The News Journal from Wilmington, Delaware • Page 17

The News Journal, Wilmington, Del. Tuesday, Feb. 9, 1993 Section SCOREBOARD HIGH SCHOOLS COLLEGES HOUSE RACING ro)r5 Classified Begins on Page C5 Liediro acquitted Flyers rookie found not guilty of assaulting woman in bar I'll IT highly inaDDroDriate." he said. gional Dolice. i2 1 'V XJ Associated Press OSHAWA, Ontario Police, prosecutors and sexual politics combined to make Eric Lindros the real victim of a nightclub beer fight, his lawyer charged Monday after the hockey sensation was acquitted of common assault.

The charge that he spat and poured beer on a woman at a bar probably never would have made it to court if the alleged victim was a man, said lawyer Earl Levy. "Public sentiment was whipped up against Eric and I think it was Judge Rhys Morgan of the provincial division of Ontario Court found Lindros not guilty of assaulting factory worker Lynn Nunney, 24, last Nov. 29. Nunney's testimony was "clear and unequivocal" about the incident at Koo Koo Bananas nightclub in nearby Whitby. But defense evidence raised a reasonable doubt, Morgan told a packed courtroom.

The judge also noted that many minor crimes never are Lindros, 19, said the case hasn't done him "much good," but said he had no reason to apologize for what happened and wasn't about to start staying home every night. Flyers trade Beauregard C2 "I'm a kid and I like to do the things that kids do," said the Flyers' million-dollar rookie. Levy said the Lindros family is "very concerned" about the way he was treated and is considering taking action against Durham Re API HANS DERVK Eric Lindros Is a happy guy after his acquittal Monday. 7 Sixers i to I I JACK CHEVALIER I Bowc must face I some legitimate I challengers now Last week's pitiful performance by Michael "Dinosaur" Dokes may have a positive effect on boxing, af-: ter all. Dokes was so awful before, i during and after his fight with Rid-j dick Bowe that the heavyweight champion is now ready to face some legitimate challengers.

"Next time, Riddick has to fight a real one," Manager Rock Newman said Monday. Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis head the list, with Alex Stewart, Michael Moorer, George Foreman and Tommy Morrison waiting on deck. "Newman's under a lot of public pressure now," promoter Bob Arum 'Said in a telephone interview from "Las Vegas. "Pay-per-view doesn't want Bowe against any more tomato cans." The tomato can labeled "Dokes" was rusty, dented and empty. The 34-year-old campaigner couldn't spar four rounds in practice.

He got whacked on the ribs Monday and took Tuesday off. At the Wednesday press luncheon, he sipped beer with his linguini and asked for garlic bread. Dokes obviously was ready to Ttake his $750,000 and get out of He had no chance to avoid stinging left jabs and side-arm rights. The champ finally admitted Monday that Dokes have been in there." yy Bowe won with a flurry of and a TKO at 2:19 of the round. The foul odor in Square Garden wasn't coming the Westminster Dog Show's advance benching area.

"After I hit him with the jab or four times," Bowe said, "I realized his reactions were a lot different. Most guys try to get out of way. He just took 'em." In post-fight interviews, Dokes slurred his words and said that referee Joe Santarpia stopped the fight too soon. "He complained?" Newman said. shows you there was some serious damage done." Dokes insisted that he was coherent and competent.

He said that knocked aeainst the roDes. i 4 -f Cards starting to fall Stocks tumble for Topps, Fleer By LARRY McSHANE Associated Press NEW YORK Fear not, Honus Wagner you're still worth $451,000. But sorry, Jose Canseco your baseball card may never achieve the lofty heights of a '52 Mickey Mantle or a '51 Willie Mays. The sports card market, a sure-fire investment winner in recent years, is showing signs of topping out. Topps the best-selling company, has announced it expects a net loss this quarter its first in the red since 1982.

The value of its stock has dropped by about half in two months. The parent company of another major card-market player, Fleer also suffered a drop in its stock-market price, losing 11 percent of its value the day after Topps' announcement. It has since rebounded somewhat. The double dip was a rarely seen brushback pitch for the $1.3 billion card industry, which ran wild over the last decade. "It's just a matter of supply and demand.

There's more companies, and those companies print a lot of cards," said Robert Lifson, president of Robert Edwards Auctions Inc. What does he mean? Since 1982, 20 major manufacturers have joined the card market. A full set of Topps baseball cards, purchased that same year for $12, is worth $150; any one of the 1993 sets "is not a sure thing," Lifson warned. As for the investors who buy cards for future sales, the newer cards don't have the same value, he said. mm, 'It V' .1 By TOM COBOURN Statt reporter PHILADELPHIA When the 76ers are sitting out the playoffs, wondering where things went wrong, Patrick Ewing will most likely figure in their thoughts.

Rally killer Patrick Ewing. The New York center scored a season-high 40 points Monday night at the Spectrum as the Knicks defeated the 76ers in overtime 120-115. The 76ers spent most of January trying to undo a 5-15 start and even climbed to within five games of .500. The Doug Moe-system seemed to be kicking in and the 76ers were starting to establish something positive at home. But that was before New York came into this building on Jan.

22 and walloped the 76ers behind 34 points by Ewing. That setback began a landslide. The 76ers have lost seven of their last nine games to again fall to 10 games under .500 at 17-27. Three of those losses came against the Atlantic Division-leading Knicks, with Ewing accounting for 100 points in those games. Ewing had 10 points in overtime against center Andrew Lang (getting his first start in 24 games) and forward Tim Perry.

The latter had to defend Ewing when Lang fouled out. The 76ers were without guard Jeff Hornacek, the expectant All-Star who was nursing a sore knee. Hersey Hawkins led the way with 26 points while Perry and Clarence Weatherspoon each had 20. It was the 24th 40-point game for Ewing, allowing him to surpass Bernard King for the most' by a Knicks player. The center, who was beaten in the All-Star voting by rookie Sha-quille O'Neal, scored 18 of New See SIXERS C2 4T '8.

II "HRjyf 4 helpless, in the second minute 'I 7 AP CHRIS GARDNER Sixers' Clarence Weatherspoon and the Knlcks' Charles Oakley get tangled up going for a rebound. Dr. Waltoim enter 'Hall' then in the old American Basketball Association. He was the Michael Jordan of his day, equipped with a dazzling assortment of moves that he brought to the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers. Walton, an All-America at UCLA and twice college basketball's Player of the Year, led the Bruins to two national championships and set a Final Four record when he hit 21 of 22 shots against Memphis State in 1973.

He later helped Portland and Boston to NBA championships. "It's very special," said Erving, recalling how he had not been expected to be a star until he grew 3 inches in college. "That helped me out a lot. It prohibited me from ever taking anything for granted," Erving said. "It made me have realistic expectations, focus on my studies first, and have a more balanced approach to life and the realization that basketball is a game." Erving also recalled his coaches and "the millions of fans who with my family and friends touched me emotionally and spiritually.

With their tears of sorrow and of joy, I carry a feeling of oneness with them into these hallowed halls." Or. J's statistics C4 "I am very surprised," Walton said. "I loved every level of basketball from grade school on. It has been my life and I have had a fabulous time." McGuire thought of his brother, Al, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year. "He will be the one bringing me up the aisle," McGuire said.

"That's what you dream about the first time you pick up a basketball," said Issel, now the Nuggets' coach. "You can't believe how happy I am," said Murphy, who works with young people at a sports academy. "Right now, everything has been racing through my head I'm trying not to explode." shouldn have counted as a knockdown. -ir "I don't care if the ropes are tjhere, or a steel beam is there, or wedged in by nails, someone frits you on the chin and your legs are gonna leave you," Dokes said. 2 Bowe's HBO-TV contract calls iJtor "four or six fights." Newman wants to sign for the next one, probably in June, before he leaves i the champion for a good-will trip to Somalia, South Africa and "I think he'll fight Lewis next," I Arum said.

"That's the fight the r. public wants." The undefeated Lewis, who upset Bowe as an amateur for the 1988 Olympic gold medal, will meet Tony Tucker in Las Vegas next. That will for the World Boxing Council title, with Don King resurfacing as promoter. "Lewis is not the commodity to-day that he will be later," Newman j.said. "He could run through streets i naked without being recognized.

He needs more time and exposure. Maybe Bowe will fight him in the fall or next spring." Newman constantly refers to Bowe as "a dominant physical force" at 6-foot-5, 240 pounds. He predicted that the champ would knock out Lewis "within six i rounds" whenever they meet. Meanwhile, Holyfield is ready to resume his career with Georgie Benton as trainer, Lou Duva as manager and rap star Hammer as adviser. They're seeking a big-! money rematch of the Nov.

13 fight in which Bowe dethroned Holyfield with a unanimous 12-round deci-! sion. i "Evander is a great guy," Bowe said. "He always brings out the best in me. I'd welcome that fight." A third possibility is Michael Moorer (30-0), a Detroit heavy-; weight also managed by Duva and Benton. Moorer renounced his World Boxing Organization title Monday to get in line, behind I Tucker, in the WBC rankings.

Moorer will face James "Bone-: crusher" Smith On Feb. 27 in Atlan-! tic City. Foreman and Morrison have a spring date in Las Vegas. Bowe's pantry shelf is well-stocked, but not with tomato cans. Jack Chevalier is sports editor of The News Journal.

By TRUDY TYNAN Associated Press SPRINGFIELD, Mass. Julius Er-ving played the game above the rim with breathtaking grace, awe-inspiring creativity and calm, calculated cool. Bill Walton ripped rebounds off the rim, fired laser-like outlet passes, swatted away opponents' shots and hit cutting teammates with over-the-shoulder no-look passes. They both left the NBA after the 1987 season and they both were selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday. Also to be inducted May 10 are NBA stars Walt Bellamy, Dan Issel, Dick Mc-Guire and Calvin Murphy, Soviet Olympic standout Ulyana Semyonova and UCLA and Olympic star Ann Meyers.

Erving, the electric Dr. defied the laws of gravity with dramatic dunks that stamped him as a star, first in college at the University of Massachusetts and 1 News Journal file Julius Erving played 11 years with the Sixers. Johnson runs away with 3,200 record rr ATHLETE OF THE WEEK BASKETBALL No. 5 Duke whips Clemson 93-84. C2 Caravel Academy's Lou Bender closing in on 300 wins.

C3 HOCKEY Devils end five-game winless streak with 5-4 victory over Rangers. C2 FOOTBALL Dolphins' Bobby Humphrey shotCS BASEBALL Astros open up bank account to sign three. C5 set in 1989 by Therese Hanley of Alexis I. du Pont. "My first indoor track meet (in December I ran an 11:36.2," said Johnson, The News Journal's high school athlete of the week.

"I remember Mr. George Reddish Sussex Central's coach told me I was only about six seconds from the record. He said that I had six more tries, and I was going to get it. He always tells me, 'If you think you can, you "I kept saying to myself during the race Saturday, think I can, I think I said Johnson, who, By KEVIN TRESOLINI Staff reporter She may have gotten a late start in running. But Sallie Beth Johnson continues to finish considerably sooner than anyone else.

The Sussex Central High senior's rise to the No. 1 spot among state distance runners has been done in a sprint. Less than two years after running competitively for the first time, Johnson has already been a state outdoor track and cross country champion, v' like the storybook Little Engine That Could, got over her mountain. "I was totally surprised when 1 finished the race. I turned around and said to Mr.

Reddish 'Did I get He said it was 11:23. I thought, My Goodness." Johnson was not pushed by anyone except herself in winning by a whopping 50.5 seconds. She may run even faster at the state meet Feb. 27 on the Delaware Field House's oval. "At Tower Hill, the 3,200 is 20 See ATHLETE C5 Her finest moment yet, however, came Saturday in Tower Hill's Carpenter Fieldhouse.

Johnson, running in the weekly N5CTA indoor meet, destroyed the state record in the run with a time of 11 minutes, 23.2 seconds. It's her first state record, but probably not her last. The old mark of 11:29.48 was.