The Michigan Daily-Thursday, September 24, 1987- Page 11


AROUND THE HORN

THE SPORTING VIEWS

Alexander baffles

Red Sox,

4-0

'The Pope and 'The Brow'..
...a winning combintimon
By MICHAEL GILL
Realizing that Ann Arbor is not always the center of the universe, I
ventured to Detroit and attended two religious events last weekend. The
Tigers. The Pope.
Now, I look back and I'm convinced the two are linked together.
Detroit and the Tigers are receiving papal help, and help from longtime
fan, Joe Diroff.
Detroit has an eccentric human being who devotes his time toward
sports. The retired schoolteacher is known as "The Brow," because
"whoever made me forgot to stop on the eyebrows." His job is to
encourage the team, leading cheers around the ballpark. He's ruffled a
few feathers, won a few hearts, and has never lost faith in Detroit
teams. And when he begins a cheer, his arms will ascend into the air,
his feet move like they are being pulled by string, as the elderly man
puts out the energy of a 12-year-old.
"He's just great," said Ernie Harwell, legendary voice of the Tigers
since 1961. "He was at the Windsor airport at 3 a.m. when our plane
came in."
HIS WIFE is less than amused, as are his kids. Yet he gets by this
problem with a quip: "I say I've got nine kids, my wife says she's got
10."
Diroff has one very strong conviction. "Sports are good for the
community. When a community has problems, people need a lift, and
sports can give that lift...Through sports, race, color, or creed make no
difference. It brings a community together."
And so it was. That night at the ballpark, I watched for Joe's words
in action: a sense of community, while a team and city fight for a
pennant.
Darrell Evans, the veteran leader, hits his 30th home run and
receives a curtain call and three monstrous standing ovations. An usher
plays with a four-year-old boy. A black college ;student carries a lost
white child back to his mother. These were the images Joe Diroff
wanted.
It also was what the Pope spoke of Saturday: the need for
community, for togetherness. "The world is each one of us," the Pontiff
proclaimed. He wanted to see a Detroit that was caring for each other,
too.
THE CITY did exactly that.
In the end, it all tied together.
Majestic sounds poured out of the orchestra, the brassy trumpets, the
pounding timpanies, the clashing cymbals, as a tearful Pope left the
altar. The crowd of 90,000 plus continuously clapped and cheered.
His Holiness made his way, until he was walked toward an exit,
from which a big screen TV was hoisted above. It showed him
walking. It showed people crying, and then...there was .Joe Diroff,
looking towards the heavens, .waving his hat gracefully up and down,
close to tears, his tie, the one he wore the night before with monks on
it, unknotted. I was shocked. There the two were, the Pope and Joe's
eyes meeting through modern technology, each eyes looking for the
same: a sense of community.
Maybe as Joe said: "God provided sports to bring people together."
In Detroit, it may.

BOSTON (AP)- Unbeaten
Doyle Alexander pitched a two-hitter
for his eighth victory last night and
the Detroit Tigers tuned up for their
American League East showdown
with Toronto by beating the Boston
Red Sox, 4-0.
Alexander, acquired from Atlanta
for a minor leaguer on Aug. 12,
allowed singles by Ellis Burks and
Marty Barrett in the first inning but
settled down quickly. He retired the
final 22 batters for his third shutout
and third complete game.
THE TIGERS remained one-
half game behind division leading
Toronto.
Bill Madlock got his 2,000th
career hit and Tom Brookens had a
two-run double as Detroit finished
the season 12-1 against Boston.
Bruce Hurst, 15-12, took the loss.
The Red Sox seemed ready to get
to Alexander when Burks led off
with a pop-fly single and took
second when Barrett followed with a
single. But Alexander struck out
rookie slugger Sam Horn and retired
Dwight Evans and Mike Greenwell
on fly balls.
THE ONLY Boston runner the
rest of the game was Spike Owen,
who walked with two outs in the
second. Alexander struck out three.
Detroit scored twice in the second
inning. Alan Trammell led off with
a single, Darrell Evans walked with
two outs and Brookens hit a two-run
double into the left-field corner.
In the fifth, Brookens walked and
scored when Lou Whitaker singled to
center and Burks let the ball get past
him for an error. Madlock followed
with a double, his 2,000th hit.
The Tigers got an insurance run
in the sixth on Chet Lemon's triple
and Jim Morrison's single.
Blue Jays 6, Orioles 1
BALTIMORE (AP)- George
Bell hit his 47th home run and Jim
Clancy pitched a five-hitter last
night as the Toronto Blue Jays beat
the Baltimore Orioles 6-1 and kept
their American League East lead.

-Associated Press
quite get to Jim Morrison's RBI single last night as Detroit beat

Boston Red Sox third baseman Ed Romero can't

the Red Sox, 4-0. The Tigers start a four-game series with division leading Toronto tonight.

The Blue Jays and Tigers begin a
four-game series in Toronto tonight.
The Blue Jays have won four
straight and 16 of 21.
Clancy, 15-10, won his fifth
straight decision. He struck out
seven and walked one.
BELL LEADS the majors in
home runs and with 232 RBIs. His
two-run homer in the sixth made it
5-0 and gave him the highest home
run total in the AL since 1969 when
Harmon Killebrew led with 49.
Ernie Whitt hit a solo homer in
the second as the Blue Jays sent the
Orioles to their sixth consecutive
loss and their 20th in 23 games.
Whitt tied his career high with his
19th homer off rookie John Habyan,
5-6. Of his last 12 hits, Whitt has

seven homers and three doubles.
The Blue Jays made it 3-0 in the
third. A single by Rick Leach, Rob
Ducey's double and a single by
Nelson Liriano scored the first run.
Ducey later scored as Lloyd Moseby
grounded into a double play.
Cal Ripken hit his 25th home
run in the Baltimore seventh. The
Blue Jays scored in the eighth when
Liriano singled, stole second and
Moseby doubled.
Mets4, Expos 3
NEW YORK (AP)- Gary Carter
went 4-for-4 and drove in three runs
and John Candeleria won his first
game for New York as the Mets beat
the Montreal Expos,4-3, last night.
Candeleria, obtained fro in

California on Sept. 16, pitched six
innings and allowed three runs and
five hits. Terry Leach pitched one
and two-thirds innings, Randy Myers
one-third, and Roger McDowell
pitched the ninth for his 25th save.
The Expos had runners on first
and third with two outs in the ninth,
but McDowell struck out Mitch
Webster to end the game.
Trailing 3-1, the Mets sent eight
batters to the plate in the sixth
inning, scoring three times on four
hits and a walk.
Keith Hernandez started the rally
with a one out single and advanced
to second on a single by Darryl
Strawberry. Kevin McReynolds then
doubled to left, scoring Hernandez
and advancing Strawberry to third.

I

NFL

talks continue amidst turmoil

Compiled from wire reports
PHILADELPHIA (AP)- Full-
scale talks aimed at quickly ending
the NFL strike began Wednesday as
players stayed on picket lines and at
least four camps tried to stop
busloads of substitutes from going
to work.
"I'm hoping we can get it done.
That's why we're here," union head
Gene Upshaw said today prior to the
talks. "There is no time-frame. Our
agenda is to reach an agreement,
however long it takes."
Said management head Jack
Donlan: "The next two days are
critical. If there's no movement after
two days, we're looking at a long
one."
"You see how much luggage I
have," Los Angeles Raiders player
representative Brian Holloway said
as he arrived. "This isn't for one day.
I'm very hopeful."
JOINING Upshaw and Donlan
were two team presidents- Tex
Schramm of the Dallas Cowboys
and Dan Rooney of the Pittsburgh
Steelers. Rooney is credited with
helping settle the 1982 strike, which
lasted 57 days. Schramm said he
thought the talks would last at least
through Thursday.
Owners are planning games for
Oct. 4-5 with either the regulars or
replacement teams of free agents,

retirees and whatever other players
they could sign.
Some Washington Redskins,
Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Oilers
and Cincinnati Bengals tried to stop
substitutes from reporting for work.
REDSKINS Darryl Grant, Cliff
Enson and Reggie Branch stood in
front of the substitutes' bus and tried
to stop it from going into the camp.
Other players shouted at passengers
inside and pounded the side of the
bus, breaking two windows.
The Chiefs' Dino Hackett and
Paul Coffman waved shotguns they
said were empty when they arrived at
camp in the back of tackle Bill
Maas' pickup truck. "We want to
know where the scabs are. We're
looking for scabs," Hackett and
Coffman yelled to their teammates.
After putting their guns away, they
joined the picket line.
A window was also broken on a
bus carrying players in Houston.
The bus was pelted with eggs and a
rock as it brought the subs to
practice.
Three Bengals sat in the path of a
bus arriving to pick up subs, but got
up when police cruisers arrived.
"They think they're NFL players,
that's ridiculous," quarterback
Boomer Esiason said.
Two quarterbacks, Gary
Hogeboom of the Colts and Marc

Wilson of the Raiders, crossed the
picket line Tuesday along with Pro
Bowlers, Randy White of the
Cowboys and Leonard Smith of the
Cardinals. Well known Jets
defensive lineman Mark Gastineau
has also announced his intentions to
defy the union.
"I'm going back to work on
Wednesday," White said during a
team meeting Tuesday. "I don't
believe in the strike. I have my
family to worry about. I don't know
that a strike would help me."

Penver
Bronco

-Associated Press
Broncos' running back Gerald Wilihite and his wife picket outside of
headquarters. Today marks the third day of the NFL players' strike.

"I compared Paralegal programs
and chose Roosevelt'
" Largest ABA-approved program in Illinois
- Effective employment assistance-over 500
employers have hired Roosevelt graduates
" Choice of time and location-Day and evening
classes " Loop " Arlington Heights " Oakbrook
* Diversified level curriculum-specialize in

An Information Desk will be staffed
in the North Lobby of the
Graduate Library for the
first five days of classes
(Sept. 10-11, 14-16)

I