Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 17

ports Today's tip Thursday Section The Sacramento Kings, who finished with APRIL 1 7 1 96 38 BASE BALL 37-45 regular-season record, open their RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL 3B DIGEST best-ot live NBA playott series against the 5B GOLF COLUMN Houston Rockets. KROW (780 AM), 4:45 8B AT A GLANCE p.m. 9-12B BUSINESS UNR's Hunter flushes out herd of curious NFL teams i-y x.A -i v-'w. i 1wrr-''r 1 VYs- second- or third-round pick in this month's draft. That makes Hunter the hottest pro property at UNR since 1983, when Pack defensive end Charles Mann was picked in the draft's third round by the Washington Redskins.

"Most scouU are telling me they'll be surprised if he doesn't go in the second (round)," said UNR head coach Chris Ault. "I've been told if there are people left over at the bottom, he could go in the first round. I mostly hear between two and three Ault won't get an argument from Graber, who was the head coach at Montana State in 1982, Hunter's freshman season. "To make a general statement, he's going to go high," said Graber, whose college team competed against UNR in the Big Sky Conference. Graber's enthusiasm was shared by Dallas Cowboys assistant coach Dick Nolan, who also watched Hunter work Wednesday.

"Certainly he's got something," said Nolan, the former San Francisco 49ers head coach who now handles the Cowboy secondary. "He moves well. It looks like See HUNTER, pege 2B Latest scores National League St. Louis at New York, ppd, rain Houston 4, San Francisco 1 Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, rain Cincinnati 5, Atlanta 3 San Diego 2, Los Angeles 1 American League Kansas City 1, Boston 0 Minnesota 7. Oakland 5 (10) Baltimore at Toronto, rain Texas at Milwaukee, cold New York at Cleveland, rain Chicago 10, Detroit 4 California 4, Seattle 0 California League Palm Springs 5, Reno 2 Carson all-state guard signs with Arizona Timt Brown, Carson High's School all-state guard, said Wednesday she has signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Arizona.

The 5-foot -9 Brown, who averaged 19 points and six rebounds a game, picked Arizona over Nevada-Las Vegas and Oregon because of its conference affiliation and its athletic training program. "I liked the idea of playing for a Pac-10 school," said Brown, who visited Arizona last weekend. "They're like the top athletic training school in the nation." Another local prep star 6-8 center Scott Hemsath of Douglas remains uncommitted but is apparently leaning toward Loyola Marymount, where head coach Paul Westhead is rumored to be job hunting. "They might be going through a coaching change," ex-Douglas coach Randy Green said. "If Jay Hillock, the assistant, gets the job he (Hemsath) would still go to Loyola." The University of Nevada-Keno and University of the Pacific also are interested in Hemsath, who earned first-team all-state honors after averaging 20.7 points and 11.8 rebounds.

Mark Croaaa UnarJuK PRO TEST: Former UNR defensive back the eye and stopwatch of Dallas Cowboys Patrick Hunter finishes a 40-yard dash under assistant coach Dck Nolan. NCAA eyes cash 1111 11 1 By Don CoxGanJournal The National Football League went into overtime at the University of Nevada-Reno to recover an opportunity its scouts fumbled three months ago in New Orleans. That's when the NFL's best judges of talent failed to invite Patrick Hunter, UNR's AH Big Sky Conference defensive back, to their post-Super Bowl party for the nation's top college prospects. "I just think it was a screwup," said Doug Graber, who coaches defensive backs for the Kansas City Chiefs. "He (Hunter) should have been there, without question.

That was a monumental screwup." Hunter, who led the Wolf Pack with six interceptions as a senior last season, didn't come to Graber in New Orleans. That's where scouting combines working for NFL teams tested college seniors for three days in late January. Wednesday afternoon, Graber came to Hunter at UNR's Mackay Stadium. That's where the Pack's best pro prospect this year has been studied in detail by most of the NFL. Hunter, ranked sixth among the country's graduating comerbacks by the Blesto scouting combine, is projected as a cut for Tom Spitz Jown is 5-3 in the West Coast Athletic Conference.

Hixson said the records could be better. "We've had several key games in which we haven't she said. "But considering the level we've been playing at, we're doing pretty well. "We re turning things around. We have a chance for a winning record if we keep up our improvement." UNR will test its endurance today, Friday and Saturday in the UNR Invitational tournament at Idlewild Park.

The Pack will play Sonoma State at 11 a.m., Morv's Hi i nm. and San Jose State at 3 p.m. in the round-robin section of the tournament, wnicn aiso mciuura See PACK, page 2B Celts, Lakers a The NBA playoffs begin tonight amid the general view that the preliminaries will amount to a series of practice games preparing the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics for their anticipated meeting in the finals. Don't try to sell that theory to the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs, just 35-47 in the regular season and the eighth and last seed in the West, visit the defending champion Lakers, 62-20 and an easy winner of the Pacific Division, in one of four games scheduled for Thursday night.

San Antonio believes it can put an early end to Los Angeles' hopes of becoming the NBA's first repeat champion in 17 years. "I think we've got a 50-50 chance to win," said forward Mike Mitchell. "I think that San Antonio is the last team the Lakers wanted to meet in the opening round," said center Artis Gil-more, one of many Spurs who have been on and off the injured list this season. "We play them real well. It's going to be a straight-up ball game." "There's a definite history of spirited games between the two teams.

Traditionally, they've been close battles," said 111,1 mil .1 vsw -I four UNR pitchers, is PacK will play host to a five-team tournament starting today average. The Wolf in Idlewild Park. hones skills with tough foes coaches By Doug TuckerAP KANSAS CITY, Mo. The NCAA has taken steps that could lead to a reduction in coaches' income and greater benefits for athletes, while overhauling the entire recruiting process, the president of the organization said Wednesday. In an interview with The Associated Press, NCAA president Jack Davis said the policy-making NCAA Council, meeting in Kansas City this week, had pinpointed four areas for possible action at the next NCAA convention: The total income of coaches, specifically such things as summer camps and shoe contracts which allow some top coaches to increase their university salary ten-fold.

Financial aid and amateurism, possibly dropping the prohibition of student-athletes' receiving such things as "laundry money" and expense-paid visits. The recruiting process, including restrictions on coaches and boosters. Length of playing seasons. Davis said an ad-hoc committee would soon be appointed to study the questions and suggest possible legislation for the next convention in January 1987. Raising the four issues reflects concern on the Eart of many NCAA member schools, avis said, but does not necessarily guarantee that action will be taken.

"We hope to have some recommendations from the ad hoc committees by the next council meeting in August," Davis said. Davis said the issue of coaches' outside income "did not come from some disgruntled faculty member." "This was raised by a council member who is a former coach," he said, declining to name the individual. "We're going to look at the total income of coaches that tends to motivate a coach to want to cut corners and do things they should not be doing. This is a growing concern." Top basketball coaches are paid as much as $100,000 by shoe companies to outfit their players in brand-name footwear, Davis said. Coaches also command six-figure incomes with television shows and summer instructional camps.

"We're not trying to force coaches into a socialistic mode," Davis said. "But when these coaches make these contracts independently with the shoe companies, they are, in effect, selling the endorsement of their institution. We're just saying that the institution should be contacted if they are going to obligate the institution's name. "The concern is that if a coach is making $500,000 to $1 million from these other things, and his salary from the school is $50,000, who the hell is controlling the activities of this person?" jump above rest point guard Wes Matthews, who is questionable for the game after missing practice Wednesday with an illness. "I think the pressure is going to be on them.

They have everything to lose. We have nothing to lose. We'll lust have to play with our limitations. The very fact that we know we always play them well will help The Celtics, whose 1969 title marked the last time an NBA champion has repeated, See NBA, page 2B 4iarrrChlC5ao at Boston. 5 p.m., WTBS; San Antonio at Los Angeles Lakers, 7:30 p.m., WTBS FRIDAY: Portland at Denver, 7.30 p.m., WTBS.

SATURDAY: San Antonio at Los Angeles Lakers, 12:30 p.m., channels Sacramento at Houston, 5 p.m., WTBS. UNR strong safety injured University of Nevada-Reno strong safety Mike Brown underwent surgery for a torn tendon in his finger Wednesday and will miss the rest of spring practice, said UNR head coach Chris Ault. The highly regarded sophomore suffered the injury in practice last week. Brown, 6-foot and 183 pounds, is expected to start at strong safety in the fall, replacing second-team All-Big Sky Conference Daryl McCoy, who completed his eligibility. Brown started part-time as a freshman at free safety last season, making 30 tackles and intercepting two passes.

UNR practices Tuesday through Friday, 3-5 p.m., at Wolf Pack Park and scrimmages Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at Mackay Stadium. Spring practice will culminate with the varsity-alumni game Saturday, April 26 at noon at Mackay Stadium. USFL won't drop NFL suit ORLANDO, Fla. United States Football League club owners vowed Wednesday to go through with their $1.32 billion antitrust suit against the National Football League and not to take part in any settlement discussions until the trial is concluded.

The eight owners, meeting at the Buena Vista Palace Hotel, made their decision not to settle out of court after hearing a report from league attorneys, Commissioner Harry Usher said. The 3-year-old league, which is switching to a fall schedule after having played in the spring and summer, contends that the NFL by contracting with all three major TV networks had blocked it out of making a television deal. Palm Springs tops Padres PALM SPRINGS, Calif. Center fielder Stacey Pettis, younger brother of California Angels outfielder Gary Pettis, drove in one run and scored another to lead the Palm Springs Angels to a 5-2 victory over the Reno Padres in a California League game Wednesday night. It was the third straight loss for Reno, 2-5.

Palm Springs improved its record to 5-1. With two out in the sixth inning and Palm Springs leading 2-1, Pettis singled, stole second and third and scored on a wild pitch by Scott Marsh. First baseman Ty Van Burkleo gave Palm Springs breathing room with his first home run of the season, a two-run shot, in the seventh inning. Reno scored in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Adam Ging and in the eighth on an RBI single by Bob Grands taff. Scott Marrett, 2-0, picked up the victory for Palm Springs, allowing nine hits in seven innings.

Bryan Harvey struck out five batters in the final two innings. Starter Jeff Stewart took the loss for Reno. Stewart gave up two runs in five innings, striking out eight and walking seven. Wire serv'ce and start reports 11 A IN THE SWING: Theresa Sims, one one of the team's best hitters with a Pack softball By Geoffrey SchumacherGaznjoumai Pat Hixson has spent much of her life building the University of Nevada-Reno women's softball team. Hixson played catcher for the Wolf Pack from 1973 to 1977, helping UNR to a co-championship in the Northern California Athletic Conference in her senior year After finishing her eligibility, she my, rider became the assistant coach under Olv Plummer for two years.

Hixson became head coach in 1980. Hixson, 30, brought the Pack from the Division II level to Division I in 1983. "Since we moved up to Division I our records have been slipping," she said. "But that's because we haven't been Battle-hardened Marine boxers face local team By Steve SneddonOuattjournai The All-Marine Corps boxing team will have more than a few good men when it faces a northern Nevada squad in the fourth annual Amateur Boxing Classic at the Truckee Meadows Boys and Girls Club tonight. The Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based Marines, fresh from the Interservice and U.S.

Amateur championships, are battle-tested. Two of the boxers, 139-pounder Paul Johnson and 147-pounder Arthur Martinez, interrupted the U.S. Army's domination of the interservice competition in March by winning titles. Five of the six Marines facing northern Nevadans boxed in the U.S. Championships at Beaumont, Texas, March 31-April 5 and two reached the semifinals, Johnson and 125-pounder Tony Braxton.

The most experienced of the northern Nevadans is 139-pounder Bobby Adamson of Dayton, who nas a 121-29 record and won seven state Golden Gloves championships. But two of the northern Nevada boxers, 125-pounder Joe Saldana and 147-pound Miguel Banuelas, both of the Reno See MARINES, page 3B of .314 CULUB funded at a Division I level, I believe." But Hixson isn't discouraged. With 12 players and only six full-ride scholarships, UNR has taken on some of the top teams In the country. "I feel that the only way to improve is to play the top teams," she said. "We could have scheduled weak teams and have a winning record, but that wouldn't help us any." UNR won two of five games against solid competition when it played in the Florida State Tournament March 21-23.

The Pack beat Furman 4-0 and Florida Southern 6-1. UNR lost to Rutgers, which has an 18-7 record, and to Toledo and Florida State, ranked llth in the nation with a 38-4 record. UNR holds an 11-17 overall record and Alex English Denver scoring ace faces Portland NBA playoffs f-. i '-1.