The Michigan Daily--Thursday, May 28, 1981--Page 15
SPORTS OF THE DAILY
Erving earns MVP honor
DANVERS, Mass. (AP) - Julius Er-
ving of the Philadelphia 76ers beat
Boston Celtics star Larry Bird for the
National Basketball Association's Most
Valuable Player award in voting an-
nounced yesterday.
Guard Darrell Griffith of Utah edged
Kelvin Ransey of Portland, another
guard, 19-18, to win Rookie of the Year
honors, and Indiana's Jack McKinney
topped Stan Albeck of San Antonio, 27-
25, in the race for Coach of the Year.
FORWARD BERNARD King, who
battled back from alcoholism and legal
problems to average 21.9 points per
game for Golden State, was a runaway
winner of the first Comeback Player of
the Year award. He received 51 votes to
six for David Thompson of Denver.
Jerry Colangelo, general manager of
the Phoenix Suns, was selected by his
fellow GMs as the NBA's Executive of
the Year. He is the first two-time win-
ner of the award, having also received
it in 1976.
The announcements came at an
awards luncheon on the opening day of
the league's annual summer meetings.
ERVING, WHO had a brilliant career
in the American Basketball Association
before joining Philadelphia five years
ago, is the first player to win MVP
honors in both leagues.
He led the 76ers with 24.6 points per
game, and averaged 8.0 rebounds, 4.4
assists and 2.11 steals per game.
Erving received 28 first-place votes
and 454 points in the MVP balloting to 20
first-place votes and 423 points for Bird.
But it was Bird's Celtics who rallied
from a 3-1 deficit to beat Philadelphia in
the playoff semifinals and eventually
win the league championship.
ERVING, 31, became the first non-
center since 1964 to win the Maurice
Podoloff Trophy as MVP.
Griffith led all rookies with 20.6 points
per game. Ransey averaged 15.6 points
and 6.9 assists per game.
Four rookies received significant
support for the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy.
Trailing Griffith and Ransey were
Larry Smith of Golden State, with 14
votes, and Kevin McHale of Boston, 11.
N. Y. talks with Brooks
NEW YORK (AP) - New York
Rangers officials cgntinued to meet
with representatives of Herb Brooks
yesterday in an effort to settle final
details of a contract that would bring
the former U.S. Olympic coach to the
National Hockey League team.
Craig Patrick, who assisted Brooks
with the 1980 gold medal-winning
Olympic team, doubled as general
manager and coach of the Rangers,
who reached the Stanley Cup semi-
finals this §eason. But Patrick will con-
centrate his work in the front office
next season and Brooks, who was
nearly hired as Ranger coach last
November, is expected to succeed him.
The Rangers wanted Brooks
originally when Fred Shero was
dismissed early in the 1980-1981 season.
But at the time, the Olympic coach
could not get his release from the Davos
club in Switzerland, so Patrick took
over instead. Eventually, Brooks left
the Swiss club and returned to the
United States. By then, the Rangers
had decided to stay with Patrick for the
remainder of the season.
Woody recovering
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)-Former'
Ohio State University football coach
Woody Hayes was in satisfactory con-
dition yesterday at the school's hospital
complex after undergoing minor
surgery.
The 68-year-old Hayes underwent a
procedure yesterday morning to drain
and treat an infection stemming from
an operation performed earlier this
month, officialsgat University Hospital
said. His gallbladder was removed at
the hospital May 9 after gallstones were
discovered.
Hayes was admitted to the hospital
Tuesday.
Hayes has been a professor emeritus
in theuniversity's department of
health, physical education and
recreation department since- being
fired as coach after the 1979 Gator
Bowl.
Allison stable
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)-Stock car
driver Donnie Allison remained in un-
satisfactory but stable condition
yesterday after suffering multiple in-
juries in Sunday's World 600 race at the
Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Allison, 41, whose brother Bobby won
the race, suffered a concussion; frac-
tured ribs, a bruised right lung, broken
left knee and a broken right shoulder
blade.
HE WAS INJURED on lap 52 when
his Oldsmobile collided with a Buick
driven by Dick Brooks. Both drivers
were trapped in their cars for several
minutes but Brooks escaped with only a
dislocated shoulder.
A spokesman at Charlotte Memorial
Hospital said doctors conducted several
tests on Allison, including a brain scan.
The tests revealed no further com-
plications.
The Hueytown, Ala. driver has been
in the hospital's intensive care unit sin-
ce Sunday. Allison's doctors were
unavailable for comment yesterday.
ALTHOUGH doctors said Allison's
life was never in danger, they feared he
might have suffered an injury to his
aorta, the main blood vessel lesding
from the heart to other parts of the
body. However, tests showed no inter-
nal bleeding.
Bobby Allison said his brother's in-
juries were on his mind during the race.
Be saw the wreck as the field of .cars
circled the field under a caution flag but
was told he was alright by his crew.
Rozelle testifies
LOS ANGELES (AP)-National
Football League Commissioner Pete
Rozelle testified yesterday he once
hoped the Los Angeles Rams would
patch up their differences with the Los
Angeles Coliseum and abandon plans to
move to nearby Anaheim. - '
Rozelle said he believed it was
possible that the Coliseum "blew it" in
trying to keep the team.
ATTORNEY Maxwell Blecher sought
to show that the financial benefits to the -
Rams from the move were far greater
than the benefits to the league as a
whole.
Rozelle agreed that the only major
benefit to the league was increased in-
come.
JULIUS ERVING OF the Philadelphia 76ers (left) receives the National
Basketball Association's MVP trophy from league commissioner Larry
O'Brien. "Dr. J" is the first non-center to win the award since 1964, and
displays the intensity that made him the game's best this year (inset).