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
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2737 N. E. Union
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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
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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?
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