Times-Advocate from Escondido, California • 29

Sports TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 1981 2 Prep of the Week INSIDE 3 5 6 Major Scoreboard League Roundups Chargers tab return specialist in first round By JOHN MAFFEI -A Sports Editor SAN DIEGO Cornerback Hanford Dixon was gone. The offensive lineman that the San Diego Chargers had identified as one of the best football players in the country was gone. Running back Terry Metcalf had been released by the Montreal Alouettes but is considered past I his prime. So the Chargers settled for running back James Brooks of Auburn, a Metcalf-type runner, as their first pick in today's NFL Draft. Of prime consideration when the Chargers made the 24th pick of the first round was Brooks' ability to re- Finally, Vince off to CFL MONTREAL (AP) The Montreal Alouettes made strong-armed, free agent quarterback Vince Ferragamo and fleet-footed receiver James Scott offers they couldn't refuse.

they didn't. It was a difficult decision for Ferragamo to make, but the gifted signal-caller said he was offered a contract with the Canadian Football League club that simply was too generous to turn down. "It was a very emotional decision and one that was hard to deal with," said Ferragamo, who signed a fouryear contract worth an estimated $400,000 per season. "There was a lot of stress and strain involved," said the 27-year-old Ferragamo, who played out his option last season with Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League. "I was making very little progress in contract talks with the Rams and I met with a man Nelson Skalbania who made things possible and gave me an offer I couldn't pass up." Skalbania, the 42-year-old selfmade millionaire from Vancouver, completed his purchase of the Alouettes from Sam Berger earlier yesterday.

Skalbania had announced April 1 that he had signed Ferragamo to a four-year personal services contract, but since then the official signing has been an on-again, off-again happening. "It's been a long ordeal and I know it's kind of anti-climactic now, but I'm glad to be here," said Ferragamo. "I'm looking forward to doing the best I can here. "Los Angeles is a very good organization, and I'm really going to miss the guys on the team, but I am excited to be here. "I know it's a team effort, and I'm ready to do the best I can to bring a championship back to Montreal." Ferragamo said he doesn't think he will have any trouble adjusting to the Canadian game, having watched it since he was a youngster.

"The games used to be televised back home and I'm kind of aware of what's going on," he said. "I think with the wider field we'll be able to open up the offense and have a sound passing attack." Scott, a starter with Chicago Bears of the NFL who also went the free agent route, was the first to be at a late-afternoon news conTeam that was delayed almost hours while Scott's agent, Jack Childers, went over the finer points of the contract with Alouettes management. "I'm very happy to be here and to be part of Montreal," said Scott, 29. "I've heard that it is a great organization." Scott, who caught 36 passes the Bears last season for 696 yards, an average of 19.3 yards per catch, said the signing of Ferragamo had nothing to do with his coming to terms with Montreal. VINCE FERRAGAMO Goes to Montreal turn kicks, a commodity which has been sadly lacking from the San Diego attack in recent years.

"He is not said Charger coach Don Coryell of the 5-foot-9, 180- pound Brooks, "but he is strong a and he's an excellent athlete. His kick return ability was very important to us. He has good hands, good quickness and good body control. Also, he is very durable and was only hurt once in his career at Auburn." As a senior at Auburn, Brooks gained 1,313 yards on 261 carries for a 5.0 average and he scored nine touchdowns. He averaged 119.5 yards rushing a game.

In his four-year career with the Tigers he gained 3,522 yards on 621 carries, averaged 5.7 yards per carry and scored 24 touchdowns. With his stock as a running back on the rise, Auburn chose to use Brooks only eight times on kickoff returns and only five times on punts during his senior year. He did, however, average 25 yards on those eight kickoff returns, including a 94-yard burst for a touchdown against Duke and 11.4 yards on the five punt returns. In his four seasons at Auburn, Brooks 1 returned 68 kickoffs for 1,726 yards and a 25.3 average. He also returned 15 punts for an 8.5 average.

"I love to run kicks back," said Brooks via telephone from the Auburn campus. "I have the ability to Associated Press Photo UCLA'S FREEMAN McNEIL WAVES TO THE NEW YORK JETS do it and I I'm not concerned that the Chargers chose me primarily as a kick returner. Good special teams are a tremendous help. I'm sure I can help the Chargers get good field position on both punts and Brooks' size would appear to be a detriment to his pro career, but Metcalf one of Coryell's mainstays when the Charger coach was in St. Louis wasn't much bigger.

"I'm particularly pleased that we got a player that fits into our system," said Charger owner Gene Klein. "It appears that James Brooks was built especially for Don Coryell's offense. He should add quite a bit of offensive firepower to our team. He's a capable runner with tremendous hands. We're looking forward to better field position on both punts and kicks with James around." As a junior at Auburn, Brooks played in the same backfield with Joe Cribbs and Billy Andrews.

Coryell noted that Brooks was so outstanding that Cribbs was moved to blocking back to give Brooks more playing time. "We had several players at the top of our list," Coryell said, "but Brooks hit right when our pick came up. We had him rated as the 13th best player in the draft and the highest player left on the board of those 13. We had a list of three top people and he was the only one left." The Chargers had one anxious moment before their selection when Oakland and Buffalo swapped picks and the Raiders picked just ahead of the Chargers. Speculation was that the Raiders had identified the player the Chargers wanted and would pick him before San Diego got a choice.

"When the trade was made we told our man in New York to put Brooks' name on a piece of paper and stay right by the podium," Klein said. "If Oakland had been one second late in making their pick our guy would have slid Brooks' name in ahead of Oakland." Saints pick Rogers; Lawrence to Giants NEW YORK (AP) The New Orleans Saints opened the 46th National Football League draft today by doing the expected, selecting running back George Rogers of South Carolina, the 1980 Heisman Trophy winner and fourth leading rusher in college history. "I'm too excited really to say anything," said Rogers. "I'm certainly going to give my best every time on the field." The New York Giants, with the second pick, wasted no time in selecting linebacker Lawrence Taylor from North Carolina. The New York Jets were next and they picked UCLA running back Freeman McNeil.

The crowd of hundreds of fans ringing the balcony at draft headquarters, fans who cheered the Giants' announcement of Taylor, booed when McNeil's name was read. Rogers, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound tailback, led the nation in rushing last season with 1,781 yards, averaging 161.9 yards per game. His career total was 4,958 yards, fourth place on the all-time NCAA rushing list. The defense-poor Seattle Seahawks were next. Unlike the Saints, Giants and Jets, all of whom made their selections quickly, the Seahawks took 9:10 of their allotted 15 minutes.

Then they named McNeil's UCLA teammate, free safety Kenny Easley, a three-time Associated Press AllAmerican. McNeil, the Jets' No.1 selection, missed two games last season but still rushed for 1,105 yards on 203 carries. The St. Louis Cardinals, taking nearly the entire 15 minutes, selected E.J. Junior, an outside linebacker from Alabama.

The Green Bay Packers, desperate GEORGE ROGERS HEADS for a top-flight quarterback to revive an offense which has not flourished since the Bart Starr era of the 1960s, selected California's Rich Campbell, a 6-5, 220-pounder. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, already solid on defense, strengthened DON NORCROSS Team Tennis serves up a Friar aware of think It's obviously an experiment modestly with its four teams, all able to and those of us with an interest in conveniently aligned in Califorgood, tennis hope it's a success, 'it' nia. being the new-found Team Ten- While the WTT was able to lure Bears nis league, an off-shoot of its Chris Evert and Bjorn Borg, free forefather, World Team Tennis. Team Tennis has a less attracintro- conTeam Tennis will feature just tive lineup, although King and four franchises San Diego, Martina Navratilova are top Childers, California (based in Orange women draws. of the County), Los Angeles and Oak- Neither Borg, Jimmy Connors management.

land and its season will last nor John McEnroe were able to and to only three weeks, July 6-26. be recruited by the new league. Scott, 29. Blink and you'll miss the inau- Instead, the top Team Tennis organization." gural campaign. male players are Vijay Amritraj, The organizers of the league Sherwood Stewart, Marty Rieswith are Donald Regan and Larry sen, Butch Walts and Ross Case.

yards, catch, King. Regan, a Newport Beach To Team Tennis' credit, it has had attorney, has been associated come up with a salary structure to with such inauspicious sports en- which gives the players a finanterprises as the American Bask- cial incentive to perform well. etball Association, the World Each of the league's four ownHockey Association, the Interna- ers bought into the league for tional Track Association and the $150,000, $75,000 of which was set World Football League, none of aside for a $300,000 league purse. which will make one forget the One-fourth of that sum, $75,000, NFL. will be distributed to the players King is the husband of Billie according to the team's finish.

Kean King, which in this instance The remaining $225,000 will be is a great asset. Billie Jean will handed out to the players as indibe one of Oakland's female play- vidual bonus money so that the ers. players with the best records will Team Tennis will differ from make the most money. the WTT in a number of ways, Also, the players have been most apparent of which is in size. contracted through the league.

When the WTT folded in Novem- Individual owners don't have to ber of 1978 there were 10 teams worry about ugly contract hasspread across the nation. sles. Team Tennis has started Like the WTT, Team Tennis 38 Associated Press Photo FOR THE LOWLY SAINTS themselves by picking Pitt Hugh Green, The San Francisco 49ers, eighth, went for Southern strong safety Ronnie Lott, who ably will switch to cornerback. Please see Draft, encore Kloss, Fritz Buenhing and Ann Kiyomura; Orange County Barbara Potter, Sharon Walsh, Marty Riessen and Sherwood Stewart. Each team has two alternates, Kerry Reid and Pat Dupre filling those roles for San Diego.

The Friars' owner is Barry Easton, who is noteworthy because he's 21 years old. A press release identifies Easton as "president of the Lucille Corporation, in association with William G. Karow, M.D., Williams C. Gentry and Christopher Hsiung." Karow is Easton's stepfather, while Gentry is Easton's uncle. Even at 21, Easton is not the youngest front office executive in the league.

Jeanie Buss, Los Angeles Lakers and Kings owner Jerry Buss' daughter, will direct the Los Angeles franchise. She's all of 19. Youth obviously will be served in this league. Sorry, Billie Jean. "I got into this because it's been here and it sold here before," said Easton, noting that the Friars drew between 6,000 their final year here.

Team Tennis has one other plus on its side. It can do no worse than its predecessor. lineman picking California probLott D-3 the first black women to win any significant tennis tournament since Althea Gibson won at Forrest Hills and Wimbledon in 1958. Piatek is a promising 19-yearold who was the No. 1-ranked junior player in the world in 1979 after winning titles at Wimbledon, the Italian Open, Philadelphia, the U.S.

Hard Courts and the French. But at a press conference last week and in a press release, the Friars (yes, they will retain the same nickname) spent as much time bragging about Piatek's physical attributes. "She's one of the most attractice ladies on the tour, which is a plus," said San Diego general manager Shelly Hall. Walts and Case are more well known than their female teammates. The twosome played together for Phoenix and helped lead that club to a WTT championship, with a little bit of help from Chris Evert.

Walts is a 6-foot-4 boomer with a serve that rivals Roscoe Tanner's. Case, of course, later played for the Friars. The other four teams look like this: Los Angeles Martina Navratilova, Trey Waltke, Vijay Amritraj and Rosemary Casals; Oakland Billie Jean King, Ilana ROSS CASE A Friar again matches will consist of one men's and women's singles set, one men's and women's doubles set and one mixed doubles set. Team Tennis will have just four players to a team, instead of six as in the WTT and unlike the WTT, players will be allowed to play in more than two sets. San Diego's team is made up of Leslie Allen, Mary Lou Piatek, Butch Walts and Ross Case.

Allen made headlines two months ago when she won the Avon Championships of Detroit, the 24-year-old thus becoming.