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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 29, 1984)
Paga 8 Portland Observar, February 29, 1984 Sport Talk W ENTW ORTH b y Hon Sykes. Sports Editor Kudos (o coach John Stilwell and his G ra n t H ig h G en erals. T h e G en erals, led by (he super Rich H o llis , closed out th eir reg u lar season by squeaking past a su r prised Benson team 8 1 -80. Hollis led the blue and grey with 28 points. In doing so, he beat out Tony Fair o f Cleveland fo r the P .I.L . individual scoring c h a m p io n s h ip . H o llis finished at 26.1 ppg to Fair's 23.9. " I w asn't interested in w inning the scoring t i t le , ” H o llis proclaim ed, "how ever, getting my teamm ates involved was more im p ortant.'* W hat was important was th at G ra n t finished undefeated in conference play. T he Generals are ranked second in the state, losing o n ly to N o . I ranked Parkrose in o v e rtim e in the season opener; a game played on the Bronco court. Secondly, M r. Hollis stated that he was glad for his coach. The rap on John Stilwell, and I surely can’t un d erstan d w hy, is th at he c o u ld n 't coach a bunch o f Black kids. Just w ho did he coach at W ash ing to n H ig h School when he to o k those kids into M em orial Coliseum? Anyone saying John Stilwell can’t coach is crazy and even crazier if th e y 're accusing S tilw e ll o f not being able to relate to Blacks. This writer happens to know about John S tilw e ll and the w o n d erfu l things he’s done, on his own tim e, to im pro ve the lives o f players on his team. I f that knock is coming from dow n state coaches, then they had just better do their hom ework. Sure, Stilwell does have the talent at Grant. But you better believe that the team is well prepared each time they take the court. John Stilwell is the kind o f coach that w ouldn’ t ac cept anything less. And the reason th at he's doin g so w ell is sim ply because the players recognize what he's doing and respond w ell to it. G ra n t is a young team th a t does make mistakes at times. They drew a tough assignment in B eaverton, the m etro cham ps, in the opening round. Richard Hollla vs Anthony Taytor Folks get your tickets for this one. On the big M C court this one will be a dream . T h e state o f O regon has some dandy prep players this year and H o llis and T a y lo r could very w ell be the best. T a y lo r is silver quick and is more the point guard type w hile H o llis , at 6 * 3 ” , can d o m in ate a game inside w ith his outstanding leaping ability. The 6 ’4 ” T aylo r, too, is a leaper w ith a deadly accurate ju m p . In a M etro league contest, T aylo r made a steal at m id -c o u rt, o u t-race d a Jesuit guard , was a irb o rn e at the free throw line and culm inated the play with a " D r . J " dunk. When Taylor and Hollis take the court next week, you better believe college coaches will nil the stands. G ran t does have good size. They go w ith senior center Steve V an - N essi6'6” ), sophomore T on y Ross ( 6 ’ 2 " ) , and Jerry W eath ersp oo n (3 * 1 0 ” ) at g u a rd , and at the f o r ward, sophomore M ark West (6 '6 ” ) along with Hollis. G rant is far and away the best o f the P .I.L . Coach Bobby Harris' 16- 4 Demos must fig h t th ro u g h the sub-tournament if they are to make it to the M C ’s big show. Jeff travels to Forest Grove (11-9) on Thursday and if they win there, they w ill play C h u rc h ill (1 4 -6 ) on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. Boxing L ig h t-h e a v y cham p M ich ae l Spinks had to go the distance last S atu rd ay and came aw ay w ith another champion's decision. L ittle Eddie Davis, 5*9" and 173 pounds, hounded the bigger Spinks th ru twelve rounds. Davis was clearly the aggressor as he unrelentlessly p u r sued Spinks th ro u g h o u t. In the closing seconds o f the ninth round the challenger connected w ith a right hand to the head that had the champ visibly shaken. T h e crow d sensed an upset and began chanting E-d-d-i-e, E-d-d-i-e. Spinks began to ride his bicycle a la the late rounds against D w ig h t Braxton or Q wam i, whatever. O ne has to w onder i f the once present Spink jinx is a thing o f the past Is Michael becoming fat and lazy? Has success gone to his head? These are but a few o f the questions that have surfaced lately. H e ’ s been in volved now in tw o ‘ ‘ C h a m p io n ” decisions. Just what is a cham pion decision? It has become an u n w rit ten rule that the current cham pion must be beaten decisively or else his title w o n 't change hands. E d d ie Davis didn't beat Spinks badly, but he did beat h im . T h e judges, however, gave Michael the decision as they also did when he fo ug ht Braxton. The "cham pion" decision merely allows the champ to take a breather fight. H e can fig h t an opp o nent o f lesser ability, say one ranked in the bottom o f the top ten. He may then choose to train just hard enough to survive, in essence, he's not d evo ting the d em and ing tra in in g tim e as he w ould fo r a top challenger; knowing perfectly well that it w ill take a knock-out for his opponent to win. Tate to challenge Holmes International Boxing Federation (IB F ) heavyweight champion Larry Holmes will defend his crown against fo rm e r W B A heavyw eight ch am pion John T ate at the 12,000 seat L a w lo r Events C enter in R eno, Nevada, on Friday, April 6. T he figh t is a m ilestone in con tem po rary boxing as it is the first m ajor w o rld ’ s heavyweight cham pio n sh ip fig h t sanctioned by an American-based group since Frazier- Ellis was sanctioned by New York state on February 16, 1970. It is H olm es firs t defense since resigning the W B C cham pionship, on principle, and assuming the IB F title. It is another m a jo r, indepen dent promotion for the champion. Tate is undefeated over the past three years. He has won ten straight fights. T hat is the longest winning streak among the heavyweight con tenders. Only Holmes' unblemished record surpasses T ate's success in that time period. " B ig ” John has a record o f 30-2 with 21 knockouts. He has one of the greatest jabs in the history o f the game. He w ill be long remembered as one o f the greatest champions o f all times. In fig h tin g T a te , H olm es is fighting a man who has risen like the phoenix fro m the ashes o f his two p ro fession al d efeats. He is revitalized and hungry Having once won the c ro w n , T a te is doggedly determined to wear the crown again. Former W B A heavyweight cham pion M ik e W eaver w ill b attle braw lin g Franco Thom as o f West V irg in ia as a special added a ttra c tion on the supercard. The 10-round W eaver-7hom as fight promises to be bruising and crowd pleasing. W eaver is considered the " u n crow ned c h a m p io n " by m any because o f his controversial loss and then draw w ith fo rm e r ch am pio n M ich ae l D okes. H e has also T h e P o rtla n d T ra ilb la z e rs are currently on a collision course with success. R u m o r has it th at Houston's 7 *0 " Areem O laju w on is a sure bet to go hardship this year. The Blazers are holding Indiana's N o . I pick and the Pacers are holding onto last place in the east. A co in flip w ith P h ila d e lp h ia , who holds San Diego's first round pick, w ill determ ine who O la ju w o n w ill play for. Philadelphia doesn't really need a cen ter, since they alre ad y hold Moses M a lo n e , w ho is just simply the best around. Philad elp hia pro bably w ould go fo r a N o rth C aro lin ian ; either Sam Perkins or the irrepressible Michael Jordan, last year's player of the year as a sophomore. Clyde Drexler and O lajuw on in the open court. . . fan tastic! n b Special Prlcaa for you w han you coma and aaa Cherieel 76 Caddillac coupa Da' Villa loaded paari white 67,490 '61 GMC Blazar 306 angina automatic, air, powar windows ft locks, AM-FM cassette, low miles 611.660. CHARLES SNELL W en tw o rth Chevytow n 107 S.E. Grand Ave. Portland, OR 97214 232 2000 Let the Portland Observer Classifieds work for youl Call 283-I today I Harlem Globetrotters SUNDAY, 1:30 P.M. MARCH 4 MEMORIAL COLISEUM TICKETS ON SALE AT: G.l. JOES and MEMORIAL COLISEUM ADULTS: $8.50, $7.00 KIDS: $7.00, $5.00 C A T C H THE MAGIC! WE ICO M E— \ f i l i l i erTunfi J W M a a a a ^P C ham pion Larry H olm aa and C hallangar " B ig " John T a ta m atch tha fiata th a t w ill claah In th alr big punchout fo r th a h eavyw eigh t championship. April 6th. In Rano. Novada. knocked out G e rrie C oetzee. W eaver's record is 25-10-1 with 17 kn o ckou ts. H e is regarded as the hardest hitting heavyweight in the world today. Thom as, the brutal street fighter from the West V irginia hills, never has a dull fight whether in the ring or o u t. H e is a th ro w back to an o ther era when figh ters threw leather w ith b ru ta l ab an d o n . His record is 32-4-0 with 19 knockouts. O th e r outstanding bouts on the spectacular supercard w ill soon be announced. The figh t is being prom oted by J P D Sports and M u ra d M u h a m mad, Inc. James Patrick Devaney of Rolling H ills Estates, C a lifo rn ia , is C h a ir man o f the Board o f J P D Sports and Kenny Bounds o f D allas, Texas, is President. M u ra d M u h a m m a d o f N e w a rk , New Jersey, is President o f M urad Muhammad, Inc. I cludes transportation to and from the a irp o rt, dinners in a variety o f ethnic restaurants, a Harbor Cruise, and a special "H ollyw ood P arty." 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