Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 30, 1983)
s Portland Observer, March 30, 1983 Page 11 Sport Talk hv Kon Syitä. Sports Editor There has been a good deal of wonderment about the career of Portland's Darryl Motley, the one time Grant H igh baseball player, who was labeled a " c a n 't miss" when he was graduated in 1978. Motley signed on with the talent- rich Kansas City Royals and report edly received a bonus in the $30- 50,000 range. Arizona State, the ultimate base ball university, offered M otley a scholarship to m atriculate at Tempe. Now, for those of you who don't k n o w .. ASU is the U C LA of baseball. The Wildcats are blessed with such good weather that they're able to play the game virtually year- round. Their schedule is usually around 100 games and play some major league teams during the exhi bition season. Four years at ASU is equivalent to four years in the mi nors. And normally it takes four to five years for complete develop ment. Very few players make it to the biggies under that aforem en tioned time frame. Darryl opted for the money and was immediately signed to the Roy als instructional school in Braden ton, Fla. After two weeks of intense train ing he then was assigned to Ft. Myers the Royals A A Farm Club. Motley finished the '78 season with Ft. Myers hitting .338 and 3 homers. The following season, his second full one, was a good one for Motley at Ft. Myers. He hit .287, 13 triples and 15 round-trippers. He was re warded by being shipped to Triple A Omaha of the International League. At Omaha Motley ran into prob lems. First, he found out that the curve ball he hit so well in double -A ball, he no longer could hit at the higher level. Motley struggled and by mid-sea son was hitting fairly consistently. He now had visions o f joining po tent Royal outfield. Motley made it to the Gig club after the ill-fated strike. The played right field the rest of the abbreviated season, but lost out in favor of Clint Hurdle. All didn’t go well for young Mot- . ley. He was groomed as a third base man at Ft. M yers, a position he played well. In fact, because he played it so well was the reason KC management decided to shift him to the o utfield . Perhaps that may sound strange to some, but remem ber KC had a man named Brett playing third and George had led the Am erican League in hitting that same year. As a matter of fact Brett had flirted with .400 most o f that year. So, at the request of Kansas City, young Motley exchanged his infield ers glove for a larger outfielders mitt and trotted out to right field. 1982 found Motley again in Oma ha. where he had a so-so season, played winter ball in South America and was again assigned to Omaha. Darryl again had hopes of making the majors in 1983. He was leaving a good spring until a broken foot side lined him midway through March His contract again is assigned to Om aha. This is the fifth minor league season for the 23-year-old Portlander and perhaps his last. The smoke has cleared. 900 m il lion Chinese nationalists could care less, but the final four have arrived on the scene. They are blazing a trail to Albuquerque, N. Mexico, leaving behind the Villanovas, Kentuckys, Tar Heels and, yes, the Cavs. A nd. no, M r. Ralph Sampson, the best player in the land, will once again be denied his chance of win ning a national championship. That opportunity will go to either Hous ton, Louisville, N orth C arolina State or Georgia. Those are the tour teams that will assemble on Satur day, April 2 to begin the shoot-out. And when the smoke clears those Texans should have the best of it all. North Carolina Slate, the No. 6 seed in the West regional will play Geor gia, the No. 9 seed from the East. This w ill be a m atch-up o f two teams that no one would have be lieved would make it this far. Geor gia. 23-9, and 9-9 in the SEC, is truly the Cinderella team. The Bull dogs are making their first ever ap pearance in the N CA A tournament, and the Georgians are playing like a team possessed. The Bulldogs are only in it because they won the SEC tournament, and they’ve been on a roll ever since. It all began for Georgia when they knocked o ff Boston University in Greensboro, N .C . Then it was on to Syracuse where they took on St. Johns, a team once ranked No. I in the nation. They defeated the Red- men handily, and that victory served notice to the world that the Geor gians were ready. On Sunday, March 27, 1983 they were matched against the Tar Heels, another team that had been No. I. The outcome was the same. It was Georgia han dily defeating the much bigger Tar Hap*. l i e Bulldogs are pitted against NC State, another Cinderella team, •nd the outcome is doubtful Wh»t is not doubtful is the fact that neither Georgia nor NCS will be given much of a chance against the winner of the Houston vs. Louisville encounter. For all practical purposes the championship game is being played on the first day of the tournament, when the Cougars and Cardinals take the floor. The game between Houston and Louisville will be plaved somewhere in outer space. Both Houston and Louisville have some of the finest athletes ever to set foot on a hardwood floor. I mean I ’ve seen teams that were fast, teams that were quick, teams that could jum p. But never have these eyes seen so many players that could do all those things. Houston has three sure first-round N B A picks in the 7-0 Center, Akeem "T h e D ream " Olajuwon, 6-9 fo r ward Micheaux and 6-8 forw ard Drexler. These guys are studs. Louisville is equally as talented, but Akeem's center play makes Houston the favorite. Hats % Hats Listen I The Mordenestic Social Club will give you a prize for the hat you are wearing — go back as far as the '30s, '40s, and up to now, the ’80s - and dig out a bad hat or mad hat as long as it is a hat. April 2 . 1983 at the Royal Esquire Club Music by Lloyd Allen Band. from 9:00 p.m. until D o n atio n $3 ad van ce. 54 a t door. Prizes ~ Prizes — Prizes. Proceeds go to help so m eo n e and T o k e n o f Love. Compiate Dyna-Vlelon Electronic Engine Diagnoais $8” Linton Townts, Trailblazer forward, signs auto graphs following the Official Baeketsinking Cere mony calabrating tha baginning of axpansion con- struction at tha Salvation Army Moora Straat Can- tar. (Photo: Richard Brown) We IneteN N e w or Deed P e n e Year Buy e» W e Buppfy • e H f M AKf M A IS ! Lube b Oil Change $8” 4 qts 10 4 0 /filter extra W a kaap costa down by tatting tha parts warahouaaa kaap aacaaa inyantorias and just stocking what wa can turn ovar quickly International Automotive 2100 N. Interstete Ave. 284-2663 (B etw eeen B roadw ay & Frem ont Bridges) W A N N A STA R T S O M E T H IN ? Then try the Union Avenue . . . © BATTERY X -C H A N C E FREE Installation FROM *19.95 FREE Battery Test FREE Electrical check E «Chang« 3007 N.E. Union Ave. 249-0101 PERS &CAR TELEPHONES Portland's Wayne Coopar puts ona past Datrolt's Rally Tripucka i Ilka tha Blazer* put ona past tha Pistons. 114-1o7. (Photo: Dan Long) Help Prevent Birth Defects- The Nation’s Number One Child Health Problem. S u p p o rt th e THE BEEPER PEOPLE. 713 S.W. 12th Street Call 224-BEEP for a free demonstration. <§) March of Dimes IBWTH DEFECTS FOUNDATION!
