A roundup of the week July 15-21

BICYCLING—Belgian EDDY MERCKX collected $40,816 for his fifth Tour de France championship, tying the record set by Jacques Anquetil. Merckx won in a cumulative time of 116:16:58 for the 21-day classic.

BOATING—Averaging 72 mph in his 36-foot Cigarette Slap Shot, ART NORRIS won the 180-mile Hennessy Grand Prix in Atlantic City, N.J. It was his fifth offshore victory in seven starts this year, and assured him the 1974 national championship.

BOXING—Scoring his 10th straight victory, RON LYLE decisioned Jimmy Ellis, who once held the WBA version of the world heavyweight championship, in a 12-round bout, in Denver. On the same card, heavyweight DUANE BOBICK extended his record to 23-0 by stopping Donny Nelson in the first round.

Betulio Gonzales, of Venezuela, retained his WBC flyweight title with a 10th-round TKO of Italy's Franco Udella, in Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy.

DIVING—PHIL BOGGS won the men's three-meter springboard title at the Los Angeles Invitational Championships, with 636.90 points. Olympic veteran CYNTHIA POTTER came out of retirement to take the women's three-meter with 460.25 points.

PRO FOOTBALL—WFL play moved into its third week with four teams still undefeated, Florida beating Detroit 18-14, Birmingham stopping New York 32-29, Chicago winning 25-22 over Jacksonville and Memphis dumping Portland 16-8. Houston picked up its first win, 11-0, against Philadelphia, and Southern California evened its record by edging the Hawaiians 38-31.

GOLF—RICHIE KARL, a part-time tour member and assistant pro at the host En-Joie Golf Club in Endicott, N.Y., took the $30,000 top prize in the $150,000 B.C. Open, more than doubling his career earnings. Tied with Bruce Crampton at 273 at the end of regulation play, Karl won with a birdie on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.

Sandra Haynie won the $40,000 U.S. Women's Open, and $6,073, carding a 72-hole total of 295, seven over par and one stroke up on Beth Stone and Carol Mann, at LaGrange Country Club in suburban Chicago (page 18).

HARNESS RACING—DOSSON ($20.40), an Italian trotter driven by Giancarlo Baldi, scored an upset in the $50,000 Challenge Cup at Roosevelt Raceway, finishing three lengths ahead of Delmonica Hanover in a swift 2:33[4/5] for 1¼ miles.

HORSE RACING—CHRIS EVERT ($3.40), Jorge Velasquez up, posted a 50-length victory over Miss Musket in the 1-mile $350,000 winner-take-all match race between the two 3-year-old fillies, at Hollywood Park. The winner's time was 2:02 (page 14).

Angel Cordero guided TRUE KNIGHT ($10.20), carrying 127 pounds, to a 1½-length victory over Plunk in the $114,800 Suburban Handicap at Aqueduct, covering the 1¼ miles in 2:01[2/5]. Heavy favorite Forego, running under top weight of 131 pounds, was third.

MOTOR SPORTS—JODY SCHECKTER wheeled his Tyrrell-Ford past Niki Lauda's Ferrari on the 70th of 75 laps of the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch to win the race at an average speed of 115.73 mph. Lauda, who had led from the start, did not finish because of a tire puncture. Emerson Fittipaldi was second in a McLaren-Ford.

Bobby Unser, averaging 160.695 mph in an Olsonite-Eagle, held off a late challenge from his younger brother Al to win the 200-mile race for Indy-type cars at Michigan International Speedway in Cambridge Junction.

SKIING—Descending a glacial slope of the Matter-horn in Cervinia, Italy, STEVE McKINNEY, 20, of Lexington, Ky., established a new world speed record of 117.663 mph.

SOCCER—NASL Western Division leader Los Angeles regained its winning form last week, shutting out Denver 4-0 with help from Doug McMillan, who registered two goals and an assist. Seattle dropped from second to third after losing to Miami 2-1. San Jose overtook the Sounders on the strength of a 2-1 victory over Toronto. A few folks showed up to watch that game in San Jose—17,637 to be exact. Baltimore, ahead in the Eastern Division, ended Rochester's winning streak, defeating them 3-2, but that hardly prepared the Lancers for the 7-1 trampling they received from the Boston Minutemen, who lead the Northern Division. Ade Coker starred in that contest, pouring in four goals. Despite a 3-2 tie-break loss to Vancouver, Dallas continued to pull away in the Central Division, beating St. Louis 4-1. Elsewhere, Miami knocked off Toronto 3-0, Baltimore nipped Philadelphia 2-1 in a tie breaker, and Rochester shut out New York 1-0.

SWIMMING—MERVYN SHARP, an English auto-tire fitter, swam the English Channel for the seventh time, erasing the previous record of six crossings held by American Tom Hetzel and Brojen Das of Bangladesh. His time from Dover to France was 13 hours, 42 minutes.

TRACK & FIELD—RICK WOHLHUTER took the 800-meter run in an international meet in Stockholm, finishing in 1:43.9, only .2 seconds off the world mark held by Italy's Marcello Fiasconaro. Other American winners were JIM BOLDING in the 400-meter hurdles (48.9) and STEVE WILLIAMS in the 100 (10.3).

Charlie McMullen, running for the New York Athletic Club, improved his personal best by 3.2 seconds in winning an invitational mile in 3:56.4 in Boston.

MILEPOSTS—DISMISSED: As coach of the Soviet national ice hockey team, VSEVOLOD BOBROV, who directed it to two world championships. No explanation was given for the action.

ELECTED: To the Racing Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.: SECRETARIAT, 1972 and 1973 Horse of the Year and winner of the Triple Crown in 1973; DAMASCUS, 1967 Horse of the Year; DARK MIRAGE, a filly who won eight straight stakes races in 1968; Trainer CHARLIE WHITTINGHAM, who has saddled more stakes winners—200 plus—than any other active trainer; and CONN McCREARY, who won the Kentucky Derby aboard Pensive in 1944 and on Count Turf in 1951.

FIRED: Atlanta Braves Manager EDDIE MATHEWS, 43, after leading the team to a 50-49 record at the All-Star break.

RESIGNED: MIKE STOREN, as commissioner of the ABA, in order to become president and part-owner of the Memphis Sounds (formerly Tams). His successor is Atlanta carpet executive TEDD MUNCHAK, previously owner of the Carolina Cougars and president of the ABA.

SOLD: The Carolina Cougars, to four New York business executives who are moving the ABA franchise to St. Louis and calling it the Spirits. The team's first announcement was that it had signed MARVIN BARNES, a 6'9" All-America from Providence, to a five-year, no-cut contract reportedly worth $2.5 million. Barnes, picked second in the NBA draft, is the highest NBA draft choice ever signed by the ABA.

DIED: DIZZY DEAN, 63, righthander for the St. Louis Cardinals' Gas House Gang and the last NL pitcher to win 30 games (1934, 30-7); of heart failure; in Reno. Dean and his brother Daffy (Paul) each won two games against Detroit to win the 1934 World Series, and Dizzy was MVP that year. An injury suffered in the 1937 All-Star Game destroyed his effectiveness, but he played four more seasons and made a brief comeback in 1947 before retiring with a 150-83 career record that included 26 shutouts. Turning to broadcasting, he became renowned for his colloquialisms. When informed in 1953 that he had been elected to the Hall of Fame, Dean said, "Now I guess I'm 'mongst them mortals."