The News Tribune from Tacoma, Washington • 9

The News Tribune Section Tacoma Washington Tuesday April 10 1984 Soviet complaint Yawn C-3 Caudill mows down Jays C-4 Sonics like tiheiir Dome away from home By MARK WALLACE The News Tribune the 7189 who turned out in Seattle for the Cleveland Cavaliers the most similar team to the Central Division Pacers to the draw for Indiana in the Tacoma Dome: 11929 we did very little in the way of half-price deals in Tacoma" Bennett said have to Despite numerous discount coupons promotional gimmicks and near giveaways the Sonics are down 3313 King-dome customers per game from last season's final attendance average of 14024 and that's the lowest average figure of five post-Coliseum seasons You have to go all the way back to 1972-73 when the Sonics averaged 9448 at the Coliseum to find a poorer home-season average So it should come as no surprise that the Sonics plan to come back to Tacoma next year the final year of their King-dome contract already submitted their preferred dates for next season the Sonics in the T-Dome an average of 11852 The average for 35 dates at the Klngdome is 10711 Utah is the most improved club in the NBA and the favorite to win the Midwest Division Dallas has two genuine stars in Mark Aguirre and Rolando Blackman and Just happens to be the Sonics1 archrival in the battle far the homecourt ad-' vantage in the first round of the playoffs and Houston has the mighty Ralph Sampson worth the price of admission no matter what the record might be fr Ifkma It!" So well in fact that the Sonics are likely to be bad in Tacoma next season was a financial success far us and the fans were very said Jim Runett the director of promotion got to look at what have had for Indiana (in the The Tacoma crowds Bennett said were to three-thousand over what we'd at the Klngdome That may be conservative Compare but the T-Dome allowed home-away-from-bome games with Utah and Houston The Sonics were not attracted to Tacoma because it was a cheaper place to play however The Tacoma Dome charged the Sonics 10 percent of gran sales with a $4000 a game minimum according to the Dome Manager Mike Gebauer The Kingdome charges the Son-ics 10 percent of gross receipts over the season said Jay Green of the Kingdome staff The fee of $2200 for ticket takers ushers security cleanup and the like is cheaper than the $3400 but most of the difference is probably bridged by added expenses trucking equipment busing teams extra hours for staff incurred by the Sonics Although they were happy with results in Tacoma during the regular season the Sonics chose the Coliseum as their first alternate site in case of Kingdome scheduling conflicts during the playoffs Remember Mikey In it to Mikey try Well a year or so ago the Seattle SuperSonics' bran must have thought found a Mikey Just down 1-5 to pass a bowl full of ho-hum teams to like Indiana Utah Dallas and Houston Win'd come to the cavernous King-dome to watch those NBA doormats? Surely few enough to make it worthwhile to shop for more gullible customers maybe those folks down in Tacoma with their big new arena Well the front office was right and it was wrong It was right because pro basketball did sell in Tacoma It was wrong because three of those four visiting teams turned out to be closer to silk purses than ears In the four games against those teams this season 47407 paid their way to see to the league and the list includes a selection in the T-Dome were very pleased with the said Dave Watkins the vice president of operations through the end of the season building is a great place to play and they treated us very The Sonics had other reasons to hit the road with some home games Never the Kingdome's prime tenant the Sonics have run up against crushing scheduling binds they might have faced three weeks on the road in late February and early March without the Indiana game in Tacoma first the Final Four and then the Mariners prevented use of the Kingdome Big Towers Mitchell keys in march It once meant excellence but now means end By EARL LUEBKER News Tribune Associate Editor The Tacoma rise to better things in the Major Indoor Soccer started on Feb 22 when they beat the Buffalo Stallions 7-3 in the Tacoma Dome The Stars have posted a 10-4 won-lost record since then to climb into fourth place three percentage points ahead of the Los Angeles Lasers in the MISL's Western Division They would like to create a little more breathing room tonight when they go against the Cleveland Force in the Dome Kickoff time is 7:35 The surge which has put them into playoff contention started with the return of Dale Mitchell and Tony Towers to the lineup Mitchell had been out for a little more than three weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his knee and Towers had been missing even a little longer because of a pulled calf muscle Mitchell because of his ability to get the ball into the net has had a more visible impact but Towers has also played a major role in the success story one of those who makes things happen both offensively and defensively a link player he provides a supply Coach Freddie Goodwin said of role is a pivotal position He's the link between the offense and defense has to read the play and adjust his game both offensively ap filephoto 10(1 defensively He and Ray (Evans) have similar roles more offensive than defensive maybe 3 Continued on Page C-3 Hayes said he will head far his ranch near Brenham Texas where there will be ample time to sort out all he has seen and to test his strength against Brangus cattle instead of Luke Jackson Gus Johnson and Nate Thurmond For 16 seasons Hayes has been battling the biggest and the best Although the names changed down through the years from Willis Reed Bill Russell Wilt Chamber-lain Jerry Lucas and Wayne Embry to Moses Malone Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Robert Parish and Jeff Ruland and now to Ralph Sampson Hayes has played against John Havlicek Dave DeBusschere Bailey Howell Paul Silas Bill Bridges and Satch Sanders And later against Rick Barry Julius Erving and Larry Bird Places in time pages of history legendary performers Hayes has been part of It His career has bridged three decades of the NBA and his is perhaps a unique view of what once was and is now been through a generation of Hayes said 'Tvq been part of the 1960s the 70s and the '80s And ril tell you something seen things others only think about or read about in books been blessed and I know The professional game has undergone a series of drastic Editor's note: EMa Hayes a maa Sonics followers lowed to hate fired his last taraaroand Jumper ia front of a Northwest aadience at the Tacoma Dome Sunday Hayes received courteous if not deafening applause as he was honored in pro-game ceremonies proving even Sonics fans can bury the hatchet By THOMAS BONK Los Angeles Times He is the oldest player in the National Basketball Association and he has played more games than anyone in the history of the league At 38 Elvin Hayes is a front-line witness to the passing of an age in pro basketball and the birth of a new one From fiill Russell to Ralph Sampson and with more than 27000 points in between 16-year career actually spans several eras of professional basketball Since his rookie season of 1968-69 with the San Diego Rockets when Hayes led the NBA in scoring 12 players who were in the league that year became NBA coaches and five became general managers Hayes is still playing but not much longer This is his final season with the Houston Rockets and when it aids he plans to retire his turnaround Jumper and take up the life of a country gentleman Continued on Page C-4 soon Elvin Hayes will give up chasing basketballs to be a country gentleman Suddenly nobody wants to play the Stars Tigers-Glants try for two this evening The Tacoma Tigers and Phoenix Giants who were rained out last night will try to play a Pacific Coast League baseball double-header tonight weather permitting beginning at 6:30 at Cheney Stadium In two-plus years Tacoma manager Ed Nottle said it wu the second time been rained out at Cheney Nottle managed the Tigers in 1981 and 1982 prior to serving bullpen coach for the Oakland last summer Nottle will send a pair of lefthanders Bill Krueger and Curt Young to the mound agaiut Phoenix right-hander Mark Grant and Colin Ward the only lefty on the staff Tacoma won the first two games of the four-game series If the teams are unable to play the twin bill the games will have to be made up when the Tigers visit Phoenix June 3-5 Tucson will arrive at Cheney Stadium tomorrow night to open a four-game series to dose the Tacoma homestand Although a few players showed to get in some running yesterday Nottle gave Ms team the day off "We've had a long spring training with no time Nottle uM Frank indoor soccer palace in Federal Way Louis want to play us Wichita want to play us Kansu City want to play us not Just what we think that's the feeling in the league what we bear other coaches saying about us Some of the coaches in the east think be the representative from the west in the finals and we have every thought of being there the playoffs start be psyched about going on the road to beat somebody in their building and put the pressure on Baretta said team hu not one ounce of fear about having to go into another city to win a game been doing it on a regular basis When a team coma to Tacoma in the playoffs down by a game no way but us Baretta realised the Stars yet clinched a playoff spot but the team seems to have generated a good deal of post-season confidence in the last two months not uptight and nervous about playing a turn Uka Cleveland we might have been early in the Baretta said of the Force now not worried about playing anybody but everybody else is worried about Welcome to the Magnificient Incredible Soccer League playoffs standings show the Tacoma Stars with only a bare percentage-points edge over Los Angeles in the positioning for the Western Division playoffs but the team and the rest of the league seems resigned to the fact that the Stars win be in the playoffs causing all sorts of mayhem when the regular season closes in two weeks a crucial time in the MISL Tonight the Stars host the dreaded Cleveland Force a team with a 26-14 record third best in the league The Force is easily recognisable as one of the premier outfits in this sport They draw 15000 or more to every home game swamping the Cavaliers of pro hoop infamy as the hottest winter sports ticket in Cleveland This is a biggie and later this week come two more against Los Angeles in El Lay then back home against the Lasers Saturday night Three wins will clinch a playoff spot Taking two of three might be enough but little doubt among the Stars be there when the playoffs open is the Mars goalkeeper John Baretta said yesterday after a practice at in a looping motion to his side and sent a rocket shot past the goalkeeper into the net It wu Just a practice scrimmage but the move wu something you might expect from an internationally experienced player which properly describes the newest Star Jose Marcio Pereira DaSilva But thanks to his pals back hone in Brasil known short for Zequinha In six games since Joining the Stars the 34-year-old forward hu four goals three power play opportunities and two of them have been game-winners Quickly Tnqninha hu become a crowd favorite in much the same way would a home run hitter acquired by the local baseball team in a mid-season trade But what about that single name? Zequinha revealed an amazing and little known fact about the meaning of the name mean he said yesterday a nickname Just like any nickname you have in this country Bob out he said nodding in the direction of Stars assistant coach Bob McNab name is probably Robert but they call him Bob What doa Bob have to ask McNab later For Zequinha his role des ignated goal-scorer on the Stars amounts to a new lease on life He wu sentenced in Tuba for most of the season playing the North American Soccer League's version of the indoor game on a dead end team for which he played 24 games scored 20 goals and added 22 assists prior to his release a couple weeks ago Tulsa is a franchise that made it through the year with one foot in the financial grave The Roughnecks eliminated from the playoffs couldn't afford to keep Zequinha on the roster day they released me I went home and it been more than about two hours when I got the call from he said asked me if I wu interested in playing some more soccer and hoe I am The pace in this league very very very fast compared to the NASL and there's much more experience in thb league been an adjustment but this is a good team an excellent It taken Zequinha long to pick up on the Stars' company line couldn't believe thb team wu 1-11 at the start of the he said "All I know the way we're playing now be in the playoffs and when we get there we can go a long long playing us Cleveland had an assistant coach who scouted our game at Wichita (a 6-5 Stars win Saturday night) and the guy came away saying it wu the best game sen in the league this year must be doing something right whu none of the supposedly good teams want to play The newest Star wu positioned approximately 15 yards from the goal his back to the net He took a pass from a teammate turned left turned back right back-heeled the ball.