Times-Advocate from Escondido, California • 17

Easton rips Padres, who deal for Griffin Hooton talks self into win TIMES-ADVOCATEa DdD77 LU ESCONDIDO. CA. WED. DAVE HOFF New look spawns Charger hopes and underwent surgery during the winter. To make room for Griffin on the roster, the Padres placed pitcher Dan Spillner on the disabled list.

Spillner, who has a back injury, might need spinal surgery. Spillner has a 2-11 record. Gaston, who enjoyed a big season in 1970 when he batted .318 and hit 29 home runs for San Diego, hadn't seen much playing time for the Braves before Tuesday night, coming to bat just 40 times. He took out his frustrations on his exteammates as the Braves ended a five-game losing streak. "Its been a long time, said Gaston, making only his third start of the season although he was Atlanta's top hitter with a .350 average entering the From T-A Wire Services ATLANTA Former Padre Clarence Gaston belted a pair of home runs and a single and drove in five runs Tuesday night to lead the Atlanta Braves to a 7-3 victory over San Diego, which took the occasion to acquire a veteran pitcher.

Coming over to the Padres on waivers from Houston will be 28-year-old righthander Tom Griffin, and the Padres have indicated theyll try Griffin in a starting role. The Astros had been using the eight-year major league veteran mostly in relief this season. Griffin entered the season with a career record of 40-57 and a 4.11 earned run average. This year, he lias a 5-3 record and 6.00 ERA. Griffin's best season with the Astros was in 1974 when he had a 14-10 record and a 3.54 ERA as a starter.

He was hampered by a shoulder injury last year "Sometimes I do get a little upset about not playing," said Gaston who came to Atlanta from the Padres two years ago. When I do, I take extra batting practice and take it out on the ball." Tuesday night Gaston took it out on San Diego left-hander Rich Folkers, 2-3, in a real live game. The nine-year major league veteran gave Andy Messersmith, 11-9, a 2-0 lead in the opening inning by cracking his second home run of the season with one man on base. San Diego tied it in the third before the 6-foot-4, 210-pounder came up again in the bottom of the inning. This time he deposited another Folkers pitch over the left field fence a three-run shot in a five-run inning.

Hell play again tomorrow night, Cont. On Page A-19, Col. 2 AUG 4.1976 A-17 been regarded highly by all except the opposing defenses. The Charger defense will be improved, but it is still young and will make mistakes. The offense will have to score, and certainly more than once or twice a game.

They have the tools to do so, but theyll be useless unless the offensive line leaves the toolbox open. wrapped up its Olympic coverage with a highlight special Tuesday night and the comments of Marty Liquor! and Frank Shorter are worth mentioning. Liquori, one of the country's premier distance runners who has been plagued by Injuries, offered a remedy for Americas sagging fortunes in the distances. Noting that distance runners reach their peak at 25 to 28, Liquori pointed out that most U.S. runners of any potential have been forced to retire by that age.

There simply is not enough time to make a living and undertake the rigorous training program that is required to be a world-class runner. The answer, Liquori said, may be jobs provided by American industry jobs that would allow time for the athletes to train. It would all come Cont. On Page A-18, Col. 4 The Names and the Games: Only the most optimistic of optimists would fondle hopes of a successful Charger season in 1976 at this early date, for optimism with the Chargers works much the same as flattery with a barmaid.

They both get you nowhere. But its not too early to see a difference and that difference is Bill Walsh. Its unlikely that those who have followed the Chargers closely over the past half decade could recall a San Diego team which was so precise and well-prepared for a preseason opener as the Chargers were Saturday night against Philadelphia. The game actually was more of a mismatch than the 20-7 final score and, while the Charger defense played considerably well, it was the offense that dominated the spotlight. When Walsh came to the Chargers this year as offensive coordinator, he brought with him the expertise that made Cincinnati the top passing team in the American Conference four times during the eight years he was employed by Paul Brown.

One of the reasons for The Bengals success through the air during that stretch was wide receiver Charlie Joiner, now a Charger. He and Walsh have brought with them a confidence that has infected the entire offensive team. Gary Garrison is now in his 11th year as a pro, yet has few peers as a wide receiver. With Joiner on the opposite side, Garrison figures to be seeing much less double and triple coverage. Pat Curran may well be the best tight end in Charger history and the presence of Don Woods and Joe Washington in the same backfield makes San Diego equally threatening on the ground.

Quarterback Dan Fouts never has suffered from lack of confidence, and he can throw with the best of them when given time. So it comes down to the familiar question of the offensive line a line which has Two-hitter deals 2-0 loss to Astros LOS ANGELES (AP) Burt Hooton has had the kind of fortune that would make a guy talk to himself. So he did and, what's more, he listened to what he had to say. "I talked to myself the whole game, telling myself to keep at it, not to give in, to keep concentrating, he said. The result was a two-hit, 2-0, shutout over Houston, Los Angeles fourth win in a row and eighth straight over the Astros.

I had been thinking all kinds of negative things and I wasnt going to let it happen this time, said Hooton who had dropped six of his previous seven decisions. Bill Buckner singled home Dave Lopes twice, the Dodgers only runs off loser Dan Larson, 1-3, but, as Hooton said later, that was all he needed. The Astros got two hits in the first inning, by Greg Gross and Cesar Cedeno, and not another the rest of the way. Yet Houston threatened in the final two innings when Hooton issued four of his five walks. He walked the first two batters in the eighth and got out of it.

He walked two more in the ninth, but struck out Cedeno, got Bob Watson on a deep drive to right and struck out pinch-hitter Cliff Johnson to end it. I was high with my pitches the whole game, said Hooton, 7-11, But I wasn't going to give up my stuff and throw a nuthin pitch just to get it in the strike zone. Los Angeles now has defeated Houston 21 times in the last 24 meetings over three seasons. Yet, they failed to gain on Cincinnati with their latest victory and still trail the Reds by nine games in the National League West. The Dodgers got their runs in the fourth and seventh innings.

In the fourth Lopes reached first safely on an error by Enos Cabell, stole second and scored when Buckner singled. In the seventh Lopes walked, stole second his 33rd successful steal in 40 attempts and again Bucknew singled him home. (Box Score, Page A-19) Partee may fade after Hoopes trade SAN DIEGO The San Diego Chargers acquired punter Mitch Hoopes from Dallas Tuesday, giving notice to Dennis Partee that he doesn't have a lock on the job hes held for the past eight seasons. In acquiring Hoopes, who had a 39.4-yard average in 1975, the Chargers surrendered an undisclosed draft choice and cut free agent tight end Wayne Samarzich to make room for Hoopes on the roster. Partee is coming off his poorest season he averaged just 37.3 yards per punt in 1975 after bolding a 42.1 career average for his first seven years and his situation is complicated even further by a lower-back problem that has hampered him throughout training camp at UC San Diego.

Its a recurring thing, said Partee about his back miseries. "I was working out in May and it got bad and then it got better. In May, I had to switch to a car with an automatic shift rather than a stick shift and I had trouble putting my clothes on. Partee's back is undergoing treatment, but he says, "It doesnt feel any better. Hoopes was made available by the Cowboys because of the presence of Danny White, who quarterbacked and punted for Memphis of the defunct World Football League the last two seasons.

denied Florida diving competition a year ago. Asked who the diver had been staying with since last week, Paterson replied, "He has very, very nice friends who are looking after him. Meanwhile in Montreal, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau said the teen-aged diver will not be turned over to the Russians and that he will be given six months grace to decide whether or not he wishes to stay in Canada. Trudeau said he would not want Nemtsanov to grow homesick in a few months and find out he burned all his bridges behind him. A Russian spokesman had claimed that Nemtsanov was "psychologically brainwashed by highly trained specialists." He was said to have been kidnaped by gangsters.

BIRD'S BUBBLE BREAKS Detroit's Mark "The Bird" Yankees Tuesday night. Things got gummy for the Fidrych whispered a few instructions to the ball (top) Tiger rookie sensation in the dugout when his bubble and then cut loose with a pitch against the New York collapsed. Fidrych was beaten, 4-3. Defectors love story Gunmen convinced ref to change pick LOS ANGELES (UPI) A light drizzle began to fall in the baseball stadium at Pasun, South Korea, last Sunday night as ring referee Larry Rozadilla asked champion Rigoberto Riasco of Panama and Korean challenger Yom Dong-Kyun to shake hands and come out fighting. A steady rain pounded the outdoor ring 15 rounds later as Rozadilla raised Riascos arm in victory declaring that the Panamanian had successfully defended his World Boxing Council super-bantamweight crown.

The crowd at first sat silent. The South Koreans comer protested the decision, but soon the fighters left the ring for their dressing rooms and Rozadilla, a Los Angeles referee who had been asked by the WBC to judge the fight as a neutral party, did the same. Less than an hour later, under the grip of four or five strong-arm "gangsters packing concealed guns, Rozadilla was dragged from his dressing room back into the ring and forced to sign a statement saying he had erred in his decision and that Dong-Kyun was actually the winner. The referee raised the South Koreans arm in victory. I was cool inside, because I knew what happening, said Rozadilla in an interview here Tuesday night.

I didnt panic. I kept my head. I talked good and wrote good and smiled to put up a good front. But inside I was feeling fear that I wouldnt see my family, my wife and two children, again. If I hadnt signed the statement, I would have been killed and so would Riasco." The Il-year veteran referee said he was forced to fabricate a statement distributed to the news media that read: I made a mistake in putting down my scores.

It was raining and the judges papers were all wet and I placed the scores in the wrong places. The Korean is the winner. "This I did under duress and coercion and in complete fear of bodily injury to myself and the other, Rozadilla said Tuesday. The original scorecard declaring Riasco the winner in the WB title fight was correctly stated as 145-143, thus Rigoberto Riasco won and retained his title. between U.S.

girl, Russian called rumor i Romance From T-A Wire Services CINCINNATI A wealthy Cin-' cinnati businessman has denied reports that his daughter was involved in the defection of 17-year-old Russian diver Sergei Nemtsanov and the divers lawyer has confirmed the denial, Richard Lindner, president of 'Thriftway, a load supermarket chain, issued a statement Tuesday night 'following speculation that romantic involvement with an American female 'diver had influenced Nemtsanovs decision to defect. Lindner's daughter, Carol, 21, was a diver at Indiana University and finished seventh in the U.S. Olympic Trials in Long Beach, Calif, in June. She was in Montreal for the Olympic Games. Miss Lindners uncle, Carl Lindner, is publisher of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

The statement said: There have been numerous rumors that my daughter was in some way connected with the defection of Russian diver Sergei Nemtsanov. She met him at an international diving meet at Fort Lauderdale in June, and was hostess along with my wife and me at a party which he attended with divers from several other countries. "She and another diver spoke with him and his cousin briefly in Montreal. She knew him no better than any other member of our diving team, and it was only casually. I asked her specifically if they had talked about the defection and she said no.

In fact, when she read of it back home in Cincinnati a week later, she was shocked. The family declined further However, in Montreal Tuesday, Nemtsanovs lawyer, Alex Paterson of Montreal, said his client had dated Miss Lindner during the Olympics, but he said the woman had nothing to do with the defection. At Indiana University, Miss Lindner's diving coach, Hobie Billingsley, said the rumor was a lot of talk. A lot of our kids talked to him, Billingsley said. He was a very friendly youngster.

I think he was just exposed to a new way of living in Florida and decided to get out. He saw something he liked better." Added the coach: I don't think any of our kids had anything to do with his defection." Paterson said, in an interview, that Nemtsanov and Miss Lindner had been corresponding ever since they met at a I i I.