Scorecard

The amendments on sharing gate receipts and limiting TV time were setbacks the owners simply had not bargained for. The bosses of the richest teams, such as the New York Knickerbockers and the Los Angeles Lakers, will object, as they have for years, to splitting receipts—particularly in the generous proportions the bill requires—and those teams are so strong in league councils that they can block anything they do not like. The TV regulations will bring new uncertainty into a solid, revenue-yielding situation that kept many pro teams alive. It appears now that the ownners have no choice other than to return to Congress to fight against the amendments tacked onto their own bill.

And to think the hockey wars are just beginning.

DIETARY LAW

Hockey officials scheduled to officiate during the Team Canada-Russian series were working out under Scotty Morrison, National Hockey League referee-in-chief. Near the end of the workout Morrison announced, "O.K., the next sprint is for a case of beer."

There was an immediate protest from Yuri Karandin, top Soviet official.

"Beer, nyet," he said. "Vodka, da."

"Beer drinkers," he explained, "make bad referees. Vodka drinkers are better."