Page 8 -The Michigan Daily--Wednesday, January 20, 1988
THE SPORTING VIEWS
I
CBS fires "The Greek"...
.. remarks draw criticism
Blue
1 -
Lines
By SCOTT SHAFFER
There are some things that just
can't be apologized for. Nothing can
be said or done to erase certain ac-
tions.
The comments made by Jimmy
"The Greek" Snyder last Friday con-
cerning Blacks and their athletic
ability fall into this category.
FOR THOSE still unaware of
the controversy, Snyder was ap-
proached in a Washington D. C.
restaurant by a reporter doing a piece
about Martin Luther King Jr.'s
birthday. For a reason known only
to Snyder, he took it upon himself
to explain that Blacks were naturally
superior athletes because of they had
"bigger and higher thighs that ran up
into their backs."
Unfortunately, Snyder was under
contract to CBS to analyze and pre-
dict football games, not to speculate
on genetic theory. His off-the-cuff
remarks will certainly go dow n
among the most expensive in his-
tory - they cost him his job, worth
an estimated $450,000 a year
Although he has asked for the
public's forgiveness, he will never
get it.
STRANGELY enough, there
seems to be little anger directed at
the man. Instead people talk sadly
about the attitude the remarks repre-
sent. It's as if Snyder is being cast
as the spokesperson for a nameless,
faceless portion of America who be-
lieves these views.
"He's saying no more than many
Lady c
By LISA GILBERT
Consistency.
An essential ingredient in estab-
lishing a winning tradition in any
sport.
Unfortunately for Michigan head
coach Bud VanDeWege's women's
basketball team, consistency is a
quality that the Wolverines have
sorely lacked.
Inconsistency and inexperience
plagued the team last year as Michi-
gan suffered through a dismal 9-18
season, finishing at the bottom of
the Big Ten standings with a 2-16
mark.
AT T H E beginning of this
season, however, it looked as if the
Wolverines had turned things around,
posting an impressive 7-2 non-
conference record during the first
month of action.
Then came the real test - the
Big Ten. In the opening weekend of
play, Purdue trounced Michigan, 70-
55, at West Lafayette, but the
Wolverines rebounded to upset Illi-
nois, 76-68, two days later.
Coming off a lackluster perfor-
mance against the Boilermakers, te
Wolverines executed exceptionally
well in defeating a talented Illini
team. They clearly dominated a game
which wasn't nearly as close as the
individuals are probably saying at
the barber shops when they get their
hair cut," said University sociology
Prof. Donald Deskins.
Attitudes like Snyder's are all too
familiar to Deskins. A former
Wolverine football player in the late
1950s, he was only the 20th Black
to earn a varsity letter in the first 68
years of football here. He played in
an era when two or three Blacks on
the team was the norm, and a Black
is that while watching the interview,
it becomes evident that in his own
twisted way, Snyder was actually
complimenting Black athletes, call-
ing them beautiful.
Kourtney Thompson is one Black
athlete who did not appreciate the
compliment. An outfielder on the
Michigan baseball team, Thompson
is one of a small group of Black
baseball players who choose college
over the minor leagues.
Here are excerpts from
remarks made by Jimmy "The
Greek" Snyder last Friday:
If they (Blacks) take o v e r
coaching like eveyone wants them
to, there's not going to be anything
left for white people.
Blacks were bred to be the better
athletes because this goes all the
way back to the Civil War when
during the slave trading, the slave
owner would breed his big Black to,
his big woman so that he could have
a big Black kid.
Black talent is beautiful.
During his apology:
I don't know how to fight this...
all I said was the truth.
way. "When he used the word 'breed'
he displayed the attitude of the times
when Blacks weren't even considered
human. I was outraged at that," he
said.
BREEDING IS the core of the
matter. While some despicable slave
masters may have actually coupled
their captives in such a way, it is
absurd to think that that is why
Thompson or any other athlete is
where they are today.
This kind of thinking leads to the
mentality that Blacks succeed in
sports due to only to ability, com-
pletely ignoring hard work and dedi-
cation.
And this is what so many Blacks
are struggling to overcome, both on
this campus and across the country.
"I read Malcolm X's autobiogra-
phy, I go home to Detroit, and I see
everything (poverty, crime) that he
saw back in the 1960s. It's all still
there. For Jimmy the Greek to make
a statement like that, it doesn't make
me angry, but it hurts..." said
Thompson.
AT THE same time, the junior
outfielder is able to see the positive
side, that Snyder's comments were
prompted by progress that has been
made by Blacks.
No one will ever know how
many people agree with Snyder's
statements. But it is probably more
than anyone cares to admit.
"When I'm done people will still
be fighting and saying racist re-
marks," Thompson sighed.
Hopefully, he is wrong.
could be thrown off the team for in-
terracial dating.
DESKINS FEELS that the
remarks may have stemmed from
Snyder's insecurity. "Any time you
have a change in status, people feel
somewhat threatened. It might be
just this kind of fear that if you open
something up, then the people that
have been excluded are going to take
over. The same thing has been said
about opening up universities," he
said.
It is an episode full of irony. For
one, the story came out on the
weekend preceding Martin Luther
King Day. But even more surprising
AFTER attending the rally in
honor of King on the Diag Monday,
Thompson tried to balance the hope
and excitement of Dr. King's dream
with the reality that there were still
people who shared the views of
Jimmy The Greek.
"We've been fighting this all our
lives... to hear another guy say
something is almost as common as
walking down the stairs. You hear it
all the time and you see it all the
time," said the Detroit-born Thomp-
son.
What Thompson found most of-
fensive was the idea that Blacks were
better because they were bred that
Red-dy or not.
..Michigan is for real
By ADAM SCHRAGER
For the first time in four years, the Michigan hockey program is
in the Red.
Since Red Berenson assumed the head coaching duties in the
1984-85 season, the Wolverine program has slowly escalated to a
point of respectability in the Central Collegiate Hockey Associa-
tion. Other teams in the league no longer regard a game against
Michigan as an easy two points.
After a ninth-place finish in Berenson's first season, the
Wolverines finished eighth and then seventh in his last two sea-
sons. People criticized the former two-time Wolverine All-Ameri-
can for not being able to produce a winner.
EXCUSES WERE given. All of the players were not
recruited by Berenson and thus, he had trouble coaching them. The
lack of talent was reflected in the team's records. Etcetera, etcetera.
Skeptics balked at these excuses and demanded results this sea-
son. After all, now every player on the team had been recruited by
Berenson or his staff. And if the talent was not there, then he was
recruiting poorly.
Red, in his stoic manner, effectively handled these critics. After
a disappointing opening night ioss to Bowling Green at home, the
boo-birds commenced chirping. Once again, a Michigan team had
played well for two and a half periods but blew a lead.
The loss, however, did not
Red's Record prevent the Wolverines from
maintaining a positive outlook.
at lvicmiran -"We showed tonight that we
can play with anybody," said se-
W L T nior winger Brad McCaughey,
1984-85 13 26 1 one of Berenson's first recruits.
1985-86 12 26 0 "This is the best team that I have
1986-87 14 25 1 been on since I've been at
1987-88* 12 10 0 Michigan."
Totals 51 87 2 WAS IT true? Was Michigan
going to be a contender? Stay
*season still in progress tuned. Same Wolverine time.
Same Wolverine channel.
The season unfolded. After playing 11 out of its first 16 games
on the road, Berenson's team recorded seven- victories. The Wolver-
ines found themselves in fifth place, six points ahead of last sea-
son's pace. These victories included home wins over Michigan
State and Western Michigan and a road win over Bowling Green.
The Wolverines rolled on. Sweeps over Boston College and Mi-
ami of Ohio led to the holiday season, where Michigan accumulated
a 2-2 record. After this jovial time of year, Michigan split with
Ohio State to gain fourth place with an opportunity the next week-
end to play the fifth-place Flames of Illinois-Chicago.
Wait. Fourth place in the CCHA designates a home ice advan-
tage in the first round of the league playoffs. Michigan has not
played a home playoff game in six seasons.
IN ADDITION to the home ice at stake, this past weekend
with UIC gave Berenson the opportunity to eclipse his personal
point accumulation and victory mark at Michigan.
The skeptics balked. Red cannot win a game in Chicago, against
a team that he had only beaten once in the past six meetings. The
result...
"There's a lot of team spirit - a lot of emotion. It's just a real
good feeling. It's the best I've felt since I've been at Michigan,"
said Berenson after his team recorded its first road sweep since
1985-86. "This is the high point of our rebuilding program at
Michigan."
The skeptics have quieted down. But, if Michigan does not fare
well against Ferris State this upcoming weekend, Berenson will
once again face the birds that never seem to fly south during the
winter months of Michigan.
For now, Michigan is in fourth place, one point out of third.
And for the first time in four years, the Wolverine hockey program
is in the Red.
4
agers lack coy
tull court
rPRESS
sistency
with upcoming games against
Northwestern, Wisconsin, Indiana
and OSU on the road.
VanDeWege doesn't see motiva-
tion as a problem in preparing for
Michigan State. "MSU is our in-
state rival. The players all know
each other and will automatically be
y baskets up for the game," he said.
Nevertheless, after last weekend's
d the dif- defeats, VanDeWege does seem to be
to back a bit concerned. "Our confidence was
:aliber of shaken a little bit," he admitted.
We were Motivation and confidence aside,
'We tried VanDeWege forgot to mention one
a lot out more important quality the Wolver-
ines must develop if they are to be-
DeWege come a contending team - consis-
of a Big tency.
final score indicated.
Heading into last weekend's
matchups against two more top Big
Ten opponents, Ohio State and Indi-
ana, the Wolverines seemed to have
all the momentum in their favor.
"The morale of the team is
outstanding and confidence is high,"
said VanDeWege. "We're excited
about what we've been doing."
BUT THIS optimistic feeling
quickly vanished as Michigan suf-
fered two double-digit home losses.
Although the Wolverines were
able to stay fairly close in the loss
to the Buckeyes, they played poorly
in dropping a one-sided decision to
the Hoosiers.
After the game, VanDeWege tried
to remain positive. "We worked hard
and did a good job defensively," he
said. "The effort was there, and the
team really came to play."
Hmm. If Michigan did play solid
defense, how come Indiana shot 59
per cent from the field with many of
their points coming on eas
underneath?
VanDeWege also stresse
ficulty of playing back
games against teams the c
Ohio State and Indiana. 'I
mentally down," he said.'
to be ready, but OSU took
of us."
TRUE. But if Van
hopes to survive the rigors
Ten schedule, his team mus
consistently every time t
onto the court.
One reason for the W
lack of consistency is the
Michigan starts one of the
teams in the conference w
one senior, three sophom
one newcomer.
Michigan's next op
Michigan State, is the hot
in the conference, comin
emotional overtime victory
over the Buckeyes. Aftert
tans, the going doesn't get a
t perform
hey step
olverines
ir youth.
youngest
with only
ores and
pponent,
test team
g off an
at home
the Spar-
iny easier
VanDe Wege
.. tough road ahead
Cardinals may see Arizona sunshine
.. v
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - St. Louis
Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill said
yesterday that he will meet with the
27 other NFL team owners tomor-
row in search of league approval to
officially move his franchise here.
Bidwell informed NFL Commis-
sioner Pete Rozelle of his plans to
relocate his team last Friday - the
final day he could do so by league
bylaws.
But 21 of the 28 owners still
must approve the move first before
it becomes official.
"There will be a meeting and I
will bring the league up to date with
what we are doing here and meet
with some of the owners in private,"
Bidwell said at a hotel news confer-
ence. "I'm not going to anticipate
what the other owners will do. I will
explain our position to them and
hopefully get 21 favorable
votes...make that 20 since I am one
of them."
Bidwell said he does not antici-
pate his move will be voted down.
"You plan for success," he said.
"Certainly we'd like to have a favor-
able decision made today. But we're
just going to have to just bring our
case to their attention and hope they
take action as soon as possible."
The NFL's annual spring meet-
ings are scheduled for March 14-15
in Phoenix.
A plan for ticket distribution and
a decision on what to call the team
- the Arizona Cardinals or some
other name- would be forthcoming.
NCAA Division I Poll
W LT
1. Maine (4) 194 2
2. Minnesota 21 5 0
3. Lake Sup. 184 4
4. Harvard 124 0
5. Mich. St. 16 7 3
6. St. Lawrence 13 5 0
7. Colgate 13 4 1
tie Wisconsin 17 10 0
9. Vermont 11 3 1
10. Western Mich. 15 10 1
11. MICHIGAN 16 12 0
12. Northeastern 9 8 4
13. Denver 14 11 2
14. Lowell 11 100
15. Cornell 9 11 0
CCHA standings
(overall) W L T Pts
Lake Sup.(18-4-4) 14 4 4 32
Mich. St. (16-7-3) 14 5 3 31
Brown
Brost
Powers
Stone
O'Connor
Moes
McCaughey
Lockwood
Sharples
Neery
GP
28
28
26
28
27
27
20
21
G
17
15
16
14
8
12
9
A
17
18
14
12
17
21
11
10
W. Mich. (15-10-1)
MICHIGAN (16-12)
B. Green (14-9-2)
Ferris St. (10-12-4)
I11.-Chic. (12-12-1)
Ohio State (8-12-6)
Miami (8-17-1)
Michigan
Scoring
12
12
9
7
8
5
5
9 1
100
9 2
114
11 1
11 4
16 1
Statistics
leaders
Pts
34
33
30
26
25
24
23
19
25
24
20
18
17
14
11
Goaltending
Gp GA Avg Pct.
20 84 4.36 .872
1035 3.98 .875
Devilish DePaul Demon E
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Our three-year and
two-year scholarships wont
make college easier.
CHICAGO (AP) - A Cook
County judge yesterday granted a re-
quest for a jury trial from DePaul
guard Rod Strickland, named in a
citizen complaint alleging he fought
with a dormitory guard during a New
Year's Day incident.
"We intend to see this through,"
said Jay Heller, Strickland's attor-
ney. "We think the court system is
the proper place to resolve this mat-
ter."
Strickland declined comment dur-
ing his brief appearance before
Associate Judge John Ahern, who
set the next hearing in the case for
Feb. 9.
In a police report filed Jan. 6, an
unidentified DePaul dormitory guard
charged that Strickland pushed him
in the face and shoved a small
Christmas tree at him after he re-
fused to give Strickland a pass key.
The guard told police that it
would have violated dormitory pol-
icy to hand out a key during the
holiday period.
The incident is the latest in a se-
ries of setbacks for Strickland, a tal-
ented, 6-2 junior named in a number
of preseason publications as one of
the nation's premier point guards.
He missed three games at the be-
ginning of the season because he
was academically ineligible, then
lost his starting role for three more
games after missing practice without
an excuse.
,
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