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.