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A roundup of the week May 2-8
BASKETBALL—ABA: Indiana waited while New York, down three games to two, swept past Virginia into the championships. The Nets, aided by Rick Barry and John Roche's combined 80 points, caught the Squires by taking a 146-136 scoring war on Long Island. With Billy Paultz leading in both departments, New York shot an amazing 62% from the floor and, for the first time in the series, outrebounded the Squires. There were plenty of rebounds in the seventh game (the Nets hit but 42%, the Squires just 37%), and again New York got the lion's share. But it was Virginia's inability to score in the last 3:20 that allowed the Nets to move from 88-all to a 94-88 win. Happy Coach Lou Carnesecca explained, "We've learned to play together. We've gained so much maturity." Asked about the series with Indiana, he bubbled, "We don't need a plane. We can fly there right now." They took a plane anyhow, stopping three times, and a bus for the last 50 miles. Then Indiana, paced by veteran Guard Freddie Lewis' 33 points, cut the Nets' string 124-103.
NBA: LOS ANGELES defeated New York 114-100 to give the Lakers their first NBA championship since moving from Minneapolis (page 26).
BOXING—MUHAMMAD ALI won a unanimous 12-round decision over Canada's George Chuvalo at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia (page 38).
World Junior Middleweight Champion KOICHI WAJIMA of Japan defended his title with a first-round knockout of Italy's Dominco Tiberia in a scheduled 15-rounder in Fukuoka, Japan.
GOLF—CHI CHI RODRIGUEZ sank a five-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff with Billy Casper to win the $25,000 first prize in the $125,000 rain-delayed Byron Nelson Classic at the Preston Trail Country Club in Dallas.
Danny Edwards of Oklahoma State University upset defending champion Eddie Pearce of Wake Forest 3 and 1 to win the North and South amateur golf tournament at the Pinehurst Country Club in North Carolina.
Betty Burfeindt of Canaan, N.Y. shot a final-round 69 for a 282 total over the Desert Inn course in Las Vegas to capture the $50,000 Sealy Ladies Professional Golf Association Classic by four strokes over Kathy Ahern.
HARNESS RACING—Stanley Dancer drove SILENT MAJORITY ($3.60) to victory in the $25,000 Romeo Hanover 3-Year-Old Invitation Pace at Rockingham Park in Salem, N.H. Entrepreneur finished second, three-quarters of a length back.
HOCKEY—BOSTON beat New York 3-2 to take a 3-1 lead in their Stanley Cup series (page 61).
Earlier in the week, at what the Canadiens' KEN DRYDEN facetiously referred to as Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito's annual awards luncheon, the Montreal goalie won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year. BOBBY ORR won the Hart Memorial Trophy as Most Valuable Player for the third straight year and the James Norris Memorial Trophy (best defenseman) for the fifth straight time. Harry Howell, the last man to win the Norris Trophy, had said in 1967. "I'm glad I won it now. No one but Orr will win it for the next 20 years." PHIL ESPOSITO captured the Art Ross Trophy as the league's highest scorer for the third time in four years (Orr won it in 1970) while his brother TONY and fellow Chicago Goalie GARY SMITH shared the Vezina Trophy for allowing the fewest goals. New York's JEAN RATELLE, who scored 109 points while drawing only-two penalties, was awarded the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for combining clean play with skill.
HORSE RACING—RIVA RIDGE ($5.00), Ron Turcotte up, won the 98th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs by 3¼ lengths over No Le Hace (page 20).
LACROSSE—Second-ranked MARYLAND, readying itself for next week's showdown with unbeaten Johns Hopkins, squeaked past Virginia 11-9 to win the Atlantic Coast Conference championship. The Terps trailed 4-1 early in the contest and finally broke a 9-9 tie with five minutes left when Doug Schreiber scored an unassisted goal from 45 feet.
Once-beaten MOUNT WASHINGTON, paced by Downie McCarty's three goals and one assist, kept alive its hopes of overtaking the Carling Lacrosse Club in the Southern Division race with an 8-6 win over the New York Lacrosse Club in a night game in Baltimore.
MOTOR SPORTS—EMERSON FITTIPALDI of Brazil raced his JPS to victory in the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid. Jacky Ickx finished second while Jackie Stewart, Denis Hulme and Mario Andretti had mechanical problems and failed to complete the course. Fittipaldi is now tied with Hulme for first place in the world championship standings.
ROWING—HARVARD'S undefeated heavyweight crew won the Adams Cup on a rough, windy Schuylkill River in Philadelphia over two other previously unbeaten eights, Navy and Penn. Harvard covered the 2,000 meters in 6:26.2 to outdistance Navy by 1½ lengths while Penn, which had led in the early going in a new shell christened just before the start of the race, sank at the halfway mark. Harvard's lightweight crew completed its eighth straight perfect season with a two-length victory over Princeton and Yale in the Goldthwait Cup Race on the Charles River.
SOCCER—LEEDS UNITED scored a 1-0 victory over Arsenal, the defending champion in the Centenary English Soccer Cup final, before a crowd of 100,000 in Wembley Stadium. The winning goal came nine minutes into the second half on a header by Allan Clarke, Leeds Center forward.
TENNIS—BILLIE JEAN KING finished the Virginia Slims winter-spring circuit as the leading money-winner ($30,300) when she defeated Nancy Richey Gunter 6-3, 6-3 in the finals of the $20,000 Indianapolis tournament. Mrs. Gunter is a close second in the money standings with $28,675.
TRACK & FIELD—World record-holder JOHN SMITH won the 440-yard dash in 45.3 and equaled that time while anchoring the mile-relay team to lead UCLA over Southern California 76-69 in a dual meet at the Coliseum in Los Angeles (page 24).
MILEPOSTS—APPOINTED: As head football coach at Oklahoma State University, DAVE SMITH, to succeed Floyd Gass, who will devote full time to his duties as athletic director.
CANCELED: World Hockey Association franchises in MIAMI and CALGARY, Canada, for failure to meet the deadline for posting the mandatory $100,000 performance bond. Gary L. Davidson, president of the new league, remained optimistic: "We have 10 teams, and we'll have 12."
HIRED: As coach of the Vancouver Canucks, VICSTASIUK, 10 days after he was fired from the same post with the California Golden Seals. Stasiuk will replace Hal Laycoe, who has signed a one-year contract as vice-president in charge of player development for the Canucks.
NAMED: As general manager of the Utah Stars, ARNIE FERRIN, a four-time All-America for the University of Utah. He succeeds Vince Boryla, who retains his post as president of the Stars.
SIGNED: To a one-year contract worth $63,000, with the Oakland Athletics, VIDA BLUE, the American League's 1971 Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award winner.
TRADED: By the California Angels, right-handed Pitcher TOM MURPHY, 26, to the Kansas City Royals for First Baseman-Outfielder BOB OLIVER, 29. Both were off last season after impressive 1970 campaigns. Murphy slumped to 6-17 from 16-13 but was victimized by eight shutouts and three 2-1 losses. Oliver hit just eight homers and knocked in 52 runs after 27 homers and 99 RBIs in 1970.
