Page 8 -The Michigan Daily -Thursday, April 11, 1985 SPOR TS OF THE DAILY ( THE SPORTING VIEWS Tulane scam .. . ...who's to s uffer? A t V V s ' v v t +" v By HOWARD SOLOMON I F ASKED to cite the most important event to occur in the sporting world within the last two weeks, a vast majority of sports fans would claim the NCAA basketball tournament. Then again, if you're from Michigan you might say the Detroit Tigers' opening day. Neither event, however, will have nearly as much of a lasting impact as the point shaving scandal which has rocked Tulane University. There is a Green Wave in New Orleans alright, and it's headed straight towards the players' pockets. There also seems to be that breeze of white powder which is seemingly always present in situations like this. This scandal exemplifies the degree of corruption in college athletics among both players and coaches alike. Yet even though this is a controversy of major proportion, Tulane President Eamon Kelly made a poor decision in doing away with the entire basketball program. It is undoubtedly hard to argue with Kelly's decision. The situation entails a $10,000 payoff, two games in which points were allegedly shaved so that Tulane could cover the point spread, and a cocaine conspiracy. Nevertheless, a previously reputable program should not have to suffer the burden of a few corrupt individuals. The situation which occured at the University of San Francisco in 1982 draws similar parallels. Quintin Dailey (an NBA first-round draft pick) was accusedrpforaping a nurse. Amidst this controversy and various other problems, the president of the school decided to abolish the basketball program, one which had established itself as a perennial basketball powerhouse. Last fall the school announced the return of the sport, effective the next year. Among the only things gained through the entire incident was an enormous loss of revenue and alumni support. A once great basketball institution must now fight from ob- scurity to its position of former greatness. It surely will be no easy task. If Tulane University drops its program the same situation is likely to occur. The end result could possibly be a drop in enrollment, loss of alumni support, student apathy and anger directed towards the administration, and the loss of several promising scholarship athletes who will most probably transfer. This does not in any way support the actions of those implicated. The guilty parties, including coach Ned Fowler and "superstar" John Williams, deserve any punishment they might receive. The damage done at Tulane is irreversible. Regardless of whether or not the basketball program is dropped, the school's image both academically and athletically will be tarnished for a long while. The last time a point shaving scandal made the news was in 1981 involving Boston College. One of the guilty in- dividuals received a fifteen-year jail sentence. The same punishment should be given to those involved at Tulane. Boston College weathered this storm. So could Tulane. Why should this decision involve only the abolition of the basketball program? In the words of Kelly, "The focus of big money, the media pressure, drugs, gambling, and bet- ting are all part of our national culture of intercollegiate athletics." This may be true to a certain degree, but doesn't it also sound hypocritical in a sense? If such problems pervade college athletics, then football should also be abolished at Tulane. Yet imagine if football was dropped at Clemson, Florida, and Illinois (though I hate to admit it), rather than having the program face NCAA sanctions for violations. These teams were all caught, they accepted their punishment, and life even- tually went on as normal. The same thing could and should happen at Tulane. To drop a program with so rich a tradition as Tulane's is merely a cop out. If the school administration truly wants to vindicate the problem, it should punish the few involved, not the institution as a whole. The fact is that the heat was on and someone decided to get out of the kitchen. TigersI DETROIT (AP)-Detroit's Lou Whitaker drove in four runs with a pair of home runs and Kirk Gibson belted a three-run shot yesterday to back the combined four-hit pitching of Dan Petry and Aurelio Lopez as the Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians -8-1 to remain undefeated after two games. It marked the fourth time in his career that Whitaker has hit two homers in a game. The last time was Aug. 13, 1982 against the Kansas City Royals, a year in which he accom- plished the feat three times. WHITAKER'S FIRST homer was a three-run shot with one out in the third inning. Larry Herndon and Chet Lemon started the inning with singles and came around when Whitaker hit one just over the left field screen off Cleveland starter Vern Ruhle. Whitaker's second homer was a two- out solo shot in the fifth inning that gave Detroit a 4-1 lead. In the Detroit seventh, Lemon drew a walk off reliever Ramon Romero, was sacrificed to second by Tom Brookens, took third on a single by Whitaker and scored when shortstop Julio Franco threw wildly after fielding Alan Tram- mell's ground ball. GIBSON THEN cleaned the bases with a three-run homer off the facing of the third deck on a full-count pitch from Dave Von Ohlen for an 8-1 lead. Petry, 18-8 last year, scattered four hits over six innings, walking one and striking out two. Lopez pitched three perfect innings to record the save. Fisher gets award Freshman wrestling sensation John Fisher continued to add to his list of achievements yesterday even though the season ended three weeks ago. The Wolverine rookie was named'as the nation's outstanding freshman wrestler by the Amateur Wrestling News. Fisher compiled a 45-10 record alter- nating between 126 and 134 pounds, finishing fourth in the NCAA champion- ships at 134 last month. The Flint native was seeded eighth in the tourney, but managed to get to the quarter finals before losing to the eventual champion, Wisconsin's Jim Jordan. Fisher then )ur'y Indians, 8-1 went to the wrestlebacks where he eventually finished fourth, thereby becoming an All-American. Prior to the NCAAs, he camne in third at the Big Ten championships. Fisher, who was 54-0 his senior year at Flint Northern, was a two-time state champion, compiling a 148-14 overall record in high school. 0 M hurler honored -Michigan pitcher Vicki Morrow has been named Big Ten Softball Player of the Week for her play last weekend at Northwestern. In a four-game series against the Wildcats, Morrow was simply awesome for the Wolverines. The sophomore from Pontiac registered all three of Michigan's wins against a Wildcat team that was ranked fifth nationally coming into the series. Only one of Morrow's victories came as a starter, however, with the other two coming in relief. Overall, she hurled 24 innings against North- western, giving up just one unearned run. Morrow, who doubles as a first baseman when she's not on the mound, is now 6-1 on the season and will try to nail her seventh win against Indiana at home this weekend. Whitaker ... two sweet homers Big Ten inks new TV deal (Continued from Page 1) Canham said that none ,of the TBS games this year will be played in Ann Arbor, so starting times of Michigan home games will not be affected. "We're not ging to play any night games in Ann Arbor," Canham said. "Also, we are not going to be on any of Turner's 11:30 a.m. games here. I will not inconyenience our fans with an 11:30 starting time." Instead, the Wolverines will appear on TBS games while on the road. 'Canham's tenative plans will have Michigan in night games October 19 at Iowa and November 16 against Min- nesota at the Hubert Humphrey Metrodome. In addition, a couple of away afternoon games could be telecast. THE WOLVERINES also could have two afternoon home games on CBS. The most likely candidates are the opener against Notre Dame on September 14 and the final contest with Ohio State on November 23. While Canham noted that an evening contest is out of the question this season, he :did not lay to rest the possibility of a night game, maybe with Notre Dame, in the future. "We have no plans for any night games in Ann Arbor this year," he said. "But I'm not saying that we won't ever do it. It might be Notre Dame and it might not be Notre Dame. We've got them on our schedule for some time to come. "It would have to be an early game in September when it's warm," he added. "I'd like to see it, it would be fun." AP also contributed to this story. 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