Page 14 Portland Observer, January 28,1982
Observer sports editor picks
January 21.1982
The P ortland Observer feels that
the Superbowl was last week. The
game between Dallas and the 49ers
was just the tw o best teams in the
Super Bowl winner
League. W e see the 49ers by five
points over Cincinnati. How do you
feel? Let us know how you feel
about Observer sports. W e ’ ll be
glad to hear fro m you, and we’ ll
print your letters.
Sport Talk
by Ron Sykes, Sports Editor
V IC T O R Y
The P o rtla n d Observer pro
claimed from the beginning that San
Francisco was the team o f the fu
ture. We declared early that the
49ers would go all the way. A fter
the victory over Dallas we told our
readers that the Super Bowl had al
ready been played. Really, after de
feating Am erica’s team 28-27, this
victory over Cincinnati was some
what anti-clim atic. Give the credit
for this victory to the 49er defense,
but don’ t forget the w izard ry o f
Coach Bill Walsh.
Walsh proved his worth by com
pletely out-coaching D allas’ Tom
Landry and then, in the Super Bowl,
he annihilated the A F C Coach o f
the Year, Forrest Gregg.
The 49ers are certainly tough, but
their edge is that they out-w it and
out-thing their opponents. Walsh
has installed a beautiful offense—
.me that has so many variations that
it times it seems to leave the defense
Helpless.
The49er offense is as beautiful as
anything ever composed by Beetho
ven. And the defense is simply awe
some.
Walsh demonstrated his mas
terful abilities even further when the
Bengals had the ball with only 58
seconds left on the clock and no
time outs. He decoyed the Bengals
into throwing up the middle. This
strategy encouraged completions be-
cause incompletes would stop the
clock and Walsh wanted no part o f
that— especially with no Bengal time
outs rem aining. He guarded the
sidelines, m aking sure that there
would be no sideline completions to
stop the clock. He dropped three
backs to the goal line to make sure
that he didn’ t get beat deep. A fter
each com plettion, the 49ers closed
in making (he tackle and keeping the
clock wondering.
It is still amazing that Forrest
Gregg did not catch on to what had
happened.
Roberto Duran vs
Wilfredo Benitez
On January 30, Roberto Duran
will attempt to move closer to a re
turn match w ith w elterw eight
champ Sugar Ray Leonard by
taking on the Puerto Rican Benitez.
Duran will not move closer because
Benitez will stop him inside o f ten
rounds. This Duran is not the Duran
o f o ld . D u ra n , at 5 7, w ill be no
match for the master boxer, Beni
tez. Benitez, whose only loss was to
the redoubtable Sugar Ray. will not
be an easy target for Duran. There is
only one man in the w orld today
who can w hip Benitez, and you
know who that is.
Blazers 123 Celtics 119
On Super Sunday, the Blazers
turned in a super win by beating the
Boston Celtics 123-119 on the Cel
tics' home court. And believe it or
not, the key to this victory was play
ing tim e, that is, playing tim e for
one Billy Ray Bates. Billy Ray was
on the count an unbelievable thirty-
three minutes, and whenever Billy
gets the playing time, the Blazers are
sure to receive a good e ffo rt. A
loose Billy Ray is like money in the
bank. In Boston, Billy entered the
game w ith 9:34 rem aining in the
third period and did not leave until
the game was over. It was a d iffe r
ent Billy Ray that the Boston fans
saw. He responded with 10-16 from
the field, 6-7 from the line and com
mitted no turnovers for a total o f 26
points. A nd Law dy iaw d , w asn't
Kelvin Ransey something. The sec
ond year guard out o f Ohio State lit
the Boston G arden up w ith 33
points.
P o rtla n d ended this six-game
road trip w ith a good 3-3 record.
And is not for the sudden collapse in
Philadelphia, could have gone 4-2.
And believe you me, that is not too
shabby.. and how about Philadel
phia Seventy-sixer owner H a ro ld
Katz trying to lure W ilt C ham ber
lin out o f retirement. Cham berlin,
4 5, is the only man his age who
could still play in the N B A . When
W ilt retired, seven years ago, he was
on top o f his game. There is little
doubt that if the big man was willing
to play, he could.
Ronnie is a L o tlt)
“ I was watching a M uh am m ad
Ali documentary recently,*’ said the
49er star ro o ked . ” 1 was amazed
that he talked like that when he was
twenty years o ld . Isiah Thom as is
20, Magic Johnson is 22, and they
are accomplishing these feats. I'm
22. Seeing what they have done and
how they have handled themselves
has really helped me grow up.’ ’ Lott
earned a bachelor’s degree in Public
A d m in is tra tio n in fo u r years, in
cluding two summers.
“ It was very important to myself
and my parents,’ ’ he said, “ to grad
uate on time.”
“ When Ronnie received his diplo
ma from U .S .C , it was the happiest
day o f my life ,” beamed his mother,
M ary, “ and o f all his numerout ac
complishments, receiving his degree
meant the most to me.”
Ronnie hopes to live up to a New
Y e a r’ s resolution he made to his
m other— that he would read one
book a week. Some o f those books
will deal with real estate, a field he
hopes to enter eventually. Ronnie
appreciates the support he received
from his parents, Roy and M a ry
Lotte.
“ M y dad is studying real estate
now, and when he finishes, we plan
to go into the business, along with
my mother.”
Ronnie Lott is one o f those rare
young athletes— one o f those who
haven’t let success spoil his outlook
on life.
Portland Beavers expect exciting season
The cards were stacked against
him from the start. But this brash
young entrepreneur from the East
came with a big stogie in his mouth
and an open wallet in his hand. This
was David Hersh. The young gener
al manager who had a year ago
shocked the baseball w orld by
taking T o led o , a class A A m inor
league franchise and drawing fans
to the ball p ark. Now he was
moving to class A A A Portlan d, a
franchise that has struggled over the
Iasi few years. Hersh’ s reputation
preceeded him into town, and after
a dazzling start the young m an’ s
dreams hit rock bottom when the
bills began to pile up. “ It took me
eight months to establish credibility
here in Portland,” said Hersh, “ and
lost it all in one m onth. M y first
year here 1 learned a valuable les
son.”
Good things are expected from
the 1982 Beavers. Fresh o ff o f a 72-
66 1981 record, which helped them
draw 192,768 fans, the best attend
ance m ark since 1967. A winning
record plus a renovated stadium
should make for an exciting year for
Beavers fans.
The 1982 season promises to pro
vide some good summer excitement.
The refurbished Civil Stadium will
feature better seating, a new roof,
an expanded concession and con
venience areas to further enhance
the attractiveness of Beaver baseball
for the fans. In the past the Beavers
have scheduled the parent P itts
burgh Pirates at Civic Stadium. In
addition to the Pirates, the fans can
look forw ard to seeing H ouston,
San Francisco, Seattle, and maybe
San Diego.
“ I think Portland is still a major
league town,” Hersh said, “ and my
long r<Age goal is to lure a m ajor
league franchise to the C ity o f
Roses." W ith Portland’s new lease,
Hersh plans to decrease all ticket
prices across the board, with the ex
ception o f general admission which
w ill remain the same as last year.
“ W e’re happy with our lease agree
m e n t,” beamed Hersh, “ and we
plan to share it with our wonderful
fans.”
Hersh has long made it know that
he has m ajor league intentions for
Portland. But the foremost question
remains to be the inclement P o rt
land weather. “ Our weather (Port
land's] can’ t be worse than M o n
tre a l’ s,” said Hersh. O ut o f 193
dates in three years, we only had 14
rainouts, six the first year and four
in each of the last two.
The Beavers drew well last year
because they had an exciting team in
the field. Hersh believes that if you
put a strong team on the field, the
fans will show their appreciation by
turning out.
The 1981 Beavers were exciting.
They boasted the top defense in the
District Caber»' Roast
of
Bro. ja a e » Loving
Coordinator o* King-» Neighborhood Facility
Member of Vancouver Avenue First Baptnt Church
tr
President
at Christian
Brotherhood Association
at Oregon
February 6. 1982 - 7 F.M.
at
Vaeroever _A»eeee First Baptist Chertb
113» 8. Vaaro w ver A v e a a e
i
Dinner
Donation
V
Portlaad. O re y a a
D r O B Williams Pastor
LtRR BioaSoss. O u t. U l k t r i ’ P i t t .
50
R tv . E t | t a t B sy t, M tS tn ls r
And for the past ten years
Donny Anderson has followed
that example selling them.
For any advice on new or used
cars, leasing, or general
information on how to buy a car
and not get burnt call him at
284 1105
(leave a message).
/
throwing Odel Jones and Submarine
Robert Long to give the Beavers a
matchless threesome o f starting
pitchers. Long had an awesome 15-3
record, w hile Jones was leading
PCL hurlers in strikeouts with 135.
In the past the Portland Beavers
franchise was one o f the healthiest
in minor league baseball and to help
regain that status, a Portland Bea
vers Booster Club was formed. Last
year the Club boasted 207 members,
reported Kas Lasser, its President.
Although the 1982 Club only began
in November o f ’81, already it has
recruited an excess o f 152 members
and gives every indication o f being
bigger and better than last year’ s
club.
A new stadium , reduced ticket
prices, an exciting team, a strong,
active management are all o f the in
gredients for a successful season.
A ssociated Press Top 20
Portland Observer Top 20
1. Missouri
2. North Carolina
3. Virginia
4. DePaul
5. Texas
6. Iowa
7. Kentucky
8. Oregon St.
9. USF
10. Minnesota
11. Idaho
12. Arkansas
13. Alabama
14. Kansas St.
15. Tennessee
16. Tulsa
17. North Carolina St.
18. Wake Forest
19. Fresno St.
20. Villanova
1. N. Carolina
2. Virginia
3. Missouri
4. Iowa
5. DePaul
6. Minnesota
7. Oregon State
8. Kentucky
9. Tulsa
10. Georgetown
11. Idaho
12. Texas
13. Tennessee
14. Wichita State
15. Pepperdine
16. San Francisco
17. Villanova
18. Fresno State
19. Kansas State
20. Alabama
R A M B O M O T O R S , IN C .
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TOYOTA
Holmes ready for Cooney
E A S T O N . PA . — Larry Holmes,
the W orld Boxing Council’ s (W B C )
H eavyw eight C h a m p io n , has a l
ready begun training for his upcom
ing fight with G erry Cooney. I t ’ s
not easy being the heavyweight
champion, but hard work and Larry
are old friends.
L a rry won the title on June 9,
1978, from Ken Norton, and has de
fended his title eleven times, with
the most recent T K O against Rcn-
aldo (M r.) Snipes on November 6 in
Pittsburgh's Civic Arena.
L arry, only two weeks after de
feating Snipes, began training for
the Cooney fight. His schedule in
volves rising early for a four to five
mile jo g , shadow boxing, jum ping
rope, and sparring. Closer to the
m atch, L a r ry ’ s vigorous training
will be performed in the desert sur
rounding Las Vegas, where the fight
will be held next March.
L a rry had the fo llo w in g to say
about his upcoming match: " I think
this is going to be a very interesting
fig h t, a lot o f people w ill be sur
prised at the o u tc o m e .” L arry
prides him self as being a profes
sional boxer. This is clearly evident
when watching the champ fig h t.
“ I ’m a boxer, Cooney is a puncher,
that's the big difference. He doesn't
have the experience or the stamina I
have— he’ ll never last the fifte en
rounds,” commented Holmes.
And now, all eyes are on Holmes
again, as he defends his title against
Gerry Cooney next year in a match
Factory Authorized
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Eltron - Remington - Ronson
auto uTMOtrntav
T o d a y , the 213-pound Holm es
has an unblemished record. 39-0.
(Snipes suffered the first defeat o f
his career after 22 straight victories.)
Look fo r . . .
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A
L arry Holmes first learned to
fight at St. Anthony's Youth Center
in Easton. The center was founded
over 25 years ago by an Ita lia n
priest, Father Francis Barbato. At
age ten, Holmes was first interested
in learning how to wrestle and nine
years later he decided to become a
boxer. Holmes continued (raining
and turned pro in M arch o f 1973.
The rest is boxing history, just five
years later he would be the W o rld ’s
Heavyweight Champion.
ûntùfjia & ÇL oaaùz
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that is expected to earn Holm es
nearly $10 million.
But Holmes, at the age o f 32, is
already a multi-m illionaire. He can
afford to give his family just about
everything he didn’ t have when he
was growing up in Easton, Pa., with
his m o ther, Flossie, and eleven
brothers and sisters. It was up to his
mother to raise her children. Larry
never forgot the love and devotion
afforded him by his mother and has
made sure that she is taken care o f
financially.
L arry has a lot going for him in
his hometown o f Easton. This in
cludes a new, custom built $500,000
eleven-room home, complete with
nine bathroom s and a swim m ing
pool shaped like a boxing glove; a
$250,000 night club called “ Round
O n e ,” and the $15 0,0 0 0 L a rry
Holmes* T rain in g Center gym na
sium. I t ’s used as a local recreation
center for kids.
by Gary E. Johnson and
Patricia A. Carrasco
JIM
FISHER
Norelco - Schick -
Here's your ticke t to ride!
In the w o rld 's N u m b er
One im p o rt—Toyota.
P acific Coast League. The team
fielding a percentage o f .979 led the
P C L as the Beavers were guilty o f
only 102 errors in 137 games, thirty-
six fewer miscues than any other
club in the league. T h ird baseman
Dave H ilton established himself as
one o f the top hot-corner men in the
league and was flan ked by short
stop Jim m y Sm ith and second
baseman Vance Law. In the outfield
Rusty Torres played 134 with just
one error.
In 1982, the Beavers plan to field
a young exciting team. They have
high hopes fo r center fielder Jose
Rodriguez, the twenty-three-year-
old who came up fro m B u ffa lo ,
Junior A r tiz . 22, and 19-year-old
Raphael Belyard, who took the Do
minican League by storm.
Pitching was an important part of
the 1981 P o rtlan d success story.
Luis T ia n t com bined w ith hard-
LARRY H O LM E S
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