Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 33

i i 1 (Fi )f 1 For the latest sports scores and results 4 Cw jf i it NBC 1:30 p.m. Basketball: Purdue vs. St.John's NBC 4:00 p.m. Basketball: Missouri vs. Notre Dame WKBD 8:00 p.m.

Piston Basketball: Detroit at NY CBC 8:00 p.m. NHL Hockey: Quebec at Toronto SPORTS PEOPLE SCOREBOARD LJ DETROIT FREE PRESS HORSE RACING COMICS iff 7b 5 7-9 LJ 9 Small inju lineup ries sni 11 11 gers opening Unworried Sparky still shops for riglitlianded power this spring, because he has less than one season of professional experience and that was at Class A Lakeland last summer. Castillo, a strong-armed 23-year-old who played most of last season in Double-A ball, is another non-roster player who is likely to be at Ev-ansville when the regular season opens. But the Tigers' scouts and coaches are very high on him and he'll get a good look from Anderson in early games. By BRIAN BRAGG Free Press Sports Writer LAKELAND The Tigers will open the exhibition season Saturday against the Minnesota Twins with a very makeshift lineup, because of a rash of minor injuries.

Two more key performers Champ Summers and Kirk Gibson were ruled out of action by manager Sparky Anderson Friday. Summers is hobbled by a pulled hamstring and Gibson's left hand has been badly bruised by his overexertions in the batting cage. Both will be left in Lakeland when the squad departs for Orlando and the 1:30 p.m. spring opener. Four others will stay behind.

First baseman Jason Thompson and third baseman Richie Hebnerbpth have strained thigh muscles. They'll join leftfielder Steve Kemp and utilityman John Wockenfuss (both healthy) in an extensive batting practice session at Merchant Stadium while the rest of the Tigers get their first game action at the Twins' Tinker Field, one hour away to the east. "I'm not concerned (about the minor injuries)," said Anderson, "because we have such a long way to go this spring. I'll just bring 'em along slow. "We play so many games, our regulars will be able to get more than 80 at-bats before it's over, and that's enough for anybody." THE INJURIES to Thompson, Ilebner, Summers and Gibson all lefthanded batters aren't serious.

Minnesota manager Gene Mauch is planning to use lefthanded pitchers in the opener and in Sunday's return match at Lakeland, so those four wouldn't have seen much action, anyway. The Tigers' starting lineup for the opening day game (broadcast by WJR radio 760) will look like this: Lou Whitaker 2B, Alan Trammell SS, Lynn Jones RF, Lance Parrish IB, Tom Brookens DH, Dave Stegman CF, Ed Putman Rick Leach LF and Marty Castillo 3B. Righthander Dan Petry will be the starting pitcher. He and lefthander Mike Chris, veteran righthander Jack Billingham and rookie lefty John Martin will work two innings apiece. Young righthander Dave Steffen will work the ninth if the Tigers are winning.

Anderson said Leach the former University of Michigan quarterback in camp as a non-roster player will probably play the entire game. "I'll use Rick quite a bit the first four games or so, then not so steady after that," he said. Leach has only a slim chance to make the club Anderson was raving about pitcher Dave Ro-zema's" condition following Friday's workout. "I don't think I've ever seen Rosey throw any better See TIGERS, Page 6D Giiigo It Fusees Hull joins Howe on Whalers Big gate atU-M a plus in the NIT (if 1 ''i Nil I Oii.iiim" I fofH isZr niWk Iff ii A III 1 If i If I i Iff I 1 i 1 4k- I 7 i If (i BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) When he was 10 years old, Bobby Hull begged an autograph from Gordie Howe.

Howe doesn't remember the incident, but Hull does. "My parents took me to Detroit," the 41-year-old native of Pointe Anne, Ontario, said Thursday night after his first game as Howe's teammate on the National Hockey League Hartford Whalers. "My dad had a certain spot where he knew to stand to see the players. I was bashful and kind of held back while the other kids crowded toward him. But after I saw that the others got his autograph, I got braver and asked him for it.

"Then I really got brave and wound up with Ted Lindsay's stick." Hull originally asked to wear the number "9" Howe's number when he joined the Chicago Black Hawks. He later switched to No. 16, which he wore with the Black Hawks, the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association and Hartford. DENNIS HULL, the superstar's brother, recalled on a broadcast during the Whalers' 4-3 loss Thursday night in Buffalo that Howe had already climbed aboard the team bus and Bobby's tears brought him back onto the street. But Hull dismissed that idea.

"I was through crying by the time I was 10," he said, arching an eyebrow. Howe, who will be 52 the last day of this month, was midway through his third season with the Detroit Red Wings at the time. He exhibits a wry sense of humor about his 32d major-league season. "He (Hull) tells the story, but I can't remember it. People are always pulling that stuff with me," he said.

Hull was swarmed under by autograph seekers. He had to sign dozens of programs for reporters before he was able to dress and wade through the crowd outside the dressing rooms. By CURT SYLVESTER Free Press Sports Writer What the University of Michigan needs in the National Invitation Tournament now almost as much as a victory over the University of Texas-El Paso is another big crowd. In the make-a-buck world of NIT basketball, the Wolverines need a big gate in their Monday night game against UTEP to earn the home-court advantage for a third game if they're still in the tournament, of course. They drew 9,756 the fourth best crowd of the NIT's 16 first-round games for the 76-69 victory over Nebraska Thursday night.

And they did it with minimal help from the student body, which Is enjoying a winter break this week. "When you have a crowd like that, they (NIT) are making money, man," U-M coach Johnny Orr said Friday. "And they're interested in making money. The way they've got it set up now, it's a good deal for them." EVEN WITH tickets priced at a modest $5 and $3, it meant the opening round game was worth a minimum take of $35,000, in addition to the $2-per-car fee visitors paid to park near Crisler. That apparently is the reason Michigan was awarded the Monday night game, which if Orr is correct will be close to sellout proportions, about 13,000.

Since the rates are going up to $5 and $4, the game will be even more profitable. And, though NIT officials would have to huddle Tuesday to make everything official, there's no doubt that a fat turnstile count would turn their heads. "I think we've got a chance," said Orr, cackling with anticipation. Unless the Wolverines can find a way to handle the Texas-El Paso team, however, the home court advantage will be the least of their worries. They'll be finished for the season.

And UTEP, the Western Athletic Conference runnerup with a 20-7 season record, seems to be the type of physically intimidating team that Michigan (16-12) will have trouble matching. "They're big and strong on the boards," Orr said. "They're listed as 6-foot-9, 6-8, 6-8 across the front and their guards are both 6-4. They're a big, strong and powerful inside team. "Last (Thursday) night, (Terry) White and (Anthony) Burns had 24 rebounds be- See U-M, Page 3D UPI Photo Hockev immortals fini-riia Unuua Mafti "iu uwu-uy nuii weie unite ior ine Tirsi time in tneir professional careers Thursday when the two skated together for the Hartford Whalers Hull scored a power-play goal in the Whalers' 4-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

Ali's Arum informs WBA how it will be Too bad: Winner Hitch throws in Caesars' towel FLASH: Caesars Stabbed in Back Doggone It, there goes one of the best sports bosses you'll ever find. Mike Hitch had nothing but trouble from the sharpies in pro softball. So now he has given it up. It could be the killing blow for this highly entertaining game. Hitch had blown a half-million bucks, maybe more, on his Caesars team and he was ready to spend even more, pulling big-name athletes to his lineup.

Would you believe O.J. Simpson? Hitch was one guy who figured Detroit fans deserved nothing but the best in sports and he threw his bucks around making sure it would happen for them. And it did. The Caesars won the world championship twice In three years, finished second last fall. "I can't believe the other team owners in town," the pizza king told me once.

"I'd spend every penny I have to be the best. That's what sports are all about. That's what a team owner should be all about. It's a matter of pride if you don't have it or aren't willing, then stay the hell out and let somebody else do it." You had to like him for that. Privately, he dreams of owning the Tigers, or even the Red Wings.

He is a sports nut with unrelenting desire and the means which means money to get things done. He made his Caesars softball team so tough the league legislated ludicrously against them, changing the lengths of the base paths, forcing his team to use a softer ball in its home games, doing everything possible to pull Caesars down to everybody's level. Hitch tolerated all that. What he could not tolerate was a split of the league, a break-off which he says is certain now to keep the slow-pitch soft-ball people in court for several years, at least. After what they had done to him, they still appealed to Mike Hitch to serve as mediator in hopes of forestalling a breakof of a half-dozen teams striving to start a second pro league.

He tried, and when nobody would listen, he decided to give it all up. I can't say that I blame him. Slow-pitch softball obviously does not compare with football and baseball, or hockey or even basketball and soccer In the realm of professional sports. But even so, the Caesars were winners on an average, they attracted more people than the Pistons and Express and they put a world champion label on Detroit while all our other teams sucked their thumbs. Here ice go again FLASH: Baseball Players Vote to Strike I give you the usual extraordinary 8-1 the baseball season does not open on schedule.

If you press me, I might make odds we do not play before Mother's Day the traditional point at which the Tigers are eliminated from pennant contention. Neither the club owners nor the players have shown any inclination to bend at all in current negotiations for a new contract. They are merely three weeks away from the strike deadline and they remain in different worlds. As outsiders, we can't blame the players for wanting to hang onto the rights they gained in past negotiations. They are more or less free to move from one team to another, and when they move, they generally make tremendous salary gains.

Nor can you blame the owners for seeking some sanity, or some measure of control, over the drift of players. Where the problem really lies, though, is not with the freedom of players. Not at all. The real devils, as the pro football people found years ago, were not the hired hands of the game, but the owners themselves. The owners can't trust each other and would lay out one of their own without blinking, if they thought it meant more revenue.

Does George Steinbrenner care about John Fetzer? Still, the owners know they have the upper hand in this dispute with the players, because now the players can't trust each other. So many players are in the multi-bucks category they are not likely to endure a long strike. Each day of a strike would cost each of the superstars thousands of dollars. No matter how much they might talk of sticking with their brethren on the picket line, they will see their individual losses reaching into tens of thousands of dollars. The pressure then will be on the players' association to yield to the owners and go back to work.

That is the owners' strategy. It's shrewd, and I give you 5-2 the owners will win this time. Before Memorial Day. Ali needs a lesson from Louis FLASH: Ali Comes Back Again Doesn't he know what happened to Joe Louis? The Brown Bomber was 37, a year younger than Ali, when he tried to come back in 1951 against Rocky Marciano, who was 11 years younger. Louis took an awful beating before slumping to the canvas in the eighth round.

Watching on television, the nation cried. Marciano cried. I don't know If anybody would cry for Ali, should John Tate whup him. Ali is not the sort who inspires much sympathy. He gets none from Tate, who was here last Sunday and vows to "hurt him." That's when and if the fight ever happens.

The $14 million talked about for the fight is nonsense, according to Harold Smith, the Los Angeles slicker who runs Muhammad All Sports Promotions, Inc. Smith says the whole bit is a crock created by Herbert Muhammad of the Muslims and New York promoter Bob Arum, who would put the fight in Taiwan, of all places. What is certain is that Ali definitely is training, and he would have a couple tuneup fights including one at the Silverdome before going after the heavyweight title for a fourth time. So says his own private mta. na (No.

8), or Mike Koranicki of Youngstown, Ohio (No. 9). "On the basis of Ali's performance, President Sanchez and Dr. Cordova and fellow WBA officials will make an evalutation which we would anticipate will eventuate in rating the legendary three-time champion among the top 10 contenders. This procedure would be in lieu of a tuneup fight." So much for the WBA's rule about a tuneup fight.

Arum then spelled out still more. "Ali will first be required by the WBA to get a license from a United States state boxing he said. "He will also be given a thorough physical examination in a leading hospital. "Ali would then be eligible to fight against the winner of the John Tate-Mike Weaver WBA title fight in Knoxville, March 31," added Arum, who did not forecast the winner of that fight. "We foresee no difficulty in obtaining sanction of a Muhammad Ali championship fight by the WBA Championships Committee under these NEW YORK (UPI) Trouble broke out in boxing's $14-million paradise Friday when the World Boxing Association threw a monkey wrench from Panama City to New York's Park Avenue.

Measuring his words carefully, WBA public relations director Tomas Copas warned in Panama City that Muhammad Ali may have to beat one of the association's ranked heavyweights before his proposed $14-million title fight with John Tate next June can be sanctioned. No sooner did that one bounce off the sidewalk outside of Top Rank's 450 Park Avenue headquarters than chairman of the board Bob Arum issued a statement. In effect, he suggested that sometimes he doesn't always give a hoot or a holler about the World Boxing Association's rules. The WBA rule to which Arum objected states that a title fight can't be sanctioned by the WBA unless the challenger is ranked among the top 10 contenders by that association. "Ali must ask the WBA to be considered a con- He plans to bypass needed prelim match for getting Ali ranked tender," said Copas.

"In order to do that he has to fight one of the top contenders and beat him. He then would be ranked among the top 10 and a title fight could be sanctioned." Within a few hours, Arum issued a statement telling the WBA and the rest of the world the way it is in the world of boxing. "Muhammad Ali will hold a complete training session sometime in April or early May which will be visited by WBA president Rodrigo Sanchez, Dr. Elias Cordova, chairman of the ratings committee, and other members of the ratings committee," said Arum. "Ali will spar 10 or 15 rounds with one or more top 10 rated heavyweight contenders such as Gerrie Coetzee (No.

2), Domingo D'Elia of Argenti Sims pays a visit to Lions' officials League battle scuttles Caesars softball squad By BILL McGRAW Free Press Sports Writer The Detroit Caesars, one of the most successful franchises in the American Professional Slo-Pitch Softball League (APSPL), is disbanding after three seasons of play. Mike Hitch, the pizza chain proprietor who owns the team, blamed squabbling between the APSPL and a rival circuit, the Chicago-based North American Softball League (NASL), for his decision to withdraw. The NASL has established seven teams and plans to start play this spring. The inter-league rivalry has sparked player and team raids as well as a lawsuit in Pittsburgh federal court. "It's not the environment that I want to be Involved with federal lawsuits and the dilution of the league," Hitch said Friday.

"Pro See CAESARS, Page 5D All-Catholic team today The Free Press continues to honor the top high school basketball players in the metropolitan Detroit area on Page 4D with our All-Catholic basketball team. Next Saturday sports writer Mick McCabe will present the All-Metro team and on Sunday, March 23, Hal Schram will have the All-State team, recognized by the 3,000 members of the Michigan High School Coaches Association as the official all-state team. Running back Billy Sims of Oklahoma, the No. 1 candidate to be the No. 1 choice in the National Football League plpyer draft next month, paid a visit Thursday to the team holding that No.

1 choice the Detroit Lions. The Lions confirmed that Sims and his agent visited Lion coach Monte Clark and general manager Russ Thomas at the Silverdome Thursday afternoon. "They just stopped in Detroit and came out for a visit," according to Don Kremer, the Lions' public relations director. "Then they flew out last (Thursday) night for Philadelphia." Sims, along with a group of top draft prospects, is spending the weekend in Philadelphia for physical examinations, interviews and various tests for BLESTO-V (the scouting combine of which the Lions are a part) and could not be reached for comment. According to Kremer, Sims and the Lions "did not talk contract" during the brief late afternoon visit.

THE VISIT INDICATES, however, that the Lions agree with most other National Football League observers that Sims, the 1978 Heisman Trophy winner and 1979 NCAA rush-See SIMS, Pago 5D i I' til II IP klA Caesars' owner, Mike Hitch: "It's just come to end of the line, that's all.".