Elvin Hayes

Washington upset the Spurs, then got a surprising edge on the 76ers. In the West, Denver could not buck Milwaukee

THE ONION EATERSir:Thank you for your article on Rick Barry (A Splendid Warrior Who Knows His Onions, May 9). Not only is he the best passing forward in the NBA, but he is also the most complete forward ever to play...

WHO REALLY IS SUPERIOR—THE ABA'S TOP CENTER, ARTIS GILMORE, NOW WITH THE BULLS, OR THE LAKERS' TOWERING KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR? ON THE FOLLOWING PAGES, ALLAN MARDON PAINTS FIVE OF THE SEASON'S INTRIGUING NEW FACEOFFS

•Elvin Hayes, 6'10" Washington Bullets forward, asked in a hotel lobby if he was a basketball player: "No, I clean giraffe ears."

In which our man encounters an ambitious dachshund, a possible communications gap, class in a three-button suit, two angry geniuses, an old center, a U.S. Senator and the questions of Ethnic Purity