The Mercury from Pottstown, Pennsylvania • Page 24

24 The Mercury. Pottstown, Pt. Monday, Jtnuary 23,1978 NFL statistics show offense down in 1977 TAMPA, Fla. (AP) The offense will open up more next season if the majority of National Football League clubs get their way. Commissioner Pete Rozelle said Sunday.

Touchdowns were down from 910 during the 1976 season to 815 in 1977 and the number of points scored dropped from 7,508 to 6.733, decreases of more than 10 percent in each case. The average 1977 game had 34.4 points scored, down from 38.2 a year earlier. thinjc got to come up with changes to benefit the offense and inprove scoring prospects. Personally. I feel we are on the horns of a dilemma between what you might call fairness and what the public wants and the public wants Rozelle said after a series of meetings with the 28 club owners at nearby Tarpon Springs in conjunction with Monday night's Pro Bowl game at Tampa Stadium.

Rozelle said the league had received 21 responses to a survey sent out Dec. 8 asking coaching staffs whether they wanted to see changes of any kind implemented for the 1978 season. We heard from a lot of playoff clubs. They had more important things to think Rozelle said. the 28 clubs heard from, 18 expressed an interest in improving the offense.

Not every team had the same solutions, but the basic philosophy was to put more points on the board. Among the changes to be considered by the Competition Committee are radical ones like permitting backfield motion toward the line (now allowed in Canadian football), allowing linemen downfield on screen passes (now permitted in college play), further restricting defensive tactics against receivers, reducing holding penalties from 10 to five yards and widening the hash marks. The league also will attempt to resolve the problems tied to the complicated tie-breaking procedures- Robinson discloses interest in Ram job TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Eddie Robinson, the long-time head football coach at Grambling University, said Sunday that he was among the candidates for the head coaching job with the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League. Robinson, who if given the Los Angeles job would be the first black head coach in the NFL, made his disclosure in an interview with sportscaster Howard Cosell on the ABC Sports Magazine program, on the eve of the league's Pro Bowl game.

Robinson, who has sent numerous players to the NFL and coached All-American quarterback Doug Williams during the 1977 season, said he would be interviewed Tuesday by Carroll Rosenbloom, president of the Rams. In Los Angeles, a spokesman, Jerry Wilcox, confirmed that the club had been in contact with Robinson and added, just one of quite a few in line for the job. Wales icers hold 3-0 lead in all-star tilt BUFFALO, Y. (AP) For three seasons now. in rinks from Montreal to Philadelphia to Vancouver, Clarence Campbell has sat and watched the conference that bears his name suffer defeat by the powerful Prince of Wales Conference in the National Hockey League All-Star Game.

By scores of 7-1, 7-5 and 4-3, the Campbell squad has been humbled. It led someone to ask the former NHL president if this Tuesday night, before the conferences clash in the 31st annual contest, if he would enter the dressing room and deliver an impassioned plea for just one victory over the other team. don't think it would produce the intended Campbell said. never found it to be effective before. I think somehow or other have to find some self-induced inspiration.

do it myself, for sure. I have any pyramid powers or any of those esoteric formulas that some of the coaches trot out from time to time. At least, I have no confidence in it now. conferences are too darn far apart he said, appearing a bit annoyed. are some representative teams (in the Campbell Conference) but not enough of them.

no question that Philadelphia and the Islanders, if they have a good night together, might accomplish enough to he said. because the Flyers and Islanders have contributed 11 of the 20 players that will wear the Campbell Conference colors Tuesday night. The Flyers will be represented by goalie Wayne Stephenson, defensemen Bob Dailey, Jim Watson and Tom Bladon, center Bobby Clarke and left wing Bill Barber. The Islanders, whose triumph over Philadelphia Saturday night brought them even with the Flyers atop the Patrick Division, will have goalie Bill Smith, defenseman Denis Potvin, center Bryan Trottier, left wing Clark Gillies. The Rams have been seeking a head coach since Chuck Knox was released recently and signed a six-year contract with the Buffalo Bills.

In the past five seasons under Knox, Los Angeles won the National Football Conference West Division championship each year. But each time, they failed to qualify for the Super Bowl. Others reported to be under consideration to replace Knox are Dallas Cowboys assistant coach Dan Reeves, Stanford head Coach Bill Walsh and former Washington Redskins head Coach George Allen. Asked whether he thought being black would have any influence on his receiving or being rejected for the job, Robinson said, think getting the job will be predicated on whether black or not. It comes down to who can win with the Rams, who can get them to the Super On whether he felt it would be historic to become the black coach.

Robinson said, Frankly, this appeal to me. not concerned about that. I think inwardly, every college coach would like sometime to coach in professional football." Nyambui 2-mile time 2nd fastest indoors LOS ANGELES (AP) The Tanzanian everybody wants is Filbert Bayi but the man who is stealing the spotlight is his countryman, Suleiman Nyambui a rail-thin distance runner about whom very little is known except that he runs very well. Nyambui became the second fastest indoor two-miler of all time Saturday night when he ran 8:18.0 to capture the event at the Sunkist Invitational, using a stirring finish to defeat Henry Rono of Kenya and Nick Rose of England. The import-studded meet had the mile, with Bayi, as the feature attraction, but Dr.

Thomas Wessinghage of West Germany stole the race in 3:59.7. That made Nyambui the athlete of the meet. He is a 6-foot, 160-pound distance runner from Mwanza, a member of the Jita tribe. He teaches secondary school, equivalent to high school in the United States, in such subjects as mathematics, political science, geography and the national language, Swahili. first quarter was slow and it was hard to run so fast after that, but when I run against Rono and Rose I think we can run a fast Nyambui said.

is the first time we have all raced against each other and it was very The first quarter was a slow 65.9 seconds and, Rose said, when he heard knew it set us behind the pace you need for a world But Rose was confident the world mark of 8:13.2 by Emiel Puttemans would go. know the record can go, but not with that slow a first quarter. If I had gotten some help, Nyambui would have been right close to the record. If the first quarter had been Rose led most of the way, then Nyambui and Rono took over and coming off the last turn the Tanzanian pulled ahead to win by three-tenths. Wessinghage, a intern from Minz, was running second to Bayi with three laps left, but said later, can be in the lead even though you are running second.

I was confident I would win at that point, that Bayi is not running as well as he is time of 3:59.7 was far off the world mark of 3:54.9. In other events, Dwight Stones won the high jump at 7-5, Marnie Robinson took the long jump in 26-3V2 and Milan Tiff triple jumped 54-9V4. Franci Larrieu remained unbeaten this indoor season by catching the mile in 4:44.9. Duran KO's DeJesus in 12th, claims undisputed title LAS VEGAS. Nev.

(AP) Roberto Duran holds the undisputed lightweight boxing championship of the world thanks to a right hand punch that traveled only about one foot. Duran scored the only knockdown of his title fight against Estaban DeJesus of Puerto Rico in the 12th round of their fight Saturday, and when DeJesus regained his feet, Duran pounded him unmercifully until the fight was stopped. could have knocked him out earlier, but I have not fought in a long time so I fought with more said the 26- year-old Duran. threw a left hand to open, and I saw the said Duran. Duran confused his opponent and the fans bj not coming out quickly with his usual two-fisted uttack.

Instead, he preferred to box in the early rounds. was studying me a lot, so I prepared that tactic, to box a lot and wait for the Duran said. The two had engaged in a scuffle at the early-morning weigh-in at the Sports Pavilion of Caesars Palace and Duran said, was angry, that did have an effect on the Duran weighed 134V4 pounds at the weigh-in and DeJesus, who also is 26, scaled 134. World Boxing Association champion from Panama was favored at 2-1, but through the early rounds, DeJesus, the World Boxing Council titleholder, held his own. At the end of the 11th round, Duran was comfortably ahead with a five- point margin on two of the judges cards and three points on the other.

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V- Duran said he thought the first few rounds were the best for DeJesus but he took command after the sixth. It was then that Duran concentrated on a body attack that slowed DeJesus. DeJesus got up after the 12th- round knockdown but was taking a battering and sitting on the ropes when his handlers came into the ring and referee Buddy Basilico called a halt. was going to give him an eight-count but when his nermen entered the ring it meant the said Basilico. Promoter Don King said next fight would be a non-title bout in Madison Square Garden, possibly against the winner of a Jan.

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