Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 9

Interest Growing in Clay-Bonavena Waltz in Spite of Odds Tommy Kenville of Madison Square Garden Boxing was filling a stack of envelopes with mimeographed notes reading: "Requests for press accommodations to our Dec. 7 Muhammad Ali-Oscar Bonavena fight far exceed our capacity. We are therefore unable to fill your request on this occasion Please forgive." "Today I had to turn down Tass," he said. "All the London writers are here, and practically everybody from South America. We've added two rows of ringside press, we're using the little press box under the organ, the old hockey press box that we use for track meets, the prime seats in the promenade that were press at one time they're all gone.

"We've had requests for press credentials from four people that I know personally are dead." If one may borrow the coinage of Mr. Casey Stengel, it's amazing. Unless the The answer has to do with the remarkable personality that is Cassius Clay, or Muhammad Ali. Charisma is a fad word made distasteful by loose usage, yet this young man has it in extraordinary measure. In his presence one is always conscious of this quality, and when he is performing in front of any gathering, it is almost overpowering.

Naturally buoyant of spirit, boyishly appealing in appearance, he grows radiant when he is the center of attention. His stage presence was on parade this week during his training exercises in Felt Forum. New Yorkers on their lunch hour queued up in 32nd Street for his last public workout on Wednesday. The hall was two-thirds full when he made his entrance, to explosive applause, but he refused to start work until Kenville had gone outside to make sure nobody with tickets was still waiting. For the next hour he played upon the crowd as Horowitz plays on the Steinway.

Attendance at his bouts used to be swelled by those who were repelled by his boasting and egotistic posturing. They bought tickets hoping to see him get his big mouth stuffed with knuckles. No such prospect offers itself in the Bonavena match. The animosity of those who see him as an obnoxious braggart is intensified by his draft record. To many he is not only a noisome lout but a slacker as well, who ought to be in jail.

He is, indeed, the hub and kernel of controversy. There can't be many individuals who are neutral about Cassius Muhammad Ali Clay. Even when he radiates charm, a small voice of memory recalls the calculated malice he showed in the ring with a crippled Floyd Patterson and the streak of cruelty that surfaced as he goaded half-blinded Ernie Terrell. He is many things to many men but never an object of indifference. yM iews ot dport kliitmiinmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinHmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiniiinii By Red Smith LINCOLN, DEC.

5, PAGE 9 Bursts' of delighted laughter greeted each shuffling display of fancy footwork. The practiced ease with which his sparring brothers' punches barely missed him brought incredulous whoops and squeals. Finally he laid hold of a microphone and delivered a rambling monologue that had the house "howling. No Middle Ground At such a time one tends to forget that Cassius Clay is anathema to many people. millenium is here, there can be no shadow of doubt as to the result of this match.

With a multi-million-dollar engagement with Joe Frazier in prospect, there is no way Cassius Muhammad Ali Clay can lose to Oscar Bonavena. Yet the demand for press credentials, always a reliable barometer of public interest, is almost unprecedented. Must Be Charisma What is the explanation? How can any athletic contest constitute a major attraction when it is devoid of any element of suspense? mi -r Fast-Starting Hastings inks Sluggish aps 1 Jl KOWTOW. Bob Knollenberg, who connected on two driving hook shots and a free throw in the last quarter, paced the Links scoring with 11 points while Henderson chipped in 10. Hastings, which started slow and finished fast last season with a 6-14 record, hit 22-51 shots for 43 per cent.

The Links, suffering from tw separate droughts in the i and second quarters in which they were outscored 11-0 and 10-0, shot 34 per cent for the game. "I'm satisified with our defense," Smith said. "Anytime you can get a fast start like that here, you're playing pretty decent ball." The Links beat the Tigers twice last season and hold an all-time series bulge of both improved considerably from last year," Smith admitted. "Paul moves more aggressively inside and Jeff drives better to the basket." Thomas was satin smooth in outmuscling the Links' Ken Adkins and Henderson under the boards and scored 10 of his points on tipins and follow shots. O'Donnel, the leading scorer off last year's Hastings club which was a Class A tourney semifinalist, scored the Tigers' first eight points and never let up.

"I had to take him out though," Smith "He was getting a charley horse in his calf. When he left, we fell apart against their press. We were breaking it, but losing the ball after we got it across the time line." Incorporating the full-court, man-to-man press, the Links sliced a 44-28 third quarter deficit in a 52-45 disadvantage with 1:31 remaining when Henderson hit the third of three straight fielders. But Thomas quickly dissolved any notions of a mini-miracle with two straight game-ending baskets. HASTINGS (58) LINCOLN HIGH (49) 0-1 Knoll'berg 5 Adkins 1 1 7 11 2 Schomaker 3 Stlckels O'Donnel Thomas Hemie Johnson Lippstreo 9-9 23 4-7 1-3 5 0-0 2 0-0 0 Wade 1-1 11 1-1 3 1-3 7 i 0-0 0 04 0-0 10 0-0 0-0 I 0-0 0 Harris Folsom Henderson Hudson Wolfe West'bers 4 By RANDY YORK Question: When was the last time a Lincoln High basketball team scored only 13 points in one half? Answer: Friday night against Hastings in a 58-49 defeat.

That's right, the slow-starting Links managed only 13 points in the first half against the Tigers, who are expected by many to be one of the top Class A teams in the state. "We just couldn't put the ball through the hoop. We didn't hit from outside, we didn't hit from inside; in fact, we didn't hit a layup with no one guarding us," Lincoln High coach Alden Johnson said as he surveyed the shot charts after the game. Cold the Links were. They were successful on only 17 per cent of their first half field goal attempts (6-34).

But they regrouped in the second half, shot 51 per cent (17-33) and made their season's first game a respectable one. Losing, however, can have its therapeutic value. Johnson indicated that he may have three different starters in his Saturday night lineup at Omaha Westside. Senior guard Mike Wolfe, senior forward Ralph Henderson and sophomore forward Bob Folsom came off the bench to supply 26 of the Links' 36 second half points. They helped slice a 20-point halfUme deficit, which read 33-13.

"It's unbelievable," Johnson said. "We were lousy on boards tonight. We should be able to rebound against most teams, but we were checked off. I was disappointed with our fast break. We threw the ball away too many times." Hastings coach Jim Smith was somewhat disappointed too.

He thought that his team didn't achieve the right scoring balance. But, actually, two of his players combined to match the Links' output. Towering Paul Thomas, 6-8 center, contributed 26 points and Jeff O'Donnel, 6-0 guard, added 23. "Thomas and O'Donnel have Totals 22 14-20 SI Hastinqs Totals 17 14 23 3-4 49 11 14-58 a 15 21 4 Lincoln High Total fojls Hastings 6, Lincoln High 13. Fouled out Adkins.

Bruins Maul Baylor hi Season's Opener iJi iiil 'jr. a ft. College Football Closing By Associated Press Rarely has there been a must game like the one facing Louisiana State Saturday night. Having done their planning for Manning, the Bayou Tigers play hit or Ole Miss with the Southeastern Conference championship and a berth in the Orange Bowl at stake for them. Mississippi at LSU one of six games four of hem at night as college football's regular season draws to a close.

The other arclight contests are ninth-ranked Arizona State at Arizona, Houston at Miami, Fla, and North Texas State at Tulsa. The most important man in Baton Rouge tonight could be the official who rules on the protective device covering Archie Manning's broken left arm. Mississippi's star quarterback suffered the break just above the wrist in a game Nov. 7 and hasn't played since. Thursday, doctors put a covering of flexible polyester resin on his arm a plastic material similar to shoe leather.

However, college football rules prohibit such equipment as "sole leather or other hard or unyielding substance on the hand, wrist, forearm or elbow of any player, no matter how covered or padded." "We have seen Manning pull off some miracles before," says coach Charlie McClendon of eighth-ranked LSU, "so we know what this young man Is capable of doing. We must do a better job of taking advantage of our opponents' mistakes than we did against Tulane. Our offense must play its best game of the year and our defense must avoid breakdowns at critical times." LSU ranks eighth nationally in over-all defense and is tops against the rush. On the other hand, Mannings has riddled the Tigers for 555 yards the last two years. In 1968, he completed 24 of the 40 passes for 345 yards and two touchdowns, including the winner with 55 seconds left.

Last year, he threw for three TDs and a two-point conversion and scored once himself. Tonight's winner' is the SEC champion and LSU additionally would go to the Orange Bowl. A victory for Ole Miss the 16th-ranked Rebels already are In the Gator Bowl would open the way for the Texas-Arkansas loser to face Nebraska in Miami. Elsewhere, Tennessee's pass-grabbing defense, which has picked off 35 enemy aerials this season, needs three more against UCLA to set an NCAA record. Arizona State, headed for the Peach Bowl, hopes to continue unbeaten against Arizona.

"After what happened the past few weeks to bowl-bound teams, I hope our kids are aware of the pitfalls of looking ahead and getting the big head," says coach Frank Kush. "You all saw what happened to Notre Dame and the Air Force." Houston's game at Miami will mark the venture onto Polyturf for the Cougars, who play their home games on Astroturf. North Texas State, 3-7, has never lost more than seven games in a season, a distinction the Eagles hope, to continue against Tulsa. Weightlifter Tops Record Moscow Russian weightlifter Vasily Alexeyev broke the world record in the second heavyweight division Friday by snatching 389.4 pounds, the Soviet news agency Tass reported. AlexeyeV's feat bettered by 1.1 pounds the former record held by Finland's Kalevi Lahdenrante.

Lincoln High's Ralph Henderson tries a shot, but Hastings' Paul Thomas (41) and Del Hemje (43) are there to block it. "Hicks played a fine outside game tonight," said Wooden, "but I was most pleased with the play of the reserves." Capifornia shot a scorching 67.6 per cent from the field in the first half to roll up a 16-point first-half lead. Charley Johnson scored 23 points for the winners. Rick Duplantis had 16 points for Texas as the Aggies notched the 100th career victory for coach Shelby Metcalf Cyril Baptiste scored 36 for Creighton and Rich Yunkus led the Georgia Tech scoring with 40. Ronnie Nunn and Ken Battle triggered a later rally to pull out the victory for George Washington and Larry Finch poked in 25, powering the Memphis State success.

Brigham Young opened its season with a 70-62 triumph over Stanford. In other games Washington shaded Seattle 87-85, Wyoming edged Denver 82-76, Oregon whipped Texas Tech 96-81, Oregon State humbled Oklahoma State 69-63, New Mexico overcame Butler 94-86, Boston College squeezed past Fairfield 59-56 and Long Beach State routed Texas Arlington 102-57. Time Out! By Associated Press U-C-L-A put it all together, it spells The No. 1-ranked Bruins, putting it all together again this year, opened defense of their national college basketball championship with an easy 108 77 victory over Baylor Friday night. Talent-blessed UCLA, tracking its fifth straight NCAA crown with most of last year's cast back, trampled the Bears with a racehorse offense led by ringleader Sidney Wicks.

"This is a better team than UCLA had in 1962, and that team had Gail Goodrich and Walt Hazzard," said Baylor coach Hugh Menefee. "This team has good outside shooting by the forwards and they are commanding under the boards." UCLA coach John Wooden wasn't playing the role of surefire winner. "I just hope we can get over the jitters in the big games as we did tonight," said Wooden, who has molded six national champs in the last seven years. California topped Arizona 87-79; Texas toppled East Texas State 67-61; Creighton lashed Iowa 98-73; Georgia Tech ripped Georgia 97-88; George Washington nipped East Carolina 80-79; Memphis State outscored South Dakota 113-98 and Miami of Florida held off Lehigh 74-67 in other games. The 6-foot-8 Wicks, 6-9 Steve Patterson and 6-7 Curtis Rowe were too much of a front line for smaller Baylor to handle.

Wicks had 20 pints and Patterson and Rowe each had 17. Little Henry Bibby another regular from the championship All event frte unleM followed'-by ail Urn a.n. ualtw bold faced for p.m. Saturday Plainsmen Cairl Capitalize on 31 Tiger Turnovers Hastings Hammers Wesleyan By STEVE GUSS help from Chuck Fintel put the stoppers on NWU from the Hastings Can a basketball team commit 31 turnovers outside, and still win by 20 pooints? Wesleyan produced its poorest overall offensive effort Well, it's not easy but when the loser refuses to cash a three-game set in Iowa late in December in on the give-aways, you take what you can get. last season.

wkof tua For the second consecutive night, 6-4 forward John Brown Inte 1 date ciSfS tS nly PlainSman wh ew where the hooP was' intercollegiate Atnietic tonierence Dasketnau tournament 32 24 ft in the second half as he here Friday night was only half (tor money's worth. vainly tried to keep his team in the game single-handedly Defending champion Doane started the evening in with a little over 10 minutes left in the contest, guard predictable style, out-gunning Concordia, 101-89, before Rjck Boals scored a field goal which pushed NWU to Hastings struggled past Nebraska Wesleyan, 84-64, in a wjmm three points, 54-51. mistake-filled windup. Brown then ta'Ili8d next points and the Plainsmen Midland and Dana will meet Saturday at 5 p.m. for fifth trailed by two, 64-62, with 5:23 to play.

Hastings then place, Nebraska Wesleyan tangles with Concordia at 6:45 dumped in 20 points in a row before Wesleyan's Dan for third place and Hastings faces Doane for the champion- McCauley hit a meaningless fielder with 20 seconds left ship at 8:30. jn the game. The Doane-Concordia tussle was the only real game "We're just not playing real well. We've got to develop of the night as 6-8 Tiger forward Al Gissler hit 12 of his first more poise and finesse, not just throw the ball up and 14 field goal attempts and 30 points in the opening half to down the court. We've been plugging around here since keep the scrappy Bulldogs at bay.

Oct. 15, the balls weren't rolled out for the first time Doane pulled ahead to stay early at 64 as the taller yesterday," Farrell said sadly. Tigers scored at will inside against Concordia. The winners "Wesleyan wasn't pressing us, the mistakes were our had a 56-43 halftone edge, and only accurate free throw own doing." We're just not communicating out there," he shooting in the final 20 minutes kept the Bulldogs in the added, contest. Concordia hit 16 straight charity tosses'in the second (44 rf half, inching close at 76 68 with 10:30 left, 78-71, with 8:41 Buntmeyer" o.j o-o i rST" remaining and 89-83 with 3:06 showing on the clock, but Doane i1 H.

Saturday withstood the rallies each time. Tiger coach Bob Erickson was impressed with six of ESS. 102 i of 7 Aut0 his players in double scoring figures and with the shooting SI I i3 7f mg' g' m' Of Concordia. Beecham 1-4 0-2 7. 4 Gissler led all point-producers with 33, getting only three hasVings imi "b'Sf fj p.m.

(7). in the last half. "He probably was getting tired and we didn't 'nn9. ft- coflege Football Mississippi get the ball to him enough," noted Erickson, who also said HiBgin 0-00-0200 v. LSU.

8:30 p.m. (7). he had wanted to spell the Osceola senior with 6-8 Rogilio jSSSS Jli 1 13 Douglas. storius 34 01 4 The Hastings-NWU game was almost too unreal for 2-5 7 12 Sumlav woras. Yost 1- o-o 2 0 2 There were 53 turnovers in the tilt, with the Broncos nw)' College Football 1970 1 p.m.

leading, 31-32. It was the type of ragged game you'd see Hastinos uwu V- between the varsity and alumni before the season opened. doane 001 concordia wy Pro Football Oakland v. New Both teams took turns throwing the ball away most of Epqer 5 1-1 11 soir-der Gs 10 York Jets. Noon (3).

the night until Hastings spurted into offensive form in the 7 rmSo It pro FooU)a11 st v- final 10 minutes to pull it out. Gissler i 33 stvader 2-3 12 Detroit, Noon, followed by Atlan- The game was tied six times in the first half before fcVtk ta v. San Francisco. 3 p.m. (6-10).

Hastinps took a 28-27 lead and remained in front, 34-30, at J-o gahik 1 4 Pro Football Denver v. team, hit 15. Baylor's Bill Chatmon was the game's high scorer with 21. "Offside penalty! He made contact." Wyoming Boss Out? Laramie, Wyo. Cf) Rumors buzzed on the Wyoming campus Saturday concerning the future of football coach Lloyd Eaton after the Cowboy's dismal 1-9 season.

University trustees spent all of Friday in a closed-door session with no announcement as to why. Strongest rumor was that Eaton was on his way out as head football coach and that defensive line coach Fritz Shurmur was on his way in. Eaton has coached Wyoming for nine seasons, compiling a record of 57-33-2. The past season was the first losing season he has had in more than two decades of coaching. Local College Basketball Iowa at Nebraska, NU Coliseum, 7:35.

(KLIN-KFOR-KFAB). State College Basketball NIAC Tournament at Hastings, Midland vs. Dana, Nebraska Wesleyan vs. Concordia, Hastings vs. Doane, Morningside at Omaha; Augustana at Kearney; John F.

Kennedy at Hiram Scott; Fairbury JC at Platte JC; McCook JC at York JC; Nebraska Western JC at Northeastern JC. Prep Basketball Lincoln High at Omaha Westside; Northeast at Kearney. Prep Wrestling Lincoln High, East at Kearney Invitational: Southeast, Northeast at Omaha North Invitational. Regional College Wrestling Nebraska at Iowa State Invitational. College Swimming Nebraska at Big Eight Relays in Kansas.

Sunday State Hotkey Amarillo at Omaha, Burglar Has Soft Heart Minneapolis-St. Paul The burglar who swiped personal effects of National Hockey League linesman Neil Armstrong apparently had little1 use for Uiem or underwent a change of heart. An envelope containing Armstrong's diamond ring and NHL watch was found by a door at the offices of the Minnesota North Stars Friday. Armstrong was officiating a North Stars' game Wednesday when the officials' locker room was burglarized. the halftime buzzer.

0 tS I Kansas City, 12:55 p.m., (KLIN). Bronco guard Jim While left the game sporting three oV Bowling -Noon (7). fouls with 2:55 to play and did not return until after in- CT'fouiboanV i7 concSdi1' Creighton Basketball Highlights termission. He promptly scored all of his 18 points, and with fouih out-None 1105 p.m. (7).

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