The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 7, 1990 Page 24 New league name Andy Gottesma isn't child's play ___y_____ot _ I MOELLER PREPARES FOR IRISH Questions at skill PC abound isitions - The Big Ten Conference is experiencing a prob smilar to that of a grammar-school student. JustI every kid pleads with mom and dad to change his or' name just this once because the other kids make fun it, the Big Ten is afraid of getting laughed at. Because it now has 11 teams. With the official addition of Penn State in June, cpnference grew by one. And now many people saying it would be foolish to keep the same name. "We don't want to make it into a joke," Big Z Commissioner Jim Delany said. Instead of second-graders taunting a peer w "Matt's fat, Matt's fat," Delany is afraid ev( sportswriter in the country will be too tempted to re, pot-shots like "That Big Ten is such an acadei conference -- they can't even count to 11." So Jim is scared, just like fat little Matt. But instead of turning to parents, Delany has asked his mar- keting and promotions committee to find a new name. The committee is collecting ideas from various sources and will make recommendations later this month. However, Delany said the final decision may not be made until 1991 when Penn State actually begins conference competition -- by the douncil of Ten, the league's governing board of presidents and chancellors. "This is a pretty important thing," said Christine Voelz, Min- nesota's women's athletic director and a committee member. "It's 'We don'1 something that's near and dear to all make ti of us. But maybe the Big Ten is going .I about this in the wrong way. If Big T' something is so near and dear, you don't send it to a marketing and promotions commit - A group comprising 11 institutions of hig education should go to a library. Unfortunately,i library doesn't have any books about renaming y athletic conference, so I took out the next best thing: Nothing is nearer or dearer than naming a baby. A the library had plenty of books about that - with1 of good suggestions for Delany. Specifically, "Wha Name Your Baby, From Adam to Zoe," givest advice: The sounds should be harmonious and the rhytl pleasing. That kind of negates the effectiveness names like "The Big Rose Bowl Choke Conferen Not rhythmic, or pleasing. Of course, "Big Te Penn" is harmonious, but we're not going to use t either. Don't be difficult. This puts simple ideasl Be a Daily "The Bigger Ten" into front-running position. Scratch "The Five of One, Half Dozen of Another Conference." Too much thought involved. Don't be fanciful. I guess we can forget "The Elite Eleven" or "The Essence of Eleven." Too fragrancy. Beware of Acronyms. Scrap "Great Expansive and Eleven Conference." Heard that one was close, too. Don't be funny. Ah, now we're back to Delany's real problem. We can eliminate a whole bunch of possibilities in this category. Goodbye "The Big Ten + Northwestern," or all Northwestern jokes for that matter. No jokes about being close to Notre Dame, or how cold it gets in Big Ten country. And absolutely, positively no funny stuff about addition. Shame on you. by Eric Lemont Daily Football Writer Pick up most newspapers or; sports magazines and the Wolverines are the overwhelming pick to repeat1 as Big Ten football champions. But,l as of today, not everything is set for a third straight conference title. Michigan football coach Gary Moeller provided an update Thursday on some positions that need to be cemented before the season opener1 against Notre Dame next Saturday. "I think we're making progress every day. The uncertainty again is that I couldn't tell you who I'd start at tailback today if I had to start one," Moeller said. With Tony Boles unavailable to play this season, three players - Allen Jefferson, Jon Vaughn and Dennis Washington - are vying for; substantial playing time in the back- field. While Vaughn rushed for 165 yards in April's Spring Game, Moeller said Jefferson has recently been getting most of the snaps in practice. According to Moeller, his nam- ing a starter could occur tomorrow, in a few days, or next week. Equally uncertain is who will start at tight end. "It's up in the air between (Tony) McGee and (Dave) Diebolt," he said. The last major source of competi- tion is at linebacker. Erick Ander- son, who led the Wolverines with 105 tackles last year, and John Mil- ligan will hold down the inside. But both outside positions are currently uncertain. Although junior Alex Marshall led the team in tackles for losses (11 The conference could go back to its inception. It's official name is the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives, commonly known as the Western Conference. Only problem is the first name should probably get zapped by the "too difficult" rule - and the West- ern Conference was adopted before the turn of the century. The Big Ten states are hardly Western anymore - -especially with Penn State. Even the'names which might be seriously considered, like the Great Lakes Conference, have problems. Not only do two existing confer- ences use those words, but who wants to be named after a body of water? Only the surfers in the Pac-10 do that. I -guess we don't have much to choose from, really. But maybe Delany and the Council of Soon to for 62 yards) last season, he finds himself in a struggle to retain his starting role. At the other outside linebacker position, junior Brian Townsend and sophomore Martin Davis are jockeying for first team status. "With Townsend and Davis, 9 will probably be Townsend, but that's a close matchup as is Marshalt and (Neil) Simpson on the other side at outside linebacker," Moeller said. "Right now it's a tussle back thee; as far as who's going to play. There's a lot of competition." Chris Stapleton would have been the Wolverines' starting punter but he will be out for at least the Noi@ Dame game with a broken foot he suffered several weeks ago. In his place will be Eduardo Azcona. main at Paterno says he'll r PSU for Lios Big Ten debut, by Mike Gill Daily Football Writer t want to into a joke' -- Jim Delany An Commissioner tee. be Eleven can learn something from fat little Matt. His ;her parents surely won't change his name, and eventually the he'll get over the taunting. One day, he'll probably even our be an inside linebacker for Iowa. . The Big Ten's name means more than just how And many schools it includes. It means tradition and memo- lots ries. Millions of people consider themselves Big Ten t to graduates, not just Michigan or Ohio St. graduates. this The league should harden itself against dumb jokes for awhile; eventually sportswriters will start picking on hm somebody else. of But if Delany gets really desperate, maybe he could Qce" ask the government if he could use the machine that n + churns out random names for military operations. It hat, might even come up with "Operation Eleven.". like You've got to admit: It's rhythmic. Ats Staffer... Penn State's entry into the Big Ten has created a new lease on Joe Paterno's coaching life. The legendary coach of the Nit- tany Lions said at the Big Ten meet- ings that when he surprisingly heard Penn State had been accepted into the conference, he reevaluated his coachingestatus. Paterno, 63, says he would like to extend his 41-year ca- reer until he is 70. "It's exciting to be here, to share the camaraderie, and I can best sum this up by telling you I had set pa- rameters on how long I wanted to coach," Paterno said. "Now, I've made up my mind to try to coach for another six or seven years. I'm 63 and in pretty good health - and I'd love to coach in the Rose Bowl. "Our women's basketball coach said it pretty well when she said it's like getting a new job and not hav- ing to move." Now that the Nittany Lions are, official members of the conference, becoming participating members is the next step. Paterno's presence at the July meetings in Chicago was a. sign of the movement, and also a step to heal some wounds. The Penn State acceptance caused a rift be- tween Big Ten teams because of what some said was the sly manner in which Penn State was offered ad- mittance to the conference. hours, sitting with the coaches, I felt comfortable. "We have the same type of insti- tution. This is where we wantedI tq be, but quite frankly, I thought it would be a long shot. I was Sur- prised it happened so quickly." Penn State joining the Big; Te was discussed on and off for a nun. ber of years. Paterno said he envi. sions problems for schools who re main independent - with the excefr tion of Notre Dame. - 1 Paterno also mentioned that h0* had a chance to coach the Wolverines: - back in 1969, before the job was accepted by a man named Glenn E. Schembechler. "Michigan is the only other school I ever considered,* Paterno said. "(Former Michigan. Athletic Director) Don Canham, talked to me in Pittsburgh. I very se-, riously thought about it. But I don't, know how close I was (in deciding to go to Michigan). I've never beeoi to Ann Arbor." Paterno said Canham later asked him for his opinion of Schcmbech- ler, then the coach at Miami 'of Ohio. Paterno Paterno acknowledged that when he arrived in Chicago for meetings with the other Big Ten coaches, he was not sure what to expect. "I came out here with some trepidation," Pa- terno said. "But'after a couple of r Who needs 'em anyway? Get going to Olga's Kitchen® where you'll find fresh food, fun food. Not fast food. Feast on fresh alternatives like the one and only Olga® - the greatest thing since the sandwich - plus our Olga's Fresh Fries*, Orange Cream CoolerTM Olga's Salad, soups and breakfast Olgas. Get into Olga's today and get a buck off with each of these coupons. Pick up your free U of M poster calendar, too.* - Olgas -~ kitchen n 205 S. State Street (at Washington St.) 6310 663120 n' '7r i. 1 y ,J _ 4 .s- ti'