A roundup of the week Dec. 31-Jan. 6
PRO BASKETBALL—Houston took the top spot in the Midwest Division with a 2-1 week. Akeem Olajuwon sank a 10-footer with three seconds remaining to give the Rockets a 113-111 win over Denver and a half-share, with the Nuggets, of the division lead. Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson combined for 56 points and 26 rebounds in that game. Then a win over Golden State (103-94) and a loss to Utah (121-92) put Houston one game ahead, as Denver fell 118-108 to Utah and 127-115 to the Clippers, despite 23-point performances by Calvin Natt and Mike Evans against L.A. The Lakers ran their win streak to nine and their Pacific Division lead to 6½. They beat Portland 120-95 and San Antonio 99-98 on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 12-foot jumper at the buzzer. The five other teams in the Pacific could muster only five wins in 15 outings. The Clippers did snap a seven-game losing streak with their victory at Denver; Derek Smith had 26 points against the Nuggets, and Marques Johnson had 24. Boston and Philadelphia maintained their red-hot race for the Atlantic Division lead. The Celtics refused to relinquish their edge, especially not on Red Auerbach Night at Boston Garden (page 40). Playing before 26 alums, the current Celtics defeated New York 105-94. Five Celts scored in double figures: Larry Bird had 32 points; Robert Parish, 21; Danny Ainge, 16; Cedric Maxwell, 15; and Dennis Johnson, 10. The Sixers, 3-0 on the week, moved to within half a game of the lead by beating Portland 111-106, Seattle 118-109 and Milwaukee 110-106 and running their string of wins to seven. Against the Central Division-leading Bucks, Philly got 24 points from Julius Erving and 20 each from Moses Malone and Charles Barkiey. It wasn't a great week for Milwaukee. After the Bucks won their ninth straight, against the Clippers 111-87, they lost to Chicago 106-101 and the Sixers and allowed Detroit, 3-0 on the week, to close to within three games. The Pistons beat Cleveland 108-100 with Bill Laimbeer getting a career-high 35 points, routed Atlanta 134-111 and defeated Washington 121-113. Isiah Thomas had 27 points, 11 rebounds, 13 assists and four steals against the Bullets. The Michael Jordan Show played to nearly packed houses in Atlanta and New York, though the Bulls came up losers, 121-107 to the Hawks and 119-113 to the Knicks. "When Jordan would make a 360-degree dunk, we would get the ball and score in five seconds," boasted Atlanta's Doc Rivers. Against New York, Jordan, who leads all NBA rookies and guards with a 25.9 scoring average, had a 42-point night.
BOWLING—MIKE AULBY beat John Gant 245-190 to win a $150,000 PBA tournament in Union City, Calif.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL—WEST VIRGINIA defeated Texas Christian 31-14 in the Bluebonnet Bowl; VIRGINIA edged Purdue 27-24 in the Peach Bowl; BOSTON COLLEGE beat Houston 45-28 in the Cotton Bowl; UCLA squeaked by Miami 39-37 in the Fiesta Bowl; USC knocked off Ohio State 20-17 in the Rose Bowl; WASHINGTON beat Oklahoma 28-17 in the Orange Bowl; and NEBRASKA ripped Louisiana State 28-10 in the Sugar Bowl.
PRO FOOTBALL—MIAMI defeated Pittsburgh 45-28 for the AFC title, and SAN FRANCISCO beat Chicago 23-0 for the NFC crown (page 14).
COLLEGE HOCKEY—Minnesota dropped to a one-point WCHA lead by splitting a two-game series with New Hampshire. The Golden Gophers lost 3-2 in overtime and then won 4-3, despite 58 saves from Wildcat goalie Greg Rota. In Hockey East, Boston College extended its lead to eight points over Boston University and Northeastern with two wins over Wisconsin, 5-2 and 6-2. CCHA pacesetter Michigan State swept Western Michigan 4-3 in overtime and 7-3.
PRO HOCKEY—Buffalo kept the longest current win streak in the NHL alive with three more wins, extending the Sabres' string to seven. They beat New Jersey 6-4 on Mike Foligno's two goals, Pittsburgh 7-2 on scores from seven players and the Islanders 7-3 with the help of Sean McKenna's two goals. Adams Division leader Montreal still had a five-point lead over second-place Buffalo despite an 0-2-2 week. After a 2-2 tie with St. Louis, Canadiens' coach Jacques Lemaire lamented, "We were frozen to the ice. We played defense without skating." Quebec coach Michel Bergeron wasn't happy, either, even though his Nordiques went 3-0-1. Quebec's leading scorer, Michel Goulet, fractured his right thumb in a fight during a 7-3 win over Hartford and could be out for as long as six weeks. "Goulet has often been accused by his teammates of not being tough enough, of not fighting enough, but now the whole team will have to pay the price for this criticism," said Bergeron. The Nordiques began paying their debt by beating Washington 5-3 and Pittsburgh 8-3 without Goulet. In the Patrick Division, Philadelphia moved into a tie with first-place Washington after beating St. Louis 6-3 behind one goal and two assists from rookie Rick Tocchet. Chicago couldn't keep its record above .500, but it did keep a slight edge over the second-place Blues in the Norris Division race. The Black Hawks lost to St. Louis 3-2 on Mark Reeds' close-range goal in the third period and remained one point ahead despite an 18-19-3 record. In Minnesota's 8-3 defeat of Los Angeles, Keith Acton and Tom McCarthy each scored a hat trick. Edmonton remained 12 points ahead in the Smythe Division. The Oilers did suffer their third loss at home this season, 5-2 to the Flyers, but then beat Winnipeg 7-4 and 7-2. The Jets surrendered second place to Calgary after a 5-3 loss to the Flames. In the battle of the Campbell Conference's biggest losers, Vancouver (10-26-5) defeated Toronto (6-28-5) 4-1. Still, the Canucks were 33 points behind Edmonton.
HORSE RACING—IRISH SUR ($42.60), Jose Santos up, won the $178,950 Tropical Park Derby for 3-year-olds by 1½ lengths over Artillerist. The winning colt covered the 1[1/16] miles at Calder Race Course in 1:46[3/5] .
INDOOR SOCCER—Baltimore held on to the Eastern Division lead with a 5-4 win over second-place Chicago. The Blast got three goals from forward Paul Kitson, including the game winner. San Diego beat Kansas City 6-1 to stay 1½ games ahead of second-place Los Angeles in the Western Division lead.
TRACK AND FIELD—JUD LOGAN set a U.S. record in the 35-pound weight with a throw of 75'3", surpassing the mark of 74'11¾" he established last year, in Hanover, N.H.
MILEPOSTS—PUT ON PROBATION: By the NCAA, the GEORGIA football program, for giving illegal aid to athletes. The school's football scholarship limit will be reduced by seven in 1985 and in '86.
SIGNED: By the San Diego Padres, free-agent utility man, JERRY ROYSTER, 32, to a two-year $700,000 contract. Royster batted .207 in 81 games for the Atlanta Braves last season.
SUSPENDED: For three games by the NHL, Detroit Red Wings right wing and captain DANNY GARE, 30, for physically resisting an official's attempt to break up a fight between Gare and Hartford's Torrie Robertson.
DIED: JUHA (Whitey) WIDING, 37, who scored 144 goals in nine NHL and WHA seasons (1969-78) with the New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Cleveland Barons and Edmonton Oilers, of heart failure, near Vancouver.
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HAL BROWN
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EDWARD J. REINKE
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HOYT E. CARRIER II
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JIM CASSIN
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F. CARTER SMITH
FACES IN THE CROWD
BUCKY REHAIN
UPPER SADDLE RIVER, N.J.
Rehain, 41, wrestling coach at Pascack Hills High, has won 14 district team titles in 18 seasons. He has a streak of 104 dual-meet victories and was chosen as a 1984 Coach of the Year by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
PAUL LIEBENROOD
CINCINNATI
Liebenrood, 25, set an American amateur cycling record for the one-hour ride, covering the 45.425 kilometers at Indianapolis' velodrome. He also established U.S. amateur marks at five, 10, 20 and 50 kilometers in only his fourth year of racing.
ALICE NEAL
BASTIAN, VA.
Alice, a senior point guard for the Rocky Gap High girls' basketball team, set a Virginia girls' high school career scoring record of 2,288 points, 86 more than the old mark. She averaged 35.2 points and 7.9 rebounds a game this year.
TROY SNELL
WHITE CLOUD. MICH.
Troy, a junior running back at White Cloud High, rushed for 302 yards and scored six TDs in a 42-8 win over Kent City. A nephew of former Jet back Matt Snell, he ran for 1,178 yards and an average of 6.3 yards per carry.
JOHN CARTER
WOBURN, MASS
Carter, a junior forward on the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute hockey team, had hat tricks in four straight wins over North Dakota, Yale, Brown and Army. An All-America as a sophomore, he's averaging 2.46 points a game this season.
JENNIFER KING
Houston
Jennifer, 7, won the prejuvenile (10-and-under) girls' overall and freestyle titles at the Southwestern Regional Figure Skating Championship in Denver, to become one of the youngest winners ever. She has been skating for 2½ years.