Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 55

DETROIT FREE PRESSFRIDAY, MAY 5, 1978 1D pecial Honor is surprise entry in Derby field of 11 The Kentucky Derby Field Old ivar-horse Baird rides in Kentucky Derby at 57 for Saturday's 104th running 4 mile Kentucky Derby at 1 ,5 -4. LOUISVILLE -The field of the 11-Churchill Downs: PP Horse 1. Raymond Earl 2. Affirmed 3. Esops Foibles 4.

Special Honor 5. Hoist the Silver 6. Chief of Dixieland 7. Darby Creek Road 8. Dr.

Valeri 9. Believe It 10. Alydar 11. Sensitive Prince Jockey Odds R.L. Baird 30-1 Steve Cauthen 7-5 Chris McCarron 30-1 PaulNicolo 30-1 RichDePass 30-1 TonyRini 30-1 Don Brumf ield 20-1 ReneRieri 30-1 Eddie Maple 8-1 Jorge Velasquez 1-1 Mickey Solomone 6-1 Dixieland, Dr.

Valeri and Hoist the Silver. "Special Honor deserves the chance," said co-owner A.D. Haynes, and he said it with a straight face after reaching into his pocket for $4,000, what it costs just to enter the Derby. BUT THE OTHER trainers hardly raised an eyebrow. They were too busy casting an eye at the sloppy track and the drippy gray sky, wondering what effect the wet weather would have on the racing strip.

From experience, though, Affirmed's trainer Laz Barrera and Alydar's John Veitch know that the sandy Churchill Downs track is a fast-drying one. Unless there is more rain, and heavier rain, the track should be rated good, which was the same condition prevailing when Alydar, the Calumet Farm rocket, blasted off at Keene-land to win the Blue Grass last Thursday. If anything, the steady overnight rain that drenched the Downs shouldn't hurt Alydar. When he hooked up with Affirmed in the Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park last October, the track was muddy and Alydar rum-Please turn to Page 8D By AL COFFMAN Free Press Racing Writer LOUISVILLE Horse racing, like life, is full of surprises, and the Kentucky Derby regularly sees its share of them. With the 104th running of the race little more than 48 hours off, the Derby produced still another surprise Thursday when entries were taken at Churchill Downs.

It was an added starter in Special Honor. Everybody had written him off after he followed Alydar home by 18 lengths a week ago in the Blue Grass Stakes. When trainer Ed McCann unexpectedly dropped the name of Special Honor into the box, it raised the probable field to 1 1 horses. That was one more than track officials had counted on. The rest of the morning ceremony followed the script.

Alydar, rated a slim favorite over Affirmed, was entered along with his arch rival and Sensitive Prince, Believe It, Darby Creek Road, Esops Foibles, Hoist the Silver, Chief of Dixieland, Dr. Valeri and Raymond Earl. Entering a horse like Special Honor is like dropping a pebble into the Atlantic Ocean. His presence means just one more 100-1 shot in the field to keep company with Chief of Fret Pres Wire Service LOUISVILLE When the bell rings at Churchill Downs and the field of 11 bursts from the gate Saturday in the 104th running of the Kentucky Derby, Detroit-area turf fans will see an old friend down on the rail astride the No. 1 horse.

Bobby Baird, a 57-year-old rider who was among the top Jockeys at Hazel Park and Detroit Race Course in the '50s and '60s, is likely to be on the lead or very close to it when the field hammers past the stands for the first time. That's right: 57. Old enough to be Steve Cauthen's grandpa. The little man who won his (1961) and (1969) races at Hazel Park will be riding in his fifth Kentucky Derby, but his first in 22 years, atop speedster Raymond Earl. Right next to him on the No.

2 horse, the highly regarded Affirmed, will be 18-year-old Cauthen, who has gained more fame in two seasons than Baird has earned in 40 years of riding. The quiet, low-profile Cauthen has amassed a fortune in his short career as a thoroughbred rider. Baird, conversely, has gone through several fortunes in his high-living, hard-falling career on the racing circuit. "Fifty-seven! Damn, that's old," said Baird, who has broken most of the bones in his body at least once in race track Please turn to Page 9D Will! OWNERS: 1 R.N. Lehmann.

2 Harbor View Farms. 3 Jerry Frankel. 4 Linda Gaston and A.D. Haynes. 5 Washington Stud.

6 Dixie-Jake Inc. 7 James W. Phillips. 8 Virginio Renzi. 9 Hickory Tree Stable.

10 Calumet Farms. 11 Joseph Taub and Dennis Milne. WEIGHTS All carry 126 pounds. GROSS VALUE $239,400 with 11 starters. POST TIME 5:38 p.m.

EDT. TELEVISION ABC (Channel 7 in Detroit area), 5 p.m. "Fifty-seven! Damn, that's old," said Bobby Baird. "In my own thinking and mind, I swear I don't feel It." HBAP: "I HAVE iRDEtS GOING EALU.WABVIIS Express to play in winter? My BIGGEST UWESS. Geeigje Puscas Tigers' outfielders sparkle at bat, but not with the glove Cause, not cure, of Bird's trouble is Tigers' worry The love letters of a sports writer: "Your column on tendinitis was interesting.

This and injured knee cartilage are the bane of many athletes. Many of these cases can be helped by reflex work. Treatment is without hazard and the potential is very good. Tennis elbows also fall into this area of treatment. Some of these athletes can be restored." H.E.

DUNN, D.C., Traverse City As I understand it, doc, the real problem is what caused Mark Fidrych's tendinitis in the first place. The strong suggestion is that the fault is with his pitching motion, and unless that is changed, he might be plagued continually with the same ailment. We know it is possible to play over elbow tendinitis, as in tennis, simply by changing the approach and stroke. Perhaps the same sort of change is possible with a pitcher, although, in truth, I doubt it and don't recall an instance. By CURT SYLVESTER Free Press Sports Writer If scheduling details can be ironed out with the Silver-dome and the Pistons, the Express will be playing approximately two months of indoor soccer next winter.

The Express would be one of 24 North American Soccer League teams, playing with just six men a side instead of the normal 11, to participate in the 10-game season which was outlined Thursday by NASL commissioner Phil Woosnam. So far, only 18 of the current NASL teams have confirmed their plans to play in the Dec. 15-Feb. 24 season. BECAUSE the Pistons have first choice of playing dates at the Silverdome, Express officials must wait until the NBA basketball schedule is completed before committing themselves to the indoor soccer league and thereby setting up a confrontation with a group headed by attorney Bob Fenton, which has announced its own intentions to field an indoor team in a newly formed Super Soccer league.

"We're definitely inter-Please turn to Page 4D By JIM HAWKINS Free Press Sports Writer ANAHEIM, Calif. Ron LeFlore is the first to admit he's no Mickey Stanley in centerfield. Steve Kemp certainly isn't pompous enough to compare himself to Carl Yastrzemski as a lef tf ielder. And Tim Corcoran knows he's not in the same class with Al Kaline when it comes to playing rightfield. Even manager Ralph Houk, who never downgrades his own ball players, feels compelled to concede that even though the Tigers are in first place, they definitely do not possess the best defensive outfield in the league.

They're not even No. 2. Or No. 3. Or No.

4. The Boston Red Sox, the Texas Rangers and the Kansas City Royals, to name three, are all better than the Tigers at tracking down fly balls and throwing out enemy runners. However, in spite of their occasional blunders, Houk insists that man-for-man and as a unit, LeFlore, Kemp and Corcoran are all at least average or above defensively when compared to the rest of the outfielders in the American League. HOUK, WHO ADMITTEDLY may be prejudiced in this matter, rates both Kemp and Corcoran above average as fielders while ranking LeFlore as merely average. Of course, as the Tigers' manager is quick to point out, there simply aren't that many outstanding outfielders in the league.

It's no secret that LeFlore, the speedster who played no baseball at all until he was imprisoned, is in the starting lineup night after night because of the things he can do with a bat and on the basepaths. The same thing can safely be said to some extent about Please turn to Page 7D LEFLORE: tflW WEAKNESS LINE DRIVES WIT STRAIGHT ATME." CORCORAN: "If you spend time around baseball or are involved in it at all, you should know that all pitchers sooner or later develop sore arms, and some have them after every game they pitch." PHIL STEWART, Warren True enough. The sore arm you refer to is the result of unusually heavy work muscle ache stemming from inadequate blood replenishing same reason guys at, say, age 45, get sore even from sitting. It is a problem quite different from tendinitis. Vou understand, of course, you're going to be billed for this.

It figures Tigers on top "I can't wait for the Tigers to get back into town. With so much talk and worry over The Bird's arm and the problems with our other pitchers, I still believe they are for real and will make this the best summer we've had in years and years." ALAN MEYERSON, Franklin Who would deny it? The proof is in the numbers they are hitting a hot .291, their ERA is 3.20, which is fine overall, and they average merely one OF OUR CARAVAN OF error. Those figures no doubt will suffer as we move deeper in the season and the schedule toughens, but for now, enjoy. Montreal-Leaf hockey series is a holy war By JIM NEUBACHER Free Press Staff Writer TORONTO Freakish snow in May and near-record cold earlier this week was just background scenery: The REAL hockey season is underway. For the first time in 1 1 years, Toronto's Maple Leafs are facing the Montreal Canadiens in a Stanley Cup playoff series, and baby, this is what it's all about in Canada.

"As for your comment regarding 'soccer' lovers not attending the Pon-tiac Express' games at the Silverdome, it's because they are like me: They 8ne tnere t0 PIay its games." feu- I letters 911 VV II SUIT SPORT COAT SIZE CHART UfcOKUfc SAVAKY, w. moomneid You're guessing, pal, and guessing wrong. The several longtime soccer buffs I talked with say, first, they are The several hundred seats too busy with others matters and also, they are unimpressed with the Express. It's their continental view that English soccer is a good cut below the European game. And as you know, the Express are basically an English-background team.

They look okay to me, but what do I know from soccer? 36j37383940j4l42j434446485052 Regular 11 AAA All All Short XXXXXXXXXX Long 7777777 777 7 Extra Long 7777777777 Extra Short 7777777 Portly Reg. XXXXXXXXXX Portly Short 77777777 Portly Long 777777 DRESS SLACKS SIZE CHART A I It It) Jtju 33 )4 II )7 II 10 42 44 4b 44 LL Regular xxxxpxxxxmxxxxjxx j. (no sport coors in porrly-long or extro-short sizes) Walker D. Russell Ca me star 7 Walker D. "Isn't this the time of year we should start wondering where the Tigers will be in the fall?" MRS.

MARIAN E. NORTH, Jackson Not until the tulips wilt, m'am. Then you may worry. "Your readers who detract from Ralph Houk take the opposite view of many baseball people. The very knowledgeable Pete Franklin of Cleveland rates Houk as one of the best managers and more than a lunch-pail town like Detroit deserves." BILL DUNN, Royal Oak So who's of Pete and what's he know? Houk's current critics, though, do suffer from bad timing.

They had their chance during the 19-game losing streak a few years ago. At the moment they are left pointless with a manager who is 15-5 and In first place. She's desperate for Dave "I'm desperate. Please tell me where I can write or contact Dave Rozema of the Tigers." RITA VASAS, Taylor Send pictures, phone numbers, Intentions, to me. If you're in a hurry, send directly to Tiger Stadium, Michigan at Trumbull 48218.

that went unsold at the Montreal Forum while the Canadiens were dispatching the Red Wings were all filled Tuesday and Thursday nights. So were 2,000 standing room spaces. In Toronto, where there hasn't been an unsold seat for a Maple Leafs game playoff or regular season since 1946, even the scalpers are said to be hurting for tickets. "But for $20, they'll arrange for you to shake hands with a guy who has a pair," quipped a Toronto announcer. Hockey officials said the current scalpers' rate for tickets to Saturday night's game when the series move to Toronto from Montreal is $150.

ACROSS the country, where Hockey Night in Canada is a national religion for about three million Canadians eight months of the year, the audience for the Montreal-Toronto series is expected to shoot to seven to eight million viewers. "I'd guess the interest would be increased about 25 percent over normal playoffs because of the traditional rivalry," said George Hanson, a Montreal sports writer. In 1967 Canada's Centennial year the Leafs met the Canadiens in the Stanley Cup finals, and the Montreal players pledged to bring the cup to Montreal as a gift for Mayor Jean Drapeau and his Expo '67 celebration. The Leafs took the series in six games, and since then Quebecers have elected a gov- Please turn to Page 3D AT OUR NORTHLAND, MACKMOROSS, FAIRLANE STORES picks MSU By MICK McCABE Free Press Sports Writer It has been almost two years since Walker D. Russell made an agreement with Ear-vin Johnson to play basketball at the same college.

That agreement became a reality Thursday morning when Russell signed a national letter of intent to attend Michigan State University. "We were at the University of Michigan camp two summers ago," Russell recalled. "Earvin told me that wherever he went he wanted me to follow the next year. We laughed about it at the time." Johnson signed with Michigan State last spring, but that did not guarantee that the 6-foot-5, 200-pound Russell from Pontiac Central would Please turn to Page 9D A huge assortment of hard-fo-find sizes so that if you're hord-ro-fir, you'll find wonderful selection of things to choose from. New spring and summer suits in vested and unvested models, trio suits, 4-in-1 suits in wools, wool blends, gobordines, texturized fabrics, sharkskins.

By ropnotch makers and designers: Hart Scaffner Marx. Palm Beach. Botany 500 Austin Leeds, Geoffrey Deene. Romelli. John Milford.

Consolidated into three stores, so you can choose from a rewarding selecrion. (A special group of sport coars and dress slacks in hord-ro-find sizes is also included. "There once was a Bird who could get Strikeouts like no one you've met. "Then he injured his wing But doctors saw nothing "So why don't they call in a vet?" SHELDON RUDOLPH, Windsor A mechanic might be better. Put the Bird on a hoist, grease him good, and maybe he will flow.

(Dandies, eh? Those smart, dashing LL lapel pins are gifts to all whose sparkling thoughts appear here. Send your sports beefs or bouquets to Love Letters, Detroit Free Press, Detroit, Mich. 48231). UGHES Sd HATCHER MOST HUGHES HATCHER STORES OPEN EVENINGS. MOST HUGHES HATCHER STORES OPEN SUNDAYS..