The Herald-Sun from Durham, North Carolina • 33

Saturday January 17 1987 XHtrfjftm JUormwj Htralfc Scoreboard 2 Fanfare3 Groh Resigns Cites Contract impasse Bogues Big Worry For Devils Staff and wire reports Groh At Wake By STEVE MANN Assistant Sports Editor the players In the program and Hooks said is common knowledge that for several years coach Groh has sought other coaching Hooks said regret that we were unable to reach an agreement and wish Coach Gron all the Groh interviewed for coaching-positions at Memphis State and Rice following the 1985 season He interviewed at Virginia Tech last month Despite his interviews at other schools Groh said he felt he deserved a contract longer than one S6AS0I1 "I feel that after six years the test was Groh said felt that six years that was pretty good time to determine yes or no this a good coach for the school and he needs to stay here a long time think the numbers were ever the he added "I thought the extension I asked for was Groh said he had no complaints with Wake Forest been treated very well he said things that will always stand out are the players Wake Forest was 5-6 overall and 2-5 In the ACC last season WINSTON-SALEM NC Wake A1 Groh resigned Friday as the Demon head football coach marking the fourth football coaching change in the Atlantic Coast Conference in the past two months "This is not a decision I like or feel comfortable Groh said in a prepared statement he read at a news conference "However extended conversations between our administration and myself have been fruitless toward developing a common ground of agreement on the future direction of Wake Forest and my role in it "It is quite disappointing to me that things quite work Groh added Groh 42 said he had no immediate plans to take another coaching job Groh's contract ended following the 1986 season He and Gene Hooks Wake Forest's athletic director had been negotiating since October Groh said he has received several proposals but the terms were not acceptable to him "We had some good extensive dialog stretching back to Groh said "I had Pit photo Groh was Demon Deacons' coach for six years Groh with an overall record then took the bead position at record of 26-40 in six seasons at Georgia Tech after Bill Curry Wake Forest had the second- left that school to become the longest tenure and second-high- head coach at Alabama Leaving est number of victories in school with Curry was Duke football history behind Peahead Walker coach Steve Sloan who became Only four of 29 head the Crimson athletic direc-coaches have compiled winning tor career records at the school Maryland hired assistant coach Before resignation Joe Krivac to replace Ross Duke Bobby Ross stepped down as the officials hired Steve Spurrier as football coach at Maryland Ross the Blue new coach Ditka May Leave Bears Reports Say Associated Press CHICAGO Mike Ditka threatened to resign as coach of the Chicago Bears last week and still may leave the team he led to the Super Bowl championship last year published reports say When Ditka first heard last week that Jerry Vainisi his close personal friend- was being let go he tried to talk -club president Mike McCaskey out of it and threatened to quit Don Pierson of the Chi- Ditka co go Tribune reported The coach strongly hinted to friends he will will not work for McCaskey beyond the 1987 season when his contract expires according to report Pierson helped Ditka write his autobiography last year Brian Hewitt who covers the Bears for the Chicago Sun-Times wrote "it may be only a matter of before Ditka goes Hewitt quoted a source close to the Bears as saying was the glue that held this organization together Had Mike Ditka left Jerry Vainisi would have Ditka was visibly upset Thursday at a news conference an- nouncing departure He said he was "very very by decision to let Vainisi go On Friday afternoon radio station WBBM-AM quoted sources When 14th-ranked Duke entertains Wake Forest today at 1:30 pm one team will be looking to end its frustration while the other hopes to avoid it The Deacons 8-5 and 0-3 in the ACC are winless in their last 20 games against conference teams Two of those losses this season came in overtime to Georgia Tech and Clemson then Wake fell Thursday to 17th-ranked NC State 75-67 Duke figures into the frustration as well The Blue Devils thumped the Deacs three times last season and have won four straight over Wake Forest The last win over Duke was in Cameron Indoor Stadium in 1985 when Tyrone Bogues hit two free throws with nine seconds left in overtime to seal an 91-89 victory over the then-No 2-ranked Blue Devils It's the 5-foot-3 Bogues that could lead to frustration for the Blue Devils 12-2 and 2-1 The senior point guard is leading the ACC in assists steals and 3-point field goal percentage and is considered a giant of a nuisance on the court gives them that confidence" said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski usually think of confidence coming from a big center He gives them confidence in that you think he's going to turn it over and he puts a lot of pressure on a team where one guy just guard him of concern to Said Blue Devil junior forward Billy King can present problems from the guy 7-2 to the guy 5-9 He makes everybody on the court a little skeptical about what they want to do If you're 7-2 when you get a rebound looking for him and if you're 5-9 you know got to worry about him because going to cover you "Muggsy you worry about He controls the whole Two other games involving ACC teams are scheduled today Undefeated Clemson plays host to Maryland at 4 pm and Big East member Villanova 10-5 travels to Virginia 94 for a nonconference game at 2 The Tigers ranked 12th at 15- are one of five unbeaten Division I teams in the country The Terps are 3-5 overall and 04 in the ACC after losing to Duke on Wednesday The Cavaliers are looking to rebound from Wednesday lop-sided loss to North Carolina in Charlottesville now whupped said Virginia head coach Terry Holland following the 95-80 loss to the Tar Heels "We're down right now but probably be ready to play NOTES Wake Forest already has matched its total number of victories a year ago The Deacons and Blue Devils have met more times (138) than any other two ACC rivals with Duke leading the series 123-60 Cup to Australia II 4-3 in 1983 also was at the helm of Freedom when it won the Cup three years before that On Friday Conner had more equipment trouble than he liked Stars Stripes was leading by 21 seconds when the spinnaker pulled away from its snap shackle and sank to the deck went down bloody but willing to he said They will do that today Kookaburra III took a 2-0 lead over Australia IV in the best-of-nine defender finals with a 46-second victory Friday That competition also will continue today Conner had his 12-meter yacht on the favored side of the course for the third straight time as the boats hit the starting line under 16-knot southwest winds And for the third straight time New Zealand skipper Chris Dickson saw Stars stern sweep around the first mark New Zealand led by six seconds at the start But after the first windward leg just 325 miles into the 241-mile race it trailed by 21 seconds Conner was on course to deflate the Kiwis' hopes again as he set sail for the bottom mark It was his spinnaker borrowed from the eliminated America II that deflated instead hoped to wait until I got a response from Hooks I hoped tne circumstances would be conversations with Hooks on a contract centered on its length Groh wanted a two-year pact but Hooks offered a one-year deal "The university made an offer to coach Groh to extend his Hooks said in a prepared statement terms included a one-year contract plus an additional salary if his contract was not to be renewed In return we asked coach Groh for a commitment to remain at Wake Forest during the year covered by the contract He declined felt we were left in a situation that was unfair to Wake Forest the football staff saying the Atlanta Falcons whose offer of a head coaching position was turned down by Terry Donahue had asked the Bears for permission to talk with Ditka about the vacancy The Falcons promptly denied that report "To my knowledge nobody has contacted us to talk to said Bears spokesman Bryan Harlan McCaskey has been gone all afternoon and I think anybody could have reached Besides their personal friendship Ditka and Vainisi are partners in a downtown restaurant and night club On Thursday McCaskey told reporters he was confident that Ditka have a long coaching career as head coach of the Chicago Vainisi 45 was one of the three along with Ditka and Bill Tobin player personnel that operated the defending Super Bowl champions But 10 days after the Bears lost their NFL playoff opener 27-13 to the Washington Redskins McCaskey said Vainisi and the Bears "agreed to part "Fired is too harsh a said McCaskey grandson of the late George Halas the founder However Vainisi whose contract runs two more years said in a later statement remain ready willing and able to continue my efforts on behalf of the Bears as I always McCaskey had said only that "a difference in approach and from philosophy" led to his departure but refused to elaborate we were down 49-51 and came down with the ball but get a shot off I thought that could have totally changed the complexion of the said Avery whose team dropped to 2-5 in the league 6-6 overall Brewer missed a free throw after a layup but Trey Gilmore who led the Knights with 15 points sank two from the line with 1:08 left for a 5549 Northern lead Carlos Torian responded with a 17-footer for Jordan with 1:01 remaining and added a free throw at the 47-second mark to cut the margin to 55-52 The free throws by Brown and Johnson sealed the victory for Northern as only points in the final minute came on a field pal by Torian with two seconds left just happy to get out of Northern coach Reid Davis said "We played well until that stretch in the fourth quarter Around about the six-minute mark they took us completely out of our offense All reports we got about them say going to get behind and come Brewer finished with 12 points including 10-of-12 attempts from the line while Ronnie Thomas added 11 See Nof1hem2D the Braves during the club's years in Milwaukee Both uniforms will be accompanied by hats such as the Braves wore in their first seasons in navy blue with a red bill a red button on top and a white script The team had worn ultra-white home uniforms and powder-blue road outfits from 1980 through 1986 New Look Ken Oberkfell (L) and Zane Smith model the new uniforms to be worn by the Atlanta Braves this coming season The road uniforms modeled by Oberkfell will be gray The home uniforms will be white The outfits have an old-fashioned look reminiscent of those worn by Stars Lead Deflates With Spinnaker Knights Beat Jordan For 7th Straight Win By JIMMY DuPREE Herald sports writer Associated Press FREMANTLE Australia Stars red white and blue spinnaker swelled then sank to the deck and with it went the US hopes for a third straight victory in the Cup challenger series The mishap at the start of the second leg of the eight-leg race Friday opened the way for New Zealand to go on to a 38 second victory cutting Stars Stripes' lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series to determine a challenger to Australia in the finaL The position was familiar to US skipper Dennis Conner He also had a 2-1 lead in an Cup series in 1983 He didn't have the lead when the series ended and why he is here Conner seem worried The location is different the churning waters of the Indian Ocean as opposed to the calmer conditions off Newport RI He is confident the outcome will be different too been 2-up and been 2-1 but really the score has not changed anyway from he said still have to win Conner skipper aboard Liberty when it lost the America's Freddie Brewer and Mike Johnson both sank three free throws in the final 42 seconds as Northern held off a fourth-quarter rally by Jordan Friday night to defeat the Falcons 61-54 in a PAC-6 high school basketball game The Knights held a comfortable lead throughout most of the game expanding the margin to double figures early in the second quarter Northern which improved to 5-2 in the PAC-6 and 94 overall with its seventh consecutive win took its biggest lead 51-34 with 6:44 left in the fourth quarter Then the bottom fell out as reserves posted 15 unanswered points to trim the margin to 5149 at the 2:12 mark was just so disgusted with the way that first group was said Jordan coach Johnny Avery thought they reserves might give us some life and tney did If it been for them we might have been blown Instead Dee Couch and Erik Shelton posted 5 points each during the barrage and Rodney follow shot trimmed the deficit to 2 i.