Daily Sitka Sentinel from Sitka, Alaska • Page 6

Page 6, Sitka Daily Sentinel, Thursday, December 29,1988 Sentinel Sports Commentary: Pros Entertain With Quotes About Pay Anchorage Stuns No. 2 Michigan By The Associated Press Now everybody knows: The University of Alaska-Anchorage can -do more than just hold an early-season tournament. The Division II Seawolves pulled the biggest surprise of the college basketball season Wednesday night, stunning No. 2 Michigan 70-66 in the opening round of (lie Utah Classic. Anchorage, perhaps best known for hosting the Great Alaska Shootout that each year draws some of the top Division I schools in the country, plays host Utah tonight for the championship of the Utah Classic.

Utah advanced to the finals with a 97-84 victory over Holy Cross in the opener Wednesday. Michigan and Holy Cross will play for consolation honors before the championship game, "That's probably the biggest win' for our young basketball program, no question about that," said UAA Coach Ron Abegglen, whose Seawolves were national ranners-up in Division II last year. "Coach Abegglen gave us a great game plan to spread it out, because they were a lot bigger, but we were a quicker," said point guard Jerry Sommer, who played the last two years at Salt Lake Community College. "And when we spread it out, with all that room and all our quickness, they couldn't stay with us." The more the Seawolves controlled the tempo, the more Michigan knew it was in big trouble. "You could see it coming.

I didrt't believe it would happen, but it happened," Michigan Coach Bill Freider said. "They had a great game plan. We knew they were good and they did the right thing to beat us." The Seawolves stayed close in the first half and then used a 20-4 run during an eight-minute span of the second half to take control. Alaska- Anchorage improved to 11-2 while the Wolverines lost for the first rime in 12 games. "We wanted to keep the basketball as long as we could and nullify their tremendous rebounding," Abegglen said.

"If we play them normal, they outrebound us by 20 and beat us." Michigan finished with a 34-25 rebounding edge, but that wasn't enough to stop the Seawolves. "We certainly didn't shoot well," Freider said. "We weren't sharp. I think the Christmas layoff, the long break and the traveling took its toll. We'll bounce back: We have to have the character to come back and learn from it." Michigan made 29 of 61 field-goal attempts.

Alaska-Anchorage shot 27- for-43. The Seawolves scored their final nine points from the foiil line. Glen Rice scored 24 points for Michigan, but missed three straight foul shots with Michigan trailing 63-60. Michigan was ahead 36-32 at halftime. The Wolverines led 44-38 with 16 minutes left in the game after Rice scored on a rebound on his own shot But Alaska-Anchorage scored the next 11 points, sparked by a basket by Ron Fischer, who finished with 16 points.

Indiana Hoosiers Romp in Liberty Bowl MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Indiana' sounded a warning blast for future Big Ten foes with its 34-10 whipping of South Carolina in the Liberty As expecied, the Hoosiers got' another exceptional rushing performance from junior tailback Anthony Thompson on Wednesday night. Thompson ran for 140 yards on 26 carries and scored twice, but it was the passing of quarterback Dave Schnell that felled the Gamecocks. "Schnell had a good game once he got in the groove and got wanned up," Indiana Coach Bill Mallory said. Schnell, a senior with one year of eligibility remaining, riddled the South Carolina defense for 378 yards and two touchdowns as he completed 16 of 31 passes.

"I never, never thought I was going to have a game like this," Schnell said after being named the game's MVP. "This is just a real confidence booster for me to take into the spring. I just felt real confident tonight against their man-to-man defense.and I had a lot of confidence in my receivers," Schnell said. The Liberty Bowl win capped an 83-1 season for Indiana, while South Carolina, which has lost all eight of its bowl appearances, finished 8-4. Thompson got things started for the Hoosiers with a 48-yard run on Indiana's first play from scrimmage before capping an 88-yard drive with a 7-yard scoring run.

Schnell then began to take charge, hitting Cal Miller with a 10-yard scoring pass with 5:54 remaining in the first half. Indiana later added a 28-yard field goal by Pete Stoyanovich to lead 17-0 at the half. By ALLEN SYKORA Sentinel Staff Writer Increasingly, professional athletes are entertaining the readers of sports pages with more than their home runs, touchdowns and slam dunks. These people who live in.Fantasy- land are also humoring fans with zany quotes about the megabucks they earn for playing children's games. For this newsman who begins each morning by going through The Associated Press sports newswire, those quotes provided some of the lighter moments of 1988.

Take my hero, Frank Viola, for instance. "Frankie Sweet Music Viola" was named World Series Most Valuable Player after he pitched my home state Minnesota Twins to the world championship in 1987. A few months later; after he had agreed in principle to a new two-year contract worth at least $2.9 million, he made the following statement: "It is the first time I'll be able to feel what security is all Huh? Even though he earned a cool $850,000 in 1987? Personally, if I could only convince the publishers of the Sentinel to pay me $850,000 for just one year, I'd feel pretty secure forever. Accountant Dave Dapcevich tells me that under the new tax law, I would give 28 percent, or $238,000, to Uncle Sam, assuming I had no tax shelters; That would leave me $612,000. Let's see if I put that all into certificates of deposit at today's 7 percent rates, that would be a guaranteed salary of over $40,000 per year for life and if interest rates ever reached 18 percent Hey, that's not bad even in Alaska! Anyway, if you want real proof that some professional athletes have forgotten what it's like to live in the "real world," take the case of George Bell.

Bell was named American League Most Valuable Player in 1987 when, his Toronto Blue Jays just missed winning the American League East title. For his efforts, in February the Blue Jays handsomely awarded him' with a two-year contract that guaranteed him at least $4 million, with the possibility of even more through performance bonuses. George happened to play in the outfield, so to protect his knees and lengthen his career so George would be around to sign more multimillion-dollar contracts the Blue Jays decided to switch him to designated hitter. 'Keep in mind, now, this was only two weeks after the Blue Jays agreed to give Georgie $4 million for playing with his little bat and ball. So what did Georgie say? "They think that just because they pay me a lot of money, they can make me do whatever they want," he told the news media with a huff.

Frankly, George don't hit now but 1 think the Blue Jays just might have a point there. Of course, they can't force you shoot people and stuff like that But at $2 million a year, they should be able to ask you to sacrifice bunt, hit, and run, and even play designated hitter if they think that's what is best forthe.team. Anyway, Georgie's pouting spell gave me an idea on how I might use the opposite tactic to hike my own salary. I told one of the editors of the Sentinel about how unappreciatiye some people like George are, then with my most sincere voice said: "Sandy, if you want to pay me $2 million a year, I'll do anything you want me to. I'll even scrub the toilet with a toothbrush." Didn't work.

She just laughed. But back to George. He wasn't about to let those nasty old Blue Jays just shove that $4 million in his face. So you know what he said? "Maybe I won't play quite so hard." Atta boy, George. You show 'em.

Better yet, quit Get a job as a janitor. Tell 'em you don't want their stupid money. The Gipper would have been proiid ofyou. Not to be outdone, star pitcher Dwight Goodeh thought he'd give the New York Mets a lesson in gratitude last winter, before the season began. Gooden, you recall, missed two months of the 1987 season because he was undergoing rehabilitation for cocaine.

Hey, no big deal, the Mets said. The guy slipped up. He's still young. He deserves a second chance. So the team gave it to him, continuing, to pay a salary which worked out to more than a month, and even picking up the tab for counseling.

Dwight rejoined the and the Mets came from far back in the standings to nearly win the National League East title that year. Most baseball fans figure if it wasn't for Dwight's bout with cocaine, the Mets would have won won the title that they almost captured anyway. Now after all the Mets had done for Dwight surely they wouldn't have any contract hassles with him. Right? Well, Dwight and the Mets couldn't 'come to ternis, so Dwight went to salary arbitration, seeking a $150,000 raise to $1.65 million. "We felt the hospitalization arranged and paid for, and the salary paid demonstrated that we were in his corner," said Mels Vice President Al Harazin.

"Support and understanding, yes; reward, no." Fortunately, there is still some sani- ty left in pro sports. I think The arbitrator sided with the Mets and instead awarded Gooden $1.4 million. Finally, in late summer we had the case of Don Mattingly, considered by many to be the best hitting and fielding first baseman in baseball. Mattingly plays for the New York Yankees, who were understandably frustrated when they choked during the pennant race in late summer. I don't know Don's salary exactly, but I imagine it's about $2 million a year or so, considering he's one of the best players in baseball and he plays for one of the most liberal spending owners in the game.

So anyway, one day while the Yankees were choking, Don blasts his boss andsays: "You come here and you play, and. you get no respect. You get money, and that's it." Huh? "They think money is respect, Mattingly said. "Money's not respect." Now admittedly, Don's boss, owner George Steinbrenner; has a reputation for making an occasional not-so-nice comment and firing managers every he doesn't win the World Series. Still, it can't be all bad pulling in $2 million a year for playing with a little bat and ball, evenwhen the paycheck from Sir George.

Heck; I can remember working on a farm as a teen-ager, slopping around in a pigpen with rubber boots on a 95- degree day for $1.75 an hour. And I knew what it felt like to get no respect. King, the farmer's dog, wouldn't let me pet him. Anyway, after reading what; Mattingly had to say about his boss, I thought I'd try still another tactic to get a raise. So when the afore-mentioned editor got off the telephone, I walked over and said: "Sandy, if you want to give me $2 million a year, you don't have to give me any respect whatsoever.

Really, I don't mind. You can call me any name you want and make me work Sundays. "And I'm still willing to scrub the toilet bowl with a toothbrush." Funny thing. She laughed again. I guess that's how it is in the "real World." Mike Ditka Named NFL Coach of Year By DAVE GOLDBERG AP Football Writer Mike Ditka, who lost a half-dozen key players to retirement free agency and injury and himself suffered a heart attack at midseason, was named The Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year today.

Ditka led the Chicago Bears to a 124 record and their fifth straight division title. It was the second time the award has gone to who also won in 1985, when Chicago won the its first Super Bowl. That year, the Bears overwhelmed their opponents en route to a 15-1 regular-season mark and three lopsided playoff victories. This year was a struggle from the start as Ditka had to paste together a team thartricluded 13 rookies. "You talk about a guy who epitomizes the 'fighter who staggered in the corner but came out slugging," says Dave McGinnis, the team's linebacker coach.

Chicago was picked by many forecasters to finish behind the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Central after losing running back Walter Payton and safety Gary Fencifc to retirement and linebacker Wilber Marshall to the Washington Redskins in the first major free agent transfer in a decade. That was compounded by season- ending injuries to linebacker Otis Wilson and defensive tackle William Perry and by Ditka's heart attack, suffered Nov. 2. Ditka was back on lines just 11 days later as the Bears beat the Redskins 34-14 in Washington. But with all the problems, Chicago still managed to tie Cincinnati and Buffalo for the best record in the NFL, 12-4, and will have the home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

Ditka got 33 votes in the balloting by writers and broadcasters who cover each of the NFL's 28 teams. Buffalo's Marv Levy had 23 and Cincinnati's Sam Wyche was third with 19. Ditka seemed to mellow after his heart attack and vowed to no longer lose his temper in public. But by Monday night's 28-27 season-ending loss in Minnesota a game that meant nothing to the Bears he was nearly back to his old self, yelling at players on the sidelines. At one point, he berated rookie Lemuel Stinson on the sidelines.for a roughing-the-kicker penalty when the call was a return.

Afterward, he said: "I did that the next time we call a he'll know exactly what that means," Ditka said. In fact, the 49 year-old coach can sometimes be his own harshest critic. "My are-the-best in. the world. My methods are sometimes lousy," he says: "The more you coach, the more you change.

I would love to change a lot of things. I'd love never to get mad at anybody." Scoreboard 49ers' Craig Named Top Offensive Player NFL Playoffs Saturday, Dec. 24 AFC "Wild Card Houston 24, Cleveland 23 Monday, Dec. 26 NFC Wild Card Minnesota 28, Los Angeles Rams 17 Conference Semifinals Saturday, Dec. 31 Philadelphia at Chicago Seattle at Cincinnati Sunday, Jan.

1 Houston at Buffalo Minnesota at San Francisco Sunday, Jan. 8 AFC championship, TBA NFC championship, TBA Sunday, Jan. 22 At Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami 23rd Super Bowl College Scores EAST Manhattan 69, Canisius 64 Rhode Island 85, Dist. of Columbia 70 SOUTH Marshall 103, S. Mississippi 97 Memphis St.

68, Illinois Si. 45 N. Iowa 96, Fla. International 83 Tennessee 94, Miami, Ohio 83 MIDWEST Ball SL 75, SW Texas SL 59 Cent. Michigan 71, Ohio Northern 49 Missouri 83, Arkansas 78 City 63, Cincinnati 58 Rico 92, N.

Illinois 81 SOUTHWEST. Texas Southern 103, Texas Christian 78 FAR WEST Brown lOO.BYUHawaii 85, OT California 78, American U. 65 Hartford 70, Columbia 62 Idaho St. 86, W. Baptist 53 LSU 101, Morehead St.

88 Loyola Marymount 131, Marist 107 Montana 82, U.S. International 80 Nebraska 86, Chaminade 85 Vegas 88, Pcpperdine 56 North Texas 81, San Dicgo77, OT TOURNAMENTS Connecticut Mutual Classic First Round Air Force 48, Davidson 45 Connecticut 84, Harvard 42 Far West Classic First Round Michigan St. 60, Colorado 57 Oregon St. 89, SL Joseph's 67 Fiesta Bowl Classic First Round Arizona 106, Loyola, III. 82 Pittsburgh 90, Northwestern 76 Hoosicr Classic First Round Indiana 103, St.

Bonaventure 66 Utah St. 80, Detroit 50 KactusKlassic First Round Arizona SL 82, San Francisco 76 Cat-Santa Barbara 88, Iowa SL 78 Lobo Invitational Championship New Mexico 76, Wake Forest 71 Third Place Fairfield 73, George Washington 65 MVP Holiday Classic First Round Appalachian SL 58, Washington St. 56 Toledo 75, E. Kentucky 69 Mount St. Mary's Tournament First Round Mount St.

Mary's, Md. 90, Brooklyn Col. 55 Palm Beach Classic First Round Miami, Fla. 102, Penn 69 Wichita St. 92, Washington 72 Rainbow Classic First Round Georgia Tech 87, Houston 78 Illinois 85, Tulsa 58 Red Lobster Classic First Round Florida SL 97, Cent.

Florida 64 Villanova 84, Auburn 83 Sugar Classic First Round DePaul 62, Mississippi SL 60 Seton Hall 84, Virginia 67 Tribune Invitational First Round Georgetown 80, Mercer 55 South Florida 94. Rider 89 Utah Classic First Round Alaska-Anchorage 70, Michigan 66 Utah 97, Holy Cross 84 NHL at a Glance Wednesday's Games Hartford 4, Quebec 4, tic Buffalo 4, Detroit 1 Chicago 4, Minnesota 3 Winnipeg 6, St. Louis 4 Thursday's Games, Toronto at Quebec Philadelphia at Pillsburgh Boston at New Jersey Montreal at Calgary Vancouver at Los Angeles SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -Roger Craig laid the groundwork for a record-breaking season on the mountainous trails behind his home on the San Francisco Peninsula last winter and spring. Sixteen regular-season'games and over a mile in total yardage later, the San Francisco tailback is still high- stepping in midseason form.

Just like the 49ers, Craig finished strong with two 100-yard rushing games in December as the team marched to a third straight NFC West title. The six-year veteran has a foolproof method to make the weekly batterings seem less tortuous; undergo. worse torture in your spare time. Lakers End Skid By The Associated Press The Los Angeles Lakers' unbeaten record at home isn't making Coach Pat Riley forget that the defending NBA champions aren't playing good defense. "Unless we play defense better, the players can celebrate this win all they want to, but we couldn't guard anybody," Riley said of the Lakers' 128-123 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.

"We couldn'tguard the floor." The win ended a skid of six straight defeats on the road for the Lakers. Magic Johnson had 26 points, 18 assists and 10 rebounds and the Lakers built a 77-59 halftime lead, their highest point total of the season after two quarters. They extended the margin to 94-73 in the second half, only to see the 76ers get within three points twice down the stretch. "The first half was good, the of- ftnse was good, but we can't rely on our offense," Riley said. "The second half was one of our worst performances of the year." The Lakers, at 9-0 the only unbeaten team in the NBA at home, shot 66.7 percent in the first half, connecting on 30 of 45 field goals.

They were 15-for-39 in the second half. "They kept coming," the Lakers' Byron Scott said of the 76ers, who were led by Charles Barkley with 36 points and 12 rebounds. "They played good basketball and we stopped." In other NBA games, it was New Jersey 118, Indiana 101; Cleveland 122, Charlotte 98; Detroit 106, Phoenix 100; and Utah 96, Sacramento 80. Cavaliers 122, Hornets 98 Cleveland won its seventh straight game and improved its NBA-best winning percentage to .800 as Ron Harper led seven Cavaliers in double figures with 19 points against Charlotte. Pistons 106, Suns 100 Detroit stayed games behind the Cavaliers in the Central Division and snapped Phoenix's four-game winning streak behind Adrian Dantley's 24 points and 13 rebounds.

After trailing for most of the game, Phoenix took a 69-67 lead with six straight points early in the third quarter. But Dantley scored six points as Detroit responded with an 11-0 spurt, taking a 78-69 lead with 2:51 left in the period. Jazz 96, Kings 80 Utah took advantage of 28.7 percent shooting by Sacramento to beat the Kings, who were playing without Coach Jerry Reynolds, who collapsed during the fourth quarter of a game Tuesday night. Karl Malone had 21 points and 16 rebounds for the Jazz, including seven points during a 24-8 first-quarter run. Nels 118, Pacers 101 New Jersey handed Indiana its 14th consecutive road defeat this season as Joe Barry Carroll fueled a decisive 134 spurt in the fourth quarter with a pair of baskets and two free throws.

Mike McGee led New Jersey with 23 points. "I figure I did all my hurting and my suffering in the offseason through the training program I put myself through," he says. Craig's grueling workouts helped pay off again Wednesday as he was named the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year. He edged Cincinnati's Boomer Esiason 32-29 in the voting by writers and broadcasters in each of the 28 NFL cities. Randall Cunningham was a distant third with five, followed by Dan Marino of Miami and Eddie Brown of Cincinnati with two each and Herschel Walker of Dallas with one.

"It's a great honor and something I didn't expect," said Craig, 28. "It'll probably take a couple of days for it to really set in. I'll say 'Oh, I was chosen the offensive player throughout the whole That's a phenomenal honor." Craig's numbers were at times phenomenal this season as he shattered Wendell Tyler's team rushing record by 240 yards and catapulted into third place on the 49ers' career rushing list, trailing only Joe Perry and Ken Willard. Craig rushed for 1,502 yards and nine touchdowns and caught 76 passes for 534 yards and one scoreV He ranked third in the NFL in rushing and eighth in receptions, tying Eric Dickerson of Indianapolis for first with 2,036 combined yards. He averaged 4.8 yards per attempt, best in the NFC, and was the key ingredient in the 49ers' second-ranked offense.

"He's got just incredible determina- tiqn and dedication, and he thrives on football, truly thrives on it," said49ers Coach Bill Walsh. "He's as inspiring an athlete as we've ever had." Try these offseason numbers for inspiration: 15 uphill 100-yard das.bes and a series of 220-yard sprints, alternating daily with a fast-paced up to eight miles on the steep horse trails near Craig's house in Portola Valley. All on a strict diet of only 2,500 calories a day that enabled him to trim down to 210 pounds. Wade Bqggs Threatened GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) Boston Red Sox All-Star third baseman Wade Boggs was cut in the neck and threatened by a man at knifepoint, police said, but the inch-long cut was not serious enough to warrant medical attention.

Police charged George Young 23, with armed burglary and two counts of aggravated battery. Edward Benjamin Cox, 31, was charged with aggravated assault and carrying a concealed weapon. Boggs, 30, said he was in his Jeep outside a Gainesville bar showing a recently purchased 9mm handgun to two friends when two men blocked them with their vehicle. Police said Young got out of the car carrying a knife, and Cox waved a cahber revolver at Boggs and his friends. Young jumped into the back seat of the Jeep and held a knife, to Boggs' throat.

Chuck Hollowell, a friend of Boggs', ran to flag down police. Boggs was cut when a passenger in the Jeep, Stephen Minardi, yelled at Young, who cut Boggs as he allegedly went to hold the knife to Minardi. Bowling News MOONLIGHTERS LEAGUE Standings are now Magic Mirror True Value 32-28, Sea Dancer 31l2-28h, McGraw's 29-31, American Legion 28-32 and Kick and Stretch 25-35. High game and series were bowled by Cindy McGraw with 203 and 486. Splits were converted by Sheila Lawson 5-6, Liz Hill 3-10 and McGraw 3-10..