A Roundup of the Week March 14-20

PRO BASKETBALL—Boston hammered Chicago 137-107 to become the first Eastern Conference team to clinch a playoff berth. Larry Bird scored a game-high 33 points for the Celtics, while Michael Jordan, who had poured in 50 in the Bulls' 113-103 win over Boston in Chicago two nights earlier, was held to 26. "I get a lot of the credit, but he was getting a little tired out there," said Celtics reserve guard Jim Paxson, who applied most of the defensive pressure on Jordan. "Maybe he wasn't quite as hungry as he was in Chicago." Detroit, hungry for another shot at Boston in the Eastern Conference playoffs, defeated Washington 118-110 for its sixth straight victory. Joe Dumars scored 25 points for the Pistons, who at week's end led the Central Division by 4½ games over runner-up Atlanta. Dallas maintained a 4½-game margin over Houston in the Midwest Division despite losing 105-99 in Portland. The Trail Blazers (42-22) moved to within one game of the Mavericks (43-21) for the second-best record in the Western Conference behind the Los Angeles Lakers. Portland, which trailed the pace-setting Lakers by 8½ games in the Pacific Division, earlier had seen a nine-game winning streak end in a 116-115 overtime loss at Denver. In that game the Nuggets' Michael Adams established an NBA record by hitting a three-point shot in his 24th straight game, breaking the mark set by the Celtics' Danny Ainge earlier this season. The Lakers, crippled by the absence of injured stars Magic Johnson and Michael Cooper, lost consecutive road games to Portland, 112-95, and Phoenix, 102-95, but halted their slide with a 130-127 win over the woeful Warriors.

BOWLING—PALMER FALLGREN won a PBA tour event and $24,000 by defeating Don Genalo 226-210 in the finals, in Overland Park, Kans.

BOXING—MIKE TYSON retained his world heavy-weight championship with a second-round knockout of Tony Tubbs, in Tokyo (page 20).

DOG SLEDDING—SUSAN BUTCHER of Manley, Alaska, won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race from Anchorage to Nome for an unprecedented third straight time with a clocking of 11 days, 11 hours, 41 minutes—a record for the longer northern route. She finished 14½ hours ahead of runner-up Rick Swenson of Two Rivers, Alaska.

GOLF—PAUL AZINGER shot a 13-under-par 271 to win a PGA Tour event and the $135,000 first prize, in Orlando, Fla. Azinger beat runner-up Tom Kite by five strokes.

Laura Davies won an LPGA event and $45,000 by shooting a 10-under-par 278, in Tucson. She defeated Robin Walton by one stroke.

HOCKEY—Philadelphia snapped a five-game losing streak, its longest in 17 years, with a 4-2 win over Pittsburgh, in the Spectrum. The Flyers, who at week's end trailed first-place Washington in the Patrick Division by two points, got 27 saves from reserve goalie Mark LaForest as they extended their unbeaten streak at home over the Penguins to 40 games over 14 years. One night earlier Pittsburgh had crushed the Flyers 7-0 as Pens goaltender Steve Guenette got his first NHL shutout. The Devils' 4-2 win at Washington was their first in the Capital Centre since the franchise moved to New Jersey in 1982. "Nobody likes it when people say. You can't win here, or You can't win there, against these guys," said Devils forward Doug Brown. "We took another step, climbed another peak today." Detroit clinched a tie for the Norris Division title—and the home-ice advantage for the first two playoff rounds—by knocking off Minnesota 2-1 and then gained the title outright when Minnesota tied second-place St. Louis 2-2. Los Angeles moved closer to the fourth and final playoff spot in the Smythe Division—in which Calgary had a comfortable lead—by defeating the Red Wings 7-4 in a penalty-filled game at the Forum. Referee Denis Morel handed out 154 minutes in penalties, including 83 in the first period, which was ended 1:40 early when a fight erupted. The final moments of the period were played after the ice was resurfaced. Montreal, behind a 3-0 shutout of Chicago by goalie Patrick Roy, pushed its unbeaten streak to 13 games. The Canadiens led the Adams Division by nine points over second-place Boston.

HORSE RACING—MI PREFERIDO ($10.60), Chris McCarron up, won the San Felipe Handicap at Santa Anita by 2¾ lengths over Purdue King. The 3-year-old covered the 1[1/16] miles in 1:42[1/5] to take the $96,300 winner's purse.

CEFIS ($3.20), Eddie Maple in the saddle, earned $90,000 by winning the Tampa Bay Derby by 1¼ lengths over Buck Forbes at Tampa Bay Downs. The 3-year-old colt's time for the 1[1/16] miles was 1:44[2/5].

Zie World ($20), ridden by Julio Pezua, won the What a Pleasure Stakes for 3-year-olds at Calder Race Course by half a length over Primal. Zie World covered the 1[1/16] miles in 1:45[2/5] to get the $64,740 winners purse.

INDOOR SOCCER—The San Diego Sockers gained their sixth MISL Western Division championship in seven years by winning three games, including a title-clinching 8-3 rout of visiting Baltimore. Paul Dougherty and Branko Segota had two goals and two assists apiece for the Sockers, who lead the Western Division by a whopping 12 games over Los Angeles. Minnesota, the Eastern Division leader, won both of its outings to maintain its three-game lead over Dallas.

MOTOR SPORTS—DALE EARNHARDT drove a Chevrolet to victory in the Motorcraft 500, averaging 137.588 mph on the 1.522-mile Atlanta International Raceway oval to beat Rusty Wallace, in a Pontiac, by 1.05 seconds. Earnhardt's triumph was worth $67,950.

SWIMMING—Texas won a record fifth straight NCAA women's team title, with 661 points, 118.5 points better than second-place Florida, in Austin, Texas (page 60).

WRESTLING—Arizona State won the NCAA championship, with 93 points to runner-up Iowa's 85.5, in Ames, Iowa (page 58).

MILEPOSTS—APPROVED: By NFL owners, the relocation of the Cardinals franchise from St. Louis to Phoenix (page 40).

FIRED: As basketball coach at Texas, BOB WELTLICH, 43, who in six seasons had a 77-98 record; at Rutgers, CRAIG LITTLEPAGE, 36, who in three years had a 23-63 record.

NAMED: RUDY KEELING, 39, as basketball coach at Maine, replacing Thomas (Skip) Chappelle, who retired after 17 years.

SENTENCED: By Middlesex (N.J.) County Superior Court Judge Joseph F. Deegan Jr., former heavyweight boxer CHUCK WEPNER, 49, who lost a title bout to Muhammad Ali in 1975, to 10 years in prison after he was convicted of possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute, in New Brunswick.

SLAIN: Champion race car driver MICKEY THOMPSON, 59, who in 1960 became the first American to exceed 400 miles per hour on land. Thompson, along with his wife, TRUDY, 41, was found—by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies—shot to death in the driveway of their hillside estate; in Bradbury, Calif. (page 38).