The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 27

SECTION 4CBASEBALL IOCOUTDOORS 1ie Sunday TENNESSEAN AUGUST 21, 1988 2CSC0REB0ARD In preseason at least, Florida State No. 1 AP Top 20 The Top Twenty teams in the Associated Press preseason college toot-ball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, 1987 record, total points based on 20-19-18, etc and final 1987 ranking: Top 10 the last five years The top 10 college football teams the past five 1' JOHN 1 BIBB vmu Team W-L-T Pts 1. Florida St. (44) 11-1-0 1161 2. Nebraska (2) 10-2-0 952 3.

Oklahoma (2) 11-1-0 4. Clemson (3) 10-2-0 5. UCLA (2) 10-2-0 seasons (regular season only): Team Pel. 1. Miami i 50 6 0 .893 2.

Nebraska 49 7 0 .875 3. Oklahoma 48 7 1 .866 4. Brigham Young 50 10 0 .833 5. Auburn 44 11 1 .795 6. Penn State 43 12 1 .777 7.

Iowa 43 13 1 .763 8. Michigan 42 13 1 .759 9. Air Force 42 15 0 .737 10. LSU 39 13 3 .736 6. Southern Cat (3) 8-4-0 Pvs 2 6 3 12 9 18 7 1 16 10 19 13 17 7.

Auburn 9-1-2 946 929 818 775 769 747 736 659 608 449 359 342 307 285 250 249 216 HFRSCHEL MSSFNSON Associated Press Florida State, which believed it was the nation's best college football team last year but finished second because of a one-point loss to Miami, has been picked No. 1 to start the 1988 season. Miami, which was a unanimous choice for the 1987 national championship, received only one first-place ballot, 747 points and finished eighth in this year's Associated Press preseason poll. Ten teams received at least one first-place vote, but Florida State was an overwhelming choice over Nebraska. Florida State and Miami open the season against each other on Sept.

3. The Seminoles received 44 of 60 first-place votes and 1,161 of a possible 1,200 points from a nationwide panel of sports writers and sportscasters. It is the first time Florida State has been ranked No. 1. Its previous high was last year's runner-up finish.

Five Southeastern Conference teams were ranked with Tennessee 17th. Vanderbilt did not make the list, but received one 20th-place vote for one point. Nebraska, No. 6 last year, received two first-place votes and 952 points. The Cornhuskers open the season against lOth-ranked Texas in the Kickoff Classic Aug.

27. son vote was taken in 1950. In the 38 previous preseason polls, the No. 1 team has won the national championship only seven times Tennessee in 1951, Michigan State in 1952, Oklahoma in 1956, 1974 and 1975, Alabama in 1978 and Oklahoma again in 1985. No team has ever held the No.

1 ranking from the preseason poll through the postbowl poll. "Football is like war in that the element of surprise is the greatest thing you can have," Bowden said. "Once you're there (No. 1), you've lost the element of surprise. We might as well paint bulls-eyes on our shirts." But, the coach added: "To me, Miami is No.

1. They ended up No. 1 last year and nobody's beaten them yet." Returning tailback Sammie Smith is feeling the pressure. "We know we'll have a shot to be No. 1 that some teams don't get," he said.

"It definitely puts some pressure on us as other teams are striving to knock us off." Three first-place ballots and 929 points went to Clemson, the No. 1 2 team a year ago and winner of the Atlantic Coast Conference crown. Syracuse, last year's No. 4 team, did not make the preseason Top 8. 12-0-0 9.

Iowa (1) 10-3-0 10. Texas ASM 10-2-0 11. Michigan (1) 8-4-0 12. Georgia 9-3-0 13. Notre Dame (1)8-4-0 14.

Alabama 7-5-0 15. Michigan State 9-2-1 16. West Virginia 6-6-0 17. Tennessee 10-2-1 18. LSU 10-1-1 19.

South Carolina 8-4-0 20. Penn State 8-4-0 8 14 5 15 211 Otlw meaning mtaK Texas 204, Wasltinaton 142. Oklahoma, the preseason No. 1 in each of the last three years, finished third this time, the same spot the Sooners wound up last season after a 20-14 Orange Bowl loss to Miami. Oklahoma received two first-place votes and 946 points; "It's a first for us," Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden said.

"We're used to reading about the Ok-lahomas, Alabamas, Southern Cals folks like that. It's a privilege to be thought of in that light and we accept the challenge." The AP poll began in 1936 and the first presea Syracuse 118. Oklahoma Stale 106. Arkansas 38, Orao Stale 37, Brigham Young 30, Indiana 29, Pin 29, Arizona State 21. Arizona 19, Florida 13.

Oregon 10, Bos-Ion Co lege 9. Tenia Teen 7. Maryland 4, Texas Christian 4. Virginia 4, North Carolina State 3. Kent State 1, Mnrwsota t.

Texas-8 Paso 1, Tulare 1, VanderbH1 1. fl-t I At 1 1 ft 1 9 tf! i 'i, Strong family ties Son's showing at Celebration father's pride LARRY TAFT Sports Writer MURFREESBORO Bob Parks is a succesful Realtor, a well-respected business professional. But when the Golden Annual Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration opens in Shelbyville Thursday night, he'll become just another amateur horseman, hoping to land a blue ribbon in the most prestigious show in the industry. He'll also become just another sideline parent, anxiously hoping that his son, Newton, rides to a blue at the 10-day show. Of the 95 classes on the Celebration program, more than two-thirds are for juvenile andor amateur riders, those who do not derive a majority of their income from the showing, training or selling Tennessee Walking Horses.

Bob and Newton Parks will be like dozens of other non-professional exhibitors their success will depend on the performance of horse and rider in the showring. "I always had an interest in horses, and I bought a 2-year-old that Ricky Womack had in training in 1978," Parks said. "Walking horses had been so popular in Middle Tennessee. As a kid, I'd go to the Celebration to watch if someone would take me. And the horse is so great with its good, gentle nature." In 1982 Parks bought Newton, then 7, his first show horse.

Since that time Newton has been a successful juvenile rider, having won blues in every major show except the Celebration. "It was exciting, very exciting," Newton said of his first show. "I'm not as nervous now as I used to be. But I still get nervous on the final night at the Celebration." The Tennessee Walking Horse Turn lo PAGE 12C, Column 1 i tl Ai 1 'If A Is 1 i Callie Shell Stall Another NFL flop at Vandy Like those millions of Chinese we hear so much about, there apparently are plenty of Middle Tennesseans who could care less about Thursday night's preseason football game between Tampa Bay and Buffalo. Certainly, if the advance ticket sale is an accurate barometer, at least hal of Dudley Field's 4 1,000 seats will be unoccupied for this professional match.

That's about par for this sort pro football game in Nashville. In my lifetime there have been three such games played in the Vanderbilt arena. Each drew an estimated 20,000 fans, and at least two of them had extra-strong local ties to add to the excitement. As a matter of fact, one of the earlier exhibitions was promoted as the first NFL game ever played in the South. THAT ONE, dedicated to raising money for armed forces recreational facilities, came at mid-season in 1944.

It was between the Green Ba Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles The Packers lost, 38-12, but went on t. win the NFL championship, beating the New York Giants in what was then the Super Bowl. In addition to the appearance of one of the outstanding pro teams of the era, the game here had great Van derbilt appeal. A Packer stalwart wai the late Buford (Baby) Ray, an all-timer in Commodore and Green Bay football history. The game was dedicated to Ray.

The final figures showed a crowd of 19,645. In 1 965, two years after the Chicagi Bears were professional football champions, they came to Dudley Field to face the Los Angeles Rams ir a late-August game. That one, too, wr a promoter's delight. The Bear roste. included two of the area's more appealing football personalities.

Bill Wade, a former Vanderbilt great, ha quarterbacked Chicago to its NFL championship in 1963 and was the starter against the Rams. One of his Bear teammates was Doug Atkins, one of the finest players in the histor of the University of Tennessee. Atkins, a Hall of Famer, was a defensiv end. With all this firepower availablt as promotional treasure, the total attendance was 20,886, less than the Dudley Field capacity. IN 1 966, the Atlanta Falcons and New York Giants came to town.

This time, the game was televised, played at night and earlier in the preseason. The crowd: 21,144. The box of ice appeal of Thursday's Tampa Bay-Buffalo duel is the appearance of quarterbacks Vinny Testaverde and Jim Kelly, two of the more attractive quarterbacks in the NFL But, after almost 50 interveninj years, I've a hunch the promoters of this week's game would be delighted to have a crowd as large as the who turned out for the Packers and Eagles in 1944. Despite 50 years of seeing interest in NFL affairs swell to enormous pre portions, pro fans in this area are reflecting a decided "I-could-care-less attitude" about the game between Buffalo and Tampa Bay. STREET TALK condemns the game on the basis of the price of tickets.

Tickets ranged from approxi mately 4,500 at $25 to another 1,400 $12 (if purchased in blocks of four). The vast majority of seats are priced at $22.50. There's another side to all this. It becomes painfully obvious through a comparison of the financial details of this week's game and the others played here. It tells the story of the startling surge in the cost of pro football.

In 1944, a fan could attend the Packers-Eagles game for $2.40. If you were in a military uniform, you could pass through the gates for $1.50. In 1966, a pair of tickets cost $11. The 1944 teams received approximately $25,000 apiece for playing. That price survived through 1965's game between the Bears and Rams.

The Giants and Falcons came away with $29,000 each. According to Russ Potts, president of the organization promoting Thursday's event, Buffalo and Tampa Bay will be paid $300,000 apiece. So, while the prices seem ridiculously high and surely are enhancing the ho-hum attitude for the game, the bottom line is clean The fiddler has his price. Murfreesboro's Bob Parks, left, talks with his son Newton, aboard Demand Deposit, about the upcoming National Celebration. Walking Horse problems solved in nick of time for trainer Dunn it it! mm ns2h mainder of the industry, a compromise over the training equipment resolved the impasse.

The dreaded bankruptcy sales never came about, partially because of the loyalty of industry supporters. "All of the customers stuck behind me, and right now we're jast as enthused as always," Dunn said yesterday as he prepared for his two-week trek to Shelbyville and the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebratioa Dunn is one of several second-generation trainers in the business. He, along with his 70-year-old father Bud, operate a 44-stall training facility. Steve may not be the last trainer in his family, either. His and wife I Turn to PACE 12C, Column 1 URRVTAFT Sports Writer The 25th of March was one of the most disturbing days in the life of Steve Dunn.

On that day the U.S. Department of Agriculture, responding to a decision by a Washington, D.C, federal judge, virtually brought the show horse segment of the Tennessee Walking Horse business to a halt Dunn, a 36-year-old professional trainer from Florence, and his peers were distraught If the USDA or the judge did not alter their stance on the padded shoes and action devices used to train horses, he would be out of business. "It's a bad feeling when the way you support your family is about to go down the drain," Dunn said. Fortunately for Dunn and the re Ricky Rogers Staff Tennessee Walking Horses, like Ultimate Source, are a family business for the Bud Dunn family of Florence, Ala. Dunn, a trainer for 40 years, his son Steve and granddaughter Jennifer will all be showing at the Celebration.

4k Sanders bails out ailing UT offense Depleted QB corps gets boost DAVID CMMFR Sports Writer Tennessee's Randy Sanders came out of self-imposed football exile yesterday and returned to the Vols' team, bolstering depth at the depleted Vandy defense weary of being on bottom Safety Gentry heads enthused unit URRV WOODY Sports Writer Vanderbilt defensive coordinator Dick Hopkins and his unit's captain, Joe Gentry, feel the heat And we're not just talking mercury-popping 100-degree temperatures. The heat shimmering around the Vandy defense is not white-hot or red-hot It's Brown-hot It is generated by Vandy Coach Watson Brown, who has placed the fate of the Commodores' season squarely on the defensive unit's shoulders. "Unless our defense gets better our team won't get better," Brown told the media during last month's SEC Football Kickoff in Birmingham "The defense is the key. It's that simple." Genrty, a 6-0, 202-pound senior strong safety from Humboldt, Tena, heard what Brown had to say. And he liked it "Yeah, Coach Brown really put the heat on the defense," said quarterback position.

Sanders, who had previously decided to skip his senior season, returned at the request of Tennessee's coaching staff, which was con- cerned about the lack of experi enced depth at quarterback following Sterling Henton's injury last week. DT Coach Johnny Majors an- SANDERS nounced the development yesterday following a meeting with Sanders and Walt Harris, the Vols' offensive coordinator. Mike DuBose Staff When Vanderbilt head coach Watson Brown recently said defense is the key to the Commodores' upcoming season, Joe Gentry, VU's defensive captain said "And that's good. If that doesn't motivate us, we can't be motivated." Turn to PAGE 2C, Column 3 I Turn to PAGE 2C Column 5 Nicklaus passes $5 million in winnings, 3C Elliott captures pole for Michigan 400, 5C --rr".