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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 27, 1983)
Page 4 Section II Portlend Observer, April 27,1983 Little League Round-up Petett's mistake? b v Start Sykes M any p.*opj^ may u y (hat Andre P e n a l m adafa very big m istake. Others will that he made the right choice. But no matter who is right, Andre Pet let did what he wanted to, and that ia to run track. For years now , A n d re Pettet has had his life centered around tennis, not only did he play from dawn to dusk, but he also w orks at the R aleigh H ills Racket Club. It seemed as though he was a ll set to enter in to his senior year at Jesuit High School as one of the top tennis players in the state, looking forward to a possible college scholarship. Until one day in January when he surprised both the tennis coach and the members o f the team by announcing that he was going to run track. " N o one took me serious ly ," said Andre, "u n til the first day o f tennis p ractice when I d id n ’ t show up, that is when people finally started to believe m e." Andre had always known that he had speed, but he wasn't quite sure just how much, until back in Decem ber when he w ent to the O regon Invitational (all-comers) meet at the coliseum. "1 wanted to go so that I could see what I could d o ,” Pettet said. " I was getting tired o f tennis and I wanted to try something new." This is where Pettet found that he had a lo t m ore ta le n t than he thought, he finished third in a field o f over a hundred o f some o f the top sprinters in Oregon. A fte r realizing his great p o te n tial in the sport o f track, Pettet had to make that one crucial decision and that was to give up tennis, a sport which he had been playing intensely for the last couple of years, to explore the new unknown w orld o f tra ck . W hen asked w hy, Pettet says, " I had been getting tired o f tennis for a while now, and I just d o n 't like it as much as 1 used to , and I th ou gh t th a t I w o u ld give something else (track) a try before I w ent to c o lle g e ." W hen told that there was no money in track, Pettet simply replied, "1 d id n 't plan to go pro in tennis anyw ay, so I am just going to run tra ck ." O ne thing is fo r sure and that is Pettet doesn't need athletics to get through life , he has carried over a 3.3 grade point average all the way through high school, he has done all the things that he has wanted to do including graduating as vice presi dent o f his class, and he has been accepted to the University o f C a li fornia at Berkeley. So far, Pettet has helped the track team greatly. H e has won all o f his races except fo r one thus fa r, and with a little more experience he feels that he can win them all and qualify fo r the state meet in a couple o f weeks. The question will never be answered as to whether or not A ndre Pettet m ade the rig ht decision, he m ight have been a n o th e r undiscovered black talent in a so-called " w h ite m a n ’ s " sp o rt, or he could o f just faded o u t lik e so m any other athletes. But, the one thing that we do know is th a t A n d re P ettet did w hat he w anted to d o , and that apparently is the best decision for him. ATTENTION T h e N ig e ria n Soccer C lu b w ill play Alabi for the Northern District Cham pionship on M ay I , noon, at M u ltn o m a h S tad iu m . T h e w inner will procede to the state meet Hollywood T h e H o lly w o o d L ittle League began the season w ith a smashing hom e run by Joel K eefer o f the Silverstreaks in the M ajors division. The Silverstreaks went on to defeat Steenson’s A .M ./P .M . Arco 22 to 5. In the H o lly w o o d In te rm e d ia te League (nine, ten, and eleven-year- olds) the A rctic C ircle and Zenners Meats teams have perfect records so far. Interm ediate Team Wins Losses Arctic Circle Zenners Meats Volchek Bootery Luzaderi Photo EXERCISE: Bill Coaby runs w ith youngsters p articip atin g In H o w ard U niversity a th le tic program. Two rim . N « » n « The Multnom ah Kennel Club will kick o f f its second h a lf century o f Oreyhound racing M o nd ay, M ay 2, 1983. Schooling races began on A pril 11 at the tra c k , and is now com plete after nearly 400 races were run. A fu ll complem ent o f kennels is represented at M K C this season, with a total o f 33 greyhound kennels ready to open the season M o n d ay nig h t, including the D A D kennel, which boasts the nation’s top money winning dog in D D ’s Jackie. W ag erin g w ill co n tin u e am ong greyhound fans, as it has fo r 30 years in O regon, w ith every race a quinella race, a nightly daily double and win-place-show betting as per pari-mutual wagering. Trifecta bet ting will also be available on all but the first race. Kareem s unguarded moment In gam e one o f the Blazers vs Lakers series, a strange thing hap pened. Someone told Coach Jack Ramsay to forget about the book on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Someone told him to forget (hat for years it has taken two men to guard the big man when the ball goes in to him. So, when play started out on the first Laker possession, Laker guard Norm N ixon looked right then left before he spied the big man in the middle. Nixon lofted a soft pass into Kareem and expected V alentine to im m ediately drop dow n. Instead, Valentine followed Nixon on a curl and left Jabbar with only Cooper to contend with. Kareem had to be shocked to find that he was all alone w ith only the 6-10 W ayne C ooper. The big man danced w ith glee as he spun and lofted a shy hook for two. And with th at the game was o ver. A n d any time the Blazers attempt using solo coverage on the greatest offensive player the game has known, the out come will be the same. T o a man, the Blazers will tell you th at they can beat the L akers. It d oesn 't m a tter th at L .A . is the dominant team in the West. L .A . is a team o f stars, while Portland is a team o f " n o stars." Yet these Blazers cannot be count ed out. In order to w in , P o rtlan d Special Spring Sale Gospel Records L.P.s *5“ Singles Two-record Set 8M W in tL o a sg . 2 0 1 1 2 2 Minor Team Frank’s Arco Elk Cleaners I. W .A . Pietro’s Pizza Sande Auto Stone's Carpets Wins Losses 3 I 1 I 1 2 3 BEAVER BASKETBALL CAM P hy Ron Sykes. Sports Editor must catch the Lakers on a cold night while they (Blazers) are enjoy ing a good night. Il's as simple as that. T h e Lakers can survive a cold night from both Nixon and Jamaal W ilk e s . I f C a lv in N a tt and Jim Paxson are o ff, this series w ill end on Sunday. Point guard is a critical position for Portland. Both Valen tine and Fats Lever must push the ball upcourt on offense, they must penetrate and dish o ff when the big guy comes over for the block. I f this happens and can somehow get Jabbar in foul trouble, and with both James W o rth y and Bob M c A d o o sidelined due to in ju ry , then perhaps they could w in. And how about that tackle Boston's Dan Ainge put on Tree Rollins? Ainge, quickly gaining a reputation as an aggressive player, went right after A tla n ta 's T ree a fte r being socked w ith an elb o w . I l was this same A in g e , w hile at B righam Y o u n g , that also went after OSU's 6-10 Steve Johnson. A in g e received a sore finger and a 1000-dollar Fine, while Rollins received a deflated ego and a $3,000 fine, plus a Five day suspen sion. I f you rem em b er, A in ge was kicked out o f the game, Rollins was not. However, after viewing the video tapes, it was determined that Rollins was the p e rp e tra to r. N o w , why won’ t the officials use instant replay on some of those goal-tending calls. Very interesting! The Boston-Milwaukee series will be a dandy. The Celtics are ripe for being picked o ff and the Bucks have the pails to do the picking. Sidney M o n c rie f w ill run w ild if Boston Coach Bill Fitch puts Ainge on him. M ilw aukee was one o f the N B A ’s stronger teams at the close of Major Team AEC PJ's Pirates O .l. Joes Kandel Knit H . W .H . JOIN YOUR FRIENDS AT RALPH MILLER'S Sport Talk Fifty years of Kennel Club racing T h e excitem en t has begun fo r players in the Interstate Little League as well. Spectators are sure to catch some excellen t p la y in g evenings and Saturdays by these young people at A rbor Lodge Park. the season. Center Bob Lanier has had three weeks in which to rest his aching knees. That will help Boston's fro n t line must rise to the occasion or else Milwaukee will steal this one. L a rry Bird and M arques Johnson w ill play to a s ta n d -o ff. R obert Parish gets the nod at center over L an ier, but the Bucks backcourt is far superior. Stanford's John Elway. picked in Tuesday's N F C d raft by Baltimore, allegedly said he would not play for anyone other than a West Coast team. H o w e v e r, he d id say he w ould play for the Dallas Cowboys. Is the G o ld en Bay q u a rterb a ck so good that he can make such demands? Is he re a lly the R a lp h Sam pson o f football? As o f yet Sampson hasn't made such ludicrous demands. W a s n 't S ta n fo rd 's record last year 6 and 6? That's hardly anything to write home about. Look for a fast housecleaning in Seattle. Believe me, some heads will roll after a so-so regular season and that early defeat at the hands o f the Blazers. Lenny W ilkins just may be on his way back to the front office. R u m o r has it th at the Sonics are through with Lonnie Shelton. One source has it that a deal will be made for Shelton as soon as possible. Also loo k fo r M a rk R a d fo rd , ex O S U great, to join Roy Blume next year. "Coachot th« Yaw" FOR BOYS & GIRLS 9-18 Juno 28-July 1 July 24-July 29 Aufl. 7-Aufl. 12 CALL OR WRITE TO: BEAVERS BASKETBALL CAMP 136 GILL COLISEUM, CORVALLIS, OR. 97331 • 764-2078 Where are the black coechee? The N B A now has lost two-thirds o f th eir black head coches. P au l Silos was fired at San Diego, while A l A llie s stepped down at G olden State to join the front office. lxnny Wilkins of the Seattle Super Sonics is the lone remaining, and his stuff is shaky. Blazers A lu m n i vs. Maranatha Allstars! Benson High School April 30,1983 7:00 PM Adults: $3.00 Children 12 & Under: $1.00 Tickets on sale nowl Proceeds to Building Fundi This coupon is good for $10°° o ff any new T.V. Tickets available at the game.
