The Lincoln Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 29

bites iroset orris V3 nsJuer I'M V- i ax T)rk K'J A It) LOR By Ken Hambleton Appearances to the contrary, the Nebraska football team has no canyons, or even chuckholes, to fin to be a very good team next year, Coach Tom Osborne said. A 40-28 upset by the White team (second and third teams) over the Red (first and fourth strings) in the annual Nebraska lntrasquad Spring Game before 25,006 fans at Memorial Stadium Saturday may make it seem as though there are a lot of gaps to fill Eight Interceptions, Including five thrown by Red team quarterbacks, three lost fumbles and 16 penalties were bothersome, but not devastating to the goals of the spring, Osborne said. "There was more good than bad," he said. The good that balanced the bad and the ugly for Nebraska was the fact Nebraska has talent, and plenty of it, he sail "We've got so many young guys we knew this spring had to be the most physical to build a team. When you lose 12 seniors and 10 of them are All-Big Eight, you have a lot of work to do and we got a lot of it done," he said.

"We're still not a finished product, but we found some players and we ought to have a good football team." Some of the more pleasant aspects for Osborne were the steady, solid performance of No. 1 quarterback Gerry Gdowski and a dazzling display of running talent by No. 3 quarterback Mike Grant Grant's 157 yards rushing, plus White team touchdowns after three Red turnovers inside its 20-yard line, provided the upset Grant's 111 yards in the third makes it happen By Mike Reilley DES MOINES, Iowa Nebraska's James Morris could only stand and watch as Mississippi State's Festus Jgi-noghene ran down the runway toward the triple jump pit "My heart must have been beating 300 miles a minute," said Morris, who was leading the Drake Relays triple jump with a leap of 52 feet 6 inches when Iginoghene took his final attempt But Morris' pulse rate soon settled Iginoghene's jump fell short, but just barely, at 52-4. "I accomplished my goal," said Mor ris, a junior from the Bronx, N.Y. "Now I'm really pleased." Morris gave Nebraska its first men's triple jump title at Drake since 1968 on a cool, windy day at Drake Stadium.

The athletes and 18,000 fans braved temperatures in the upper-40s with winds gusting upto23mph. "This isnt an excellent day for jumping," Morris said. "I should have run away with (the title)." Title gives confidence Morris said the Drake win will give him a boost entering the Big Eight outdoor championships May 12-14 in Lincoln. "I came up here after the Arkansas (Invitational) and told my friends 'I want to win a Drake," Morris said. "I needed a big win under my belt I came here to win the triple jump.

That was my sole intention." He said winning gave him confidence coming off an injury-plagued indoor season. He hyperextended his knee before his first meet but still finished second at the Big Eight championships in the long jump and triple jump. "I had to keep my head up and look forward to the outdoor season," Morris said. Morris also had to look forward to Saturday's triple jump. On Friday, he finished a disappointing 11th in the long jump with a leap of 23-9.

"I changed my approach (run) a little bit" he said. "I was getting tired, so I shortened my (run)." Five other Huskers win Morris' triple jump victory gave the Cornhuskers six champions for the meet their best showing at Drake. Having four men's champions also was an unprecedented feat for Nebraska at Drake. Four individuals and one relay team won on Friday, breaking a three-year dry spell at Drake for the Husker women and a two-year drought for the men. Winners were Dale Burrage (400 intermediate hurdles), Renita Robinson See DRAKE on page 20 A first-quarter pass to Red wingback Richard Bell (21) is broken (top) and Will Thomas.

TED KIRKSUNDAY JOURNAL-STAR up by the Whites' Tyrone Legette Don't base spring analysis on the spring game Evaluating the Nebraska football team on the basis of spring practice, in general, and Saturday's intrasquad game, in particular, is a little like using Cliffs Notes to understand "Moby Dick" or "A Tale of Two Cities." You might get a general idea, but you can't gain any real insight Too many significant details are omitted. More specifically, if your only exposure to the Cornhuskers this spring was Saturday's game, you probably came away with some misconceptions about next season's team. An obvious example is the final score, 40-28 in favor of a White team composed of second- and third-unit players. That doesn't mean the wrong guys were No. 1 on the depth chart going into the game.

The Red team also included fourth-unit players, and "if you play 3s and 4s a fair amount it should be pretty even," Coach Tom Osborne said. For the most part, it was. just-say-no-to-passing pledge. The truth is, "we took some things out of our offense that have contributed to a pretty good completion percentage (this spring)," Osborne said. "We had one or two scrimmages where it was very high." The nature of an intrasquad game makes generalizing difficult When a team plays against itself, every negative can be seen as a positive.

Some of the eight interceptions reflected poor judgment by the quarterbacks. However, that total also "points up the fact we have some quality kids in the secondary," said Osborne. Perhaps the best of the group is sophomore strong safety Reggie Cooper, who made a leaping, one-handed interception of a Jerry Dunlap pass midway through the second quarter. Not every conclusion drawn from Saturday's game is necessarily inaccurate. Cooper will be a candidate for post-season honors in 1989, and that play provided a glimpse of why.

On the basis of the spring game, alone, you might expect freshman Mike Grant to be the No. 1 quarterback on the depth chart going into the falL He was impressive, rushing for 157 yards and displaying a strong right arm. But Gerry Gdowski established himself throughout the spring. "He made fewer mistakes and played the best" Osborne said. Gdowski's statistics may not have been spectacular on Saturday, but "he played very well early in the game," said Osborne, who's already familiar with his capabilities.

Nebraska's offense is in good hands with Gdowski at quarterback. Spring practice an 20 days' worth has shown that Other factors influenced the spring game to varying degrees. Strong safety Curtis Cotton, who has emerged this spring, pulled a hamstring Teammates' talking moti-vates QB Grant. Pagt 6D. quarter alone accounted for one touchdown and set up another by teammate Andre McDuf fy, who scored three touchdowns in the game.

"You worry when the No. 2 offense runs through the No. 1 defense like they did a couple of times," Osborne said. "Grant had a good day going against the No. 1 defense.

The defense was limited to one set and the pass coverage was limited to one scheme, so there were some things the offense could do. "On the other hand, there were still a lot of interceptions. But that points up that we have some very quick kids in the secondary and that could be a strong point for us," he said. The favored Red team looked in top form when Gdowski engineered scoring drives of 64 yards in eight plays and 81 yards In seven plays to give his team a lead. Turnovers helped the White team tie the game.

Redshirt sophomore safety Curtis Cotton returned an interception 31 yards to the Reds' 12 to set up the White team's first score, a 3-yard run by Scott Baldwin. Eight minutes later, White outside linebacker Justin Krantz intercepted a tipped pass and set up a 3-yard touchdown run by McDuffy to tie the game. The Reds returned the favor when senior linebacker Randall Jobman intercepted a pass to set up a 7-yard touchdown run by Leodis Flowers to put the See SPRING on page 60 Mike Babcock Columnist You couldnt have eotten a eood idea of what Nebraska will look like next season, offensively or defensively, because the Cornhuskers were limited in what they did Saturday. They played one, very basic, defense, and they didnl show anything new on offense, a fact that affected the statistics. To illustrate, the combined passing totals were: 48 attempts, 17 completions, 206 yards, three touchdowns and eight interceptions.

The immediate reaction to those numbers is probably that Osborne should have led the offense in a Page 2D tournament Baseball roundups, Brett 35 and a two-time American League batting champion, caught his spikes in the turf while turning to make a throw during the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Royals recalled first baseman Luis de los Santos from Omaha, where he was hitting .342 with 14 RBL hopes to come The track Is planning to do everything r7 Page 4D Husker softball tean drops third straight ST and sat down after intercepting a pass and returning it 31 yards to set up the White team's first touchdown. I-back Ken Clark, who rushed for 1,497 yards last season, played sparingly because of a groin pull that has bothered him most of the spring. Terry Rodgers, another I-back, is recovering from reconstructive knee surgery and missed the entire spring, as did Ray Valladao, a defensive tackle with starting experience. Wingback Nate Turner missed all but a couple of days because of injuries, and offensive guard Bill Bobbora, who had moved up to first-team, was sidelined a week ago by a knee injury.

The spring game is to be enjoyed by fans, not used to form strong opinions about the upcoming season. For a valid assessment "you have to look at the whole spring, not one game or scrimmage," Osborne said. Still, as usual, things look very good. i I-? Vvll Ww 4 C2 I Marathon notlongest race for 59-year-old NU grad Page 3D Huskers, Tigers split twin bill ment and the upcoming NCAA regjonals assuming Nebraska receives a berth are an that remain before the CWS. "We need to win tomorrow to get us into the spirit of next weekend," said catcher Katy Wolda, another of the seniors.

"At this point Fm not really scared about it (performing well in the postseason). I think we can do it" Lead vanishes Saturday, one thing the Huskers couldnt do was hold a leal Ruth Chat-win hit a sacrifice fly in the third inning, and Jen Biallas added an RBI single in the fourth to put Nebraska ahead 2-0. tied the game on Erika Eriksson's two-run single with two outs in the sixth. The Aggies, who improved to 31-26, broke the tie in the ninth on Stacey Cramer's RBI double. The winning hit came after back-to-back errors by second baseman Lori Cook and shortstop Biallas.

Kremer missing Biallas one of four Huskers along with Jill Rishel, Cook and Misti Guenther who had two hits apiece against the Aggies is normally the starting second baseman. She has been playing shortstop this weekend in place of three-time All-Big Eight player Jane Kremer, who left the team temporarily because of a death in her family. "Jane's an offensive force," Nebraska Coach Ron Wolforth said. "But that's the one thing we haven't talked about the last three days. We miss her, but every ballteam will have one of its players out See SOFTBALL on page 2D LSE wins Ralston Brett suffers ligament damage 0 OR i i 1 3 IAN DOREMUS SUNDAY JOURNAL-STAR that extra seating unnecessary.

Corporate sponsorship continues to make some inroads at Ak. Every Wednesday, except for opening day, will be "Bud Bet A Buck Day," with a minimum wager of $1 with the exception of the Ak-Pic-Six. Fridays will be "Miller Lite Fridays at Five," featuring a 5 p.m, post time, five trifectas and five drawings for prizes. Sundays will be "Pepsi Family Fundays." "We have very defi- See AK on pae 5D Si By Michael Larsen Nebraska left fielder J.T. Frese says the Corahusker softball team has been having an up-and-down season.

At the moment the Huskers are in one of the "down" phases. Texas defeated Nebraska 3-2 in nine innings Saturday before about 230 people at the NU Softball Complex. The loss Nebraska's third straight dropped the lOth-ranked Buskers' record to 30-26. "All season long it's been up and down," Frese said. "It's frustrating.

We've got the talent We've got it in us. We can make it to the World Series and compete." Frese one of five seniors on the team knows about competing in the Softball College World Series, something the Huskers did her sophomore and junior years. She also has seen the team play CWS-caliber softball this season, including last weekend in a victory against then-No. 1-ranked Oklahoma State. "The games like Texas and Wichita State it seems that games like that come up from behind us and shove us under," Frese said.

"When we play tough teams like Oklahoma State, itH happen because we want it This team has heart, and I think well show that in the end." Regular-season closer The end is approaching quickly for Nebraska, which finishes the regular season today at 1 p.m. with another home game against Texas After that next weekend's Big Eight Tourna out of gate Majority of One wins Fon-ner Handicap. Page sd. simulcast would be Saturday's Kentucky Derby. "The (out-of-state) simulcast will be the sixth race.

We'll most likely have one every Saturday and some Sundays and every holiday," said Schmad. "We haven't firmed up any races but the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont 'Ve could get races from every- KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Kansas City first baseman George Brett was placed on the 21-day disabled list Saturday after he suffered ligament damage in his right knee. Doctors said they were "cautiously optimistic" about Brett's condition. "It Is a moderately severe sprain, possibly a tear," said Dr.

Charles Rhoades, a team physician. "We wont know anything else until tomorrow." Ak-Sar-Ben By Gary Svoboda NU first baseman Deanna Mays (19), second baseman Lori Cook (front) and right fielder Jill Rishel collide after failing to catch a bloop single by Texas Stephanie Schulte in the third inning. fast with billfold promotion, simulcasts The major addition at Ak-Sar-Ben to accommodate simulcasting, Schmad said, was the installation of 150 television sets at tables in the clubhouse on the terrace level, and 50 televisions in the outside grandstand area Another major change that longtime Ak-Sar-Ben fans will notice, Schmad said, is that the inside Turf Garden in the coliseum won't be open other than for special events. Schmad said that the Turf Garden is being closed simply because declining tendancejias made where, even from Canada, wherever there's a very good race. That's also why we're not going to go (simulcast) every Sunday, because there'll be some Sundays when there's just not that much available." The Nebraska tracks will have their own odds for the simulcast races, Schmad sail "Each track around the country creates its own odds, so the payoff here at Ak will be different than at Churchill Downs.

Ak, along with our outlets, will have the same he said. It can to get off to' a fast start, beginning with a promotion giving away billfolds to the first 15,000 patrons with paid admissions Wednesday. Some of the billfolds will have something extra money. One billfold will contain $1,000, another will have $500, and a third $100. Ak-Sar-Ben and other state thoroughbred tracks are awaiting the anticipated passage this week of LB591, which will clear the way for interstate simulcasting of races.

The first out-of-state race to be i OMAHA Ak-Sar-Ben officials are cautiously optimistic as the track prepares to open its 85-day thoroughbred horse racing season Wednesday. "Simulcasting the Former Park races has been a pleasant surprise," said Ak assistant general manager Tim Schmad. "We thought that with Prairie Meadows opening up (in Des Moines), and other added complications, that simulcasting would be down, but actually we're up a Fltlebit" q' a.