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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 3, 1979)
Page 8 THE BATTALION WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 1979 the sports David Boggan Sports Editor The Fiesta Bowl was a real turkey College bowl games are kind of like a Christmas turkey. They are great at first but all too soon they take on the appearance of leftovers. Perhaps if the games were spread out over a longer period of time instead of bunched up in a few weeks, they could be truly enjoyed by all. But just as football fans have had their second helpings of post season bowls, along comes another game looking like a big turkey sandwich. I think the people in charge of the television networks realize that most of their viewers’ football appetites do eventually reach a satura tion point. Gimmicks are created to present each bowl game as a new and unique experience for the viewing public. For example, the Orange Bowl was slated as the big rematch be tween Oklahoma and Nebraska, the Sugar Bowl was played to decide the national championship and the Rose Bowl, of course, was “the granddaddy of them all.” AND THEN THERE WAS THE FIESTA BOWL, featuring Ar kansas and UCLA on Christmas Day. Looking for a unique presenta tion angle in this game, the people from NBC took their technology and microphones to the sidelines. They had more people wired for sound than Watergate. Arkansas head coach Lou Holtz had a wireless microphone at tached to his sweater. This allowed NBC to broadcast the Razorbacks’ offensive plays as Holtz called them from the sideline. Then, NBC’s Curt Gowdy interpreted Holtz’s calls in the booth and everyone watching from coast to coast knew what the Hogs were going to do next even before Arkansas quarterback Ron Calcagni found out. This got old after a while, but anything to help Curt with the play-by-play, right? Meanwhile, on the UCLA sideline NBC’s Mike Haffner periodi cally interviewed Bruin head coach Terry Donahue during the course of the game. Sorry, NBC, but that was a no-no. Donahue had a job to do — coach a football team, not answer a reporter’s questions. No, Donahue did not have to consent to do the interviews, but did you have to ask in the first place? Fortunately Donahue did not seem too distracted by Haffner and his microphone. But, just imagine, things could have been a little different in Sun Devil Stadium on that Christmas afternoon: “OK, CURT, I’M DOWN HERE with UCLA head coach Terry Donahue,’’ Haffner says into the microphone halfway through the first quarter. “Coach, Arkansas looked pretty tough on their last of fensive series.” “Well yes, Mike, Donahue answers. “Calcagni is doing a fine job of leading their offense. And of course, Ben Cowins is always a threat on the ground. We re just going to have to play tough defense and prove that we want to win this ball game.” “Coach, I noticed that you started Steve Bukich at quarterback instead of you regular starter, Rick Bashore, ’ Haffner says. “Any particular reason why?” “How do you spell Bukich," interrupts a wire service reporter who demanded equal time on the sideline. “B-U-K-I-C-H,” replies Donahue, who is starting to get a bit flus tered. “There are many reasons for starting Steve. He’s a five-year player and I felt I ov/ed it to him. Hey, what’s all the yelling about?” “NOTHING COACH,” HAFFNER ANSWERS. “I think Bukich just fumbled and the Razorbacks recovered the ball. Now, Coach, aren’t you feeling a little sorry that you started Bukich?” “Just a minute. I’ve got to instruct my defense, the Bruin coach says, turning to one of his linebackers. “OK, let’s gamble with a safety blitz on first down. I want you to ...” “Hey, hang on just a second. Coach,” the NBC reporter interrupts. “I’m not sure a blitz is wise in this situation. What do you think. Curt?” “Indeed, it is not wise at all, Mike, Gowdy says from the press box. “Holtz just called a play in Arkansas’ 80 series and that is their passing series. I think you better keep that safety back there. What do you think, John Brodie?” “Yes, Curt that sounds like a good idea,” says the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, his voice characteristically cracking up an octive. “And, Mike, you might even try double coverage on Robert Farrell. He can be dangerous.” “Will do, John,” Haffner answers from the field. “Excuse me, Coach. You’re standing on my mike cord. All right, Holtz has called a pass. Let’s put double coverage on Farrell. Here we go. “OH, TOO BAD, COACH. Calcagni flipped a little pass out to Cowins who came out of the backfield and he took it in for the touchdown. You know, a little pressure from a safety blitz might have been effective on that play. Oh well, someone had to score first.” “You sorry (bleep)! Get the (bleep) out of here!” screams Donahue as he lunges at the reporter. “Does this mean our live reports from the locker room at halftime are off. Coach?” Haffner asks. “Uh, back up to you. Curt.” “OK, thank you, Mike,” Gowdy says. “Folks, be sure to stay tuned at halftime when we will have the UCLA drum major wired for sound to catch every cadence and countermarch of the band’s perfor mance. ” “Peanuts! Popcorn! Candy!” yells a concessions vendor who has a special microphone attached to his T-shirt. Coogs celebrated‘too earl) United Press International DALLAS — For both the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Hous ton Cougars, the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day came down to one play each, and it all happened in a span of 40 seconds. After the sudden finish of a long game made longer by bitter cold and wind, the players for both teams were muted by the shock of it while walking up the long ramp from the playing field to the dressing rooms. Neither the Notre Dame players, with a few whoops here and there, nor the Houston Cougars, with a few obscenities here and there, really realized what had happened. “A good game, Emmett,” Notre Dame defensive end Jay Case yelled at Houston running back Emmett King coming up the ramp. King said thanks and started to smile, but then remembered Hous- Oilers declare war on Steelers United Press International HOUSTON — The Houston Oil ers figure they already have won enough battles and now they’re looking forward to winning the war. The Oilers recorded their second straight playoff upset Sunday when they blitzed the New England Pat riots 31-14 to move into their first AFC title game Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The win fol lowed a 17-9 upset over the Miami Dolphins a week earlier. “It’s going to be a knockdown, drag-out affair,” Oilers coach Bum Phillips said of the Pittsburgh game. “We re going to sever diplomatic re lations with them. That’s what you do when you declare war, isn’t it?” Pittsburgh and Houston split their two regular season games, with each team winning on the road. Oilers quarterback Dan Pastorini, who threw for three touchdowns in the win over New England, said he was eager for the rubber match. “It’s going to be a bloodbath,” he said. “It’s going to be rugged and very physical. I just hope we 11 have enough survivors to make it to the Super Bowl if we win. Pastorini again donned his bullet-proof flak jacket Sunday to protect broken ribs. “I may wear a flak jacket all over my body for the Pittsburgh game,” he said. “We’ve been playing with our backs against the wall all season. I hope we re the underdogs again.” The Oilers checked New En gland’s league-leading ground game, holding Patriots runners to a mere 83 yards. Houston noseguard Curley Culp said he’s hoping for similar success against the Pittsburgh ground attack. “Our job up front is always tough and Pittsburgh is always tough, but we pride ourselves on being able to stop the run. They have the home- field advantage and that’s great for the team and the fans. But once the whistle blows, they’ve got to play football and everything evens out,” Culp said. Earl Campbell, the NFL rushing champion, gained 118 yards pn 27 carries and scored a late touchdown to seal the victory over the Patriots. But the modest rookie downplayed his importance in the victory. “The reason for my success is that my teammates have accepted me and tried to help me out,” Campbell said. “Next week will be a bigger thrill than winning the Heisman Trophy if everything goes all right. Every week seems to be the same — just more pressure.” Rams want to hush critics with victory in Super Bowl United Press International LOS ANGELES — In Pat Ha- den’s opinion, the Los Angeles Rams won’t be able to silence their critics until they win the Super Bowl. Even a win over the Dallas Cow boys in the NFC title game next weekend won’t do it, he adds. Haden, who threw for a pair of touchdown passes in a 34-10 playoff victory over the Minnesota Vikings Sunday, has been under fire — along with his teammates — this season despite the Rams’ 12-4 regu lar season record. The critics have noted the Rams past playoff failures and have harped that Haden, at 5-foot-ll, is too small to play quar terback in the NFL. “Well have our critics until we win the Super Bowl,” said the third-year pro from University of Southern California. “They’ll never be silenced until then. And then maybe for only a year.” Haden outperformed Fran Tar- kenton, the Vikings’ 38-year-old record-setting veteran, in Sunday’s game. He completed 15 of 29 passes for 209 yards and had one pass in tercepted while Tarkenton was 18 for 37 for 219 yards with two inter ceptions. The Rams will host the Cowboys next Sunday. Dallas, the defending Super Bowl champion, also was 12-4 during the regular season, the Rams USC named number one United Press International NEW YORK — The United Press International Board of Coaches final top 20 college football ratings for 1978, with first-place votes and won-lost records in parentheses: Team Points 1. So. Calif.(15)(12-1) 496 2. Alabama (15) (11-1) 491 3. Oklahoma (5) (11-1) 467 4. Penn State (11-1) 424 5. Michigan (10-2) 330 6. (tie) Clemson (11-1) 285 6. Notre Dame (9-3) 285 8. Nebraska (9-3) 223 9. Texas (9-3) 200 10. Ar kansas (9-2-1) 199 11. Houston (9-3) 14512. UCLA (8-3-1) 10613. Purdue (9-2-1) 97 14. Missouri (8-4) 92 15. Georgia (9-2-1) 61 16. Stanford (8-4) 59 17. Navy (9-3) 23 18. Texas A&M (8-4) 21 19. (tie) Ariz. St. (9-3) 16 19. No. Carolina St (9-3) 16. Note: By agreement with the American Football Coaches Associa tion, teams on probation by the NCAA are ineligible for top 20 and national championship consideration by the UPI Board of Coaches. Those teams on probation were: Michigan State, Oklahoma State and Grambl- ing. Now you know United Press International The world’s most expensive standard men’s pocket watch is the Swiss Grande Complication which retailed for $58,900 in June. AT THE INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES MIDNIGHT MADNESS WED., ALL THE PANCAKES YOU CAN EAT!!! 4 49 Just And while you’re stowing ’em away . . . Meet the new owner, Mike. International House of Pancakes 103 N. College Ave. College Station International n09BP...formany good reasons nal House at Pancakes* TMj ® TM ton lost in the last second and his face turned grim — not unfriendly, just grim. Ten minutes later, however, they had all figured it out. Notre Dame quarterback Joe Montana, the game’s most valuable offensive player, had thrown 8 yards to split end Kris Haines for the touchdown that won the game as time expired. Houston quarterback Danny Davis, ending his career, and King discussed the 1 foot they could not pickup that would have saved the game. Montana, who failed to start the second half because of an illness made worse by the 20-degree weather, re-entered late in the game and directed the Irish com eback from a 34-12 deficit in the final 7!4 minutes. Steve Cichy returned a blocked punt 33 yards for a touchdown, Montana ran 2 yards for a touchdown and hit Vegas Ferguson for two points. After a Houston possession, Notre Dame moved toward the winning touchdown but Montana fumbled. The Irish defense held and that set up those last 40 seconds. Houston’s Jay Wyatt punted only 21 yards against the 30 mph wind, but Notre Dame was offsides. The 5-yard penalty moved the ball to within a foot of a first down. “I don’t think anybody on the squad wanted to punt," Houston Coach Bill Yeoman said. “The offense felt like it could make that first down, Davis said. Davis handed off to King, who bounced off the left side of the Irish line for no gain. Notre Dame, given a 36-second reprieve, struck quickly. Montana drove them to the 8. With six sec onds left, Haines ran a quick out in the end zone. Montana’s pass was short and the clock stopped at two seconds. “Joe asked me ifl could beat him (the defensive back) again, Haines 72 No 3 ag es said. "And I said ‘yes. Ik and said, “let’s do it and ! Irish kicker Joe Unis I# extra point, but the team. for illegal procedure. Their again with the score tied "I just tried to putallth ing, yelling and jumpingai of my mind. Unis said, think of basics. Keep;; down and kick it. 1 didntl| to think about beingnerv fc kicker fantasizes about/C^ ▼ ^ games like this.” ji United And that suddenly it SHINGTt “They told us Joe was r the civi back in the second halfpited Stat< thought it (the game)™ the shah a Irish center Dave HufFnJtne count we’ve learned over thesed Tuesd years that it’s never Over y Psaid th; Davis said it dilTerei;ioiled to 1 thing can happen in foolunf who tal guess an\thing happened Iran. His h “I’d say our minds goi lc0,nm ital us, King said. "We stii^g or stayii rating too early.” ^^ew insti to defeated the Cowboys 27-14 in Texas Sept. 17. “I think our chances are good against the Cowboys, Haden con tended. “We get to play them at home and that is a big plus. If we get the kind of crowd support we got against Minnesota plus the execu tion we got against Minnesota, I think we re going to be awful tough to beat. “I think we re playing awfully well right now, too. We have in our last two games (the Rams wound up the regular season with a 31-14 win over Green Bay at Los Angeles Dec. 17). The offense has finally come around and the defense is playing superbly again.” Quarterback Roger Staubach suf fered a concussion in the first half of the Cowboys’ playoff win at home Saturday against Dallas and Danny White came off the bench to lead last season’s Super Bowl titlists to 27-20 victory. Staubach, who was knocked out with Atlanta leading 20-13, is expected to play against the Rams. “I’d love to see White,” Haden admitted candidly. “It’s.not that he s not a good quarterback because he is. But Staubach can make a big, big difference in a game because he’s been there so many times before.” Despite six straight NFC West championships, the Rams have never made it to the Super Bowl. agree, * l leave the Aed not t( ition to th lie present 1> that tl Beven a sholint to a Mer. Hnul e rse pm. rame overnmen ^Nee of g mpence if '>'• Hdicy eh: ■ debate Hears to snt has co H has no v fr the i COI Unitec apsides, wli lr ard coni nost Ai dio to : Vietnai imif past Wiring Ca Uptate D< elis sortir i<| in the i ‘d for the lent founc ■ over w Dickey blows by Cyclones e country .el’s territ I — h ac ide again: Bdepartni On Dec. 20 the Texas Aggies defeated the here playing Arkansas, rushed for a is tei Iowa State Cyclones 28-12 in the Second An- 276 yards, a new career high for the ed that as nual Hall of Fame Bowl in Birmingham, Ala. from Bryan. aivertheh Texas A&M running back Curtis Dickey, seen Battalion photo by Patk iebate. ■phest U nt ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ HATE DOING LAUNDRY? Let Frannie's do it for you Aunt Frannies Laundromat * * * * ^Holleman at Anderson 693-658 SHIRTS^ Woodstone Center 907 Harvey Rd. 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