The final word on the University of Wisconsin’s excellent year in sports is going to be written by Rick Telander, author of the controversial “The Hundred Yard Lie” and “Heaven Is a Playground.” Since late 1990, Telander, a Sports Illustrated staffer who lives in Lake Forest, has been researching the Badgers’ athletic program with cooperation from coaches, AD Pat Richter and former Chancellor Donna Shalala.
Most of the book, as yet untitled, is written and the publisher, Simon & Schuster, tentatively plans to make it available late next summer. Telander said he will write final segments that will include the Rose Bowl effort as well as wrap up the winter sports. “I’m hoping for an NCAA champioinship in men’s basketball,” said Rick, who was ecstatic Barry Alvarez’s football team became so successful.
Telander started the project at a time the Badgers appeared to be at rock bottom in athletics. “They’ve gone through a remarkable turnaround,” said Telander. “They’ve gone from the Stone Age to the modern age. My goal was to report which they were going to go.”
Michael who? The National Basketball Association hasn’t exactly faltered since the retirement of Michael Jordan. The current Fortune Magazine reports the league appears headed for record moneymaking totals-$1 billion in regular revenues and over $2 billion in merchandise. NBA Properties President Rick Welts told the publication: “There’s no question that this will be by far our most successful year ever.”
Cool runnings: All is not hunky-dory in the Pettit Ice Center in Milwaukee, where Bonnie Blair readies her bid for a fourth gold medal in the Winter Olympics. Also working out at the center is Chinese star Ye Qiaobo, a runner-up to Blair in ’92 who’s trying to return from knee surgery last August. Ye failed a drug test before the ’88 Winter Olympics and was suspended for 18 months. Blair’s been giving the Chinese athlete the cold shoulder. Said Bonnie: “I don’t see where she has to be my friend, just because we’re in the same sport. I just feel associating with her is wrong.”
Gunned down: Former Oak Park HS basketball star Greg Guy, who led the NCAA Division I ranks in scoring last year with a 29.3 average for Texas-Pan American, is in the middle of a “shootout” at the school. To publicize his high-scoring achievements going into this final season, Texas-Pan American publicists pictured Guy on the cover of the basketball media guide as a gangster holding a gun. Not exactly what you’d call politically correct, given today’s climate. “We didn’t want to do a ho-hum guide when we have the leading scorer,” said coach Mark Adams. Nevertheless, when the school got hit with complaints, it quickly stopped distribution and has tried to get as many of the 800 printed copies returned as possible. The school also published a new cover-it shows Guy in school clothes standing on top of a building-that’s being circulated this week. “The only danger that Greg poses to anybody is for opponents trying to guard him,” said university publicist Mark Vinson.
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Campus notebook: Georgia Tech has decided to change the playing surface of its football stadium in Atlanta from artificial turf to natural grass. The switch is expected to be implemented in time for the ’95 season. . . . At Portland State, Athletic Director Randy Nordlof, based on six complaint calls, will banish the quick prayer meetings that the football team takes at midfield following home contests. Instead, these sessions to recite the Lord’s Prayer will be replaced next season by a moment of silence.
Jostlin’ Jocelyn: Don’t put too much stock in talk Jocelyn Lemieux might be on the Blackhawks’ trading block. When selecting members for the Blackhawk Charity Board of Directors, owner Bill Wirtz insisted Lemieux be one of two Chicago players to have seats.
Short stuff: In going 52-15 before this week’s league opener, the Great Midwest Conference was off to its best start in the league’s three-year history. . . . Cog Hill’s De De Owens has been named LPGA Teacher Of The Year. . . . The Kane County Cougars’ third annual winter baseball banquet, plus silent auction, is Jan. 20 at Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles. . . . River Forest’s Raymond Anderson, member of Oak Park CC, has been named president of the Western Golf Association.
Consolation prize: Last year, little Cornell College in Iowa went undefeated in football and failed to get an invite to the NCAA Division III playoffs. When coach Steve Miller ran into the coach of another undefeated team-Alabama’s Gene Stallings-at an off-season meeting, he jokingly challenged the Crimson Tide to a grudge match. Fortunately for Miller, Stallings just smiled. This season Cornell dropped a couple of games and wasn’t in playoff contention, but Miller is smiling. His son, QB Matt Miller, just knocked off a first. He’s been named winner of a $5,000 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship to go with an $18,000 National Football Foundation postgraduate scholarship. It’s the first time an NCAA athlete has won both prestigious awards and, in the case of the NCAA grant, it’s also the first time a father and son have been recipients. Steve Miller was among the first winners in ’65.
And finally: Do what you want with this fact, but it was one year ago Wednesday that Mike McCaskey fired Mike Ditka.