Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 5, 1983)
Portland Observer, January 5, 1983 Page 7 Sport Talk by Ron Sykes. Sports Editor Okay, sure I know all about hind sight always being 20/20. But after viewing all season long the prowess o f one Marcus A llen o f the L .A . Raiders, it's hard to imagine how any N FL team needing a good run ning back could pass on Allen. The Minnesota Vikings, who had so much success during the Chuck Foreman days, drafted the first run ning back in the 1981 draft and opt ed to go with D arrin Nelson, 3-9, 185-pound speedster from Stanford. Minnesota suppoedly was inter ested in Nelson because he was con sidered to be more versatile. Twice during his career on " th e fa rm ” Darrin was the only collegiate back to gain a thousand yards both rush ing and pass receiving. Pro scouts are usually a very knowledgeable lot. They usually look for the little hidden things that will determine whether a player can play and usually can know at what level. They all missed on Allen. Some considered him as having questionable speed, his forte was durability and intelligence. And some wondered how much influence that massive USC line had on his running ability. If some o f those pro scouts had bothered to attend just one USC practice and had gotten out early they could have seen the 6-2, 210 pound Allen not only catching pass es but also throwing them; you see Marcus was a brilliant prep QB be fore coming to SC. And now that I'm the proud possessor o f hind sight I can easily see that M r. Allen can do all those wonderful things that Mr. Nelson was noted for, plus a little more. more than potent as a power runner. The pack is back. Thia slogan has cascaded down the streets of Green Bay ever since the irrepressible Vince Lombardi departed Lambeau field. No time in the past has it been more true than today. ‘ ‘The pack is b ack.” Green Bay fields the best two wide-receivers in the game to day in James L o fto n and John Jefferson. This will be a good show. The prediction; Pick ’em! I f the Raiders are to advance in the playoffs, and I believe they are. Marcus Allen will have to play a big role. In last Sunday's big win over San Diego, Marcus rushed for 120 yards on 16 carries and scored two touch downs. NFL Picks New York Jets at Cincinnati Tampa Bay at Dallas The Jets coming o ff a season dos ing 37-17 loss to the KC Chiefs w on't rind it any easier this week when they meet the Bengals. Cincinnati, last year’s runner-up in the Super Bowl, should have little trouble overcoming N .Y . But, one should remember that this is the playoffs and strange things have been known to happen in post-sea son play. The Jets' strong point is their passing game where they rely on the speed of wide-receivers Wes ley Walker and Lou Jones. The Jet weakness is the secondary, and that’s sad when you're confronting a QB the caliber o f Ken Anderson. Anderson w ill pick them apart if given the time. Pressure on Ander son is the key for N .Y . Without it it will be a long afternoon for Jet fans. This is the playoffs and all the marbles are on the line. So wouldn t it be really un-American not to pick America's team Right. Okay, so we'll take the Cowboys to prevail at Texas Stadium. QB Doug Williams and the Bucs fought Dallas even-up in the regular season only to give it up in the dos ing minutes of the fourth quarter. Danny W hite and Tony Dorsett should rebound from Monday's sad showing. Dallas 21, Tampa 20. Or maybe the other way around. TERRY BRADSHAW AFL Picks San Diego vs. Pittsburgh The Bengals combine the passing of Anderson, with the rushing f 260 pound running back Pete Johnson to form a very form iddable team. Bengals 27, Jets 13. Naw England at Miami M iam i, 7-2, tied the Bengals for second place in the A FC behind the Raiders 8 -1. FRANCO HARRIS Coach Don Shula's teams are al ways well coached and his current one is no exception. New England's game is sporadic. The team doesn't know from one day to the other just who will be their quarterback. M i ami 21, New England 10. Detroit at Washington The Lions, 4-3, claimed the 8th and last N F L spot on the heels of defending Super Bowl champ SF's loss to the lowly Rams. D e tro it, sorry to say, is not a worthy contender for the 8-1 Red skins. Washington is my pick to meet the Raiders at Pasadena. The Red skins are solid both offensive and defensive. QB Joe Thiesman is hav ing a super year. Redskins 24, De troit 7. St. Louis at Qraan Bay The Cardinals 3-4 and the Pack ers 5-3-1 could very well be the best matchup of the opening round. St. Louis QB Neil Lomax is still in a learning pattern, but does show steady improvement. Roy Green is better than most wide-receivers and O.J. Anderson is The Steelers just won’t be able to put enough points on the board to hold o ff the aerial crazy chargers. Dan Fouls just may be the best passer in the game today. H e’s cer tainly the most productive. On the other side, Pittsburgh's Terry Brad shaw has been on a roller coaster ride Sometimes up and sometimes down. Bradshaw started the season like a house afire, but cooled o ff consider ably as o f late. Since this w ill un doubtedly be an offensive show, be cause neither team is really strong defensively, we must go with the best offensive QB and that's Dan Fouls. Charger, 34, Steelers 24. ham and A rizo n a. Whereas the U S FL teams are not competing against the N F L , they are latching on to the apron strings of the older league, and that probably is because of th e T .V . market. What I'm wondering now is with the renovation o f C ivic Stadium why co uld n't Portland support a team at this level? As you can see the Pacific North west is the one area that was com pletely left out. Civic Stadium with a capacity of 40,000 would be ideal and the meter area o f more than 2.3 m illion to draw from could be more than ade quate. From March to July weather- wise wouldn't pose much of a prob lem. Civic does have artificial turf. Just have to believe it could really work here. Are there any investors around? Our congratulations go out to black golfer Calvin Peete for all the successes he enjoyed during 1982. Peete won four tournaments for a total of $318,470. The best ever by a man of color. At the ripe old age of 39, too. Calvin Peete had to overcome nu merous obstacles. He did, and we wish him success through '83. Also congratulations to ex-U of O great Ahmad Rashad. Rashad end ed his career with the Vikings and was immediately signed by CBS to do sports commentary. It seems like only yesterday when I first met Rashad, then going by the name of Bobby Moore. Bobby was riding in the back seat o f friend Henry Lewis' 1969 G TO , clad in tee shirt and blue jeans and hoping to make the starting lineup his second year at Oregon. their championship game on July 3. Everything about this new league seems to be well thought out and in the best interest of all concerned. U nlike the now defunct W F L , this new league w ill make no a t tempt to overshadow the NFL. The new kids on the block are: The Los Angeles Express, Arizona Wranglers, New Jersey Generals, Washington Federals, Birmingham Stallions, Chicago Blitz, Oakland Invaders. Philadelphia Stars, Den ver Gold. Michigan Panthers, Bos ton Breakers and Tampa Bay Ban dits. One can easily see that all are cur rent N FL cities except for Birming Jackson Named Stu Jackson, a player for the U ni versity of Oregon during the Dick H arter years has been named to Coach Jim Haney's staff as a fu ll time assistant. Jackson played for three seasons at Oregon. He moves up from the part-time assistant post he held last year. Jackson, who finished his basket ball playing career at Seattle U . in 1978, averaged 13.2 points for the Ducks as a sophomore in 1974-75 and 11.3 the next year. He ranks No. 23 on Oregon’s all-time scoring list with 861 points. Jackson is one o f 14 players in Duck history to score 30 or more points in one game, hitting 31 against Seattle Pacific in 1975. Jackson, a native o f Reading, Pa., will he active in recruiting and other adm inistrative duties. Stu earned a Masters degree from Ore gon last fall. W ERE HERETO HELP USFL Draft The USFL was scheduled to hold its first draft Tuesday. The League will play its first game on March 6. Arm ed with good T V money the USFL should get o ff to a good start. League officials are planning to play STU JACKSON CHEVROLET YOU! Expert consultation on your transportation needs on both new and used cars. WENDELL BROWN Wet Kry/ry*'-’ •• • Kävin Long of the Jata carrias tha ball. RENT THIS NEW VIDEO RECORDER BY RHONE 239-7451 ABSOLUTELY NO CREDIT HASSLE! ALL RENT APPLIES TO PURCHASE! Less ‘ 15°° off first month with this ad. Only ‘ 59°° first month! SAME DAY *74°°wa mohtm ______ DELIVERY! DELIVERY AND SERVICE INCLUDED RfE CARRY OUR OWN ACCOUNTS! (In m o el t » M » | NO DEPOL. REQUIRED! ... U*-* AND THAT'S NOT ALL WE CARRY. . . Television» Refrigerators Freezers Dishwashers Washers and Dryers Furniture you CAN ESTABLISH VOUR OWN CREDIT WHEN VOU RENT TO OWN AT ¡/U N IO N AVENUE-N KJ GLASS l/l'l ______ in ti im . . M l 122 N.E. 122nd Ave. O»1 111-4 • • • • lesunnct Citimi I rw ' m o Citimi le Infitti n iti Jt • S T O R M DOORS A W IN D O W S A U T O GLASS • SCREEN REPAIRS STORE FRO NTS • MIRRORS W IN D O W GLASS • PLEXIGLASS PLATE GLASS 2 8 9 -8 8 8 7 *1 0 9 M l U N IO N A V . Professional Pest Control Supplies PERS For Do-it-yourself Homeowners Z C a ll: 286-6252__ • Licensed Consultants • Eliminate your pest problems like the pros We can tell you what to use and _________ how to use it. &CAR TELEPHONES ★ KEMI-KIL PRODUCTS ★ Mon-Fri: 9-6 Sat 9-2 pm m t u r d a y »msto6| CHEVROLET-HONDA CO , K. 2030 N. Willis Blvd. (in Kenton) 13121 NE SANDY BLVD. • 239-7451 DON TONKIN Ant«, roaches, silverfish. moles, gophers, rats, m ice — just abou l anything! ____________ THE BEEPER PEOPLE 7 1 3 S .W . 1 2 th Street C all 2 2 4 -B E E P fo r a fre e d em o n stratio n .
