Page 16-Thursday, June 8, 1978-The Michigan Daily
Washington zaps Sonics,
SEATTLE (
ington Bullets
Johnson and B
upset the Sea
105-99 last ngt
NBA champ]
history of the
chise.
105-99, for NBA title
AP)-The Wash- Sunday when the routed the Sonics 117- the Bullets were able to turn back the vetran center Wes Unsel
led by Charles 82 at Landover, Md., to even the series threat. throws to clinch the vict
obby Dandridge, at three victories apiece. Last night, Seattle closed to 98-94 in the final two Dandridge's layup wit
despite playing on the road, the Bullets minutes before Mitch Kupchak hit a left closed out the scorin
ttle SuperSonics picked up where they left off. After a three-point play with 1:30 to go.' It was a team e
ht to win the first tight first quarter, they dominated the Fred Brown sank a free throw and hit Washington players sc
ionship in the next two periods to lead 79-66 going into a bank shot and Paul Silas hit a layup to figures. Tom Henderso
17-year-old fran- the final 12 minutes of play. bring Seattle within 101-99 with 18 scored 15 popints each, F
Each time Seattle tried to come back, seconds left. But six seconds later, and Elvin Hayes 12.
ld sank two free
ory.
th four seconds
g.
ffort as six
ored in double
on and Unseld
Kupchak had 13
Johnson and Dandridge each
scored 19 points and the Bullets
stunned a capacity crowd of
14,098 by bringing.the Sonics'
22-game winning streak at the
Seattle Center Coliseum to an
abrupt end.
It was the 12th time in the NBA's 32-
year history that the playoff finals went
to the seven-game limit, creating a
winner-take-all situation of 48 minutes
of basketball to determine the league
champion. The veteran Bullets, whose
starting five has 36 years of pro ex-
perience to 17 years for the Seattle star-
ters, were up to the challenge.
They had avoided elimination on
Very funny, Larry
If you don't like the idea of pro
basketball in June, don't expect any
sympathy from NBA Commissioner
Larry O'Brien. "Maybe we should
make the series 5 out of 9 games and
play till the Fourth of July," O'Brien
suggested. Fortunately for players,
coaches, fans and writers whose jets
are lagging from this 18-day marathon,
his tongue appeared planted firmly in
his cheek.
OSU's han(
for minor
Bullets earnI new label
SEATTLE (AP)-The Washington with a 44-38 record, the same mark they AS EXPECTED, the Bullets brf
Bullets aren't choke artists anymore. had the year before. They were hurt past Atlanta in the playoff mini-s(
They have finally won the big one. badly by injuries, most notably the Then they surprised both San An
For nine years the Bullets were a back problems which kept three-time and Philadelphia, winning each s
playoff fixtue and a playoff failure. All-Star guard Phil Chenier on the insix games.
Twice they made the finals, only to get sidelines after midseason. The best-of-sven finals against
blown out in four straight games both Kevin Grevey, a disappointment in tle was uphill all the way. Three t
times. two years at small forward, bailed the the Sonics took a one-game lead i
BUT THAT'S all in the past now, dead Bullets out of big trouble by stepping in- series, only to have the Bullets
and buried, following the Bullets' vic- to Chenier's guard spot and scoring 15.5 back.
tory over the Seattle SuperSonics last points per game. And now the Bullets are going h
night that gave them the first NBA too, as champions.
championship in the club's 17 years in
the league.
"I don't think it's fair to burden this
team with the failures of the past,
Bullets coach Dick Motta said during
the playoff finals. "Wes Unseld is the
only playerwho was on both those teams
(the 4-0 losers in the playoff finals in
1971 and 1975), and Elvin Hayes is the
only other player who was on one of
them. This team has a lot of character
and deserves to be recognized and
judged on its own merits.
VERY WELL. The Bullets did not
have a particularly outstanding season,
finishing second in the Central Division
Is slapped
violations
eezed
eries.
tonio
series
Seat-
times
n the
fight
nome,
MISSION, Kan. (UPI)-The NCAA
yesterday censured Ohio State Univer-
sity for recruiting and student privilege
violations by its football program bet-
ween 1973 and 1975, but stopped short of
leveling any bans on post-season ac-
tivity or television appearances on the
Buckeyes.
In its own one-year investigation of
violations during that period, the NCAA
Committe on Infractions discovered the
same questionabe practices and
violations disclosed by Ohio State in an
internal investigation in 1976.
SCORES
NBA Championship Game
Washington 105, Seattle 99 (washington wins best of
sevenseriesandNBAChampionship, 4-3)
Major League Biaseball
American League
Toronto at Cleveland, ppd
Chicago8, Minnesota,3
Kansas City atTexasoppd
Natiimnaieagoe
Cincinnati 9, Chicago 6
SanDiegp6,Montrea14
Houston at Pittsburgh, ppd
Atlanta 6, St. LouisS0
The university undertook its in-
vestigation following a series of articles
alleging NCAA violations.
The committee found that several K
times in 1973-74, an assistant football . .
coach loaned a car to an athlete free of
charge for his personal use. In two
other instances, the university paid for
meals and transportation for a friend a
and a relative of prospective students.
"It is significant to note that although
the NCAA conducted an extensive in-
dependent investigation in this case,
the violations found by the committee
were all self-disclosed by the university
in its initial report to the NCAA in
1976," said Arthur R. Reynolds, chair- N '
man of the infractions committee.
"In reviewing this case, the commit-
tee took into consideration the fact that
information developed by the NCAA did
not substantiate additional allegations,
and that the violations found did not
reflect a willful attempt to circumvent
NCAA legislation.
AP Photo
"In light of the nature and circum- SAM SCHULMAN had a dream. The owner of the Seattle SuperSonics imagined
stan ces of this case, the committee did that his team won the NBA's world championship for the first time in their
not believe additional action was 11-year history. The dream didn't-come true, however, as Schulman's Sonics
warranted," Reynolds said. were ousted by the Washington Bullets, 105-99, in last night's final playoff game.