June 27,1990 The Portland Observer Page 7
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O
T he L ocker R o o m
Congratulations!
by
U llysses T ucker , J r .
THE GREATEST: MUHAMMAD ALI
Peninsula League Camp
OF SPORTS w
.
Though th e sport of polo d a te s
back to ancient P ersia, only more
recently has the gam e become a
p u 'a r sp eci
popular
ectator sport in the U.S.
and C anada. P layers
from all over the world
now come to com pete
at the great polo clubs
in th e S tates. In th e
p a st decade, A m eri
can players have d e
«ICHELCí veloped to become
Rinehart equal talents with the
g reats of A rgentina, Mexico and
Europe.
The developm ent of A m erican
polo s ta rs has been cham pioned by
Team M ichelob and Team M iche-
lob D ry based in St. Louis, M is
souri. C ap tain A dolphus Busch IV
has scouted th e top polo clubs in
the country, and contracted eight
native A m erican players who now
tour exclusively for the Michelob
team s th ro u g h o u t th e year.
Owen R in eh art (photo), th e top
U.S. player w ith a nine-goal ra tin g
(players are ra te d from one to 10
goals based upon ability) is Miche-
lob’s s ta r player. M ike A zarro (8
goals), G ary E akin, Bobby B arry
and D ale Sm iklas (each rated a t 6
goals), and the Busch brothers Andy
(4 goals), Billy (3 goals), and cap
tain, Adolphus (3 goals), make these
two team s am ong th e m ost potent
all-A m erican scoring m achines in
world polo.
T his season the Michelob team s
will com pete in m ajor to u rn a m e n ts
in H ouston, D allas, St. Louis, C hi
cago, Atlantic City, and Palm Beach
and num erous exhibition m atches
in o ther cities.
I5
Front row: Jamal Goodlow, Brandon Hopson, DeAnthony Hale, Dyon Spencer, Andre
Washington, Deandre Washington
Second Row: Ryan Spaise, T.C. Cason, Russell Sykes, Rocco Washington, Anthony Washington
Coaches: Chuck Washington, Terry Tims
Billy Martinez
Albany, OR
Lakers' Player Conducts
Basketball Camp
Pablo Montano
Tucson, AZ
Ten rounds
and an additional four bouts
Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
Fights begin at 8:00 p.m.
P ortland A rm ory
10,000 NE 33rd
CORDELL PROMOTIONS
General admission: $15.00
presents
A BOXING EXTRAVAGANZA
32 Rounds of Boxing
----------------------- M A I N
E V E N T - L IG H T W E IG H T S
Ringside: $25.00
Call 249-1893 for tickets
A.C. Green
Jordan Endorsed Shoes Too Expensive
By Aaron Fentress
In the high rising world of the ath
letic shoe business many African-
American athletes are jumping on the
spokesman bandwagon.
Although
making what you're worth is no crime,
many of these shoe spokesmen are en
dorsing products their own communi
ties cannot afford.
Air Jordan and Bo Knows (every
thing from football to Didley), are very
successful ad campaigns for Nike. And
you can bet Nike knows dollar signs.
Of all the sportswear endorsers it
shouldn’t be a mystery as to who is the
most valuable spokesman to the busi
ness. Michael Jordan single handedly
brings Nike millions of dollars himself
in sales of Jordan shoes, shorts, socks,
sweatsuits, t-shirts, posters etc. Ac
cording to a statistic revealed by CBS
sports Nike sales have risen 587 percent
since Jordan joined the company. Al
though other athletes, and the general
upgrade in Nike products, hasn’t hurt
Nike, it’s reasonable to say that Nike
needs Jordan more than Jordan needs
Nike.
If you look at a pair of Air Jordans,
by Nike, you will notice the absence of
the Nike trademark swooshed on their
sides. From this fact alone it is safe to
say that most people who buy Air Jor
dans arc buying a piece of Michael Jor
dan, not Nike. There also exist the rea
soning that shoes are shoes. What ex
actly separates Air Jordans from Air
Bounds, Air Flights, or Air Force?
Jordan, the biggest money -making
marketing tool in the history of athletic
sportswear. Although the difference in
quality of the four mentioned shoes is
open for debate there is no doubt what
separates their sales rates is Jordan.
Other companies have also benefited
Where:
9371)
Concordia College (288-
When: July 9-13, 16-20Los Angeles
from Jordans help. General Mills and
Coke, makers of Whcaties and Coca-
Cola, have experienced a 30% rise in
sales since Jordan became their spokes-
MICHAEL JORDAN
man. So with this much marketing
power should Jordan allow Nike to sell
$125 shoes and $180 sweatsuits when
African-American communities, like the
one Jordan himself comes from, are
being priced out ? Do you know ? Do
you know ? Do you know ?
“ It upsets me a little to see white
kids with Air Jordans while my little
brother can’t have a pair because they
arc too expensive.” says Jay Carter, of
North Portland. “ I think it’s a bit
ridiculous that blacks cannot afford shoes
endorsed by other blacks, but whites
can.”
An interesting statistic would be to
find out what percentage of Michael
Jordan apparel is purchased by whitc-
Amcricans compared to that purchased
by African-Americans. There's no
denying that the majority of NBA ticket
holders arc white. Take a Trail Blazer
game for instance. It’s quite noticeable
that eight of 10 players on the court are
African-Americans while nine of 10
people in the seats are white. Many
African-Americans simply cannot af
ford tickets ($450 to $ 1,400 per season
seat) to a game and are forced to break
their backs, or someone elses, to get a
pair of Jordan’s shoes. In fact, African-
Americans are breaking each others
backs to get a pair of Air Jordans and
other high-priced basketball shoes.
Several incidents have been re
ported involving muggings and mur
ders over basketball shoes. Although
the problems in the African-American
communities that cause such crimes are
no direct fault of athletes like Jordan,
maybe they could eliminate themselves
from the problems all together.
In a SPORTS ILLUSTRATED ar
ticle (SENSLESS, Rick Telander, May
14 1990) the issue of crimes involving
basketball shoes is discussed in length.
In the article information involving the
strangulation of a Maryland ninth-
grader, by his friend no less, for his Air
Jordans is passed on to Jordan himself.
“ I thought I’d be helping out oth
ers and everything would be positive,”
said Jordan, responding in shock to the
story. “ I thought people would try to
emulate the good things I do, they’d try
to achieve, to be better, nothing bad. I
never thought because of my endorse
ments of a shoe, or any product, that
people would harm each other. Every
one likes to be admired, but when it
comes to kids actually killing each other,
then you have to reevaluate things.”
Maybe Jordan should start with the
price.
Lakers' star A.C. Green will
be conducting his annual basketball
camp at Concordia College.
Spots for sessions four, which
begin July 16 along with session three,
are still open and run until the 20th.
Sold out sessions one and two are being
held July 9-13.
A.C. Green attended Benson
High School here in Portland, where he
was an all-state basketball player.
Green went on to star for Oregon State
before being drafted in the first round
by the L.A. Lakers in 1986. Green has
two N.B.S. titles.
African American
Festival Association
The African American Festival Asso
ciation will present its first FUN
DRAISER DANCE to be held at the
SHERATON INN-PORTLAND Air
port. The festive occasion will begin at
9PM-Saturday, June 30,1990 and will
continue until 2 AM. All proceeds will
help finance the AAFA’s coronation
and press reception to be held on July
18,6:30-10:30 PM also at the Sheraton
Inn-Portland Airport. Tickets are avail
able for a donation of $10 per person.
Come out Saturday night and enjoy an
evening of fun and entertainment. There
will be elaborate door prizes donated
by businesses in the community. Fea
tured artist-will be:
D.J.
DeJa Vu
Sweet Dreams
Richard Greer
and
Crystal Rose
By Ullysses Tucker, Jr.
Harry Merlo, the Chief Executive
Officer for the Louisiana Pacific Cor
poration (Portland, Oregon), is not only
a class act, he is one of the most suppor
tive community leaders of the cities
recently adopted Police Activities league.
Merlo is a man of compassion,
commitment, and sensitivity. He has a
very strong sense of social responsibil
ity and he gives
back to the com
munity in leaps and
bounds. He gives
from the heart,not
for attention an or
m
e d i a
glorification. How
ever, sometimes
Merlo’s big heart
creeps into the
limelight.
C ase
in
point: last week the
Police Activities
League kicked off their summer pro
gram by inviting boxing promoter Butch
Lewis, former heavyweight champ
Micheál Spinks,light heavyweight leg
end Archie “ The Mongoose” Moore,
and Muhammad Ali.
Knowing that Muhammed Ali has
been slowed by the medication he takes
for Parkinson’s disease (a progressive
nervous disease of later life, character
ized by muscular tremors, slowing of
movement, partial facial paralysis, and
impaired muscular control), Merlo sent
a lear jet to South Bend, Indiana to pick
up Ali and later had a LP helicoptor
meet him at PDX. Ali, a modem day
hero, was delivered promptly to the
grounds of Merlo's home. Paul Brown
Productions did an excellent job of
promoting the P.A.L. events around
and exposing the media/public to the
boxers.
To anticipate the arrival of Ali by
helicopter was simply magical and ex
citing. To see the “ chopper” land on
the grounds of M erlo’s beautiful estate
was breathtaking, an arrival suited for
great kings and great people. Ali was
and still the greatest fighter to ever live.
Merlo spared no expense. He had a box
ing ring set up, hired the Blazer Danc
ers to assist as hostesses and * ‘ring card
ladies” to introduce special guests in
the ring. The guests
feasted on a wide
variety of appetiz
ers and fruit in
addition to cock
tails. Merlo raised
over $25,000 at his
party for the P.AL.
Many of the cities
respected leaders in
the media, govern
ment, and business
mingled with the
guest of honor
All o f the
fighters signed countless autographs and
took part in photo sessions.
Like Paul Brown, President of Paul
Brown Productions and many associ
ated with the P.A.L. program, Merlo
believes that young people need to grow
up with a healthy respect for the law.
He wants to help bring “ Cops and Kids”
closer together by bridging the gaps of
cultural isolation and stereotyping.
Brown and Merlo want to help break
the cycle of criminal activities by catch
ing youngsters early and showing them
positive role models. Hats off to all of
the officers who volunteered their time
and energy to pull off some wonderful
events. Special thanks to all the busi
nesses and corporate community for
donations and services provided. “ Cops
and Kids” working together sounds
like a bright future.
Be A P.A.L.