University of Virginia Library

the sports scene

Saturday
Night At
The Fights

by bob cullen

illustration

SATURDAY WAS A BIG night at University Hall. There were
several scheduled events, including two basketball games and a
wrestling match. Virginia won all of them. There were also a few
unscheduled differences of opinion, and Virginia came out of
them a sorry loser.

What was most obvious was the fact that basketball people can
fight about as well as your Aunt Tillie. After two tough years
under the boards, Norman Carmichael still leads with his chin. His
fight with Ted Ribock of South Carolina was only a little more
exciting than the Fullmer-Benvenuti affair that preceded it on the
tube.

What happened was that Ribock and Carmichael, standing at
one end of the floor, noticed their respective coaches having a
few words with each other in front of the Virginia bench.
Figuring that if the coaches were angry he ought to be too,
Norman issued a challenge by thrusting his chin at Ribock and
saying "I bet you couldn't hit me right there." Whereupon the
South Carolina center decked him with a left hook.

IT MATTERED LITTLE that Carmichael, without even
waiting for the mandatory eight count, got up and struck a
grazing blow for the good guys that might have determined how
closely Ribock had shaved that morning. Both were ejected from
the game, and the officials, in a gross miscarriage of justice,
awarded two technicals to each team, despite the fact that South
Carolina had undoubtedly gotten in the first and only real punch
of the fight.

Meanwhile, back at the bench, Coaches McGuire and Gibson
were still discussing each other's ancestry, potency, and other
important matters of world affairs. From the looks on their faces,
it seemed to some fans that they might also be on the brink of
fisticuffs, but knowledgeable people knew that there was little
likelihood of such an interesting turn of events.

McGUIRE AND GIBSON have been in basketball for a long
time, and through experience they know how well basketball
people can fight. The two had little desire to look foolish in front
of 5,000 people. So when McGuire wandered over in front of the
Virginia bench, Gibson contented himself with politely requesting
that the Gamecock mentor "get out of my —ing area." McGuire
questioned Gibson's claim to ownership, citing Supreme Court
cases and his personal opinion that "you're a —ing phony,
Gibson." Coach Gibson then accused Coach McGuire of the same
peccadillo, promising to take up the matter at another time.

Unfortunately for all the debate fans in the audience,
somebody dumped the contents of a drink that smelled
suspiciously unlike Coca-Cola on McGuire's head as he was
leaving the arena, and this perhaps cooled the rage of the South
Carolina coach. It was either that or the imposing presence of
football coach Tom Fletcher, who urged McGuire to reconsider
any violent thoughts he might be harboring. At any rate, after an
abortive move at Bus Male, who was backed up at the time by
most of the Virginia football team, McGuire decided that he
would be better off talking to newsmen. Coach Gibson agreed to
the truce. He was happy with winning the game, but he must have
been thinking of the rematch down there, where the people are
boors and throw things on the court.