The San Bernardino County Sun from San Bernardino, California • Page 41

scoreboard, football, baseball, horse racing, tennis, classified Wednesday, September 6, 1978 The Sun-Telegram, San Bernardino, Calif. I) Section 1 The 'Spirit of Troy' is a youthful one in 1978 a good ball. I believe very strongly that Mac is gome to be a great quarterback." However talented USC's young crew is some say the Trojans landed the best crop of freshmen in the country shoving a rookie in the starting lineup is cause for any coach's concern. Robinson is no different. "The key to this team is the improvement our young people make coupled ith getting the kind of performances we expect out of our veterans," he said.

On defense the major shakeup is in the secondary. Out of the top eight, only one cornerback Larry Braziel has a lot of playing time. "We're concerned (Continued on 2, column 4i Robinson said during early fall practice. We know he'll be good but hen?" However, he stressed Tuesday that too much emphasis is placed on the impact a new quarterback ill have. "I don't think McDonald's performance should be the big deal.

He doesn't have to have a dramatic impact to be successful." Regarding the southpaw's leadership qualities. Robinson said, "He's so involved in hat he's doing I guess you could safely say he doesn't have the charisma of a Fran Tarkenton or Kenny Stabler. But if you're blocking for him and you see the guy catch it for a TD and the lights on the scoreboard change well, there's a certain charisma in that." Robinson predicts big things for McDonald. "He knows exactly what he's supposed to do and throws By DAVID MOORE Sun-Teies'-arn Sports Writer John Robinson probably has the biggest challenge of his coaching career Ftaring him in the face this year. But those who have come to understand the third-year University of Southern California football coach would no doubt bet their last "Spirit of Troy" button that Robinson is sleeping soundly this week as his inexperienced Trojan squad prepares to open the season against Texas Tech Saturday.

Robinson has become known as a man at ease with pressure, at his best under adversity. Speaking Tuesday at his weekly meeting with reporters, he characteristically summed up this year's team by far the youngest and greenest of his teams as having a chance of being "the most exciting team in a hile at USC. Personally, I'm more excited about this team." Now there are those who would scoff at any hardships USC often called a football factory might profess. Their cynical "Oh, poor little Trojans" can be heard across the country. And it must be reported that USC doesn't have the troubles of an Oregon State or a Northwestern this year.

But the challenge is there nonetheless. Robinson is faced with an enlarged and improved Pac 10 conference, a treacherous schedule and a team loaded with freshmen and sophomores. Also, many of the upperclassmen have virtually no game experience. One of those junior quarterback Paul McDonald will probably, because of his position, attract the most attention. "Paul is a symbol of the whole team," i Connors wins after five-set war in Open 4 game.

He and Connors traded breaks later in the set, but Connors could not overcome Panatta. Connors, who won the Open in 1974 and 1976, rallied in the next two sets, playing far more aggressively. But in the fourth set Panatta won five games in a row, squaring the match. Early in the match, each time Panatta won a point, the crowd roared for him and for every Connors error. However, as Connors began to falter later, the crowd of 14,531 seemed to divide.

Panatta broke immediately in (Continued on D-2. column 1 I Si. AP wirapheto Jimmy Connors returns ball to Italy's Adriano Panatta in fourth round match Tuesday. Connors knows how to draw crowd NEW YORK (AP) Jimmy Connors long had been characterized as a man who fought best hen he was in danger of losing. That vision had been obscured in the last two years, when he had failed to win either of the two major tennis championships Wimbledon or the U.S.

Open, the crown he considers his by birthright. But Connors went to enormous lengths Tuesday trying to dispel the doubts about his courage, overcoming Adriano Panatta, Italy's top player, 43, 64, 6-1, 1-6, 7-5, in the fourth round of the U.S. Open. Undoubtedly, there still are those who doubt him. He played Tuesday as though he was struggling to convince.

"It was one of the best matches I ever played," said the 26-year-old American, breaking at least temporarily his week-old promise not to talk to the media. "I never gave up at any one time. I never have and I never will," he said. "I'm not going to lose it. They're going to have to win it "It's the U.S.

Championship, and it's mine." The next man ho will try and keep him from it is American Brian Gottfried, the No. 6 seed, who reached the quarter-finals by beating llth-seeded Roscoe Tanner, 6-2, 64, 6-1. The 28-year-old Panatta also recognized Connors' determination. "Jimmy never looks like a beaten man," Panatta said. "He fights for every point.

In Italy, we say he doesn't want to die. "That is the biggest thing for Jimmy." Panatta, who won the French and Italian Open championships in 1976, broke service in the first Dodgers, California rained out It looked like Connors was the Pied Piper. In what seemed to be a representative gesture to the throng gathering around him, Connors selected an 11-year-old girl and grabbed her hand, pulling her into the select circle. It was a face he recognized. Hattie Stowe, 11, from Scarsdale, N.Y., is a the daughter of a friend of Chris Evert's mother.

Hand in hand, he walked briskly and she ran as they made their way through the underground passage that led to the players locker room. "You can come upstairs, but that's as far as you can go," Connors told her sympathetically. Finally, Connors reached the sanctuary of the locker room. Badge 130 stood outside the entrance, keeping several media representatives out. "Orders from security," he told the media, who normally are allowed into the players' quarters.

"He's to be left alone." By FRED ROTHENBERG Associated Press NEW YORK Love him or hate him, Jimmy Connors has that sense of greatness that excites people. After overcoming Adriano Panatta in five emotionally charged sets (4-6, 64, 6-1, 1-6, 7-5) at the U.S. Open Tennis Championships Tuesday, Connors needed a small cordon of security people to ward off the masses who just wanted to touch him. Muhammad Ali evokes a similar response from his public, and cries of "You're the greatest" echoed around Connors as he limped back to the players' locker room, where he received treatment for a muscle cramp in his leg. Connors was visibly moved by their adoration.

In front of the entourage was a tall cop, Badge 130, who sported a fledgling mustache on his boyish face. Bellowing like an advance man for a presidential campaigner. Badge 130 warned the gathering crowd: "Out of the way, out of the way." And the crowd parted. Connors and his entourage couldn't be stopped. Behind Badge 130 was Doug Henderson, Connors' burly bodyguard, who was offering protection to his charge while carrying 10 of Jimmy's racquets in the nook of his left shoulder.

All the time, Connors had his right hand draped over Henderson's right shoulder. To Connors' right was Lornie Kuhle, Jimmy's friend and practice partner. "Not now, later," he told the hordes of little girls and older women ho besieged him for autographs and a touch. One girl cracked the human barrier and reached Connors. "I touched him.

I touched him," she squealed to a friend. All the while, the entourage was picking up speed and more people on the sides and back. By BOB PASTIN Sun-Telegram Sports Writer A tropical depression, formerly known as Hurricane Norman, blew into Southern California Tuesday and dropped just enough rain to give the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants a welcome respite from their National League West pennant battle. Down the freeway in Anaheim, the Angels were also forced to call off the night's important American League West contest with the Texas Rangers. The Dodger-Giants game, officially called at 6 p.m., has been rescheduled for 1:05 this afternoon.

The Angels and Rangers ill play a twi-night doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m. today. "It was raining pretty hard most of the afternoon, and we waited to see if it might let up," said Dodger Vice President Al Campanis. "We're just fortunate that both clubs had travel days today, or else it could have been rescheduled for Oct. 2 (the day after the regular season finales)." The Dodgers were to depart this morning for Houston, where they begin a two-game series with the Astros on Thursday night.

The Giants had plans to be in Atlanta late last night for a two-game set (Continued on D-3, column 1 little hting natural infig alavasi savs a from Steve Bartkowski. "Atlanta is very tough defensively," said Malavasi, citing their league-leading points-against (129) mark last season. "They do a good job against the run. And they dog (blitz) very well. They'll come with several different people." He was asked about the mysterious June Jones III.

"I don't know a thing about him," Malavasi admitted. "He's a (Continued on D-2, column 2) argued. I don't think we ever had a fight." He does think, however, the Rams will have a fight on their hands Sunday when they host the Atlanta Falcons. After leading the NFC Wrest division nearly half of last season, the Falcons finished second behind the Rams. Atlanta opened its season against Houston and pulled off a 20-14 upset behind little-known quarterback June Jones III, who has taken the starting job away of his coaching confrontations.

He grinned before replying. "I remember when I was at Wake Forest I got into an argument with a guy named Billy Hildebrand about pass rushing. We got down (in a stance) to show how it should be done and started blocking each other. All of a sudden, I got real mad and really let him have it. I knocked him into the chalkboard and broke it.

His head hit a light. I almost cold-cocked him. "Then there was the time Tom Dahms (still an Oakland assistant) knocked me into the chalkboard and almost knocked me out. "Hell, it happens all the time," he said. "Football is a game of emotion.

It's really so silly. It's not worth talking about." But questioners persisted. Had he ever had a fight with Chuck Knox? "Sure, we got into it a lot of times," he admitted. "But we just Cromwell Rams' insurance By PAUL OBERJUERGE Sun-Telegram Sports Writer LONG BEACH To hear Ray Malavasi tell it, most National Football League assistant coaches do more swinging than John Travolta and Burt Reynolds put together. At least that's what the Rams coach claimed Tuesday morning when asked to explain last week's fight between Ram assistants Max Coley and Charlie Waller.

"Whether you know it or not, that's something that goes on all the time on a coaching staff," Malavasi said. "I've lone it myself. You're at a meeting. You have an idea and he has an idea. You argue about it.

The next thing you know, somebody calls somebody else a dumb son of a gun and there they go." Malavasi implied that's exactly what happened in the case of Waller, 57, the quarterbacks coach, and Coley, 51, the offensive backfield coach. "I don't know why anybody's worried about it," Malavasi said. "It happens all the time. I've been in corporate board rooms and seen two guys get into an argument and one guy leans over the table and grabs the other guy by the throat. "You ought to be up in Oakland," he chuckled.

"Guys on the Raider staff are jumping at (owner) Al Davis every day." (Malavasi was an assistant at Oakland two years before joining the Rams). Malavasi was asked about some 'K1 Irwin, wait. Here's the good part. This kid, Cromwell, looks like a star. Handsome, congenial, modest.

A rlem-cut farm boy from Kansas. Even his name Nolan Cromwell sounds Hollywood, doesn't it? He was All-Everything at Kansas University. Played quarterback and safety for the Jayhawks. Ran the intermediate hurdles. Was NCAA champ, no less.

Was a decathlete, too. In short, he makes Bruce Jenner look like a wimp. The Rams drafted him in the second round last year. He spent the season as a backup safety and holder for field goals. But he was so good at that, they made him backup everything.

He's got more jobs than Micky Rooney has had wives. Not only is he the disaster quarterback, the backup safety and placekick holder, he performs on practically every special team. On top of that, he's the backup (Continued on D-2, column 4) By PAUL OBERJUERGE Sun-Telegram Sports Writer LONG BEACH Memo to Irwin Allen, disaster movie producer: Irwin, baby. How are ya? Listen, Irwin. I got a kid for you.

He'd be great for your next movie. You know, the one about killer ducks. Or is it killer rabbits? Whatever. See, this kid already knows all about disasters. His name is Nolan Cromwell.

He's called the Rams' disaster quarterback. If Pat Haden and Vince Ferragamo get hit by a truck on their way to the Coliseum Sunday, Cromwell has to play. Just one problem: Cromwell's not a quarterback. He's a defensive back. A safety.

See the beauty of it, Irwin? Can't you see it all now? "Rams quarterbacks eaten by rapacious goldfish." "Defensive back pressed into service for big game." "Can he call a play?" "Can he take a snap?" "Can he even throw a pass?" What pathos. What drama. What a script! 1 -N 7 Rams' Nolan GromweU.