SPORTS Thursday, October 12,1989 The Michigan Daily Page 9 -";r.s.V;............. .... W orld Series is still v*s tthe great fall spectacle By Jonathan Samnick Daily sports writer Ah, to win the World Series, the oldest and most celebrated championship in professional sports. You can tell me all you want about the Super Bowl, but I can't respect a game that only approaches its hype once every ten years. The World Series is the event where players can make their careers or be remembered forever for their mistakes. Ernie Banks, the greatest slugging shortstop in baseball history was never able to get his team into the post season. Banks is a Hall of Famer but his career will forever be marred by the team that played around him. Gene Mauch managed for over 30 years but never made it to the World Series. He'll forever be remembered for his '64 Phillies, who blew a six game lead in the final two weeks of the season, and for his '86 Angels, who came within one strike of the Series before collapsing to the Boston Red Sox. It is during this time of year when the leaves turn yellow then brown and then fall to a heap on the ground that the other sports begin their seasons and baseball's fall classic takes precedence. LAST WEEK, I sat and watched the playoffs and rooted for the Chicago Cubs try to avenge Ernie Banks and for the Toronto Blue Jays to turn our attention north of the border to their convertable home. But no, this will be a Golden Gate Bridge Series and either those big guys from Oakland, who should be playing football anyway, or the San Francisco Giants will try to finally bring a winner to the Windy City West. And the fans will live and die in the crucial moments of each game and the players will enjoy the spotlight and some lesser known player will have his fifteen minutes of fame. Then it will be over. The losers will go home for the winter and the winners...well they will wear the ring. The winners share this year for the World Series is about $90,000 but the World Series ring remains forever. The ring signifies what only the players will know - the feeling of victory. Any member of the team, whether he is an up-and-coming first baseman, an aging catcher, or a manager who finally had his dream season, will wear the ring as a symbol of accomplishment. The normal reaction after it's over is to rejoice or despair about the teams we rooted for. But what about the players? Will they ever get there again? Can Will Clark hit a game winning home run, will Jose Canseco strike out in the bottom of the ninth of game seven? THE SERIES is the event that many children dared to dream about and few men ever get a chance to play in. I am reminded of an incident last year months after the conclusion of the baseball season. The NFL playoffs were in full swing as the Bears and Eagles tackled each other in the fog. I ordered my drink. The people around me were rooting hard and constantly reminding themselves of the point spread. An older man sat to my left and was looking around for someone to talk to. He turned to a younger man who had an intense interest in the game. When the older man realized he was being ignored he held up his hand. Sure enough, on his fourth finger, there it was. "You ever see one of these?" the silver haired man asked. "1964 St. Louis Cardinals," he said proudly into the gleam of the red and silver stones. Suddenly football wasn't so important anymore. The other man reached towards the ring and touched it like a wide-eyed kid as he listened to the man tell his stories. The '64 Cardinals were the team that rose tip and beat Gene Mauch's Phillies on the final d4y of the season. imak . , :;, _ rz 'Zaa-tea.,-;..:...o., '; .s. «,.;:.. Daily File Photo Michigan State tailback Blake Ezor will be healthy , for the first time in three weeks, for Saturday's game versus Mihcigan. He may not return to the starting line-up, however, as he now finds himself competing for the .iob with first-year back Tico Duckett. Perles hesitant about choosing tailback per person gets you an unlimited weekend lift ticket, and we'll throw in Friday night's skiing absolutely free. This special rate, available to groups of 20 or more, gives you 33 hours of skiing! ! Turn your free Friday into a fabulous ski weekend. Let us assist you in locating area motels who offer great weekend lodging rates. We'll even provide a complimentary lift ticket for the group leader with every 30 paid. Get organized and get skiing . .. call Randy today for more informa tion at 1-800-321-4637 or 1-616-378-2911. 7 CRYSTAL v MOUNTAIN RESORT EE Fiday nie's! f'! -. ., C it by Rick Kessler State News Sports Writer EAST LANSING - If someone were to describe the running styles *of MSU's tailbacks, it might sound like a horror movie promotion - a slasher, a cutter, a grinder and a ripper. And if each one were to represent a different gore flick, don't count on MSU's head coach George Perles to tell you which one is the best - at least not until Saturday. With injured starter Blake Ezor - the slasher - back this week, *Perles said, "it is still up in the air as to which player will start against U-M Saturday in Spartan Stadium. Ezor was the number one tailback last season and coming out of pre- season this year. Usually, a starter's return from injury - a separated shoulder in Ezor's case - would also signal a return to the lineup. But what makes that scenario unsure is the play of freshman tailback Tico Duckett - the ripper. In the 17-14 victory over Iowa last week, Duckett ran for 175 yards on 30 carries. And to further drill holes into the game plan, Hyland Hickson - the cutter - is back to full health and Scott Selzer - the grinder - can always be counted on.. But, like the climax in the Friday the 13th epics, the battle is down to just two people. Ezor and Duckett have the nod and the one who has the best practices throughout the week will start against U-M. "Who's going to start, Blake or Tico?" Perles said on Monday. "I don't know that yet. We'll see how practice goes. Last week, Tico ran every day in practice and was ready to play. Tico earned the start because he was ready to play that week and then he went out and did an excellent job." One thing is for sure, Perles will stick with whichever tailback is hot. He used both Hickson and Selzer in the Iowa game, but Duckett was playing out of his mind and stayed in the game. If Ezor gets the start and plays well, he'll stay. But if he shows signs of fatigue or a poor performance, he'll be yanked quicker than a plot twist. The same goes for Duckett if he starts. APPhOt Three of the big bats for the Oakland Athletics: Dave Henderson(left), Dave Parker(center), and Jose Canseco, warm up at their home stadium in preperation for the first game of the 1989 World Series. Henderson and Canseco will be playing centerfield and rightfield respectively. Parker will be the DH only in the games hosted by .)6 A's The firs^ game w;ll be played in Oakland on Saturday night. a i Y CLASSIFIED ADS! Call 764-0557 JOSTENS GOLD RING SALE IS COMING! TIk'W of FEELINYGiLIKE Ai $rPeIi& ? It's For You! B Big, beautiful 2 bedroom apartments available now for as little as $550.00/month. 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