Scorecard

TURNING ALI OFF

Muhammad Ali, the man who, as he points out, still has the championship belt worn by Jack Johnson and Jack Dempsey, is anxious to do his thing one more time before the Supreme Court decides his fate—and a great many people would like to watch him doing it. But time is running out on him.

Last week Ali was turned away by the mayor of Columbus, Ohio and a tribe of Indians. He appeared in Columbus at the invitation of promoter Bill (Bubbles) Holloway, who announced that he would fight someone there November 11. Holloway told Ali he would be welcomed by Mayor Maynard E. Sensenbrenner.

The mayor's welcoming speech went like this: "I am not in favor of any draft dodger appearing in the city of Columbus." Ali left town saying, "I don't want to go where I'm not wanted." The next day Benny Hinds of Tempe, Ariz, reported he had signed Zora Folley to fight Ali on the Gila River Indian Reservation in Sacaton. The Arizona Athletic Commission, which had turned down an Ali-Joe Frazier match last month, appeared to have been outflanked; the commission has no jurisdiction over the reservation.

But the Gila River tribal council does, and it decided that receiving a draft resister would be disloyal to Indians who had died for their country. Also, the bank that employs Hinds called him in and told him to stay away from Ali.

The Supreme Court convenes October 7, and by mid-November Ali will know whether the court will hear his appeal of a U.S. District Court's decision sentencing him to five years. A payday would defray the mounting court costs—but "most of all," he says, "I want to climb in the ring and get turned on."

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

The name Edgar Lacey is well known among basketball fans. Lacey won fame in high school and added to it during four outstanding years at UCLA. Last week he furthered his career by signing a contract with the Los Angeles Stars of the American Basketball League.

He signed it Edgar Lacy.

"Why did you sign it that way?" the Stars wanted to know.