basketball announcers is an impossible job anyway. Bet- ween the traditional networks, USA, ESPN, and other stations - such as local Michigan and DePaul broadcasts - basketball junkies can watch two or three games a night. The biggest hazard caused by this plethora of televised games is that programmers forgot that some of us have to study for school. How can one study when the brothers of Phi Slamma Jamma are taking it to the Razor- backs for the Southwest Conference title? Perhaps the saving grace of all of this is that the NCAA Championships are early in April. That leaves two full weeks to read and study everything we've blown off all semester while listening to broadcasters butcher the very English language we're studying. Wimgs lose steam as North Stars win 4-1 Buckeye free throws sink Purdue, 76-65 COLUMBUS, (AP) -Fourteenth ranked Ohio State sank 19 of 20 free throws while Purdue managed only 13 of 25 at the foul line yesterday and it helped the Buckeyes beat the Boiler- makers 76-65 and remain in contention for the Big Ten basketball title. It was a big turnaround for the Buckeyes who made only 15 of 27 foul shots two days earlier and lost to Illinois. ELDON MILLER, Ohio State's coach, was asked after the victory if his players spent more time practicing their foul shooting Friday.. "No, we shot less," he answered. "It's a mental thing, it's not a repetition of fundamentals." Gene Keady, Purdue's coach, accep- ted his team's free throw shooting philosophically. . "How are you going to change free throw shooting? You can either shoot them or you can't. We shot 300 of them in practice last week," he said. The vic- tory lifted Ohio State's league record to 11-6 with a showdown Saturday at In- diana in the final regular season games for both teams. Mlichigan State 91, Wisconsin 65 MADISON (UPI) - Michigan State, sparked by the strong inside play of 7- foot center Kevin Willis, yesterday overcame a sluggish first half to down the Wisconsin Badgers 91-65 in Big Ten action. The victory was the Spartan's fourth in a row and left them with an even 8-8 record in the Big Ten and 14-11 overall. The Badgers fell to 3-13 in the conferen- Big Ten Standings ce and 8-18 overall. THE INSIDE work of Willis, com- bined with the long-range shooting of freshman guard Scott Skiles, proved too much for the Badgers in the second half. The Spartans broke the game open at 50-43 when Skiles hit a jumper and was followed a three-point play by freshman Patrick Ford. The Spartans stretched their seven point lead to 19 with 7:28 left in the game. Willis led the Spartans in scoring with 20 points. Corey Blackwell and Ricky Olson scored 18 points each for the Badgers. Georgetown 87, Vi lanora 71 LANDOVER, Md. (AP) - Seven-foot center Patrick Ewing scored 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds yesterday to lead 16th-ranked Georgetown past four- th-ranked Villanova 87-71 in a Big East Conference basketball game. Georgetown, 20-8 overall and 10-5 in the Big East, outscored the Wildcats 17- 2 in the first six minutes of the second half to extend a 32-28 halftime advan- tage to 49-30. Al.Photo Randy Breuer rises over Michigan's Tim McCormick during yesterday's 88- 75 Minnesota win. Breuer also dominated in other areas, scoring 17 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Lakers pound Pistons: By LARRY FREED AND PAUL HELGREN Special to the Daily PONTIAC - Magic made the fancy passes, Kareem made the sky hooks, James Worthy made the fast break jams and the Pistons made a game of it - well. for three quarters anyway. After holding a slim 86-85 third- quarter lead, the Los Angeles Lakers reeled off 11 straight points to start the fourth quarter and breeze to a 122-108 victory over the Detroit Pistons in front of 25,278 fans at the Silverdome. last night. "THAT MIGHT have been (our)best game in a month," said Laker coach Pat Riley. "We've had problems sustaining the running game, but tonight we had consistent play." Laker rookie Worthy led Los Angeles! with 28 points, many of them on vicious slam dunks. Earvin Johnson added 21: points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds and Jamaal Wilkes scored 26 for the win-- ners. Isiah ,Thomas played superbly leading the Pistons with 30 points! Detroit, which led 61-56 at the half,; played well but could not contain the Laker fast break. "I thought our guys played very hard tonight," Piston coach Scotty Rober- tson said. "We let it get away at the. start of the fourth quarter." Detroit's fourth quarter slide may have been due to fatigue, as they only: got six points from their bench. Starters Kelly Tripucka and Bill Laimbee4 scored 23 and 20 points repectively for the Pistons, whose record f:ell to 28-32. 4 4 Indiana.......... Ohio State......... Illinois........... Purdue .......... Iowa ............... Minnesota .......... Michigan State ..... Northwestern..... Michigan......... Wisconsin........ Conf. W 12 11 9 9 9 9 8 7 41 31 L 5 6 7 7 7 7 8 9 12 13 Overall W L 22 5 19 8 19 10 18 8 18, 8 18 8 14 11 16 10 13 13 8 18 B lue PaDaily Photo by BRIAN MASCK Former Michigan grid stars Andy Cannavino and Anthony Carter pose here with their new head coach Jim Stanley at the Pontiac Silverdome, home of the Panthers. rj THE. SPORTING VIEWS C]j By JIM DAVIS Special to the Daily DETROIT - Lately the Red Wings have been playing their best hockey in the third period. That wasn't the case last night, however, at, the Minnesota North Stars skated past listless Detroit 4-1 at Joe Louis Arena. The North Stars got off to a 4-0 lead early in the game and then played the Wings defensively the rest of the night. DETROIT COACH Nick Polano thought fatigue was a factor in the loss. "We've played an awful lot of hockey (eight games in 14 days) and it showed out there tonight," said Polano. "We didn't make the good plays to get us the goals. Whenever we had the good chan- ce, he (Minnesota goalie Don Beaupre) came up with a good stop." The loss broke a four-game Detroit unbeaten streak. The Wings are fighting with Toronto and St. Louis for one of two playoff spots in the Norris Division. Both the Leafs and Blues were losing late in their respective games last night. Minnesota opened the scoring The North Stars scored a shorthan- ded goal early in the second period to put the game out of reach. With Bobby Smith off for hooking, Mike Eaves pushed the puck around Willie Huber and just inside the left post for Min- nesota's final goal. Reggie Leach finally got Detroit on the board at 11:14 of the second stanza in a scramble at the front of Min- nesota's goal. Leach slid it past Beaupre for his fifteenth goal of the season. The Red Wings dominated play in the period, outshooting the North Stars 13-3. Nonetheless, Detroit found itself down by three goals late in the game, just as it has in each of the last three contests, when the Wings rallied to tie two and win the other. But this one wasn't in the stars. SCORES College Basketball Michigan St. 91, Wisconsin 65 Ohio St. 76, Purdue 65 Indiana 67,Illinois 55 Nebraska 77, Oklahoma St. 68 Georgetown 87, Villanova 71 West Virginia 77. St. Joseph's 66 _ GO USFL! Football is a sport for all seasons By MIKE BRADLEY ERSCHEL WALKER, George Allen, and Anthony Carter. Gimme a 'U'-! Tom Ramsey, Chuck Fairbanks, and Kelvin Bryant. Gimme an 'S'! The Chicago Blitz, New Jersey Generals, and Michigan Panthers. Gimme an 'F'! Spring and Summer Football. Gimme an 'L'! What's that spell? Headaches for housewives, and euphoria for football junkies across the United States. It's the United States Football League, which has been stealing all the headlinesby doing dastar- dly things, such as signing the immature and vulnerable Herschel Walker before the NCAA deemed him ready to be pounded into the turf for the awesome spectre of year-round football. No sooner did the NFL season, with its hogs and killer bees, come grinding to a halt than did the USFL jump right into its training camps, which resem- bled a Ringling Brothers tryout more than a professional football workout. Sure, there were early problems. The Arizona Wranglers didn't have a coach until January 11. The Boston Breakers' stylish helmet decals arrived a little late, but had no earholes. The Bir- mingham Stallions ran out of helmets in practice. These are only minor snafus for the new league. All great organizations have had little stumbling blocks at their outset. However, not all have had lucrative television contracts to guarantee each team 1.2 million a year for the next two seasons. The WFL, WHA, AAFC, ABA, and WTT did not have the luxury of guarneteed revenues like that every year, and that certainly contributed to their with a gin and tonic and watch Kelvin Bryant slice through the Oakland Invaders' defense while losings20 pounds in the process. The winners this season will be the fans. Foot- ball is football, whether played by superstars or not-so-superstars. If the world lusted for football' only in its highest form, then highschool-football would not be so popular. So, all systems are go' with the new league and its large contingent of NFL castaways. As for the season itself, the Chicago Blitz and New Jersey Generals should be the USFL's real class acts. George Allen has done a tremendous job with marketing a very good product, and his efforts should be rewarded with a division title. In the Eastern sector, Chuck Fairbanks" Generals should run away with the division crown thanks to Walker. The Philadelphia Stars, whose offense is dynamite but whose defense is I