The Vancouver Sun from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada • 15

1 COCOR O) Q) BUSINESS7 MONDAY, AUG. 22, 1983 Canada gets gold medals in four sports ROBERT MILLS 3 'f Uei mm H'it iy crdtM mmmmmmmmmmmm By LYNDON LITTLE "As B.C. Lions return to the practice field this afternoon in Surrey, the realization may finally be hitting home. They're now the ones everybody else Is gunning for. Oh sure, fast starts and late fades have long been a troublesome pattern for the Leos.

But after turning back their third Western rival in as many weekends as they did Saturday with a 44-6 trouncing of Winnipeg Blue Bombers at B.C. Place Stadium the Lions stand conspicuously alone in first place. When in years past the club made its traditional early-season spurt, everybody knew Edmonton Eskimos were still the team to beat. Few are saying that any longer. What has Don Matthews done to create the aura of relaxed confidence that surrounds the club? Just as important, how will the team react to the added pressure of being top dog? "If there was going to be another slide, if the bubble were going to burst again, it would have been this weekend against Winnipeg," says offensive tackle John Blain emphatically.

The most common theme mentioned by the players as they attempt to define their new outlook is the coaching staff's low-key approach. "What's the difference? I'd say the big one is that we don't go into the games all jacked up," says centre Al Wilson, now performing for his fourth B.C. head coach. "We seem to have everything in perspective. Look around the dressing room.

Nobody's bouncing off the wall. And before games, the talk is not about the other team. We're concentrating on our own jobs." Says safety Nelson Martin: "I found Vic Rapp (Matthews' predecessor) to be an excellent coach. He prepared us very well. His belief was that pressure brings out the best in players, that good players respond in pressure situations.

I'm not saying that was wrong. But the other way seems to be working." Adds quarterback Roy Dewalt, who is now beginning to reap the full benefits of Rapp's personal tutelage: "Yes, I'm more relaxed. Maybe my problem was that I respected Vic a bit too much. Sometimes I was afraid of making a mistake and disappointing him." Dewalt threw three touchdown passes, including two to Mervyn Fernandez, as he completed 26 of 39 passes for 414 yards against the Bombers. "I guess you could say my philosophy about football and pressure has evolved through 19 years of coaching," explained Matthews Sunday.

"Players under pressure often can't perform to the maximum of their capabilities. "Basically, my approach stems from the idea that there are a lot more important things in life than football. If a player drops a pass, or we lose a game, it's not the end of the world. I firmly believe that. I also try to make practices as loose as possible.

Games are fun and practices are usually drudgery. If you have to get a player up for games, then there's something wrong." While no Lion voiced negative thoughts, there were a few expressions of caution. "If we continue to win, this town could go nuts," says Blain, a North Vancouver native who knows that the local Grey Cup drought reaches back to 1964. "Some guys might have trouble accepting it. That's why I feel the Surrey setup is so good.

It's out of the city and going there gives us a businesslike feeling." Even Matthews, Mr. Optimism himself, is wary. "1 was extremely happy with our play Saturday," he says. "But we've proven nothing until the Western final. We can get better and the time will probably come when we'll need that improvement.

We've beaten three Western teams in a row, but two of them have been home games. We still have to play them at their place. GRID BITS Watch for the club to announce soon that linebacker Glen Jackson currently playing out his option has agreed to a new long-term deal that will likely carry him through to retirement. Matthews, who stated earlier last week that Joe Paopao's right shoulder was back to 100 per cent, now says that he didn't use his backup QB Saturday in order to give the injury further rest. The problem is obviously slower in coming around than first thought.

Billy McBride and Andre Jones, two import defensive backs who start trials today, were picked up as free agents, not acquired in a trade with Saskatchewan as earlier reported The Lions' five interceptions gives them 22 in six games three more than they had all last season. Larry Crawford, whose bruised shoulder checked out okay yesterday, now has five steals in two games. One of his three Saturday went 30 yards or a TD Dieter Brock, who desperately wants out of his contract in Winnipeg, was held to only 139 yards passing. "I can't remember when I played a game this bad," said Brock. "I really stunk." Saturday's attendance of 56,852 was a club record Ai.i3n Lions' Larry Crawford knocks a Dieter Brock pass into the air.

CARACAS (CP) American athletes set two world records, one of which will never be broken, at the Pan-American Games and Canada wound up the first of two weeks of competition by picking up gold medals in four sports. Trap shooter Dan Carlisle put his name permanently in the record bocks Saturday when he posted a perfect score of 200. The standard of marksmanship was so high that John Primrose of Edmonton, who won the event at this year's world championships, missed only two shots and failed to win a medal. Almost as awesome was the performance of swimmer Rick Carey, who shattered the world mark in the men's 100-metre backstroke for the third time in 15 days on Sunday with a time of 55.19 seconds. The United States claimed 30 gold medals during the weekend for a total of 82 in 156 events.

Cuba had a firm grip on second place in the standings with 53 gold to Canada's 11. Canada won four events Sunday two in rowing, one in wrestling and one in synchronized swimming and a victory by Anne Ottenbrite of Whitby, in Saturday's 100-metre breast-stroke prevented the Americans from sweeping all 10 finals on the weekend swimming program. The U.S. also took nine of 10 available gold medals in shooting as Canadians settled for two silver and a bronze. In all, the Americans won 31 of 36 events.

Defending champion Greg Louganls completed his second consecutive double in men's diving by winning the men's platform event. With Wendy Wy-land's victory in Saturday's women's platform competion, it gave the U.S. all four diving titles. American entries won four of Sunday's 10 rowing finals and missed a medal in only Cuba and Canada had two winners apiece and the Canadians also had two silver and four bronze medals. Philip Haggerty and Robert Mills of St.

Catharines, were the Canadian headliners, winning the men's double sculls and sharing the second gold with Greg Murphy of St. Catharines and Mel Laforme of Hamilton in the quadruple sculls. Laforme also placed second behind Ricardo Ibarra of Argentina in the men's single sculls and the other Canadian silver went to Marie-Claire Audet and Heather Martin of Boucherville, who were second to a U.S. pair in the women's double sculls. Maureen Grace of Thunder Bay, was third in the women's single sculls and the other Canadian bronzes came in the men's eights and the coxed and coxless fours.

Cuban wrestlers took eight of the 10 titles in the Greco-Roman tournament as Jeff Stuebir.g of Montreal, one of three Canadians in the competition, won the 74-kilogram class and Louis Santerre of Montreal, the 82-kilo bronze medallist at the 1979 Games, moved up toa silver. Canada's synchronized, swimmers, who had finished second to U.S. opponents in the solo and duet events, reversed the placings in the team com-, petition as they scored 188.427 points to the Americans' 186.444. In shooting, Eric Buljung won his second and third individual titles and picked up two more gold medals in team events during the weekend as the U.S. scored double victories in the standard and centre-fire pistol.

Buljung had earned his first two golds in the individual and team free pistol last Monday. tetti for gold Lones Wigger, dean of the U.S. marksmen, lost to teammate Boyd Goldsby in Saturday's match rifle event but picked up his second individual gold of the Games, matching his 1979 performance, in Sunday's three-position final. Canada's riflemen picked up a silver and bronze in the team competitions and Patrick Vamplew of Toronto won an individual bronze on Saturday. Cuba and the U.S.

each won two events in women's gymnastics Sunday in a competition weakened by the absence of the Canadian team, which dominated the 1979 Games. Cuba's male gymnasts completed a gold-medal sweep with six victories on Saturday. In the parade of victorious American swimmers, the faces were becoming increasingly familiar. On Saturday, Bruce Hayes picked up his second individual gold in the men's 400-metre freestyle and Steve Lundquist completed a breaststroke double by winning the 200." Ottenbrite might have been in a position for a double of her own except that she was disqualified in the heats of the 200-metre breaststroke last week. She had the fastest time in the heats and appeared to have broken the PaiCAm record by more than two the judges claimed that her kick was illegal.

Kathy Bald of Nepean, who finished second to Ottenbrite Saturday, went on to win the 200. In Sunday's events, Tiffany Cohen added the women's 800 freestyle title to her earlier 400 victory and Tracy Caul-kins, who won the 200 individual meff-ley on Wednesday, outdistanced Michelle MacPherson of Toronto in the 400. MacPherson, who was second to Laurie Lehner of the U.S. in Saturday's 100-metre butterfly, won her third silver of the weekend when she joined Barb McBain of Vancouver, Ottenbrite and Jane Kerr of Mississauga, in another second-place finish behind the U.S. in the 4x100 medley relay.

Canada picked up an unexpected silver in fencing as Jean-Marc Chouinard of Montreal, who had replaced an injured teammate to share a fourth-place finish in the team foil event last week, placed second to Agapito Nussa in the individual epee. Chouinard was pressed into service after Stephen Angers bf Montreal was stabbed by an Argentine fencer in the team preliminaries. CHI! ffe A -5c Ian Unduy photot then takes off with loose bail for a 30-yard touchdown. Ellib Chkeag Cubs Pice msoiniig)eir iDymmpiirDg in his first appearance against the Expos. Expos starter Bill Gullickson, 11-11, saw his personal four-game winning streak come to an end as he suffered his first defeat since July 15.

Gwosdz, replacing catcher Terry Kennedy in the second game, belted his homer to break a 1-1 tie in the second inning and give the Padres a 4-1 lead. Gullickson walked Kurt Bevacqua and Luis Salazar was safe when left fielder Tim Raines dropped his liner eft an error. One out later, the seldom-used Gwosdz, batting .118, belted Gul-lickson's 2-2 pitch over the left-field fence. His homer was the first Gullickson had allowed in 46 innings. He has surprised everyone with his .284 average, 34 points above his lifetime mark, and long ball production in becoming a 10-year player this season.

Righthander Jim Gott, acquired in the 1981 winter draft after five years in the St. Louis Cardinals' system, earned the victory as the Blue Jays scored two runs in the sixth, two in the eighth and two more off reliever Mark Clear in the ninth. Gott improved his record to 7-10 while scattering seven hits, including Jim Rice's 27th homer in the first, a run-scoring triple by Eddie Jurak and an RBI single by Jerry Remy, both, in the fifth. With two runs in for a 3-1 Boston lead and runners on first and second with CHICAGO (AP) Lee Elia was fired today as manager of the National League Chicago Cubs "because the club wasn't playing up to its capabi-lites" general manager Dallas Green said; naming front office assistant Charlie Fox as his successor. Elia was in the second year of a three-year contract, but with the club sliding to 54-69 after three straight losses to Atlanta Braves, Green said he had to make a move.

"I've tried very hard to work things out with Lee, but the team has not responded since the all-star break," said Green. "Lee and the coaching staff still feel the club is capable of playing close to .500 baseball. "But with only 39 games left we will- only one out in the fifth, Gott struck out Rice and Tony Armas. It was the last Sox threat. The victory was Toronto's fourth in five games and eighth in the last 10.

The Red Sox have lost six of their last seven. Meanwhile in San Diego, Doug Gwosdz clubbed his first major-league homer, a three-run shot, to lead the Padres to a 5-2 victory and a split of their National League doubleheader Sunday with Montreal. The Expos, who are Vk games behind the East Divison-leading Philadelphia Phillies, captured the opener 3-0 on Charlie Lea's nine-hitter. Rookie Mark Thurmond, 6-2, went seven innings for the nightcap victory have to really regroup just to get back to last year's record (73-89)." Meanwhile, at the weekend 36-year old slugger Cliff Johnson continued to have a ball as well as his best season in helping Toronto Blue Jays ti the American League East race. "This is a lot of fun," Johnson said Sunday after keying an eighth inning rally with a tie-breaking two-out double as the Blue Jays rallied for a 7-3 victory over Boston Red Sox.

I Used mainly as a right-handed desig-j nated hitter, although he started at first base against Boston, Johnson came through with his ninth game-winning RBI. That enabled Toronto to move to within IVt games of first place Balti more Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers with a 69-54 record. "I'm not the only guy around here having a good year," Johnson said. "Everybody's doing what's expected of them and everyone is having a good year. It's a lot of fun, but it's even more fun for me to play when guys are setting the table for me." The RBI was Johnson's 66th of the season, a career high.

His previous best was 65 in 1975 with Houston, when he had 20 homers. He has 19 homers already this year. After hitting only .238 with seven homers and 31 RBI for Oakland last year, Johnson was traded to Toronto in what was considered by most people a minor deal..