Lansing State Journal from Lansing, Michigan • Page 15

Sports Steve Klein Sports Editor 377-1071 Lansing State Journal Wednesday, December 1, 1993 Page 1C Pistons' Laimbeer will retire, report says Associated Press Pistons fall. 92-74. 3C RICHFIELD, Ohio Bill Laimbeer, whose flying el-bows helped give the Detroit Pistons their "bad boy" image in the late 1980s, may be through with haskpthnll "It's a complete surprise. I had no idea," said Boston's Robert Parish, who was suspended several years ago for punching Laimbeer (luring a playoff game. "He'd had some good games.

I think he had a 25-pointer last week." Laimbeer averaged in double figures for nine consecutive seasons from 1982-83 through 1990-91, and last season he became the ninth Player in NBA history to reach 10,000 points and 10,000 rebounds. "Before the game, he just said he wanted to do other things in life," teammate Terry Mills said. Tuesday night when asked about speculation that he planned to retire today. "That's basically all I'm going to say right now." Radio station WJR in Detroit reported that three sources said Laimbeer would announce his retirement today. The radio station didn't name the sources.

Laimbeer, 36, suited up for the Pistons' game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but coach Don Chaney did not use him because he has a bad back. In the fourth quarter of the Pis- "He said he couldn't still give up his body and do things the way he likes to do them. He's going out the right way." Laimbeer is Detroit's career leader in rebounds and games played, and he led the NBA in rebounding in 1985-86, averaging 13.1 per game. Chaney would not confirm Laimbeer's retirement plans. "There's been rumors of him retiring all year, and he's still here," Chaney said.

"That's something I can't do anything about, anyway. Even in training camp, there was speculation, but you have to go on." Sports Locker AUTO RACING GIFT SHOP Michigan International Speedway will open its new gift shop Dec. 6. The shop, located in the administration off U.S. 12 in Brooklyn, will offer MIS merchandise, as well as Penske Racing apparel.

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tons' 92-74 loss, the Cleveland crowd chanted. "We want Bill." "I heard them," Laimbeer said. "We were talking about how I should stand up and fake going to the scorer's table." The 6-foot-ll Laimbeer had started the previous five games and averaged 12.7 points per game in his last six. He is averaging 9.8 points this season. "I won't deny Laimbeer it.

How about that?" Laimbeer said PREP TOURNEY JAPAN BOWL: MSU vs. Wisconsin, 11 p.m. Saturday Scoreboard 4SL4wiiiiB Cavs 92, Pistons 74 Somes 92. 76ers 80 Blazers 123. Heat 109 Hawks 122, Celtics 114 Bulls 132, Suns 113 Rockets 102, Bucks 91 Jazz 103, Nuggets 92 Warriors 103, Mavs 91 See coverage.

Page 3C i Mi. If Si. Y1 -vry I 1 1 fci-tv Mir What's next State semifinal: Williamston (25-1) vs. Redford Bishop Borgess (21-4) 4:15 p.m. Friday at Battle Creek's Kellogg Arena See boxscore.

Page 2C Bruins 5, Nordiques 2 Islanders 6, Capitals 4 Rangers 3, Devils 1 Stars 2. Flames 2 Jets 8. Kings 6 See coverage, Page 3C TVradio highlights a Lansing State Journal WATERVLIET It wasn't a game Williamston coach Chuck Bartel would want to frame, but it was good enough to vault his Hornets to the state Class semifinals. Williamston defeated Constantine 41-38 in state quarterfinal action Tuesday. The Hornets (25-1) will face Redford Bishop Borgess (21-4) at 4:15 p.ra Friday at Battle Creek's Kellogg Arena.

Bishop Borgess defeated Goodrich 52-45 in its quarterfinal matchup Tuesday. "It was kind of a shaky one," Bartel said of his team's win. "We were behind by seven in the second quarter, had two of our starters out with foul trouble, and had to use our bench to battle back." Williamston's top scorers Jam-mie Swain and Liz Meredith each picked up three fouls in the first half and forced Bartel to rely on his bench more than he normally would have in a quarterfinal game. Trailing only 21-20 at the half, the Hornets came out and scored the first eight points of the second half behind the strong play of reserves Courtney Ruf and Brandy Coe to take control of the game. Senior center Theresa Maas put the game away with three minutes to play when she got a breakaway layup and was fouled.

She hit the ensuing free throw to give the Hornets a 40-33 lead. Maas led all scorers with 15 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. A 3-pointer by Jamie Forn of Constantine (20-5) with three seconds to play closed the final margin to three points. Swain added 11 for the Hornets, despite her foul trouble. Shawna Cronk chipped in with a pair of 3-pointers and led the team with four steals.

Basketball: Tulane at Michigan, 7:30 p.m., ESPN Basketball: Texas at Kansas State, 8 p.m., PASS Basketball: Temple at Kansas. 9:30 p.m., ESPN NHL: Detroit at Hartford, 7 30 p.m., Ch. 50 See listings. Page 2C ICS Spartans Lansing State JournalMARGIE GARRISON Steven Holman gained 1 16 yards and scored two touchdowns in just 14 carries Saturday. Ashley holds off Mooney, 46-4; Four recruits have signed let-ters-of-intent to play baseball at Michigan State.

Joining the Spartans for the 1995 season will be: JohnBusch, a 5-10, 165-pound right-handed pitcher from Bay City. Tom Grigg, a 5-9, 170-pound shortstop from Novi. Brian Murphy, a 6-4, 180-pound right-handed pitcher from Port Huron. Mark Persails. a 6-3, 180-pound right-handed pitcher from Millington.

Holman's style of running is like his personality By BARRY KIEL Lansing State Journal EAST LANSING Steve Hol Saturday's TV Japan Bowl: Michigan State vs. Wisconsin, 1 1 p.m. in Tokyo TV: Joined in progress after completion of the Kansas-DePaul basketball game on ESPN What's next State semifinal: Ashley (24-1) vs. Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard (22-2) 6 p.m. Thursday at Battle Creek's Kellogg Arena See boxscore.

Page 2C Football Tokyo (11 p.m., ESPN to join the game in progress), MSU's fast-rising, third-string runner is anything but a barrel of laughs. In fact, Holman's smash-mouth running style is becoming more effective every week. No wonder Perles really loves him. "The best thing to do as a football player to the opposing defense is to intimidate them," said Holman, a sophomore out of Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis. "If they're scared of you, that makes it a lot easier to run.

"I feel that if I can run a few people over, sooner or later, when I'm coming toward them, they'll be trying to brace themselves and I'll be able to run right through them." Holman was at his intimidating best in Saturday's 38-37 loss to Penn State. He bulled his way for 116 yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries. See MSU. Page 4C Lansing State Journal DRYDEN Ashley moved one step closer Tuesday to a state championship. But it wasn't easy.

The Bears had to overcome a third quarter rally by Marine City Cardinal Mooney to pull out a 46-42 victory in a girls' basketball Class quarterfinal game. Ashley advances to Thursday's 6 p.m. semifinal in Battle Creek's Kellogg Arena against Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard. Angie Brzak scored 12 points and sister Sarah added 10 to lead Ashley (24-1). "We're not real pleased with way we played, but we're very happy we won," Ashley coach Carl Wayer said.

"We still think we have a better game in us." It was a game of spurts as the Bears raced out to a seven-point first quarter lead. Cardinal Mooney then came back to take their first and only lead of the game, 31-30. at the end of the third quarter. "We didn't play with a lot of ma- Jacksonville won out over three other cities Tuesday and was awarded an NFL franchise. The Jacksonville Jaguars will debut in the 1995 season.

Baltimore, St. Louis and Memphis, are the cities whose bids were rejected. See story. Page 3C man leans forward into the interview, his elbows resting solidly on the table, ready to field the next question. It's exactly the way he plays football.

MSU shiny gold tooth along his bottom row of teeth, which catches the eye every time he smiles. His attire for the day is a short-sleeve white shirt with a Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck football tie. It's all part of Holman's personality: in-your-face boisterous, outgoing, always having fun. No wonder George Perles loves him. But for opponents like Wisconsin Saturday in the Coca Cola Bowl in turity in the first half," Wayers said.

"But I think the nervousness wore off finally and we were able to get some easy shots in the second half. Hopefully, we learned a lesson from this game." What they did learn was that their full court pressure defense can put points on the board. Ashley's 11-0 run in the second quarter was the result of five Cardinal Mooney turnovers from the Bears' press. Then 10 more turnovers in the fourth quarter sparked a 7-0 Ashley spurt that put the game away. FOOTBALL Hockey SB He just can't wait.

The 6-foot 225-pound Michigan State tailback has patches of white skin surrounding both eyes and a NHL officials could be back on the ice as early as Thursday. The National Hockey League and its striking officials reached a tentative agreement Tuesday, apparently ending the 15-day walkout. The agreement still needs to be ratified by the NHL board and the referees' union. BSee story. Page 3C Forgive me Sparty, but I'm rooting for the Badgers Journal Jeopardy tip People always think they know where my loyalties lie.

Sports editor in Lansing? Gotta be a Spartan. Worked in South Bend? He's for those Notre Dame Fightin' Irish. Graduated from Wisconsin? He's a Badger for sure. Such folks must figure that if they know who sportswriters root for, they can read bias into their writing. But bias, I've learned, exists just as often in the heart, as the mind, of the beholder.

I've written many times that loyalty is not the colors you wear on your sleeve. Loyalty is something you give to people who return it to you. So let me put your doubts to rest about Michigan State's football season finale STEVE KLEIN never knew what a winning season was until I covered the Irish. I still can't understand Notre Dame or Ohio State fans who complain about 10-1 or 9-2 seasons. And now, 31 seasons later, Wisconsin is back in position to play in a Rose Bowl.

How important is it? "The state of Wisconsin hasn't had a lot of success in football," says Alvarez, certainly not thinking about Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers. "In 103 years, we don't have a lot of tradition: six bowls, three Rose Bowls "What does it say when the best game in Wisconsin history is a loss?" What it says is that the 1963 Rose Bowl defined a generation of Wisconsin residents Another Rose Bowl game will do the same for another generation. Is it too much to ask for, Sparty' George? I wish the Spartans well when Saturday night turns into Sunday morning in Tokyo But I wish Wisconsin victory. I wish Wisconsin the Rose Bowl. What do you think? You can write to sports editor Steve Klein at 120 Lenawee SU, Lansing, 48919, or fas a re- sponse to 377-1298.

You couldn't point a finger if the finger could also be pointed at you. Today, journalists debate the ethics of everything from free meals to free tickets. Ask any writer what he or she prizes most, and they'll say it's their integrity. Which brings me back to the MSU-Wis-consin game. I can hardly name three Wisconsin players.

I don't know Coach Barry Alvarez. I don't even like their new logo. But I hadn't lived in the state of Wisconsin for long before I knew the names Ron Van-derKelen and Pat Richter, the heroes of the 1963 Rose Bowl against Southern California. I even remember the game, which I watched growing up in Connecticut USC up 42-14 in the fourth quarter when VanderKelen, the quarterback, hit Richter, the wide receiver and now the school's athletic director, over and over and over again. This was not an era of big comebacks.

And the Badgers didn't come all the way back, losing 42-37. But Wisconsin won my heart long before I moved in-state in 1966, long before I became a Badger myself a year later. Among other things I learned in Madison, football taught me humility. Wisconsin went 0-for-my-sophomore-and-junior years. I Today's question Who were the other three players involved in the trade that brought Bill Laimbeer to the Pistons from the Cavs? Call 485-7316 and press 2 to answer the question.

Leave a spelling of your name, your hometown and phone number. The first caller with the correct answer will appear in the following day's paper. Tuesday's answer Michael Jordan owns the highest regular-season scoring average in NBA history (32.3 points a game in 1992-93) Thomas Bell, Mason against Rose Bowl-hopeful Wisconsin in the Coca Cola Japan Bowl in Tokyo Saturday. i-or tnis one, i wear the Cardinal and Ralph Young to Biggie Munn. He wrote during an era when sportswriters were homers and didn't mind letting anyone know it.

There are a lot of coaches, not to mention fans, who still don't understand why that shouldn't still be the case. Back in the early days of sports sections, many teams paid for beat writers to travel on the road with them and send back friendly stories. There wasn't a sportswriter alive, for instance, who didn't know about Babe Ruth's excesses, and there wasn't a sports-writer alive who would have thought to share the gory details with his readers. That all changed during the Watergate era, when a journalist's ethics became as important a story as those of the subject. White of Wisconsin on my sleeve.

Sorry, Sparty. And sorry, George Alderton, the State Journal sports editor who gave Sparty his name nearly 70 years ago. Alderton was an unabashed Spartan fan during his 40 years as sports editor from 1923 to 1962. a confidant of coaches from.