A roundup of the week Sept. 15-21

BOXING—MARVIN JOHNSON of the U.S. stopped Jean-Marie Emebe of Cameroon in the 13th round of their scheduled 15-round bout to retain the WBA light heavyweight championship, in Indianapolis.

PRO FOOTBALL—Wesley Walker caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Ken O'Brien on the last play of regulation, then snared his fourth TD reception of the game 2:35 into overtime to cap the Jets' wild 51-45 victory over Miami at the Meadowlands. Walker's performance (6 catches, 174 yards, 4 TDs), and O'Brien's artistry—he completed 29 of 43 passes for a career-high 479 yards—offset another record-setting performance by Miami's Dan Marino, who hit 30 of 50 passes for 448 yards and a career-high 6 TDs. The teams' combined 884 yards passing broke the NFL record of 883 set by the Bengals and Chargers in 1982. But while Marino moved atop the NFL's alltime passing ratings last week, supplanting San Francisco's Joe Montana, who was out for the season after undergoing back surgery, the Jets moved into a tie for the AFC East lead with the New England Patriots, who lost 38-31 to AFC West coleader Seattle, in Foxboro, Mass. Denver, tied at 3-0 with the Seahawks for first in the AFC West, rolled to a 21-10 Monday-night victory at Pittsburgh, and so overpowered the Eagles in a 33-7 win in Philadelphia that backup quarterback Gary Kubiak played almost the entire second half. In Minneapolis, the Vikings hammered Pittsburgh 31-7. For the woeful Steelers, who have scored just 17 points in three losses, their 0-3 start is the worst since 1970. AFC Central leader Cincinnati's 30-13 victory in Cleveland Thursday night was the Bengals' fifth triumph over the Browns in their last six meetings, while Tampa Bay's 24-20 win at Detroit was the Bucs' first on the road since 1983. The Rams cruised past Indianapolis 24-7 in the Hoosier Dome, while out in L.A., the 0-3 Raiders, off to their worst start in 22 years, lost to the Giants 14-9. In Buffalo, the Bills won for just the fifth time in their last 38 games when they beat St. Louis 17-10. Kansas City rolled past visiting Houston 27-13, while in San Diego, Jay Schroeder's 14-yard scoring pass to Gary Clark with 1:16 to play rallied Washington to a 30-27 victory over the Chargers and snapped San Diego's seven-game home-field winning streak. In San Francisco, Jeff Kemp hit 29 of 44 passes for 332 yards and one touchdown in the 49ers' 26-17 triumph over New Orleans. Atlanta, now tied 3-0 with the Rams for first place in the NFC West, rallied for a 37-35 upset victory at Dallas when Mick Luckhurst kicked an 18-yard field goal with 20 seconds left (page 72).

GOLF—CORY PAVIN sank a 10-foot putt for a birdie on the fourth playoff hole to defeat Dave Barr and win the $72,000 first prize at the Greater Milwaukee Open. Pavin and Barr had completed regulation play tied at 16-under-par 272.

Patty Sheehan sank a 15-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff to beat Ayako Okamoto, Amy Alcott and Betsy King and win an LPGA event, in San Jose. The foursome had finished 54 holes tied at 4-under-par 212. Sheehan's victory was worth $41,250.

HARNESS RACING—BARBERRY SPUR ($3.20), driven by Bill O'Donnell, defeated Amity Chef by 1¼ lengths in a race-off to win the Little Brown Jug at the Delaware County (Ohio) Fairgrounds and claim the second jewel of pacing's Triple Crown. The 3-year-old colt, who won $150,841, was timed at 1:52[4/5] for the mile. Barberry Spur won the Cane Pace at Yonkers Raceway last July, and if he wins the Messenger Stakes at Roosevelt Raceway on Oct. 4, he will become the first Triple Crown winner since Ralph Hanover in 1983.

HORSE RACING—MANILA ($3.80), ridden by Jose Santos, won the Grade I Turf Classic at Belmont by a nose over Damister to earn the $423,150 winner's purse. The 3-year-old's time for the 1½ miles was 2:27[4/5].

Wise times ($3.40), with Eddie Maple in the saddle, rallied to defeat Cheapskate and Southern Halo in the Grade I Super Derby by half a length, at Louisiana Downs. Wise Times, a 3-year-old colt, earned $300,000 for the triumph and ran the 1¼ miles in a time of 2:04.

Lady's secret ($3), with Pat Day in the irons, won the Ruffian Handicap at Belmont by eight lengths over Steal a Kiss. The 4-year-old filly, who earned a winner's purse of $138,240, ran the 1‚Öõ miles in a stakes-record 1:46[4/5].

MOTOR SPORTS—NIGEL MANSELL of England drove a Williams-Honda to victory in the Portuguese Grand Prix in Estoril, averaging 116.599 mph on the 2.7-mile course to defeat Alain Prost of France, in a McLaren-TAG-Porsche, by 18.772 seconds. Mansell increased his lead in the World Drivers' championship standings to 10 points over Nelson Piguet of Brazil.

Rusty Wallace, in a Pontiac, won the 500-lap NASCAR event in Martinsville, Va., by a car length over Geoff Bodine, in a Chevrolet. Wallace, who won $40,175, averaged 73.191 mph on the .526-mile Martinsville Speedway track.

TENNIS—HENRI LECONTE of France upset defending champion and top-seeded Miroslav Mecir of Czechoslovakia 6-2, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 to win the German Open and the $42,500 first prize, in Hamburg.

John McEnroe defeated Stefan Edberg 6-2, 6-3 in the finals to win a Grand Prix tournament and $50,000, in Los Angeles.

TRACK & FIELD—At the Spartakiad meet in Tashkent, MARINA STEPANOVA of the Soviet Union established a world record in the women's 400-meter intermediate hurdles with a time of 52.94 seconds, surpassing the mark she set in August by .32 of a second.

MILEPOSTS—CONVICTED: By a jury in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, JOE PEPITONE, 45, former first baseman-outfielder for the Yankees, Astros and Cubs from 1962 through 1973, of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, misdemeanors that each carry non-mandatory sentences of up to one year in prison. Pepitone, however, was found not guilty of four more-serious charges, including one, possession of cocaine, that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in jail.

FIRED: DANA KIRK, 51, as basketball coach at Memphis State. Kirk, who in seven seasons guided the Tigers to a 158-58 record, five consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament and a berth in the 1985 Final Four, has been the center of controversy for the last 18 months because of a federal grand jury investigation that, in part, touched on his finances. Assistant coach Larry Finch, 35, was named interim coach at MSU (page 25).

REINSTATED: By the San Diego Padres, reliever RICH (Goose) GOSSAGE, 35, after Gossage publicly apologized to Padre president Ballard Smith and owner Joan Kroc for derogatory statements he made about them last month. On Aug. 29 Gossage was suspended without pay for the remainder of the season under major league Rule 13, which allows teams to discipline players for continued insubordination. In a settlement agreed to by Gossage, the Players Association and the Padres, the pitcher accepted a 20-day suspension and a $25,000 fine, which was donated to charity.

TRADED: By the Houston Oilers, the rights to rookie quarterback JIM EVERETT, 23, of Purdue, the third player taken in the 1986 NFL draft, to the Los Angeles Rams, for offensive guard KENT HILL, 29, a four-time Pro Bowler; defensive end WILLIAM FULLER, 24; the Rams' first-round selections in the 1987 and 1988 drafts; and L.A.'s 1987 fifth-round pick.

DIED: Dragboat racer BILLY TODD, 48, of injuries suffered in a crash after a qualifying run at the Sundance Sports Nationals, in Castaic, Calif. After Todd completed the quarter-mile Castaic Lake course in 5.46 seconds at 205 mph, his boat catapulted an estimated 35 feet in the air, then crashed down on top of him.

Gordon McLendon, 65, who founded the Liberty Broadcasting System in the 1940s and who fashioned a radio empire with his re-creation of sporting events, using sound effects and wire service reports; of cancer; in Lake Dallas, Texas (page 26).

Darold W. Jenkins, 68, an All-America center and linebacker at Missouri in 1941, who was elected to the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame in 1976; of an aneurysm; in Independence, Mo.

Former Purdue basketball coach RAY EDDY, 75; in Lafayette, Ind. In 15 seasons, Eddy guided the Boilermakers to a 176-164 record. As a Purdue player in the 1930s he was a teammate of former UCLA coach John Wooden.