The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 100

INSIDE Miami 1Lrab Thursdav orts dk Hardie ol December 31 1970 1 Craig urns: ISU's Willie Nays on Defense Orange Bova Team r41) ANNUMMIldeolmidielWhbkimilaiammamaiMMORMISMINdAidemommion dobdall By GARY LONG Herald Sports Writer Louisiana State football Coach Charlie McClendon has tagged Craig Burns with the nickname "Willie Mays" "The safety is kind of a centerfielder back there and besides he's a baseball player (center fielder)" McClendon explained "Also he has great hands" McClendon paused and chuckled Of course there was a time when he missed a pass against Ole Miss a couple of years ago that I wanted to call him 'Iron Hands' BURNS needed no prompting to recall the incident "There was something like two minutes left in the game we were four points ahead and Mississippi was driving On us" he said "On the touchdown play I was man-to-man on the receiver and I tipped the ball But it hit him on the helmet then on the shoulder pads and then dropped right in his lap He fell backwards into the end zone and they won" The home-grown Baton Rouge La product probably will never forget the incident 68000 howling Tans and Bengal mascot Mike III roar ing their disapproval in wild Tiger Stadium CRAIG BURNS has long since redeemed himself for that sad sophomore mishap This year the scene was much the same: LSU vs Ole Miss in packed Tiger Stadium the Southeastern Conference championship and an Orange Bowl bid on the line for LSU "I was very high more than for any other game I've ever played" said the 5-toot Besides their goals are the same winning Both immediately point to LSU's first SEC title in McClendon's nine years as the most rewarding aspect of the season AN ORANGE BOWL victory over Nebraska would be a bonus "I thought Notre Dame was big" said Burns somewhat awed "But Nebraska seems even bigger Their big asset is strength They can really blow you off the line" But he has faith in LSU's tenacious front four "I'll tell you those guys up front are something" he said The New Year's Night combat will mark the end of Burns' impressive football career He plans to seek a place in professional baseball But football has been good to him and vice versa "Growing up in Baton Rouge I'd been to about every LSU football game since I could walk" Burns said "And my ambition was to play football for LSU It's been great" A thankful McClendon would agree football games" He was referring to the shifty safety's 339 yards on 21 punt returns a superb 161-yard average that ranked him seventh nationally Despite his value Burns has been overshadowed by the highly publicized Tommy Casanova an Associated Press All-American who plays in both the offensive and defensive backfields "1 really don't feel too bad about that" Burns said sin- cerely "Tommy's a great ballplayer and lie deserves all the credit he gets" 360-degree peripheral vision" McClendon marveled That impression undoubtedly is a product of Burns' eight pass thefts which tied him for eighth nationally He returned them a total of 117 yards 11-inch 1S6-pound Burns His play exhibited his determination The alert senior picked off thrt-e Rebel passes and pranced 61 yards to a touchdown on a punt return to contribute to a stunning 61- 17 rout The players celebrated by accepting the Orange Bowl's bid to play Nebraska "It seems like Craig has McCLENDON commented "Craig gives us all that hidden yardage necessary to win 0 am wner Frazier Clay Set March 8 Fires Alien LI -'7 lj 1 1 1 kr oplo Ji I Pl' piil -k: Ift-: -t- Alte0 4 r84 ti '04ri1: 4:: 4: i clk 0 '1- At11 k4-' -1' 4- 0 i i i i 4 4 :) -) 4- it:" tt't :) ''it )I' e''07 0 0-04- -1 'pt AL A kt Ik 1: 14 t- -4 4 410fr 1 1:: 'ke'- ote'N-- rtz-iiE: e- 1 "George Allen stated that we have different theories of opera lion This is true It is ther (lore' unrealistic to continue" ajr7: have don (71111''-6 Ruttrel Reeves cen NEW YORK (UPI) Cassius Clay claiming he is still the true champion and Joe Frazier the recognized titleholder signed contracts Wednesday They agreed to meet for the heavyweight championship on March 8 at Madison Square Garden in a bout assured of being the richest one-shot sporting event in history Clay and Frazier were guaranteed S25 million each for the I5-round fight which one of the promoters claimed could gross "between $20-30 million" Clay was his usual talkative self at the midday news conference where the official signing took place Arriving one hour late Clay announced "The showdown is here all the talking is over "This match will match an amateur champion against a professional champion which is me Joe Frazier got his chance to be a champion when I sat down and I will beat him when we meet" LOS ANGELES (UPI) As he had been expecting Coach George Allen got his walking papers Wednesday and will not be back with the Los Angeles Rams in 1971 Rams President and majority stockholder Daniel Reeves notified Allen his five-year contract would not be renewed in a telephone call from New York It was the first time Reeves and Allen had spoken in II months And the dis- missal came two years after a previous firing of the coach that was rescinded by the club president because of public protests and a threat of a players strike 4 Rams expires Dec 31 and it will not be renewed" Reeves said in a statement released by the Rams office in Los Angeles "I have personally notified George of this decision today George recently stated that we have different theories of operation This is true Press Wirephoto It is therefore unrealistic tp continue "I have discussed this with other stockholders and they are in full accord with this action I have no statement concerning a new coach at this time except to say I will do everything that I can to I provide the best possible leadership for our players and our fans" Tempers Flare as Clay Sticks Out Chin Frazier hoists Fist ring chairman Edwin Dooley was silting on hot seat at signing "GEORGE ALLEN'S as head coach of the ''thsohlte Hue to Beat ISU raska Needs 3 TDs Devaney Feels Ne classic and playing a tie with Southern California this past season The Cornhuskers went through a light drill under the OB lights Wednesday night and will wind up practice with a session lasting only 20 or 30 minutes today ONCE SEATED at the same table with Frazier only New York State Athletic Commission chairman Edwin Dooley separating them Clay began a steady stream of rhetoric pounding on the table At one point he and Frazier "threatened" to square off before newsmen and had to be "restrained" "He's no champion Clay told reporters motioning in the direction of Frazier "I'm going to punch you all day" he told the titleholder Frazier a lot more controlled said "He does the talking I do the fighting Hell go in seven He can call me anything he wants We've got all the time in the world when we get in that ring" UN' Bob i Elliott' Le 4r1! ALLEN WAS fired degpite coming within a game of winning the National Football Conference's Pacific Division title with a 9-4-1 record And during his five-year sojourn Allen's coaching record with the Rams was 49- 17-4 with a preseason mark of 23-6 Twice during biz' coaching tenure with the Rams Allen guided the club to division ties only to be eliminated in the conference playoffs "I don't intend to Allen said only five days ago "We haven't finished the job here yet I teel I've done birerything I could and with the exception of a few things wouldn't have done anything differently "I'm proud of our achievements Just look at the Majority of the so-called football experts are predicting a low-scoring defensive battle when Louisiana State clashes with Nacaska in the 37th Orange Bowl Classic Friday night However don't put Nebraska Coach Bob Devaney in this category please! Devaney the nation's winningest active collegiate grid mentor with a lifetime record of 113 victories 28 losses and six ties said Wednesday: "I'm firmly convinced we'll have to score at least three times to win and that's an absolute minimum Nobody talks about the LSU offense but they scored 61 points on a pretty good Mississippi team and that's an awfully lot of points I don't care how they got 'em it's still a bagfull "Sure it's possible there won't be much scoring but it doesn't figure that way to me Defenses as strong as those of LSU and Nebraska usually manage to set up several scoring opportunities via fumble recoveries or interceptions And if either one of us gets the ball inside the other team's 45 I expect to see some points go up on the board" looking lot when we took the field for our first practice here but Tuesday was a lot better You might say I'm closer to being satisfied with our over-all outlook than ever before" "As for the game itself we'll have some surprises and I assume LSU will have a few for us However we're basically the same type of offense" LSU Coach Charlie McClendon kept jibing at Devaney with reference to Nebraska's high-scoring season Devaney's reply was quick and to the point: "Notre Dame was scoring points at a faster clip than we were and you shut them out in touchdowns" If McClendon had an answer to that one I missed it DEVANEY ADMITS that the outcomes Friday afternoon of the Cotton and Rose Bowl games easily could have an effect on-the play of the Orange Bowl teams He was referring of course to the fact that the final Associated Press poll will be taken after the howl games and should Notre Dame upset Texas and Stanford topple Ohio State Nebraska could probably wind up with a national championship by beating LSU "It's silly to say that such a happening wouldn't start the adrenalin -flowing even higher in our boys but it should also juice up Lousiana State" said Devaney STRANGELY ENOUGH Nebraska finds itself in a situation identical to that of the Orange Bowl game of 1966 At the end of the regular '65 seasOn Michigan State was No 1 Arkansas No 2 Nebraska No 3 and Alabama No 4' On the afternoon of Jan 1 a favored Michigan State team lost to UCLA 14-12 in the Rose Bowl and Arkansas dropped a 14-7 decision to LSU in the Cotton Bowl A Nebraska victory over Alabama here that night would undoubtedly have given the Cornhuskers the national title But Bear Bryant's Bama powerhouse whipped Nebraska 39-28 in a wild contest When the pollsters finished voting on Jan 2 Alabama had jumped from No 4 to No 1 and the national championship DEVANEY SEES CONDITIONING as perhaps the one all-important factor in Friday's conflict "You have to remember" said Bob ''that we played our last regular season game way back on Nov 21 and until we came here the day before Christmas had been able to hold only four outdoor workouts and that's not very many" Continued Devaney "We were a pretty sluggish Rumors that Allen would not be back had circulated throughout the season Just 10 days ago UPI sports col- umnist Milton Richman wrOta the day after the Rams had upset the New York Giants 31-3 that Allen had coached his last game for the Rams ALLEN'S theory in building a winning team was to make trades for experienced performers with the goal of immediate victory and his views appeared successful From a long range standpoint however he added few rookies one or two a season and they saw little action THE NEBRASKA COACH anticipates no problems arising from the fact that the Cornhuskers have played only two night games since he became the boss man nine years ago "All of the kids played at night in high school and on a field as well lighted as the Orange Bowl there certainly should be no problems said Bob Nebraska won neither of its night games under Devaney losing to Alabama in the 1966 Orange Bowl 1717'4'4(111flfair41164 k1011 At' 7 114 A laza15 Tonight BLUEBONNET BOWL 7:33 pm Aiabama vs Oklahoma Channel 6 RE 12 WGBS THE VERBAL exchanges became so heated at one point that Dooley interrupted the fighters and warned them both to "cut out this horse manure or I'm going to fine you each $5003 right now" The fight pits two undefeated boxers Clay with his 31-0 record Including 25 knockouts compared to Frazier's record of 26-0 including 23 KOs Clay held the title before being defrocked in 1967 for refusing induction into the armed forces He became champion when he knocked out Sonny Liston on Feb 25 1964 and made his last title defense in March 1967 against Zara Foley Jerry Perencitio president of Chartwell Artists of Los Angeles which is co-promoting the fight along with the Garden said "This fight transcends the sport of boxing because of its interest by so many people" It was Perenchio who made the estimate that the bout would gross over S20 million PERENCHIO said he hopes to have 15 million seats for closed circuit theater television in the United States and Canada There will be no radio broadcast of the fi1-it in the United States or Canada and no delayed television Harry Mar'ison the Garden's boxing director said ticket sales would range from $150 for ringside and loges down to $20 for balcony scat Markson srjel a full house would result in a "live" gate cf $125 million Tickets go on sale Jan 20 and mail orders are now being accepted When Clay heard all of the figures of revenue estimates bandied about he at Frazier and yelled "We've been taken" Clay said he and Frazier had made a deal that whoever loses would crawl on his hands and knees over to the wicner in the ring look up an say "You is the Cost of Seeing Winning Team Going Up for Dolphins' Fans Friday SUGAR BOWL 12:55 pm Tennessee vs Air Force Channels 10 12 Radio WGES COTTON BOWL 1:43 pm No Ire Dame vs Texas Channel 4 Radio WKAT ROSE BOWL 4:45 pm Ohio State vs Stanford Channels 7 5 Radio W1OD season tickets all to new subscribers I asked my girls 'Did we win or lose Sunday in already sold between 600 and 700 zeasori books to new subscribers up to now It's the healthiest sale I've ever encountered" McGowan said ORANGE BOWL 7:45 pm Nebraska vs LSU Channels 7 8c 5 Radio VIOL et have been abolished however Al! seats including those in the west end zone will be reserved although the S4 general-admission price remains the same for a reserved seat in that area General' admission areas the past five years included the last two sections in the four corners of the Orange Bowl These will be reserved at $3 next year The scale of increases moves reserved seats up to $6 in 1971 $6 seats to $7 and SS chairback seats to $10 Sat rdey GATOR BOWL 2 pm Auburn vs Mississippi Channels 7 5 Radio WIOD SHRINE EAST-WEST 4:20 pm East Stars vs West Stars Channels 10 ez 12 FURTHERMORE the fact that everybody loves a winner is being electronically demonstrated in the offices of Jack McGowan the Dolphins' ticket director at Gate 14 of the Orange Bowl Phones ring constantly with requests for new orders Compounded by the necessity of handling Super Bowl ticket distribution the pace keeps McGowan and his aides nervous "When we opened the windows for next year's Dolphin sale at 9 am Monday morning eight people were standing in line and the phones started ringing" McGowan said "I couldn'l believe it On Monday alone we sold 150 By BILL BRAUCHER Herald Sports Writer Just as the Dolphins did on the football field their fans must pay the price for success Only the fans must pay literally at prices up to $10 a copy for 1971 season tickets The inflationary message to the 26100 season subscribers of 1970 is being distributed in the mail this week Deadline for renewals is Feb 1 The price increases aftect allOrange Bowl seats except those in the west end zone where the $1 admission like the cost of life savers prevail GENERAL admission tick the National Football League" according to Joe Robbie the Dolphins' president Robbie said that although the Dolphins were second in average regular-season attendance only to the Cleveland Browns of the NFL Miami's gate receipts did not reflect the crowd figures The Dolphins totaled 440- 139 customers for seven regular-season home games in 1970 an average 'of 62877 The upsurge of turnstile busincss which Robbie attributes entirely to the 10-4 regular-season record posted by Coach Don Shula's squad comparFs with a 34638 average Itendaace figure for 1969 the previous high mark THE PRICE increases have caused no murmuring to Mc- Gowan's knowledge 'Tin sure Ill get some arguments as usual" he said "but I haven't heard one complaint yet" Those most entitled to complain presumably are chairback patrons socked with $2 increases But these customersere apparently they most affluent Sunday AFC CHAMPIONSHIP 2 pm Baltimore vs Oakland Channels 7 5 Radio WIOD INK CHAMPIONSHIP 5 IIm San Franci6co vs Dallas Channel 4 Radio 17 WKAT THE HIKES were necessary to bring the Miami Dolphins' I icket revenue closer to a par with the test of.