(, Portland Observer, April 17, 1986
• SPORT TALK • SPORT
by Roy L t t Jemigon
Sports Editor
to the body o f Hagler Marvelous had
enough of that and rocked Hearns
with three solid blows to the head
The Champ manhandled the "Hit
Man” into the ropes, and Hearns
fought his way out once again Mar
vin used his ring savvy Io spin the
••Motor City Cobra" back on the
ropes but when the smoke cleared,
and the bell rang. Marvin had been
cut under his right eye.
THE W AR IS OVER
The setting was perfect. two glori
ous gladiators approaching battle in
the arena. It wasn't Ceasar’s Palace in
I as Vegas. Nevada. The combatants
weren't Spartacus or Ben-Hur but
Marvelous Marvin Hagler and
Thomas "Hit Man” Hearns. The
battle was not to the death, just close.
Any similarities to anything else,
ever seen or done, ends here.
All of the talk about pre-fight hype
for the media to beef up the ante
can go by the boards; these brothers
came to make war on each other and
neither had a place to keep prison
ers. The challenger came to take it,
and d c thump had an emphatic “no”
waiting for him. There was no strate
gy or tactics to agonize over for either
fighter — there was no time. The
stakes? The World Middleweight
Championship and a few million in
loot.
The hell rang and they squared off
in the center o f their stage. Hearns
wasn't quite squared because his first
move was to duck a vicious left to
his head Hearns countered this action
by trying to establish his left jab.
Once the )ab was set up, Hearns
quickly went to his right hand, and
put hurt on the Champ's jaw. For the
first 45 seconds, they tested each oth
er's metal by standing in front o f each
other throwing bombs. A sweet short
nght hand buckled the Champ's
knees so the Champ hit him right
back. Not understanding how this
man could still be in front of him.
Hearns busted Hagler in the center of
his forehead and drew blood. At the
two-minute mark, referee Richard
Steele broke up the first clench of
he fight.
À
M ARVIN HAGLER
sure by Hagler, forcing Hearns to
fight inside. Hearns didn't care, and
once again they were toe to toe throw
ing bombs. The action was non-stop,
fast and furious with neither man able
to get a moment’s rest. The referee
left them alone until the one-minute
mark when he broke up the second
clench of the fight. Hearns then threw
two rights to the head and a mean left
Hagler wanted to gel inside and
force the action and put Hearns’
back against the ropes. Hearns fought
his way off the ropes but Hagler ma
neuvered the challenger back against
the ropes and landed a hard right
hand, countered by a hard right hand
from Hearns. Are you getting the
picture?
Round 2 began with relentless pres-
LB™
It has been a long and grueling sea-
s under the big top of professional
sketball, individual talents have
en showcased coast to coast, and
of the wolf tickets have been
•ught or sold. Player combinations
ve been ironed out or discarded by
e coaches and the new season is set
begin. If any player thought that he
is a diamond in the rough waiting
shine, his playing time during the
cond season will reveal whether
;'s a gem or rhinestone.
When 16 teams out of 23 qualify
•r the playoffs there’s a good argu-
ent as to whether the playoffs have
ly meaning other than extending the
venues of the league but in the case
r NBA, the cream usually rises to the
ip. Have you ever heard that riding
iggedly beats dressed up walking?
✓ ell. that's the philosophy that’s
rcvalent among the teams that bare-
i made it in the door. Getting in is
se key; after that's accomplished,
nything can happen.
If Blazer* ara to win playoff aa
rtaa against tha Mavaricka. Dala
Elliä muat ba contrallad.
The Blazers have drawn the Mav
ericks from Dallas in the first round
of a best of five series. Portland must
win one in Texas or they will be
among those that are dressed up walk
ing. The momentum is there and the
team is healthy so all that remains is
execution on the court. The team has
proven that they can beat any team in
the league, as well as be beaten by any
team in the league so execution is
paramount when the Blazers reach the
lone star state.
The so-called "smart money" has
the Lakers out o f the west to do battle
against the Celtics from the east.
When you look at the season’s
win/loss records, that matchup ap
pears inevitable, but taking a bite out
o f that appealing apple could send
you to the same Doctor that treated
Adam The l akers have run rough
shod over western competition all
year on their way to the Western Con
ference title and they are healthy en
tering the playoffs first round against
an injury riddled Phoenix team. That
spells trouble for the Blazers if they
get by Dallas because Kareem will
get plenty of rest for the next senes.
If the l akers do play Portland, that
means the big man will have to run his
buns off. Bring on Houston, San
Antonio or Denver after that and the
lakers will be put to the test. The
lakers are good, but they’re no cinch
to clinch.
If you want to talk about a cinch
team, try Boston. When they finish
pounding on Cleveland’s heads with
big numbers, the east will be on no
tice. Neither New Jersey nor Detroit
will stop the Celts in the second series
because neither team has enough
bench.
Hearns felt that he had the Champ
in trouble because he came across the
nng to start round three throwing
two big rights to the body, and then
went up side the Champ’s head with
two more strong rights. When Marvin
tried to retaliate, that just bought
him two more rights to the head, and
a now of blood under his right eye.
The ref halted the clcxk and had the
ringside physician check out the eye.
The Doc was not going to be the one
to tell this man he had to stop fight
ing, so the fight resumed. Sensing that
the cut might halt the fight, the
Champ went into his act. Hagler
closed down the space between them
and now Hearns was moving back
wards. Everybody knows thai you
can’t fight moving backwards. Just
when Hearns found that fact out for
himself, it was too late. Hagler threw
two rights to the head, the last one
knocked Hearns out on his feet. At
the count o f nine Hearns was barely
on his feet but the ref did the proper
thing by stopping the fight here.
Hearns was in no condition to take
any more punishment on this night in
the desert. The fight ended at 2:01 ol
the third round. The winner and still
the undisputed Middleweight C ham
pion of the World, Marvelous Marvin
Hagler.
If Philly gets by Washington they'll
be so beat up inside that Milwaukie's
chances would be tremendously en
hanced in a series between these two
teams. Chicago won’t roll over for the
Bucks, especially if young Michael
Jordan gels off on the geared up play
off atmosphere. Unfortunately, one
dimensional learns like ( hicago s,
can’t make it through the eastern
wars. By the lime the winner of this
bracket gets Boston in their sights, the
thought o f trying to stop that fast
break machine from rolling over
them will be just the edge that the
Celts are famous for. When you start
out trying to stop them rather than
heat them, you're in trouble from the
jump.
port kind
BERNARD THOMPSON
recently, with an injury to Jim Pax
Usually it's a massive crowd that
son, has he had the opportunity to
roars de-fense, de-fense. But for
play more.
rookie
guard/forward
Bernard
"It's helped watching from the
Thompson o f the Portland Trail
sidelines. I can see how the veterans
Blazers, it’s a mental conversation
get by screens,” Bernard said, "learn
that he’s rehearsed many times.
tactics on defense, find ways to sneak
As a player at Fresno State in Cali
in and get offensive rebounds, and
fornia, his coach, Boyd Grant, drilled
know when to shoot or not to in given
that message into him repeatedly.
situations."
The results were impressive. Bernard
Bernard Thompson has not shot well
Thompson and Fresno State gained
as of late, though he does have a fine
their national reputations through
outside jumper. Blame it on inexperi
defensive toughness.
ence. His reputation was built on
“ I worked hard to get to the pros,
playing defense and when you talk to
everyone here has worked hard,” said
him about guarding Magic Johnson,
Thompson. "When you play the
who he says, “ is most difficult to
equivalent of three basketball sea
guard because of his passing,’’ or
sons in one pro season, you always
George Gervin, who's a "great shoot
have to be mentally and physically
er," Bernard stiffens a bit as if he’s
ready."
pausing to rewind and play: a mental
Nobody likes to be on the bench,
tape that roars de-fense, de-fense,
but Bernard has spent most of the sea
de-fense.
son watching from the sidelines. Only
Self-defense for wom en
offered by Portland Police
The Portland Police Bureau’s sex
ual assault prevention program will
offer its monthly, 9-hour "womcn-
strength" self-defense classes in May
at the following locations:
NORTHEAST—Mondays: May 6,
13. and 20. 6:30 - 9:30 p m.. Old
The classes are free and are avail
able to women and girls age 13 and
up. Those registering must be able to
attend all three sessons of the class.
Assertiveness is emphasized and sur
vival level fighting skills are taught.
Firehouse. 5540 NE Sandy Blvd
SOUTHWEST — Tuesdays: May
7. 14, and 21.6:30 - 9:30 p.m., River
dale Community School, 11733 SW
Breyman Ave.
trratbkizarz 3
Registration began Tuesday, April
16 and continues until classes are
full Registration is done by phone.
Call 796-3139
1984-85 NBA WESTERN/EASTERN
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