Seat, Oarsman And Oar Jettisoned, But Cal Crew Still Loses

-- ROWING

A shattered seat cost the seeded University of California crew any chance of success in the Thames Cup competition at the Henley Royal Regatta in Henley-On-Thames, England.

Matt Clark, 19, of Los Angeles, plunged into the river after the broken seat rendered his oar useless. But it could not prevent defeat for Cal's eight, which finished 1 3/4 lengths behind the Irish crew Neptune.

On a day when windy conditions caused several mishaps, Clark's plunge was the most spectacular. After jettisoning his oar and then performing an eye-catching tuck and roll before being picked up by the umpire's launch, he said: "But for this, it would have been a great race."

In an earlier Thames Cup race, the seeded Harvard eight was blown onto the boom and trapped there. That cost the Crimson five lengths against the English crew Cherwell, which eventually won the cup by 1 3/4 lengths.

The University of Washington men's eight was scheduled to race tomorrow.

In today's races, a crew of Yale freshmen held off the fierce challenge of a Spanish eight to gain the Thames Cup quarterfinals.

The Yale heavyweights, at their first Henley meet, beat Natacio Banyoles to win by one length in 6:20.

The possibility of Yale having an all-American battle tomorrow disappeared when University of Pennsylvania "B" team found it impossible to give 23 pounds weight per man to the English crew, Rob Roy. It lost by 1 1/2 lengths.

-- BASKETBALL

Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls was treated and released from a Greensboro, N.C., hospital after his left eyelid was cut during an exhibition game.

Jordan accidentally was hit in the face by Lance Blanks, a guard for the Detroit Pistons.

-- FIGHTS

Negotiations are under way for Larry Holmes, 41, to stage a second comeback fight in Houston Aug. 3 against Eddie Gonzales.

If the fight comes off, it would be Holmes' second since coming out of retirement in April.

-- GOLF

The final two rounds of the LPGA Safeco Classic, set for Meridian Valley Country Club Sept. 19-22, will be televised locally for the first time. KIRO-TV and the tournament's organizers have signed a three-year contract. KIRO, which will be on the air for two hours each day, also plans to televise the LPGA tournament in Portland Sept. 5-8.

-- TENNIS

James Van Alen, who helped modernize tennis with his invention of the tiebreaker, died Wednesday after a fall off a terrace at his home in Newport, R.I. He was 88.

-- TRACK AND FIELD

South Africa has formed a new non-racial sports organization that is virtually certain to win reacceptance into international track and field next month, the International Amateur Athletic Federation said today in Rome.

The final decision will be made by the IAAF Congress, which meets in Tokyo just before the World Track and Field championships in mid-August.

-- WHEELS

Ralph Bruning of Colorado Springs pushed his Buick V-6 to the limit on a slippery course in the 69th running of the Pikes Peak Hill climb to post an unprecedented seventh Stock Car class victory.

Bruning edged Leonard Vahsholtz, hometown nemesis and six-time class winner, by more than five seconds in a time of 12:26.34.

In the other main event, hometown racer David Donner won the open-wheel class in 11:12.42, the fastest time of the day but falling short of the record.