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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 1982)
Portland Observer, April 29, 1982 Page 11 Sport Talk by Ron Sykes, Sports Editor Quickly now! Can you name the starting tight end Tor the world champion San Francisco 49ert? I f you can’t how about Russ Francis. The ex-Patriot, now retired, has in dicated that he’s ready to end his re tirement but only if he’s traded to a California team. The New England Patriots are willing to make a deal to trade the ex-University o f Oregon great. The rich get richer and the 1981 Super Bowl champs are the front runners in negotiations to sign Francis. D avid Thompson has certainly had his share o f ups and downs, es pecially during the ’8 1-'82 season. There have been numerous rumors on why the 6-6 guard has not played up to par. Amid all of his adversity, Thom pson kept his head above water. And we are delighted to share this heartw arm ing story w ith our readers: From the Los Angeles Sen tinel we bring this story to you: Sometimes it takes exposure to another person's problems to make one realize just how lucky he is. That was the way David Thompson o f the Denver Nuggets felt after visiting 17-year-old M ark Lyons o f Schenectady, New York, earlier this month. Lyons, who had been battling cancer for the last four years was a lifelong fan o f Thompson and the Nuggets. “ He knew all o f my statis tics, even from back when I was playing college basketball at North Carolina State," said Thompson. A hospice organization informed the Nuggets that Lyons* greatest wish was to meet Thompson. So a f ter Denvre’s game at Boston on Fri day night, February 3, while the rest o f the team headed for Washington for a Sunday contest against the Bullets, Thompson took a detour of several hundred miles and spent Saturday at the Lyons* home. " I ’ve visited hospitals before but I ’ ve never been requested by a per son to see th e m " said Thom pson. " T h e y asked him what he wanted and he said to see David Thompson. Going to see him was the least I could do. It really made me feel good to hear about a guy in this situation wanting to see me. One o f the biggest thrills o f my life was the response he made to me. It was overwhelming. It just makes me feel unbelievably good about myself.” W hen he entered the house, Thompson said he saw a row o f ath letic trophies lining the m antle, m arking M a r k ’s achievements in basketball, hockey and baseball. But that was all in the past. He had already lost a foot, then a leg to the disease, which finally had spread to his brain. " I t was so sad when I came into his house,” said Thompson, "but it was touching. H e was glad to see me.” Thompson thought about all his hardships and realized then and there that things could be worse. Thom pson has not had an easy year. Things certainly haven’t been rosy for him . H e ’s missed twenty games because o f in ju ry and b rie f suspension and has never been able to achieve the level o f performance that has made him one o f the N B A ’s most exciting and productive play ers over the past five years when he averaged tw en ty-five points per game. B ut, as he learned from his visit to Schenectady, Thom pson’s problems are pale when compared to those o f M ark. Thompson spent several hours with M ark and some o f his friends, and when he left M a rk cried, his mother cried, and yes, D avid Thompson shed a tear or two him self. LO O K IN G FOR G R E A T BU YS ON B U IL D IN G S U P P L IE S ? BUILDER'S CITY'S GOT 'EM! AT BUILUfR S CITY THERE'S NO FANCY STORE OR FANCY PRICING JUST 100,060 sq ft of the best buy: you II find in building supplies We buy right and pass the savings to you OVERSTOCKS LIQUIDATIONS FACTORY OVERRUNS OPF N F VF RY DAY SATURDAY A SUNDAY TOO' trursTMLEttSTra Siak & Faaeet Pickaft TOILET Calvin M urphy earns Ph.D C alvin M urph y, ot the Houston Rockets, who earned a B. A. in Soci ology from N iagara U niversity in 1970 before starring in the N B A , will be awarded a D octor o f Peda gogy degree from the alma mater in recognition o f his work with young people and the disadvantaged in a special ceremony on Wednesday, A p ril 28th. Pedagogy is defined as the a rt, science or profession o f teaching. Murphy organized the nationally acclaimed Marching Thunder Baton and drum Corps nine years ago and continues to personally direct the nearly 100 youngsters who provide entertainment at Houston’s college and pro sports events. CONCRETE 0ngtnaBy»70, UnwtBd supply BUILDERS Did you know? th a t on the Washington Bullets, Rick Mahorn is nicknamed "L e o n " because o f the large gap in his front teeth. that Greg B allard is " p o c k e ts " because o f his a ffin ity for playing pool. that three point specialist Joe Hassett calls himself "basketball's version o f Manny M o ta ,” to which Warriors coach Al Attics responds, "Y ou can’t make a 6-8 reboundcr or a Icaper out of him, so you use him when it will help the team. When he takes the three pointer you’ve got to live w ith it, and sometime you die with it.” th a t the Seattle Super Sonics dis tributed 20,000 free tickets to their April 2 and 4 games to help the sag ging economy. And to boost their sagging concession sales. th a t the Boston Celtics became only the second team in N B A his tory to win 60 games or more in three consecutive years, joining the Milwaukee Bucks o f 1971-73. that Shaler Halimon, former first round draft choice o f the Philadel phia 76ers and ex-B lazer, is now driving for T ri-M et. th a t Nick Jones, former Oregon Duck star, is selling for Cablesys- tems Pacific. th a t H arold Carm ichael, P h ila delphia Eagle wide receivr, is now number six on the all time list for catches. Carmichael moved up from the number 13 spot. th a t Seattle "W innebago W a ll" Lonnie Shelton, 6-8, Jack Sikma, 6- 11; and M ike Donaldson, 7-2, was the real reason the Sonics were able to contain Moses Malone. th a t Len Elmore o f the New Jer sey Nets will receive my note for the "comeback player o f the year. ” E l more made a solid contribution this year and was one o f the reasons the Nets were able to make the playoffs this year. th a t Elvin Hayes o f the Rockets last week became the second active player in the NBA to appear in over 1,000 games. He is joined by K a r eem Abdul-Jabbar. th a t "Jellybean” Bryant. 6-9, o f the San Diego Clippers started at three positions during the season. 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