Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 57

Pistons on TV Their television schedule for the 1978-79 season was announced Wednesday by the NBA club. Page 3 Thomas Ilearns fight Welterweight Thomas Hearns (left) will put his 1 1-0 record on the line Thursday night in a 10-round bout atOlympia. Page 4 Thursday, Sept. 7, 1070 SPORTS PEOPLE 2 HORSE RACING 7-8 TELEVISION 10 ENTERTAINMENT 11-12 11-12 I DETROIT FREE PRESS Grand slant! LeFlore movie draws raves By JIM HAWKINS Fre Press Sports Writer NEW YORK Ron LeFlore saw himself for the first time Wednesday the way the nation will see him, as portrayed by actor LeVar Burton, later this month. Ron's response, after he stopped grinning, resembled a standing ovation.

"I'm really, really pleased," exclaimed LeFlore, who along with Burton and sever! of the Tigers attended a sneak preview of the made-for-TV movie based on his life story, One In A Million, which will be shown nationally on CBS (Channel 2 in Detroit) on Sept. 26. "I was really tense this morning, wondering what it would be like," admitted LeFlore. "I have never experienced anything like this before and I didn't know what to expect And when LeFlore's younger brother, Gerald, was shot and killed the Tigers were playing in Detroit not in Chicago as the picture proclaims. But, for the most part, One In A Million is a powerful picture that captures the bold, brash, defiant attitude of Ron LeFlore as a delinquent youth as well as the irrepressible confidence that has been his trademark throughout his baseball career.

LEFLORE WASN'T THE only one at Wednesday's sneak preview who was impressed. "I thought it was super, just super," said Martin, the former manager who plays himself in the picture. "It was very warm, very believable. "I was worried about how Burton would like playing Ronnie because he's so small. But he did a helluva job.

I think every child in the country who sees this picture is going to be inspired by it." Broadcaster George Kell, who admittedly went to Wednesday's advance showing expecting to dislike the picture, called it "the best baseball movie I've ever seen. "There never has been a good baseball movie made," said Kell. "I've never seen one I would look at a second time. But this is one picture I would recommend that people watch. All the others were Mickey Mouse in parts.

But this one is really professional all the way through. "It was a great performance by Burton," added Kell. "He's so much better than Gary Cooper was when he played Lou Gehrig." "I WAS AFRAID it would be phony in some parts, the way so many sports pictures are," agreed Al Kaline, who also appears Please turn to Page 9D "If I knew it was going to come out this well I never would have worried," said Ron LeFlore. "If I had known it was going to be this good, I probably wouldn't have gone into a slump all year. "But what I saw in the movie was the real Ron LeFlore.

I can really see myself in this picture, and I didn't think that would be possible because of the short time I was able to be around the cast. "But LeVar Burton played Ron LeFlore to a He played me to reality. When this movie comes out people will realize what a tremendous actor LeVar Burton is. "I'M VERY SURPRISED that LeVar was able to pick up as much about me as he was," he continued. "He copied my eye actions and certain things that I say, everything.

I'm definitely satisfied and I'm sure everyone who sees this picture will be satisfied. "If I knew it was going to come out this well I never would have worried," added LeFlore. "If I had known it was going to be this good I probably wouldn't have gone into a slump all year." Not everything in the movie is chronologically or geographically correct. For example, the picture has Billy Martin going directly from Detroit to New York after he was fired by the Tigers in 1973. In fact, he managed the Texas Rangers for two years in between.

Red Sox win, 2-0, stay 4 games ahead BALTIMORE (UPI) Veteran Luis Tiant pitched a two-hitter and Carl Yastrzemski hit a two-run home run Wednesday night to help the Boston Red Sox maintain their four-game lead in the American League East with a 2-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. The victory was only the second in their last six games for the Red Sox, who begin an important four-game series at Fenway Park with the second-place New York Yankees beginning Thursday night. THE 37-YEAR-OLD-Tiant (10-7), who allowed two singles, retired 12 consecutive batters in one stretch and 19 of the last 20 he faced in his 10th complete game. Rich Dausr had a third-inning single and Terry Crowley a seventh-inning single for the Orioles' only hits off Tiant. Yastrzemski's 12th home run and 378th in his career came after Jim Rice walked in the seventh inning, and snapped Dennis Martinez' four-game winning streak.

Martinez (12-1 1) held the Red Sox hitless until Carlton Fisk singled with one out in the fifth inning. Yastrzemski's homer, only his second hit in 17 at-bats against Martinez this season, was the only other Boston hit. The pennant races in all four divisions are heading down the September stretch drive. The story and an at-a-glance chart on both the American League and National League are on Page 6D. irfl I Jos Yankees rip sloppy Tigers Spartans still suffering, and Stolz is long gone ONE MAN'S OPINION: Probation Sometimes you have to wonder about this probation at Michigan State.

Like why does 'everyone have to get hurt for the actions of a few? That's how it goes with these things: the innocent suffer with the guilty. There is no better example of this than the situation head football coach Darryl Rogers finds himself in. Even if he goes 11-0 this season, there is no way he can be voted national coach of the year by his own coaching assocation. That's part of the probation. But yet, Denny Stolz, who was in the middle of that whole mess, is very eligible since he is now the head coach of Bowling Green.

I can understand Rogers suffering because the school has to be penalized in some manner or else the probation won't mean anything, but I don't see how somebody like Stolz can qualify for coaching honors just because he switched jobs. Lions'. Don't mean to beat on an old subject, but some perspective is needed around here regarding our pro football team. The feeling now is that Russ Thomas is out of it that this team no longer is his responsibilty, I disagree. I think he is more responsible than anyone else for the sad state of affairs of the Lions.

All pro football teams experience their ups and downs. It Is just amazing when you take an organization like the Lions, which has been in business for more tha 40 years and has known nothing but financial success since the end of World War II, can sink to such depths. 3 errors are cosily in 8-2 debacle; LeFlore is slopped By JIM HAWKINS Free Press Sports Writer NEW YORK Ron LeFlore's hitting streak came to an end Wednesday evening as the revved-up New York Yankees kept their playoff hopes alive by crushing the error-prone Tigers, 8-2. LeFlore, who had connected in 27 consecutive games, had his chances five to be exact. But the closest he came to a base hit was a sinking line drive that Yankees right-fielder Jay Johnstone dove to catch in the fifth if 8 if 9L A inning.

Other than that, LeFlore flied to right, VP f' AS lined to second baseman Willie Randolph, walked, and popped meekly to Randolph again in the ninth to end the game after his teamamates had rallied to give him one last chance. They've hit bottom Even if LeFlore had kept his streak going, though, there was no way he could ever have caught Joe DiMaggio, who performed what is perhaps baseball greatest individual feat by hitting in 56 consecutive Because the season is nearing an end, the best LeFlore could have done this season was to hit in 51 straight games. Under the rules, he would not have been allowed to carry that streak into next year. HAD HE KEPT his hitting streak alive until the end of the year, the historians would Please turn to Page 9D UPI Photo Enjoying 'One in a Million' are actor LeVar Burton (left), Ron LeFlore and former Yankees' manager Billy Martin. Evert-Navratilova clash shaping up i Kt 1 4 1 They are at point zero and have to build back all the way.

I resent that because the people around here have been too loyal for too long to see their team sink to such a level. If it were any other business, the Lions would be out of business. It is only the fans' loyalty which is keeping them alive. As I say, you can understand slumps, even the law of averages, but when you have to start ail over again after 40 years in business, it is a case a bad management. Hail, Caesars It was my pleasure to watch our softballers the other night and I can't remember when I had more fun at a ball i park.

These guys are great entertainment. If you've never seen them, you're missing out on a different kind of fun. The night I was there, the wind was blowing out and they proceeded to turn Memorial Park into a launching pad. They were hitting them out all over the place. Three in a row.

Four in a row. Five in a row. One ball after another disappearing into the black of the night. Some say all these homers are ruining the game. I think these are the people who insist on comparing this game of slo-pitch to the game of baseball.

There is as much comparison between slo-pitch Softball and baseball than there is between Natalie Wood and The Swami. Anyway, The Caesars are going into the World Series and this will be your last chance to see and Jim Northrup in uniform. They will not be brought back next season. The two ex-Tigers have served their purpose. They've hardly played, but they've given the Caesars an identity they wouldn't otherwise have had.

They've been paid well $30,000 last season and $15,000 this season. Cash and Northrup lost some interest this year and did not always report to the practice sessions, and Cash even missed some games. Before this becomes a real problem, they will be removed from the roster next season. A cheer for Ernie? Mr. Broadcasting How about it, fans anyone interested in getting an Ernie Harwell Day started? I've received a few letters and will be happy to serve as chairman of the committee to get things, started.

I do think the fans should handle it themselves, though, since they're the ones Ernie has been talking to all these years. I'm just amazed how much can get done with a little effort. I made a 17-second appearance on the Jerry Lewis Telethon and they wound up collecting $29,074,405. That's $1,710,259 per second, which is even more than they charge for Super Bowl commercials. Trevor Francis While blowing one's own horn, let's blow it a little louder.

I think that was a great idea about everyone sending Trevor Francis a Christmas card. Let's not talk about it anymore, though, or else he'll find out it was a plot. Let's just do it. Imagine what the bloke will think next Christmas when here comes thousands of Christmas cards from the people in Detroit people telling him that they care about him. That might do more than anything else to get him to come back to our city.

Silver dome The promoters of The Great Muffin deserve some plaudits for making their facility available to the high schools for their games. They're going to have a doubleheader two games for the price of one under the big roof Saturday night. It'll be North Farmington vs Pontiac Northern and Flint Southwestern vs Pontiac Central. Next November they '11 of fer three games for the price of one the Catholic League championships and then conclude with the State championship games. AP Photos Chris Evert (above) and Martina Navratilova (right) apparently are on a collision course for the women singles title at the U.S.

Open after winning their matches Wednesday. artina win at Chris, Open If It I A By upi and ap Wednesday night's only singles match, fourth-seeded NEW YORK Chris Evert, trying to become only the third Vitas Gerulaitis played over a painfully twisted right ankle to woman in history to win four straight U.S. Open singles titles, down Johan Kriek of South Africa, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2. still has the specter of Martina Navratilova ahead of her. But Evert is finally showing the form that enabled her to Evert served notice Wednesday that she is back in the groove dominate women's tennis the last three years, by crushing 15-year-old Tracy Austin, 7-5, 6-1, in 70 minutes to Evert felt she needed time off from tennis last winter to gain the semifinals.

"clear the cobwebs" from her head. The pressure had been "If I'm not ready now, I don't know when I'll be ready," building on her without release for several years. She took off Evert said after defeating the fifth-seeded Austin. "I'm getting nearly four months and when she came back she was still better with each match." winning, but there was something missing. Navratilova didn't exactly look rusty in her 48-minute, 6-3, "Call it fire, call it concentration, whatever, it was miss- 6-2, romp over 1 Ith-seeded Virginia Ruzici of Romania before ing," Evert said.

She also said she had no regrets. If enjoying an afternoon crowd of 1 4,786. life more meant winning a little less, she was willing to pay the EVERT WILL PLAY the winner of a quarterfinal match pnce between Wendy Turnbull and Kathy May, and Navratilova EVERT WANTS THE NO. 1 spot again now, but she is not will meet the winner of a quarterfinal match between 16-year- consumed by her desire. She is relaxed and still playing well, old Pam Shriver and Lesley Hunt.

"I used to think about matches 24 hours a day," Evert said. In a men's singles match, 19-year-old John McEnroe, the "Now when I have a day off I practice for two hours on a hard NCAA champion, stopped Butch Walts, 6-1, 6-2, 7-6, and court and relax the rest of the day. The match isn't on my became one of the youngest men's semifinalists in U.S. Open mind." history. He will play the winner of Thursday's quarterfinal Evert paused and made one exception.

match between Jimmy Connors and Brian Gottfried. Please turn to Page 5D.