Event Date: November 25th
Event Description: Sims Seeks New Deal
Source: United Press International
Whether Billy Sims is running to Houston or back to Detroit next season is not known. But one thing is certain, he is running wild on the football field.
Sims ran for 106 yards in 26 carries and scored twice Thanksgiving Day to help Detroit rout the Pittsburgh Stelers 45-3 in the Lions' annual nationally televised holiday game.
Detroit is now 6-2 in its last eight games to overcome a 1-4 start and one of the main reasons for the resurgence has been the running and catching of Sims.
Since missing three games with a broken hand and performing below par in his first game back, Sims has gone crazy on the field.
He has run for 577 yards in five games, four of them victories. And in the game the Lions lost -- the only one Houston has won this season - Sims came within nine yards of the club rushing record.
“I'm not a leader,” said Sims of his on-field athletic feats and his attendant hot-dogging antics designed to fire up the crowd and the team. “I try to boost everybody else's morale. The guys around me are doing well. I wouldn't be going anywhere if it wasn't for my offensive line.”
There are many who say Sims, who did not appear as dazzling in Detroit's first few games, is only showcasing what he can do to lure a multi-million dollar contract from either the Houston Gamblers of the United States Football League or the Lions.
His contract expires at the end of this season and so far ths 1978 Heisman Trophy winner has not signed with anybody. And his answers about the future are getting more and more testy.
Detroit has indicated it will not negotiate with Sims until the end of the seson. One of the part owners of the Houston franchise of the USFL is Dr. Jerry Argovitz, who seems to feel he has a lock on Sims' services for next season.
In Sims' opinion, his slow start can be blamed primarily on the fact Detroit didn't use him.
“We added J.J. (rookie fullback James Jones) and I think we were trying to use a two-back offense,” he said. “I didn't want to say anything so I just kept quiet. Now we're back the way it used to be.”
Sims, who now has three straight games of rushing for 100 yards or more, has taken to high-stepping onto the field during pre-game introductions.
After scoring, he has a variety of antics. His latest was the ultimate spike -- throwing a perfect left-handed spiral about 50 rows into the seats after scoring.
That little display carries an automatic fine, reportedly $1,000, but actually the amount is at the discretion of the club.
“That's going to cost him a little for that ball,” Lions coach Monte Clark said after the win. “But he can afford it. And if he wants to do it again, it's OK with me. It doesn't matter,” Sims said, shrugging it off.
“William Clay Ford (Lions' owner) is going to pay for it.”
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