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A roundup of the week May 5-11
PRO BASKETBALL—NBA: Washington won the Eastern Conference championship, beating Boston 98-92 in the sixth game of their best-of-seven playoff series. The Bullets shot out to a 3-1 lead after taking the fourth game 119-108. Although the Celtics came back to win the fifth game 103-99, they were never a real threat. Phil Chenier was Washington's high scorer in the final three games, pumping in a total of 83 points. The Bullets face the winner of the Chicago-Golden State Western Conference playoffs. Golden State had evened that series with a 111-106 win in the fourth game, then the Bulls pulled ahead 3-2 with an 89-79 victory, but at week's end the series was deadlocked again, the Warriors triumphing in the sixth game 86-72.
GOLF—CURTIS STRANGE, the NCAA champion from Wake Forest, defeated defending titlist and Walker Cup teammate George Burns, two up in the 36-hole match-play final of the North and South Amateur tournament in Pinehurst, N.C.
Donna Caponi Young fired a one-under-par 72 for a five-under 214 and a one-stroke victory over Gloria Ehret and Sandra Palmer in the $40,000 Lady Tara Classic at Indian Hills in Atlanta.
HOCKEY—NHL: The Islanders-Flyers Stanley Cup playoff turned into another fairy tale for New York. Down 3 games to 0, the plucky Islanders won three straight from Philadelphia to even the series. The winner will meet the Buffalo Sabres, who stymied Montreal 4-3 in the sixth game to gain the finals (page 20).
WHA: At week's end Houston led Quebec three games to none in the best-of-seven final playoff series and appeared headed for its second consecutive Avco World Trophy. The Aeros took wing in the second game with a pair of goals by Gordie Howe. The Nordiques retaliated with goals from Dale Hoganson and Mark Tardif to make it 2-2 after two periods, but the challenge fell short in the third period, Houston outscoring Quebec 3-1 with Terry Ruskowski netting the go-ahead goal. In the third game Aero Goalie Ron Grahame stopped 33 Quebec shots to register his third shutout of the playoffs while Houston glided to a 2-0 win to run its playoff record this year to 11-1.
HORSE RACING—RUFFIAN ($2.20), guided by winning Kentucky Derby jockey Jacinto Vasquez, took the first leg of the triple crown for 3-year-old fillies, with an 8-length win over Somethingregal in the $56,100 Acorn Stakes at Aqueduct. Her time of 1:34[2/5] for the mile bettered the Stakes record by one-fifth second (page 66).
LACROSSE—JOHNS HOPKINS enhanced its No. 1 ranking with a 16-11 victory over Navy. Collecting four goals and three assists, Franz Wittelsberger was the leading scorer for the Jays, who now sport a 9-0 record. HOBART, ranked No. 1 in the college division, beat Bucknell 10-4.
MOTOR SPORTS—Three-time winner A. J. FOYT, driving a Coyote-Foyt, secured the pole position for the 59th Indianapolis 500 with a qualifying speed of 193.976 mph (page 24).
Austria's NIKI LAUDA brought Ferrari its first Monaco Grand Prix Formula I victory in 20 years, leading Emerson Fittipaldi of Brazil, who finished second, by 2.7 seconds. Scheduled as a 78-lap race, the 2.037-mile circuit was slowed by rain, and when the two-hour time limit expired Lauda had completed 75 laps at a 74.4 mph average.
SOCCER—NASL: The Vancouver Whitecaps visited Los Angeles last week and stunned their hosts 3-0. They followed that victory with a 2-1 win at San Jose to extend their unbeaten streak to five. Two other Western Division teams, Seattle and Portland, victimized Toronto 2-1 and 1-0 respectively. Joe Fink started his first game for New York this season and celebrated by booting three goals in the Cosmos' 5-1 stomping of Baltimore. That left New York nipping at Rochester's heels in the Northern race after the Lancers shut out Boston 2-0. St. Louis eked a 3-2 tie-breaker win from San Antonio and Philadelphia handed Miami its first defeat 1-0. In Fairfax, Va., Washington showed its gratitude to the 10,340 who sat through steady rain by whipping Tampa Bay 3-0. Earlier, the Diplomats had stopped Dallas 2-0. Chicago had more trouble escaping the Tornado, scoring three goals in the final 17 minutes for a 3-2 victory.
ASL: Defending champion Rhode Island got a goal—a penalty kick by Vitor Gomes—with 3:58 to play to gain a 2-2 tie with the Cincinnati Comets and remain undefeated in two seasons. It was the Oceaneers' third tie in as many games and put them even with Connecticut, and ahead of Boston, in the Northern Division. The Connecticut Yankees ambushed Pittsburgh 4-0 as Forward Roberto Taslor scored his first two goals of the year. New York, on top in the East, stayed unbeaten in 32 home games with a 2-0 shutout of the Cleveland Cobras, and New Jersey broke into the win column with a 2-1 victory over Chicago. Boston was idle.
TENNIS—ARTHUR ASHE parlayed a powerful serve into a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 victory worth $50,000 over Bjorn Borg in the WCT finale in Dallas (page 62).
For the first time since its inception in 1963, the Women's Federation Cup went to an Eastern European nation, MARTINA NAVRATILOVA and RENATA TOMANOVA of Czechoslovakia upsetting Australia's Evonne Goolagong and Helen Gourlay. Tomanova defeated Gourlay 6-4, 6-2 and Navratilova downed Goolagong 6-3, 6-4 in the finals at Aix-en-Provence, France.
TRACK & FIELD—At the IA meet in El Paso, BRIAN OLDFIELD put the shot 75 feet, the longest throw ever recorded by an amateur or professional. Using his distinctive discus-throwing style, Oldfield shattered the previous world best, his own professional indoor mark of 72'6½", three times. BEN JIPCHO notched his eighth straight double, winning the mile in 3:59.9 and, for a change, the half-mile in 1:47.7. Running his first 880 in three years, Jipcho broke the pro record of Dave Wottle (1:48.1), who finished second. WARREN EDMONDSON was another double winner with a pro-record 45.4 quarter and a wind-aided 9.1 100, and ROD MILBURN equaled his own world record of 13 flat in the 120-yard high hurdles.
Houston McTear became the second person, and the first high school student, to run the 100 in 9.0 seconds under acceptable wind conditions, tying Ivory Crocket's year-old world record in a preliminary heat of the Florida Class AA high school championships in Winter Park. The 18-year-old junior from Milligan won the final in 9.3.
VOLLEYBALL—Playing at home in Pauley Pavilion, UCLA's Bruins upset UC at Santa Barbara 15-9, 7-15, 15-9, 15-10 to retain the NCAA championship, their fifth in six years.
MILEPOSTS—TO RETIRE: PHIL MORIARTY, 61, after the 1975-76 season, head swimming coach at Yale since 1959. Moriarty joined the swimming staff in 1932 as an assistant, and compiled a 188-19 record, in 16 years as head coach.
TRADED: In a straight player deal, the Miami Dolphins sent Wide Receiver MARLIN BRISCOE and Running Back HUBERT GINN to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Running Back DONNY ANDERSON and in compensation for the signing of Free Agent and backup Receiver JIM McFARLAND.
TRADED: DICK ALLEN, from the Atlanta Braves to the Philadelphia Phillies in a deal that also sent Catcher Johnny Oates north in return for three minor league players and $150,080 (page 4).
DIED: AVERY BRUNDAGE, 87, autocratic president of the International Olympic Committee (1953-72) whose unwavering idealism and outspoken criticism of professional sports stirred controversy for almost 40 years; of a heart attack; in Garmish-Partenkirchen, Germany.
