The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • 23

AuruM 3, 19R7 TIIF. ATLANTA CONSTITITION Shepherd I 11 iw Beats oise and rain tit ill p-v Three of Tech's football players leave program By Tom Whitfield Staff Writer PINEHURST, N.C. Three more members of Georgia Tech's freshman recruiting class of 1986 have left school without ever playing in a game, coach Bobby Ross confirmed Sunday. The departure of defensive tackle Richy Popkin, free safety Kevin Burley and tailback Doby Rogers brings to six the number of '86 signees who have left Tech this summer. Earlier, offensive tackle Spencer Slocumb and wide receiver Felton Tucker announced plans to transfer.

Tailback Gene West was dismissed from the squad for failure to attend class. All were redshirted last year as freshmen. None were projected to receive extensive playing time this fall. With the exception of Popkin, academics played a part in all the departures. According to Ross, all except Rogers might have stayed eligible.

"Sometimes a youngster doesn't know if he's going to play at this level of ball," said Ross, who is in Pine-hurst for the ACC's annual preseason football meetings. "In each of those cases (with the exception of Popkin), it was a little bit of an uphill battle academically." Popkin, a 6-4, 230-pounder from Warner Robins High School, was unavailable for comment, but his mother said she is "pretty sure" he will transfer to Georgia Southern. He will have to sit out a year to become eligible. "I think he thought he had a little better chance of competing at Georgia Southern," said Ross. Burley, a 6-3, 189-pounder from West Rome High School, said Sunday he will transfer to Tennessee-Chattanooga, where he also must sit out a season.

Asked if his transfer was academic- or football-related, he said, "A little of both, basically." He said the coaching change from Bill Curry to Ross played a large part in his decision. "That's mostly what it is," he said. "Not the head coaching change, just having a different position coach (Chuck Priefer instead of Andy Christoff). It's a change of philosophy." Said Ross, "I think Kevin saw himself on the fourth team and wanted to go where he had a chance to play a little bit sooner." Rogers, a 5-11, 175-pounder from Duluth High School who is the cousin of Washington Redskins running back George Rogers, was unavailable for comment. Sources at Tech say he may be through with football.

Illilill TA in i i Hm NICK ARROYOStaft Morgan Shepherd celebrates in the rain after winning the Amoco 300 Sunday at Road Atlanta. Amoco ends in downpour as late charge wins title Results, Page 8-C Amoco 300 notebook, Page 10-C By Bill Robinson Staff Writer BRASELTON, Ga. Morgan Shepherd overtook Patty Moise in the final laps Sunday to win the second annual $99,700 Amoco 300 at Road Atlanta. Shepherd, from Conover, N.C., drove his Buick from the 30th position in a 33-car field to win the NASCAR Grand National race the only road race on the GN series. Shepherd passed Moise on the 69th of 74 laps.

He rode hard down the steep hill under the Nissan Bridge approaching Turn 12 and the start-finish line. He then pulled alongside Moise's Buick, and the two drove door-to-door into Turn 1, with Shepherd nudging his car into the lead as the two climbed the hill toward Turn 2. "I knew I had to pass her right then and there," Shepherd said, "because I saw the rains comin. It was causin' folks to spin out all around the course, so I knew it was now or never." The rains came a lap later, bringing out the yellow caution flag, and the race ended in a downpour with Shepherd leading a slow parade of cars traveling 20 mph behind the pace car. When Shepherd passed Moise it marked only the second time that the Winston Cup driver had led the 300-kilometer (186 miles) race.

He then held off the challenges of L.D. Ottinger and Larry Pearson to win his first race since April 11, a Grand National event at Bristol, Tenn. "If I could just get on the inside of her car coming off that hill I knew I could win," Shepherd said. "That is if my fuel pressue held up. I had trouble with the fuel pressure all day.

But I knew ol' Thunder was the quickest car out there." Moise, 26, from Jacksonville, and NASCAR's won every race but one I've driven it in. Won three times at Bristol, once at Dover oh, a bunch of times on the Grand National circuit. I've won close to 300 races over the years, and this is the most faithful car I've ever driven. "I knew that if we could just get it to goin', and the fuel pressure held up, well, I knew I could win." Yet, the victory here was Shepherd's first ever at the 2.52-mile, 12-turn course that he calls "a blind track. You can't see a thing on most of the turns, but NASCAR and the SCCA people keep you informed on the radio that's what keeps it safe." Shepherd made his first Road Atlanta attempt in 1986, but couldn't get his racer ready, and returned home.

"I was beginnin' to believe that Road Atlanta didn't like me or somethin'," he said, "because I come back here this year and we couldn't even qualify again. Kept havin' oil pan trouble, blowin' oil through the breather. But here today, long as I kept it pretty much full of gas, well, we didn't have too many first woman driver to be a race co-favorite, spun her Buick trying to keep up with Shepherd and wound up eighth. Ottinger, from Newport, and driving a Chevrolet, finished second, followed by Larry Pearson, Spartanburg, S.C. (Chevrolet) and Jimmy Hens-ley, Ridgeway, (Buick).

Darrell Waltrip, NASCAR's all-time money winner ($8 million), was plagued with a smoking car for half the race, finishing fifth. Shepherd recovered from a bad case of food po-sioning a week ago at Talladega, and came to Road Atlanta to encounter more problems. "We lasted only 10 laps (of the Talladega 500), but it was the car, not me," he said. "The night before I was one sick boy. I thought I was goin' to die, really.

They put me in the hospital and gave me two big bottles of glucose. Next mornin I was able to leave the hospital the glucose had restored my strength and I was able to drive. But we had Joe Ruttman standin' by as relief driver just in case." Shepherd said starting so deep in the field didn't concern him. "01' Thunder is a four-year-old car, and All the belts finally fit on Tyson while Spinks waits in the wings mm 11 1 nil UUL2 mm nniToans'M1 rauuE? boa -v ''4 mil mmm a The 'wrist, elbow and der are all common sites for injuries. In the shoulder alone, cartilage and tendons can be damaged fcy impact or slow wear, Diagnosis canpiove and choosing from the many available treatment options may be equally complicated.

Effective treatment of shoulder problems demands an rate diagnosis and appropri- ate surgery when indicated Rotator cuff tears, glenoid labrum tears and impinge- ment syndrome of theshoulder can now be treated arthrosco- picallyratherthanwithlarge incisions and open surgery The result? We get you back to your game as quickly and safely as possible. Don't let pain spoil your sport, Call the pros By Thomas Stinson Staff Writer LAS VEGAS Mike Tyson stood uneasily at his own coronation late Saturday night, looking forlorn as Bobby Brown, president of the International Boxing Federation, knelt behind him, fidgeting with the hardware. A ballroom full of people sat giggling, not a new experience certainly for the fight game but something this heavyweight unification series had sought to avoid. It had hardly been two hours since Tyson scored his unanimous decision over Tony Tucker, but now in a lavishly formal crowning ceremony, not even the ruler of the IBF could get the blasted championship belt to fasten around Tyson's waist. Finally, Brown rigged a back buckle and, his new belt askew, Tyson finally presented himself to the throng, titlist of the World Boxing Association, World Boxing Council and now, the IBF too, boxing's first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1978.

That the IBF belt hung awkwardly off Tyson's hips was no mistake either. The reason had been out there in the Hilton Center's crowd for the fight. The reason is Michael Spinks. What Don King and HBO sought to do over the last 16 months was use 10 fights to identify one lone heavyweight champion. This was accomplished miraculously so given the parties involved at the cost of disqualifying Spinks for his unauthorized but big-money bout with Gerry Cooney.

And so there Spinks stood in the arena's very back row, frozen out but watching, waiting. Alas, the unification has been completed and what would appear to be the most consequential fight has yet to be staged. So, Mike Tyson (31-0), at 21 the youngest champ in history, when does Spinks get his? "He's not on the agenda, really," Tyson said. "He's retired," snapped Kevin Rooney, Tyson's trainer. This could take a while, folks.

Tyson, who has always fought a busy schedule, is already booked for most of next year and, claim Spinks and trainer Butch Lewis, the Tyson camp wants to shut Spinks out in punishment for abandoning the unification series. Spinks seems hesitant to even approach Tyson about it. "I'm afraid he just might haul off and hit me," said Spinks, the previous holder of the IBF title who was stripped of the belt for taking the Cooney fight. "That's a bad guy to have a fistfight with." "Maybe," Tucker suggested Saturday night, "if Michael Spinks can get it on, maybe me and Michael Spinks can fight and the winner meet Tyson." Heavyweight boxing has seen yWv- 4.. I The Associated Press Crown me: Mike Tyson wields 'royal' scepter as part of his ensemble after consolidating heavyweight championship.

through worse plans. If anything, Tucker legitimized himself at the age of 28 Saturday night, not coming close to winning but displaying tactical skill and a willingness to box that many doubted. Post-fight analysis showed that despite his constant circling and reluctance to work Tyson punch for punch, Tucker actually threw more fists than Tyson did (452-412), even if they did connect at a lower percentage (39 percent to 52). Tyson said this was his toughest fight, that he misjudged Tucker's talent, that Tucker scared him back to reality in the first round with a right undercut that probably was the hardest shot Tyson took in his four fights of the series. "When I fight, the last thing I think about is pain," Tyson said.

"But he hit me with a good enough shot that it picked me up in the air. Losing for just the first time in 36 fights, Tucker took Tyson the distance, something only three other men have done. Tyson's immediate plans call for a fight with Tyrell Biggs in Atlantic City, N.J., and then fights in Japan and Italy that are still under negotiation. If Spinks is to get his shot, it must come soon. The age disparity Tyson is 21 to Spinks' 31 is already an issue.

"It's a very unpredictable match," said Spinks. "To even think of a fight with this man takes me out of it." The feelers are already out. Said HBO president Seth Abraham, "HBO is not ignorant of Michael Spinks." Neither is Mike Tyson. He's got his belt after all, even if he can't fasten it. iL'r Copyright Shallawtord Community Hospital Jmj -a a.

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