Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey • Page 43

Asbury Park Jan. 13, 1984 C3 Lite9 all-stars prove there is life after liniment NOT TO TAKE anything away from fine gents like Harmon Killebrew, Don Drysdale and Luis Aparicio, but at the precise moment that they were being unveiled as the latest members of the Hall of Fame, I was spending some time with some real famous ballplayers, Bob Uecker and Marvlous Mar-. vin Throneberry, to name Just a couple. Uecker lasted six years in the bigs by hitting Throneberry gained immortality by missing and second base while running out a triple. These superior athletes have proven that there is life after liniment.

Some 25 of them, members all of. the Madison Avenue Shrine, were being reunited by Miller Lite Beer for the shooting of one of their -all- star productions. Out of last year's shooting, "you may remember, came the classic intra-squad softball game between the Less Fillings and the Tastes Greats. MVP of the game, of course, was Lee Meredith, also has some great stats, like 38-24-36. Lee the sex line in the Madison Avenue Beer League and still remains the only woman member of the Lite All-Stars.

They have been searching for Don't tell me. The person with the most powerful eyes on the team next to Miss Meredith, is Rodney Dangerfield. It could be changed. You never can be sure about the punch lines in these Lite melodramas. Take the unforgetable barroom scene where Billy Martin slips up to the bar.

Martin was to have been just an urban cowboy in the background. In the original script, the star was Jim Shoulders, rodeo champ. Some unidentified actor was to have said, "Why would anyone want to punch a little doggie?" Through numerous rehearsals and takes it was falling flat. Finally, Bob Meury, an exec from the BackerSpielvogel and agency, had an inspiration. He must have just read about the Yankee manager popping a marshmallow salesman.

Why don't we get Billy Martin to say, "I didn't punch that doggie?" suggested Meury on the set. Thus was born the most memorable line in series history. These things are recorded in Lite Reading, a king-sized paperback published by Penguin and written by Frank Deford. You may remember Frank Deford. He wrote that atrocious puff piece on Howard Cosell for Sports Illustrated.

This time, Deford maintains reasonable objectivity, even to the chapter that rates each of the past commercials (three steins for a top performance, a half-stein for a clinker.) One of the three-steiners in Steinbrenner-Martin I. Steinbrenner- Martin with "You're hired" replacing "You're fired," gets only a stein and a half. One of the recent smash successes didn't come out in time to make the book. It co-stars Boog Powell and Jim Honochick, the pairing that plays on the ump's eyesight, with Honochick mistaking a catsup bottle for a bottle of beer. "I'm making more money doing this," Boog said, "than I did playing baseball." "Things were tougher in our day," Bob Uecker said.

"What we did was chew our gum, swallow it, and then blow the bubble." When these sports personalities turned-actors get together, they like to brag about their script-reading abilities. It's their competitive nature. Finishing a commercial in the fewest number, of takes becomes as great an honor as breaking a home run record. It's all in the Little Red Book of beer-selling stats. -1 And who holds the record for the fewest takes? Billy Martin-Jim Shoulders, 28, for the doggie punching sensation.

Who required the most takes? Steve Mizerak, pool shooter, 67. That's not really fair. In addition to speaking his lines, Mizerak had to make a difficult trick shot. Don Drysdale, one of the latest members of the real Hall of Fame, isn't listed among the Lite All-Stars, but has distinct possibilities. At the first press conference following his election, Don told of the time he hit Johnny Logan with a pitch.

Then Hodges was playing behind him. "I hit Johnny again. He got mad, I don't blame him," Drysdale said. Now there's a Lite Beer commercial if I ever heard one. Dick Young's syndicated column appears Tuesday through Saturday.

someone bigger, but it is difficult to find someone bigger than Lee Meredith. "In the one we are shooting now," she said, "we are all gathered around a fireplace, telling scary stories in the dark, and I grab Mickey Mickey Mantle? No silly, Mickey Spillane, a real heavy hitter. He's the guy who writes those private-eye stories full of big-busted broads. Lee wasn't sure if she was supposed to tell the surprise ending of the newest commercial, but decided to make a clean breast of it. "We see these two big monster eyes coming at us, and who does it turn out to be?" Dick Young CSO Bernard's the Kin Wilander hopes to make 'Volvo' his center stage of Garden Will Grimsley Michael Amsel KJj I'll Miii i'J A ff Tfr I x.

HE IS A LEAN, hollow-cheek kid of 19 with stringy hair that's always falling down in his eyes. He looks lost and frightened in the big, money-swamped world of professional tennis, but don't let appearances fool you. Put a mid-sized racket in his hand, turn him loose on a lined court that measures 27x78 feet and he can be as harmless as a rattlesnake or a sub-machine gun. Mats Wilander (pronounced Vee-Lon-Der) of Vaxjo, Sweden, and Monte Carlo may be the best tennis player in the world at this moment. Top-seeded in the Volvo Masters, the Super Showdown of the yearlong, world-girdling Grand Prix tour, he is out to prove it this weekend at Madison Square Garden.

He may and he may not. He is still quite young. He is looking down the guns of the modern day heavyweights flashy John McEnroe, dour Ivan Lendl and feisty Jimmy Connors but is facing1 them unafraid. "I don't say I'm going to win this tournament or any other tournament I'm playing in," he says, "but I think I've got as good a chance as anybody." It's hard to imagine this kid pounding his way through such awesome obstacles. He stands five feet, 10 inches and weighs a mere 155 pounds.

If he played football, he'd be on the schoolboy team. If he hung around a baseball diamond, they'd have him running bats. But already, with only three years of experience on the tour, he has demanded respect from his rivals and attention from the international tennis realm. Going into the Volvo Masters, Wilander was center of a controversy that made the college football rankings look like an exercise in tranquility. "Who's No.

everybody was asking. According to Grand Prix ratings, based on a point system covering the entire year's schedule, Wilander was on top. He was closely followed by Czechslo-vakia's Indl, McEnroe and Connors in order. Yet, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) computer placed McEnroe first, followed by Lendl and Connors with Wilander fourth. This conformed with the World Championship Tennis' separate Nixdorf system in which Connors was second ahead of Lendl.

The Grand Prix Masters' windup this weekend is supposed to clarify the picture. Personally, we think win, lose or draw young Wilander deserves No. 1 for 1983. He played in more tournaments and won more than any of the other top contenders. He faced McEnroe three times during the year, beat him in all three the French Open on slow clay, the ATP Championships in Cincinnati on cement and the Australian Open on grass.

He hasn't played Connors, but he defeated Lendl in the finals both in the ATP and Australian while losing at Brussels and in the U.S. Open. He lost to Yannick Noah in the French Open final. Unfortunately, bigtime tennis is a mis- HIS CONSISTENCY has been remarkable, his contributions immeasurable. Game-in and game-out, Bernard King has gotten the clutch hoops and made the stellar plays and done everything in his power to make the New York Knicks winners.

King's 22 points (his average) and half-dozen rebounds and post-up, in-your-face jumpers have become so automatic, so commonplace at Madison Square Garden that every time he plays there people pay him the highest tribute: They take him for granted. Rarely has a player done so much, so often and with so many obstacles in his way and been so overlooked for it than King. The press is guilty of the oversight. The fans (who don't have him in the top five of their All-Star votes) are guilty. So, too, is coach Hubie Brown.

Over the last four games, King has averaged 27 points, playing like a man possessed. He has shot the ball at a 60 percent clip. He has gone over and around and through opposition forwards for all the big baskets, all the key shots. Yet, when it comes to receiving praise, King seldom gets his just due. Let's backtrack a bit to illustrate.

When the Knicks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 3, the media darling that night was Bill Cartwright. He did a strong job scoring and containing Kareem Abdul Jabbar and was, indeed, worthy of laudatory ink. But it was King who dealt the Lakers their death blow, burying two baseline jumpers when the game was on the line. Both times, he was double-teamed by Jamaal Wilkes and Bryon Scott.

Both times, he swished the shot as if four arms weren't whirling in his face. "He beats me up more when I try to guard him then he does when I'm trying to score against him," said Wilkes, one of the league's premier defensive players. "It gets very discouraging." In their next game at the Garden, the Knicks walloped Indiana by 37 points. King was a sizzling 14 of 18 from the floor. He chewed up Clark Kellogg and Herb Williams en route to a 29-point masterpiece.

But most follow stories the next day conveniently overlooked this and dealt with the rejuvenation of guards Rory Sparrow and Ray Williams. The Monday mauling (111-73) of the Sixers was yet another case in point. King scored 19 of his game-high 25 points in the first half, when the verdict was decided. He made Marc Iavaroni and Leo Rautins look like children with his vast assortment of offensive moves. They never had a chance.

But the "other" Knick center, Marvin Webster, picked that night to turn the clock back and play The Eraser, pulling down 11 rebounds and blocking four shots. He was the story. He was the one everyone wanted to talk to. Brown, who couldn't mask his delight with the thumping of Philadelphia, praised everyone in his post-game speech. Everyone but King, that is.

It was an honest oversight. Nothing serious. In fact, virtually everyone is doing it these days. hmash of talent. No one man has been able to take the game by the throat and dominate it, as Big Bill Tilden, Don Budge, Jack Kramer and Rod Laver did in other eras.

Nobody was able this year to win two of the four Grand Slam events (Australian, French, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open). Budge won all four in 1938, Laver scored the slam twice, once as an amateur and again as a pro. Noah won the French, McEnroe the Wimbledon, Connors the U.S. Open and Wilander the Australian.

On pure talent, McEnroe should be undisputed No. 1 but he hasn't matched his head with his skills. He loses too often. Lendl, who has never won a major, seems to tense up in big finals. Argentina's Guillermo Vilas, a rare talent, is a poet.

Connors gets by on sheer guts. Only young Wilander has shown the proper mix of ingredients to be a true champion. As did his fellow countryman, Bjorn Borg, Wilander burst upon the scene as a child prodigy, at age 17 in 1982 knocking off Lendl, Vitas Gerulaitis, Jose-Luis Clerc and Guillermo Vilas in order to win the French Open. The kid admires Borg but detests comparisons. "Borg is Bjorn Borg," he says.

"I am me Mats Wilander." We'll remember. Will Grimsley is an Associated Press writer. His column appears Monday through Friday. Georgian Court defeats Clark DUBUQUE, Iowa Georgian Court College converted 23 of 39 shots from the free-throw line and stormed to an 83-62 triumph over host Clark College in the first round of the National Catholic Basketball Tournament last night. Georgian Court rolled to a 47-26 lead at the half and never looked back.

Gail Scardillo paced the Vikings with 20 points. Sharon Gray scored 16 and Jean Harmon added 12. Clark College's Sue Eich led all scorers with 25 points. Georgian Court (83): Marcia Sibley 0 1-3 1, Kerrie Lister 4 1-2 9, Jean Harmon 5 2-5 12. Kathy Lynch 2 1-2 5.

Terry Sisa 4 2-2 10, Sharon Gray 4 8-15 16. Gail Scardillo 7 6-8 20. Bonnie Bonner 4 2-2 10. Totals: 30 23-39 83. Clark Collage (62): Lisa Biermann 2 6 6 10.

Jo Ellen Burds 3 1-2 7. Beth Mueller 1 0-0 2. Jan Smith 5 6-6 16. Sue Eich 9 7-8 25, Dee Baumgartner 1 0-0 2. Totals: 21 20-23 62.

Halftime: Georgian Court. 47-26. Fouled Out: Bonner (G), Eich (S). Records: National Catholic Basketball Tournament, Dubuque. Iowa.

Georgian Court (6-3), Clark College (6-2). Associated Press Bernard King (foreground) battles Moses Malone for a rebound during the Knicks' victory over the Sixers this past Monday. King's brilliant play is often overlooked by fans. That's because King has become so consistently dynamic, so poised under pressure and so bankable with his fallaway baseline jumper that most people have started taking him for granted, which is a tribute not an omission. They demand greatness from him, night-in and night-out.

And when he gives it to them, as he so often does, they don't even marvel anymore, because the King of the Garden has done it so many times, against so many of big names, and in so many crucial situations, that's it damn near expected of him. It's been a long time since New York has had a player like King. It's been a very long time. The Knicks should be thankful. To show their gratitude, they should mail a playoff share to the Golden State Warriors for sending King east for Michael Ray Richardson.

That would be a nice token of appreciation. Knick fans should be thankful, too. To show their gratitude, they should give the Captain a few more standing ovations, and a lot more respect. In their spare time, they should reflect back and remember how sorry, how hopeless the Knicks were before their King arrived. If they did that even for just an instant they might not take the man for granted so much.

They might realize what a special talent he is. And they might understand that players of his stature, his class don't come along too often. Michael Amsel is an Asbury Park Press staff writer. His column appears on Friday. Hawks rip Bullets; Bourne, Islanders crush Canadiens Lakers beat Kings NBA NHL Mp.piuMelawiiMeuw hmmiwiii.

iiiiimii i- I i LiiiiiiMiiiimnntiiiiMii ammmmmm amiwiitiiiiiiiiir jLautu' Vn i mini I The Associated Press LANDOVER, Md. Dominique Willing scored 35 points and Dan Roundfield added 27 to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a i06-91 victory over Washington last night. It was only the second road victory of the season for Atlanta. The Hawks, 2-14 iway from home, won their only other -rjad contest this season here on December 13th. Wilkins scored 24 points in the second including 13 in the fourth quarter when Atlanta, 19-18, pulled away to hand Jyashington its fourth-straight loss.

i After the Bullets, 17-19, cut a nine-point deficit to 87-85 with five minutes jemaining in the game, Roundfield ignited B-0 Atlanta scoring streak with a layup. Jeff Ruland led the Bullets with 27 and Greg Ballard and Frank John-ion each scored 17. Lakers 95, Kings 89 KANSAS CITY, Mo. Bob McAdoo off the bench to score 24 points and Abdul-Jabbar added 22 to lift Los Angleles over Kansas City. The Lakers' victory overshadowed a brilliant performance by Kansas City re- The Associated Press UNIONDALE, N.Y.

Bob Bourne's second goal of the game broke a tie early in the second period and sent the New York Islanders on to a 7-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens last night. Mike Bossy also scored twice for the Islanders, who pulled away from a 2-2 tie in the middle period on Bourne's goal at 3:49. New York's Greg Gilbert opened the scoring 3:58 into the game as he took a pass from Bossy and took a shot that hit Montreal goaltender Rick Wamsley in the skate and slid into the net. Bossy's assist extended his consecutive-game point-scoring streak to 18. Bob Gainey tied it for Montreal 34 seconds later with a 10-footer past Islanders goalie Billy Smith.

Bourne then put New York ahead at 5:11 until but Montreal again tied it at 3:32 of the middle period on Mats Naslund's 40-foot shot. But 17 seconds later, Bourne put the Islanders in front to stay with a 35-foot slap shot. New York's Bryan Trottier left the ice late in the second period with an injured left knee and did not return to the game. serve center LaSalle Thompson, who had career highs of 28 points and 20 rebounds. The Lakers, who also got 15 points each from Worthy and Earvin "Magic" Johnson, raised their record to 22-13.

Mike Woodson finished with 18 points and Eddie Johnson had 14 for the Kings, who snapped a two-game winning streak. Blazers 120, Rockets 117 HOUSTON Portland forward Calvin Natt scored six of his game-high 28 points in a fourth-quarter surge to lead the Tra-ilblazers past Houston. Houston had taken a 101-99 lead on James Bailey's two free throws with 6:54 remaining. Natt hit two free throws and a follow shot to initiate a 13-5 spurt. A layup by Natt with 1:55 to play capped the charge, making it 114-106.

The Rockets closed to within a point, 118-117, on Robert Reid's three-point goal with four seconds remaining, but Lafayette Lever's free throws with one second left put the game away. Bruins 6, Bines 2 ST. LOUIS Right wing Rick Middle-ton scored a shorthanded goal to highlight a five-goal Boston uprising in the middle period, powering the Bruins over St. Louis. Middleton's goal, his 27th, snapped a 2-2 stalemate with teammate Lindon Byers off the ice for interference.

Earlier in the same period, goals 20 seconds apart by Gord Kluzak and Peter McNab steered Boston back from a 1-0 deficit. North Stars 5, Maple Leafs 4 BLOOMINGTON, Minn. Tom McCarthy's second goal of the game 35 seconds into overtime lifted Minnesota over Toronto. After McCarthy's goal, about six Toronto players and assistant coach Dan Maloney walked onto the ice to protest the refereeing of Dennis Morel. As the Toronto players, Maloney and referees left the ice, a scuffle ensued in a runway with some Minnesota fans.

It was broken up after about a minute. Associated Press of the Hawks Rick Mahorn (right) of the Ballets moves around Tree Rollins Rollins. last night. Seconds later, he took a shot, bat it was blocked by.