OCR Text |
Show Sportstocular Pag 2 Thursday December 20, 1 979 I3sk9hll By John Peterson Basketball fever is running to epidemic proportions in the state right nov&. It will continue to spread, too, untill the tournaments at all levels are over in March. Make no mistake about tah is a basketball hotbed. That was clearly shown last year when the nation watched as all four major college teaihs from the state went into the NCAA championship competition. Hie largest audience ever saw it on TV as the regional were held in Provo and the Final Four converged on Salt Lake late in March. Youll see it again this year when six of the top teams in the land show up at the Dee Center on March 6 and 8 for the first and second rounds. But the basketball excitement isnt just a recent thing, not by any means. The tradition of exciting-a- nd ion goes back a long way. 35 years ago, for example, the Beehive State pushed its way into the national scene in impressive fashion. A team from the University of Utah did a couple of things that will never be done again. They were, for a brief moment, in center stage, and they put on quite a show. The 1943-4- 4 season was a strange one. Most of the great players were missing from college campuses, and the nation was more concerned with winning a war than playing games. But the president had asked that all the colleges who could put teams together for morale purposes. Some schools couldnt, but most IhioSs Ufiolhin) r . some good players on some of the service opponents-ip- en who would normally be starring on college teams-an- d the team got some good experience. After the season, Utah was invited to be one of the eight finalists in the NCAA Championships, playing with the four western teams in Kansas City. Coach Vadal Peterson, though, turned down the NCAA in hopes of getting a bid from the NIT in New York-whi- ch would give his squad a few more bucks and a lot more national exposure. You cant do that anymore, of course, but things were different in 1944, and the NIT was a much bigger and more prestigious tournament. Sure enough, the bid came through and the young to Utes rode a train four days to get to Gotham-on- ly lose a heartbreaking 8 opening game to Kentucky. The team was reconciled to watching the rest of the then the tournament and doing a little sightseeing-b- ut phone rang. A desperate NCAA asked the Utes if they could reconsider the bid and come to Kansas City after all. Arkansas, the team that was chosen after Utah first turned down the invitation, had been involved in a car accident, and couldnt make it. Since Utah was out of the NIT, could they please hustle back to Kansas City. They did, and the rest is history. The only team ever to play in both the NIT and the NCAA tournaments in the same year, Utah polished off Missouri just hours after stepping off the train to earn the right to face Iowa State in the Western finals. The game was close right down to the end, but with a few minutes left a skinny kid from Ogden, freshman Arnie Ferrin, broke things up and Utah spurted to a 1 win. They also got another train ride back to New York to play in the NCAA Finals against the Eastern Champ. Dartmouth was their opponent, and a funny wartime creation it was. All but one of the players had played for another school the previous season, but a Naval training program had been set up, and during the course of the season all the superstars from all over 46-3- exceUent-basketballact- . I tried. The University of Utah tried hard. The league had suspended operations for the duration, so the seven Utes that year had to play a mixed bag. During the regular season they faced only 2Vfc college teams-Ida- ho State, Colorado College and a team comprised of a mixtore of navy men and Weber Jimior College players. The rest of the schedule was filed in with service teams, hospital squads, and some industrial teams. The average age of the Utes that year was 18-- all the old guys were carrying rifles. But there was 40-3- America had been pulled into Hanover for training. Madison Square Garden was jammed to the rafters most to ever see an NCAA final. with 15,000 people-t-he They caught a dandy, too, as the game went into overtime before Utah pulled out a 0 win. Yes, it had been quite a year for the Utes. They had played in both n tournaments, and had won the major NCAA championship. But it wasnt over yet. As a wartime fund-raisbenefit game, it was uld play the arranged that the NCAA Johns. That t. is, if the Utes werent in NITchampion-Stoo much of a hurry to get home. By this time the Utes were the toast of the town. The Mormon Kids as the press called them had ten days to themselves between the NCAA championships and the Charity game. Not really to themselves, though, as they had become celebrities of the highest order. And then the big day arrived. St. Johns was a hometown school, and a very powerful NIT champion. But Utah had captured the hearts and imagination of everyone in the country. It was a tight game played before over 18,000 people, but midway through the second half the Utes ripped off 6 to nine straight points and won. going away, complete one of the most spectacular comebacks in sports. Rules changed, and it became impossible for a team to ever do anything like it again, but for one brief moment 35 years ago, tbe Utah brand of basketball was the talk of the town. 42-4- post-seaso- er winner-Utah-wo- 43-3- Vadal Peterson passed away in 1976, but the skinny blonde kid who wowed back east is still around. Tbe MVP of the 1944 NCAA Tournament, Arnie Ferrin, is the the current Athletic Director at the U, and tbe man who put on the affair last ed by the men who should know as one of tbe best ever staged. year-regard- Like I said, the basketball tradition around here goes back a long, long way. Avon tourney returns to Utah Utah liconso foos Mary Carillo, rank among bwost Among the 11 western states, Utah hinting and fishing license fees rank low. One Western state recently doubled its license fees to give them a larger budget on which to operate. Other states are asking for increases this year. The increases are necessary to keep up with inflation. A comparison of fees charged by the 11 western states for the same hunting and fishing privileges offered by the Utah combination license shows Utah ranks the third lowest A Utah combination license allows a resident to hunt deer, small game and fish for - fJ9 34 in 21-2- 6 Racquet Club. She made .the semifinals of the 1978 tournament held in Ogden and said of her stay here, the mountains gave me strength. After leaving Ogden she proceeded to Seattle to play the main womens tennis circuit where she hurt her knee in a first round match against the entire year. Comparison of the Costs far Privileges Offered by a Utah Combination license Nevada 830 Jl Washington lll.M 82S.09 Wyoming 8I9.M Oregon California 82M9 Utah Colorado 823.99 Montana 817.99 New Mexico - 821.99 Idaho 815.99 Arisons 819.99 In 1979, Wyoming spent 814.4 million to manage its wildlife. The Wyoming state legislature voted to increase their license fees nearly 100 per cent, which will million become effective January 1, 1980. Twenty-tw- o dollars is expected to be generated from the fee increase. Wyoming and Utah are very similar in the numbers and kinds of wildlife found within each state; however, Utah spent only 8101 million in 1979 to manage its wildlife. Colorado Division of Wildlife operated on a budget of 821 million in 1979. Some states with leu wildlife that Utah spend between 840150 million to help insure a place for wildlife in the future. Idaho Fish and Game had a budget of 810.8 million in 1979 and is asking their legislature for a license fee increase this year. Arizona also operated on 810.8 million and is asking for increased funds. Inflation is causing budget problems for all western statu. According to Wyoming wildlife officials, their fee increase of nearly 100 per cent will keep them tip with inflation until about 1984. Additional funds will then be necessary to continue managing the wildlife In Wyoming effectively. ranked womens tennis, was present when the Junior League of Ogden announced the return of the Avon Futures Tennis Circuit to be held at the South Ogden Jan. ' Ruta Gerulaitis. Following knee surgery and eight months of inactivity, Mary made a solid comeback on the 1979 winter tour with a 4 match record in Future's Circuit tingles play. She and Sherry Acker paired for doubles play in both the Futures and major circuit events winning the Avon Futures Championship in Orlando. Mary finished first in the Pernod Circuit standings and won the Pernod Masters at 5-- Bournemouth, reached the England. She third round 1979 defeating Anr. Kyomura and Betsy Nagelsen, and was a quarterfinal ist in the Canadian Open. The 22 year old lefthander is a resident of Douglaston, N.Y. and began her tour career on the 1977 Avon Futures Circuit. She won the 1977 French Open Mixed doubles with neighbor, John McEnroe, was runnerqp with Wendy Overton at that year's U.S. clay coirt doubles, and ranched the semis of Austrian, Swiss and South Orange, N.J. singles events. The Futures three levels Circuit offers of play: pre qualifying, qualifying and main draw Futures competition. Any woman tennis player, regardless of age or previous experience, may enter a Futures event at the level;; and top Utah players will be taking this opportunity to compete against world ranked stars. The Ogden tournament. sponsored by the Junior League of Ogden, will offer a 825,000 purse with the singles champion receiving 83,400. All proceeds earned from the tournament will be returned to the community through various League projects and programs. For ticket information call Pat Black, 479-433- |