Portland Observer, July 14, 1982 Page 7
OBSERVER SPORTS
Portland meets Seattle in alumni game
Basketball stars o f the past will
shine w ith stars o f the future in
M em orial Coliseum on Wednesday
night, July 21, when the P ortland
T ra il Blazers wind up their 1982
rookie camp.
In a double-header this year, the
Portland Alumni team will meet the
Seattle SuperSonics* A lum in in the
first game starting at 7 o ’clock.
This clash w ill be follow ed by
P o rtla n d ’s annual Rookie G am e,
featu ring , it is hoped, Lafayette
Lever, Arizona State guard, who wa
P o rtla n d ’s N o . I selection in the
1982 college draft.
The T ra il Blazers* A lum ni team
includes such stars as G e o ff Petri,
highest scorer in Portland history,
plus former Blazers Rick Adelman,
LeRoy Ellis, Danny Anderson, La
rue M artin , Dale Schlueter, Darrall
Im h o ff, H erm G illia m and Greg
Smith.
The Seattle A lum ni squad is ex
pected to include Charles Dudley,
A l Flem ing, A l H airsto n , Slick
Watts, Bruce Seals and a couple o f
’’ ringers” — Norm Van Lier, long a
tough guard with the Chicago Bulls,
and Zelmo Beaty, a star in both the
N atio n al Basketball Association
and the American Basketball Asso
ciation.
Portland 1982 draft choices, most
o f whom are expected to play in the
Rookie G am e, are Levery; L in to n
Towners, 6-6 forw ard from James
M adison; A udie N orris; 6-9 center
from Jackson State; P h illip Lock
ett; 6-9 forw ard from A labam a;
Eric Smith; 6-5 guard from George
town; Cherokee Rhone, 6-9 forward
from Centenary; Leo Cunningham,
6-11 center from U tah State; Terry
Long, 6-2 guard from Lamar; Dave
P o rte r, 6-9 center fro m Western
Oregon; M a rk D ea rb o rn , 6-3 fo r
ward from St. Joseph’s, and Grant
Taylor, 6-8 forward from California
at Irvine.
The Alum ni teams will meat in a
rematch on October 8 in Seattle.
The A lum ni game w ill be played
in four eight-m inute quarters. The
Rookie Game will be played in two
20-minute halves.
Portland’s rookie camp workouts
will begin July 19.
Tickets for the July 21 double-
header are priced at $5.00 for adults
and $3.00 for students through high
school age.
Tickets will go on sale Saturday at
M em o rial Coliseum and at Fred
M eyer stores at Raleigh H ills , T i
gard. Gresham , In terstate, S .E .
Foster A 82 and M ill Plain.
M onkey w renches got their nam e from Charles
M oncke, a London blacksmith, w ho made the first
one.
•
The first phonograph record in history to sell over 1
million copies was Enrico Caruso's "Vesta Las Guib-
ba."
It was Alfred Vail —and not Samuel Morse —who
invented the Morse Code. Vail, not caring for fame,
named the code after Morse.
Wa do not do business with South Africa.
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In te rio r« E xterior A d d itio n s • W a a th e riza tio n s
Many pros, but no black owners
by Donnie R. Tuck
Black athletes comprise 50 per
cent or more o f the participants o f
the National Football League. Black
players dominated the National Bas
ketball Association and are numer
ous in major league baseball.
But, when it comes to ownership
in professional sports, blacks have
yet to scrape the surface.
In recent weeks, both the N B A ’s
Houston Rockets and Denver Nug
gets franchises were sold for roughly
$ 1 1 m illio n each. The benver sale
was completed a fte r the team had
been on the m arket for almost a
year.
This past M ay , the United States
Football League (U S F L ) was born.
It is a new 12-team professional
football association which plans to
begin play in March 1983.
The league already has a two-year
television contract with A BC worth
$20 million and has a national cable
contract. Its principal criterion for
ownership is the ability to invest $6
million in the team for two years.
“ I f there were a group o f blacks
w ith the economic w herew ithal,
now seems like the ideal tim e (to
(gain ownership) since they're ped
dling franchises,’ ’ observes Spencer
Boyer, a professor in the H ow ard
U niversity School o f Law , who
teaches entertainm ent and sports
law.
Boyer points out that professional
sports have expanded tremendously.
“ All o f the leagues that are flourish
ing have a national television con
tract. Hockey is struggling because
it doesn’t have one.
He adds, “ Blacks should be in ter
ested in the new league. I d o n ’ t
think the U S F L would deny black
ownership."
D avid D ix o n , founder o f the
U S F L , was even more positive
about the league’s receptiveness to
black ownership.
” 1 think it is an excellent oppor
tun ity fo r blacks who are looking
fo r ownership o f a professional
sports franchise. I f you only knew
how fru stratin g ly I bounced my
head o ff the wall trying to get black
ownership in W ashington and in
Houston.”
W ith professional sports making
new m illionaires o f black players
every year, it would seem that some
o f them would be fin an c ially able
and interested in becoming owners.
Furtherm ore, w ith 100 black busi
nesses having gross sales o f more
than $6 m illion in 1981, according
to Black Enterprise magazine, why
haven’t a group o f blacks sought to
purchase a pro franchise?
“ Basically, there are three prob
lems which have hindered black ac
cess to o w n ersh ip ,” Boyer notes,
who teaches one o f the few courses
in entertainm ent and sports law in
the country. “ One is the ’ ole boy’
netw ork and the question o f whe
ther they will allow certain persons
to come in.
“ A n o th er is getting the line o f
credit together. It takes an awful lot
o f money to run a pro franchise.
Most sports organizations will take
a loss for the first couple o f years.
“ S till another problem is that
sports is really show business.
Blacks have most been interested in
Professional Pest
Control Supplies
the entertainm ent part and not the
business part o f it .”
According to D r. Gattis N ow ell,
a professor in the Howard School o f
Business, the reason blacks have
been apprehensive about purchasing
pro sports franchises is that it is an
extremely high-risk proposition.
“ It is purely an economic deci
sion. There are blacks with money,
but not the kind o f money that they
can afford to lose millions o f dollars
by investing in a franchise.”
Boyer says a way o f m inim izing
one’s losses is by form ing a syndi
cate. For instasnee. the owner o f the
U S F L ’s Washington franchise has
said he expects to have 20-25 general
and limited partners to help provide
financing for his team.
D avid D ixon says he still hopes
that black m ajority ownership will
materialize in the expansion policy
o f the U S F L , which plans to add
two new teams a year.
” 1 am hoping that a real qualified
black group w ill purchase a fra n
chise. By ’q u a lifie d ’ I mean they
need to be able to lose $6-10 m il
lion.”
For Do-it-yourself
Hom eowners
Call: 249-0247
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... ♦ 15°°
Frank Wade J r., owner of W ade’e Tira Canter and Sandy Barr,
owner of the Flea M arket and Wraatllng Arana. Celebrate a great
Night of Suoceea.
(Photo: VIAnce Eaatar)
Reç
Wade night at raceway
by ViAnce Easier
Saturday night was Frank Wad<
Jr. night at Rose C ity Raceway.
Wade is owner o f W ade’s Tire Cen
ter in St. Johns.
The big celebrations started with
an exciting Destruction Derby spon
sored by Sandy B arr and Boyd
Phelps, owner o f the Flea M arket at
Portland Arena. Trophies and spe
15°?,
Braidersl Braiders! Braidersl
cial honors for drivers were spon
sored by W ad e’s T ire Center. The
top 14 best timers in six races quali
fied for the finals held that evening.
B u lk 100% H u m a n H air
1/8 lb. *15” « 1/4 lb. *29”
W e also carry h u m an hair fo r w e a v in g .
T o highlight the evening Frank
Wade displayed a generous amount
o f musical talent with his Country &
Western Band, singing songs from
the past and present that drove the
r” '~.g far.-••■ild.
t
M R S . C ’s W IG S
707 N.E. Framont 281-6S25
Drivers and atartere at the starting Una preparing for big race.
(Photo: ViAnce Easter)
Cleeed Atm. A Me«. 0F IN Tses, thrv t a t 11;30 AM te A.*00 FM
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