Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 6

SECTION Sclroil ifrcc Prcso Sports SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1978 The Inside of Sports Page6 Racing Results Page 7 Outdoors with Oprc Page 8 U-D HAS TO HUSTLE FOR 23D VICTORY Xavier am In This Section Makes Work for 1 II O9 jrj 0-6 6 Win, ''yp- -r Hiller Can't Stand To Let Others Down point play by Tyler, a layup by Long, another basket by Tyler and a jumper by Kevin Kaseta, while Xavier could manage only two more points. AFTER THAT, it was a matter of the two teams exchanging baskets Xavier cutting the lead to three points and U-D building it back to five. Terry Duerod started hitting some of the jumpers he had been missing, Tyler remained strong on the boards and Long, still playing with the two fouls he picked up early, resumed his scoring. Yet the Titans couldn't get anything more comfortable than their five-point lead until Xavier completely lost its scoring touch in the game's final seven minutes. Albion 93, Olivet 69 OLIVET (AP) Junior center John Nibert had 27 points as Albion breezed past Olivet, 93-69, in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association game Saturday.

The victory means Albion will represent the MIAA at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III playoffs. Albion has also won at least a part of the MIAA championship. Albion finished its regular season with a 9-3 MIAA record and is 17-5 overall. doing quite a few good things, they couldn't shake Xavier more than a few points off their trail early in the game. THEY BEGAN with a brief shooting exhibition by John Long, they got some powerful work on their inside game from Terry Tyler, and their zone press forced the Musketeers into numerous turnovers.

Yet the best U-D could do was leave the floor at the intermission with a 45-45 tie. The first indication that all would not go well for the Titans came when Long scored their first eight points of the game and picked up two fouls in the first three minutes. Terry Whitlow came off the bench to try to pick up the offense, and between him and Tyler, U-D managed to open its biggest lead of the first half eight points. About that time, Gary Massa and Nick Daniels started connecting for Xavier, hitting for 13 of the Ohioans' next 19 points to make the game even at the half. Even with the Musketeers finishing strong in the half, there was no reason U-D shouldn't have enjoyed at least a six-point lead except for three traveling violations that cost them opportunities to score easy buckets.

The Musketeers gave their fans a thrill when they went up by two to start the second half, but U-D came back with a three- BY CURT SYLVESTER Free Press Sports Writer CINCINNATI It was no 100-point game, no runaway victory this time for the University of Detroit. But the Titans added one more reason to the growing list of reasons they feel they deserve an NCAA tournament bid when they held off Xavier University, 82-77, in a matinee game Saturday. The victory was the 23d in 25 games for the Titans, leaving them with only two home games against Loyola Monday night and Marquette Saturday night before they find out whether or not they'll make their second straight trip to the NCAA. And although Xavier slipped to 12-13 by losing its Homecoming game before a small, but enthusiastic, crowd in the cracker-box Schmidt Fieldhouse, the Musketeers made a real test of it against U-D. It wasn't until the Titans ran off eight straight points to take a 78-69 lead with 3 12 minutes to go that coach Dave Gaines had an opportunity to feel he had everything under control.

Up to that time the Musketeers had taken all that big Terry Tyler, John Long, Kevin Kaseta and Terry Duerod could offer and still were able to keep it interesting. Regardless of what the Titans did, and they started off by 89-67 KELSER'S 32 RIP ILLINl 1 Hs i ans urn me le cn LAKELAND A buddy of mine, Jerry Holtzman, who writes baseball for the Chicago Sun Times, did a book a while back about oldtime sports writers. He called it "No Cheering in the Press Box." Maybe you don't understand that title. That's because you probably don't know what it's like in the press boxes. We don't cheer, and if anyone does, he gets icy stares from the rest of the guys or the publicity man announces that this is a working press box and keep it down.

Anyway, the last time I sat in the stands at Tiger Stadium was 1967, so I guess it doesn't make much difference if those seats are going to be blue, green or fuchsia. The grandstand is not my home. The last time I sat there, the Tigers were playing a night game and Earl Wilson and Dick McAuliffe hit back-to-back home runs into the rightfield seats. Naturally, everyone was on their feet yelling except you-know-who. I just sat there.

I am not accustomed to cheering at sports events and so I had no impulse to cheer. That was fine except all those people started looking down at me as if I were some sort of traitor. One guy had a look on his face which said: "What are you, some kind of creep?" That's why I've never gone back to sit in the stands. It's very uncomfortable for me after so many years in the press box and I have to admit this is a strange way to get around to talking about John Hiller. It is just that I have my favorites, just as you have yours, and Hiller happens to be my guy on the Tigers.

I may not be on my feet rooting for him this season but I'll be doing it in my silent way. We just do it differently, that's all. John is a special guy. I have never seen an athlete turn his life around more completely than he did following his heart attack in 1971. We all know the story how it hit him while he was puffing on a pack of cigarets at his kitchen table in Duluth, Minn.

how he got the scare of his life and thought he was going to die how he decided to change his entire style of life. He cleaned up his habits. He cleaned up his language. He cleaned up his personality. John Was a Bad Actor John Hiller became a beautiful man.

He gained an appreciation for life and became one of those rare people who began giving off a personal warmth to everyone around him. What I liked was his total honesty with himself. He knew he wasn't a very pleasant person. He knew he was a bad actor and a very selfish individual and, after his brush with death, he decided to do something about it. He began giving thought to others and this is where he grew BY MICK McCABE Free Press Sports Writer EAST LANSING Playing like a man posessed, Gregory Kelser poured in 32 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Michigan State to a 89-67 victory over Illinois here Saturday and insure the Spartans of at least a tie for the Big Ten basketball championship.

The victory, Michigan State's 21st, combined with Indiana's upset of Minnesota, gave the Spartans a two-game lead over both Minnesota and Purdue with only two games left in the Big Ten. The Spartans, however, Bi" Ten Standings 8" Conferenct AH Games Pet. Pet. 21 4 Michigan Slate 13 .813 .840 .640 .640 .720 16 9 16 9 18 7 15 9 15 10 12 13 11 14 8 17 7 18 Minnesota 1 1 5 Purdue 11 5 Indiana 10 6 Michigan 10 6 Ohio Slate 8 8 Illinois 6 10 Iowa 4 12 Wisconsin 4 12 Northwestern 3 13 .625 .625 .500 .375 .250 .250 .188 .625 .600 .480 .440 .320 .280 have not locked up a berth in the NCAA tournament. They still need a win at Wisconsin Thursday night to send them to the tourney beginning Saturday, March 11.

The Spartans blew most of a 16-point lead Saturday in the first half, and led 42-36 at intermission. But it took the Spartans only the first six minutes of the second half to bury the Illini for good. After Illinois scored the first points of the second half, they were outscored, 17-6, over the next six minutes. Terry Donnelly scored six points during the streak, Ear-vin Johnson five, Kelser four and senior Bob Chapman two as the Spartans entertained a regional telvision audience. Despite scoring only 10 points, Johnson finished with seven rebounds and 11 assists.

Saturday's Results Michigan 82, Iowa 76. Michigan Slate 89, Illinois 67. Indiana 68, Minnesota 47. Purdue 87, Wisconsin 78. Ohio State 103, Norlhwestern 76.

Thursday's Games Michigan at Minnesota. Michigan State at Wisconsin. Indiana at Illinois. Ohio State at Iowa. Purdue at Northwestern.

ill 'Ije Indiana KOs Gophers; U-M Wins Pg. 4E as a man. He stood tall as a baseball player but was even taller in his dealings around the clubhouse and in the dugout and wherever he went with his team. John Hiller became a man and a gentleman at the same time. We've all seen others survive personal tragedy and, in appreciation for what's been given them, try to change their lives around.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. This is what I want to tell you about John Hiller. It is now seven years after his heart attack and he is sitting in his room at the Holiday Inn Saturday afternoon talking about the coming season. Hiller is 35 now and doesn't know what's going to AP Photo When the Indiana upset was announced, the capacity crowd went wild, celebrating the Spartans' first championship since 1966-67, when it shared the title with Indiana. The Spartans began the game as if they would have the thing wrapped up by intermission.

Only once in the first seven minutes of action did the Spartans fail to score once they got the ball past midcourt. Please turn to Page 4E, Column 6 Holiday On Ice Colorado's Mark Suzor scores the easiest "goal" of his career, batting a big balloon into the Minnesota North Stars net during a break in the action. While an official was being treated for an injury, a fan tossed the balloon onto the ice and players on both teams passed the time by swatting it around the rink. Keech Grabs TC-250 Slaton Doesn Plan To Stick With Tigers happen this season. Maybe it's all coming to an end for him or' he can squeeze a few more years out of his arm.

He doesn't know. But he is not going to embarrass anyone not you, me, our city even the whole State of Michigan. This may sound pretty heavy and probably can be misinterpreted, but if you know John Hiller, you know this Is exactly how he feels. "I can't stand to let other people down," he was saying. "If that happens again this season, I'll just quit, "If it were just me, if I were a golfer or a tennis player and was responsible only to myself, I could handle my failures and the disappointment of losing.

But when you're playing for a team, representing an entire city even a whole state you can't think only of yourself. I'll quit before I embarrass anyone." Last Season Was a Nightmare Last season was an ordeal for Hiller. All the things he could do before restore order to those panicky situations became almost impossible for him. He lost a little off his fast ball, lost a lot of his control, and the whole thing became a nightmare for him. Ralph Houk even tried him as a starter to salvage something out of his season but that didn't work because Hiller wasn't geared to be a starting pitcher.

He wound up back in the bullpen and his season came to a premature end when he suffered from a liver condition. When Hiller blew a game to the Yankees in New York on July 2, he went into Houk's office and told him maybe he just ought to go home. "I can't keep going but there and doing that," said Hiller. "Maybe I ought to quit." Houk was stunned. He didn't know what to say to his ace reliever.

He knew Hiller was upset. He also knew he wasn't looking for sympathy. Hiller recalled, "Ralph told me to think about it for a few days; He said he wouldn't pitch me for a while so I could get myself together." Hiller looked straight across the table. "You don't know what it's like to go back into the dressing room and try to face the other guys when you've let them down," he said. "I couldn't even look at them, I felt so ashamed.

"If the batters were just getting squib hits off me, It would have been one thing. But they were hitting rockets. They were knocking the ball all over the place and I couldn't do anything about it." Hiller slowly lit his half -burned cigar. He gave up cigarets recently as an effort to get into better condition. "Baseball has given too much to me to get selfish about it," he said.

"I just bought a new house in Duluth and I can use the money but I'll never take it under false pretenses. "I've had too good a life so far. Last January, I took my family up to Ely, Minn. that's about 150 miles north of Duluth and went to a hotel with an indoor pool and a sauna and had a terrific weekend. "I never was inside a hotel room until I was 1 8 years old and I never ate in a restaurant until I was 15.

We lived a farm life and that's what it was like. When I think of what baseball has done for me, I wtll never hurt the game or anyone in it. If I can't make it this season, nobody will have to tell me. I'll just take off my uniform and give it to them and say: 'Thank you for i TRAVERSE CITY (AP) Ron Keech of Shelbyville pulled ahead of Dan Doerr in the final two laps to win the Traverse City 250 snowmobile race under ideal conditions Saturday. Keech, an eight-year racing veteran riding a Yamaha 440, was running 18 seconds behind Doerr's Yamaha 410.

But on lap 363, with only two laps to go, Doerr's machine had mechanical problems. While he was making repairs, Keech surged ahead on the mile oval and came in first to take the $6,000 top prize. Doerr took home $2,800 for his second-place finish. The annual event which drew 5,000 fans is part of the Triple Crown of snowmobile races, which includes the 1-500 at Sault Ste. Marie and the Thunderbay 250 at Alpena.

Randy Ellis of Sault Ste. Marie is the overall winner of the circuit. Jim Barnhart of Traverse City was third on a Polaris 340, followed by Al Penney of Traverse City on a Yamaha 440. Mike LaFave of Unionville came in fifth on a Yamaha 440. Roger Vermeersch of Unionville was sixth on a Yamaha 440; Gerry Wagar of Petoskey was seventh on a Yamaha 440; Robert Dohm Jr.

was eightn on a Yamaha 440; Diane Miller of Flushing was ninth on a Polaris 440; and Roger Britt of Turner was 10th on an Artie Cat 440. The skies were sunny and temperatures in the mid-20s for the race, which had been postponed last month because of the blizzard. Knowing what's at stake, ought to make it a lot of fun. "I know the money is out there, but I have no idea what I'm going to ask for. That will depend on what kind of year I have in Detroit, and how many clubs want me.

But I think if I can stay healthy and pitch as consistently as I have for the last few years, and win a lot of games, I can make a lot of money. He's also willing to handle the extra pressure that may come. "That's part of being a professional. I've never experienced anything like that before, but I'm sure it's not going to be any different pitching this year than it has been in the past. "Once I'm on the mound, I've got to concentrate on pitching and getting the hitters out.

You can't have other things on your mind when you're on the mound. "I'm certainly not going to put any added pressure on myself by thinking, 'I've gotta get this guy out or I'm not going to make any The biggest thing I've learned about this game is that you can't afford to put added pressure on yourself. With the experience I've had, I don't think that will be any problem. ALTHOUGH he admittedly would prefer to pitch for a California ball club so that he would be closer to home, Slaton insisted he might consider signing with the Tigers next season if they should happen to make him the best offer. "I'd like to go with a contender, and I think Detroit has possibilities of being a contender in the next few years, he explained.

"I told the Brewers I was going to play out my option before they traded me to Detroit. And even if they had traded me to a California team instead of the Tigers I would've played out my option this year because I had made up my mind that was the best thing for me to do. "Now all I can do is wait and see what happens. But I should be just getting into my prime, and If I pitch like I have the last couple of years, I should come out on top." Slaton said he has discussed his situation with several of the Tigers and doesn't expect to encounter any resentment from his teammates. BY JIM HAWKINS Free Press Sports Writer LAKELAND Jim Slaton knows he'll never be nominated as the most popular player ever to wear a Tiger uniform.

Heck, he'll consider himself fortunate if a few folks band together and form a fan club in his honor this summer. He knows some people will inevitably resent the fact he plans to declare himself a free agent and sell his services to the highest bidder as soon as the season ends. He knows some will say that he's selfish, that he is thinking only of himself. He fully expects to be called a carpet-bagger, or worse. After all, to some extent, those accusations are true.

All Slaton asks is that the fans try to understand why he intends to limit his stay in Detroit to a single season. "It has nothing to do with the town or the fans," the interim member of the Tigers' starting staff insisted Saturday. "Detroit is a good town and I'm excited about playing there this summer. "But I'm 27 years old, I'll be 28 in June, and this is probably the only chance I'll ever have to become a free agent and find out exactly how much I'm worth. "I IMAGINE some people will resent me, but I just hope they try to understand my situation," he continued.

"I don't think the people who know baseball and understand what is going on in the game today will resent me.If they were in my situation, they'd be doing the same thing I'm doing. "Baseball is such a short career, you've got to get it while you can. I want to provide some security for myself and my family, just like anyone else." Slaton, who will likely follow Mark Fidrych and Dave Rozema in Ralph Houk's starting rotation said, however, he isn't going to worry about his security. "All I can do is worry about my pitching and having a good season. I intend to try as hard as I can to win for Detroit this year.

"I'm really looking forward to this season. i 1 if''; 1 i. feftt Jr UPI Photo Jim Slaton: He'll be a Tiger for a year.