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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 28, 1994)
Oregon Daily I^ITlCruld S|)OI’tS NBA greats need history class One of the groat things about sports is records. They give us a chance to compare the groat players and accomplishments of the past against those of the present. In other circumstances, they allow us to compare two contemporary great fierformers or fierformnnces The greatness of a record comes out of its spontaneity and is one of the things that makes watching a game so spei ml Oth er ns ords are built up over a sea son These are the records based on the durability and the consis tency that legends are made of In basketball, things like Oscar Robertson averaging a trifile-dou ble one season, or Wilt Cham ber!.un averaging more then 10 points per game one year, are standards by which greatness is judged. Sadly, it appears records are now something much more triv ial. something people aim for rather than achieve. The groat records are accomplished under normal circumstances when players pul up superhuman efforts throughout the flow of a game. Last Sunday was the final day of the NBA season and twice attempts wore taken at records, one accomplished and one failed Both tainted history The first example was the matchup of present vs. past, ns Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf of the Denver Nuggets went after the NBA record for highest free throw percentage in a season. The record of 95.8 percent is held by Calvin Murphy, who was in attendance at the game in Houston, the team he works for Stkyk Mims Murphy's record was in feopardy when with ti:SO left in the game, Abdul-Rauf was fouled for the first time all game, and needed to make both fns’ throws to get the record. After Abdul-Rauf made the first one. Murphy and his organi/n tion. the Rockets, did their best to screw up history's records. The Rockets called tune out to tr\ and ice Abdul-Kauf, an action that wouldn't be done in the course of a normal game, while Murphy grablM'd the frail from the referee and began rubbing it. putting a so-called curse on it When Abdul-Rauf went to the free throw line, he missed the shot while Murphy screamed at him and slapped "high fives" with nearby fans after the miss It is doubtful Murphy’s curse played any part in the miss, and his screaming couldn't be much louder than what Abdul-Rauf faces in any opposing arena, but the lack of class exhibited by Murphy was not what one would expect from a Mall of Famer. Ill the other example, it wus present vs. present, ns David Robinson and Shaquille O'Neal fought for the NBA scoring title on the last day. The two were practically entering tfit* final game, w hen San Antonio's coach 342 - 3358 136 E. 11th • Eugene, OR. LIVE ENTERTAINMENT NIGHTLY MONDAY MOVIE NICiHT POOL TABLES FREE DARTS 8i FOOSBALL ASSORTED EATS emoking preferred udent Union Invites All to m if m. WHOM ■■ m, " w” B ff " ‘ ■ ... . A^ John l.tioas mul hi* players made a fame out of the re< ord. allow ing Robinson to s< ore 71 point* and get the st oring title Robinson is always the focal point of San Antonio's offense, but Sunday was ridiculous Robinson attempted -t t shots, twit e as mans ns he averages in a normal game One of the rea son* the Admiral got so many shots y* a* I*«cause l.uc as instrui t ed his team to foul its opponents, the los Angelos Clippers, to stop the clod and give the Spurs the hall hack so Robinson could shoot more Robinson and his teammates went along with the plan and seemed to revel in the way they were able to rewrite the history books. In fat I. Robinson's Spurs yvere able to win the game, not a tough thing to do considering they were playing the Clipper. The NBA ns ord feu frt«e-throw peri outage in a season and the liWl-'R NBA scoring title an' not the most famous records of all time In fact, most people don't know or care who holds them, but history does Greatness and history am things to strive for and relish when found, hut neither Murphy nor Robinson should spend much time over their impaired records in history Murphy is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame and Robinson will probably join him in the future, and deservedly so. hut the great ones shouldn't have to go to such estn'iiios to grub his tory Their play alone should do so. •Steve Minis is the S/mrts F.'di for of the Emerald. take Kaplan and get a higher score... ► More students f.iHr Kaplan's courses every year than any other tmt prep company's Can us today to (ind out why 1 -800-K AP-TEST 720 E 13th. Eugene Reviews Coming Friday in the Emerald Invitation ■ no uregon uatiy tmerc JlO invites you to visit our offic es to learn more about employment opportunities, tour tho facilities, visit with staff members arid request job descriptions or applications for positions in news, advertising and production Between now and the end of this year, we will be hiring staff for 1994-95 Anyone enrolled at the University is eligible to work at the Emerald; you need not be a journalism major to apply Please take this opportunity to get mvotved with the paper Stop by Friday, May 6, 1994 between 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. 30D Mamor** . ««> a*4* «*tM |m> *r**r«i! ’*'• « or J^m* !*♦<« *.«» #*j « ■ **yrvn»It *on&**n* « JOE PE SCI If you want a degree go to llanard. If you want an education *<> Simon I* KEN DAN FRASER MOIRA KELLY PATRICK DEMPSEY JMHH I IAMILT( )N I MT nn HI 10N0KS Starts Friday, April 29"1
