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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 1982)
Page 6 Portland Observer. August 11, 1982 J Unless there are some changes in mind that are being kept secret, the Portland Trailblazers are seemingly doomed for last place in the mighty Pacific division. As o f n o * only Seattle appears concerned w ith keeping pace with the W orld Champion Los Angeles Lakers. Seattle has signed former A ll-P rc David Thompson, and th a t’ s a move that will surely help Portland’ s drafting and trading policies leave a lot to be desired. For years they seeemd to only stand pat while drawing their usual 12,666 fans to each contest. The one question that is kicked around the most is that some people seem to think that management (Blazers) is content and w ill not spend money as long as the loyal 12,666 continue to show up. James Green, Blazer fan, thinks the ownership can’ t feel the beat and perhaps local ownership would be better. Larry Weinberg, Blazer owner, has stated repeatedly that he would spend the money to purchase any qua lity players available to the team. Weinberg says this but his actions in the past have proved quite to the contrary. Portland has long needed a big man, and wasn’ t A rtis G ilm ore available? Didn’ t San Antonio sign him to a big contract? Just have to wonder where Mr. Weinberg’s purse strings were then. Sure we would like to believe him when he says money is not an ob stacle, but his past actions w ill not allow us to. How can he ju s tify trading a bona-fide first round draft choice, Kelvin Ransey, for a second-round journeyman? W as it salary? W hy did he trade one o f the best power forwards in basketball, Maurice Lucas, when it was common knowledge that Luke was asking to renegotiate? Money again. Is Portland money conscious? “ I think they are," on fan chor tled. "W hy else would they let play ers like Lucas, Lionel Hollins, and Moses Malone get away?" ‘ ‘ I d o n ’ t care what they s a y ," Lou Harris confides. "The real an swer is in the money. From a pure business standpoint I can under stand what they’ re doing, but how long are the fans going to put up with a mediocre team is the question here.” There are many reasons that Port land does so badly in the draft but the main one is believed to be mon ey. It seems that Portland brass will use a first round selection to draft a second round player. The player becomes awed at being selected so high that he’ s happy to sign the dotted line A point in case is Lafayette " F a t ” Lever, P o rt land's number choice and the I Ith overall pick in the 1982 pro draft. Lever stands 6-3, 175 pounds. Lever played four years at Arizona State and in 113 games shot .450 from the floor, had 453 rebounds, and shot a respectful .752 from the charity stripe. He had 444 assists and aver aged 16.1 points per game. A ll good figures but hardly good enough to warrant a high first round selection. Lever will be easy to sign. Last year it was V irg in ia ’ s Je ff Lamp, who became the latest in a long line o f Blazer mistakes. Like Lever many N B A scouts thought Lamp would be available on the sec ond round. Portland raised more than a few eyebrows when they made him a first round choice. W hat seems to amaze us ail is that management is constantly expelling the need for a big man but their last five first round selections have all been guards. And the beat goes on. Portland w ill certainly finish in the basement if they enter the com ing season with the likes of: Peter Verhoeven, Mike Harper and Peter Gudmundsson. These guys just aren’t now, and never will be, NBA players. And add to that list M r. Lamp. This writer w ill never understand how some could consider Lamp as having a lock on making this team. It certainly was no, based on his rookie year’s performance, where at times Jeff even doubted himself as to whether he could play in the league. Sure, he’ s having a good year in the Los Angeles summer league, bu, then one has only to ex amine the personnel down there to arrive at a true evalution o f the rea sons why. The Blazers sent five veterans down and two o f inc five. Michael Harper and Darnell Valentine, were actually used as starters during the regular season. No other team in the league would bother to send down even one player of that caliber. Portland is making the name L. A. rooke league a misnomer. And aren’ t firs , round d ra ft choices supposed to help immediate ly? Not according to Stu Inman. Stu, when talking o f Lever, says, “ We expect that ’ Fats’ is a year or two away.” One could hardly be ex pected to attribute that statement to the 11th best player drafted in the entire U .S.A. And would be even harder for one to think that a team finishing as low as Portland, a team that missed the playoffs, could a f ford the luxury o f drafting for the future when help is needed urgently and right away. One would expect teams like L .A ., Boston and Phila delphia to fo llo w those lines. It would appear that someone is living in the past. Perhaps someone should remind those powers that be that the "W alton gang” is gone and that the futue is now at hand. And someone should remind someone tha, J e ff Lamp can’ t learn foo t speed and that he can go to the L .A . rookie league for ten years and would never learn to keep up with the Norm Nix ons and Gus Williamses o f the league. It appears likely that the eighth wonder o f the world is upon us. Or could you believe the next wonder o f the boxing world? Dwight Braxton at 5-6 and 174 pounds sim ply destroyed the 6-3 former lightheavy champ Matthew Saad Muhammad. Braxton took it to Saad and clearly destroyed him with stinging jabs and a ferocious body attack. In the third round the champion set his opponent up with a bea u tifu l com bination to the body, then winged in an overhand right that decked the ex-champ. We had Braxton p itching a shut-out. For a fighter that never fought as an amateur Braxton is remarkable. His fig ht w ith WBC champ Michael Spinks should be a dandy. And the prediction here is that no light-heavyweight around can with stand the punishment o f Braxton. Jerry Cummings, the DePaul All- American, is serious about joint the Athletes in Action. Mr. Cummings is very religious and one day plans to become a minister. Bat right now he’ s one heck o f a basketball player and San Diego owner Donald Sterling should use every means possible to sign the young man. Word has it tha, Cum mings will play for the religious or ganization if he's no, signed by Sep tember 1st. Fish known as sea horses are unique in the world; they are carried and given birth by the male, and not the female. • The city of Buffalo, N.Y., was not named after the buffalo, but from the mispronunciation of the French word "belle fleuve," meaning "beautiful river." • Some historians feel that Daniel Drawbaugh —and not Alexander Graham Bell —should be credited with inventing the telephone Drawbauah lost his claim before the U.S. Supreme Court by 1 vote. s We do not do business with South Africa American State Bank AN INDEPENDENT BANK Head Office 2737 N. E. Union Portland, Oregon 97212 Bffikror Beck C.MXt Re»v Michael Dokes, ranked No. I by the WBA, is planning to sue the or ganization if it goes through with the now-planned match between Randy "T e x ” Cobb and Mike Wea ver. Maybe Dokes should sue Wea ver. That w ill probably be the only way anyone will ge, him into a ring. And look for Sugar Ray Leonard to resume his boxing career. People w ill scoff and say he doesn't need the money, etc. But really now how many o f us could turn down ten million dollars, and for what reasons? Stay Physically Hove Fun Membership Bell Machine Tournaments Monthly Albine Tennis Tournament Located inside the National Guard Bldg Braxton—Superman o f the ring DWIGHT BRAXTON by A l McGUberry He is 5-6, 175 pounds. He is full o f fury and is a modern day warrior. He comes to fight, to demolish, to destroy his opponents. His name is Dwigh, Braxton. He reminds me o f a small Joe Frazier only filled with more emo tion and hate. You can see it in his eyes. He comes to fight not to play. Why not! He comes from the street where every day to survive is a struggle. Most o f his life has been spent in prisons. He has a mission, this man named Braxton. It is to be the light heavyweight champion o f the w orld. I tru ly believe he w ill make it. Last Saturday, August 7th, Dwight climbed into the ring to de fend his newly won title against the form er champion, Matthew Saad Muhammad at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Penna. Saad is no easy prey. He had de fended his title eight times; seven ended in knockouts. They say his loss to Braxton was a fluke. He has been a great champion and was fa vored to beat the mighty mite Brax- . BATTERIES Now H from • o n d itm n e d $ 19 95 ex BATTERY X C H AN G E’ 3007 N F U N IO N 74'» H IM ton. The crowd in the Spectrum was only 6,700. Everyone fel, Braxton would fall quick and the fight would be over. The odds-makers fel, that Braxton wasn’ t ready fo r the big time. Saad had twice the amount of fights and had fought men of great er skills than Braxton’s opponents— so why spend $25 to see a mis match? But maybe not in P hilly but all over this land fight fans can relate to Braxton. Here is a guy who has never had a chance. He has been knocked, kicked and humiliated all of his life. Here was his once-in-a-lifetim e chance to make it big. He was no Olympic champion like Sugar Ray. He has no T.V. contracts. A ll he has is the will to win and nobody, yes no body w ill stop the money wagon from coming to his door. To beat him you have to kill him, and that’s what the fans want to see. So the fight began. The bell just sets this man Braxton in another w o rld . He becomes superman—a real live Rocky. He was all over Saad. He fought like he was pos sessed. My, oh my! He was going for the money. Saad could no, con tain this mass o f fury. A t the end o f three rounds o f head and body shots Saad gave up. Why not? Who can defend against the wind? The gods seem now to smile on the mighty mite. This fight is just the beginning for Braxton. He w ill have the unifica tion fight with Michael Spinks—you know, Leon’ s baby brother. This w ill really draw big. The winner o f this bout w ill be the king o f all the light heavyweights. Each fighter will be given over a million dollars. I have no doubt what will happen with the money on the line. I believe with all the national exposure. Co sell and all, this guy will not change. He will charge at the bell and throw punches every minute o f every round. Can Michael contain all this pressure? W ill Supermamn pu, on his act again fo r us starved fight fans? Gee whiz, I wish it was on to day. I can’ t wait—how about you? Special Purchase] Jim Fisher Volvo just made a special buy on TURBOS - 2 Door 4 Door, Wagons, 4Spd & Automatics. Over 50 In Stock & On The Wayl >4 Aaron Mitchell and Son Plumbing * Experienced Plumber ★ Licensed and Bonded Established in business for 25 years Have lived in the Portland Area for 40 years WE STAND BEHIND ALL JOBS 1703 N.E. Alberta 288 4040 MAKE A NEW HOME ATTHEOLD ADDRESS WITH A NEIGHBORHOOD PROFESSIONAL Wm. D. 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