Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 1982)
Page 6 Portland Observer, August 11, 1982 I--------------------------- Sport Talk 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 now o n ly Seattle appears concerned w ith keeping pace w ith the W orld C ham pion Los Angeles I akers. Seattle has signed form er A ll Pro D avid T h o m p s o n , and th a t’ s a move that w ill surely help. P o rtla n d ’ s d ra ftin g and trading policies leave a lot to be desired. F or years they seeemd to only stand pat w hile d ra w in g th e ir usual 12,666 fans to each contest. The one question that is kicked around the most is that some people seem to th in k that management (B lazers) is co n te n t and w ill not spend m oney as long as the loyal 12,666 continue to show up. James Green, Blazer fan, thinks the ow n e rsh ip c a n ’ t feel the beat and perhaps local ownership would be better. L a rry W einberg, Blazer ow ner, has stated repeatedly that he would spend the money to purchase any q u a lity players a va ila b le to the team. Weinberg says this but his actions in the past have proved quite to the contrary. P o rtla n d has long needed a big m an, and w asn’ t A rtis G ilm o re available? D id n ’ t San A ntonio sign him to a big contract? Just have to wonder where M r. Weinberg’ s purse strings were then. Sure we would like to believe him when he says m oney is not an o b stacle, but his past actions w ill not allow us to. How can he ju s tify tra d in g a bona tide first round d ra ft choice, Kelvin Ranscy, fo r a second-round journeyman? Was it salary? Why did he trade one o f the best pow ei fo rw a rd s in b a ske tb a ll, M a u rice 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. “ Why else would they let play ers like 1 ucas, Lionel H ollins, and Moses Malone get away?" ” 1 d o n ’ t care what they sa y ,” Lou Harris confides. “ The real an swer is in the money. From a pure business s ta n d p o in t 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 d ra ft but the main one is believed to be m on ey. It seems that Portland brass w ill 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 L a fa ye tte “ F a t" Lever, P o rt land’s number choice and the 11th overall pick in the 1982 pro d ra ft. Lever stands 6-3, 175 pounds, l ever played four years at Arizona State and in 113 games shot .450 from the floor, had 453 rebounds, and shot a respectful .752 fro m the c h a rity 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 w ill be easy to sign, l ast year it was V ir g in ia ’ s J e ff Lam p, who became the latest in a long line o f Blazer mistakes. L ike Lever m any N B A scouts th o u g h t Lamp would be available on the sec ond round. Portland raised more than a few eyebrows when they made him a first round choice. What seems to amaze us all is that management is constantly expelling the need for a big man but their last five firs t round selections have all been guards. And the beat goes on. P o rtla n d w ill c e rta in ly fin ish in the basement if they enter the com ing season w ith the likes o f: Peter Verhoeven, Mike Harper and Peter G udm undsson. These guys ju s t league. aren’t now, and never w ill be, NBA It appears lik e ly that the eighth players. wonder o f the world is upon us. And add to that list M r. Lam p. O r could you believe the next This w rite r w ill never understand w onder o f the boxing w orld? how some could consider Lam p as D w ight B raxton at 5-6 and 174 having a lock on making this team. pounds sim p ly destroyed the 6-3 It certainly was not based on his form er lightheavy champ Matthew rookie year’s performance, where at Saad Muham m ad. Braxton took it times Je ff even doubted him self as to Saad and clearly destroyed him to w hether he could play in the w ith stinging jabs and a ferocious league. Sure, he’ s having a good body attack. In the third round the year in the Los Angeles sum m er champion set his opponent up with league, but then one has only to ex a b e a u tifu l c o m b in a tio n to the amine the personnel down there to body, then winged in an overhand arrive at a true evalution o f the rea right that decked the ex-champ. We sons why. had B ra x to n p itc h in g a sh u t-o u t. The Blazers sent five veterans For a fighter that never fought as an down and two o f the five, Michael amateur Braxton is remarkable. Harper and Darnell Valentine, were H is fig h t w ith W BC champ actually used as starters during the Michael Spinks should be a dandy. regular season. No other team in the And the prediction here is that no league w ould bother to send down light-heavyweight around can w ith even one player o f that caliber. stand the punishment o f Braxton. P o rtla n d is m aking the name L A. rooke league a misnomer. Jerry Cummings, the DePaul A ll- A nd a re n ’ t fir s t round d ra ft American, is serious about joint the choices supposed to help immediate Athletes in A ction. M r. Cummings ly? N ot according to Stu Inm an. is very religious and one day plans Stu, when ta lk in g o f Lever, says, to become a minister. “ We expect that ‘ Fats’ is a year or But right now he’s one heck o f a two away.” One could hardly be ex basketba ll player and San Diego pected to attribute that statement to owner D onald Sterling should use the 11th best player drafted in the every means possible to sign the entire U .S .A . A nd w ould be even young man. W ord has it that Cum harder fo r one to think that a team mings w ill play for the religious o r finishing as low as Portland, a team ganization if he’ s not signed by Sep that missed the playoffs, could a f tember 1st. ford the luxury o f d ra ftin g fo r the future when help is needed urgently M ichael Dokes, ranked No. 1 by and right away. One w ould expect the W BA, is planning to sue the or teams like L .A ., Boston and P hila ganizatio n i f it goes through w ith delphia to fo llo w those lines. It the now -planned m atch between would appear that someone is living Randy “ Tex” Cobb and Mike Wea in the past. Perhaps someone should ver. Maybe Dokes should sue Wea remind those powers that be that the ver. That w ill probably be the only “ Walton gang” is gone and that the way anyone w ill get him into a ring. futue is now at hand. And someone And look for Sugar Ray Leonard to should rem ind someone that J e ff resume his b o xing career. People Lam p ca n ’ t learn fo o t speed and w ill s c o ff and say he doesn’ t need that he can go to the L .A . ro o kie the money, etc. league fo r ten years and would never But really now how many o f us learn to keep up with the Norm N ix could turn down ten m illion dollars, ons and Gus W 'illiam ses o f the and for what reasons? 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. Drawbaugh lost his claim before the U.S. Supreme Court by 1 vote. b u sin e ss w ith S o u th A fric a . American State Bank AN INDEPENDENT BANK Head Office 2737 N. E. Union Portland, Oregon 97212 Braxton—Superman o f the ring DW IGHT BRAXTON by A ! McGHberry He is 5-6, 175 pounds. He is fu ll o f fury and is a modern day warrior. He comes to fig h t, to demolish, to destroy his opponents. His name is Dwight Braxton. He rem inds me o f a sm all Joe Frazier only fille d w ith more emo tion and hate You can see it in his eyes. He comes to fight not to play. W hy n o t! He comes fro m 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 cham pion o f the w o rld . I tr u ly believe he w ill make it. Last S a turday, A ugust 7th, Dwight climbed into the ring to de fend his newly won title against the fo rm e r cham pion, M atthew Saad M uham m ad at the S pectrum in Philadelphia, Penna. Saad is no easy prey. He had dc fended his title eight tim es; 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 N pw Fr R e- o n r iit in n e d from *1995 ex B A TT E R Y X CHANGE f t * ) / A. f U N IO N <• 4 » < ! I •'! ton. The crow d in the Spectrum was only 6,700. Everyone felt Braxton would fall quick and the fight would be over. The odds-makers felt that B raxton w asn’ t ready fo r the big time. Saad had twice the amount of fights and had fought men o f great er skills than Braxton’s opponents— so why spend $25 to see a m is match? But maybe not >n P h illy 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 o f his life. Here was his o n c e -in -a -life tim e chance to make it big. He was no O lym pic champion like Sugar Ray. He has no T V. contracts. A ll he has is the w ill to win and nobody, yes no body w ill stop the money wagon from com ing to his d oor. 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 B raxton in another w o rld . He becomes superm an—a real live R ocky. He was all over Saad. He fo u g h t lik e he was pos sessed. M y, oh m y! He was going tor the money. Saad could not 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? W ho can defend against the w ind? The gods seem now to smile on the mighty mite. This fight is just the beginning for Braxton. He w ill have the u n ific a tion fight with Michael Spinks—vou know , I co n ’ s baby bro th e r. This w ill really draw big. The winner of this bout w ill be the king o f all the light heavyweights. Each fighter w ill be given over a m illion dollars. I have no doubt what w ill happen with the money on the line. I believe w ith all the national exposure. Co sell and all, this guy w ill not change He w ill charge at the bell and throw punches every m in u te o f every round Can Michael contain all this pressure? W ill Supermamn put on his act again fo r us starved fig h t Ians? Gee whiz, I wish it was on to day. I can’ t w ait—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 Way! 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. A lberta 288 4040 M AKE A NEW HOME A T TH E OLD ADDRESS WITH A NEIGHBORHOOD PROFESSIONAL Wvr\. D. Herboth Rem odeling CALL: 289 1600 Interior* Exterior Addition«• Weatherization« DRIVE ONE TO SEE THE DIFFERENCE! Trades are encouraged. JIM FISHER 2108 W. OPEN Daiiv y-8 Sat 9-6 Sun 1 1-5 221-0060
