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.