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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 1978)
I l**yy 8 Portland Obee>-ver Thursday. June 8, 1978 Davis: Good defense best offense by Hill Paul Peterson, seventh grader Winston Jr. High in Winston. Oregon, entered the long jum p and high jump. In the qualifying meet held in Roseburg he cleared 5':T in the u t his boat Saturday was 5*1". JoAnn W inchester. Grant junior, makes a mighty effort a t the discus throw , but the might was not enough. She’ll do better next Don't get D arrel (Mouael Davis wrong. Portland State University's head football roach really doesn't give short shrift to the defensive aspect of the game. But he believes that a good offense is still the best offensive. Davis, whose PSU teams have led N C A A Division 11 schools in passing and total offense the past three years, sees no reason to change his approach to football, an approach that has made him and the Vikings winners of 70 percent of their games (23 wins. 10 defeats) in three years. “We have found that our offensive approach has been a very productive means of putting the ball in the end sone." Davis said. “W e also believe it has a great appeal to a lot of skill kids. For example, we lost a tremendous number of receivers last season but we have been able to recruit another excellent group." And what about defense? "We believe very strongly in defense, too. and when you get in a tight game you've got to play tough defense." Davis said. “W e believe it's (defense! a very Sports Talk bv Ron Sykes Irving Park's L ittle League program is probably the largest program in the city. It annually supplies recreation for over 300 boys and girls. The program has been in existence for 24 years and has continually been a very successful one . . . sending teams to California twice at the 10-12 level and another tw o times at the senior 13-15 level. And each time they competed well, almost going on to the world series on both divisions. The softball program, only in its third year, has grown in leaps and bounds and is now one of 1.500 leagues currently competing in the U.S W ith a program 90 meaningful it is a shame that it is about to end at Irvin g Park, and all because the adults in the community will not participate. “People in our community have de veloped negative attitudes." says Coach Lou Harris, “and without trying to do something, they just simply say, we can't, and that's not right." says Harris. Further exploring the difficulty of nonparental participation. Vice President Charles Brown had this to say, “I t ’s very disappointing that we get no support from mothers or fathers. I don't know why they won’t come out . . . their kids are there, and we surely need the help in all areas." W ith L ittle League baseball now enter mg its fifth decade it has certainly made a tremendous impact on our society, and even some societies far distant from our own i.e., China. Japan and Taiwan. Baseball, on the L ittle League level, was devised as a child's game meant to give the little ones the opportunity to play the game somewhat similar to that of their professional idols. And mainly, it has succeeded in it's efforts. The game, as handed down by L ittle League headquarters, is supposed to be one “of the kids, for the kids, and by the kids." As we all know this program is only workable if the adults of the community make it possible. And it's this dull, gray area that causes the problem, at least in the Black community. It's sad to say but it's true. Our Black adults w ill not get involved in something, so im portant, and it is as important as L ittle League baseball. Sure th ey’re willing to send their youngsters out to the park and let the L ittle League coaches and managers do the babysitting, but when the need arises for help in umpiring, fund raising, etc. the much needed bodies (adults) are nowhere to be found. Most people are unaccustomed to what goes on behind the scenes in a L ittle League program. Some would be amazed at the constant bickering and the sense less fighting that occurs. For a program to be successful the organization should run just as any other well structured business. I t should apply the same sound business principles as M eier and Frank or Fred M eyer. But at Irvin g Park this is applied theory only. In actuality it is pure comedy. Instead of pulling together . . . most are on ego trips and pulling apart. N ot remembering at all that the game is for the kids. Ego trips? You bet! It's sad when grown adults act like 12-year-old kids. And it's even worse when these adults are given responsibi lity through the league’s election process and accept this responsibility, only to later completely shirk the duty of the office. Like most leagues Irving has it ’s share of the good guys and without people like Charlie Brown. W alter Bridges and a few more hard workers the baseball program would certainly cease. But with the good there's also the bad. It seems that Irving is infested with people that are two feet tall with elevator shoes, and carry egos 20 feet tall. These are the little ones that cause the big problems. I f these people and the obstacles caused by them are ever to be overcome, then some new blood must become involved . . . and the sooner the better. Grant H i and former Irvin g Park baseball standout. D a rry l Motley was selected in the second round by Kansas City of the American League. M otley, who will play in the Oregon High School all star game in The Dalles this weekend, has signed a national letter of intent to play baseball for the Arizona State Sundevils. The question now is whether Motley will play for pay, or attend the Arizona school. " W e ll wait and see w hat’s offered,” said a beaming Lou Motley, D a rry l’s dad. Lou Motley had this to say. “W e ll wait and see what's offered moneywise. We would like to see D arryl go to college, but then the final decision will of course be his." Motley was drafted for A A A ball and will likely, if he chooses the pro game, be in the majors in a couple of years. Two months ago a young w rite r out of New York made big waves around the NB A by announcing that Portland w ant ed to unload their all-pro forward M au rice Lucas. Peter Vecsey. w riting for the New ' ocfc Times stated that Blazer braaa were unhappy with “L uke” and were seeking a deal to bring Indiana's Larry Bird to Portland replacing Lucas. This was immediately and steadfastly denied by the teams front office. Now rumors linking the Blazers and the 6*9” Bird are cropping up all over again. Perhaps M r. Vecsey wasn't all wet after all. Maurice . . . could juat possibly be in trouble . . . but why would anyone trade the best for a mere question mark? "A 'N o ' av e rt* » « v e rity trouble*." Indian Proverb important reason why you win.” Davis realises the Vikings haven't been as successful defensively as they have been on the other side of the ball (they have surrendered an average of about three touchdowns a game the past two years). “I think what happens to us is that we play a lot of teams that are very gifted and in some respects physically bigger, stronger and faster than we are," he said. " It ’s kind of like Oregon and Oregon State playing Southern California week in and week out. We can't always throttle them. But I think we play a strong, solid defense relative to the teams we play against." Actually. Davis said, defense gets first dibbies at PSU. “I f we get some big kids who can run fast we put them on defense,” Davis said. “If it comes down to a choice, we put them on defense first." W'hat has been happening at PSU, however, is that the Vikings are attract ing players whose abilities are much more conducive to offense. "The little kid can come here and be very effective on offense," Davis said. “W hat it all boils down to is that we try to recruit the best athletes available. That's all you can do.” Davis said he was pleased with the quality of PSU'a latest recruiting efforts but admits he’ll have difficulty finding replacements for some graduated stars, including four who were drafted by National Football League teams. Wide receiver Dave Stief wax chosen by the St. Louis Cardinals, fullback Jeff Salta was selected by the Seattle Sea hawks and offensive guard Phil Cam and defensive tackle Dan Bolton were picked by the Oakland Raiders. “I think we'll be a little better defen sively this year," Davis said. "We changed our defensive philosophy a year ago and now we've geared it to how we recruit on offense - getting kids in the 190 to 200 pound range who can run around and pursue quickly. We've got a good number of potentially fine lineback er«. I think our fans will like them." Davis said PSU, which had been flirting with the idea of relinquishing its independent status for conference affilia tion, has given up that idea, at least for the time being. The university has withdrawn its application to join the Rig Sky Conference. “We think it's in the best interests of Portland State to remain an indepen dent," Davis said. "There's no conference affiliation that looks good right now." Davis pointed out that the Vikings will be playing a number of Big Sky teams this season and no longer will compete against smaller N A IA schools. “I f we get good enough we’ll be in an attractive position for bids to post season games," Davis said. "And in the long run we'll be ahead financially. W e won't have to share receipts with other confer ence members. And it costs anywhere from $12.000 to $15,000 a year for conference affiliation I'd rather use that money for grants-in-aid." Timbers lose exhibition by D a v id O ’Toole The Portland Tim bers played a friend ly game of soccer at laat Thursday's exhibition game aa they hosted the Bristol City Rovers of the English Lea gue. The Timbers thought themselves to be a little too friendly, for they lost 1-0 before a crowd of 8.038 at the Civic Stadium. Both teams played well defensively in the scoreless first half. Each team got off five shots, keepers Shaw (Bristol) and Poole each made one save. Portland midfielder John Bain suffered a twisted knee in the game. Both Bain and defender Brian McNeil are on loan from Bristol City. Bristol City belongs to the 22 team English 1st division, and finished 18th this season. A t 73 minutes into the game. Chris Garland of Bristol crossed a ball to Kevin Mabbutt. The Timbers defense was overloaded on the right side and Mabbutt had no trouble scoring the goal past keeper Mick Poole. The Timbers had two good scoring opportunities in the second half. The fans were anticipating a goal when Ebon Seale booted a corner kick to Clyde Best. Best's header was kicked away by Rover defender Jimmy Mann. W ith 2 ’A minutes remaining in the game, Brian Gant almost tied up the score for Portland when his shot from 25 yards bounced off the goal post. Both the Timbers and the Rovers played without four of their players. Portland was minus Ike M cKay, Jimmy Conway, W illie Anderson, and Clive Charles. 0 Prices Good T od ay th ru June 14, 1978. 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