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Show i For Sports Infor motion Coll 237-200- 1 x ib nn r Colt 23 AFC Koumhip Bleier Bows Out In Steel ers Style txlilnr Scheduling One Year Ahead Is Advantage in Basketball Some football schedules are filled 10 years in a team which figured to be when the game was signed turns out competitive to be a horrible mismatch on game day. Basketball doesnt have that problem since most schedules are finalized no Tribune Wire Ser ices advance, and RiX'ky Bleier battled his way into the Three Rivers Stadium end one for the final time Sunday, and his U yard fourth-quarte- r touchdown run did more than lift the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 21 16 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs It also lifted the spirits of the Steelers and their shivering fans on a cold, snowy day when, despite the victory, the Siixr Bowl champions' tnies for a ninth straight playoff Until wen dimmed "Throughout my whole career I've been more lucky than talented." said the 34 year-olBleier, who has already announced his retirement. "Today it was a matter of calling the right play, and there was excellent bhx'king Rleier scrambled up the middle on a trap play to cap a more than a year or so in advance. In many instances, too, the athletic director arranges the football schedule while in many cases, the basketball coach selects his own nonconference opponents. This control of the schedule may be good or bad, depending on the attitude of the basketball coach, and some coaches have built themselves a t record by loading up the very flossy preconference schedule with a number of patsies d won-los- and cinch victories. Ute Coach Jerry Pimm believes a schedule should challenge a team and prepare it for the tough conference race which opens in January each year. "I like a schedule like we have this season, he admits. "We have the potential to beat any opponent on our preseason schedule, if we play up to our potential. On the other hand, almost every team we play might beat us if we arent prepared mentally and physically. "I know some coaches like to pad their schedule early in the season and this makes their overall record look good, but when that team gets into the conference, it may be intimidated. I like our players to go into the conference feeling they have been tested against WAC-calibopposition which they have been able to beat. On the other hand, sometimes coaches kill them their players confidence by too which teams have many superior agfnst material, and thats just as damaging as playing too easy a slate he added. over-scheduli- fourth-quarte- Associated Praas Buffalo quarterback Joe Ferguson goes down and sprains his ankle during the Norm Sloan coached basketball at the Jniver-sit- y of Florida for six years in a 5,549-seFlorida Gym. He dreamed of a coliseum but each time he made his pitch, hed be told, Dont worry, Norm, its only a matter of time, Columnist Gary Long of Miami reported. Norm finally became disgusted and pulled stakes for North Carolina State, where in 14 years he produced three ACC championship teams and one NCAA champion. When plans were finalized for a $14 million, 12,500-seOConnell Center at Florida, Norm was quick to return, although he inherited a team which had a SEC mark in record and a at With Amazing Victory Tribune Wire Services h touchdown Tommy Kramers pass to Ahmad Rashad as time expired climaxed an incredible comeback by Minnesota, giving the Vikings a 3 triumph over Cleveland Sunday and the National Conferences Central Division championship. Weve scored on last plays before to win games, but what was at stake made this pl2y more dramatic, said Minnesota Coach Bud Grant, whose club captured its 11th division title. Kramers pass was tipped in a crowd and plopped into the left hand of Rashad, who backed the final yard into the end zone to cap a rally which saw the Vikings overcome a 23-- 9 deficit. Rashad, who missed practice the entire week with a bad leg, finished the game with nine receptions, including a scoring pass with 1:35 to play that brought the Vikings within o .e point. Maybe I should skip practice next week too, joked the Vikings wide receiver. The game was too last-ditc- d 3-- 1979-8- Sloans remarks to the team in his first meeting might be noted by several coaches in the area who had less than expected success with good material in recent years. Sloan told the squad, Heres what our program is like. Youve got to make up your minds whether you want to be a part of it. Here are your records, academically, personally and athletically. What has happened is you got the last guy (Coach John Lotz) fired. Youre an embarrassment to the alumni, you are an embarrassment to the university and you have to be an embarrassment to yourselves and your families. Why in the name of Heaven should I work with you? I have a chance to start fresh. Frankly, youre going to have to sell me on inviting you back. BYU Arrives For Bowl In San Diego By Ray Herbat Tribune Sports Writer SAN DIEGO Brigham Young Universitys football team arrived here Sunday evening to prepare for the Holiday Bowl this Friday night d Southern Metliodist Universiagainst ty of the Southwest Conference. 19th-ranke- Only three players returned for practice this fall, but Sloan is confident Florida will regain its pride. Playboy Misses Boat Every fall I read where Anson Mount and Playboy turn in the best preseason job of ranking the top 20 football teams, so last fall I saved his predictions, which list Ohio State as No. 1 and the national champion. Georgia, which has the best chance at the national championship, was picked sixth. Ohio State will be in the second 10 in the final polls, it appears. He did not rank Baylor, UCLA, Washington, Mississippi State, South Carolina or Southern Methodist and his No. 2 team, USC, only gained the top 10 because it beat Notre Dame in the final game. Mounts preseason Top 10 were ranked 1. Ohio State, 2. USC, 3. Pitt, 4. Arkansas, 5. Nebraska, 6. Georgia, 7. North Carolina, 8. Florida State, 9. Alabama and 10, Texas. Arkansas and Texas did not make the top 20 final poll and Maryland, Houston, Rutgers, Tulane and Auburn, in his second 10 did not make the listing. Holtz Lists Priorities Arkansas coach Lou Holtz, was joking about the season of the Razorbacks at the Hall of Fame dinner in New York last week and observed, "It seems like everytime something good happen something bad follows. Its almost like every time you smell the flowers, you start looking for the coffin. And when someone asked Lou what the Razorbacks were playing for after they had been eliminated from the SWrC race, he said, First my job, then their scholarships. Observation Ward Everyone seems to expect something from the government, but I didnt expect poverty. Law photo Bills' defeat at New England. Ferguson left the game after suffering injury. NFC: Yikes Clinch Title 28-2- Getting Their Attention 20 7-20- 1 I top t 00-002-33 Ingc Inc John Moonev 7-- -3- 15, 19S0 Sports Mirror b Tribune I IahoI 23 Monday Morning, Dectmber Section II For licvttrdcil Scort's The 13th-ranke- d Cougars team plane beat the log and arrived safely Sunday, and BYU coach La Veil Edwards is expected to put his team through three vigorous workouts Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The Cougars are seeking their first bowl victory in five tries. Some of the official BYU traveling party, which was scheduled to leave at noon Sunday, had travel problems the entire day. The California-bound airline leaving from Salt Lake City was two hours late in departing because of weather conditions and when this group arrived in Los Angeles, the scheduled plane to San Diego had already left. Several members of the group were several hours late in reaching their final destination at team headquarters the Hilton on Mission Bay. Edwards feels the three keys for his teams success Friday night against the Mustangs are: We have to play good defense throughout, we have to give Jim McMahon good protection and we must eliminate turnovers, he said. BYU suffered five turnovers in last year's loss to Indiana in the disappointing Holiday Bowl. one-poi- Defensive coach Tom Ramage said: Physically, SMU is a lot like Wisconsin, but they have better running backs. Eric Lane, BYUs veteran running back, put the mood of the Cougar squad into perspective when he remarked: SMUs defense is big and strong. . make that big, strong and very quick. I know I will be ready for the game. This might be my last game forever and its certainly my final one for BYU. I want to be remembered. We are taking SMU very seriously but we are not tense. We have learned how to get ourselves up for important games and we know what w e need to do, concluded Lane. BYU has won 11 games in a row and takes an record into the third annual Holiday Bowl. SMU finished 3 for the season. . 11-- 1 big to miss. If you keep plugging away, sometimes good things happen to you. I was playing for the tip, not the pass. Fortunately it bounced my way." We have a flair for the dramatic, said Cleveland Coach Sam Rutigliano. "What I should do is get into the insurance business. I cant fault my team. It was great concentration by a great player. You have to give Bud Grant and his team a lot of credit." "This was for all tio marbles and Ahmad reached from deep down ins;de to make a super play, said Kramer, who completed 38 of 49 passes for 456 yards and four touchdowns. Cleo Miller's run had given the Browns a 23-lead with 7:16 remaining in the fourth quarter. But Kramer hit Ted Brown with a scoring pass with 5:01 remaining and then fired 12 yards to Rashad with just 1:35 to play to cut the margin to 9 23-2- 2. Sipe, who completed 20 of 33 passes for 232 yards, passed 18 yards to Calvin Hill and scored on a run as the Browns, 10-- assumed a 13-- 0 halftime lead. Cleveland still can win the AFC Central by beating Cincinnati next week. scored its first touchdown on a Minnesota, pass from Kramer to tight end Joe Senser midway through the third quarter. Clevelands Don Coockroft and Minnesotas Rick Danmeier traded field goals later in the third quarter, leading up to the frantic final 15 minutes. Kramer completed 38 of 49 attempts for 456 yards. The 38 completions snapped his own club record of 35 set last year against New England and the 456 yards bettered Jo Kapps mark of 449 set in 1969 against Baltimore. Falcons 35, 49ers 10 Atlanta captured its first divisional championship in franchise history with an easy victory over San Francisco. Falcon coach Leeman Bennett, however, was calm after his teams home field win. Its a big victory, he said. But the champagne comes after the Super Bowl. Steve Bartkowski triggered a second half explosion with three touchdown passes as the Falcons won their ninth game in a row and improved their season record to 12-Wallace Francis caught two scoring passes from Bartkowski, including an 81 yarder in the third period that ignited Atlanta. He later grabbed a touchdown pass. Saints 21, Jets 20 Tony Galbreaths second touchdown run in the fourth quarter lifted New Orleans past New York and gave the Saints their first win of the season. Galbreath gave New Orleans a 3 lead less than a minute into the fourth period with his first touchdown. The Jets moved back in front with nine minutes to play when Richard Todd scrambled 31 yards for a score. The Saints got the victory, though, when Galbreath scored with 4:49 left, capping a drive. Lions 27, Bucs 14 Gary Danielson completed 29 of 44 passes for 360 yards and one touchdown to pace Detroit past Tampa Bay and keep the Lions faint playoff hopes alive. touchdown run in the first Billy Sims before Danielson hit Ray quarter tied the game, Williams on a scoring pass to give the Lions a 14-- 7 halftime lead. In the second half, Detroit wrapped things up when Eddie Murray kicked 24 and 25 yard field goals and Williams returned a kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown. Eagles 17, Cardinals 3 Philadelphia used a pair St. Louis turnovers to snap a scoreless tie in the third quarter en route to a victory that gave e lead over Dallas in the NFC Philadelphia a Eastern Division. The Eagles are now 12-- while the before Monday nights game at Los Cowboys are Angeles. The Eagle defense held the Cards to 125 yards of e offense as Philadelphia snapped a losing touchdown run streak. Wilbur Montgomerys lead after Jerry Robinson gave the Eagles a recovered a fumble by Theotis Brown. Then Bernard a Cardinal pass and Tony Wilson intercepted field goal. Franklin followed with a Oilers 22, Packers 3 Earl Campbell rushed for 181 yards ar.d Houston scored two touchdowns in the final 3 27 to put down stubborn Green Bay. Campbell scored on a run in the first quarter and then helped put the game out of reach with a scoring run late in the final period Campbell now has rushed for 1,731 yards this season, best in the NFL. 9-- 8-- 7 Ailing Boms Face Healthy Cowboys first-plac- Is time Monday night knowing who he will start in several positions against the Dallas Cowlxiys in a nationally televised (7 p.m. on channel 4) National Football league game. Primarily, quarterback Vince Ferragamo has been a questionable Ixrformer since suffering rib injuries against the Buffalo Bills on e Dec. 7. Joining Ferragamo on the injured list were linebacker Jim YoungbUxxl with a hyperextended elbow, defensive end Fred Dryer with a pulled calf muscle and defensive back Pat Thomas with a bruised leg. 17-- 7 5 $ - Coach ANAHEIM, Calif (AP) Ray Malavasi of the Angeles Rams may have to wait until game d 50.00 W3LL LAYAWAY TILL CHRISTMAS OCNUINE ITALIAN SLATt POOL TABLES from $Tnroo MOrtSSIONAl DELIVERY INSTALLATION AVAILABLE. RECONDITIONED PINBALL AND FLIPPER New Gome Available 14-1- SUPER SPECIAL y 7-- comeback, but r Pittsburgh (96) had its playoff luqxs dimmed by New England's 24 2 win over Buffalo. New England must lose to New Orleans next week for the Steelers to have a shot at a wild can! playoff berth. There is a saying about making your bed. We made ours, and now all we can do is play the best we possibly can," said Steelers Coach Chuck Noll. Bleier, whose comeback from wounds suffered in Vietnam was depicted in a movie televised last week, made the last Steeler home game of 1980 something special. "It seemed like Rocky wrote his own script today, said linebacker Jack Ham. "Rocky has been a big play guy for us, and today he made the big play when we needed it," said Noll. The Chiefs (7 8) capitalized on two costly turnovers by Terry Bradshaw in the third quarter to take a 16-- lead. touchBut Bradshaw fired a down pass to Theo Bell on the opening series of the final period. Then Pittsburgh drove 52 yards for the winning touchdown that Bleier got with 6:08 to play. Linebacker Jack Ham sealed the victory with an interception with 11 seconds inside the Steelers line. Raiders 24, Broncos 21 Jim Plunkett and Bob Chandler hooked up on two touchdown passes and free salety Burgess Owens returned an interception 58 yards for another score to keep tie with San Oakland in a Diego in the American Conferences Western Division and still in the thick of the playoff chase. halftime edge, Oakland held a but the Broncos twice pulled within three points in the second half in a game played at Mile High Stadium. Both Oakland and San Diego have identical 10-- records with one game remaining on the schedule. Dave Preston scored a pan of touchdowns for Denver, and Craig Morton passed for another score Breech's Bengals 17, Bears 14. 28 yard field goal at 4 23 of overtime lifted Cincinnati to its victory over Chicago at Soldier Field Quarterback Jack Thompson, starting in place of iniiir ,! Ken Anderson, completed pas ses of 22 yards to Pat Melnatly and 22 yards to Dan Boss in engmenng the vv inning dnv e After who nig the coin toss, Cincm nati drove from its own 23 to the Chicago 111 yard line U fore Breech (tootl'd the winning field goal The kh k gave the Bengals their third straight victory and ttoosted their record to 6 .I The Roars dmpixxl to 6 9 Patriots 24, Bills 2 - Matt Cavanaugh fired two touchdown passes, and Yagas Ferguson ramhlid 81 yards for anotbei score as New England kept its National Football lwaguo playoff chances alive Tin Bills, 1H5, could have elinchisl the American Football Conference East crown and their first divisional title in 14 years if they had won The Patriots, 96, still can take the AFC East title if they heat New Orleans and Buffalo loses to San Faaneiseo next Sunday. The Patriots vaulted to a 140 run by halftime lead on a pass from Ferguson and a Cavanaugh to Russ Francis. In the thin! quarter, Cavanaugh drilled a touchdown pass to Andy Johnson. Dolphins 24, Coiis 14 Rookie David Woodley, victimized by dropixxl passes in tlie open, tossed for three touchdowns to load Miami past Baltimore. The triumph gave the Dolphins an 7 record and was only their second this season by more than five points. With Coupon 3il Game Table (Bumper Pool) $1 9900 PING PONG TABLES RECONDITIONED Playback Brown Top JUKE BOXES Reg. $1 99,00 from half-gam- Foldaway $139 3 Other Ping Pong Tablet from 149.00 11-- 3 two-gam- ANYTHING OF VALUE COUPON TAKEN IN CUE STICK 7-- 0 A ON TRADE ! Complete service on everything we tell 30 I COUPON m BBS I 1 59 W. 300 So. HOURS OFF 9-- 6 (Dixon Paper Bldg.) 364-367- 6 WITH COUPON ! I 1 |