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Pae® 10 Portland Observer Thursday. October 19, 1978
Sports Talk
By the time we go to press this
thrill-packed W orld Series will be
history. And if my prediction holds
true the Dodgers will have folded
and New York would become the first
team in history to win this autumn
classic after losing the first two
games. Too much attention, by the
Dodgers, has been directed to the
controversial play in game four
caused by Reggie Jackson.
“ The Jackson play really hurt
us,” lamented an obviously shaken
Tony
Lasorda.
Lasorda
was
referring to the play in the seventh
inning where Jackson was accused,
by Lasorda, o f interferring by letting
a ball thrown by Dodger shortstop
Bill Russell, hit him on the hip. Right
or wrong that was only h alf o f the
play, the first wrong was committed
by Bill Russell, who obviously drop
ped the ball intentionally to get a
double play.
The rule, if applied, would have
ruled the batter out and eliminated
Russell's attempt at a double play.
I t ’s strange that M r. Lasorda never
mentioned that.
And in the fifth game the Dodgers
looked like the true ‘ bums’ o f the old
Brooklyn days. Their infield looked
like they had just attended the Bad
News Bears movie and was trying to
imitate their young heroes.
October brings us many things,
autumn and golden rods and
Halloween. But Halloween and all its
little goblins must take a back seat to
professional sports this time o f year.
W hile we’re still wondering who’s
going to win the M V P in M a jo r
League baseball, commending the
best players in both the American
and National Leagues, and also
wondering if Ron Guidry, o f the
New Y o rk Yankees will be a
unanimous choice for A .L . Cy
Young award, honoring the leagues
best pitcher, and knowing, too, that
football is in progress and wondering
if Green Bay is really back, as they’re
5-1 record would indicate, but
knowing fully well that they’ve yet to
encounter a really formidable op
ponent.
And while we're concentrating on
all this we suddenly realize the N B A
is in progress and that some attention
should be focused in this direction.
So here comes my picks for the
coming N B A season:
P A C IF IC D IV IS IO N
1. Los Angeles — Coach Jerry
West is still weak in his front court.
Keith Wilkes, 6 ’6 ” , former U C L A
great and Adrian Dantley, 6’5 ” and
ex-Notre Dame standout are just not
ideal to compliment the uncom
parable Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
Los Angeles needs a bona fide
strong forward to go all the way.
W ith guard Norm Nixon, coming o ff
a brilliant rookie season and the ad
dition o f Ron Boone L .A . now ap
pears to be ready.
2. Seattle Super Sonics — and only
i f there are no m ajor L .A . injuries.
These two clubs are really close. The
acquisition o f Lonnie Shelton, 6 ’8 ” ,
former New Y ork Knick to this club
will help more than some people
realize.
Shelton adds speed to an already
super quick team. Seattle’s guard
corp, Dennis Johnson, Gus Williams
and Fred Brown is perhaps the
quickest and best in the division.
The big i f for Seattle is at center
where they’ ve acquired Tom LaGar-
de, 6 ’ 10“ from Denver.
3. Portland Trailblazers — W hat a
difference a year makes. Portland has
gone from a solid club, last year, to a
by Ron Sykes
Sports Editor
also-ran this year
Injuries have
played a major role in the demise o f
the 1977 W orld Champions. And ace
pro center. Bill W alto n ’s sudden
defection hasn’t helped. Portland
I will contend, but with the 6 ’ 10” Tom
Owens in the middle, will never win.
Owen's can shoot but can’t outleap a
frog and his stamina is a big, big,
question m ark.
Rookie Mychal
Thompson will play. The guards arc
more than adequate and the forward
position at least adequate. Center
position, the key spot, relegates the
Blazers to No. 3 in the Pacific. If ,
just if. Bill W alton returns and plays
. . . then Portland will win.
4. Phoenix — Like Portland, the
big need is at center. Alvan Adams is
not ideal for the pivot. Strong point
is at guard where Ronnie Lee, Dave
Westphal and Don Buse excels.
Rookie o f the year Walter Davis,
is rapidly becoming one o f the best
small forwards in the game.
5. Golden State — problems
galore — C liffo rd Ray and the 7’ ,
Robert Parish just do not get the job
done. Still weak up front and lack
speed in the backcourt. Last years
starter, at guard, Ricky Marsh, has
cleared waivers.
6. San Diego — not a bad team on
paper but moved to a tough division
(Pacific).
Sidney Wicks is closer to home
now after traveling to such far-away
places as New Orleans and that
racially
prejudiced
city
in
Massachusetts called Boston.
The clippers strong point is at for
ward
with
Wicks and Kermit
Washington. Randy Smith offers
solidity at guard, but otherwise the
backcourt lacks experience in rookie
Freeman W illiam s, ex-PSU star,
operating as the fourth guard.
Barring injuries, and the possible
return o f W alton, the Pacific should
end as predicted.
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Perhaps it was an indication o f the
times that the traditional opening
ceremony
for
the
Portland
Trailblazers first game o f the season
was not as elaborate as in past years.
The Blazer team that opened this
years season was only a spectre o f the
mighty Blazers o f a year ago. The
state o f affairs, to be sure, appeared
precarious to all fans present. But as
the game
progressed
and
the
Trailblazers held their own against
Artis Gilm ore and company, it
became clear that this years team will
be destined for better days.
The rookies were particularly out
standing, especially the highly touted
Mychal Thompson. When a team
can play competitively without the
entire front-line that composed their
best team ever, the situation, when
two o f the three return looks en
couraging — to say the least. The
Trailblazers, esto pertetua!
"V
IT’S CHEAPER BEFORE 8.
If you get up early and call
before 8 a.m., you nave money.
In fact this is the cheapest long
distance rate in the book.
It’s a particularly good deal
when you figure 8 a.m. on the
west coast is 11 a.m. in New
York. Or 10 a.m. in St. Louis.
Actually, you get at least
twice as much talk for the same
money at 7:59 a.m. as you do
when you call at 8:00 a.m. But
he sure and dial direct, with
out operator assistance.
I Pacific Northwest Bell
Added C a ss AAA leagues
receive OSAA consideration
by Bill Schaefer
Something new may be added to
the Oregon high school sports scene
later
this
m onth.
But
some
knowledgeable observers feel the
state should leave bad enough alone.
On October 30th, the delegate
assembly o f the Oregon School Ac
tivities Association will meet to con
sider a recommendation o f the
O S A A ’ s board o f control to expand
from eight to ten the number of districts
foT Class A A A schools. The meeting
will be held at 9:00 a.m . at the
Ramada Inn in Tualatin and it is
open to the public.
The reason for the proposed ex
pansion o f districts — in the eyes o f
the board o f control — is to correct
the obvious imbalance in the number
o f schools already in the districts.
The W ilco League, for example, has
fifteen schools while the Southern
district has nine. Expansionists say
it’s not fair that a nine-team district
should be allowed to send the same
number o f representatives — tw o —
to the state playoffs. And they ob
viously have a point.
But now the trouble starts.
In football, for example, there
presently
exists
a
sixteen-team
bracket — two representatives from
the eight districts. Under a ten-
district form at, a total o f twenty
teams would participate in post
season games. This would necessitate
another round o f play for eight
teams in the first round.
Question: how should the O S A A
go about scheduling the extra round?
Should the football season start a
week earlier, then when the first
round opens have twelve teams sit
ting idle with byes for a week? O r
should the season begin at the same
time as it did this season with the
final round one week later? But there
would still be twelve teams on the
sidelines for one week.
The most controversial solution
would be to try to play three games
in a two-week period which would
allow the teams to start and end the
season at the presently scheduled
times. But wouldn’t that plan present
physical dangers to the players?
“ There are a couple o f states Iowa
and Illinois that play three games
within two weeks,”
said John
Hilsenteger,
assistant
executive
secretary o f the O S A A . “ Medical
authorities were dead set against it at
the start but over the past three years
or so they’ ve become wholeheartedly
in favor o f it.”
The problem involving basketball
would not be so difficult. Eight
teams could play for four spots the
week before tournament times, thus
bring sixteen teams to the tour
nament site.
The issue the O S A A ’s delegate
assembly should keep in mind is that
whatever solution is arrived at it does
not circumvent the reason why high
schools exist — and that is for the
students to receive an education.
Playing three football games in two
weeks might prove an academic hard
ship for some o f the athletes. This
option is the weakest o f those
available to the assembly. In any
case, redistricting is an idea whose
time has come.
American State Bank
"The Bank that integration built”
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