Messenger-Inquirer from Owensboro, Kentucky • 18

8B MESSENGER INQUIRER. Oweroboro, Apr. 23, 1979 Indianapolis racing isn't selling in South; analysis By JERRY GARRETT Associoted Pf MARTINSVILLE, Va. Despite light drizzle little more than an hour before the race, a record crowd of 35,500 jammed in around Martinsville Speedway's tiny oval for Sunday's Virginia 500 Grand National stock car race. Meanwhile, 350 miles away at Atlanta International Raceway, the crowd for twin 125-mile Indianapolis car races there was almost non-existent.

"We had less than 10,000 people," mourned Bobby Batson, a raceway vice president. That seems to say something about the lack of commercial appeal of Indianapolis car racing outside of its traditional strongholds in the Midwest and Northeast. Just a month earlier, a record crowd of more than 65,000 stormed Atlanta International for the Atlanta 500 Grand National stock car race. It's interesting to note a Sportsman-Modified stock car doubleheader the same day in Martinsville drew a healthy 26,000. So it seems there is no shortage of auto racing, or at least stock car racing, fans in the two areas.

The appeal for Indianapolis car racing, or at least non-stock car racing, events in the Atlanta area appears to be in trouble for a variety of reasons. Batson offered one: "Obviously the split of CART from USAC affected our crowd somewhat. Who can say how much? But the USAC fans were definitely not here." Last summer the first Indy car race at the track in 12 years attracted a modest under a USAC sanction. Another reason may be the inundation of the Atlanta market with auto racing. A month ago was the Atlanta 500, two weeks ago there was a Winston GT sports car race at Road Atlanta, and two weeks hence the same track has the season opener for the Can-Am sports car series.

The same day 100 miles away at Talladega, is the Winston 500, which may draw a crowd in excess of 100,000. There also was a six-hour endurance race at Tal ladega three weeks ago. "That's a lot of auto racing in that area in that short a space of time," commented Dick Thompson; Martinsville's press officer. "Auto racing isn't cheap. The average auto racing fan doesn't make the kind of money where he can buy $25 seats for races every weekend." And of course there is the undeniable appeal stock car racing in the crescent from Texas up; through the South to Pennsylvania.

Racing fans in this area are very knowledgeableZ They like to be entertained by wheel to wheel racing and photo finishes. With the incredible level of competition that almost all NASCAR-sanctioned stock car racing, and Grand National in particular, is eni joying this year, it's not surprising they are break; ing all attendance records for the third year in row. Unfortunately, Indianapolis and sports car races' are seldom as close as stock car races, even at the same tracks. The fans don't fail to notice. -N There have been four Indianapolis car races so.

far this season, two for CART, two for USAC. The two CART races have been down in attendance from the comparable USAC dates last seasoil Phoenix down just slightly from a record and Atlanta down nearly 50 per cent. The USAC races at Ontario, Calif, and College Station, Texas, had meager crowds, but comparable to the same races a year ago. "It appears we have a big job ahead educating our market area about Indianapolis cars," Batson noted. "We are going ahead, however, with plans; for our next CART race in September." AP O'Brien: NBA isn't 'dying sport' Asaociored Press ALBANY, N.Y.

"This is not a dying sport," Commissioner Larry O'Brien said of the National Basketball Association but he conceded there is trouble in three key cities. O'Brien told Associated Press sports editors from New England and upstate New York that declining television ratings pose a problem for the league, especially because teams in New York, Chicago, and Boston prime media centers were weak last season. O'Brien also speculated that the sport may be oversaturated on television because cable TV makes 200 to 250 games available to some viewers each season. Nevertheless, O'Brien predicted "worldwide international competition" for the NBA five years after the next round of expansion in 1980-81, when two unspecified American cities will be added. He also reported that officials of the New Orleans Jazz franchise are talking about moving the team to Salt Lake City.

O'Brien told the annual meeting of the regional sports editors that the NBA "needs winning teams in strategic Nielson (ratings) cities, New York, Chicago, and Boston." But he insisted the league will not take special steps to help improve those franchises, adding that a comeback by the Knicks, Bulls, and Celtics will come about because of sound local management. O'Brien did say, however, that the future of the Boston Celtics once the NBA's dominant team depends in part on improvements at Boston Garden or a move to a new facility. The Celtics had to ask the league to move the site of the 1980 NBA All-Star Game because of obstructed views from many seats and the generally poor physical plant. Celtics owner Harry Mangurian is investigating building a basketball arena outside Boston with private capital, while the owners of the Boston Garden the corporation that owns the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League is considering a multimillion-dollar renovation of the 15-year-old facility. "I don't understand what's going on up there.

The arena (Boston Garden) is not up to par and something has got to be done," O'Brien said. In general, however, the commissioner said that the NBA "has lived up to its billings as the sport of the 1970s but not in media centers." Conceding that NBA television ratings have declined, he said, however, that the league is competitive, color-blind, and violence-free. "The league," said O'Brien, completing his fourth season on the job, "is in its most stable financial condition in its 33-year history." Making the save was in the nets Tuesday won, 8-3, to win the best- New York Ranger goalie John Davidson stops a scoring attempt Davidson shut out the Flyers Sunday and by Philadelphia's Dennis Ververgaert during their National night and stopped 25 shots as the Rangers Hockey League quarterfinal playoff game in New York Sunday, of-seven series. Results on page J-B. Umpires take their case to national television City players were considering not crossing the picket line.

"It would have been a great story and I was out there trying to get information," he said. "I wasn't sure what I was going to do." Kubek said he was told by his attorney, Joe Garagiola that he might be in breach of his NBC contract if he didn't do Saturday's broadcast. He said in the back of his mind was the image of his father, a professional ballplayer who raised nine children and could not afford to play pro ball, working instead in a tannery. "It was a difficult thing for me," Kubek said. It became more difficult when an NBC executive confronted pushing the umpires' situation.

He said if they had to, they'd make phone calls to NBC management people." Fishel was not available for comment, but the top NBC Sports executives say they haven't heard from him. Tom Villante, executive director of marketing and broadcasting for baseball, said no pressure has been exerted on NBC. "It's their shot. They can treat it as pure baseball, or as a news thing. We have no say.

All we care about is getting equal time," Villante said. Tony Kubek, NBC's highly regarded baseball commentator, said that some of the NBC brass Kubek. "He told me I was making a spectacle of myself, that 4 should go inside or back to the hotel. "I had no intention of staying out completely but that made me stubborn and I probably stayed out longer than they wanted me to." Finally, Kubek crossed the picket line because the umpires told him to go inside. .1 Garagiola, like Kubek a member of the American Federation of Radio and Television Art ists (AFTRA), said it was an informational picket line.

"In the case of a real strike, I'll abide by whatever AFTRA says." casts. And NBC, fearing problems, did not bring a camera outside the stadium as it had done during the two previous weeks to inter-view the picketing umpires, shooting instead from the roof of Fenway Park. Finkel said the camera was placed on the roof because "you don't know the reaction of the cameramen. You just don't know what they might do around the picket line. If we can cover it as welL inside as outside, why should we create problems for ourselves?" Kubek, however, was outside the ballpark because he had heard that some of the Kansas had considered the umpires' story a dead issue last week.

George Finkel, producer of Saturday's national TV game in Boston between the Red Sox and Kansas City, said that the umpires' situation had quieted down last week and, anyway, it wasn't the only story in baseball. "But it's dead wrong to suggest that anybody was trying to squash the story," Finkel said. There was, however, a possibility that picketing in Boston could impair the NBC broadcast. Kubek and Bryant Gumbel, the pre-game host, considered not crossing the picket line, which would have left play-by-play announcer Joe Garagiola alone on the broad American League President Lee MacPhail, wants more baseball and less umpires on the pre-game show. Fishel was the management spokesman on NBC's first show when MacPhail and National League President Chub Feeney were unavailable.

According to Fishel's assistant, Phyllis Merhige, Fishel was unhappy with that interview, contending that he was surprised that NBC talked to the picketing umpires as well as Phillips, leaving baseball less time to present its view. Fishel made a call to David Stern, producer of the show. "He told me the pre-game show wasn't a news show," Stern said. "He wanted to know why we kept By FRED ROTHENBERG Associated Press If the print press is powerful, television is titanic. So it's no surprise that the picketing umpires have brought their signs to all three national television games this season and that at least one baseball official allegedly attempted to tamper with NBC's coverage of the umpires' dispute.

"We always picket the national television game," said Richie Phillips, negotiator for the major league umpires who haven't worked this season because of a salary dispute. "We have one game to reach 25 million people, to create attention and we'll use that avenue whenever we can." NBC has devoted nearly its entire 15-minute pre-game show to the umpires' dispute in all three Saturday telecasts. Phillips says the NBC coverage has been fair, "especially when you consider that they are selling major league baseball to their sponsors." But Bob Fishel. assistant to Sale prices end April 28th Sears Sale price end April 28th Guardsman our lowest priced 4-ply polyester cord tire Now at Skillman's Auto Sales IU MAZDA Roadhandler radial tires GLCJW Guardsman Sara 4-ply price plus and old tire blackwall F.E.T. A78-13 19.00 1.62 B78-13 22.00 1.73 C78-14 29.00 1.88 E78-14 29.00 2.10 F78-14 30.00 2.22 G78-14 33.00 2.38 560-15 24.00 1.68 G78-15 33.00 2.44 H78-15 35.00 I 2.66 nun.nnHi.rv 30 CITY y' -J -nu if ij 7 ll v' STEEL BELT It iif '0 rmi1jl 1 1 "fif JgB, AD1AL BODY PLV I WlSttfc -rlll KADIAL BODY PLY jl I rPll I i I Sears I Regular I Sale I Road Handler price price plus and old tire whitewall whitewall F.E.T.

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