Page 8- The Michigan Daily- Sports Monday - September 23,1991
SHERAN
Continued from page 3
tire institution that is American
Gladiators.
I had my own thoughts.
' "This looks like the Presidential
Physical Fitness Test they give you
in ninth grade," I mused.
Nevertheless, I sat back and lis-
tened to the tour's authoritative or-
ganizer, Julius Bryant, inform the
competitors of each event.
The first challenge was a one-
minute push-up test; males had to
perform 55 push-ups on their fin-
gertips, while females had to finish
35 on their palms.
Next, they faced a 40-yard dash
on the terrible cement running sur-
face. Qualifying times were 5.25
seconds for males and 6.25 for fe-
males.
The third event was a "suicide
ladder" challenge; athletes had to
run to a line, run back, then run back
and forth to two successively fur-
ther lines, in no more than 15.5 sec-
onds for men, 17.5 for women.
The final athletic event was
Powerball, where two competitors
'I did 35 fingertip
push-ups in the first
30 seconds, after
which my fingers
gave out and I was
disqualified'
of similar builds would square off
on offense and defense, each for 30
seconds. To advance, they had to
place at least one of two volley-
balls into a garbage can, the only ob-
stacles being their counterparts.
Competitors who advanced past
Powerball would then undergo an
interview by Bryant, who would se-
lect 12 athletes - four men, four
women, and two alternates of each
gender. The winners would compete
against the Gladiators in a live show
at the Palace Oct. 26.
"Only the best will survive," he
proclaimed menacingly.
Well, I'm not the best, and I sur-
vived. Not in the sense Bryant
meant; I didn't qualify past the
push-ups. But I performed all the
events, and walked away smiling.
I did 35 fingertip push-ups in the
first 30 seconds, after which my fin-
gers gave out and I was disqualified.
The ensuing 40-yard dash was the
only event in which I qualified,
sprinting the distance in 5.25 sec-
onds.
After that, I produced a dismal
time on the suicide ladders, sliding
back and forth for much of the 19.2
seconds.
Then came Powerball, where I
competed against another non-par-
ticipant. He scored once and stopped
me both times.
However, those who succeeded in
all the events were quite impressive.
One competitor to advance to the in-
terview table was Kevin Waite, a
formidable 24-year-old athlete.
"I came here to gauge my ath-
letic ability," said Waite, who plans
to attend the World League foot-
ball combines next spring as an out-
side linebacker. "Besides, I had noth-
ing better to do on a Sunday; I didn't
feel like watching football. And the
prize money wouldn't hurt. I got a
baby on the way, and that would buy
a couple of packs of Pampers."
Myles McHaney, a former de-
fensive end at Central Michigan,
also reached the interview stage.
McHaney seemed to have a valid
assessment of the competition.
"They want a weekend warrior, a ca-
reer person who works out and is in
Golfers open season
swinging in Iowa City
by Jim Foss
Daily Sports Writer
At a time when the everyday
duffer hopes to sneak in one more
round before Jack Frost nips the
cord of life that provides for lush
fairways and verdant greens, the
Michigan men's golf team is just
beginning its season.
The Northern Intercollegiate
Golf Tournament at Finkbine Golf
Course in Iowa City marks the be-
ginning of the fall schedule for the
Wolverines. The University of Iowa
hosts the tournament.
Thirty-six holes of the 54-hole
tournament will be played today,
with the remaining 18 holes to be
played tomorrow. The tournament
field includes many Big Ten foes
that Michigan will see throughout
the season.
Michigan coach Jim Carras feels
the Wolverines have a chance to be
very competitive at Iowa City. He
hopes that the team can get off to a
good start and use this as a barome-
ter to gauge the season. A good start
could set the tone for a very promis-
ing year.
"Although this is our first
tournament of the year, I have very
high expectations," Carras said. "I
think we can do well in a fairly
strong field, with many Big Ten1
schools."
Last year's youthful Michigan
squad took its lumps during the
season. Carras expects this year's
team to have learned from last
year's struggles and to benefit from
the added experience. Carras hopes
they can parlay their experiences
into a successful season.
"We have a solid base from last'
year," Carras said. "We are becom-
ing a veteran team now."
The team selects its members for
upcoming tournaments through in-
ter-squad playoffs each week known
as "qualifiers." Carras does this to
insure that he will select the
golfers on the team that are cur-
rently playing the best golf.
"Right now most of our prac-
tices have been the qualifiers, which
we are still going through," he said.
Michigan typically takes five
members to compete in each tour-
nament. At the tournament, the top
four players in each round count in
the team scoring for that particular
round. Dean Kobane, Anthony Dietz,
Denny Sikkila, James Carson, and
Bob Henighan will be playing for
the Wolverines in this tournament.
Competitors flocked to The Palace of Auburn Hills this past weekend as
the American Gladiators tour rolled into Detroit.
good shape," he said. "It's exciting
to be here, even if it is a little
hokey."
It was pretty hokey. I approached
Bryant to see if he took himself as
seriously as Nitro, or some of the
overzealous competitors. He didn't.
He's an actor himself, as well as
a singer/musician/dancer/swimmer.
He runs the 100-venue tour, select-
ing each amateur contender from the
set of events he designed.
The results have been over-
whelming. "We have more blue-
collar and white-collar people who
make it to our show than military
or body-builders, or anyone else,"
Bryant said. "We have auto workers,
pre-med students, you name it."
And sportswriters. Sure, I didn't
make it, and I still find American
Gladiators a bit inane, but I had fun.
I might even start setting my VCR
for the show.
Not.
Laimbeer disputes
Olympic selections
McMurtry TD lifts Patriots to second victory
Associated Press
Patriots 24, Oilers 20
Greg McMurtry's 34-yard
touchdown on a pass from Hugh
Millen with 6 seconds left gave the
Patriots a 24-20 upset over the pre-
viously unbeaten Houston Oilers.
The Patriots had scored just one
touchdown in their first three
games and quarterback Tommy
Hodson was benched for Hugh
Millen. McMurtry had just one
catch in those games.
But the Patriots led 17-6 after
three quarters. Then Warren Moon
threw two touchdowns to Curtis
Duncan to put Houston ahead 20-17
with 1:52 remaining.
New England, 2-2, drove 83
yards. The winner came as Mc-
Murtry caught Millen's pass up the
middle at the 22, put a move on
Mike Dumas at the 15, angled to the
right and raced into the corner of the
end zone.
49ers 27, Rams 10
Jerry Rice broke loose for one of
his patented long .touchdown catch-
and-run plays, going 62 yards and
breaking three tackles. That gave San
Francisco a 20-10 lead and Harry
Sydney's 25-yard touchdown run
with 3:16 remaining clinched it.
The 49ers kept Jim Everett as the
league's only starting quarterback
without a touchdown pass.
Bills 17, Buccaneers 10
For the second straight week, the
Bills needed a late drive to remain
unbeaten. They produced 421 yards
of offense, the final 76 coming on
the decisive drive. Jim Kelly's 29-
yard touchdown pass to Keith McK-
eller won it.
Kelly completed 20 of 35 passes
for 322 yards.
Buffalo wasn't safe until Chris
Chandler's final pass from the Buf-
falo 8 fell incomplete in the end
zone.
Broncos 27, Chargers 19
At Denver, Gaston Green broke
loose for 63- and 20-yard scores in
the fourth quarter. Green carried 24
times for 127 yards and scored three
times.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP)
- Detroit Pistons center Bill
Laimbeer calls the selection process
for the 1992 U.S. Olympic basket-
ball team unfair, saying he'd like a
chance to try out for the team.
USA Basketball announced
Saturday the selection of 10 Na-
tional Basketball Association play-
ers to the team.
Patrick Ewing, David Robinson,
Karl Malone, Larry Bird, Charles
Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Chris
Mullin, Magic Johnson, Michael
Jordan, and John Stockton received
the honor.
Two more players, probably
from the college ranks, remain to be
named.
"I disagree with the way it's be-
ing done," said Laimbeer, 34. "It
leaves a bad taste in a lot of people's
mouths."
Laimbeer said he was considering
legal action against U.S. Olympic
officials.
This is the first year professional
players have been allowed one
Olympic basketballnsquads. In the
past, Olympic teams have been se-
lected through tryouts of college
players.
Laimbeer denied he was acting to
support Pistons teammate Isiah
Thomas, who was passed up for the
team. Pistons general manager Jack
McCloskey quit the Olympic selec-
tion committee to protest its rejec-
tion of Thomas.
Pistons coach Chuck Daly will
coach the Olympians, marking the
first time a non-collegiate coach has
been used.
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