The Salina Journal from Salina, Kansas • Page 13

Sports The Salina Journal Saturday, August 24,1985 Page 13 I Marymount, coaches dispute contracts ByBRADCATT Assistant Sports Editor Daryl Hoelting and Gerald Martin were convinced they had near-perfect marriages with Marymount College, their alma mater. This summer, the two coaches learned otherwise. Both spent the past three months negotiating new contracts for the 1985-86 school year with Marymount's administration. On Thursday, Hoelting signed a contract, but only after long negotiations, to continue as the head coach of the Spartans' successful women's basketball program. The same day, Martin reluctantly resigned as the school's head track and cross country coach.

His resignation was accepted by Marymount officials on Friday. Martin, who left similar duties at Colby Community College a year ago, said he was disappointed in Marymount's "lack of commitment" for his program. "I didn't want to leave I came back to my hometown and alma mater with the intent of staying. I wanted to build a good program here," Martin said. "But there comes a point where you say, 'Do I stand up for what I really think or do I bite the bullet and knuckle Martin Hoelting Reynolds Marymount athletic director Todd Reynolds said Martin's replacement will be named before fall practice begins Monday.

It will mark the sixth change of coaches in the past seven years in the track-cross country program at the school. "I honestly feel they're missing the boat consistency in faculty and staff should be a priority," said Martin, a 1977 MC graduate. "They (Marymount officials) will say it (Martin's departure) is because of finances. Bull! I say it's a lack of commitment on the part of the athletic department." While Hoelting has a full-time teaching position in the Ell-Saline school district, Martin relied on substitute teaching in the Salina school district to supplement his in- come. He said he returned to Salina last summer "with the hope of eventually getting another (full- time) position at Marymount." It never happened.

"We're at the mercy of openings in the academic area," Reynolds said. "It's not an ideal circumstance but it's one of the realities we have to live with in a small school." Martin, however, said he applied for several positions which became available at the college during the past year. Each time, he received a "Dear John" letter. "If they really wanted me to stay, you'd think they'd find something so I could stay and survive," Martin said. Last year, Martin was paid $3,000 for his coaching duties at Marymount.

He turned down an offer of $3,100 in May, while an offer of $3,500 was on the table when he resigned Thursday. The final straw, he said, came when Marymount refused to give him five meals a week in the school's dining hall. "That's the straw which broke the camel's back," Martin said. "But it's bigger than that. It's the lack of commitment for the program.

I don't know if they really don't care whether you win or lose or if they just want warm bodies there." Reynolds said the salary offered to Martin was in line with what other part-time employees at Marymount receive. "I regret we're not in a position to work things out," the Spartan AD said. "I think we offered him a contractual package (it included free tuition for Martin, who was continuing his education at Marymount) consistent with what we've given other part-time coaches. But we reached an impasse at what Jerry wanted and what we felt we could provide. I've got a budget with which I have to work and the school has a budget it has to work within." Like Martin, Hoelting questions whether the school is truly committed to his basketball program.

"They (MC officials) said, 'Get Kansas City's Hal McRae, trying to go from first to third on a hit by Dane lorg, is tagged out by Texas' Steve Buechele. McDowell's homer beats Royals KANSAS CITY (AP) Oddibe McDowell may be a rookie, but he's played baseball long enough to know all bad things must come to an end. McDowell hit a towering home run with two outs in the ninth inning Friday night to give the Texas Rangers a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals. The homer was only McDowell's second hit in his 'last 32 at bats. "I wasn't hitting.

It's about time this," McDowell said after driving a pitch from Royals relief ace Dan Quisenberry to right-center field, about 420 feet from home plate. "Man, he hit that ball a long way," Texas manager Bobby Valentine said of McDowell's 13th homer. "He was struggling a little. I sat him down a game and I think it might have made him mad." Despite the game-winning homer, Royals manager Dick Bowser thought Quisenberry pitched well. "It wasn't that home run that beat him," said Howser, who called several Royals base-running mistakes the chief culprit in the loss.

"We made some mistakes on the bases tonight and it hurt us." Dave Schmidt, 5-3, pitched the final two innings for the victory, while Quisenberry, 6-8, who missed an opportunity for his 31st save when the Rangers rallied for two runs in the eighth, took the loss. Texas tied the game 3-3 when Pete O'Brien greeted Quisenberry with a run-scoring single with two outs. Earlier in the inning, Toby Harrah had doubled off Royals starter Mark Gubicza to score Curtis Wilkerson, who was inserted as a runner following pinch-hitter Bobby Jones' single. George Brett hit his 18th homer of the year for Kansas City to start the sixth inning, breaking a 1-1 pitching duel between Gubicza and Rangers starter Dave Stewart. Stewart was replaced by Dwyane Henry after the next hitter, Hal McRae, doubled and later scored on Frank White's double, giving the Royals a 3-1 lead.

The Royals tied the game at 1-1 in the fourth when McRae, who has 27 RBI in as many games, singled home Brett, who had doubled to start the inning. Dane lorg then singled into short left field, but McRae was thrown out trying to take third. Texas took a 1-0 lead in the third when O'Brien tripled just inside the first base line, scoring Harrah, who had walked. TEXAS KANSAS CITY ob bl ab bi Tolleson ss 5110 Wilson cf 5010 Harrah 2b 4211 LSmith If 4000 OBrien Ib 4032 Motley rf 1000 CJohnsondh 4010 Brett 3b 5221 Ward If 4010 McRae dh 4131 Brummer 0000 Dlorg rf 3010 Wright cf 3010 LJones rf 2000 DWalker rf 4000 White 2b 4021 Petralli 2000 Balboni Ib 3000 McDowell cf 2111 Wathan 3010 Buechle 3b 1000 Orta ph 0000 BJones ph 1010 Concepcion ss 0 0 0 0 Wilkerson ss 1010 Biancalana ss 1 0 1 0 Quirk 1000 Totals 35 4 11 4 Totals 36 3 11 3 Texas 001 000 Kansas City 000 102 3 Game Winning RBI McDowell (7). City 1.

7, Kansas City 11. Biancalana, McRae, White, Harrah. Wilson. (IB), McDowell (13). Wathan (1), White (5).

IP ER BB SO Texas DStewart 5 83 Henry 2 1 0 Schmidt W.5-3 2 20 Kansas City Gubicza 5 3 Quisenberry L.6-8 6 1 DStewart pitched to 2 batters In the 6th. Women zip past men in tennis "battle of the sexes' ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver walked onto the court advertising they would defeat Bobby Riggs and Vitas Gerulaitis as easy as 1-2-3-4, and they did. The world's No. 1 women's doubles team routed Riggs and Gerulatis 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 in the highly publicized $500,000 exhibition match.

Riggs, 67, had no roses for Nav- ratilova and Shriver like he had for Margaret Court in 1973 and they had no giant Sugar Daddy like the one Billie Jean King handed him before their battle of the sexes later in 1973. The only thing constant in this battle of the sexes was the lopsided score at the Atlantic City Convention Center in the 1 hour, 35 minute match. In fact, is was as easy as the 15- love, 30-love, 40-love, game T-shirts the two women wore onto the court. They didn't even seem to break a sweat earning the $300,000 top prize. And Riggs seemed to be the reason for it.

He hit creampuff lobs trying to return serve and tried to make lunging returns of balls that had passed him. "I knew it was mission impossible going in," Riggs said. "They were a little too tough for us and a little too strong. Vitas was not able to cover as much of the court as I thought he could." the kids, build the program and we're going to back Hoelting said. After his first two Spartan teams combined for a 46-18 record and reached the NAIA District 10 playoffs, Hoelting asked for a raise (he made $3,500 last year) and an assistant "Obviously, I'm not in this for the money but there is some pride involved," Hoelting said.

"I've given 120 percent to Marymount College. We'll have 25 girls in the program this year, we won 23 games (last season) and our team GPA was 3.4. I don't know what more they want." Hoelting said he logged the hours he spent coaching and recruiting for Marymount during the 1984-85 school year and found that he made 81 cents an hour. "That's ridiculous," he said. Hoelting originally was offered a $200 raise, eventually signed for a $500 increase and was promised an assistant coach.

"Sitting back, you can see both sides of the coin," Hoelting said. "I understand Marymount's situation. They can't hand everybody everything they ask for." But Hoelting said this summer's, prolonged negotiations "leave a bad taste in your mouth." Osborne endures troubling times Osborne By HAROLD BECHARD Sports Editor LINCOLN, Neb. The last eight months haven't exactly been a picnic for Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne. Osborne, since succeeding Bob Devaney in 1973, is the second-win- ningest football coach (.809 percentage) in NCAA Division I-A.

Only Oklahoma's Barry Switzer has been better. But wins and Orange Bowls have taken a back seat to some off-the- field problems which have arisen since the Cornhuskers completed the 1984jegular season. The first crisis came last December as Osborne and his team prepared to meet Louisiana State in the Sugar Bowl. It was at that time when former Southern Cal football player Booker Brown accused Osborne, then an assistant at Nebraska, of illegally recruiting him in 1972. Osborne vehemently denied the charges and took a lie detector test in New Orleans.

Brown did likewise in Los Angeles and both tests showed the men were telling the truth. Osborne had thoughts of suing Brown, but the matter has faded from the headlines and nothing is planned at the moment. At about the same time Osborne was in New Orleans, he felt some discomfort in his chest after excer- cising. He underwent medical tests in January which indicated a coronary artery blockage. Osborne underwent double-bypass heart surgery in early February and lost nearly 15 pounds, but recovered in time for spring drills.

"I'm back to running three to four miles a day, five to six Cornhuskers at a glance By The Associated Prut Head coach Tom Osborne, 13th year. Last year's record 10-2. Big Eight co- champions. Offensive starters returning 2 Defensive starters returning 2 Strengths Running back, linebacker; one of the nation's deepest reservoirs of football talent and the tradition and momentum of a decade of top-10 finishes. Weaknesses Inexperience at such keys spots as offensive line and defensive secondary.

Big Eight Skywriters week," Osborne said Friday as he met with the Big Eight Skywriters at Memorial Stadium. The experience of having heart surgery also had Osborne re-evaluating his busy schedule during the spring. "I've cut back on some appearances which aren't directly related to football, and that has helped," he said. "It (surgery) made me realize that life is impermanent that we're all living on borrowed time. So I'm going to do the things I want to do and not worry about what people think." If those two problems weren't already enough, another bomb shell dropped on the NU program when senior tight end Brian Hiemer committed suicide on Aug.

15 in his hometown of Shelby, (80 miles from Lincoln). The incident took place on the same day Hjemer was supposed to report to Lincoln for two-a-day drills. Needless to say, everyone concerned was devastated. The 21- Harold Bechard JOURNAL SPORTS EDITOR year-old Hiemer, a part-time starter last year as a junior, was a popular player who came from a solid family background. "It was a very difficult thing because nobody could understand why, and still can't," Osborne said.

"He was a very popular player on the team." Osborne said members of the 1985 squad will wear decals on their helmets in remembrance of Hiemer and said it will be a long time before the frustration of the incident fades away. "The initial shock is over and the players aren't grief-stricken or anything like that," Osborne said. "But it was a difficult time to absorb. Anytime a young person dies, it's very difficult on family and friends. And when you'really don't know why it "He was a very solid person and seemed to be very stable." Hiemer's death cast a pall over the Cornhusker program.

All of a sudden, the the realization of having just four starters returning from last year's 10-2 team didn't seem so earth-shattering. But, if past history is any indication, Nebraska will find the players it needs and reload for the 1985 season. "We have good athletes here," Osborne said. "I don't know how they compare to other squads, but physically, we have good players." The number of official starters returning also is a little misleading. Junior running back Doug DuBose led the conference with more than 1,000 yards rushing last year as a second-teammer; Mike Knox was an All-Big Eight linebacker in 1983 and, after missing the '84 season with a knee injury, is back; Travis Turner returns after starting six games at quarterback and alternating with Craig Sundberg; and tight end Todd Frain, who spilt time with Hiemer, also returns.

"We're usually a junior-senior ballclub, so we're accustomed to replacing half of our starters," Osborne said. "But this season, we're replacing three-fourths of them." That hasn't stopped prognosticators from tabbing the Corn- huskers as Oklahoma's chief competition in the Big Eight race and placing them in the preseason Top 20 polls. "Those people doing that have to be going heavily on the history book because of our tradition," Osborne said. "I hope the people thinking that are right. Yes, we're cautiously optimistic, but we do have some concerns.

i NU linebacker ready to deliver more hard knocks LINCOLN, Neb. The "Black- shirts" were back in 1984, but will they be black and blue in '85? That's the No. 1 question Nebraska football fans are asking about their team's de- jj fense. The shirts" (the name for Cornhuskers' de- Knox fense) were brilliant in '84. Nebraska finished fourth nationally in rushing defense, fifth in passing defense and first in scoring defense and total defense.

But graduation hit the Corn- huskers heavily. Just two starters tackle Chris Spachman and linebacker Marc Munford return this fall. Maybe that's why the return of Mike Knox could be viewed as manna from heaven by the Cornhusker coaches. Mike Knox? Oh, you mean that rough and tough guy who toiled at linebacker during the 1983 season and played well enough to earn All-Big Eight honors? The same guy who, after making 125 tackles his junior season, ripped up his knee during the 1984 spring drills and, after having major surgery, missed last season? Yes, that Mike Knox. Well, Knox is back and ready for his final season.

And no one is any happier about that than Munford. "He (Knox) is just like a coach on the field next to you," Munford said. "He's an intense player who really fires me up. And if you make a mistake, he'll be over there patting you on the butt and getting you back in the game." Knox, a native of Castle Rock, doesn't consider himself a savior as he prepares for his fifth season as a Cornhusker. He's just excited about getting a chance to play again.

"I'm having one of my better falls," said the 6-2, 235-pounder. "It took a little while to get my timing down. After being out this long, you're going to be a little rusty. But I'm starting to get more consistent and the timing came back faster than usual." That news is music to the ears of 'Husker fans and coaches alike. Knox, you see, is expected to be the glue which holds NU's inexperienced defense together during early this season.

Knox, however, thinks the word "inexperienced" has been over-used when describing the NU defense. "We can be as good as any defensive team Nebraska has ever had," Knox said. "We don't have a lot of starters back, but we have plenty of players who played last year." But none of them, not even Munford, played like Knox did in 1983. In addition to his tackle total, Knox intercepted four passes and had seven stops behind the line of scrimmage for 24 yards in losses. "I don't think I have anything to prove to anyone," Knox said.

Knox's future was clouded just 16 months ago when his knee gave away without anyone touching him during spring drills. "When I cut and heard the pop, I knew my knee had blown out," he said. "But my first thoughts were that I would still be ready for the '84 season." The realization that he wouldn't be ready came that summer when he was watching a show about Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci. "That movie triggered something in my mind I don't know why, but it did," Knox said. Knox didn't sit and sulk.

He was on the sidelines every Saturday afternoon last season, helping the linebackers any way he could. "It's easier to see on the sidelines what's going on than when you're on the field," Knox said. The sideline work kept Knox's mind off his bad knee. "If I would have got depressed, it would have been a deeper setback," he said. "But my wife (Cindy), parents, coaches and fellow players kept me up and were the driving forces behind me." Knox plans to pay back everyone by being the driving force behind the defense this fall..