The Ottawa Journal from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • Page 15

'-if INSIDE: Olympics end 67s ccntirjo hocftey rivalry v.ilh exhibition tonight PS IS High-scoring Penguin ksppy with KM. trade involving three teams Pas 17 Thursday, September T978 Page 15 Evert; Navra tilova Ladies wmm Gerald Redmond fight spot for top Sam Pollock more than a hockey man Sam Pollock made It official yesterday that he was AM llllltl rj fried in men's quarter-final action. In the men's singles Wednesday, a pair of native New Yorkers waltzed into the semi-finals. No. 5 seed Vitas Geru-laitis volleyed deftly in crushing jittery Johan Kriek of South Africa 6-2, 6-1, 6-2.

No. 15 John McEnroe polished off giant-killer Butch Walts of Phoenix 6-1, 6-2, 7-6. Kriek, who had a relatively easy draw into the' quarter-finals, had his serve broken eight times in the match, dou-ble-faulting 16 times. A record night crowd for the Open, 15,794, showed up for the Gerulaltfs-Kriek match, creating a record total for one day 30,580. When the U.S.

Tennis Association made the seeding chart, they placed Navratilova on the very top as No. 1 and Evert on the very bottom as No. 2. After-each round, they've moved closer to each other and their anxiously antici- pated rematch of the Wimbledon final, in which Martina punctured Chris' aura of invincibility in three sets. That victory, her second in two meet- -Jngs with Evert this year, was said by someto 'be slightly UThtedTEvert7wh6 went cold turkey from tennis from the late fall of 1977 to early spring in '78, was not tournament-tough yet, they said.

She had lost her edge. Evert says that excuse won't wash now. "If I'm not ready now, I don't know when I'll be ready," she said. "When I first came back, the layoff could be an excuse. But I've been back five months now.

I should be tough." In winning Wimbledon and gaining the No. 1 seed here, Navratilova is learning first-hand why Evert became-disenchanted with living and breathing tennis for so many years. "There's more pressure on me now," said Navratilova, who has dropped just 16 games in winning all four matches in straight sets. "I have to keep perform-' ing, keep proving myself." NEW YORK (AP) They'll tell you the same cliches, but don't be fooled. After No.

1 seed Martina Navratilova-and second-rated Chris Evert have played all those other matches "one match at a time," they expect to be facing each other across the net at the U.S. Open. At stake will be the women's singles -championship, a No. 1 ranking and as much pride as these two combative women can muster. You don't rise to the top in a very competitive sport without having a special feeling Inside that says No.

I is the only numeral worth And there can only be one No. 1. "I'm not any more confident than before that I'm gonna get into the finals," said Navratilova, the Czech expatriate who wasn't pushed too hard Wednesday in downing longtime Eastern European opponent Virginia Ruzlcl of Romania 6-3, 6-2. "I'm just taking one match at a time," the 21-year-old resident of Dallas said. "I'm just getting closer (to the finals), thaVs all." Evert, was tested a bit more in her match against 15-year-old phenom Tracy Austin of Rolling Hills, proving stronger and steadier, and prevailing 7-5, "In the second set I played very, very well," said the 23-year-old Floridian, who is bidding to become the first woman In more than 40 years to win this event four straight times.

"I'm very pleased, especially with my serve. I'm getting better with every match." The semi-final opponents of the top two seeds were to be decided today when 16-year-old Pam Shriver, the No. seed from Lutherville, met Leslie Hunt of Australia and No. 15 Kathy May of Beverly Hills, played fourth-ranked Wendy Turnbull of Australia. Later today, No.

1 Bjorn Borg plays No. 8 Raul Ramirez of Mexico and No. 2 Jimmy Connors meets No. 6 Brian Gott- 7 it Evert works with two hands against Austin stepping out of the day to day operation of the Montreal Canadiens. For the past few years Sam has been thinking of calling it a day and the official word was not unexpected.

There were many who thought Pollock might just keep staying on because for many it was hard to imagine Pollock not working those long hours at the game he was so dedicated to. The Montreal Canadiens without Sam, or hockey without Sam, somehow does not seem right. But fans of the Montreal Canadiens can be assured the organization has been left in good hands. For one thing Pollock will still be around and about, not the boss man, but around just the same. He's still a director of the club, still on the NHL board of gover- -nors, still on the board with the American Hockey League.

The organization will run without" him, fcutTiis Influence will remain for many years. We would be willing to bet Pollock, in stepping down, wilt do just that. He wants away from the day to day operation and he has enough outside interests to keep him occupied. He will not likely meddle now that he's called it a day. But it will be his people for the most part running the show, people he's worked with for years, given ty to, and they will, be operating with much of the Pollock knowledge, much of the Pollock dedication to -worlu4f good people they wouldn't have-had Sam's respect and they wouldn't have survived under the Pollock.

1 Had more than hockey Pollock's record In hockey is well known to even the casual hockey fan. Hlselection to the Hall of Fame as a builder was just something that had to happen. His ability to build an organization Is undisputed. He Is pictured by many as a wheeler-dealer, a behind -the scenes mastermind of hockey organization and a man with an all consuming interest, in the game of hockey and Montreal Canadiens. People think of Pollock as a hockey machine and Sam has never tried to change that image.

His hockey dealings have received far more prominence than his private business affairs, and his interest in hockey players has been reported more often than his interest in art. But Sam was as successful in business as he was In hockey and his knowledge and range' of Interests in fields far flung from frozen pucks would amaze those who think of Pollock only as a master trader of hockey players. Always looked ahead He believed in the farm system and he was always looking down the road, years ahead of the opposition. When NHL clubs were unloading minor league operations, Pollock kept his. Toronto had a solid farm system with teams in the Western and American Hockey League and they were sold off.

Pollock believed in the old EPHL and had to sell the idea to other NHL owners and in its later stages almost had to staff the league with Montreal farm hands to keep it going. He boosted the formation of the Central Hockey League which was really the EPHL moved south of the border. And he insisted on having Nova Scotia Voyageurs when other NHL clubs were dismissing operations in the American Hockey League. Pollock brought his Junior Canadiens here after the Ottawa Senators folded and the juniors provided great hockey. They were the first Ottawa based team, and the only one for that matter, to bring Ottawa a Memorial Cup.

He brought pro hockey back with the EPHL and Ottawa hockey organizations in later years always knew they had a friend in Montreal as long as Pollock was running Canadiens There are all sorts of reasons why Pollock is stepping down and concern for family has to be as big a reason as any. Pollock has always been a dedicated man to anything he attempted and neither fame nor could ever make him change his personal values. He had a deep loyalty to hockey and to Montreal Canadiens but no less a loyalty to things he believed in. Values all important We remember Sam coaching here on his way up the ladder and then it was his sense of values that impressed us more than his coaching or organization. We remember young hockey players on the road sent off to mass or to church because if the youngster at home came from a religious family, Sam was not about to let him abandon those Ideals.

A parent had no reason to fear a boy away from home would suffer from any lack of parental guidance. We remember Sam sending Billy Carter home from the Hull Arena before a playoff game to get his hat and top coat because Sam believed in proper dress, as well as proper manners and proper behavior at all times. Those things wouldn't go over now but we remember them because Sam was that kind of man. He was dedicated to hockey, to winning, to demanding nothing but the best of people, on the ice and off. There was no room in a Pollock organization for the wise guys, the troublemakers, the people without dedication or moral fibre.

If we had ever a boy to play hockey we would not hesitate to place his future in the hands of Pollock. Somehow to us, that tells more of the man than his ability, to win Stanley Cups. Pollock resigns Bowman left in cold i-h MONTREAL (CP) The resignation of Sam Pollock Wednesday as general manager of Montreal Canadiens has given rise to praiseworthy statements from cities around the. National Hockey League, but coach Scotty Bowman simply feels like a coach left out In the cold. "I would not have signed a contract with the Canadiens had I known that Sam Pollock was leaving," Bowman said.

"Right" my future Is up in the air. I won't know where I stand until I have a meeting with Irving Grundman, probably in the next day or two." Under the new team structure, Grundman will assume the dual role as vice-president and managing director of the club and Forum. never, ever told Claude, (assistant coach Ruel) or me how to use the players because he fett we were much closer to the team than he was. He did all the signing and trading. Our roles were Ideally intermingled." Pollock, who had been with the Canadiens for 31 years, said his decision was a difficult one to make, but one he had been contemplating for the last few years.

He- will continue to serve as an alternate governor of the NHL and the American Hockey League, as well as serving as a director of the Canadiens. "I've made the decision," Pollock said, admitting mixed emotions about the move. "But I'm still a director and an alternate gover- the equivalent of general manager, a job Bowman felt he deserved. "I've got my own future to think about. I don't want to spend the rest of my life standing behind the bench." Before Bowman signed his two-year Montreal contract In June, he turned down several lucrative offers to serve as coach and general manager for other NHL clubs.

The hew owners, however, proceeded under the assumption that -Bowman would be content In his role as head coach. But Bowman was content as coach, "only with Pollock as general manager. "Sam and I have been together since I was playing midget hockey In Verdun in 1947, except for those five years In St. Louis," he said. "I never considered him a boss.

pyprvtnlng nnt no nm Pinck after 31 veors managing ftirortnr Argonauts want more from Me teal might want," Ealey said. While defending his position that Met-; calf has been used more than any other running back in the East, Cahill does admit he'd like to have the speedy running back handle the ball even more. "There's nothing that says we can't get the ball to him every said. "But other things open up during the course of a game that cause us to go a different way. You have to dissect Cahill rejects criticism he has not been using the former National Football League star to the best advantage.

After the Argos had lost their fourth straight game Tuesday, 19-12, to Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Cahill pulled out a statistic sheet to Illustrate his point. Metcalf, a former St. Louis Cardinals star who was attracted to the Canadian Football League with a big contract from the Argos, has carried 11.7 times per game, tops In the Eastern Football TORONTO (CP) If Toronto Argonauts have any hope of reaching the Grey Cup this year, bead coach Leo Cahill acknowledges that running back Terry Metcalf will have to become a greater contributing factor in the team's offence. There doesn't seem to be any concern, however, that Metcalfs performance Is being affected more and more by each frustrating game. "He's still a great runner and he hasn't lost it or his confidence," said limited action in two games while suffering a toe Injury.

Argo quarterback Chuck Ealey said he would tike to give Metcalf the ball "20 times a game." "But our game plan Isn't always designed that way." Ealey says the pattern of the game also dictates how often an Individual gets the ball. "Unless things are working the way we planned, he's (Metcalf) not to Pft hH rmich we.