Pefl® 10 P ortlan d O bservar February 2 8,1
Sports Talk
by Ron Sykes
Sports editor
Roberto Duran rated number one
by both the WBA and WBC soundly
whipped Wellington Wheately, the
Latin American champ at 147 lbs.
Wheately ranked seventh, was no
match for the hard hitting Duran.
Wheately scored with a good jab
and a few combinations to win the
opening round but after that it was
all Duran. Wellington went down in
the second round after taking a solid
right to the head. This was the first
time the Latin champ had ever been
floored in his young career. Duran
had him down twice more before
finally finishing him in the sixth.
Duran considered by many as the
greatest fighter pound for pound in
the last decade seemingly has a per­
sonal vendetta against Black
fighters. In the past he’s made the
following quotes after a tough fight
w ith P o rtla n d ’ s Ray Lam pkin,
Roberto said, "The next time I get
in the ring with him (Lampkin) I ’ m
going to kill him.”
What he did in reality was to end
Ray’s career.
Before the fight with Wellington
Wheately Duran stated, " H e ’s got
only three more days to live.” He
then proceeded to KO the Latin
flash. Now he’s publicly stated that
he’s sincere, dedicated and working
hard so that, " I will destroy Sugar
Ray Leonard.”
Duran is without doubt a great
fighter and so far he has dominated
all that he’s met. But there’s always
someone, somewhere that’ s just a
little better. And the laws o f gravity
tells us that what goes up must come
down. M r. Duran has finally, or will
meet his match whenever he takes
on Sugar Ray.
Duran has been up fo r seven
years, and now Leonard will be the
one to bring him down. And you
can bet on it.
Duran seems to be especially up
for Black fighters, and always seems
to want to kill or destroy them for
some reason known only to him.
The belief here is that the
Panamanian is on a collision course
and w ill end up a loser against
Leonard.
Kudos to our amazing USA
Hockey Team fo r capturing the
gold. Probably shouldn’t expound
on hockey much further. Everyone
is now caught up in the excitement
o f the whole thing, but it’ s doubtful
if most o f us really know the d if­
ference between iceing and o ff sides.
But weren’ t the 1976 Olym pic
Boxing Team something else. And
they’ re s till marvelous. Last
weekend we had a chance to view
two fighters, Howard Davis, 135 lbs
and M ichael Spinks, 175. W hile
Davis struggled on his way to a close
decision, Michael was devasting and
finally, after years o f helping his
brother Leon, showed the world
that he’s ready and able.
RATING TOP FREE AGENTS
I f there’ s gold in dem dere hills,
then this year's crop o f NBA free
agents are going prospecting. Some
will strike it rich, while others will
come up empty.
Peter Versey, writing for Basket­
ball Times, gives his views on the
1980 graduating class.
Lionel H o llin s: (traded from
Portland to Philly on Feb. 9 for a
first round draft choice.) Almost
two years o f injuries have devolved
him considerably. Was once one o f
top eight guards in league and still
could be i f healthy. I ’d gamble on
him because he’s solid citizen and
still young at 26.
FRED BROWN: He’s a fixture in
Seattle as long as he doesn’ t get
crazy and demand the outrageous.
Freddy won’t. He now has accepted
his role and at 32 he knows where
it’s at.
R IC K Y SOBERS: Is having a
decent year, but I can’ t see him
being heavily recruited, unless the
Marines feel he’ s worth it.
LA R R Y KEN O N : H aving a
lousey year and demand for him
might be less than you’d expect.
B IL L W ILLO U G H B Y : Should
finish second to John Roche for
c o m e b a c k -o f-th e -y e a r a w a rd .
Proved he belongs in pros, but,
again, should be loyal to Cav coach
Stan Albeek for giving him a chance
when no one else would.
AUSTIN CARR: Been too long
in Cleveland. Needs a change and if
someone’ s smart they’ ll sign him.
Has some good years left in him and
won’t cost that much to land him.
Compensation w on’ t be drastic
either.
GUS W IL L IA M S : Only draws
JI75.OOO, but teammate Dennis
Johnson might have sapped owner
Sam Schulman o f all his generosity.
Wants nothing better than to remain
in Seattle. ( If owner allows Gus to
leave he’ s got to be the world’s wor­
st owner, and that includes Larry
Weinberg.)
CEDRIC M A X W E LL: Boston’ s
forgotten man, except by teammates
and opponents. Presence down low
allows Dave Cowens to roam out­
side. Deserves huge upscaling and
should have no trouble getting it
because he’ s intrical part o f winning
form ula. Bidding on him w ill be
heavy. (M axw ell and T iny A r ­
chibald along with Larry Bird is
receivi
(Maxwell and Tiny Archibald along
with tree agent M .L. Carr are main
reasons rookie L a rry Bird is
receiving so much ink.)
Ali: The tool of white America
By Ullysses Tucker, Jr.
Several months ago this journalist
wrote that Muhammad A li was the
greatest Black role model to ever set
foot in the world o f sports.
Well, after hours o f intense con­
templation and listening to opinions
o f others, not to mention America’ s
recent exp lo ita tio n o f his per­
sonality, a new opinion has been
developed.
A li, is the man who won the
heavyweight title three times, the
man who showed Black people that
they could stand up to the op­
pressive system when he defied the
draft in 1976. At the time Ali was
quoted as saying “ I ’ m 90 percent a
Muslim, and 10 percent a fighter,”
which is a strong statement.
More recently, the controversial
ex-fighter contradicted his once
respected philosophy when he
openly supported the Carter ad­
m inistration’ s attempt to reinstate
the draft o f youths between the ages
of 18 and 20.
Docs A li know that Blacks are
always drafted disproportionally
than other ethnic groups? Does he
know that a war would be a great
way to stim ulate the American
economy, and a way to curve the
high population? Does A li know
that Black people will be the first to
go if a war breaks out?
Does he openly supports the
systematic elimination o f our race?
To say he supports the draft is to
answer all these statements yes - to
make matters worst, A li then said
that he “ would be one o f the first to
volunteer to defend the United
States o f America.” Is he now 10
percent M uslim and 90 percent a
fighter?
After the American government
MUHAMMAD ALI
saw how easily they could exploit
A li, they sent him on a mission to
Africa to urge Africans to boycott
the Summer Olympics in Moscow.
A li’s peace mission caused mixed
reactions in several o f the countries,
and one country, Tanzania refused
to meet him because President
Julius Nyerere thought that he was
being used as a tool by America.
A li had the nerve to say after­
wards that " I'm glad that he didn’t
talk to me to show the world that he
doesn’ t like the message that I
had...”
STOP LOOKING
BUY TOMORROW'S SECURITY FOR
YOUR FAMILY TODAY
Personally, Nyerere did A li a
favor by not taking part in the ex­
p lo ita tio n o f his personality. At
least the Tanzanian government will
have a clean conscience when A li
tails flat on his face. The Kenyan
government met w ith A li out o f
courtesy rather than trying to talk
about the boycott.
While in Kenya, A li visited a wild
animal park near Nairobi where he
wanted to box a lion, since he had
beaten all the men on earth. " I ’m
out to conquer the animals and
monsters. I ’ ll be the universal
A PERSONAL M O M E N T
FOR TH O SE W H O CARE
We see jet streams in the sky,
the airplane crew does not. As
children we have encountered
the jet stream left by adults.
Good and bad these memories
live with us today. Those
people are not aware of this,
just as we are not aware of the
jet stream we leave for todays
child. Thanks to love, many jet
streams will be kindly remem­
bered.
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cham pion,” A li told Associated
Press.
He left his car twice, charging-
al ter antelopes and zebras on foot.
They became frightened and ran
away. A li was lucky that there were
no lions in sight.
How can a man o f A li’ s status
stoop so low? To the point where he
has as much credibility as the dollar
with his race — a man who millions
o f Afro-Am ericans looked to for
wisdom, motivation, and leadership
has failed all those who respected
him . A man w ho’ s voice rang
around the world when he spoke has
turned into a silent whisper...
Here’ s a much used quote that
can sum up A li’s predicament, “ He
who is used and knows that he’ s
being used is wise, he who is used
and doesn’ t know that he’ s being
used is a fo o l...” Wise up A li!!
SUMMER JOB
Looking fo r a summer job? Age 15 but not yet 19?
Outdoor work in the woods interest you?
The Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) is looking for
you.
See your work experience coordinator at your High
School.
or call Mel Loftus. MT. Hood National Forest
Phone:503-667-0511