CONTENTS

NBA Playoffs

In the eyeball-to-eyeball cockpit of the Eastern finals, Philly's Jones Boys caged Larry Bird as the 76ers won in five games 16
by John Papanek

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was magnificent for the Lakers, who took a 3-1 lead and put Seattle up against the wall once more 20
by Bruce Newman

The Canadiens Are Dead 22
Minnesota wrote finis to Montreal's four-year hold on the Stanley Cup by beating the Habs in Game 7 of the quarterfinals
by Kathy Blumenstock

Return of the Native 24
A champion at two who had taken his lumps at three, Rockhill Native won the Blue Grass to revive his Kentucky Derby prospects
by William Nack

Here It Comes, Special Delivery 32
Batters hate facing the sidearm pitches of Reliever Kent Tekulve, but in Pittsburgh he's earned the stamp of approval
by Bob Ottum

Will This Horse Be a Legend? 38
As unbeaten pacer Niatross eyes the 1980 season, there's talk that he may become a winner of Dan Patchian proportions
by Douglas S. Looney

Whither the Earth? 70
The Environmental Decade is past, but is environmentalism passè? A report on the inroads made by the energy crisis
by Jerry Kirshenbaum

The Departments

Scorecard 11
Show Jumping 44
Baseball 50
Diving 61
Golf 67
For the Record 85
19th Hole 86

Credits on page 85

Cover photograph by Peter Read Miller

Next Week

Hometown hero Rockhill Native could win. So could the misspelled speedster, Plugged Nickle, or that odd couple of Jaklin Klugman and Jack Klugman, or any horse in the best balanced Kentucky Derby field in years. Bill Leggett reports.

The thrill that beats them all, says New England Tight End Russ Francis, isn't catching a TD pass or playing in a Pro Bowl or maybe even winning a Super Bowl. No, it's skydiving, which E.M. Swift watched Francis do en route to a pig roast.