Playground Daily News from Fort Walton Beach, Florida • Page 11

Parseghian Votes Wolverines No. Sear Favors USC MIAMI (UPI) Notre Dame's Ara Parseghian, filling out his ballot tor the last time, said Thursday he cast his vote for Michigan as the nation's No. 1 team in the final coaches ratings while Alabama's Bear Bryant said he favored Southern California. Parseghian, who guided the Irish to a 13-U victory over Alabama in his final game as a collegiate coach, said he went striclly by the records of the various teams in reaching a decision. Michigan had a 10-1 regular season record and finished in a tie with Ohio Slate for the Big 10 Conference championship.

However, the Wolverines lost to Ohio State in the final game of the season and the conference athletic directors voted to send the Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl. Parseghian added that he had voted Alabama No. 2 and his own team No. 4. He tabbed Southern California, an 18-17 victor over Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, No.

3. Bryant said his decision to name the Trojans No. 1 was based more on comparative scores of the top teams in contests between each other. "I voted Southern Cal over Michigan because Ohio State beat Michigan and Southern Cal in turn beat Ohio State," said Bryant. "Their big win over Notre Dame (55-24) also figured in my decision." Bryant said he went with Michigan as the No.

2 team, voted Notre Dame No. 3 and placed his own club in the No. 4 spot. Parseghian, who lias been a member of the American Football Coaches Association's board of directors and would have become the organization's new president had he stayed at Notre Dame, defended the coaches' decision earlier this season not to rank any team on probation. Oklahoma, which finished the regular season with the only perfect record in the nation (110), was the team most affected by the coaches' ruling.

The Sooners were not carried in the UPI Board of Coaches ratings all season. "We didn't put Oklahoma on probation, the NCAA did," said Parseghian. "We made the decision to try and discourage teams from breaking the rules and to try and bring some sanity to this business of recruiting. You can't go out and eulogize a man who's in jail and make him man of the year. It wasn't aimed just at Oklahoma.

It was aimed at everybody who breaks the rules." Tide Places 2nd, Ohio St. 3rd USC Wins National Crown TAKING IJ HARD Alabama head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant shows the strain of his seventh consecutive bowl defeat as he sits in tlie Tide dressing room following Wednesday night's 13-11 loss to Notre Dame in tlie Orange Bowl. The setback also cost Alabama the National Championship as the Crimson Tide placed second 'behind Southern Cal in the final UPI football poll. (DPI Sportshol) NEW YORK (UPI) The Trojans of the University of Southern California, riding the crest of Iheir Rose Bowl victory over Ohio Stale and their demolition of Notre Dame in the final game of the regular season, Thursday were named national football champions by United Press International's panel of college coaches. The Trojans were named No.

1 on 27 of the 34 ballots cast. This is the first year the American Football Coaches Association permitted its members on the UPI panel to vote after the bow! games instead of casting a final ballot at the end of the regular season. That decision cost Bear Bryant's Crimson Tide the national title it had won in 1973 and the No. I spot it had held at the end of the 1974 regular season. The Bear's team placed second lo the Trojans, who had 335 total points to 'Bama's 254.

Southern California, combining the coaching skill of John McKay with the playing talent of Rhodes Scholar quarterback Pat Haden and McKay's son John, scored a dramatic closing minutes' 18-17 victory over Ohio State on Wednesday, while under the lights of the Orange Bowl Alabama fell, 13-11, to the same Noire Dame team which had been humiliated 55-24 by USC. The Rose Bowl win over the Buckeyes zoomed Southern California lo the top from the fourth slot it had held at season's end and gave USC a record of 10-1-1 for the season. That turned the battle for second into a dog fight among Alabama, Ohio Stale, Michigan, and Notre Dame. Alabama, with three votes for first, edged Ohio Slate for the rur.ner-up spot, 254 points to 24a, while Michigan, despite its four voles for first, slipped to fifth when Notre Dame piled up 225 total points lo the Wolverines' 220. Tlie Irish had been eighth in the regular season poll.

The Trojans, highly regarded in pre-season ratings despite the 42-21 walloping they had taken from Ohio State in Ihe 1973 Rose Bowl, opened in disaster, with a 22-7 loss al Arkansas on Sept. 14. A two- week rest saw them belter prepared for Pittsburgh in a 167 win, and then Anthony Davis and Co. hit its stride in a 41-3 romp over Iowa. In early November, USC was held to a 15-all draw with California, but then ripped through Stanford, Washington and UCLA before smashing Noire Dame with an historic 35- point fhird period after trailing 24-6 at the half.

The national championship was the fourth USC has won since the coaches began Iheir voting for UPI in 1950. Southern California was No. 1 in 1962, 1972. Trailing USC, Alabama, Ohio Slate, Notre Dame and Michigan, in order, were Auburn, Penn Slalc, Nebraska, North Carolina Stale and Miami of Ohio to complete the top ten. Others in order were Houston, Florida, Maryland, Baylor, Texas AM and Tennessee, Mississippi Stale, Michigan State and Tulsa.

Oklahoma, the only major learn with a perfect record during the regular season, was ineligible for consideration in the UPI ratings because of its NCAA probation for recruiting violations. The Sooners were banned from TV appearances for the 1974 and 1975 regular seasons and from post-season bowl games following the 1973 and 1974 seasons. Last January, the coaches association recommended that teams on probation should not be considered by them--or anyone else--for the national championship. Therefore, the PLAYGROUND DAILY NEWS SECTION I A MORNING A A 3, 1575 Finley Has One AAore Shot At Hunter OAKLAND (UP!) Charlie Finley isn't through yet. The owner of the three-time World Champion Oakland A's has one more at-bat in the fight to overturn an arbitrator's ruling that set Cy Young Award winner Jim "Catfish" Hunter free to sign a mulli-year $3.7 million contract with the New York Finley's final shot in the McKay Delighted' Over No.

Finish LOS ANGELES (UPI) Hustling John McKay, en route to Honoulu as a commentator for Saturday's Hula Bowl game, was "delighted" Thursday when he was informed that Southern California was named the UPI national football champion for 1974. "We did not start the season well," recalled the Trojan head coach, "we were plagued by injuries. But we recovered and beat some very fine teams in Ohio State, Notre Dame, UCLA and Stanford." McKay, waiting in the airport VIP lounge for his night connection lo thai his fourth national title was every bit as prestigious as USC's first championship. "We dominaled and beat some of the better teams in the country. On several occasions we had to come back from tremendous deficits." Raiders Take To Road, Face S.

Miss. JV Today Okaloosa Wallon Junior College, after enjoying its best pre-holiday record in the school's history, returns from its seasonal break and gets back into the all-important second stage of the basketball season on the road Friday night, The Raiders, who posted an impressive 12-2 record prior to the school break, travel to Hattiesburg, today to meet the University of Southern Mississippi JV team in a game set to tip off at 5:30 p.m. The Raiders were also scheduled loplayihe University of New Orleands JVs on Saturday and the Nichols Slate JVs of Thibodaux, La. on Sunday for a three-game road trip. However, the last two games were cancelled.

The Raiders game with Ihe University of New Orleans junior varsity squad Saturday night will be forfeited while 0-W's Sunday night contest with Nichols State JVs will be cancelled. OWJC, which was ranked second in the last state junior college poll, lost its season opener on Nov. 9 and then reeled off 12 straight wins, including decisions over Pensacola Junior College and Lake City. The Raiders lost their last outing before the Christmas break when Chipola posted a 108-99 win in the finals of the OWJC Christmas Tournament. Tonight's game will be extremely important to head coach Ray Ross and his team as they hope to use il as a stepping stone toward building back the momentum they had last month.

OWJC will have one more game (Bishop State at home Monday night) aftur this weekend before starting its play in the Division I standings. The Raiders open Division play Jan. 11 at home against Gulf Coast and its how well you finish in Ihe Division thai determines which teams advance to Ihe slate playoffs. Much of OWJC's success can be attributed to its well balanced attack. The Raiders possess four players which are averaging in double figures and have two others who have tallied over 100 points thus far.

Al Wilhite leads Ihe 0-W scoring attack with a belter lhan 20 point per game average. Leroy McDonald is splitting the nets for better than 17 points per game while Kevin Walls and James Clover are around Ihe 13 point per game mark. Walls is also the team's lop rehounder, but gets plenty of help from Petty Fisher and McDonald. Wayne Ellis rates as one of Ihe best "sixth" men in Division one and is joined by the likes of former Choctaw standouts Jim Downs and Steve Baker in giving Ross a solid bench which he can call on at anytime. The OWJC offense rates among the best in the stateas through i-l outings the Raiders have tallied 1,217 points for an impressive 86.9 average.

On the other side of the coin 0-W has allowed its opponents only 1,059 points for a 75.6 per gameaverage. battle will be fired Friday in the Alamcda County Superior Court and he's hopeful of a favorable ruling. George W. Phillips the judge who will hear the case, has two petitions before him -one filed by Finley and the other through the Baseball Players Association. He will either confirm or vacate the award that made Hunter a free agent.

"I think when the judge has had time to weigh all the evidence," said Finley, "he's going lo find out how well we treated this young man (Hunter) and how unfair the arbitrator's ruling was. At least that is our hope." An arbitration panel in New York declared Hunter, winner of IOC games over the last five seasons, a free agent and after three weeks of bidding by every team in the majors except the Sim Francisco Giants, the durable righthander signed with the Yankees on New Year's ve. Hunter gained his free agency on the grounds Finley and the A's had defaulted on the first year of a two-year contract. Finley maintains he upheld the letter of the contract and there was no merit for an argument. "As you know," explained Finley, "we agreed lo give him $50,000 in outright salary for 1974 and pay the remaining $50,000 of his contract to anyone he designated.

Then, on Aug. 1, some nine months after he had .01 Philippines Offer $5 Million For Chess Match Prize Money AMSTERDAM (UPI) -The Philippines has offered a record $5 million in prize money for a world championship chess malch this year between litleholder Bobby Fischer of the United Stales and Soviet challenger Anatoly Karpov, the International Chess Federation announced Thursday. FIDE president Max Euwesaid lhal if Fisher refused the offer Karpov would become the new champion and if Karpov refused a new challenger would be sought. He said they must answer by April 1. "The Philippine offer is a tremendous stimulant to the chances that the match will take place," Euwe said but he acknowledged thai rules will have lo be agreed on first and this may take a while.

"Ft is said that Fischer does not care much for money but Ihis prize will certainly appeal to him," Euwe said. "The Russians will not close Iheir eyes to it, either. Although the prize is unprecedented, Euwe said he did not think il was too high. "The match will last three tofour months" he said. "Boxers get that much money in one night." A FIDE spokesman said that when Ihe deadline for bids passed at midnight on Dec.

31, two other bids were also in. Mexico offered $400,000 and Italy FIDE Vice President Florencio Campomanes of Ihe Philippines said he personally came to Holland to bring his country's bid. He said that his government would make an addilional $80,000 available lo FIDE and another $70,000 to developing countries to encourage chess Ihcre. signed his contract, he sprang this annuity stuff on me. "He and his agent told me they wanted me to be the owner of his annuity and I told them I couldn't do that because it would not be a tax-deductible item for me.

I told them I would do anything they wanted me to with the money but that 1 couldn't go for an annuity in my name in trust for him. Besides, I was advised that the Internal Revenue Service would not look in favor on such an arrangement." Finley, who will be in court Friday and will be represented by attorney Neil Papinno of Los Angeles, said Hunter's ingratitude hurt him more lhan anything else. "Here is a young man I treated extremely well ever since I first signed him," said Finley. "I don't care what his agents say, he received fine treatment from me and my ball club and it's my hope the judge will see this case in that light. "For instance, I gave him a $75,000 bonus for signing with my club.

Thai's a figure no one else managed, and remember, the day I signed him he had about 60 shotgun pellets in the bone of his foot from a hunting accident. I immediately took him lo the Mayo Clinic where Ihey fixed him up and right off the bat, without him having pitched an inning for me, I loaned him $150,000 free of interest for a year so he could buy a farm. ballots from coaches, compiled by UPI in New York, contained no votes for Oklahoma this year. Oklahoma's two-year probation period ends al the end of the 1975 regular season, making the Sooners eligible for a bowl game nexl year. NEW YORK (UPI) Tfc! Un tea International Board of Coaches tina! major college football ratings won lost records and I'rst place voles parenmesev.

Team Points I Sounerncal (211 (10 1 It 33S 2. Alatana 131 III 1) 3. Onio Sia'c (10 21 2-5 4. Notre Dame (10 2) 325 5. rWchigan (4t (10 1) "rt 6.

Auburn (102) IJl 7. Penn Stale Jl I. Nebraska (S il 114 Ncrlh Carolina Slate (9-31) J5' 2 10. M'arni (Ohio) (100 1) 29 II. Houston (3-3 1) 50 Florida (3 Jl 16 13.

Maryland 19-3) U. Bay'or (3 41 7 13. Texas Al.M 183) 5 Tennesiee IJ. Mississippi Stale I9-J) IS. Wchiggn SI.

7 3 3 19. Tulsa 18 31 1 Nole: By agreement with Ihe American Football Coaches, on probation by the NCAA ineligible For top 30 and nalio.ial champior.sliip consideration by the UP! Board oE Coaches. Tfcose teams en probation v.ere: SMU, California. Long Beach State and Southwestern Lcuisia.ia. NEW YORK (UPI) LM ol United Press college foorija'l champions- 1950--OVahornfl.

1951--Irrnessee. sta's. 1953-- warylanl 19SS-Okiaho-na. oma. Slale.

rnesota. 1961-Alabama. 1963-Texav 15M--Alabama. siaie. HM-Noire Darr.e.

U.S C. 1968- Ohio Slate. 19S9-T6XSS. 1970-Texas 1973--AlabaTa. Clash Saturday Chocs Host Tate Tonight JIM 'CATFISH 1 HUNTER Will He Slay Wilh Yankees? Three of Okaloosa County's high school basketball teams will cut their holiday vacation time short and get back into the" cage this weekend.

Choclawhalchee gets the second half of play rolling Friday when the Big Green plays host to Big Five Conference foe Tate. On Saturday a Starr Seeks New Coaches GREEN BAY, (UPI) Bart Starr, new head coach and general manager of the Green Bay Packers, said Thursday he hopes to name an offensive coach "in a couple of days." Starr, named to the posts Dec. 24 to succeed Dan Devine who took the head coaching job at Notre Dame, also said he hoped "to be able to announce two more additions early next week." "Lei's just say we have been given permission to talk wilh some people and now we have to have (hem in here to see if they like us and we like them." Two former Packers, Forrest Gregg and Zeke Bratkowski, who both played wilh Starr in Ihe 1960s, have been prominently mentioned as possible offensive coaches. Bralkowski was fired as an assistant with the Chicago Bears and Gregg's status at Cleveland is uncertain since Nick Skorich was fired as head coach. pair of county rivals in Niceville and Crestview square off in their second meeting of the season in a 7:30 p.m.

game in the Eagles Coach Benny Gabbard's Choctaw squad enters tonight's contest witii an impressive 8-2 season ledger and are fresh off a third place finish in a Jacksonville Christmas tourney which featured eight of the stale's top teams. In the Jax tourney the Indians a a i Englewood 58-43 in the opener, lost to Jacksonville Lee (who went on to win the tourney) 5954, and defeated Jacksonville Parker 69-62. Scott Quesinberry is leading the Choctnw scoring attack with an 18.8 per game average while Jerry Sowed followed with a 1G.5 norm. Through its first 10 games the Indians have averaged 65.0 points per outing while allowing opponents 58.8. Saturday's confrontation between Niceville and Creslivew has all the makings of a real classic.

Hoth teams have lost only one game this season with the Kagles owning a G-l record and the Bulldogs a 7-1 mark. Niceville is presently riding six-game winning streak which includes victories over such notables as Washington, Pensacola High and FWB. To help add some wood to the fire is the fact that Niceville's onlv loss this season came in the opening game when it dropped a 51-43 decision to this same 1 Creslview team. Crestview on the other hand is coming off a pair of victories and championship in the Laurel High Christmas Tournament. The Bulldogs dumped Paxton 55-51 and host team LH 05-57 in thai event.

The Bulldogs' only loss this season came after five straight viclories when (hey fell to DeFuniak Springs Walton, the No. I rated Class 3A team in Ihe stale. Crestview held down the No. 7 spot in that same poll. Drew Tucker is leading coach Carl Taylor's Eagle squad in scoring as the senior gunrd has split (he nets for a 20.7 per game average.

Albert Kennedy follows in Ihe Niceville scoring wilh a 14.4 norm while Tim McCoy owns an 11.5 average. As a team the Eagles are scoring at a C0.4 per game pace while allowng 54.1 Leroy Page and Joe Dortch led the Crestview scoring attack along with guard KcnRogers. Among other things, one of the key individual battles Saturday should be between Tucker and Rogers. Harvey L. Smith PRESCRIPTIONS FILLED LENSES DUPLICATED AUTO SAV TIRE STORES HAS TIRES AT BIG SAVINGS NEW 74's AT FRED DRAKE CHRYSLER-PLYMOUTH 130 HOLLYWOOD BLVD 244-1181 STK NO.

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