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Wednesday, March 27, 1968
Pdge 6
The Daily Nebraskan
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How to keep basketball from becoming a 'cage' sport
The case for three officials: the answer is yes
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ARGUEmentsl
by Harry Argue
Who's To Blame
Whose fault is it when participants in a fast moving
sport such as basketball or hockey seem to spend as
much time scuf.ing with each other as playing the
game?
I'll cast my vote for the game's officials. Sure, it's
the players who do the fighting, but if the officials, at
the first sign of any illegal contact, are quick to mete
out the proper penalty, fighting can usually be nipped in
the bud. Otherwise, a wave of flying fists and elbows may
tell the big story of the game.
Also, in basketball, can two
handle all the activity on the floor?
officials still properly
Let me say first of all that I am not trying to de
clare a holiday for slamming officials. I fully realize,
and largely agree, that it's the sportsmanlike thing to
accept officiating at face value and say nothing. But, I
don't believe referees are infallible, and therefore don't
think there's anything the matter with being a little ob
jective. This is probably more of a difficulty in hockey than
basketball since the icers are well-renowned for their not-so-lengthy
tempers. I saw an all too good, but unfortun
at, example of this in a recent match between the Oma
ha Knights and Houston Apollos at Ak-Sar-Ben.
Stored Up
With more than half of the first period gone, it struck
me that no penalties had been whistled. By the time
the players obviously had the idea they could get away
with anything. A few players started mixing it up on a
tight play and still no penalties were called, even though
punches had been thrown.
A few minutes later, Omaha's Joe Johnston and Gar
ry Monahan of Houston ended up in a real rock-'em-sock-em
fist fight. The referees split them apart after a
few minutes with the aid of both benches, who probably
would have just as soon turned it into an all-out brawl.
Then, once the men-in-stripes had Johnston and Mona
han apart, they let the belligerents slip away and have
at each other again. Once they stopped it, officials did
assess long misconduct penalties to both players and the
game continued in a rugged fashion for the rest of the
period. Had the officials not called a loose game from
the beginning, Johnston and Monahan may never have
gotten to the point of bloodying each other's faces.
The lesson learned, the refs proceded to call a tight
game the last two periods and there was no more fight
ing. It's a simple lesson, though, which they can't ever
forget if you start to let players get away with things,
the game can easily get out of hand and people can
start getting hurt.
Cagers Mix It
The same thing can and does happen in basketball,
although it has not reached the brawl stage at Nebras
ka. Coach Joe Cipriano said it hasn't been a real prob
lem, but KLIN sportscaster Tom Hedrick, a basketball
official himself for five years, said he is bothered by the
inconsistency of some refs "calling petty stuff and let
ting the clobbering go by."
Hedrick said he thinks it's okay not to call a foul if
a player is just brushed, but anything more than that
must be whistled.
On the whole, Hedrick said officiating in the Big
Eight this year left a little to be desired, but thinks a
lot of the problems can be solved by putting three offi
cials on the floor instead of just two.
Two Refs Not Enough
With teams like Oklahoma and Nebraska, who play
a constant running and pressing type of game, he said,
the two officials simply cannot properly cover the court
and are thus unable to call a good game because of the
brand of ball being played these days. With three offi
cials, they won't have to run so much, see so much or
make so many judgement calls. He added that
seven of the Big Eight basketball coaches favor the ex
tra ref as do most officials, whose job would become
easier.
"This would hopefully solve the officiating problem,"
Hedrick said.
He noted that three officials were used in a couple of
consolation games at the Big Eight Tourney in Kansas
City this year and that "things worked a little better."
The drawback to three officials is an age-old one of
money. Officials are paid $100 per game and transpor
tation expenses. It's up to the Big Eight faculty repre
sentatives to decide if the conference goes to three.
Cip Goes With 3
Coach Cipriano agrees that three refs would be a big
help.
"If two teams are well-matched," he said, "it's a
harder and closer game to call."
The recent , Big Eight basketball race indicates there
were plenty of close games making this a frequent prob
lem. Cipriano believes the third official is necessary to
help on judgement calls, which are increasing with the
run-and-shoot type of play. He also said that with three
officials, one of them would be likely to have better po
sition to call goal tending Officials now have to call it
at times from 20 feet away and a bad angle.
"The more active play requires the use of a third
official," Cipriano said.
Personally, I can't see how three officials would hurt
anything. There were many questionable calls this year,
and some looked downright unreal, on both ends of the
court. I'm not saying this is a matter of anyone's com
petence it's just that the game has outgrown the
stage where two officials can effectively handle it. Three
officials are needed now.
Spring practice begins for 'greatest season' of Big 8 Football
. . . 7 of 8 individual champs return
Promotion program
planned for football
Denver, Colo. xne b i g
Eight Conference ana
Frontier Airlines today an
nounced plans for an exten
sive promotional program for
Big Eight football to be kicked
off next week with a 27-min-ute,
sound, color football high
lights film entitled, "Big
Eight Fotball At Its Best".
Frontier President Lewis
W. Dymond and Big E i g h t
Commissioner Wayne Duke,
making the joint announce
ment Monday in Denver, de
scribed the effort as "one de
signed to emphasize the top
calibre football played by Big
Eight institutions, as well as
to provide the Conference's
countless fans top-flight en
tertainment reflecting this
outstanding competition."
Production of the film, first
venture of its type for both
Frontier and the Big Eight,
was prompted by what Duke
labelled the "most thrilling
and most successful football
season in the 61-year history
of the Big Eight."
In doing so, he cited t h e
following factors:
The Big Eight recorded the
best winning percentage
(nearly 67 per cent) of any
major athletic conference in
1967, climaxed by Colorado's
impressive 3i-zi triumpn
over the University of Miami
in the Bluebonnet Bowl and
Oklahoma's thrilling 26-24 win
over Southeastern Conference
champion Tennessee in the
Orange BowL
Duke also cited the return
In 1968 of 113 starting players
Kansas City, Mo. The pre
lude to what could be the
greatest season in the 62 years
of Big Eight Conference foot
ball came Monday with the
start of spring football prac
tice at the University of Mis
souri. During the following three
weeks, the other seven Big
Eight teams will take to the
field for the allowed 20 prac
tices during a 36-calendar-day
period, excluding vacation
time.
Teams will be going into
this spring's series of prac
tices with unprecedented ex
citement. The competition for
open starting spots will be
keen and the competition for
the Big Eight title even more
spirited.
As one coach puts it: "This
race will be the most exciting
ever for the Big Eight. Any
one could win it" Another
added, "I can't see anyone in
the league who won't be better
than last year." He also hint
ed of numerous upsets with,!
"It's still a long time unui
September and even longer
to the end of November."
Balnce key
Balance was the key factor
a t h e exciting conference
race last year, a season dur
Phi Belts
win crown
paddleball
' Phi Delta Theta won the all
university paddleball cham
pionship sponsored by the in
tramurals department.
Mark Sipple of Law School
won a medal in singles cham
pion while Tom Lewis and
Dick Baldwin on the cham
pionship team picked up the
doubles medal
Phi Gamma Delta got
second in the tournament and
Law School got third with
Betha Theta Pi fourth and
W.p.Rir fifth. A total of W
teams participated in the
competition of 140 matches in
volving the 114 participants.
Rodeo Club
goes to first
competition
MJ's Rodeo Club will be
participating in its first rodeo
of the season at North Dako
ta State in Fargo March 30
Sl. -.Team members making the
trip will be captain A. B. Cox
of Valentine, John Ferrett of
Mason City, Larry Radent of
Madison, Chip Whitaker of
. Chambers, John Kitt of Wau
teta and Linda Edwards of
Aimsworth.
' Both individual and team
' points will count toward the
national finals of the Intercol
legiate Rodeo Association in
Sacramento in July. i
ing which the average differ
ence between being a winner
and a loser was less than a
touchdown a game over the
28-game conference schedule.
Upsets were the rule rather
than the exception.
Basically, coaches will be
working with the same indi
vidual leaders who created
the crowd-pleasing race situ
ation of last fall. The hard
corps of returnees is made
up of 113 returning starters,
including seven of the eight
quarterbacks. These individ
uals will be scrambling out
comes in just as unpredictable
a manner as last year.
It was these leaders who
last season gave the Big Eight
its greatest hour. The confer
ence was the only one to win
two bowl championships
Colorado defeated a fine Mi
ami team, 31-21, in the Blue
bonnet Bowl, and Oklahoma
took Southeastern Conference
champion Tennessee, 26-24, in
the Orange Bowl.
The bowl games wrote the
climax to the Big Eight's au
thoring a 16-9-1 record against
non-conference foes, the best
winning percentage (64 per
cent) of any maor athletic
conference in intersec
tional contests.
Another reason for opti
mism to reign in the Big Eight
comes with a quick look at
the final statistics for the
league last year. Seven of the
eight individual statistical
champions return. Included
are three sophmores who won
four of the titles.
Leader of the underclass
movement was Oklahoma's
Steve Owens, who won the
rushing and scoring champi
onships. Winners, too, were
fellow sophomores, Frank Pa
trick of Nebraska in passing,
and Benny Goodwin of Okla
homa State in punt returning.
Sports car club
meeting tonight
The University of Nebraska
chapter of the Sports Car As
sociation of America is having
its second meeting tonight at
9 p.m. in the Shramm Hall
lobby.
All persons interested in
joining are encouraged to
attend.
Current Movies
- ' '
LINCOLN
Cooprr Lincoln: 'Bonnie and
Clyde', 7:00 and 6:00.
Vanity: 'In Cold Blood', 1:00,
1:43. 6:26, 1:09.
State: The Graduate', 1:00,
1:00. 6:00, 7:00. 0:00,
Staart: The Anniversary',
1:20. 1:15, 6:15. 7:10, 0:10.
Joyo: TJamu the killer
Whole'. 7:25. 'Billie', 8:50.
Nebraska : Foreign Film So
ciety. 7:00 and 0:00.
64th O: 'Weekend Warriors',
7:S0. 'Hell Angels On Wh-els',
6:10. Last complete show, 8:30.
OMAHA
Indlaa HIOs: "Gone With The
Wind. 2:00 and 6:00.
Dundee: 'Far From The Mad
ding Crowd', 2:00 and 8:00.
Cooper 70: 'Camelot', 2:00 and
6:00.
Junior champions were
Kansas' Bob Douglass in to
tal offense and Kansas State's
Dave Jones, receiving, and
Bob Coble, punting.
Still a closer examination
will show that nine of the
leading 13 rushers, the top
seven passers. 11 of the b e s t
14 in total offense, seven of
the leading 10 receivers, and
13 of the top 15 scorers return.
Never before has such a
group of individual leaders
come from the sophomore
and junior ranks in the Big
Eight.
Quarterbacks shine
The pivotal point for check
ing future prospects is quar
terback, the glamour spot ev
erywhere. That is where the
Big Eight will gutter this fall.
Best indication of the posi
tion's power comes from the
passing figures, where quar
terbacks are set apart for
comparison.
Patrick, Douglass, Kansas
State's Bill Nossek, Oklaho
ma's Bob Warmack, Iowa
State's John Warder, Colora
do's Bob Anderson, and Ok
lahoma's State Ronnie John
son combined this year to
throw the ball for an average
of over 1,000 yards each. That
amounts to almost 85 per cent
of the passing offense gener
ated by Big Eight teams dur
ing a record passing year.
Still these quarterbacks
could run the option, too, as
they accoioied for almost
9,000 total yards as records
fell to them like the rain of
passes they fired. Capping the
big year for the signal-callers
were Anderson and Warmack.
Anderson, just a sophomore,
was voted the most outstand
ing player in the Bluebonnet
at South Bend.
The first major look that
Big Eight fans will have at
what will be before them this
fall will come in the spring
games. All eight teams will
highlight the early sessions
Bowl, and Warmack was' with workout - capping con
named to a similar honor for
his work in the Orange Bowl.
Add to the quarterbacks the
106 other starters returning
and the optimistic picture for
the Big Eight comes into fo
cus. This figures out to be 65
per cent of the front-line men
back. A team rundown shows
Oklahoma State with 17, Kan
sas and Missouri with 16 each,
Iowa State has 15, Kansas
State and Oklahoma 14 each,
Nebraska 12, and Colorado 9.
Attendance up
Attendance is also expected
to reap a side benefit from
the return of so many qual
ity performers. Add to this the
outstanding schedules faced
by all eight teams, and vir
tually every Big Eight record
is in jeopardy as the total
count edges closer to the two
million mark each year,
Kansas, for example, plays
three bowl teams at home
Indiana (Rose), Colorado
(Bluebonnet), and Oklahoma
(Orange). Home openers for
Nebraska and Oklahoma are
also against bowl partici
pants, Nebraska catching
Wyoming (Sugar), and Okla
lina State (Liberty). The Soon-
homa taking on North Caro
ers open the year against na
tional nemesis Notre Dame
An Invitation to Learn of
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March 29
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For positions as:
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Your Placement Director
has further information
will furnish brochures
can schedule an interview
tests
The first of the spring
games comes on May 4. That
is when Iowa State and Mis
souri will have intra-squad
sessions and Oklahoma will
play its annual game against
its alumni. Iowa State plans
additional workouts after its
game.
Be a sport
from last fall's Big Eight
teams, including seven of
eight quarterbacks, as a fac
tor in producing the film,
noting that "the core of play
ers contributing to this out
standing record will be back
to play again next season "
The film, depicting high
lights of the 1967 season and
previews of 1968, will be avail
able for public showing be
ginning April 4. Premiere
showings, featuring the head
football coaches of Big Eight
institutions, will be held in
major cities throughout the
six-state conference area as
a means of directing attention
to the film and the 1968 con
ference football season.
Lindsey Nelson, nationally
known television sportscaster
of NCAA football telecasts
and post-season bowl games,
will serve as narrator for the
film, which is being produced
by Calvin Productions, Inc.,
of Kansas City.
Ninety prints of the film
will be produced and will be
available for distribution
through the Frontier Airlines
sales offices, athletic depart
ment personnel of Big Eight
insitutions, and Sterling Films
Inc., of Chicago, a profes
sional film distributor.
Distribution will be cost
free, and persons desiring a
copy of the film for service
organizations, educational and
church groups, or other or
ganizations should contact an
Frontier agent or athletic de
partment representative for a
booking assignment.
L2QL
imm .. Basset)
j a u
All SEATS RESERVED $2.50 6, $3.00 Tickets at Ualaa & rerthina Box Office
Miles and miles of just a few words and holding hands.
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