SPORTS The Michigan Daily Friday, August 14, 1987 Page 8 Abbott a winner at Pan-AT By GREG MOLZON When classes begin again in a ,month, students will be swapping stories about how great their summers were, but itsis unlikely that anyone has had a more eventful summer than Michigan baseball player Jim Abbott. The lefthanded pitcher is a member of the U.S. team that is participating in the Pan American Games in Indianapolis through next week. Abbott, 11-3 last season, saw his first action in the Games on Wednesday and came through with a strong outing. The Flint native pitched five scoreless innings as the U.S. trounced Nicaragua, 18-0. Given a ten-run lead in the first inning, Abbott limited the Nicaraguans to three singles and four walks, striking out six. THE JUNIOR was featured prominently last Saturday on CBS during the opening ceremonies because he carried in the U.S. flag. He was nominated for this honor by the baseball team and was then selected by the members of all the U.S. teams. As exciting as the past week has been for Abbott, the rest of the summer hasn't been too bad, either. He began the summer by helping the Wolverines capture a Big Ten title and was then the subject of a feature article in Sports Illustrated. After that, Abbott was selected to the Pan Am team and began a 34-game tour. The team went 26-8 against teams from Canada, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Cuba, and American amateur teams. ABBOTT pitched in nine of those games, gaining a 6-1 record and 2.31 ERA. His only loss came against Canada. The highlight of the trip for Abbott and the team came when they traveled to Cuba for a five- game series. After losing the first two games, the United States came back to win two of the next three. Abbott shut down the Cubans and got the first victory for the United States in an 8-3 game. Abbott ... summer fun Sports celebrities populare ven if their team isn't a By LISA POLLAK The type of fans who attend events like last Sunday's "Meet the Detroit Lions Day" don't really care about training camp no-shows and contracts and betting odds. Many don't really care about scores and strategy. And some don't really care about football at all. The type of fans who waited outside the Pontiac Silverdome turnstiles in a thunderstorm - and I know because I watched them - are the same type of fans you find drooling over the Hollywood Boulevard footprints, planning vacations to trace maps of the stars' homes, and discussing "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" at cocktail parties. The type of fans who stood in line two hours for Chuck Long's autograph - and I know because I asked them - might usually place their bets on the Bears and the Raiders and the 49ers, but last Sunday offered each other money for a better spot in line to touch Joe Ferguson's throwing arm. Real life' "I don't care if the Lions win," declared 12-year-old William Peters, of Rochester. "I just want to see them in real life." But what Peters saw in "real life" at the Silverdome last Sunday was essentially a sports fantasy: ten thousand starry-eyed hero- worshippers who demand nothing more from their players than a chance to gaze in awe at the uniform and the biceps and the professional sports dream. Tomorrow to start off the exhibition season their heroes willl play the Indianapolis Colts, but to the type of fans who count signatures instead of scores - and I know because I am one of them - the celebrities, and not the final statistics, are what we will ultimately treasure. Of course, among the hardcore- watch-pre-game-shows-until-the- eyes-pop-out-trivia-quoting sports fans, those of us who swoon over our sports heroes tend to have a pretty bad image. Admittedly, we are s THE SPORTING VIEWS not always rational, and "Meet the celebrity fans. We don't choose our Lions Day" boasted a fair share of, heroes solely for their degree of well, "fan-atics." fame, fortune, or physique. Each fan There was the man who wished who practices that pagan religion Eric Hipple hadn't broken his thumb called star-worship naturally sees in "only because then he could sign the star some shadow of what he or this hat for my son." Probably she might someday become, or blinded by the blue and gray, one might have been. woman asked a security guard to So there we were on Sunday, ten pose for a picture with her daughter. thousand fans searching for football A view of one's self players and one searching for a Then there was the Daily reporter columnist, but all of us essentially sent to cover the event who spent so united in our intangible search for much time looking around to see her stars and dreams within the realm of personal sports hero, Detroit Free sports. The type of fang who Press sports columnist and veritable attended "Meet the Lions Day" sports god Mitch Albom (Eds. note: might not be able to tell a halfback come on, Lisa, cut that out) that she from a touchback, or a mouthguard almost forgot to take notes. from a noseguard. To be honest, But I do bring up that Mitch many of us couldn't even recognize Albom thing to make a serious half of the players we so desperately point, and one I hope will at least wanted to see: "Veno Belk?" one partially legitimize all sports- seven-year-old asked his mom. Why am I getting his autograph if I don't even know who he is?" "'Cause the Eddie Murray line's too long, that's why," the mother answered. So shut up and get in line. I'm sure Veno Belk will be 'M' football tickets are going fast famous someday, too." And the pack of autograph seekers waving white pages in Belk's face Sunday was testimony to the fact that, to star-seekers, fame is only relative. Whether or not Belk's name becomes a household word, and whether or not the Lions do emerge victorious tomorrow, it seems safe to say that at least ten thousand fans will remain infatuated with the Detroit Lions - a team valuable, if nothing else, for its celebrities. Disappointment I never did see Mitch Albom last Sunday. I had to settle for filling my reporter's notebook with tidings from head coach Darryl Rogers, defensive tackle William Gay, and some guy named Ivory Sully, though I'm not sure if he was actually a player or just a security guard. I have to admit, however, I was a little disappointed. The autographs were sloppy, practically illegible, and full of grammatical errors. Nevertheless, they did say something - though I'm not sure what - about heroes and sports that will last long after tomorrow's score is forgotten. But Mitch Albom would have said it better. 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