Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 29

1. Close finishes: The Port Huron-to-Mackinac sailing race produced few surprises, but some close finishes. Page 3D. Sports Phone, 1-976-1313 Today's television highlights: 12:00 p.m. Golf: British Open 1:20 p.m.

Baseball: Baltimore at KC 0 4:00 p.m. Basketball: U.S. vs. NBA stars 7:30 p.m. Tiger Baseball: Texas at Detroit Saturday, July 21, 1984 HORSE RACING TIGER CORNER" MOVIE GUIDE DETROIT FREE PRESS Call with sports news: 222-6660 Rozema stops Rangers, 3-1 George Puscas love letters Well, are those Tigers any good or aren't they? Tigers go 35 games over .500 The Love Letters of a sports writer: "The Lions' first five or six games are going to be overshadowed by the Tigers' pennant run.

I tnought it was supposed to be the other way around. BRENT SCANLON, Holton If the Lions lose four of their first five games as they did last vear. Brent, they'll welcome anv shadows they can find. Personally, I figure the Lions are going to surprise a lot of people and I hope I'm not one of them. "Let me tell you why the Tigers won't win the pennant: 1.

Pitching is getting sour; 2. No timely hitting; 3. Too many strikeouts; 4. Bad base running; 5. Bad fielding in outfield." Lemon comes back to lineup with a bang By GENE GUIDI Free Press Sports Writer When you're Chet Lemon and you haven't played a baseball game in three days, life isn't quite the same.

Lemon, who relishes each moment on the diamond, had been missing from the Tigers lineup since Monday with a jammed middle finger on his left hand, which he hurt with a head-first slide into first base. The finger sufficiently healed, Lemon returned to play in Detroit's 3-1 victory over Texas Friday night. The Rangers would have been happier if his comeback had been delayed a few games. Lemon went 3-for-4 at the plate, including his 13th home run, and tracked down a one-hop shot off the right field fence by Pete O'Brien, holding the Texas first baseman to a 400-foot single. Tigers manager Sparky Anderson said he hadn't seen a ball hit that far held to a single "more than three or four times in my life." "It felt good to get back in there and contribute," Lemon said.

"It's so hard for me to sit still now I want to be inthere for the duration." Anderson keeps after Lemon to go into bases feet first, not head first, and cut down on the chance of injury. "There's no question that we're a much better team with him in there; it hurts when he's missing," Anderson said. Lemon said he'll try to comply with his manager's wishes about head-first plunges into bases, but sometimes it just seems like the natural thing to do. "When you play as hard as I do, and want to win as much as I do, you're gonna have injuries," Lemon said. "I've had them my whole career you just have to learn to play with them." See CHET LEMON, Page 5D JOE FRISCH, Wyandotte You might be right, Joe.

But I just can't under stand how a lousy team like that got so far ahead and stays there. By BILL McGRAW Free Press Sports Writer Dave Rozema has this thing about Tiger Stadium. He never loses there. Maybe it's those crazy crowds spelling "T-i-g-e-r-s" as they move slowly out the exits. Maybe it's the food fights in the bleachers.

Perhaps it's that invigorating Detroit evening air wafting up from Zug Island. Whatever it is, Rozema digs it. And he let his homespun feelings show again Friday night when he held the Texas Rangers to six hits over eight innings, helping the Tigers to another win, 3-1. "I definitely feel confident here," said Rozema. "I've been pitching here eight years.

It's my kind of infield, fast and quick. I feel if I keep the ball down, I have a chance on winning." USING HIS usual fine control and the best changeup he's had in five years, Rozema turned in his 15th straight triumph at Michigan and Trumbull, a streak that stretches back to 1981. He even beat a guy who grew up on the Motown sound and coney islands native Detroiter Frank Tanana, who pitched an excellent game but gave up home runs to Chet Lemon and Barbara Garbey. Actually, the victory before 39,484 was more than just another win in manager Sparky Anderson's mind. It hiked the Tigers' record to 64-29, and lofted them 35 games above .500 for the first time all season.

It also was their seventh victory in eight games. Anderson loved it. "We've been close so many times before, but we never could get over the (34-game; hump," he said. See TIGEUS, Page 4D "I'm getting very annoyed with all the com plaints about the Tigers. It isn't as if they were going out there and losing games on purpose.

They're giving their best shot, and I feel if you are a true Tiger fan, you 11 stand behind them, win or GENA OVERALL, West Bloomf ield Hey, wait a minute, Gena. I've never claimed to be what you call a "true fan" of anything. Cheering when a team loses never has made sense to me. 3 "Watching a Chicago Cubs game on TV gave me a brilliant idea which surely would motivate Free Press Pholo by BRIAN BRANCH-PRICE fans into a pennant-fever pitch. During the sev Tigers right-hander Dave Rozema keeps the Texas Rangers at bay.

enth inning, why not have Al Kaline lead our crowds in singing 'Take Me Out to the Ball LEE CAMPIONE, Tell me you're kid Australian's 10-under ties Open record at St. Andrews ding, Lee. If we were go ing to do a cornball stunt like that, I'd get a real singer everybody would love. Like John Denver. A Leader board "I must say I agree fc A( wiui nil in i c- gard to boxing as a barba rous activity (it is not a Ian Baker-Finch, Australia 68-66-134 Lee Trevino, U.S.

70-67-137 Nick Faldo, Britain 69-68137 Seve Ballesteros, Spain 69-68-137 Bill Longmuir, Britain 67-71138 Tom Watson, U.S. 71-68-139 Fred Couples, U.S. 70-69-139 Lanny Wadkins, U.S. 70-69-139 B. Langer, W.

Germany 71-68139 Tom Kite, U.S. 69-71-140 By GORDON S. WHITE Jr. New York Times ST. ANDREWS, Scotland An Australian was leading the 113th British Open Friday after two rounds at St.

Andrews Old Course. But it was not Greg Norman, who had trouble coming home into the wind on the back nine after sharing the first-round lead. It was Ian Baker-Finch, a 23-year-old from Queensland who shot 6-under-par 66 for a record-tying 36-hole total of 10-under-par 134. This gave him a three-shot lead over his three nearest rivals. Baker-Finch's score of 134 (68-66) at the famous links course on the East coast of Scotland equaled the best first two rounds ever shot in the 23 British Opens held at St.

Andrews. Roberto de Vicenzo of Argentina had rounds of 67 and 67 for 134 on the Old Course in the 1960 British Open eventually won by Kel Nagle. Baker-Finch's 66 was the lowest round of this British Open so far. Another surprise was Lee Trevino, who shot 5-under-par 67 to gain a tie with Seve Ballesteros of Spain and Nick Faldo of England for second place at 7-under 137. The 44-year-old Trevino is the only American among the top five players after two rounds.

Both Trevino and Ballesteros are former British Open champions. Bill Longmuir, the Englishman who shared the first-round lead with Norman and Peter Jacobsen, was in fifth at 138. Tom Watson had a chance to be second by himself when he lowered his tournament score to 7 under par with three holes to play. But he took double-bogey 6 on the treacherous Road Hole (No. 1 7) after his second shot went into a bunker.

He fell to a 4-under 68 for the day and a tie with Fred 'sport' by any means) and feel you may be smoking a bit too much kielbasa. "You speak of the 'artful' clubbing into insensibility of one human being by another. Would you extend this concept to the bull ring? Probably more people are killed on the way to the event than matadors are gored or bulls killed, but does this make it right? "Yes, football, soccer, hockey, are rough games and injuries occur. What I'm talking about is the difference between an activity where injuring the opponent is the goal (boxing) and activities where injuries occur because of the nature of the game." C. WOODS, Midland Nonsense, C.

Whoever told you the "goal" in boxing is to injure your opponent? The object is to defeat him and win; it is not required in any set of rules or standards that the opponent be injured. Obviously, boxing is not for everyone. Nor is football or hockey, whose injury incidence is far higher and no less real regardless of how you would excuse it. i a Couples, Lanny Wadkins and Bernhard Langer of West Germany with 139. "The lady got me," Watson said of the 17th hole, a 461-yard par-4 with trouble on every shot.

Watson, the defending champion, is shooting for a record-tying sixth British Open title. Norman also took bogey at 17. That was the long-hitting See BRITISH OPEN, Page 3D Australian Ian Baker-Finch waves his putter to the gallery after the second round. Hot Mears runs for cool million By TERRY FOSTER Free Press Sports Writer "The Free Press reports that Howard Cosell will discontinue broadcasting football and baseball. P-l-e-a-s-e do not coax him into changing his mind." CHARLES RICHARDS, Birmingham No problem with that where I'm concerned, Chas.

Howard is bored-bored-bored, which is understandable, considering he must hear everything he has to say. BROOKLYN, Mich. The yellow Pennzoil Z-7 March 4 84C pulled into the pits during a practice session at the Michigan International Speedway Friday. jr. a Cameras began to click and about a dozen or so spectaters jockeyed around the pit wall for a closer look at the man inside of this marvelous machine.

NBC camera crews shot a few seconds of the pit crew attending to the car. Youngsters waited with open autograph books. Rick Mears wasn aware of the comotion. He had other things on his mind. all three 500-mile races on the PPG Cup circuit Indianapolis, Michigan and Pocono.

"No, I really don't need anything like that to give me incentive to win," said Mears, who qualified fourth at MIS Thursday. "Any time you go out there on the track, you want to win but it sure would be nice." MEARS SMILES. He would like nothing better than to collect the $1 million. Yet, he realizes he still has a long way to go. As long as fellows such as Mario Andretti, the pole-sitter for Sunday's race, Tom Sneva, Bobby Rahal and Kevin Cogan remain, winning three major 500s in a year won't be easy.

Tennis star Martina Navratilova recently won a similar prize by winning four Grand Slam events in 12 months. But Mears said that sweeping the major events is more difficult in auto racing. "In auto racing you have to rely so much on equipment," he said. 'In baseball or tennis, if you feel that you are on top of your gme, and are better than everyone else, then you should be able to win. "Here, ftere are a lot of things you have no control bver." LAST YEAR'S Michigan 500 is a good example.

Mears See MIS, Page 3D "There is a time for everything, said Mears, one of the "I was never excited about the Tigers even after their hot start. Now that they've begun losing, it's just normal because all Detroit teams are undependable." DOUG KEANE, Dearborn Careful, Doug, or somebody might place you in a rocker right alongside Cosell. leading contenders in Sunday's Michigan 500 CART race- "When I am in my car and working with my crew, I try to keep my mind on that. When I am not, then I like to work with people. But I try not to let too many distractions interrupt me." MEARS ATTRACTS fans for several reasons.

He is the 1984 Indianapolis 500 champion and one of the most popular UP! Photo (Dandies, eh? Those smart, dashing LL lapel pins are gifts to all whose sparkling thoughts appear in this iolumn. Send yours sports beefs or bouquets to Love Letters, Detroit Free Press, Detroit, 48231). drivers on the tour. He also could become an instant millionaire after the Pocono 500 in August. Gordon Johncock puts in his earplugs before a practice run at Michigan International Speedway.

Domino Pizza has offered $1 million to anyone winning.