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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 1982)
Portland Observer, February 4, 1982 Page Jack Ramsay: An interview Orassrool News. N. W .— One o f the architects o f professional bas ketball is the coach o f the Portland Trailblazers, Jack Ramsay. For over th irty years Ramsaynas drawn the blueprints for basketball plays. “ I always liked playing the game. In the 7th grade my father put a basket up in fro n t o f the barn. I used to shovel the snow just to shoot hoops. I stayed with the game and played in the Eastern League. M y introduc tion to coaching was with a college team and I ’ ve been a coach ever since.” His definition o f good basketball is organization. “ To be an effective team you have to have a w ell- thought-out plan that is feasible. I have put this thought in two books and numerous articles. It can be very exciting and the game requires a lot o f team play. Basketball is the most competitive sport in the world. All these factors make basketball an attrac tive medium to be involved in ." A coach can become the catalyst for nraise or the focus o f criticism. Jack Ramsay responds to his critics, “ I'm not concerned about what people say or think. M y only intent is winning the game and each game at hand. Each game is a pitched bat tle and you have to win enough o f those battles to win the war.” The criticism o f Ramsay is cen tered around his system. “ Every body has their own style o f play. The thing that I hope my team will do is to play aggressive, sound de fense' I f we don’t succeed with that we have a good half-court offensive. I expect 100 per cent effort from my players and if I don't get it I will get other players.” A nd Ramsay has. “ Moses M a lone was dealt for econom ic rea sons. I f you look at players who have le ft P o rtla n d very few have done as well as they did when they were w ith P o rtlan d. Tom Owens, M au rice Lucus or L io n el H o llin s have had their best years in P o rt land. I require that players perform for us. I f they do not perform they just can’t play here.” Does Jack Ramsay ever over- coach? “ T h a t’ s possible. I ’ m not immune from error. But I will say that I ’ m giving it my one hundred per cent e ffo rt. I f that doesn’ t ap peal to a sportswriter who has only a superficial knowledge o f the game, that is the least o f my worries.” M any T railb lazers fans want to know why there hasn't been a cham pionship since the 1976-77 season. “ There are some franchises who have never won a cham pionship. This is a very competitive sport. I ’m w illing to stand on my record. My team has won more games in the Iasi eight years than any other coach in basketball. W e have been in the playoffs eight years in a row. W e’ve lost some key players through in ju ry , contract dissatisfaction and whatever else prevented the players from reaching their m axim um point. We are now working with a very young team.” From what perspective should we view the P o rtla n d Trailblazers? Coach Jack Ramsay says, “ I think the public should perceive this cur rent team as very youn with poten tial to grow. I t ’s a team that I hope will make the playoffs. We currentl) have the eighth-best record in the N atio n al Basketball Association. There are 23 teams in the N BA and that’s not bad.” Boxers dislike saftey glove JA C K R A M S A Y How will fence affect Mariners? OSU's Lester Conner Lester C o nn er, 6-4 sr. guard is having a banner year for O S U . M any say that Conner is the “ glue that holds the Beavers tog eth er.” C onner is leading the Beavers in scoring with a 15.7 average, in as sists with 87 and steals w ith 63. C onner is second in rebounding w ith 77 and is second in minutes played with 960. When the O SU Beavers take the court Lester Conner is always a marked man. Does anyone remem ber O S U ’ s promising 6-11 Center. Greg W ilt- jer? In the five seasons since the M a r iners joined the American League, the Kingdome has gained the repu tatio n as a h itte r’ s paradise and home-run haven. That reputation is well-deserved, but may be changing in 1982. The o u tfie ld w all in the Dom e is I I feet, 6 inches high. However, the Kingdome has agreed to raise the wall from the right field line to deep right center field to ap proximately 23 feet. W h at effect w ill this have on home runs and the way the game is played? Manager Rene Lacheman answers, " I t is going to help our pitchers from the standpoint that they know they can get by w ith a mistake. They are not going to give up as many cheap home runs. This game is so m ental, it has to help. Our outfielders will have to learn to play the angles o ff the wall, much in the way they do at Fenway Park.” In each o f the last three seasons, more home runs have been hit in the M ariners’ home than in any other park in the major leagues. When the round trippers around both leagues are tallied , we again find that the total in the past four seasons is tops in Seattle. The other most produc tive home run parks have been Fen way in Boston, Tiger Stadium in De troit, and Atlanta Stadium. As the chart shows, only Boston fans have witnessed more home ner fans in the Kingdome. City Seattle Boston Detroit Atlanta Last Last Last 3 years 4 years Byears 460 611 789 432 598 817 434 586 767 394 570 778 Spring training 1982 is less than a m onth away. For the M arin ers it will be the biggest (55 player) and earliest (Feb. 18) in club history. A to,a: o f 15 players have been invited to Tempe, A riz., by Manager Rene Lachem ann to jo in the 40 on the major league roster. The a d d itio n a l players include pitchers Bob Galasso, Tracy Harris, M ike Moore, Roy Thomas, Ed Van- deBerg and M a tt Young; catchers Jerry Narron. Gary Gray, Jamie A l len and Vance M cH enry; and o u t fielders Rod A lle n , John M oses, Casey Parsons, Steve Stroughter and Reggie Walton. Pitchers and catchers will check in to Tem pe D ia b lo Stadium on Thursday, February 18, and work ou, on February 19. The balance o f the squad will report February 25 and take the field on February 26. Trivia: How many players in the 1982 Mariner spring camp were also in the club’s first spring training in 1977? Answer: 4— Glenn A bbott, Julio I Cruz, Bob Galasso and Roy Thom as. Some boxers are resisting a New Y o rk regulation that requires a thumbless boxing glove. A t the first New York boxing card, on January 22nd, boxers com plained that the gloves are not c o m fo rta b le , that their wrists hurt, that they cannot spin their opponents by gouging th e ir thumbs in to their ribs, that they cannot pu ll up their trunks without thumbs. Impetus for the new regulations came through cooperation between New Y ork State and Quebec. This came about because no one had no ticed that Willie Classen had taken a severe beating in London six weeks »nor to his fatal fight in Madison Square Garden in 1979. N o bo d y knew C leveland D enny had been soundly beaten by a heavier sparring partner days before his fatal bout in dontreal in 1980. As part o f the research by Quebec ollow ing D enny’ s death, Quebec discovered that different makes o f ¡loves were vastly d iffe re n t even hough their weights were the same. Some gloves are hard and flat at the point o f impact, while others have tick padding. The Quebec Board, after studying xtensive research done at W ayne tate University, concluded, “ The mobility o f the thumb has also bee identified as a source o f in ju ry .’ The Board concluded th a t, “ T h gloves should have the fo llo w in characteristics: be as light as pos sible, have a maximim o f absorben material at the point o f impact, an< a minimum o f roughness and seams They should not have thumbs, fo better protection o f the boxers thumbs and eyes.” New York also has been studying thumbless gloves for several years led by Floyd Patterson, now a stat< commissioner. His two brothers suf fered detached retinas during their boxing careers. New York State has had nine incidents o f detached retinas in two years. New Y o rk boxing commission chairman Jack Prenderville ordered use o f the thumbless glove, de veloped by Everlast, to be used in all non-title fights beginning January 15th. Additional New York-Quebec co operation includes trading informa tion on safety standards, issuing identical passports to all boxers, and computer linkage that assures that no boxer can be knocked out in New York and then slip into Quebec for a match until his health is certified. r C o m e A n d V is it O u r N E W L O C A T IO N Bozeman explains 'problem' W e’re getting closer to you than ever This brand new Farmers Insurance office is an exam ple of what can happen when folks are really con cerned about you and your family. I've opened up in a co n venient new location to better learn your need* and to better fill them If you already know me. stop in and say hello If not, com e in for a sample of farm ers fast. fair, frien d ly service on your present insurance problems Free Notary Available V IV IA N I. W A R R E N 1727 N .E . 13th 284-9999 Last December James Bozeman left the F lo rid a State basketball team. He was prepared to take his damaged knee and damaged ankle and disappear q u ietly from the school basketball scene. He decided that he would take his injuries to his own d o cto r, rath er than take the drugs he says the basketball office was pushing at him. Joe W illia m s , F lo rid a S ta te ’s basketball coach said Boseman had left the team because o f “ personal problems ’ . This statement forced Bozeman to p u blicly let people know the kind o f “ problem s” he was having. James Bozem an’ s personal problems including pride, curiosity, and the will to succeed put him at odds w ith the ethics o f big-tim e college sports. " I want to graduate and work in F lo rid a . I knew I would have trouble getting a job close to home i f people really believed I have personal problem s. T h at is why I wrote the letter,” Boseman said. B ozem an’ s le tte r, charging Flordia State's athletic department with im proper medical attention, fin an c ial e x p lo ita tio n , m ental harassm ent, academic and scholastic misrepresentation” adds to the evergrowing impression that college athletics are out o r control in this country. Bozeman's most specific charge was that basketball o ffic ia ls at Florida Slate injected his ankle with novocain and cortisone last summer. They d id n ’ t give me any program fo r the leg in the o f f season.” W ith boosters taking over the h irin g o f coaches and buying all kinds o f illegal favors for athletes, and with rival athletic associations fighting tooth and nail for television money the ideal o f the student- athlete has never seemed more distant. “ Students would only talk to me about b a s k e tb a ll,” Bozeman recalled yesterday. "They acted as if I were different from them. Players got to feel that if you didn’t get into pro basketball, you had failed." A 6-5 senior fro m Tallahassee, Bozeman was regarded as Florida State's top senior going into this. Now he is a former player eager to help other athletes through an outfit based in the South Bronx — the Center fo r A th le te s ’ Rights and Education. The Center is sponsored by the N ational Football League Players Association and the N atio n al C onference o f Black Lawyers — w ith even a grant from the D epartm ent o f E duction — the Center has proposed a Bill of Rights for college athletes. ALL U N D E R O N E ROOF! ¡jjj G1Ü0E5 AT NEW AND CONVENIENT HAYDEN MEADOWS! STORE HOURS: Weekdays 10-9; Saturday 9-7; Sunday 10-6 J
