TheMichigan Daily-,-Thursday, July,1 6, 1981-Page 11 Owens still lacks contract By RON POLLACK Daily sports writer First inasix-partseries This is first in a series of six ar- ticles examining the attempts of former Michigan football players to make an NFL team, their thoughts about such an endeavor and their new pro coach 's analysis of their abilities and future in the sport. The series was written by Daily Sports Writer Ron Pollack. When the Los Angeles Rams drafted Michigan linebacker Mel Owens with the ninth pick in the first round of the college draft, the team's linebacker coach must have felt quite relieved - and with good reason, too. The day prior to the draft starting outside linebacker Bob Brudzinski had been traded to the Miami Dolphins because of a contract dispute. Fur- thermore, Jack Reynolds, the Rams' starting middle linebacker, was as yet unsigned (and was eventually released when the two sides could not reach an agreement). IN OWENS, the Rams knew they had a player who possessed both size and speed. But now the Rams were faced with the prospect that Owens will have Former 'M' gridder eould be holdout they basically use the same system as Michigan does. You can only do so many things in football. But the ter- minology is different." Owens says that being drafted in the first round eases his mind since it is very unlikely that he will be cut, but adds that there are also disadvantages. "More eyes are on you," he said. "If you do something bad, they'll notice it right away. But if you do something outstanding they expect it." TOMORROW: GEORGE LILJA more than size and speed when training camp begins. Owens may also have an unsigned contract which would result in his absence from training camp. "Saturday is the deadline for repor- ting to camp," said Owens. "By Satur- day if I'm signed, everything will be rosy. If not, something's gone wrong." "THERE'D BE no sense in going out and playing without a contract, because if I got hurt then, I'd be worth nothing to them." Once Owens signs a contract, he will set his sights on the starting spot left vacant by the Brudzinski trade. However, he admits that it will not be easy to become an immediate starter. "Of course I have a chance to start with two starters being gone, but I wouldn't say I'll start right away," said Owens. "But if the opportunity is there, I think I can start sometime into the season." OWENS' CONTENTION that an in- stant starting berth will be difficult to attain is shared by the Rams' head coach Ray Malavasi. "He's not a star- ter right now," said Malavasi. "He's got a lot of ability, but it'll be pretty hard to come in and start. We prefer to bring him along slowly because he has to learn our system. "The pro game is different than the college game. We ask him to do more than they ask him in college. So the bet- ter he learns our system, the better he'll be down the line." However, Malavasi adds that he does not consider it out of the question for a rookie to start. "I've seen some draft choices come in and look so good, that you start them right away," he said. "That's always nice." WHEN DISCUSSING the reasons why it will be hard for Owens to become a starter when the season opens, Malavasi says that although Owens, "definitely has some great strengths - excellent speed, and he's a good tackler - he's got to learn the system and what we expect of him." Although Owens has no illusions of joining Los Angeles with a thorough knowledge of the Rams' defensive system, he sees enough similarities between it and the defense played at Michigan to ease the difficulty of the learning process. "We were out there for mini-camp and they gave us a play book with one- fourth of the plays," said Owens. "And 1968 - Year of the Tiger It doesn't matter if you side with the players or the owners in the current baseball strike, there is one thing that everyone agrees on-it is an unfortunate situation. So in order to partially relieve the misery of any baseball junkies going through withdrawal, throughout the duration of the strike the Daily is providing a look back to a more pleasant time-1968. There was no free agent compensation, no NLRB, no court injunctions-and no strike. And for those of you who don't remember, in 1968 the Tigers were winners, World Series winners, in fact. Each day the Daily relates the results of the previous evening's Tiger game-minus 13 years. July 15-Angels 4, Tigers 0 -Owens ... still unsigned Labor Seeretary attends strike talks ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Jim Fregosi and Aurelio Rodriguez smashed two homers yesterday as the California Angels defeated the Detroit Tigers, 4-0, shaving another game off the Tigers' American League lead. Since the All-Star break the Tigers have lost three straight games and four of their last five games. Their lead was trimmed to 61/2 games as the second place Baltimore Orioles beat the New York Yankees. The Angels only managed to collect three hits, but two of the hits were home runs, both coming with two outs. In the third inning, Vic Davalillo got the Angels' first hit of the ball game off Mickey Lolich, a double, and Fregosi followed by lining his ninth homer of the year over the left field fence. Detroit AB R H RBI McAuliffe2b. 3 5 . .3 stanley, cf............. 4 0 0 0 Kaline, lb ............. 4 0 3 Freehanc. 4 .. . .4 Hortonif ....... 4 0 0 0 Wert,3b.......... 4 Northrup, rf ........... 3 Tracewski, ss .......... 4 Lolich, p ......... 2 Pricerph........ ... 1 Patterso, np ....... 0 0 0 0 0 TOTALS.. 33 0 California Fregoi,s ...... 4 Reichatsf ............ 2 Morton, rf ............. 3 Repoz, rf .............. 0 Knoop, 2b ............. 3 Hin, ,.lb...... 3 Rodrigez,3b. 3 Rodgers, c ............. 3 Davalillo f. 4 Brunet, p........ 3 0 1 0 H i 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 RBI 0 0 0 NEW YORK (AP) - Talks to end the 34-day major league baseball strike resumed yesterday with a new spirit and a more hopeful tone under the wat- chful eye of U.S. Secretary of Labor Raymond Donovan. Asked if he had brought the two sides, meeting in a 17th-floor suite at the Doral Inn, a message from President Reagan, Donovan told newsmen in the hotel's lobby: "The message was from me and it was to please get back to serious bargaining. They did that. The collective bargaining system is working and I'm very pleased." ASKED IF HE thought he would talk to the two sides again later in the-week, the labor secretary replied: "I would hope that collective bargaining will work to its fullest and I need not come back or they come down to Washington, D.C. There's a nice spirit up there." Earlier, Kenneth Moffett, the federal mediator trying to resolve the thorny free-agent compensation issue, said Donovan had told the negotiators that they must reach a settlement soon. Donovan, the first member of the Reagan administration to take part in the talks, met with Marvin Miller, executive director of the Major League Players Association, and Ray Grebey, director of the owners' Player Relations Committee, "in an effort to add new leverage to the bargaining process," said Moffett. , "The secretary suggested that he was hopeful that they could reach a set- tlement. He also told them that if they could not come to an agreement, the parties could rest assured that they, would be hearing from him about coming down to Washington, D.C.," for more intensive bargaining, presumably with a news blackout, said Moffett. Yesterday's meeting was the first since talks broke off last Saturday amidst bitterness following the rejec- tion by owners of a settlement proposal by Moffett. R 0 TOTALS ............28 4 3 4 Detroit .......... ..... . ..000 000 0040 Califoria . .. . 002 200 0x-4 E-Kaline, Roriguez. LOB-Detroit , Califor- nia 1. 2B-Davalillo. HR-Fregosi (9), Rodriguex (1). IP H R ER BB SO Lolich (L, 7-5). 6 3 4 2 1 5 Patterson ...... 2 50 0 5050 1 Brunet(W.9-9)........ 9 5 0 0 2 3 T-2:07 A-22,098 STUDENT EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM (S.E.P. OR 50/50) 1981-82 APPLICATION DEADLINE JULY 31, 1981 S.E.P. provides modest grants equally matched by department funds, for student employment. The focus of S.E.P. is on in- structional, research, and student service projects which sus- tain the high quality of educational programs at the University. For information write: Student Employment Program, 2520 Student Activities Building, or call 763-5738.