Argus-Leader from Sioux Falls, South Dakota • Page 29

High school notebook 4 NHL playoffs 5 Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, S.D. Wednesday, May 6, 1987 11 JJ uS(S On page 3D: The White Sox' Bill Long two-hits the Yankees Cincinnati's Ted Power shuts out the Mets 2-0 California's Don Sutton tosses a two-hitter against Milwaukee i 5. 4 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Baltimore rookie Eric Bell wasn't nervous when he took the mound in the ninth inning Tuesday night with a no-hitter and five-run lead against the Minnesota Twins. But five batters and four runs later, the 23-year-old left-hander was on the bench, anxiously watching the Orioles hold on for a 5-4 victory that ended a four-game losing streak. "I came out for the ninth inning and I felt real comfortable," said Bell, who lost his no-hit bid on Tom Nieto's bloop single with no outs.

"Later in the dugout, all I could think of was win, win, win." Bell, 3-1, pitching in only his ninth major-league game, held the Twins to just one walk over the first eight innings. "I felt good, real good," Bell said. "Once I stepped on the mound, I knew my rhythm was there and I just had to not overthrow. After the fifth inning I knew (I had a no-hitter). You know, you have to be crazy if you don't." Baltimore shortstop Cal Ripken Jr.

mis-played a ground ball to start the ninth inning for an error, allowing Greg Gagne to reach first base. Then Nieto looped a single just in front of the outstretched glove of left fielder Ken Gerhart, who appeared to get a late jump on the ball. "I had a feeling it was going'to drop in," Bell said. "If he caught it, it would have been a real good catch." Gerhart said: "We were playing the guy (Nieto) to go the other way, and then he hit the ball off the end of the bat. I thought I had a shot at it.

After the game, I said (to Bell), 'I'm but he said, 'There wasn't anything you could do about Nieto ended Bell's bid to become the first rookie to pitch a no-hitter since Oakland's Mike Warren on Sept. 29, 1983, against Chicago. It was the ninth time a Baltimore pitcher had lost a no-hitter in the ninth inning. The last Orioles pitcher to throw a no-hitter was Jim Palmer against Oakland on August 13, 1968. One out after Nieto's single, Steve Lombar-dozzi singled home Gagne.

That was all for Bell, who struck out seven. "We were happy that they took the kid out," Twins manager Tom Kelly said. "He (Orioles manager Cal Ripken Sr.) was trying to take him out since the seventh inning. But we weren't doing nothing against him." Dave Schmidt replaced Bell and yielded a three-run homer to Kirby Puckett and a single to Gary Gaetti, and reliever Mike Kinnunen, a former Minnesota Twin, gave up a single to Kent Hrbek. Puckett's home run was his eighth of the year.

The centerfielder is batting .353. Mark Williamson replaced Kinnunen and got the second out of the inning before intentionally walking pinch-hitter Randy Bush to load the bases. Ken Dixon, the fifth pitcher of the inning, then retired pinch-hitter Roy Smalley on a foul pop to end the game for his first save. Bell was trying to become the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, considered one of the best hitters' parks in the majors.

The Orioles went ahead on Jim Dwyer's two-run homer in the third inning off Mike Smith-son, 3-2. Eddie Murray led off the sixth with his third home run of the season and Terry Kennedy added an RBI double later in the inning. John Shelby singled home a run in the ninth. Gooden owes fans answers By ROD BEATON Gannett News Service NEW YORK Quite probably we never will know what prompted Dwight Gooden to use cocaine or the extent of that abuse. That's a disservice to Gooden and to baseball fans everywhere.

Blame the New York Mets. Major-league baseball's policy, Commentary the MM sentiment of compassionate people everywhere, is a person is entitled to one drug-abuse mistake as long as he fits three conditions: He alone is the victim (no pushers, please). He acknowledges the problem. He voluntarily seeks help. Gooden has followed those guidelines.

It took a positive drug test to force him into the Smithers Clinic in New York April 2. But it was Gooden who had requested the drug-testing clause in his contract that unearthed his drug abuse. A CALL FOR help? Perhaps. We'll probably never know. The New York Mets have stated a firm club policy that Gooden will not be interviewed on the subject of his drug abuse or on any other subject.

This policy is in effect, general manager Frank Cashen said, "for an indefinite period." Cashen clearly hinted that period takes in all the rest of the 1987 season. None of Gooden's teammates are to be asked about the abuse, and if they are, they are to refuse to respond and finger the culprit for ejection from the clubhouse. That's manager Dave Johnson's policy. Gooden probably will be allowed to discuss this hanging curve or that 10-strikeout game next season. Don't hold your breath for him to ever come clean on the drug problem.

We won't know how long he was taking drugs. We won't know how he started COCAINE. ABUSE, experts say, starts in party settings. That's why it's called a social drug. It isn't until addiction and it is addictive that the abuser does it solo.

But we'll never understand how none of Gooden's teammates, his many friends and his agent never knew of his problem. There are those, including the Mets management, who'll say Gooden is entitled to his privacy. He has been through enough. But what about the paying customers? The ones who lined up and paid out expecting to see Dr. last season.

Maybe they saw Dr. C. They have a right to know. THE METS ARE trying to keep Gooden in a bubble. Their organization is progressive on baseball matters and has been quite sensitive to Gooden's needs.

But they are doing him a disservice keeping him in isolation. 'Dr. Alan Lans of Smithers said "at this time, this (policy) is what's right for Dwight." They could easily find experts who'd say the opposite. Many clinics for drug and alcohol abuse say the best way for a recovering abuser to stay clean is to confront his or her condition daily, to discuss it openly. Gooden owes us an explanation.

He owes his public more than a 15-second statement. It won't hurt him. He's already done that himself. AP photo Baltimore pitcher Eric Bell throws a pitch through eight innings before giving up Tuesday night in his bid for a no-hitter two hits in the ninth and leaving the against Minnesota. Bell allowed no hits game.

The Orioles won the game 5-4. Celtics bounce Bucks 111-98 By DAVID DUPREE Gannett News Service BOSTON The Celtics didn't need Kevin McHale after all. With their injured all-star power forward on the bench the entire game, Larry Bird took over and led Boston to a 111-98 victory against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first game of their National Basketball Association Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series. Bird finished with 40 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and four steals. three assists.

McHale has a sprained right ankle and a hairline fracture of the right foot. He last played April 28 in the second game of the first-round series against the Chicago Bulls. Robert Parish was the main force inside, as he finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists. Bird took control from the outset. He had four points, three assists and a steal in the first AVi minutes as the Celtics moved to a 14-4 lead.

The Bucks never Milwaukee guard John Lucas said: "McHale's a great player, but if they were missing Bird they'd have bigger problems." The Bucks' strategy was to try to control Bird with quickness, using smaller players like Paul Pressey, Sidney Moncrief and Ricky Pierce on him. Fred Roberts started in McHale's place and made six of 10 shots and added five rebounds and Seaver to retire from baseball would have been eligible to rejoin the Red Sox May 1. But Merola said that appeared slim. "He's made it clear he wants to play in New York or Boston and I don't think that's going to happen," Merola said of Seaver, who lives in Greenwich, Conn. "I don't even discuss it with him.

I assume he has retired," the agent said. "I think he's very content to let go. He's essentially retired." Seaver spent the first 10-plus seasons of his 20-year career with the Mets, joining them in 1967 when they were still an expansion doormat. He posted a 16-13 record with a 3.13 earned run average and was named NL rookie of the year. He was 16-12 the next year with a 2.20 ERA as the Mets finished ninth in the 10-team National League.

Pheasant season set by G.F&P By DAVE JURGENS Argus Leader Staff South Dakota's 1987 pheasant season will run from Oct. 17 to Dec. 6 the Game, Fish and Parks Commission decided Tuesday. The commission, meeting in Pierre, approved the dates that were suggested at its April meeting. There was no public comment on the season.

A mild winter has state pheasant hunters anticipating improved success following a poor 1985 season and a 1986 season that was probably average, at best. A successful hatching season now becomes the most important factor for increased pheasant numbers this fall. Ken Solomon, small game biologist with the Department of Game, Fish and Parks, said, "The way things are going now, this year should come out just about normal." Solomon, stationed in Huron, said the second week of May is the peak nesting season for pheasants while the first and second weeks of June are the prime hatching season. He said the health of the chicks depends in large part on the body fat of the mother. The mild winter has assured that most hens are entering the prime nesting season in top physical condition.

Each nest averages 10 to 12 eggs, he said. Its application is as dynamic now with Jim Burt moving out of the Sioux Empire television picture as it was 36 years ago when city editor Bechtold shared it at dinnertime with the Sioux Empire. In full, here is Anderson's poem: Every man's a would-be sportsman, in the dreams of his intent, BurtSee 3D athletics at Augustana College, said: "Way back when I was coaching at Dell Rapids in the 1950s, Jim was the individual who called me when they started the March of Dimes benefit. We played Spencer in the Coliseum. "I've found through the years that that was typical, him helping with community events.

He was very active in the beginning of the North Central Conference holiday' basketball tournament 22 years ago. Everybody in this region knows him." i AP photo Tom Seaver pitches for the Boston Red Sox last year before filing for free agency. Seaver's agent announced the pitcher's retirement. KELO's Burt moves out of TV picture NEW YORK (AP) Tom Seaver, whose pitching was the catalyst that transformed the New York Mets from a baseball joke to a world champion is "essentially retired" after 311 wins and a raft of major league records, his agent said Tuesday. Matt Merola, who represents Seaver in a variety of ventures, said the 42-year-old pitcher had not received any offers from major league teams since his contract with the Boston Red Sox expired at the end of last season.

Seaver was not available for comment and Merola said the pitcher is declining all requests for interviews. Retirement this year would make Seaver eligible for baseball's Hall of Fame in 1991. Like other Class A free agents who didn't sign with another team, Seaver Burt was raised in Melcher, Iowa, about 35 miles southeast of Des Moines, and was married Nov. 19, 1944. His wife, Olive, died of cancer May 9, 1984.

"He is a very dedicated, hard- loves sports," Jim Burl Nord said. "In my opinion, he new more about sports than 99 out of 100 people." Dean Mann, director of athletics for Sioux Falls public schools, said: "What a person first notices about Jim is how fair he is in reporting the news. He gives an emphasis to local news. "When we go out of town, the last thing we hear from him is to be sure to call him. He informs people what is going on in sports, sure, but behind the scenes there is a dedication to what goes on in the community for example, his work with the Howard Wood-Dakota Relays." Arnie Bauer, former Washington Sk2 Poem reflects Burt's retirement Quotable "I didn't drink beer and watch television.

I had two-a-day workouts that included weights, running, hitting, fielding and throwing. Hey, it's not like I've never played ball before. I've been in the major leagues for six years and made the All-Star team six times." Montreal's Tim Raines after hitting his third home run in four games since returning to the team after sitting out spring training. Inside Danny Noonan, the Dallas Cowboys' top pick in last week's National Football League draft, says he used steroids for several days to help him regain weight he lost after getting ill in Japan. 4D Greg Stefan, making his first appearance in six games after a run-in with Detroit coach Jacques Demers, turns in a strong performance in goal as the Red Wings stun the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 in the National Hockey League playoffs.

-5D Scores GIRLS GOLF Beresford 189, Canton 198 City meet (third round) O'Gorman 167, Washington 173, Lincoln 182 BOYS TRACK Washington 84, Watertown 65 NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Seattle 99, Houston 97 Atlanta 115, Detroit 102 Boston 111, Milwaukee 98 Los Angeles Lakers 125, Golden State 116 NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Detroit 3, Edmonton 1 BASEBALL American League Baltimore 5, Minnesota 4 Chicago 2, New York 0 California 2, Milwaukee 0 Kansas City 6, Toronto 4 Boston 6, Oakland 0 Seattle 7, Detroit 5 Texas 6, Cleveland 5 National League Cincinnati 2, New York 0 Houston 5, Philadelphia 1 Montreal 6, Atlanta 4 San Francisco 10, St. Louis 6 Los Angeles 3, Chicago 1 Pittsburgh 10, San Diego 8 By MARK HAUGEN Argus Leader Staff Sportscaster Jim Burt will retire in June after 34 years with KELO television. Evans Nord, president of KELO stations, said Burt's final sportscast will be the middle of June. Nord said the official retirement date is July 1, but Burt will stay on as a consultant through the end of the year. Burt, 68, said: "It's a tough decision to make after being in something that's been your livelihood.

It was my lifelong ambition to get into the profession. The whole career has been one of excitement and enjoyment. And it has been a challenge. It has been good to me. "My association with individuals, athletes, coaches and everyone connected with Upper Midwest sports has been so doggone great and satisfying that it kind of tears at you.

But there has to come a time when you get tired and kind of run out of gas." Burt came to Sioux Falls in June of 1947 and began working for KELO radio. He then moved to television when KELO-TV went on the air May 19, 1953. By JOHN EGAN Argus Leader Staff Back in 1951, just after the origin of credit cards for dining, but before frozen TV meals and Kentucky Fried Chicken, Herb Bechtold told Argus Leader readers about a poet-plumber. Reuben L. Anderson, who installed the plumbing at the Royal C.

Johnson Veterans Hospital, spent eight months writing "The Low Green Tent." High School basketball coach and Lincoln High School track coach, agreed that Burt has been an ardent booster of local sports. "My first reaction is that Jim, to me, has been a tremendous athletic backer whether on television or off," Bauer said. "He is certainly not just a reporter. Particularly noticeable has been his work for years for the Howard Wood-Dakota Relays as supporter and, of course, as meet announcer." Virg Sandvig, former director of 3 i.