Hawks fire coach ATLANTA (AP) "I think the right person has been let go," Cotton Fitzsimmons said. yesterday concerning his dismissal as coach of the Atlanta Hawks. Fitzsimmons, ending a four-year association with the Hawks, left without animosity toward the club and . said he was . looking forward to coaching again next season, "at any level." • . The Hawks fired Fitz simmons in Milwaukee Tuesday only hours before the National Basketball Association team lost its 11th straight game and its 18th in a row on the road, a 130-126 overtime decision to the Milwaukee Bucks. ' "We had too many you ng . players — at one time to win consistently in the NBA," said Fitzsimmons, who Messersmith to ink with Yanks? ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) Do the New York Yankees own Andy Messersmith, or don't they? The Yankees said yesterday they do. Others said they don't. The tangled Messersmith case took on even more of an aura of mystery when the Yankees contended they had entered into a four-year agreement with the veteran righthander. . Others vehemently denied it, and the pitcher himself repor tedly attempted to void the agreement. Messersmith, declared a free agent ih a landmark decision, won 19 games for Los Angeles last year and was a 20-game winner in 1974. . The Yankees said they had completed the agreement with Messersmith through his attorney, Herb Osmond, but had learned that Messersmith, a free agent for the past two weeks, "is now attempting to void the terms of the agreement." "We intend to perform our obligations and expect Mr. Messersmith to do likewise," said Gabe Paul, the Yankees' president. - Dick Moss, the attorney for the Major League Players Association, said in New York that the Yankees' claim "was wholly without merit." "There has been no agreement between Messersmith and the Yankees," Moss said, adding that the Yanks' claim will be challenged. Moss said baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn had scheduled a hearing on the situation for today, at which time he hoped to resolve the matter. At least seven clubs the Yankees, Los Angeles, the New York Mets, Atlanta, California, Pittsburgh and the Chicago White Sox were known to have made firm offers for Messer smith, who along with pitcher Dave McNally was declared a free agent by arbitrator Peter Seitz last December. The ruling later was upheld in federal courts. k************************************************************** un y Aug mull. * * Tickets on sale Aril 1 p 4( * 9:00 AM HUB Desk * * $l, $2 and $3 Reserved seats during 11 • years of college coaching and two years at Phoenix in the NBA never had a losing season. His first Atlanta team in 1972 had a 46-36 record but the last three seasons have been losing ones, including a 28-46 record this year when he was fired. Fitzsimmons was 15 minutes late for a scheduled news conference. He im mediately apologized and said, "I didn't realize how many people there were in the unemployment lines." Fitzsimmons said his major disappointments in Atlanta were failing to make the team a championship contender, losing so many games and failing to sign last year's top draft choices, David Thompson and Marvin Webster, D 0 U G Photo by Deng• Paul Fagan performing on the rings during the Mideast Regionals. The Lion co-captain feels his teammates are ready for this weekend's NCAA Gym Finals in Philadelphia Dunk back PHILADELPHIA (AP) Dunking the practice of stuffing a basketball through the hoop was restored to the sport's amateur games by its rule makers today. It had been outlawed for a decade. The National Basketball Rules Committee, which governs all amateur basketball in the United States and Canada, voted to allow dunking during games of the 1976-77 season. Dr. Clifford Fagan, secretary of the 23-member committee which completed its two-day annual meeting in Philadelphia yesterday, said dunking will be permitted during a game but will be prohibited in warmups before the game and at intermission under penalty of technical foul. The committee had outlawed dunking prior to the 1966-67 season in a con- 5 ..* COLLOQUY* * UNIVERSITY CONCERT COMMITTEE* * COLLOQUY*.* I-- • CONCERT * *COLLOQUY* * UNIVERSITY CONCERT COMMITTEE* * amateur b-ball troversial vote. The pros have always permitted dunking. The committee • also an nounced two other major rules changes. Technical fouls charged to the coach.which result from conduct on the bench will have a penalty of two free throws. Only one free throw was awarded this past season, And time has been extended McGinnis paces Sixers PHILADELPHIA ( AP) George McGinnis scored 14 of his 25 points in a final period rally that carried the Philadelphia 76ers to a 107-103 victory over the Buffalo Braves last night and into second place in the National Basketball Association's Atlantic Division. The 76ers, who have six games remining, now lead the Braves by half a game in their hot battle for a second place playoff position. The Braves have five games left on their schedule. the Magician Illusion and Reality iversit to rectify correctable errors in officiating. The extension of time will come when the ball is put back into play after the error. Dr. Fagan said the extra time will mean that the clock will be justified when a mistake is made. The rules changes apply to all major and small colleges, junior colleges, high schools and YMCA leagues in both boys and girls competition. April 21 8:00 PM Lion gymnasts travel to Temple for NCAA's By BRIAN MILLER Collegian Sports Editor Last year about this time ( NCAA championship time that is), Penn State's men's gymnastic team did not even qualify for the nationals. Only Kurt Pflieger made the trip to Terre Haute, Ind. for the 1975 NCAA's land he finished far out of the running in vault competition. But the Lions returned in '76 with an Olympian in the personage of Gene Whelan and injury problems behind them. Penn State swept through the year with seven wins, the lone setback a late season loss to Indiana State. Even that loss was avenged though, as the Lions stopped the Sycamores three weeks ago in the NCAA Eastern Regionals in Rec Hall. By winning the regionals with a 431.95 score, Penn State recorded the highest qualifying score of any team in this year's championships. So the Lions have gone from the bottom to near the top in roughly a year and the State gymnasts hope to peak today, tomorrow and Saturday in the NCAA Gymnastic Finals, being held in Temple's McGonigle Hall in Philadelphia. "The team looks good; as the meet approaches, the guys are really getting up for it," said Penn State co captain and ring specialist Paul Fagan. "I think we have a good chance of winning the finals." The Lions must battle off seven other conference winners in the three-day affair which will really test the gymnasts fortitude. • "We're still feeling the effects, somewhat, of the regionals," said Lion all arounder and Mideast floor champ Pflieger. "It will be a very fatiguing weekend. Everybody's body has to hold up a while longer." The seven other squads are Temple, Eastern Inter collegiate Gymnastic League winner Louisiana State University, Southern Intercollegiate Gymnastic The Daily Collegian L. - 7}Fr7; 7: ; 7 44 ;'~(.t • ^^i_S ''110,.; 7 1 5 • • C . -72 1 44P ; • . 4ssi • - e :11 */44' ai rOb 44- 4 , ".ike 4 .-04 4 ; 1 5f43#4011N - 1.•3174.-A . fi t V,tl4k • League champ; Minnesota, now," Fagan added. the Big Ten representative; Problem areas foithe Lions Nebraska from the Big Eight; will be rings and parallel California-Fullerton, the bars. Rings have been a year- Western Independent champ; long headache for the Lions. Arizona State, the western Bob Desiderio may not go here Athletic Conference winner; so Wayne Chandler will have and from the Pacific Eight to pick-up in his spot. Fresh- Conference, California man ring specialist Tony Muf ( Berkeley). foletto has a slight injury so rings will remain iffy at best, The compulsories are the weakest aspect of the Lion routines on the parallel bar, especially the power presses. Again, Desiderio and Chandler will be counted on heavily. High bar will of course be looked over carefully. That is where the Lions almost blew it in the regionals and Wett stone does not want to see a repeat. Wettstone hopes the PSU gymnasts will treat the event conservatively, with shooting for perfection a secondary concern. "You know, the gymnastic season is long and it's tough staying psyched nine months out of the year," Fagan said. "Right now, we're just staying on each other. We're in about the best shape we're going to get into." DUALIES: Compulsories start today at 7 p.m. The optional competition begins tomorrow at 7 p.m. The team finals are scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. Individual event finals conclude the meet, starting at 7:30 p.m. Saturday night. Penn State's Gene Whelan has won the 1976 Nissen Award which goes to the out standing senior collegiate gymnast in the country, it was announced last night in Phil adelphia. Cal-Berkeley was the second highest scoring qualifier, coming into Philly by way of a 430.35 mark. LSU marked up a 425.25 in its qualifying championships. The lowest scoring qualifier was Arizona State with a 400.85. Penn State gym coach Gene Wettstone really didn't want to hazard a guess on the winning meet score, but felt it might be a 429, Wettstone's reluctance stems from the general score fluctuation possible when a meet of this size and im portance is held. LSU wasn't really pressed in its qtialifying meet and the Lions' 431.95 certainly was aided by the pressure Indiana State was putting on the Lion gymnasts. Penn State's routines won't change very much for the NCAA's. "There are no major changes. We hit 431 plus with the routines we have so there's no sense in changing H E N N N G Thursday, April I, 1976 - Late score Ptit: Baseball Penn State 0, Lehigh 0 ******** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers