Page 12 Portland Observer, February 18, 1982
Leonard vs Finch
by Barney Conley
N o rth w e s t M id d le w e ig h t C ham p Curtis Ramsey
defended his title by pounding his w a y to a u n an i
m ous d ec is io n o ve r R o o s e v e lt G reen o f S e a ttle .
R am sey rem ains u n d e fe a te d in O reg o n (21-10) a f
ter his Friday n ig h t b out a t Po rtlan d's M a rrio t H o
tel.
(Photo: J im m y Robinson)
Is race a factor?
Is race a p re d o m in a n t fa c to r in
decisions that result in the m ake-up
o f N atio n al Basketball Association
teams? A cco rd in g to tw o H a rv a rd
sociology professors, D a v id Karen
and Jerome Karabel. the racial com
position o f most N B A teams reflects
the B la c k /w h ite population ratio o f
the cities in which the team is locat
ed.
F o r th e purposes o f this stu d y,
K aren and K a ra b e l d iv id e d N B A
teams in to three categories: those in
cities w ith a Black population o f less
than 10 per cent, those in cities with
a Black p op u latio n o f greater than
10 per cent or less than 20 per cent,
and those cities with a Black popula
tio n o f 20 per cent o r g reater. T he
Less than 10%
Black population
1 0 % -20%
Boston
Denver
Phoenix
San A ntonio
San Diego
Seattle
U tah (Sait Lake)
Cleveland
Dallas
Golden State
(O akland)
Houston
cities with N B A teams line up as fo l
lows:
K a re n ’s and K a ra b e l’ s statistics
showed th at in N B A cities w ith less
than 10 per cent Black p o p u la tio n ,
6 3 .6 per cent o f the players were
Black. In N B A cities w ith 10-20 per
cent Black population, 72.7 per cent
o f the players were B la c k ; and in
N B A cities w ith 20 per cent or
g re a te r B lack p o p u la tio n 8 7 .3 per
cent o f the players were Black.
It is the considered o p in io n o f
K aren and K a ra b e l th a t N B A
ow ners and general m anagers feel
co m p elled to increase o r decrease
the number o f Black players on their
team s, based on the percentage o f
20% or greater
Black population
Black population
Indiana
(Indianapolis)
Kansas C ity
Los Angeles
M ilw aukee
New Jersey
Philadelphia
A tla n ta
Chicago
D etroit
New Y ork
Washington
Blacks in the respective c ity , subse
quent econom ic considerations and
“ w hite-fan pressure.”
A c c o rd in g to J ero m e K a ra b e l,
“ T h e m a jo r fin d in g o f the study is
that the distribution o f the players is
so skewed that the pattern would be
d iffic u lt to exp lain i f racial factors
were not o p e ra tiv e in at least some
cities.”
H e also added, “ Owners may de
p lo re the ro le o f race in a ffe c tin g
fan attendance, allowing that reality
to influence to in flu ence personnel
decisions o r , on the o th e r h a n d ,
raising less m o n e y .”
Whereas the statistics do not hold
true in some cities, they hold true in
P o rtla n d . T h is w rite r has long be
lieved th a t B la ze r m anagem ent
d ra fte d a c c o rd in g to c o lo r to a p
pease and s a tis fy its m o stly w h ite
au d ien ce. O n ly a fte r th e team be
came an established com m odity did
th is d ra ftin g p ro c e d u re begin to
change.
From its inception, the T ra ilb la z
ers have been a predom inantly white
team . I t ’ s 1971 starting line-up con
sisted o f fo u r w h ite players w ith a
B lack at c e n te r. T h a t tre n d co n
tinued this season. A lth o ug h the ra
tio was not alw ays fo u r to one, the
T ra ilb la z e rs was alw ays a p re d o m
in a n tly w hite team . T he c h am p io n
ship year saw tw o B la c k s , L io n e l
H o llin s and M a u ric e L u c a s , and
th re e w h ite s . B ill W a lto n , Bob
Gross, Dave T w a rd zik .
Sugar Ray by T K O in 3rd Round:
It was no contest. Leonard had pre
dicted th a t the fig h t w o u ld be over
in fo u r rounds. H is tra in e r, A ngelo
D u n d e e , hau said th a t S ug ar R ay
w o u ld ta k e it in th e seventh o r
e ig h th r but la te r c o n c lu d e d , “ H e
[Rayl can prove me wrong any tim e
he wants to .”
Finch was clearly the aggressor in
ro u n d one an d th e firs t p a rt o f
ro u n d tw o , p in n in g L e o n a rd in a
n e u tra l c o rn er and lan d in g several
blows to the head and body.
A b o u t m id -w a y thro u gh the sec
ond ro u n d , L e o n a rd cam e to life ,
firing three b rutal left hooks to the
body and a right to the ja w , sending
Finch staggering b a c k w a rd . L e o n
ard continued his attack with a rap
id succession o f head shots and
q u ic k ly d o w n in g F in ch w ith a sav
age right.
O n th e eight c o u n t, F in c h stag
gered to his feet, o n ly to go dow n
ag ain at th e hands o f S u g a r R a y .
S om eho w , F inch was able to drag
him self up and managed to stay on
his feet fo r the bell.
T h e fin a l blow came one m inute
and fifty seconds into round three, a
crashing left hook to the ja w . Finch
went d o w n , got up and fell against
the ropes. R e fe re e M ills L a n e sig
naled an end to the figh t, later say
ing, “ T o let him be hit again would
be c rim in a l.”
W h e n asked a b o u t L e o n a r d ’ s
slow start, Dundee explained, “ Ray
was o f f earlier because he c o u ld n 't
get his t im in g .” H e la te r a d d e d .
" . . . H e hardly broke a sweat in the
rin g .”
A b o u t Finch Ray said. " I ’ ll give
him a lot o f credit because he did try
to stand up and hang in there, even
though there was no way possible.”
W h e n asked to c o m m m e n t on
Sugar R ay, referee M ills Lane said,
“ H e transcends the s p o rt. H e is a
great gentlem an and a great sports
m an. W e haven’ t seen such an a th
lete in th e last 25 years, even M o
hammad A li. H e (Leonard] has real
class.”
D id you ever wonder where all the
N F L p la y e rs c o m e fro m ? W e ll,
w o n d e r no m o re . H e r e ’ s th e to p
twenty states and their production.
1. T e x a s (179)
2. C a lifo rn ia (151)
3. O h io (82)
4. Pennsylvania (73)
5. Louisiana (61)
6. Georgia (58)
7. Florida (55)
8. Mississippi (50)
9. Illinois (46)
10. New Y o rk (43)
11. A labam a (42)
M ichigan (42)
13. South C aro lin a (36)
14. New Jersey (34)
15. N o rth C aro lin a (33)
16. Tennessee (31)
17. O klah om a (24)
18. Minnesota (23)
19. Missouri (21)
Virginia (21)
Washington (21)
O re g o n had 10, w h ile A la s k a ,
N ew M e x ic o , S o u th D a k o ta an d
Verm ont were shut out.
Here's your ticket to ride!
. ..
.u- a.
a.
In th e w o rld a N u m b e r
O ne im p o r t—T o y o to .
And for the pest ten years
D onny A nderson 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 1106
R A M B O M O T O R S . IN C .
307 N .E. B ro ad w ay
Portland, Oregon 97232
Phone (603) 284 1106
DONNY ANDERSON
Member
TOYOTA
(leave a message).
Treat A Kid
To Popeye's Famous Fried Chicken
Hil My name is Orlanda. I'm smiling because
my Mom is bringing home some Popeye s
Chicken. I love Popeye's Chicken. Popeye's
has everything I lik e -c o rn dogs, pop, french
fries and chicken tacos.
Put A Smile
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3 Locations To Serve You:
5949 N.E. Union Ave.
3120 N.E. Union Ave.
283 9542
281 2628
2320 S.E. 82nd Ave.
774 9661
O bserver T o p T w e n ty
V irg in ia , led by R a lp h S am p on ,
rem ains ato p the Observer T o p 20
a fte r b eating C lem so n 3 6 -5 4 . O re
gon State gained three spots ju m p
ing fro m seventh to fo u rth . Id ah o
ranked 12th last week m oved up to
th is w e e k ’ s 10th spot. T h e biggest
fa ll, however, was Georgetown. The
Hoyas, ranked eighth last week, fell
to 17th this w eek. G eorgetow n (20-
5) beat Syracuse 96-79; beat South
ern U . 84-68, yet to o k a big tum ble
in the standings.
should be S A M P S O N
Portland Observer Top 20
k ▼ Ai
R each th a t goall M ic h a e l H arp er leaps over B u llet d e fe n d e r In an
a tt e m p t to s co re . H a rp e r w a s fo u le d on th e a tte m p t b u t d id n o t
score. P o rtlan d fell short o f a victo ry by 3 points as the W ashing to n
B ullets d e fe a te d the Blazers 100 97 in Tu esd ay's C o liseu m e n c o u n t-
**' •
(Photo: J im m y Robinson)
1. Virginia
2. D ePaul
3. N orth C aro lin a
4. Oregon State
5. M issouri
6. Iow a
7. Tulsa
8. Minnesota
9. West V irg inia
1 0 .Idaho
11. Mem phis State
12. San Francisco
13. Fresno State
14. Arkansas
15. Kentucky
16. W ake Forest
17. Georgetown
18. W ashington
19. Kansas State
20. U C L A
I
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ter with breakfast. Why? W hile we sleep our
I bodies break from food and activities. So, we awaken
hungry and sluggish. Eating breakfast changes this; it
breaks the fast— as a result, wc feel
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day with breakfast at R U S T L E R 'S Y o u ’ ll find good)
f<xxl and friendly country service all at a reasonable price.
Now Serving Breakfasts
Mon -Fri. 6 am to 11 am • Sat.-Sun. 7 am to noon
PORTLAND
425 Northeast Oregon Street
(Between Union and Grand)
i