NBA season kicks off with Blazers vs. Lakers
By Landon Hall
The Associated Press
PORTLAND—Damon Stoudamire
thought he had put the events of June
4 behind him when the memories all
came rushing back, beamed at him by
NBA.com TV.
On Sunday night, the cable chan
nel showed clips from Game 7 of the
Western Conference finals between
Stoudamire’s team, the Portland
Trail Blazers, and the Los Angeles
Lakers. It was the first time
Stoudamire had seen any videotape
of what stands as possibly the great
est pratfall in the history of playoff
basketball.
It was just as Stoudamire had re
membered: The Blazers led by 13 at
the start of the fourth quarter, on
their way to the Finals for the first
time since 1992. The lead stretched
to 75-60 with 10:28 left to play be
fore everything fell apart. Portland
missed 13 straight shots, and the
Lakers went on a 15-0 run and end
ed up winning 89-85.
"You watch it and just wonder
what could have been,” Stoudamire
said Monday, 31 hours before the
Blazers were to open the new sea
son against the defending champi
on Lakers.
The Blazers know that if even one
of those missed shots during that aw
ful stretch had fallen, they probably
would be receiving their champi
onship rings Tuesday night at the
sold-out Rose Garden. But they al
ready seem bored with the topic and
say they’re ready to move on.
“That season’s over,” Scottie Pip
pen said. “Hopefully, we can use
that as fuel. It’s definitely in the past
for us, but we have to realize that
they are the world champs and they
still have to defend themselves as
the champs, so we want to measure
ourselves and see where we are
against the best.”
The Lakers aren’t so sure the Blaz
ers have forgotten that easily.
“I’m sure it’s been on their minds
all summer and most of the presea
son, in terms of knowing that this was
the first game they were going to
play,” forward Rick Fox said Mon
day. “Seeing us again and knowing
that we came out the victors, it proba
bly left a bad taste in their mouths.”
Although both teams acquired
new high-profile players in the off
season, the Lakers appear to have
improved themselves more. Horace
Grant is 35, but should provide
some of the offense at power for
ward that A.C. Green lacked. And
the Lakers hope Isaiah Rider can
stay out of trouble long enough to
make up for the loss of shooting
guard Glen Rice and his 15.9 points
per game last season.
The Blazers, thinking specifically
about stopping Shaquille O’Neal, got
Shawn Kemp, Dale Davis and Will
Perdue, all 6-foot-10 or taller. But
Portland won’t have center Arvydas
Sabonis, who is out at least the next
few weeks with an injured left knee.
Backup point guard Greg Anthony
also is recovering from offseason sur
gery on both ankles.
“We don’t know where we are
yet, quite honestly, because it’s been
kind of a slow process for us in the
preseason with the injuries and the
new guys,” Anthony said.
The Lakers also will be shorthand
ed. Backup forward Robert Horry, a
key role player during the title run,
wifi miss the first two games — in
cluding Wednesday night’s home
opener against Utah, at which the
Lakers will receive their champi
onship rings — to attend his grand
mother’s funeral in Alabama.
How much is one game worth? It
depends on the team, and who
wins. The Blazers can gain a valu
able psychological edge, not to men
tion an early lead in the race for
homecourt advantage.
“We all know that when it’s all
said and done, there’s a very good
chance that these two teams are go
ing to have an impact on what the
other does in terms of the playoffs,”
Anthony said. “Based on what hap
pened last year and what both teams
did in the offseason, a lot of people
are expecting these two teams to be
there at the end.”
O’Neal said the Blazers, with a
payroll that soared from about $73
million to around $90 million, will
have something to prove Tuesday
night. But the reigning league and
NBA Finals MVP played down the
significance.
“It’s going to be a very intense
game, but whatever happens tomor
row is not going to make or break
anybody’s season,” he said. “Some
body’s going to be 1-0 and some
body’s going to be 0-1.”
Titans hand Washington its first loss in five games
By Joseph White
The Associated Press
LANDOVER, Md. — Had Samari
Rolle returned the interception 80
yards, it wouldn’t have meant a thing.
Instead, Rolle stumbled his
weary body across the goal line for
that final yard on the last play of the
first half, and the Tennessee Titans
were on their way to their seventh
consecutive victory.
Rolle’s score was one of two
touchdown on returns for the Titans
as they beat Washington 27-21
Monday night, ending the Red
skins’ five-game winning streak.
“It came down to two plays: the
punt return and the interception be
fore halftime,” Washington quarter
back Brad Johnson said. “Basically,
that was the ball game.”
Derrick Mason returned a punt 69
yards, and former Washington tight
end Frank Wycheck caught an 18
yard TD pass as the Titans (7-1)
maintained a two-game lead over
Pittsburgh in the AFC Central.
“Again this football team found a
way to win,” Tennessee coach Jeff
Fisher said. “It was not necessarily
the conventional way.”
The loss knocked the Redskins
(6-3) out of first place in the NFC
East, one-half game behind the New
York Giants. Washington’s players
put a premium on winning this
game under the national spotlight
after losing a Monday night game to
Dallas earlier this year.
Rolle’s interception was as dra
matic as they come. The Redskins,
trailing 13-7, had the ball on the Ti
tans 34 with 10 seconds remaining
in the half.
Johnson tried to force a pass, and
Rolle stepped in front of Irving Fr
yar and caught the ball at the 19.
Then, knowing that he had to run it
all the way back because time had
expired, Rolle went from sideline to
sideline, reading his blocks all the
way to the end zone.
Rolle also had another intercep
tion at the Redskins 33 with 1:59 to
play, ending Washington’s last real
chance to drive the ball downfield.
The Titans used Eddie George on
seven consecutive plays to set up
their only offensive touchdown,
scored by Wycheck in the fourth quar
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Cvonsiuutionai amendments vz ana win restrict tne
voices of students and working people in the political arena.
92 and 98 are unfair and unnecessary, they deserve no place
in Oregon's Constitution. Please vote No on 92 and 98 and
keep the Constitution fair for everybody.
NO ON 92 AND 98
NO ON 92 AND 98
NO ON 92 AND 98
NO ON 92 AND 98
NO ON 92 AND 98
NO ON 92 AND 98
NO ON 92 AND 98
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A
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outside the EMU Ticket
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ter. George sprained his right knee ear
ly in last week’s 14-6 victory over Bal
timore and was not confirmed to start
until shortly before kickoff.
The most dynamic third-down
play came when Johnson, hardly
the most mobile of quarterbacks, es
caped a sack by spinning away from
Jevon Kearse and scrambling 13
yards before taking a stiff hit from
Denard Walker. A pass interference
call on Rolle gave the Redskins first
and-goal, and Johnson hit fullback
Mike Sellers two plays later with a
5-yard pass to make it 7-0.
The Titans responded with a
more chaotic, 11-play drive that in
cluded three scrambles by quarter
back Steve McNair. Al Del Greco
capped it with a 46-yard field goal
that barely cleared the crossbar.
Less than two minutes later, a fly
ing block by Keith Bulluck sprang
Mason for a 69-yard punt return to
put the Titans ahead 10-7. Mason
darted left and juked punter Tom
my Barnhardt for his second career
punt return touchdown.
Rolle’s touchdown then made it
20-7 at the half. The Redskins
closed to 20-14 late in the third
quarter with a 13-play, 66-yard
drive, relying heavily on Stephen
Davis. Davis’ seventh touch of the
drive was a 1-yard TD run.
“I was hungry for that end zone. I
wanted it bad,” Wycheck said. “I just
wanted to go out and prove to them
that they made a mistake. It was defi
nitely an emotional game for me. ”
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