. Scoreboard D3 Classifieds D4 The Daily Herald Tuesday, January 23, 19S6 leader again targets cheap shots WAC All the talk was apparently just talk. And that concerns Western Athletic Conference Commissioner Karl Benson, who made a point in the preseason with basketball officials, arena managers, coaches and fans, emphasizing sportsmanship and of cheap-shplays. But the cheap shots came anyway. And WAC basketball officials have been too lenient on the ot court. So Benson has had enough and he wants it to stop. ; On' Monday, Benson issued a mandate to coaches and game officials saying recent acts of unsport'smanship will not be tol- erated. "Unfortunately, in the first two 4j4's Harmon J O'Donnell underrated or inconsistent? Is but Haley ailing By BARRY WILNER AP Football Writer Could Rod TEMPE, Ariz. Woodson's amazing recovery and Charles Haley's tough luck be By MIKE KILEY Chicago Tribune As a former TEMPE, Ariz. NFL linebacker, Matt Millen sees omens for this Super Bowl? The Pittsburgh Steelers wouldn't mind. The Dallas Cowboys say no thanks. Just after the Steelers arrived in Arizona for their first Super Bowl since 1980, coach Bill Cowher announced that Woodson, the perencornerback sidelined nial All-Pr- o since the season opener with torn knee ligaments, would play Sunday. Earlier Monday, Haley was held out of practice with a 101 degree fever, another bad break for the star defensive end who underwent back surgery seven weeks ago. Considering the slide the AFC has been on in the big game, with 1 1 losses in a row, the Steelers were off to a better start than their conference brethren usually manage. "Rod is going to play," Cowher said. "How much he practices will be the determining factor how Utah-BY- U head-butte- Wei-dau- er intentional with a elbow, , Officials at both the Utah and BYU game did not eject Sundberg and in the case of BYU, did not give Sundberg a technical well-aime- d, - In BYU's game with Wyoming last week in Provo, a Wyoming player was given enough leeway in his physical play to hit Cougar guard Bryon Ruffner in the groin and Ruffner retaliated with an elbow that could have drawn a technical for a flagrant foul on Ruffner's part. Then there was the Keith Van Horn elbow and forearm shiver aimed at BYU freshman Nathan game. Cooper in the Utah-BYThat play did earn Van Horn a U technical. "Our officials need to do a better job of controlling the game and need to make the 'tough' call by either assessing the flagrant technical or ejecting the player from the game if the act is blatant and intentional," Benson added. "Our coaches must demand that their players play within the spirit and rules of college basketball and curtail the type of conduct that, unfortunately, has escalated in the college game." All this comes on the heels of a campaign directed by the WAC Council of Presidents to clean up behavior at games, including conduct of fans. Roger Reid said he was not aware of any incidents in the league other than the one involving Hawaii's Sundberg. "But if the commissioner is doing something about it. then I'm all for it and I support it 100 percent. There is no place in games for cheap shots," said Reid. "I do appreciate his efforts because there are some things being done in games that need looking into. I did not make an issue of the Sundberg incident in Hawaii, but I could have." ; A year ago, Hawaii's Justice Sue-in- g earned game suspensions after he went after and attacked Utah's Van Horn and Brandon Jessie. Benson wants WAC officials to get in a better position to see such plays, then have . the guts to do . 'q i ..i someining uixiui u. nc anu Supervisor of Officials Bobby Dibler have scrutinized official calls and conduct in such incidents. Benson is to be lauded for his stand. It is about time the WAC ihad a leader like him. 1 m w 1 1 Wl UTT" rr Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Neil O'Donnell and thinks, "Yeah, inconsistent, let me at him." As a former NFL head coach. Jerry Glanville looks at O'Donnell and thinks "Underrated, underappreciated and intelligent, watch out for him." ki, -- i really worked as hard as anyone I've ever seen for this chance. You know, with a Rod Woodson on the field, it has to help." Don't expect to see Woodson or covering Michael Irvin returning many punts, however. His role figures to be limited after missing four months with an injury that usually sidelines players for a year. "It would have crushed me if the Steelers made the Super Bowl and I couldn't play," Woodson said. "The Super Bowl is what kept me going. If they had put me on injured reserve, there wouldn't have been a reason to work out so hard." Haley also has worked hard to get back. He hoped to play in the conference title game, just as Woodson had. main Dallas' pass-rushithreat, Haley hasn't been in a game since Dec. 3. "He didn't feel well at breakfast, men felt worse this afternoon," coach Barry Switzer said. "Doctors were giving him some intravenous fluids to try to get him well from the viral infection. "If we got 20-2- 5 plays out of Haley in the game, and if he is well, he might even be able to play more than that. We've got to find out in the physical practices whether he can cope with the physical' play and play the run." Teammate Russell Maryland, who has had his own bouts with injury this season, said a return by Haley "would be a nice little added boost." "I think his presence really More preps commit to play for BYU L to BYU than detractors started working on him to change his mind. He's hearing the most frestuff: That quent anti-BYhe won't be happy in a mostly white community; that he'll be forced to become a Mormon; that girls he dates will insist he join the church, etc., etc. But Jenkins, who set a national high school record by rushing for 619 yards in one game, is expected to be true to his word. "BYU was the first to be there for me from Day I and has been there all along," said Jenkins, a senior at Hueneme High in Ventura County. "After I set the record a lot of schools talked to me. but BYU was always there. I trust them." Jenkins told an Oxnard newspaper that BYU coaches said he had a 92 percent chance of starting for them his first season in Provo. But he must also post a high test score to be eligible next year. He does have a 3.0 grade point average and narrowed his choices to BYU and Arizona State. Raised by a strict grandmother, Jenkins said he liked U (See RECRUITS, Page 1)2) iiiii umi min ipiiiiMimiiiMiiiiM i . If w '"" " AP Photo As his agent, NFL quarterback guru Leigh Steinberg studies O'Donnell's appearance and is reminded of Fidel Castro. Bad work ethic or not. image, steel-tow- n worries that O'DonSteinberg nell's beard could turn off America even if he upsets America's Team Sunday in Super Bowl XXX, that he will be perceived as an anarchist or revolutionary for blowing away Dallas, not the feelgood face of the week this country loves to adopt. The dark shadows are no problem if he was a Raider and the next Kenny Stabler, but a rather sticky concern if he wants to start selling the fans razor blades and other clean-cproducts. "What Leigh's thinking is that Troy Aikman has a milk commercial, and it's going to be tough to get Neil a milk commercial when he's got a white rim around that : Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman throws some passes Monday at the team's practice session in Tempe, Ariz. Aikman is playoff 9-- 1 record in postseason By DON PIERSON Chicago Tribune PHOENIX Already a great postseason quarterback, Troy Aikman can join the best of the best with a third Super Bowl title Sunday. Two rings only ties him with Roger Staubach for King of the Dallas Cowboys. One more separates him from a pack. Only Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw have won more than two Super Bowls, but contrary to popular opinion spewing from Super Bowl XXX, there was pro football before Roman numerals became a part of championship games. Bart Starr won the first two Super Bowl MVP awards and is unfairly lumped among the two-tim- e Super Bowl winners. He guided the Green Bay Packers to five NFL titles, the first three every bit as meaningful as the helps us, just being around," the defensive tackle said. "I don't think he would miss this game. Being his fifth Super Bowl, trying to go for that other ring that nobody has ... he's that type of player who would try to come through for us." tested, holding a play. the man In playoffs, Aikman's games, Aikman's efficiency is 104.0. He is sneaking up on Starr's record of 104.8 in 10 postseason games. The Cowboys are 9-- 1 with Aikman as a playoff starter. In his only loss, in last year's NFC championship game in San Francisco, he threw three interceptions, but came back with what Staubach called "the most sensational game I've ever seen a person play after the first five minutes." last two. Otto Graham played pro football for 10 seasons and got his Cleveland Browns into the championship game every year. FootHe won four ball Conference titles, and when that league was swallowed by the NFL in 1950, he proved the Browns were not stepchildren by winning again. After finishing second three straight years, the Browns won two more titles in 1954-5- 5 before Graham retired with a record that seems forever safe. Aikman is tied with three other quarterbacks who have won two Staubach, MiaSuper Bowls mi's Bob Griese and the Raiders' Jim Plunkett. But the Bears' Sid Luckman won four NFL titles in seven years frqrn 1940-4That Aikman ranks among the best issupported by his passer rating. In 11 postseason Aikman's 68.5 completion percentage in playoff games also is the NFL record. He has the five highest single-gam- e playoff completion percentages in club history, all over 70 percent. "I love the playoffs," Aikman said. "The intensity of the game picks up because everybody senses the urgency. I like the fact that the winner takes all." 6. Former quarterback Babe (See AIKMAN, Page D2) Neil Steelers quarterback O'Donnell certainly wouldn't mind if Haley doesn't make it into the lineup. Haley had 10.5 sacks despite missing the final month. "You're taking a lot away from a team if it is without a Charles Haley," O'Donnell said. What the Cowboys definitely do have is an edge in experience and success, with two championships in the last three years. Even with Woodson, the soul of their team, on the field, the Steeltheir last ers can't match that Super Bowl was in 1980. ut Glanville beard," quipped. "Won't sell much milk that way." At least O'Donnell cleaned up his act before Monday night's first Steeler press conference. "I trimmed it up for Leigh," O'Donnell said. "It was getting a little long and I heard it's hotter out here." O'Donnell has more at stake, though, in going against quarterback poster-bo- y Aikman than an ad or two. He becomes a free agent after the season and a championship ring would be dynamite for the resume. .. No one, not even the Steelers;; compare O'Donnell with former Pittsburgh great Terry Bradshaw, who held Super Bowl records for most career touchdown passes (nine) and most passing yards' (932) when the Steelers won a" record fourth Super Bowl in 1980. The year before, Bradshaw threw a record four touchdown passes in beating the Cowboys 35-- 3 1 . O'donnell's play is often more reminiscent of Mark Rypien than Bradshaw. "O'Donnell has the physical abilities, but he could be Rypien (See O'DONNELL, Page D2) Rubin captures marathon match By DICK HARMON Daily Herald Sports Editor No sooner had Oxnard. Calif., prep running back Ronney Jenkins committed .:t-- 7 All-Pr- weeks of the season there have been several flagrant acts that are totally unacceptable and have no place in college athletics," said Benson. "Some have been administered properly by our officials as flagrant technical fouls, while others have either gone totally unnoticed or called as intentional or common fouls." Jwo of those incidents occurred last week on a swing through Hawaii where Rainbow center Seth Sund-ber- g embarrassed the league on national television with muggings of Ute and Cougar players. Sundberg had an encounter with Utah forward Ben Melmeth d where he him, trying to provoke a fight. Against BYU, Sundberg grabbed a rebound, sought out BYU's Justin and in an act of a predator knocked Weidauer to the floor ..''.' .1 much he plays." o center "That's great," Dermontti Dawson said. "Rod's Sidelines foul.- - Woodson to play, By PHIL BROWN Associated Press Writer 4-- 5 At MELBOURNE, Australia in the third set, Chanda Rubin let two match points slip away. About 1 12 hours later, she was in the tennis record books with another marathon victory. from Louisiana The also was in her first Grand Slam semifinal thanks to the 4 victory tonight over third 6-- 4, 2-- 6. 16-1- seed Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. her doubles partner. Rubin had two more match 4 in the points at match. She lost the second of those on a controversial line call. Finally, she cashed in on her 5 sixth at with a stretched forehand cross-couvolley. "She didn't give it to me and I wasn't going to give it to her," said Rubin, the No. 13 seed. Many in the audience of 15.000 felt they still hadn't had enough tennis. They were angry when a men's quarterfinal between No. 2 Andre Agassi and No. 8 Jim 13-1- 14-1- rt Courier was postponed until Wednesday. That match couldn't start until 10:57 p.m. and then was stopped later for rain, about a half-howith Agassi serving at 4-- 5 in the first set. The rain stopped, the roof was closed and the courts were dried, but finally officials and players decided on a postponement. But the crowd had seen a match' that set Australian Open women's records for time, number of games (48) aiid number of games in one set (30). The old marks of 45 total games and 24 in one set both were ur set in 1988, but in different matches. Rubin already was in the books for most games in a Grand Slam 58 women's singles match and longest women's final set at 2 hours, 4 minutes Wimbledon and 32 games. In that match last year, she beat 6-Patricia final was even set Tonight's 2 hours, 22 minutes. longer 7-- 6, 7, 17-1- 5. Rubin also was known for final 0 rebounding from a set deficit to beat Jana Novotna in the third round of last year's 0-- 5, French Open. Wimbledon experience helped against Sanchez Vicario. "I was thinking I can hang with her for however long," Rubin said. But, she acknowledged, there also were many times she thought she might lose. After there was no call on a Sanchez Vicario volley that she thought was out on her fourth match point, at "I was thinking, 1 can't win this, it's going to go on all night'." Seles had a much easier path into the semifinals, winning against No. 7 Iva Majoli of CroaThe 13-1- 4, 30-4- 0, tia. While Seles" average now is fewer than two games lost per set, men's No. 5 Michael Chang has 37 in averaged fewer than three 15 sets. He marched into the semifinals 6-- 4 6-with a 6-victory over Sweden's Mikael Tillstrom, the man who ousted No. 3 Thomas Muster of Austria. 0, 2, semifinal opponent will be the winner of the Chang's Agassi-Couri- match. er AP Photo blasts a serve during his quarterfinal win today at the Australian Open. Chang defeated Sweden's Mikael Tillstrom. Michael Chang