The Daily Capital News from Jefferson City, Missouri • Page 9

rts Versailles stat belies position ByJOELPISETZNER There's a team that's given up eight more points than it's scored this season. There's also a team that's guaranteed at least a tie for the Tri-County Conference crown if it wins Friday. Who are the two teams? and Versailles. "You've got to remember that out of those 98 points we've given up, 84 were again- st two teams," Tiger coach Paul Blackard notes. He's right.

Booriville won 54-7, Richland won 30-0, and since that time, the surprising Tigers have yielded only two touchdowns in four games. "I feel like we've got one of the best defenses in the con- ference," says Blackard, the coach who's led the Versailles turnaround in his second year at the helm. Versailles, already assured of at least equalling last season's 5-4 record, travels to Tipton Friday, the beginning of a crucial two-game trip wrapping up its schedule. Tip- ton has one Tri-County loss, as does California, the last Ver- sailles foe. A win at either town clinches a tie for the Tigers, who are 4-0.

A sweep means the title of the most evenly balanced Tri-County in many years. "You always like to play at home," said Blackard of his team's impending travels, "but our best game this year was on the road. I feel we put it all together at Eldon." Ver- sailles won that game 40-8. Blackard, a 30-year-old Cen- tral Methodist graduate who coached two years at Welling- ton, said he was surprised at the rapid development of his offense. "We have three sophomore starters on our offensive line, and they've matured terrifically fast," he exclaimed.

His big problem at the moment is inconsistency, he pointed out. "We were very sporadic against Osage. We played when we had to." The 12-6 victory over Osage last Friday night was the biggest scare Versailles has had in league play, en route to a perfect record. How do the players feel about their fast start? "I think they're sur- prised," Blackard commen- ted, "but they're really deter- mined. They're pulling together." Blackard's only planned change Friday against Tipton is that Jim Linstedt will start at tailback in place of Kent Chamberlain.

Despite Califor- nia's big win over Tipton last week, Blackard says his team is not overconfident. "Our kids know it wasn't a bad game until the last three minutes," he said. In the meantime, the sophomore coach has his charges working on their i i a i aggressiveness. He cites one advantage he has this year as opposed to his first season "It's knowing the opposition a little bit more." By this time, perhaps the opposition is lear- ning that Versailles is for real. And just a step or two from the title.

Sooners dominate Big Eight rushing KANSAS CITY (AP) The second-ranked Oklahoma Sooners are running away from the rest of the Big Eight Conference in rushing. The Sooners, averaging. 482.4 yards a game, have carried the football 373 times for 2,412 yards, according to figures released Wednesday by the Big Eight Service Bureau. Behind them are Oklahoma State with a 290.2-yard game average and Nebraska with 287.3. Oklahoma also leads in total offense and scoring offense.

The undefeated Sooners have stacked up 2,789 yards in rush- ing and passing on 413 tries for a whoppping 557.8-yard average for five games. Nebraska is second with a 425.8-yard game average and Kansas third with a 387.2-yard game average. The Sooners have scored 228 points, an average of 45.6 poin- ts a game while Nebraska has averaged 41.7 points and Oklahoma State 28.6 points. Nebraska has displayed the most potent passing offense. The Huskers have hit on 65 of 108 throws for 831 yards and a game average of 138.5 yards.

Kansas, second, has a game average of 129.8 and Kansas State, third, 113.7. On the defensive side of the ledger, the Sooners are first in scoring defense, having held their opponents to 41 points or 8.2 points a game. Nebraska's average is 9.3 points and Okla- homa State's 11.8. Nebraska is out front in rushing defense and total defense. The Huskers' foes have been able to gain only 249 yards rushing for 544 yards or an average of 90.7 yards a game.

Oklahoma's 116.8-yard game average is second best and Oklahoma State's 121.6 third. In total defense, Husker opponents have gathered 1,118 yards on 345 plays for a game average of 186.3 yards. In this category, Oklahoma State is' second with a game yield of 193.6 and Oklahoma third with an even 197. Oklahoma State has dis- played the best pass defense. The Cowboys have allowed 34 completions on 96 tosses for 360 yards or an average of only' 72 yards a game.

Oklahoma's opponents have averaged 80.2 yards and Nebraska's 95.7. 9 Games to Moscow, Lake Placid Jeepskate Rollie Fingers, Oakland A's relief specialist named the World Series' most valuable player, poses in New York City Wednesday with his reward, a jeep from Sport Magazine. Fingers' choice of a jeep didn't follow the previous pattern of cars picked by Series MFPs, who more often opted for sedans and sports cars. (AP wirephoto) Fingers no lover of contract talks NEW YORK (AP) The curled-up comers of Rollie Fingers' handsome handlebar mustache twitched slightly when he was asked Wed- nesday about negotiating a 1975 contract with Charles O. Finley, owner of the Oakland A's.

"That's the one thing I don't like about the winter, negotiat- ing a contract," said Fingers, who was in town to claim a new car as the World Series Most Valuable Player. "You wonder when the phone will ring. It's always along, drawn out affair. He'll go up $1,000 and I'll go down $1,000." Fingers took two steps to- a i a aggravation. First, he kept his phone number a secret.

Then Cubs trade Wiffjoms to Oakland CHICAGO (AP) --The Chi- cago Cubs announced on Wed- nesday they have traded slugging outfielder-first base- man Billy Williams to the Oak- land A's for three players, in- cluding veteran reliefers Da- rold Knowles and Bob Locker. Williams, 36, a longtime Cub batting mainstay, hit .278 this season and .288 in 1973. He hit .333 in 1972. He had been tried at first base as the Cubs pressed for youth and speed in the outfield. Locker, 36, is a former Cub who was sidelined by surgery in 1974, and Knowles, 32, was 33 this season with three saves.

The A's also gave up second baseman Manny Trillo, 23, a .253 hitter regar- ded as fast and capable with a glove. He spent much of 1974 with Tucson. Because of his veteran status, Williams, under league rules, could have blocked the trade. Third baseman Ron Santo refused to be traded to the San Diego Padres when the Cubs started their youth-oriented house cleaning before the 1974 season. he hired an agent to handle his dealings with the Oakland owner.

Last winter, Fingers' con- tract negotiations wound up in arbitration, one of nine Oakland players to go that route with the A's owner. Fingers won his case and Finley had to part with something like $65,000 for him last season. Fingers thinks Finley will have his hands full satisfying the A's salary demands after Oakland's third straight world championship. "There may be even more players going to arbitration this year," said the reliever, who has appeared in 16 of the 19 Series games played by the A's in the last three years. "I'm sure Mr.

Finley is not going to want to pay the salaries that some of the players will be asking for." Fingers hasn't fixed a 1975 figure for himself yet but he isn't terribly concerned about it-quite yet either. "Mr. has always treated me well," the reliever said. "When I got married, he sent my wife and I on an all- expense paid trip to Florida, and after the 1972 World Series, he gave me a $5,000 bonus." Finley has a way of marking down all of those little fringe benefits and mentioning them when it comes time to talk contract. "Yes," said Fingers, "he might bring those things up, but then you say, 'But that was a gift, wasn't In Oakland's three World Series, Fingers has a 2-2 record with six saves.

He allowed just two runs in 9 1-3 innings against the Dodgers. The honor carries with it the choice of a new car. Fingers, continuing the A's tradition of doing things unconven- tionally, passed up the sedans and sports cars and picked out a Jeep. VIENNA (AP) Moscow and Lake Placid, N.Y., were chosen Wednesday to stage the 1980 Olympic Games. As expected, the Inter- national Olympic Committee chose Moscow in preference to Los Angeles, the rival candi- date.

Lake Placid was the only ap- plicant for the Winter Games. Lord Killanin, president of the IOC, announced the deci- sions in the crowded main room of Vienna's City Hall. He was handed a sealed envelope by an aide, tore it open and an- nounced that Moscow had been chosen for the Summer Pro Scoreboard Games. Applause broke out and people swarmed around the Russian delegation with con- gratulations. Mayor Tom Bradley of Los Angeles, a 6-foot-4 former quarter-miler and basketball player, pushed his way through the throng to shake the hands of the Russians.

As the hubub died down, Killanin announced that Lake Placid had been approved, too. He said the voting was secret and no figures would be given. But one IOC source said the voting was 39-22 for Moscow over Los Angeles, and unanimous in favor of Lake Placid. Moscow's victory was the climax of six years of all-out campaigning. The Soviet capi- tal and Los Angeles both lost out four years ago when Mon- treal was chosen for the 1976 Games.

The Russians had stepped up their campaign in the last year, seeking the Olympics as the biggest event for their national prestige since the revolution. Los Angeles, meanwhile, pitched its campaign in a low key and pledged to stage an Olympics in the spirit of inter- national friendship, empha- sizing that all visitors and press would enjoy complete freedom in California. Mayor Bradley and his aides shook hands with one Russian official after another. "That is the spirit of the Olympics," said Los Angeles City Councilman Donald D. Lorenzen.

The Lake Placid team, al- though virtually certain of success since they had no rival candidate, admitted they felt relieved when Killanin an- nounced the result of the vot- ing. "After all, we could not be sure," said Senator Ronald Stafford, one of the Lake Placid delegation. "There has been a lot of talk in the IOC of scrapping the Winter Olym- pics altogether, and we set out to convince the committee that we could run the Games well." The last time the Winter Olympics were staged in the United States was in 1960 in Squaw Valley, Calif. The United States has not hosted the Summer Olympics since Los Angeles staged them in 1932. NBA Eastern Atlantic Philphia Buffalo New York Boston Central a i Atlanta Houston Cleveland New Orleans Wwrar Midwest Detroit K.C.

-Omaha Chicago i a Pacific a Los Angeles Phoenix Golden St. Seattle Conference Division Pet. 2 1 .667 2 1 .667 2 1 .667 1 1 .500 Division 2 0 1.000 2 1 .667 1 2 .333 0 3 .000 1 0 4.000 Division 2 0 1.000 2 1 .667 2 1 .667 1 2 .333 Division 2 1 .667 1 1 .500 1 1 .500 1 2 .333 1 2 .333 GB V2 2V4 3 Vi Vi Vi 1 1 107 Washington 99, Houston 95 Kansas City-Omaha 99, Chicago 98 Detroit at Phoenix Portland at Seattle Thursday's Camos New York vs. Buffalo at Toronto Cleveland at Atlanta Philadelphia at New Orleans ABA East Division 2 2 1 1 1 Pet. GB 0 1.000 1 .667 1 .500 2 .333 2 .333 1 IWt 1V4 Division 2 0 1.000 2 0 1.000 1 1 .500 0 2 .000 0 3 .000 1 2 2V4 St.

Louis i i i a Memphis New York Wast San Antonio San Diego I i a a Utah Wednesday's Games Kentucky 136, Virginia 82 Indiana 122, St. Louis 107 New York 104, Memphis 96 Denver at Utah San Antonio 121, San Diego 119 Thursday's Gamos Memphis vs. Virginia at Norfolk San Antonio at Kentucky NHL Division 1 Pts GFGA NY Island 4 1 Philphia 4 2 Atlanta 3 3 a 2 2 Division a 3 2 Chicago 3 3 St.Louis 2 2 i 2 3 K.C. 0 5 Division Detroit 5 1 L.Angeles 3 1 a 1 2 Pitts. 2 2 Washtn 1 5 Division a 3 2 Toronto 2 Boston 2 2 Calif.

1 4 Wednesday's Games New York Rangers 5, St. Louis 1 Atlanta 10, Detroit 1 Montreal 3, Toronto 2 Washington at Chicago Pittsburgh 5, Boston 5, tie Kansas City at California Thursday's Gams St. Louis at Boston Buffalo at Los Angeles WHA Wednesday's Games Michigan at Quebec New England 5, Houston 4 Cleveland at Vancouver Thursday's Gamrs Phoenix at San Diego Minnesota at Indianapolis WFL Wednesday's Games Florida 15, Charlotte 11 Birmingham at Shreveport, Hawaiians at Chicago, Philadelphia at Southern California, Thursday's Memphis at Portland, national television QB Harris on Rant hotseaf (By the Associated Press) For five high draft choices they hope will insure their success on future Sunday afternoons, the Los Angeles Rams have handed their present to a quarterback who threw 11 passes for them the past two seasons. On Tuesday, National Football League teams sent four quarterbacks to new teams. But the man who probably will occupy center stage from all the dealing went nowhere.

Ex- cept further into the limelight which until 10 days ago seemed to have passed him by. Obscurity is no longer is a problem for James Harris, 27, 64, 210. And black. Whatever happens now, he won't soon be forgotten. In giving John Hadl, last year's All-Pro quarter- back, to Green Bay in return for the five 1975 and 1976 draft choices, the Rams have placed their hopes for 1974 Super Bowl rings squarely on Harris.

The pressure could har- dly be greater for the young man from Gram- bling who performed so well last Sunday in a 37-14 victory over San Fran- cisco. The Rams, among all the NFL teams, seem most assured of a playoff spot. Many made this team favorites to win the Super Bowl gold. There seems to be no looking back for Harris and the Rams. The trading deadline has passed.

Behind Harris, the Rams have only a second-year man with no experience. If the Rams are to achieve the glory expected of them, it will be Harris who runs the offense. If they do not, he may well get at least some of the blame. In addition to Hadi, two other name quarterbacks will be lining up behind new centers this Sunday. The Dallas Cowboys shipped an unhappy Craig Morton to the New York Giants.

The Giants' opponent this week- end is Dallas. The other major deal sent Norm Snead, who has been having his problems, from the Giants to the San Francisco 49ers, whose mounting problems relate directly to the lack of a quarterback who can throw. For Hadl, the Rams i i a second-round draft choices in 1975 and 1976 and a third-round pick in 1976. The other deals also involved draft choices. With the Rarn offense floundering, Coach Chuck Knox benched Hadl and inserted Harris last Sun- day.

He completed 12 of 15 passes for two touchdowns and ran for another. All concerned say it is of no consequence that Harris is black. But to many it may matter a great deal, and it seems certain that he and Pittsburgh's Joe Gilliam, who also directs a club with championship hopes, will be watched more closely than if they were white. Alston top NL pilot 1 1 1 1 2 2 0 1 1 0 3 0 3 3 0 1 4 1 3 1 2 9 9 7 5 8 6 5 5 0 10 9 5 4 3 7 7 5 4 26 25 19 18 21 20 17 13 8 24 20 21 15 12 24 25 16 17 15 19 18 18 20 11 17 15 22 17 14 21 15 30 22 18 16 32 NEW YORK (AP) Walter Alston, the Los Angeles Dodg- ers' unflappable general, was named The Associated Press' National League Manager of the Year today. The stoic Alston, who guided the Dodgers to the National League pennant this season for the seventh time in his 21-year big league career, won in a rout.

Alston outscored Danny Murtaugh, manager of the National League East cham- pion Pittsburgh Pirates, 290 votes to 87. Voting by the nation's sports writers and broadcasters took place prior to the league's playoffs. Red Schoendienst, whose St. Louis Cardinals battled Pitts- burgh down to the end for the East title, finished third in the balloting with 26 votes. Finishing behind the top three were, Danny Ozark of the Philadelphia Phillies with six votes; Atlanta's Clyde King with three and Cincin- nati's Sparky Anderson with two.

Alston took a relatively young team to the heights this year. It was his tender, loving care that made champions out of the Dodgers. "I know that the players have enough to think about on the field, so I try not to give them too many problems in the clubhouse," says the easy-going Alston. Known as a superb handler of men, Alston's tempered personality gave the Dodgers quiet confidence throughout the tough National League West battle with the Cincin- nati Reds. In modern ter- minology, Alston kept the ship "rocking steady." Once asked his philosophy, the dean of major league man- agers noted: "I pat most everybody on the back and kick the rare ones that need to be kicked." A was born in Hamilton, Ohio, 62 years ago and once worked as a high school basketball coach and science teacher.

He entered the Dodger organization with their Trenton, N.J., team and also managed at Montreal before being named the Dodger field boss for the 1954 season. Alston signed a one-year contract that season, and uniquely has kept up the pat- tern throughout his glamorous career. "One-year contracts are a matter of pride with me," Al- ston says. "I wouldn't want to work anywhere where I wasn't wanted." Alston's accomplishments stamp him as one of the most successful managers of all Walttr Alston time. Only two men have man- aged one team longer than Al- ston has.

Connie Mack man- aged 50 years with the Phila- delphia Athletics and John McGraw had 31 years with the New York Giants. Alston has won four World Championships, a feat sur- passed in the game by only three other managers. And only four managers in the history of major league baseball have won more pen- nants. Kings rally edges Buffs OMAHA, Neb. (AP)--An eighteen-foot jumper by Nate Williams with six seconds re- maining, gave Kansas City- Omaha a 99-98 National Basketball Association trium- ph over Chicago before 4,759 here Wednesday night.

William's basket capped a rally that saw the Kings surge from a 98-89 deficit in the last three minutes. KC-Omaha exploded early and held several 17-point leads as they led at the half 53-39. The Bulls, behind Chet Walker and Nate Thurmond, rn off the final 13 points of the third quarter for a 74-71 lead. The Kings didn't regain the lead until the final frantic mo- ment. Walker hit a jumper and clicked on a fast break.

Thurmond stuffed another on a fast break to push the Bulls ahead 98-89 with 3:05 left. Chicago failed to score again and KC-Omaha reeled off the game's final ten points. Walker led the Bulls with 24 points and Thurmond had 15, all in the second half. Nate Ar- chibald led the Kings with 24, four in the final rally, and also had 15 assists. Jimmy Walker scored 20 and Williams finished with 17 as KC-Omaha pushed its season record to 3-1.

Substitute seer pick: OSU over Nebraska? NEW YORK (AP) This space is normally filled with the educated guesses of Mr. Will Grimsley. However, for the next two weeks Mr. Grims- ley will be hunting bigger game in Africa. While George Foreman and Muhammad All beat each other up for $5 million, the football heroes on campus still go on doing the same thing for love of college, coaches and an occasional cheerleader.

Mr. Grimsley's shoes are big--a size a sea- son's mark of 372-100. So there's not much margin for error. With that in mind, we're picking Ohio State and Okla- The editors around here say two picks won't fill a page. They prefer prediction to per- fection.

So here goes: Ohio State 49, Northwestern 0: And when the second quar- ter starts, it'll get worse. Oklahoma 45, Kansas State 10: The Sooners are unde- feated, untied, and because of recruiting violations, they'll be uninvited to a post-season bowl. So their bowling will be restricted to the regular season. This Saturday, Kan- sas State's Wildcats will be the pins. Michigan 38, Minnesota 7: The Wolverines, who had a close call against Wisconsin last weekend, don't start their regular season until Nov.

23 in Columbus, Ohio. But they still want to go through their pre- season undefeated. A a a a 31, Texas Christian 3: There are a lot of good teams in Texas this year. The Horned Frogs, however, aren't one of them. Auburn 28, Florida State 7: The Seminoles gave Alabama a scare earlier, but an unde- feated.

Auburn team is unafraid of a team that hasn't had a victory celebration sin- ce 1972. Southern California 28, Ore- gon State 21: Oregon State can put points on the Scoreboard, but not enough to beat USC. Notre Dame 35, Miami, Fla. 10: Last week, Notre Dame re- membered the Four Hor- semen. week, the Fighting Irish will remember how much fun it was beating the Hurricanes 44-0 a year ago.

Texas AM 21, Baylor 20: Heads it was the Aggies, tails the Bears. The nickel turned up heads. a a State 24, Nebraska 17: Common denominator here is Missouri. Missouri had the Huskers' number 21-10 and the Cowboys pasted Missouri 31-7 last week. Penn State 35, West Virginia 20: The Nittany Lions, unim- pressive to date, are ready to roar.

Texas Tech 28, Southern Methodist.10: Texas Tech Sat- urday, then Texas followed by Texas AM. Death and Texas are things SMU can't avoid. If the Mustangs changed their name to Texas Methodist, they would stay in the thick of the Southwest Conference race a little longer. Leave driving to us, protest racecar men Ballhawk Atlanta Hawk John Drtw (22) guards Philadelphia's Billy Cunningham Tuesday night in an NBA at Atlan- ta, Ga. ltd tht Hawks to a 12542 win with 41 points, giving tht roekit 97 points in his first games.

(AP wi RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) Take it from most of the dozen drivers competing in this year's International Race of Champions series, women should leave race driving to men. "The good Lord built men and women differently," Bob- by Unser said emphatically. "If I could talk to the women who are trying to be race drivers, I'd tell 'em they're shoveling sand against the tide." A.J, Foyt and Cale Yar- borough agreed--with appro- priate words to spice their opinions. "They're just not physically strong enough," was the gist of Foyt's reply to an informal poll.

"I've seen some big ones, but I ain't ever seen one physically fit to run under the conditions we run under," Yarborough added. Unser, the 1974 United States Auto Club big-car driving champion, won the fir- st round of the IROC series, raced at Michigan Inter- national Speedway in Septem- ber. The next two heats will fea- ture a Saturday-Sunday show at Riverside International Raceway. A co-feature is the final race of the season in the Sports Car Club of America's Formual 5000 series. The IROC drivers open practice in their identical Camaros Thursday.

The question about female race drivers was brought on by the excellent showing of Leila Lombardi, a small, 31-year-old Italian woman, in a Formula 5000 race in Southern California last mon- th. Miss Lombard! was running sixth, ahead of such com- petitors at this year's In- dianapolis winner Johnny Rutherford, when she dropped out of the race because of the 100-degree heat. Rutherford, an IROC con- testant, was one driver who felt women have a hance to compete against men. "If a girl works hard and trains herself, I think she can do it," said Rutherford. "I think girls want to win as badly as men." Arkansas-Pine Bluff forfeits to Lincoln The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff has for- feited its victory over the Lincoln Tigers earlier this season.

Leo Lewis, Lincoln head coach, received a letter from the Arkansas school this morning stating, "We have discovered some members of our current football squad to be ineligible for varsity football competition for scholastic problems. "Accordingly, we officially UA-PB defeated the Tigers on the field, 17-0, but the score will go in the record books as a 2-0 victory for Lin- coln. "I don't like to take a win this way," Lewis said, "but the way we're playing this year, I'll take a win anyway we can get it." Lincoln will put its 3-3 record on the line Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. against the Northeast Missouri State University Bulldogs from Kirksville..