The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 30

SPORTS San Diego County Monday, October 27, 1980 CCfPart III Chargers Play Giveaway Turnovers Help Cowboys Come Back for 42-31 Win By DAVE DISTEL, Times Staff Writer Danny White (above) is tackled by Wilbur Young and fumbles ball, which was recovered by Cowboys in second-quarter of game Associated Pren against Chargers. Below, Chargers' Hal Stringert tumbles over Butch Johnson after Dallas receiver caught a pass from White. IRVING, Chargers, playing giveaway through a nightmarish second half, were handed a 42-31 defeat by the Dallas Cowboys Sunday night. Six second-half possessions by San Diego were ended by turnovers three fumbles and three interceptionsas the Chargers blew a 24-14 halftime lead. What they also blew was first place, at least sole possession thereof, in the AFC West.

Their record is now 5-3 and they are tied with Oakland. Dallas, meanwhile, improved its record to 6-2 and remained one game behind Philadelphia in the NFC East. This was a new cast of characters for the Cowboys. Roger Staubach, of course, has retired. And Tony Dorsett was out with bruised ribs.

In their stead, Danny White did the passing and folks like Ron Springs, Tim Newsome and James Jones did the running. Muncie, Winslow Fumble But the story was written in the second half when the Chargers had the ball. They treated it like hepatitis. They seemed in a hurry to get rid of it. Chuck Muncie fumbled twice and Kellen Winslow once.

And then Dan Fouts threw three interceptions. Trailing by 10 at the half, Dallas scored 28 consecutive points to mount a 42-24 lead before the Chargers finally scored once again on a Fouts -to -Winslow pass. It was anticipated that this was going to be a high -scoring game, and the 60,639 fans and a national television audience were not disappointed. Most of the fans were gone by the time it was over, and surely more than a few television sets switched to different channels. Dallas ran its usual razzle-dazzle assortment of plays, White twice running from punt formation for first downs, Billy Joe Dupree and Tony Hill running reversals and White connecting with Preston Pearson on a shovel pass.

The Char- gers tried some razzle-dazzle of their own a halfback pass from Muncie to Clarence Williams and Charlie Waters held Williams to keep it from going for a touchdown. Number of Funny Bounces And there were funny bounces that turned routine plays into raz-zle-dazzlers. The Chargers' John Jefferson scored on a 58-yard pass play when the ball bounced off the helmet of cornerback Steve Wilson. Dallas guard Rafferty gained six yards when a fumble popped into his hands. And Cowboy tight end Jay Saldi gained eight and set up a touchdown when a fumbled snap bounced in his direction.

This was really two different football games, al thought the undercurrent of the unpredictable ran throughout. The Chargers rolled through the first half with that 10-point lead and 284 yards in total offense, Fouts passing for 240 yards. In the second half, nothing went right for the Chargers, and Dallas-given considerable help it did not appear to greatly need turned the game around. Dallas gained first downs on its first and four offensive plays of the second half, mixing White's passing and Springs' running. The first play that did not get a first down was from the Charger 10, when Saldi picked up White's bobble and ran it to the 2.

Springs gained one and Newsome went the final yard through the middle. 'Most Significant Drive' "That was the most significant drive of the game," Cowboy Coach Tom Landry said. "That was the drive that got us moving." The Chargers went nowhere on their first drive, and that proved to be good fortune for them. They dispensed of the ball with a punt. The next six possessions were ended by turnovers.

Dallas followed that punt with a 60-yard scoring drive, the biggest play a broken play, as should have See CHARGERS, Page 7 A mm) tea ccr cSL AS irw i Spurs Hand the Lakers Their First Home Loss Gervin Company Look Like Heavyweight Contenders This Time Around, 108-102 By SCOTT OSTLER, Times Staff Writer ft Jk I yrmm miitr Lose, 13-10 Sunday night was one of those nights when the things that usually come easy for the Lakers didn't. Even the Forum's national anthem singer for the evening, actor Wings Houser, forgot the words. And then, in a matchup of the two hottest teams in the world of basketball, the San Antonio Spurs beat the Lakers, 108-102, a development that will be noted throughout the league. The Lakers, who trailed by 15 points early in the third quarter, closed to two points, 104-102, with 1:05 left on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 14th point of the fourth quarter. But the Spurs found Paul Griffin open underneath for a layup with 24 seconds left and James Silas converted two free throws with 16 seconds left.

It was an exciting game, but it was more than that. It was a sort of coming-out party for the league's newest monster team, a team that has shown early -season potential of moving into a class with Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Phoenix. The Spurs, once one of the most entertaining mediocre teams in the league, seem to be for real. Their 8-1 record is the best in the league, and their win here was the first ever for the Spurs, after seven losses. Simmer Gets and Grahame the Wrong kowski and wide receiver Alfred Jackson won the game against improbable odds when they covered 81 yards on two pass plays after facing third down and 38 yards to go against one of pro football's famous defenses.

A third-down pass over the middle made 27 yards. Then, on fourth-and-11, with the primary receiver covered in first-down territory, Bartkowski went for it all and got it when Jackson outran All-Pro cor-nerback Pat Thomas, caught a pass that traveled almost 60 yards at the Ram six-yard line and took it in for a 54 -yard touchdown with 1:15 remaining in the game. Bartkowski, the born-again quarterback who finally beat the Rams on his fifth try, said the winning pass "was kind of a prayer but I live by prayer." Jackson, a third- Spurs Coach Stan Albeck, who kept charts as a Laker assistant under Jerry West for three years before becoming a head coach last year (at Cleveland), has done a job with the Spurs that has everyone talking, including the Spurs. "I'm very proud of us," said Spurs guard George Gervin, the only San Antonio player who could cash a check without ID outside of San Antonio. "We've got a new coach, a new system.

It seems to be working out j-u-u-u-st fine, and I love it. We're playing like we know how to win. "I've got to admit, Stan Albeck is the guy doing the job. He came out and told us what he wants to play hard, give 100 every game. And it works, so we got to do what the coach says." Lakers Go 3 for 14 Can San Antonio now play with the league's powerhouse teams? "Are you kiddin'?" Gervin said.

"Heck yeah." They proved that Sunday. Granted, the Lakers were playing their third game in three nights, but check out this second quarter: The Spurs scored the first 11 points. They held the Lakers to three field goals on 3-for-14 shooting. They had 10 assists to the See LAKERS, Page 10 the Kings a Tie Saves It, 4-4 the game on a slapshot by Pat Price from outside the Kings' blue line, 65 feet from the net. The Oilers made it 2-0 five minutes later on a goal by Matti Hagman.

The Kings, meanwhile, were being outshot, 18-4, in what was easily their worst 20 minutes of the season. By the end of the game, however, both goalie and team had to come to terms with the setting. The Kings, on two goals by Charlie Simmer, the NHL's leading scorer, fought back for a 4-4 tie, made possible by Gra-hame's 36 saves. See KINGS, Page 10 Rams Make By TED GREEN, Times Staff Writer ATLANTA The Rams played at least well enough to win here Sunday. But the coaches seemingly made at least two regrettable decisions and the Rams (or the officials or both) botched a timeout call in the chaotic last 30 seconds.

Result: a 13-10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in a defensive football game with a wild and crazy finish, an exciting finish which ultimately cost the Rams both their five-game winning streak and undisputed first place in the NFC West. They now share the lead with the Falcons, also 5-3, halfway through the Rozelle marathon, also known as the NFL season. Sunday's game, played on a perfect fall day in a city suddenly recaptivated by the Falcons, featured three critical sequences. They were: (1) The Bomb and the Decision That Bombed; (2) To Accept or Decline, That Was No Question at All; (3) Doesn't Anyone Around Here Know How to Call (or Who Is Calling) Time Out? First, the Bomb and the Decision That Bombed: Atlanta quarterback Steve Bart- Pro Football Dallas 42, San Diego 31 Atlanta 13, Los Angeles 10 Denver 14, NY Giants 9 Green Bay 16, Minnesota 3 Philadelphia 17, Chicago 14 Buffalo 31, New England 13 Washington 22, New Orleans 14 Cleveland 27, Pittsburgh 26 St. Louis 17, Baltimore 10 Kansas City 20, Detroit 17 Houston 23, Cincinnati 3 Oakland 33, Seattle 14 Tampa Bay 24, San Francisco 23 Moves and year man from Texas and Atlanta's No.

3 wide receiver, said he "didn't put any move on Thomas at all but just got to the seam and kept running." Thomas, truly one of the NFL's top cornerbacks, said: "It was a bad play on my part. Our corners are supposed to stop plays like that." A Dozen Sacks Those three were ultimately and overtly the main characters in a tough, even game dominated mostly by defensive linemen and blitzing linebackers who sacked each quarterback sue times. But behind the scenes there was more to it than a great or lucky or blown play. Bud Carson, the Rams' defensive coordinator and secondary coach, decided to switch to a 3-4 defense on third-and-38, despite the fact If ever the Browns were going to beat the Steelers, this was the time. The Steelers limped into Cleveland with a two-game losing string and an injury list stretching halfway to Pittsburgh.

The win was the Browns' first over Pittsburgh since 1976 and left them tied with Houston for first place in the AFC Central Division. The Browns and Oilers are 5-3, the Steelers 4-4. "I'm terribly relieved," Sipe said "It's been so long since we've beaten these guys. It's nice to know it can be done." See BROWNS, Page 8 the Rams had sacked Bartkowksi on first and second downs for losses of 8 and 15 yards when playing their usual 4-3 defense and blitzing with linebackers as well. The idea was to give up a pass rush in order to get better pass coverage downfield.

Instead, Bartkowski had more than enough time to throw long and the Rams got burned. Carson, who has come up with novel, even brilliant defensive game plans in his three years as one of Ray Malavasi's most important assistant coaches, openly second-guessed himself afterward. Even so, Carson did have probably his best one-on-one defender, Thomas, guarding against the Hail Mary pass that rarely beats pro teams in that situation. See RAMS, Page 6 Ex-Champ Galindez Hit and Killed by Careening Race Car BUENOS AIRES (UPI) -Victor Galindez, the World Boxing Assn. light-heavyweight champion between 1974 and 1979, was killed Sunday by a race car that spun out of control and crashed into him as he was leaving his disabled vehicle.

Galindez and his co-pilot in the auto race, Nito Lizeviche, both were killed in the accident, officials said. Galindez, 31, retired from boxing earlier this year after successive knockout losses to Marvin Johnson and Jesse Burnett and then developed an interest in race driving. Galindez was the co-pilot and navigator for Lizeviche, an exper-See GALINDEZ, Page 10 Sipe Hits 26 of 48 Passes and Browns Beat Steelers By GORDON EDES, Times Staff Writer From Times Wire Services CLEVELAND-The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns. The Blue Collar Bowl. A slug-it-out-in-the-trenches type of game.

At least that's what it's supposed to be. But Sunday Cleveland quarterback Brian Sipe, not to mention Pittsburgh's Cliff Stoudt, in his first-ever NFL start, changed all that. Sipe completed a club record 28 of 46 passes for 349 yards and four touchdowns, Stoudt 18 of 37 for 310 yards but no touchdowns in the game which Cleveland finally won, 27-26, by scoring twice in the fourth quarter. EDMONTON, Canada-The Kings and goalie Ron Grahame both had to make adjustments Sunday night. The Kings, after playing and winning their last four games at home, had to get accustomed to the idea of playing on the road again.

All it took was to land here and find two inches of snow on the ground to realize they were far from the Forum. Grahame, after sitting out the last 10 days, had to get reacquainted with playing again. It wasn't easy, for either him or the Kings. Edmonton scored 77 seconds into.