A roundup of the sports information of the week
BASKETBALL—NBA: The injured Willis Reed hobbled out onto Madison Square Garden's court for the decisive seventh game—providing the inspiration for the NEW YORK KNICKS to bomb the Los Angeles Lakers for the title, 133-99 (page 14).
ABA: After splitting the first two games of their division finals, INDIANA and LOS ANGELES overpowered Kentucky and Denver in the next three to win their way into the championships. Freddie Lewis sank a playoff record 17 out of 17 foul shots in the Pacers' 114-110 third-game win, and Roger Brown scored 33 points in their 111-103 fourth victory—but rookie guard Bill Keller wound up the hero by holding Kentucky's All-Star Guard Louie Dampier to only eight points in the final 117-103 victory. In the West, Los Angeles rookie Mack Calvin led the way with 31 points and seven assists in the Stars' 119-113 second victory. Bill Sharman's team, which had lost nine of 12 regular-season games to Denver, then took the next two 114-110 and 109-107, with Merv Jackson scoring the series-winning basket on a jump shot with 16 seconds left.
BOXING—VICENTE SALDIVAR of Mexico came out of retirement to recapture the world featherweight championship in Rome, using a strong left hook to outpoint Johnny Famechon of Australia and win a unanimous 15-round decision. It was only Saldivar's second fight since 1967.
CHESS—America's BOBBY FISCHER won the International Tournament at Zagreb, Yugoslavia with 13 points. He beat Russian Tigran Petrosyan in the final round to hold a two-point margin over four other world masters.
GOLF—C. L. (GIBBY) GILBERT, a club pro from Florida, scored his first major victory in the $115,000 Houston Champions International Invitational—a tournament made notable by the return of Ben Hogan (page 18)—in the 3rd hole of sudden-death overtime, sinking a short putt for a par. He had tied Australian Bruce Crampton at 282.
Sandra Haynie won her second straight Shreveport (La.) Kiwanis Invitational with a final-round 72 and total 214, two under par. She had moved within two strokes of the leaders with a second-round 69 on the 6,226-yard Huntington Park course. Fresh from a victory in Raleigh two weeks ago, Miss Haynie added the $2,250 first prize from the $15,000 total to remain second to Carol Mann on the money-winning list for the year.
HARNESS RACING—Red Sheep Stable's FULLA NAPOLEON ($27.20) won the $50,000 Martin Tananbaum Pace at Yonkers to take the first leg of the $150,000 International Pacing Series. Dick Thomas drove the 5-year-old to a two-length win over Rum Customer in 3:03[1/5] for the 1½ miles. Favored Good Chase was a tiring third.
HOCKEY—The BOSTON BRUINS captured their first Stanley Cup in 29 years, clean-sweeping the St. Louis Blues. The Bruins took the two opening games in St. Louis 6-1, 6-2, won the next 4-1 at home. In the final match, Bobby Orr scored the decisive goal after 40 seconds of overtime, giving Boston a 4-3 victory and handing the Blues a 12th straight loss in final-round games in three seasons (page 58).
HORSE RACING—Hickory Tree Stable's HAGLEY ($5.20) led most of the way to capture the $59,700 Withers at Aqueduct by two lengths over Delaware Chief, with Tatoi holding on two lengths farther back for third. Ridden by Ron Turcotte, the winner finished the mile in 1:34[4/5] (page 60).
Responding to Jorge Velasquez' whip in the stretch, Rokeby Stable's FORT MARCY ($4.60) romped to a 3½-length win over War Censor in the $57,500 Dixie Handicap at Pimlico. He covered the grassy mile and a half in a track-record time of 2:27[2/5]. Jungle Cove closed fast to take third, one-half length back.
Carlo Vittadini's ORTIS coasted to a comfortable win in the $160,000 Italian Derby, Italy's richest horse race, beating Alcamo by 3½ lengths, with Jerome third. Ridden by Brian Taylor, the winner covered the 1½ miles in 2:34[4/5] to take home a first prize of $88,000.
LACROSSE—JOHNS HOPKINS upset previously unbeaten Navy 9-7 before 12,000 at Annapolis, as Navy's All-America goalie Lennie Supko was slowed by a knee injury and left the game in the first period. Hopkins, Navy, Army and Virginia now head into the final weeks of the season with only one loss apiece.
MOTOR SPORTS—DAVID PEARSON won the 14th Rebel 400 at the Darlington (S.C.) International Raceway, driving his Ford at an average speed of 129.688 mph despite four caution flags that slowed the race for 37 laps. Pearson took the lead on the 259th of 291 laps and was never seriously challenged. Veteran Richard Petty, stock-car racing's all-time money and events winner, survived a spectacular smashup during the 176th lap, escaping with minor injuries.
Veteran Driver PARNELLI JONES led all the way to win his second race in the Trans-Am series at Lime Rock (Conn.) Park, finishing one lap ahead of the Chaparral Camaro driven by Ed Leslie. Jones, driving a Mustang, completed 146 laps of the 1.53-mile course during the 2½-hour run.
Austria's JOCHEN RINDT captured the Monaco Grand Prix in a surprise finish—darting across the line when Australian Jack Brabham skidded off the road at the final corner. Rindt's total time for the 156-mile, 80-lap course was 1:54:36.6, an average of 81.664 mph, and he navigated the final circuit in a record 84.37 mph. Brabham recovered quickly enough to finish second, and Henri Pescarolo of France was third. Favored Jackie Stewart of Scotland suffered engine trouble and gave up on the 62nd lap.
ROWING—HARVARD avenged last week's Adams Cup defeat by outsprinting Penn in the last 300 meters at Worcester, Mass. to win the Eastern Sprints heavyweight championship for the seventh consecutive year. Aided by a strong tailwind, the Harvard crew finished the 2,000 meters in a record 5 minutes, 54.1 seconds, beating Penn to the wire by half a boatlength. Princeton was third, a length farther back. For the last three years the Harvard and Penn varsities have lost only to each other, and end this season with one victory each in their duel.
SOCCER—Underdog FEIJENOORD of Rotterdam gained a 2-1 overtime victory over Glasgow Celtic to take the European Cup before 80,000 in Milan, Italy.
TENNIS—KEITH DIEPRAAM of South Africa won the Surrey hard-court tennis championships in Guildford, England, defeating countryman Andy Pattison 6-4, 6-0. Mrs. MARGARET COURT of Australia overpowered Patti Hogan of the U.S. 6-4, 6-2 for the women's title.
TRACK & FIELD—WILLIE McGEE of Alcorn A&M equaled the 9.1 world record for the 100-yard dash in a preliminary heat of the Southwest Athletic Conference meet at Houston. He also won the finals in 9.1, but with a trailing wind that exceeded permissible allowances. Previous holders of the mark are Bob Hayes, Jim Hines and Charlie Greene.
MILEPOSTS—BEGINNING: Virtual year-round racing in Florida, with the opening of a 121-day summer meeting at Tropical Park, leaving only a two-week break at the end of the session before winter racing resumes.
RETIRED: East Germany's GABRIELE SEYFERT, reigning women's world figure-skating champion, and four others on her team. The announcement from East Berlin gave no reason, said only that "from now on she will be active as a trainer in her native city of Karl-Marx-Stadt."
UNRETIRING: Despite his age (31) and commercial connections, Austria's KARL SCHRANZ announced that he has decided to remain an amateur Alpine ski racer for two more years. He wants an unprecedented third World Cup victory, then an Olympic gold medal at Sapporo in 1972.
DIED: Dr. DUDLEY DeGROOT, 70, onetime Stanford football captain and a 1924 Olympic gold medalist in rugby; after a heart attack, in El Cajon, Calif. Dr. DeGroot was a longtime college football coach, and was head coach of the Washington Redskins when they won the Eastern Division NFL crown in 1945.
DIED: WALTER B. DEVEREUX, 60, president of the American Horse Shows Association and the National Horse Show, also noted as an international judge and an officer of the United States Equestrian Team; after a long illness.
DIED: JEAN HOXIE, 71, coach of more than 300 national and world tennis champions, with Peaches Bartkowicz her most recent success; of injuries suffered in an automobile accident.