Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 86

I Sun 7 I Mon 8 I Tue 9 I Wed 10 I Thu 11 I Fri 12 Sat 13 lied Wings ATsiar str- St.L. 7:35 8:35 TV schedule Mon15 Tue16 Tuia 19 sat 20 LA Chi. OA- sZJ 4:00 8:30 TV 1:05 CTV SS5i8Jp5! Sun 21 Tue 23 Wed 24 Thu 25 Fri 26 Sat 27 1:05 CTV 7:35 CTV 7:35 TV Sun 28 Mon 29 Tue 1 Wed 2 Thu 3 Fn 4 Sal iS Buf. st.t. Home game shaded 7:35 CTV 7:35 8:35 TV Sun 7 Mon 8 Tue 9 Wed 10 Thu 11 Fri 1 2 Sal 1 5" liTStaT Chi ST" IS CS Chicago 8:30 TV 7:30 CTV 8:00 7:30 CTV Sun 14 Mon 15 Tue 16 Wed 1 7 Thu 18 Fri 19 Sal 20 "RSr Sel Ml 7:30 CTV 7:30 8:30 TV Sun 21 Mon 22 Tue 23 Wed 24 Thu 25 Fri 20 Sat 27 LAL Sacr.

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7, 1988 Noma games shaded off his mind Thomas can't keep third 3y Clifton brown Vee Press Sports Writer CHICAGO Isiah Thomas has tried lot to think about winning the Most Valuable Player award at today's NBA 11-Star Game in Chicago. It not easy. "You want to go into i game like this think- NBA ALL-STAR ADVISORY WHAT: Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference In the 38th NBA All-Star Game. WHEN: 1:25 p.m.

today. WHERE: Chicago Stadium. TV: CBS (Channel 2 In Detroit). Coverage begins at 12:45 p.m. LINE: East by 4.

SERIES: East leads, 24-13. West won, 154-149, In overtime last year In Seattle. Sonics forward Tom Chambers, an all-star only because an injury felled Ralph Sampson, was the MVP. He scored 34 points. PISTONS: Guard Islah Thomas, an East starter, is Detroit's lone representative.

He has appeared In every All-Star Game since entering the NBA seven seasons ago. He was the MVP in 1984 and 1986. "It's innovative, unique, radical and painful," Fleischer said. "Yes, it's ex-; treme. But maybe now they (team owners) will finally stop sitting back in -their own little cocoons thinking that" the players are going to cave." Bob Wolff, who represents Larry Bird and many other players, predicted the move "will have a very sobering effect on management.

It opens up a new chapter in the history of sports collective bargaining." Wolff said a group of sports attor-, neys met with Fleischer in Washington last Friday to plot the strategy. Wolff said dissolving the union could cause chaos for the owners. "It means I could go in with Larry Bird and say, 'I want $3,000 a day per diem (meal Wolff said. 'I want a limousine to pick Larry up. I want two king size beds for him on the The owners are expected to meet soon to devise a counter-strategy.

game (1:25 p.m., CBS-TV, Channel 2 in Detroit) end-to-end action, innovative moves and plenty of high-fives. The winning team each of the last four seasons has scored at least 139 points. "We're here to play ball," said Magic Johnson. "But we're here to have a ball, too." UNION NEWS: Representatives of the NBA Players Association seemed satisfied that the decision to dissolve their union will benefit them in the long run. More than 40 players met with union council chief Larry Fleischer Friday night and voted to dissolve the union.

The players have filed an antitrust suit against the league, challenging the right of first refusal for free agents, the salary cap and the draft. The players hope dissolving the union will help them win the suit. "I think it's one of the most intelligent things we've done in this whole process," said Thomas, Players Association vice-president. known athlete, but I was just a kid in college at the time. "For me, being here today is kind of rewarding.

I guess I've shown people I'm not that bad." For some players, the game will be a chance to reunite with old teammates. Philadelphia forward Charles Barkley will be on the East team with former Sixers center Moses Malone, who's now a Washington Bullet. "I usually talk trash to Moses during the game," Barkley said. "One time I said to him, 'Get out of my way old man, you're wasting my Moses is going bald, you know." Malone's response? "Everybody knows Barkley's crazy," Malone said. "And he's short." The West won last year's game in Seattle, 154-149, in overtime.

Tom Chambers of Seattle was named the game's MVP. Fifteen all-stars reached double figures. Expect more of the same in today's jam, a Dominique Wilkins slam, a Larry Bird no-look pass, some Magic Johnson flash those are the things people remember about all-star games. And with a packed house in noisy Chicago Stadium providing the backdrop, this is a game VCRs were made for. "If I wasn't playing, I'd be watching," Wilkins said.

"Guys come to this game looking to get loose. Everybody on the court is so good, there's the potential for things to explode at any time. Sometimes, I just want to stop and say, 'Man, did you see Some of the first-time all-stars can't believe they're here. Seattle forward Xavier McDaniel still remembers not being invited to tryouts for the 1984 U.S. Olympic team.

"Supposedly, I had a bad attitude," McDaniel said. "I could see if they didn't pick me after I got there, but I wasn't even given a chance make the team. I was hurt. I guess people forget you have feelings when you're a well- ng about having fun, jetting other guys involved in the offense and winning the jame," Thomas said. "If you do all hose things, the awards will come.

"But, yeah, to win it three times would be special, more special because t's in Chicago (Thomas' hometown). nd since only two guys have won it nore than twice, you know it's hard to io. I'd be in select company." Thomas was the All-Star MVP in 1984 and '86. Bob Pettit is the only flayer to win it four times and Oscar Robertson won it three. As much as players talk about team concepts in the All-Star Game, this is the one time players are encouraged to express themselves.

A Michael Jordan NBA ALL-STAR GAME ROSTERS Eastern Conference Starters in bold type denotes years In All-Star Game All-Star Saturday is a thriller in itself Robinson near end of Montreal career BY KEITH GAVE Free Press Sports Writer NBA CIRCUS, from Page 1H grace. Many in the crowd thought Wilkins had won. Wilkins led through most of the competition but his final dunk, a two-handed slingshot slam, was scored only a 45. That opened the door for Jordan to win it on the last dunk. Wilkins was gracious in defeat, but he didn't agree with the judging on his final dunk.

"I don't know if that dunk was a 50, but it wasn't a 45," Wilkins said. "There can't be more than five guys who can even do that kind of dunk. Michael made some great dunks, no Defenseman Larry Robinson's brilliant 16-year career apparently is about to come to a messy ending at least in Montreal. Robinson has been feuding openly with coach Jean Perron and is frustrated because of his inconsistent play, which has resulted in more time on the bench. He plans to meet managing director Serge Savard during CENTERS AGE YR PTS REB Brad Daugherty, Cleveland 22 1 18.5 8.4 Patrick Ewing, New York 25 2 19.8 8.1 tyloses Malone, Washington 32 10 20.6 11.0 FORWARDS AGE YR PTS REB Charles Barkley, Philadelphia 24 2 28.3 11.3 Larry Bird, Boston 31 9 28.6 8.9 Kevin McHale, Boston 30 4 22.2 8.0 Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta 27 3 28.8 6.3 GUARDS AGE YR PTS AST Danny Ainge, Boston 28 1 16.1 5.9 Maurice Cheeks, Philadelphia 31 4 14.6 8.3 Michael Jordan, Chicago 24 3 33.6 6.7 Doc Rivers, Atlanta 25 1 14.4 8.9 Islah Thomas, Detroit 26 7 18.5 8.6 Head coach: Mike Fratello, Atlanta.

Western Conference CENTERS AGE YR PTS REB K. Abdul-Jabbar, LA Lakers 40 17 15.0 6.2 James Donaldson, Dallas 30 1 7.1 9.8 Akeem Olajuwon, Houston 25 4 20.9 11.3 FORWARDS AGE YR PTS REB Mark Aguirre, Dallas 28 3 27.2 5.8 Alex English, Denver 34 7 25.3 4.4 Karl Malone, Utah 24 1 26.2 11.0 Xavier McDaniel, Seattle 24 1 23.9 7.7 James Worthy, LA Lakers 26 3 18.8 5.6 GUARDS AGE YR PTS AST Clyde Drexler, Portland 25 2 26.1 5.9 Magic Johnson, LA Lakers 28 8 20.8 11.6 Lafayette Lever, Denver 27 1 18.0 8.0 Alvin Robertson, San Antonio 25 3 20.4 6.9 the NHL All-Star break this week to get a few things off his chest. And it sounds more and more as if he will either ask to be traded or retire. 1 "I want to ask him for a few days to reflect on things," Robinson said. "Then I want to go off to a quiet place and take stock of things.

Mentally, I worn out. By his own admission, his play hasn't been vintage Robinson this season. He blames it on a lack of ice time "Physically I haven't lost anything because of the injury (the broken leg he suffered in a polo accident in NBA CIRCUS East 47, West 45 WEST (45) (8 reb mln m- m-a o-t a pf pts Barry 15 4-8 3-3 0-4 0 1 12 HawKlns 10 0-1 0-0 1-2 110 Thurmond 12 0-4 0-0 0-2 1 0 0 Collins 16 5-9 2-2 0-2 1 1 13 Sloan 15 2-5 0-0 2-4 2 1 4 Bealv 11 0-1 3-4 0-4 113 Bing 14 4-8 1-2 1-2 2 0 9 Howell 9 1-3 2-2 1-1 0 0 4 Schaves 6 0-2 0-0 0-1 0 1 0 Van Lier 12 0-3 O-O 3-4 2 3 0 Totals 120 16-44 11-13 8-26 10 9 45 Percenlaoes: FG .364, FT .846. Three-point goals: 2-10, .200 (Barrv 1-4, Collins 1-2, Bing 0-1, Schaves 0-2, Van Lier 0-1). Team rebounds: 4.

Blocked shots: 2 (Barrv, Bing). Turnovers: 14 (Barrv 4, Thurmond 2, Bing 2, Howell 2, Hawkins, Collins, Schaves, Van Lier). Steals: 8 (Collins 3, Barry, Sloan, Beatv, Bing, Van Lier). EAST (47) fa ft reb min m-a m-a o-t a pf pts Green 12 3-7 2-2 1-2 2 0 8 Wilkes II 1-5 0-0 1-2 3 0 2 Cowens 14 4-8 2-2 2-6 0 0 10 Havlicek 15 1-5 0-0 0-4 1 0 3 Robertson 13 1-3 0-0 2-3 0 1 2 Goodrich 11 1-4 1-2 0-1 10 3 Murphy II 1-6 2-2 1-2 4 4 4 Ray 10 1-2 0-0 1-3 15 2 Sanders 11 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 2 Smith 12 5-8 1-3 2-6 1 1 11 Totals 120 19-50 8-11 10-29 13 11 47 Percentages: FG .380, FT .727. Three-point goals: 1-4, .250 (Havlicek 1-1, Wilkes 0-1, Cowens 0- 1, Murphy 0-1), Team rebounds: 4.

Turnovers: 12 (Smith 2, Sanders 2, Murphy 2, Robertson 2, Green, Cowens, Ray, team). Steals: 12 (Murphy 3, Cowens 2, Havlicek 2, Goodrich 2, Smilh 2, Robertson). West 18 27 0-45 East 26 19 2- 47 10,000. :48. Slam-Dunk contest AT CHICAGO Scoring was bv five judges who awarded each participant a maximum of 50 points 10 points per judge) for each successful dunk and a maximum of 25 points (5 points per iudge) for each missed dunk.

FIRST ROUND Dominique Wilkins 49-47 -96 Michael Jordan 47-47-94 Clyde Drexler 44-44-88 Oils Smith 40-47-87 Failed to Qualify Jerome Kersev 41-38-79 Greg Anderson 42-34 -76 Spud Webb 34-1B-52 Ron Harper was Injured and unable to perform. SEMIFINALS Michael Jordan 50-48-47-145 Dominique Wilkins 49-47-47-143 Failed to qualify Clyde Drexler 45-42-46-133 Otis Smith 45-22-42-109 CHAMPIONSHIP Michael Jordan 50-47-50-147 Dominique Wilkins 50-50-45-145 Long-Distance Shootout Each player had one minute to shoot five balls from five postions wilt) each of the first four shots from each position counting for one point and the fifth baH at each position counting for two points. FIRST ROUND Bvron Scott 19 Larry Bird 17 Dale Ellis 15 Detlef Schrempl 15 Failed to quality Mark Price 14 Danny Ainge 14 Trenl Tucker 11 Craig Hodges 10 SEMIFINALS Larry Bird 23 Dale Ellis 12 Fated to qualify Byron Scott 11 Detlel Schrempl 5 CHAMPIONSHIP Larry Bird 17 Dale Ellis 15 the off-season)," he said. "I feel in top form. I'm skating Bird started slowly but heated up as he kept shooting.

His last three shots from the corner hit nothing but net, and the crowd roared. Bird never removed his warm-up jacket during the competition. "It keeps me warm, so why take it off?" Bird said. "The other guys know I'm the favorite, so it gets easier every year. "I'm just glad Danny Ainge didn't win this thing.

If he won, we'd have to hear about it for the next 10 years. I feel sorry for him because he has been practicing for two months. Kevin (McHale) tried to bother Danny before the competition started, but it wasn't necessary. He choked on his own." The Legends game started in low-, key fashion, but when it got to game-winning time, the retired players went all-out. Trailing by 17 points, the West All-Stars mounted a furious comeback and forced overtime.

The first team to score a basket would win. Dave Cowens scored off a rebound, ending the game. Afterward, the players were exhausted but proud. "You could see the competitive instincts take over," said Dave Bing, the former Pistons great who scored nine points. "I haven't played ball in two years because I simply don't have enough time.

But once I was out there, the shot came back. Some things never change, though. Cowens still gets away with murder under the basket." Doug Collins (13 points) and Rick Barry (12) led the East, and Randy Smith had 11 for the West. There were some memorable moments. Clifford Ray had a slam dunk.

Barry and Collins hit three-pointers. Calvin Murphy made a between-the-legs pass. Of course, the Legends were a little older and wider than they used to be. Oscar Robertson and Gail Goodrich are noticeably overweight, and nobody complained when a time-out was called. But the players and the fans enjoyed it.

"I had fun," said Dolph Schayes. "But more importantly, I didn't hurt myself." Head coach: Pat Riley, Los Angeles Lakers. Isiah Thomas at the All-Star Game Thomas was voted MVP in 1984 and 1986. well and there's no pain. But I can't produce when I being used the way I am (as a fifth defenseman).

"If I can't play on a regular basis here, then why stay with the team? I didn't do all that training since mid-August to have it come down to this. To find myself on the bench useful for opening the door and' nothing else? No thanks." REAPING OATES: Center Adam Oates played his best, game of the season Friday night, setting up two goals by Dave Barr in the Wings' 5-1 victory over Calgary. And to hear him tell it, the best is yet to come. "Adam Oates was superb, just superb," coach Jacques Demers said. "He played a great hockey game.

"He did everything right. He made plays. He took hits. He set up goals. He played good defense.

The last 1 0 days, he's been just fantastic. And that helps because it takes a lot of pressure of Stevie Yzerman." question. In fact, everyone did. And anytime you go into the other guy's home gym, you're at a disadvantage." Even Jordan admitted the crowd may have influenced the judging. He has become a folk hero in this town, and the old stadium shook every time he touched the ball.

Wilkins must have felt like Daniel in the lion's den. "Dominique's last dunk was at least a 48," Jordan said. "If we weren't in Chicago, it might have gone the other way." There was no such controversy in the three-point shooting contest. Bird won it in style, making his final three shots to defeat Dale Ellis of Seattle, 19-17, in the final. Bird is undoubtedly one of the best outside shooters ever, and his confidence in winning this contest borders on arrogant.

Usually, Bird talks to his opponents before the contest starts, but this year he was quiet. "I didn't have to say anything," Bird said. "They all knew who was going to win." Bird was right. After the other six contestants were eliminated, Bird and Ellis squared off. Ellis won the coin toss and elected to shoot first.

Each contestant takes turns shooting three-point shots from various points around the perimeter for one minute. Whoever scores the most points wins. Ellis' score of 17 was decent but others had a feeling it wouldn't be enough. "You need more to beat Larry," said Byron Scott of the Los Angeles Lakers. "He loves pressure." YEAR MIN FG FG FT REB AST PTS 1982 17 5-7 .714 2-4 1 4 12 1983 29 9-14 .643 1-1 4 7 19 1984 39 9-17 .529 3-3 5 15 21 1985 25 9-14 .643 1-1 2 5 22 1986 36 11-19 .579 8-9 1 10 30 1987 24 4-6 .667 8-9 3 9 16 6YRS 170 47-77 .610 23-27 16 50 120 NBA Standings NHL Standings Eastern Conference CENTRAL Pel.

GB Home Away Confer, Atlanta 30 15 .667 17-2 13-13 18-9 Detroit 25 16 .610 3 15-4 10-12 18-10 Chicago 27 18 .600 3 17-6 10-12 18-12 Milwaukee 22 20 .524 6V4 15-7 7-13 14-11 Cleveland 23 22 .511 7 16-8 7-14 13-15 Indiana 22 22 .500 77? 16-6 6-16 13-13 ATLANTIC I Pet. GB Home Away Confer. Boston 32 13 711 19-3 13-10 23-10 Philadelphia 20 23 .465 11 15-6 5-17 11-15 Washington 17 25 .405 1314 13-10 4-15 12-18 New York 16 28 .364 1512 15-8 1-20 12-19 New Jersey 10 34 .227 2116 9-14 1-20 4-24 Plager dies 3 days before all-star honor Western Conference Campbell Conference NORRIS Pt GF GA Home Away mi Detroit 26 19 8 60 212 178 16-6-5 10-13-3 St. Louis 25 23 5 55 183 179 13-10-2 12-13-3 Chicago 22 29 4 48 192 223 15-10-1 7-19-3 Minnesota 16 32 8 40 166 227 8-17-2 8-15-fr4-" Toronto 15 31 9 39 199 234 9-14-6 6-17-3 SMYTHE Pt GF GA Home Away Calgary 32 17 6 70 267 209 18-9-3 14-8-3 Edmonton 30 17 7 67 242 183 20-5-2 10-12-5 Winnipeg 23 22 8 54 196 194 15-8-4 8-14-4 L. Angeles 19 32 5 43 207 250 11-12-2 8-20-3 Vanc'ver 18 31 7 43 192 213 9-13-4 9-18-3 Wales Conference ADAMS Pt GF GA Home Away Montreal 30 16 10 70 210 177 18-6-5 12-10-5 Boston 32 19 5 69 211 174 17-8-2 15-11-3 Buffalo 25 21 9 59 187 205 14-10-5 11-11-4 Hartford 22 24 7 51 162 173 12-10-5 10-14-2 Quebec 22 27 3 49 183 196 13-13-1 9-14-2 PATRICK Pt GF GA Home Away Phila.

27 20 6 60 182 182 15-10-3 12-10-3 Islanders 25 21 6 56 201 184 15-7-5 10-14-1 Pittsburgh 23 23 9 55 210 214 14-9-6 9-14-3 Wash. 24 24 6 54 180 169 16-9-2 8-15-4 N. Jersey 24 26 5 53 189 210 16-10-1 8-16-4 Rangers 20 26 7 47 202 198 11-9-4 9-17-3, MIDWEST Pel. GB Home Away Conler. 15 .651 17 .605 16- 4 12-11 20-10 17- 3 9-14 17-11 Dallas Denver Houston Utah San Antonio Sacramento 28 26 25 22 18 14 2 2' 614 9 .595 .500 .439 17 22 23 29 16- 4 17- 5 15-7 12-13 9-13 17-11 5-17 15-12 3-16 14-15 2-16 10-21 .326 14 PACIFIC Pel.

GB Home Away Conler. 15-6 26-4 7-12 16-11 8 .814 -16 .619 814 20-2 19-4 18-3" 7-17 15-15 35 26 25 13 10 10 LA Lakers Portland Seattle Phoenix LA Clippers Gl State 9-11 4-18 8-22 20 29 32 32 .556 11 .310 2VA .238 2414 .238 241? 8-13 8-11 2-19 8-21 2-21 6-19 Plager scored 44 goals and had 187 assists in 614 games with the Blues. Radiation and chemotherapy had been used in the past couple of years to treat the tumors, but Plager was told last July he could have no more chemotherapy. He also learned last year that a new tumor the size of a golf ball had grown at the same spot where two other tumors had gone into remission. On Jan.

24, Plager told doctors he would not rely on life support systems. Funeral arrangements were pending. Boston 3, Quebec 2: Cam Neely's power-play goal midway through the third period lifted the visiting Bruins to their third straight win. Neely scored his 29th goal of the season at 9:05, converting a rebound after Quebec goaltender Mario Brunetta had stopped shots by Reed Larson and Tom Lehmann. The goal came after the Nordiques had killed off more than four minutes of Steve Finn's five-minute major penalty for high-sticking.

Top four teams in each division make playoffs Four division winners and six teams from each conference with next-best winning percentages make playoffs Free Press Wire Reports ST. LOUIS Barclay Plager, a stalwart defenseman who led the St. Louis Blues to three Stanley Cup finals as a player and later coached the team, died Saturday after a three-year bout with inoperable brain tumors. He was 48. IJlf I Plager died at St.

Luke's Hospital in west St. Louis County, team spokesman Jeff Trammell said. "Everyone's just saddened by it," Trammel said of the Blues, who were scheduled to play the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday night. Plager was to have served as an honorary captain for the Campbell Conference at the National Hockey League All-Star game Tuesday in St. Louis, along with his brother, Bob Plager.

In his last few days, Plager was visited by many friends, including Detroit Red Wings coach Jacques Demers, who coached the Blues from August 1983 until June 1986. At that time, Demers said of Placer, "He is the St. Louis Blues." Plager played 10 years for the Blues and spent another 10 years with the organization as head coach, assistant coach and scout. He had two stints as head coach, from February 1977 to December 1979 and from December 1982 to April 1983. He served as player-coach for the Blues' farm club at Kansas City in 1977.

The Plager brothers were members of the expansion Blues in their inaugural season of 1967-68, when they finished third in the new West Division but advanced to the Stanley Cup final round against the Montreal Canadiens and lost four straight games. The Plagers were joined by a third brother, Bill, as the Blues advanced to the final round in each of the next two seasons, only to be swept by Montreal and Boston. Plager, whose No. 8 uniform number was retired by the Blues in 1980, began his NHL career in St. Louis in 1967 and played until 1977.

He appeared in the All-Star Game played in St. JtjDuis in 1970. MONDAY'S GAME No games scheduled TUESDAY'S GAMES SATURDAY'S RESULTS No games scheduled FRIDAY'S RESULTS Ne games scheduled TODAY'S GAME All-Star at Chicago, 1:25 TODAY'S GAMES New Jersey at Boston, 1:15 Pittsburgh at NY Rangers, 1:35 Chicago at Quebec, 2:05 Toronto at Hartford, 7:05 I Calgary at Los Angeles, 10:35 MONDAY'S GAMES I No games scheduled TUESDAY'S GAME All-Star at St. Louis, 8:35 Detroit at Chicago, 8:30 New Jersey at 7:30 Philadelphia at Atlanta, 7:30 Utah at Dallas, 8:00 SATURDAY'S RESULTS Detroit at Montreal, inc. Boston 3, QUEBEC 2 Hartford at Pittsburgh, inc.

Buffalo at Islanders, inc. Rangers at Washington, inc. Philadelphia at St. Louis, inc. Winnipeg at Minnesota, inc.

Edmon. at Los Angeles, inc. FRIDAY'S RESULTS DETROIT 5, Calgary 1 BUFFALO 5, Toronto 2 Chicago 1, WINNEPEG 1 Islanders 4, WASHINGTON 2 VANCOUVER 5, New Jersey 3 Cleveland at Milwaukee, 8:30 Boston at Houston, 8:30 San Antonio at Denver, 9:30 LA Clippers at Phoenix, 9:30 Indiana at LA Lakers, 10:30 Sacramento at G. State, 10:30 Seattle at Portland, 10:30 (Home teams in CAPITALS) (Home teams in CAPITALS).