Ukiah Daily Journal from Ukiah, California • Page 6

Dally Journal, Ukiah, Calif. Tuesday, April 1, 1975 Thai wonderful 'Wizard of UCLA cagers give Coach Wooden one final title Kentucky PI.KASi;...' Brelt Beister of the Ukiahi diving team well on the way to scoring some points in this layout if he can cut the water cleanly Divers as well as swimmers add depth to Ukiahi Varsity and Jayvee teams which today host Vintage at 3:30 p.m. at Ukiah Swim Center. For other diving done during Ukiah home meets see photo, right Giants rip Dodgers FHOKNIX (U(M) More than fans turned out Mondiiy night to watch the San Francisco (iiants maul (he Uw Angeles )(Kigers ft! In a hattle iK 'lwecn Iwo of the hottest teams of the spring training season The I )(Kig('rs slill lead Nation al League clubs with a 17 mark while the are iiexl al 115 going into today's rematch al Phoenix. Meanwhile, high kicking vet Juan Marichal gave up three runs in a five innings on Ihe hill in a I )(Klger intrasquad game He'll hurl (he IJ(xlgers final exhibition game Sunday at Dodger Stadium in a bid to get into Ihe starting rotation.

Los Angeles was only outhit lO-B but played with rare clumsiness as Ihe Dodgers committed three errors. In one play too typical of the Dcxlgers sloppy play, Hon Cey hit a leadoff double with his team seven lains down and managed to get tossed out trying to go to third. Derrel Thomas, a key Giant since he has been handed the second base job in replacement of departed Tito Fuentes, belted a single and his first homer of the spring F.d Gcxxlson, still a bench -warmer despite a near spring baiting average, added a double and a triple. Southpaw Mike Caldwell worked the first six innings for San Francisco, giving up six hits and striking out five. Geoff went the first five for the )(Klgers and gave up nine hits, six of them in the five run first inning FergusoiT homered off Caldwell for the lone Dodger (ally in the second.

Before the Cactus League game, the GianLs announced they had trimmed nine players from their spring training roster to bring the count down to 2(1 players, one over the limit of opening day. The roster players who were sent back to their minor league complex in Casa Grande, for reassigimient were infielders Tony Pepper and Glenn Hedmon, catcher Alexander and Bob Knepper and Halicki. Nominate nine Dodgers NEW YOKK lUPI) National League Most Valuable Player Steve (larvey makes his first appearance on a computerized AU Star ballot to head a cast of nine Los Angeles Dodgers nominated for the 1975 mid- season classic Ciarvey is one of 23 newcom ers to Ihe 1975 Uillot, which was MKule public Monday by Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn The Dodger first Iwseman won a slartmg spot in the National League lineup last year as a write-in candidate and Kentucky ABA quiniet doing alright! I'liited I'ress Iiitrriialiunal Kentucky Iwnded San Antonio Its second straight shellacking Monday night as the Colonels, hoping to grab the American Basketball Association Fast title from New York, movwl into a first-place tie witli Ihe idle Nets In tlieir quest for the division championship, the Colonels and Nets both crushetl San Antonio. New 'V'ork routed tlie Spurs, 130104, Sunday and Monday night Kentucky won. 103 -88, behind ihe 36-poinl performance of Art is Gilmore If Kentucky and New York win tlieir remaining games, they will have tied in the Eastern Division and will play Friday night in Kentucky to decide the championship hit his first 10 shots Monday night as the Colonels moved out to ah early 16-point lead in the first quarter, 34-18, and were never challenged on their way to lifting their record to 56-2ti The Spurs wore led by James Silas with 23 points and 1(5 each from Swell Nater and George Gervin.

For the Colonels, Ted McClain added 15 points and Louie Dampier 19 In the only other ABA game Monday night, Ron boone pumped in a basket and two foul shots in Ihe final Iwo minutes to push the Utah Stare past the Virginia Squires. 103-97. Boone, who had a game high '30 iwints, broke Ihe club's season record for minutes played, exceeding Willie Wise's 3,300 minutes with three games left. went on to be nanled Ihe game's MVP. The nine players nominated from the Dodgers ties the 1971 and 197'2 Detroit Tigers and 1973 Houston Astros for the most l)allot entries since the fan voting was instituted in 1970.

major league teams are i-i'presented this year, with Ihe defending world champion Oakland A's and Ihe New York Mets each naming eight. Eight players were nominat- i-d in each league for infield positions and catcher, while 24 players were chosen for the outfield balloting. The candi- diites were chosen by a 150- membcT committee which included players, coaches, mana ger, general managers, writers and broadcasters. The Dodgers congregation featured nominees at each infield position, three outfield ers and two catchers Joe Ferguson and Steve Yaeger. No pilchefs found on the IKIIIOI because pennant winning managers Al Dark of the Oakland A's and Walter Alston of Ihe Los Angeles Dodgers are empowered to pick their own staffs.

The balloting begins May 24 aiid ends July 6 Fituil results will be announced on July 9 and 10 for the game to be played July 15 al Milwaukee. Ballots can be obtained at all major and minor league ball parks and at retail stores featuring the Gillette All SUir display. Uist year, a record 6,545,712 ballots were cast with Oakland's Reggie Jackson receiving the highest number Several prominent names were left off the ballot because of space limitations. Former All Stars Harmon Killebrew of Kansas City, Billy Williams of Oakland, Dave May and Dave Johnson of Atlanta and Ed Brinkman of St. are missing.

Al Oliver of Pittsburgh, 6ne of the game's best centerfielders, is on the NL ballot-but as a first the Pirates' Willie Stargell, recently switched to first base by Manager Danny Murtaugh, Is lislwl among the outfielders Former Cliicago White Sox slugger Dick Allen is also listed on the Natiorud League side of though he has not signcil with anyohe and has said he will not play this season. NO COUNT, BUT WARM! There are two types of diving done at each Ukiahi home swimming meet competitive and "distance for warmth." After completing a breathtaking dive, good or bad, into unhealed old Ukiah swimming pool used as diving pool, Ukiah and opposing divers, as in the case of Napa, above, seem to compete in a diving. long-jump contest' into heated racing pool, where they wait until their next low or high board plunge into the often-freezing old pool. Smug swimmers don't realize how lucky they are to have the heated pool to train and compete in. Ukiahi and Dolphin swimmers of old had only unhealed, then unfiltered pool.

Journal photos by Erickson Everyone contributes to success of a group like UHS swimmers, divers If we wore a hat we'd take it off to the sometimes nearly frozen girls and boys who make up Ukiahi's gutsy swimming team, which once again, as last season, is a factor even such powerhouse NBL swim teams as Santa Rosa, Montgomery, et al cannot take lightly. They are a factor to be reckoned with because work and are worked hard by Coach George Sutton, and have been for nearly two months of often near-freezing, and now rainy weather. Those of lesser persuasion prefer a warm gym to cold winds, cold weather, and, especially for divers, cold water to practice in. Of course, they are only a little less than half-way through their strenuous season, and on April 1 host Vintage's strong biit not deep swimmers at Ukiah Swim Center. But they have trimmed Vallejo and Hogan, scared heck out of Montgomery edged Napa, and done abodt as well or even better than most anyone else against Santa Rosa.

Vintage would normally be the end of the first half of the 14- mateh NBL dual season, but Ukiah must also make up a rained out Peialuma date. Then, at Vallejo on this Friday, the Wildcat swimmers start the second round of the NBL dual meet season, which leads to the NBL Championship meet, the NCS Divisional and NCS Finals, April 26-May 3-May 9 and May 10. When a number of swimmers stop doubting they can, and start realizing that they "can do," the Ukiahi swimmers will be even more potent that at present. By that time the rest of the NBL also will be stronger, so the Ukiahi young men and women under Coach Sutton simply will have to swim harder and faster the second time around. The return of Brad Smith after a college investigative trip to Honolulu (Brigham Young University, Hawaii campus) will add valuable diving points and depth, enabling a younger diver to dive with a little less pressure and giving Ukiah a flne shot at a 1-2 NBL finish in diving, with defending champion Steve Price and improved, more serious Brad Smith took the Santa Rosa meet diving and Price got third, recovering from a practice scrape on the three- meter board.

Brett Beister scored 108 plus points, his highest yet, in snagging fifth in Varsity. He needs only to concentrate and to dive in practice, to become a still far better boardsman. Cindee Allen is searching for consistency, concentration. The confidence comes with consistently good efforts and proper fullest extension, from toes to fingertips with lift or hurdle; body control and execution, and continual extension into a smooth water entry. But it isn't easy to "put it all together" and to "keep it there" when you are learning stunts off a comparatively "dead" low board; off a high board and into freezing water.

Jeff Neilson is another young diver who is battling for and getting points for Ukiah in diving. There will be o.thers. It takes a special breed of cat Wildcat to become a competitive diver. One who will brave the low and high boards, one- and three meters, aiid endeavor to put together required dives. Dives like the demanding "looks easy, hard as heck" plain "back the tricky "front layout," or "swan" dive; not to mention the still tougher, higher degree of difficulty dives.

One must be willing to work the same dive over and over until it is as natural and perfect as the diver can make it. He or she then will mentally plan the dive, from approach to lift-off, or "hurdle," go ihto proper body p'xecution and position layout, tuck, pike, etc. for the trick (sommersault with full twist), yet keep body under control, so that line of entry into water is "right on" and smooth as possible, with everything together. Even knowing that, it a long drop from three meters up; time for execution and height is much more limited off the low one-meter board; especially knowing that you have to "'hold" your best possible diving form, when the chilly water takes your breath away. Until such time as Ukiah has top-flight diving boards and a freer access to trampoline practice for divers the Ukiahi divers will find warmups at pools where better diving boards are available, and competition against better body control gymnasts, something of a problem.

Yet, week after week, the Ukiahi divers keep hitting, the water and picking up their share of points against any and all NBL challengers. And they will get better. With more work, on the boards and on the trampoline, if they get to use one. The swimmers have it warmer but by no means easy, either. Champion swimmers like Jennie Tourrell of Australia are known to log some 2200 miles a year of pulling, kicking and just plain hard swimming, in practice, not including the 50 to 500 meters or more a race they swim each time off the blocks, in a variety of strokes.

High school swimmers, especially those aspiring to NBL championship as well as dual meet honors, must pay a very painful and exhausting price, too. And the harder, more demanding and rewarding an athlete is on his body, in endeavoring to tap his potential and beyond, the better he or she must become. But they first must break the pain barrier to better the time barrier. And that, too, takes fortitude. Like soldiers some may gripe and grouse, but they soon learn that the self discipline and work are for their own good, and that without them they are For those who have been through the mill, either as winning Dolphins or winning or high-placing high school swimmers the problem often is "lethargy," boredom or asserting mental as well as "automatic" physical discipline.

For others it is a challenge of soniething new; a learning to "live' with pain;" or the necessity to believe in one's own abihty to be able to do the "impossible." Which makes it essential that a swimming coach be a taskmaster, disciplinarian, pepper- upper, master psychologist, retain and show a relaxing sense of humor yet swimmers through pain and strain! Rickey Byers, Brad Fox and John Ross recently have begun contributing all they can to the essential depth of the Ukiahi Varsity swim team, started, or re-started two seasons ago largely through the individual team fund-raising efforts of Dave Sperry, Rick Cleland and Bob Kemmerle, who raised nearly $2,000 so Ukiah could dive into the NBL swimming picture. The first NBL school to fully employ the sometimes considerable swimming or diving potential of women, the Wildcats last season wound up second over-all in both Varsity and Jayvee, to the surprise of bigger, older NBL rivals. This season they have been pressed only by Santa Rosa, Jayvee- wise. Ukiah's Varsity as noted, nipped Napa, scared heck out of Montgomery; defeated Vallejo and Hogan; given Santa Rosa about as good a battle as anyone can; but still must swim Vintage Tuesday and make up a mejet with Petaluma as well as go around the NBL circuit again before the NBL Finals. At that time most of Ukiah's swimmers will be concentrating on winning the Jayvee championship.

Though Debbie Langton and Sandy Malvesti for various reasons are no longer swimming, diver Cindee Allen, along with swimmers Chris Cook, Pam Dittus, Jean Ellison, Mary King, Kim Garrett, Kathy and Kim Leonard, Tammy Milender, Sharon and Laura McClain, Lin McGraw, Lojiise Nicholson, Sandy Pettit, Jill Ramsey, Diane Sperry, Peggy Sutton, Carol Walters, and Tina Waring are adding invaluable depth to Ukiah's swimming forces. Swimmers and divers and a boy is likely to do either or both tf cagey spot-point grabber Coach George Sutton sees a chance to pick up some points in swimming's unique.more depth, more points possible system of team scoring among the boys include the following: Brett Beister, Tom Gulyas, Walter Mueller, Jeff Neilson, Steve Price, Brad Smith, Mark Smith, Dan Sperry, Tony Taylor, Gary Thompson, Jim Persky, Dean and Harry Vance, Jeff Waring, Steve Weiss, along with the aforementioned hopefuls Brad Fox, Rickey Byers and John Ross. Still, one man gone, and a meet can be lost, so tough it is! A's lose in wild contest SUN CITY, Ariz. (UPI) If spring training gives any indication of things to come at all, the Oakland A's may need some pitching help this season. Ken Holtzman and newly- acquired Skip Lockwood were shelled Monday at Mesa as Milwaukee took the 13-11 win to drop the A's Cactus League record to 6-7.

Oakland meets Minnesota today at Ex A's performer Mike Hogan, batting for designated hitter Hank Aaron, slugged the three-run homer in the eighth inning that sunk the A's. Hegan, formerly of the As, hit the pitch off Lockwood wjth Iwo gone in the lop of the inning to wipe out an 11-10 Oakland load. The As, down 10-6. rallied for five runs in the sixth, which featured Reggie Jackson's bases-loaded single and a run- scoring double by Joe Rudi. by beati By JIM COUR SAN DIEGO (UPI) Fittingly, John Wooden has gone out a winner.

The man who turned out the greatest dynasty in college basketball history did it again Monday night his final game of coaching. If Wooden, the wily Wizard of Westwood, was conducting some kind of psychological warfare when he announced his retirement Saturday after UCLA's 75-74 overtime win over Louisville in the NCAA semifinals, it worked. For the lOth time in 12 years, his UCLA Bruins won a national championship. Two days after Wooden's dramatic announcement, his Bruins beat Kentucky's take-no-prisoners defense, 92-85. "UCLA played a tremendous and inspired game," said Joe B.

Hall, the Wildcats' coach. In beating Kentucky for the first time in his fabled coaching career. Wooden used only six players against a team that had been nicknamed, "The Slaughterhouse Five" because of its ability to maul opposition. Kentucky's defense had been able to knock off the No. 1- ranked team in Ihe country, Bobby Knight's Indiana Hoosiers, in the Mideast regionals.

"I just can't believe a team could only play six men against such a fine, physical team as Kentucky and win," said Wooden. "But we did it." Closing his 27-ycar UCLA tenure with a remarkable 620147 record. Wooden won the big title of college basketball with the legendary Kentucky coach, Adolph Hupp, sitting in the stands. Rupp, now 73, retired as Kentucky's coach three years ago after running up an amazing 879-190 mark. In three meetings with Wooden, he won them all.

But Wooden's 10 NCAA championships were six more than Rupp could put together. Poker-faced Richard Washington, a slick 6-foot-9 sophomore from Portland, fired, in 28 points for UCLA and was voted the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. All- America Dave Meyers added 24 for the Bruins, who were 28-3 in Wooden's final season. Washington and Meyers offset a 34-point explosion from Kentucky's fine 6-5 senior forward, Kevin Grevey. ng back "My feelings at this moment are a combination of sadness and said Wooden in his farewell post-game interview session.

"This was by far our most physical game of the year. But I tell my players they must be in better condition than their opponents. "Maybe it's the power of posibve thinking. But if I can't work them into condition, I try lo talk them into it. I have never had a conditioning problem with my UCLA teams." At 64.

Wooden stepped down four years before he had to, for a myriad of reasons, which he said he did not want to go into. UCLA Athletic Director J. D. Morgan said after the game that he would have an announcement on Wooden's "in the relatively near future." However, it will not' be Louisville Coach Denny Crum, a former Wooden player and chief assistant. In a hastily called news conference 25 minutes before the Cardinals' consolation game with Syracuse, Crum announced that he would remain in Kentucky to fulfill the final four years of his five-year contract.

Louisville won the third-place game 96-88 in overtime. For Wooden, Ihe victory came in a season in which he was not supposed to win. A year ago, the Bill Walton-ltd Bruins were the favorites but had a string of seven consecutive national titles snapped in the NCAA semifinals at Greensboro, N.C., by North Caroling State. "We tried to play Kentucky heads up," said Meyers. "They were very physical on the boards but we played a lot of tough board teams this sfeason, like Oregon and Southern California in the Pacific Eight.

We wanted to slow things up near the end and set up for the good shot, especially for Richard. He's like (pro star) Bob McAdoo." Washington, who beat Louisville with a shot with three seconds left Saturday, said Wooden's resignation gave him extra incentive. "I remember in his pre-game talk tonight, I was thinking I'd better listen because it was his last one," Washington said. "I thought he had to go out in style and ten is a nice round number for championships." Wooden singled out the defensive performance of Pete JOHN WOODEN True Champion retires Trgovich on Kentucky captain Jimmy Dan Conner, who was held to nine points, as a key factor in the win and Hall referred to to the Bruins' sixth- man, 7-1 Ralph Drollinger, Drollinger played only le'j minutes but contributed lo points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Drollinger, who started the second half in place of Marques Johnson, also admitted to giving an extra effort because it was Wooden's final appearance.

"I don't think Coach Wooden had to tell me anything tiefore the game, though," said Drollinger. "I have so much respect foe the man. I wasn't' holding baA at all. 1 knew it was my last time under him and I was really pleased for the coach." Hall had only a 13-13 season a year ago and did not appear to be too dejected after Kentucky failed in its bid to win its first national championship since 1958. "I want to congratulate Coach Wooden on a great year, a great career and invaluable contributions to college basketball," Hall said.

"The main reason for the defeat was our poor shooting. I would chalk' it up to the inexperience of our big men. Sure, they've been called physical. But they're (Rick Robey and Mike Phillips) freshmen and tend to be more aggressive than skilled in finesse. Wooden poised, proud SAN DIEGO (UPI) In his final post-game interview session Monday night, retiring UCLA basketball Coach John Wooden admitted he thought "we had a chance" to win the Bruins' 10th NCAA championship.

"I guess to say that I thought we would go this far would be stretching the point," Wooden said, following UCLA's 92-85 victory over Kentucky in the national finals. "But I did think we had a chance." For Wooden, who announced his retirement Saturday, it was a story-book finish for a man Who came to Los Angeles from Indiana State Teachers College in 1943. "My feelings at this moment are a combination of sadness and happiness," he said. "I'm sad at leaving the young people whom I've been associated with so many years, memtiers of the media with whom 1 haven't always agreed and the other players, coaches and administrators it has been my pleasure to be associated with over the years." Of the game. Wooden said, "We made no adjustment at halftime to get more rebounds even though we were out- rebounded by six in the first half and outrebounded by 12 in the second.

"I stress conditioning from the first day of practice through the championship game of the season. I keep working them in practice but it's up to them to keep up physically between games. "This, by far, was our most physical game of the year'." Richard Washington, who scored 28 points against Kentucky and was chosen the Most Valuable Player of tournament, said: "I remember in Coach Wooden's pre-game talk, I was thinking I had better listen SPEEDY SIGNS because it was his last one. I thought he had to go out in style. Ten is a nice round number for championships." Kentucky Coach Joe B.

Hall was not dejected. "We had a great year," he said. "I'll never forget our six seniors. I wish I could adopt all of them. UCLA's defensive board work turned things around for them.

Ralph Drollinger had three baskets real quick in the second half and he was a thorn in our side most of the time he was in there. "1 felt we had some chances to win it but it didn't seem be us. We took some questionable shots but that is no criticism. We wanted to stay loose in our shooting. Crum rules out coaching UCLA SAN DIEGO (UPI) Louis- basketball Coach Denny Crum, who has been prominently mentioned in speculation of John Wooden's successor at UCLA, Monday ruled out the Bruin job in his plans for the immediate future.

Crum, 37, a former Wooden player and chief assistant, told a hastily called news conference at the San Diego Sports Arena that he planned to remain at Louisville fqr at least the four remaining years of his five-year contract. "I felt because of all the speculation thatl should tell my athletic director (Dave Hart) that I would honor my contract at Louisville," Crum said. "1 have not been offered a job at UCLA I have no idea if they planned to offerjit to me. "I'm g0 to coaching at Louisville for a long time." Wooden, 64, resigned Saturday after UCLA had defeated Louisville, 75-74, in overtime. NOW OPEN UKIAH'S TWIN THEATRES UKIAH 1 LAST3 NIGHTS TONIGHT Wednesday-Thursday PAUL NEWMMN REDFORD SHAW A GEORGE no ma FIM PI "THE STING" And a Color Cartoon UKIAH 1 A REAL BLOCK BUSTER! STARTS FRIDAY NIGHT An all NEW lA UNVERSAl PICTUnE UKIAH 2 Hurry! Ends Tonight Starting SPORT: ACULAR BROILER STEAK HOUSE NOW OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK MEXICAN DINNERS Monday thru Thurs.

Starts Wednesday ANOTHER BIG NEW HITI 4 NIGHTS ONLY ROBERT and MIA FARROW.