Lansing State Journal from Lansing, Michigan • Page 17

3C Sports Lansing State Journal Tuesday, Oct. 30, 1990 Spartan Notebook COLLEGE FOOTBALL FOOTBALL SU Ed Bagdon, MSU's lone Outland winner, is dead By BILL VILONA Gannett News Service TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Having enough attention has never been a problem with Kirk Carruthers. He has often sought the limelight as if it were a mission. Once the former East Lansing High School standout peels off his football uniform and puts on the latest fashions, an outsider may have trouble believing he's a star linebacker for Florida State.

He is, after all, modest in size (6-foot-2, 212 pounds) if not in demeanor. Just in case that should happen, Carruthers reminds you with his transportation a sized Carruthers like a tank through wood. "We were asking Kirk to take on a 280-pound lineman. That's not his game," Florida State linebacker coach Wally Burnham said. "To tell him to do it for 60 plays he just can't." Adjustments were made in personnel, in formations, in scheme.

The Seminoles are often using four down linemen now. Injured players are healing. Newcomers like Troy Sanders, Carl Simpson and Todd Mcintosh have steadily improved. The end result has freed Carruthers to play his old style a roving, free-lancing, open-field terror. "The key is our defensive line," Bowden said.

"Kirk is such a great, instinctive player. If we can keep him free, he'll make big plays." And big plays will make Carruthers the big man on campus again. Just the way he likes it. U-M defense must improve: When the topic is defense, Michigan coach Gary Moeller believes the Wolverines have room for improvement. "I said that going into the season and a lot of people just kind of snickered, but the best defensive team is going to win the league.

We're not to that point yet," Moeller said Monday. Despite flashes of their expected form In last week's 45-19 thrashing of Indiana, Moeller knows the stop troops will need another strong effort Saturday against Purdue and quarterback Eric Hunter. "Eric Hunter is one of the best athletes in the conference," Moeller said. "You saw it last year (in Michigan's 42-27 win over the Boilermakers). He goes against all principles of football as what you should do as a quarterback and he's successful at it.

With him dodging around in their run-and-shoot offense, it's a different deal." Michigan (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) registered seven quarterback sacks for minus 31 yards against the Hoosiers, but will have a tougher time duplicating the feat with the agile Hunter, who leads the Big Ten in total offense. "The key is to contain him as best as possible and still have an aggressive pass rush," Moeller said. 22 loss at Miami, Carruthers never felt lower. He was targeted by his coaches, fans, and privately, by his teammates, as a villain in the Seminoles' defensive woes. He had only 59 tackles, no interceptions, no fumble recoveries, no sacks, no great plays.

"It was the most painful period of my life," Carruthers said. "Something was really, really wrong and I didn't know how to fix it. I felt like I had fallen into a hole and I couldn't get the sound of all that criticism out of my head. "I wasn't having the season I expected. It was the biggest tragedy of my life." Force-fed humility, Carruthers has since regrouped.

Against Louisiana State Saturday, he could bask in the spotlight again. He made 13 tackles, recorded his first two quarterback sacks of the season and extolled his virtues to all who would listen. "I'm back," he said following the Seminoles' 42-3 win. "No doubt about it. I'm one of the 10 finalists for the Butkus Award and I want to show I belong.

I'm having fun again." Carruthers' final tackle against LSU, a sideline hit on reserve quarterback Jesse Daigle, ignited a wild, bench-clearing brawl between the two teams. Carruthers claimed innocence and Florida State coach Bobby Bowden quickly supported him. "I don't discredit his lick at all," Bowden said. "It was a good tough lick. It was not a cheap shot." The first half of this season, it was easy to discredit Carruthers hype.

Freshman Marvin Jones had become the focus of the linebackers. Carruthers was getting pushed aside literally. An ineffective defensive line had rendered Carruthers helpless. Opposing offensive guards and tackles were plowing through the Seminoles' front line and rumbling over the under Carruthers custom painted Jeep Wrangler in Florida State colors with a license plate that reads "FSU 45." Just in case you have trouble placing the number, the jeep has a personalized, spare-tire wheel cover. In August, Carruthers never felt bolder.

After making a team-high 145 tackles last season, he adorned the regional covers of many national preseason magazines. The Florida State media guide devoted two pages to him, complete with proclamations for All-American and the Butkus Award. Those honors seemed only a formality to Carruthers, who mentioned winning the Butkus (nation's top linebacker) during his freshman season in 1988. But a not-so-pretentious thing happened on the way to greatness. Swagger gave way to shame.

After the Seminoles fifth game, the 31- By JACK EBLING Lansing State Journal EAST LANSING Former Michigan State guard Ed Bagdon, winner of the Outland Trophy in 1 949, died last Thursday at age 64 in Hesperia, after a long illness. Bagdon is the only Spartan recipient and one of just eight Big Ten players to be named as the nation's top interior lineman. "I hope people remember him as a great guy and a heckuva football player," said former MSU halfback George Guerre. "Ed Bagdon was both." At 5-foot-10 and just under 200 pounds, Bagdon lettered from '46-49, was a consensus AU-American as a senior and played pro football with the Chicago Cardinals and Washington Redskins for three seasons. After a 7-3 loss to Michigan in '49, former Wolverine coach Fritz Crisler called Bagdon and bookend blocker Don Mason "the best pair of guards ever to play in Michigan Stadium." Nice problem to have: The Spartans, 2-2 in Big Ten play and 3-3-1 overall, should be in excellent physical shape for their visit from 1-2-1, 4-2-1 Indiana at 12:30 p.m.

Saturday. "It looks like we'll be pretty healthy," said MSU coach George Perles at Monday's weekly media session. "We should have Jim Johnson back at right tackle this week. And (fullback) Rob Roy might miss a day or two this week with a sprained ankle. But that's it." That means supersub Roosevelt Wagner, who has done a solid job as a backup at two positions since late in the Michigan game, will be ready to help wherever necessary.

"We've gotten great play out of Wagner," Perles said. "He played left guard when Eric Moten was hurt, then filled in for Johnson. I'm looking for another place to play him maybe as a 300-pound tight end." No. 1 VS. the run again: By holding Purdue to 6 rushing yards in 22 attempts, MSU took the Big Ten lead in yards allowed on the ground again.

The Spartans have led the league in rushing yield the last four years with 104.0 yards in 1986. an NCAA-leading 37.6 in '87, 96.5 in '87 and 86.0 in '88. This year, they're surrendering 110.0 yards per game, compared to 116.4 for Michigan, 128.0 for Iowa and 133.7 for Ohio State. "It's pleasing when you put new people in there and have similar success," Perles said of a ur.it with seven first-year starters. "I said before the season that if we do well this year, that should prove it's a good scheme." A strange explosion: with 1 8 of its 33 points on gifts, Purdue's total last Saturday was the highest score against MSU in 62 games.

The only three higher yields in the Perles era were a 42-0 loss to Michigan in '83, a 40-7 loss at Illinois in '84 and a 35-31 loss at Iowa in '85. The Boilermakers also tied the second-highest point total of any Spartan victim. MSU beat Minnesota, 41-36, in '81 and edged Notre Dame, 36-33, in '50. Another home Roughly 2,000 tickets remain for Saturday's game, with the Jenison Field House ticket office open from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Saturday's Homecoming crowd of 77,343 was the third sellout of the season in three games at Spartan Stadium. The average home attendance of 78,206 is the highest for three games in school history. But the top season average of 77,015 in '87 may be out of reach unless there's a sudden surge of interest in the Wisconsin-MSU game. GIRLS' PREP BASKETBALL Confer From 1C Will hot streaks keep glowing? 4 have won their last nine games and play at Monta-bella. Haslett, the Ingham County League leader by three games over Williamston and Fowlerville, takes a 10-game winning streak to DeWitt.

Howell, with five straight wins, hosts Milford Lakeland in a Kensington Valley Conference game. In other games tonight, East Lansing entertains Mason in non-conference play, Eaton Rapids visits Lansing Everett, Holt is home to Jackson Northwest, St. Johns is at Okemos, Lakewood entertains Vermont-ville-Maple Valley, Bath is at Lansing Christian and Fowler goes to Ashley. Fowler saw its unbeaten streak of 15 games halted last Thursday when it fell to Pewamo-Westphalia, a team one game behind the Eagles in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference. By BOB GROSS Lansing State Journal Three area girls' high school basketball teams are riding long winning streaks.

They'll put them on the line tonight as the year heads into its last two weeks of regular-season play. Drawings for state tournaments are Monday and districts begin Nov. 12. Charlotte, ranked No. 3 in Class has won 16 in a row.

The Orioles are heavy favorites to extend the streak with a home non-conference game against Lansing Sexton. Charlotte needs only one more victory in the Capital Circuit to clinch a title-tie and that could come Thursday at Lansing Catholic Central. Ithaca's Yellowjackets, tied with Lakeview for the top spot in the Central State Activities Association, ing to an end. "These have been the best five years of my life," said a 2.8 student, who'll have seven credits left next term. "Next year at this time, I might be in law school either that or counseling criminals.

It's interesting to me to see what people think and why they do what they do." Confer got plenty of practice as an amateur psychologist while rooming with former Spartan offensive tackle Tony Mandarich in 1988. "He's a really quiet guy," Confer said. "He got bold for awhile. But that was all a publicity thing. He's a lot less outgoing than most football players.

And when it was his turn, he did the dishes. "I haven't talked to Tony since the last time he was in Lansing. I realize how busy he is. And none of us could have gone to his wedding last week anyway." Confer could always watch Mandarich on television when the Green Bay Packers play, except for one problem. He can't stand to watch sports on television and may have appeared on more network broadcasts than he has watched the last few years.

NHL STANDINGSSUMMARIES NHL Goalies Quebec, Tanner, 1-M (V shofs-7 WALES CONFERENCE Patrick Division Spartan Notebook mm WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Pistons Shea searches for her shot GF GA York, Vanbiesbrouck, 6-1-0 (22-22). A- NY Rangers 10 3 0 20 55 30 14,971. New Jersey 8 3 1 17 50 38 it oIInrfav Philadelphia 6 5 0 12 42 40 Laxe unaay Washington 6 7 0 12 41 44 Pittsburgh 5 6 i ii 55 51 Blackhawks 2, NYtelonders Adon.3 4 30 50 Canadiensl (OT) Boston 6 4 1 13 36 41 Muntreol 6 6 1 13 42 44 Montreal 0 0 10-1 Hartford 4 6 2 10 30 40 Chicago 0 0 11-2 Buffalo 3 5 3 36 36 First Period-None. Quebec 3 7 3 9 38 53 Second Perlod-None. CAMPBELL CONFERENCE Third Period-1, Chicago, Graham 4 Norris Division (Creighton), 3:44.

2, Montreal, Lebeau 3 Pis GF GA (Svobodo, Pederson), 7:11 (pp) Chicago 8 5 0 16 43 32 Overtime-3, Chicago, Creighton 4 DETROIT 6 3 3 15 49 43 (Larmer, Chelios), 05 (pp). St. Louis 7 3 1 15 40 33 Shots on goal-Montreal 6-7-9-0-22. Minnesoto 2 7 3 7 31 47 Chicago 10-12-14-3-39. i Toronto 1 10 1 3 29 57 Power-play OpportunHies-Montreal 1 Smythe Division of Chicago 1 of 6.

Los Angeles 8 2 1 17 53 32 Goalies-Montreal, Roy, 6-5-1 (39 shotv Calgory 8 4 0 16 52 36 37 saves). Chicago, Belfour, 7-3-0 (22-21). Vancouver 6 5 0 12 36 38 A 18,472. Winnipeg 4 7 1 9 41 42 Edmonton 2 6 2 6 29 31 From 1C Monday's Result NHL TODAY Tuesday. Oct.

30 Miller's score helps Rangers to 5-0 victory Associated Press NEW YORK John Vanbiesbrouck stopped 22 shots for his ninth career shutout as the New York Rangers made it a team-record 7-for-7 at home this season by beating the Quebec Nordiques 5-0 on Monday night. Lansing's Kevin Miller scored for New York, as did Ray Sheppard, Mark Janssens, Brian Leetch and Brian Mullen. Miller got a gift goal at 7: 1 7 of the final period when Quebec goalie Ron Tugnutt misplayed the puck behind his own net. John Ogrodnick quickly centered and Miller tapped it into an empty net. The Rangers won their fifth straight game overall and 10th in 11 games since opening the season with two straight losses.

New York's 7-0-0 start at Madison Square Garden is the best in their 65 NHL seasons. The seven-game home winning streak is their longest since 1983-84. Their previous best home start, 6-0-0, also came in 1983-84. Tom Watt named Toronto coach: Tom Watt, an assistant who has been running the Toronto Maple Leafs since the firing of Doug Carpenter Friday, today was named head coach. Watt becomes the 12th person to have the job in 13 seasons.

The Maple Leafs have the worst record in the NHL at 1-10-1. It is the poorest start in franchise history. Norm Foster loaned to AHL: Boston Bruins goaltender Norm Foster, a former Michigan State player, has been loaned to the Cape Breton Oilers of the American Hockey League, Bruins officials said Monday. In the Bruins' last two games he filled in for goaltender Andy Moog who had been removed from the lineup because of a slight hjp injury. N.Y.

Rangers 5, Quebec 0 Today's Games St. Louis at DETROIT, 735 pm Los Angeles at N.Y. Islanders, 735 p.ra Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, 735 pjm. Minnesota at Toronto, 735 pm New Jersey at Calgary, 935 p.m. Washington at Vancouver, 1035 pm Wednesdays Games Boston at Buffalo, 735 pm Montreal at Hartford, 735 pm Los Angeles at N.Y.

Rangers, 735 pm Winnipeg ot Edmonton, 935 pm Sundays Results Buffalo 5, Hartford 0 Pittsburgh 8, N.Y. Islanders 3 Washington 1, Edmonton 0 Los Angeles 6, Edmonton 2 Chicago 2, Montreal 1, overtime SCOREBOARD-MinnesotaatToron-to (735 p.m.L Toronto interim coach Tom Walt is looking for his first victory since replacing Doug Carpenter on Friday. Buffalo beat Toronto 3-1 on Saturday in Watt's first gome as coach. Toronto, which is 1-10-1, is searching for its 12th coach in 13 seasons. STATS Wayne Gretzky, who scored his 2JM0th point Friday night, added two assists to his milestone total as Los Angeles defeated Winnipeg 6-2 on Sunday.

Brett Hull of St. Louis has seven goals in his last three gomes. The New York Rangers nave won 10 of their lost 11 gomes. STREAKS Edmonton has a four-game losing streak and has scored only four goals in that span. SAVES Los Angeles goalie Daniel Berthiaume raised his record to WM) in a 6-2 victory over Winnipeg on Sunday.

It was his first appearance in Winnipeg since being froded by the Jets to Minnesota last January. Minnesoto traded Berthioume to Los Angeles this season. Pittsburgh goalie Frank Pietrongelo is 5-1-0 lifetime against the New York Islanders. SWINGS New York Islanders rookie goaltender George Moneluk, who recorded his first NHL victory in a 5-2 victory over Philadelphia on Saturday, allowed seven goals on 33 shots in two periods in on 8-3 toss to Pittsburgh on Sunday. Rangers 5, Nordiques Quebec 0 0 0-0 riY.Rongers I 1 2-5 First Pertod-l, New York, Sheppard 2 (beetch, Nicholls), 2, New York, Jons-sens 4 (Hull, King), 18:56.

Second Period-3, New York, Leetch 4 (Gartner, Nkholls), :16 (ppl Third Pertod-4, New York, Miller 3 (Ogrodnick, Moller), 7:17. 5, New York, Mullen 6 (Patrick, Miller), 9:27. Shots on goal-Quebec 9-8-522. New York 9-13-17-39. Power-play Opportunities-Quebec 0 of New York 1 of 7.

By JIM COMPARONI Lansing State Journal EAST LANSING Eileen Shea has had it tough the last few days. The co-captain of the Michigan State women's basketball team was involved in a low-speed automobile accident on her way to practice last week. She wore a neck immobilizer for the next four days. And now comes the truly troublesome stuff. "She's all worried and panicky because her shot hasn't come back yet," said MSU coach Karen Langeland.

"Eileen is the type of player who will lose a little bit of accuracy after missing four days of practice. But that will come back, she just wants it back now." Shea suffered whiplash when her car was hit from behind on Oct. 21. "She's back now and ready to play," said Langeland, whose team opens the season with an exhibition against the Latvian National Team on Nov. 13 at Breslin Center.

"It could have been a lot worse. We're just happy she's OK." And they're happy they can look forward to a healthy Shea approaching last year's performance level, when she averaged over 15 points per game. Dress rehearsal: The Spartans, who were 11-17 overall and 7-1 1 in the Big Ten last season, will play an intrasquad game at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Saginaw High School. It will be the first of two intrasquad scrimmages.

"The scrimmages help break the boredom of practice," Langeland said. "And they help our young players learn to practice on the road in front of people. It's the best way for us to simulate a game." The game in Saginaw will be played on the same court where sophomore Annette Babers averaged 24.8 points, 21 rebounds and 15 blocked shots per game in high school. MSU's second intrasquad game will be at 4 p.m. on Nov.

17 at Climax-Scotts High School, which produced Spartan forward Cherie Swarthout. Second-year rookie Babers has not scored a point as a Spartan. But she has scored points of optimism in the mind of her coach. "You can't be sure how a first-year player will adapt to the Big Ten," Langeland said. "Some freshmen can come in like Dwayne Stephens and do real well," Langeland said.

"Others take a while. But judging by the way she played at the Olympic Festival tryouts last year, I think there is an indication that she could play well this year." After surviving player cuts, Babers was the North team's second-leading scorer at the 1 990 U.S. Olympic Festival in Minneapolis. She averaged 10.8 points per game. Babers lost her first year of eligibility when she decided to attend MSU after signing a national letter of intent with Howard University.

Last season, she practiced up until Thanksgiving break. Langeland decided to let Babers concentrate on academics throughout the rest of her freshman year. But Babers has not been able to show her talent in East Lansing this year either. She has been slowed in the early weeks of practice with a wrist injury. "She was messing around and she hit her wrist against the wall," Langeland said.

"She's wearing a wrist immobilizer and she has had to sit out a lot of drills." Langeland and MSU's trainers will know today if Babers will be able to shed the wrist immobilizer. "Annette is convinced that everything is fine," Langeland said. "She's like, 'Let's go, I'm ready to but we have to wait for the second set of X-rays." And the coaching staff will have to wait a little longer to see what the USA Today high school All-American is capable of doing. the grinding 82-game regular season and into the never-ending playoffs. A key to the Pistons' success has always been depth.

The offensive production of both Laimbeer and Edwards slacked off during the playoffs last season and Rollins is certain to help that situation by giving them a rest. "I think we're a very solid club," Daly said. "We know what it takes to win. And we're very solid mentally." So solid, in fact, that at times the Pistons look like a team that could coach itself. The brains and the backbone, for that matter of the club is in the backcourt where Daly uses the three-guard rotation of Joe Du-mars, Thomas and Johnson.

Edwards, Laimbeer and Mark Aguirre start up front with John Salley, Dennis Rodman, William Bedford, Scott Hastings and Rollins waiting for minutes off the bench. "It's like being a teacher of advanced students, which is also a challenge," Daly said. A key element to any title drive, of course, is injuries. Nobody can control the health of a team and the Pistons have a few nagging hurts before the season even begins. Surgeons repaired a tear duct in Thomas' left eye last week and Laimbeer needed surgery on his fractured left cheekbone.

Both injuries occured in an exhibition game against Seattle. Thomas and Laimbeer will probably be ready for the season opener Nov. 2. Less certain, and more irksome, is Rodman's injured left ankle. It's the same ankle NBA fans saw over and over on national television during the playoffs.

The' cameras loved the sight of Rod- man standing down the way from the Pistons bench, bouncing his foot on a tiny trampoline so it wouldn't stiffen up between his shifts on the court. Team physician Ben Paolucci recommended a summer of rest for the ankle. But Rodman couldn't resist a pickup game one September afternoon in Dallas. He ignored the doctors' orders and sprained it again. It's been slow to heal and Rodman has yet to practice.

Prosthetics From 1C granted. Over there, they don't even know what they are," said Vilminot. "I see this as a very big problem." Williamston Races this Sunday: Half marathon and 5-K competitive run and non-competitive walk, 2 p.m., Williamston High School, $10 with T-shirt, $7 without through today, $10 late registration fee. Coure is certified with showers available. Awards five deep per class for men and women.

Call 655-1330 for further information. Lansing considers new walkingrunning ordinance: A public hearing has been set for Nov. 13. 7 m. in the Board of Education Meeting Room at the Lansing School District Administration 519 W.

Kalamazoo to consider amending a city ordinance. The amendment would require all walkers, joggers and runners to use the sidewalks, if available, or the left side of a roadway if sidewalks are not available and shall wear reflective clothing at night. Make yourself visible: With the time change and early darkness, protect yourself by wearing reflective clothing and using extra caution. wrapped around her leg to hold the prosthesis on," he said. Vilminot said although the Polish team runs with crutches, they may be able to discard them when they become accustomed to with their new prostheses.

"This experience will stay in my mind forever," said Elizabeth Gorgon, a 41 -year-old grandmother from Ossolin who lost both legs in a work accident. "It will be beautiful if this new technology can be brought to Poland to help more people and handicapped runners." Vilminot said he is concerned when the athletes return to Poland their country will be unable to provide them with proper supplies to ensure their new prostheses work properly. Sponsored by a potato vodka company, Polish Airlines and the international Achilles Track Club for physically handicapped athletes, they still lack funds for about $2,500 worth of prosthetic supplies. "Over here we take things like stump socks and suspension holds to hold the prosthesis in place for 4.