Green Bay Press-Gazette from Green Bay, Wisconsin • Page 21

an 1 i mm Leads Badgers: Larry Hisle scored a bareer-high 27 points as the University of Wisconsin basketball team beat Texas-Arlington 105-75 at. the Badgers ended a four-game lotting streakC-3 A. Hisle Green Bay Press-Gazette Sunday, December 23, 1990 Hi 1 i i Pteckeirs ffomidl ira mi CO Tom Mulhern Sports opinion i fit Packers' fold puts end to chilling year For a little more than three quarters, the image was intact. The Green Bay cold-weather warriors, were in their element on Saturday. The cold was brutal.

The wind was fierce. The field was frozen. '( And the crowd loved it. i The temperature at kickoff was 2 degrees. The wind chill was between 25 and 33 degress below zero.

It was the coldest day at Lambeau Field since the Ice Bowl game in 1967. You didn't have to imagine too hard and it could have been 1967 aft over again: No. 84 could have been Carroll Dale instead of Sterling Sharpo; No. 75 could have been Forrest Gregg instead of Ken Ruettgers. I Even the opponent, the Detroit Lions, a traditional rival from the pre-dome, prefabricated football days, was perfect.

Turn back the clock. Forget the cold. The tailgate piarties Loss to Detroit ends Green Bay playoff hopes By Bob McGinn Press-Gazette For three quarters and a good portion of the fourth quarter in an icy struggle Saturday, the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions traded points and turnovers on the semi-frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. At last, with 10 minutes, 33 seconds remaining and the score tied at 17, it wad time for the issue to be settled not on breaks but on personnel and precision and will. The good teams, the ones deserving of post-season opportunity, find those; inde- finable ways to win from five months of intense -preparation.

The Pack- AnalySIS ers haven't been a consis- tently good team since Game 1989 but they've been a storvC-6 bad one all this month. a hmpUfo Thus, it wasn surpns- statistjcsc.7 ing to see the Packers a packers make two unpardonable notebookc-o errors on offense and per- mit the Lions to march almost the length of the field for the winning touchdown in their 24-17 victory. Mark this as one final gut-check in which the Packers failed to pass muster. "Playoff teams win in the fourth quarter," guard Rich Moran said after the Packers, 6-9, officially were eliminated from pursuit of the third and last available wild-card berth in the NFC playoffs. "We did that a lot last year." Coach Lindy Infante, seeking a so-called "next step" following 1989's 10-6 resurgence, absorbed a fourth consecutive defeat after a mid-season surge had carried the club over the .500 mark.

"I feel badly that we don't have that opportunity to get in," said Infante. "I don't think we're playing playoff-caliber football at this time, anyway." So the Packers will watch the playoffs on TV for the eighth year in a row after they play out the schedule at Denver next Sunday. Let the post-mortems begin. "We just never got back into the groove we had last year," said guard Ron Hall-strom. "Even in that (three-game winning) streak we weren't playing like we did last year.

It catches up to you. "Not to say we're not a good football team, but some years everything goes right for you. Some years it doesn't." 1 A crowd of 46,700 at Lam-beau Field endured temperatures of 2 degrees and a wind-chill factor of minus-35 shortly after the 11:30 a.m. kickoff. Fans witnessed a grimly-fought battle between NFC Central Division rivals that, basically, was decided by the incredible talents of running back Barry Sanders.

He rushed 19 times for 133 yards and added 49 yards on four dump passes. When the Lions moved 74 yards on eight plays Please see AnalysisC-8 went on as usual before tht; game. The musk' played. The fans danced. The crovd did the wave.

OK, some thingsi have changed. But for a couple houi 5i, fans could forget about holdo Jts, million-dollar Press-Gazette photo by John Roemer Powerful performance: Detroit's Barry Sanders runs rushed for 133 yards on 19 carries against Green Bay, past cornerback LeRoy Butler Saturday. Sanders regaining the NFL rushing lead with 1,281 yards. I I II Mill A Bairiry bad iremimideir Sanders says he's glad Packers passed contracts, rotator ta weSI cuffs, $2 been. J.ost pass costly andother modern-day headaches.

A national television audience was again focused on Green Bay. The only thing missing was some snowflakes, to with the wafts of steam as players breathed. Makes for great slow-motion footage for the highlight films. The Packers led 17-10 in the fourth quarter. Visions of tiebreaking procedures danced in peoples' heads.

All was right in Green Bay and the world. 'y Then Packers tight end Ed West went "down to the frozen ground to catch a 1 little 12-yard pass from I quarterback Blair Kiel. 3 Untouched, West rolled his body over the ball inexplicably came free out of 5 his hands. Lions cornerback Ray Crockett asF 4 don't know if I would've wanted to play in Green Bay. I don't think I could've handled this weather every day." Although Detroit uses a run-and-shoot offense that places a premium on the pass, Sanders has carried the Lions on his back.

Meantime, Mandarich often has been knocked on his back by opposing defensive linemen, having allowed about 11 sacks. Lomas Brown, Detroit's Pro Bowl left tackle, said the Lions would be lost had the Packers drafted Sanders instead of Mandarich. "First of all I don't think we'd be in the run-and-shoot because without a back of Barry's caliber it wouldn't work," he said. "It's taken Mandarich a little while to get the system down and get comfortable. I just Please see SandersC-8 By Jim Hayes Press-Gazette Barry Sanders said he would've had second thoughts about playing in Green Bay if the Packers had selected him with the No.

2 pick in the 1989 draft instead of taking Tony Mandarich. While Mandarich has struggled in his first season as the Packers' starting right tackle, Sanders has been voted to back-to-back Pro Bowls after the Packers' decision to draft Mandarich gave Detroit the opportunity to snare Sanders with the No. 3 pick. Sanders is the leading rusher in the NFL with 1,281 yards and a 5.2 average after rushing 19 times for 133 yards in the Lions' 24-17 victory Saturday at Lambeau Field. "I don't know what I would've done if I was drafted by Green Bay," said Sanders.

"I i y. A Barry Sanders Leads NFL with 1,281 yards rushing' (Packers rookies come of age Success proves bittersweet as playoffs fade away Si By Tom Mulhern Prei's-Gazette Al rookie in the NFL learns a lot of hard lessons, on the field and off. The education process continued the ilast couple days for a trio of rookies on the Green Bay Packers. Dslrrell Thompson, Charles Wilson ilnd LeRoy Butler all made major contributions in the Packers' 24-17 loss to Detroit at Lambeau Field on Sa turday. If you were looking for something to cling to on a day when the Packers were officially eliminated from the playoff race, this was it.

Thos three players are all a big part of he Packers' future. They represent hope in the midst of another losing season. Thompson, a fullback, returned the opening kickoff of the second half 76 ysirds for a touchdown, one of the football game. That's the bad part. "This was my biggest day as a rookie.

It (losing) does take a lot away." On Friday night, the three had learned another painful lesson. Linebacker Bobby Houston, another rookie, was claimed on waivers by Atlanta when the Packers tried to sneak him onto the active roster from one of the injured lists. Houston's sudden departure shocked his closest friends on the team. "He was kind of one of my buddies," Thompson said. "We came in together in minicamp.

I was surprised. But I guess that's part of the game. People come and go. You're sorry. As rookies, you get close.

But some of the other rookies were probably even closer (to Houston)." Like Wilson and Butler. "I'm rft saH tn a Rohhv vrt" Please see RookiesC-8 snatched the ball away from West and ran -22 yards for the tying touchdown. Suddenly, a chill went through 46,700 fans. Seven minutes later, Lions running back Barry Sanders, who wasn't even -born when the Ice Bowl was played, 'darted six yards for the winning touchdown in the Lions' 24-17 victory. Then things really got cold.

All the way down to the bone. It's one thing to brave this weather to watch your team win, or be part of an epic like the '67 NFL title game. It's another thing to sit for three hours with numb fingers and toes to simply watch another frustrating loss. But little has gone according to script the Packers this season, so why should this be any different? Maybe it was fitting that it ended here, in the bitter cold, at home, with everything to gain and nothing to lose. Packers' playoff hopes, brimming so brightly four weeks ago, snuffed out like a candle in the wind.

"Our last four games, we really only had to win two of them to get into the playoffs," rookie cornerback LeRoy Butler said. "I think a lot of guys knew that. But getting out there and doing it. Today we didn't do a lot of talking. We just had to get out there and do it.

Unfortunately, it didn't happen." That's the reality of this four-game losing streak that has left the Packers at 6-9 and facing another meaningless season-ending game. Win just two of games and you sit here today making plans for the playoffs. But the Packers, for a variety of reasons, could not accomplish what should have been a very doable task. Another year without the playoffs. That makes 21 out of 23 since the Ice Bowl, if you're keeping track.

"We fight so hard to make the playoffs, now that we're mathematically out, it hurts," linebacker Burnell Dent said. "We don't have a chance to do it now." If you thought it as a cold day in Green Bay on Saturday, it was a much colder night. Mulhern is a sports reporter for the Press-Gazette. Inside -'a Sports on TVRadio C-2 College basketball C-4 Wagner's Prep Talk C-5 OutdoorsRecreation C-9 Butler Wilson Key interception Five receptions caught five passes for 60 yards. Butler, a cornerback, intercepted a pass in the end zone, knocked away another pass in the end zone to help force the Lions to settle for a field goal and finished with five tackles, tied for team high.

"I'm like 50-50," Wilson said, explaining the emotions of all three rookies. "I feel good in a manner of 11 only two he has scored all season. Wilorm a rorpiwoT1 whn pnmp intn cnpoVincr Rnt Tm Vmrincr plr lurna Press-Gazette photo by John Roemer All the way: Rookie Darrell Thompson completes his 76-yard touchdown kickoff return Saturday. just grateful I was able to do something. But, unfortunately, we lost the game with one catch, filled in for the injured Clarence Weathers and Salukis freeze Phoenix in second half UWGB notebookC-4 nois with 19 points.

"They were playing from behind," UWGB's Dean Rondorf said. "I think they were more determined." Said forward Dean Vander Plas: "Southern Illinois was better (than De Paul). They had an outside game to go with their inside strength. (Amaya) and (Shiplej) were tough inside, and with Sterling Ma-han's penetration and ability to shoot -title three, they're hard to guard. You hayifto cover more court." UWGB had put together a near-perfect Please see UWGBC-4 Moine and Jeremy Ludvigson, foul out, and it had four other players with four fouls by game's end.

In the second half, Southern Illinois got 12 of its 21 offensive rebounds the most offensive rebounds UWGB has yielded this season. In the win over De Paul, UWGB gave up 14 offensive rebounds. Unofficially, Southern Illinois scored 13 of its 43 points in the second half off those rebounds. Southern Illinois' Rick Shipley, a 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds, and Ashraf Amaya, 6-8 and 205 pounds, had six offensive rebounds apiece. Shipley led Southern Illi By Pete Dougherty Press-Gazette CHICAGO It's a precarious line between domi nating and being dominated for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay basketball team.

The Phoenix played probably its best basketball of the season in the first half against Southern Illinois in opening a double-digit lead, only to have control evaporate on its defensive backboard in a 70-64 loss to the Salukis in front of 9,269 spectators at the Ros emont Horizon in the championship game of the De Paul Classic on Saturday. 1 1 "That's the scary thing, it's going to be a nerve-racking season for us," Coach Dick Bennett said. "You saw us at our best in the first half and they were still able to come back." UWGB dropped to 6-2. Southern Illinois is 5-2. UWGB was unable to do what it did against De Paul in a 57-56 win Friday, namely, overcome overwhelming foul trouble and an opponent's superior athletic ability along the front line.

UWGB had two post players, Scott Le-.