Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 11

DETROIT FREE PRESS 4-C Saturday. Feb. 5, 77 MORE FREE AGENTS COULD HELP OWNERS et Could. in Buyers9 Favor 1 0 A Ml Maybe you never thought you'd see the day again when players would be pursuing the ball clubs for jobs. But that day could be much nearer than you imagine if there's suddenly an overbundance free agents.

One thing to watch this summer will be how well those teams do that spent liberally on free agents. What happens now if the Yankees don't repeat after paying $5 million for Regpie Jackson and Gullett? What do you think that would do to the free agent market next fall? TITO FUENTES PLAYED OUT his option with San Diego last season and still hasn't caught on with anyone, although there's some chance he may go back where he started with the Giants. Padres' owner Ray Kroc kept a personal log on the switch-hitting second baseman for almost a month last season and discovered he was hitting far better lefthanded than he was righthanded. Kroc called that fact to Fuentes' attention. "Why don't you try to keep hitting lefthanded instead of switching?" he asked Fuentes.

"Oh, no," laughed the second baseman. "I don't want to hit only one way." "If I were manager, you would," said Kroc. Who knows, the time may also come again when a player even listens to a suggestion by his boss. for the free agents last November. For a variety of reasons, others weren't interested at all.

The teams that shelled out so much money last year aren't likely to do so again this year. Nobody owns a bottomless well. More than that, the new tax laws do not favor big spenders. Maybe you never thought you'd see the day again when players would be pursuing the ball clubs for jobs, but that day could be much nearer than you imagine if there's suddenly an overabundance of free agents. At the moment, there are some top players who haven't signed their contracts yet.

Joe Morgan, Steve Garvey, Bill Madlock, Dave Concepcion, George Foster, Al Oliver, John Candelaria, Dave Winfield, as well as Dave Kingman, Dennis Leonard, Ken Griffey, Richie Zisk and Rawly Eastwick all' are unsigned. I'm sure some of them will sign their contracts, and I'm equally sure some others won't. My own feeling is that the top six free agents next fall will do all right but not as well as the top six did last fall, and the remaining free agents wont do as well as they expected. BY MILTON RICHMAN UPI Sports Writer NEW YORK (UPI) Some of the baseball owners are crying already, months in advance, worrying that maybe the second go-round of free agents will be the back-breaker that drives them out of business. If you think it was bad when 24 players played out their options last fall and the owners wailed, wait until you see what happens next fall when they're convinced there will be three times that many.

The owners are working on the wrong premise, which isn't that unusual. Suppose there are far more free agents at the end of next season something I'm inclined to doubt, anyway. Can't the owners possibly see how that would rebound to their advantage? Instead of the players' market you had the first time, more free agents would turn it into an owners' market. That's basic. It's the old law of supply and demand.

When there's a greater supply of any one product say lefthanded pitchers the demand for any one of them goes down, not up, because the buyer now has various options. Last fall, for example, there was only one lefthanded pitcher (Don Gullet) among the free agents; one catcher (Gene Tenace); and one established shortstop (Campy Campaneris). Who's to say that next time there might be a half-dozen lefthanded pitchers and as many catchers and shortstops. That would certainly drive the price down. It also would make for a totally different market situation, one that worked in favor of the owners, not the players.

ANOTHER FACTOR HAS to be considered. Only eight or nine teams showed any interest in getting into serious bidding IT Coach Calls The Tune Directing his team in a manner that would make a sy phony conductor en- rious, coach John Volpe is his usual well-dressed self as he pulls his Gorton (N.Y.) High School squad to a recent overtime victory oyer onkers "hh. At Photos f'jft fvt -w 1 JSr 8I JKLdL dml'Jlf I 1 1 Ex-Lion Wojie Still Solid at 265 On a Team of Stars, Bibby Gets Things Done "I'm not a i as many shots. Basically, I get the ball, move it around, stabilize things" Guard Henry Bibby. college he tutored us in latin and other subjects.

He's the one who kept us in school. "Lombardi could be a beautiful man and a tough s.o.b. at the same time." WOJCIECHOWICZ, who now weighs 265 pounds compared to 210 in college and 240 in the pros, thinks he could still make it in the NFL. "Joe Schmidt weighed only 220 when he was the best linebacker in the league," he reasoned. "That good young kid, Jack Lambert with Pittsburgh, is about 235." The son of an immigrant Polish tailor who spoke no English, Wojie gave up football for good upon his retirement in 1950 after 13 seasons.

"I did help Steve Van Buren with the Newark Bears in the Continental League one year, but that was because he was an old friend and it was only part time." Wojciechowicz let his four children play football in high school but dissuaded them from continuing the game in college. "One dumb athlete in the family is enough," he joked before heading off to socialize with Ace Parker, Elroy Hirsch, Sid Luckman, Van Buren and the other all-time pro greats honored at the dinner. WASHINTGON -(UPI) -Here's good news for ethnic wits: It's safe to tell Polish jokes to Alex Wojciechowicz. "They don't bother the pro football hall-of-famer said affably. "I just pass them off.

Sometimes I tell one myself. I'm not that sensitive." Now a grandfather of nine, Wojciechowicz is still as solid as when he was one of the "Seven Blocks of Granite" at Fordham and as the all-pro he became as a 60-minute center and linebacker with the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles. At the recent Washington touchdown club awards dinner, he reminisced about another of the famed Fordham linemen who played with him in the 1930s the late Vince Lombardi. "He wasn't a great football player because he was a little too small," the Monmouth, N.J., real estate broker and appraiser said of the former Green Bay and Washington coach. "Vince weighed only about 180, but ounce for ounce he was the greatest leader I've ever known.

"He helped us as much off as on the field. Vince graduated cum laude and all through NEW YORK (UPI) Like W. C. Fields' legendary epitaph, Henry Bibbv would rather be in Philadelphia. "Things have been going well," the 76ers' versatile back-court man said recently.

"I can't complain. We're in first place and have a chance to go somewhere." Before the season, Bibby was heading nowhere with the New Orleans Jazz and said he expected to be dealt elsewhere. On Sept. 17, his expectations were delivered by way of the Philadelphia 76ers, who picked him up in a straight cash transaction. AS IT TURNED OUT, it has been a year of unexpected good fortune.

After limited usage with the Jazz for two seasons, Bibby landed a starting job in Philadelphia's talent-rich lineup. And while his success is eclipsed by that of Julius Erving and George McGinnis, it is nevertheless crucial to the team's strong showing. 1 The 76ers enjoy a comfortable lead over the Boston Celtics in the NBA's Atlantic Division and are playing their finest ball of the season. It has not been all gravy for Philadelphia, however. Only a few weeks ago, the Celtics and Knicks were in close pursuit.

But Charlie Scott's broken arm and Dave Owens' slow re-entry after retirement hurt Boston, while chaotic and inconsistent play dulled New York. Much has been said about the 76ers' collection of high-priced virtuosos. But while Bibby's skills don't command the rave reviews, his contributions have not gone unoticed. "He's the type who plays whatever role is assigned," Philadelphia coach Gene Shue said of his 6-foot-l guard. "His Job is in doing what he's been doing: good defense, good floor play and hitting the open shot.

He's a very consistent player." Given the 76ers' talent surplus, it was believed Philadelphia would need a closetful of basketballs to satisfy everyone's offensive needs. But Bibby provided the steadying balance and quiet leadership. "I don't mind giving them the ball as long as I can contribute," said the 27-year-old native of Franklinton, N.C. "I'm not taking as many shots. Basically, I get the ball, move it around, stabilize things." IT IS ODD THAT BIBBY.

a two-time All-American and key offensive figure during UCLA's dynasty of the late 1960s and early 70s, should now assume the role of playmaker. Even with the Knicks, who drafted him in the fourth round in 1972, it was Carter Wooed on Olympics WASHINGTON-(U I) A bipartisan congressional bloc hopes to have President Carter help carry the ball for a series of proposals to restructure the U.S. Olympic effort and strengthen the na-t i n's amateur athletic program. Sen. Richard B.

Stone, D-FIa already has conferred with key Carter aides on obtaining White House backing for recommendations in the final report of the special President's Commission Olympic Sports. He is optimistic there may be an endorsement before the end of the month. "I think the first priority is to get the President's support," said Stone, a member of the commission. "Second is to line up the major athletic organizations behind us and third, Congress should begin action as soon as possible." The major proposals submitted to former President Ger-i aid Ford shortly before Carter took office would set up a broad-based n-governmen-tal central sports organization to replace the U.S. Olympic Committee; provide a bill of rights for amateur athletes, and provide more federally sponsored financial help for sports programs of every type.

Other recommendations would require government actions involving taxes, appropriations, airline regulations, commemorative coins and tariffs. STONE IS working closely with other members of Congress who served on the Olympic commission Sens. John C. Culver, D-Iowa, and Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, and Reps. Ralph A.

Metcalfe, Jack Kemp, Robert A. Miche and Norman Y. Mineta, D-Calif. The response from the White House thus far has been "encouraging," Stone reported. The report has gotten generally good marks thus far from major sports organizations such as the NCAA and the AAU, according to stone.

Town Buys Baseball Team After Big Leagues Pull Out Henry Bibby his long-range outside shooting that often helped turn games around. By Feb. 2, Bibby was the club leader in assists, averaging 4.2 per game with a scoring average of 10.4. He was third in total playing time only Erving and McGinnis had logged more minutes. All of which is strange for someone whose NBA career was in jeopardy and thought he might be playing "street basketball" this year.

Now, Bibby and guard Lloyd Free have teamed to form one of the most effective backcourts in the league. Bibby, now closer to his home in suburban New Jersey, cracked the starting lineup when standout guard Doug Collins was sidelined with a foot injury and Fred Carter was shipped to Milwaukee in early December for two draft choices. "We were looking for a different kind of player," Shue said of the move. The deal signajed the 76ers' desire to get more playmaking and less offensive fireworks into the lineup. Thus far, the move has paid off handsomely.

"Fred's a good ballplayer and can still play," Bibby said. "But he was a victim of circumstances and became expendable, maybe I'll be expendable some day." Dee-Fense! The Penguins Finally Learn How with operating the municipally owned ballpark. THE NEW GENERAL manager, Jerry Lambert, ran the quad cities team in Davenport, Iowa, for a decade before becoming general manager of the double A Chattanooga, team last year. "One thing for taxpayers to look at in Visalia is, if at the end of the year there's money left over, it goes back into the city treasury and not into private hands," Lambert said. Anthony says the budget for the team in 1977 will be about $90,000 for a 140-game season, beginning April 14.

"We've built our budget on the league average of 46,000 paid home attendance and we think we can reach it," said Anthony, "We'd like to have 50,000 or 60,000." "But attendance doesn't really tell the story," he added. "It's how much you've got in the cash box from box seat sales, program advertising and concession sales. "Promoted right with an average team, you can make it," he said. "Promoted wrong with a champion, you can lose but promote right with a champion and you take money to the bank, baby." VISALIA, CALIF. (UPI) Professional baseball fans will get a chance to help out the Visalia city treasury this coming season.

The city council has purchased a franchise in the six-team California League. Two county governments run franchises, but Visalia is the only city in the nation that owns and operates a professional baseball franchise. Dick Anthony, deputy' city manager handled much of the negotiations in getting the franchise. He says the council decided to get into the baseball business because over the last three decades, privately owned teams kept pulling out of Visalia. The last was the Visalia Mets, a farm team owned by the New York Mets.

They left at the end of the 1975 season.The council bought a franchise from the league for $5,000 when private ownership couldn't be found. The Visalia frachise will operate under a working agreement with Minnesota. The Twins will supply the players and field managers for the team, recently named the Visalia Oaks in a local contest, and pay their salaries. The city is responsible for a general manager, league dues, room and board and transportation for the team, plus advertising, promotional and other expenses connected the game is to win and we weren't doing it despite all our offense. "Kenny (coach Sohinkel) put in a defensive system this year and we're starting to pick it guys are starting to realize that you can play defensively and still get the chances to score goals." The Penguins gave up a club-record 303 goals last season and their goalies posted only two shutouts.

NEW YORK (UPI) It has taken the latest hockey trend three years to wend its way across Pennsylvania. But the Pittsburgh Penguins are finally beginning to acknowledge the winning ways of the Philadelphia flyers. The Flyers instituted a defensive consciousness back in 1973 that resulted in three straight divisional titles and three straight appearances in the Stanley Cup finals. topped the 300-goal level during each of the past two seasons, but never could finish higher than third place in the Norris Division behind the defensive-minded Canadiens and Kings. "WE KNEW we had to do something," explained Pittsburgh defenseman Ron Stack-house.

"We were scoring a lot of goals but really had nothing to show for it. The object of The system had to do with checking: skating just as hard when the other team had the puck as when your team had possesion. Teams flocked to copy the Philadelphia style first Montreal, then Los Angeles, the New York Islanders and more recently the Buffalo Sabres. All the while, the Penguins worked on further hyping their offense. Pittsburgh 1 A.