Page 8
Daily Nebraskan
Thursday, January 21, 1982
Sports
5
Despite competition pressure
coach confident for victory
"I think one team is going to win and one team is going to lose."
Exclusive hype from Pontiac
There is something noticeably lacking in
this year's Super Bowl: hype. Oh, ESPN is
doing its bit, rerunning 60-minute high
light films of all of the previous Super
Bowls. But CBS, the network that gets to
telecast the game this year, has gone to the
soft-sell approach. No stories about the
Pat Clark
high-society types enjoying themselves at
the Super Bowl site, no daily reports from
the respective camps of the two teams gear
ing for the titanic struggle, no "expert
analysis" from the usual heard of retired
coaches and players, no anything.
While it is refreshing to get this close to
a Super Bowl without it having already
been played out on paper 100 times, it is
also something to wonder about, given the
ballyhoo surrounding the 15 previous
Super Bowls.
Maybe CBS thinks it has a dog on its
hands. After all, the San Francisco 49ers
and the Cincinnati Bengals are not teams
that we are used to seeing in the Game of
Games.
Another possibility is that there isn't
anything going on to hype. Most years, the
very worst the television crews can come
up with is a few predictions from some
movie and television celebrities, but the
fact is that celebrities who can afford not
to don't go to Detroit in mid January.
Detroit doesn't have one of those real Fun
City reputations anyway, especially if you
are Lee lacocca.
Maybe the people whose job it is to
push the Super Bowl have just ran out of
things to say about it. There have been
enough previous Super Bowls, and enough
superlatives and claims attached to each
one, that there just isn't anything new to
say.
All of these are acceptable but shaky
reasons not to push the Super Bowl this
year, but nevertheless the 49ers and the
Bengals deserve a better fate.
With that in mind, here is the first piece
of Super Bowl hype, just to get the ball
rolling:
Pontiac, Mich - Both teams held in
formal workouts today in preparation for
Super Bowl XVI. Forty-niners Coach Bill
Walsh was optimistic, and expected an
offensive struggle.
"I think the key to the game is going to
be points. If we can score more points than
they do, I think we can win," said the NFC
Coach of the Year.
Cincinnati Bengals Coach Forrest Gregg
disagreed, forseeing a defensive struggle.
"We have to make sure they don't score
as many points as we do. I think that's the
only way we can win," Gregg said, who
guided the Bengals to the best record in the
AFC.
Asked whether the Silverdome crowd
pulling for the NFC team, the 49ers, might
hurt the chances of his Bengals, Gregg said,
"Sure, it will be like a road game for us,
but we've been playing well on the road all
year. Beats me why they won't let us play
in the stadium, but the road will have to
do."
by Patty Pryor
The UNL men's gymnastics team will
be without the full services of Jim Hartung
and Steve Elliott when they travel to
Ames, Iowa, this weekend for a triangular
meet with Iowa State and Oklahoma.
Hartung underwent elbow surgery over
the holiday break and has regained "full
range of motion," Coach Francis Allen
said. But he still is not ready for all-around
competition.
Freshman Mike Bowers will replace
Hartung as an all-arounder this weekend,
but Hartung will most likely compete in
floor exercise and vaulting, Allen said.
Hartung has been vaulting using only one
arm during practices all week.
Elliott a floor exercise specialist, is re
covering from torn ligaments in his ankle
and will not make the trip, Allen said.
In addition to Bowers, UNL's all
arounders this weekend will be Phil Cahoy,
Scott Johnson and Jim Mikus.
Cahoy has been troubled recently by an
injured shoulder, but is "doing just fine
now," Allen said. "We rested Mikus and
Cahoy over vacation, which was real good
for both of them,"
Other competitors will include Frank
Hibbitts and John Balluff on pommel
horse, possibly Ron Gallegos on high bar
and rings, and Brandon Hull on parallel
bars.
Without Hartung and Elliott competi
tion should be closer than in previous
meets, but Allen said he still expects a
Nebraska victory.
"Whenever Hartung 's injured, I get real
nervous," he said. "But we should still win
by a couple of points if Bowers does OK ."
Allen said that Bowers had some pro
blems in competition against the Japanese
All-Stars in December. He said the pro
blems were caused mainly by scheduling
conflicts rather than actual shortcomings in
Bowers' performance.
Originally, Bowers had planned to be
off the entire Christmas season, Allen
said, but because of a change in the rules,
he was told the day before the meet that
he would be competing.
"A gymnast really needs a couple weeks
to prepare, mentally and physically,"
Allen said. "We had to rush preparation
too much, and he just wasn't ready."
Allen predicted a second place finish
this weekend for Iowa State, Tor whom
Bowers' twin brother Mark competes,
but he did not underestimate Oklahoma's
capabilities.
"Oklahoma had five gymnasts leave
(at the start of the season) and five
gymnasts stay, and they're not a bad team
at all," Allen said. "If they rally at all,
without Hartung and Elliott there, they
could possibly win the meet."
The Nebraska Educational Television
Network will televise the Ames meet,
Saturday, Jan. 30, at 3 p.m.
Huskers drop close contest
By Cindy Gardner
The hot second-half shooting of Okla
homa State's Leroy Combs spoiled Nebras
ka Coach Moe Iba's return to his old
stomping ground as the Cowboys defeated
the Huskers 52-50 at Stillwater, Okla.,
Wednesday night.
Combs tipped the ball in with just
three seconds remaining to hand the
Huskers their sixth loss of the season.
After leading by as much as seven points
in the first half, the Huskers ended the per
iod up by one, 29-28. The Cowboys were
able to control first -half tempo and forced
the Huskers to play their faster-paced style
of ball.
The opening minutes of the second half
also belonged to OSU. Behind the shooting
of Combs, the Cowboys grabbed the lead
and went ahead by seven with 13:00 re
maining. The Huskers played successful catch
up ball and a jumper by Jack Moore knot
ted the score at 46 with less than 10
minutes remaining.
Nebraska went ahead 4846 with 7:00
left when Kenny Walton hit both ends of
a one-and-one. Iba's crew ran some time
off the clock by employing a spread of
fense. The tactic failed, however, as the
Huskers lost the ball on a five-second call.
Freshman Joe Atkinson tied the score
and OSU went ahead when Matt Clark
made good at the foul line.
Nebraska knotted the score again at
50 before Combs put in the winning bas
ket. The Cowboys were able to stall nearly
2:00 off the clock while waiting for the
final hot.
Combs lead all scorer's with 20 points
while Jack Moore paced the Huskers with
10.
Nebraska, now 1-2 in Big Eight Confer
ence play, meets Iowa State at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center Saturday.
Royals' outfielder sets sights on World Series
By Bob Asmussen
Kansas City Royals' outfielder Willie Wilson has
some interesting advice about stealing bases.
No, he doesn't advocate a certain amount of lead
when a runner gets on base. No, he doesn't say which
pitchers are easy to steal on or anything about the
mechanics of stealing. Wilson's advice deals with
numbers.
"One of these years I want to go out and steal 120
bases," Wilson said. "But if I do it now, theyH expect
me to do it every year."
Wilson was in Lincoln Monday night along with first
baseman, Willie Aikens and announcer Fred White to
promote Royals baseball. The promotion was spon
sored by radio station KFOR which broadcasts the
games in the Lincoln area.
Wilson has mixed feelings about last season. He ex
pressed disappointment that the Royals didn't get back
to the World Series.
"I was disappointed in the way we played the first
half of the season," Wilson said. "The second half
gave us a chance to show we weren't as bad as the
Frist half indicated."
Last season, which included a two-month strike by
all major league players, was not a good one for the
Royals. They went from being a 198CT World Series
team to a 1981 cellar dweller. The strike caused the
season to be split into two halves. Kansas City made up
for its poor play in the first half by winning during
tne second nail, and earning a spot in the Western
Division playoffs. But Oakland defeated them 3-0
in the playoffs, so they had to watch the World Series
on television.
"When you go from second best to one of the worst
it really disappoints you," Wilson said. "Guys got
cocky and took things for granted."
Manager a problem
Wilson said one of the team's problems was former
manager Jim Frey.
"Managing had a lot to do with it," Wilson said.
"Frey wanted to play a power game and not a running
game. He (Frey) was from Baltimore and he wanted us
to play like Baltimore."
How does Wilson account for the 1980 season when
Frey was everyone's manager of the year? Wilson said
it had very little to do with Frey.
"He didn't have to manage in 1980," Wilson said.
"We'd get up 5-0 and he'd have it made. You don't
have to manage when you got a "player batting 390
(George Brett) and another leading the league in hits
(Wilson)." "
v Wilson said he didnt like the split season even
though it did help the Royals. He said he would not be
in favor of expanding the playoffs to more teams.
"It was like a hand-me-down play-offs," Wilson said.
"It was too much time involved. It was not baseball. I
like to go 162 games, one playoff, one World Series."
World Series his goal
Wilson said he has set no personal goals for the 1982
season. He said. his only goal is a team goal of getting
oacK to the world aeries.
"The first time I set goals I hit 211 and sat on the
bench," Wilson said. "The next year I hit 315 and
didn't set any goals. The year after that I bit .326 and
led the league in hits. I'm not going to set personal
goals anymore."
Wilson was a three-sport star at Summit High
School in Summit, N J. He can run a 40-yard dash in
:043t but never participated in high school track.
"I was the alternate on my playground relay team "
Wilson said. '
"I wanted to play college football at Maryland,"
Wilson said, "but I was drafted by Kansas City and
couldn't pass that up. Longevity had a lot to do with
it. As a running back my career could end on one play
Baseball is a little less hazardous."
Wilson will move to center field in the upcoming
season. He said he expects the Royals to win again.
"We can still win and win consistently," Wilson
said. "Winning starts upstairs in the head."
Wilson said , it's tough to maintain concentration
throughout the long season. He said every player
tries to find something that will motivate him.
"If you're a competitor and you don't like to lose
you find sometMig to get you going," Wilson said!
1 hate to lose and I hate to strike out."
thQSl 4 T on h Pormance in
the 1980 Series. After his tremendous season he
struck out 12 times in the Series. '
"The year seemed like nothing after the Series,"
Wdson i said. "I want to get back in the World Series
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