A roundup of the week Oct. 27-Nov. 2

PRO BASKETBALL—The last time we saw Michael Jordan, back in April, the Bulls were being swept by Boston in the first round of the playoffs and the Air Man was sweeping his way into the playoff record books by scoring 63 points in one game. But a whole summer has passed since then. On Saturday, against the Knicks, Jordan scored 50 (15 of 31 from the field, 20 of 22 from the free throw line) to lead Chicago to a 108-103 victory. And the last time we saw Dominique Wilkins, back in May, the Hawks were losing 4-1 to Boston in the second round of the playoffs, despite 'Nique's team-leading 28.6 ppg. What's a superstar to do? Against New Jersey last week, Wilkins tossed in 39 points and had three steals as Atlanta squashed the Nets 131-111. Houston, sans Ralph Sampson, ignored double-figure performances from Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy and Byron Scott and beat Los Angeles 112-102. The Rockets have now won five in a row against the Lakers. But not everything went according to form. One day after hanging their 16th championship banner in Boston Garden, the Celtics were 111-105 losers to Milwaukee. The Bucks' new man in the middle, Jack Sikma, led all rebounders with 14, while Boston's Kevin McHale led all scorers with 33. On opening night Denver lost two players to injuries, the more serious being forward Calvin Natt's ruptured Achilles tendon, during a triumphant 134-104 start against San Antonio. Natt may be out for the season. "It's so deflating," forward Bill Hanzlik said afterward. "I don't know that I've ever felt this bad after winning a game by 30 points." Keep an eye on Philly: After 16 years as a professional and 11 seasons in the NBA, the good Doctor, Julius Erving, will no longer be making house calls. The announcement that the 36-year-old Erving will retire at the end of this season brought 10,000 cheering Spectrum fans to their feet. "I'm going to enjoy every minute of this season—win, lose or draw, sunshine or snowstorm." Erving said. "If you see me not enjoying it, tap me on the shoulder and say, 'Hey, you said you were going to enjoy it.' " And so the NBA's 41st basketball season began.

PRO FOOTBALL—New York's defense, led by DE George Martin and LBs Carl Banks and Lawrence Taylor, proved mightier than Dallas's offense as the Giants beat the Cowboys 17-14 at Giants Stadium. Cowboy QBs Danny White and Steve Pelluer were sacked six times, and White's right wrist was broken 10 minutes into the game; he is expected to be out for at least six weeks. The defeat put Dallas (6-3) a game behind the Giants and Redskins in the NFC East. Washington rebounded from its 27-20 Monday night loss to New York to win a Sunday squeaker against Minnesota, 44-38, in OT WR Gary Clark caught QB Jay Schroeder's 38-yard toss at 1:46 in the extra period to cement the win. With 40 seconds remaining, Cincinnati RB Larry Kinnebrew plowed one yard for a score as the Bengals beat the Lions 24-17. Cleveland also won—24-9 over the 0-9 Colts—so the Bengals and Browns still share the top spot in the AFC Central Division. Neither a new coach (Al Saunders) nor a new starting quarterback (Tom Flick) could change San Diego's fortunes as the Chargers lost their eighth straight, 24-23, to Kansas City. Although the Dolphin defense (ranked 27th) isn't exactly feared around the league, it kept Houston outside the 40-yard line until the end of the third period and walked away with a 28-7 victory. Jets QB Ken O'Brien (431 yards passing) threw scoring passes of 83, 50, 36 and 1 yard as New York trounced Seattle 38-7. And the Raiders turned the ball over four times in the first half as they lost 21-10 to Denver, still tops in the AFC West (page 70).

HOCKEY—Whoever said there's no place like home obviously had eastern, not western, Canada in mind: Toronto beat Chicago, Hartford and Detroit at Maple Leaf Gardens last week, solidifying its top spot in the Norris Division, while Vancouver held firmly to the Smythe cellar position by losing three straight at the Pacific Coliseum. The Canucks' 6-2 loss to Smythe leader Edmonton on Halloween was particularly brutal. With the score 2—all going into the third period and Vancouver outshooting the Oilers 31-8, it looked like the Canucks actually had a prayer. But forward Mark Messier scored seven seconds into the third, sparking an Oiler rally that left Vancouver coach Tom Watt shaking his head. "It's hard to believe it. we worked so hard." Watt said. "Edmonton makes five or six mistakes, and we can't buy a goal. We make one mistake, and it's in our net." The result for the North Stars this week was not good: They beat Calgary but lost to Chicago and Detroit, the biggest setback coming when star center Neal Broten dislocated his left shoulder in the 3-1 Red Wing victory. Broten, who last year became the first American-born NHL player to score 100 points in a season, is expected to be out of the lineup for at least a month. Adams Division rivals Hartford and Quebec played a home-and-home series, their first encounter since the Stanley Cup playoffs, and skated to ties of 2-2 and 3-3. Pittsburgh slipped into second in the Patrick Division behind the Flyers (9-2-0), as a result of a no-win week: The Penguins lost to Hartford (5-2) and New Jersey (8-6), and tied St. Louis (3-3). But Mario Lemieux continued apace. Through Sunday, Pittsburgh's 21-year-old center had 16 goals and had scored at least one point in every game (page 68).

HORSE RACING—LADY'S SECRET ($3), Pat Day up, beat Fran's Valentine by 2½ lengths to win the $1 million Breeders' Cup Distaff at Santa Anita. The 4-year-old filly covered the 1¼-mile course in 2:01[1/5]. Other winners in the seven-race program were 10-to-1 shot SKYWALKER ($22.20) in the $3 million Classic; CAPOTE ($6.80) in the Juvenile; BRAVE RAJ ($10) in the Juvenile Fillies; SMILE ($24) in the Sprint; MANILA ($19.60) in the Turf; and LAST TYCOON ($73.80) in the Mile (page 22).

MARATHON—GRETE WAITZ of Norway and GIANNI POLI of Italy were the winners of the New York City Marathon, finishing the 26.2 miles in 2:28:06 and 2:11:06, respectively. For Waitz, it was her eighth NYC victory in nine years.

TENNIS—BORIS BECKER defeated Sergio Casal 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 to win the $100,000 first prize at the $615,000 Paris Open.

Top-seeded ZINA GARRISON defeated Melissa Gurney 6-3, 6-3 to win $13,000 at a women's tour event in Indianapolis.

The UNITED STATES, led by Kathy Rinaldi, defeated Great Britain 7-0 to win its eighth straight Wightman Cup competition, in London. It was the U.S.'s 48th win in the dual meet's 58-year history.

MILEPOSTS—ARRESTED: At the Mexican border, San Diego Padres pitcher LAMARR HOYT, 31, allegedly with hundreds of Valium tablets and Quaaludes in his possession. It was Hoyt's third drug-related incident this year. The 1983 Cy Young Award winner was freed on $25,000 bail and is scheduled for a pretrial hearing later this month.

DISMISSED: By the city attorney's office in Chelsea, Mass., a four-month-old assault charge against Red Sox pitcher OIL CAN BOYD, 27. The prosecutors were reportedly impressed by Boyd's ability to put his midseason problems behind him.

FIRED: By the Buffalo Bills, head coach HANK BULLOUGH, 52, whose record since October 1985 was 4-17. MARV LEVY, 58, former head coach at Kansas City, replaces him.

NAMED: As manager of the San Diego Padres, former All-Star shortstop LARRY BOWA, 40. Bowa replaces Steve Boros, who was fired Oct. 24.

RESIGNED: DON CORYELL, 62, as coach of the San Diego Chargers, after getting off to a rocky 1-7 start. Coryell, who has a 111-83-1 career record over 14 years, will be replaced by assistant head coach AL SAUNDERS, 39.

Lefty Driesell, 54, embattled basketball coach at the University of Maryland, after a 17-year career and 348-159 record with the Terps (page 76). Former Dunbar (Md.) High School coach BOB WADE, 41, replaces him.

RETIRED: STAN WASIAK, 66, the winningest manager in minor league history, after 37 consecutive seasons, the last 7 with the Vero Beach Dodgers. Wasiak won 21 divisional championships and 9 league pennants, and has 2,570 victories to his credit.

SUSPENDED: For at least 21 days, by the Men's International Professional Tennis Council, JOHN McENROE, 27, after verbally abusing an umpire during his quarterfinal loss at the Paris Open. McEnroe was fined $3,000, giving him more than $7,500 in fines for the year and making his suspension automatic, pending an appeal.

TRADED: By the Chicago Bulls to the New York Knickerbockers, 7-foot center JAWANN OLDHAM, 29, for a first-round draft pick in '87 and future considerations.