Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • Page 25

SPORTS Business 6-10 Saturday, April 25, 1992 Albuquerque Journal Sportsline 821-1800 Page 1, Section, Dukes Pass Baar Exam, Slip Past Phoenix Catcher Ends Slump, Keys 8-5 Win By Barbara Chavez DUKES TODAY Journal staff writer things started for the Dukes offensively, too, going 2-for-2. Albuquerque got to Phoenix starter Dave Masters in the sixth to take a 5-3 lead. Masters walked Jerry Brooks to start the inning. Baar then broke out of his slump when he doubled to score Brooks. He went to third on a groundout by Dave Anderson, then scored on Tom Goodwin's sacrifice fly.

But Phoenix refused to fold. A two RBI single to right field by pinch-hitter Dave Hengel tied the game again 5-5. The Dukes' two-run seventh was highlighted by Baar's RBI single and a pinch-hit RBI single by Jeff Hamilton. Albuquerque scored its eighth run in the eighth inning on an RBI double by DUKES NOTES: Tonight's starters will be Kip Gross (0-0, 6.38 ERA) for Albuquerque and Craig McMurtry (0-2, 4.50 ERA) for Phoenix. Los Angeles Dodgers roving instructors were out en masse Thursday and Friday night at Dukes games.

Smith, who coaches hitting, joined the Dukes in Colorado Springs last week. John Roseboro (catchers-hitters), Chico Fernandez (hitting), Dick McLaughlin (outfielders) and Maury Wills (base stealingbunting) came to Albuquerque after stops in either Bakersfield (Class A) or San Antonio (AA). Dukes starting center fielder Raul Mondesi was scheduled to play Friday, but was suffering from an infected tooth that required pain killers and antibiotics. (hitting instructor) Reggie (Smith) and (Dukes manager) Bill (Russell). They told me just to relax, and that it was a long season.

The last thing I needed to do was get real down about a bad game." Dukes starter Pedro Martinez (2-1) got the win. He gave up five runs, four earned, on six hits. He struck out six and walked three. Reliever Zak Shinall picked up his first save of the season, pitching two shutout innings. The loser was Phoenix reliever Paul McClellan (1-1).

The Firebirds scored their first run in the second inning when Martinez walked the first two batters and Steve Decker scored on a fielder's choice by Mike Benjamin. Then Martinez settled down. And he got Phoenix, 7 p.m., Sports Stadium But Friday, Baar went 2-for-4, including the single to left field in the seventh inning that scored Henry Rodriguez and gave the Dukes the lead for good. Baar said he had a bad game last season at Class AA San Antonio and never seemed to recover. He finished the year batting .224.

"I thought about that a little after (Thursday night)," said Baar, who came into Friday's game batting .275. "But I talked to Albuquerque Dukes catcher Bryan Baar remembers when it took him much longer to recover from a bad game. Baar broke a 5-5 tie Friday with a key RBI single, helping the Dukes get past the Phoenix Firebirds 8-5 in a Pacific Coast League baseball game at the Sports Stadium. Thursday night, Baar went 0-for-4, including three strikeouts only adding to a frustrating, 0-for-17 slump that began on the Dukes' most recent road trip. New Mexico, in a Draw (i Lobos Still in Fourth After Split (Yi By Bob Larkin JOURNAL STAFF WRITER putting people on, and when we'd get behind in the count, they (the Lobos) would drive the runners in." UNM's 1-2-3 batters Aaron Santini, Gerardo Yepiz and Johnny Baros were the biggest thorns in BYU's side.

Santini scored four times and drove in two runs; Yepiz had a pair of hits and drove in four runs (including a three-run triple in the sixth when the Lobos were leading only 10-8); and Baros had two hits as well as three RBI. BYU reliever Chris Hermansen (3-2) took the loss, while UNM's Kurt Hildebrandt (4-4) won in relief. Glen Copeland picked up his third save. "Maybe we got too satisfied with JT 'V- I 4 Ik, '1 -H Brigham Young's pitching was nonexistent in the first game of a baseball doubleheader Friday at Lobo Field, and New Mexico returned the favor in game two. UNM pounded five BYU pitchers in a 13-9 opening-game win, while the Cougars teed off on five Lobos pitchers to take the finale 12-4.

The Lobos remain in fourth place in the Western Athletic Conference with a 10-8 record and are 23-21-1 overall. Wyoming (8-7, 22-21) is breathing down UNM's neck in fifth place after ripping Utah (7-8, 13-26) Friday 16-6. The top four teams qualify for the WAC tournament next month. San Diego State (13-3, 31-10) is in first place after winning at Colorado State (2-15, 17-28) Friday 12-5. BYU (11-6, 28-13) is second, while third-place Hawaii (9-5, 31-10) and Air Force (3-11, 21-15) played a late game Friday in Honolulu.

UNM, which plays host to BYU in another doubleheader at noon today, took advantage of 11 walks and four hit batsmen in posting the first-game win. "we naven't piayea tnat poorly ail year," said Cougars coach Gary Pullins. "We just didn't compete from a pitching standpoint. We kept I how we did in the first game because we came out flat in the second game," said Yepiz. "We've got to come out ready to play in every game from now on." In game two, BYU's Troy Hymas ripped the Lobos for a home run and double, drove in three runs and scored three times.

In the first game, he had three hits, scored twice and had two RBI. Lobo Antonio Fernandez had five hits and three runs on the day. BYU's Mike Nielsen (4-2) went the distance in pitching a 10-hitter, while UNM starter Mike Gunderson (2-6) took the second-game loss. JIM THOMPSON JOURNAL BYU catcher David Madsen waits for the ball to arrive as UNM's Western Athletic Conference doubleheader Friday. The Lobos Tommy Roe slides home with a run in the first game of a won the first game 13-9 but dropped the second 12-4.

Questions Abound for Those Pro Football Prospects By Scott Fowler KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS NFL Wonderlic Score Below Average KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS This is a test of your emergency brain power system. For the next 12 minutes, you will attempt 18; Car salesman 23; Cashier 21; Chemist 31; Clerk 21; Custodian 14; Driver 18; Electrician 23; Engineer 29; Firefighter 21; Librarian 27; Maid 11; Meter reader 23; Nurse 23; Nurse's aide 17; Photographer 25; Police 21; Pressman 27; Programmer 29; Real estate 22; Receptionist 21; Reporter 28; Secretary 24; Security guard 24; Stockbroker 29; Systems analyst 32; Teacher 28; Teacher's aide 19; Teller 22; Telephone operator 20; Truck driver 18; Welder 17. The average score for an NFL-bound player on the Wonderlic test is 19. The average for a normal person is 22, which computes to a 100 IQ. Wonderlic tests are sold to about 10,000 employers per year the NFL is only one of those.

Here are the average scores of 25 other professions, with statistics provided by Wonderlic: Accountant 28; Attorney 29; Auditor 29; Bagger 22; Bookkeeper 23; Butcher 10 answer 50 questions, it you are an -NFL-bound senior, how many you get right could determine how much money you make in professional football. Or whether you make it at all. Remember, this is only a test. Pencils ready? Begin. 1.

If Dan is taller than Jose and Jose is "shorter than Bill, can you deduce that Dan is taller than Bill? 2. Fill in the next number in this series. 2 4 7 11 16 the Pro Bowl last year. N.Y. Giants General Manager George Young introduced the test to the league in 1968, after 15 years as a high school political science and history teacher.

But even Young cautions against setting too much store in how smart players are. "I've heard this story about a defensive lineman in the league," Young says. "He has a 90 IQ, and he's facing off against an offensive lineman with a 120 IQ. He tells him, 'After I hit you a few times, you'll be just as dumb as I For every story like that there are several like Heckert's tale of a linebacker who simply could not remember anything. "This guy was a first-round draft choice and a heckuva football player," Heckert said.

"But he didn't last. He never retained a thing; it was like starting new every day." The Wonderlic, then, is a security blanket for teams seeking to avoid just such a mistake. In the Tom Landry era, Dallas had a hard-and-fast rule of passing on any quarterback who scored less than 19 or any wide receiver who made less than a 12. No club is quite that rigid now, but most NFL teams freely admit to passing on players they believe are, bluntly, too dumb for the league. is quick, clean and cheap.

Sure, it is somewhat crude 12 minutes to measure intelligence? but it's easy. Scouts keep a handful of Wonderlics and an answer key in their briefcases all the time. If a player scores 15 or less on the Wonderlic, it sends up a red flag for the Dolphins, who boast picks No. 7 and No. 12 in Sunday's draft.

"If a kid makes a 12, we don't automatically assume he's dumb," Heckert said. "But we do investigate further and talk to his college counselors and his coaches, to see if he just reads slowly or if he has a real learning problem." The test is written at a sixth-grade reading level, so a player who only answers 10 questions sends up an instant flare. There are exceptions to the unofficial NFL rule of a smarter football player equals a better football player. One unnamed Hall of Famer made a six on his Wonderlic. About one in 20,000 people make a 50 on the test, according to Wonderlic research.

Former Cincinnati punter Pat Mclnally, a Harvard graduate, is the only NFL player known to do so. A bad score doesn't always scare people away in the draft. Kansas City defensive end Neil Smith scored only a four in 1987, was still the second player picked and made your answer was jno to me nrsi question and "22" to the second, congratula total score is 18 or less. The NFL average is 19. The national average is 22, which equates to an IQ of 100.

"We test the guys for speed and strength and all of these things, and we need some way to measure how well they're going to learn football," said Tom Heckert, the Dolphins' director of scouting. Heckert keeps the Wonderlic score of every prospective player on a quick-reference index card that also lists height, weight and a time for the 40-yard dash. NFL teams love the Wonderlic because it problems and measured for vertical leap. But their Wonderlic score is just as important in the eyes of many NFL officials, who worry they will spend millions on a player who never will learn pro strategy and terminology or make the right snap judgments. "A bad test score can definitely drop a guy from a first-round choice to a third-round choice," says Joe Woolley, Philadelphia's scouting director.

You get a point for each correct answer on the Wonderlic. Woolley worries if the tions. Two down, 48 to go. Welcome to the underworld of the NFL draft, where the scores are all secret and the fans stay home. The Wonderlic Person-I nel Test a short-form intelligence test designed as an entrance exam for the NFL and hundreds of other professions serves as the silent partner of the NFL 5 draft.

You have heard of players being timed in the 40-yard dash and prodded for knee Silver Linings, Or a Bowl of Cherry? "4 mm. Offensive coordinator Matt Simon is among the coaches for the Silver team, captained by quarterback Fred Schweer, offensive tackle Klint Hall and Green. The game will consist of four 10-minute quarters. There will be no kickoffs, and no punt runbacks. Receiver Carl Winston, and defensive backs Donald Levingston and Herbert McKinley are questionable for the game because of slight injuries.

The winning team gets a barbecue meal; the losers eat beans. Tickets cost $1 and fans are asked to enter through the northwest corner of the stadium. "Lobo football is ready to burst," said Bleil, the former head coach at New Mexico Highlands. "I know this state pretty well. The city and the state are ready for it if we can get the job done and get some wins." the country.

When Bleil took over as defensive coordinator in January, he knew what was ahead. "I think we've made some physical strides in an attempt to stop the run," Bleil said. "That's been our No. 1 concern. We're halfway there, although we didn't get everything we wanted." Bleil gets a last look at his defense this spring at the Cherry-Silver intrasquad game, tonight at 6 in University Stadium.

"It's not a lark," Bleil said of tonight's game. "It is serious. It will be as intense as any practice hopefully." Bleil said he has been most impressed this spring with nose guard Steve Green, outside linebacker Jesse Becton, and cornerback Reggie Rainer. He added that linebacker Scott Creagan "has been a pleasant surprise." "I think we have some help coming at inside linebacker," Bleil said. That could come in the form of Terry Moore, a linebacker who is transferring from Pearl River (Miss.) Junior College.

The Lobos have some speed in the secondary, and some quickness at tackle, Bleil said. But strength is a question. "We need to improve the physical aspect of our game in the weight room," he said. "I'm worried about size and strength. "We've got to (shed) the blocks," Bleil said.

"We've got to be much more physical and not stay on the blocks so long." Tonight Bleil will help coach the Cherry team, captained by quarterback Stoney Case, center Justin Hall and defensive tackle Willie Bafry. Defense Still Worries Lobos as Spring Fling Concludes Tonight By Ed Johnson JOURNAL STAFF WRITER Fred Bleil, the University of New Mexico's defense minister, plotted a simple strategy for this spring's football workouts. He's not bothering with systems or schemes. He's not worried about stopping the various passing attacks featured in the Western Athletic Conference. Not yet.

This spring was dedicated to stop- ping the run. Last season, UNM allowed an average of 315.3 yards rushing a one of the averages in JIM THOMPSON JOURNAL Defensive coordinator Fred Bleil hopes better tackling can point the way' to more wins for the Lobos..