Isiah picks up most valuable player prizesTogetherness key factor for PistonsN E W Y O R K (UPI) - Years af­

ter a Knicks star refused h i m an autograph, Isiah T h o m a s c a m e to N e w York W e d n e s d a y to pick up his trophy and car as the Most Valuable Player of the N B A championship series.‘T v e never told this story,” the

Detroit Pistons captain laughed at the m e m o r y of Walt Frazier’s re­fusal to give a grade school-age T h o m a s an autograph outside Chi­cago Stadium.

“ I U S E D T O ask for g y m shoes and autographs. Th e Knicks were playing Chicago. I w a s standing outside the Stadium, it w a s the

wintertime and ‘Clyde' had his big white fur coat. I asked h i m for his autograph and he said no.”

Thom as, n o w familiar with the d e m a n d s of a waiting t e a m bus, says he and his sister R u b y w e r e n ’t insulted.

“No, cause I got g y m shoes — I w a s standing there with about five pairs of g y m shoes from the Knicks and Bulls. I think he h a d to catch a bus or something. M y sis­ter loved h i m — she almost fainted w h e n she s a w him,” T h o m a s laughed.

A ske d if she w a s older than he was, T h o m a s wisecracked “ she is older, I haven’t caught up.”

But he did catch u p to Frazier with two N B A championships — back to back no less. A n d “ Clyde" w a s not M V P of the 1970 an d ’73 championship series w o n by the Knicks.

Most important to T h o m a s is the w a y in which he believes his Pis­tons have caught u p to Frazier’s Knicks and the Boston Celtics, his childhood favorite team.

“Their whole basketball a t m o ­sphere, t e a m atmosphere. T h e y played perfect basketball.

“ W h a t w e ’ve done in the N B A is bring the old ‘60s style back,” T h o m a s said of the Pistons. “ W e had the Knicks — they worked to­gether as a t e a m — the Celtics worked together as a team. Th e early part of the ‘70s, w e had the one-on-one style. I’m just glad the Detroit Pistons brought back the t e a m style.”

Predictably, T h o m a s w a s asked about the two negative devel­opments that rapidly followed the Pistons’ five-game triumph over the Portland Trail Blazers for the title.

E I G H T D E A T H S were linked to celebrations in Detroit after the Pistons clinched the crown Thurs­day night; the next night, T h o m a s ’ n a m e w a s linked in m e ­dia reports to ap F B I gambling in­vestigation.

Monday, the U.S Attorney’s of­fice, responding to the flood of publicity, declared T h o m a s is not the target of the investigation. T h o m a s said his n a m e surfaced because he cashed checks at a su­permarket o w n e d by a friend and former neighbor w h o m a y be in­volved in the gambling probe.

“ It hurt,” T h o m a s said. “ Th e timing is bad. Y o u wish every­thing would go right, Life is not a script. People dying in Detroit. W e ’re not happy, I don’t think the whole nation is happy. M y prob­lems, you just go on. Y o u m o v e

See ISIAH, page 15

UPI pftoto

N e w York: Isiah T h o m a s of the Detroit Pistons with his m o s t valuable player trophy from the N B A playoffs.

Sports Line347-2579Thursday, June 21, 1990— P A G E 13 Comics/Classifieds/Tea Tables

SlamhauntsTigersD E T R O I T (UPI) ~ In time,

Terry Steinbach could c o m e to love Tiger1 Stadium as m u c h as M a r k M c G w i r e does.

Steinbach hit a grand s l a m in the fourth and a two-run single in the first W e d n e s d a y to reach a ca­reer best six R B I and help the Oakland Athletics break a two- g a m e losing streak to Detroit with a 12-7 victory over the Tigers.

“ I hit a fastball and I w a s sitting on it,” Steinbach said after c o m ­pleting a 6 for 14 series with seven R B I at Detroit. " H e h a d to throw a strike. H e didn’t have a nyw here else he could go.”S T E I N B A C H entered the aerieis

with just one h o m e run a n d four R B I in his three-plus seasons against the Tigers.

"Chicago a n d Detroit have n’t been the best of cities for m e , ” he said, noting his .188 average against the White Sox a n d .253 m a r k against the Tigers. “ I do n ’t k n o w why, I like the parks.”

McGwire, on the other hand, hit his first m a j o r league h o m e run in Tiger Stadium a n d has barely cooled d o w n since. H e n o w has 13 h o m e runs and 28 R B I in three- plus seasons of majo r league play after lining a two-run h o m e run in the second and an R B I single in the fourth.

B o b Welc h w o n his eighth straight decision to equal his per­sonal best winning streak, which he did with the Los Angeles D o d g ­ers in 1985. H e raised his record to 11-2 with a six-hitter over six in­nings, neither walking nor strik­ing out a batter.

“That’s w h y I like this club so m u c h , ” M a n a g e r T o n y L a Russa said after his Athletics finished a Chicago-Detroit road trip 4r3. “ T h e y didn’t get d o w n after that tough loss. T h e y c o m e back, rise to the occasion."

Detroit finished a homestand 8-5 but w o n six of the last eight a nd enters a 13-game, road trip to Cali­fornia, Oakland, Kans as City a nd Chicago just two g a m e s under .500.M a n a g e r Sparky Anderson did

not label the trip critical but he said it w a s important. M o s t i m ­portant is sustaining the n e w ­found confidence the club has ac­quired.

UPI photo

Detroit: Oakland Athletics' Terry Steinbach lets nlng as Tigers’ catcher M i k e Heath watches, loose with a grand sl am s w in g In the fourth In- Oakland w o n 12-7.

“Kans as City, I d o n ’t care what their record is, is a n outstanding baseball team,” Anderson said. “T h e White Sox have outstanding pitching, California has outstand­ing pitching, Oakland has out­standing pitching.

“Those four are the best four pitching teams in the A m e r i c a n League. A n d w e have to play t h e m all in a row. But w e ’ll play them. Before, I never h a d that feeling.

“It’s important to get out of that trip alive. If w e c o m e out 6-9, w e ’re not hurting,” he said, mi s ­

reading the n u m b e r of g a m e s on the trip as 15 instead of 13. “ W e ’re not going to be put away.

“ But if w e ’re 5 1-2, 4 1-2 or 6 1-2 out at the All-Star break, w e have a legitimate chance, a bona fide chance.”They didn’t have m u c h of a

chance Wednesday, though they kept pecking a w a y in the late in­nings and turned a 12-2 contest into a 12-7 affair that could have w o u n d up even tighter.

S T E I E N B A C H ’S two-run single

in the first plus an R B I single by Steve H o w a r d got Oakland off to a 3-0 start. M c G w i r e hit his 18th h o m e run after Carney Lansford’s R B I single in the second to m a k e it 6-1. Those runs c a m e off starter D a n Petry, 54.

M c G w i r e had an R B I single to third with the bases loaded in the fourth and R o n Hassey w a s hit by Jerry D o n Gleaton’s last pitch be­fore Lance McCullers c a m e in and served up the second grand slam h e ’s given u p this week.

Harbor golfer reaches Amateur match play

R I D I N G T H E B E N C H

JERRY ROSEVEARG N C ready to roll

T h e n e w Great Northern Conference ( G N C ) is ready to roll begin­ning this fall.

T h e conference, which first started coming together two years ago, takes in 27 Northern Michigan schools divided into four divisions.

A n executive board recently w a s selected with Rogers City High School principal J i m Connell the president. Other board officers are Boyn e City High School principal Joe Tibaldi, vice-president; Vander­bilt High School principal Rick Diebold, secretary; Gaylord St. M a r y High School principal T o m Grange, treasurer; and East Jordan High School principal Keith Moore, ex-offico m e m b e r .

Schools coming into the G N C in the Class C Lake Michigan Division are East Jordan, Boyn e City, Charlevoix, Elk Rapids, Kalkaska, M a n - celona, Traverse City St. Francis and Harbor Springs. The Lake Huron Division includes Lincoln-Alcona, Grayling, Whittemore-Prescott, Ona- way, and Rogers City. Kalkaska will play in the H u r o n Division for foot­ball only.

F o r Class D schools, the Ski Valley Division consists of Gaylord St. Mary, Fife Lake-Forest Area, Alanson-Uttlefield, Johannesburg-Le- wiston, Indian River-Inland Lakes, Central Lake, Bellaire a n d Pellston while the Northern Lakes division consists of Ellsworth, B o y n e Falls, Vanderbilt, Alba, M a c k i n a w City and Wolverine. Alanson and Forest Area do not have football teams, and neither do any school^ in the Northern Lakes Division.

Standard sports will be basketball, baseball, softball, football and track while rainbow (cross-over) divisions have also been established for golf, cross-country, skiing, wrestling and tennis — sports that not all schools carry.

B y the way, the n e w league took its m e m b e r s from six previously es­tablished corf erences, while other schools had been playing as indepen­dents for several years.

T h e Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Executive C o m m i t ­tee has approved regional boundaries for the n e w eight-division high school football playoffs that begin this fall. Th e format change has in­creased the playoff field from 64 to 128 teams.

E a c h class will have four regions with four team s qualifying from each regional.

That m e a n ’s each region will have half as m a n y t eam s as last year.F o r instance, Petoskey is in Class B B that has a 21-team field.Pellston and Inland Lakes in Class D D have even a better chance of

m a k i n g the playoffs with just a 12-team region.F o r other area schools, Charlevoix is one of 21 in Class C C and B oyn e

City, East Jordan and Harbor Springs are part of a 22-team field in □ a s s C.

F o r this fall, Petoskey’s football schedule is set, but for 1991 already two changes have to be made.

Both R e e d City and Manistee c o m e to Petoskey this season but the return matches for 1991 are off.

Both schools are m e m b e r s of the North Central Conference which re­cently admitted Belding, forcing schedule adjustments for 1991.

Petoskey will open its basketball season this falTwith a four-team tournament, but one slot still has to be filled after a t e a m pulled out.

Feelers have been sent out to s o m e pretty well k n o w n schools within the state. In fact, if the invitation would be accepted by one certain school, a full house would be guaranteed for both nights. N o doubt about

' it.

T h e Cincinnati R e d s will conduct a tryout c a m p Thursday, June 28, at the Grayling High School baseball field starting at 10 a.m.

T h e c a m p is open to all boys 16-22, and high school sophomores a n d juniors are especially urged to attend.

G e n e Bennett, R e d s ’ scouting supervisor, will be in charge, assisted by five other scouts. Players m u s t be 16 to participate.

N O R T H V I L L E , Mich. (UPI) - Phil Harrison of Harbor Springs is one of 64 golfers w h o have ad­vanced to m a t c h play in the 79th running of the Michigan A m a t e u r Championship.Harrison shot 76 W e d n e s d a y to

finish with a two-day 150 score in qualifying m e d a l play.

Meanwhile, John Morgan, the 1985 champion, and 1986 runner-up G r e g Reynolds tied for medalist honors at 3-under 141 Wednesday.

M o r g a n followed his even-par 72 on the opening day with a fourhir^ die, one-bogey round at the 6,753- yard M e a d o w b r o o k Country Club, coming f r o m six strokes off the pace established Tuesday b y R e y ­nolds. Reynolds, w h o set the M e a d o w b r o o k course record for a n aimteur player with a 6-under

66 Tuesday, skied to 75 in the sec­ond round.

“I didn’t k n o w if I could catch him, but I wanted to at least m a k e G r e g put a good score on the board,” M o r g a n said. “I hit the ball better in the second round, but putted worse. I could have ha d an even better score, because s o m e of the putts I missed, were very makable. But, 69 is a good score, what the heck.” v >T o d d Johnson, w h o s e father,

John, w a s a 1988 Michigan A m a ­teur semi-finalist, fired the best round in the 154-man field Wednesday, a 4-under 68 on his h o m e course. Johnson’s 143 two- day total placed h i m third, two strokes off the pace set b y M o r g a n and Reynolds. ,Steve Maddalena, the 1900 A m a ­

teur titleist w h o stood second after the first round with a 1-under 71, finished qualifying in a four-way tie for fourth place at 146, 2-over. H e w a s joined by Hunter M c D o n ­ald, w h o fired a 70 Wednesday, Jeff R e s u m e (71) and Kevin Jana- sik (71).

Besides M o r g a n and M a d a - lenna, four other past Michigan A m a t e u r champions advanced to m a t c h play Thursday. T h e y in­clude 1961 champion Bill M c D o n ­ald (77— 152); 1984 winner R o y Schultheiss (75— 154); three-time titleist B u d Stevens (78— 156) a nd d e f e n d i n g c h a m p i o n T o d d Marston.. Marston (84— 157) had to sur­vive an eight-man playoff for the final spot after finishing in a log­j a m at 157. Marston birdied the

first playoff hole, then beat D a v e Devine for the final spot in the field with a par on the second overtime hole. Last year’s runner- up, Josh Mondry, failed to ad­vance to m a t c h play after he fol­lowed up Tues day’s 77 with an 81.E v e n though he missed out on

sole ownership of medalist honors, first-round pacesetter Reynold!* remained happ y about returning to the m a t c h play portion of the A m a t e u r for an 11th time.

“ I don’t feel like I hit the ball a whole lot different than Tuesday. I just hit it in different spots on the green,” he said. “I had the ball above the hole the whole time. Y o u can't do that, because it m a k e s you tentative to putt d o w n ­hill. Sometimes, above the hole, you have no chance at all.”

T w o former m e m b e r s of the Petoskey-based Northern Blues m e n ’s baseball t e a m are playing in the W y o m i n g (Grand Rapids) Super B a s e ­ball League this s u m m e r .

J a y Martin, a graduate of Gaylord St. Mary, plays centerfield with Budweiser. His t e a m is tied with Sullivan’s Furniture for first place. Martin, w h o is hitting. ,572, played at Aquinas College this spring, w h e r e he batted .440.

Rick Blankstrom, a Gaylord High graduate, catches a n d pitches for the El Sombrero t e a m a n d is hitting .375. Blankstrom w a s one of t wo starting catchers for G r a n d Rapids Junior Collge this season.

Parting shots;• Robin Elder, a former Petoskey resident and graduate, is a fresh­

m a n softball player for University of South Carolina at Spartanburg. She w a s recently honored as one of two athletes in all sports at the school w h o carried a perfect four-point grade point average.

• D a n R a m b o , former Sault Ste. Marie a n d Central Michigan Univer­sity pitcher n o w in the Sa n Francisco Giants’ f a r m system, has been n a m e d to play in the California League All-Star g ame . R a m b o is 6-0 for S an Jose with a 1.88 E R A . H e has struck out 59 in 67 innings of work. Jerry Rosevear is News-Review Sports editor. _