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6The Daily Tar Heel Thursday, January 1 4, 1 988 Throw Momma' is fast-paced, funny "Eliminate the motive and establish an alibi" is the way to commit the perfect murder, according to creative writing professor Larry Donner (Billy Crystal) in the Orion Pictures film, "Throw Momma From The Train." In trying to explain this basic murder-writing idea to his less-than-bright student, Owen Lift, Larry mentions Hitchcock as the master of murder. Owen watches the Hitchcock classic, "Strangers on a Train," and decides that Larry must want Owen to kill Larry's ex-wife, Margaret (Kate Mulgrew). In return, Larry reasons, Larry can bump off Owen's mean, ugly momma (Anne Ramsey). Criss-cross killings: each one can perform the other's desired murder. The result of this confusion is a hilarious, fast-paced comedy-murder spoof that shows off both Danny DeVito's skills as a director and as an actor. DeVito manages to portray the slow-witted Owen with the wonderful zeal of the child that Owen still is. He is dominated by his screeching and overbearing momma, and he has some rather adult ideas about killing her, but doesn't think beyond that to the consequences. DeVito, in his first feature film as a director, shows a bit of unusual creativity in his screen transistions. For example, DeVito will suddenly focus on a shirt with palm trees on it. Then a jet will fly above the palm trees, just like on a post card. Finally, DeVito drops the shirt, and the plane is flying across the blue sky above Owen. DeVito also uses good camera angles for each scene and skillfully organizes the confusing material. Crystal's character Larry has the most obvious motive for the murder: Is Michael coming here? Maybe not The rampant rumor that prob ably won't be sweeping our expec tant campus about the upcoming Michael Jackson tour will more than likely be untrue. According to Smith Center public relations offical Deana Nail, the story that was in the Raleigh News and Observer Wednesday was slightly unfounded. "The contact has been made, but that means nothing," Nail said. The story was begun earlier this week when the Jackson promoters announced the big tour's stops for 1988, Chapel Hill included. No date, however, was announced. It brings out the best in all of us. United Way ECH fC4ROUNK WE NEED: Stage Managers Concert Security Riggers&Carpenters Lighting Technicians Apply at: MEMORIAL HALL backstage lOam to 5pm Thu. Jan 14 and Fri, Jan 15 INDOOR JOE HILTON INVITATIONAL Friday 6:00 pm Sat. 11:00 am (raeiiG ft Pguzgg' PdgDceI) Kelly Rhodes Cinema his ex-wife stole his first novel and published it as her own. Since then, his writer's block has extended to life in general. Crystal takes the situation and makes the best of it, showing the agony of typewriter pounding and paper crumpling, then the hilarity of trying to talk to Owen's strange momma. Crystal's best-known comic side is delicately balanced with the serious characteristics of Larry Donner. The original screenplay was written by Californian Stu Silver. The speech and mannerism of each character tended to be somewhat stereotypical, but the dialogue was fresh enough to bring life to the crazy idea behind the script. Silver's symbols were overly obvious, beginning when Larry told Owen, "In every great murder romance, there is always a train." Trains appear in abundance, ranging from Owen's toy train to Larry's near kiddie-train tryst to the infamous train in the climactic scene. "Throw Momma From The Train" is a short, but funny occupation for an evening. DeVito and Crystal are both great, and momma is enough to remind any student what he is missing at home. Iowa stays atop women's poll From staff reports The Iowa Hawkeyes, 11-0, were a near unanimous choice as the nation's No. 1 women's basketball team, according to the latest Associated Press poll. Three ACC teams Virginia, Duke and Maryland are in the top 14. AP Top 20 1. Iowa (60) 2 Louisiana Tech (3) a Auburn (1) 4. Tennessee 5. Texas 6. Mississippi 7. Virginia 8. Ohio State 9. Rutgers 10. Stanford 11. Duke 12 Long Beach State 13. Georgia 14. Maryland 15. Western Kentucky 16. Washington 17. Nevada-Las Vegas 18. Southern Cal 19. Montana 20. Houston 11- 0 1274 12- 0 1,200 12-1 1,170 9-2 1,043 12-2 1,019 12-0 971 12- 1 915 8-2 796 8- 2 711 13- 0 696 12-2 593 7- 3 576 11-3 534 10- 3 498 11- 2 440 9- 2 285 9-2 161 8- 3 105 11-0 104 11-1 86 Others receiving votes: Vanderbitt 82, James Madison 76, Colorado 31, Stephen F. Austin 16, La Salle 12, Nebraska 10, New Orleans 6, Tennessee-Cattanooga 6, DePaul 5, San Diego State 4, Clemson 3, Penn State 3, New Mexico State 2, St Joseph's 1, Hawaii 1, Michigan State 1. CREW OKi TRACK 'V -. mmm The Opener . Tar Heels will face rejuvenated Terps tonight By JAMES SUROWIECKI Staff Writer Can you say rebuilding? I knew you could. Now, forget that word, at least when you're talking about Maryland basketball. The Terps, who were 0-14 in the conference last year, have left the bad memories and the bad games behind and emerged as a true force in the ACC. Young, hungry, and aggressive, Maryland has raced to a 9-3 record, 2-0 in the conference. UNC's visit to Cole Field House for a 9 p.m. bout tonight should be far from the automatic victory it seemed last year. North Carolina will be without the services of shooting guard Ranzino Smith, the team's only senior and second-leading scorer. Smith is still bothered by a deep thigh bruise which kept him out of the Fordham game on Jan. 6. The Terrapins have been blessed by an infusion of new talent, and by the blossoming of Tony Massenburg at power forward. Massenburg, who played eight games two years ago under Lefty Driesell, was suspended last year, but seems to have suffered no ill effects from his layoff. The 6-foot-9 Massenburg came back in December, and has given Maryland a devastating frontcourt. That frontcourt is so impressive because Massenburg's arrival has allowed Derrick Lewis to swing back to small forward, and because 6-foot-10 freshman Brian Williams has shown his glass to be half-full, not half-empty, scoring 12 points a game and shooting .617 from the field while taking up plenty of room inside. Lewis' move out of the pivot has enabled him to become better inte- ACC Basketball Standings Team Maryland Duke Georgia Tech N.C. State Virginia North Carolina Wake Forest Clemson Tonight's Games North Carolina at Maryland, 9 pm St Louis at Duke, 7:30 p.m. Women's Team Conference Overall Virginia 2-0 12-1 Maryland 3-1 10-3 Clemson 2-1 8-2 Georgia Tech 1-1 7-4 Wake Forest 1-1 12-1 Duke 1-2 12-2 N.C. State 1-3 6-7 North Carolina 0-2 6-6 Football or info? You decide From staff reports New UNC football coach Mack Brown is looking for a few good men not that he doesn't already have more than enough. Students inter ested in trying out for the 1988 UNC football team should contact Mike Marks or Joe Robinson at 966-2575. Tryouts are open to individuals who are academically eligible and in good physical condition. It would also help if you ran a 4.4 40 or can bench press 400 pounds (those are our words, not Mack's). Jordan, Over the holidays, many interesting things happened to those who play the games that make we who write sports very, very rich people. As everybody knows, Miami's bunch of jive-talking footballers captured the mythical national title. Other fabulous occurrences included the Dallas Cowboys not venturing forth into the playoffs again. Guys, it's been three years since that team which feels it represents this country has seen postseason action and two years since they played above .500. It's not just the Cowboys, however. The entire NFL is undergoing a changing of the guard. The Oakland L. A. I soon-to-be-Irwindale Raiders have also been absent from the playoff role call of late. Chuck Noll's men of steel in Pittsburgh thought they'd make their first postseason appearance since losing in the 1984 AFC Championship game, 45-28 to Miami. But, alas, the Steelers' 8-5 record dropped to 8-7 against con ference opponents and their playoff hopes flew out of the proverbial window. I knew something was wrong with I UNC pdge Maryland Senior sharpshooter Ranzino Smith Juco transfer Rudy Archer is leading m ---J (14.5ppg) may sit out with thigh bruise, 9j team in scoring (15.8 ppg). He could ClU3 lO S leaving Jeff Lebo (1 3.6 ppg, 53 on be joined by 6-6 soph Steve Hood or 3-pointers) and frosh King Rice to start 6-5 senior Keith Gatlin. Scott Williams is scoring at a 1 3.3 ppg Shotblocking madman Derrick Lewis i clip and pulling down 6.3 rebounds an fi is back for his senior year and scoring OF WcirCIS outing. Kevin Madden (10.0 ppg) and SSJ 14.3 ppg. Tony Massenburg, a 6-9 Steve Bucknall are sharing swing spot rebounding monster, may guard Reid. J.R. Reid, still a monster though a tot Freshman Brian Williams is averaging no more, leads the ACC in scoring jrj 12 points a night in the middle. This WwlllSr (19.4 ppg) and field-goal percentage. piP 6-10 Pervis Ellison playalike is only He's also third in rebounding (9.0 rpg). going to get better. With Smith, the Tar Heels can go nine There may not be a deeper team in DahaU deep. Without him, Rice and Madden the ACC than this one, including Duke. D 611 Cm must turn in great games. Redshirt SSJ They can go 10 deep with ease, with frosh Pete Chilcutt (8.1 ppg) is a key. 1 986-87 starter John Johnson No. 1 0. Dean Smith, in his 27th year coaching Bob Wade, after surviving a winless fOIi5rr the Tar Heels, has won 622 games, a conference debut, has his team off to wOoCninQ winning percentage of 78. He's 3-0 1fW a 2-0 ACC start this year. A win tonight against Bob Wade. Ulis would help him outrecruit the Hoyas. grated into the offense, and to better utilize his quickness. At 6-foot-7, Lewis was small for a center, although his play last year suggested he was ignorant of that fact. As a small forward he seems at home, averaging 14.3 points and nine rebounds a game. The biggest change in the Terrapin lineup, though, has been the addition of explosive point guard Rudy Archer, a juco transfer who has been able to push the ball inside to the big men and hit the jumper from outside. Archer is averaging 15.8 points a game, while dishing out 5.6 Men's Conference 2-0 1-0 1-0 1-0 1-1 0-0 0-2 0-3 Overall 9-3 9-1 12-2 8-2 8-7 11-1 4-7 7-5 Hey, you out there. Do you pore over the DTH sports page every day? Buy up sports magazines the day they come out? If so, then the UNC Sports Information Office is looking for you. The Office is now taking applica tions for student assistants to begin work in August 1988. Some form of sports journalism background will be helpful to appli cants, but isn't required. If interested, please contact Assistant Sports Information Director Dave Lohse at the Smith Center. Reid still Langston Wertz Opinion the NFL when I saw a playoff game in the Louisiana Superdome and the home team was playing. Then I switched over to NBC and saw Eric Dickerson, you know, the Eric Dickerson who was Mr. L.A. Night club Man, playing in Indianapolis Colt white. Did you read that right? (Go back and read it again.) Indi anapolis and New Orleans were in the playoffs. What's next, Kansas City and Green Bay in the 1989 Super Bowl? ... Speaking of football, Syracuse quarterback Don McPherson picked up the Maxwell Award as college football's best player. At least some body knew who was the NCAA's finest. . . . Switching to hoops, J.R. Reid awakened from an early-season slumber, much to the chagrin of college coaches everywhere. "Baby Jay is," as commentator Al McGuire acknowledges, "the best college Sports li assists, and is among the leaders in free-throw percentage as well. "They have one of the best point guards in the nation in Rudy Archer," UNC coach Dean Smith said of the Terps. "We saw him last year and I thought he was one of the country's best point guards then, even though he was in junior college." Last year, the Terrapins proved a surprisingly tough test when UNC journeyed north to play them. Mary land's improvement will undoubtedly translate into similar problems for UNC tonight. Still, this year's Tar Heel squad, though young, has wtaimers Division III power By DAVE GLENN Staff Writer UNC head swimming coach Frank Comfort has the Tar Heels riding a victory wave that he wants to extend into ACC competition, beginning Saturday with a nocn meet against a powerful Clemson squad. "We're starting to move into the real heart of the season," Comfort said. "The ACC dual meets are here, and the conference finals are only five weeks away." A strong Clemson team springs into town Saturday to open the Tar Heels' ACC schedule. The women's team is ranked fifth in the country, while the men's team is ranked 20th. Comfort named Clemson and Virginia as the strongest women's teams in the ACC. But he emphasized that only today's meet with Division III power Kenyon is on Tar Heel minds for the moment. "We have a master plan for the next five or six weeks," Comfort said. "Within that plan, we try to focus on individual day-to-day training and the upcoming meet." Comfort said the Tar Heels have changed their training schedules to prepare for this important stretch in the season, and added that the swimmers know that now is the time for them to come together as a team. "It's not like a football team where 11 of us have to do the same thing at the same time for it to work," Comfort said. "Here, what works for you might not work for your team mate, so we use different kinds of schedules and activities for each individual." Comfort added that this type of individuality must be practiced within the team concept. tops in their field player in the country." Sorry, Larry Brown. In the professional ranks, Charles Barkley, he of overweight joke fame, must have spent his summer taking lessons from Michael Jordan. With Jordan getting some new guest stars on his highly-rated Chicago-based basketball show, Barkley's spin-off hit in Philadelphia now gives the NBA and its fans the league's only one-man variety show. Barkley's been a terror to Patrick Ewing, teams and backboards everywhere. ... Jordan, the NBA's best player (sorry Magic Man), gave the Knicks an early Christmas present. Air Jordan scored only 16 points as Chicago lost 90-89 on Christmas Eve. ... Sometimes college hoops ain't fair. Harvey Grant, twin brother of Chi cago Bull and ex-Clemson Tiger Horace, must be giving Clemson coach Cliff Ellis heartburn. Grant left Clemson unhappy with his playing time. Now with Oklahoma, Grant is helping the Sooners score at a rate of 1 16.8 points per game, better than compiled by Mike Berardino played with uncommon intensity, and stands at 11-1 on the year. Heading into its conference opener, North Carolina seems poised to mount a serious challenge for the Final Four. Still, J.R. Reid, who of late has been remarkably impressive, has yet to play against a frontcourt of the size and shot-blocking ability of Williams, Lewis and Massenburg. Maryland has played LSU and Missouri well on the road, and beating UNC would represent one' giant step for Terpkind. Can you say upset? 1 knew you could. will host "One of our team goals for this week is, 'Think of yourself as a team member as well as an individual,' " Comfort said. Over the holidays, Comfort accom panied eight UNC swimmers to Orlando, Fla., where they competed in the U.S. Open swim meet. Swimmers from 22 countries partic ipated and UNC senior Susan O'Brien reached the finals in both the 100- and 200-meter backstroke events. UNC star swimmers Kim Beattie, John Davis, Marc Ferguson, Heather Nottingham, Wendy Powers, Tod Schroeder and Hannah Turlish faced competition which Comfort termed, "some of the best that the country and the world had to offer." Comfort said the trip to Florida provided tough competition for UNC's top swimmers that will be useful later when they face rivals within the ACC. He added that these stellar performers might push them selves a little bit harder after seeing, and competing against, the nation's best. Comfort noted that some UNC swimmers have the best times in their events in collegiate swimming today. "However," the coach said, "that doesn't mean that they will be the fastest tomorrow." In a final comment on the pros pects of this year's team, Comfort addressed the fact that both the men's and women's teams are relatively inexperienced. "Both of our teams are definitely very young we have only four senior women and one senior guy," Comfort said. "But that doesn't mean we're sitting around waiting for next year. We're waiting for tomorrow." all but two pro teams. With the Sooners, Grant has led the team in scoring. He had 40 points as Oklahoma averaged 16.6 points per second, and, demolished Oral Roberts, 144-93. In 40 minutes. . . . While at home in Charlotte, I ran into a guy who was wearing a green tank top and he told me who was the best player in basketball. He said the man wears Tony Dorsett's number and sports black shoes. I, in turn, argued for a sensation who gives the NBA its best highlights this side of Dominique Wilkins and scores like Wilt Ex-boxing champ Larry Holmes still has a few more days for clear thinking. Holmes didnt show up for a pre-fight press conference claiming : he was mad because his opponent, current champ Mike Tyson, didn't shake his hand at an earlier conference. Holmes would be wise to perform his illusionary magic once again and not show up for his Jan. 22 date with "Iron Mike." He would be really mad if he woke up in a hospital and couldn't recall how he got there
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Jan. 14, 1988, edition 1
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