SPORTS
Page 11 Saturday, July 20, 1985 The Michigan Daily
Ex-champ has last skate in town
P This is the second article in a
weekly series on summer sports in
Ann Arbor.
By DAVE ARETHA
With a bottle of Molson at his side, a
Marlboro cigarette between his
fingers and a skateboard beside his
feet, Kevin Ryburg sat pensively
against a wall of the Administration
Building. He puffed his cigarette and
Itared at the evening sky.
The next day would be a big one for
the 21-year-old Ryburg, as an early
morning train would carry him to a
new job in California. But on this
evening, he sat with his cigarette,
cramming in several years worth of
Ann Arbor memories.
FOR RYBURG, there would be no
more evenings with his girlfriend,'
Rachel. No more nights at the Blind
Pig. No more harmonica lessons with
dladcat.
And no more skateboarding through
North Campus with his friend, Sloane
Chen.
He threw away his cigarette and
hopped on his board.
"DON'T TRY this at home," he
said, forcing a smile.
After a brief warm-up, Ryburg
kicked his board into high gear. Like
Scott Hamilton on ice, he skated him-
self into a whirlwind.
"That's a two-footed nose-willy into
P 360," he said.
Next he aimed for a knee-high ledge
that jutted out from the Ad-
ministration Building. With the
spryness of a cat, Ryburg and his
board leaped and landed smoothly on
the ledge. He rode it for a while, jum-
ped off, and flipped himself into a
handstand.
AFTER A few Baryshnikov moves
and a commendable attempt to climb
the building's brick wall, Ryburg
treated slowly to his Molson,
Marlboros and memories. He took a
couple swigs of beer before recalling
his first moments with a skateboard.
"There's actually a store in Kansas
called the 'Five And Ten Cents
Store,"' he said. "One day I walked in
and founda skateboard from the 60s. I
didn't have any money, but I just got
on it and started skating down the
aisles.
"After that I just started buying
them. That was way before
skateboarding was popular. I was the
only one doing it at the time."
RYBURG SPENT his adolescent
years developing himself into an all-
star skateboarder. He competed in 30
to 40 tournaments as a teenager and
eventually won freestyle champion-
ships in two national tournaments. At
age 18, Kevin Ryburg was the Ryne
Sandberg of skateboarding.
Now though, he was approaching 22
- an oldtimer in the skateboarding
fraternity. There were no more com-
petitions for Ryburg, but that didn't
mean he was ready for the
Skateboarder's Retirement Home. He
was still active.
With his "high-tech, waterproof,
sports, Sony FM Walkman," Ryburg
and his skateboarding buddy, Chen,
frequently cruised the Ann Arbor
streets.
"I GO anywhere and everywhere,"
he said. "Mostly I go down the middle
of the street." A smirk appeared. "I
cause havoc, and chase old ladies and
defenseless animals.
"I've been getting into some weird
stuff lately," he continued, his smirk
growing wider. "Like skateboarding
off small roofs, daring cars,
strangling small animals while going
down very fast hills, and drinking en-
tire bottles of Jack Daniels while
making love to my skateboard in a
dark room."
Uh, huh. And how do people react to
these bizarre antics?
"PEOPLE SPIT on me mostly," he
cracked, his smirk turning into a
belly-laugh.
"Nah," he said, promising to be
serious. "When you're skateboarding,
you're living for the second, and that's
why I enjoy it so much. When I'm
feeling down, I'll go out and skate. It's
kind of like skiing."
It's an awful lot like skiing -
especially when you skateboard down
a mountain, which Ryburg once did.
"MT. TAMLPIOUS in Northern
California," he said. "I guess I'm the
only one who has ever done it. But I
saw this one kid do it sitting down and
I had to try it.
"If you could go straight, you'd
probably exceed 100 miles per hour
and burn up. But I just used slow-
down devices. That was probably the
most fun I've had on a skateboard."
Ryburg paused. He sat back, puffed
his cigarette, and stared ahead.
Tomorrow he would be in California,
.close to Mt. Tamlpious but far away
from Ann Arbor - a city he may
never see again.
He hopped on his board for one final
skate through the city of Rachel,
Madcat and Sloane Chen.
"I remember when I first started
skateboarding," he said. "I knew I
was a natural." The smirk reap-
peared. "Until I crashed into the
aquarium section at the five and
dime."
uy rn ~ y RA - V t
Former skateboarding champ Kevin Ryburg jumps off a two-foot-high ledge attached to the Administration
Building. This is Ryburg's final skate in Ann Arbor before leaving for California.
Rahal sets a record Lions may start without Sims
PONTIAC (UPI) - Detroit Lions him back by October, but we'll just generally speaking, has his own rate
rookie coach Darryl Rogers said his wait and see what his status is." of recovery," Rogers said. "But we
first-year task of turning around a 4- Sims, who despite missing the final can't say what Billy's is. I just feel
11-1 club may be difficult, especially if eight games of the season, still led that if he's healthy enough to play at
it's without star running back Billy Detroit in rushing last year with 687 the time it is, that's when we're going
BROOKLYN, Mich. (UPI) - Bobby in his Miller American Special March- Sims. yards and five touchdowns. The 6- to use him - not before.
Rahal sets track record yesterday at Cosworth (211A758. Rogers, who'll conduct his first pro foot, 212-pound back remains op- "Our concern is that he's a healthy
Michigan International Speedway and Rahal hit the wall on turn No 2 of training camp beginning Sunday at timistic that he'll return to play for running back. The crime would be to
gaed terNo,1povisional poledwynd th two-mie ovsl speed with h Oakland University, admitted Thur- the Lions. bring him back too soon."
grabbed the No. 1 provisional pole the two-mile oval speedway with his sday that Sims may be lost to the "I CAN RUN straight ahead," Sims While acknowledging that the Lions
fos Sunay's the Mir chnd 50 aIn- pratircesion ca me bk t morning Lions indefinitely this year. said, "but I can't run east and west. may be without Sims indefinitely,
for Sunday's CART Michigan 500 In- practice session, but came back in his THE FIFTH-YEAR former I'm optimistic that I'll be back this Rogers said Detroit's offensive
dy-car race with an average speed of backup T-csr during the afternoon Oklahoma back injured his right knee year. It's just a question of when." scheme will remain the same.
215,202 mph, qualifying round to earn his second against the Minnesota Vikings last The first two months of the 1985 ARNIE'S PUTTERS
March-Cosworth, Raha bounced Two weeks ago, Rahal was the pole October and underwent surgery to season may be the toughest stretch PONTE VEDRA, Fla. (AP) -Every
back from a practice round accident setter at the Cleveland Grand Prix, repair ligaments and cartilage, for Detroit as its schedule includes golfer has a favorite putter but it is
bo eclipse Johnny Rutherford's year- but mechanical problems forced him However the rehabilitation has been Dallas, Washington, Miami and San estimated that Arnold Palmer, now a
edmark onn 215 hrrd's ut ofterhace esrl an d No.28fih slow. Francisco. Although Sims' presence semor player, has about 3,000 of them.
is "There's no reason to think that in the backfield would enhance the "The poty is o fi oe th
ROUNDING OUT the front row are "I was getting the car running a lit-he's going to be read in months Lions' chances of a victory in those works best knew sas "The
Rick Meas in his Pennzoil V7 March- tle bit smoother and quicker" Rahal hesgigt eray in1 otsLoscacso itr ntoebottom line is that I knew I was look-
Cosworth 1213.720 mph) and 1985 In- said, "And if we continue to do that when it (rehabilitation) takes contests, Rogers promised he's not ingforamiracle bytrying somany put-
dianapolt 500 winner, Danny Sullivan we'll be out in front " anywhere from a year to a year and a going to rush Sims' return. ters. But miracles don'thapen ingolf,
s'half," Rogers said. "We hope to have "Each individual who has an injury, something I know better than anyone."