The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 28

THE COURIER-JOURNAL LOUISVILLE, KY. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4, 1989. SPOR3 Irish deserve No. 1, but so does Miami i.i.ju.ui1juIWw1,i.iliui.i.jijiiiiiii.Wiiiiiiw.iiiiinnijui wtmm mm wwwm mini muimii nun ih.imp immin nu pijui nuii. 1 ft? of hopes to spoil debut of Virginia's acting coach By RUSS BROWN Staff Writer Assistant coach Dave Odom calls himself the biggest worrier on the University of Virginia basketball staff.

"I worry about everything," he said. These days he certainly has no shortage of things to fret about. Odom has been named acting head coach to replace Notre Dame reigns as the No. 1-ranked team in college football, but I don't need to count the hands of my colleagues to argue that the Miami Hurricanes are just as dominant, dynamic and deserving. Notre Dame has the better ranking, but Miami has the better team.

This is no contradiction. This is just the silliness that rules in major college football, the only game governed by the ballot box. By failing to fall in 12 games, Notre Dame deserves the 58' first-place votes in The Associated Press' poll that arrived yesterday as official confirmation of its dominance. Just give Miami the same display and square foot- tne aning lerry age on the marquee. If a man could split RICK BOZICH SPORTS COLUMNIST a vote it would be 50.0001 percent for Notre Dame, 49.9999 percent for Miami.

Unless I could create a way to make it closer. "When you go 12-0 TONIGHT'S LINEUPS Game time: 8:07 p.m. EST. Site: Freedom Hall. Radio: WHAS-AM (840).

Televiaion: Kentucky Sports Network (cable: WHAS-11, delayed at 11:35 p.m. Series: Virginia 5-1. Last meeting: Virginia won 74-65 on Feb. 9, 1985. in Charlottesville.

Virginia (7-3) Pot. Player Ht. Wt. Cla. Rb.

Pta. Matt Blundin 6-7 226 So. 3 2 3 8 Bryant Smith 6-5 192 Fr. 6 613.7 Brent Dabbs 6-9 230 Jr. 6 6 6 4 John Crotty 6-1 176 So.

3 413 5 Richard Morgan. 6-3 195 Sr. 3.317 9 Reserves Curtis Williams. 6-6. 7.8; Bill Barts.

F. 6-8. 7.6; Anthony Oliver. G. 6-3.

4 Kenny Turner. 6-6. 4 Jeff Daniel, C-F, 6-9, 1.8: Brent Bair, 6-10, 1.0; Mark Cooke. 6-4, 0.7. Louisville (7-2) Pot.

Player Ht Wt Cla. Rb. Pta. Kenny Payne 6-8 195 Sr. 4 7116 Tony Kimbro 6-7 190 Jr.

5 410 CPervls Ellison 6-9 205 Sr. 8 216 3 LaBradtord Smith 6-3 200 So. 21 14 1 Keith Williams 6-4 180 Jr. 13 8.0 Reserves Everick Sullivan, 6-5, 9 Felton Spencer, 7-0, 8.1; Craig Hawley, 6-5, 3.6: James Brewer, 6-3, 4.1; Cornelius Holden, 6-7, 5.3; Shannon Fraley, 6-0, 1.3: David Robin, son, F. 6-8, 0.0; Jerome Harmon, 6-4, 0 0.

Holland just as Virginia (7-3) is about to take on two of the top teams in the country within four days. When the Cavaliers meet 13th-ranked Louisville at 8:07 EST tonight in Freedom Hall, Holland will remain in a Charlottesville hospital recuperating from an operation Monday to correct an acute obstruction in his small bowel. He is expected to be sidelined for about three weeks. After challenging of and ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS Corny Southall (31) find Bob Satterfield had Notre Dame's number after Monday's Fiesta Bowl victory. The polls confirmed it yesterday, giving the undefeated Irish the national title.

Notre Dame's football team goes clean to top of the heap I 6 By PAT FORDE Staff Writer and beat everybody and you ask me if this is a great team, I'd have to say, Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz said. "Nobody proved it wasn't" The men from Florida deserve equal time. "Notre Dame is a great team," said Jimmy Johnson, Miami's coach. "But there are half a dozen great teams." Actually, Coach, there are only two that matter Notre Dame and Miami. They met once, on Oct.

15 in South Bend, Ind. They should be meeting again Saturday to decide this thing, but that would be too logical, interesting and fair. Division I-A football prefers to leave its decisions to writers whose opinions it doesn't want to hear the rest of the year. So Miami-Notre Dame I becomes more meaningful today than it was Oct. 15.

Then the Hurricanes outgained Notre Dame by 150 yards. They put up 10 more first downs. They punted three fewer times. But Miami never led for a second. Indeed, it lost 31-30 when a two-point conversion pass in the final 45 seconds was swatted down by a Notre Dame defensive back.

Ranked first then, Miami could have ensured its edge by kicking the tying point. Its reward for playing aggressively is to be drop-kicked into history's footnotes. Is that just? Miami missed the pass, so it is No. 2. If it had kicked the point, would the teams have been voted 1 and 1-A? And if Miami had completed the pass, would Johnson have reminded us, 'You know, if we had only kicked the point, the teams would be So call Notre Dame No.

1 in the polls, but consider Miami better. We could argue without an answer from now until Nov. 25. Circle that date because that's when the next Hurricane-Irish love-in is scheduled for Miami. There is no reason to deny this Irish squad its accolades.

It dispatched Miami, Michigan, West Virginia and Southern California, four teams that stand 2, 4, 5 and 7, respectively, in the final AP voting. The good thing about Notre Dame's return to glory is that it demonstrates success is possible without redshirt-ing, steroids, classroom high jinks and checkbook recruit-See IRISH PAGE 6, col. 6, this section its seven-game winning streak, Virginia returns home Saturday to meet top-ranked Duke in its Atlantic Coast Conference opener. Louisville and Duke. Quite a double whammy, especially for a guy just starting a new job.

But despite Odom's description of himself as a world-class worrywart, he seems undaunted at being thrust onto the hot seat under such difficult circumstances. "You play the cards dealt to you," Odom said. "Our See OF PAGE 5, col. 1, this section FINAL AP TOP 20 School (1st-place votes) Record Points Pvs 1. Notre Dame (58V2) 12-0-0 11 98Vz 1 2.

Miami (Fla.) (Vi) 1 1-1-0 11411a 2 3. Florida State 11-1-01073 4 4. Michigan 9-2-1 926 11 5. West Virginia 11-1-0 917 3 6. UCLA 10-2-0 864 9 7.

Southern Cal 10-2-0 803 5 8. Auburn 10-2-0 801 7 9. Clemson 10-2-0 708 13 10. Nebraska 11-2-0 704 6 11. Oklahoma State 10-2-0 671 12 12.

Arkansas 10-2-0 489 8 13. Syracuse 10-2-0 469 17 14. Oklahoma 9-3-0 438 10 15. Georgia 9-3-0 333 19 16. Washington State 9-3-0 330 18 17.

Alabama 9-3-0 213 20 18. Houston 9-3-0 147 14 19. LSU 8-4-0 92 16 20. Indiana 8-3-1 75 Others receiving votes: Wyoming 58, North Carolina State 57, Southern Miss 41, Brigham Young 17, Colorado 9, Fresno State 7, Michigan State 7, Army 4, Texas-El Paso 3, Hawaii 2. Florida 1, Louisville 1.

TEMPE, Ariz. Notre Dame's national championship-clinching victory oyer West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl Monday was mori than just that. It was a victory for le Notre Dame system. The irony in it was ap )arent. With the National Collegiate Athletic Association handing out probations, like candy these days, tyho should win the national football title? The school that doesn't redshirt, has no athletic dorm, no physical education majors and graduated 100 percent of its football plfayers last year, that's who.

Notre Dame's football team has 30 business administration majors, with a scattering of economics and engineering majors. I Nobody has called West Virginia a win-at-all-costs football factory by any strjetch of the imagination, but the major of choice there)! aside from quarterback Major Harris is physical education (24 players), with nine majoring in spprts management Also, 68 Mountaineers have had a iredshirt year. Those numbers are probably not out of line with See IRISH GO jPAGE 6, col. 6, this section UK has no time to fume about recent miseries By SCOTT FOWLER Staff Writer LEXINGTON, Ky. The University of Kentucky basketball team's unofficial New Year's resolution is simple and direct Start winning.

In a season already bulging with negative extremes, UK set two more with its 97-75 loss to Louisville Saturday. That defeat gave Kentucky, now 5-7, the most losses it has ever had in a season by Jan. 1 and the most Funderburke leaves many thunderstruck Male uses 3-pointers to triumph at Eastern 1 if ,11 I "ssv it nas ever had entering the Southeastern Conference schedule. It doesn't get any easier tonight as the Wildcats open defense of their SEC championship with an 8 o'clock game in Rupp Arena against 20th-ranked Georgia a well-balanced, 9-2 team that is riding a six-game winning streak. But "It's a new season and a new year for us," UK coach Eddie Sutton said.

He has told his team to try to TONIGHT'S LINEUPS Game time: 8 p.m. EST. Site: Rupp Arena. Lexington. Ky.

Radio: UK Radio Network, including WAVG- AM (970). Televiaion: WAVE-3. Series: UK leads. 75-14. Last meeting: UK won 62-57 in the SEC -Tournament final March 13, 1988.

Georgia (9-2) Poe. Player Ht'Wt CI. Rb. Pta. Alec Kessler 6-11 230 Jr.

10 6 20 9 Marshall Wilson 6-8 200 So. 3 7 7 8 Elmore Spencer. 6-11 260 Fr. 55134 Pat Hamilton 6-2 180 Sr. 3 7119' Littenal Green 6-1 185 Fr.

1.413 8 Reserves Jody Patton. 6-4, 5 Neville Austin. 6-10. 4 Rod Cole. F-G.

6-4. 4 Artando Bennett. F-C, 6-10. Fr 3 8: Sebastian Neal. G.

6-5. 3.7: Lemuel Howard, 6-7, 0.7; Mike Harron, 6-2, 0.0. Kentucky (5-7) Poa. Player Ht Wt CI. Rb.

Pta. Reggie Hanson 6-7 200 So. 4.710 3 Chris Mills 6-7 200 Fr. 8 3 13 8 LeRon Ellis 6-10 235 So. 5 319 3 Derrick Miller 6-5 170 Jr.

2 3113 Sean Sutton 6-1 175 So. 1.5 3 7 Reserves Richie Farmer. G. 6-0. 4.9; Mike Scott.

C. 6-11. Sr 31; Deron FekJhaus, F. 6-7, 2 3: Chris Jones, 6-3. 2 Jeff Ginnan.

C. 6-8. 1 Johnathon Davis, 6-6. 0 0. (Injured: John Pelphrey, 6-7, 2 4.

By STAN SUTTON Staff Writer BLOOMINGTON, Ind. Lawrence Funderburke has left behind a trail of gasps with his verbal commitment to play basketball at Indiana University next season. The 6-foot-8, 175-pound forward from Columbus, Ohio, is the latest in a series of prized recruits plucked by IU coach Bob Knight But some observers question whether Funderburke and Knight can get along. IU's gain comes at the expense of the University of Kentucky. Funderburke said yesterday that he didn't commit to anyone during the November signing period partly because he was hoping for a conclusion to the NCAA investigation of UK's basketball program.

Without the NCAA's 18 allegations of wrongdoing against UK in which Funderburke's name surfaced he "definitely would have gone there," he said. Six of the allegations mention visits to the university or its games by Funderburke and Bill Chupil, a UK alumnus and self-proclaimed basketball "junkie." NCAA officials have said that Funderburke could have been prohibited from playing for the Wildcats if the university broke rules while recruiting him. Coach Eddie Sutton said last month that UK no long-See RECRUIT PAGE 2, col. 1, this section By BOB WHITE Staff Writer You won't see Male High basketball coach Maurice Payne grimace when I Kenny Phelps or Larry Cunningham lets loose with a shot from past the 19-foot, 9-inch line. Phelps, a 6-foot shooting guard, hit 3 of 6 shots from three-point range and scored a game-high 21 points last night to spark Male past Eastern 65-61 in the Eastern gym.

Cunningham, a 5-10 point guard, hit his only three-point attempt and tossed in 13 points as Male improved its record to 7-2. Payne couldn't help but be impressed by his team's 6-for-10 shooting from three-point land. "Two of our players (Payne and Cunningham) will shoot as well from three-point range as from inside it" Payne said. "They're about as well doing it Our forward, LaShaan Price, was 4 for 4 shooting, and he hit two three-point shots. "Anytime you beat a real fine team like Eastern on their homecourt, you've got to be happy." Although Male saw a 56-43 bulge midway through in the fourth quarter slip to four points when Billy Carver of Eastern hit three three-pointers and Allen Tolley See THREE-POINT PAGE 2, col.

5, this section forget its seven losses, which already surpass last season's six-defeat total, and concentrate on doing well in the league. "Once you start conference play, the intensity level really goes up," Sutton said. "This is what you play basketball for. We ought to be 7-5, but we can't get those games back." The outcome of tonight's game should be decided in part by how well the teams' starting point guards recover from minor injuries. Georgia's standout freshman, Litterial Green, sprained his left ankle in his team's Corrections clarifications STAFF PHOTO BY MiqHAEL HAYMAN CENTRAL GETS STUNG: Central's John Wells shot over the outstretched hands of a Jeffersonviile player last night in Jeffersonviile, Ind.

Wells hit this first-quarter shot, but the Yellowjackets lost 102-97. Story, Page 2. Because of a reporting error, Notre Dame tight end Frank Jacobs' hometown was incorrect in a story yesterday. He is from Newport, Ky. See UK PAGE 5, col.

5, this section AP NATIONAL CHAMPS INSIDE Sports People High school basketball-Scorecard IU tips off Big Ten CJ with Ohio State i -KJ See Page 5 Seton Hall trips Georgetown 94-86 See Page 6 1988: 1987: 1986: 1985: 1984: 1983: 1982: Notre Dame Miami (Fla.) Penn State Oklahoma BYU Miami (Fla.) Penn State 1981: Clemson 1980: Georgia 1979: Alabama 1978: Alabama 1977: Notre Dame 1976: Pittsburgh 1975: Oklahoma Harness racing College basketball Thoroughbred racing.