St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 15

Sports ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH Apr. 14,1987 fB Tim Ronkon Outdoors 1 jfc duced throughout the Ozarks. The production in 1986 was even better. "It was incredible," said Larry Vangilder, turkey biologist of the Missouri Department of Conservation.

He measures production by the ratio of youngsters to adults showing up in his brood surveys. The average is 2.9 youngsters to 1 adult The ratio in the Ozarks last year was 4.5 to 1. That boom hatch leads to more turkeys in the woods this season. "Hunters going out for their preseason scouting are finding both large numbers of jakes and adult gobblers," he said. Production last spring wasn't as good in northern Missouri as it was in the Ozarks, but Vangilder said bird densities going into last spring were so high that hunting will not be affected.

He expects good hunting in both northern and southern Missouri. Vangilder said the other factors that determine the quality of hunting appear to be developing nicely. He said that the cold weather of late March and early April didn't interfere with the gobblingmating sequence. "I believe that the birds pretty much kept right on gobbling through the cold and that when the hunting season opens they'll be well into the second peak of gobbling," he said. shot," he said.

"A lot of our accidents in the past have involved range greater than 40 yards, and at that distance No. 2, and larger, shot is much more likely to penetrate a skull and into the chest cavity of a person. "Most good hunters we talk to say they regard No. 6 shot as ideal for turkeys. They like the greater pattern density of (No.

6) because they know the only sure way to bag a gobbler is to hit it in the head." The sticker also is a kind of safety feature. "We want it to remind hunters about safety when they put it on their guns, each time they see it during the hunt and especially when they raise their guns to fire," Vangilder said. "Turkey hunting has a bad safety record. The department has studied all sorts of measures to improve safety, but there were serious problems with all of them. "We considered requiring hunters to wear orange clothing, as they do in deer hunting, but we found massive resistance to that idea among hunters.

We considered somehow limiting the number of hunters in the woods at any one time, by spreading the season out and establishing hunter quotas. But we would have had to cut hunter numbers so drastically to have any effect that it just wouldn't work. "So what we were left with is hunter education. We want hunters to be more careful, and the yellow stickers are one device." Vangilder said the second peak occurs when hens cease associating with gobblers and turn to nesting. "We like to have the hunting begin when the hens are out of the way," he said.

"That not only reduces the chances of hen-hunter encounters, it makes the gobblers more vulnerable. Hunting is easier when there are relatively few hens still active." Vangilder said he expects a record kill this season. The record for the spring gobbler season, set last year, is 30,956, Vangilder said that with good weather, the kill could reach 35,000. He also expects an increase in hunters. The number of turkey tags sold last year was 77,611.

Landowners hunting on their land don't need tags, so the number of hunters was estimated at more than 80,000. Vangilder expects tag sales to exceed 80,000. Three changes in the regulations were made for this hunt. For the first time, the entire hunt will occur during daylight savings time, so the hunt will begin each morning at 6 a.m. instead of 5 a.m.

and end at 1 p.m., not noon. Hunters will be restricted to shot no larger than No. 4. They also will be required to put a quarter or dime-size yellow sticker on their guns. The stickers come with the tags.

Vangilder said the shot restriction is a safety measure. "No. 2, and larger, shot, with its greater energy, is much more likely to cause serious injury than smaller Prospects are excellent for the upcoming Missouri turkey hunting season. The state's turkey population Is large, and the season appears to be developing on All that remains is for the weather to be good during the season, which begins April 20 and ends May 3. In Illinois, the hunting season in 20 counties, most of them In the south, is April 22 through May 3.

The most excitement appears to be coming from the Ozarks, where conditions seem reminiscent of the great hunt of 1981. Ozark turkey hunters are due. Hunting there has suffered since bird populations dropped from 1982 through 1984 in a series of relatively poor production seasons. Thus, the autumn and spring hunts of 1983 and 1984 were not In 1985, the production improved. The weather was favorable, and a lot of jakes, young turkeys, were pro neoerf Kiss Presumi me True "It's a dream come true.

When I was a player, everyone looked forward to playing on Monday night. It's the time when all off your peers see you. Monday Night Football is a pinnacle for me." DAN DIERDORF CHICAGO (UPI) Dan Dierdorf says there is room for three bodies In the broadcasting booth. The former National Football League lineman is the newest addition to ABC's Monday Night Football team this fall, jumping to a rival network after two years with CBS. Dierdorf, a former All-Pro with the Cardinals, will join play-by-play man Al Michaels and color commentator Frank Gifford.

ABC hired the 13-year NFL veteran during the weekend when it chose to return to three announcers for its weekly game. "I've never worked with three in the booth before," Dierdorf said. "I'm not going to go in there and call the shots. But I think I'll be used for the X's and O's, and I think there will be plenty to talk about during the season." Dierdorf quit the NFL in 1983 and "I know them to say hello to them on the street, but I guess we'll get to know one another pretty well," Dierdorf said. "I've been in broadcasting for a long time now so I'm comfortable in any situation behind the microphone." Dierdorf did some broadcast work during his playing career.

ABC used three broadcasters when it first began televising Monday Night Football 17 years ago. In 1985, Joe Namath and O.J. Simpson teamed with Gifford, but ABC dropped Namath and Simpson last season. The Scholar-Athlete Program Kids' February, Louganis finished third in the 3-meter springboard in the America's Cup meet. It marked a rare lapse in his dominance of men's diving.

Tennis Defending champion Emilio Sanchez of Spain needed just 47 minutes to advance into the second round of the Nice Grand Prix in France as he routed doubles partner Sergio Casal 6-1, 6-0. In other matches, third-seeded Martin Jaite of Argentina edged Italy's Paolo Cane 6-2, 6-7, 6-1 and fifth-seeded Aaron Krick-stein of the United States downed Italy's Slmone Colombo 6-3, 6-2. Boxing Lloyd Honeyghan will defend his World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation welterweight championships Saturday in London, but he is unsure of his opponent. He is scheduled to fight Maurice Blocker, but when Blocker arrived in London, he said there was confusion over his contract. As a precaution, promoter Mickey Duff said he would fly in Marlon Starling of Harford, as a possible substitute.

Football The Pittsburgh Steelers traded center Dan Turk to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a sixth-round selection in the National Football League draft on April 28. The Steelers' selection will be the first overall in the sixth round. Andre Dwayne Horn, a Nevada-Las Vegas linebacker, was shot to death in Fresno, during a drug deal. According to police reports, Horn, 21, staggered two blocks after he was shot. His assailants caught up with him and shot him again.

Sports Shorts Compiled From News Services Baseball Outfielder Jose Cruz, who batted .400 as the Houston Astros opened the season with six consecutive victories, was named the National Player of the Week. Cruz had two doubles and two home runs among his 10 hits and drove in five runs. Other candidates included Cardinals third baseman Terry Pendleton. Third baseman Ray Knight, who had a hit in each of the Baltimore Orioles' first six games, was named American League Player of the Week. Knight, obtained in the offseason from the New York Mets, batted .571 with two home runs, three doubles and seven RBIs.

Roger Clemens, the AL's Cy I Young Aard and Most Valuable Player Award winner who sat out 29 days of spring training in a contract dispute, signed a two- year contract with the Boston Red Sox. Terms were not announced. During negotiations, Clemens asked for $1 million a year in base salary. The Red Sox offered 'half that amount plus incentives. Basketball Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls was named Player of the Week in the National Basketball Association.

He averaged 42 points, 7.3 assists, five rebounds and 3.7 steals in three games. Indiana University coach Bob Knight has been chosen the most popular professor at the school in a poll of the student body. Knight a professor of physical education. Diving Olympian Greg Louganls is among 100 men and women who will compete in the U.S. Diving Indoor Championships at Baton Rouge, La.

The meet will end Saturday with the final of the IOmeter platform. Louganis is seeking his sixth sweep in a row in the three men's events t-the 1-meter springboard, (he 3-meter springboard and the 10-meter platform. In network moved Gifford from play-byplay to color commentator and brought in Michaels. ABC considered abandoning its NFL package this year, but re-signed as all three networks paid a proportionately smaller amount to the NFL. "Listen, it's a big year in many respects for all of us," Dierdorf said.

"In addition to the negotiations to stop a players' strike, it's a big year for TV with the added games on ESPN on Sunday nights. But we believe with the schedule we have it's going to be a dynamite year." Dierdorf will practice with his new broadcasting team during the exhibition season. He will make his regular-season debut Sept. 14 with the telecast of the game between the Super Bowl champion New York Giants and the Chicago Bears from Soldier Field. Grow Up Ultimately, as a doctor, Wood headed the School of Medicine at Washington University and at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.

When he was in St. Louis, Wood urged a pro-football franchise 15 years before the Big Red came to town. When I was a student at Missouri, the highly regarded 1937 team, disappointing because of a lack of a talented quarterback, lost the season opener to Colorado 14-7. Colorado's star at the time was Byron R. "Whizzer" White.

He became a Rhodes Scholar, starred briefly in the NFL with Pittsburgh and Detroit, just long enough to raise money for the law school at Yale. Now a U.S. Supreme Court justice, White spoke at the second Post-Dispatch Scholar-Athlete dinner. Another speaker, provocative and forthright in the troubled Vietnam War period, was Crystal City's Bill Bradley, the Rhodes Scholar from Princeton. Bradley was a basketball All-America and a star with the National Basketball Association champion New York Knicks.

Now, he's a U.S. senator from New Jersey. There have been many rich memories of the Scholar-Athlete dinner. I'm glad to see that "kid" grow up, watching the young become mature, inspiring the old with a renewal of the faith. Steamers vs.

Dallas Sidekicks Reunion Arena, 7:35 p.m. KXOK radio, 630; KDNL, Channel 301 HomeAway Records Home Away Steamers 12-12 3-18 Sidekicks 16-7 11-12 Vs. Sidekicks Home Away Steamers 0-1 0-1 Last Meeting Sidekicks won 3-2 in St. Louis on Feb. 20 Last five games Steamers 1 -4, Sidekicks 3-2 UPDATE Steamers: Daryl Doran will miss his second successive game with a quadricep strain.

Ronnie Glavin, Albert Adade, Mike Hylla and Boki Bandovic also did not make the trip. Sidekicks: A victory would give the Sidekicks their second successive Eastern Division playoff berth. The Sidekicks already have won a club-record 27 games. FRIDAY AT Soccer Twenty-six British soccer fans won a High Court order blocking their extradition to Belgium to face manslaughter charges stemming from the 1985 Heysel Stadium riot in which 39 people died. quickly rose to one of CBS' top color analysts.

dream come true," he said. VWhen I was a player, everyone looked forward to playing on Monday night. It's the time when all of your peers see you. It's bittersweet leaving CBS. They were great to me and got me my start.

Monday Night Football is a pinnacle for me." Dierdorf will continue to work for CBS at the network's St. Louis KMOX radio station, where he does a weekly call-in show. He has not worked with Michaels or Gifford. ner program, a personal plaque and tickets to a Cardinals game for a Scholar-Athlete night at Busch Stadium. And they'll be entertained by speakers, including Bill Wilkerson as master of ceremonies.

Wilkerson is a former Southern Illinois University-Carbondale tackle, a broadcasting star with KMOX radio and play-by-play man for the University of Missouri and the football Cardinals. Over the years, we have had talented emcees at the annual Scholar-Athlete dinner Jack Buck, Joe Gara-giola, John Auble, Jay Randolph, Dan Dierdorf, Bob Costas and Jim Bak-ken. Buck, who emceed the first dinner in 1967, returned for No. 20 last year. That was a special occasion, one for which Janine Grossman, succeeding Frank Leeming and Bill Isam in directing promotional events for the Post-Dispatch, brought back milestone winners as speakers.

Representing the most recent five-year group was Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Jackie, who went from East St. Louis Lincoln to UCLA, recently won the prestigious Sullivan Award and was selected by the U.S. Olympic Committee as its Sportswoman of the Year. Over the years, I've been most impressed by the achievements of Blues From page one first three games to Toronto's 10.

They had five power-play goals to Toronto's one. Defenseman Michael Dark rejoined the Blues on Monday from Peoria, bringing the number of players on hand to 30. In 13 games with the Blues this season, Dark scored two goals. Kent Carlson also was back In town Monday, but only tor a medical exam. The disabled left wingerde-fenseman plans on coming back, but he has only partial use of his right bicep because of nerve damage that resulted from a preseason spinal fusion.

'1 "It was tough enough that I had back surgery and had to miss the season," Carlson said. "But when I woke up, I had complete loss of function with the right arm. I still don't have nearly the strength in my right 'arm that I have in my left." Carlson hopes to resume skating in June and believes through weight training he will regain the full use of him arm. The Blues have killed 15 of 17 penalties and have created some notable short-handed chances, includ- Experiancsd A.S.E. Certified Mechanics Call fl to 968-4503 An EEO Employer MF Bob Droog Contributing Sports Editor With respect and admiration for the area's straight students, listed in today's Post-Dispatch, I've got to put in a word for the other interscho-lastic "baby" the Scholar-Athlete dinner.

To be honest, the straight program saluting and challenging students in grades seven through 12 is like one of triplets. As an incentive for the imaginative, the Science Fair appeals to the constructively gifted. The program rewards top students with free tickets to a couple of baseball games, courtesy of the Cardinals and Schnuck's markets. By contrast, the Scholar-Athlete program is modest, but it's especially challenging, mixing academic efficiency with athletic accomplishment. The 21st dinner, honoring the top senior student-athlete at each of 150 high schools, will be held May 14 at the Adams' Mark Hotel.

The S-A winners will be awarded impressive souvenirs, including a din Masters From page one showings of that Cadillac commercial featuring the two smug, rich guys bragging about the size of their cars. There are no promotional plugs for prime-time network shows. No 10-second clips of cars crashing or guns shooting or women jumping around in little bathing suits. The Masters insists on this. It is one of the few major sports events that dictates telecast terms to a respectful network.

The other that comes to mind Is Wimbledon. CBS and golf are lucky to have a charismatic star such as Norman. On camera, he is appealing with marvelous technique, a dazzling smile and an air of confidence and grace. CBS should have interviewed him afterward instead of letting that golf course bureaucrat, Hord Hardin, ramble on before presenting the green jacket to Mize. Viewers also could have done without four days of highlights on tape while waiting to see the replay of the winning shot.

Final quibbles: When CBS technicians put graphics on the screen people's names, scores, whatever they sometimes pull them off before they can be read. And CBS directors sometimes switch from hole to hole too quickly. It's good to be comprehensive with coverage, but It's hard to comprehend anything when you are dizzy. Scholar-Athletes after high-school graduation. Recently I talked about it with my nephew, Fred Broeg, a Phi Beta Kappa in college and an automobile-agency general manager.

He spoke glowingly of award winners the year he represented Cha-minade, where he was an honor student and played football and baseball on teams that went to the Missouri Class 3A finals. Fred mentioned that Morris Towns went to Missouri and became a National Football League No. 1 draft choice, playing several years for the Houston Oilers. Lovejoy's Darryl Winston played basketball at Kansas State and became acting head coach. And Parkway West's Stone Phillips, later a quarterback at Yale, is a na- tlonal broadcaster for ABC in New York, appearing on "20-20" and other shows.

I've had this "thing" about academic athletes ever since I was a kid. Back in 1931, for instance, when Harvard played big-time football, the Crimson beat Texas 35-7 and Harvard's quarterback was Barry Wood, a Phi Beta Kappa, an All-America and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. He also starred as a shortstop in baseball and as a goalkeeper in hockey. And he was a member of the U.S. Davis Cup tennis team.

ing a breakaway and a semi-breaK-away Sunday night by Doug Wickenheiser. Working as penalty killers and on the checking line, Rick Meagher has nine shots and Wickenheiser six, with some memorable near-misses between them. Both are pointless, which accounts for their minus-2 defensive ratings. The sixth game will be played Thursday night in Toronto. If necessary, Game 7 will be played Saturday night at The Arena.

Plenty of tickets remain. After playing four games in five nights, the Blues took it easy Monday wi(h a limited workout for 20 players. The busiest Blues skaters got the day off. The Blues sent 28 shots at Wregget Sunday night and created the sort of rebound opportunities that they converted Saturday night. But they had trouble following the bouncing puck and prying loose from Maple Leafs defenders around the goal.

"I had the most chances of anybody," Hunter. "I get paid to put them in. But there's nothing I can do about it now." MONDAY THRU Rx for Good Health THE HEALTH REPORT PAGE every Saturday From pills to poison ivy from diabetes to depression. Each Saturday, the Post-Dispatch's Health Report Page examines the latest medical news and practical health advice. Check up on recent medical research and opinions from health professionals.

The Health Report Page is just one of the special interest features you'll find in the Post-Dispatch. Look for advice from Ann Landers, the Leisure Page and more er.ch week in the Everyday section. To begin daily and home delivery of the Post-Dispatch dial 622-71 1 1 or toll-free 1-800-231-1991. ST. LOUIS PQST-PSSPATCH Tempting selections like eggs benedict prosperity sandwichfresh seafood calves liversupersandwiches colossal saladsprime rioano much more awaits you Reservations Accepted Open Every Night call OSfBiptitCEl Classified.

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