European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 29, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 26 the stars and stripes sunday. December 29. 1985 heart says go mind says no a Oti Oto Jamaul Wilkes. A Lough decision la Ike ii Asfalt is i i d Jamaal Wilkes heart said yes. Hut his mini overruled the three time Xii Star one of 12 ni1a competitors in Pla with i championship . Retired because he could t five basketball it de Wilkes. Who 1ueml.i Lold the Angeles clippers he was through after 12 seasons said thursday his mind had Uander cd from the court it s a decision 1 been contemplating for a few win pcs Aid at the sports Arena before the clippers met he Philadelphia 76crs. Quite frankly in got to be where 1 was think ing about life outside basketball More than life inside basketball. I could t give n what it deserved my undivided attention and 101 percent the 32-year-old Forward. Waived by the la lakers before if season had difficulty returning to form after knee ligaments i months ago. Lie played sparingly this season averaging 5.x Points while battling an ankle injury and bronchitis. An excellent shooter Wilkes Vas named Rookie of the year As a member of Golden stale s 1074-75 championship team. He won three Aba lilies Mill the i ,. .1 Julius says lie would rather hang on Loo Long Lam leave too a docs said a Arcco Abdul Jabbar says he would rather leave Loo Early than hang on too Long. Iranka. I m somewhere in the Wilkes said his decision to retire was made last saturday. On inc last Road trip to Sacramento for inc first time in my life. I did t want to be Here for Wal Ever he said. Perhaps Wilkes finest performance was overshadowed by a teammate. The 6-foot-d Romard scored 37 Points in the sixth my final game of the 1980 championship series Ilie same game in which magic Johnson scored 42 Points. Abdul la bar missed that came with an injury ind Johnson received most of the acco Lades by playing Center and guard. Vilkes Pla cd with Hill Walton on iwo undefeated no a championship at . Earning All America honors his is two years. It s been Wiikus said of his basketball career. It s been Chal Lenges meeting cop doing things i had t done earning a lot of Money. It s been fun and fantastic. Would t Trade it for the soft spoken a docs said he will study for a business school Entrance lest and work on his Golf game. Believe me. In needs a lot of work he said. As for the possibility of returning to a contending Leim Down the stretch Wilkes stopped Short of closing the door. I would t Rule it out. But it s not my thinking he said. Poll reaction has t changed in 50 years by ii Rischki. at football writer " i Here one Little four in � Here Titei Hung me in a a in. Koukl. / Ranier sports editor of the a so i rest recalling the juror m s per Oil i i . Renin a created in 11 i s Hinsum inc / think that in i s sin in a that the a poll a nest i a Iii us n b be enough it a nou a Frlj Jive Siu a be n o. /. U i dues a for. A Wais pc i Ives " letter to tie a from i us Strung to Alabama fan after the Vinison mile slipped behind Ohio stale in the / v7� poll. Noi much has changed Over the years when it conies to reaction la the associated press College football poll. And Thermal i 185 voting inc 50th anniversary poll could raise another uproar. If third ranked Oklahoma 10-1, de feats Tup ranked i Enn state 11-0, in the Orange guv to if second ranked Miami. 10-1 and the Only team to beat Oklahoma defeats Tennessee in the sugar bowl and if fourth tanked Iowa 10-1, knocks off us i a in the Rose bowl who is no. I if you want someone to blame for the poll that Man is Alan Gould now 87 and living in retirement in Florida. Although he solicited opinions from the a staff and Gould s lop 10 rankings in the Early 1930s were essentially a one Man operation. His final 1935 ratings boiled Down 10 8-0 Minnesota. 9-0 princ Cion and 12-0 Southern methodist. "1 ranked them All together at the Gould recalled not Loo Long ago. It Cre ated a storm in the big ten in general and Minneapolis St. Paul in particular. They thought theirs was the Dor Ninal team. There were some cases where agitated Minnesota followers wrote inc general manager of the a telling him he should get rid of me because i could t Tell one top learn from another. It was a Case of thinking up ideas to develop interest and controversy Between football saturdays papers wanted Materi Al to fill space Between games. Thai s All i had in mind something to keep the not boiling. Snorts then was living off Contro Versy opinion whatever this was just an other exercise in hoopla making in a top 111 was an arbitrary decision. It seemed logical to confine it to Hal number. It was Lough enough to pick a top 10 in those Days Lei alone 15 or 20." several of Gould s friends led by by Sherman of the Lincoln neb Star suggested that he make it a poll of sports editors instead of a personalized list. And so the a poll was Burn in 1916 through the 1964 season the National Champion was determined after the regu Lar season. Afler thai the first Posi Bow poll was taken and in Cost no. I Michi Gan stale a Rose howl loser the National championship. The poll went Back to regular season games in 1966 and 1967 before a Perma nent Post bowl poll was adopted in 1968. The a lines up a panel of 60 voters each season people who cover College football for a member newspapers and radio to stations. The Basic Rule of thumb allots one half vote for every Divi Sion i a school in a slate. There also arc three National voters this year from Abc to. Esp and sports illustrated. Except for the National voters the Selec Tion process at one Lime every a member could vote is left up to the bureaus covering each slate. So is he decision whether to keep the same people from year to year no a employee Voles in inc poll. The a merely counts the ballots which some How does t seem to placate letter writers who usually Start out How could you when Hayden Fry was coaching it North Texas slate he constantly petitioned a Southwest sports editor of conc Freeman to vote for his team. I kept Tillim him i did t have a Freeman says. And he d say yeah but we re playing Prelly Well. You really should Vole for a some facts about the a poll Twenty teams have been ranked in each poll except for the period from 1961 to 1967, when 10 teams were listed each week. Notre Dame has won inc most National championship seven followed by Oklahoma and Alabama five each Anil Minnesota four. In All 24 teams have won the National championship Minnesota was the first one 1936. Notre Dame has been ranked the most limes 452 of a possible 604fol Lowed by Ohio state 438texas 425 and Michigan 415. But Michigan holds the record for appearing in the consecutive polls 160 from 1968 to 1980. Followed by Noire Dame 159 from 19 4 to 1975 and Oklahoma 156 from 1971 to 1981. Notre Dame also has been ranked no. 1 Mosi often 69 time followed by Ohio stale 62oklahoma 52 and soul Horn Cal 47. Us was ranked no. 1 the most consecutive weeks18. The last 14 weeks of 1972 and the first four of 1973. No team has Ever held the no. 1 ranking from the preseason through the Post bowl poll. In 1971, Nebraska was no. I in every poll but the preseason one so was Southern Cal in 1972 and in 1983 Nebraska was no. I in every poll bul the Post bowl one. The Only teams to be no. I in each and every poll were notre. Dame in 1943 and army in 1945, bul those were Only regular season polls nine each year. The preseason poll began in 1950 and Only six teams have been ranked no. 1 in the preseason Ancl Post bowl polls in the same year Tennessee in 1951, Michi Gan stale in 1952, Oklahoma in 1956, 1974 and 1975, and Alabama in 1978 bul All fell from the top spot somewhere alone the Way. The biggest controversy occurred As a result of that final regular season poll in 1979. The nicer idlers from Alabama began dear Scrooge and to what big Dummy ii May concern and signed off hat fully Etc. Some Are Loo vulgar to mention. I was he kind of controversy 1 had in mind for the Appeal of the poll Gould says bul i had no idea in would reach such the other major wire service poll con ducted by United press International is a Vole of coaches. While the a poll allows voters to select from All learns playing division i football the coaches poll bans consideration of teams on Mcaa Proba Tion. Thai difference led to controversy ear Lier this year when Florida on Proba Tion was ranked no 1 in the a poll the 10th week of the season. The up poll gave the top ranking to Penn state no. 2 on the a list. Columns were written and broadcast editorials aired Over the prop Ricly of allow ing a team being punished for breaking the rules to be counted in the poll. But the firestorm abated when Florida was upset the following week by Georgia and Penn state look Over As no. 1 in both major rankings. Spearing Rule has reduced neck injuries in football Chicago up elimination of spearing has ova stoically reduced the number of serious neck injuries in football bul Rule or equipment changes arc needed in sports such As hockey and gymnastics to prevent injuries researchers said Here. Spearing the practice of rimming an opponent head first and tackling using the top of the helmet As the first Contact Point have been responsible for the majority of serious neck fractures and dislocations resulting in paralysis concluded a report by or. Joseph Torg and his colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania sports Medicine Center in Philadelphia. The researchers said since anti scaring rules were adopted by the National collegiate athletic association and National federation of state High school athletic associations in 1976, the number of serious injuries has dropped drastically. The total number of permanent cervical neck related quadriplegia in High school College and recreational football Over a 10 year period 1975 through 1984, underwent a marked decrease from 34 in 1976until a Low of five injuries was reached in the 1984 season Torg wrote in the journal of the american medical association. Torg and his colleagues examining data from the National football head and neck injury registry hypothesized the injuries occurred because of Axial loading or compression of the spine from the Impact. Preliminary studies showed that Between 1971 and 1975 injuries that resulted in quadriplegia occurred most often in players who were trying to make a tackle since the modern helmet protected most of the head and encouraged the use of the helmet As a battering ram the researchers suggest similar injuries occur in sports such As diving Rugby ice hockey and gymnastics. They added implementation of appropriate changes in playing techniques and or equipment modifications could Poss Bly reduce the incidence of cervical spine injuries in these
