Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 33

TTT Snow Chief or Snow lob? Snow Chief hasn't lived up to his trainer's predictions, but gets another chance in today's Preakness. Page 2D. Sports Phone, 1-976-1313 Today's television highlights: 1:15 p.m. Tigers: California at Detroit 2:00 p.m. NBA: Boston at Milwaukee 4:30 p.m.

Golf: Colonial Invitation 5:00 p.m. Preakness: coverage begins Saturday, May 17, 1986 11 ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION 4m 660 1 MOVIE GUIDE DFTROIT FRFF PRfSS Call with sports news: 222-6660 LJ Haw VJally's IVciid stasis Joyner turns on power fji 1 llv? George I Puscas Although his start has been terrific, Wally Joyner is hardly the first player to hit more homers in a major league season (he already has 15) than he ever did in a minor league season (his high was Howe was and is 12). Here ts a list of some players who never hit 20 homers in a minor league season, but who hit at least 30 homers in a major league season: Player HR high HR high in minors (n majors hockey's true 'Great One' If any justice exists on this planet, a lord high commissioner of sports will ban all reference to modern athletes as immortals. There are few athletes whose achievements measure up and figure to endure for generations. expect him to be asking for autographs instead of signing them.

"I'm surprised they let him in the players' entrance before the games," NBC-TV baseball analyst Tony Kubek said. "But I'll tell you, looks are deceiving." Joyner has been a top-flight hitter at every level. The Angels had so much confidence in his ability, they released Rod Carew, a lifetime hitter and future Hall of Famer, before the season. But Joyner's power has surprised everyone, even the Angels. He never hit more than 12 homers three minor league seasons.

Joyner has lifted weights since his college days at Brigham Young, and the added muscle finally has produced home runs. Last winter, Joyner, a left-handed batter, gave a glimpse of the future by smacking 14 homers and hitting .356 in the Puerto Rican Winter League. Hits that used to be doubles are homers. "I was the high school player of the year in Georgia, but you wouldn't have looked at me back then and figured I was going anywhere," said Joyner, an Atlanta native. "I was a good hitter, but I didn't hit for much power.

I'm much stronger now, but I still don't consider myself to be a power; hitter." See WALLY JOYNER, Page 5D (By CLIFTON BROWN Free Press Sports Writer Pitching to Wally Joyner this season has been like filing for an income-tax extension. Sooner or later, you pay. The California Angels' first baseman may wrap up the American League rookie of the year award by August. Just look at Joyner's statistics after he hit two solo homers in six at-bats in the Angels' 11-1 victory over the Tigers on Friday at Tiger Stadium: His 15 homers nine this month and six in the last five games lead the major leagues. He leads the majors in RBIs (37), is hitting .316 and has a .645 slugging percentage.

Mickey Mantle in 1956 hit 20 homers by the end of May, and Joyner has a shot at that record. If he continues at this pace, Joyner will hit 68 home runs. "I really don't know what to say," Joyner said. "I can't believe what's happening to me. I feel great, but it's still early.

If I still see my name among the league leaders in October, then it means I've had a great year. I've never had a streak like this before, but I don't think too many people have." All this is from a 23-year-old who looks so young, you'd Pete Rose has more hits, but he's no Ty Cobb; Hank Aaron was no Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali George Foster 15 52 Oscar Gamble 8 31 Jason Thompson 10 31 George Brett 10 30 Ben Oglivie 17 41 Dwight Evans 17 32 Cecil Cooper 16 32 Larry Parrish 16 30 ALLY JOYNER IN MINORS Yf Team A8 HR RBI Afl. I 83 Peoria 192 25 63 3 33 .323 84 Waterbury 467 81 148 12 72 85 Edmonton 68 1:.135 2 was no Joe Louis. Nobody dared called Thorpe "Juice" or Jim Brown "Sweetness." What did Namath do that Layne didn't, several times? Or Kareem, that Chamberlain hadn't before him? Once in a lifetime, if we're lucky, we are graced with a sports immortal, an athlete like none other before him, or since. Wayne Gretzky, for instance, is no Gordie Howe, never can be.

He's back in town Gordie Howe the greatest hockey player who ever lived. The reason for this return is a measure of his greatness. We need to correct an oversight. Back in 1957, in his 11th season with the Red Wings, Howe was elevated into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. How were the commissioners Angels crush to know he would play another 21 seasons? So they have brought him back from his home in Hartford, because the bronze plaque hanging in Hall A of Cobo Hall is outrageously outdated.

It doesn't mention four Stanley Cups, six times Ti most valuable player in the NHL, once in the World Hockey Association; 12 times a first-team gers all-star, nine times second; elected to the NHL Hall of Fame in 1972, during his first all-time leading scorer with 80 1 goals, 1 ,049 assists. It doesn't say Gordie Howe still was playing major league hockey when he was 52, for gosh sakes. jjf8" wjk "fyi Ill I III! Mill I si 'mM'm The new plaque says all that. What it cannot recall is the effortless grace, the long, smooth strides down the wings and across the ice, Howe roaming freely, if he chose, gliding into corners, his subtle power brushing aside his challengers. We have numbers to count his goals, but nothing to recall the blur of the puck when he flicked it.

By GENE GUIDI Free Press Sports Writer Is it panic time yet? The Tigers put on another shabby display Friday night, getting steamrollered by the California Angels, 11-1, before 23,184 Tiger Stadium customers. It got so bad that the fans stopped booing the sixth-place Tigers only long enough to cheer the Angels. "They beat the hell out of us, that's all," Tigers manager Sparky Anderson said. "(Mike) Witt pitched a good game, and they hit good that's all there is to it. It was just a good old fashioned a- kicking.

"Don't try to read more into this than there is. You can't look like you're wit it when you're getting your brains beat out." See TIGERS, Page 5D This is the 32d year of the Michigan Sports Hall Free Press Photo by MARY SCHROEDER Jack Christiansen Bob Westfall Angels rookie Wally Joyner had two solo homers Friday night in his first visit to Tiger Stadium. Agent says Long worth a million By CURT SYLVESTER Free Press Sports Writer McHale in top form on court and off Despite claiming he is "not a money-hungry guy," quarterback Chuck Long probably will ask for $1 million a year to sign with the Lions. Long and Jim Everett of Purdue the first two Dick McAuliffe Bill Gadsby of Fame, which gathers luster every spring as the quarterbacks taken in the NFL draft April 29 are worth best of our time are given a place where all can see their achievements. that price, said Longs agent, Jack Mills of Boulder, Colo.

Four inductees will be honored Monday night, Mills said his opinion was superb athletes all: based on comparisons of Long and Everett to Cleveland quar Jack Christiansen. Why it took us so long to elect the former Lions defensive back is a mystery because he made it into the Pro Football Hall of -i -0 i i I i rr ii 1. -i 'A rv.v! -r' ISA v- terback Bernie Kosar. Last year Kosar signed a five-year, $5 million contract, a benchmark figure for quarter ft Fame in Canton, Ohio, 16 years ago. He was the classic football safety, the Lions deep defensive leader through the 1 952, '53 and '57 championship seasons, and more.

backs since John Elway signed with Denver in 1983. "Everybody I've talked to about these two quarterbacks He was such a dangerous punt returner that he altered the game. Rivals soon went into a wide spread trying to contain him whenever they (Long and Everett) rated them hpfrpr than linear Millo caiH kicked to the Lions. Chuck Long 0f course Kosa'r comes QUt Christiansen still dominates the punt return early and creates all this attention and all the stir that went into getting his draft rights. And he's probably not as good as record section.

He was all-pro six straight years, and later was head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and Stanford University. Bob Westfall. The late former Michigan full See CHUCK LONG, Page 5D Red-hot Flames back a running mate of Tom Harmon and Forest Evashevski was the key in a forgotten brand of football, the deceptive single wing, in which the fullback receives the center snap, spins and hands burn Habs, 5-2 By JOHNETTE HOWARD Free Press Sports Writer MILWAUKEE For a while this season, the intensity that surrounds the i Boston Celtics was getting to Kevin McHale, a small-town Minnesota boy who quickly retreats home every summer to fish for walleye, do some four-wheelin' with his beer-sipping cohorts and spend some cherished time with his family. Though he had his best season in his first year as a full-time Celtics starter, the irreverence and wit so inextricably i associated with McHale went on sabbatical by midseason. Until recently they stayed tucked away, beneath the memories of the Celtics' December doldrums, the doubts and constant pressure to perform.

Then came the Achilles' heel injury in January that cut a month out of his season and dampened the personal life of a man who always prided himself on keeping family separate from basketball. McHale would cloister himself away in the team training room, then send someone else to get his clothes so he could slip out the back after games. This was the irrepressible practical See KEVIN McHALE, Page 3D Olajmvon lieljxs Rwkels take lead Free Press Wire Reports HOUSTON Akeem Olajuwon scored 23 of his game-high 40 points in the second half and Lewis Lloyd scored 26 Friday night, sparking the Houston Rockets to a 1 17-109 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers for a 2-1 lead in the NBA Western Conference finals. Game 4 in the best-of-seven series is Sunday afternoon in Houston. Ralph Sampson scored 18 points and Robert Reid 17 as Houston won its See NBA PLAYOFFS, Page 3D the ball to other backs or not.

In 1945, he was all-pro with the Lions. Dick McAuliffe. At either shortstop or second base, he held a spot in the Tigers' lineup for 14 By KEITH GAVE Free Press Sports Writer years. He set a Tigers home run record for shortstops (24) in 1964 and for second basemen (20) in CALGARY, Alberta The Calgary Flames, still riding 1967, and made the American League All-Star high after seven-game triumphs over Edmonton and St. Louis, jumped on the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night and won the opener of the Stanley Cup final, 5-2.

team at both positions. Bill Gadsby. Arriving in Detroit as the Red Montreal offense was spotty, and Calgary was opportunistic. The Flames broke open a tight two-period struggle with three goals in the third period after going in with a 2-1 lead. Wings' dynasty of the 1950s began showing cracks, Gadsby, a sturdy defenseman and regular all-star, played only five seasons here, but three times went to the Stanley Cup finals.

Sid Abel, who played against and later coached him, called Gadsby "the greatest competitor I've ever seen." The key goal was a shorthanded score by 20-year-old Dan Quinn, who has been surprisingly effective in the playoffs. It gave the Flames a 3-1 lead when a goal on the power play could have given the Canadiens new life. It's no wonder Hall of Fame Night, in Detroit A I think we have a lot of guys in this room who feel they has become the finest on our sports calendar. About 1,500 fans will jam the ballroom at Cobo Hall (6:30 p.m., tickets $30). can play better than they did tonight," Montreal captain Bob Gainey said.

Kevin McIIale's season The Flames, who have played more games 17 than All around there will be Gehringer and Kaline, Newhouser, Abel, Kell, Banoms, Davey and Delvecchio, Barney and Bing, Freehan, Kramer, any team in the history of the NHL to advance to the finals, carried the same esprit they had in the emotional series with Edmonton and St. Louis. Min FG FT Reb Avg. Reg season 68 35.3 .574 .776 8.1 21.3 Playoffs 10 39J 80 .800 8.2 24.4 and they will talk of Bingaman and Crisler, of Clark, Cochrane and Goodfellow and more. "I think the adrenaline carried us a long way," Calgary coach Bob Johnson said.

"But if we thought tonight was a We've hall our share, you see. See NHL PLAYOFFS, Page 3D i iii i.