Page 12 Portland Observer, December 17, 1981
Trailblazer Action
to Father Time.
Those close to Ali say he has tak
en far too many punches since he
began boxing as a scrawny 12-year-
old in L o u isv ille, nearly 30 years
ago. We agree tor like others we can
easily recognize the tell-tale symp
toms. First we saw the loss o f elasti
city. W ith the loss o f elasticity
comes the steady decline o f resilien
cy, the ability to bounce back, to re
cover from illness, injury or trauma.
In Ali we first recognized his inabil
ity to snap his head back as he once
did to avoid punches. A fter age 30
we saw this once-great warrior, who
could no longer avoid punches a la
his earlier days, now using the rope-
a-dope. This style absorbed a bar
rage o f punches.
Last F rid ay night the fight that
should not have been, took place on
a small tropical island. Nassau was
the scene and it was there a legend
fell. But the saddest thing was not
his fall, but that network television
in the States would not touch a fight
by the most recognized athlete in the
w orld. So it was in obscurity that
the greatest heavyweight that ever
lived went out. A li had nothing to
prove against young T re v o r Ber-
bick, a Tighter that the champ would
have crushed in his heyday, for this
Black superman had shown the
world on so many occasions that in
the ring none could stand ta lle r,
none could move easier, and none
could throw those beautiful combi
nations in m achine-gun fashion.
Muhammad A li destroyed all those
that came before him except one.
A nd that one proved to be the
toughest opponent at all. That one
he tried so hard to beat, but he. like
so many others before him, all fell
This was the beginning o f brain
damage. M uham m ad still denies
that he has suffered brain damage
but again symptoms don’t lie.
The pu n ch -drun k Syndrom e is
much evident in A li: the ro llin g
walking on your heels g ait, th ic k
ened brow , thickened nose, cau li
flow er ears, stum bling m u ttering
speech, inability to think quickly.
Ali certainly doesn’t possess all but
anyone observing him can easily rec
ognize one pattern and that’s all it
takes.
The brain was not meant to take
such punishment as one would incur
through 15 rounds in a hard fight.
M in o r concussions result in the
brain h erm orrhaging and these
small bleeding spots cause the dam
age. It ’s there in A li. But let’s forget
the bad, for this man provided us
w ith fa r too m any good, positive
memories for us to dwell on the bad.
L e t’ s hope that this once-proud
champion will retire and relish in the
glory that he has won over so many
years.
A li was and is the p eo p le’ s
cham p. A n d fo r those o f us that
were fortunate to live during the Ali
era. we were also fortunate enough
to be a part o f history. Muhammad
A li. the Black S u p erm an , is the
greatest boxer this w o rld has
known.
The University o f Oregon W o m
en ’ s basketball team w ill set its
sights on the Giusti Tournam ent in
P o rtla n d ’ s M e m o ria l C o liseu m ,
when the Third annual Giusti tour
nament u nfurls. The Lady Ducks
are c u rren tly the n a tio n ’ s 16th-
ranked team and is 3-1 on the
season.
This year’s tournam ent features
four Northwest schools— O regon,
Oregon State. P o rtla n d State and
W ashington S ta te — and fo u r top
teams from other parts o f the coun
try — Tennessee, O h io S tate, C a li
fornia and LSU.
Tennessee, runner-up to Louisi
ana Tech in the A IA W final four in
Eugene last March, was ranked sec
ond in national pre-season polls, bu,
has had problem s in e arly season
games, losing recently to C olorado
(78-60), the team which nipped Ore
gon, 69-68 on the final o f the Cal In
vitatio nal. The Lady Vols. ranked
10th this week, are 2-4 for the sea
son.
The Ducks have a 2-0 record
against LSU, both games played last
year in the Queens Classic and at
M ac C o u rt. LS U guards Joyce
W alker and Jackie W h ite dazzled
the crowd last year and 5-8 W alker
is back this season, averaging 23
points a game. C heri G rah am , the
T ig ers’ 6-4 Parade A ll-A m e ric a n ,
freshman center, is averaging 12.1
points and 8.5 boards.
’ ’ LSU has one o f the best guards
in the nation, as we found out last
year.’ ’ said U O coach Elwin Heiny.
■’ They're a more balanced team this
year w ith G ra h am at center.
They’ve got a lot o l talent and will
be looking fo r revenge fo r last
year’s losses to us.”
The Ducks w ill open play W ed
nesday night, December 12th.
Oregon was second in the Giusti
Tournam ent last year, losing in a
heartbreaker. 68-67, ,o Old Dom in
io n . then the defending A IA W
champion.
Gluatl Tournament Schedule
Jose Slaughter, 6-5 senior guard,
was the catalyst and go, plenty o f
help from 5-10 point guard M oby
O liver. O liver ran the Pilot attack
like a man possessed. He was con
stan tly disru ptin g the O SU game
plan by m aking tim ely steals and
hitting deadly baskets.
The Pilots were to be denied on
this nigh, as they shot over .600 for
the firs, half and a steady .582 in the
second.
O SU trailed throughout the first
h alf, climbed to a three-point lead
briefly during the second, only to be
turned back by Slaughter and his Pi
lots.
P o rtla n d now has beaten U S C
and OSU back to back. Both PA C -
10 teams were considered preseason
picks to challenge U C L A fo r the
conference crown.
H o w ev er, i f the teams should
meet in the upcom ing F ar Wes,
Classic expect the Beavers, with the
emergence o f ex-Benson star A .C .
Green, to win handily.
Portland should fare well in the
W C A C race.
Friday. Dec. 18— 12 noon: Loser
game 5 vs. Loser game 6 (fo r 7,n A
8th places); 2 pm: W in ner game 5
vs. W inner game 6 (fo r 4th A 6th);
6 :3 0 pm: Loser game 7 vs. Loser
game 8 ( fo r 3rd A 5th ); 8 :3 0 pm:
Championship Game, W inner o f 7
vs. 8 (fo r 1st and 2nd).
Past Champions— 1979: Univer
sity o f Texas (R u n n eru p U C L A );
1980: Old Dominion (Runnerup O r
egon).
Welcome back. Billy Rayl
Kevin Kunnert: Is he ready to
play?
MEADOWS
A.C. ignites Beavers
A .C . is defined by Webster as an
alternating current, an electric cur
rent tha, reverses its direction regu
la rly and c o n tin u a lly and A .C .
Green is certainly doing plenty o f
that for Coach Ralph M ille r’ s O re
gon State Beavers.
The 6-8 freshman out o f Benson
High School received his firs, start
ing role agains Pep p erd in e last
S atu rd ay and responded w ith a
career high 17 points and 10 re
bounds.
The classy fo r w a r d ’ s game was
flawless and earned him a standing
ovation when he left the floor after
putting in 38 strong minutes.
Green came to OSU as one o f the
state's most heralded players.
A m ong last y e a r’ s honors were:
player o f the year, all-state, all-dis
tric t. a ll-m e tro and was chosen
M V P in the Dapper Dan classic, an
all-star game for the nation's best
prep stars held in P ittsb u rg h .
P A ------5 -1 1 as a ninth grader, A .C .
averaged 26.0 points as a 6-8 senior
forward.
A .C . comes to play every nigh,.
His stellar performances in O S U ’ s
firs, three games have earned him a
starting spot on the Beavers.
A .C . chose O S U over W ashing
ton State and the Beavers will surely
reap a p ro fit over the next fou r
years. Green could easily become an
all-American by his junior year.
Cuban boxers capture World Cup medals
A news blackout denied U.S. box
Iraq. Donald H u ll, o f the U .S, who
ers Louis Howard, Johnny and Carl
heads the International Association
Williams, and Johnny Keys their de
o f Am ateur Boxing, said, “ There
served Boxing W orld Cup honors.
are African boxing federations that
Howard took 4th in the 67 kilogram
lack the economic resources to send
class; Johnny W illiams was secohd
anybody. From now on we will have
in 81 kilograms; Carl Williams took
to consider the likelihood o f a single
firs, at 91 kilograms and Keys was
team from tha, continent.”
second at over 91 kilograms.
Addition teams represented South
Perhaps the silence was because
Am erica, Oceana and C anada, the
“ North A m erica’ ’ was represented
host.
by seven Cubans and five U.S. C iti
Team scores were: N orth A m eri
zens, each selected in recent compe
ca, 41; USSR, 36; B ulgaria, 12;
tition in Shreveport. O r could it be
Canada, 10; South A m erica, 10;
because the Cubans outfought all
Asia I (South Korea), 8; Asia I I , 5;
competitors, winning 20 o f ‘ ‘North
Oceana, 2; Africa I, I ; A frica I I , 0.
A m erica’ s” 41 points. A ll seven o f
Four Cubans won the gold. Jose
the Cuban competitors won medals.
Gomez, 75 kg, gold medal winner at
So it was left to the foreign press
the 1980 Olympics and star a ttrac
to let us know the results.
tion at the 1980 W o rld Tourney in
The Cuban press objected to the
Belgrad, defeated Yuri Torbeck o f
“ erroneous
standards"
which
the USSR.
placed the athletes o f the two coun
Angel Herrera, 57 kg., won over
tries in a misnamed “ North Am eri
Victor Rybakov o f the USSR. The
ca” team. “ Is it logical tha, Cuba,
tireless slugger has the distinction o f
the world and Olym pic champion,
being the only Cuban to have won
be made to participate in the elimin
Olym pic titles in two divisions— 57
ation for this even,? Is it logical tha,
kg. in Montreal in 1976 and 60 kg in
the United States, another country
Moscow in 1980.
with proven power in this sport, be
Adolpho Hurta, 57 kg., winner o f
included in the confrontation as
the Silver M edal in M oscow, de
well?”
feated Samson Skhachatrain o f the
In Europe, the two top countries
USSR.
sent teams to the event: the USSR
O m ar Santiesteban, 51 kg., won
and Bulgaria. The Bulgarians, with
over Petar Lessov o f Bulgaria.
only two gold medal winners, sent
A Silver M edal was won by A r
an 11-man team. European cham
mando M artin ez, 71 kg., who won
pions such as super-heavyweight
the Gold in Moscow.
D em iani o f Italy and flyweight
Bronze medal winners were Hipo-
Richard N owakowski o f the G er
lito Romos, 48 kg., and Luis E.
man Democratic Republic were un
Delis, 54 kg.
able to participate.
The second Boxing W o rld Cup
Asia and A frica were given the
was held in M o n tre al, November
right to field two teams each, but
11th to 18th. Average attendance
due to economic problems A frica
was 400-500, reaching 4,0004 for the
sent only 6 men. Asia I was South
finals. The Cubans did not partici
Korean, and Asia I I Phillipines and
pate in the first W orld Cup, held in
I
■ 'w —
Wednesday. Dec. Z<5 (Is , round)
(1980-81 Records in Parenthesis)—
12 noon: Tennessee (25-6) vs. Wash
ington State (1 2 -1 6 ); 2 pm: O h io
State (17-15) vs. Portland State (7-
17); 6:30 pm: O regon State (22 -6 )
vs. C a lifo rn ia (2 3 -1 3 ); 8:30 pm:
Oregon (25-7) vs. LSU (17-15).
Thursday. Dec. 17— 12 noon:
Loser Tennessee/W S U U vs. Loser
O h io S ta te /P S U ; 2 pm: Loser
O S U /C a l vs. Loser O re g o n /L S U ;
6:30 pm: W inner Tennessee/W SU
vs. W inner O hio S ta te /P S U (Semi
finals); 8:30 pm: W inner O S U /C a l
vs. W in n e r O re g o n /L S U (S e m i
finals).
Are the Pilots for real?
T w o out o f three “ a in ’ t ” bad.
The University o f Portland Pilots o f
the W C A C pulled a big upset o f the
P A C -lO ’s Oregon State Beavers last
week and by doing so showed once
again that Coach Jack Avina’s Pilots
can play with anyone.
1 -’ F j
New Y ork C ity in 1979. T h at con
test drew only 300, with 2207 for the
finals. This does not say much for
public interest in amateur boxing.
Sports are im portant in Cuba
where the C onstitution guarantees
all citizens the right to participate in
sports and physical education and
gives the government the duty to
provide the broadest opportunities.
The main purpose o f mass p artici
pation bystudents and adults is to
have people practice sports system
atically to benefit their health and
physical capacity and to prevent the
illnesses and disorders that result
from a sedentary life.
Physical education training is
provided to all studetns, from first
grade through the university.
Schools for Physical Education
Teachers are being established to en
sure that every student w ill be
taught by a (rained teacher and
those with special talents w ill re
ceive the best in coaching. M a jo r
sports complexes are being estab
lished— at least one in each province
— where participation is open and
free and where all sporting events
are free to the public.
This attention to sport and physi
cal training has paid o f f at the
Olympics and other m ajor sport
events. C uba, with a population o f
nine m illio n , took fo u rth place at
the Moscow Olympics. Cuba en
tered 21 o f the 22 events, winning 20
medals, including 7 in boxing.
GTO champs move up
by Timothy Holstein
David Cowart and Kenper M iller
of the Red Lobster-sponsored racing
team, champion and runner-up in
the G T O C ategory o f the In tern a
tional M o to r Sports Association's
1981 Camel G T racing season, will
move up to compete for the newly
created North American endurance
d rivers’ cham pionship during the
1982 I M S A /C A M E L G T racing
season.
The decision was made when the
pair o f stockbrokers/teammates un
veiled th e ir plans to cam paign a
B M W M l-p o w e re d M arc h (82 G )
under the Red Lobster banner
during 1982. The G T Protogype
(G T P ) entry is lo w er, lig h ter and
aerodynamically more refined than
M arch E n g in e erin g ’ s B M W M l
Coupe based p ro to typ e driven by
David Hobbs on the 1981 IM S A G T
circuit, according to the m anufac
turer.
Led by Robin Herd, the March de
sign team retained top aerodynami-
cist M a x Sardou fo r its 82G p ro
gram. The 82G M arch G T P design
is being touted as the most aerody
namically clean sports car ever built.
Cowart and M iller will campaign
the first and perhaps only B M W
March (82G) on the IM S A /C A M E L
G T circuit during 1982. T h ey ’ ll be
participating in only the circuit’s en
durance events in 1982, going for
the North American endurance driv
ers’ championship for sponsor Red
Lobster Inns o f Am erica, In c., the
nation’s largest fam ily seafood res
taurant system.
Bob Groaa: Will he atay or will he
go?
Jeff Lamp: Will he make It?
This coupon is good for
one Free General
Admission to Portland
Meadows Sunday only.
Pick up yo u r fre e copy o f th e P o rtlen d O bserver
fo r racing results.
PORTLAND MEADOWS
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