1983_02 Insight February 1983

              I insight
Reynolds
Raps
v Jeff Reynolds *
I
Boring NBA
needs parity
With tbe NBA season already put tbe midway, three teams have
already emerged as tbe cream of the crop while the other 20 teams plod
along, winning a few and losing a whole lot more.
The Philadelphia 78ers, the Boston Celtics and the defending world
champion Los Angeles Lakers are without a doubt the best the NBA has to
of fer.and have been tbe class of tbe NBA for tbe past several years.
Each season, these teams fatten up on teams like Cleveland, Golden
State, San Diego, Houston and Utah. With teams like this in the league,
it's no wonder that tbe 76ers (39-6 at this writing) and the rOucks (19-T7) in
the same division is something that the NaUonal FciotnaU League adopted
a number of years ago — parity.
Some people fdt that parity would have a niinious effect on the
league, but in fact, parity has helped tbe NFL, pairing the best teams
against tbe best teams — making for attractive television packages.
The same thing can be said for the NBA, if parity scheduling ia ever
adopted by the staid NBA brass. As it ia, the Lakers only play the 76ers
twice each season, and those games draw tbe highest ratings during the
If the Lakers were to play the 76ers and Celtics five or six times during the course of tbe season, tbe NBA's television ratings would more
than likely increase, and it would also allow teams like Cleveland, San
Diego, Houston and Indiana to play each other more often, giving the
weaker teams a chance at a better record.
If things are allowed to remain tbe way they are now, within four or
five years, teams like Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Boston will be even
further apart talent-wise than they are now compared to teams like
Cleveland, Houston and San Diego.
Parity, not a three-point goal and a shot clock, is what will save tbe
NBA from becoming a boring spectator sport.
Halfway through his secojj^season as head wrestling coach of the
Bulldogs, Dennis DeLiddo has^Kcceded In turning around the sagging
fortunes of tbe CSUF grappling program.
Prior to his arrival on campus last year, tbe Bulldog wrestling team
had suffered through several years of mediocrity. DeLiddo, a successful
coach at the high school level, had guided nearby Clovis High to three
state championships during his tenure as head coach of tbe Cougars.
With a successful coach at the helm, recruiting potential wrestlers to
CSUF became a little easier and attracted several top Junior college
grapplers, including 167-pound star of this year's team, Sylvester Carver,
were attracted to this campus. j^
Through la*} wedr—Carver, a junior transfer from Chabot College in
Hayward, had comflu a 35-2 record, losing both times to Oklahoma
State's Mike SteetsJBeets is tbe No. 1 ranked 167-pounder this season,
and Carver is thirds the latest rankings.
Tbe Bulldogs are 11-7 for the season, the best record a CSUF wrestling team has had in a number of seasons. With area high schools producing many fine wrestlers these days, DeLiddo should have no trouble in
building the CSUF program into a respectable one in the next couple of
Both the baseball team and tbe softball team started their respective
to repeat the
they enjoyed in 1982. /        "\
Coach Bob Bennett's baseball club set, a school recorikwith 45 wins
last season, captured the Northern Calif9imla Baseball Assoc\aUon cham-
"   'the NCAA Was
nabbed tbe NorCal Conference
rone by making it all the way to
of the first NCAA Women's College World Series in
Omaha, Neb., before losing the title to UCLA.
While topping last year's accomplishments may be asking a tot, keep
in mind that no one expected either team to do as well as they did last
{year. If things fall into place, 1963 could be "Tbe Year of the Dog" for
CSUF.
Sunday's impressive win over San Jose State was a much-needed
confidence builder for the Bulldog basketball team as Coach Boyd Grant
prepares Us team for Saturday's nationally televised encounter with
PCAA rival Nevada-Las Vegas.
After struggling to a 3-5 record in the first half of conference play, the
'Dogs will be home for six of tbe final seven games of tbe season, including Saturday's rematch with tbe second-ranked Rebels.
Las Vegas defeated CSUF, 56-48, earlier this season in Tark's Shark
Tank (a.k.a. the Las Vegas Convention Center), but for Saturday's game,
it will be played in another crnlnous arena - Grant's Tomb - which
ftsXtsM gtv. that SjajjMjgj afl |ajaj| j ptyrr>T4flgrT"al OOafS again*! jh» Ra»hol«
Although I won't come right out and say that the Bulldogs are going to
win, I strongly feel that tbe Rebels aren't as tough as some people
believe, and that they are rjea table, especially in a place as unfriendly (to
other teams) as Selland Arena/Grant's Tomb. If the cards fall right for
the 'Dogs on Saturday, then look for a mighty big upset.
Tyke Peacock takes a break from jumping to give well wishing fans his autograph.
Peacock soars to stardom
STEVE D. SMITH
step of the Jump. I try not to think
about my opponents, It's Just ma versus tbe bar."
eluding his former basketball coach world class Jumpers to lose the rest of sport. Ugh jumping is the most;
at Modesto JC, Al Hobbv, believe bis hair over. The other is 54-feet mentally-taxing. "High Jumpers are
that Peacock is a better basketball    lo-inches triple jumper Henry Ellard.   forced   to   play   a   game   among
It is late in'the afternoon of March    player than he is a high jumper. That "Tyke is a tremendous natural   themselves," says Estes, "and It's tbe
24, 1961. Tyke Peacock has just finish- has not escaped the attention of CSUF athlete with incredible potential," guy who can overcome those mental.
ed two hours of basketball practice in    Basketball Coach Boyd Grant Estes said. "A person of his stature  barriers who becomes successful at
the Modesto Junior College Gym. "Actually basketball is my first    will help our total image and also help  it"
Now, after a few minutes of stret-   love," admits Peacock, "and I'd like   to attract other top athletes." Peacock has his own way of play-
ching.he wanders out to the high jum-   "frothing better than to play basketball If the attention Peacock brought   ing the mental game. "Concentration
ping pit where the bar is set at 7-feet for Fresno State. I hope Coach Grant to Modesto JC is any indication, CSUF is the biggest factor," lie says. "While,
5-incbes. -Peacock is about to take a is interested because I'm ready to may be in the limelight of track and I'm back concentrating, I'm mentaify
shot at breaking his own national   play." field for tbe next year and a half. picturing myself going through each'
Junior college record.
Without bothering to take off Us
sweatsuit Peacock takes nine or 10
steps, then in one great motion
gathers himself up and explodes
rocket-like into the. air, seemingly
moon-bound. His 6-foot l-inch frame
arches gracefully over tbe fiberglass
bar with an ease that suggests a world
record may someday be bis.
That ts why CSUF track buffs
were drooling with delight when
Peacock announced two weeks ago
that he was becoming a Bulldog. He is
quite possibly the finest athlete ever
to enroll at CSUF.
His potential in the high jump is
staggering. Despite the fact Peacock
has yet to train seriously and has
never even been coached in tbe event,
his best Jump of 7-feet 6 ' - - inches is only 2i4-inches below Gerd Wessig's
world record of 7-feet SVinches. He
bed that personal record in a meet in
Dallas last weekend and remains        "Sure  we're   lntereste
undefeated in indoor•competition this   anybody who can play basketball like   my reach," said Peat^^'tt's Just a   ?*^***Ma**JII
The scene is Rome, Italy on Sept;
6, 1981'. Stark^ilence erjvetoped tbe
stadium as eo.Obo World Cup spec-'
tators Ut thdr lips in sniHpa*rm
Peacock, representing Modesto JC.
was clearly tbe crowd favorite aa be.
7-feet 5^-incbes.
Earlier in tbe high jump competition, tbe local hero, Italian Massimo
De Georgio had missed at 7-feet
3-inches, so naturally the crowd turned its attention to the ftarnboyanr
young American who liked to Jump
with his sweats on until he missed To
the delight of tbe crowd Peacock c^d
not miss this rjarticular Jump and a
"I think the world record is within   le"P'P
ing to have to wait and find out what
high jumper in the world after winn-   KiT.ii-atiHK, u hw- ••
togjhe event at tbe World Cup in   *^»£2ume. Ptmax± „
,,,*_ S - . under the tutelege of CSUF Track
What's more, some people, in-   ^^ Red'£^wbo now has two
was the biggest thrill of my
recalled Peacock. "Wow, I
hear all those crazy Italians
Not shy of CSUF
Female in contention for AD
JOHN RICH                            "I suppose it would cause a stir," She
Insight reporter                    said Gene Bourdet, the Bulldog AD for opportunity
nine years before becoming Hill's forded her greater respect aa an ad- tive.
boas at San Diego State in 1979. "But I minlstrator.                                                 And fund-raising, one of Sloan's
Local lxxakmakers aren't putting   think she'n work in wherever she goes "There's been some times when ma jor selling points, ts not lost on Hill,
any odds on it  but CSUF's next   and do a fine Job. I've been given a bad time, because either.
athetotic director Just might be a         "People will just have to Judge I'm a woman. But people who know         "Fund-raising in the state system
woman.                                               Mary on bar ability and not because my position tend to respect me." is extremely important" said Hill,
She's 43-year-old Mary Alice Hill,   she's a woman." Besides her post at SDSU, Hill is who was the leading fund-raiser for
tha associate director of athletics at         Whereas   most  women   ad- one of four women on tbe 26-member tbe Aztec Athletic Foundation in 1960
From s,distance, the first thing
that stands out about Peacock is his U«1b« heads off.
powerful long tapering legs that seem        aj^ wtootaf „. Woriil <££
to dominate tltree^uarters of his pJST cSebac*Mto thaiv2m\t
bodjrAt 6-feet 1-Inch, 175 rounds, ^taTa Ssm Tto
ff"?- ta considered short for a home stato of Illinois
world-class high jumper. The typical
Jumper  stands  at  around  6-feet *£„ „   ,«   m^i pg^,
5-inches to 6-feet 7-lnches. He is not Sroaf&Sat^lCo?^
particularly built up in his chest and e^^of^ragratoJatic^ u»
Z^J^^™.?^ -uTlTtwrSaal^^
San Diego State and one of the six mlnistrators are relegated to dealing NCAA I
finalists for the CSUF Job. with women's athletic teams. Hill has said, "I'm very lucky to have." It's
Hill is vying to become the first extensive authority in San Diego over given her an outsider's perspective of
woman AD aver at a major football- both man's and women's sports, in- CSUF's recent NCAA violations,
playing college. duding football and basketball. "The eligibility problems would
Not that she wouldn't have com- la  addition,   aba waa  at  the be of prime concern to me if I were
pany within Fresno's primary men's forefront of a movement begun In 1978 athletic  director  at Fresno State,    from being
conference, the Pacific Coast Athletic to merge woman's sports with the When you start winning, that can    legeatmos,
Association. Linda Dempsay is in her rareviously makKtomlnated NCAA,
fifm year oatUetlc director at UCIr-
.   UCa,
believes    her    equal-   objective when be became AD in 1980   ly long and his hands are tbe size of tL^iZLm ia"thS?
work in athletics has af-    - should also be an important objec-    baseball gloves. wSa^ptSjaaVj
Peacock has the classic athletic ^^t^^^S^si
took of O.J. Simpson In Us face. He's the wtarbi, aetata hare at i*a*aa*of|-J
intelligent,  outgoing and handles Than  ha   transferred  frosn
himself better than most athletes who Modesto JC to the Uraversity of Kan-
have achieved stardom at such a saa, a rnove that quickly bi
young age. His maturity probably back down to earth,
comes from handling the pressures be "I ta>w from the day I arrived in
au~ a_». "There's not a great deal of   has gone through tha past two sum- y.f»« mat I had «niw*t a rniszaka,"
support, so it's vitally important to go    mers in the European track circuit says Peacock '"iTuiags wars ao rnuch
to the community."                              where track is taken much more different than what I had been told."
In her opinion, communities like   seriously.
to get involved In college athletics. "I just take things as they come,"        Peacock  waa  recruited   on  a
- —de that cornea   he says. "I tend to go through life to basketball tf*rrsrtMr by  Kaunas
awinningcol-    an easygoing sort of way, and try not Ccecb Ted Owens and waa raromiaad
to let anything bother me. I'm the the starting guard position far tha
usrv makKtomlnated NCAA.       become a. problem. I think the athletic But she added, the athletic dlrec-    kind of person who will put things off Jayhawks   But  la  tha  naaaaaima
ategrating men's and women's   director should work closely with the    tor can't simply approach the public    until the last possible moment" Owens  msnaamt  to land a  ■
make a lot of senae," Hill told  athletes and coaches.and try to get rid    with hand out-stretcbed. "We need to freahiivsnrecruitby tha isune ofTnil
 n Diego State, I think   of srry violations that might be occurr-    let them (the community) know tbe Peacock's  easygoing  attitude Boy to who was a prep A
'-g," she said. coaches, and get Involved ourselves In   about life has carried over Into Ugh and  two-time  alfatate
Hill  said that  upgrading  the   the community," said Hill, who la In-   Jumping as well. Of all the —
Bulldogs' schedules - Sloan's major
See Hill, page s    track and field, and maybe even