. , ,.; uw+ , w. < . . " The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 15, 1985 - THE SPORTING VIEWS Tigers and Terrell win USFL tries to pass go.. . W. ..but NFL holds monopoly By SCOTT SHAFFER HINK OF all the young talent in the SS USFL. Doug Flutie, Jim Kelly. Steve Young. Anthony Carter. Herschel -Walker. Gary Anderson. Mike Rozier. "-The list goes on, but the attention given to these stars does not. Many of these players sign big con- tracts with the USFL but are rarely heard from again. Why is this so? While some may say not enough people care about the league, media coverage given to the spring league is largely, responsible for any disinterest. 1ewspapers and television affect -,people's opinions to a great extent. If the press treated the USFL with as much enthusiasm as even the NHL, ,public opinion would begin to rise. Too often do I pick up the paper and ,read yet another column about how boring the USFL is. Sure, the USFL is not the NFL's equal. But it certainly is superior to college football in terms of layer ability. Think about all of the ex- ,college players competing for jobs in the pros and you will realize this to be true. In most cases, the difference between a player making the NFL or the USFL isn't even that great. A couple of tenths ,of a second in the 40 yard dash or a few Winches in height can determine whether or not a player makes the team. - 'Although the USFL's line play isn't up to NFL standards, the player talent as a whole is not what is holding the spring league back. Although some teams, such as the Los Angeles Express and the Arizona Wranglers/Outlaws have been hurt by poor management. I believe the main problems are playing in the spring and dealing with the television networks. The owners tried to correct the first problem when they announced a move to the fall, effective 1986. However, this move is now in jeopardy because of the ""network's refusal to show the USFL v 4'during NFL season. The USFL has gotten decent ratings .Jn the past (5.5 percent of household in t .4984) but the networks refused every proposal. League negotiator Eddie Einhorn offered to switch games to Saturday and even offered CBS the en- tire 1986 season plus the playoffs for a mere $4 million if the network would commit themselves for 1987. When you compare $4 million to the $500 million that the three networks pay the NFL annually, you have to wonder why Einhorn's offer was turned down. The answer in a word - MONOPOLY. The NFL's monopoly of the airwaves is obvious in light of the above facts. "When the product et- ting better doesn't make any differen- ce, when the price of the rights doesn't make any difference, when the fact that I've got a Saturday opening doesn't make any difference, do you need a picture, do you need a Degas painting to tell you what's happening? The fix is in," Einhorn said in a recent issue of Sports Illustrated. One plus for the fledgling league is its willingness to innovate to gain fan sup- port. While the NFL is busy passing rules that take excitement and color out of the game (such as the anti- celebration and spiking rule or the 15 yard penalty against kickers trying to draw roughing calls), the USFL is ex- perimenting with instant replays to determine close calls and with stopping the clock while the chains are set after the two minute warning to make com- backs possible. Another gripe I have with the NFL is that there is little incentive for a team to win with a guaranteed income of roughly $15 million per year from TV alone. A case in point is the Buffalo Bills. In recent years, they have allowed Tom Cousineau (CFL) and Jim Kelly, (USFL) both first round picks to escape and did not draft Doug Flutie when given the opportunity to, despite the fact that quarterback position is their biggest question mark. Buffalo faithful also had to suffer the loss of their biggest'star, Joe Cribbs, who signed with the USFL's Stallions. The USFL has the big names, the ex- citing contests and the burning desire to succeed. It would be a shame if the NFL's monopoly on the networks stop- ped it. LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) - Detroit's Walt Terrell made his second strong showing and the Tigers took advantage of five St. Louis errors for a 5-4 exhibition vic- tory over the Cardinals yesterday. Terrell, who came to the Tigers in an off-season trade from the New York Mets, breezed through the first three innings, yielding three harmless hits and striking out two. THE VICTORY improved the Tigers' spring record to 6-1, while the Cardinals were playing their first exhibition game. Lance Parrish singled in the Detroit first, went to third when first baseman Andy Van Slyke misplayed John Grubb's grounder for an error and scored on a grounder by Darrell Evans. In the Tigers third, singles by Doug Baker, Lou Whitaker and Mike Laga produced another run off loser Bob Forsch. Whitaker trotted home when Laga stole second and catcher Mike LaValliere's throw skipped into center field. THE TIGERS made it 5-0 in the fifth. Whitaker reached third when center fielder Vince Coleman dropped hislong fly ball for an error and scored when Ron Johnson doubled down the right field line. Kirk Gibson walked, Parrish was safe on Ron Jackson's error at third and Laga came home on Grubb's sacrifice fly. The Cards got two runs in the ninth on a single by Darell Porter and doubles by Jackson and Argenis Salazar. Associated Press Anarchy in the U.K. English soccer fans invade the field at the end of an FA Cup match in Luton. After Luton had defeated Millwall, 1-0, fans ran onto the field hurling broken seats at police. r A defense against cancer can be cooked up in your kitchen. Call us. AAMCAN CANCER SOCEW One test where onlY you know the score. 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