Page 10 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday; November 12, 1986
THE SPORTING VIEWS
By GREG MOLZON
Detroit football fans have suffered long enough and
it's time the Lions' brass does something about it.
It's been a long time since the Detroit Lions have
been a serious championship contender and this
season is no different. The Lions are currently
bumbling along at 3-7 and this is turning into
another very long and disappointing season.
The Lions are a long way from becoming a quality
team, but some changes can be made to improve the
team. Since the quarterback position is the focal point
of any team, this is the one spot that the Lions could
use to make a change to begin the long road to
becoming a championship team.
ERIC HIPPLE has done a decent job of
directing the Lion offense, but he has been given long
enough to prove himself and has not succeeded. Until
now, the team hasn't had anyone better to replace him
with, but after a long wait, the Lions finally have a
quarterback with the potential to be a star for a long
time.
Okay, Okay, enough of this long stuff, it's time to
get serious. The time has come for the Lions to
forget about this season and make an investment in
their future by starting their rookie quarterback from
Iowa, Chuck Long.
Head coach Darryl Rogers insists Long isn't ready
to handle the complicated NFL defenses yet, but what
does he have to lose? Chuck Long is the future of the
team and since the present season is hopeless, why
not get a head start on that future?
Hipple has had his chance and has-failed to make
the Lions a winner. He has been adequate in the Lions
short passing ball control offense, but lacks the
strong arm to go long. If the Russians had the same
accuracy as Hipple does with bombs, President
Reagan would have no need for SDI.
THE LIONS have become, to borrow a phrase
coined by Brian Bosworth, a "legitimate doormat" and
they must make changes to improve. Whether it's fair
or not, quarterbacks get the majority of the blame
when their team loses, just as they get most of the
Lions' QB change.. .
... Long overdue
credit when their team wins, so this is the obvious
place to make a change.
The Lions made their version of a major change
last week when they cut punter Mike Black and
signed Jim Arnold. Arnold averaged 46.3 yards per
punt in a sterling performance in last weekend's 24-
10 loss to Minnesota, but punting doesn't exactly put
the fans in the seats.t
Speaking of the fans, they have simply had
enough of Hipple and displayed their disapproval in a
unique manner against Minnesota. In what was
perhaps a first in NFL history, the hometown
Silverdome crowd was booing Hipple so loud that his
linemen couldn't hear the signals and jumped offsides.
So what's the problem? Are Rogers, General
Manager Russ Thomas, and owner William Clay
Ford deaf? It's time to start Long.
THE LIONS face Philadelphia, Tampa Bay,
Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Atlanta the rest
of this season and with the exception of the Bears,
this isn't exactly a list of Super Bowl contenders.
The Lions have a great opportunity to give Long
some playing time against mediocre teams and
although he may get roughed up a bit, he would gain
invaluable experience and maybe even win a few
games.
Long definitely has the credentials to be a star
quarterback in the NFL. The college All-American
was the twelfth pick in the first round of last year's
draft and was the runner-up to Bo Jackson in the
closest Heisman Trophy race ever.
Now it's time for him to embark on his NFL
career. The Lions successfully delayed his progress by
taking most of training camp to sign him, but they
have no excuses now.
So how about it Darryl? Why not go for broke and
take a long shot? One player isn't going to turn the
whole franchise around, but it's a start and the team
definitely isn't going to get any worse.
Give Chuck Long the starting spot for the rest of
the season and it'll make him a better quarterback and
the Lions a better team in the long run.
Gopher leads busy life
By JAMES L. JOHNSON
Minnesota Daily
Special to the Daily
MINNEAPOLIS - It's 10:45
p.m., and Jim Hobbins is pushing
and rushing and swinging through
the door of his Minneapolis
apartment to answer the phone,
quiet the baby, and go to Cub
Foods and buy breakfast for
tomorrow.
The day isn't over. "And I'm
beat, Hobbins says. "I've been
running all day.".
HE'S BEEN running all day
because the baby needed shots at 9
a.m., and Hobbins, the father, had a
management informations test at
10:15 a.m.
Because Hobbins had to take
Matthew, his son, back to the
babysitter's house in between, and
football practice began soon after
lunch.
On top of that, Amy, his wife,
is still mad because the Gopher
senior tackle took six-month-old
Matthew for his first motorcycle
ride on his 750 Honda Tuesday,
since the 1977 Grand Prix with
107,00 miles on it burned out last
week and...
"MAN I'M tired," Hobbins
repeats. "But I don't have any tests
tomorrow. I only have 12 credits
this quarter.
"We're getting by," he says.
The football scholarship check
only carries $708 worth of credit
each 10-week quarter, and Hobbins
has to scrape. Amy's paycheck
carries the rest, and rent is only
$375. And yes, it might mean that
in the morning, Jim Hobbins
Hobb ins anchwrs. line
Hobbins
... "a lunch pail player"
might have to scramble and run the
baby over to Smiley's Point Clinic
before a mid-morning test.
BUT THAT'S okay. It's
alright if Hobbins gets caught up in
the middle of everyday life once in
awhile. That's what the Gopher
senior tackle's life is all about -
and not just since he and Amy were
married in January.
That's the way Hobbins was
from the start in Green Bay, Wisc.,
where he grew up on the edge of
town, living the everyday life,
helping farmers throw hay when
they needed help or hopping on a
motorcycle with friends and driving
to Joe Rahr's bar, where they serve
those "whole-side-of-beef" steak
burgers that hang off the bun two
inches on all sides.
"Big and greasy," Hobbins said.
That's the burger, not Hobbins
- who in his workaday way has
worked through the University of
Minnesota to pursue his business
management degree, which he'll
complete this year before taking an
insurance job with State Farm this
spring.
"OH SURE" Hobbins says,
maybe he'll try pro football next
summer. And sure, because of his
6-5, 265-pound size Hobbins has a
chance to make it "because he's got
the reach," according to Gopher
coach John Gutekunst.
But no big deal. Pro football is
one thing. Plain old Jim Hobbins
is another.
"He's a lunch pail player," said
Gopher center Ray Hitchcock. "A
blue collar man."
"A regular guy," said Gutekunst,
who calls Hobbins his "most
consistent performer" on the line,
Hobbins wasn't yelling rah rah
Wednesday night, either, when his
M.I.S. 3300 recitation group quit
studying at 10 p.m. and he drove
the old brown Chevrolet Malibu
station wagon borrowed from his
parents home to sleep - only to
find there was no cereal.
"Probably get Sugar Pops or
Froot Loops," Hobbins said, as
Matthew continued crying in the
background,. and Amy, who works
at an accounting firm during the
day, held up a shopping list.
They'll have breakfast. They'll
make it work.
__
STUDENT THANKSGIVINGSPECIAL I
I AM
I 1
1 week of Tanning......$17
I session a day in bed or HEX for 7 days
1896ON CAMPUS 1
1896W. Stadium 216 S. State St.j
I 662-2602 747-8844 1
I student ID required Expires Nov. 26, 1986 I
----- -- - - - - -- - - - I
Blue hits 2nd in AP
I
From staff reports
Tbe 9-0 Michigan Wolverines
cruised past Penn State to No. 2 in
the AP college football poll
yesterday after passing up the
Nittany Lions in the UPI poll
Monday.
This week's voting keeps Mich -
igan's hopes for a national title
alive.
Penn State passed up Michigan
last week despite the Wolverines'
69-13 pasting of Illinois. This
week, however, the Lions nearly
lost to mediocre Maryland and fell
to third.
The Wolverines boast a 13-game
winning streak and a 15-game
unbeaten streak - both of which
are the nation's longest in Division
I-A. The 13-game streak is the
longest under Bo Schembechler.
Michigan also rides a 14-game
home field unbeaten string going
into Saturday's last home game
against Minnesota (4-2 Big Ten, 5-
4 overall). The game renews the
battle for the "Little Brown Jug," a
tradition began back in 1892.
Gamtime is set for 1 p.m.
AP Top Twenty
Team Record Pts.
1. MiamiFla. (57) 9-"01195
2. MICHIGAN (1) 9-0-0 1102
3. Penn State (1) 9-0-0 1075
4. Oklahoma 8-1-0 1041
5. Arizona State (1) 8-0-1 973
6. Nebraska 8-1-0 878
7. Texas A&M 7-1-0 890
8. Auburn 8-1-0 782
9. Ohio State 8-2-0 711
10. Washington 7-2-0 006
11. Alabama 8-2-0 580
12. LSUJ 6-2-0 529
13. So. California 6-2-0 506
14. Arizona 7-2-0 415
15. Clemson 7-2-0 310
16. Stanford 7-2-0 249
17. Arkansas 7-2-0 242
18. Baylor 6-3-0 195
19. UCLA 6-3-0 95
20. Mississippi 6-2-1 68
4
q
GRIDDE PICKS
Like, this is griddes, dude.
The freshman leaned over the
pool table, a confident look on his
face.
With a smooth, seemingly
effortless motion, he banged home
the eight ball in the corner pocket.
"This game's too easy," he said,
collecting his money. "Why should
I be so base as to associate myself
with something Tom Cruise would
do?
"Griddes is where it's at, dude."
Turn in your picks by midnight
Friday to win a free pizza from
Pizza Bob's.
.1. Minnesota at MICHIGAN
(pick total points)
2. Michigan State at
Northwestern
3. Illinois at Indiana
4. Purdue at Iowa
5. Ohio State at Wisconsin
6. Penn State at Notre Dame
7. Rutgers at Pitt
8. Syracuse at Boston
College
9. Clemson vs. Maryland at
Baltimore
10. Virginia at North
Carolina
11. Georgia at Auburn
12. LSU vs. Mississippi
State at Jackson
13. Kansas State at Iowa
State
14. SMU at Texas Tech
15. Oklahoma at Colorado
16. UCLA at Washington
17. California at USC
18. Oregon State at Brigham
Young
19. Michigan Tech vs.
Northern State, S.D. at
Minneapolis
20. Fogged in at DAILY
LIBELS
Rose plaCes
himself on
4
4
Astros' cott earns
. (
What's Happening
Recreational Sports
waivers
CINCINNATI (AP) - Cinci -
nnati Reds player-manager Pete
Rose agreed to give up his spot on
the team's 40-man winter roster to
allow the Reds to protect a younger
player, the club announced
yesterday.
The 45-year-old Rose, the most
prolific hitter in baseball history,
was put on waivers, which means
he cannot play before May 15. He
has a year left on his contract as a
Cy Young
NEW YORK (AP) - Mike
Scott of Houston, whose no-hitter
on Sept. 25 clinched the, Astros'
first National League West
Division title since 1980, won a
narrow victory over Fernando
Valenzuela of Los Angeles to
become the league's 1986 Cy
Young winner yesterday.
In voting conducted by the
Baseball Writers Association of
America, the Houston right-hander
received 98 points, 10 more than
Valenzuela.
SCOTT WAS 18-10 with a
major league-leading 306 strikeouts
and 2.22 ERA in becoming the first
Houston player to win the Cy
Young award. Valenzuela, who won
the award in 1981, had a 21-11
record for the Dodgers.
Mike Krukow of the San
Francisco Giants, who had a 20-9
makan .n 1,05A PPZDA weth
Award
more ballots. Valenzuela received
the other nine first-place votes.
Two ballots are cast by writers
in each of the National League
cities. They are asked to vote for
their top three picks, and points are
awarded on a 5-3-basis.
TSN honors managers
St. LOUIS (AP) - Hal Lanier,
who piloted the Houston Astros to
a National League West title, and
John McNamara, who skippered the
Boston Red Sox to the World
Series, have been named co-
managers of the year by the
Sporting News.
Both Lanier and McNamara
polled nine votes among their
managerial peers. Davey Johnson of
the world champion New York
Mets was third with 3 1/2 votes
STUDENT EMPLOYEE
RECOGNITION WEEK