CONTENTS

20 Healthy, Wealthy and Size
Bill Walton is injury free at last and his frenzied play has Portland out front in the NBA Pacific
by Curry Kirkpatrick

24 Fans to Press: Drop Dead
Boosterism is one thing, but when the fans turn into vengeful fanatics something is wrong
by Frank Deford

28 The Free-For-All Is Over
Baseball's free-agent bartering ended with the Yanks and Angels making the biggest deals
by Larry Keith

36 Oakland's Winning Hands
They belong to Fred Biletnikoff and Clifford Branch and helped grab the AFC West crown
by Robert F. Jones

46 Back at the Hearst Ranch
Once San Simeon was where the elite met to eat; now Jack Greer has made it a hunter's paradise
by Virginia Kraft

86 Tragedy on Gondola II
The day came up perfect for skiing at Vail. Then came the first rumbles of disaster
by William Oscar Johnson

The Departments

15 Scorecard
52 College Basketball
60 Hockey
65 Pro Football
72 Soccer
80 College Football
101 For the Record
102 19th Hole

Credits on page 101

Cover photograph by Hank deLespinasse

PHOTO

20

PHOTO

24

ILLUSTRATION

28

PHOTO

36

ILLUSTRATION

46

ILLUSTRATION

86

Next Week

A year-end double issue salutes the Sportsman of the Year; reviews the state of the environment and tells how it got that way; shuffles in words and photographs down memory lane with Muhammad Ali; depicts stars of the football bowl games in ways you've never seen them and analyzes the game matchups; and predicts who should do what to whom in pro football's divisional playoffs. Plus our annual bridge quiz and all the magazine's regular departments.