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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 1976)
Portland Observer Syfcee The sun will set on the Phoenix Suns, even with help from the magnificent Ronnie from Eugene, Oregon, Phoenix will not repeat. The Warriors were the best team in the Pacific Division last year, and with Gur Williams coming into his own this year they will again be tough. Too tough, in fact. Robert Parish, the seven-footer from Centenary continues to impress.‘ There are some very fine young players coming into the Pacific Division which will cause tremendous over-all improvement, along with the ABA additions, throughout the league. Look for Portland to scuffle as usual. Maurice Lucas. Dave Twardxik, leave something to be desired. 1976-76 F IN IS H 5923 42-40 4042 43 39 37 45 Portland The Blaxers again place high hopes in Bill "C h ie f Walton. Again these hopes will be shattered midway through the season. If Bill can stay healthy for 60 games Portland might finish as high as third. Dave Twardxik, apparently has won the nod at guard. Dave will hurt more than help, at 6 T ”. he'll have trouble defensively with most guards in the not only lacks the outside jumper, he never attempts one. Never. W ith the departure of Wicks to Boston, Portland is left hurting at forward, with the injury to Lloyd Neal, where in pre season they figured to be strong. Maurice Lucas showed promise in the pre-season opener and not much since. Wally Walker draft ed high by Portand seems at best a journeyman forward. “Wally Wonder seems to be a step slow at qucik forward . . . and after observing Wally through pre-season play, it's evident that Stu Inman goofed in drafting Walker ahead of Adrian Dantley. Dantley will be an im mediate starter in Buffalo while Walker will see limited action in Portland. I still can't believe that transaction. Still believe that last year was a fluke. Oh, sure. Ronnie Lee will help, also, the addition of the other Van Aredale. too. Keith Erickson, if he stays healthy and he never seems to, could be a plus, when he’s in the lineup. Curtis Perry and Garfield Heard, at best, are only journeymen forwards. My belief is that the entire Phoenix team were over they're heads at the right time, and that was during the play-offs. Alvin Adams is a good one and Ricky Sobers proved he's bona-fide. Paul Westphal should carry much of the scor ing load with help from Alvin Adams, last year's Rookie of the Year. Predicted starting lineup: Gar Heard, Keith Erick son at forward, Alvin Adams. Center; and Ricky Sobers, Paul Westphal at guard. Look for Ron Lee to challenge Sobers by mid-season. Sperta Editor W ith "Fat'' Freddy Brown shooting the eyes out of the basket Seattle's Sonic are always tough. Looking for Portland and Seattle to wage an all-out war to avoid the Pacific Division cellar with the Blaxers winning i t . . . the cellar that is. Bill Russell seems to always have the strategy to undo Portland. Seattle is weak at forward and hasn't been able to shore up that spot. Russell tried for Sidney Wicks, but the Trail blazers nixed all deals for Sid in the Pacific Division. (I wonder why?) LaRue couldn't hang on so It seems as though Tom Burleson must find a way. Mike Green, ex-ABA, is the likely choice to back up Burleson, also will see action at forward. Bob Wilkerson, V T , guard from Indi ana. Seattle's *1 pick will get consider able playing time. Predicted starting five: Slick Watts and Fred Brown, guards; Tom Burleson, center; Len Gray and Talvin Skinner, forwards. Seattle should have adequate depth. Any team with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the middle will have to be reckoned with. Jabbar is just the best in the busi ness. The acquisition of ABA stars Mack Calvin and Don Chaney should help im mensely. Marquettes’ Earl Tatum will help at the forward position, which has been weak for years. If Luscious Allen's knee holds up and he can avoid other injuries L.A . will be tough. Jerry West and Jack McCloskey should form, per haps, the weakest coaching tamdem in the division. The Lakers will be much unproved barring injury to key personnel, despite weak coaching this year. Jerry West doesn't seem to want to take control. He must assert his authority early to avoid a disappointing season. Los Angeles will come on strong after January. Predicted starters: Cazzie Russell and Don Ford, forwards; Kareem, center; Chaney and Allen, guards. Look for Earl Tatum to move Cazzie Russell by mid-season. Csldse State The best team in the division and should have won last year if Rick Barry had not chose the playoffs to pout. W ith a happy Barry there should be no stopping the Warriors.'Whey've simply got too much depth _ Robert Parish, is show ingthathe should have been the 91 draft pick in the NBA. He will play and Clifford will sit. Marshall Rogers, who led the nation in scoring last year, seems to be hanging in there and doing what he does best, shooting like mad. Predicted staring lineup: Keith Wilkes and Rick Barry, forwards; Robert Parish, center, Gus Williams and Phil Smith, guards. And a plethore of talent rushing off the bench. Such names as Clifford Ray, George Johnson, Charlie Johnson, Derrick Dickey. Charlie Dudley, and Marshall Rogers. Corky Calhoun, placed on waivers Monday by Los Angeles, is on his way to Portland for a try-out. Since Calhoun is a big forward, does that mean he’s more highly regarded by Blazer brass than Malone? W hat happened to that wide open o f fense Oregon's Don Read talked of all summer long? This was to be the season for the Ducks to finally put it together. The city of Eugene, the coaching staff and the students were all excited about the *76 Ducks. Read talked enthusiastically of filling the air, each Saturday, with pigskin. 8o far we've seen a defense that was more than adequate and no offense at all as witnessed by last Saturday's 41-0 shel lacking by powerful Notre Dame. Coach Read talked of speed outside and explosiveness inside. What happened? It's just the same old story, where you're short on talent you just can't win. A P P R O X IM A T E L Y 1 » U SED V E H IC L E S U B . G O V E R N M E N T SA L E BY A U C TIO N - TO T H E PUBLIC IN SPEC TIO N : October 28th and 29th - 9:90 a ja . to 4:00 p^s. October 20th - 8:00 aae. to 10:00 aaa. LO C ATIO N: G 8A Meter Peel, Sake aad Storage Aree (Adjaceat to Simpeee Street] Vanesaver, S A LE D A TE : Page 5 P I L Sport PREDICTIONS: Golden State Phoenix Los Angeles Settle Portland Thursday, October 21at, 1976 October 30th, 1976 — 10:00 aaa. SEDANS PIC KU PS S TA T IO N W AGONS BUS STAKETRUCKS FO R K LIFTS TRUCKTRACTOR PANEL O V E R 1 SNOW V E H IC L E S L IN E TRU CK H A R D T O P W IN O R fT U L S A l C R A W LE R TRACTORS (T D < S | The P .I.L. Friday, October 23rd, in a Civic Stadium will show case three of the finest running backs in the city. The P .I.L. Friday, October ¿3rd, in a Civic Stadium doubleher.der, will feature three of the state's finest running backs. In the opener Lincoln's Greg Jackson will show his talents in an attempt to maintain their unbeaton record against Jackson High School's Raiders The 8:30 clash between Benson and Grant promises many fireworks. Both teams have lost one game and a possible division title rides on the outcome of this one. This will be the first meeting between Benson’s Paul Lowe and Grant's Darryl “Juice" Motley. And if Motley is running from the tailback slot. LOOK OUT. My pick is Grant 21 20. Businessman Don King has emerged as the leading Black in America in his advocacy of the inclusion of Black businesamen in the Democratic campaign and a subsequent Carter Administration should the Democrats win the White House. King has been unyielding in his demand that Black business persons get their fair share of America s business. “I'm convinced that Jimmy Carter will open doors for Black business people to have their fair share of America’s business," King said. "All they need do is open the doors. We’ll take full advanUge of the opportunities.” Malone is gone by Ren Sykee Moees is gone, he'll never have the chance to lead his people, the Blazers, as the biblical Moses did. Malone was never given a chance. . . and it was intended by the Blazer brass that he never would. As one fan said, "They had better trade Moees before the fans see him," the fan continued, "because he’s a terrific player. Malone, who graduated from high school right into pro-basketball, appar ently could not get enough playing time with the Blazers because of their power ful front line of Bill Walton, Maurice Lucas, and Lloyd Neal. The Blazers felt that Malone had to have adequate playing time to develop his raw talent so they traded him off to Buffalo, for $232.00 and Buffalo's 1978 first round draft choice, to face Buffalo’s big name front line of Bob MacAdoo, John Shumate, and Adrian Dantley. Moses, since coming to Portland, has shown nothing but class. The Blazers officials consistently talked Moses down in the media. Since it's obvious they never wanted him, then why was he drafted? That is a question, I'm afraid, will never be answered. Portland has in the past, made some questionable deals, this truly follows their trend. Down the stretch, withBill Walton in jured, they'll miss this pleasant young man. Portland has continually talked of wanting class players, ones that were willing to work hard . . . well, Moses was thia type and, for sure, had a wonderful attitude. Moses Malone, from day one, came to play. Never grumbling, never pouting, but only asking for a chance to prove him self. Cease (Continued from p. 1 col. 3) the Legislature, a desire for more women ingovernment, and a strong feeling that governmental reorganization is neces- •ary. The justice and penal system, including crime prevention, juvenile delinquency, capital punishment, the parole system and victims’ assistance programs, was a fourth issue priority of District 18 voters. The problem of education - basic skill training, school financing and discipline - came in fifth on the priority list. This was followed by concern with the process of taxation, and area residents specifically pinpointed property taxes, sales taxes and tax reform. Human rights wss the seventh priority uncovered by the Cease campaign sur vey. In this area, equal opportunity seemed to be of prime interest. "We were surprised about the results of our survey," candidate Cease said. “We had expected the economy, inflation and taxes to be of primary importance. Of course, Oregonians are rather special, particularly in their concern about the environment. But I think they are also realistic about the balance that is needed between environmental and employment demands." Cease also stated that she doesn't see “how a candidate can be an effective representative without this type of face- to-face controntation - and besides that, it’s fun. You meet a wide diversity of perfectly delightful people. One little girl gave me a seashell as a parting gift and one woman graciously filled my pockets with plums from her garden. Personal canvassing has to be the foremost method of promoting and preserving real and effective representative government,” Jane Cease stressed. Remember the candidate Who cared how you felt, . . it's truly sad that he wasn't at least given a chance. Trailblazer brass continues to place all their hopes on a healthy Bill Walton. But until Bill can prove that he is willing to play hurt, they’re in some kind of trouble. Maybe, perhaps, someone should tell Harry Glechman about the necessity of insurance .*.. or even, yet, tell him about the changing scene in the NBA, where teams now are going for depth, where class players are needed to back up front line players. And, also that Bill Walton, as great as he is, is not the most dominant center in basketball. Maybe they're afraid that Malone, after stepping in for an injured Walton, might not win a posi tion. Certainly there must be some rea son for selling a player like Moses for less than was paid for him. The question still remains, does Port land want a Black super star? The answer is still apparent, no. They’ve said publicly that no one in the NBA could put Walton on the bench. Does that mean that they think Bill Walton is better than Jabbar? With that kind of thinking it’s no wonder that Wally Walker was drafted ahead of Adrian Dantley . . . and by Stu Inman a better player. Good Luck Moses. xtabuiq odi Who wants to involve you JA N E CEASE FOR S TA T E R E P R E S E N T A TIV E C O M M IT TE E • D A L E S. W ALHOO D, TREA SU RER • 2625 N .E . HANKCOCK, PO R TLA N D 97212 ROZELL’S Rozell’e will give 10% ef your purchase price to your church or charity when you purchase in groups of tea or more. Visit RozeU’e - your drive-in. Featuring: Bar-B-Q. Sea Food, Burgers, Potato Pie, Shakes and Soft Ice Cream- 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Sun-Thurs 10:00 a.m. to 12 midnight, F ri & Sat N .E . U N IO N A T AIN SW O RTH 5949 N .E . Union .1 * to get over is to vote. Black America has paid a high price for the vote. From the un-kept p ro m is e s of re c o n struction, to the vio lence that threatened voter registration of the 60s, Blacks have filled h is to ry pages w ith pleas, con fron ta tion , and finally struggle to win their franchise as W illie Stargell American citizens. Now, as a result of voting power, Blacks have becom e a viable political force in America. The 1970’s have witnessed the election of num erous officials on every level of government. Blacks have won m ayorships in many cities. And, per haps the most signifi ca n t of all a c h ie v e ments, the creation of one of the most impor ta n t c o n g re s s io n a l powers in history. The Black Caucus. It's a fact of Ameri N ikki Giovanni can life that real change j in terms of politics only comes through voting. Whether it’s getting a bill through Congress, or having the sanitation department do a better job at collecting the gar bage. It’s the people you put into office that make these things happen be cause they represent you and your willing W ills Benge ness to sha pe y o u r environment. . „ People like Willa Benge, Community Re lations Specialist for the Gulf Oil Corporation; ------------—------------ Ossie Davis, Actor/Di- rector; Willie Stargell, one of Baseball’s greats; and Nikki Giovanni, Au thor and Poet, urge you to vote. They are all in fluential in their own right, and their knowl edge of the Am erican s y s te m has h e lp e d them get over. But when it’s time to make a per sonal political state Ossie Davis ment, they vote. Doyou? 4x4*8 - PIC KU PS, SCOUTS. T R A V E L -A L LS , CAB A CHASSIS, G E N E R A L SER VIC ES A D M IN IS T R A T IO N F E D E R A L SUPPLY SER V IC E PERSONAL PROPERTY D IV IS IO N A U B U R N ,W A S H IN G TO N 98002 □unity owned Gulf Oil Corporation. Becaaee 11*7 ‘»eaua eaerqy that really cosato.
