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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 14, 1977)
had before. Maurice opened with a 20 foot prayer that was answered and Portland was off. Opening tempo was very fast and unsure officiating led to very brutal play. NBA officals... 1 believe, after viewing the incompetency exhibited by the stand in referees, whose names now escape me. tand who cares anyway), I will never criticize NBA officials any more. The game Tuesday night was brutal to say the least and got completely out of control. Both teams finally realized they could get away with almost anything, so they did. After the first quarter they were no longer making steals, they were just simply strong-arming. Although Sports Talk by R * 8 A * Sporta Editer ■ Well, finally they're here, the NBA playoffs. We've disposed of the Stick Watts theory, we’ve won six in a row. and finally hanging one on LA. although it was a meaningless game for Jerry West 's Lakers. Ano they played so lackadaisical throughout the contest, seemingly want ing to only finish the season and avoid injuries to key personnel. Portland vs. Chicago - Blazers domin ated the Bulls during the regular season winning 4 0. But don't let complacency set in because right now Chicago is the hottest club in the entire league. Since losing to Portland in Chicago, in a game climaxed by Bill Walton’s tossing of the ball into the far reaches of Chicago Stadium. Chicago has won 20 of their last 24 games. And believe me down the stretch, and when it really counted no one was better. Look for Portland to come out running and gunning, and if Chicago allows this to happen then Au Revoir for the late-charging Bulls. Chicago, to win. must slow the tempo and force Portland into turnovers. The keys defensively will be in stopping Chicago’s Mickey Johnson and hot shoot ing Wilbur Holland. Bill Walton, of course, must continue his dominance of Artis Gilmore for the Blazers to be successful. This, however, could develop into quite a due! since Gilmore seemingly has gained praise and confidence. Artis finished the season fourth in rebounding, at 13 per game, and sixth in field goal at .522. My pick Blazers 2-1. Detroit vs. Golden State Although Detroit won 3 out of 4 during the regular season 1 look for Golden State to take both games at home and beat the Pistons in a tough series. A lot depends on the play or lack of play on the part of Jamaal Wilkes. Jamaal will play against Detroit, but it was rumored earlier that he might not. Wilkes, the W arrior’s third year forward sensation, missed the final regular season games after his first child, born by Caesarian section iast week, was found to have a slight heart murmur. Coach Attles has said Robert Parish, his seven foot rookie center out of Centenary, would get the nod at forward if Jamaal is unable to go. This could be both good and bad for Golden State. It will definately give them added rebounding, strength, and they were soundly out rebounded by Detroit during the regular season, but it will also seriously hamper their mobility. And getting out on the break without Wilkes could prove to be difficult. My pick - Golden State. One local sportswriter, in his column last week, disagreed with pistol Pete Maravich's calling of Abdul-Jabbar as the best center in basketball. That writer called Jabbar the greatest offensive center, and isn't it funny how some people try to minimize Kareem's strength and scoring and then maximize Walton's defense? When analyzing Jabbar’s game this local writer simply states that Kareem is supreme “only’' on defense, continually playing down this very important part of the game. Now, also, downing Maravich by saying Pete is only known for playing one end of the court. Therefore, implying that Mr. Maravich is unqualified to judge on any thing but offense. O.K. fine, then if that were true. How can be believe a 5’3” sportswriter who obviously has never played either end of an NBA court? It's my belief that if the question on evaluating ability was put to one's peers that sportswriter would certainly win in journalism and this w riter would have to go with Maravich in basketball. Our writer was careful to say that although he happened to be Caucasian that that was not the basis of his evaluation. Then I wonder why he bothered to include that? Was he feeling a little guilty? For the second time in consecutive years Jabbar was chosen by his peers, and that must mean something. I gues if Mr. Sportswriter would bother to marvel at the wonders of Jabbar 41 games per year instead of four, then perhaps he too would recognize Kareem as being supreme. Merci beaucoup. What a difference a year makes. A year ago Portland travelled to Seattle for a game that meant nothing, at least nothing to our Blazers. Seattle was playoff bound and happiness filled the air. Riding high in April, shot down in May, that's life! For the Sonic fans it wasn't quite as abrupt as that, however. I t ’s more like riding high last year...but rock bottom this year. And the beautiful thing about the Seattle demise is that it was Portland's playoff-bound Blazers that helped supply the coup d'grace on the Sonics. winning the series 3-1 and keep ing the Sea-Port Trophy another year. And speaking of differences, how about fan appreciation of Lionel Hollins? I ’ve known from the start that Hollins had all the tools, but Portland's fans for reasons, or for reasons previously stated in this column, refused to recognize, or just didn’t want to recognize, the young man s talent. New all of a sudden Hollins has emerged as one of the NBA s finest, and now the Portland fans are accepting. What a pity it took so long.. Who can forget the 1975 Far West Classic where Lionel Hollins, then from Arizona State, and U of 0 ’s Ronnie Lee met head to head in a shoot out that would have made the now famous shoot out at O.K. corral envious. W yatt Earp and Doc Holliday would have had to take a back seat to these talented southpaws the way they went at each other at the MC. Lionel scored 30 points to lead all scorers and Ronnie was not far behind with 26. But in this contest it was more than how many each scored, but the leadership and over all game made it a classic. One could just drool at the thought of having them together in the same back court. Hollins and Lee are somewhat similar in their play. Both are exceptional leapers. handle the ball well, and can score. When it comes to quickness, the edge goes to Lionel, in fact, there isn’t another guard in the NBA quicker with the ball, and that includes all of the NBA. WHAT NEXT? The Denver Nuggets marched serenely to the Midwest Division Championships, but New York Post columnist Peter Vecsey claims all is not well with the former ABA team. Vecsey claims several players are unhappy with coach Larry Brown who. KBOO Radio seeks subscribers KBOO, 90.7 FM . is having their Spring 1977 Pledge Week Marathon from April 23 to April 30. KBOO is Oregon's only listener supported, listener-owned, non-commer cial radio station. They feature some of the most diversified programming in the United States; during any given week a listener can hear baroque and classical music, jazz, bluegrass, music from other countries, and public affairs programs emphasizing community news and minor ity viewpoints. KBOO has existed for eight yearn, and has never aired a commercial advertise ment. The station relies on direct listener support to pay for its operation. Listeners subscribe to KBOO's monthly program guide at the average rate of $25 a year, and become voting membrs of the KBOO Foundation, which owns KBOO radio. KBOO is looking for at least 500 new subscribers during the Spring Marathon. The station's operating costs have risen dramatically this month due to an in crease in broadcasting power from 1500 watts to 12,000 watts, and a move to larger studios in downtown Portland. KBOO is appealing for renewed sup port from its current listeners, and is also offering itself to potential new listeners. Tune in KBOO at 90.7 for a refreshing alternative to commercial radio. Call 234 5431 for a free sample program guide, or better yet, become a subscriber by dialing 223-KBOO between April 23-30th. PORTLAND CLEANING WORKS a N X PORTLAND ONE DAY SERVICE NORTH Miner RSMira - Ne Charge P M -ap A Delivery 2S2-8361 KNIT BLOCKING OUR SPECIALTY 30 56 N. W M nrn A « . N. Alexander, Proprietor Walton was not his usual dominating self, for on thia eve Mr. Gilmore wouldn't be dominated or intimidated, as usual Pill's leade'anip was evident. And passing . . . no one, but no one can pass like Big Red. A h an NBA center. Walton has few equals. In fart, only Jabbar is rated higher. Maurice broke his mini-slump at the right time as evidenced by his strong play against the Bulls. Lucas hit 14 17 from the floor and was strong on the boards. Those of you that might like to welcome the Blazers home after the Chicago game should be advised that they will arrive via Northwest flight 47 at 1:43 p.m. Saturday. April 16th. •» ■_ t w — ;.<■ /ir-WÍF a Genevas: National champs TRAIN ARRIVES . . . Hollins drive« pa«t the peoky Norm Van Lier io Blazer win dVer Bulls. (Photo: Sue Hamilton| they say. lacks the know-how to adjust to play-off pressures. Larry's passing game, the player’s believe, will not work in the play-offs. The Denver players seem to believe that everyone will bottle up the middle against them in the play-offs. Also they seem to believe that their fast break will be non-existant due to teams drop ping back that third player instead of sending him to the boards. Center Dan Issel is the least respected Nugget, according to the same players. Writes Vecsey: "They accuse him of having no heart . . . they point to one incident that tells it all about Issel. Kansas City center Sam Lacey was all over him during their first meeting, hammering him to death. A fter a while, Dan couldn't take it any longer. "Hey Paul," he called over to Silas. “Get this guy off of me.” Which brings to mind a similar incident in Oakland involving superstar and super hot head. Rick Barry. After engaging in a slight altercartion with Ricky Sobers of Phoenix, and coming out on the short end, it seems Barry became angry with his team-mates for not helping him with Sobers. Barry was so enraged at his fellow players that he refused to take a shot from the floor during the entire second half. Subsequently his team was eliminated by Phoenix in the seventh game. The Texas Ranger suspended second baseman Lenny Randle and penalized him some 23,000 dollars for his incredible attack on manager Frank Lucchesi. Ran die offered to apologize to Lucchesi, but Luccesi said, “No way, not even if he crawled on his hands and knees would I accept his apology.” said he played for Coach Wooden for two years and that he loved him as a coach, as a man and as a human being. Coach Wooden declared that the feel ing was mutual. The Atlanta Braves are still searching for someone to toss out the first ball for their home opener Friday night. IJllian Carter, mother of the President, origin ally was scheduled to do the honors but she subsequently was checked in to a Washington hospital for a brief stay. The Braves then sent out invitations to Gerald Ford, Queen Elizabeth, Margaret Trudeau, Farrah Fawcette-Majors and Sylester Stallone. As yet. nobody has accpted and at least one has definitely been scratched. Farrah Fawcett's asking price, accord ing to the Braves, was $50,000. Whow! I know she's a looker, but does she also have a golden arm? 12,741 cheer Blazers to victory Opening night at the MC saw an unusually early arriving crowd with 17:55 showing on the Coliseum clock, that's before game-time, the house was 95 per cent filled. The Blazers, this Tuesday night, were launching their maiden voyage through the NBA play-off stream, and their fans were early, ready and rowdy. Jack Ramsey donned his new playoff outfit, a beautiful brand new, baby blue blazer and plaid maroon and blue trous ers. Yes, Jack was ready too. Two minutes before game time the playoff crowd was on its feet and giving the team an ovation like they've never The Fourth Annual 6 foot and under National Tourney was held March 25, 26, and 27th in Tacoma, Washington. Teams from the United States and Canada competed for the title which was won by Geneva's lounge of Portland, Oregon. Geneva's beat Eagle Paper Box of Tacoma for the National title 96-96. Geneva's was coached by James Timms, former Jefferson player, and moat of the team was comprised of former P .I.L. stars. Geneva's placed three men on the all-tourney team: Howard Avery, former Benson star, Teddy Beasley, Jeff and David Littleton, the tourney's M VP, and formerly of Washington High. There were five dunks in the entire tournament and all five came from M VP Littleton. Geneva's was down by four points with thirty seconds to go. Coach Timms called for a time out and Geneva's came out smoking forcing two quick turnovers that led to four Geneva points to tie the game. Geneva's scored on a break away, led by two and held off a desperation attempt at the buzzer for the victory. “Our praise, experience and patience won for us,’’ explained an elated Timms. Geneva's marched through the top bracket on their way to victory beating University McDonald's of Seattle in the Opener 115-105, Buffs Tavern of Tacoma fell 116-97 and then toppling Eagle Paper Box for the title. A resting adult breathes from 14 to 20 times a minute! B. B. KING Appearing at: Hayloft Tavern 5411 Mil! Plain Blvd. Vancouver, Washington 2 SHOWS N IG H T L Y 3:30 A 11:00 A P R IL 28. 29. 30th T IC K E T S : »5.50 A V A IL A B L E AT: A L L M E IE R A F R A N K STORED Hayloft Tavern Marquee thanks God A fter being presented the first annual John R. Wooden Award as the best collegiate basketball player in America Sunday night by the Los Angeles Athlet ic Club, Johnson thanked his entire family for making it all possible. Johnson ) -e Stretch ye try EZ Dating Call Vickie own family
