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Show ufljr Halt Cake action I Thursday .Morning SpOrtS ribunr May I'M 1. Page 1 Freak Goal Eliminates Oilers Society Struggles With Dilemma of Sports in School Tribune Wire Service The most upside-dowyear u! Manley Cop playoffa in ret ent h. story us crowning - and n - moment Wednt-d- a n.ght when the Calgary F lames beat the Ldmonton Oilers. 3 2 in the Seventh and decid.ng game of the Sniythe Division finals at Ldmonton The Oilers, the winners of the last two Cups and the team with the best regular-seasorecord in the NHL i his season, died by their ow n hand on a goal as cray as these entire playoffs M 5 minutes. 14 seeonds of the final period. Ldmonton defenseman Steve Smith tried to dear the puck from behind his net The puck hit the left leg of goalie Grant F'uhr and de-let ted into the net, breaking a 2 2 lit Ldmonton native Derry Berezan got tred.t for the goal, because he wjs the F lame who had shot the pu k innoi ently into the Oilers zone before Smith touched it. Berezan. like the rest of the Flames, was at least .'SO feet away when Smith made his By Turn Wharton Tribune Sports Writer Spurt is a mirror of society I: can reveal the best and worst as pects of human nature withm the confines of a playing field and within the context of a fixed set of rules It ean reward personal saert fire with victors and expose a phony in a second Sport can show the values of teamwork and reveal the breakdown of authority That is why the problem ot dealing with academics m big n 1 I his is ila-sc- Analv-i- - gaffe So. of the MIL s four division champions none regular-seaso- n time college sports can reveal some positive aspects of the educational system as well as some serious flaws Take Proposition 48. for example. This new National Collegiate Athletic Association bylaw requires major college athletes to receive a 2 U tC) average and a good ACT or SAT score Few people Live using those lest scores. Many educators agree they are culturally biased and written for middle class whites and not for some blacks. Hispamcs or foreigners. Yet. because many high schools were graduating athletes who couldn't read, something other than grade-poin- t average had to be used to determine whether an athlete was ready for collegz. The best way to solve the current academic problems faced by the colleges is to improve the public education system in high school. Because of Proposition 43. the good prep coaches are already working to identify potentially gifted athletes with academic problems early. But why should these gifted athletes be getting special privileges not enjoyed by the average student? If high school counselors were doing their job. shouldn't all students with potential problems be weeded out and tutored? That obviously means students must be motivated to learn. Those coming from broken families and those with parents who don't place an emphasis on academics at home are going to be lost unless they run into gifted teachers. In Utah, a lack of standards for activities allows athletes to slide by at an early age and develop a lack of academic discipline. This state needs to follow Texas' lead and establish a statewide policy forcing athletes to carry a 2.0 passing grade average in core classes with not more than two failing grades. While a few districts are adopting this standard, the majority are not. Currently. Utah preps can be eligible with one failing grade and six D's. That is a joke and an embarrassment. The solutions get more difficult once an athlete gets to college. But some things are certain. Going to college has become more difficult for even the nonathlete. It is taking longer to graduate these days. Athletic bylaws are not taking that into account. Athletes should be given scholarships to attend school in the summer if they need to progress Many universities will not give an athlete who needs to make up has reached the playoff semifinals. This will be the first time in the 18 years of e divisional play that a team will not be in the Cup finals It was far more than a "Gong Show goal that beat the Oilers. As in t heir other tw o victories in Ldmonton in this senes the Flames did a good job of building a fence at their blue line, keeping Wayne Gretzky and others from doing their usual wheeling in the attacking zone In all four of their victories, the F lames held the Oilers to two or fewer goals. "I'm not going to tell you how we did it." Calgary coach Bob Johnson said, "but we had a great game plan." As Edmonton coach Glen Sather loured the Flames locker room offering his congratulations. Johnson continued. "We had a week to prepare, and that was important." he said. "Whenever we played them in the past, we " only had a day or two to get ready The Flames took a lead, just as Ldmonton they had in Monday's victory. Again, they couldn't stay in front. They had control of the game until 2.08 of the second period, when lead. they took their two-goLdmonton didn't get its second shot on goal until the 14th minute of the game. Calgary's Terry Johnson went off for holding a minute later, but that only set up a goal. When the Flames' Hakan Loob broke up a pass in the Ldmonton zone, the puck deflected to center ice to Doug Risebrough, whom Loob break. Risejoined for a into carried the Oilers deep brough zone before centering to Loob for a and a tap-i- n edge at 16 27. The Oilers still hadn't stirred early in the second period when Calgary's Jim Peplinski. heading full speed toward the net. cranked a Fuhr. coming out to meet the shot, got his gloves up and on the puck, but it deflected over his head and toward the gaping net. Peplinski darted around the goalie and knocked it in fur the lead first-plac- 2 short-hande- d two-on-o- 0 2-- 0 elli. The Flames upset the Oilers 2 in the final game of the seven-gam- e NHL series. Edmontons Wayne Gretzky (back) fights for the lose puck with Calgarys John Ton- Then the Flames stalled, again lead is the showing that a two-gomost confusing in hockey. Does a team continue to be aggressive on offense or does it start playing a little extra defense? Calgary chose the latter course. As soon as they fell behind the Oilers began playing like themselves offensive hockey's outfit. A break and a breakaway produced the goals that got them even. At 10 47 of the second period. Glenn Anderson sent home Gretzky's centering pass. On their 11th shot, the Oilers had a goal. At that point, it seemed a reasonable guess that the team that got the next goal would win the game. Fuhr must have been thinking that way, for he made two brilliant saves in the 18th minute of the period on Steve Bozek right in front and on Loob on a 2-- c most-prolifi- two-on-o- two-on-on- e. As the last minute of the period began. Mark Messier gambled, hanging out at the Calgary blue line while the play was at center ice. He was rewarded when Jari Kurri fed him the 3-- puck. Messier deked Calgary goalie Mike Vernon, scored and danced Blues 2, Maple Leafs 1: At St Louis. left wing Kevin LaVallee scored o on a perfect feed from Berme at 7.34 of the third period to give St. Louis a victory over the 2-- 1 Toronto Maple Leafs, sending the Blues into the Stanley Cup semifinals for the first time in 14 years. LaVallee, who had seen spot duty this season and hadn't dressed for Northree games of the seven-gam- e ris Division championship series with Toronto, took Federkos pass from behind the net and jammed the puck between Ken Wregget's pads. Going into the game. LaVallee had scored one goal against Minnesota in the opening round, and one assist. The Blues, who were third in the Norris during the season, will begin semifinal play Friday night against the winner of the Smythe Division. The Blues have not been in a Stanley Cup semifinal series since 1972. when they lost four straight to Boston after beating the North Stars in seven games in an earlier series. Both goaltenders made several outstanding saves in the third period as each team abandoned their close up checking style and and down the ice. Just 3z minutes into the period. free-wheele- d Blues goaltender Greg Millen stopped Peter Ihnacak from point-blanrange after the Toronto center deked around two defenders. Millen then kicked out Walt Poddubny's deflection of a shot from the right point. The Blues opened the scoring on a power play at 8:27 of the first period. Left wing Eddy Beers, skating into the slot, banged in a rebound of a Greg Paslawski slapshot from right k wing. Toronto outshot St. Louis 10-- in the opening period, but the Blues dominated most of the play and had better scoring opportunities. Defensemen Brian Benning and Lee Norwood each hit the goalpost with power-pla- y blasts from the left point. Toronto came out swarming in the second period, outshoooting St. Louis in the first four minutes. for Toronto outshot the Blues the game 6 33-2- 4 Calif. (AP) - lead with 1:05 remaining. Abdul-Jabba- r finished with 12 fourth-quartpoints, w hile Johnson added 10 in the last period. Kar-ee- and Earvin "Magic" Johnson, took charge in the final quarter Wednesday night as the Los Angeles Lakers rallied for a NBA playoff victory over the Dallas Mavericks. The defending champion Lakers now hold a edge in the best-of-- 7 Abdul-Jabb- 117-11- 3 Rolando Blackman hit a jumper to trim the difference three points, but the Lakers essentially sealed the victory w hen James Worthy made a free throw to give his club a four-poilead w ith nine seconds left. 0 Western Conference semifinals now switches to Dallas for games Friday and Sunday. After the score was tied with 3'z minutes remaining. Abdul-Jabband Johnson each scored four points to give Los Angeles a which The Lakers, who trailed since midway through the second quarter, r when pulled even at 108-10- 8 102-10- 2 5 33 116-11- 1 Abdul-Jabba- made two free throws with remaining. The Mavericks lost their top scorer at the same time, as Mark Aguirre committed the foul, his sixth. He had scored 28 points. led the Lakers' with points, while Worthy had 23 and Johnson 21. Blackman finished with 22 points, while Derek Harper had 19 and Sam Perkins 18. Dallas led going into the final quarter. The Mavericks were in front adat halftime after holding a vantage before Michael Cooper hit a Abdul-Jabba- r 26 87-8- 4 63-5- 6 61-4- 9 117-11- 3 and Maurice Lucas made two jumpers to close the gap. James Donaldson and Blackman had 12 points apiece in the opening half to help the Mavericks build their lead but Worthy kept the Lakers close with 16 points in the first two periods. Dallas overcame an early deficit as Los Angeles pulled ahead midway through the opening quarter. The Lakers then went cold from the field and Harper scored eight points in the final five minutes to help slake the Mavericks to a 7 lead heading into the second quarter three-point- 21-1- 2 30-2- the financial mj Academic standards must be adapted and strictly enforced Athletes who can t abide by these no matter how talented rules must be forced out or valuable of a program - A strong athletic academic ad-isor is a must for a college program. That advisor should not work for. answer to. or be paid by the athletic department. He must be a watchdog who sees that academic standards are enforced It is easy for the public to blame coaches for keeping talented players who are not meeting academic standards on a team. There is no doubt fans are more interested in winning records than in how many athletes mengraduate. A tality prevails. Should a coach who graduates a great percentage of his athletes. sets a fine example in his personal life, abides by all the rules and yet struggles through a few .500 seasons be fired because he can t win? Should a coach who wins bow l games and brings money and prestige to a school but cuts corners on academics and cheats in recruiting be rewarded with a fat contract and the adulation of society? Those are difficult questions to answer. Once again, sport reflects society and most fans are more interested in winning and losing than they are in seeing athletes graduate University of Utah football coach Jim Fassel brings up one final point in the debate about whether academics and athletics can ever be compatible extra-curricul- 2 Jabbar, Johnson Lead Lakers Past Dallas, INGLEWOOD. m s aid to du the last of a fne-- l tart series He wonders why some sports writers and columnists will expose a coach for carrying an academically deficient athlete one day and then work to fire another coach who is producing good students but has a mediocre won-los- s record Too often, we in the press are too quick to expose the worst sports have to offer while ignoring its positive aspects. Once again, society looks for the sensational story while ignoring the little triumphs of a player who has overcome great academic handicaps to get a degree. There are no simple solutions to resolving the conflicts between athletics and academics. The few easy answers often may be too expensive to be realistic. But. though there are many academic failures by college athletes, new rules like Proposition 48 are a step in the right direction. d Let us hope society can one day look beyond the final score and find more lasting values in the world of sport. Bryan Bero May Surface as Utes Starting Fullback Next Fall In case you missed it. Bryan Bero was the starting quarterback at University of Utah for one gqme. By the time Bero gets through at Uteville. it s not the one game at quarterback, but a couple of dozen starts at fullback he hopes the old Crimsons (and the young ones) will remember him for, It's not the cheers of a crowd reveling in the victory over euphoria of a last Bero's only start at QB Boise Slate Sept. 7 that rings in Bryan Bero's ears. Rather, it's the smattering of boos that ricocheted off the light poles at Rice Stadium in response to Bero's supposed wretched performance against the Broncos. Rambunctious fans fretted So this is Air Fassel? The rest is pleasant history for Ute fans. Bero was benched. Larry Lgger blossomed in and finished Ins place. The Utes went Lgger was honorable mention It wasn't pleasant for Bero. T felt sort of a numbness." admitted Bero. the Rancho Palos Verdes. Calif., product who will be a junior tn the fall. "I never thought nor expected anything like that would happen You get the starting job and you think it w ill he forever I've always been a winner and last-secon- 20-1- 7 4 I felt 1 could be a winner as Utah quarterback." He was a winner. He's the only undefeated starting QB Utah has had in 45 years. He threw 21 times, completed 11 for 95 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Boise. He was intercepted once in his collenot bad when you consider giate inaugural there must have been a belly full of butterflies. He was also hurting. The pain wasn't entirely because of what transpired on the field. "I had hurt my shoulder at the end of spring drills when he won the starting QB job." Bero explained. "I couldn't work out all summer. But I felt pretty good when the season opened. I felt I was getting the pass there OK that night vs. Boise. The coaches didn't. They said it wasn't nearly the way I was throwing in the spring. Maybe I was pretending I was 100 percent recovered from the injury because f wanted to play so bad." Bero still wants to play. There is no bitterness. no vindictiveness in this son bf Californians Bruco and Karen Bero. He's one of those athletic joys, really, when you consider some athletes might sulk off into a corner and pout about getting a raw deal t "I'm up to 218 pounds from 205 of last fall 380 pounds and I'm back up to among the top 10 on the entire Ute team." Bero said. "The coaches made me quit benchbench-pressin- Because of his obesston to be a competitor. Bero is going to find himself positioned about four yards in back of Lgger next fall, and he won't be just watching the guy who pulled the QB plug on him last fall. "If we were to play San Diego State tomorrow, Bryan Bero would be our starting fullback." admitted Ute offensive coordinator Jack Reilly Wednesday, just two days before Utah ends its spring drills with the scuffle Friday night in Rice Stadium. "Bryan is a bright light at the end of the tunnel," Reilly added "We didn't have a legitimate fullback last year. Bryan has made exceptional gains in spring ball. He is so aware of what's going on and so willing to improve everyday. Gee. that kind of attitude is fun to work with." The fact Bero is willing to improve is tmr rored in his activities Red-Whit- off-fiel- e g ing all that weight last spring when I got the quarterback job. I lost practically all my muscle." And when Bero went home to California for Easter break, he made up his mind that he w ould report back to Salt Lake intent on winning a starting job again. "He ran in the hills around our home." said Bero's father, Bruce. "He did everything to improve himself, including watching his diet I've never known Bryan to be concerned about what he ate." Bero's diet now includes banging heads wuh defensive personnel, a novelty in thjt he's always tried to avoid them for 15 years. "I ve enjoyed it from day one." reasoned Bero, who was the Los .Diodes Times first-teaQB in 1983. "It's a w hole new feeling. It's a blast, really. I've just done what the coaches run and block as hard as you can. asked . Hey. I'm not blessed with the speed of an Eddie Lewis or Eddie Johnson. I've got to do what s best for Bryan Bero." . . What's best is being what some observers call a "madman " knocking defensive people rear end over tea kettle. "Yeah, and I've been knocked on my tail end a few times, too." Bero confirmed Reilly, who was responsible for the insertion of Bero at fullback in the BYU game last November, emphasizes that the Ute fullback spot calls for "an unusual person who has to be versatile enough to run for short yardage, catch passes, read defensive fronts for pass " protection purposes. Bero's our man The conscientious Bero. a B student in commercial recreation, has adopted a pragmatic stance toward his new calling "I'm looking to be the starting fullback, but who knows? This time last year. I was the starting quarterback. I'll admit there's not pressure now. I feel like I did when was a freshman. Last year, it w as if a shadow was chasing me with people constantly w atching to see what I could do. Now. I go in with every ting to gain and nothing to lose If it works, it will be u big bonus to me" 1 taking it one day at a t'me. If I'm the starting fullback on Monday. I have to earn it again Tuesday. I've never wanted anything in my life as bail as I want the starting fullback job against San Diego State Sept. 13." If you wain to argue, visit the Ute weight room Remember, lie can lilt two of vou "1 m |
