The Clinton chronicle. (Clinton, S.C.) 1901-current, December 31, 1970, Image 5
THE CHRONICLE, Clinton, S. C., Dec. 31, 1970—6-A
SPORTS
3-4 Record At Holiday Break
BILL CURRIE
Mouth
of the South
Pro Basketball Trouble
Years ago I knew an old man who was dog
wallowing rich—not Howard Hughes rich, but in
the millions anyhow. One day his doctor told him
he had cancer, and immediate surgery was nec
essary. The old man was a little reluctant.
“How much it gonna be?” he asked, with the
natural suspicion of those who worship gold.
“Well, Mr. Frost,” the doctor said smoothly,
“you are a very wealthy and well known man.
So I will have to charge you accordingly. Fifty
thousand dollars.”
‘Fifty thou . . .? Hell no! Ain’t nothing worth
that much!”
“But you’ll die,” the doctor persisted.
“All right, I’ll die, but I ain’t putting out no
fifty thousand dollars.”
It’s a true story, and indeed the old man did
die, all of his money remaining securely in the
bank.
The two professional basketball leagues are
precisely like the old man. They are going to lose
their lives because they had rather protect their
pride than deal realisticall' with a Hnanciu
situation which has “The End" looming in box
car letters. NBA Commissioner Walter Kennedy
says there will be no more merger talk because
he and his folks are peeved about Joe Caldwell
jumping from the Atlanta Hawks to the Cougars.
Other NBA sources have slobbered out some
drivel about a fight to the last dollar.
And for what? If one proves himself to
be the most stubl>orn creature ever contrived on
earth and loses all in the end he is as mule head
e<l and foolish as my old acquaintance who died
and went to hell rather than spend fifty thousand
dollars which he didn’t need anyhow.
All professional basketball is in trouble. It
isn’t as though the NBA were sitting high and
dry on a smooth sailing boat while the ABA is
sputtering on the verge of drowning in the tur
bulent waters. The NBA is going down for the
last time, too, for only two of the sixteen clubs
which operated in the older league last year were
in the black. It is folly, yea, sheer madness, for
Walter Kennedy to talk about no more merger
talk. He is acting (with the apparent supppri
of his league members) like a spoiled and willful
child who jerks away from his mother's hand
and plunges headlong into the path of a sneeding
truck.
Pro basketball is losing money. Big money!
In Memphis the owner. P. L. Blake, threw in the
towel less than two months into the season. He
had lost over 200 thousand dollars. He could
see a million down the drain by the end of the
season. Of course he's rich. Of course he can
use a little tax shelter, but to lose a million
dollars . . . there is no way to put up with that
sort of disaster. The Los Angeles Lakers, the
Mil waukee Bucks, the New York Knicks and the
Indiana Pacers are making money. Every other
professional basketball team is taking a chilling
bath it cannot go nn.
The sport is great. People love it. But
there are more hundred thousand dollar p'avers
in basketball than in football and baseball com
bined, and each of the other two sports has a far
greater potential because so many more people
can be seated
The NBA is chapped because the ABA own
ers had the gall to start a league in the first
place. The NBA feels that to give anything be
yond a nodding recognition to the younger league
somehow demeans the older outfit. Well, maybe
such a concept has merit. But now the ABA is
faced with a clear choice: Recognize and deal
with the ABA or die. That the ABA might, also
dm is small consolation
I read the obituary columns every day in the
hope I may see one of several names—people who
bug me. But I wouldn’t die myself just to get
rid of them, and that’s just what Kennedy and
his crowd are saying with their no merger talk.
Red Devils Host Laurens Tuesday
Kinard
Is Named
All-Tourney
Clinton High School’s varsity
basketball team finished sev
enth in the eight-team Peach
Capital Invitaitonal Tournament
last weekend in Spartanburg.
The Red Devils lost their
first two tournament games but
then defeated Chesnee 47-40 on
Wednesday, Dec. 23.
Mike Williams paced the Red
Devils with 18 points. Clinton
held a 24-17 halftime lead.
Clinton’s O’Lester Kinard,
a 6-6 senior center, was named
to the first team on the All-
Tournament selection. Kinard
played an outstanding defensive
game against Chesnee, block
ing several crucial shots.
Coach Bobby Brock com
mented, “Generally, we played
better against Chesnee than we
played in the first two games.
We had a better shooting per
centage and we didn’t make as
many turnovers. We also did t
better job on defense.”
Clinton’s first round opponent
Boiling Springs, won the tourna
ment.
The Red Devils, who have a
3-4 record at the holiday break,
will resume their schedule
Tuesday night, playing host to
Laurens.
The Red Devils dropped their
first two tournament games,
losing 70-50 to unbeaten Boil
ing Springs and 49-48 to Cow-
pens on the second night.
In both games, CHS scored
well in the fourth quarter. “We
just couldn’t get started until
too late,” Coach Bobby Brock
said, “Against Boiling Springs
we scored 23 points in the fourth
quarter and againstCowpens we
scored 19 in the fourth. Neither
team substituted in the fourth
quarter so we were going
against the regulars. Our fourth
quarter showing was about the
only bright spot for us in the
first two games.
“We played poor defense and
fouled too much, Against Cow-
pens, we lost three players on
fouls and two more had four
fouls each. Cowpens scored in
side against us and they got 30
free throws.”
Against Boiling Springs, John
Watts scored 14 points to lead
the Red Devils in scoring.
O’Lester Kinard had 12 and
Mike Williams hit 10. In the
loss to Cowpens, Kinard again
scored 12 points and Watts
had 10.
WHfl
TIt>
Power failures are bad any
time of the year but espe
cially in the winter. Have
flashlights where you can
get to them easily. Have a
supply of extra dry cells and
bulbs around.
Have a supply of candles
and matches available. Use
glass bowls or wide-mouthed
jars to hold the candles. This
will keep them from blowing
out as well as eliminating a
fire hazard.
If you own a gasoline or
kerosene lantern, have it
ready for use but keep it
stored away from the living
quarters until needed.
CLINTONIAN IS NEWBERRY
CAPTAIN—Marion Waters of Cin-
ton, center, has been elected one of
Newberry College’s three football
captains for the 1971 season. A jun
ior history major, he is the son of
Mr. and Mrs. P. Douglas Waters of
122 Pine Street, Clinton. He is also
a member of the Men’s Council in
the Student Government Association
and is a member of the Fellowship
of Christian Athletes. The other
captains shown above are Ken Pet-
tus, left, and William (Howdy)
Hays.
7
fir ONE OF THESE
LATE MODEL USED CARS
1969 DODGE
Coronet 440 2-Dr. HT.
318 G-I-D Engine, Au
to Trans., Power Steer
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Red With Black Vinyl
Roof. Priced To Sell'
1965 MERCURY
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289 V-8 Engine, Auto
matic Transmission,|
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***************************
: THIS WEEK'S SPECIAL! *
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In And Out!
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ft**************************
1968 IMPALA
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1965 DODGE
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Sale!
HE’S A TIGER — Clinton High Sen
ior Donnie (Red) White is shown
seated above after signing a letter
of intent to attend Clemson Univer
sity on a football scholarship. Shown
with him at the signing are his
mother and his father, Julian W.
White, Jr, seated at right; Clemson
assistant coach Doug Barfield, stand
ing at left, and head coach Hootie In
gram. White led CHS to a 9-2 record
and was named All-State 3-A quar
terback.
IF YOU CAN’T TRADE WITH COOPER
—YOU JUST CANT TRADE!
LYNN COOPER, IncJ
Tour Volume Dealer
East Carolina Avenue
883-1741
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