Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 57

DETROIT FREE PRESSFRIDAY, MAY 1 2, 1 978 1 Barney testifies in drug case I Probers indict area man; Lem not implicated By CHARLIE VINCENT Free Press Sports Writer Detroit Lions' defensive back Lem Barney testified before an Erie County (N.Y.) grand jury for more than 40 minutes Thursday afternoon and afterwards the grand jury returned a 103-count indictment against 12 alleged drug dealers. Barney, who earlier Thursday balked at testifying, was not indicted but 31-year-old Nicholas J. Turano of Sterling Heights was charged on four counts of conspiracy to sell drugs. The indictments climax a year-long investigation into drug traffic in the Buffalo area, but the grand jury, which was formed in February, will remain intact until June, raising the possibility of more action in the case. After refusing to testify Thursday morning, Barney was granted immunity from prosecution on everything except perjury and contempt and took the witness stand late in the day.

"THE AUTHORITIES called us and said they wanted Lem to come testify that he had had a certain telephone conversation," said Detroit attorney Ed Bell, who along with Lester Hudson, has been representing Barney in the drug hearings. "But when he got there, they apparently wanted him to talk about the conversation, which took place 11 months ago. In all honesty Lem couldn't recall the things that had been said and asked that they play a tape recording of their wiretap. But they wouldn't so we brought a motion to have the subpena for his testimony quashed. That's when all hell broke loose.

"The upshot of it was that the motion to quash was not granted," Bell said. Instead, New York State Supreme Court Justice Norman A. Stiller granted Barney immunity. "That, though," said Bell, "is just normal procedure. Immunity wasn't necessary but it's the kind of thing any attorney would do to protect his client.

It should not be taken as an indication of any wrongdoing on his part. They have made no allegations that he is involved." The Detroit Lions issued a similar statement. "LEM'S ATTORNEY and National Football League security have assured us that Lem is not a defendant in the case, nor has he been indicted. He has not been nor will he be arrested. He has only been asked to testify about his knowledge of individuals connected with this case.

League security has again reassured us after checking with the chief assistant district attorney in Buffalo that Lem Barney is not criminally Involved in this case. That is the extent of our knowledge of this matter," the statement said. During the brief period early Thursday afternoon while Barney and his attorneys were awaiting Stiller's ruling on his motion to quash the subpena, Barney was held as a material witness in lieu of $100,000 bail after investigators stated his testimony was necessary to complete the. grand jury hearings. Please turn to Page 6D AP Photo Lions' Lem Barney follows the sign to the grand Jury room Thursday.

TT "XII 1 Jk "Hkv George Puscas Rain forces Tigers to juggle pitching Oakland's probable pitchers against the Tigers this weekend are, in order: John Henry Johnson (3-1), Matt Keough (2-1) and Pete Broberg (4-1). Please turn to Page 7D Le Flore likes Tigers' padded outfield walls By BRIAN BRAGG Free Press Sports Writer Ron LeFlore, for one, likes the idea of padded walls around his centerfield turf at Tiger Stadium. When the Tigers returned this week from their West Coast trip, they discovered the new interior decoration at the old ballyard a cushion of vinyl-covered foam padding that covers the outfield wall from top to bottom, from foul line to foul line. "I think it's a good idea," said LeFlore, By BRIAN BRAGG Free Press Sports Writer The first-place Tigers missed a chance to test their might against the hottest pitcher in baseball Thursday night when a steady rain washed out their scheduled game with the California Angels. Club officials waited 40 minutes after the intended 8 p.m.

game time to call it. When the rain showed no sign of easing, Angels' fire-baller Nolan Ryan was left with nothing to do but pack his bags and board a plane for Cleveland, where the Angels are to open a series with the Indians Friday night. BECAUSE OF the washout, Tigers' manager Ralph Houk was forced to push back his pitching rotation for a weekend series at Tiger Stadium with the Oakland A's. Jack Billingham, the scheduled starter Thursday, will instead face the A's at 8 p.m. Friday.

"I have to push 'em back, that's all I can do," Houk said after the postponement. "I really don't have any choice. I can't afford to have Jack miss a turn, because then he wouldn't have pitched in 13 days. "This just means all of our pitchers are gonna have more rest. They already had enough rest, anyway, because they were all on their sixth day.

"The only bad thing Is that I had my rotation all set up clear into June, and this messes it up. I had it all set up, even including the three doubleheaders." THE TIGERS are scheduled for three twin bills before the month is out at home May 21 against Boston, at Baltimore May 24 and at Boston May 30. ks J56 "A 1 1 fife 4i'C (( 1 i tij! til ih I Hey, Bird, have you tried the 'cod liver oil cure'? The love letters of a sports writer: "Afr the fans threw octopi on the ice, the Red Wings went on to the Stanley Cup playoffs. Now with the Tigers in first place, they should make the playoffs. If they fail to do so, I'm going to start a new tradition.

"I am going to be the first guy to throw a skunk into their dugout." TONY EVOLA, Detroit Now that's what I call a sore loser. "I would like to put in a complaint about the Tigers' winning start this season. The noise from Tiger Stadium is keeping me awake." JOHNNY CHISEL, Detroit The committee is studying your problem, John, so be patient. We will give you either a rent-free penthouse suite atop RenCen, or have Jason Thompson drop one on your front porch. "You spoke jokingly in your column last week of lubricating Mark Fidrych.

That is no joke. I had shoulder and arm trouble a few years ago and found a remedy for it through a doctor on J.P. McCarthy's 'Focus' program. "The cure one tablespoon of cod liver oil each night for lubrication. It worked wonders for me, allowing me to do any work or hobbies with arm action without distress." MARGE MATTOX, Royal Oak No, thank you, m'am.

Older hands around remember cod (yech) liver oil as the basic vitamin pill of their youth. It gets no recommendation here, for whatever it offers is worse than any ailment. Lions riding rails out of town? "With Monte Clark at the helm some of the crybabies and pampered pussycats commonly referred to as Lions might be taking a trip, like Herb Orvis. Would this possibly indicate a good time to buy Greyhound stock?" TOM KOZA, Flint Not necessarily. Discarding players, teams generally put them aboard the same horse they rode into town on.

Tagging the Tigers whose patrol area is now backstopped by something other than concrete and steel. "You don't need to have any fears now about running back toward the fence. I've never been hurt running into the wall here, but I have run into a wall before that was really hard, and it hurt. It makes you fearful for a while. "The old padding really didn't do anything but catch your shoulders or arms.

This one protects your legs, too." Please turn to Page 7D 'J 3k Fre Press Photo by JOHN COLLIER These Tiger fans tried smiles and threatening looks, but they couldn't make the rain go away Thursday night. So home they went without seeing a ball game. "The Detroit Express are good for an expansion team but lack the ability to keep the ball on the pitch and to distribute it. Especially from the half line. The Express use the high ball, which is known in England, but world class football is played on the ground." KEVIN I'EAGAN, Detroit Aha.

We must watch for that. Turnouts low, but Express plug away By CURT SYLVESTER Free Press Sports Writer In his most conservative projections, executive director Roger Faulkner of the Express talked of averaging 10,000 to 12,000 fans per game for his soccer team's first season at the Silverdome. But when he turned his imagination loose and reflected on the tremendous success of the Minnesota Kicks averaging 25,000 per game the first year and 32,000 the second he couldn't help day dreaming of bigger and better crowds. lovo letters "The Tigers look like they finally have put it all together. The only question mark is the manager." MIKE KAPUSNAK, Rochester It's understandable.

The stew Is great, but fire the chef. As it appears now, even JCT)ri lllilli iA iisi iii 1111 "Is it true, as the Toledo Tattler and Sage of the Back Page Judd Arnett) of the Free Press promulgates, that you do very well for a guy raised largely on kielbasa?" JOHN G. MacLEOD, Orchard Lake No, he forgot pomegranates. The fruit itself is a nothing. But making your way unsullied through a pomegranate teaches one caution, patience and toleranee, and thus understanding and wisdom.

After that, kielbasa comes as a reward. Muscles aren't Bird's problem "The answer to Mark Fldrych's problem is prevention through weightlif ting. Tom Seaver and all the NFL quarterbacks do it. Ken Stabler said it did not affect his throwing motion. Lifting builds up muscle around the tendon and the joint to protect it." ALEX MELKONIAN, Detroit If you want to help, pal, you have to listen.

The Bird's problem is not sore muscle but inf lammed tendon. They are quite different problems by nature, cause and cure. It's what a collection of medics tell me. mm mm 1 w'rVi 1 vNf Srl 1 1 -T i j'4l Profaen 'alarms' golf field By JACK SAYLOR Free Press Sports Writer Bob Proben Installs burglar alarms for a living, but he took last week off to practice for the Michigan Medal Play golf tournament. Now his rivals are ready to sound an' alarm that Proben might make a runaway of the tournament at Detroit Golf Club.

The slender 23-year-old Godwin Glen publinxer won the Horton Smith Memorial with a one-over-par 141 for 36 holes Thursday and enjoys a two-stroke lead in the Medal Play, the first big tournament of the spring. Proben shot a two-under-par 70 on the longer and supposedly tougher North course on his morning round, but managed only a 71, which is three-over-par on the South. "I hacked it around in the afternoon," said Proben, who is trying to use this tournament and others as a springboard for a pro career. Mostly, he blamed fatigue for not having a bigger lead. "I'm dead tired," said the 165-pound Proben, who settled for a lone birdie on his afternoon round.

"I haven't played that much what with the bad weather here and It Please turn to Page 9D Faulkner's original, safe estimate may turn out to be a little optimistic. The Express are averaging 13,179 for their first four home games, still comfortably above the minimum figures Faulkner talked about. Except for the opening game crowd of 28,523, however, the team has not hit the 10,000 mark in its announced attendance. In the last three, the average has been only including the lowest crowd of the season 6,729 for Wednesday night's game against Portland. "I THINK we had hoped for better," Faulkner said Thursday.

"I'm not sure we necessarily expected it though. "Naturally, we would liked to have bigger crowds, but we're on a long-term program, not a short term. We've always talked of three years as very necessary to determine whether Detroit can sustain a soccer franchise. "You certainly can't prove anything in the first few games or, perhaps, even the first year. Naturally, I'd like it to build up faster in fan appeal, but if the team keeps playing winning soccer, it's going to happen if we promote it properly." Faulkner expects better attendance for the mid-week games later in the summer.

"We had mixed feelings about the mid-week night," he explained. "We felt as long as the kids are still in school, that could work against us Please turn to Page 6D "Don't misunderstand me, I love the Bird. But why do you think if The Bird doesn't pitch, the Tigers are going to lose? Granted, if he is there, the team's chances are better. But the entire team is pretty darn good." PHYLLIS WHITNEY, Jackson III buy that. Our heroes' West Coast swing was remarkable (8-3) for any team playing under the best of circumstances.

I don't know how long their euphoria will hold and they can continue to play beyond their adjudged capability. But who's to knock it let 'em roll. Iliili There are men's waist sizes 25 to 42, Inseam lengths 28 to 36; In regular denim big bells and small bells (some Dura-Plus1 denims and boot jeans are at selected stores). Some basic corduroy jeans are also Included. Boys' waist sizes 25 to 30, inseam lengths 27 to 36; in denim or corduroy regular bells, big bells, and boot jeans.

"So what can you tell us about Dick Vitale now that he's been with the Pistons for a whole week?" NINO FISCO, Warren Only this. If I come out of one more parking lot with still another Piston sticker slapped on my bumpers and side-walls and ticket applications stuck under my wipers, I will put a hit on him. It will be the kind of contract he would not believe. (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, 482 11).

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