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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, January 9, 1969
Colts give Michaels ribbing
BOCA RATON, Fla. (UPI)—The Baltimore Colts are exactly where they figured to be for Sunday's Super Bowl game with the New York Jets - in ideal shape.
Physically, their two convalescents, cornerback Lenny Lyles and defensive end Bubba Smith, are coming along fine. And mentally, the Colts are so loose and relaxed that they all kidded placekicker Lou Michaels yesterday about his skirmish with Joe Namath last weekend.
Michael, who nearly got into a fistfight with Namath in a nearby Fort Lauderdale restaurant Sunday night and then wound up becoming his best friend, took the kidding from his teammates during the Colts' skull session prior to their slightly more than one-hour long practice on the field.
Don Shula, the Baltimore coach, laughingly revealed that some of the Colts players "thought that Lou got bought off by Joe picking up the dinner check."
After their initial verbal encounter Sunday night, the Jet quarterback not only picked up the check, but also drove the Colt placekicker back to his hotel.
When asked what his reaction was to the entire affair, Shula said:
"I thought it was pretty humorous."
On the more serious side, Lyles, who had a siege of tonsilitis recently, looked "a little weak" during Tuesday's workout but was seen running up and down the beach before 8 a.m. yesterday and Shula had to doubt he would be ready for the Jets.
Smith, coming off a recent ankle sprain, has been working well and also is penciled in as a starter Sunday.
Shula said he is trying to keep the practice sessions short, approximately 70 minutes each, because he feels the Colt players can concentrate on their assignments that way and that there won't be any unnecessary idleness or standing around.
Despite the fine progress made here by his Colts and by the fact they rate $17\frac{1}{2}$ points favorites, Shula said there were no signs of overconfidence.
"We're not going into this game thinking we're such a superior team that we're going to man-handle them." Shula said.
The Baltimore coach conceded that Namath is coming in for a prime measure of attention in both the Colts' meetings and field drills.
"It wouldn't necessarily say we're preparing for him more
than we do for say a Roman Gabriel, but Namath is the guy everybody is talking about, and our players are aware of him. I think blitzing Namath will be tough because he has that quick release and he's so quick at getting back there to throw."
Shula, answering a question, said he didn't know Namath well personally.
Ewbank warning for blitzing QB Namath
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (UPI) — The New York Jets worked yesterday on ways to penetrate the stonewall defense of the Baltimore Colts, but Coach Weeb Ewbank dismissed any thoughts of a "get rich quick" sendoff in Sunday's Super Bowl game on the strength of Joe Namath's explosive passing.
For a second day, the emphasis was on offense as the American Football League champions prepared for the third meeting between the American and National Football League title teams, scheduled for 3 p.m. EST Sunday in Miami's Orange Bowl.
Ewbank praised Namath and his three main receivers—Don Maynard, George Sauer and Pete Lammons—to newsmen, but said he didn't expect New York's explosive passing attack to work any sudden miracles against a Colt defense that clearly has the Jets concerned.
"The rush we are going to get may be something we've never seen. We can't tell everything from the movies. We hope we'll be able to handle it.
"We have the greatest respect for the Colt rush," said Ewbank, and he went on to mention by name two members of the Colt front four: Fred Miller, "strong as a bull," and Bubba Smith, "supposed to be the best thing since peanut butter."
"We are certainly not thinking anything like get rich quick against this team. We have no visions like that at all. We have
got to go out and play good hard football."
But the Jets coach had a warning for the Colts against using the blitz. Against Namath, Ewbank said, "blitzing is not the thing to do. Joe reads the defenses very quickly and well.
"Actually I hope they do blitz. One of the first things we do in training camp is take up the blitz. We have got our blitz passes down."
Ewbank said his team is working equally hard on all phases of offense. "We want to get the ball in the end zone the best way we can, running or passing. We will have to see what the situation dictates on Sunday."
Ewbank dwelled on Namath, who turned down an invitation to a news conference. The Jet quarterback apparently felt reports of a verbal run in between him and Colt placekicker Lou Michaels at a restaurant Sunday night were exaggerated.
But Ewbank said Broadway Joe was simply "a great punster. I happened to be in the same restaurant as Joe last night. He finished eating about 11 o'clock, and when he got up to go he said to me,
"Coach this midnight curfew is killing me. I'm getting too much sleep."
About the Sunday game, Ew-bank said, Namath "is dead serious. He had been studying the films even at home before he came down here."
Countdown to 1,000
By ROBERT ENTRIKEN JR.
Kansan Sports Special
A friend of mine, knowing I had spent part of my Christmas break in Miami, greeted me Sunday with: "How was your vacation—not counting Wednesday night?"
Well, not counting Wednesday night, pretty good! While a small contingent of Kansans collected suntans and heartbreaks in Florida and a greater number froze with the snow that plagued the Midwest, KU's basketballers drove to a 13-1 record and a 12-game winning streak.
Now, only three notches separates the Hawks from becoming the first school to record 1,000 basketball victories.
On the other hand, the vacation was not so successful for another of the 1,000 contenders—Oregon State. The Beavers won only 1 of 5 games, placing fourth in the Far West Classic. Kentucky, meanwhile, lost only to Wisconsin—remember them?—in five games.
The great celebration for KU could come as early as Jan. 18 and of all places, in Manhattan
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Kentucky, with 995 wins by NCAA count (there's a dispute over a 5-game series two summers ago in Tel Aviv), could hit the magic number Jan. 27. In its path are Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, and Alabama.
Color Oregon State, eight games away with a not-so-inviting schedule that includes UCLA, out of the picture.
Should KU lose any of its next three, Kentucky could slip past while the Jayhawks sit idle during semester break.
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