Page 14
Daily Nebraskan
Thursday, September 9, 1982
poife
Big Eight officials put in their share of practice
By Tad Stryker
It's no secret that it takes a lot of training and dedi
cation to be a first-teamer in the Big Eight. The learning
years of high school football come first. Then, an
individual's talent, desire and potential are assessed while
he pays his dues at the freshman or junior varsity level.
That's why it takes so long to become a Big Eight
football official.
Once chosen, officials are expected to be in top form
every game.
The officials prepare religiously for each game and
are evaluated as carefully as the players, said Bryce
Finlayson, supervisor of Big Eight football officials.
They're all in it because they love the game "
Finlayson said. A former official himself, Finlayson said
the part-time job claims high priority in the everyday
life of each referee, head linesman, back judge, line
judge, field judge and umpire.
"Our officials are all successful men in their own
Bjorn Borg probably never
worked so hard for a beer
fields," Finlayson said. "We have doctors, bankers,
educators, business owners and lawyers.
"They're all dedicated to the game," he said. 'They
want to work a perfect game. You start thinking about
it on Tuesday or Wednesday."
"It's a big part of all our lives," Frank Gaines, a Big
Eight official from Lincoln, said. "We devote a lot of our
energies during the season to it."
Actual game preparations begin the night before.
The six-man crew meets in the city where the game will
be played. If it is a conference game, the crew studies
a three-hour film of the game it worked the previous
week. Finlayson edits the film, pointing out mistakes
made by the officials and discussing overall crew per
formance. The next day, three and a half to four hours before
game time, the crew assembles for another three-hour
meeting. It mainly concerns mechanics, such as the
placement of officials in different game situations, Gaines
said.
Gaines is an umpire on the crew he normally works
with. He is one of two Lincoln men on the crew. Two
are from Omaha, one is from Manhattan, Kan and the
other is from Denver. All conference officials are from the
sue -state Big Eight area.
Gaines never works any Nebraska games because the
Big Eight has a rule prohibiting officials from working
if they are from a participating team's home city.
After each game, the crew is critiqued and graded by
Finlayson through several sources. Each school sends
films to the Big Eight offices, and each coach files a re
port to Finlayson. Special observers, all retired Big Eight
officials, submit reports as well.
"At the end of the year, I go over the grades,"
Finlayson said. If an official is found wanting, usually
because of "consistent mistakes," he is fired.
4We've dropped about seven since 1975, when I took
over," Finlayson said. Also, mandatory retirement at
57 and promotions to the National Football League
open the ranks for new blood.
It's funny how a 12-inch black and
white television screen makes tennis look
so easy.
After watching Guillermo Vilas,
Wannick Noah, Chris Evert Lloyd and the
rest of the world's greatest tennis players
participate in the U.S. Open it became
paramount to prove my own skill on the
courts.
Not claiming to be a professional by any
means, it seemed ridiculous, at the time,
to think such a simple game could cause
all that excitement. In the first place, it's
played on a court the size of a postage
" :::. zs
( af Bill
stamp. If Jimmy Connors can get from one
side to the other in three steps, then why
couldn't I, right? Well. . .
I pulled my trusty racket out of retire
ment, dressed for the game and headed for
the courts.
The proper attire, learned form many
hours of television observation, included
white shorts with those funny little
pockets that stick out, a preppy collared
shirt, special canvas shoes and a sweatband
on each wrist.
I couldn't find any of these things in my
closet, so 1 just pulled on some old sweat
pants, a holey T-shirt and a pair of high top
Nikes. So what if Bjorn Borg dressed a
little better? Clothes don't win a match.
Halfway to the courts I remembered an
important thing! It helps to have a partner.
I didn't feel like becoming the next Speedy
Gonzales, so I headed back.
Who should I play against? This isn't
as easy as it may seem. In order to really
get the most out of game, you have to find
a partner of equal or better skill. Someone
who serves with blinding speed, volleys
with expertise and, of course, dresses as
well. But, most importantly, someone you
can beat.
I finally found someone with all of
these qualifications, except the blinding
serve and expert volley, but he decided to
stay in the park, feed pigeons and drink
wine. So I took my girlfriend along instead.
We walked on a court and immediately,
had everyone's attention, especially the
people already playing on that court.
Moving to an empty one I put on a
dazzling display of fancy footwork and
arching forearm smashes, following it up
with a brutal backhand.
Now that everyone was really interest
ed, I opened my can of tennis balls and
prepared to serve.
The first thing I noticed was the size of
the court. It was huge. I looked out over
that vast expanse of green, and clear in
the opposite corner was a little dot with a
tennis racket. My girlfriend. The courts
sure were smaller in the U.S. Open.
Still, I wasn't too worried. Connors
always sliced the ball perfectly into his
opponent's court, so I figured I could too.
My first serve hit my former girlfriend
in the eye. My second killed a sparrow
perching on the fence. Luckily, the third
one went harmlessly into the net. but I
lost the grip on my racket and knocked out
the guy on the next court.
Not wishing to risk any more embarrass
ment, and after fighting off that guy's
German shepherd. I headed back to my
apartment for the great reward of all
amateur athletes - light beer.
After a few beers 1 forgot my dreams of
tennis stardom. After a few more I forgot
my name and what tennis was.
So you see. it's all television's fault.
It looked so easy.
Athletic abuses concern Roskens
By Tim Woods
Alleged abuses in collegiate athletics
are a concern to "all of us in higher
education," NU President Ronald Roskens
said Tuesday.
Roskens is one of 26 college and
university presidents and chancellors
recently named by the American Council
on Education to a committee that will
study proposed reforms to NCAA rules
violations.
The committee includes representatives
from what Roskens called the NCAA's
"major powers" - Missouri, Southern
California, North Carolina, Michigan, Penn
State, UCLA, Georgia, Kentucky,
Washington and Ohio State.
The committee members suggested that
the group be broadened to include
representatives from all the major athletic
conferences, Roskens said.
The committee had a preliminary
meeting Aug. 7 and will have its first
formal session Sept. 26 in Washington,
D.C.
While the committee has not
determined yet all the topics to be discus
sed, some issues to be studied are athletes'
academic progress, allegations of falsified
grade transcripts and institutional
standards in general, he said.
Roskens membership does not indicate
that such problems exist at either UNL or
UNO, he said.
"I don't have the slightest inclination
to think that we have any major problems
here," he said.
Athletic directors Bob Devaney of UNL
and Don Leahy of UNO, and the
universities' coaches, adhere very
stringently to NCAA's rules and
regulations, he said.
Continued on Page 15
Daily Nebraskan file photo
Nebraska's Roger Craig (21) tries to break the grasp of an Iowa defender in
last year's 10-7 loss to Iowa in Iowa City. The Huskers open the 1982 season
Saturday in Lincoln against the Hawkeyes. Craig is scheduled to start at full
back with Mike Rozier set for I-back.
Praeuner is 27th Husker
to be awarded scholarship
Nebraska football Coach Tom
Osborne announced Wednesday that
defensive end Wade Praeuner has been
added to the team's list of players,
receiving scholarships. Praeuner. a junior
from Battle Creek, is the 27th player
to receive a scholarship and brings the
Nebraska total to the NCAA limit of
95 scholarship players.
Osborne said several players de
served scholarships. Middle guard Ken
Graeber and fullback Mark Scheilen
were two players that Osborne
mentioned. Both players will be able to
play without scholarships because they
are unrequited walk-ons.
"It would, have been nice to give
them scholarships," Osborne said. "We
have a problem with the 95 limit
because of attrition."
The NCAA scholarship limit per year
is 30. Nebraska only used 27 so in effect
three were wasted. The fact that Ne
braska is now at the 95 player limit
will also keep them from adding players
in December and prevent them from
signing any junior college transfers
then.
The Huskers continued preparation
for their Saturday game with the Iowa
Hawkeyes. Osborne said the ter.m's
intensity has been good during the
week. Roger Craig, who will start at
fullback on Saturday, has done well
in practice this week, he said.
"Roger seems to be doing all right,"
Osborne said. "He's getting all of his
mental assignments down."
Osborne said offensive guard Scott
McLaughlin has left the team and is
hopeful of transferring. The sophomore
from Houston was the fourth guard on
the left side behind Mike Mandelko,
Kurt Glathar and Anthony Thomas.
"Both Texas A&M and Rice have
shown interest in him," Osborne said.
"I imagine he'll end up at one of those
places."
"He's a fine player and a nice person.
We just felt it would be in his best
interest to make that move."
As of Wednesday, no freshman
players have decided to become red
shirts, Osborne said. The players
have until Friday to decide if they want
to use the redsliirt option.
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