A roundup of the sports information of the week
BASKETBALL—NBA: PHILADELPHIA (35-14) lost two of three games and had its Eastern lead cut in half to 1½ games over BOSTON (32-14), which won three of four as Sam Jones and John Havlicek combined for 226 points. DETROIT (26-24), which was 2-1 for the week, got 31 points from Dave Bing to beat the Warriors 117-109 and 36 more from Bing in a 133-119 win over the Supersonics. CINCINNATI'S (24-23) big man, as usual, was Oscar Robertson. He had 32 points in a 128-120 victory over the Pistons, 27 in a 148-121 win over the Warriors and 36 in a 129-126 victory over the Rockets. The three wins increased the Royals' streak to six, boosted them over the .500 mark for the first time in 11 weeks and left them just half a game out of third place. NEW YORK (22-28) won only one of three, coming from 16 points behind in the second period to defeat the Bullets 111-109. BALTIMORE (17-30) ended its seven-game losing skid, thanks to 33 points by Gus Johnson and 32 by Earl Monroe in a 118-115upset of the Celtics. ST. LOUIS (36-14) eked out three wins in four games and padded its lead in the West to five games. SAN FRANCISCO (32-20) lost four of five games but, worse yet, lost Center Nate Thurmond (possibly for the rest of the season) when he tore ligaments in his knee. LOS ANGELES (24-22) won both its games, CHICAGO (18-32) dropped three of four, SAN DIEGO (14-36) lost two of three and last-place SEATTLE (14-37) split four.
ABA: Fourth-period spurts enabled MINNESOTA (30-15) to beat Anaheim 119-115 and Oakland 123-117 and move into first place in the East, a few percentage points ahead of PITTSBURGH (31-16). Overall, the Muskies were 3-1 for the week, the Pipers 2-1. Chico Vaughan scored 40 points as the Pipers beat Indiana 137-101 and then got 31 in a 132-126 win over New Orleans. NEW JERSEY (23-24) won three games, making it seven in a row, to take third place from INDIANA (24-27), loser of five straight. KENTUCKY (17-29) was 2-2, beating Houston 115-102 when Jim Ligon put in 30 points, and the Pipers 107-106 when Ligon scored on a layup with four seconds to go. Western leader NEW ORLEANS (29-16) won two, lost two and had its lead trimmed to two games over DENVER (24-16). The Rockets ran their winning streak to six games by taking three straight. DALLAS (24-16) swept four games and moved to within 2½ games of first place. Fourth-place OAKLAND (15-28) lost three times and led HOUSTON (16-30),which won once in four tries, by half a game. ANAHEIM (15-32) dropped three games despite the efforts of Ben Warley, who totaled 111 points, and Steve Chubin, whose 22 assists in one game set a league record.
BOBSLEDDING—A Swiss crew—Pilot JEAN WICKI, HANS CANDRIAU, WILLY HOFMANN and Brakeman WALTER GRAF—won the four-man European championships, beating out a Rumanian team on the final day in St. Moritz.
FIGURE SKATING—TIM WOOD of Bloomfield Hills, Mich. was a surprise winner at the U.S. championships in Philadelphia, where he gained his first national men's title (page 22).
FOOTBALL—Last-quarter touchdowns decided both pro All-Star games, with the NFL's WEST team getting three late scores, including a 70-yard return of an interception by Richie Petitbon, to beat the East 38-20 and the AFL's EAST squad coming up with two TDs—one on a pass by Joe Namath, the other on a plunge by Namath—in the final minutes to defeat the West 25-24.
GOLF—KERMIT ZARLEY of Seattle, who went into the last round trailing Dave Marr by four strokes, shot a 65 to beat him by one stroke and win the Kaiser International in Napa, Calif.
HOCKEY—NHL: Only two points separated the top four teams in the East. BOSTON (23-14-6) won two of three games, beating the North Stars 9-2 and the Flyers 4-2, and pulled into a tie with CHICAGO (20-12-12) for first place. The Black Hawks opened the week by scrambling back from a 2-0 deficit in the second period to gain a 2-2 tie with the Blues, their seventh game in a row without a loss. Thereafter, the Black Hawks had a hard time getting a goal, losing to the Rangers 4-2 and to MONTREAL (21-14-9) by a 3-1 margin. For the Canadiens, who earlier had whipped the Red Wings 6-1 on Jean Beliveau's hat trick, it was their seventh straight win and 11th game without defeat. That left them just one point behind the leaders and one in front of TORONTO (21-14-8). The Maple Leafs stopped the Bruins 4-2 and beat the North Stars 5-1. A 3-0 win over the Seals gave NEW YORK (20-15-8) a 2-1 record for the week and left the Rangers four points off the pace. DETROIT (17-19-7) lost twice,extending its winless streak to seven games. PHILADELPHIA (20-16-6) built its lead in the West to six points with two wins in three games, once scoring three goals in 1:17 to defeat the Seals 6-3. Rapid-fire scoring also helped LOS ANGELES (18-21-4) and PITTSBURGH (16-21-7) move up one notch apiece in the standings. The Kings, who won twice, put in four goals in the second period to stop the Rangers 5-2 as they climbed to second place. Another second-period outburst, in which the Penguins scored five times in seven minutes, helped them beat the Red Wings 8-5, finish 1-1-1 for the week and; move into third place ahead of MINNESOTA (14-19-9), which lost four straight. ST. LOUIS (15-21-6) had a win and a tie, while last-place OAKLAND (8-27-10) lost two, tied one.
HORSERACING—Bill Shoemaker guided Horse of the Year DAMASCUS ($2.20) to a two-length win over Most Host in the $56,950 San Fernando Stakes at Santa Anita.
The winner of the first major race of the year for 3-year-olds was FORWARD PASS ($12.20), who took the Hibiscus Stakes at Hialeah by five lengths over Wise Exchange.
SKIING—JEAN-CLAUDE KILLY of France took the lead in the World Cup standings with 80 points by winning the Hahnenkamm combined title at the pre-Olympic races in Kitzb√ºhel, Austria (page 20).
Upsets highlighted the women's Silver Jug meet in Bad Gastein, Austria where FLORENCE STEURER of France defeated teammate Marielle Goitschel in the slalom and OLGA PALL of Austria outraced Christl Haas, her compatriot and 1964 Olympic champion, in the downhill. Leading American finishers were Karen Budge of Jackson, Wyo., who was 15th in the downhill, and Rosie Fortna of Warren, Vt., who was fourth in the slalom in which five U.S. girls placed in the top 10.
TRACK & FIELD—Surprises abounded at the Los Angeles Invitational meet (page 56), where the list of losers included world-record holders Tommie Smith, Bob Seagren, Randy Matson and Ralph Boston. Smith was third in the 440-yard run, which was won by JIM KEMP in 49.5. Seagren cleared 16'6" in the pole vault, but was second to ERKKI MUSTAKARI of Fresno State, who reached the same height and had fewer misses. Matson failed to even qualify for the shotput finals, won by GEORGE WOODS with a toss of 66'5¾". BOB BEAMON of Texas at El Paso beat Boston by more than a foot in the long jump with a leap of 26'1¼". The next night Beamon defeated Boston again at the NAIA open championships in Kansas City and set a world mark of 27'1" to boot.
MILEPOSTS—NAMED: As play-by-play announcer for the Cleveland Indians, HERB SCORE, 34, replacing Jimmy Dudley, who held the job since 1948. Score, a left-hander and onetime strikeout sensation for the Indians, won 20 games in 1956, then had his career cut short the following season by a line drive that struck him in the eye.
NAMED: As executive vice-president of the new Kansas City baseball team in the American League, CEDRIC TALLIS, 53, who served as vice-president of the California Angels and set up much of the successful organization of that team when it joined the league in 1961.
AWARDED: Franchises in the NBA to PHOENIX and MILWAUKEE for $2 million apiece. The two new teams will start play next season.
HIRED: As head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, DICK NOLAN, 35, former corner back for the Giants and Cardinals and, for the past five years, a defensive coach for the Cowboys.
SELECTED: By the Cincinnati Bengals, who will begin play in the American Football League next season, 40 players from the other teams in the league. Among the most prominent players picked were: Running Back COOKIE GILCHRIST from Denver; End CHRIS BURFORD and Linebacker SHERRILL HEADRICK from Kansas City; Running Back BOBBY BURNETT from Buffalo; Linebacker FRANK BUNCOM and Kicker DICK VAN RAAPHORST from San Diego; and Flanker ROD SHERMAN from Oakland.
DIED: RAY HARROUN, 89, winner of the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911 in his colorful Marmon Wasp; of a heart ailment, in Anderson, Ind.
