A roundup of the week Aug. 18-24

BILLIARDS—NICK VARNER defeated defending champion Mike Sigel 150-13 to win the world open pocket billiard championship in New York City. JEAN BALUKAS beat Billie Billing 100-25 for the women's title.

BOXING—WILFREDO GOMEZ stopped Derrick Holmes on a fifth-round TKO in Las Vegas to retain his WBC super bantamweight title.

DIVING—GREG LOUGANIS of Mission Viejo, Calif. won the men's one-meter, three-meter and 10-meter titles at the U.S. outdoor championships in Bartlesville, Okla., becoming the first diver to sweep the three titles in successive years. The women's crowns went to KELLY McCORMICK of Mission Viejo (one-meter), CHRIS SEUFERT of Ann Arbor, Mich. (three-meter) and BARB WEINSTEIN of Cincinnati (10-meter).

PRO FOOTBALL—Both of New York's long-suffering teams achieved relative success in exhibition games. The Jets sacked Steeler quarterbacks four times in a 20-13 defeat of Pittsburgh, their first victory ever over the Steelers in 11 meetings. The Giants' more dubious claim came when Phil Simms tossed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Billy Taylor in the second quarter against Baltimore; it was the Giants' first touchdown in their last six preseason games. But they lost to the Colts 37-20. Cleveland's Brian Sipe tossed five touchdown passes to rally the Browns to a 33-31 win over Chicago; the Bears, who got 85 yards and a touchdown from Walter Payton, led 21-0 in the second quarter. After scoring the first 10 points, Oakland lost to Washington 34-17 as five different players scored for the Redskins, who had earlier defeated Cleveland 12-3. Minnesota and Miami were even until Steve Dils threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Ahmad Rashad with 10:23 left, giving the Vikings a 17-10 win. They don't meet during the regular season, so Dallas' 20-13 defeat of Houston earned the Cowboys braggin' rights of Texas for 1980. Down 10-0, the Oilers took a 13-10 lead in the last quarter, but the Cowboys won when Danny White lofted a 34-yard scoring pass to Tony Hill, who beat two defenders and made an over-the-shoulder catch in the end zone. In other games, L.A.'s Frank Corral kicked four field goals as the Rams beat Denver 26-13; Buffalo ended a string of 11 straight exhibition losses with a 14-0 shutout of Green Bay; Seattle, which lost to Miami 24-7 earlier in the week, edged San Francisco 10-7 when Sherman Smith scored on a four-yard run with :26 left; and Tampa Bay beat Cincinnati 6:21 into overtime on an 11-yard touchdown run by Rick Berns. San Diego defeated Atlanta 17-9; Kansas City beat Minnesota 24-10 and also won the Missouri state championship with a 20-10 victory over St. Louis; Philadelphia defeated New England 23-17; and Detroit whipped New Orleans 40-17.

GOLF—TOM WATSON shot a 10-under-par 270 to win the $400,000 World Series of Golf at Akron by two strokes over Raymond Floyd (page 22).

Beth Daniel shot a 276, 12 strokes under par, to win a $150,000 LPGA tournament in Denver by six strokes over Sandra Post and Jane Blalock.

HARNESS RACING—SLAPSTICK, driven by Jack Parker Jr., finished 1½ lengths ahead of Set The Style in the final heat to win the $173,648 Fox Stake at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. The 2-year-old colt paced the mile in 1:55[4/5].

SOCCER—NASL: As the season ended, Edmonton (17-15) set itself up for its first division title ever when Jan Goossens' goal and assist helped the Drillers beat NSC West champ Seattle 3-1. The loss deprived the Sounders (25-7), who have the league's best record, of enough points to retain the home-field advantage for the entire playoffs. That honor went to New York (24-8), which defeated Dallas 4-1 and Rochester 5-0 to finish six points ahead of the Sounders. Meanwhile, the Drillers beat division-leading California (15-17) 1-0 on a first-half goal by Peter Nogly and won the title. The ASC East race was just as tight, as Fort Lauderdale (18-14) lost to Detroit 3-2 to give idle Tampa Bay (19-13) the crown by five points. Earlier, the Strikers defeated Philadelphia 4-2 on two Teofilo Cubillas goals, while the Rowdies split their games, beating Toronto 5-1 before losing to New England 1-0 when the Tea Men's Keita scored on a free kick with 2:53 remaining. The win left New England (18-14), which also lost to Washington 4-1, in third place. The battle in the NSC Central was for survival. Realizing this, Minnesota (16-16), which won 10 of its last 13 games, whipped the Fury 6-1 to ensure itself second place. Third-place Tulsa (15-17) won the last playoff spot, beating Vancouver 2-0, but the Roughnecks now face the Cosmos in the first round. Division-winning Dallas' loss to the Cosmos snapped a five-game victory streak; the Tornado then defeated Chicago, the ASC Central champion, 3-2 on Njego Pesa's goal at 81:42.

ASL: Two teams from the National Conference, Pennsylvania and New York, have clinched playoff spots while the entire American Conference, whose four teams are separated by a total of seven points, is still in the race. New York scored two one-goal wins on a western swing, beating Golden Gate 4-3, with two goals and an assist from Narciso Doval, and Sacramento 1-0 on a first-half goal by Oliver Barthow. Third-place Cleveland got two goals from Andy Chapman to upset American Conference leader Miami 4-1. And the Gales blasted California 6-2 to drop the Sunshine into last place in the American Conference.

TENNIS—HAROLD SOLOMON defeated Francisco Gonzalez 7-6, 6-3 to win the $200,000 Association of Tennis Professionals championship in Mason, Ohio.

Hana Mandlikova beat Andrea Jaeger 6-7, 6-2, 6-2 to win a $100,000 women's tournament in Mahwah, N.J.

MILEPOSTS—RESIGNED: In the midst of his 21st season as a major league manager, GENE MAUCH, 54, of the Minnesota Twins. In 4½ seasons with the Twins, he had a record of 378-394, but he never finished higher than third in the AL West. His career record of 1,524-1,705 ranks him ninth on the alltime list in total games and 10th in wins. Mauch shares the major league record with James Dykes for most seasons managed without ever having won a championship. He was replaced on an interim basis by Third Base Coach JOHN GORYL.

SOLD: By Charles Finley, the OAKLAND A's, for a reported $12.7 million, to Walter A. Haas Jr., chairman of the board of Levi Strauss & Co., his son, Walter J., and son-in-law, Roy Eisenhardt, a law instructor at the University of California at Berkeley. After he purchased the A's for $4 million in 1960-61 and moved them from Kansas City after the '67 season, Finley's teams won three World Series (1972, '73 and '74), but then declined, finishing last in 1977 and '79.

By Bill Veeck, the CHICAGO WHITE SOX and Comiskey Park, to Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. and his daughter Marie Denise York, for a reported $20 million. Veeck headed a group that bought 80% of the team for $8 million in 1975. DeBartolo has other sports holdings, including the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL and Louisiana Downs racetrack. His son, Edward Jr., owns the San Francisco 49ers.