A roundup of the week Sept. 2-8

PRO FOOTBALL—For the first time, both Super Bowl participants lost their opening games the following season. There were two very familiar "new" faces behind the shocking upsets by 1984 doormats Minnesota and Houston. With coach Bud Grant back at the helm after a year's absence, the Vikings stunned the Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers 28-21 on Ted Brown's 10-yard touchdown run with 1:49 left to play. Meanwhile, Houston, which also had a 3-13 record last season, knocked off defending AFC champion Miami 26-23 when Mike Rozier, making his NFL debut after two seasons with the USFL (page 61), dived over from the one-yard line with 25 seconds remaining. St. Louis's Neil O'Donoghue kicked a 35-yard field goal 5½ minutes into the season's first overtime to give the Cardinals a wild 27-24 victory over Cleveland. The Browns had rallied with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to take a 24-17 lead with :38 left, only to let Neil Lomax drive the Cards 63 yards on four plays in 34 seconds. He hit Pat Tilley with a five-yard TD toss to force the OT. In another nailbiter, Detroit quarterback Eric Hipple overcame two interceptions, two sacks and a 14-0 first-period deficit to lead the Lions to a 28-27 win over Atlanta. Pittsburgh, Kansas City, the Los Angeles Raiders and the New York Giants all scored routs. Steeler quarterback Mark Malone threw five touchdown passes, three of them to Louis Lipps, in a 45-3 trampling of Indianapolis. Nick Lowery kicked four field goals and Bill Kenney threw for 397 yards as the Chiefs buried New Orleans 47-27. The Raiders sacked quarterback Ken O'Brien 10 times while blanking the Jets 31-0, and the Giants scored their first shutout since 1983, 21-0 over Philadelphia. Curt Warner, out most of last year with an injured knee, dodged three tacklers on an 11-yard scoring run that gave Seattle a 28-24 triumph over Cincinnati. New England beat Green Bay 26-20; Chicago defeated Tampa Bay 38-28; San Diego topped Buffalo 14-9; and the Los Angeles Rams overcame Denver 20-16 (page 22).

GOLF—GEORGE BURNS shot a 17-under-par 267 for a six-stroke victory, worth $72,000, at a PGA Tour event in Sutton, Mass.

Nancy Lopez sank a five-foot birdie putt on the third extra hole to beat Lori Garbacz in an LPGA tournament in Portland, Ore. Lopez, who shot a one-under-par 215 in regulation, earned $26,250 for her fifth victory of the year.

Earlier in the week, BETSY KING shot an 11-under-par 205 to take the $27,750 winner's purse in the Rail Charity Classic in Springfield, Ill. by two strokes over Janet Anderson.

HORSE RACING—FAMILY STYLE ($3.40), with Laffit Pincay Jr. up, earned $250,200 with a two-length victory over Deep Silver in the Arlington-Washington Lassie Stakes at Hawthorne (Ill.) Race Course. She covered the 6½ furlongs in 1:18.

Creme Fraiche ($8.20), ridden by Eddie Maple, won the Jerome Handicap at Belmont Park by 1¾ lengths over Pancho Villa, earning $109,260. The 3-year-old gelding trained by Woody Stephens covered the mile in 1:34[4/5].

Jacky Martin rode MR. TRUCKA JET ($13.60) to a half-length victory over Digging for Gold in the All-American Futurity at Ruidoso Downs (N. M.). The 2-year-old quarterhorse, who equaled the stakes record of 21.41 for the 440-yard sprint, won $1 million.

MOTOR SPORTS—ALAIN PROST, in a McLaren, finished 51.6 seconds ahead of Nelson Piquet, in a Brabham-BMW, to win the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. Prost averaged 136.539 mph in 52 laps around the 3.6-mile circuit for his fifth victory of the year.

Pancho Carter, driving a March 85C Cosworth, came in .10 second ahead of Johnny Rutherford's March Cosworth to win $62,280 and the Indy 200-mile CART race at St. Pie, Quebec. Carter covered 225 laps of the .826-mile Sanair Super Speedway tri-oval at an average speed of 89.997 mph.

Don Garlits, 53, won his seventh National Hot Rod Association U.S. National title, beating rookie Darrell Gwynn in Indianapolis for the Top Fuel championship, worth $42,000. Garlits, who also set a single-season record for victories with five, completed his final run in 5.571 seconds at a speed of 260.56 mph.

TENNIS—After three years as runner-up, IVAN LENDL won his first U.S. Open championship, defeating John McEnroe 7-6, 6-3, 6-4. HANA MANDLIKOVA edged Martina Navratilova 7-6, 1-6, 7-6 to take her first women's title. KEN FLACH and ROBERT SEGUSO beat Yannick Noah and Henri Leconte 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 6-0 to win the men's doubles; CLAUDIA KOHDE-KILSCH and HELENA SUKOVA upset Navratilova and Pam Shriver 6-7, 6-2, 6-3 in the women's doubles; NAVRATILOVA and HEINZ GUNTHARDT defeated Elizabeth Smylie and John Fitzgerald 6-3, 6-4 for the mixed-doubles crown (page 26).

TRACK & FIELD—In Rome, in the final event of the 16-meet IAAF Mobil Grand Prix circuit, MARY DECKER SLANEY won the 3,000 meters to become the women's overall points champion. Her time of 8:25.83 lowered her American record by 3.86 seconds and was the second-fastest ever. With Said Aouita of Morocco sidelined by a muscle pull, DOUG PADILLA became the men's overall champion after winning the 5,000 meters. Earlier in the meet, JUDI BROWN KING bettered the American 400-meter hurdle record she shared with Latanya Sheffield by .28 with a time of 54.38.

Igor Paklin of the Soviet Union cleared 7'10¾" to break the world high-jump record, held by Rudolf Povarnitsyn, by¼" at the World University Games in Kobe, Japan.

In Rieti, Italy, SYDNEY MAREE broke Steve Scott's three-year-old American record in the 2,000 meters by .51 with a time of 4:54.20.

MILEPOSTS—FINED: By the Men's International Professional Tennis Council, JOHN McENROE, $1,500, for verbal abuse of tournament officials at the U.S. Open.

HIRED: As basketball coach at Rutgers University, CRAIG LITTLEPAGE, 34, who guided the University of Pennsylvania to last season's Ivy League title.

SIGNED: By the Baltimore Orioles, first baseman EDDIE MURRAY, 29, to a five-year contract extension, reportedly worth $13 million, that will make the eight-year veteran the highest paid player in baseball.

TRADED: By the Los Angeles Clippers, center BILL WALTON, 32, to the Boston Celtics for forward CEDRIC MAXWELL, 29, a 1986 first-round draft pick and cash; and by the Celtics, guard QUINN BUCKNER, 31, to the Indiana Pacers for a second-round draft pick in one of the next five years.

By the New Jersey Devils, left wing DON LEVER, 32, to the Buffalo Sabres for future consideratons.

DIED: FRANK (Bruiser) KINARD, 70, an All-America, a five-time all-league pro tackle, a former athletic director at the University of Mississippi and member of the college and pro halls of fame; after a long illness; in Jackson, Miss.