The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 9

I 1k Dcs Illoincs Kc.qtstcr DAVID WITKE, Executive Sports Editor, 515-284-8130 Iowa Plays Vanderbilt The Hawkeye women's basketball team will meet a team stocked with a top shot blocker. Page3S Saturday, December 28, 1991 Spoils iste Mm kb mi, ral 1 Iv'JX 1 1 FIRST ROUND Well-heeled Shula fits Marc Hansen Harmon's visit stirs memories San Diego, Calif. Ronnie Harmon came to Iowa's practice Thursday. He came not to apologize. He and Devon Mitchell did that a few years ago.

"They made a special trip," Hayden Fry said Friday. "It was hard for Ronnie to talk to me. All he said was, 'Coach, I'm Long sentence." his spirit, his ability, and his team's style. "When I have been demoted, I've responded in a positive way," said DeBerg, who lost his job a few weeks ago to Mark Vlasic but got it back when Vlasic was injured. "I take it as a challenge, done a little soul-searching and evaluated how I can become a better player when I get another opportunity." Last week, DeBerg completed 14 of 20 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns.

The touchdowns measured 53 and 57 yards, but it has been his short darts, especially on third down, that have usually been more costly to the Raiders. "Well probably," said DeBerg when asked if the play-action does work against aggressive units. "But we try it against everybody. It basically depends on how well the running game works." On offense, the Chiefs are expected to run first (they ranked third in the National Football League at 138 yards a game), mix in a DeBerg play action pass and make few mistakes. "We have to tackle number 23 (running back Barry Word)," said the Raiders' Howie Long, who will start today despite his knee injury.

"It's not a complicated offense. They run right, run left, don't have a lot of blocking combinations." The Chiefs will be at full strength in the backfield. Word will start, but Christian Okoye's injured knee is healthier and Harvey Williams, who had eye surgery, is available after missing last week. The NFL's oldest and youngest starting quarterbacks meet in today's Chiefs-Raiders playoff game. From Recistek WireSekvices Kansas City, Mo.

When they left you last week, the Kansas City Chiefs were running out the clock, Todd Marinovich was fidgeting on the sidelines, and Los Angeles Police Department officers were searching the Coliseum for the Raider defense. Welcome to Part II of the Raiders-Chiefs saga, today at Arrowhead Stadium. Today's 11:30 a.m. game is for National Football League playoff survival, as opposed to location. Otherwise, everything's the same between the Chiefs, who have a 10-6 record, and the Raiders, 9-7.

The Raiders have lost three straight overall, four straight to the Chiefs, three straight in Kansas City. Their defense has inexplicably become the Raiders Lost Art. Their quarterback will be The Kid, Marinovich, the league's youngest at 22. Last week, Marinovich threw for 240 yards and three touchdowns and was only stopped because the defense couldn't get him the ball one last time. He was playing for sore-ankled Jay Schroeder.

Now, it's a coach's decision. Raiders officials made sure no- Long sentence for Harmon, whose runs to daylight as an Iowa tailback were always longer than his conversations. "Devon and Ronnie felt terrible about it," Fry said. "They wanted me to know they were sorry they'd created a bad image for Harmon "Sorry" Mmiv Mm 4 1' 4' 1 1 1 A 3 TODAY'S GAMES 1 1 :30 L.A. Raiders at Kansas City 3:00 Atlanta at New Orleans SUNDAY'S GAMES 11:30 Dallas at Chicago 3:00 New York Jets at Houston body saw whether Schroeder or Marinovich operated the first unit in practices this week.

But as far as the Chiefs are concerned, the Raiders' great quarterback secret was no longer a secret anyway. "We all hear it's going to be Marinovich," Chiefs safety Deron Cherry said. "And that doesn't surprise us." Kansas City quarterback Steve DeBerg has no qualms about playing the Raiders again. If he had played the Raiders more often in his career, he might have a better reputation than that of best journeyman quarterback in the league. Besides leading the Chiefs to five victories in as many starts against the Raiders, he has completed 62 percent of his passes for 926 yards and nine touchdowns in his last six appearances.

He's only been sacked six times and intercepted twice, and has excelled at the third down completion the last few meetings. Not bad for the oldest starting quarterback in the league. "It's just happened," DeBerg, 37, said. "The Raiders definitely have an outstanding defense and I don't prefer to play them." DeBerg's success can be traced to Playing Center Acie Earl led the Hawk-eyes with 31 points. He missed a free throw with 5 minutes 42 seconds to play that would have matched his career high, and spent the rest of the game on the bench with the outcome well in hand.

Rodell Davis added 13 points, Val Barnes 12 and James Moses 10 for the Hawkeyes. Michael Wilson finished with 26 points and Darin Archbold added 20 for Butler, now 8-3. The Hawkeyes were trailing, 28-23, but they went on a 20-2 run that included the ejection of Collier. Earl started the run with a basket and was fouled. He missed, but Moses got the rebound and put it in.

The next time down, Earl scored on a nifty scoop shot and was again fouled. He made the free throw for a 30-28 Iowa lead. Butler's Tim Bowen was racing down the court and looked to be driving in for a layup when official Dan Chrisman nailed Collier with a technical foul. Collier continued to argue and was nailed for a second technical from Chrisman, which led to his WMkPlease turn toPage 3S Bengals fine Cincinnati KxunxKH Cincinnati, Ohio When the Cincinnati coaching job opened, Dave Shula knew he wanted it. Shula is 32, younger than any head coach ever in the National Football League, but he has spent a lifetime getting ready.

Thursday, Cincinnati General Manager Mike Brown asked Shula if he would be interested in the job. Brown was convinced Shula was the man to replace Sam Wyche. The contract was signed Friday and Shula became the sixth coach in Bengals history. Shula is the son of Don Shula, coach of the Miami Dolphins and one of two men to coach 300 NFL victories. David Shula was an NFL assistant 10 years, six with his dad at Miami and two in Dallas before joining the Bengals before last season.

But his indoctrination into football began earlier. "He did everything from the bottom up, literally," Don Shula said, "from picking up jockstraps and sweeping out the locker room and being a ballboy on the sidelines to charting plays." Report Scores NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Cleveland 103 San Antonio 97 Detroit 106 Orlando 94 Golden State 106 Minnesota 102 Houston 107 Washington 100 New Jersey 136 Charlotte 120 Boston at Seattle NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Buffalo 8 Boston Philadelphia at Vancouver Winnipeg at Chicago BIG EIGHT BASKETBALL Iowa State 92 Fairfield 59 (4) Kansas 109 So. Mississippi 76 (14)Oklahoma 118 Morehead State 99 Kansas State vs. Temple BIG TEN BASKETBALL (10) Indiana 86 Texas Tech 69 (23) Iowa 114 Butler 92 (9) Michigan St. 82 Austin Peay 71 Northwestern 76 Creighton 57 Minnesota vs.

Oregon Wisconsin vs. Washington MISSOURI VALLEY BASKETBALL Indiana State 71. Kent State 57 Illinois State in Lobo Invitational TOP 25 BASKETBALL (5) Connecticut 112 C. Conn. St.

(18) St. John's vs. Fordham 58 Today's TV Best NFL 11:30 ABC L.A. Raiders at Kansas City Afore listings: Page 2S jS It liliiP fiilM David Shula Bengals' new head coach Indianapolis Fired Ron Meyer, hired Rick Venturi. Cincinnati Fired Sam Wyche, hired David Shula.

Green Bay Fired Lindy Infante. Lot Angeles Rams John Robinson resigned. Minnesota Jerry Burns retired. Pittsburgh Chuck Noll retired. San Diego Fired Dan Henning.

Seattle Chuck Knox resigned. Tampa Bay Fired Richard Williamson. Inspirational Runner Fullback a leader forBYU By RON MALY Recistek StaeeWuitek San Diego, Calif. LaVell Edwards is thankful for a decision Soakimi and Pesiola Tuipulotu made in 1975. That was the year Soakimi and Pesiola, the parents of Peter Tuipulotu, decided to move to the United States from Tonga.

Because they did, Peter Tuipulotu wound up being Tonga native a luuiuau piay- er, not just a rugby enthusiast. Now a 215-pound fullback, Peter is Brigham Young's leading rusher heading into Monday's Holiday Bowl game against Iowa. "I was 5 years old when my parents moved to San Mateo, California," Tuipulotu said. "They came here because they felt the opportunities were better, and they could get better education for their children," he said. Tuipulotu (pronounced Too-ee-pull-oh-too) said rugby is the big sport in Tonga, a group of islands in the South Pacific.

"A lot of kids there grow up playing rugby and soccer," he explained. "When we moved to the U.S., my older brother, Tom, and I began playing American football." Tom, four years older than Peter, is a former Brigham Young running back. Peter said he visited Tonga in 1980, and hopes to go back soon for another look. He hasn't completely abandoned rugby, even though he's earned a college scholarship playing football. Tuipulotu played rugby with other Tongans in San Mateo before returning to Brigham Young late in the summer, then even played against some other rugby enthusiasts in Salt Lake City.

Tuipulotu, a fifth-year senior, is a dangerous all-purpose back for a Brigham Young team that goes into the Holiday Bowl with an 8-3-1 record. He led the team in rushing with 619 yards in 125 carries, and was second in pass receiving with 41 catches for 587 yards. He led the Cougars in all-purpose running with 1,206 yards. Edwards said Tuipulotu was one of the players who kept emotions from sinking after the team lost its first three games this season. "When we lost to Florida State, UCLA and Penn State, we suddenly BYU Please turn to Page 25 I La kU Iowa.

They're both good kids. "Ronnie told me, 'Coach, all the things you said were true. I remember sitting there listening to you talk about different things, and I'd say, yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's all been true. How do you tell that to your players so they believe Good or bad, Harmon came not to apologize for his role in the notorious Watercolorgate caper.

He came not to explain those four Rose Bowl fumbles and the dropped touchdown pass. After great examination, Fry believes they were innocent mistakes. Nothing fishy. Anton Valukas, the U.S. attorney on the case, came to the same conclusion.

"We went through that film with a microscope," Fry said, "and every one of his fumbles was legitimate. UCLA stripped the ball. I mean first one guy would hit and the next guy would come in and jerk the ball out. No, we all had the same idea. What's going on here? We put that sucker under a microscope." In Chris Mortensen's new book, "Playing for Keeps," Wayne Duke, the former Big Ten commissioner, calls Harmon's performance the worst in Rose Bowl history.

The book mentions the "altercation" that occurred in the Iowa locker room after the game. It discusses the federal investigators, who began taking a liking to Harmon. The feds appreciated the kid's moxie. They liked the fact that he had conned a con man by hiding a micro cassette tape recorder in his gym bag when the two met in March of 1985 to seal their agreement. If only football time had stopped at the 1986 Rose Bowl coin toss.

Ronnie Harmon would rank with Chuck Long and Larry Station in the pantheon of Hawkeye football stars from that era. But it didn't and Harmon will never have a gold and black jersey retired at midfield. No, he came not to apologize or explain, but to visit with his old coach and to meet the 10-1 Holiday Bowl team of 1991. Merton Hanks, a rookie cornerback who started for the San Francisco 49ers, came around Friday. Nick Bell was expected today.

That was nice. Harmon's appearance, that was news. "He stayed the whole practice," said Fry, who could have talked for hours about Harmon's magical abilities. The introduction could have gone like this: "Gentleman, before you stands quite probably the most talented running back in the history of Iowa football. Ronnie was blessed with more pass-catching ability than any 10 Pro Bowl running backs and more running ability than any 10 Pro Bowl receivers.

"He was the Buffalo Bills first-round draft pick in 1986 and the San Diego Chargers' offensive MVP in 1991." In all his years as a player and coach, Fry said Friday, he has been associated with only two players the athletic equal of Ronnie Harmon. They are Ronnie Bull, the old running back from Baylor and the Chicago Bears, and Lance Alworth, the receiver who starred for Arkansas and later the San Diego Chargers. "With the three of them" Fry said, "you can flip a coin. I had a lot of others who were gifted. Like Jerry Levias at SMU.

But those three were the best combination, runners, catchers and blockers. Ronnie could have been an ail-American on defense. Those guys don't come around very often." Alas, had Fry been brutally honest with his players, he would have given Associated Press Colorado cornerback Ryan Thomas has his earring taped by Lauderdale, Fla. The 15th-ranked Buffaloes face No. 8 Ala-teammate Spencer Colter during practice this week in Fort bama in the Blockbuster Bowl tonight.

it By Ear Morning Buck Stops here CBS announced Friday that Boston Red Sox broadcaster Sean McDon-ough was signed to a two-year contract and will replace Jack Buck as its baseball play-by-play announcer. The network decided not to exercise a two-year option on Buck's contract. McDonough will be entering his fifth year with the Red Sox next spring and will be paired with analyst TimMcCarveronCBS. "This is without question one of the real plums in sports broadcasting," McDonough said. Buck said he would have liked to have had more time.

"I guess (they were) passing the buck on Buck," Buck said. "I thought (McCarver and I) were getting much better as time went by." Triple-A expansion Charlotte, N.C., and Ottawa, Ontario, have been awarded triple-A expansion franchises and will begin play in 1993, the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues said Friday. It has not been decided which of the three Triple-A leagues will get the new franchises. Iowa bums Butler for 114-92 victory By RICK BROWN Recistek Stake Whiter Tampa, Fla. Iowa's basketball team played in the Sunshine State for the first time in school history Friday night.

In honor of that occasion, the 23rd-ranked Hawkeyes came out sizzling. Iowa shot 63.9 percent from the field in scoring 62 first-half points, and went on to defeat Butler, 1 14-92, in the first round of the Tampa Tribune Holiday Invitational at the Sun Dome. Also hot in the first half was Butler Coach Barry Collier. He was ejected midway through the half after being nailed with two technical fouls. He watched the rest of the game through a window in the corner of the arena.

Now 7-1, Iowa advances to tonight's championship game against South Florida, the host school. The Bulls defeated Northeastern Illinois in the first game, 96-77. Center Gary Alexander set a Metro Conference record with 23 rebounds and scored 15 points. Forward Fred Lewis added 19 points and 15 rebounds for South Florida, now 7-1 HANSEN Please turn to Page.