stros blast Braves 10-5;
iekro records 7th win
United Press International
ATLANTA — Jerry Mumphrey
elted a two-run homer and Denny
Vailing added a three-run shot
Tuesday night to power the Hous-
i Astros to a 10-5 victory over the
Islumping Atlanta Braves.
Joe Niekro (7-7) went 6 2/3 in-
bings before getting relief help from
)ave Smith and Frank DiPino.
The Astros, leading 4-3, broke the
game open with five runs in the
pighth.
Singles by Terry Puhl and Mark
bailey and a walk to Bill Doran
Joaded the bases. Craig Reynolds
lined a two-out single to drive in two
luns. Then Walling greeted reliever
Brave Gene Garber by hitting his
lirsl pilch over the right field fence
n his first homer this season.
The Braves, who have lost six of
|heir last seven games, took a 1-0
lead in the third on consecutive sin
gles by Brad Komminsk, Bruce Ben
edict and Atlanta starting pitcher
Rick Camp.
The Astros went ahead 2-1 on
Camp’s first two pitches in the sixth
inning. Jose Cruz led off with a sin
gle and Mumphrey hit a 3-1 pitch
over the center field fence for his
fourth homer.
Houston made it 4-1 in the sev
enth on a two-run triple by Cruz.
The Braves cut the lead to 4-3 in
the bottom of the inning with one
run scoring on Ken Oberkfell’s dou
ble-play grounder and the other on
a wild pitch by Niekro.
The Braves added another run in
the eighth on an RBI single by Chris
Chambliss, but the Astros got the
run back in the ninth on a run-scor
ing single by Puhl.
NBA changes draft;
Clippers move OK’d
Joe Niekro
United Press International
SALT LAKE CITY — The NBA
Board of Governors Tuesday voted
to change its college draft to a lottery
system and agreed to let the Clippers
play in Los Angeles pending the out
come of a lawsuit over their move
from San Diego.
The board also voted to stiffen
rules for open court, intentional
fouls and to change its
championship series playoff format.
The Clippers will be playing in
Los Angeles pending outcome of the
league’s lawsuit charging the fran
chise moved without legal authority.
“The board has ratified the liti
gation that presently has been com
menced,’’ said NBA Commissioner
David Stern. “We’ll let the judge de
cide who’s right.”
Stern also said the owners ap
proved putting in the constitution
specific criteria that must be fol
lowed before a franchise can move
and reduced to half from two-thirds
the number of board members who
must vote to approve a move. The
latter amendment had been pro
posed before the Clippers’ move.
Stern said.
Under the new draft system, the
seven teams that fail to make the
playoffs will enter a lottery to deter
mine what order they will draft col
lege players and will reduce the
number of rounds from 10 to seven.
The rest of the teams will pick on
the basis of their records, with the
club with the worst record selecting
first in that group.
“We think that will be exciting for
all those teams who will have a shot
at the No. 1 pick in the draft,” Stern
said. “And We think it will put to rest
once and for all the issue of, ‘You
can win by losing.’”
In regards to shortening the draft
to seven rounds. Stern said, “The
consensus was all the business that
could be conducted in drafting
could be done in seven rounds.”
The Board of Governors, com
posed of NBA team owners, also
adopted a new rule for so-called
breakaway fouls in the open court.
The fouled player will receive two
free throws and his team will receive
the ball.
The league also adopted a new
format for its world championship
series. Instead of playing the alter
nating homecourts by a 2-2-1-1-1
system, it now will be 2-3-2.
NSAIT
)Q
s condi
is assooi
tionable
annot
/e healil
ith
United Press International
Andre Dawson is a relatively young man.
Hejust turned 30 only a couple of weeks ago
iid ordinarily, he should have most of his life
still ahead of him.
No one but him has any idea, though, how
much he dies inside every time he comes to
bat for the Montreal Expos.
Those scoreboards are killing him.
"You’ve got them in your face every time
you come up,” he says. “They show your aver-
geand you can’t miss seeing it. I used to pick
up the papers and sympathize with guys hit
ting .100 or .200. Now I’m right in there with
tbem. It makes me aware I’m human.”
Dawson’s .203 average before Tuesday
night’s contest with the Cardinals in St. Louis
put him at the lowest point he has been this
icason. His high-water mark was .276 on May
5. Since then, he has been crawling along at a
dismal .163 pace.
Here’s a man who’s quite possibly the best
all-around player in baseball. He finished
mpanie
ate
idencesli
:ffects fo
x PUCis
ninthti 1
xntacted
e.
iid a lea"
mg rewi
hospital
ifant,
rawing
m
ut the
missing
Penn)'
)and, ^
s monti 11
Gardna
Dawson still playing for Expos despite bad knees
runnerup in the National League MVP ballot
ing last year, collected the most All-Star votes
among all outfielders and was named the No.
1 player in baseball by his fellow players. He
hit .300 or better three of the last four years,
missing by only a single point last season, but
he isn’t the same player this year.
There’s an obvious reason. Two of them, in
fact. It’s his knees.
The right-handed hitting Dawson is like
Mickey Mantle in that he doesn’t talk about
them much, figuring all the talk in the world
isn’t going to help him a bit. But everyone in
baseball knows about his knees and anyone
with the Expos can tell you about the danger
of the left one collapsing on him at any given
time.
“Andre has had three knee operations, two
on his left one and another on his right,” says
Richie Griffin, the Expos’ bright PR man. “He
has a partially detached bone spur on his left
knee, so when he’s at the plate and strides to
hit, all the impact is on that front knee.
“The doctors have told him the spur can
become completely detached from his knee
during any time he’s playing. (Expos’ Presi
dent) John McHale has given him the option
of having the knee operated now or after the
season. Andre said he’d rather wait until the
season is over. If the spur should become de
tached, his knee will lock and he will fall over.
That will tell the doctors they can’t wait any
longer, they have to operate immediately.”
Sometimes, the knees give him so much
trouble, he has a problem walking up on to
the team bus, but he keeps playing because
he’s so anxious to help the Expos. They
haven’t been any world beaters this year.
Dawson’s wife, Vanessa, and his mother,
Mattie, would like to see him have his left
knee taken care of now without waiting for
the season to end.
“They think more in terms of my health,”
says Dawson, who is pretty much reconciled to
the possibility neither of his knees will ever be
perfect again. He does everything he can not
to think too much about them even though
that’s practically impossible.
“I go out there and try to do the best I can,”
he says. “What can I say? I don’t feel like my
self. I feel like I’m in somebody else’s body. I
try to look past what’s happening, but it’s in
my mind. When I try to make quick
movements, the knee buckles and gives. But it
was worse earlier in the season when the
weather was cold and damp in Montreal.”
The Expos not only miss Dawson’s bat, they
also miss some of his defensive wizardry in the
outfield. He’s still good out there, but not any
thing like he was before. Last season, he was a
Gold Glove winner for the fourth time when
he led the league in putouts and total chances
for the third straight year.
With his knees being what they are, Daw
son was switched from center field to right at
the start of the season. Tim Raines took over
his old spot in center.
“I call him ‘Limp,’” Raines laughs. “He gets
back at me good, though. He says to me, ‘now
that you’re playing center, you’d better look
out because maybe your knees will wind up
like mine some day.’”
«il
Andre Dawson
Woodcreek gives you a whole lot more
for less. Like ponds
for ducks.
And pathways
for jogging
or walking. And loads of
trees.
And pools
privacy
Woodcreek.
for swimming. And
for just plain enjoying.
It’s a new way of living
that gives you a whole lot more
for less. Indulge yourself. Wx>d^reek
Homes, patio homes from the $80s. Estate lots priced from $22,000
Woodcreek
409-696-1732