A roundup of the sports information of the week
BASKETBALL—BOSTON won six of seven games, increasing its lead in the East to six games, while second-place CINCINNATI swept four of five games. The Royals beat the Lakers 111-107 (Oscar Robertson made 56 points, a career high), then swamped the Knicks 133-105, scoring 50 points in the final quarter. PHILADELPHIA edged the Warriors twice, 119-112 and 113-111, and crushed the Lakers 140-113 (it was the 76ers' first win in Los Angeles in 12 games). But against that they dropped four other games. NEW YORK, despite losing six of nine, continued to draw crowds with its flashy rookies and last-quarter heroics (attendance at Madison Square Garden is up 10% over last year). The home-town fans, however, did not see the Knicks' most exciting win, a 113-112 victory over the Celtics in Providence. In the Western Division LOS ANGELES pulled away, increasing its lead to 3½ games as the second-place Hawks slumped. The Lakers won only four of seven, but ST. LOUIS, playing without high-scoring Bob Pettit, who was out with a back injury, managed to take only two of seven, and both its wins were over the beat Knicks. Coach Harry Gallatin was promptly fired "in the best interests of the Hawks," and Guard Richie Guerin was named player-coach. Third-place BALTIMORE cracked a five-game losing streak by defeating the 76ers 140-120 and, enjoying it, went on to win over the Pistons 104-99 and the Knicks 114-108. Then, settling down, they split their next two games. Excitement in SAN FRANCISCO was not over the performance of the Warriors, but about rumors that the team owners were about to sell Wilt Chamberlain for $500,000. The 7-foot-1 center scored 302 points and grabbed 155 rebounds for the Warriors in seven games, but the team lost five of them and remained deep in last place.
BOXING—JOEY GIARDELLO outpointed Rubin Carter in Philadelphia's Convention Hall to retain his world middleweight title. Carter lost more than the fight. Before entering the ring he was ordered to shave his carefully groomed beard lest it scratch Giardello in a clinch or give him germs.
DOG SHOW—A hound dog named RICKY (more formally known as Ch. Courtenay Fleetfoot of Pennyworth) won best-in-show for a record 29th time at the Bronx County Kennel Club event. The 4-year-old whippet took the same award at Westminster last February; he will defend that title next month.
FOOTBALL—NFL: CLEVELAND shut out Baltimore 27-0 (page 8) to win the championship, the Browns' fourth in the NFL, but first since 1955. AFL: BUFFALO won the AFL championship by beating San Diego, the best in the West, 20-7 (page 14). Earlier the Bills clinched the Eastern Division title with a 24-14 win over Boston (Jackie Kemp completed 12 passes for 286 yards). In the other final games of the regular season KANSAS CITY trounced New York 24-7, OAKLAND edged the Chargers 21-20 and HOUSTON downed Denver 34-15.
AFL individual titles for 1964 were won by COOKIE GILCHRIST, Buffalo (rushing: 981 yards), LEN DAWSON, Kansas City (passing: 2,879 yards for 30 TDs and an average gain of 8.1 yards), GINO CAPPELLETTI, Boston (scoring: 155 points, including 25 field goals), CHARLEY HENNIGAN, Houston (pass receptions: 101 for 1,561 yards) and GEORGE BLANDA, Houston (pass completions: 262 in 505 attempts).
COLLEGE: In the Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston, Jerry Rhome's typically spectacular passing (22 completions in 36 attempts for 252 yards) sparked TULSA to a 14-7 upset over Mississippi. Meanwhile, UTAH walloped West Virginia 32-6 in the Liberty Bowl, played indoors at Convention Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. GEORGIA held Texas Tech to one first down in the first three periods, then staved off a surge by the Red Raiders in the fourth quarter to win 7-0 in the Sun Bowl at El Paso. The NORTH defeated the South twice, the first time 37-30 in Miami's Shrine Game on John Huarte's five-yard TD pass to his Notre Dame teammate, Jack Snow, with only five seconds remaining. The next day another Yankee team beat the Rebels 10-6 in Montgomery's Blue-Gray game.
HOCKEY—League-leading MONTREAL defeated the slumping Rangers twice, beat and tied the Red Wings, then tied another with the Maple Leafs. But like almost every other team in the league these days, the Canadiens were no match for CHICAGO, losing 6-3. The Black Hawks, unbeaten in 10 games, won five and tied one as they surged from fourth to second place, just two points out of the lead. The Hawks' Bobby Hull made his 29th goal in 31 games, and his 19-year-old rookie brother, Denis, scored his first two goals in league play. DETROIT dropped into third place, two points behind Chicago, winning three, losing two and tying one. The Red Wings' right wing, Gordie Howe, finally scored a goal (after a 696-minute dry spell), his first since breaking Maurice Richard's alltime NHL regular-season scoring record on November 14. TORONTO tumbled into fourth place with one win, two losses and two ties but, even worse, the Maple Leafs lost the services of their leading scorer, Andy Bathgate, who will be out for five weeks with a broken thumb. NEW YORK lost six of seven games, managing to defeat only the hapless Bruins 3-0. Ranger Goalie Jacques Plante made 32 saves and registered the 62nd shutout of his NHL career. BOSTON upset Detroit 5-3 to break a six-game winless streak and defeated New York 2-0 in a rough contest in Madison Square Garden, but the Bruins were otherwise harmless, losing four times.
The SOVIET UNION scored an 8-2 win over Czechoslovakia and a 5-3 victory over Canada in the first two rounds of the International Hockey Tournament in Colorado Springs, Colo.
HORSE RACING—Apprentice Mike Venezia waited along the rail until deep in the stretch before pushing Louis Wolfson's SPARKLING JOHNNY ($8) through a narrow opening to win the $16,675 City of Miami Beach Handicap at Tropical.
SKIING—In the first international races of the season in Val d'Is√®re, France's maverick Olympic champion, FRAN√áOIS BONLIEU, won the giant slalom, slalom and combined, and CHRISTINE GOITSCHEL took the women's slalom. The other winners were Swiss: THERESE OBRECHT won the women's giant slalom, EDITH HILTBRAND the combined and JOS MINSCH the downhill.
In the first event of the German-Austrian ski jumping tournament (the others will be held at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen), Norway's Olympian TORGEIR BRANDTZAEG defeated more than 70 starters from 14 nations. Russia's Pyotr Kovalenko finished second, and America's surprising 18-year-old, Dave Hicks, was third.
SWIMMING—America's Olympic golden boy, DON SCHOLLANDER, churned 140 meters through the briny water of Marseille harbor to win the Christmas Cup race by four seconds from his high school teammate, Gary Ilman of Santa Clara, Calif. Alain Gottvall√®s of France finished third.
TENNIS—The U.S. Lawn Tennis Association published its national singles' rankings. In the men's division DENNIS RALSTON replaced CHUCK McKINLEY as No. 1. McKinley was dropped to second, followed in order by ARTHUR ASHE, FRANK FROEHLING and GENE SCOTT. NANCY RICHEY moved into No. 1 in the women's division, a position vacated by Darlene Hard, who turned professional. Ranked behind Miss Richey were BILLIE JEAN MOFFITT, CAROLE CALDWELL GRAEBNER, KAREN HANTZE SUSMAN and CAROL HANKS AUCAMP.
MILEPOSTS—RESIGNED: With the end of the football season came a rush of encouraged departures:
Bill Barnes, 47, football coach at UCLA, after his second straight losing season. During 1964 the Bruins allowed 10 rivals 236 points, more than any other major team.
Sammy Baugh, 50, coach of the Houston Oilers. Named as Baugh's successor was Hugh (Bones) Taylor, 41, his defensive backfield coach. Name of new Coach Taylor's backfield replacement? Sammy Baugh.
Wayne Hardin, 37, Navy's successful football coach (five victories over Army in six years as head coach).
George Wilson, 50, coach of the Detroit Lions, after Owner William Clay Ford fired Wilson's five assistants.
JAILED: Former Heavyweight Boxing Champion SONNY LISTON on suspicion of drunken driving, in Denver.
NAMED: As Rhodes scholars: Princeton All-America Basketball Forward BILL BRADLEY and Football Center MIKE SMITH; Air Force Place Kicker BART HOLADAY; and Harvard Basketball Captain MERLE McCLUNG.
NAMED: DOYT PERRY, 54, as athletic director of Bowling Green, after winning his fifth Mid-American football championship for the university and compiling a 77-10-5 record. Succeeding Perry as coach: his assistant, ROBERT M. GIBSON, 37.
