From THE DETROIT NEWS, 23 January 1994
 
I couldn't resist a few [comments] of my own.  Insert :-) where
appropriate or desired.
 
YOST IS GOOD 'OLD' HOST WITH MOST
by Joe Falls
 
  If the long, baggy pants get to you, why not try the hockey games
over at Yost Ice Arena.  [Where they wear long, baggy pants, too,
but fill them with pads, not just skinny little legs.]
  It is a terrific show.
  I got my first look at Yost Ice Arena when it was Yost Field-
house.  We're talking 1953.  I'd just come to Detroit from New York
City and I was assigned to cover a basketball game at Yost
Fieldhouse.  Neat trick, since I didn't have a car, and how do you
get from Detroit to Ann Arbor without a car?  [Pierce your
forehead, die your hair orange and handcuff yourself to your pants.
Somehow, you'll manage to get to Ann Arbor...all of the freaks do.]
  Easy.  I took a bus.  I can't remember who the Wolverines played
but Bill Perigo was the coach and the arena reminded me of an old
dusty barn, like Jenison Fieldhouse in East Lansing.  I met George
Puscas there.  He was covering the game for the Free Press and
offered me a ride back to Detroit.  He said: "I'll show you the
industrial freeway."  [Probably the same industrial freeway that
exists today.  I doubt that they've repaired it since '53.]
  Freeways were big items in those days.  Not many cities had them.
  Anyway, you should see the place now.  The building is 70 years
old, built by Fielding H. Yost in 1924.  It is simply a great place
for hockey.  It is clean, it is accommodating -- it's a place where
the whole family can enjoy a game.  That is, if you can get
tickets.  The place holds a little more than 7,000 and the hockey
is so good, they sell out almost all the time.  [The place SHOULD
sell out ALL the time!]
  I saw Friday night's game, Michigan State's 6-3 victory over
Michigan, and I would pay to see this kind of competition.  The
game wasn't that good.  Michigan, the nation's No. 1 team, had an
off night, and the Spartans played beautifully.  [That may be
overstating it.  It sounds like David knocking off Goliath.  C'mon,
MSU is a top ten team in their own right.]
  OK, so on this cold night, they sold frozen yogurt and no hot
chocolate (Mr. Robeson, please note) and they did not have a shot
clock and they didn't play the Canadian national anthem, even
though there were 18 Canadian players on the U-M team, but the rest
of it was an absolute pleasure.  [First, they did have coffee and
other hot beverages, but they ran out.  Musta had too many sports-
writers at the game.  Second, when you put close to 8000 people in
a building that size, heat really isn't a problem.  I didn't take
a jacket, and I was enjoying my frozen yogurt (chocolate swirl).
Third, there is no shot CLOCK in hockey, and although I enjoy
sneaking a peek at the shot counter during the action, it isn't
essential.  Lastly, Ann Arbor isn't in Canada.  I love hearing the
Canadian anthem at Sault Ste Marie, but the fans in Ann Arbor have
enough trouble staying calm through one anthem.]
  First off, these young men know how to play the game.  No
hesitation, no holding back -- they went at high speed and even if
the play got ragged at times (lots of clutching and grabbing), you
could see talent all over the ice -- both sides.  [If he thinks
THAT was clutching and grabbing, he should see a Lake Superior
game.]
  Brian Wiseman and David Oliver are the two best Wolverines and it
was a joy to watch them work.  You'll see them in the NHL soon.
[Again, if he enjoyed them against MSU, he should see Ollie and
Wiseman when they actually come to play.  As for the NHL, Oliver
stock has risen this season, but neither of them were high draft
picks -- Oliver to Edmonton in the 7th round, Wiseman to the
Rangers in the 12th -- and there are no guarantees.]
  They had two Zambonis, a smoke-free environment and six tubas in
the band.  As Steve Klein of the Lansing State Journal said,
anything over three tubas makes it a special moment.  This was a
special moment.
  What I liked best is that there was none of the nastiness that
can spoil this great game.  They played and they played hard
(mucking it up, unfortunately, in the final minute when the
emotions were getting out of hand), but when it was over, they
lined up and shook hands.  [They always shake hands.  It wasn't
like a spontaneous display of sportsmanship or anything.  And this
game had very little mucking for a UM-MSU game -- especially one
where the game was decided.]
  Best of all, here was Red Berenson, coach of the Wolverines, and
Ron Mason, coach of the Spartans, shaking hands warmly -- not one
of those perfunctory hand slaps -- and walking off together.  These
are two fine men, hockey men who not only teach their young men how
to play but to respect each other.  [Red's comment after the game,
"Maybe we didn't respect MSU enough."  But seriously, Berenson and
Mason did show a touch of class after the game.  I've seen other
coaches that just brush off the other guy, win or lose.]
  What gets me is this: How can a game that can be so exciting not
come close to college basketball in interest?  College hockey
doesn't get nearly the attention that college basketball does.  I
guess it's because hockey is still a regional sport.  [Not everyone
knows a good thing when they see it.  And not everyone sees it.  I
look for club teams outside of the current geographical setting --
such as Arizona -- to generate the interest in their location that
will eventually lead to a varsity program.  Maybe not all at the
Div I level, but choosing Div II-III varsity status over club
status is a no brainer, IMO.]
  Only 44 Division I schools play hockey and six teams in the Big
Ten do not have a program -- Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Northwestern,
Purdue and Penn State.  Curiously, those who do have teams --
Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Minnesota --
get 18 scholarships compared to 13 for basketball.  [Actually, 44
schools play Div I hockey.  A slight twist of words.  And, while
I'm nitpicking, many of the other Big Ten schools do have club
programs.  What I really don't understand is: Does Joe think hockey
should have more scholarships, or less?]
  "The players have really been outstanding for the past five to
eight years," said Mason, relaxing in his office after winning his
400th game at Michigan State.  "We are attracting better and better
players all the time.  They have come to realize the importance of
an education and they want to take advantage of this opportunity.
Every game is like a playoff game to them, since we don't play that
many (35 or so) during the season.  [Geez, and just I few weeks ago
I thought the GLI wasn't special.  Now it's like a playoff game.]
  "Red and I have great respect for each other, so when our teams
play, they play hard but they play clean."  [Well...really hard,
and *generally* clean.  Neither team is composed entirely of
angels.  Why, just two seasons ago, PASS microphones picked up
Mason himself telling his team to take dives against Michigan.]
  Berenson was a player at U-M as well as star in the NHL before
returning to Ann Arbor to coach the Wolverines 10 years ago.
  When it was over, the 200 or so MSU fans sitting behind the
Spartans bench stood up and cried: "We're No. 1!  We're No. 1!"
[Their were two sections of MSU fans that I noticed.  The usual
strong contingent behind the bench -- who were mixing it up with
some of the UM students to the point that the police came and
removed one MSU parent(?) from the section.  Aside: For those of
you who have the game on tape, listen for the C-YA cheer late in
the second period, when there didn't seem to be any reason for it.
This is when the MSU fan was being removed.  The gentleman was
allowed to return to his seat a short while later.  The second
group was also fairly loud given their size, and they had plenty to
be loud about.  And, they had better seats than in previous seasons
 -- top corner of the endzone.  At least they weren't stuck in the
corner rafters of the sideline.]
  Well worth the price of admission.  [Which, for Joe, was ZIP.]
 
 
  John H
  U Mich
 
One more thought on Friday's MSU at UM game:
 
  -  Michigan must be in tight with the local Fire Marshall.  It
     sure looked like 7600+ in the arena, not 7492 as reported.