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Now that all the vacationing of the
Memorial Day weekend is over, it's time
to concentrate on sports. Summer is just
around the corner, and the number of
sports in action is finally dwindling down
to a respectable amount.
The NHL season has finally ended,
after more than a month of post-season
play. Hockey is the one sport where, of
the 21 teams in the league, 16 get a spot
in the preliminary playoff round. Why is
this done? We sure wish we knew.
Money is probably the main factor,
because more and more clubs sell out
home games against the better teams,
which, according to the NHL, means 16
teams.
The inevitable finish to the season
happened last Thursday, when the New
York Islanders outplayed the Minnesota
North Stars 5-1 to grab the coveted
Stanley Cup in five games. That's all well
and good, but usually when a team is
victorious it's time to look toward next
year. Here's where the problem lies in
the Isles' organization. Several players
are entering the option year of their
contracts, and it's time to prove to the
management how much they're worth.
The two most important players involv
ed in this are defenseman Denis Potvin
and the leading scorer of this past
season, Mike Bossy. Potvin, perhaps the
best defensive player in the NHL, has
demanded to be the highest paid player
in the league. Where has this been heard
before? Dave Parker, Dave Winfield,
O.J. Simpson, Earl Campbell, Magic
Johnson, and (almost) Ralph Sampson all
have earned enough money to lead their
respective sport in salaries. For Potvin,
this means a long-term contract in
excess of--are you ready?--$BOO,OOO an
nually, almost as much as the editors of
this paper make. If money reveals the
quality of the player, then where does
Mike Bossy fit in? It wouldn't be
surprising to see a few of the champion
Islanders move on to clubs that have
plenty of money to spend, like the New
York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, and Los
Angeles Kings. Too bad George Stein
brenner doesn't own an NHL team. He
would be offering rebate checks on his
ships to pay for all the salaries!
In baseball, there's a new epidemic
going around. It's called manager-itis,
and it has already claimed the jobs of
two skippers and is looking for more.
After Maury Wills got his pink slip for
lengthening the batter's box, Calvin
Griffith, the stingy "Scrooge" owner of
the Minnesota Twins, dismissed John
Goryl. At the time, the Twins boasted an
11-25 record. We're taking bets on the
next manager to join the unemployment
line. Kansas City skipper Jim Frey is
10-1 and New York Mets Manager Joe
Torre is 15-1, but the favorite has to be
Chicago Cubs skipper Joey Amalfitano
at 4-1. And let's not forget the Yankees'
Gene Michael at 50-1, since Steinbrenner
has had more managers than Bill Neil
had votes in the SGA election.
Is there a draft going on somewhere?
It seems that more and more pro football
players are heading north to Canada,
where they play the sport quite differ
ently. New players in the CFL include
Capitolizing on S
Sports Scoop
An Inside Look
Darrell Reider And Kevin Spiegel
former Los Angeles quarterback Vince
Ferragammo and former Houston wide
receiver Billy "Whitp Shoes" Johnson.
There was also some speculation that
Georgia's running back sensation Her
schel Walker would join the other
league, but those rumors were squelched
when he decided to try to qualify for
track and field events in the 1984
Summer Olympic Games. Now that
these athletes have gone north, NFL
fans will forget their names and accom
plishments, and some people will even
consider them traitors for departing to
Canada.
Let's turn our attention to Capitol
Campus sports, where there is no draft
dodging, only intramural softball cham
pionships developing. The final four
teams are the Sultans of Swing and E
Street from the West/East, and the No
Names and Nightriders from the other
division. First round action started yes
terday in the double elimination tourna
ment.
Unlike Route 283 or any other Penn
sylvania highway, where the speed limit
is restricted to 55 mph, top speeds of
well over three times that were recorded
at the Indianapolis 500 this year. Marred
by a breathtaking crash by Danny
Ongais, the 65th annual event ended
with some protests. It seems that Bobby
Unser accelerated past a half dozen or so
cars during an exit from pit row while
under the yellow flag. The rules govern
ing auto racing at Indianapolis--which,
incidentally, have been under fire for
years--require cars to blend in with the
pack when entering the track under the
caution flag. When the unofficial winner
was announced, for the first time in Indy
history the first car to cross the finish
line wasn't declared the official winner
because of the violation. Instead, Naza
reth, Pa. resident Mario Andretti won
the prestigious race for the first time
since 1969. Both drivers are protesting
and appealing the decision. Whoever
says auto racing is boring should have
his head examined.
As we head into the middle of the
Major League baseball season, the
threat of a strike once again looms over
the baseball world. Marvin Miller and
Company are trying to negotiate with
the baseball owners over compensation
for free agents. For example, when Dave
Winfield was signed by the New York
Yankees, the Yanks gave San Diego
some players in exchange for Winfield.
As of now, teams aren't required to give
up any players, but the Yanks, being
nice guys, were willing to part with
some. Let's face the facts: when Winfield
was signed by New York, the Padres lost
any hope they had of becoming a
competitive team. It's a shame that
ballplayers (free agents) are always
looking toward the same teams. Why
don't they ever sign with the Chicago
Cubs or the Seattle Mariners? It's
always the Yankees who are doing the
signing. Just recently, when Yankee
catcher Rick Cerone was injured, owner
George Steinbrenner went out and
bought a catcher. It's that easy. Last
week, Steinbrenner made yet another
move to strengthen his powerhouse by
Thursday, May 28, 1981
trading Jim Spencer to Oakland for
Dave Revering plus four bats and a
glove. What it must all come down to is
whatever George wants, George gets!
Big things have been happening
lately in the sports world. There was
another no-hitter in baseball, and it was
a perfect game. Len Barker of the
Cleveland Indians faced 27 batters and
retired them all. But did you know who
the pitcher is who starts the NBC Game
Of The Week by throwing a ball onto the
backstop? Let's set the stage: Bases
loaded, tie score, full count, the winning
run on third. The wind-up, and the
pitch . . . and it sails over the catcher,
batter, and umpire, and onto the back
stop. The pitcher who had that misfor
tune was Len Barker, then hurling for
the Texas Rangers. Congratulations to
Barker and to his #1 fan in W 309.
Continuing with the baseball scene,
guess who didn't win a game last week?
Fernando Valenzuela. Yes, the Phils
beat him 4-0, and this past weekend the
Reds held the screwballer intact until he
was removed in the late innings. The
result was a no-decision. By looking at
the records of Valenzuela and Steve
Carlton, one might think that they're
dominating the league. Wrong! Burt
Hooton (7-0) is quietly pitching the best
ball of his knuckle-curve career. The Los
Angeles Dodgers are the best team
(record-wise) in baseball at the present
time. Their pitching staff is led by
starters Hooton, Valenzuela (8-1), and
Jerry Reuss (7-1), while Bobby Castillo
(5 saves) leads the relievers. As for
hitting, names like Garvey, Cey, Baker,
Lopes, and newcomer Ken Landreaux
lead an awesome attack. It could be the
year for a West Coast World Series.
As of this writing, the four division
leaders are Baltimore, Oakland, Los
Angeles, and St. Louis. Perhaps the
biggest surprises have been the Red
birds of St. Louis. Hitting has never
been a problem for the Cards, but
pitching has always been their downfall.
There is one good place to start when in
need of pitching: buy Bruce Sutter. The
ace reliever has already pitched in a lot
of games, and he'll most likely end up
saving about 25-30. His strength is his
split-fingered fastball. Don't ask us how
he grips it. All we know is that it drops
off a table, a la Steve Carlton. The Cards'
offense is led by All-Star first baseman
Keith Hernandez. What else can be said
about this guy? Nothing, right? Good,
next topic. In the power department,
George Hendrick leads in round trip
pers. So, if the Redbirds can get some
seven-inning pitching from Silvio Mar
tinez, Lary Sorenson, Bob Forsch, and
Bob Shirley, Sutter will nail the door
shut. Watch out Phils. The Cards are for
real!
Closer to home, intramural bowling
was a big disaster for the Strat-A-Matics
ports
Middletown Lanes 944-9991
WEDNESDAY- Campus League Nite
Ball drilling services, Bags,
Shoes and Accessories
last week. We dropped four to the
L.O.E.'s, because Donna Wilson and
Company bowled 50 pins over their
average. Thanks. Our record is really
bad. In fact, it's so bad that you'll have to
guess what it is.
It's official, folks. Papa Joe Bosik
(Oops, Bozik!) has relinquished his reign
as president of WSDC. We have yet to
be informed as to the new officers, but
we pass on our congratulations to them.
We're sure that the new president will
live up to the immortal Bozik. Or, can
anyone follow in Joe's sneakers? On the
subject of Joe Bozik, we would like to
pass along more congratulations to Joe's
better half, Joan. Good luck, Joan, as you
head into the real world. We will sure
miss seeing you every time we come
down to attack Joe. On the subject of
good-byes, good lucks, etc., Rosanne
Rosenberger is finally leaving Capitol
Campus, and no matter what anyone
thinks, she is very nice and tall. And we
love tall women. Good luck, Rosanne,
and we'll miss you. By the way, did any
of you girl watchers out there see
Rosanne in her semi-formal outfit? If not,
I'm sure she wouldn't mind getting into
it again. It looked beautiful!
Sporting life just wouldn't be the
same without a Harry Moyer update.
Harry is much healthier this week,
because he spent the weekend at the
shore with three lovelies. No, it's not
what you think. He was invited down to
"get away from it all" for the Memorial
Day weekend. We're glad, too! Harry,
tell us some stories about spending the
weekend with lovely ladies. We dare
you. Try lying to us!
Commentary: If there was ever a
time to speak out against something, it's
right now. We are totally for equal
rights, and we pose this question to
PBL: How come you didn't have a male
legs contest and a female legs contest.
ERA all the way! ERA here to stay! Get
with it!
Finally, we would like to acknow
ledge some seniors who will be shoving
off in a few weeks. They include Mike
Shuchart, John Harvey, Marty Linden
berger, Ethan Kern, Fleet Becker, Jack
Wilson and the family, Ray Speilbaum,
Kevin Keffer, Eric and the future Mrs.
Roth, Kathy, Maryellen Ginther, and Jill
McCormick. There are many more, but
these people paid the most. Good luck to
all of you as you leave the booming
metropolis of Middletown.
One final note, and it's a quote from
Joan Wike, the former secretary of
WSDC: "I really think the Sports De
partment of the C.C. Reader needs a
good secretary like me. Joe never paid
me enough." Joan, you're right!
Until next time, remember: When
the situation calls for a fastball, call time
instead. Then punt!
Iss z
7 4
z
C.C. Reader