The San Bernardino County Sun from San Bernardino, California • Page 39

this week's area prep scoring leaders. c-2 oe morgan signs contract with giants c-3 Tuesday, February 10, 1981 The Sun, San Bernardino, California Section There's Magic in Lakers' near future i Sun newt services If you believe in Magic, here's some good news: Earvin "Magic" Johnson, whose skills helped the Lakers to the 1980 National Basketball Association championship and whose smile lit up the entire league, is expected to be back in action within two weeks. "I can hardly wait," said Johnson. "Not being involved has really hurt." Johnson, sidelined since Nov. 18 because I 4f warmups before changing back into street clothes and watching the games from a seat on the bench.

"The main thing is I'm back, I'm practicing and I'm around the guys, even if it's only for moral support," said Johnson. "It's good to be a part of the team again. It's great to be talking jive and being around the fellas." So now he's back with the ballclub, and Feb. 22 he hopes to be back in the Lakers' lineup. "Practice has been going realy well," he said.

"The main thing is I have to gain confidence in my knee. Jt feels good and it's getting stronger, but I won't push it. "If the knee is sound, I'll come back. If not, I won't," Johnson added. "You have to listen to the doctors' advice, put it in your own head and do what's best for yourself.

We don't want a a knee that might be strong enough. We want to be sure." The answers to those questions would be more positive with Magic in the Laker lineup. "He makes us significantly better," said Westhead. "His pluses are passing, rebounding and smiling." The latter is not to be discounted. For years the Lakers were known for their unemotional play and blase fans, but all that changed last year with the arrival of Johnson.

His enthusiasm went a long way toward creating a new atmosphere on the team and at the Forum. "I hope I'll fire them up," said Johnson, when asked what impact his return would have. "But the team has been playing pretty well without me, so you never know." Johnson clearly is anxious to get back in action. He began shooting baskets on Jan. 12 and made a three-game road trip with the Lakers last week, scrimmaging with the club in practice and taking part in pregame Taat would be a most appropriate occasion for the return of Johnson, whose value to the entire NBA lies as much in the 20-year-old's infectious enthusiasm as in his basketball skills.

Besides taking place in the media capital of New York, Magic's return will be nationally televised as part of CBS's Sunday Game of the Week series and a Magic act can only help the ratings. The Lakers have done surprisingly well since the 6-foot-9 guard got hurt. They were 15-5 before Johnson went down and have gone 23-14 without him to stay within 41 games of the first-place Phoenix Suns in the Pacific Division race. "I'm not going to rush the knee because the team doesn't need me to make the playoffs," said Johnson. "We'll do that regardless of whether I come back or not.

The questions are whether we'll finish in first or second place and how far we'll go in the playoffs." of torn cartilage in his left knee, has been scrimmaging wun me uaKers ior me week, with encouraging results. "He looked better than we had expected," said Los Angeles coach Paul Westhead. "He was running "well, hitting and cutting. We thought it might take him awhils to get the feel of contact again, but he seemed not to be hurt at all. "He'll play for us Feb.

22 in New York." Magic Johnson aching to return i Fontana woman claude recalls races w- ftW Si anderson 11 Experiment not super to prep coaches 4 HPS' vs.4Polish Flyer' By KATIE CASTATOR Sun Sports Writer FONTANA Virginia Smith sank back in an easy chair several sizes too big for her 5-foot, 105-pound frame. A furrow creased her brow as she struggled to recall details of events which happened over 50 years ago. "I don't remember our times; it's been too long," the former sprinter finally said, referring to a race she ran against former Olympic gold medalist Stella Walsh. "But if the reports are true and she is a man, she owes me a gold medal." Smith's eyes crinkled at the corners, unmasking her little joke. Her remarks were triggered by recent reports that there was uncertainty over the gender of the late Walsh.

The Ohio Flash, or Polish Flyer, both common nicknames for Walsh, who was christened Stanislawa Walasiewicz, moved to Cleveland from Poland with her parents at age one. In 1932, Walsh ran for Poland when she picked up a gold medal in the 100-meter dash at the Olympics in Los Angeles. A brief newspaper story from an August 1932 issue of Tie Sua stated: Stella Walsh, the Cleveland girl athlete who at the last minute rejected American citizenship and competed in the Olympic games as a member of the Polish team, will return to Poland as a student. She has been given a scholarship in the national university by the women's Polish national alliance. Little, however, was mentioned of her win and the fact was probably noted by only the most avid agate readers.

For those who missed it in 1932, Walsh picked up the gold after running the 100 meters in 11.9 seconds. Walsh never repeated her 1932 triumph. In the 1936 OlvmDics. she had to settle for a silver medal. Fontana resident Virginia Smith (right) was a close second to the late Stella Walsh in this 1928 race.

A coroner's report has since shed doubt on Walsh's claim to be a woman. A trial balloon sent up the other day, proposing that one "super" high school be formed from the four in the San Bernardino City School District, was shot down by three Citrus Belt League coaches at Friday's Eisenhower-Redlands basketball game. "The designated school, with juniors and seniors only, couldn't be in the Citrus Belt League anymore," said Ike basketball coach Dick Cardosi. "They'd have to put it in the same league (the Camino Real) with Verbum Dei." Said coach Randy Genung of Redlands: "They'd have to form a new 6-A conference, instead of a 4-A. Maybe it would have to be in a conference by itself.

They should use San Bernardino High as the school; at least it would have the name of the city involved." Ike football coach Keith Bailey approached it from another angle: "I don't see how they could make just one high school out of the four. Maybe two high schools, with juniors and seniors only, would make more sense." Judging from the letters (two), phone calls (five) and comments (many) this columnist has received since Thursday's missile was fired, it appears that the one "super" high school idea would go over like a lead balloon. The idea was that three high Over the next 40 years, headlines were scarce for the Olympic champion until last uecemDer wnen at the age of 69 she was killed by a gunman on a dark Cleveland street. Even though authorities found $200 in her purse, the police said the motive was nrobablv robberv. 11 I 1.

When the results of Walsh's autopsy were made public by court order on Jan. 23, it was revealed that the former sprinter had male sex organs. Chromosome tests, however, were inconclusive, and one of Walsh's longtime friends insisted the athlete was Dart male and part female. schools could compete on a varsity level, with the fourth school being for "special activities," or perhaps X-i -XtM" A The news came as a shock to Smith, who has rlisnlaved among her mementos a picture of Walsh for ninth and 10th graders. The latest figures show that ap- hitting the tape just a breath before her in a 50-yard proximately 8,000 students are-enrolled in the freshman through senior grades, with more than half of them in the lower two grades.

dash at a 1928 track meet Pittsburgh "I think she ran it in 6-something," said Smith. "That was a ereat time then." At one time, Smith and Walsh had much in common. Both were born in 1911 and were world- That would mean that far more than 3,000 juniors and seniors I few lV jsi 3 i Kilfcw would be in the "super" school. (Continued on D-2, column 5) 5 I- i From an academic standpoint, the administrators might approve of it. But, from a sports competi i nuess we were dumb.

We didn't get tion viewpoint, it would create I together and discuss things then. We havoc among the scheduling in the CBL (with Pacific and San Photof ceurtaiy Vtrglnlo Smith I used to giggle and laugn aoout now mannish-looking she was, but we never Gorgonio) and the San Andreas thought about her being a man. Virginia Smith (left) and Stella Walsh (tar right) ran on the same AAU relay team in 1929. League (with Cajon and SBHS). Smith shouldVit Even if the mysterious Harold NHUs stars will come out tonight at Forum Smith should escape charges in the Muhammad Ali Professional Sports mess, he should be barred forever from having anything to do with the sick game of boxing.

He's helping it reach, an early, grave with his absurd antics. His proposed Feb. 23 four-bout card, which had been scheduled for Madison Square Garden Feb. 23, was ridiculous to begin with. He had promised $8 million, in Wells Fargo money apparently, for an unattractive program that was worth $1 million at the most.

With such unknowns as Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, Wilfredo Benitez and Matthew Saad Muhammad, it's a "who cares?" card. Gerry Cooney and Ken Norton never will have the magic at the box office that Ali enjoyed. Boxing purses are getting as far out of line as many of the baseball salaries. It's time to forget licensing such phonies as Smith, and (Continued on D-2, column 5) In statistics released Monday, Dionne was the second-leading scorer in the NHL with 99 points (46 goals, 53 assists), Simmer was third with 96 (50 goals, 46 assists) and Taylor was fifth at 88 (32 goals, 56 assists). Trying to neutralize the high-scoring Wales lineup will be Campbell goalie Mike Liut of St.

Louis, the winningest goaltender in the NHL last season and making his first All-Star appearance. Five players initially selected for the game have dropped out because of injuries, with Islanders center Bryan Trottier of the Campbells and defenseman Bill Hajt of the Wales Conference saying Monday they won't play. Right wing Wayne Babych of St. Louis will replace Trottier, with Montreal's Rod Langway replacing Hajt. Others unable to play are Montreal's Larry Robinson and Guy Lafleur and Toronto's Borje Salming.

The Campbell Conference players must hope the influx of new players signals a change in direction for the All-Star Game. Since the inter-conference format was adopted in 1975, everything has gone the Wales Conference's way. Coached by Scotty Bowman, now Buffalo general manager and the winning mentor in four All-Star Games, the Wales Conference will be gunning for its sixth consecutive victory. "I don't think the players in the Wales are that much better," said defenseman Denis Potvin of the Islanders. "Maybe they had more depth or were luckier.

But there's not that much difference in the two conferences." This year's Wales team has some real firepower, however, including the highest scoring line in NHL history the Kings' Marcel Dionne, Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor. New York Islanders left wing Bob Bourne, also named to the Campbell Conference squad by the coach after writers picked the first 12 players on each team, said he was honored and surprised to make the team. In his seventh NHL season, he will be one of 19 first-timers on the 40-player All-Star roster. "I was surprised to make the game, especially because they picked me over Anders Kallur," said Bourne, referring to his Islander teammate. "I felt I had a decent enough chance to make the All-Star team until Jan.

1, but I haven't done a thing since then." Also set for his first All-Star Game is Kings' goalie Mario Lessard, who was less than shocked that he was selected. "I'm not really surprised," he said. "The more you play and the more you win, the more you get noticed. I know I'm a better goalie and I guess the writers know it, too." Sun news services iNGLEWOOD Exuberance and enthusiasm should be the hallmark of tonight's 33rd National Hockey League All-Star Game at the Forum, seeing as nearly half the players in the 7:30 p.m. contest will be making their first appearances in the annual classic.

"I don't know how much playing time I'll get, but I'll give it every ounce of energy while I'm playing," said a noticeably exuberant and enthusiastic Eddie Johnstone of the New York Rangers. "It's great to represent the Rangers and also I feel like I'm representing all the hardworking guys in this league," added Johnstone, selected for his first All-Star Game by Clarence Campbell Conference coach Pat Quinn of Philadelphia. "If I skate my wing and hit and hustle, I always manage to come out in good shape; that's how I got to this game.".