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M c Enroe Tl Tennis' 'Ualv Ami GLEN and SHEARER Editor's Note: Maxwell Glen and Cody Shearer are nationally syndicated columnists. Their following column on Sunday's U.S. Open victor John McEnroe originally ap prai cu 111 JUIjr. Sportswriters on both sides of tV Atlantic have again castigated tennis star John McEnroe for abusing officials as well as his racquet at the Wimbledon tennis championships. "John McEnroe. . .made a fool of himself and insulted others," read a front-page story in the staid Times of London on the second day of the tournament. "John McEnroe. . .was back yesterday in his more familiar role: The Villian of Tennis," wrote the London Daily Mail. Even The New York Times' soft-spoken Red Smith wrote that, at Wimbledon, "a spoiled brat like John McEnroe can ueuiui is unit; jusi nuw u&iy an u&iy mnencan can gei. .(The) responsibility of making an ass of himself devolves on McEnroe. He is equal to the assignment." IS JOHN McENROE as detestable as sportswriters would have him? Is he all that different from millions of othpr promising young athletes in America? Twenty-two-year-old John McEnroe is every bit the ailAmerican kid. He's what we love and fear the most about ourselves. And he hasn't changed much since we played infield with him on the grade-school baseball team. It's easy to remember the day our coach brought up the scrappy, nine-year-old Irish-American to play with the older boys. He was tempestuous and competitive even then. His hitting was lousy and the bat seemed bigger than he. But the southpaw could throw better than many of his older teammates. Hf? went nn tn hArnmc thp siHpnrm-thrnwincr miar terback of the football team and a passionate basketball player. (No one then knew him for his tennis.) From what we recall, McEnroe always had a bad temper. He was bumped from the football team after an argument with his coach ? an incredibly unusual event for the private school we attended. OFF THE FIELD, McEnroe cultivated an enduring reputation as a bright student. Most teachers remember him fondly. "John always thought he was something," recalled one teacher who also knew his family well. "But he set very high ideals for himself. There was intense family pressure to excel. John would get frustrated if he couldn't perform 100 Dercent." One classmate remembered this incident when dads visited the school of Father's Day: "We were sitting in a sixth-grade math class. John went up to the board to do a problem. But he miscalculated and got the wrong answer. His father really let him have it. Then John started yelling The Jewlery Warehouse h 2000 Piatt Snrinn Rd. ! M $> til 6 Mon.-Sat. tj I "It's more than just another jewelry itore." L I 'm I r,n Fnnjv spdi 18 .it tne ah Niter see Me, A! Pranken .it \ I w 19 00 or n $0 for 5 00 for students ft r. 00 for undue The I money cjofs tn Me, Al Franken K"f ??-t i ^ <.-/ flfir _| J_Ji| _ 1 \ V//M "*/ >aa Rriif Wm m hmmih' flc lii?t A Ru.n ?R IVMII 19 iV9l VJ back. You can imagine it was pretty tense." Many who've known both McEnroe and his lawyer father, John Sr., contend the apple hasn't always fallen from the tree. "I always felt John was a brash, snotty-nosed kid," said nno Innotimp nuiffhhnr in Donolaston N Y "But his dad was a tough, hard-nosed guy as well.'' IT'S NOT THAT John Jr. isn't responsible for his bratty behavior. But what other performance would you expect from a kid who's grown up with parents screaming from the sidelines'.' Many young American athletes grow up not knowing how to accept defeat because their parents couldn't bear to see them lose. They learn early that games are meant to be won. Unfortunately, such attitudes ffive SDortsmanshiD secondary importance. If you don't believe us, just check out a Little League game. You'll meet the McEnroes of the future. Gamscocle T Notre Dame, who posted a North Carolina, is the 27-9 win over LSU Saturday nation's seventh-best team in the Fighting Irish's season according to the poll. The opener, stands atop this Tar Heels opened their week's Gamecock Top Twenty. The Irish face Michigan Saturday in Jerry Faust's GAMECC second game as Notre Dame head coach. Oklahoma and Southern rp Cal, who each recorded AW sizable margins in their wins last week, are deadlocked in the No. 2 spot. Oklahoma downed Wyoming 37-20 l.NotreDame Saturday, while the Trojans 9 AHohnma routed Tennessee 43-7. ~ ^'J 1" 11 u 1J1 .? Texas, the poll's fourth- Southern Cell (tie) ranked team, opened its a TgxaS season by bombing Rice 31-3. * ~ Georgia, the defending 5. CrCOFglcl national champ, holds a 2-0 6. Penn St. record and the fifth ranking _ Nnrit, fnrnlina after downing Tennessee # . i^ui in v^cli uiliici and California. In the No. 5 8. Michigan position is Penn\State. Joe q Alnhama Patterno's Nittany Lions waltzed to a 52-0 victory over 10. OlllO St. i v^iiiciiumu oaiuruay. USC's Oct. 24 opponent, T [J^JjE^LYMRD 11/ '^^#pfcclAL 1 money by taklnQ advantage \ Z^01 ^ V,,,a 8 ^ SP?0'01v " ^0&l> v / \ Mon- Thurs- 4:00 P-m-" ?J 6:00 p.m. Just clip out tt>e vVvJ VB^ coupon below and eat the y It JJ^JPbest for less at the Vilta. | 1704 BUSH RIVER ROAD^Sk/'S ^ ^Q6 827 HARDEN STREET l|J? gg B Hfeg , EARLYBIRD SPECIAL { j You and a friend can enjoy one free dinner J I entree with the purchase of an entree of .. equal or greater vqlue.WiSfe^ \/I|1hRI oood Mon tfuu ? ' ? r . ? Thurs. 4:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. L * roduct Of U.S. Ideals McEnroe says he wouldn't throw his racquet or swear at officials if his game were better. That's a lousy excuse; we fe all get upset when we double-fault. But what's tragic about McEnroe's behavior is that too many young Americaas assume that the quest for perfection is an excuse for the profane. "Along with being a worldnclass athlete goes responsibility," said Sterling P. Miller, one of his former coaches 1 a. 1 ii i.i? i _ L. i/: anu leacners. ouiui nas> iu ut* auuvc icpiuacu. rviua aic looking up to him as a role model.. .but going to see him play can be like going to a car race expecting a crash." Of course, everyone can't be as mild-mannered on the court as Bjorn Borg. And we doubt that young American athletes will ever be anything but fiesty. But before sports pundits call for McEnroe's banishment from the pro circuit, ? they should note that he's a natural byproduct of this country's emphasis on winning. op Twenty season with a 56-0 blazing of Another of last week's East Carolina. Behind UNC surprise losers is Alabama, is Michigan, a 21-14 upset The Crimson Tide, who fell victim Saturday at the hands to Georgia Tech 24-21, hold^ of Wisconsin. the ninth slot. A 34-13 winner* over Duke, Ohio State is the No. 10 squad. UCLA beat m a ?r m o_* 1 1 1OD /vrizuna oaiuiuay aim now holds the 11th position. Arizona State, a 52-10 winner over Utah, follows in the 12th y ranking. ? Pittsburgh, who faces Carolina Oct. 3, is 1-0 and the TTi-,T A No. 13 team. BYU, sporting a 11. uvun 2-0 mark, is at the 14th 12. Arizona St. ranking. "Pift Miami, Fla. has a 1-0 Itt record after a last-second 14. BYU win over Florida. The 15. Miami. Fla. H.u.[;ricane-S face }.he P0"'5 , ' iyiii team, nousion, 16. Nebraska Saturday. Nebraska suf17. Washington J*"* ??? loss to iowa but 10 n/To Of holds the No. 16 slot, while lo. 1V11SS. ol. Washington fills in at 17. 19. Houston Mississipi State, Houston ^ ^ . flnH T?1nriHo Ctofn r-minrl ai 1# lift U1! Wf* unu a ivi iuu uuiv<u i vunu uuv , ZU. r 1UI lUd ol. ^ rankings. Florida State? meets 16th-ranked Nebraska Saturday. j T| 1 *4 -f _ V?J -1L*ATJ ^ ed B fr>n ri/-to?-i iit-Af Hi n^wr Ijcc a i\cv-i unci uui ii ly v^ai cci uayo, September 16, or check with Placement. FOR INFO: Call 1-800-241-3862, ext. 72. i ?