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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 1978)
wMimm sports THE BATTALION THURSDAY, JULY 8, 1978 Page 9 ashington wins 105-99 Bullets are NBA champs $19 million offered for a share of the Jets United Press International IsEATTLE — The Washington [Bullets, behind Charles Johnson jd Mitch Kupchak’s strong effort : the bench, ended years of frus- Ition and erased a reputation as Ithe National Basketball Associa tion’s choke artists when they de feated the Seattle SuperSonics gf)5-99 Wednesday night to win the title. Twice before the Bullets had gone to the NBA finals, in 1971 and 1975, and been blown out each time, 4-0. Kupchak and Johnson were not on those teams, and neither was Coach Dick Motta. This time, thanks to Kupchak and Johnson’s efforts and two crucial free throws by Wes Un- seld with 12 seconds remaining, the “Fat Lady” finally sang for Motta and his crew. The loss ended what many thought was an impossible dream for Seattle, which early in the sea son was floundering with a 5-17 rec ord before Lenny Wilkens took over as coach and turned the club into a contender. The victory, which came in seven games, was especially gratifying for Washington because the final triumph came in the Seat tle Coliseum, where the Sonics had not lost in 22 games, including 10 in the playoffs. Unseld, a veteran of the Bullets’ two previous appearances in the fi nals, captured the most valuable player award for this series. Despite being criticized by Elvin Hayes and Bob Dandridge after the Bullets lost in the first game of the finals, Un seld impressed with his steady play at center, strong rebounding and calm leadership. Johnson and Dandridge led the Bullets’ scoring with 19 points each. Unseld and Paul Henderson had 15 each, Kupchak 13 and Hayes 12. Marvin Webster, playing his finest game against Washington, led Seat tle with 27 points and 19 rebounds. Fred Brown and Jack Sikma each scored 21 points. ggie notes and quotes ciittin ks the nonei numof L'tureli ;ery to d ' i wM md liis r acasti ig :al. 'tected tieulark one pei ’eringi repairs ate, es.” The longest baseball season in Texas A&M history ended last week in Ann Arbor, Mich., when the Aggies lost in the finals of the NCAA Mideast Regional to Big Ten champion Michigan. A&M lost to the Wolverines 8-1 in the opening game, then, came back to eliminate Missouri 5-1 on a four-hitter by Mark Thurmond and Eastern Michi gan 6-1 on a 5-hitter by Mark Ross before losing to Michigan again 3-0. “This team has been a great joy to work with,” coach Tom Chandler said. “They came back all year, and they deserved to go to the College World Series. We just ran into a hot Michigan team. In all my 20 years of coach ing, I’ve never seen a team make so many great defensive plays in one game. But we played well, and Tm very proud of our players. They never quit trying. The Wolverines made seven plays which robbed the Aggies of basehits in the final game. i A&M finished the season with Lz F i 39-16 record and with its sec ond straight Southwest Confer- mce title. The team is losing five seniors — shortstop Robert Bon ier, third baseman Robert ^erde, left fielder Tim Feickert md pitchers David Pieczynski ind Jim McWilliams--but will etum a strong nucleus for next 'ear. Bonner closed out a fantas- career as the team’s leading nithfl hitter at .343. He holds 12 school ecords. Leading the returnees will be iitchefs Thurmond and Ross. Farmei Tuirmond posted a 13-1 record diile Ross was 11-4. Over the ist two years, Thurmond is 23-3 ivhile Ross is 22-7. First baseman dtoaci £yj e Hawthorne set ecords ith 14 homeruns, 53 RBIs and 'Uldbe®09 total bases. In voting by the team, Verde vas elected captain for the 1978 leason, Bonner and Thurmond hared MVP honors while Feic- cert and second baseman Randy Far»0! IS haveti •eh, D- jn thet ite Fori ■, befo cl in the are sef portid succee o not e entire st om tes. ; about er lOlfl)y 0 odruff sh ared the Wally Moon Award for the most im- he Bnt iroved player, basers ‘ Chandler has announced the purrffl ligning of four outstanding pros- ,, Fred )ects for the 1979 season, ese ^ Shortstop Bryan Little is a ransfer from Louisburg Junior College in North Carolina. He vas drafted in the fifth round by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Infiel- der Chris Rupp is a transfer from Angelina Junior College in Luf kin. Outfielder Simon Glenn is an All-America candidate from Blinn Junior College in Brenham who hit .424 and stole 22 bases. Bobby Taylor is a righthanded pitcher from Port Arthur Jeffer son. Taylor had an 11-1 record. In 80 1 innings, he allowed only 24 hits and four earned runs while walking 29 and striking out 118. Disaster struck Texas A&M’s SWC track champions at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., recently and the Aggies wound up only with Cur tis Dickey’s second-place finish in the 100-meter dash. After winning the SWC title, A&M looked for NCAA meet points from Dickey in the 100, Ray Brooks in the 200, Randy Hall in the pole vault and from both relay teams. Coaches Charles Thomas and Ted Nelson figured A&M could finish as high as fifth in that prestigious meet. But, in an AAU meet in Hous ton shortly before the NCAA, Brooks suffered a pulled hamstr ing muscle. That put him out of the 200 meters and forced a sub stitution on the 400-meter relay unit. A foursome of Mike Mosley, Leslie Kerr, Charles Butler and Dickey ran a 40.23 for second in their prelim heat. Then they ran a 40.33 for fifth in the their semifinal heat and failed to qualify for the finals. Intent of doing well in the 1600-meter relay, Kerr passed the open 400-meter dash to con centrate on the relay race. Then, on the morning of competition, Arthur Williams phoned his mother in Dallas and learned that an uncle who lived with the family had drowned. His mother requested he fly home for the funeral and that forced A&M to scratch its 1600-meter relay team. And, it was too late for Kerr to get in the open 400- meter dash. Hall vaulted 16-8 and was above the bar all three times at 17-0 but brushed it off coming down and didn’t get to the finals. Pat Ruehle vaulted 16-4. Both Tim Scott and Steve Stewart failed to advance in the discus. Dickey won his prelim heat of the 100-meter dash in 10.28 and won his semifinl heat in 10.11. He was leading the pack in the finals until the last few yards when USC’s Clancy Edwards roarted by to win in 10.07 Dickey was second at 10.11 and Harvey Glance of Auburn was third at 10.19. Dickey said later that he felt Glance was the man to beat. “He was in the lane next to me and I knew I had him beat and I didn’t see Edwards coming up at the finish. The outlook for next year is bright for A&M’s track. The SWC champs lose only three point makers—sprinter^ Brooks, and Butler and distance runner Manfred Koh rs. And, Thomas and Nelson al ready have signed eight new re cruits. They include a pair of 7-foot high jumpers—James Howard of Alvin, Tex. and James Aggers of Pasadena Rayburn; tow pole vaulters—Rick Hailey of Tuloso-Midway, the 3A cham pion who has cleared 16-8 and Mike Mullins of Arlington, Tex., the 4A runner-up who has cleared 15-4. Sprinter Mike Fin ley from Mesa, Ariz. Junior Col lege who was National JC champ in the 100-meters (10.23) and 220-yard dash (20.3); quarter- miler Steve Willis from Waco Connally, 46.9 for 400 meters and 45.7 relay leg: Mike Stewart from Baytown Sterling, a 1:53.2 for 880-yards and Richard Thomas from Amarillo Tascosa, a 14.2 in the 120-yard high hurdles and 37.9 in the 33(Ly4rd- > in>ter L ' mediate hurdles. Here s how A&M s worrten fared in the 1978 AIAW National Track Meet at Knoxville, Tenn., recently: Linda Cornelius, second in the pantathlon with 4,052 points. H er marks: 5-5 in high jump, 14.2 in hurdles, 33-8 in shot put, 19-2 in long jump and 2:15.5 in 800-meter run. Sande Lambert, 17th in pentathlon with 3,653 points. Donna Branch, 7th in javelin at 142-0. Cindy Bartlett, 14th in 400-meter hurdles at 62.7. Jan Chesbro, 15th in high jump at .5-7, Martha Sartain, 15th in 5,000-meter run at 17:12.52. Ileana Hocking, 20th in the 800-meter run at 2:12.24 and 18th in the 1,500-meter run at 4:34.0. Iris Tipton, 27th in the shot put at 42-3‘/a. Young Astros Puhl helps at the plate If there has ever been a ballplayer who walked softly but carried a big stick, it has got to be Astros leftfield- er Terry Puhl. Not yet 22-years old, the native of Melville, Saskatchewan, Canada, has already hit .301 in his rookie year in the majors and seems des tined to reach the .300 mark again this year and for many to come. After getting off to a fair start in 1978—batting .276—Terry went wild in May, hitting safely in 20 of 22 games for the month, including an 18-game hitting streak; a career high and club high for 1978. For the month, Puhl batted .367, with 33 hits, 15 runs scored and six runs batted in. His performance was good enough to earn him a nomina tion and several votes for National League Player of the Month honors. He was also named Astros “Cham pion of the Month by the Houston broadcastors and beat writers. T’ve always been a streak hitter,” Puhl said of his accomplishments. “At times I just go crazy on one of those hot streaks. And I try to avoid slumps through my bunting. That’s the key for me, and so far it’s kept me from any bad slumps.’ ‘Old horse’ Jenkins wins again ■ i:v-’ij*. J1 ■ United. Frcssf Jnlernational ARLINGTON — They played racehorse baseball at Arlington Herrmann heads home United Press International OUSTON — Disgruntled ..iJfouston Astros catcher Ed on on"" jssle) Herrmann has left the team and legin'; traveled to his home in San Diego er for 0 ®h the approval of management, tip tl> e With the team playing in Chicago Tuesday, Herrmann flew to Hous ton and met with Astros’ President Tal Smith. Smith said the catcher had personal problems to resolve Louis Friday. Reportedly, the Astros are trying to trade Herrmann before the June 15 inter-league trading deadline. The nine-year veteran has told the club he wanted to go to a team on the West Coast. Stadium Tuesday night and the leading thoroughbred turned out to be one of the oldest horses in the stable — Ferguson Jenkins. Jenkins allowed four hits, walked one, struck out eight and dashed through the Kansas City Royals in 1 hour, 54 minutes in leading Texas to a 21 victory. “I had good control, said JeT- kins, “and good control is worth an extra 10 miles an hour on your fastball. It was another chapter in the sur prising comeback for Jenkins, 34, and has boosted his record to 6-3 to become the top Rangers pitcher in a season that started with him battling just to secure a spot in the bullpen. “Yes, I’m surprised at what he’s done, said Texap - Manager Billy Hunter. “I didn’t think he’d even be in the rotation at this time of year but Fergie intimated to me in spring training that he thought he would be in the rotation. “That just shows you that old heads are better than bald ones.’ Jenkins outpitched Dennis Leonard, who is finding the grove after a miserable start. Indeed, Terry kept his 18-game string alive several times with per fect bunts down the third base line. ' But all the bunts the lefthand- hitting Puhl attempted early in the season were not successful. He failed on a sacrifice attempt in Cin cinnati early in the year and then failed on his next two bunt base hit attempts. “If you’re a youngster and you’re not successful three straight times, in most cases you junk the idea,” Astros hitting coach Deacon Jones said. “But Terry kept working on it and now the opposition has to re spect him for his ability to bunt. “Deacon stressed to me in spring training that if I bunted occasion ally, it would keep the opposition infield honest,” Puhl says. “He s right. The third basemen are play ing me three or four steps closer now than last year. And that gives me a much better opportunity, when I swing away, to slap a base hit by them. The discipline and confidence Puhl showed with regard to his bunting mirrors his approach to every facet of the game. Blessed with good speed, he is the picture of unwasted motion in everything he does. Called upon to play all three outfield positions dur ing May, he did so with ease. On the basepaths, he shows the potential of stealing 30-plus bases and runs the bases with sharp cuts and the confidence of a veteran. “Terry’s biggest asset is that he is such a mature person,” Jones said. "For example, we ve made sugges tions to him about bunting, about gdtfrigi him to pull more ^pitches, ^ that> ( we^wpidxJrTt make^Tora loti^pf^’ younger players. Some youngsters wouldn’t be able to handle it; they’d get too confused. Not Terry. He lis tens. He’s coachable. He wants to excel. ” The Astros, although satisfied with the job Terry has done in the leadoff slot, hope that he may even tually become a power hitter, which woidd make him one of the most complete players in baseball. “It’s possible,” Puhl says. “I think the older I get, the better I’ll be able to pick up pitches. I don’t have any idea yet what pitches to swing for homers on, and I’d be foolish to do it now. I am approaching the ball better now, driving it better than last year.” “He’s already a mature person,” Jones says, “and when he matures fully as a hitter, he could be a great one. He isn’t the kind of guy who will make many mistakes. Before long, we’11 be able to throw him in the lineup and forget him." United Press International WEST HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — New York Jets Chairman of the Board Leon Hess Tuesday confirmed reports he had re ceived a $ 19-million offer for the team, but denied his share of the National Football League club was for sale. A five-man group made the $19 million offer, headed by James Aufiero, a land developer in Italy. Team President Jim Kensil re leased a statement Tuesday say ing, “An unsolicited offer has been received by Leon Hess, chairman of the New York Jets, for the purchase of the team. Mr. Hess said he would submit the offer to his two partners but Mr. Hess’ personal interest was not for sale. The other members of the group are T.P. Johnson, co owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates; John Brunetti, owner of Hialeah Race Course in Florida; Martin Fife, a New York industrialist, and Bernard Kalstein, a fabric- manufacturer. The group also indicated it was willing to spend another $4 million to turn the 3-11 Jets of last season into a con tender. “We haven’t had any talks with them before,” said Aufiero from his New York restaurant. “But we are a bonafide group. We’ve got some substantial people and we think they’re ready to sell. We re not interested in buying a piece of the team. We want to buy the whole thing. @ATriSH @OUNTRY In the Heart of ° Aggieland! Specializing in: 0 -- CATFISH (All You Can Eat) SEAFOOD CHICKEN CHICKEN FRIED STEAK (WITH COUNTRY GRAVY) SI AT A PRICE YOU CAN AFFORD! pAtfi3h Country 317 S. COLLEGE (Next to Skaggs) HOURS' LUNCH 11:00-2:00 SUN., TUES.-FRI. DINNER 5:00-10:00 SUN;, TUES.-SAT. (CLOSED MONDAYS) ORDERS TO GO AVAILABLE — 846-1891 i