December 12, 1983 | Volume 59, Issue 25

I finally had to face up to a gap in my sports repertoire. I could field a sharply hit ground ball, turn a respectable double play; drive a golf ball 275 yards on occasion, hit a decent iron shot;...

2, 3—(left to right) Andy Hayt, Lane Stewart, Jerry Wachter4—John Iacono19—Illustration by Sam Q. Weissman22—NBC30, 31—Mickey Palmer/Focus on Sports (top right), Focus on Sports (3)32, 33—Neil...

PRO BASKETBALL—New York won four games in walkovers, the most impressive of which was a 127-93 wipeout of Washington. The Bullets, without the service of top scorer and rebounder Center Jeff...

HEATHER KUZMICHTRENTON, ONTARIOHeather, 17, recently won her third straight Canadian and fourth straight Ontario girls' junior golf titles. She also set five women's course records this year, one...

SHALLOW BOWLSSir:Thanks to Douglas S. Looney for his fine article (It Rained on SMU's Parade, Nov. 28). How can a team with only one loss—to Texas, the No. 2-ranked team in the nation—be passed up...

I am no more superstitious than the next man (the next man happens to hail from the Cameroons and is crouched on his hams shrinking his uncle's head over a slow fire).—S.J. PERELMAN

CATCHER'S MITTS AND BOWL GAMES

•Mike Gottfried, Kansas football coach, asked if powerful Nebraska does things that other teams don't do: "I've never seen anyone kick off so much."

Jim Brown, the greatest running back in pro football history, is seated in the living room of his house high in the Hollywood Hills with his "lady" of the past three years, Kim Jones, a...

NBA have-nots in their first three years, the Dallas Mavericks have made a leap to the top of the heap

"Living in Sacramento was like living in a B movie," says SI's prodigal daughter and newest associate editor, Susie Kamb, who left us six years ago for The Sacramento (what else?) Bee. Assistant...

The handsomest book published in our roundup for holiday giving this year is also far more than that, though its outstanding beauty is a considerable distinction in itself. Galen Rowell's...

VCU Guard Calvin Duncan will never pull up short, in basketball or in life

WEST

GENE WALDRON: The senior guard hit 13 of 17 from the floor and 14 of 16 from the line for a career-high 40 points in Syracuse's 109-92 win over Iona in the championship game of the Carrier Classic.

Bud Greenspan continues to be inspired by his late wife, Cappy

Inner peace and lots of late speed won Fukuoka for Toshihiko Seko

After 27 straight wins (yawn), Cam Fella is about to hang up his harness