A roundup of the week Aug. 26-31

BOATING—The 22nd challenger for the America's Cup will be Australia's Southern Cross, which beat the French contender, France, 4-0 in the best-of-seven series off Newport. Following three straight victories, Intrepid moved into a 4-4 tie with Courageous in their matchup to determine which boat will be the defender (page 28).

Deborah Freeman of Beachwood, N.J. became the North American Yacht Racing Union women's sailing champion as she and her crew of Lynn Campbell and Jennifer Valdes won the eight-race Adams Cup regatta on South Carolina's Lake Murray.

BOWLING—DICK RITGER of Hartford, Wis. took the $5,000 top prize in the $50,000 Star Lanes-Ebonite Open in Waukegan, Ill., defeating Earl Anthony 266 pins to 202 in the final match.

BOXING—Cuba dominated the first World Amateur Championship in Havana, winning gold medals in five of 11 events. The Russian team was a distant second with two golds (page 98).

PRO FOOTBALL—NFL: After being held to only 81 yards in his two previous preseason appearances, O.J. Simpson broke loose against Detroit, rushing for 116 yards in 19 carries as the Bills ripped the Lions 28-7. Quarterback Joe. Ferguson passed for two touchdowns. Miami came back from its loss to the Rams with a 21-10 victory over Green Bay as Larry Csonka scored twice. Rookie John Stallworth caught two scoring passes for Pittsburgh in the Steelers' 21-19 win over Washington. Philadelphia stopped the Giants 24-21, Atlanta dropped Baltimore 23-7 and Minnesota defeated St. Louis 14-10. Wandering John Matuszak played for the Oilers early in the week, but it did not help, Atlanta topping Houston 10-6. Chicago defeated Baltimore 20-16 and Cincinnati downed Detroit 27-14. Substitute Quarterback Bobby Scott led New Orleans to 21 fourth-quarter points as the Saints defeated the Jets 24-7. In other games, the Rams dumped San Diego 30-16, Dallas defeated Kansas City 25-16, Houston handed Chicago a 37-20 loss and Denver scored a 27-21 win over New England.

WFL: Houston Oiler Defensive Tackle John Matuszak showed up to play against New York last week wearing a Texan uniform and insisting that he had found a loophole in his contract to jump through. Houston avenged its loss of the previous week with a 14-11 victory over the Stars, and that pleased Coach Jim Garrett. But it did not sit well with Oiler Owner Bud Adams or Coach Sid Gill-man. Matuszak appeared in the first five plays, but then was forced to the bench when he was served with a restraining order on the sidelines. Adams followed that with a suit against Matuszak, and the player's lawyer countered by subpoenaing Adams, all the Oiler players and the entire coaching staff to appear at a hearing. In action on the field, Western Division leader Southern California dumped last-place Portland 45-15 as Sun Quarterback Tony Adams passed for three touchdowns in the first half. The Storm has not won one yet. Neither has Detroit. Philadelphia ran over the Wheels 27-23, with Claude Watts scoring two touchdowns for the Bell in the first half. Undefeated Birmingham stayed that way, dousing the Chicago Fire 22-8. John Harvey rushed for 137 yards in Memphis' 26-18 win over the Eastern Division-leading Florida Blazers, and the Sharks nipped the Hawaiians 14-8.

GOLF—After trailing for 14 consecutive holes, JERRY PATE, a senior at the University of Alabama, defeated John Grace two and one in the 36-hole match-play final of the men's U.S. Amateur championship at the Ridgewood (N.J.) Country Club.

Jim Dent outdistanced the longest hitters on the pro tour with a drive of 324 yards, 18 inches, to win first place and $5,000 in the TPD Driving Contest at the Atlanta Country Club. John Schroeder's second-best drive of 312 yards, 6 inches, was worth $2,500.

HARNESS RACING—CHRISTOPHER T., with Billy Haughton in the sulky, won the 49th Hambletonian Stake for 3-year-old trotters at Du Quoin, Ill. In the final heat, he covered the mile in 1:58[3/5] to win $80,075 (page 26).

HORSE RACING—PROD ($10.00), Jorge Velasquez aboard, overtook Prince of Reason in the stretch to win the 1½-mile $56,570 Lawrence Realization by 3½ lengths at Belmont. Little Current, making his debut on grass, finished sixth in the seven-horse race, which was won in 2:35.

Hot N Nasty ($2.60), Darryl McHergue in the saddle, took the six-furlong $107,310 Lassie Stakes for 2-year-old fillies in 1:11[2/5] at Arlington Park. Sharm A Sheikh was two lengths back.

Halo ($8.40), ridden by Jorge Velasquez, covered 1[3/16], miles of soggy turf in 1:56[4/5] to beat London Company by three-quarters of a length in the $100,000 United Nations Handicap at Atlantic City.

Master Derby ($15.80), Julio Espinosa up, came on in the stretch to win the $105,000 Kindergarten Stakes for 2-year-olds at Liberty Bell Park in 1:11[4/5]. Gallant Bob was second, half a length back.

SOFTBALL—The RAYBESTOS BRAKETTES of Stratford, Conn. defeated Sun City, Ariz. 1-0 in the 10-inning final game of the National Women's Fast-Pitch Softball Tournament in Orlando, Fla.

SWIMMING & DIVING—JOHN NABER, a Southern Cal sophomore, handed Roland Matthes his first backstroke loss in seven years by defeating him in the 200-meter event as the Americans met the East Germans at Concord, Calif. (page 20).

TENNIS—Upsets marked the opening days of the U.S. Open at Forest Hills (page 93). In the second round, VIJAY AMRITRAJ of India defeated Sweden's fourth-seeded Bjorn Borg, 6-1, 7-6, 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, while older brother and doubles partner AN-AND AMRITRAJ knocked off No. 10 seed Manuel Orantes of Spain 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. In the same round, South Africa's RAY MOORE eliminated 15th-seeded Tom Gorman 4-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-4, 7-5.

The DENVER RACQUETS surprised the Philadelphia Freedoms by taking the best-of-three WTT championship final in two straight matches. The decisive victory came in Philly where Racquet Andrew Pattison blanked Buster Mottram 6-0 in the men's singles to lead his team to a 28-24 win. Combined with its earlier 27-21 triumph, that victory gave Denver the title. Pattison was voted the Most Valuable Player.

MILEPOSTS—ANNOUNCED: By Brazilian soccer superstar PELE, 33, that he will retire in the first week of October. Pelé quit Brazil's national team two years ago, but had continued playing for the Santos team.

AWARDED: By a federal district court jury to JANE BLALOCK, a $4,500 judgment against the LPGA. Blalock sued the group for suspending her in 1972 on allegations of cheating. The judgment equals the first-prize money of the tournament she missed.

FINED: GEORGE M. STEINBRENNER 3RD, principal owner of the New York Yankees and part owner of the Chicago Bulls, by Federal District Court Judge Leroy J. Contie Jr., $15,000, on charges stemming from illegal expenditures of corporate funds as campaign contributions to former President Nixon and others.

RETIRED: Jockey JOHN L. ROTZ, 39, who has ridden 2,908 winners in 21 years and ranks 15th on the alltime winning list. Recent surgery on his right knee left Rotz with only partial use of his foot.

DIED: ISIDOR BIEBER, 87, for more than 40 years one of the country's top breeders and owners of race horses, including Stymie and Hail to Reason; in Hollywood, Fla.