The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 18

B-2 The Daily Pantagraph, 8ft--v. Dec. 26, 1980 76ers trying to get record 70-victory year .1 (J i 'vf i "We use a lot of people, they're always ready to play and they accept their roles," said Cunningham. They're also fortunate to have Erv-. ing, the brilliant Dr.

their top scorer with a 24.3 average and one of the few players capable of personally domi-: naMr.s a game. He gives them a proven superstar to turn to on the few occasions when things get rough. "Julius Erving gives the 76ers leadership," observed Bill coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Sixers have other assets, too. Dawkins can be an imposing presence in the pivot, although he has yet to display any consistency.

Maurice Cheeks is one the best point guards in the game, a speedy playmaker with a decent shot who runs the fast break brilliantly. And rookie guard Andrew Toney has stepped right in for the injured Doug Collins and provided an explosive outside scorer, one dimension the club lacked last season. Philadelphia even has the intangibles. Journeyman forward Ollie Johnson, cut by Chicago early this season and signed by Philadelphia for insurance, noticed this aspect of his new club right away. "On a winning team there's a different attitude," he said.

"You're not as tense. You go out there relaxed, because you know you're going to win. It makes the game fun." Fun for the Sixers, but not for their foes, as they take aim at the record 69 victories posted by the 1972 Los Angeles Lakers. By Alex Sachare AP Sports Analysis Are the Philadelphia 76ers as good as their 32-4 record? Can they become the first team in National Basketball Association history to win 70 games in one season? "Our record speaks for itself," says Darryl Dawkins, Philadelphia's colorful if not always consistent center. "For us to lose it takes another team to be riding very high and us to be riding mighty low.

We don't want to let that happen. We don't want to lose any game at all." They rarely do. Through the first 2Vi months of the NBA season, or better than 40 percent of the schedule, the Sixers have posted winning streaks of 12 and 10 games, and now they're working on a nine-game skein. They are coming off an unusual one-week layoff and begin a six-game road swing tonight in Kansas City with the NBA's best road record, 15-2. "We haven't lost two in a row all year and we don't intend to," says forward Julius Erving.

And they might not, since one effect of the growing mediocrity around the NBA is that all but a handful of teams are outclassed by the Sixers, who need only to turn it on for one five-minute burst to walk away with another victory. Known for offense "How good are we?" said Philadelphia Coach Billy Cunningham. "We're very good. We're strong and we're deep. We're not as consistent as we might like sometimes but that will come.

Remember, we don't hold the ball, we run with it and still we're up there on defense. That says a lot." Indeed it does. When the Sixers reached the playoff finals in 1977 they were known for their offense, with Erving taking turns on the firing line with Doug Collins, George McGinnis and Lloyd Free. But since then they have quietly become one of the outstanding defensive teams in the league, with people like Caldwell Jones and Bobby Jones now representing the character of the squad. Some numbers to illustrate the point Philadelphia ranks fourth in the league in offense, averaging 111 points per game.

Yet while most teams that score a lot also give up many points, the Sixers are the league's No. 1 defensive team, holding their opponents to just 101.3 points per game. More numbers: The Sixers, getting many layups and dunks off their fast break, have shot better than 50 percent in 23 of their games, while their opponents have surpassed 50 percent only three times. 'Lot of people' But defense is only one reason for the Sixers' success. Another is depth.

Philadelphia is able to bring three players who appeared in NBA All-Star Games off its bench: Bobby Jones, Steve Mix and Lionel Hollins. In their last 11 games, Philadelphia's Pine Boys, as the reserves are known, have scored twice as many points as their opponents' benchmen an average of 43 points per game to 21.5. Pensive look practice in preparation for Sunday's wild card playoff game with the Houston Oilers. (AP Laserphoto) Pastorini eyes next Hall of Fame Classic Tulane's Hall gets OAKLAND (AP) Dan Pastorini was supposed to put the bomb back into the Oakland Raiders' offense this year, but a broken leg early in the season took him out of the plan. "Fortunately, we had a quarterback in the wings who was ready and had prepared himself, and he did an outstanding job," says Coach Tom Flores, referring to 10-year veteran Jim Plunkett.

The Raiders host the Houston Oilers, who have former Oakland star Ken Stabler at quar- terback now, in a National Football League playoff opener Sunday. The teams, both 11-5 in the regular season, are the American Conference wild-cards. Pastorini recovered sooner than expected, has been taking part in practices most of this month and says, "I'm able to move perfectly normal again." But there obviously are no plans to activate the quarterback, traded straight up for Stabler, unless Plunkett played him some and he probably would have ended up stepping up last season," Davis said. "Last year, we were 9-2 and it was just impossible to make a change. Rock (Hontas) ended up playing extremely well." So, Hall began 1980 as a senior quarterback who had been in on about 100 plays.

"It's probably a shame we didn't redshirt him," Davis said. "If he had another year, he'd be in line for some national honors." The 6-foot-5 Hall wound up the season completing 159 of 322 passes. However, he completed only 30 of 80 passes in the final three games after suffering a hip leading Rams his chance pointer on a last-minute touchdown against Georgia Tech. Davis said the injury hampered Hall in a 24-22 victory over Kentucky the following week. Tulane closed out the season by beating Memphis State 21-16 and losing to Louisiana State University 24-7 in a downpour.

"He had a horrible game against Memphis State," Davis. "I don't think it was related to the injury. He just played bad the last two games and he knows he played bad." Tulane's offense depends on the quarterback more than others. "If he's off, we're not going to do very well," Davis said. contract, it was learned, does not contain a cost-of-living increase, as did the 10-year agreement Dave Winfield recently signed with the New York Yankees.

It also was learned that the Orioles are in serious negotiations with free agent Juan Beniquez, who would fill their left field needs, and that they are close to signing outfielder Ken Singleton to a new contract. His current Baltimore contract expires after the 1981 season. With Murray's signing, the Orioles now have retained veterans Jim Palmer, Scott McGregor, Rich Dauer, Doug DeCinces and Murray. "Our top priority," Williams had said recently, "is to sign our present stars and go into the free-agent market only to fill our needs." Orioles' Murray inks multi-year contract "I think Kenny's more comfortable with that offense," said Pastorini. "They mostly set up their passes with the runs, which is what we did when I was there.

They just come out and challenge you." Stabler has Earl Campbell, the NFL's leading rusher three straight seasons, as his chief offensive tool. Campbell ran for 1,934 yards and 13 touchdowns this season. "I think the Oilers might come up with a different philosophy against us and do anything they can to get at least five yards on first down, maybe pass more than usual," Pastorini said. "First downs will be critical against our defense." But Lester Hayes, the Oakland cor-nerback who led the NFL in interceptions with 13, disagreed somewhat with the former Oiler. "If Campbell doesn't carry the ball about 30 times, I'll be shocked," he said.

"I'm not wearing a harness now," he said. "If I needed a harness, I wouldn't play. I want to be sure I'm helping the team." Hughes said he has reached the point where he can make tackles without worrying whether his shoulder is going to pop back out. "Oh, I guess I have a sublimal fear, but the dislocation is healed and I can pretty much play without worry," he said. Bowl games at a glance Thursday's Game At Montgomery, Ala.

Blue 24, Gray 23 Today's Game Fiesta Bowl At Tempe, Aril. No 10 Penn State (9-2) vs. No 11 Ohio State (9-2) (NBC) Saturday Hall of Fame Bowl At Birmingham, Ala. Arkansas (6-5) vs Tulane (7-4), night Liberty Bowl At Memphis, Tenn. Purdue (6-3) vs.

Missouri (B-3), (ABC) Sun Bowl At El Paso, Texas No. 17 Mississippi State (9-2) vs. No 8 Nebraska (9-2), (CBS) Monday Gator Bowl At Jacksonville, Fla. No. 3 Pittsburgh (10-1) vs.

No. IB South Carolina (8-3), night (ABC) Wednesday Blue bonnet Bowl At Houston No.13 North Carolina (10-1) vs. Texas (7-4), night Thursday, Jan. 1 Cotton Bowl At Dallas No 9 Alabama (9-2) vs. No.

6 Baylor (10-1) Orange Bowl At Miami No 2 Florida State (10-1) vs. No. 4 Oklahoma (9-2), night Rose Bowl At Pasadena, Calif. No.16 Washington (9-2) vs. No.

5 Michigan (9-2) Sugar Bowl At New Orleans No.l Georgia (11-0) vs. No 7 Notre Dame (9-1-1) Friday, Jan. 2 Peach Bowl At Atlanta Virginia Tech (B-3) vs. No 20 Miami, Fla. (8-3) Saturday, Jan.

10 East-West Shrine Bowl At Palo, Alto, Calif. East vs West Hula Bowl At Honolulu, Hawaii East vs. West Saturday, Jan. 17 Senior Bowl At Mobile, Ala. North vs.

South Sunday, Jan. 18 Japan Bowl At Yokohama, Japan East vs. West, night DALLAS (AP) Like air raid wardens during the London World War II blitz, the Dallas Cowboys' secondary knows what's coming Sunday. Only "Charlie's Angels" can't take shelter from Vince Ferragamo's impending bombardment. The much-maligned Dallas secondary yielded three touchdown passes to the Los Angeles Ram quarterback in a recent 38-14 disaster.

A combination of a poor pass rush the Cowboys didn't sack Ferragamo even once and lack of coordination in the secondary made the Cowboys easy pickings. The green secondary became known as "Charlie's Angels" early in the season because 13-year veteran strong safety Charlie Waters was the only experienced man back there. Most teams came out throwing deep against Oakland Quarterback Jim Plunkett, left, and running back Ken King of the Oakland Raiders took a break from should be injured. "That's a coaching decision, and there's nothing I can do about it. I'll just look forward to next year.

I sure don't want to look back," Pastorini said this week. In last summer's exhibition games, it became clear the Raiders intended to throw more to wide receivers this year than Stabler did last season when the team used a two-tight end offense much of the time. Wide receiver Cliff Branch averaged 19.5 yards per catch this season, compared to 14.3 last year, and newcomer Bob Chandler averaged 16.6. Early this season, Stabler was reunited with his favorite passing target of recent seasons, All-Pro tight end Dave Casper who went to Houston in another Oilers-Raiders trade. Houston rode into the playoffs with a two-tight end offense, and Casper caught seven passes for 120 yards in the final regular season game.

the Cowboys. One of the keys to stopping the Rams in Sunday's National Conference wild card playoff game in Texas Stadium is an improved pass rush and the development of veteran defensive back Randy Hughes, who missed most of the season with a separated shoulder. "I'm doing better than I expected but I still have to get the competitive edge back," said Hughes, who has been playing recently on obvious passing downs. "I guess my strength is 90 per cent of what it used to be." Hughes played last year's divisional game against the Rams with a slightly separated shoulder. He wore a harness and was victimized once by Ferragamo.

Hughes couldn't raise his arms over his head to tip away what turned out to be a touchdown pass in Los Angeles' 21-19 victory. concerned about that." He said they might change the way they block a play or run a pass route differently because "the opposition has a lot of time to zero in and get a lot of repetition through 11 games." At last season's Cotton Bowl against Houston, Osborne said someone in the media mentioned to Houston coaches that the Cornhuskers were working on some different things, including a "swinging gate" trick play. Mississippi State Coach Emory Bellard said his team would "do pretty much what we've done all year. And Osborne, at a Christmas Day press conference, indicated what Mississippi State has done all year very well could be enough for Saturday. "Mississippi State is a very worthy opponent," said Osborne.

"They don't have the image of an Ohio State, but I guarantee you, if you swap uniforms, they may be better. They're a very good football team." Mississippi State upset then No.l-ranked Alabama 6-3, "but to me their most impressive victory was not the victory over Alabama but the trouncing they gave LSU (55-31)," Osborne said. "Particularly offensively it was impressive because they scored 50-some points against LSU, and LSU always has a pretty good defensive football team." Bellard called Nebraska "the best team we've faced this year," but added, "I make that statement with reservations." By The Washington Post Baltimore Oriole first baseman Eddie Murray, one of baseball's top sluggers, has signed a multi-year, multi-million-dollar contract that will make him the highest-paid Oriole player, The Washington Post learned Thursday night. Although he would not divulge the terms, Oriole owner Edward Bennett Williams confirmed Thursday night that Murray signed the contract on Tuesday. However, it was learned that the contract is for five years, with an option for a sixth year.

The actual dollar figure is hard to determine, sources said, because of contingency clauses and, according to one source, could be worth $1 million annually. The BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) Tulane quarterback Nickie Hall spent two years watching and waiting because the timing was bad. In 1980, he made up for lost time by throwing for 2,039 yards and 21 touch-. downs while leading Tulane to a 7-4 record and an invitation to Saturday's Hall of Fame Classic against Arkansas.

"The second year he was here we were 4-7," said Charles Davis, offensive coordinator at Tulane. "We weren't that bad and it was obvious we were getting close. We were in almost every game. "It would have been good if we had Today's sports on TV AFTERNOON 2:00 SI S3 Fiesta Bowl Penn State vs. Ohio State (live from Arizona State University) EVENING 6:30 (3) NBA Basketball Chicago Bulls vs.

Cleveland Cavaliers (10C) College Basketball (Joined In Progress) Penn State vs. St. John's 7:00 (SC) NBA Basketball Atlanta Hawks vs. New Jersey Nets 8:00 (10C) College Basketball lona vs. North Carolina State 9:00 ED College Basketball "lllini Classic" 10:00 (10C)MISL Soccer Hartford Hellions vs.

San Francisco Fog 1:00 CD NFL Review ANd Preview Pro basketball at a glance Eastern Conference Atlantic Division Philadelphia Boston New York Washington New Jersey .771 .439 .417 .324 .703 .583 .445 .445 .316 .278 4Vi 9 17 20'i Central Division Milwaukee 26 11 Indiana 21 15 Atlanta 16 20 Chicago 16 20 Cleveland 12 26 Detroit 10 26 9'i 9'i 14' 15' Western Conference Midwest Division San Antonio 24 14 632 Kansas City 16 21 .432 Utah 15 21 .417 Houston 14 21 .400 Denver II 23 .324 Dallas 4 33 .108 Pacific Division Phoenix 31 8 .795 Los Angeles 24 13 649 Golden State 18 16 .500 Seattle 17 18 .486 Portland It 20 .474 San Diego 17 20 .459 Thursday's Results Boston 117, New York 106 Washington 109, New Jersey 94 Phoenix 131, San Antonio 111 Portland 115, Golden State 114 7Va 8 8'i 11 19Va 6 ll'i 12 12V4 13 Was $8795 NOW $7575 vnn ciuc 1 99fl INTEREST AVAILABLE! Nebraska to feature new look in Sun Bowl PRE-INVENTORY SALE Reg. Sale 75" 5 5 00 55" 3500 ioo 5000 6 pk5' Winter Coats Winter Coats Award Jackets (in stock only) Tube Socks EL PASO, Texas (AP) Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne said Thursday he has put in a few new wrinkles for the eighth-ranked Cornhuskers' Sun Bowl game Saturday with 17th-ranked Mississippi State. And Osborne said that is one reason why he closed the Cornhuskers' practices to all non-Nebraska media. Closing practice wouldn't be needed, he said, "if you really aren't going to change anything and sit there with a pat hand and play everything you've shown on 11 films. But we've changed.

We'ie not going to play exactly what we did all year. So we're a little Basketball today HIGH SCHOOL TOURNAMENTS Area schools Involved In holiday tournaments at Chatsworth, Havana, Malta, Mason City, Piano, Rossville and Spring Valley COLLEGE TOURNAMENTS Fiahtin' mini Classic at Champaign Illinois vs. Ohio U. Bradley vs. Oklahoma Pillsbury Classic at Minntapolls Washington vs.

Texas Tech Minnesota vs. Yale Far West Classic at Portland, Ore. Drake vs. Utah Oregon vs. Fullerton State ECAC Holiday Festival at New York Penn vs.

St. John's lona vs. North Carolina State Gator Bowl at Jacksonville Florida vs. Jacksonville Purdue vs. Georgia Tech Port City Classic at Portland, Me.

North Carolina-Charlotte vs. Temple Maine vs. Northeastern Copper State Classic at Tuscon Arizona vs. Lamar Grambling vs. Cal-Santa Barbara OTHERS New Mexico at Nevada-Las Vegas Pro hockey results Thursday's results No games scheduled Tennis Racquetball Rackets Football Helmet Snack Bowl 25 OFF 14 95 19 95 STRICKLAND CHEVROLET INC Route 1 50 ond Veterans Parkway Bloomington, Illinois 61701663 4311 ALL REMAINING LADIES FRED PERRY TENNIS SHORTS, SKIRTS, TOPS-WARM-UPS 30 OFF Stop In and Check Out Other Savings ROSE SPORTING GOODS OPEN M-F SAT.

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