Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball
Association Qualifying Tournament
Tomorrow, 10:00 a.m.
CCRB
SPORTS
Softball
vs. Indiana
Today, 3:30 p.m.
'M' Varsity Diamond
The Michigan Daily Friday, April 12, 1985 Page7
a1
marttin Geronte
By Adam Martin
Boxing means big business..
a...But whatluappens to the fans?
"Hey, big fight tonight.'
"Yeah, I know. But it's not on TV."
"Isn't it on HBO or something?"
"Naw, just closed-circuit tv and I don't have 30 bucks to shell out."
"The whole thing sucks."
It sure does. But its a continuing trend in professional sports, a trend that
began back in the '70s and seems interminable.
First, salaries skyrocketed. Now, major league team owners are cutting
deals with cable networks to generate added income. Maybe these deals are
requisite to pay the players salaries, but somehow I find that hard to believe.
George Steinbrenner does more than break even.
It all adds up to a bum deal for the average sportsfan, the one lacking ac-
cess to the myriad wonders of Ted Turner TV, Home Box Office and Spor-
tschannel. These are the ones who have bank notes and bragging rights riding
on Monday night's bout.
And amazingly, Monday's fight can't be seen by anyone in the sanctity of
his own home, not even with a couple cold ones.
That's right, neither Marvelous Marvin nor The Hitman agreed to any
arrangement with any broadcasting network. Either you pay $200 for a plane
ticket to Las Vegas and $300 for a ringside seat... or 30 bucks and gas for a
spot in front of the big screen at Joe Louis.
Any takers? I didn't think so.
The hard facts are most people will listen in on
the radio if they get a chance, read Tuesday's
sports section and then watch ABC's taped
broadcast on Wide World of Sports three weeks
later.
THE SPORTING VIEWS
)
AV
F
By JIM GINDIN
"Guess what, hockey fans, it's time for the annual
National Hockey League playoffs! You know, those
tense and exciting hockey matches that last from the
beginning of April to the end of May...
"Why, if things go perfectly, you could see your
favorite team play 26 times before it hangs up it's
skates in time for Memorial Day and a trip to the
beach...
"Our featured match-up has the vaunted New York
Rangers, coming off it's worst season in the last few
epochs, playing the Philadelphia Flyers possessing
the league's best record. The Rangersneeded an in-
spiring final week to hold off Pittsburgh and New
Jersey for that coveted last playoff spot...
"What? You didn't know there were teams that
didn't make the playoffs? Come on, this is the NHL.
This isn't some overnight league like the USFL.
Every team has to endure an eighty-game season
before the playoffs. And five of them, with the very
worst records, don't get to play.
"Oh I see, you didn't know we had a regular season.
Yeah, I realize the only coverage we get is on Can-
adian television and a couple of cable channels, but
surely you read the local newspapers?
"No, that's the USFL... No, I guess I don't expect
you to read anything that comes after the high school
volleyball report.
"Okay, our regular season begins in October and
ends around April Fools Day. It's sort of like
baseball's training camps, only much longer.
"...So Wayne Gretzky can break all the scoring
records and make lots of money endorsing jewelry
and dolls in Canada...
"He plays for the World Champion Edmonton
Oilers. He dominates the sport just like Martina
Navratilova does - women's tennis-only his
girlfriend's a lot prettier...
"No, I don't know when Wimbledon starts...
"Sure, hockey's a rough game, some of those guys
are paid to fight and do nothing but.
"It's called intimidation. You see, if one team has a
star player doing real good, the other team needs
someone to beat him up so he won't do so well, and
then the first team needs a guy to protect the star and
this other guy gets into a fight with the first one and ...
"It's just part of the game.
"I don't think Marvin Hagler can skate... You're
right, Hagler would make a great hockey player.
Maybe the management will let him wear just the
boots without the blades.
"...Well, be sure to catch Detroit in the playoffs.
They started in Chicago Wednesday and they're a
real exciting club...
"...The Red Wings.
"Yeah, they're from Detroit, too. They play in Joe
Louis Arena, where the Pistons play now, after the
Silverdome fell down.
"...No, I don't think Isiah Thomas can skate
either..."
Yes, it's NHL playoff time...
didn't you know?
'?I
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Applicants must be available to work full time both Spring and Summer terms
- GREAT RESUME EXPERIENCE
- PAY IS BASED ON COMMISSION
- HOURS ARE FAIRLY FLEXIBLE
Somehow, I don't see the logic in it. Hagler-
Hearns could be the fight of the decade, and the
majority of boxing enthusiasts will watch it on
three-week tape delay.
This fight has everything. A southpaw, a
Hearns knockout artist, a Detroit-Boston confrontation,
even a shaved head. And the most important
part of it all: both fighters revel at the thought of
beating the excrement out of the other after a few rounds.
A case can be made for both fighters. Hearns is 26, Hagler 32. Hearns has
longer reach and is bigger than Hagler. Hearns KO'd Duran; Hagler went 15
rounds before decisioning the pesky Panamanian. Then again, Hagler takes
punches well and lacks a serious knockdown; Hearns was punched almost
senseless against Sugar Ray. And Marvelous Marvin believes Hearns
evaded him out of fright in 1982, when their first fight was scheduled.
Nope, no TV. Zilch. Zippo. Nada.
What's left for legal assault? There's the obligatory "Top-Rank Boxing"
on ESPN, the 24-hour bazaar that brings us luge, curling and Australian
Rules Football. But "Top-Rank Boxing" just doesn't cut it.
Watching no-name minorities battle for inconsequential crowns isn't my
idea of an event. These amateurs just may be the next Sugar Rays, Mar-
velous Marvins and Hitmans, but most will fade into oblivion.
And I couldn't care less.
Bacle in the '70s, I wouldn't be writing this column. ABC caught hold of the
majority of Ali fights, and they were memorable events. Ali-Frazier, Ali-
Norton, Ali-Foreman. Hagler even made the tube, only to be besieged by a
foray of bottles and other sharp objects after he disfigured England's Alan
Minter in the U.K.
Boxing wasn't always the way it'll be Monday night, a spectator event
denied its spectator status. It's a dangerous trend. I can see it now. A seat at
on NBA playoff orchampionship game will cost $150, or there'll be the closed-
circuit route. I don't like the option:
For now, Spring is a sportsfan's fantasy. Baseball returns, the NBA
crowns another champion, and hockey heats up with its combat-oriented
Stanley Cup race.
its all televised, too.
h, I'll be watching Wide World of Sports on that Saturday afternoon in
May, but I won't be happy about it.
By EMILY BRIDGHAM
Taking on the Fighting Illini today at
8:30 a.m., the women's tennis team is
preparing to net some victories in the
match that kicks off the second half of
the season for the team.
The netters are a disappointing 1-4 in
the Big Ten going into today's and
tomorrow's matches, which head coach
Bitsy Ritt predicted should boost the
club's record in the standings.
"I AM playing better than I was,"
said freshman power Leslie Mackey,
who is currently playing at the number
two singles spot for the team. "It has
been getting so hard trying to balance
tennis, school and my social life."
But whether hard or not, Leslie has
been playing well, winning in Tuesday's
match-up against Toledo, where the
team managed a 8-1 victory.
If things go like last year, the Illinois
meet should be a good one for the
Wolverines, who upset the Illini 6-3. The
Wolverines have defeated Illinois for
four straight years. The same story
holds true for Saturday's match-up
against the Boilermakers of Purdue,
which Michigan picked off by a score of
6-3 last year.sI
So with the improvements in the
young team and the spirit left from
Tuesday's meet, the women netters
should have no problem knocking off
two of the four Big Ten opponents yet to
be faced.
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--
J7
.ANIN ARIWllk
Mackey
...playing better
SUt African
a
bane from
BiSoston run.
S BOSTON (UPI) - A South African
:runner will be barred from the 89th
Boston Marathon because of an inter-
-national ban on athletes from his coun-
try, marathon officials said yesterday.
Mark Plaatjes, who reportedly
traveled to the city from Johannesburg,
had been assigned No. 5 in the April 15
race and was considered a top conten-
der in America's oldest marathon.
BUT THE Boston Athletic
Association, which sponsors the race,
announced Plaatjes could not par-
ticipate after all because of a ruling
on his citizenship by The Athletics
Congress (TAC) of the United States.
"TAC has regrettably found it
necessary under the rules of open com-
petition and according to international
regulations to not allow any South
African competitor," said Len
Luchner; a member of the BAA's race
committee.
"We of the BAA in turn regret the
S-need to not allow Mr. Plaatjes to par-
ticipate."
THE, INTERNATIONAL Amateur
Athletic Federation has banned South
African athletes from participation in
sporting events for about a decade
because of the country's apartheid
policies of racial separation.
"He can't run," said Pete Cava, a
spokesman for TAC which enforces
IAAF regulations in track and field
events. "There's just no way.
"If a South African runner competes
in an international race, and contestan-
IM SCORES
I.M. Volleyball
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