The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 55

section sports Sunday, October 31, 1982 The outlook isn't brilliant for baseball's commissioner He's standing tall and at ease despite one long, messy battle Kuhn needs last-minute switch to survive vote by NL owners Scoreboard 2 High schools 15 Horse racing 18 Ben Callaway 20 Classified 21 mm. 1 By FRANK DOLSON I IT Sports editor NEW YORK -During the baseball strike of 1981 people-were saying, "If Pete Rozelle were the commissioner of baseball this never would have happened." Now, a year later, there's a joke making the rounds that begins, "If Bowie Kuhn'were the commissioner of the National Football League OK, that's not a bad gag. But the joke is on us, on the sports media of America. We made Pete Rozelle out to. be a hero, a commissioner who gets things done.

We made Bowie Kuhn out to be a buffoon, a stuffed shirt, a commissioner who stuck his head in the sand while his sport ground to a mid-season halt. Suddenly, we are -discovering the truth, and it hurts. Pete Rozelle By Peter Pascarelli inquirer Staff Wriler When they last met in August, major league baseball owners were determined to decide the future fate of commissioner Bowie Kuhn. So they huffed and they puffed. And then they ended up holding their breath and delaying the decision.

However, Kuhn's reprieve ends to-, morrow. The same owners meet in Chicago, the same fatal opposition to Kuhn's reappointment still appears to be in place, and only a dramatic, last-minute switch in votes can save the commissioner. The switch would have to come in the National League, where four negative votes are needed to end Kuhn's 14-year reign. Six NL owners voted against Kuhn in an unofficial straw vote last August, but Kuhn's supporters still 'have their fingers crossed. According to informed sources, the; key to Kuhn's survival rests with the World Champion St.

Louis Cardinals, one of Ihe clubs that has consistently opposed Kuhn's return. Kuhn spent most of the postseason wooing Cards owner August Busch Jr. and Busch's personal attorney, Lou Susman, who represents the Cards at owners meetings, though he holds no formal position with the club. And the heavy persuasion at least has cast some doubt on what had appeared to be Kuhn's certain demise. "Susman is the pivot to the whole thing," said a pro-Kuhn American (See KUHN on 10-E) 11 United Press-International Only 4 negative votes are needed to end kuhn's 14-year reign lliBte takes over to sparM Cheeks has 21 assists as Nets fall, 110-99 Penn State pummels By George Shirk" Inquirer Staff Wriler When Moses Malone arrived in Philadelphia on a hot and humid night this summer, he was the first to caution the expectant Standing in front of the microphones that night, Malone said that, no matter what might happen, the 76ers would remain "Doc's show." Judging by last night's 110-99 Sixers victory over Darryl Dawkins and the New Jersey Nets in front of a full house of 18,482 at the Spectrum, Malone's words could be heard echoing all over South Philadelphia.

Julius Erving, quite simply, stole the show again, as he has done for so many years here. The Doctor, taking advantage of a particularly hot night by assist-hap-py Maurice Cheeks, drilled in a game-high 36 points to lead the Sixers to their second straight win. "Doc's show" featured, among other things, 13 of 19 from the field. 10 of 10 from the foul line. 5 assists.

5 rebounds, 3 of them off the offensive glass. It was, in other words, vintage Dr. which ironically came as sort of a refreshing change, given the buildup and hype that the Malone deal had generated. But Erving was quick to pass out the praise toward the other end of the locker room last night after the game the end occupied by Cheeks. Cheeks, after all; had merely dished out a career-high 21 assists, which tied him with Wilt Chamberlain's single-game club assist record, set against Detroit in February 1968.

"Certainly the highlight of the evening was his game," Erving said. "His ability to find the open man, make the passes, he was everywhere. He had just a superior effort." Said Billy Cunningham of Cheeks' incredible performance: "Those things don't even surprise me anymore with Mo. He's everywhere." Cheeks was everywhere, too, and right from the start. The diminutive guard began the night with one of the hottest first quarters 'of his career a quarter that ended with his getting 10 points and bucketful of assists.

It therefore was no surprise that the Sixers were able to jump out on top of the Nets so quickly, building a 22-9 lead early in the first quarter. It was a scene directly out of the (See SIXERS on 6-E) Bill Lyon looks at a new 76er Moses Malone and an old one Darryl Dawkins. Page 5-E. couldn't prevent his sport, from grinding to a halt, either. Hey, could it be, could it just possibly be, that Bowie Kuhn isn't as bad as some of us thought? Certainly, he has gained in stature these last few weeks in part of what Rozelle hasn't been; (See DOLSON on 10-E) Erving soars over New 1st Ivy loss do was stand there and bask in the glory of his first game-winning field goal which, at 42 yards, also was his longest.

About half the Palmer Stadium crowd of 20,249 consisted of Penn fans, and all they could do was fall silent. Afterward, Penn coach Jerry Berndt, whose team is now 5-2 overall, appeared strained. "I wanted to get out there and blow against it," he moaned. "It didn't look like it made it by much. But whether it was good by one inch or 60 feet Still, Berndt, whose Quakers are now tied at 4-1 with Harvard for the Ivy League lead, admitted that Penn deserved the outcome.

"They outplayed us, took it to us," he "They decided they were bigger and stronger. "They have a fine passing attack. (See PENN on 14-E) I I Princeton 76ers 4 liaiillSiil Maurice Cheeks Ties club record Minnesota slips past Flyers, 3-2 By Al Morganti Inquirer Staff Wriler BLOOMINGTON, Minn. Nobody will be surprised if, come next May, the Stanley Cup finals wind up being staged in this city. North Stars are that good.

And last night, they had to be that good to beat the Flyers, 3-2, in a pulsating, back-and-forth, rugged game, at the Met Center that had 15,541 screaming until the From start to finish, it was a fascinating game, with Minnesota goalie Gilles Meloche and Flyers goalie Pelle Lindbergh serving as the glue that held each team together. With less than 5 minutes to play, the game heated to a full boil, as both Bobby Clarke and Paul Holmgren tried to jam close-range goals past Meloche, but each failed. Meloche had stopped a wicked shot by Mark Howe early in the period and was equally tough throughout. "You play like that, you win 99 out of 100 games," said Flyers coach Bob McCammon. "It reminded me of the Pittsburgh game a week ago." In that game, the Flyers outshot the Penguins, 50-17, but lost, 4-2, (See FLYERS on 9-E) College football Temple 41, Cincinnati 7 Pitt 63, Louisville 14 Georgia 34, Memphis State 3 SMU 47, Texas 9 Arkansas 24, Rice 6 Nebraska 52, Kansas 0 Alabama 20, Mississippi State 12 Arizona State 17, Southern Cal 10 Maryland 31, North Carolina 24 Detailed coverage begins on Page 11-E take," Washington coach Don James, said.

"It just wasn't our day. We started out in good shape, but somehow we lost momentum. We just weren't able to stop Elway." Elway completed 20 of 30 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns, clos-(See STANFORD on 14-E) iiiiiii mm I' i 3 tit V1 BC. 52-17 By Ron Reid Inquirer Staff Wrtler CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -In a statistician's nightmare apparently designed to increase sales of the pocket calculator, Penn State's rampaging NittanjK Lions smashed Boston1 College-here yesterday, 52-17.

Beating the Eagles (5-2-1, No. 20 UPI) for the 11th time in as many tries, the Lions (7-1; No. 7 UPI, No. 8 AP) also beat up on the record book and kept alive their, hopes for the national championship. And the Lions treated, if that is the word, a' record Alumni Stadium crowd of 33,205 to a spectacular exhjr bition of balanced offense in one of the most bizarre football encounters of the year.

But despite the 69 points, 60 first downs, 1.274 yards of total offense and numerous records, it was hardly a close encounter of any kind. Penn State put this one away before halftime with its most solid performance of the season. However, the Boston College offense, led by fleet quarterback Doug Flutie, totaled an astounding 656 yards of total offense and 520 yards through the air both records for a Penn State (opponent. Still, the Lions offense moved at will, generating three touch--downs each from the rushing of Curt (who set a school career record) and the passing of Todd (who set three school records). Blackledge and Warner are roommates at State College and perhaps it was fitting that, at the end of a week in which all of Boston had talked about an upset, the roomers were flying.

Thanks to Blackledge and Warner, Penn State collected 309 yards in the air and matched that total to the yard on the ground. The excellence of the Lions' rush Jng attack could be credited in part to an equipment change for Warner, their All-America tailback who has jbeen sidelined at times this season leg cramps. Early last week, Warner discovered that his problem was the result" an athletic girdle that he had nvorn since the season opener to present a hamstring pull. It had cut off his circulation and turned his mus-cles into knots. I "My girdle was killing me," Warner said.

"It was also killing a lot yardage." Ungirdled, Warner was on the field (See PENN STATE on 14-E) lLate FG igives Penn By Joe Logan irupiirer Staf Wriler PRINCETON, N.J.. From the -stands, it didn't look as if it would get I there. i v. For that matter, from the 32-yard line, where Princeton placekicker Price stood, it didn't look as if it would get there. But it did just barely, low and close to the left upright.

So with 25 seconds left on the clock, the field judge threw up his arms. Princeton 17, Penn 14. Pack' em up and go home. "I've never been short on a field goal," said Price, a 5-foot, 8-inch senior and a Princeton native, "But did cross my mind while it was in the air." No need to worry. As the Princeton bench emptied for some heavy mid-field back-slapping, all Price had to by Philadelphia Inquirer NICK KtLSH Jersey's Phil Ford to drop in two of 5 Elway paces Stanford to upset of Washington his game-high 36 points Philadelphia Inquirer GERVASE J.

ROZANSKI From Inquirer Wire Services STANFORD, Calif. The Washington Huskies learned a painful lesson yesterday about College Football '82: If you don't stop John Elway you don't stop Stanford. Elway, the resourceful Cardinal quarterback, rallied his team from an early 10-point deficit to hand the Huskies their first loss of the season, 43-31. Stanford's victory snapped Washington's 10-game winning streak and, combined with Pitt's 63-14 romp over Louisville, assured the Panthers of the No. 1 ranking in both wire-service polls next week.

Going into the game, Washington' was ranked No. 1 by UPI and No. 2 by AP. Washington's record dropped to 7-1 and 4-1 in the Pacific-10 Conference. Stanford is 5-3 and 3-2.

"If you told me that we'd score 31 points and lose, I would be quite honest and say that would be a mis- GOING ALL THE WAY, Temple running back Rod Moore heads for a 24-yard touchdown after catching a second-quarter pass from Tim Riordan. The Owls routed Cincinnati 41-7 yesterday at Veterans Stadium. Story and other pictures on Page 11-E..