The Indianapolis News from Indianapolis, Indiana • 26

Tuesday, December 20, 197i THE INDIANAPOLIS NEWS SPIRTS TALK I.U. Faces Tough Test In Classic I I I I 1 1 I Tin NEWS Photo, William Ptlmtr Milton Eskew (25) hauls in rebound for Gary Emerson at MSA last night. Ben Davis, Tech Titans Team Intimidators Cardinal Turmoil The dismal season that culminated with a defeat at Tampa may have cost the St. Louis Cardinals their coach and star player, i Both DON CORYELL and TERRY METCALF voiced doubts about returning as the Cardinals lost their final four games. Six straight victories earlier in the season made an appearance in the playoffs seem certain.

Coryell, who normally chooses his words carefully when talking with reporters, lashed out at owner BILL BIDWILL'S tightness with the team's purse strings. To make matters worse, Coryell was quoted in a San Diego newspaper as predicting the owner's frugality would result in only four wins next year, and two the year after that. Eight St. Louis players become free agents Feb. 1 Metcalf, JIM OTIS, KEN REAVES, IKE HARRIS, CHARLIE DAVIS, BOB BELL, JERRY LATIN and MARK ARNESON.

Don Coryell Terry Metcalf Jones Will Be Ready Quarterback BERT JONES of the Baltimore Colts is limping from a bruised knee, but he doesn't plan to slow down his pace. Jones, who completed 19 of 30 passes for 340 yards and three touch-downs in the Colts' spectacular come-from-behind 30-24 victory over the New England Patriots Sunday, says the injury will not keep him from his weekly goose hunting outing today or the practice field tomorrow. Lee Viking Starter Coach BUD GRANT says that BOBBY LEE will start at quarter back for the Minnesota Vikings in the the first round of the National Football League playoffs yesterday against the Los Angeles Rams. "I don't think we have to justify (starting) Bobby in any way, shape or form," Grant said yesterday. "He's always done a good job." Why Forrest Gregg? FORREST GREGG is unemployed after nearly three seasons as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, and many National Football League fans are wondering why.

Most persons close to the scene agree that the catalyst in Gregg's downfall was his temper, which turned off many of the veteran players on the team and widened an apparent personality conflict be-tween him and owner ART MODELL. Modell unhesitatingly admits that i Gregg played a major role in turning 'the. Browns from a stumbling 3-11 team in 1975 into the club which went 9-5 in 1976 and got off to a 5-2 start and sole leadership in the American I Football Conference Central Division this year. 2-Then, inexplicably, things fell Hunt For Coach Kansas City Chief owner LAMAR 'HUNT, contending the Chiefs have better talent than than their 2-12 record indicates, has fired head 'coach TOM BETTIS. Hunt yesterday said he is looking in both the pro and college ranks and hopes to have a new coach within the "next two weeks.

Bettis had been given the job on a make-good basis in mid-season to replace PAUL WIGGIN, who was fired after the club's 1-6 start, and -5-9 records in the previous two "seasons. Pacer Lunch Tomorrow The second Indiana Pacers noon 'luncheon will be held tomorrow at the Atkinson Hotel grand ballroom. IThis is a switch from the usual -Athletic Club site. Atlanta Hawks coach HUBIE BROWN and Mayor HUDNUT will be guest speakers Tickets are $5 each and available at the Pacer office. Racer Came Postponed The Racers' away game Jan.

3 at Quebec has been postponed due to a change in the Soviet team playing the Nordiques on that date. No new date has been set. WHERE THE ACTION IS TONIGHT 7 Indiana Classic: Indiana vs. Bowling Green. WIRE, WGRT-FM; Alabama vs.

Princeton. TOMORROW 7 or 9 p.m. Indiana Classic: Indiana at 7 p.m. if in consolation or 9 p.m. if in championship game WIRE, WGRT-KM.

8 MS A A Basketball: Blooming-loo South vs. Owen Valley, Channel 8:05 Indiana Pacers vs. Atlanta Hawks, Market Square Arena, W1HL, WUKT-MH. J. I w4? shot to beat the No.

1 team after a 10-day wait. (The games were orginally scheduled 10 days ago, but were postponed by snow). Smith was also distraught over a charging call against Bryant with 50 seconds to go and Emerson holding a 67-66 lead. Ben Davis gained control and worked the ball for a final shot. "There are a lot of things I could say, but let's just end it right there," he said.

The 20-point lead began Emerson's demise. Ben Davis employed a 1-3-1, half-court press mid-way through the second quarter that forced four turnovers and meant eight points. The lead was cut to 12 at halftime. "We just made some bad passes against the press," Smith said. "We made Bryant move away from the basket," said Hoover.

"We didn't plan on pressing. It's not good for us. Most teams start coming back after 2 minutes. But none of our other defenses worked." Most importantly, the Giants adjusted to Bryant, who finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds. "After we played against him," offered Wineinger, "he was just out there." TECH M.

MOORESVILLE it TECH Tunwr 11, J. Thomas 18, Allan 11 Davli II, McMlchel T. Thomas 4, Boyd 1, Flalds 1, Johnson 2, Oraono, Quarlas and Pattarson aach 0. FO: 1742. Mil FT: Ml I PF Mj RB 20 ibhiivI).

MOORESVILLE Franca IS, Batlay 12, Veun 12, Sattla II, Richardson a. Copaland 2, MrOuIra 1, Raymond and Watson aach a. FO: 20-47, 4Ui FT: lf-27, PF 111 Rl (Davli 12, TUmar 10). BEN OAVIS it. OARV EMERSON 47 BEN DAVIS Wlttman 22.

Wlnalnaar 20, Richardson II, Slckmalar 4, Wollums 4, Brawl niton Wilbur 2, Daardarl 2, Evarsois 0. FO. 2S-9, FT: il-lt, .44, PF (Slckmalar 1); RB 2) (Richardson 7, Wlnalnaar 4). EMERSON Bryant 21, Janklnt IS. Thomas It Kandrlcks Lova 2.

Eskaw 2. stavana and Stows rt aach a. FO: 2s-ai. Jjll, FT: IS-22, Mil PF RB 2t (Bryant 10, Thomas 10). Arrandanca 1.04.

By RAY COMPTON If you can't remember the last time Indiana University has lost in its own tournament, don't be alarmed. They haven't lost yet. In the three previous Indiana Classics, coach Bob Knight's Hoosiers have won all three championships and have dominated their opposition completely. In fact, Indiana has taken the championship bout by such figures as 97-60 (over Nebraska in 1975), 101-74 (over Virginia Tech in 1976) and 76-55 (over Miami last year). No one expects it to be that easy this time.

Tonight the Hoosiers face MidAmerican Conference entry Bowling Green (7:05, WIRE), which was roughed up by Marquette, 86-54, over the weekend and figures to be hard pressed to end Indiana's Classic winning streak. But Wednesday follows Tuesday and trouble may be lurking. Because whoever wins tonight's nightcap Princeton or Alabama will be armed and ready for the Hoosiers (or Bowling Green) tomorrow night in the championship game. Alabama moved into the nation's top 20 this week and the only blemish on the Crimson Tide's five-game season is an 82-65 setback at Purdue. But that game was much closer than the score indicates with the Boilermakers not breaking it open until the second half.

Princeton, meanwhile, returns several players from last year's squad that finished 21-5 and lost to Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA post-season tournament. Forward Frank Sowkinski (16.6 point average) heads the Tiger cast to Bloomington after a 3-3 start. But Indiana's chief worry starts with Bowling Green, 2-2 and coached by former St. Joseph boss John Weinert. A key battle looms at center where Knight will pit impressive looking freshman Ray Tolbert against 6-11 Bowling Green senior Ron Hammye.

Hammye tallied 13.5 as a junior, but this year has upped his average to the 20-point plateau. He scored 20 against Marquette's 6-10 Jerome Whitehead. Tolbert, though, continues to make impressive strides. He went head on against Notre Dame's 6-11, 250-pound Bill Laimbeer and outpointed the Irish center, 16 points to 15. The Anderson product followed with a 14-point production in Saturday's 56-51 victory over Southern Methodist.

In that SMU game, Knight left Market Square Arena unimpressed with his team's performance. Indiana shot poorly and had trouble with SMU's zone defense most of the night. But that lackluster outing fails to SNOW or REGULAR FALCON 4-PLY POLYESTER CORD WT SNOW or IMPERIAL FALCON GLASS BELTED REGULARS SNOW SIZES: Mast sin milobla REGULAR SIZES: 171-15 07H5 H7H4 671-14 171-14 171-14 I7I-1SD7I-I4C7I-14 174-13 47S-11 171-1 ilia WINTER SERVICE SPECIALS HEAVY DUTY MUFFLER ANY SIZE IN STOCK Imtollariea Wlaaia Most Anwrkon Con 199S GOLDEN FALCON 440 BATTERY 19U33T 41 MSTAUIO-EXOUNOI 32" WINDSHIELD WIPER BLADE REFILLS 1 99 LAFAYETTE 3803 Lalayella Rd 293 6700 COIIARF Mon. thru Frt. 6:30 lo 9 Sat.

8:30 to 5:30 Closed Sun. USE YOUR BLOCK'S OR AMERICAN EXPRESS CARD 111 Ray Tolbert Jim Wis man give hope to Weinert, who will have faced the last two national champions in a span of four days. "Now I know how Green Bay must feel in the black-and-blue division," he said. "Indiana's defense may not always be ranked at the top in fewest points allowed, but it ranks with the best from the standpoint of intensity." Instrumental to Indiana's defense has been point-guard Jim Wisman, who repeatedly turned SMU's attack away from lanes with his pressuring style. Wisman also rocketed in a season-high 12 points and tacked on seven assists to raise his team-high total to 22.

Purdue returns to action tomorrow night against Miami of Ohio, while the two-day Indianapolis Classic at Indiana Central also begins tomorrow The Boilermakers will be trying to rebound from that discouraging one-point loss to Louisville last week and win their fifth game in seven outings. -Tickets in the normally soldout Mackey Arena are available because school is not in session "We've had three tough games on the road," said coach Fred Schaus. "That's good because that's what we'll run into in the Big 10. I'm very encour- 1.73 to 3.12 F.E.T. Whltewutls add $3 YOUR CHOICE SERVICE 1 EXPERT BRAKE RELINE Install braka linings on oil 4 wtSmIsj check brok fluid, odjust brolunj impact wtwl qrimoVs and howt.

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787 9311 Sal. 8:30 to 5:30 Thurs. 10 lo 7 Cloud Sun. LICENSED STATE INSPECTION STATIONS SPRTS Tough By MIKE MYERS They call them The Intimidators big high school basketball players who literally stand head and shoulders above their peers. If a basketball court were a haystack, there would be no trouble finding the needle.

Two of the state's best intimidators were on the haystack in Market Square Arena last night, and while both were sharp, the point pierced deeper for one than the other. The smaller of the two, Tech's 6-foot-9, 215-pound Landon Turner, fared better, blocking and passing the Titans to an 80-59 victory over Mooresville in the doubleheader opener. The larger was Wallace Bryant, whose 7-2, 227-pound body helped startle his No. 1 -ranked Gary Emerson Tornados into a 30-10 lead over Ben Davis. But the Giants were collective intimidators, showing themselves and 3.064 fans Bryant is mortal, and thus rallied for a 69-67 upset to make both 6-1.

"They were a little in awe of Turner because they had heard and read so much about him," admitted Jim Ham-mel, coach of 2-3 Mooresville. "We panicked inside." The Pioneers notably center Don France kept Turner in harness for three periods, but in the fourth he proved the billing correct, scoring nine points and passing out four assists. He ended with 21 points, 10 rebounds, five blocked shots and two goal tending violations. "My gosh, he rejects so many," raved Tech coach Ernie Cline. As many shots as Turner turned back with bis hands were as many shots as Bryant kept from ever being taken.

Ben Davis made eight turnovers in the first Protest By MILTON RICHMAN NEW YORK (UPD There's no provision for an official protest in pro football as there is in baseball, which is an injustice in one way but a pure blessing in another because what would they do with an official found to have cost a team a key ball game-hang him from the nearest goal post? Anytime a protest is upheld in baseball, the game In question either is resumed from the point of dispute or replayed entirely Such cases are rare since baseball protests are upheld about as often as Egypt and Israel get together at the peace table. In football, there's no practical way to replay a game already finished or resume it from the point of contention. The mechanics for setting up such a procedure simply are not feasible. What could any ruling body do, re-schedule the same two teams to meet each other again on some given Wednesday? That doesn't necessarily mean football officials never make mistakes. They're human, the same as anyone else Certainly they make mistakes although on balance, they don't make that many Only a few years ago, the Los Angeles Rams were given five downs during the same series.

The referee lost count of the downs and for doing that, he and his entire crew drew a suspen sion. All this comes into sharper focus now due to the uncommon furor continuing over Sunday's contest in Balti more where quarterback Bert Jones of the Colts fumbled away the ball near the Patriots' goal line with less than three minutes left, but the referee ruled he had whistled the play dead, and Baltimore immediately took advantage of that break to beat New England, period, six before getting a shot, as it fell back 8-0 and finally 20-6. The Giants went 2 minutes into the second period before attempting a field goal and by then were behind, 25-10. Three minutes later when they hit their second shot the score was 30-10. "We play with intensity," explained Giants forward Ed Wineinger.

"With the big man and the way he intimidates, we played with maybe too much intensity." Finding the proper proportion, the Giants stormed back against the Tornados, ending the whirlwind rally with Joe Richardson's 20-foot jump shot with 7 seconds left. It provided a one-point lead and began a frantic final 5 seconds. Emerson called time and coach Earl Smith Jr. spent most of the minute arguing for an additional 2 seconds. As the players returned to the floor, Ben Davis was unable to decide how to defense Emerson's last-effort shot, assuredly set for Bryant.

Ben Davis called time. "We have short-time situations," explained coach Jerry Hoover. "We have a 5-second drill, a 3-second and a 1-second. But with Bryant in there, you're still not sure what to do." Mike Wollums, the 6-9 backup center, entered the game and guarded 5-7 Robert Jenkins, who was passing the ball in. Jenkins was whistled for either stepping on the line, bouncing the ball on the line or reaching across the plane (the imaginary boundary perpendicular to the baseline).

"I've never seen that called In all my years of coaching," said Smith, stunned Nevertheless, Ben Davis gained possession, took a time out, sank a free throw and rebounded a missed An NFL 30-24, for its third straight AFC East Division championship. A New England victory automatically would have given Miami the division championship under the National Football League's tie-breaker rule, but when the Colts won, that finished the Dolphins for the season. Up at their headquarters on Park Avenue, the NFL people haven't heard the end of it yet, nor are they likely to for some time to come. They put one man on the phones especially to handle all the the angry calls coming In from Miami and the New England area yesterday All the callers were incensed over what they felt was a sheer outrage. Everybody calling in was mad.

Although the Patriots already had been eliminated from the playoffs before Sunday's game, their supporters are burned up because a victory was "stolen" from them. The Miami fans are boiling because they feel their team was jobbed out of the division title, and Dolphin coach Don Shula, who was watching the game on TV, is steaming because he isn't sure whether the referee blew his whistle accidentally, prematurely or arbitrarily. "I don't know what the ruling was, whether the whistle had blown or whether they (the officials) just didn't see the play," Shula keeps saying, "but it was evident that Jones fumbled and New England recovered." That's only another way of him saying he feels the referee blew his whistle either accidentally or too quickly Shula was burned that way earlier this year when an official later admitted to him he had blown his whistle accidentally, giving the ball back to the St. Louis Cardinals after they had fumbled it and the Dolphins had recovered. Hassle Fred Silva was the referee in Sunday's game.

He's no rookie, having officiated in the NFL 11 seasons. For working Sunday's game, he got $575 plus a lot of heat. Jones says he doesn't know if he fumbled before the play was over or not. If Silva was guilty of whistling too quickly, it could've been he was being overprotective of Jones. Consciously or otherwise, most referees don't like to see quarterbacks absorb unnecessary punishment, particularly quarterbacks of Jones' ability, so they sometimes become a bit overprotective.

Regardless, it was purely a judgement call on Silva's part and as such, all those irate Miami and New England fans have no solid basis for their condemnation of him. They can criticize his judgement, but who's to say their own judgement of him is right. That goes for Shula, too He wasn't exactly a disinterested witness watching that game. If it's any consolation, Fred Silva draws some support from Lee Mac-Phail, president of the American League. "In this particular case, there couldn't be any protest in baseball, either, because it was a judgement call," says MacPhail.

"The only time there can be a protest with us is when a rule is interpreted improperly Besides, we've found that different camera positions can give you entirely different views of the same play You see it from one angle and you say 'what a bad Then you look at it another way and you say, 'well, now wait a My sympathy is all with him (Silva). He was right there, he most likely was in a position to see the play best and he was the one who had to make the call.".