Page 12 THE BATTALION
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1978
Bench attempting to spark Cincinnati
United Press International
NEW YORK — No major-league
manager will ever tell yon which
one of his players is his personal
favorite any more than any father or
mother will tell you which one of
their kids they like over the others.
Sparky Anderson, the Reds’ man
ager, is no different.
He will tell you he loves all his
players and he probably does. He
likes to think of them all as his
friends. For nine years now, or ever
since he became Cincinnati man
ager, Anderson has considered
Johnny Bench that way.
That’s why it came as a surprise to
him when a Cincinnati writer called
his attention to a recent newspaper
story in which Bench suggested that
he, meaning Anderson, should be
taking part of the blame for the
lackluster showing of the Reds this
season. They’re a disappointing
third and Bench was quoted as say-
ing:
“Our manager is too low key. This
is one man’s opinion, but Sparky has
withdrawn from it all. Intimidated
isn’t exactly the word, but it’s close.
He is too hurt, perhaps in awe of
When he was shown the story,
Sparky Anderson did not overreact.
He wanted to hear Bench’s side of
it, so he called him into his office.
Bench did not say he was mis
quoted. He told Anderson the
quotes were his, but that they did
not convey the actual sense in which
he had said them by the way they
were written.
“I said those words,” Bench said
to Anderson, “but the reason I did
was to get us going, to stir us up.
I’ve told you many times that you’re
awful good to us. Maybe too good
sometimes. I never meant to imply
anything derogatory about your
managing. I was only trying to shake
the guys up, including myself.”
Sparky Anderson understood
what Johnny Bench was saying. He
understood him so well that there
wasn’t an ounce of anger or resent
ment in him.
“John was right in what he said
and I know exactly why he said what
he did,” the Reds’ manager says.
‘He has had a lot of problems with
injuries. That can get you down
mentally and when that happens, it
makes you feel frustrated. There’s
no doubt in my mind or anyone
else’s that he’s the greatest catcher
of our time. He’s tremendously cap
able but when you can’t perform at
the level you’re capable of, it eats at
you and you flare up and say things.
“John and I have had many disag
reements in the past and in matters
far more important than that story in
the newspaper, Anderson goes on.
“The story will never take away any-
Missouri has the Powers that believes
United Press International
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —- Warren
Powers paid $55,000 for the oppor
tunity to coach football at Missouri
this year. And after one week of the
1978 season, the 37-year-old former
Oakland Raiders defensive back has
gotten his money’s worth.
Powers was forced by Washington
State, whom he guided to a 6-5 re
cord in his college head coaching
debut last year, to buy his way out of
the final three years of his contract
before he could depart for Missouri.
The two parties reached agreement
at $55,000 to be paid over a three-
year period.
But that money suddenly seems a
pittance after Powers guided his Ti
gers to a shocking 3-0 victory over
defending national champion Notre
Dame at South Bend Saturday in
the season-opener for both teams.
For master-minding the victory.
Powers Wednesday was named
UP Is Coach of the Week.
Ironically, Powers also received
UPTs Coach of the Week honors in
the opener of the 1977 season when
he directed Washington State to a
19-10 road victory against Nebraska,
his alma mater.
"I had about the same feeling
after both games,” said Powers of
his two season-opening victories. “It
was a similar satisfaction. You’re
new on the job and you’re trying to
teach the kids a new philosophy, a
new idea. You are trying to get them
to have faith and confidence in what
they are doing. A win like this
helps.”
Sophomore Jeff Brockhaus
supplied Missouri with the lone
points of the game when he booted a
33-yard field goal with 12:50 left in
the fourth quarter. Just as important
a factor in the win was the Missouri
defense, which three times held on
fourth-and-one situations in the sec
ond half — once when the ball was
resting 12 inches from the Tiger end
zone.
Dame would have to go a ways to
beat us.
“But I didn’t think we could shut
them out. You don’t shut out a team
like Notre Dame.”
"The kids were ready,” Powers
said. "I didn’t have to say much to
th em. I told them not to go out
there and think: just go out and
react and play as well as they could.
I thought if we played well, Notre
It was the first time Notre Dame
had been shut out at home since
1960 and the first time the Irish had
been shut out any where since 1965,
snapping a string of 132 straight
point-producing games. It was only
the 10th time Notre Dame has lost
at South Bend in the last 15 seasons.
thing from the friendship he and 1
have. Honest differences of opinion
will never separate true friends. I
know what he was trying to do. He
was crying out in his heart, ‘Damn
it, let’s get going!”’
As far as some of those things
Bench said, Anderson agrees he has
overlooked certain faults among the
Reds this year.
“I’ve put one patch over my eye
and one ear muff over my ear," he
says. “When John says I’ve with
drawn, he’s right about that, too,
because I don’t leave my office as
much as I used to. You do it and do
it and do it and then you get tired of
it, telling the guys the same old
thing over and over again, and fi
nally you say you’re not going to do
it anymore. That’s what I think he
means by my being more with
drawn . ”
In his own way, Johnny Bench
was trying to help Sparky Anderson.
The Reds’ manager says he knows
that.
He also knows he’s still a good
manager. He doesn’t have to say
that because the record says it for
him. Since taking over the Reds in
1970, he’s led them to two world
championships, four pennants and
five division titles. Anderson is the
most successful manager Cincinnati
Sparky Anderson AUS'
has ever had and only niii(B exa:
managers in majorleagueM 1 St
show a better winning pm P 1 *
"I ’m the same guy now as unpaig
first took over as manager■ ar l* €
Reds," he says. "I’ve wonm»P ai i
and I’ve lost my way an(HP I! ? us
want any sympathy becausen
it too good and I'll be u■? 0 . rt,
again. This season wevebeeM* is i
rible. We ve played poorb M's th;
tin 1 Dodgers heat us againtbB n< ^ ei
then they’re the better team
think we base a chance, lew l) l t
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Landry-Alien rivalry missed
Explosive Cowboys please coach
United Press International
DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys
offense can strike in quite a few
ways and have the first two weeks of
the NFL season.
Their 72 points are easily the
most produced in the league.
But Coach Tom Landry wishes to
point out Dallas looked more like a
hard-nosed team in its most recent
outing and he likes that sign.
“This team does have a lot of
explosivness, Landry said Tuesday.
“It’s like our 1966 team when we
tent ball club.”
But whether Dallas is explosive or
consistent, it has been getting the
job done on offense and that should
not come as any great shock.
“When you win the Super Bowl
everybody knows your potential,”
Landry said. “We’ve looked pretty
good for two games. But it is a long
season.”
That season continues Sunday
with a key matchup against the Los
Angeles Rams, one that was origi
nally looked forward to because of
the rivalry between Landry and
George Allen.
That matchup, however, will not
come about.
“I’ll miss competing with Allen,"
Landry said. “When you played
against his teams it brought out the
best in your clubs because they
knew the opposition would be play
ing up to its best.
“But that’s not the case anymore
so we should not dwell on it.”
The Rams are 2-0 thus far under
Coach Ray Malavasi, who replaced
the dismissed Allen two games deep
in the preseason.
“I think this will be a tough,
well-played game,” the Rams coach
said. "I think we can do something
offensively and I’m sure Dallas feels
the same way.
“It (coaching the Rams) has been
exciting thus far. I was surprised as
anybody else when I got the job. It s
the kind of thing I’ve been looking
for all my life and if you can’t stand
the pressure you don’t belong in the
National Football League.”
;nt.
Real Armadillos
would never
bite your ankle
had great explosiveness. But explo
sion was not what we had going for
us last Sunday (in a 34-24 victory
over the New York Giants).
“We were executing in that game.
We were converting third downs
and short yardage situations and
that is what you need to be a consis-
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