The Michigan Daily- Sports Monday - October 21, 1991 - Page 3 "//?'t //'/ QNG cS r Ala/lew _ Wangler The Blue signal-caller from the I ate 1970s tel is of Anthony Carter, Bo, and Roses John Wangler was the starting quarterback at Michigan in 1979 and 1980. Many remember him as the one who threw "the pass" to Anthony Carter to win the 1979 homecoming game against Indiana. Wangler was knocked out of the 1979 Gator Bowl by Lawrence Taylor, but recovered to lead the Wolverines to a Rose Bowl win over Washington in 1981. Wangler is now a sales manager for Nutmeg Mills, and resides with his wife in Royal Oak. Daily Sports Writer Adam Miller interviewed Wangler previ- ous to last Monday's Midnight Madness, when Wangler played in the Legend's Game. Daily: How did a former foot- ball player like yourself get in- volved with a Midnight Madness basketball game? Wangler: (Michigan Associate Athletic Director) Bob DeCarolis contacted me from the University and asked if I would be interested in playing. So I said, "Yeah, that would be fine." 'Desmond's a tremendous player and he's as close to the type of skills that Anthony had as I've ever seen' D: So you've stayed in good con- tact with the University. Do you still feel ties to it? W: Yeah, quite a bit. I get up there quite a bit and do different things, different functions, and. I also call on the University for busi- ness. You know, we (Nutmeg Mills) sell a lot of shirts to the University, and so I'm up there quite a bit. D: Do you have any specific rec- ollections of being a player under Bo Schembechler, anything particu- larly vivid? W: Well, I remember almost ev- erything vividly. D: OK, then what's your greatest memory of being a Michigan Wolverine? W: Well, I think probably being on the team that won the first Rose Bowl for Bo. I think that would probably be the greatest, if you've got to talk about a single event that was real special. I mean, there's a lot of great times in five years, but I think the single most special time was being part of that team that fi- nally won a Rose Bowl for Bo. D: A lot of people remember you as the man who threw the ball to Carter against Indiana. Do you have any specific recollections about playing with AC? W: Well, I tell you, I was very fortunate. I think there's never been a greater receiver ever than An- thony. I mean, I think he's the best, *Griddes See if you can beat this week's winner Joseph R. McCarthy, who correctly predicted 17 results and won the tiebreaker. Bring your picks to 420 Maynard by 5 p.m. Friday so you can win a $10 gift certificate at O'Sullivan's Eatery and Pub. 1. Michigan at Minnesota 2., Mich. St. at Ohio St. 3. Iowa at Purdue 4. Illinois at N'western 5. Indiana at Wisconsin 6. Florida State at Louisiana St. 7. Miami at Arizona 8. Oregon at Washington 9. Southern Cal at Notre Dame 10. San Jose State at California 11. Missouri at Nebraska 12. West Virginia at Penn State 13. N. Carolina St. at Clemson 14. Kansas at Oklahoma 15. Texas Christian at Baylor 16. Kentucky at Georgia 17. Houston at Texas A&M 18. Pittsburgh at East Carolina 19. Colorado at Kansas State 20. Princeton at Harvard Tiebreaker Michigan:_ Indiana:__ and there is stuff that he did at prac- tice and in those games that you know will never be repeated. I know that Desmond's a tremendous player and he's as close to the type of skills that Anthony had as I've ever seen, but Anthony was something special. There's only one Anthony Carter and I was fortunate 'cause I got to play with him for two years. And besides being a great player, he was a great person. He was fun to play with and be around. D: What about just generally be- ing part of Michigan football? What did that do for your life, both at school and after you graduated? Are you a different person for hav- ing played? W: I think so. I think having gone through that experience and having played for Bo. He instilled a lot of virtues in the commitment, pride, that he made Michigan foot- ball stand for was something that was very special. And you felt priv- ileged to be able to play for him and be part of that program and con- tribute in whatever way you could. And I think you can't help but come out of the program with a pos- itive effect on your life, knowing how to win and be successful. I think, if anything, that's what that program does. A lot of guys come there at different levels of matu- rity, but when you come out of there, you're a man and you know how to be successful and win. And I think that's what it's all about. Bo always promised you that if you came (to Michigan) and you went to class, you'd get a degree and you'd get a chance to play and go to a Rose Bowl. He didn't promise you're going to play professional football. He promised you that you'd get a degree and get a chance to play in a Rose Bowl. And that's every class that ever went there, you know he fulfilled that promise to, and he built a tremendous program (Editor's note: only fifth-year seniors from the in- coming class of 1972 went to the Rose Bowl). He built it the right way, and that's what it's all about. You know he went through a lot of eras where a lot of people were taking short cuts and he never did. He never compromised his princi- ples and his integrity, and I think everyone is reaping the benefits of that foundation that he laid. And if Mo's the same way, they'll carry on that tradition. D: Do you stay in contact with Mo or Bo? W: Oh, yeah. I talk to Bo quite a bit and Mo a little bit during the season. I know that he's busy, but Mo was my quarterback coach my last year when he came back (from Illinois) and I've always remained close to him. He's going to do a great job. Well, he's done a great job at Michigan, and this year is going to be no exception. D: What do you think of college athletics now, 11 years after you finished playing? W: Well, I think it's a great ex- perience for a person to be able to have that opportunity to come and play college athletics, whether it's at a smaller level or at a major school like Michigan. I think you get out of it what you put into it, and the fact that if you can come to a program like Michigan, and be around the kind of people and form the relationships that you do, I think that's what's important. When you come out of it, no one (you played with) remembers the touchdown passes that you made or the runs or whatever. What they remember, and what you take out of it, is the relationships with your friends and your teammates and your coaches that you can draw strength from. That's what endures. You know, all the stuff ends up 'And I think you can't help but come out of the program with a positive effect on your life, knowing how to win and be successful' being blurred together when you look back anyway. I think that's the great thing about college athletics. You are able to have those associa- tions and you go through hard times, good times, and bad times with peo- ple and you form lifelong friends. D: How do you think today's Michigan football program, with Schembechler Hall, the new grass, and a different coach compares with the program that you played for? W: Well, I think obviously they've made great strides. I mean, the building is the state of the art and it's the best in the land. Every year, things get better. They get bet- ter facilities and they get better op- portunities. But that's just the way progress takes place. Everybody has better facilities and has more opportunity. I'm glad they went back to grass. I think it's tremendous in helping reduce in- juries. It's easier on the players' legs. I think that's a great advantage. Schembechler Hall is a beautiful facility, and that's what you need these days to compete with the other schools in recruiting. The in- door football facility, they first opened that in my last year before the Bowl game. And that was a great advantage, to be able to prac- tice inside before the Rose Bowl. You need all those things if you want to consider yourself a big time football program and compete on the level that Michigan wants to compete. D: You called Carter the great- est receiver. As a former quarter- back, could you elaborate on how you think Desmond Howard com- pares? W: Well, Desmond's a great, great player in his own right. It's hard to make a comparison. I think it's like comparing, let's say, a Cadillac and a Lincoln. They both have their strengths. I think you want to evaluate Desmond compared to Anthony at the end of his four years. I don't think you want to do it now. I think he's done a lot of the same things. He has the same kind of effect on a team. He's a game breaker and he can change the course of a game with one run or one catch, just like Anthony. But I think greatness is judged over time, and I think at the end of the four years you will be able to look, then you can go and evaluate and say who might have been better. It's hard to evaluate. Obviously I would be biased. I played with An- thony, and it's hard to imagine someone better than him. But I've seen Desmond play these last three years and stuff that he has done is remarkable. I think it's an honor for him to be talked about and compared in the same breath as Anthony now. I think at the end of four years, then you can look back and compare the records and statistics and then you can argue about who was better. D: Would your playing career have been any different if you had the college offense of today which is wide open with more passing? W: Who knows. You can always "what if" and speculate. But obvi- ously I was more suited towards the drop back game where they threw the ball a lot and a wide open style of offense. But you know when I was there, Bo threw the ball 25 times a game and we had a real versatile attack. We had a great offensive line and we had great running backs. We had a tremendous offense. I mean, yeah, it's nice to throw the ball 35 times a day, but I wouldn't want to change what we did. D: So Elvis Grbac is your kind of a quarterback? W: Oh, I think Elvis has done a real good job. Hopefully this year he'll be able to lead 'em to the Rose Bowl and everything, but I think he's done a nice job. He's directed that offense and he gets them in the right play. He's doing an excellent job, I think. Florida State was a tough game on him, and those guys are probably as good a team as they will face. I don't have any problem (with Gr- bac). I think when it's all said and done, he'll probably have all the passing records ever in Michigan. Jeff Sheran SheanMyThoughts Jug or Desmond? You make the call There was this thing called the zero factor. It said any U.S. president elected in a year that ended in a zero would die in office. And it worked, as evidenced by JFK, FDR, Warren Harding, William McKinley, James Garfield, Abe Lincoln, Zachary Taylor, and William Henry Harrison. Ronald Reagan must have breathed a deep sigh of relief when he left office and finally beat the jinx in 1989. The Michigan football team faces a macabre streak of its own. Like the zero factor dooms presidents, a long and irrefutable history of serious in- jury against Minnesota plagues Michigan. In fact, this streak is up for renewal when Michigan plays Minnesota for the Little Brown Jug Friday night. I say let the Gophers have the stupid jug. The Wolverines would be crazy to even take the field at the Metrodome, unless they enjoy watching their best player suffer a season- ending injury. Last year, it was Tripp Welborne. The all-America safety was return- ing a punt well into Gopher territory when, upon being tackled, Welborne tore his anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments, severed his patella tendon, and broke his kneecap. In the 1989 game at Minnesota, tailback Tony Boles took the first snap from scrimmage around end for 17 yards. Boles then left with a torn ante. rior cruciate of his own. Earlier that year in basketball, guard Kirk Taylor drove against the Gophers' Ray Gaffney. He cut around Gaffney and felt his knee snap. Another torn anterior cruciate, another Wolverine's season ended. In 1988, quarterback Michael Taylor dropped back to pass against Minnesota. He scrambled before being hit by a Gopher defender, who broke Taylor's collarbone. The trend is eerie, and I don't think I'm the only one who has noticed it. "The players have joked about it, saying things like 'I don't want to play against Minnesota,"' Welborne said. "Four years in a row - it's been pretty evil-stricken." Unfortunately, Michigan coach Gary Moeller doesn't grasp the grav- ity of this situation. "I don't get worked up about those things," he said. The problem is, neither do many of the players. They think it's their duty to play or something. They feel they owe it to Michigan to keep that cursed jug for another year. "I'd rather have the Brown Jug and a torn anterior cruciate," quarter- back Elvis Grbac said. Now, Elvis. I'll take some ceramics classes. I'll buy a kiln. I'll make you your own little jug - you don't have to go to Minnesota to win one. But Elvis isn't necessarily at risk Friday. Given the trend, Desmond Howard will be the one carried off on a stretcher with either a torn knee ligament or two broken hands. Moeller must not let Howard play. The Wolverines can win without him, as he even admits. "I think Michigan wins without Desmond Howard, Michigan wins without Bo Schembechler, Michigan has a tradition of winning no matter who's on the field," Howard said. Which is precisely why Desmond must not play. But like Moeller, Howard is not likely to heed my caveat. I hope he has a little Reagan in him. " _WHAT'S HAPPENING RECREATIONAL SPORTS Outdoor Recreation Program ROCKCLIMBING DAY TRIP SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26 PRE-TRIP MEETING WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1991 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM NORTH CAMPUS RECREATION BUILDING FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 764-3967 _ ___hf N FOR JUNIOR NURSING STUDENTS A SUMMER STUDENT NURSING EXPERIENCE AT MAYO FOUNDATION HOSPITALS Here is your opportunity to work at Mayo Medical Center for the summer. Summer Ill is a paid, supervised hospital work experience at Saint Marys Hospital and Rochester Methodist Hospital, both part of Mayo Medical Center in Rochester, Minnesota. You are eligible for Summer Ill after your junior year of a four year baccalaureate nursing program. It includes experience on medical and surgical nursing units or in operating rooms. MASS MEETING STUDENTS' COUNSELING OFFICE NEEDS VOLUNTEERS! S.C.O. is an office run by students for students. We offer: * Peer counseling services * Course evaluations * Large old exam file * Largest grad school catalog library on campus To volunteer requires only 2-3 hour commitment per week.