Lansing State Journal from Lansing, Michigan • Page 19

Lansing State Journal Monday, March 7, 1983 Scoreboard 3C Mat wrapup 3C Classified 4C 76c7G' slrieO Iraiss 2 Nets hand PhiHy just-ninth defeat Page 2C SECTION Sports Editor, Ed Senyczko Ph. 377-1071 Jtlfld SIDDDU giouu csrticlhi tially explosive offensive weapon to go with backcourt mate Sam Vin-. cent and Willis in the middle. And MSU's forwards Ben Tower, Derek Perry, Larry Polec, Richard Mudd, Ralph Walker, Patrick Ford have combined their strengths to give the Spartans' solid play at those positions as well during the winning streak. There's no doubt that during the streak the Spartans have played like one of the top 52 teams in the nation the number of teams that will play in the NCAA.

But the only way they will have even an outside chance to show they belong in that tourney is to do it all over again this week. and Iowa Saturday. Their four-game winning streak has moved them only from eighth to seventh in the league race, and the NCAA tournament field is unlikely to take more than four league teams, with the next three or so going to the National Invitation Tournament. MSU women stopped, Page 2C BUT THE SPARTANS are only a game out of a four-way tie for third, which leaves plenty of variables coming into the final week of the regular season. Minnesota, Illinois, Purdue and Iowa are the teams bunched one game ahead of MSU.

Minnesota plays at Purdue Thursday and at Illinois Sunday. The other home opponent for both the Boilermakers and the Illini this week is last-place Wisconsin. Iowa plays at Michigan and Michigan State. The race for the top spot is far simpler. Indiana locked up a share of the Big Ten title by defeating Illinois, 67-55, at Bloomington, Saturday.

The Hoosiers and their closest pursuers the Ohio State Buckeyes, one-game back at 11-6 in league play, have Thursday off, then meet at Indiana next Saturday. An OSU win would give the Buckeyes a share of the title. BUT NO MATTER whether the Spartans end up going to the NCAA, the NIT, or just to Florida for spring break, the team's surge in the past two weeks has rejuvenated interest in a season that looked hopeless after MSU's road trip to Purdue and Illinois. "For the first time since our championship season, we feel we don't come up short in any one particular area," said Heathcote. "We ve got all the positions covered.

They may not all be Randy Wittmans or Ted Kitchels, but they are doing a good job for us." The play of freshman guard Scott Skiles in the past two weeks has" given the Spartans' another poten at Minnesota and by 26 at Wisconsin the coach and his team don't see any reason why they can't keep their streak going. "WE'RE REALLY pulling together and working harder now," said center Kevin Willis, whose hard work paid off with 20 points and 20 rebounds in Saturday's win over Wisconsin. "We know we've got a good chance to go to the NCAAs if we win our last two games." The Spartans, 15-11 overall and 8-8 in league play, actually would have to be considered a long-shot for the NCAA tournament no matter how they do in games this week at home against Northwestern Wednesday By JAMES TINNEY Staff Writer His team attained his last goal so quickly, Jud Heathcote decided to aim higher. "We think if we win our last two games, we'll go (to a tournament) somewhere," said the MSU basketball coach after Saturday's demolition of Wisconsin. Before the Spartans went on the road last week, Heathcote said he figured two wins would give his team a shot at a tournament berth and three-of-four would make postseason play a near-certainty.

Now that those first two wins have come with surprising ease by 12 points ADD eyes on A.C.- omi detoyft North Dakota, 7-6. Wisconsin, which tied North Dakota, 1-1, Friday, needed three overtimes to dispose of the Fighting Sioux, 6-5, on Saturday to clinch the series victory. Minnesota (29-9-1) entertains the Badgers (27-10-4) this Saturday and Sunday in the WCHA's two-game, total-goal championship series. In Eastern Collegiate Athletic Association first-round playoff action over the weekend (two games, total goals): Providence defeated Yale, 4-2; New Hampshire ousted Boston Wi i IS- Tech's iegeimd, dies at 57 By WILL KOWALSKI Journal Correspondent Northern Michigan became the fourth and final qualifier for the championship round of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs Sunday, setting the stage for this Friday and Saturday's games at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena. NMU, which finished regular-season play in fifth place, skated to a 3-3 tie with fourth-place Michigan Tech in Houghton Sunday afternoon.

The stalemate enabled the Wildcats to win the two-game, total-goal series, 6-5, as NMU edged the Huskies, 3-2, on Saturday. Thus, NMU (18-18-4) will take on Bowling Green (27-7-4) in Friday's 7 p.m. semifinal matchup. Michigan State (28-10), which won its series against Ferris State, 7-5, will face Ohio State (25-8-5) in Friday's 4 p.m. semifinal contest.

ON SATURDAY, Friday's losers will play in a consolation game beginning at 4 p.m. Saturday's championship game, pitting Friday's victors, will get under way at 7 p.m. Approximately 1,200 tickets will go on sale for the Joe Louis series today in an MSU block at 11 a.m. at the Jenison Field House ticket office. Prices are $7.50 and $8.50.

First priority will be given to season-ticket holders and student season-ticket holders. Ticket sales will continue until 4:30 p.m. If any tickets remain, they will go on sale to the general public beginning at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. Joe Louis tickets are also available at J.

L. Hudsons and at all CTC ticket outlets. IN WESTERN Collegiate Hockey Association playoff action over the weekend, Minnesota won its two-game, total goal series against Min-nesota-Duluth, 11-6, and Wisconsin edged defending NCAA champ HOUGHTON (AP) John Ma-clnnes, who guided Michigan Tech to national hockey prominence, died at his home Sunday after a long illness. He was 57. During his 26 seasons at Michigan Tech, Maclnnes coached the Huskies to three NCAA championships and seven Western Collegiate Hockey Association crowns while posting 23 winning seasons.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association titles came in 1962, 1965 and 1975. His teams won WCHA crowns in 1962, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1974 and 1976. MACINNES, IN failing health, retired at the end of the 1981-82 season with a record of 555-295-39, making him the winningest collegiate hockey coach in American history. Maclnnes stayed at Tech as a member of the physical education department after stepping down as coach. Maclnnes was twice named coach of the year by the American Hockey Coaches Association and earned CUPFUL OF ERRORS U.S.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) Anthony Carter was a great receiver for the University of Michigan, but now that he is with the Michigan Panthers of the United States Football League, he could be in for a shock. That's the warning from defensive back Billy Cesare of the Birmingham Stallions, prior to the teams' first USFL game tonight. "I'm looking forward to playing against him. It's good to play against the better players.

They make you better," said Cesare, a veteran of National Football League action with Tampa Bay, Miami and Detroit. "But let's face it. College and the pros are two different worlds. He's going to have to prove himself." USFL curtain rises, Page 2C BIRMINGHAM'S COACH, former Michigan Stater Rollie Dotsch, said he is concerned that Carter will prove himself. "I've seen a lot of film on him," Dotsch said.

"He's an excellent big-play guy. He's a great return specialist and he can run the reverse. "Our outside linebackers will have to be aware of the reverse, our hang time on punts will have to be good, and our kick coverage will have to be good." Neither Dotsch nor the Panthers' coach, Jim Stanley, has much to go on in preparing for the game, with late roster changes and mainly un-proven pro players on both squads. HOWEVER, MICHIGAN defeated Birmingham by one touchdown in a controlled scrimmage during preseason training in Florida, with Panther quarterback Bobby Hebert hitting on six of 11 passes for 66 yards and two touchdowns, and John Williams scoring on a five-yard run. Matthew Reed, a -leader of the Birmingham team in the old World Football League, passed for the two Stallion scores, but he quit the team Saturday after Dotsch put him behind Reggie Collier and Bob Lane.

Collier was the team's No. 1 draft pick out of Southern Mississippi and signed for a reported $1 million. DOTSCH SAID he was concerned about the Michigan linebackers, ex-Spartan Mel Land, John Corker, Robert Pennywell and Ricky Young. He said he was counting on Collier's running as well as passing to nullify them, although he wants the big quarterback to learn to be a drop-back passer. University, 9-6; Harvard took car: of RPI, 10-3, and St.

Lawrence needed the tie-breaker rule to dispose of Clarkson, two-games-to-one. In this weekend's ECAC single-el-inination championship round, to be played at the Boston Garden, New Hampshire (20-8-2) will face Harvard (19-8-1) and St. Lawrence (23-8-1) will take on Providence (35-8) in Friday's semifinal games. Consolation and championship contests will be played Saturday. John Maclnnes similar honors six times in the WCHA.

Twenty-one different Michigan Tech players earned All-American honors under Maclnnes' guidance and several have gone on to outstanding National Hockey League careers. Touirmieys toss It up By BOB GROSS Staff Writer The first hurdle on the track to Ann Arbor's Crisler Arena and the state high school basketball finals will be cleared after the starter's signal tonight. Phase better known as district play, unfolds in Classes and with more than 700 teams competing in the three-week tournament. Locally, 14 teams are in action tonight in the single-elimination tournament. At Waverly, site of a Class district, the host Warriors take on Mason at 7:30 p.m.

In Lake Odessa, Lakewood tangles with Wayland at 7 p.m. Alma, also a Class home team, meets Hemlock at 8 p.m., while Fowlerville tests Hartland at 7 p.m. in the opener at Hartland. St. Johns visits Owosso to begin Class A action and goes against the host Trojans at 7:30 p.m.

The Lansing Eastern Class A gets underway Tuesday with a doubleheader. See ACTION, Page 3C head along the way to a straight-set defeat by Guillermo Vilas Sunday that guaranteed Argentina a Davis Cup victory and eliminated the defending champions. AP photo Vilas' victtoiry haltts U.S. Davos Cup iruHe ace John McEnroe hanas his also to Vilas and Clerc here when Argentina eliminated the Americans in 1980. THE VICTORY here, on the slow clay surface favored by the Argentines, gave Vilas a 7-6 edge in his lifetime record against McEnroe.

Vilas said at a press conference following the match that "after the first erratic games, it was easy." He said he concentrated on moving McEnroe around the court. McEnroe declined to attend the press conference. McEnroe broke Vilas at love in the first game of the 2y2-hour match and jumped out to a 4-2 lead. But Vilas, finally able to cut down on his errors and attacking the net more, swept the next 15 games. McEnroe had his service broken seven straight times.

against the Red Sox. Boston Ralph Houk will go with John Tudor, Brian Kingman and Doug Bird. Anderson said Sunday he isn't concerned about the Tigers' won-lost record during the exhibition season. "I wouldn't want us to just be terrible," Anderson said. "I'd like to see us about .500." surrounded himself with a marvelous staff." That group includes four assistant coaches with ties to the 19-season Daugherty era (1954-72).

OFFENSIVE LINE coach Carl Nystrom was an MSU player under Biggie Munn (1953) and Daugherty (1954-55, the Rose Bowl champions' captain and Most Valuable Player the latter year) and a Spartan assistant in 1958 and 1971. Offensive backfield coach Larry Bielat was a reserve quarterback who lettered in 1957-59. Receivers coach Charlie Bag-gett transferred to MSU from Tigers face. White Sox today rWWWWiwi) i.i.i jil.hu i vmi mmmxi BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) Argentina eliminated the defending champion U.S. Davis Cup team in first-round 1983 World Group action when Guillermo Vilas overwhelmed John McEnroe 6-4, 6-0, 6-1 Sunday to give Argentina an insurmountable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five matches format.

In the final singles match, Gene Mayer defeated Argentine reserve Alejandro Ganzabal 6-4, 3-6, 10-8 to make the final score 3-2. It was the second singles loss of the series for McEnroe, who is ranked third in the world. He fell to Jose Luis Clerc 6-4, 6-0, 3-6, 4-6, 7-5 in a marathon match which started Friday and was finished Saturday morning. It also was the U.S. ace's fourth straight singles defeat in Davis Cup play in Buenos Aires.

He dropped both his singles matches and Fernando Arroyo in the Grapefruit League opener for both teams. TUESDAY, THE Tigers will host the Boston Red Sox at Marchant Stadium. Detroit Manager Sparky Anderson said he will send Dan Petry, Pat Underwood, Howard Bailey and Juan Berenguer to the mound ex-Daugherty player (1958) and aide (1967-71) was the main reason for the jovial smile. i THOUGH DAUGHERTY also praised Muddy Waters, Perles' predecessor, there was no hiding his admiration for the new Spartan staff, many of whom lectured at the three-day session. "I think they picked the right guy at Michigan State," Daugherty told the assembled prep and college coaches.

"George is a fun kind of guy. He'll be tough, but he'll make it fun for the players. And he has LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) Jack Morris, Dave Rucker, Dave Tobik and Larry Pashnick will do the pitching for Detroit today when the Tigers travel to Sarasota for the season's first exhibition baseball game. The Tigers are expected to face Chicago White Sox pitchers Lamarr Hoyt, Kevin Hickey, Dennis Lamp STEFAN SPEARS IT Detroit Red Wings' goalie Greg Stefan stretches his glove hand to nab an apparent Buffalo goal Sunday just as Sabres forward Gilles Hamel slides into him.

Detroit still lost, 6-4. Story on Page 4C. AP photo Daugheirty still Spartan diehard, likes Perils' prospects By JACK EBLING Staff Writer GRAND RAPIDS Former Michigan State football coach Duffy Daugherty admits he "still lives and dies with the Spartans." But beginning this fall, he thinks he'll live it up a little more and die a bit less each Saturday afternoon from his home in Santa Barbara, Calif. Daugherty's customary optimism was even more evident here last weekend at the Champion Coach of the Year Clinic. A featured speaker MSU's new head coach George Perles, an North Carolina in 1972, sat out that season as NCAA rules required and started all three vears during the stay of Daugherty's successor, Denny Stolz.

And inside linebackers coach Ted Guthard, the only Waters aide who was retained, lettered as a lineman in 1962. High regard for the new staff doesn't mean Daugherty thinks Waters' men failed in their job. "Muddy Waters inherited a situation not of his making," insisted MSU's winningest coach (109-69-5). "He had some classes with just 20 players because of what had happened before (probation and prior recruiting errors). You can't spot Michigan and Notre Dame 50.

percent more players and expect to win." DAUGHERTY EXPECTS the Spartans to rebound quickly and revitalize their rivalry with the Wolverines. "It's nice when there's more than one outstanding football team in the state. So it would be nice if MSU and Central Michigan were both tough," he dead-panned, poking fun at the Spartans' Big Ten neighbors. "Actually, Michigan and Michigan State have a good rivalry now. It will be even better when they're more even." Though the schools have sel- dom had excellent programs at the same time, the balance wasn't always tilted toward Ann Arbor, the 67-year-old clinic host recalled.

"WE BEAT Michigan seven in a row at one stretch (and had a 10-4-2 mark in his first 16 seasons)," Daugherty said, remembering how quickly fans' favor can fade. "One year we beat Michigan, Notre" Dame and Ohio State, whipped 'em all. but were upset by Purdue in -a game that cost us the national championship. "The next year the alumni said, 'Sure, but Duffy can't win the big.