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A roundup of the week May 21-27
PRO BASKETBALL—No team has been able to repeat as NBA champion in the last 10 years, and Washington quickly threatened to keep the tradition alive. After beating Seattle in the opening game of the best-of-seven playoff finals, the Bullets fell into a scoring swoon, losing 92-82 and 105-95. The SuperSonics evened the series at 1-1, grabbing the home-court advantage in the process, as Gus Williams scored 21 points and Dennis Johnson 20. But the real difference was the Bullets' poor shooting; they scored only 30 points in the second half, and Bob Dandridge and Elvin Hayes were shut out in the final 10 minutes. Things didn't get much better for Washington three days later before 35,298 fans at Seattle's Kingdome. In the first half the Bullets shot 25.5% from the field, and Hayes missed nine of his first 10 field-goal attempts. Williams scored 31 points for Seattle, while teammate Jack Sikma had 21.
GOLF—TOM WATSON fired a one-under-par 71 in the final round to ease to a 285 total and victory in the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio. Miller Barber finished second, three strokes back (page 24).
Shooting a final-round two-under-par 68 for a 284 total, PENNY PULZ won her first LPGA tournament in six years on the tour, the $100,000 Corning (N.Y.) Classic, by two strokes over Judy Rankin.
Ohio State won its first NCAA championship since 1945, rallying from fifth place on the final day to beat second-place Oklahoma State 1,189-1,191, in Winston-Salem, N.C. GARY HALLBERG of Wake Forest took the individual title by shooting a final-round 73 for a 72-hole total of 287, one under par.
HORSE RACING—DAVONA DALE ($2.60), ridden by Jorge Velasquez, won the first leg of the Filly Triple Crown, the $83,500 Acorn Stakes at Belmont Park, by 2¼ lengths over Eloquent. The winner was timed in 1:36 for the mile (page 22).
LACROSSE—Johns Hopkins defeated Maryland 15-9 to win its second consecutive NCAA title, at College Park, Md. (page 20).
MOTOR SPORTS—RICK MEARS won the 63rd Indianapolis 500, averaging 158.899 mph in a Penske-Cosworth to beat second-place finisher A. J. Foyt, in a Parnelli-Cosworth, by more than a lap (page 16).
Darrell Waltrip, in a Chevrolet, finished 5.6 seconds ahead of Richard Petty, also in a Chevrolet, to win the $363,000 World 600 in Charlotte, N.C.
Jody Scheckter of South Africa, averaging 81.29 mph in a Ferrari, won the 76-lap Monaco Grand Prix by three car lengths over Clay Regazzoni of Switzerland, driving a Williams.
SOCCER—NASL: Johan Cruyff was an immediate Dutch treat for Los Angeles. The day after the star of the Netherlands' 1974 World Cup team signed with the Aztecs, he scored two goals as Los Angeles beat Rochester 3-0. The Aztecs later beat Atlanta 5-2 to move to within two points of Vancouver in the National Conference Western Division. In that game Cruyff had one assist, but had to leave in the first half with a pulled groin muscle. San Jose changed coaches, and the switch paid off in the Earthquakes' first victory of the season, 2-1 over Edmonton, which had beaten Philadelphia 2-1 earlier in the week to go into first place in the American Conference West. San Diego moved back into a tie with the Drillers in that division with a 1-0 defeat of California, losers of four in a row. The National Conference East-leading Cosmos won their fourth game of the year, 2-1 over Portland, in a record-tying 10-at-tempt shootout. Houston built a 14-point lead in the American Central with a 2-1 overtime win over Minnesota, which still maintained its lead in the National Central. Fort Lauderdale crept to within 10 points of American East-leader Tampa Bay by beating Memphis 3-1 on two goals by David Irving.
ASL: California beat Sacramento twice to improve its Western Division-leading record to 9-0-1 as the league's two top scorers, Joey Fink and Poli Garcia, did most of the work. Fink and Garcia each scored in the Sunshine's 2-0 win over the Gold, and two days later Garcia scored his fifth and sixth goals and Fink his ninth as California defeated Sacramento 4-2. Columbus made a brief appearance in first place in the Eastern Division with a 4-2 victory over Indianapolis, but the New York Eagles were back on top after beating Indy 4-2 on a hat trick by Jose Cristaldo.
TENNIS—VITAS GERULAITIS defeated Guillermo Vilas 6-7, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 to win the $175,000 Italian Open in Rome.
UCLA won its 13th NCAA team title by defeating Trinity College of Texas 5-3 in Athens, Ga.
Unseeded CAROLINE STOLL upset Regina Marsikova of Czechoslovakia 7-6, 6-0 to win the $100,000 German Women's Championships in Berlin.
TRACK & FIELD—LOUISE RITTER broke her American women's record in the high jump at the AIAW championships in East Lansing, Mich. Her jump of 6'3½" surpassed the mark of 6'3" she set in 1978. California State-Northridge won the team title with 67 points, nine more than runner-up Arizona State.
VOLLEYBALL—IVA: Seattle defeated defending league champion Santa Barbara twice for its third and fourth victories without a loss and the lead in the Western Division. The Smashers were buoyed by the arrival of Ed Skorek, the star of Poland's 1976 Olympic gold-medal team, who helped Seattle rally to a 5-12, 12-9, 12-10, 12-10 win in the second match with the Spikers. The Denver Comets assumed a half-game lead in the Continental Division by beating Albuquerque.
MILEPOSTS—HIRED: As coach of the Boston Celtics, BILL FITCH, 46, who had been released two days earlier as coach and general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Fitch had a 304-434 record at Cleveland and was named NBA Coach of the Year in 1975-76, when the Cavaliers won the Central Division title. He succeeds player-coach Dave Cowens.
RELEASED: From his contract as coach of the Boston Bruins, DON CHERRY, 45. During Cherry's five seasons, Boston had a 231-105-64 record, went to the Stanley Cup finals and semifinals twice each and won four Adams Division titles. Cherry, who had only a few weeks remaining on his contract, had been feuding with the Bruins' management.
RULED: By a federal appeals court in Cincinnati, that Detroit Red Wings Forward DALE McCOURT must go to the Los Angeles Kings in compensation for Detroit's signing of Goalie Rogatien Vachon, a former King. The ruling reversed a lower court decision and upheld the NHL's compensation system.
SIGNED: By the NASL Los Angeles Aztecs, Dutch soccer superstar JOHAN CRUYFF, to a multiyear contract for an undisclosed amount. Cruyff, 32, who led the Netherlands to the 1974 World Cup finals, retired from European competition last year.
DIED: ADELBERT (DEL) CAMERON, 58, harness racing driver and trainer and a member of the sport's Hall of Fame; one week after suffering a heart attack while driving in a race at Brandywine in Wilmington, Del. Cameron won The Hambletonian three times and the Little Brown Jug twice.
