page Twelve
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Friday, June 18, 1976
PaeTeleTEMIHGNDAL.rdaJn.1,17
ABA merges with NBA
By wThe Asocaed Pres'
HYANNIS, Mass. - After nine years
of bidding wars, legal squabbles, and
general rivalry, the National Basketball
Association and the American Basket-
ball Association achieved peace yester-
day in the assimilation of four ABA
clubs and a pol of players into the
NBA.
Joining the 30-year-old NBA will be
the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers,
New York Nets and San Antonio Spurs.
That will increase the NBA's member-
ship from 18 to 22 teams, with each of
the league's four divisions acquiring one
new club.
NOT INCLUDED in the expansion
agreement were the Kentucky Colonels
and the Utah Rockies, the ABA's other
two franchises. Both, however, will be
compensated by the four departing ABA
clubs for being shunted aside.
The Colonels recently agreed to accept
$3 million while the financial determin-
ation for the Rockies, who played in St.
Louis last season, has not yet been de-
cided.
THE MONUMENTAL decision was
thrashed out in all-night discussions
among the top representatives of both
leagues, who met both jointly and sepa-
rstelv. And when it finally came time
for the NBA's Board of Governors to
make its choice, the vote on the first
ballot was 17-1, with only Seattle dis-
senting.
Afterward, both commissioners - tar-
rv O'Brien of the NBA and Dave De-
Busschere of the ABA - were elated
that the wearying talks were successful
and that an amicable accord had been
reached.
EACH OF the four former ABA teams
will pay the NBA $3.2 million, a de-
crease of $1.3 million from the original
asking price.
IN ADDITION to the financial pay-
ments, the major points of the agree-
ment included:
-The players from the Kentucky and
Utah teams will be placed in a pool,
from which a dispersal draft will be con-
docted among all 22 teams, with teams
drofting in inverse order to their re-
cords for the 1975-76 season.
-Players remaining from the Virginia
franchise, which folded after last sea-
son, also will be included in the pool.
Five players from the Virginia team al-
ready have signed with NBA clubs.
-ALL CONTRACTS of ABA players
who are picked ir the dispersal draft
will be honored by NBA clubs. Players
not chosen become free agents, and, if
they are not signed, they will be paid
from a pool of money supplied by ABA
owners.
. -The four ABA teams joining the
NBA will not share in television reve-
nues for four years.
-The Nets will have to pay a terri-
torial indemnity to the New York Knicks
for infringing on their area. The pay-
ment is expected to be $4 million spread
over 20 years. meaning that, with in-
terest, the fee will amount to about $6
million.
-All ABA rosters are to be frozen as
of May 1, 1976.
Twins and rain stop Tigers
NCAA to seed teams
in basketballtore
tok urney
Iy The Associated Press
ITASCA, Ill. - The NCAA Division I basketball committee
voted yesterday to retain its 32-team championship bracket,
but took steps to insure two top teams don't meet head-on
in the first round.
There had been some discussion the NCAA would
revise its current playoff procedures when last year it
appeared No. 5 ranked Indiana and No. 2 ranked Mar-
quette could have met each other in first round sectional
play.
But the committee voted instead to give itself authority
to seed teams "in the best interests of the tournament, an
NCAA spokesman said. This would make certain, he said,
that top teams do not face each other in the first round.
In addition the committee determined that a conference
champion must win at least 60 per cent of its games to
receive automatic qualification to the NCAA tourney.
It granted automatic qualification to the winner of the
newly formed Eastern Independent Collegiate Basketball
League and reduced the number of automatic berths in the
Eastern College Athletic Conference from four to three.
The committee also authorized a study to look into the
possibility of redrawing regional boundaries.
BLOOMINGTON-The Minne-
sota Twins were credited with a
rain-shortened five inning vic-
tory here last night by the score
of 4-0.
Minnesota scored two runs off
loser Verne Ruhle, 5-3, in the
bottom of the third inning, and
chased the Tiger starter in the
fifth when they loaded the bases
with no-one out,
After the delay, the teams re-
sumed action only long enough
for the Tigers to end their
threat, but the Twins put two
men on base in the bottom of
the sixth when inclement weath-
er stopped the game again.
The umpires finally called the
game when the rain failed to
lighten. The second delay was
one hour long.
The four runs the Tigers ran
across the plate earlier in the
inning were wiped out and en-
abled the Twins to claim the
victory.
Kuhn to give ruling
The College World Series
fifth-round g a m e between ( flO )I('I
Arizona and Arizona State
was postponed because of
i
rain last night. The game has
been rescheduled for tonight
and the winner will meet
Eastern Michigan for the
series title Saturday night.
Jim Crawford took over in
relief and surrendered two
sacrifice flies upping the Min-
nesota lead to 4-0. The Tigers
tied it in their half of the sixth
on five hits, and had Tomr
Veryzer on third when rain
halted the g a me for 27
By The Associated Press
NEW YORK - Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn said yes-
terday he has the right to disapprove the sales that sent three
Oakland stars to teams in the American League for $3.5 million.
After a 90-minute hearing, which Kuhn had called be-
cause he had questions about the blockbuster sales that sent
ace left-hander Vida Blue to the New York Yankees for 1.5
million and stars Rollie Fingers and Joe Rudi to Boston for
$1 million apiece, the commissioner said he would decide on
the matter this morning.
"I have to consider these transactions in the best interest of
baseball," Kuhn said, referring to his special "integrity-of-the-
game" power. "I have the inherent power to do what I feel is in
the best interests of baseball.
Kuhn would not reveal whether he was inclined to intervene
in that manner, declining to talk on the substance of the issues
he was facing.
"The issue is whether the assignment of the three contracts
is appropriate or not under the circumstances, that's the issue I
have to wrestle with," Kuhn said.
Major League Standings
minutes.
Players blast Open course;
amateur leads first round
By The Associated Press
DULUTH, Ga.-Mike Reid, an obscure, upstart
amateur in a glamorous field of the world's finest
professionals, deftly constructed a leading, three-
under-par 67 yesterday while such stars as Jack
Nicklaus, Hale Irwin and Arnold Palmer flailed
in varying degrees of frustration during the first
round of the United States Open Golf Champion-
ship.
Three strokes in back of him at 70 was Masters
champion Ray Floyd.
FURTHER BACK at 72 was leading money-
winner Hubert Green, Gary Player and Ben
Crenshaw.
Tom Weiskopf finished double bogey-bogey for
a 73.
Johnny Miller completed his 18 bogey-par-dou-
ble bogey and shot 74. He was joined at that
figure by British Open champion Tom Watson
and Jack Nicklaus.
REID'S SURPRISING lead, however, was not
the biggest story of the day at the Atlanta Ath-
letic Club course. Complaints about the condi-
tion of the course-the first ever in the South to
host this championship-were coming from every
direction.
"The worst preparation I've ever seen for an
Open course," snorted Hale Irwin.
"The fairways weren't cut," complained Arn-
old Palmer. "There was casual water on them
and it sure as hell didn't rain."
Gary Player claimed, "The fairways were too
long to execute the shot you were required to
make."
NICKLAUS - holder of 14 major profesisonal
titles-echoed Palmer's statement about the fair-
ways.
Sandy Tatum, chairman of the United States
Golf Association's tournament committee, ex-
plained the three-quarter inch fairways were
longer than desired due to some confusion over
the size of the wheels on the gang mowers used
on the fairways. The casual water resulted, he
said, from some sprinklers that stuck.
The controversy over the course condition oc-
cupied much attention, but Nicklaus observed
that "everybody has to play the same course-
it's no big deal."
- ---- ...--
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East
W L Pet. GB
New York 34 22 .607 -
Cleveland 28 t500 6
Boaston 26 29 .473 1/71
Baltimore 27 32 .457 '8
Detroit 25 31 .446 9%
Milwaukee 23 30 .434 9'?
West
Kansas City 38 20 .655 -
Texas 33 23 .59 4
Oakland 21 31 .483 10
Chicago 27 21 .412 10
Minnesota 21 30 .414 10
Calitarnia 25 3t .397 15'.
Yesterdays Results
New Yoek 5, Chteago 4
Minnesota 4, Detroit 0
Baltimore 4, Texas 1
Mlwaukee at Calfornia, n
Boston at Oakland, a
only games scheduled
Today's Games
Kansas city (Leonard 6-2) at
Cleveland (waits 1-1), n.
New York (Blue 6-6) at Chicago
(Johnson 3-7), a
Detroit (Roberts 5-5) at Minne-
sota (Hughes 2-7), n
Baltimore (May 4-3) at Texas
(Umbarger 7-4), n
Boston (Wise 5-3) at California
(Kirkwood 1-6). a
Milwaukee (Augustine 2-2) at
Oakland (Torrer 6-7), n
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East
W L Pet. G1
Philadelphia 41 17 .707 -
Pittsburgh 34 25 .576 7'
New York 32 33 .492 12'
Chicago 27 33 .450 15
St. Louis 26 35 .426 16'
Montreal 20 34 .370 19
West
Cincinnati 39 23 .629 -
Los Angeles 36 27 .571 3',
San Diego 33 27 .550 5
Houston 29 34 .460 10'
Atlanta 24 35 .407 13'.
San Francisco 23 41 .359 17
Yesterday's Results
Philadelphia 3, San Francisco 2
New York 1, Los Angeles 0, 14
innings
Only games scheduled
Today's Games
Chicago R. (Reuschel 6-4) at At-
lanta (Morton 0-5), n
Los Angeles (Rhoden 5-0) at Mon-
treal (Fryman 7-4), n
San Francisco (Dressler 1-4) at
New York (Seaver 6-5), n
Cincinnati (Dillingham 5-4) at
Philadelphia (Lonborg 9-3), n
Houston (Richard 7-6) at Pitts-
burgh (Candelaria 5-4), n
San Diego (Jones 12-2) at St.
Louis (Falcone 4-5), n