friday, may 1, 1981
page 16
daily nebraskan
Husker NFL draftees report to Miami Dolphin s
By Cindy Gardner
The final round of the NFL draft ended Wednesday
evening and Thursday morning some of the selected play
ers began reporting to their respective teams. Nebraska's
Andra Franklin and John Noonan were two of the first
to leave. The Husker duo boarded a plane headed for
Miami at 7 a m. Thursday morning.
Although both Franklin and Noonan were part of
Tom Osborne's offensive machine and both were draft
ed by the Dolphins, the parallels between their football
careers seem to end there.
The 28th pick of the second round, Franklin said he
learned of his selection while watching television.
"I was watching the draft on ESPN and I heard them
call my name," the four-year letterman said.
Franklin took over the starting fullback position as
a sophomore after lettering with the varsity during his
freshman year. During the 1980 regular season he rushed
for 678 yards on 120 carries.
The Anniston, Ala., native said he was relaxed before
the draft.
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"I was nervous after I found out," Franklin said. "I
figured I'd go in the second or third round but I was
leaning more towards the third. I'm happy to get an
opportunity to play with any pro team."
Split end Noonan who was the 14th pick of the ninth
round, echoed Franklin's sentiments.
"I'm happy to play with any team," the Omaha pro
duct said. "I'm excited to go to Miami. Don Schula's a
great coach."
Acting as a press ?gent of sorts, Husker quarterback
and Noonan's roommate, Mark Mauer, jokingly reported
that from now on Noonan would like to be referred to as
"Mr. Dolphin." "Mr. Dolphin" himself said the realization
that he had an opportunity to play pro ball really hadn't
hit him yet.
Unlike Franklin, Noonan was not a starter for the
Huskers. During his senior year he played behind sopho-.
more Todd Brown. The two alternated on running plays
and Noonan caught two touchdown passes in the Kansas
game. A transfer from UNO, Noonan claims he only re
cently thought he'd have the chance to play for a profes
sional team.
"I didn't even think about the pros until after I started
playing college ball " Noonan said. "When I started actual
ly playing in college games I thought I might have a
chance."
Both Franklin and Noonan expressed pleasure in hav
ing a college teammate headed for Miami.
"It makes it a lot easier having Andra going, too,"
Noonan said.
"We can be pulling for each other," Franklin added.
Also packing their bags this week will be the five other
Huskers selected in the draft. One of those, Randy
Schleusener, will leave for Cleveland Sunday morning.
"I've never been to Cleveland," the ninth-round draft
pick said. "From talking to the people up there it sounds
nice."
Schleusener admitted that waiting for the second day
of the draft is a little difficult.
"I'm glad it's over," the offensive guard said. "It's a
tough time waiting for the phone to ring."
As the only offensive lineman drafted by the Browns,
Schleusener said he hopes to have a good chance of suc
ceeding in professional football.
"If things don't work out, I'll come back to Nebraska
and go to med school," he added.
Huskers vie for traveling team spot as
Lincoln hosts gymnastics meet
Photo by Mark Billingsley
Oklahoma's Bart Conner performs on the pommel
horse at the NCAA meet. Conner will resume his
rivalry with Jim Hartung at this month's United
States Gymnastics Federation Championships at the
Bob Devaney Sports Center.
By Cindy Gardner
Former Olympian Kurt Thomas hailed Lincoln "The
Gymnastics Capital," and the city will continue to live
up to its reputation when the United States Gymnastics
Federeation men's gymnastics championships come to the
Bob Devaney Sports Center May 21 through 23.
Four Husker gymnasts will be among the field of 24
competing for a spot on the U.S. traveling team. All
around champion Jim Hartung, who scored a record
115.90 at the NCAA finale, will be joined by teammates
Phil Cahoy, Scott Johnson and Chuck Chmelka as they
vie to become one of the top 14 gymnasts in the nation.
Cahoy and Johnson also qualified for the meet at the
NCAA championships. Chmelka became the 24th qualifier
during last weekend's Midwestern regional meet at
Brigham Young University.
Meet Director Scott Roth said the meet will follow a
format similar to that of NCAA's. Compulsory routines
will be performed Thursday evening and optional com
petition will take place on Friday. The all-around finals
will be held Saturday afternoon and the individual event
finals Saturday night.
Roth said there will be some difference in the way
the meet will be scored.
"At NCAA's, the compulsory and optional scores
were combined to determine the top eight individuals
in each event, then those eight all started from zero in
the finals," Roth said. "At the USAUSGF meet, the
preliminary compulsory and optional scores will be
added together and divided by two. This score will be
added on to the final scores to determine the champions."
The USAUSGF Championships should once again
prove to be a match up between Hartung and Oklahoma's
Bart Conner who finished with a 115.85 at the NCAA
meet, he said.
"Hypothetically, they'll be at each other's throats,"
Roth said. "But neither one of them can come in here
thinking they've got it won. They've both got to look
over their shoulder at Peter Vidmar. If either one falls
he could have it."
In addition to the Husker qualifiers and Conner, other
Big Eight gymnasts who will take part in the Champion
ships are Peter Stout and Matt Biespiel of Oklahoma .and ,
Ron Galimore of Iowa State.
The field will be completed by Vidmar, Mitch Gaylord,
Tim Daggett and Mark Caso of UCLA, Brian Babcock of
Southern Illinois, Brian Meeker and Joey Ray of Minne
sota and Breck Grigas of Northern Illinois. Also compet
ing in the meet will be Tom Beach and Billy Paul of
Calfornia, Mario McCutcheon, formerly of Southern
Connecticut and his teammate Wally Miller, Steve Marino
of Penn State, Kevin Prady of New Mexico, Chris Riegel
of Reading, Pa. and Roy Pallasou.
Tickets for the three-day event which will be covered
by CBS are available at the south stadium ticket office.
According to a ticket office spokesperson, sales have
been slower than they were for the NCAA championships
held in March. Roth said he hopes for a crowd of 6,000
at the Saturday evening session.
Last eight months of sports offer highs and lows
A lot has happened in the world of
sports since last August and it's anybody's
guess who had the best year or what event
was the most important. Nevertheless, here
are some events and people that stick out
in my mind, highlighting and lowlighting
the past eight months in sports.
Most Memorable Events:
-George Brett's two-out, three-run
homer in the seventh inning of the final
American League playoff game at Yankee
Stadium, giving the Royals their first
pennant;
sfiryExer
-Georgia wide receiver Lindsay Scott's
93-yard touchdown catch and run around
a fallen Florida defender, bringing the
Bulldogs from behind and keeping alive
their undefeated season;
-St. Joseph's 4948 win over DePaul
in the NCAA tournament;
Oklahoma's come-from-behind vic
tories over Nebraska and Florida State
(I'm trying to forget);
-Jarvis Redwine's 89-yard touchdown
run the first quarter of the Oklahoma
game.
Least Memorable Events:
-Vince Ferragamo tries to decide which
team to sign with;
-Georgia's football schedule;
-Jimmy the Greek picks the Jets to win .
it all;
The NBA and NHL's regular seasons;
-rThe Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's
Circle golf tournament.
Unsung Heroes of the Year;
Larry Bowa, Philadelphia Phillies'
shortstop;
-Steve Rhoades, Oklahoma split end;
-Yankee catcher Rick Cerone;
Colorado Folsom Field beer vendors,
for keeping Buff fans' minds off what
happens on the field.
Surprising Events:
-The NCAA basketball tournament's
first three rounds;
-Cleveland quarterback Brian Sipe tries
to force a pass between two Oakland de
fenders late in the fourth quarter of an
AFC divisional playoff game. The Browns
could Have won with a field goal, but Mike
Davis made the end zone interception and
Oakland went all the way;
-NBC sportscaster Bryant Gumbel tries
to coax Al Davis and Pete Rozelle into a
nationally televised fistfight after the Super
Bowl;
Colorado rises up and shuts out UCLA
in the second half after the Bruins had
eased to a 56-0 half time lead;
Michigan wins a bowl game.
Predictable events:
-Notre Dame's basketball team pulls
off regular-season upsets, then falters in
post -season play ;
John McEnroe makes a fool of him
self; -The Huskers take their third consec
utive gymnastics title;
-George Steinbrenner pouts, rants and
raves after being swept by the Royals.
Random Shots: Who turned those ESPN
announcers loose at the hotel in which the
NFL draft was taking place? One of the so
called "reporters" revealed that he was a
Jets fan and that he was appalled at the
Jets' second-round pick, running back
Marion Barber of Minnesota. Another
called the choice a "disaster." Who cares
about being objective, right?
spsffto shorts
The Nebraska-Missouri track dual set
for Saturday has been rescheduled,
according to the UNL sports informa
tion office. The meet will be Sunday at
the Ed Weir Track. The change was
made because of a scheduling conflict
at Missouri.
The UNL Navy ROTC Rifle, Pistol
and Drill team traveled to Iowa State
University April 25 for its annual drill
competition.
The drill team, commanded by Scott
Thomas, took first place in Exhibition
Platoon Competition. The drill team
also took second place in the infantry
drill regulations platoon competition
under the direction of Paul Patterson.
In marksmanship competition, the
rifle team took second place with a
score of 1,130 out of a possible 1,500.
Rifle team captain Ken Smith won in
dividual trophies for his scores in kneel
ing and offhand positions.
The pistol team took second place
with a score of 1,218 out of a possible
1,500.
Harold Bright hit a two-run, inside-the-park
home run in the top of the
10th inning to give UNL a 5-3 win
against Creighton University in the first
game of a double-header at Creighton
Wednesday night. Nebraska won the
nightcap 9-8.
UNL finished fourth in the Big Eight
women's golf tournament at Lawrence,
Kan., Wednesday. Oklahoma won the
team title.
