The Michigan Daily-Wednesday, May 23, 1979-Page 11
BIRD KAYOED IN THIRD:
Yankees swat Tigers, 12-8
By DAN PERRIN went seven and one-tnird innings and Every player in the New York lineup Despite Rusty Staub's second horn
special totheDaily earned his first win in a Yankee picked up at least one hit as the Yanks run of the year in the ninth, the Benga
DETROIT-The world champion uniform' staked Tiant to a 12-0 lead after six in- were too far behind to catch the Bron
ne
Ils
nx
New York Yankees roughed up Detroit
pitcher Mark "The Bird" Fidrych for
the second time in two weeks last night
as they racked up 15 hits and handed
the Tigers a 12-8 loss at Tiger Stadium.
The Bird was wild from the start as
he slipped out of a bases loaded
situation in the first inning, only tobe
nailed to the cross in the third inning.
IN THAT disastrous inning the Yanks
pounced on Fidrych for five quick runs,
forcing him out °f the game with
nobody out.
Reliever Sheldon Burnside was
ushered in and could do no better, as he
gave up three runs in four hits before he
was mercifully sent to the showers with
the inning still incomplete.
RIGHTHANDER Aurelio Lopez got
third baseman Graig Nettles to ground
out as the third stanza finally came to a
close. By the time the Tigers had step-
ped up to bat in their half of the third,
New York had all but put the game
away, scoring eight runs on seven hits.
Meanwhile, ageless wonder Tiant
was keeping the Tiger bats quiet, as he
TIANT WAS as masterful as the Bird
was miserable, holding Detroit to five
hits and no runs before running into a
seven-run Detroit rally in the eighth in-
ning.
nings. Only when the Tigers came up
with seven runs on four hita and a pair
of walks in the eighth, did they make it
aclose game.
Bombers. Centerfielder Mickey Rivers
and first baseman Chris Chambliss led
the hit parade for New York with three
hits each, while Nettles and substitute
catcher Jerry Narron each added a
pair.
Rightfielder Lynn Jones and first
baseman Jason Thompson were top
men for the Tigers with two raps each.
Six other Bengals each managed a hit,
most of them in the late-inning rally.
Fidrych has now lost three games in
four starts and has yet to win a game
this season. The Tigers and Yankees
conclude their three-game series
tonight with the Yanks' Jim Beattie (3-
1) going against Dave Rozema (1-2).
Fidrych
... Bird bombed early
SPORTS OF THE DAILY
McCourt overruled
By TheAssociatedPress
CINCINNATI - A federal appeals
court ruled yesterday that Dale Mc-
Court of the Detroit Red Wings must go
to the Los Angeles Kings, thus
upholding the National Hockey
League's reserve clause and reversing
a lower court decision.
McCourt, an outstanding second-year
player, was not available for comment
but his agent, Jim Hinds of Sudbury,
Ontario said McCourt was disappoin-
ted.
FNetters
NCAA S 1
ATHENS, Ga. - Michigan's men net-
ters were ousted Monday from the
NCAA tournament by two-time defen-
ding champion Stanford, 7-2.
"Our biggest problem was that we
were unable to obtain the level of tennis
needed to win the match," said Coach
Brian Eisner, who was not discouraged.
"We proved that our team is com-
parable to a team like Stanford."
THE WOLVERINES jumped out to
an early lead against the Cardinals, as
Jeff Etterbeek and:Peter Osler won
their matches at first and second
singles, respectively.
But Stanford soon regained its cham-
pionship poise by sweeping the
remaining matches. Tim Mayotte star-
ted the fireworks by edging Wolverine
Michael Leach, 6-7, 7-5, 7-5.
Despite their defeat in the team com-
petition, Michigan will have plenty of
representation in the individual portion
of the meet Friday. Leach, Etterbeek,
and Matt Horwitch qualified in singles
competition, while the latter two will
team p in doubles. -- ILYSPORTS
Red Wings General Manager Ted
Lindsay reserved comment. "We have
learned of the decision ... and will
reserve any comment on the decision
until sometime after the Memorial Day
weekend," Lindsay said in a prepared
statenent.
In a 2-1 decision, the Sixth U.S. Cir-
cuit Court of Appeals set aside the
previous ruling of the U.S. District
Judge Robert DiMascio of Detroit
which held the NHL reserve clause
violated antitrust laws.
McCourt, Detroit's leading scorer as a
rookie in 1977-78, had refused to play for
Los Angeles after his contract was tur-
ned over by the Red Wings. McCourt
remained with the Red Wings during
the past season. }
Holy Moses
HOUSTON - Houston center Moses
Malone, who won the National Basket-
ball Association rebounding title and
led the Rockets into the playoffs, was
named yesterday as the NBA's Most
Valuable Player for the 1979 season.
Malone, 24, received 112 votes in the
balloting while San Antonio's George
Gervin was a distant second with 33
votes and Elvin Hayes of Washington
was third with 28.
The 6-foot-10 Malone won the NBA
rebounding title with a 17.6 average.
His 4.8 winning margin over Los
Angeles' Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and
New Orleans' Rich Kelley was the third
widest margin in NBA history.
National League
Montreal6. Pittsburgh3
Philadelphia 3, 51. Louis 1
Houstono, Atlanta i
New York4, chicago 2
American League
New York 12, Detroitl8
Btoston 7, Baltimore 5
Texant4, Minnesota 3
cleveland8, Toronto6
Milwaukee7. californias
Ternpora ry 0
In-Sahn-ity
By Billy Sohn
Bid, Kid critics .. .
catch hoof in mouth
BALTIMORE
SMILING FACES. The duo of "The Kid" and the Bid teamed up once
again to win a race that was theirs before it even started.
The outcome of the 104th running of the Preakness on Saturday was
predictable. Spectacular Bid with jockey Ronnie Franklin atop was the
justifiable favorite as the native Baltimore team defeated second place
finisher Golden Act, and three also-rans by five and one-half lengths.
Yet Franklin did not go unchallenged. Jockey Angel Cordero, riding his
mount Screen King, zig-zagged in and out of the path of Franklin in order to
confuse the 19-year-old jockey. But The Kid maintained his cool as he went
outside in the backstretch, despite Cordero's antics, to gain an impressive
victory in horse racing's second jewel of the coveted Triple Crown. Mean-
while, Screen King had to settle for third place.
With the Derby and now the Preakness under their belts, Franklin and
Bid have only one more leak to cross, the Belmont Stakes, before becoming
the third duo in a row to win the Triple Crown. If Bid succeeds, he'll be
following a strong recent tradition started by Secretariat and copied by Seat-
tle Slew and Affirmed.
Some fans, and those with a stake in the sport, claim that if a horse wins
it again, the true value of the triple crown will be lost. Some have gone so far
as to devise racing tactics not necessarily designed to win, but to prevent
Franklin and Bid from winning. Example: Cordero's type of racing.
But in the true nature of sport, the best will reach the top, no matter
what. After all, it's not Bid's fault that no other three-year-old in his class is
comparable to him. Certainly, his near-record-breaking time of 1:54 1/5
(missing the record by only one-fifth second) on a muddy Pimlico track
should prove that this is a top contending thoroughbred.
The plain and simple fact is that Spectacular Bid is ahead of his class.
When he tackles the long Belmont track on June 9, it will be a test of en-
durance. But if Bid continues to exhibit the strong stuff he's made out of, he
will become the unprecedented third consecutive claimant to horse racing's
most prestigious accomplishment.
The controversy surrounding Bid is a result of his jockey's youth. Unlike
Steve Cauthen, who was everybody's "pretty boy" last year aboard Affir-
med, Franklin has had a hard time legitimizing himself as championship
material. The high school dropout has encountered a warm friendly at-
mosphere only around Pimlico.
Part of this negative attitude towards Franklin is a result of another
Baltimore native. Trainer Buddy Delp, who's at home in Maryland, has
little success in gaining respect at other tracks. Delp himself is a com-
parative newcomer to the sport. He, like Franklin has worked himself up
through the ranks. And his relatively loud style of training is unfavorably
compared to the toned-down, refined manners of Kentucky horsemen.
Facing this elitist attitude, Spectacular Bid and his team have fared very
well so far. They have looked adversity in the eye and have managed to con-.
tinually prove their superiority on the track. And after all, that's where it
counts. With two legs down and one to go, Bid is a shoo-in for the Triple
Crown.