The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 14

THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER Saturday, March 16, 1978 'Magic's' Act Intrigues UK Coach Confused Yankees Can't Find Reds, Bow To Greens, 9-2 ISew York Who? CINCINNATI NEW Y0RK YANKEES AB Bl Bl 2 111 2 110 KnighUb 2 110 1 0 0 0 '3210 nrv 2 lt 10 10 Blairpr-cf I 0 0 3 10 1 I 2 0 11 Fosterlf 3 0 0 0 I Auerbachss 1 0 0 0 Ctiambliss.tb 3 0 0 0 Dnessealb 3 2 12 0 0 0 0 4 0 12 0 0 0 3 0 11 ssssm SS? est, i Wernerx 4 12 1 1 1 0 0 0 WhHM '000 Lum.lt-rf 3 110 5 TOTALS it 9 11 9 JwWSP" 0 0 0 0 TOTALS 36 II 0 0 0 0 Namon.ph 10 0 0 TOTALS 2 2 4 2 NtW YORK (A) W0 001 0O0-2 CINCINNATI 000 O0x-9 E-Mttts DP-Cin I. LOB-NY. 7, Cln. t. 2B-Ran- dolph.

Knight. 3B-Rose. HR-Omssen, Werner. SF Munson. PITCHING SUMMARY IP ER BB SO Hunter (L) 4 2 2 2 1 I Gossage 2 Taylor 2 2 0 0 0 0 Bonham (Wl 2 0 0 2 3 Capilla 2 I I 0 Borbon 1 0 0 0 1 0 Sarmiento I 0 0 0 1 1 HBP-Rivers (by Capilla).

WP Gossage, CapJIa. T-214. A-7043. I jV i yi A ZSs I BY BILL FORD Enquirer Sports Reporter DAYTON. Ohio-The only thing Kentucky coach Joe Hall asks of Earvin Johnson Is that he leave his hypnosis act In the Michigan State dressing room.

Considering what Johnson does with the basketball even when It Is not In his hands that's not exactly easy. 'I am an Earvin Johnson fan," Hall disclosed enthusiastically Friday in a rap session with media types on the eve of today's (2:15 p.m., televised locally on Channel 5) Mideast Regional championship matching top-ranked Kentucky (27-2) and Michigan State (25-4). "I don't know when I last saw a more exciting freshman. I mean, I don't recall the last time I saw a more exciting player. And he'll get better.

He'll be good for basketball." Johnson already is a legend before his 19th birthday. At a Lansing high school, within the shadow of the Michigan State campus, they tell of Johnson drawing capacity crowds every game night. "ALL I know," says Jud Heathcote, Michigan State's personable coach, "is before he came here we were averaging 4000-5000 a game. The moment Johnson enrolled, every seat In the capacity 9886 Jenison Field House on campus was sold. Not a seat for next season Is available, either.

What makes Johnson so special still In his teens? The same things that excited fans about Babe Ruth, or Wilt Chamberlain or O. J. Simpson. Already Johnson has a spectacularly peculiar style. His fans call him "Magic" and It is deserved.

AT 6-FOOT-9, Johnson is sized for the base line, even the pivot. But his ball handling skills are so exceptionally superior he plays point guard, directing his teammates. Against Western Kentucky the other night, Johnson went a poor 3-for-17 from the field, yet pulled nine rebounds and handed out 14 assists. "He doesn't dominate the game, he controls It," says Heathcote. "There is a difference.

He doesn't dominate like say (Bill) Russell, (Wilt) Chamberlain or (Oscar) Robertson. He's not there yet. Some day he might. He's got great basketball instincts. That's why they give him the ball all the time.

"Some like to say we get together and talk about a game plan and then I give the ball to Earvin and say, 'well, go get the Job That's really not so. He's very coachable." Because of the exceptional individual skills at both ends of the court a classic match of zones looms Kentucky simply to reduce Johnson's effectiveness with the ball, Michigan State for self-preservation against the menacing likes of Rick Robey, Mike Phillips, James Lee, Jack Givens and friends. "They're not No. 1 If they weren't solid and I mean more than the five starters," says Heathcote. "They've got a dominant center, a dominant guard and a good bench." BY BOB HERTZEL Enquirer Sports Reporter TAMPA, bring you the Cincinnati Greens.

That Is right. Shedding their traditional conservative posture, the Cincinnati Reds beat the New York Yankees, 9-2, Friday afternoon while bedecked in spanking new uniforms that were white with green trim in honor of St. Patrick's Day. It cost roughly $5200 for this one-day stunt. Each of the 52 uniforms purchased from Rawlings-including green socks, green hat and green sweatshirt cost about $105.

Throw in green catching gear and you can almost hear Pete Rose standing before the cameras and saying, "After all, I don't play for the Cincinnati Pinks." The stunt, thought up last summer by promotion director Roger Ruhl, was, perhaps, the most out of character stance taken by the Reds since Bob Howsam, Dick Wagner and Co. took over 11 years back. THIS TEAM, after all, is the team that won't allow its players to wear high stirrups on their socks or white stripes on the baseball shoes, going so far as to force the players to paint them over. It Is the team that took a picture of new outfielder Dave Collins and atrbrushed out his mustache for the photo used in the press guide. Yet, there were the ultra-conservative Reds parading out onto the field bedecked In green and with shamrocks on the sacred uniform.

"We're not as staid as a lot of people might think," was the way Wagner, the Incoming president, described the gimmick. To Wagner, this was nothing more than a "one-day salute" to the Irish and, after all, Wagner is one-quarter Irish. What that noted Irishman Pedro Borbon thought of the stunt no one knows. The Reds did go all out In the celebration, even going so far as to using a O' before every players name on their official statistics sheet. FOR EXAMPLE, Rose became "O'Rose" and Morgan became "O-Morgan." One wished Sadaharu Oh was playing for the Reds because he would have been "O'Oh." All did not run smoothly.

Rick Auerbach got a uniform that had his name spelled out in green letters as "Averbach." And the Reds forgot to order green batting helmets, so the traditional red had to be worn, lending a Yuletlde motif. How could the Reds Justify the expense when they have Just tapped the public for a ticket price increase, citing rising costs of operation? "It was in the budget," said Ruhl. In a way, the greening of the Reds was too bad, for it took away some from a brilliant performance by Bill Bonham, the man from the Cubs. He worked five innings of two-hit, shutout ball, Mickey Rivers col- WITH HIS Kentucky, and watch UK'S MIKE Phillips elbows Bill Lake of Miami out of the way to score. A Company Man Among Company Men VERO BEACH Fla.

Dodgertown is a sanctuary. Hang around Tom i Lasorda long enough and leave convinced the Dodgers cannot miss winning another National League pennant and this time a World Series championship. Hang around Steve Garvey only a few minutes and leave with the Impression he ought to be canonized. Is such a good guy people think he's too good to be true," Lasorda says. If anybody surpasses the Dodger manager In company loyalty, Gar-I vey does.

Rather, the Garveys do. When the Greyhound bus arrives In Tampa March 28 to play the Reds, Steve Garvey as usual will be fron- I trow passenger in the vehicle driven by Joe Garvey. In his 25th year with the company, Steve's father man-: aged some 20 years ago to drive the I Dodgers around Florida. Steve, 29, has been a bluerlbbon passenger since he was seven. I "I remember those days vividly," he said.

"I'm standing In the stair-; well to be as Inconspicuous as possi- ble. I don't want to make Dad uncomfortable, but I can't help staring at the people around me. They were all idols. Baseball and lecting both Yankee hits. "YOU DON'T get many chances to start over," he said after the game, referring to his departure from the Cubs and arrival in Cincinnati.

"I couldn't ask for anything more." Bonham sees himself in a pressure-free situation. "Tom Seaver takes all the pressure off me," he said. "I'm glad we have Seaver. I wouldn't want to be the main man. He takes all the pressure on his back.

"Here, he's expected to win 20 games. In Chicago they would say I should win 20 games and when I didn't they wanted to know what was wrong with me." Bonham was known as a pitcher who had better stuff than his record indicated, that he suffered by having a weak team. "Look," he said, refusing to take any alibi for his past, "my earned run average is around 4.00 lifetime. I am under .500 in winning percentage. That is my record and I accept it.

I can't say I'm better than my record or worse than It. "BUT I can say I have never done anything but my best every time out there. All I have to do is do it." While Bonham, followed by Doug Capilla, Borbon and Manny Sarmiento stopped the Yankees, the Reds feasted on millionaire pitchers. First it was Catfish Hunter, who took the loss when Dan Drlessen pumped him for a two-run homer. Then it was Bruce Oossage, the free agent refugee from Pittsburgh, who was the victim of a six-run uprising In the fifth that was Ignited by Don Werner's home run and that included a Rose triple.

REDS NOTES Fred Norman works today when the Reds are at home against Kansas City Ken Griffey beat out a bunt single In the fourth and vows he will do this more in the coming season BL. 451-1400 SAT. NOON special retirement -ZIP CODE. builders supply co. OVER 50 YEARS SUPPLYING CINCINNATI WITH ALL TYPES OF BUILDING MATERIAL (EXCEPT LUMBER) Problem Looms In Football-Baseball INSULATION BREWER COTE BRICKS BLOCKS PLASTER CONCRETE SAKRATE FOUNDATION PAINTS TILE PIPES SAND GRAVEL TOP SOIL AP Laserphoto the Dodgers were my life, and here next to me were Gil Hodges and Duke Snider, Jim Gilliam and Sandy Koufax, all of them." HODGES WAS Garvey's favorite.

"I stared at him most of all. Maybe he thought the kid In the stairwell was a little nuts. What he didn't know was that I imagined myself as Gil Hodges. I'm playing first base for the Dodgers. It was my obsession.

"And now look. I'm playing first base for the Dodgers. How well can life treat you? How lucky can you get? How can I complain about anything?" He certainly can't complain about a six-year contract of extending through 1982 and making him highest-paid athlete in Dodger history. Hodges could stand to baseball. Somebody suggested using chalk to border fields of synthetic turf, but that has proven to be too slippery.

THE BENGALS' problem isn't unique in the NFL. There are six other teams with dual-purpose stadiums and synthetic turf Pittsburgh, Houston, St. Philadelphia, Seattle and San Francisco but they all agreed to find a way to cope. In another development Friday, the owners approved a new tiebreaker formula for playoff entry. It discards the criterion used In 1977 which broke ties by best point differential in head-to-head competition.

That, of course, was a factor leading up to the Pittsburgh-Cincinnati game at Riverfront last season in which the Steelers could've lost the game by less than seven points and still have won the playoff advantage over the Bengals. "We have taken out the point differential also because of the gambling Implications," Paul Brown said. In general, the new system of breaking ties, Brown noted, Is predicated "how you do against common opponents; now statistics are a last The new formula: 1. Best won-lost percentage In head-to-head competition (which was also Step 1 last year). 2.

Best won-lost percentage In games played within the division (which was also Step 2 last year). 3. Best won-lost percentage against common opponents, If applicable (which replaces best won-lost percentage In games played within the conference.) 4. Best rating determined by losses against common opponents (which replaces best point differential In head-to-head competition). 5.

Strength of schedule, with club playing schedule with highest percentage won-lost percentage wins (which replaces best average point differential applied to division games). AP Laurpfcoto team outclassed by title-hungry Darrell Hedric can only sip water the rout. we would have had to trade. We would have had to give up plenty, at least one of our regulars. As it happened we were able to sign Forster." THE REDS have Bill Bonham from the Cubs, Lasorda was reminded.

"Yeah, well he may be all right and he may not, you never know. They had Woodie Fryman last year and thought he was the answer. Guys like Bonham, and don't get me wrong, I'm not demeaning him, but he has to prove he can win under pressure of being with a contending team. "Blue knew that kind of pressure, the way all my pitchers do, and in a way I'm sorry the Reds didn't get him. We'd have beaten them anyway.

"We'll be better because we're a young club capable of several more productive seasons. A big thing was the experience gained being in the World Series and knowing what It takes to get there again. We've established a team that can beat you with power, speed, pitching or defense or all four." The Reds will Just have to wait until next year. Conversion that Information will be presented to owners at a later date. "There Is no chance," Rozelle assured, "that we would Implement this for the 1978 season or 1978 postseason." The lnter-conference trading period was advanced to correspond with the lntraconference trading period for 1978 -which is six weeks into the season.

THE MATTER of whether players placed on "Injured reserve" should be allowed to practice with their teams was tabled. Paul Brown and the rest of the NFL's competition committee are against It. Too many teams are tying up players with minor Injuries building a farm system of sort. Incidentally, Pittsburgh led the league last season with 12 players on Injured reserve. The Bengals had two.

Radio Schedule AM, 7:35 p.m. TV-SUNDAY i sCT.CUl": Hmenkollen Ski Jump. ampionships, Oslo, Norway; WBC Welterweight Championship, Carlos Palomino vs. Mimoun Mohatar Las Vegas, Nov Channel 7, (Delay) KING OF IOWLING: Harrison Bowl, Channel 9 nooo World Invitational Aerial Acrobatic Sknng championships, St. Mortli, Switzerland; finals of Armed Services Boxing Championships, Channels 5, 2, 1 0F THE SEXES: Allce GrM" Ray Logan Ern" skateboarding: Susan Corroch vs.

Josef Odermatt Al. pine skiing, Channel 7, I m. 1 Chan-nkCD NCAA tournament. rTm winner, "9. GOLF: Finald round of PGA Tournament 2 nT Championsh' Jacksonville, Channels 12, 22, N.rfSLLEGE NCAA tournament, Utah Notre Dame winner vs.

DePaulLouisville winner, Chan-nei 4 pm Jt2 SKATE CHlNGE: Ice show champions he in ng events, Channel 4.U,T? "ACING: "500" Stock Car Race Atlanta international Raceway, Channels 0, fJ Final round of Kathryn Crosby Classic, Rancho Bernardo, San Diego, Channel 19, 4 30 WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS: Boxing: Sugar Ray ufflSum NCW Com- Channels RADIO-SUNDAY 1, "ACIN0: Atlanta, Ga WPBF-FM, IASEIALL: Cincinnati vs. New York Mets at St. Pe- tersbura exhibition, WLW-AM, WHIO-AM, 1:30 pm PRO HOCKEY: Cincinnati at Edmonton, WLW-AM, m. 2309 FERGUSON RD. HOURS: in the stairwell.

But that observation Is too cynical applied to Garvey, who seems above that avenue of approach. A mere mortal could snicker, too, at the school In Lindsay, changed by popular acclaim to Steve Garvey Junior High. It used to be called Abraham Lincoln. "Think of it, pinch-hltting for Abraham Lincoln. Wow," said Garvey.

"Arf," said Sandy. BIDDING FAREWELL to Garvey for fear of joining the Trappists, a tourist oriented toward the Reds returned to Lasorda. "Can we win it?" he rephrased the question. "We already won it and we'll do It again. Why shouldn't we? We're stronger and I've seen nothing much the Reds did to strengthen themselves.

Vida Blue would have done it, but he ain't there. "The one thing we needed we've got," he said, nodding toward Terry Forster, the $85,000 free-agent buy from Pittsburgh, who was warming up nearby. "Lefthanded relief pitchers are premiums. If we had gone to the winter meetings still needing one, STEPS 4 and 5 now make It a sin to blow games against weaker teams. The owners also agreed Friday to test the validity of instant replay cameras for the benefits of officiating by trying It In seven pre-season games In 1978.

Only the Hall of Fame In Canton, July 29, has been announced as one of the games. "I don't want to sound unduly optimistic on this (the use of instant replay cameras)," commissioner Pete Rozelle said. "We're Just open-minded on It." It Is a preliminary step at best. A television screen will be monitored from the pressbox In each of the seven experimental games. But there will be no actual over-ruling of the officials.

Instead, charts and statistics will be kept on how many times the offl-cials and TV cameras agree, and Weekend Sports TV TV-SATURDAY VOICE OF SPORTS: Jim LaBarbars hosts program of interviews with Sparky Anderson and aH Reds' key players and coaches from Tampa, WLW-AM, 10 05 a PREP IASKETIALL: Class A finals, Channel 48, 1130 a.m. COLLEGE IASKETIALL: NCAA tournament. Michigan State vs Kentucky, Channels 5, 2, 1 p.m PRO GOLF: Third round of PGA Tournament Players Championship, Jacksonville, Channels 12, 22, 2 p.m PREP IASKETIALL: Class AA finals, Channel 48, 3 p.m. IOWLING: Rolaids Open, Dick Weber Lanes, St. Louis, Mo Channels 12, 22, 3:30 p.m COLLEGE IASKETIALL: NCAA tournament, Arkansas vs Fullerton, Channels 5, 2, 4 p.m SPORTS SPECTACULAR: Holmenkollen Ski Jumping Championships, Oslo, Norway; WBC Welterweight championship, Carlos Palomino vs.

Mimoun Mohatar, Las Vegas, Channel 9, 4:30 p.m. PRO GOLF: Third round Kathryn Crosby Classic, Rancho Bernardo, San Diego, Channel 19, 4:30 p.m WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS: Vasa Cross-Country Ski Race, Sweden; Phoenix "150" Auto Race; Channels 12, 22, 5pm PRO TENNIS: Vitas Gerulaitis vs. Rod Laver, Channel 19, 11:30 p.m. RADIO-SATURDAY PREP IASKETIALL: Class A finals, WPFB-AM, II- :20 am IASEIALL: Cincinnati vs. Kansas City at Tampa, exhibition, WLW-AM, 1:30 GIRLS PREP IASKETIALL: Regional finals, WPBF- FM, 1:30 p.m.

COLLEGE IASKETIALL: NCAA tournament, Michigan State vs. Kentucky, WHIO-AM, 2 WCKY-AM, 2 10 p.m. PREP IASKETIALL: Class AA finals, WHIO-AM, WPFB AM.Jpm (WRCj-FM, if Reading wins Fri GIRLS PREP IASKETIALL: Regional finals if Spring-boro wins Fri WPRF-FM, 7-20 iDf Class AAA WCIN-AM, WPFB AM, WHIO-AM, 7 30 p.m. PRO HOCKEY: Indianapolis at Cincinnati, WLW- If you're self-employed, we'd like to give you something to retire on. $260,400.00 to be exact.

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On the final day before they adjourned and scattered, NFL owners and general managers voted to accept a package calling for standardized field markings. Sounds Innocent enough. Except that the policy calls for solid, three-loot wide borders around the field to clearly distinguish out of bounds, which means a bigger Job In converting dual-purpose stadiums from football to baseball. In Cincinnati, that means August, September and, If you believe in Sparky Anderson, October as well. 5 "OCRS IS a municipal stadium," Brown argued.

"We have to share it with baseball, not like those who play in non-municipal stadiums." About half of the NFL teams share playing facilities with major teague baseball. 1 "We never did It before," echoed Mike Brown, son and assistant general manager of the Bengals, 'Because of the problem of getting it up for baseball. "We asked the question, 'Who has done It We were told, 'Now you will be able to find out. They are now guinea pigs In a job perhaps only Janitor In A Drum can handle. In the past, the Bengals marked but of bounds with a six-Inch, broken line, making a concentrated effort to save stadium workers some trouble of converting the field back Tebbe Wins Opener COLLEGE PARK, Md.

(Special-Miami University's Jim Tebbe, a Clnclnnatlan from LaSalle High School, won his opening match in the National Collegiate Athletic Association wrestling tournament t'rMay, then lost a 150-pound decision to Bill Vollrath of Penn State, toias Pickering, also of Miami, failed to get beyond the first round. FIRST NATIONAL'S KEOGH ACCOUNT YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF. Please tell me more about First National account for self-employed persons. ADDKtSS. CITY Henry A.

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