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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 6, 1985)
Page 6, Portland Observer, March 6, 1906 • SPORTTALK• SPORTTALK * by Roy Lee Jerntgan Sports Editor A COLLEGIATE MINIMUM WAGE Believe me. I'm not so naive that I think the following w ill happen; I am, however, positive that it should. A th letes that particjpaie in varsi.y collegiate athletics should be paid for the reve nues they generate and head coaches should be made to honor their con tracts. College sports have become a multi- m illion dollar business and the parti cipants get absolutely nothing. If your argument is the free education, forget it. How many graduate? C ol lege has become little more than a training and proving ground for pro fessional leagues. In fact, some pro leagues deem college preparation as a mandatory prerequisite prior to entry into the pay fo r play ranks. Youngsters that come from low income families are recruited to college campuses where obvious wealth is prevalent. They are compelled to steal stereos and bootleg game tickets for pocket money in order to feel equal to their peers. Rather than make headline news o f these kids' prob lems, I say let's look at ways o f pre venting these unfortunate instances and try to eliminate the compulsion. Pay them! When it comes to paying coaches, it seems that the purse-strings are un limited. M any colleges pay their head basketball and football coaches more than the salary o f the President o f the United States. In the case o f Ronnie Reagan, that seems almost justified. Let’ s look at just one o f the inequi ties between coaches and players. A Lead coach from the PAC 10 finds a talented athlete in Chicago and sets out to recruit him. Coach tells the player that he wants him and w ill be there for the kid throughout his col legiate career to guide him, counsel him, help him become a better player, and o f course, be his friend. Coach has a five-year contract so the high schooler puts his faith in coach and heads for the PAC 10 after gradu ation. Once at college, the kid signs his scholarship and suddenly finds that Coach has 12 other friends there and not enough time for them all. Nothing can be done now so the kid makes the best o f the situation. One year later, Coach has been offered a similar posi tion in the Big 10. The PAC 10 was paying close to $50,000, and the new job offers $200.000 per year, a has k et hull camp that pays another $50,(XXJ, and Coach's own television show, which pays a few thousand more. You got it — Coach is gone! The kid that Coach recruited feels betrayed, and wants to transfer to the Big 10 also, but there’ s a hitch. Our young athlete has to forfeit a year's eligibility to make the same move. In most instances the athlete will be Black and the coach w ill be while but leaving that point aside, there's obviously a need for some o f these inequities to be remedied. As always, when I discuss a prob lem. I w ill offer a solution. Start at the minimum wage and pay varsity ath letes whenever they practice and play their sport. When on the road, they six mid be i « k I fur missing theu classes and a per diem allowance for food. The hourly wage should increase with seniority and bonuses paid for indi vidual honors such as all-conference and All-Am erica, etc. Coaches should be made to honor their contracts and sign letters o f intent to the players he recruits. When a coach leaves a player, after contract ing to be there, that student should be allowed to transfer without loss o f eli gibility. I f the coach is fired, the con tract is voided. Athletes must maintain a minimum grade point average to remain eligi ble Why not require coaches to main tain a certain percentage o f graduates to maintain their eligibility to coach. Am I a dreamer, or what? • T-BOHt stbaks USDA CHOICE BEEF I D . G ranfa Tony Ross acorad 28 pointa to lead In the Ganarala' 88-47 vic tory over Molalla In the playoff Tough Grant defense stops Molalla Thursday night at Grant High Schtxil was the end o f the line for the Indians from M olalla. Grant's press ing defense and Tony Ross were too much for the Indians to handle. Grant won 66-47 in the opening-round game o f the Class A A A state playoffs. The Generals started out in a full court man to man pressure defense and the Indians could only respond with some great play by one player, Joe Clarizio. Tony Ross took control early on the offensive end, and team defense did the rest. The Indians were forced into turnovers at the top o f the key and the ticnerals turned the steals into points more often than Molalla could stand. W ith 1:30 to go in the first quarter and down 13-4, Molalla Head Coach Rick Hassman decided to play for the last shot. It was like a boxer that came Io last but not to win. Clarizio payed like a man possessed under the boards but had no help be cause no one else was looking to shoot the ball. That was the story for Molal la in the second quarter, and Grant just kept playing strong defense to lead at the half 32-21. The Generals started the third peri od in a 2-3 zone defense and prom pt ly turned a steal into 2 points. The Indians couldn’ t pul up enough shots in the third quarter to even challenge Grant and went into the fourth period down 46-29. The referees let the kids play a Mayor Bud Clark (afces w ith Portland athlete« who will be competing In the first International Sister physical game under the boards and Clarizio remained up to the task but still had no help. The fans began to get into the game and suddenly the Indians began to put the ball up to the hoop with authority. It was 48-37 at 5:19 when the Grant student body be gan to cry, BORING. That must have lit the Indians' fire because they closed to 55-45 at 2:36. Sensing an other run by the Indians, Grant parti sans chanted, “ We have sidewalks, yes we do. We have sidewalks, how about you?” A t 1:39, the game was all but over and the cry from the stands was now, “ Warm up the horses." The Molalla faithful saw the writing on the walls at this point and resorted Io the old axiom, If you can't win the game, attack the personality. As time was running out and Tony Ross was head ing for a layup, o ff a steal, the Indian followers chanted, “ We finish high school, yes we do. We finish high school, how about you?" It ended 6647 Grant. When the game ended I was out o f there. Had there been any more time on the clock I was prepared to hear. Your Mama! M o la lla 47 Joe Clarizio 23, Sutter 3, Melhorn 2, Harris 10, Hester 9. game held at Grant last Thursday. (Photo: Dan Longl PIL results Saturday, M arch 2 Grant got 21 points from Mark West and got by Crescent Valley 68-61 Tony Ross hit for 18 and 5 foot 7 sophomore Joe McFerrin scored 8 points in the final four minutes to spark the Generals' victory on the road. Aaron Bell hit for 27 and Courtney Cellestine bagged 20 to lead Benson over canby 66-57. The Roosevelt Roughridcrs were thrown o ff their horses by Sheldon 50-38. Andre (ieorge had II points and was the only player in double fig ures for the Roughriders. The next issue o f the Observer will feature the P IL All-Star Team. PRAIRIE MARKET Ted Mayes, a ju n io r at Jefferson High School, is one o f 50 young P ort land athletes looking forward to rep resenting Portland at the first Inter national Sister Cities Association Fes tival o f Sport to be held in Manakau C ity, New Z.ealand, from March 30- A p ril 8. The athletes, mostly high school students, have already paid registra tion fees but need to raise $62.500 to cover additional costs. They are ask ing for donations. Mayor Bud Clark met with the Support our advertisers Ä PORTLAND OBSER VER G ra n t 66 Cities Association Festival of Sport in New Zealand March 30th through April 8th. (Photo: Richard J. Brown) athletes last week. “ Please join with me in support o f this rewarding en deavor and make a generous contri bution n o w ." he urged Portlanders. Mayes, a power forward on the Jefferson basketball team, will play basketball in New Zealand on a team from Portland Portland athletes will play basketball in New Z.ealand on a team from Portland. Portland ath letes w ill play against athletes from 40 countries. Rugby, soccer tennis and many other sports w ill be represented Competition at the Sportiest is not as important as international under ORIGON CITY - S 7 I Molalla Ave. HILLSBORO 460 S.l. Oak FORIST GR0VI - 1531 Pacific Ava. PORTLAND 74tk and Gliran 741) N. l i t t e r 14410 S.l. Divirion 14SS S .l. P tw tll Blvd. - 1410 N .l. 172nd Tony Ross 28, West 17, Van 2, Roberts 5, McFerrin 9, Kinney 2, Adams 2, Goodlow I . There s work time Dues- paytng time Other people s time And then there s your time Time to make every minute count with the rich, smooth taste of Miller High Life. So grab a cold one And Welcome To Miller Time" International Sportsfest draws athletes by Robert Lothian J FRESH MEAT IS AVAILABLE AT LOMBARD • PORTLAND PORTLAND , SAN RAFAH standing and eixipcration, said Mayes. He’ s looking forward to the trip be cause “ it w ill give us a chance to meet different people from different coun tries and see how they do things." he said. Subsequent Sportfcsls will take place in Japan in I987 and Australia in 1989 Portland is a candidate for the 1991 Sportiest. Tax deductible contributions can be sent to the Sports Exchange Com mittee. Portland Sister Cities Associa tion, 1220 S W. 5th Ave., Portland, OR 97204, 248-4120 c 1 M2 Meier Brewtnç Co MriwauR*«
