Tim Pyle
Continued from Page 7
are the defending conference cham
pions. Future Hall of Fame center
Patrick Ewing is still out with a par
tiallytom Achilles tendon and could
be until January, but the Knicks
made it all the way to the Finals
without him last postseason.
Other contenders include: the In
diana Pacers, getting older by the
minute with often-injured center
Rik Smits and sweet-shooting
guard Reggie Miller; the Charlotte
Hornets, a favorite darkhorse featur
ing guard Eddie Jones and possibly
rookie point guard Baron Davis out
of UCLA; the Philadelphia 76ers,
who have little to team with defend
ing scoring champion Iverson; and
the Milwaukee Bucks, who boast a
potent pair in guard Ray Allen and
forward Glenn Robinson.
The West
The Blazers’ toughest nemesis
will again be the Spurs and their for
midable inside. Seven-footers Tim
Duncan and David Robinson make
the key practically impenetrable to
opponents. Meanwhile, they also
key San Antonio’s efficient offense.
Down in Los Angeles, the Lak
ers still have the talented tandem
of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe
Bryant, at least once Bryant recov
ers from a broken right hand.
They also have former Bulls
coach Phil Jackson.
Elsewhere, John Stockton and
Karl Malone will continue to
pick-and-roll in Utah, Kevin Gar
nett will continue to improve in
Minnesota, Jason Williams and
Chris Webber will keep entertain
ing in Sacramento and Jason Kidd
will still be dishing in Phoenix.
The Pick
Look for the Blazers to get past the
Spurs thanks to superior depth and
perimeter play and then dispose of
upstart Charlotte in the Finals.
The season may not end up fit
ting, but it will be great nonethe
less thanks to Portland’s first
championship since 1977.
I Bssaasssrsss:
All-time rushing king Payton dies at 45
By Nancy Armour
The Associated Press
CHICAGO — Walter Payton,
the NFL’s greatest rusher whose
aggressive style masked a playful
temperament that earned him the
nickname “Sweetness,” died
Monday at age 45.
Payton was diagnosed earlier
this year with primary sclerosing
cholangitis, a rare liver disease.
His only hope for survival was a
transplant and he had been on a
waiting list since February.
Payton rushed for 16,726 yards
in his 13-year career, one of
sport’s most awesome records.
Barry Sanders ensured it would
be one of the most enduring, re
tiring in July despite being just
1,458 yards shy of breaking Pay
ton’s mark.
“I want to set the record so
high that the next person who
tries for it, it’s going to bust his
heart,” Payton once said.
Payton was coached for six
years by Mike Ditka, now coach
of the New Orleans Saints, who
called him “the best football
player I’ve ever seen.”
“It’s sad to me because he had
a lot greater impact on me than I
had on him,” Ditka said.
“And he led by example on the
field. He was the complete play
er. He did everything. ... He was
the greatest runner, but he was
also probably the best blocking
back*you ever saw.”
Payton was widely celebrated
in Chicago, the city’s highest-pro
file athlete in the years after
Cubs’ Hall of Famer Ernie Banks
retired and before Bulls’ super
star Michael Jordan emerged.
“Walter was a Chicago icon
long before I arrived there,” Jor
dan said in a statement issued af
ter Payton’s death. “He was a
great man off the field and his on
the-field accomplishments speak
for themselves. I spent a lot of
time with Walter, and I truly feel
that we have lost a great man.”
A two-time Little All-Ameri
can, Payton finished fourth in
voting for the Heisman Trophy in
1974, and was picked fourth
overall by the Bears in the 1975
NFL draft. He rushed for 679
yards and seven touchdowns in
his rookie season and the next
year had the first of what would
be 10 1,000-yard seasons, rushing
for 1,390 yards and 13 touch
downs.
In 1977, just his third year in
the NFL, Payton won the first of
two MVP awards with the most
productive season of his career.
He rushed for 1,852 yards and 14
touchdowns, both career highs.
His 5.5 yards per carry also was
the best of his career.
Against Minnesota, he ran for
275 yards, an NFL single-game
record that still stands. And in
1984, he broke Jim Brown’s long
standing rushing record of 12,312
yards.
After carrying mediocre Chica
go teams for most of his career,
the Bears finally made it to the
Super Bowl in 1985. Payton
rushed for 1,551 yards and nine
touchdowns as the Bears went
15-1 in the regular season, and
also caught 49 passes for 483
yards receiving and two TDs.
Chicago beat New England 46
10 in the Super Bowl, but Payton
didn’t score in the game.
When he disclosed his illness
at an emotional news conference
in February, he looked gaunt and
frail, a shadow of the man who
gained more yards than any run
ning back in the history of the
NFL.
“Am I scared? Hell yeah, I’m
scared. Wouldn’t you be scared?”
he asked. “But it’s not in my
hands anymore. It’s in God’s
hands.”
Payton made few public ap
pearances after that and his son,
Jarrett, who plays for the Univer
sity of Miami, was called home
Wednesday night.
Reports of how sick Payton
was first surfaced Sunday, with
at least two East coast radio sta
tions reporting prematurely that
he had died. One newspaper
columnist wrote that he wasn’t
expected to live through the
weekend.
On Monday, in the hours after
the announcement of Payton’s
death, the Bears’ blue and orange
flag was lowered to half staff at
the team’s headquarters in Lake
Forrest, 111.
Born July 25, 1954 at Colum
bia, Miss., Payton played his col
lege football at Jackson State
where he set nine school records,
scored 66 touchdowns and
rushed for 3,563 yards. He once
scored 46 points in one game.
He led the nation in scoring in
1973 with 160 points, and his
464 career points was an NCAA
record.
Payton was somewhat under
sized for a power running back,
something Minnesota Vikings
coach Dennis Green remembered
Monday.
“He set a standard for going all
out,” Green said. “He wasn’t as
big as some of your other backs
that play the game, but he could
outwork anybody and he always
gave 100 percent. And that was
100 percent to his family, to his
friends, to the game of football
and so is a guy that is really going
to be missed.”
Payton’s nickname of “Sweet
ness” was a tribute to his person
ality more than his running style.
He was an elusive runner but of
ten took on tacklers with a stiff
armed style that belied his size.
Payton retired after the 1987
season, and the Bears immediate
ly retired No. 34.
Payton was elected to the Hall
of Fame in 1993, his first year of
eligibility.
NFL commissioner Paul Tagli
abue called Payton “one of the
greatest players in the history of
the sport.”
“Walter was an inspiration in
everything he did. The tremen
dous grace and dignity he dis
played in his final months re
minded us again why
‘Sweetness’ was the perfect nick
name for Walter Payton,” Tagli
i { Waiter was a Chicago
icon long before I arrived
there. He was a great man
off the field and his accom
plishments on the field
speak for themselves. J J
Michael Jordan
Former Chicago Bull
abue said.
Following retirement, Payton
tried his hand at auto racing and
became co-owner of an Indy-car
team.
A month after he announced
his illness, all the cars in a CART
race carried decal on the cockpit
area near the driver’s helmet. It
reads: “Get Well Sweetness” and
was accompanied by a football ,
helmet with No. 34 on the side. 1
Payton also served on the
Bears’ board of directors, and be- *
came part-owner of an Arena
Football team after unsuccessful
efforts to buy an NFL franchise.
He also ran a restaurant and oth
er businesses in the Chicago
area.
At the Hall of Fame ceremony,
he chose his 12-year-old son, Jar
rett, to present him for induction.
“Not only is he a great athlete,
he’s a role model — he’s my role
model,” Jarrett said.
Payton is survived by his wife,
Connie, and their two children,
Jarrett and Brittney.
Fall Career Fair
with participating Graduate & Law Schools
Opens Wednesday
November 3 (One day fair)
11 a.m. - 4 p.m. EMU Ballroom
Take charge of your future now. Explore career-track jobs with major corporations, non-profit organizations, entre
preneurial enterprises and others. Learn about specific employers, expand your career options or research the demands
of the career you want. Visit with the leading law and graduate schools. Make one-on-one contact for prime information in
an informal situation. Something for all classes - freshmen, sophomore, juniors, seniors and alumni.
Come to the Fair!
Check out the list of participating firms and schools at uocareer.uoregon.edu
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
CAREER
Register with the Career Center
to gain access to more services
and programs.