The Michigan Daily-Sports Monday- March 4, 1991 -Page 3

Calvert
The local disc jockey tells of his life and memories as
the Palace voice of the NBA kings


Mike Gill

Gill Again

Charley

'S

manager

In the Motor City there is a lot of
competition on the morning radio.
;There's J.P. McCarthy and Dick
urtan for the mellower audience,
abut if you're talking rock and roll,
!you're talking about Ken Calvert of
WRIF. Calvert spends his evenings
at the Palace of Auburn Hills as the
Public Address announcer for the
,Detroit Pistons. If you've ever found
ourself pretending to be in the
NBA Finals while playing basket-
ball on your driveway and shouting,
"Joe Duuuuuuumars for two,"
ou're imitating the voice of the
Palace, Ken Calvert. Some even
compare him to the legendary an-
nouncer who once called the games
for the 76ers, Dave Zinkoff. Daily
basketball writer David Schechter
t7ecently spoke with Calvert.
Daily: What sticks out as the
rost memorable thing you've seen
fat one of the games you've called?
Calvert: The moment I'll never
*orget, but I still don't know how to
feel about it, was after going to
Chicago for two games last year
and watching how their stadium
announcer beat on the Pistons
verbally with tonality. And I told
myself when I got home that who
draws the first foul on the Bulls
i was gonna get it. Well, in Game 5,
John Paxson drew the first foul
forty seconds into the game, and I
called the foul just like the guy did
in Chicago.
Well, Rod Thorn's assistant
warned me that anything like that

v

again would be a technical foul
which obviously could have
affected the outcome of the game
and possibly the season. It angered
me that they let it happen in
Chicago, but it scared the hell out
of me. I never think of the position
as being one of power. That shook
me up.
'Well, Rod Thorn's
assistant warned me
that anything like that
again would be a
technical foul which
obviously could have
affected the outcome
of the game and
possibly the season. It
angered me that they
let it happen in
Chicago, but it scared
the hell out of me. I
never think of the
position as being one
of power. That shook
me up'
D : You've seen so many
basket-ball games. You must be
quite a player yourself. Are you?
C: No. Well, I'd like to think
I'm athletic. I play some great 'D',
but the shots just never fall. I'm
good under the bucket. I'm an

intimidator. I'm a white Dennis
Rodman. I use the body.
D: To be honest, you looked a
little out of place in a suit.
C: I've had to live with that
image monniker of "You in a tie?"
But I actually do have some nice
clothes in my closet.
D: In many ways you are what
makes the experience of a Pistons
game very exciting. When you're
not there, it's very obvious.
C: Well, the story of my career
could make a very good blues song
"You never knew you'd miss me
until I was gone." Yeah, often
times when I'm away from the
team and then I come back, the
players are the first to come up to
me and say, "Where have you
been?" Peoplereally notice me
when I'm not there.
D: I saw you do some television
during the Lions pre-season broad-
casts. Is that a new thing for you?
C: Well, I really enjoyed that,
and it is a new thing for me. I had
a little difficulty with what they
call an I.F.D., that thing you put in
your ear. While one person is
talking to you, you're talking to
the camera, and still trying to
make some sense. I got better as
time went on. I certainly think I've
got a long way to go. I do
understand it, but it takes time and
practice. Bernie Smilovitz thought
I did a decent job. He liked my
ambience and my ability to look
calm. So I've been following him

around- sort of interning for him.
D: How did you come up with
the whole "Joe Duuuuumars"
thing?
'Actually I was trying
to get everyone to go
"Duuu" like fans say
"Loo" when Lou
Whitaker comes to
the plate. That's when
the TV announcer
says, "They're not
booing him folks,
they're saying Lou."
Anyway I was trying
to get that thing to
catch on, and that's
how it sort of turned
into what it is now'
C: Actually I was trying to get
everyone to go "Duuu" like fans
say "Looo" when Lou Whitaker
comes to the plate. That's when
the TV announcer says, "They're
not booing him folks, they're
saying Lou." Anyway I was trying
to get that thingrto catch on, and
that's how it sort of turned into
what it is now. But I try and inject
some personality into all the
names. If Lance Blanks ever
became really good, I'm not sure
what I would do. You can't do too
much with that.

recalls good times
For any student on campus in 1989, searching for a number one sports
moment is not too difficult.
Michigan's fairy tale ride to basketball's national championship, and
the celebration which occurred immediately afterward in Ann Arbor clearly
stand out. It also stands out for Bob "D.J." Resch, the night manager at
Good Time Charley's, as his top moment on the Michigan campus.
While this may at first seem as no surprise, remember that proprietors
along South University and Church Street did not actually embrace that
night due to the revelry and destruction of property.
"Rumeal (Robinson) came in a few weeks later," Resch said. "I said toe
him, 'Rumeal, you owe me four tables and 18 chairs.' He laughed and
said, 'I was only doing my job."'

Blue hitters start fast in Florida

by Matthew Dodge
* Daily Baseball Writer


The Michigan baseball team
began the 1991 season with a
flying start last week in Florida.
The 11th-ranked Wolverines won
the first six games of the new
campaign, then were pasted
Saturday by national powerhouse
South Florida, 11-2.
South Florida sophomore hurler
Dave Hutcheson handed Michigan
its first loss of the year in the
opener of the South Florida
Tournament. The visitors used RBI
base hits by centerfielder Steve
Buerkel and All-America third
baseman Tim Flannelly to jump
out to an auspicious 2-0 lead
before an out was registered, but
were shut out the rest of the way.
,*The hosts built the rout by scoring
runs in five of the first six innings.
The young Wolverines opened
the week by beating three top 10-
. ranked Division II squads -
Eckerd, Tampa, and Rollins.
The spring's inaugural game
was a pitcher's duel in which
Michigan held off Eckerd 1-0 in St.
Petersburg. Wolverine junior ace
Jason Pfaff lasted the entire game,
an eight-hit shutout, while striking
out nine and walking none.
The winning run came on a first
inning bases-loaded walk to junior
GUNN
Continued from page 1
best in the 200-meter butterfly at
;* the Phillips 66/U.S. Long Course
Nationals. His third-place finish
'merited him a spot on the 1990-91
* National 'A' team and sent him to
Rome for the International
Swimming Cup, where he garnered
another bronze medal in the same
event.
"He was amazing. Each day, each
week, he looked so much better.
You could see the progression in
getting back into shape," Urbanchek
said.
And it was important that
WUrbanchek got the chance to see the
turnaround. Gunn decided to train
over the summer with Urbanchek's
Club Wolverine instead of with his
home club in Illinois.
"What I really wanted to do by
staying up here last summer and
training with him was to prove to
myself and to Jon and to everyone
else that we were compatible and he
definitely could do very good things

catcher Todd Winston, which
scored Flannelly.
Sunday, Michigan romped over
St. Leo in a 10-4 slugfest. Pre-sea-
son All-America righthander
Russell Brock registered his first
win of the year. The junior was
aided by an offensive explosion by
Buerkel, who pounded out five
hits, and junior first baseman Andy
Fairman, who cranked a home run.
The Wolverines held a coming-
out party of sorts when it whipped
Tampa, 10-6, Monday afternoon.
Rookie outfielder Nate Holdren
popped two home runs halfway to
Busch Gardens. His three-run blast
in the ninth put thetgame out of
reach for the home team. Holdren
finished 2-for-3 with four RBI and
three runs scored.
Following a win over Rollins,
the Wolverines completed its
thrashing of Division II teams by
sliding past Florida Southern, 7-2.
In a game played at the Detroit
Tigers' spring home - Joker
Marchant Stadium in Lakeland -
Pfaff must have left Sparky
Anderson wide-eyed. Pfaff threw
his second straight nine-inning
complete game win. He gave up
five hits, three walks, and struck
out five.

D.J. Resch, former night manager of Good Time Charley's, stands in front
of the Victors Hall of Fame, which he created.
It was a night Resch said he can never forget. He took extra
precautions all night long. When the game started, the doors were closed
to prevent overcrowding. Extra doormen were brought in. Plastic glasses
were used to prevent breakage. Yet, at the moment Robinson stepped to
the line to attempt two free throws which would make or break the game,
the bar was in bedlam, with fans standing on chairs and tables in the hope
of getting a glimpse at the television.
"When he hit those two free throws, it was almost a planned event,"
Resch laughed. "Everybody just ran outside. Within 15 minutes, the
entire South University-Church Street area was packed with thousands of
people. We had channels 2, 4, 7, and 50 on our roof shooting. For a good
two hours, to see that many faces - like Michigan Stadium getting out
- was most thrilling and satisfying."
Thrilling and satisfying is how Resch would classify his ten years at
Good Time Charley's. The bar and restaurant took the spot formerly
occupied by a gas station in 1979. A couple of years later, a man with a
Business Administration degree from Eastern Michigan, who had grown
tired of touring with a rock band, entered the door. It was Resch - who
soon after became the night manager at the establishment.
In his time, he established the Victors Hall of Fame, which features
pictures of famous Wolverine athletes and coaches on one wall. Since
sports and bars many times go hand and hand, Resch has compiled many
interesting moments in his time.
He remembers a few years back when on a Friday around-6 p.m. the
visiting Wisconsin Marching Band invaded his establishment. They took
over the bar," Resch said. "There was no place to get Michigan people in.
It was a sea of red. They were really raucous and crazy."
Finally, around 12:30, the taps were-closed, and an hour later, the bar
cleared out. Outside the bar, this group of cheeseheads began making
pyramids eight and nine levels high and then began yanking out parking
signs. After the police were called and three cars showed up, the group
cheered and said to D.J. "We made you call the police."
Then they left.
In addition to numerous event-centered moments, Resch has had a
chance to mingle with famous Michigan athletes who have frequented the
bar.
"Through the years, I've had the chance to rub shoulders with the
Harbaughs, the Wranglers, the Dingmans, Skrepeneks, Andersons,
Diebolts, and of course, the hockey players," he said. "I don't care what
age you are, when you meet someone who plays for U of M, there isn't a
word to describe it. If you can't get excited about that, you aren't part of
the student body or have no loyalty."
Resch adds that he only sees most of the players in their respective off-
seasons, and rarely does he have a problem. There have been a few
uprisings, but usually a player will warn him that someone is bothering
him in the hope that the problem will be alleviated.
Resch has enjoyed his time at Charley's, and the stories run quickly
off his tongue. It is safe to say that D.J. Resch has become a known
figure on campus to not only the athletes who frequent his place, but as
*he says, "to Greeks, New Yorkers, everybody." Whether it's talk about
one's fraternity, his new wife, or sports, D.J. has a story to tell.
A few weeks ago, D.J. called and told me he would soon be leaving
Charley's. He's married, and working nights is not perfect. He's going to
vacation in Florida, and possibly enter the food and beverage industry.
He's already done voice-overs in his spare time for various commercials
and looks to increase his working in reading promos. Renovations which
the new day manager suggested would soon be going into shape. It was
time for him to move on.
Saying goodbye is hard, he said. Therefore, he asked that he be allowed
to slip out quietly instead of going through numerous wrenching good-
byes. Instead he passes along this note to say farewell. "I just want a fade
out like a good record," said the man whose bands used to open for such
performers as Peter Frampton, the Brother's Johnson, and Chaka Khan.
And here's the fade:
Dear U of M Students:
The time comes when one has to move down the road of life.
After 10 years at Charley's, I've decided my time has arnived and

FILE PHOTO
Junior Tim Flannelly takes a cut in a game last season. Flannelly, a 1991
preseason All-American at third base, helped Michigan to win six of its
first seven games this year.


he led the Wolverines to victory over
the University of Hawaii with wins
in the 1000 freestyle and 200
butterfly. Subsequently, Gunn was
named the Big Ten men's Swimmer
of the Month.
He ranks second on the team with
top-three times in six of the fourteen
individual events. In his specialty,

stood for seventeen years, was held
by Olympic legend Mark Spitz.
Considering Gunn's respect and
love of the sport, he had quite an
interesting perspective on breaking
Spitz's mark.
"For all the things that I've read
about Mark Spitz trying to come
back, I really don't have a very high
regard for him," Gunn said. "I read
all these articles and he just sounds
so cocky. So it was kind of nice just
to erase his name off the board."
He added, "It's always good to
have a Michigan name up on a
Michigan State record board, too."
The latest stop on his road to the
NCAA Championships in Austin,
Texas was this past week in
Indianapolis, site of the Big Ten
Championships.
Gunn swam three individual
events, the 200 and 100 butterflies,
and the 500 free, and three relays, the
200 medley relay and the 400 and
800 free relays. In the relays, Gunn
helped lead the Wolverines to a
victory in the 200 medley relay, a
third-place in the 800 free relay, and
a fmrt h-mare~ fini~h in the A4M free

butterfly events, though, belonged to
Gunn.
He emerged victorious in both,
and unseated the defending champion
of both events, Sean Quackenbush
of Minnesota. Both of his times,
:48.40 in the 100 and 1:45.03 in the
200, were personal bests and under
the NCAA-qualifying standard, while
his clocking in the 200 established a
new school record.
Though Gunn held the ninth
fastest time among Division I
swimmers prior to this weekend,
many of the butterflyers ahead of
him had attained their times after
resting and reducing training load in
preparation for the swims. Gunn, on
the other hand, has trained hard
throughout the season and is just
now beginning to reap the fruits of
his labor. This leads Urbanchek to
consider Gunn as top-three national
material.
To protect this status, Gunn has
been taking every precaution to
make sure the nightmare of last year
does not happen again. During the

Gunn
the 200 butterfly, he has placed first
in meets versus top-ranked Texas,
No. 7 Stanford, No. 13 Michigan
State, and Indiana.
In the Dallas Morning News