SPORTS SANTA VISITS . . » Saint Nick attracted a large following when he took a skate around the Community Complex ice surface during the NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS How about consistency? By TERRY SCOTT The Canadian No one enjoys making New Year's resolutions because adhering to such informal’ promises usually requires a certain amount of personal hardship. It's so much easier to suggest appropriate resolutions for others, especially those associated with professional sports. The National Football League, for example, should resolve to bring more consistency to its officiating. That would probably entail the tightening of certain rules, such as the one in which a quarterback is said to be “in the grasp,” a vague terminology to signify the equivalent of a sack. Art Donovan, the former NFL great, guffawed last weekend when the term “in the grasp” was raised. “What do they mean by in the grasp? What is there to grasp onto? If they're going to have something like that, the quarterbacks will have to start wearing skirts.” Officiating in the NFL has too often become more of a compromise than » firm enforcement of the rules. An incident in a game between the Washington Redksins and the Minnesota Vikings on the weekend illustrated the point. After a flag was thrown because of movement at the line of scrimmage, a conference among the officials determined that there had been both a false start and off-side, offsetting penalties that brought a repeat of the down and produced 4 reaction of incredulity from commentator Joe Theismann. “How can you have penalties to both sides?” he asked with bewilderment. “It has to be one way or the other.” The National Hockey League, meanwhile, should also resolve to lend a hand to its officials, starting with an edict that all of its rule enforcers must wear a helmet. Last Saturday night, in a game at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Terry Gregson, the referee, suffered a concussion after colliding with the Leafs Borje Salming and cracking his head on the ice. And on the subject of NHL referees, how about a pledge from them in 1988 to refrain — either consciously or sub- consciously — from handicapping many of the games they handle? Harry Neale, the former coach and now a TV commen- tator, noted last Saturday night what has become in- creasingly obvious — when a team is handed a number of power-play chances, it can expect things to even up as the game progresses, especially if it happens to mount a lead with the manpower advantages. If the NHL wants to give someone a break, it should resolve in the new year to do something about the Los Angeles Kings’ franchise. If the league insists on having a presence beyond the American midwest, it should at least try to lift the Kings from their geographic twilight zone. MAKES KINGS HAPPY In lieu of a franchise relocation, the NHL should acquiesce to a long-time request by the Kings to be trans- ferred into a division where cities are easily accessible to them by air. The Kings would prefer that it be the Norris Division, and the Leafs are the most logical team to displace. Happy New Year to you, too, Mr. Ballard! In major league baseball, there could be a new look to 1988 if at least one owner resolves to hire a black manager, not because of pressure to do so following Al Campanis's remarks, but because there are qualified candidates who are entitled to the chance. Surely, people such as Bill Robinson, Billy Williams and Willie Stargell are on an equal footing with some of the mediocre retreads who have been hired in recent years. And while major league baseball is breaking with tradition, it should vote to add a little spice to the season by allowing the second-place team in each division to enter the playoffs. It’s a dramatic tinkering with one of the game's unique elements, of course, but if the NHL permits all but the truly incapacitated to advance, and the NFL has provisions for the second-best — with heightened fan interest as a result — it can't tarnish the majors’ appeal. Besides, so far, that's the only way the Montreal Expos have reached post-season play, and the prospect of an additional playoff berth would make the frigid Canadian winter a bit more bearable for many. Castlegar Figure Skating Club's annual Christmas party. Conlan top NFL rookie NEW YORK Shane Conlan of the Buffalo Bills was selected on Tuesday as The Associated Press’ NFL defensive rookie of the year. Conlan beat out teammate Cornelius Bennett in the voting by three sports writers or §} ters rep- resenting each of the NFL's 28: teams. Conlan, who moved from outside lineback to insider, led Buffalo in tackles with 114 in 12 games, including 14 in a 34-21 loss to the Los Angeles Raiders. Bennett made 16 tackles during the Bills’ last game against Philadelphia. Conlan, one of the leader's on Penn State's collegiate national champions last sea- son, earned the honor despite missing four weeks of train- ing camp in a contract dis- pute. He was the eighth player taken in the 1985 draft, which was dominated by _line- backers. Bennett was the second player chosen (by In- dianapolis), Cleveland got Mike Junkin with the fifth pick and Brian Bosworth went to Seattle in the supple- mental draft. Buffao coach Marv Levy says the six-foot-three, 230- pound Conlan has only one EXPOS END Minnesota, the no-name underdog, had more road losses (52) during the season than any other World Series SEASON FULL OF PROMISE The Canadian Press For the Montreal Expos, the 1987 baseball season began with no hope and ended in defeat, yet fw of promise. The Toronto Blue Jays, on the other hand, had to reconcile a bitter disappointment as their lofty dreams of a World Series victory crashed to earth with the reality of seven consecutive losses to end the season. It was a baseball season many Canadian fans — when thinking about their two home teams — will remember for different reasons. Toronto led by 3'/ games with seven games to play, but lost all seven — including a three-game series to Detroit on the final weekend — as the Tigers captured the American League East. The Expos were picked in many pre-season polls to challenge the Pittsburgh Pirates for last place in the National League East after losing veteran Andre Dawson to free agency and reliever Jeff Reardon in a trade. But with their collection of no-name players and comeback projects, the Expos stayed in the race until the last week of the season — and had a lot of fun doing it. The season was filled with controversy: there were allegations of corked bats, searches for balls scuffed by pitchers and questions about a juiced-up baseball. RECORD HOMERS No wonder. Hitters pounded out a record number of home runs — 4,457, up 17 per cent from the 1986 total. On the labor front, players claimed that owners colluded to destroy the free-agent system by refusing to sign players on the market, and an arbitrator later agreed Back on the field, St. Louis outlasted the Giants in seven games for the NL pennant. Minnesota set up the first World Series game to be played indoors by defeating the burned-out Tigers in five for the AL pennant. but at home with 56 victories against 25 defeats. True to form, the Twins lost the middle three games of the World Series played in open-air Busch Stadium in St. Louis, but won four in the Hubert R. Humphrey Metrodome. A fan's sign referred to Cards shortstop Ozzie Smith and said it all: “We've dyeen to the land of Oz, but there’s no place like Dome.” 5 For a few days in September, fanadians had dreams of a Blue Jays-Expos World Series. EXPOS CHALLENGE The Expos went into the final week of the season with a long shot to win the division title. They swept the Cards in a three-game series at Montreal halfway through September, but the Cards recovered by taking two of three at Shea Stadium from the Mets and finally beating the Expos, 8-2, on the final Thursday of the regular season to clinch. The Expos struggled along at an 8-12 pace through April, but finished at 91-71 — a 13-game improvement over the previous year — thanks in great part to the return of Tim Raines, a victim of baseball's unwritten policy against signing free agents. In one of the season's most memorable per- formances, Raines signed a three-year contract on May 1 and in his first game the next day went 4-for-5 against the Mets. Naturally, the Expos won the game when Raines hit a grand slam in the 10th inning. Anonymous players like Mitch Webster and Casey Candaele played to their full potential under easy-going Buck Rodgers, named the National League manager of the year. Sparky Anderson, who predicted in May that his struggling club would win the AL East, was named the American League's top manager for guiding his aging team past the favored Blue Jays. It all ended on the final Sunday of the season for the Jays, who lost two key players — all-star shortstop Tony Fernandez and catcher Ernie Whitt — to injuries over the last week. detroit outfielder Larry Herndon hit a wind- blown homer off Toronto ace Jimmy Key for a 1-0 win that gave the Tigers the division. “Conlan's only weakness is inexperience in certain pass situations. “Everything else is a strenth . . . his physical strength, his speed, his com- petitiveness, the way he hits and goes through traffic, his stamina. He is an outstanding all-around player.” Conlan, a native of Frews- burg, N.Y., 75 miles south of Buffalo, acknowledges he can still improve. “I think I'm still learning. I think I can do better next Sess year.” Former Olympian carries torch ST. THOMAS, Ont. (CP) — Frigid temperatures didn't chill former Olympian Pat Murphy's enthusiasm Tues- day as he ran with the Olympic torch on its con- Dem tinuing journey through southern Ontario. “You get so hyped for it you never notice tired or cold,” said Murphy, who competed for Canada as a bieyele racer in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Aus- svttolo tralia. About 3,000 people jam- med a downtown. street to [r~, get a glimpse of the torch. “T’ve been out here for 1% hours waiting for the flame,” said Robert Baughman. (AP) —- Penguins tie Bruins 4-4 in the third period to help the hometown Penguins to a 4-4 National Hockey League tie with Boston. 1985. “Dave Hunter made a great pass to get the puck to game by a knee injury. And centre Mario Lemieux was held seoreless for only the sixth time in 34 games this In other games, it was seaso Quebec Nordiques 5 Buffalo Sabres 1, New York Rangers 8 New York Islanders 8, and * Montreal Canadiens 4 Van- couver Canucks 1. Dahlquist’s goal, his “I was just shooting for the net,” said Dahlquist, who has spent most of his career in the American Hockey League since signing with Pittsburgh as a free agent in n, Rick O'Dwyer, and Cam Neely scored for Boston. Dan Quinn scored twice for Pittsburgh while Wayne Van Dorp added his first NHL goal. Boston's Michael Thelven suffered a concussion late in the second period and did not return. Randy Cunneyworth, who said it was an accident, was given a major for high sticking on the play. Penguins defenceman Doug Bodger also left the game after reinjuring his left knee during a second-period Middleton, Bill Courtnall Rice selected best offensive NEW YORK (AP) — Jerry Rice, the San Francisco 49ers receiver who set two National Football League records for touchdown catches despite playing in only 12 games during this strike-shortened season, was named today the NFL's of- fensive player of the year by The Associated Press. Rice, called by San Fran- cisco coach Bill Walsh “the single most dominating player in the game today,” had 22 touchdown catches, breaking the single-season mark of 18 set in the 16-game season of 1984 by Miami's Mark Clayton. Rice also ran for a touchdown. Rice continues to ride a record streak with touch- down catches in 13 straight games, two more than the mark set by Elroy (Crazy Legs) Hirsch in 1950-51 and tied by Buddy Dial in 959-60. The Rice streak includes one game last season and the 12 non-strike games this year. The streak doesn't include playoff games. In fact, Rice dropped the ball as he was running for a sure touchdown last year in San Francisco's 49-3 playoff loss to the New York Giants. Rice easily beat out his teammate, quarterback Joe Montanta, for the offensive honor in voting by three sportswriters and broad- casters covering each of the NFL's 28 teams. Rice got 68 votes to nine for Montana, with quarterbacks John El- way of Denver and Bernie Kosar of Cleveland getting one vote apiece. ILLECTS TDS Rice wasn't the leading receiver for the 49ers, fin- ishing one back of running back Roger Craig’s total of 66. Brt Craig netted just 492 yards and one touchdown while Rice had 1,078 yards and 22 touchdowns. In 44 career games over three seasons, only 31 of which. he has started, Rice 43 touchdowns. The product of Mississippi Valley State was the 16th player taken in the 1985 draft and was a backup..to Freddie Solomon for part of his first year. “You've got to work hard fleur for 18th place on the NHL's all-time assist list with 728. The point lifted the Islanders into a first-place tie with idle Philadelphia in the Patrick Division. NFL's player and have faith in yourself,” Rice said. “I wanted to con- tribute when I first came in and I bit off too much. I kept my head up and everything fell into place.” “He gets us into the end zone,” safety Ronnie Lott said. “In the years I've been here, if the offence has had trouble with one thing, it was scoring when it got inside the 20. Not with Jerry.” Rice, the only unanimous choice on The Associated Press all-pro team, said he's just having fun. “I don't think about rec- ords, I just want to go out there and win,” he said. “I love the game of football. 'm like a little kid. “I expected everything to fall into place by my fourth year and this is my third. SoI plan to come back next year and be better.” Clark back on Saturday TORONTO (CP) — Tor- onto sparkplug Wendel Clark, who has been out of the Maple Leafs’ lineup since Nov. 9 because of a back injury, says he plans to return to the lineup Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres. “Tve got to find out if I can Leafs forward, who had 87 goals and 28 assists last season, has played in just 11 of the Na- tional Hockey League team's 86 games this season. Mid-Week Wrap-up HOCKEY (quansc #580 CUP Round Robin ooonn -w-00 F ee o--- -cce! Peess yesee* easel: guess SBSPNBRRS ESRB ESE” aaeessesecegseeess* BESESE ZISSKFSy TURes BRBssorE* ’ BASKETBALL BEEBIS abERER itt Me Lid 1) Maser 131 Ftaetphie 114 TRANSACTIONS easeaaLL Detroit Tigers sign pitcher Jock Morr (9 two-year contrac PROFESSIONALS GOING BACK 1.UNIVERSITY ERSITY. another group of university students settling in for a Friday morning class, clad in jeans, T-shirts, turtlenecks and sweaters. More careful observation reveals a partner with point, Donald Paxton, a pilot with Canadian Airlines International, offers his views. Later, a project manager with MDS Health Group resales. 9. Sie petet of hota edaninlatetien to bar 8 ‘Economy on the rise Unemployment at 8.2 per cent By ERIC BEAUCHESNE OTTAWA — It wasn't the best of times, but 1967 business University of Toronto to sharpen their management and financial skills and, for many, to move up the corporate ladder. “It's a business decision,” says James Young, explaining why he's paying almost $265,000 for the two-year course, studying 20 or more hours a week and commuting for two hours from Stratford, Ont., once a week. SEEKS RETURN “I think a lot of people in the class are looking for the same kind of return on their investment, because it's a major investment,” says Young, 45, manager of data processing and systems for Fram Canada. “In our case, the return would be a different job and advancement.” Executive masters of business administration programs are popular in the United States but new in Canada. The course is offered at the University of Toronto and at Concordia University in Montreal, and on a different basis at Simon Fraser University in suburban Vancouver. At U of Tand Concordia, students attend classes one day a week, on alternating Fridays and Saturdays, put in — and pay about $25,000 and $22,000, respectively. At Simon Fraser, the course runs three years with classes at night and costs about $7,000. Many companies chip in for some or all of the tuition fees, although Young’s boss covers only his travel expenses. What is essential is the company’s blessing and acceptance that the employee might Sh be putting in as many hours on the job as Participants must have an undergraduate degree he n above orersee standing and at least eight years of at least three in piecing there are exceptions. nudging up interest rates, eased the year, dipping to 4.3 per cent by ‘That loft Canada in the final quarter of the year as the only major industrial country with inflation, CONSUMERS in the latter half of | INTERCHANGE eye} By the end of the third quarter of 1987, Canadian economic output had increased by an inflation-adjusted 4.1 pine! ar gyretonat a: ding acnerybatgceingaage Sy FEWER JOBLESS /'The economic growth drove the unemployment rate to 82 per cent by November, more than a full tage point Jower than the rate at the end of 1966. Dodilnarechitpes teanie: rahe aber ae and the still leth: by the fact that in November the rai in Ontario was 89 per cent, compared with 17 per cent in Newfoundland and pvp odyrcbebemglrheatenie tonal: tie provinces and British Columbia. om Housing starts, though slowing in the final months of the year, were still expected to hit their highest level in a decade at 241,000. That's about 60,000 more than initially forecast, but again most of that activity was in Ontario. Inflation, after creeping up to « three-year high of 4.8 ‘While most economists were betting that a recession in the coming year could be avoided, not all were as optimistic as the conference board. ‘The Bank of Montreal, two weeks after the crash, predictcd it would have a “significant impact” on economic growth, which the bank forecast would slow to 0.6 per cent in 1988. ‘TOO EARLY But there was some hedging of bets, as many economists were warning that it was too early to say what impact the crash would have on the economic health of Canadians. A lot hinges on the success of efforts in the United States to reduce that country’s twin evils — huge budget and trade deficits. Meanwhile, Canada had trade worries of its own, aside from the free-trade issue. ‘The merchandise trade surplus in real terms after the first three quarters wag $7.97 billion, $1.4 billion more than during the same period of 1986. But that surplus was more than offset by Canada’s $3.95-billion deficit in the trade of services, such as tourism and piers tonne al eriperepton, Sorry tas eriqgieg: Boy Scouts 2ND ANNUAL 12TH NIGHT BURN January 6 Recreation Complex ot 6 p.m. HOLIDAY HOURS Thursday, December 31 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, January 1 CLOSED Saturday, January 2 News Department Only. Opens at 1 p.m. Nation's housing prices increase Housing N.B., Sudbury and the Kit- chener-Waterloo area all had OTTAWA (CP) — in larger cities rose an average 10.5 per cent during price accord- The average price of a home sold through MLS listings in 25 cities or metro- ito, and St. Catharines. Toronto also wound up with the highest average MLS hous- ing price in the country at $193,810. Montreal, Vancouver, Vic- toria, Winnipeg, Saint John, Let Ty a OREM aaa IG |AIPIAT TRI IDIGE ET TINIAIP! 303 ad oe tt] fe 4 RIEITIS! IES HELD IN THE POLAR REGIONS OFTEN FAIL,” SAID THE GUEST, “BECAUSE IT’S TOO HARD TO BREAK THE ICE.” Beecisteren a NCOME For All Your Financtal & insurance Needs » serclomesseraae ty be Sleae Po Insurance 365-3348 2 Insurance 226-7216 dividend pay and cas! fers to per cent in June and prompting the Bank of Canada to start Give your community volunteers the recognition they deserve! A Government of Canada representative will present these awards at a special ceremony. For communities located on the route, the will likely be held in conjunction with the arrival of the Olyenleaer™ Boley, speasores cos semesters he XV Olympic Winter Games open in ‘on February 13, 1988. These will be the first Winter Games to be held in Canada. To share the spirit of our Olympics, communities across Canada are local citizens for their support of amateur sport and for their contributions to the community as a whole. Recognition will be given in the form of a Government of Canada Celebration 88 Award. A male and female local athlete, coach, sponsor, volunteer and official will each receive a Celebration 88 medal for their to sport. Other acti re bers will be h i economy that is creating jobs and at- tracting people from other parts of the country. Just where housing prices Nee e anybesy ogee, particularly in the Seite Pos sok Castlegar, Bc VIN Sez (604) obese Slocan, Mrs. Zena, Box 8, Slocan Park, Slocan, BC VOG 2E0 604-226-7744 ff your community is not listed here, please contact your local Member of Parliament or Mayor. iv Government Gouvernement of Canada du Canada A Proud Olympic Partner ‘The Honourable Otto Jelinek for all of us!.