Ukiah Daily Journal from Ukiah, California • Page 9

10 THE UKIAH DAILY JOURNAL SPORTS TUESDAY, DEC. 4,1990 DIGEST UHS football coaches resign Ukiah High varsity football co-coaches Ray Kessler and Ken Clark have submitted their resignations as football coaches, effective immediately. Received by Ukiah Unified Personnel department Nov. 19, the resignations were similar. Kessler no longer will be coaching football at Ukiah High School.

It is time for me to spend more time with my family and to pursue other interests. Thank you for your support during my coaching seasons at Ukiah High." Clark's even briefer letter said.Tm writing this letter to resign officially as a football coach at Ukiah High. I feel it is time to pursue other interests in my personal life. Thank you for the positive support each of the past twenty years." Clark and Kessler worked for many seasons as junior varsity coaches before moving up to varsity jobs when head coach Jim Larson and assistant Ed Schweitzer retired four years ago. NBA issues fight fines NEW YORK (AP) The NBA issued a new round of fighting fines including one of $4,000 to Harvey Grant of the Washington Bullets bringing the league total in the past four days to 19 players penalized for a total of $21,750.

Grant received the biggest fine for starting a fight with Joe Dumars of Detroit during a Saturday night game. Dumars got a $1,000 fine for retaliating, and six others were fined for coming off the bench late in the game. Greg Foster of Washington got $2,000, Darrell Walker of Washington $1,500 and Dennis Rodman of the Pistons $1,000. Fined $500 were Mark Aguirre, William Bedford and James Edwards, all of Detroit, which lost 94-83. The other fight, also Saturday night, occurred in East Rutherford, N.J., near the end of the third quarter between Derrick Coleman of the Nets and Mark Acres of te Orlando Magic.

Coleman was fined $1,000, Acres $500 and Jack Haley of the Nets got $2,500 for coming off the bench after Acres. Haley was ejected from the game. The Nets won 111-92. Coleman rookie of the month NEW YORK (AP) Derrick Coleman of the New Jersey Nets, the No. 1 pick in last summer's draft, was named NBA rookie of the month for November.

Coleman led all NBA rookies with 16.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per game during the month. He is the league's sixth- leading rebounder with 10.9 per game and established a single-game high for the season when he grabbed 23 and scored 28 points against Philadelphia last Tuesday. Vukovich 41 WASHINGTON, D.C. Congressman Richard Lehman proposed that a section of Highway 41 be dedicated to the Vukovich auto racing family. Lehman wrote Fresno Assemblyman Jim Costa Monday suggesting that the section between the San Joaquin River and the entrance to Yosemite National Park be named Vukovich Highway.

Billy Vukovich III, 27, was killed Nov. 25 during a sprint car practice lap at the Mesa Marin Raceway in BakersfieW on Nov. 25. His grandfather, Bill Vukovich was killed while leading the Indianapolis 500 In 1955 in a quest for a third-straight victory. 49er game of the season turns defensive battle SAN FRANCISCO (AP) The NFL's most awaited game in years turned out to have little worth waiting for.

Unless you like defense. With Charles Haley, Ronnie Lott and Darryl Pollard making big defensive plays and Joe Montana orchestrating one quick touchdown drive, the San Francisco 49ers beat llie Giants 7-3 Monday night in the NFL's lowest-scoring game this season. The only touchdown came with 1:30 left in the first half, on a 23-yard pass from Montana to John Taylor. That was 1 minute, 56 seconds after Matt Bahr's 20-yard field goal had given the Giants a Novices win In SR SANTA the varsity team was in Orland Saturday, taking second place and almost winning the Doc Peterson Classic, the Ukiah High junior varsity wrestlers were dominated the NBL Novice Championships at Cardinal Newman High School. Seven were Gabe Clouser, 103; Manuel Lopez, 112; Bemie Busic, who pinned all his 119-pound opponents except 3-1 teammate John Abigania; Ben Aragon, 125; Sal Torres, 135; Jared Antoni, 145, and heavyweight Gary Coltrane.

Also sharing a novice championship Saturday was 3-1 Lauren Cloud, at 152. Second places were earned by John Abigania, 119; Dan Perry, 135; Felipe Layton, 145, an exchange student from Chile getting is first taste of wrestling; Leo Stewart, 152; Chris Lund, 171, and Tony Rozelski, heavyweight. Most of the above won two or three bouts before finishing second. Youngsters like Anwar Adi, 112; Rob Perry and Mike Darby, 125; Zack Martinez and Brian Edwards, 135; Jared Shippee, 151; soph Mike Chocholak and Andy Rose, 135; and Paul Sinsel, 151, also got their first taste of wrestling this year. The Ukiahi junior varsity and varsity wrestlers will host a 3:30 p.m.

three-team scrimmage practice in the enlarged Ukiah High wrestling mini gym on Thursday with Willits and El Molino (Forestville). Junior varsity matmen will have the weekend off, while the varsity travels to the Vacaville Saturday Invitational. Lady cagers vs. Lower Lake tonight Ukiah High varsity girls go up against Lower Lake at home at 6 tonight in their first basketball game of the season. The JV girls play the Lower Lake at 4:30 p.m.,in their first home game.

The above preparing them for the Healdsburg Invitational starting Wednesday at 4 p.m., as Ukiah battles the Lady Hornets of Novato. Melissa Rose, Vanessa Vagt and Jennifer Taylor will be among those first off the bench to spell the starters. Tall and slender Iseth Cowan, who came a long way last season, makes a strong bid to lead the Lady Wildcats at center, as a the hub of Ultiah's offense, as were Lisa Jordon and Lisa Fallen before went on to a Texas basketball scholarship and started for the Lady Aggies all four years. Falleri, who just graduated, is enrolling in Stanislaus Stalte University, Turlock.) Tanya Larson also gives Ukiah some good height, while Dawn Whyburn is tall enough and athletically talented enough to play anywhere on the court, she will be an off-guard tonight. Jennifer Webb and Melinda Howard, along with Melissa Rose, Vanessa Vagt, Jenny Taylor and others, help keep Ukiah moving on offense and defense.

Sonlcs whip Celtics BOSTON (AP) Add Seattle coach K.C. Jones to the growing number of believers that the Boston Celtics are for real. 'The Celtics are not a rag-tag team, they're a good ballclub," Jones said Monday night after Boston whipped the SuperSonics 135-102 with eight scorers in double figures. Jones, who helped the Celtics to 10 NBA championships as a player and coach, was given a standing ovation on his return to Boston Garden. In the only other NBA game Monday night, Utah beat Washington 135-101.

3-0 lead. Then Montana turned it over to Haley and his friends as the 49ers bounced back from last week's loss to the Rams to go to 11-1. The loss was the second straight for the Giants, dropped them to 10-2 and prevented them from clinching the NFC Bast title that's almost inevitable. Lott and Pollard were the heroes of a stand made by the 49ers after New York had reached their 9-yard-line with 4:30 helped by a 19-yard run by Ottis Anderson after picking up a fumble by Phil Simms on a bounce. Simms, who finished 14-for-32 for 149 yards, then threw three incomplete passes Lott hitting Mark Bavaro to break up one play and Pollard deflecting a fourth- down pass for Lionel Manuel.

The Giants had one final chance at the 49ers 26 with three seconds left, but Simms was sacked by Kevin Pagan before he could off a pass into the end zone. The 10 points were the fewest in a game this season the previous low was 14 in a shutout win by Buffalo over New England two weeks ago. Montana was 12-for-29 for 152 yards. Both teams started sluggishly like boxers wary of dangerous opponents; as the defenses seemed to anticipate every offensive move. Each team threatened once in the first 22 minutes, the Giants reaching the San Francisco 30 before Haley dumped Meggett for a 4-yard loss; the 49ers missing when Mike Gofer's 43-yard field goal attempt was wide left Then the Giants got a couple of breaks a 21-yard pass from Simms to Bavaro on which Haley fell down and an 11-yard pass deflected off Rodney Hampton to Stephen Baker at the San Francisco 3.

But Anderson was stuffed on two running plays and a Simms-to- Bavaro pass missed and the Giants had to settle for a 3-0 lead on Bahr' field goal with 3:26 left in the half. But the closing minutes is time for Montana, who until then was 4-for-14 for 33 yards. On the second play after the kickoff, he hit Roger Craig in an empty middle for 31 yards. Two plays after that, he threw to Taylor in the end zone, laying the ball in low and perfect just out of the reach of Mark Collins and it was 7-3 49ers at the half. New York got as far as the San Francisco 30 in the third quarter before Haley stripped the ball from Simms and Dave Waymer recovered.

Up For Grabs Basketball tournament action shifts to Healdsburg's Smith Robinson Gymnasium Wednesday through Saturday, while Uklah's 'girls take over Uklah's gymnasium tonight for games with Upper Lake. Shown in Glen Daily Journal recent Fred Iten Invitational action, above, are teams from Monte Vista, In white, and Mt. Diablo. Wildcats topped Monte Vista for title. All teams shared in All- Tourney honors, however.

Wildcats can not rest on Iten laurels By GLENN ERICKSON Journal Editor Emeritus Ukiah High varsity basketball boys start play in the Healdsburg Redwood Empire Invitational at 7 p.m. Wednesday, drawing San Marin High School as their first opponent. Coach Bill Heath's varsity, which nipped Petaluma in the final seconds in its season opener, then blew out Piedmont and defeated Hogan by 20 in its own Fred Iten Invitational, and held off Monte Vista in a double- overtime championship struggle with Monte Vista Saturday, can not rest on their Iten laurels, which included Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors for guard Ralph Panttaja. Panttaja scored 20 points Saturday night, 62 in three games, including making 29 of 33 free shots, the last two the winning points in the second overtime Saturday. He also grabbed 19 rebounds, made 24 assists, stole the ball from opponents seven times, and made good on 7 of 16 three-point field goal attempts.

Rebounding honors for the three games went to Mount Diablo's 6-7 Jim Norris, with 42 boards. While Panttaja was named MVP, teammates Chris Brunemeyer, 5-9 backcourt mate with the 6-0 Panttaja, and 6-3 sophomore Jack Wann, were named to the official Iten All-Tournament team. Also named to the All- Tourney team were: Jim Norris, Diablo; Mark Terribilini and Jason Crumbley, Rancho Cotate; Dante Jackson, Hogan; John Peterson, Fortuna; Maurice Roe, Arcata sophomore; and Andy Fisher, 6-4 soph, and Shawn Kicherer, both of Danville's Monte Vista. Tonight the Ukiahi junior varsity and freshman boys travel to play El Molino. N.Y.

Knicks replace Stu Jackson with Macleod CHASE, N.Y. (AP) The students are floundering, so the New York Knicks have turned to a teacher. John MacLeod replaced the fired Stu Jackson as coach of the NBA team Monday. MacLeod, the fifth winningest active coach in the league, makes his debut tonight against Orlando. At 7-8, New York is off to a sputtering start.

The team has been criticized for a lack of discipline and spark on the court. So general manager Al Bianchi, who was an assistant coach under MacLeod at Phoenix for 11 years, turned to his old friend. "His strengths are his discipline and he is a meticulous guy right down the line," Bianchi said. "It's difficult to be that consistent all the time, and that is one of the things that amazed me about him. "When we were at Phoenix, the 6:00 bus left at 5:45 because everybody already was on it.

If they were not there on time, they knew it would go, so they all would be there early. "If John says it's a 10:00 practice and the hands on the clock are straight up, it's time to start. "I think that kind of discipline and stuff filters down and it gets you to execute on the floor. I think those strengths are what this team needs, that discipline, that kind of guy." This is not the first time Bianchi has tried to hire MacLeod to coach the Knicks. When Rick Pitino left for Kentucky after the 1988-89 season, Bianchi first went after MacLeod, who turned around teams at the University of Oklahoma and with the Suns.

"The timing was not right," said MacLeod, 53, who was with the Dallas Mavericks then and didn't want to move his family. "For me, now is right. I've been out of coaching for a year, doing television and scouting, so I stayed current." The current Knicks team doesn't shoot well from the outside, rarely sets any picks and has little identity, aside from Patrick Ewing's often-heroic work at center. What ultimately cost Jackson the job, however, was the Knicks' poor showings at home, where they are 3-5. Not that Jackson was working from strength.

Bianchi did little to upgrade the team's roster after it lost to (he Pistons in last spring's playoffs. Still, MacLeod comes in with an optimistic attitude. He made that clear at Monday's practice. "We started to emphasize team play and the importance of pulling together and communicating and helping out," MacLeod said. "I think we have the right personality.

The key is the 'want Do they want to just have a good year or be playing when others are at home watching on television? "I am a teacher. There is a misconception that pros don't need teaching. They need not as much as others. I do have a reputation as a teacher and this is a classroom." The students seem eager to team. "There's no doubt when you look to compare John and Stu," said Trent Tucker, "John is a guy you got to look at for experience.

He's used to dealing with guys and with a lot of different personalities. "I was very surprised it happened now. But most of the guys know John and feel he is a good basketball coach and a good man, and he has been successful and he knows how to help our team reach its potential." Kings frustrated SACRAMENTO season that began with the unprecedented promise of four first-round draft choices and the savvy of the win- ningest coach in the National Basketball Association has turned sour for the Sacramemto Kings. In fact, the situation reached such depths recently that Kings players sequestered themselves away from the media in a weight room for nearly 30 minutes following an 89-80 home which the Kings squandered a 15-point first-quarter lead to the Minnesota Timberwolves..