The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Page 50

Page 48 The Sydney Morning Herald, Monday, November 25, 1985 SPORT ITUf The death of a sports deity1 The day Steel City ruled the waves By MICHAEL COCKERILL It was as much a confirmation of Newcastle's rebirth as a surfing contest. The $115,000 BHP Steel International, which ended in glorious sunshine yesterday, was a window to the steel city's confident new soul. It was not that long ago that Newcastle was a city in depression. The steelworks and shipyards which propped up the local economy were in recession. But the economists had not counted on the community spirit which is Newcastle's trademark.

It was this spirit which prompted the pin-striped gentlemen of The Big Australian to invest in a sport which can hardly boast a corporate That times have changed for both surfing and BHP was evident by the happy partnership they have struck since the "Surfest" began last Tuesday. "Our company is changing its own internal image and the fact that surfing is not a traditional sport was one of its attractions," BHP's local superintendent of public relations, Mr Bob Wood, said. "It'll be a couple of months before we decide whether we will continue the sponsorship, but at the moment things look good." The contest served to confirm what many experts have voiced for much of the season that this is the year 21-year-old Californian Tom Curren will be crowned world champion. Curren, who looked poised and at ease with the 1.5m conditions, downed South African veteran Shaun Tomson 4-1 in the final. For his success he picked up SI 5,000 cash and a Suzuki four-wheel drive vehicle.

BHP also had enough cash to spare the valiant Tomson 58,000 for finishing runner-up in the richest surf contest in the world. Curren's win added to his remarkable record in finals he has lost just once in 12 contest deciders. Tomson, however, can reflect only on his frustrating history in this country. He has been competing in Australia for 15 years and has yet to win an event. Curren, as before the event, preferred not to talk about the world title after yesterday's win.

"Of course I was very happy to win, but I can't afford to sit back at all," he said. "I got only 270 more points than Tom Carroll today so it's not over by a long shot." Carroll, the defending champion who was knocked out in the semi-finals by Tomson, was clearly disappointed. But he has not yet yielded his title and plans to make an assault on the Hawaiian leg of the circuit next month. Tomson's loss in the men's final prevented a South African clean sweep. Compatriot Wendy Botha won the women's event The $20,000 Coke trials were won by Western Australian rookie Dave Macaulay, who also made an impression in the main event before bowing out to Glen Winton in the third round.

As BHP's "Mahogany Row" watched the finals yesterday afternoon the executives could not help but be impressed by the sense of occasion. The company's montage in the Newcastle Surf Life Saving Club conceded that in 1915 local women had a tendency to wear last year's fashions. Where else would you find an elderly man on a soap box, armed with a megaphone, preaching Christian virtues opposite a hotel, as was the case in the Hunter Street Mall on Saturday night? But yesterday Newcastle demonstrated with style that it could be as dynamic and brash as its great rival south of the Hawkesbury, Sydney. As clear blue skies and balmy weather warmed the superb natural amphitheatre of Newcastle Beach the locals shed their winter clothes and rejoiced. By the time the men's final was under way an estimated 25,000 bikini-clad and board-shorted surf lovers were there to watch.

Food and clothing stalls, fun rides, rock bands, swimsuit parades and contests for the youngsters provided a carnival atmosphere. Television station NBN-3, a co-sponsor of the event, also made sure the living rooms of the city enjoyed the action. NBN-3 devoted eight hours to the contest, including three hours of live coverage on Saturday and yesterday. As a public relations exercise it was a winner all round. It was the exemplary attitude of the surfers, who found time to accommodate the hordes of autograph-hunters who dogged their progress along the beach, that left the most lasting impression.

Little wonder that with a group of such impeccably behaved professionals, and in view of the grassroots support demonstrated yesterday, that surfing administrators are incurable optimists. By GEORGE VECSEY NEW YORK: You already knew this, but the ancient Greeks were smart Their gods had human qualities, human foibles, so that ordinary mortals could feel a kinship with take their lessons from deities capable of jealousy, anger and fear, as well as more noble qualities. We in the modern world seem to find our deities in public figures who can spank a curve ball into the right-field corner or dance backwards while singing falsetto. A recent survey of the heroes of teenagers turned up Ronald Reagan as No which at least showed that they knew who was president, followed by an assortment of singers, actors and actresses and athletes. The problem with worshipping athletes and performers is that, almost by definition, they will disappoint us.

They will get older, their skin will wrinkle, their voices will crack, their reflexes will slip and we will turn on them. Or they will commit some faux pas away from the arena and we will turn on them because we expect more of our gods than the Greeks did. There are numerous examples of our demands. In San Francisco, a sub-par season by the Super Bowl champions, the 49ers, raised vicious rumours that Joe Montana, the quarterback, has some kind of drug problem enough so that he recently felt the need to make a public denial of the rumours. In Washington, before he broke his leg last Monday, Joe Theis-mann was being zapped for his active business and private life mainly because the Redskins were shuffling along at .500.

There was no evidence in either case of any connection between outside excesses, real or imagined, and losing football games, but recent success had made deities out of both of them and the Greek chorus began to turn on them. Even when there is hard evidence there are unrealistic demands upon athletes. In the drug revelations of recent years there has been a demand from some citizens and from more than a few Platos of the sporting press to "hang 'em The athletes who have been caught with a drug problem have been seen not as troubled human beings needing help but as pariahs who let society down. There is a school of thought that athletes with drug problems should be suspended from their sport for chunks of time and given stiffer legal sentences than ordinary folk. The judge in the case of four Ll HiJ Irak Who told fans to idolise every athlete who came along? The 49ers quarterback Joe Montana (left) and former baseball great Mickey Mantle, just two American heroes.

Riley's 65 sinks PGA field they think all athletes should be perfect. If we were as smart as the Greeks we would appreciate the skills of our celebrities but not expect perfection from them. The death of Pelle Lindbergh is a sad example of how we could gain cathartic understanding from tragedy. The goalie from Stockholm seemed like a truly happy warrior, whom Wayne Gretzky could remember for a grin and a quip even after being bombed in an all-star game. He was the best goalie in the National Hockey League last season and that was quite enough reason for Philadelphia fans to chant "Pel-lee, Pel-lee, There is no evidence of any dark side to Lindbergh but he apparently saw fast cars and country roads as just another way to live on the edge, like catching a slap shot from the point.

His red Porsche 930 turbo cost $52,000 and he had spent another $41,000 to rebuild it after a fire. have been had there been traces of an illegal substance. The death of the athlete is a family and team tragedy, yet because Lindbergh was a public figure his death will spur some parents to say to their children: "Look at the connection between a car, speed, late hours and alcohol. Look what happens when you lose control." Because Lindbergh was a sports deity perhaps one driver will pay attention. There are many athletes worth admiring for their conduct on and off the field.

I'll start with Julius Erving, Steve Garvey, Joan Benoit, Marty Lyons, Jose Torres and Mike Bossy, just off the top of my head. But it is unfair, even demeaning, to expect athletes to be perfect When they excel on the field we applaud their skill and their poise. When, they slip off the field we would do best to see them, as flawed human beings, like the rert of US. (The New York Times) Kansas City players two years ago as much as said he was throwing the book at them because they were ball players and idolised by the public. Just a minute, though.

Who told fans to idolise every athlete who came along? In the past, the public installed Joe Dimaggio, Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle as deities of the greensward mainly because of the way they could hit and run down a baseball. The players' shallowness, their surliness, was generally overlooked until the so-called chipmunk era of sports writing of the late '50s. Just when the chattery chipmunks became more sceptical sports became big business and fans found themselves manipulated from every direction by slick television commercials, fatuous broadcasters, cunning magazine advertisements and other sales gimmicks. Deities are big business, yet the poor fans don't have a clue why He came from a small, relatively unified nation that is often a generation ahead of the United States on many social issues, including drunken driving. Sweden has enacted stiff penalties for driving with even a trace of alcohol in the system and has trained people to select a designated driver who will not drink during a party.

But Lindbergh had spent recent years in this sprawling, complex country, which has not truly faced up to suicidal attitudes about drinking and smoking. On Sunday, November 10, at 5.41 am, Lindbergh hit a white concrete wall, going fast, with a .24 per cent content of alcohol in his blood. He died soon after. Because Lindbergh had been drinking with club members there is some consternation among the Flyers; some talk of looking into the connection between athletes and alcohol. But because alcohol is a legal chemical there is not the stigma to Lindbergh's death there would Wayne Riley scored a brilliant three-stroke win in the $50,000 U-Bix NSW PGA championship at the Federal course in Canberra yesterday.

Riley, 23, of NSW, hit an eight-under-par final round of 65 to finish the tournament on 273 19 under par and collect the $9,000 first prize. He later described the day's effort as his best final round in a tournament. That round put him three clear of George Serhan, also of NSW, whose second consecutive 67 for a four-round aggregate of 276 proved not good enough on the day. One stroke further back was another NSW player, Mike Harwood, with a 68. Harwood's good form in the Australian Open last weekend and in the U-Bix is a confidence booster as he heads off to Spain in an attempt to win a place on next season's European circuit.

Victoria's Mike Clayton, who led the tournament for three rounds, birdied the last hole for a par round of 73 and outright fourth place on 278. One shot further back were Gerard Taylor, of Queensland, and Lyndsay Stephen, of Western Australia. Riley took charge of the tournament early on the final day. After five holes he had passed Clayton and opened up a slight break on Serhan and Harwood, the only two to offer a serious challenge. Riley was out in 33 despite a bogey at the ninth.

He quickly recovered with a birdie at the I Oth and an eagle three at the 13th virtually put the issue beyond doubt. In a spectacular finish Riley bogeyed the 1 5th but then birdied the final three holes for his 65 one stroke off the course record set by Canadian Bob Beauchemin in last year's tournament. Riley said later the difference between yesterday's performance and his previous rounds of 70-68-70 was that his putting had improved. Riley was worried about his putting earlier in the week and spent time each night on the practice green. It paid off yesterday, but nowhere more so than on the 13th where his eagle came by courtesy of a putt of more than 10m.

Harwood said: "We never really had a chance of catching Riley after that eagle on the 13th." Stars have chance SPORT SUMMARY Tenpin Classic gets TV break to shine at track By MICHAEL COWLEY The NSW Trotting Club and Carlton and United Breweries will hold a Breakfast with the Stars in conjunction with the inaugural Carlton Christmas Gift at Harold Park on Wednesday. Heats of the new feature series, which carries prize money of $125,000, will be run on November 29 and December 6. The $40,000 final is on December 13. Breakfast with the Stars was first held last year By STEVE MACKIE Tenpin bowling has won a sporting guernsey on the Nine Network. The Coca-Cola Classic, to be filmed at Brisbane's Logan City Lanes on December 13-14, will be screened on network stations in five capital cities during their summer coverage of international cricket matches.

In Sydney TCN Channel Nine will show the 10-match series on December 27, 28, 30 and January 4, 5, 1 1, 12, 18, 19, 25 in lunch breaks of Test and one-day cricket action. Buffs of televised bowling will see the excitement can be generated in a one-game match, in which losers are eliminated. Winners advance one rung up the ladder towards the final matches. Prizes of more than $10,000 include a special $5,000 award for a perfect game of 300. The lanes to be used for the TV coverage are the only lanes at Logan City to have enjoyed a 300 game.

(639) was the best of 60 men, enabling his Balgowlah team to beat the TBC 10-8 and take a handy lead in the premiership with two matches to go-However, Flory's best has been reserved for the Rushcutter lanes, where he has been substituting in the City of Sydney Singles League for the past three weeks. Flory has won 58 points out of a possible 60, and produced some amazing series in piling up a 210 average. Five game blocks of 1,104, 1,049 and 1,002 have left the opposition reeling, although Garry Ward, Garry Williams and Leo Rappa are not far off the pace. Wollongong's newest tenppin bowling star Gary Boater will receive the keys to his new Camira car during next month's Suttons Motors (Chullora) Western Open at Blacktown. Suttons' general manager, Denys Gillespie, will present the car in recognition of Boater's magnificent perfect game, rolled a few weeks ago in the Ultratune South Coast Open Grand Prix.

Blacktown tournament director Ken Quinn said entries were coming in fast for the last of this year's seven Grand Prix tournaments. "We have more than 60 to date and expect to reach the target of 98 before the weekend of December 7-8," he said. when the Australian pacing championships were run at Harold Park. It attracted a crowd of around 1,200. The contestants include the smart mare Karamea Bellabella, the Carousel winner Vance Glen, Barwen Bill (runner-up in the Carousel) and an interstate contingent.

A feast of other events will take place during the morning. Professional sprinter Steve Proudlock has been pitted against a pacer in a match race something that has never been done at Harold Park. Entertainment will be provided by the Navy band and an aerobics display will be held. There will also be a celebrity gig race in which members of the media will compete. The morning's activities begin at 6.45 and end around nine o'clock.

WATER SKIING ANCHOR WETSUITS BRIDGE-TO-BRIDGE from Dan-gar Island to Windsor: Outright placings: Moonshot TAA (L Free-mantle driver O'Brien Har-daker Hardaker skiers) 46m06 77s (race rec) t. The Judge (B Lindner Morris Hackett Brown) 46ml 9 93s 2. Boss (P Cole Walsh Eagle Schoenen US) 49m56 75s 3. Cobalt (K Brown Blanche Brown Johnson) 50m09 68s 4. Plus One (P Burke Kunze Pickering Hoy) 51m23 87s 5.

Raging Bull- (R Melrose Hardaker Bruce Morgans) S2m29 15s 6. Suoer Fortress (G Harris Moris Boylan Francis) 53m10 62s 7. Canned Heat (G Brown Ferros Brown Mawer) 53m42 54s 8. Fruit Swerve (J Stubus Newby Stubbs Males) 53m427 9. Status (F Ward Thurgar Ward Kelly) 54m36 56s 10.

Wild One (O Pickels Hylton Scanlon Clifford) 54m4 1.26s 1 1.Dizzy One (P Trainor Sheather Bailev I Hunt) 54m59 39s 1 2. Tiger Eleven CI Walker Ciszek Walker Walker) S5m09 84s 13. Just As Honest (T Davies Lee A Todes-chim. Italy Savage) 55m33 30s 14. Ocean Beach Marine Racing (P Kirkby Kirkbv Howe and partner) 55m51 72s 15 Superclass Moonshot TAA 1.

The Judge 2. Boss 3. Plus One 4. Status 5. Tiger Eleven 6.

Just As Honest 7. Unlimited Outboard Dizzy One (B Trainor Sheather Bailey I Hunt) Kane-It. King Street Computers. MOC Outboard: Raging Bull (R Melrose Hardaker Bruce Morgans) Canned Heat. Fruit Swerve.

2-6 litre: Super Fortruss (G Harris Moils Boylan Francis) Anchor Wet-suits. Bloody Mary. Unlimited Inboard: Cobalt (K Brown Blanche Brown Johnson). Nova 176-23S hp Outboard: Advance (A McGrath McGrath A Eagle Farragher) JP' Special. Epiglass Super Stock Inboard: Team One (C Buxton Cook Gunn Carter) Midnight Creeper.

Swooper. BOYS U-19: Hostile (P Shaw Carroll Kernohan Twitchin) The Pack. Tennessee Too U-16: Rock Solid (G Webb Johnson Webb Johnson) My Three Sons. Dragin-Power. U-13: Perfection (R Martin Cook Martin Cook) Two-Son.

Simph-cit WOMEN: Eagle (G Adams Bonser Welch Ryan) Cut Lose. Dolohin Wetsuits. GIRLS: U-19. Outlaw (R Warbv A Ball A Warby Brown) Cassius. Ocean Beach Marine U-16 Silent Missile.

(R Swainson Ranftl Swainson Hickey) All Australian Girl. Bullet Two Thousand U-1S Starfire (B Brown Brown Brown Brown) Knock Knees. Obsession. MXD U-S litre Twist Too (B Coad Firth Bassman Shearing) Sabre. The Patriot Country Outboard Marine (S Carter Mcllveen Mcllveen Mcllveen) Stray Bullet.

All Service Motors Country Inboard: Moonshine (S Cross MacKenzie MacKenzie Medley) The Invincible. In The Blues. 141-175 hp Outboard: Sports Fisherman Marine (PStott Taylor Zala Tnnco) Kyosht. Alamo litre Inboard My Boat (H Saundercock Hunt Hickey Wastle) The Duck. Climax 0-140 hp Outboard Warlord (S Thompson London Whitton Faint) Blue Print Strike One Social Outboard Big Hit (G London Tvgielski London Carter) Full Notse.

Trendy II Social Inboard Hot Bubbles (T Bulloch Bulloch Bulloch Bulloch) Climax. Bulldogs Social Small Outboard Cum-a-gutsa (D Gates Scully Napet A Gilbert) HH8019 It A Worry Social Centremount Pipe Dream (J Frankland Prior Mortell Robertson) Renegade Three. True Blue U-IO Lil Boat Blue (R Cleaver Cleaver Cleaver Campbell) Exterminator. An object lesson for all bowlers was the remarkable consistency under pressure of last week's Seoul World Cup winner, Marjorie McEntee, of Ireland. McEntee became the first person to win the title in five games, putting aside her opponents by margins of eight, five, one, 28 and 29 pins.

But it was the way in which she achieved it that is worth noting. She bowled at the head pin 54 times, carrying 20 strikes and opening only three frames. This means she spared no fewer than 31 times, which in those tense situations is amazing. The 27-year-old from Dublin played the matches perfectly, combining experience, concentration and determination to provide the desired result. All too often bowlers, particularly juniors, tend to ignore the value of spare shooting.

McEntee has provided some important lessons after Ireland's first World Cup crown. Mexico's Alfonso Rodriguez beat Dutchman Erik Kok by 13 pins for the men's title. Australians Chris Batson and Sue Cassell finished 10th and 21st respectively. Four major tournaments are being held in three States over the next two weekends, giving bowlers a chance to gain some Christmas shopping money. The AMF Hobart Cup, at the newly renovated Moonah Bowl, and Sydney's Leichhardt Cup are on this weekend.

Eric Thompson, of Melbourne, and Sydney policeman Brenton Davy are the respective defending champions. The following weekend the Suttons Motors Western Open takes place at Blacktown and the West Australian Open at Perth's Osborne Park Super Bowl. The 1986 American Masters Tournament will increase its prize fund to SUS2 15.000 for the event in Las Vegas from May 5-10. The first prize is worth at least with SUS550 to the person who finishes 64th of the 481 contestants. In other professional bowling news Pete Weber and Marshall Holman were victorious in the most recent outings.

Weber, who leads the money with $US 1 62,000 beat top-seeded Tom Baker 204-181 in the Budweiser Open in Michigan. Bel rose's Bob Flory is riding the crest of a form wave, posting some brilliant scores in contests around Sydney. The left-hander, whose favourite shot is pointing the ball up from the extreme left, is averaging 190 in the Classic Doubles League at Balgowlah. In the travelling Pennants League Flory has 189 in 13 of Sydney's centres putting him up near the top of this season's averages. Last Saturday at Leichhardt his 257, 191, 191 HOCKEY: Pakistan beat Australia 3-1 in the final match of the Esanda Champions Trophy in Perth yesterday, reviving memories of the Los Angeles Olympics.

The Australians had already wrapped up the tournament on Friday by beating West Germany but Pakistan spoilt a winning sweep. It was Pakistan who defeated Australia in a semi-final of the 1984 Olympics and went on to win the gold medal. Australian coach Richard Aggiss chose a team of young hopefuls for yesterday's game and their inexperience was quickly revealed, particularly at the back. Pakistan had scored their three goals within four minutes of the second half before Ric Charles-worth, who had come on as a substitute, responded with a penalty stroke. The leading goal scorer in the tournament was West Germany's Carsten Fischer.

The Dutch captain. Ties Kruize, won the Player-of-the-Series award. VOLLEYBALL: The United States. Los Angeles Olympics gold medallists, outplayed the defending champions, the Soviet Union, on the second day of the 1985 men's World Cup tournament in Osaka. After dropping the first set 11-15 the Americans came back strongly to take the next two sets 17-15 15-9.

but the Soviet Union made it even 2-2. grabbing the fourth set 15-9. The US took the final set 15-12 after a hard struggle. The Americans have won two matches in a row in this eight-nation round-robin tournament. GOLF: Canada struggled through the first five holes but recovered quickly to hold a five-stroke lead over England midway through the third round of the World Cup championship at La Quinta.

California. Dan Halldorson. whose 10-under-par performance through the first two rounds gave Canada a six-stroke cushion, birdied the eighth and ninth holes after his partner. Dave Barr. birdied the seventh to stand 343.

17 under par. Australians Ian Baker-Finch and Rodger Davis, who began the day in joint fourth place with Spain, both had two-over-par 38s to drop back to 361. Watson keeps his team on the boil (Singleton RSL), Rob Riddell (East Cessnock) and Dick Kelty (Raymond Terrace). Such was Watson's superb accuracy with his draw shots that Kelty's team who had earlier tipped out the former Australian champion four team, skippered by World Bowls medallist, Peter Rheuben, 27-20 in a semi-final boilover had absolutely no answer in the championship decider. To most of the several hundred spectators it was a classic case of older heads proving much too good for the exuberance of youth.

What many of the spectators did not know was that Watson, the hero of the match, has been back playing lawn bowls for only two years after spending eight years sidelined from the sport Kevin Watson is a man of good old-fashioned values. Like most Australian men the roly-poly Toongabbie boilermaker enjoys his sport and at the end of the day likes nothing better than to sink a beer or two with the boys. In Kevin Watson's case his sport is lawn bowls, and he showed at Manly Vale yesterday he is a master of the game, as he joined with Toongabbie clubmates Gary Andrews, Don Farrant and Bob McFarland to win the Esso State Open Fours championship. Watson's genius at lead for the Toongabbie four was the deciding factor in their crushing 30-1 1 win over the composite young Upper Hunter team of David Pearce (Singleton RSL), Kevin Maher SKI-ING: The International Ski Federation, at its annual congress in Monaco, has included the super giant slalom in 'the world championship and Olympic programs and agreed to stage three downhill World Cup races in Argentina season Chelsea's Kerry Dixon, left, and Aston Villa's Andy Gray, right, rise above David Speedie in a mid-air duel at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge ground in London on home side won the first division game 2-1..