A roundup of the sports information of the week
BASKETBALL—NBA: Milwaukee's winning streak was ended at 10 games by Atlanta. Pete Maravich notched six straight points to lead the Hawks to a 117-110 victory as Walt Bellamy led all scorers with 25 points. Lew Alcindor, although limited to 16 points by the Hawks, had a pair of 44-point performances as the Bucks downed Boston 120-113 and Portland 142-117. In the showdown that pitted the Midwest Division leader against Central Division leader Baltimore, Milwaukee came out on the winning end 120-116. Chicago had he hottest hand, winning all three of its games—against San Francisco 87-83, Portland 123-111 and New York 109-103. The Knicks defeated San Diego 117-113 and terrorized Boston 128-107 as Willis Reed, Walt Frazier and Dick Barnett teamed for 90 points. In the duel between the two top teams in the Pacific Division, Los Angeles snapped San Francisco's four-game win streak 130-110.
ABA: In the midi-week before Saturday's All-Star game, Virginia appeared to be Virginia Slims rather than the East Division-leading Squires, losing games to fourth-place Carolina 114—104 and second-place Kentucky 124-114. The Colonels won two of three games, edging Memphis 117-110 in addition to their Virginia win but succumbing to Indiana 137-124. Last year's champs, the Indiana Pacers, were No. 1 in the West Division, although they led by only half a game. In addition to trouncing Kentucky, the Pacers beat Denver 118-106 and lost to Utah, their nearest competitor, 116-106.
In the ABA All-Star game Rick Barry connected on two free throws before adding a field goal in the final 49 seconds to give the underdog EAST a come-from-behind 126-122 victory over the West.
BOWLING-In Las Vegas DON JOHNSON of Akron, Ohio won the $77,777.77 Showboat Invitational tournament by defeating Barry Asher in the final game 269-223.
BOXING—In a nontitle bout, welterweight champion BILLY BACKUS won a 10-round unanimous decision over Bobby Williams, of Memphis, at Syracuse, N.Y.
FOOTBALL—In the absolute final pro game of the season John Brodie tossed a 23-yard tie-breaking touchdown pass to Dave Osborn in the third quarter and evasive Mel Renfro added electrifying punt returns of 82 and 56 yards as the National Conference smashed the American Conference 27-6 in the Pro Bowl at Los Angeles.
GOLF—MILLER BARBER closed with a six-under-par 65 for an impressive 23-under-par 261 to win the $125,000 Phoenix Open. His score, although one of the lowest in several years, was only two strokes better than Dan Sikes and Billy Casper, who were tied at 263.
HOCKEY—In their second contest of the season, New York and Philadelphia resumed their kiss-your-sister affair, tying 3-3. Going into this season, the Rangers and the Flyers had compiled a seven-game string of tied games, a streak Philly finally broke this year 3-1. Boston, averaging almost five goals per outing, held its slim three-point lead over New York by beating Toronto 9-1 while Chicago remained firmly planted in the West Division lead.
In a game so dull that one man yelled, "I's the Super Bowl on ice," Chicago teammates Chico Maki and Bobby Hull scored a pair of goals from opposite sides of the rink to lead the West to a 2-1 victory over the East in the All-Star game. Yvan Cournoyer got the East's lone score.
HORSE RACING—EXECUTIONER ($3.80), making his first start in two months, won a three-horse photo finish in the $32.350 Hibiscus at Hialeah. The 3-year-old ran the six furlongs in 1:11. Brazen Brother, beaten by a nose, was a neck ahead of Raja Baba.
LION SLEEPS ($8.80) won the Royal Palm Handicap, also at Hialeah. He covered the seven furlongs in 1:23[1/5] for his sixth straight victory. Bill Hartack got the victor a nose in front of second-place Spotted Line, who held a half-length lead on favored True North. A neck behind in fourth was Native Royalty.
KITE FLYING—A team headed by Will Yolen president of the International Kitefliers Association, set a world record for sustained flight with a time of 37 hours, 17 minutes over Sarasota, Fla. The old mark was 37 hours.
SKIING—At the National Nordic Championships in Durango, Colo. MIKE GALLAGHER of Killington, Vt. won the 30-kilometer race in one hour, 40 minutes and 24 seconds, almost five minutes ahead of his nearest rival, MIKE ELLIOTT, who retaliated by taking the 15-kilometer event in 47:40. In the women's competition MARTHA ROCKWELL (37:07) of Putney, Vt. defeated Trina Hosmer of Seattle by two minutes in the 10-kilometer contest but later lost in the five-kilometer to SHARON FIRTH of Canada, who clocked 15:46. JERRY MARTIN of Minneapolis won the jumping championship with leaps of 77.5 and 75.5 meters from the 70-meter hill.
TENNIS—ROD LAVER defeated Arthur Ashe 7-5, 6-4, 7-5 in the $210,000 Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden. The 32-year-old Australian later downed Tom Okker 5-7, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 and netted his sixth consecutive win in the Classic.
TRACK & FIELD—Former Kansas star JIM RYUN reappeared on the track scene after a 19-month layoff and easily won the mile in 4:04.4 in San Francisco's Cow Palace (page 10). In the same meet AL FEUERBACH established a world indoor shot-put record of 68'11", adding 13 inches to the old mark and defeating Randy Matson, who also bettered the record.
In the NAIA indoor track and field championships at Kansas City JEAN-LOUIS RAVELOMANANTSOA, representing Westmont (Calif.) College, equaled the world indoor record for the 60-yard dash with a 5.9 clocking.
MILEPOSTS—AWARDED: The AAU's 1970 James E. Sullivan Memorial Trophy as the Outstanding Amateur Athlete in the U.S., to JOHN KINSELLA, holder of world swimming records for the 1,500-meter freestyle (15:57.1) and 400-meter freestyle (4:02.8).
DRAFTED: Jacksonville's 7'2" ARTIS GILMORE, by the Kentucky Colonels; JIM McDANIELS of Western Kentucky, by Utah; Kentucky State's ELMORE SMITH, by Carolina; and HOWARD PORTER of Villanova, by Pittsburgh in the first round of the ABA's "secret" draft.
ELECTED: To the National Basketball Hall of Fame at Springfield, Mass., BOB COUSY and BOB PETTIT, along with the late ABE SAPERSTEIN, founder of the Harlem Globetrotters.
HIRED: Three more football coaches changed their voting precincts. JACK MURPHY, who served 10 seasons as a defensive coordinator before leaving last year for Heidelberg College, returned to Toledo as head coach, replacing Frank Lauterbur, who earlier moved to Iowa. BILLY KINARD, an assistant at Arkansas, was named head coach at the University of Mississippi, replacing ailing Johnny Vaught, who will become assistant athletic director. In the pros the Houston Oilers selected ED HUGHES, the offensive coach for the San Francisco 49ers, as their new head coach.
NAMED: By the American Cancer Society and the Rotary Club of Houston, Ohio State Middle Guard JIM STILLWAGON, as recipient of the first annual Vince Lombardi Award, given to the nation's outstanding collegiate lineman.
DIED: Frances Dodge Van Lennep, 57, expert horsewoman, co-owner of trotting's famed Castleton Farm and the Dodge Stable of show horses, after a brief illness in Boca Raton, Fla.
