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A roundup of the sports information of the week
BASKETBALL—NBA: Detroit's Pistons, on a nine-game winning streak and fresh from a 109-89 win over Baltimore, breezed into Manhattan on Halloween and ran into a five-headed creature called a Knickerbocker. Recalling that Detroit had broken their 18-game string last season, the New Yorkers returned the favor by playing trick-but-no-treat with Detroit, 107-89. Despite its loss, Baltimore remains the only winning team in the sagging Central Division, where the Atlanta Hawks are only 2 and 5, even with Pete Maravich. Buffalo, which was thought to be the strongest of the expansion teams, made things difficult by losing starters Don May and Dick Garrett to injuries. The Braves are a disappointing 1 and 6.
ABA: An Arizona State "flunkout" and Atlanta Hawks dropout, Joe Caldwell, signed a three-year contract with the Carolina Cougars last week that cast dark clouds over the possible merger with the NBA. Probable cause of the defection was Caldwell's reaction to Pete Maravich's $1.5-million rookie contract. Whatever the reason, it didn't immediately help the Cougars, who lost their first game with Caldwell, 104-98, to VIRGINIA. Another former Hawk who switched to the ABA is Zelmo Beaty, and his play has led the UTAH Stars to five straight wins and the West Division lead. Beaty had his two best nights of the early season, with 30 points against the Rick Barryless New York Nets, and 31 in another victory over Denver. The Memphis Pros, who have yet to choose an official name, took a further step toward anonymity by obtaining former Louisiana State University star Billy Jones from the Indiana Pacers. He joins Jimmy Jones, Steve Jones and Wilbert Jones on Memphis' homonymous payroll.
BOATING—BILL WISHNICK of New York and Dr. ROBERT MAGOON of Miami Beach were named 1969-70 national inboard and outboard champions of offshore powerboating.
BRIDGE—Lew Mathe, Don Krauss, Richard Walsh and John Swanson of Los Angeles defeated the Feldesman team of New York and became North American zone representatives for the 1971 world championships.
FOOTBALL—The NFL moved into its seventh Sunday with long passes and short tempers. While Baltimore's 35-0 trouncing of Miami (page 22) began to open things in the AFC East, most of the other results kept the contenders in tight lockstep. In one of two brawl-marred games, the NFW YORK Giants stayed in the thick of the NFC East by dropping the Jets 22-10. The other fight, at KANSAS CITY, probably enabled OAKLAND to salvage a 17-17 tie. It began with an Otis Taylor shot at Oakland's Ben Davidson, who had just piled onto Len Dawson after a first-down sprint. The two offenses neutralized the gain, and the Chiefs had to punt away to Oakland, which then marched to within field-goal range with three seconds left and George Blanda knotted the score. In the AFC West Oakland now has a short lead over Denver. MINNESOTA, meanwhile, was still winning the tough ones. After sinking Los Angeles in the mud at Bloomington 13-3 on Monday night, the Vikes came back to level Detroit 30-17 and pull a game in front of the NFC's Central Division. LOS ANGELES hid trouble with New Orleans but won 30-17, and SAN FRANCISCO stayed on top of the NFC West by downing Green Bay 26-10.
American Conference—Eastern: Baltimore (6-1-0), Miami (4-3-0), Buffalo (3-4-0), New York and Boston (1-6-0). Central: Cleveland (4-3-0), Houston (2-4-1), Pittsburgh (2-4-0), Cincinnati (1-5-0). Western: Oakland (3-2-2), Denver (4-3-0), Kansas City (3-3-1), San Diego (2-3-2).
National Conference—Eastern: St. Louis and Dallas (5-2-0), Washington and New York (4-3-0), Philadelphia (0-7-0). Central: Minnesota (6-1-0), Detroit (5-2-0), Green Bay (4-3-0), Chicago (3-4-0). Western: San Francisco (5-1-1), Los Angeles (5-2-0), Atlanta (3-4-0), New Orleans (1-5-1).
GOLF—Closing with a par 71 and a 72-hole total of 276, BABE HISKEY won the $100,000 Sahara Invitational at Las Vegas by a stroke over former Masters champion Bob Goalby.
Gary Player captured his second tournament in two weeks on the Australian tour with a victory in the $28,000 Dunlop International in Canberra.
Juan (Chi Chi) Rodriguez was fined $200 by the PGA for his behavior in the Kaiser Open two weeks ago.
GYMNASTICS—JAPAN won the men's title and EAST GERMANY and the SOVIET UNION shared women's honors at the world championships in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia. Cathy Rigby of Long Beach, Calif. took second place in the balance-beam competition, the only U.S. women's medal in the world championships.
The International Gymnastics Federation announced it was withdrawing official recognition from the AAU in favor of the UNITED STATES GYMNASTICS FEDERATION.
HANDBALL—STEVE SANDLER of Yonkers, N.Y. won his fifth consecutive title in the U.S. Handball Association's One-Wall Tournament in Brooklyn, N.Y., defeating Mike Dickman of Queens, N.Y. 21-9, 21-9.
HOCKEY—For the first time this season, Gordie Howe skated out with Alex Delvecchio and Frank Mahovlich on DETROIT's forward line, and the immediate gain was a 3-3 tie with Eastern tri-leader Montreal, ending a two-game Red Wing losing streak. The NHL's alltime scoring champion, who has been a Red Wing for 25 of his 42 years, tallied one goal and assisted on another, signaling a temporary end at least to an early season experiment that had put him on defense. In the team's next start, a 4-1 NEW YORK win, Howe was unable to get off a shot, but against Boston he collected a goal and an assist once more as the Red Wings ended the Bruins' 16-game win streak (counting last season's Stanley Cup playoffs) with a 5-3 victory. Howe's assist was the 1,000th of his career and it helped Delvecchio surpass the 400-goal career mark. BOSTON, however, righted itself against New York with a 6-0 shutout by part-time Goalie Eddie Johnston, handing the Rangers their first loss in seven games (page 18). MINNESOTA moved into contention in the West with wins over Toronto and division-leading Chicago.
HORSE RACING—SHUVEE ($7.80) became the first filly to win the two-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup at Aqueduct, finishing two lengths ahead of favored Loud in a slow 3:21[3/5].
Taken aback ($16.40) charged from last place, 19 lengths behind, to win the nine-furlong $62,150 Spinster Stakes at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky. in 1:51[2/5].
MOTOR SPORTS—Two accidents killed three drivers on the final day of racing at the 50-year-old state fairground track in Sacramento. After the second wreck, which occurred on the 35th lap of the scheduled 100-lap event, the race was stopped with Jerry Blundy of Galesburg, Ill. in the lead. Dead are Ernie Burssell, 27, of Nevada City; Walt Reiff, 41, of Sacramento and Anaheim and Jimmie Gordon, 26, of Sacramento.
A British Sunbeam Arrow driven and navigated by Americans Scott Harvey and Ralph Beckman won the 975-mile Press On Regardless rally in Northern Michigan—the first U.S. rally in more than a decade that counts toward a world championship.
TRACK & FIELD—The first officially sanctioned AAU marathon event for women was won by Mrs. SARAH MAE BERMAN of Cambridge, Mass., who ran the flat 26.2-mile Atlantic City course in 3:07:10.0.
MILEPOSTS—DISCIPLINED: Following earlier action by their respective conferences for football recruiting violations, KANSAS STATE and TULSA were placed on probation by the NCAA, which also censured Jacksonville University because basketball star Artis Gilmore was paid $75 a day for a city recreation job two summers ago.
NAMED: As men's and ladies' Professional Golf Association Players of the Year, Masters champion BILLY CASPER, for the second time; and SANDRA HAYNIE.
ON STRIKE: Members of the UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI basketball team, following a study-committee recommendation that the sport be dropped, primarily because the school has no arena.
REINSTATED: Three black freshman players at Idaho State, who had been suspended along with 14 varsity players because of a practice boycott.
DIED: JOHN TAYLOR, 21, the 14th Wichita State football player to die among 31 people killed in an Oct. 2 plane crash in Colorado; of burns; in San Antonio.
DIED: OSSIE SOLEM, former football coach at Iowa, Syracuse and Springfield (Mass.) College, who once had as assistant coaches Bud Wilkinson and Biggie Munn; at 78; in Minneapolis.
