The Michigan Daily - Saturday, March 23, 1985 --Page 11 Philling i"t Up NCAA ROUNDUP By Phil Nussel L Villan ova victimizes Terps Spring practice begins . . reserves look to move up BELIEVE IT or not, there is some legitimate football being played. No, not the USFL. Nobody around here really cares about garbage foot- ball. The big football story in town right now is Michigan spring practice. The Wolverines began their annual spring workout schedule on Tuesday and had their first full scrimmage yesterday. And for those of you who think that spring practice is just a little friendly get-together among the coaches and players, you're wrong. It sounds like an overused cliche, but it's nonetheless true-there's a lot of hitting going on in that indoor football complex on State Street. With eleven or more positions on the starting roster opening up in the fall, nobody in their right mind will be taking it easy in practice. Now is the time for players to get brownie points. Now is the time to show Coach Schem- bechler and his crew who is working their butts off for the team. And yes, the team is fired up. Players are already hobbling around South Quad on crutches and almost the whole team is sore from the first week of contact. "People are pretty fired up because there are a lot of positions open, especially on defense," said outside linebacker Carlitos Bostic. "We've been trying to fly around and that's the attitude-fly around." But there's a lot more than hitting going on. For the coaches, this is a time to get a head start on analyzing some of the younger players in game situations. Sometimes practice is like a class. Teaching the team all the dif- ferent formations is a constant process. "I think the enthusiasm is pretty high," said assistant coach Gary Moeller. "I also think there's a lot of learning taking place. We're at a very fundamental stage right now." Cornerback Garland Rivers, who has been moved to strong safety for the spring, echoed this, "They (the coaches) have mostly been talking about the little things. That's how some teams lose, by not concentrating on the little things." Championships may be won in the fall, but it starts in the spring. The teams who get a lot accomplished now have a head start on many of their rivals. "Concentration is a big key right now and that's one reason why we scrimmage," Moeller said. "We want to see concentration in a game-like situation." Does all this stress on concentration put pressure on the players? "No, it's not pressure," said Bostic. "It's just that they (the coaches) want to see who's going ahead and who's going to lag behind. "It's not pressure at all, it's a lot of learning, especially the first week." Rivers added, "The coaches want to know who comes out one and two for fall." Spring practice also brings on a dilemma for the older, established players on the team. They have to set a good example for the younger players by being intense and hitting hard, yet they also have to stay healthy in order to be ready when fall practice begins. The young players can afford to go all- out and get banged up-they don't have to defend a starting position. "They (the older players) think about not getting hurt," Rivers said, "because a lot of people get hurt during spring ball. It's like a lot of people are tired because the season just ended." So far, Moeller hasn't seen this as a major problem. "The older players are doing a good job right now," he said. "They're trying, which helps the younger players." Another potential spring practice problem is lack of enthusiasm among ; the coaches. Not in Ann Arbor. Not this year anyway, even after a season that ended just three months ago, followed by two months of heavy (and suc- cessful) high school recruiting. "They (the coaches) are excited," Bostic noted. "That's cool. I'm glad they're excited. When they're excited, you get a little more motivated. This is all good to hear, of course. But it's only the first week of practice. The next four weeks should be a good indicator of what we might see in the fall. Let's hope that the next four weeks stay as enthusiastic as this first week-then we can all get enthusiastic about the fall. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Ed Pinckney scored seven points during an 11-0 spurt at the start of the second half that led Villanova to a 46-43 victory over Maryland in the NCAA Southeast Regional basketball semifinals last night. Villanova, 22-11, trailed 20-19 at half- time before holding the Terrapins scoreless over the first 7:10 of the second half. H AROLD PRESSLEY scored the go- ahead basket one minute into the second half and, after Dwight Wilbur hit two free throws 90 seconds later, Pinckney scored the next seven points as Villanova surged to a 30-20 advan- tage. Maryland ws never able to get closer than five points until the final minutes and never got closer than three. Villanova's 11-0 run at the start of the second half actually completed a 15-0 streak that included the last two baskets of the first half, when Maryland was held scoreless for the final 2:10. GARY McLAIN'S 20-footer with 1:35 left in the half cut the lead to 20-17 and Pressley scored on a running 10-footer at the buzzer.; Pinckney led the Wildcats with 16 points and Dwayne McClain added 14. Adrian Branch led all scorers with 21 for Marlyland, 25-12, but the Terps' Len Bias, ACC Player of the Year and a second-team All-American, was held to a season-low eight points. N.C. State 61, Alabama 55 DENVER (AP) - Diminutive guard Anthony "Spud" Webb rattled in 14 points, and reserve forward Bennie Bolton canned a pair of insurance free throws with 33 seconds left last night to lead No. 16 North Carolina State to a 61- 55 victory over Alabama in the NCAA West Regional semifinals. Alabama, which finished the season at 23-10, got a game-high 18 points from guard Terry Coner but couldn't manage to match the Wolfpack's surge. With 33 seconds left, the Crimson Tide trailed North Carolina State 55-53 and the Wolfpack, 23-9, missed a chance to increase the lead when the 5-foot-7 Webb missed the front end of a one-and- one. But Bolton, who finished with 11 points, was fouled after Webb's toss and canned both of his shots, giving North, Carolina State a 57-53 lead. WEBB ADDED a pair of free throws just seconds later when he was fouled while leading a sloppy fast break. That made it 59-53. Coner, Alabama's "Mr. Basketball" in 1983, canned a jumper with 14 secon- ds left and Alabama had another chan- ce when, with 10 seconds remaining, a North Carolina State inbounds pass went out of bounds. But Mark Got- tfried's 15-foot jumper missed and Nor- th Carolina State rebounded to secure the victory. Russell Pierre was fouled and made two free throws for the final margin. Associated Press Wolverine killer Dwayne McClain guards Maryland's Len Bias during last night's Southeast Regional semi-final action in Birmingham. Spark LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) - Detroit Tigers Manager Sparky Anderson made what he termed "the second- biggest decision of my career" yester- day when he asked two-time All-Star "tUWT 7T totry W second baseman Lou Whitaker to move to third base in order to make room for impressive rookie Chris Pittaro. Anderson said the experiment would begin today when Whitaker will play third in a morning intrasquad game and also in an afternoon Grapefruit League exhibition against the Toronto Blue Jays. "I DON'T know how it's going to work out but it's a serious step, I'm not joking," said Anderson, who has been known to change his mind about such ventures. "The odds are in favor of this happening." Anderson said he had been con- sidering the move for about five days but wanted to talk to Whitaker about it first. "I would think that when hitaker at -third you've got a man who has been the second baseman in the last two All-Star games, you'd certainly want his blessing before you did such a thing," Anderson said. "I talked to Lou today. He'll do anything if you ask him to." PITTARO, 23, is a switch-hitter who is batting .350 this spring and has made just one error in 13 games. Third base is not entirely foreign to Whitaker. He. signed as a third baseman and played there his first two years in the Tiger organization. He wasn't coverted to second base until 1977 when he got to Montgomery, Ala., of the Class AA Southern Association. The year before, at Lakeland of the Florida State League, Whitaker played 124 games at third and led all FSL third baseman in fielding with a .924 percen- tage en route to being. named the league's most valuable player. Pittaro was the Tigers' sixth choice in the 1982 draft after playing three years at the University of North Carolina. His move would mean that Pittaro will bypass Class AAA ball altogether - just as Whitaker did. He played last year at Birmingham of the Southern League. No one faces cancer alone. Call us. AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY THIRD ANNUAL OFFICIAL BALLOT Whitaker ... sent to hot corner Dodgers walk by Tigers, 8- 7 Best of Ann Arbor LAKELAND, Fla. (AP)-Ken Lan- dreaux drove in four runs yesterday as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Detroit Tigers 8-7 in exhibition baseball. The Dodgers, winners of seven straight, improved their Grapefruit League record to 9-3, while the Tigers slipped to 9-5. IT WAS A loosely played game that took three hours, two minutes to play with 17 walks-eight by Detroit pitchers and nine by the Dodgers. Tom- Bren- nan, 1-0, a non-roster hopeful, picked up ,the victory. With the score tied 6-6 in the Los Angeles seventh, Mike Marshall walked, went to third on Mike Scioscia's hit-and-run single and then Ed Amelung, who went in to run after 'Marshall reached third, scored when Brian Kelly, 0-1, uncorked a wild pitch. R.J. Reynolds, running for Scioscia, and Sid Bream, who walked, pulled a double steal and Reynolds scored on Dave Anderson's sacrifice fly giving the Dodgers an 8-6 lead. The Tigers picked up one in the ninth when Doug Baker walked, took second on a grounder and scored on a single by Dwight Lowry. SWhite Sox 8, Blue Jays 2 SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) - Harold Baines collected three hits yesterday, } the big blow a three-run homer, to lead the Chicago White Sox to an8-2 exhibition baseball victory over the 'Toronto Blue Jays. Tom Seaver, 2-1, went five innings for Chicago, allowing only a first-inning run on Willie Aikens' RBI single. That lone run ended Seaver's scoreless- inning string at 13 1-3. The three-time Cy Young winner owns a 1.59 earned run average in Grapefrut League play. BAINES, BATTING .417 during the spring, doubled in one run against Matt Red Sox 9, Astros 3 KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) - The Boston Red Sox, led by Jim Rice's three-run homer in the sixth, clubbed five Houston pitchers for 12 hits yester- day en route to a 9-3 exhibition baseball victory over the Astros. The Red Sox blasted Houston starter Mike Madden, 0-2, for five runs in the third inning and Rice's home run fueled the four-run sixth inning. Bruce Kison, 2-0, struck out two and yielded two of Houston's four hits over four innings. Alan Ashby homered in the fourth in- ning for the Astros. A's 13, Brewers 9 PHOENIX, Ariz (AP) - Pinch hitter Danny Goodwin ripped a three-run triple in the seventh inning yesterday to lift the Oakland A's to a 13-9 exhibition victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers had rallied to an 8-6 lead by scoring six runs off Oakland's Rick Langford. Dave Collins' run-scoring in- field single off loser Tom Tellmann preceded Goodwn's first spring hit in six at bats. THE A'S added three runs in the eighth against Jim Kern on an RBI double by Phil Stephenson and a two- run single by Rob Picciolo. Milwaukee struck first with a two-run homer by Mark Brouhard, but the A's tied it on run-scoring singles by Picciolo and Alfredo Griffin. The Brewers' six subsequent runs were the first allowed this spring by Langford, who is trying to come back from elbow surgery he had two seasons ago. Robin Yount and Doug Loman also hit homers for the Brewers, and Jim Gantner had a pair ofRBI doulbes. The winning pitcher was Dave Leiper, who allowed one run over the final three innings. Angels 8, Indians 1 TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Wally Joyner tripled in a run to cap a five-run second inning and starter Mike Witt surren- dered only three hits in five innings as the California Angels beat the Cleveland Indians 8-1 in an exhibition baseball game Friday. Witt, 1-1, struck out four and walked two in his longest outing of the spring. Cleveland, 7-6, scored its only run off him in the third when Brett Butler singled, took second on a balk and scored on a double by Julio Franco. Angels' relievers Bob Kipper and Rafael Lugo each turned in two hitless innings. All ballots must be received by April 5 to be considered. THE BEST FOOD Best Burger Best Pizza Best Subs THE BEST BUSINESSES Best Men's Clothing Store Best Women's Clothing Store Best Shoe Store Best Ice Cream Best Bookstore Best Popcorn. Best Florist Best Gifts Best Fast Food Best Deli Best Copying Best Oriental Food Best Liquor Store ___ Best Used Record Store Best Breakfast Spot. 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