Page 8 Portland Observer, September 22, 1982
Sport Talk
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by Ron Sykes,
Sports Editor
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( H jr t n n
I n YA W S R esta u r a n t
The N ational Football League
players association angrily decided
they no longer could put up with the
status quo and went on strike Tues
day morning.
What are we going to do? How
w ill the poor fo o tb a ll freaks sur
vive? The fans I mean.
When the players decided to
strike did they really realize what it
would do to m illio ns o f fans
throughout the U.S.?
Did they stop to consider how
poor Joe Blow will spend those cold
Sunday mornings w ith no NFL
football on the tube?
Did the striking players just once
consider the wrist exercise poor Joe
Fan w ill miss on those uneventful
Sunday mornings? That exercise be
ing the flip p in g o f the TV knob
from 6 to 8, and then back again.
Well, anyway as glum as the situa
tion may seem there is some bright
ness. That brightness being the eyes
of the many wives across the nation
who w ill now have their hubbies
fo r company on Sunday morning
and again on Monday night. And
wowie! W on’ t we all miss Howie?
W ith all the dickering and negotia
ting over 1.8 billion here and 55 mil
lion there, w ouldn’ t it have been
great if someone had only thought
of the poor, lonesome fans?
MICHAEL SPINKS
It seems that every two months or
so lightheavy champ Michael Spinks
bounces into the ring and belts some
less-than-average challenger into
submission.
Spinks can’ t be blamed for being
champion o f a division that has very
few w orthy challengers. And one
has to believe that it ’s hurting the
champion by not meeting better
com petition. So, how can one fly
like an eagle after setting w ith a
bunch of Turkeys all day.
Michael does certainly run the
risk o f lowering his own abilities. If
not lowering, then certainly not
growing.
So, what does one do in Spinks*
situation? Michael has yet to
achieve his true potential. And in
order to do so he must get in against
some stiff competition.
Tough fights are what makes
fighters grow, i.e ., A li-F ra zie r,
Leonard-Hearns and Robinson-La-
Motta. So far Mike Spinks has had
nothing in this class. The closest be
ing his championship victory over
Eddie Mustafa Muhammad.
Last Saturday it was Johnny Da
vis. He became another in that long
line o f dubious challengers. Davis
was tough, that is for three rounds,
after that it was ju st a matter o f
time. His exit at 1:07 o f the ninth
was exactly the same route followed
by S pinks’ last opponent, Jerry
Celestine, if you care to use the term
"o p p o n e n t” lig h tly . Celestine,
another o f those ex-cons that now
choose to get rich quick through
pro-boxing, made his exit at 1:58 of
the eighth round exactly eight weeks
ago. Spinks fought his usual lacka
daisical style in the early rounds
against Davis. Michael entered the
ring weighing 173 !6, and during the
first three rounds allowed Davis to
push him around at w ill. In the
third, Davis provided the only sur
prise o f the afternoon when he
caught Michael w alking in to a
straight right hand that dazed the
champion.
For just a second it looked like
Davis might have a chance to finish
him , but M ichael’ s eyes soon
cleared and Spinks boxed his way
out o f it. That was to be the only
highlight for Davis, a man who has
the honor o f being the only man
ever to defeat Dwight Braxton in the
ring. Spinks’ next fight w ill hope
fully be with the hard-pressing Brax
ton to unify the lightheavyweight d i
vision. That one my friends will be a
test for the hard hitting Spinks.
Prom oter Butch Lewis has an
nounced the signing of the event and
the site will be announced at a later
date.
Former L .A . Dodger Glenn
Burke, featured in the October issue
o f Inside Sports, talked openly as
being gay w hile a member o f the
Dodgers.
Burke. 29, who is black, who was
also interview'd by N B C ’ s Bryan
Gumbel where he spoke openly o f
his affinity for men.
Burke was the 17th player drafted
by the Dodgers in 1972, but played
well enough to make it to the big
team by 1976.
Burke revealed to Gumbel that he
kept his sexual preference to himself
while a member o f the Dodgers. But
during his o ff days he participated
freely in the gay community. It is ru
mored that the soft-spoken Burke
was very popular among his team
mates, but was traded when the
fro n t o ffic e found out the tru th .
Burke was traded to Oakland in
of cleats, just might be returning soon
baseball Glenn became a member o f
Oakland’s world champion softball
team.
another $200,000 to his already
earned $900,000 salary this year.
Very interesting.
And how about Raider rookie
Marcus Allen? Everyone knew that
the ex-Trojan back was good, but
who could have believed this great.
In an impressive debut Marcus
ripped o ff 116 yards and one TD
rushing and another 64 yards pass
receiving.
And a ll this against (he world
champion San Francisco 49ers.
Then last Sunday he erupted for
56 yards rushing against A tlanta,
but most impressive o f all was his
pass receiving. A llen caught one
touchdown pass, a total o f four on
the day. And to add insult to injury
he threw a 47 yard pass to C lift
Branch.
Experts arc already comparing
Allen as the next O.J. Simpson.
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•
O .J. Simpson, one o f the best
running backs ever to lace on a pair
o f cleats, just might be returning soon
to professional football. No, not as
a player, but as a franchise owner in
the new USFL.
Reggie Jackson, the one called
M r. October, but this year adding
the titles o f Mr. June, July, August
and September, is certainly riding
high. For every ticket sold in the re
maining Angels games Reggie w ill
receive 50 cents per ticket.
Jackson is expecting to tack on
Mariners announced that they
have set Saturday, September 25th
as their fan appreciation night.
As a special guest entertainer, the
Mariners have arranged fo r the
famed San Diego checker to fly in
for an appearance for the fans.
The one millionth Mariner fan of
1982 w ill pass through the King-
dome turnstiles this weekend, and
the Mariners w ill recognize that
lucky fan by awarding him/her two
season tickets for 1983.
Amazingly, there was once an iceberg found in the
South Pacific Ocean that was bigger than the whole
country of Belgium.
We do j o t do buaineas with South Africa.
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