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November 28, 1990 -The Portland Observer- Page 7
' Portland Observer
THE LOCKER ROOM
Michael "Air" Jordan Impressed
“ y The TrailBlazers
BY ULLYSSES TUCKER, JR.
ike several players opposing the
L
Portland Trail Blazers this sea
son, " A ir" Michael Jordan is con­
vinced that they are a legitimate
tender and own a very strong bench.
The Chicago Bulls, picked by Sports Il­
lustrated to challenge for the NBA Title,
found out firsthand what a year of m a­
turity and a trade can do for a franchise.
"They arc much stronger and have
more confidence,’’ he said, comparing
last year’s team that won 59 games.
"W ith [Danny] Aingc, they are much
better. He is going to really educate
them and help them to really educate
them and help them in pressure situ­
ations. He is not afraid to take the big
shot. Portland is a good basketball team.”
Jordan, an All-Star in each of his
six NBA seasons and four-time scoring
champion, says that it is going to take
more than some Nike Air tennis shoes
and W heaties to sidetrack Portland this
year. He calls Portland the toughest
team the Bulls have played this season.
Jordan holds Clyde Drcxlcr in high es­
teem and considers him one o f the most
difficult players to guard in the league.
‘ ‘Clyde presents all types o f prob­
lem s,” he said. “ H e’s big, strong, and
he gets out on the break. W henever I
co n ­
MICHAEL JORDAN
shoot the ball, he releases very fast.
Someone needs to get back quick be­
cause he will eventually score some
very easy baskets. I ’m sure everyone
playing the two spot in this league has
the same problem with him, not just me.
He can also post-up pretty good. I enjoy
playing against C lyde.”
W hen questioned about Sports II-
lustraled’s prediction for the NBA Fi­
nals, Jordan, who has a career scoring
average o f 32.5 points, things that it
caused the team some problems early
on.
" W e ’ve totally gotten SI out o f
our minds now ,” he said. “ I think that’s
the reason we started off so slow. We
shouldn’t have worried about the predic­
tion before the season started. 1 think we
are focused now. All we want to do is put
ourselves back in the same position as
last year and take the next step. It takes
hard work to accomplish that and I think
we will do w ell.” The Bulls lost to
D etroit in the Eastern Finals.
Though Jordan might not believe
in the SI jinx, curse, or kiss o f d e a th -h e
should take a closer look at the Blazers.
Portland is taking the Sports Illustrated
prediction seriously, very much so.
It doesn’t pay to be named the
NBA Digital Coach of the Year these
days as glamorous as it might sound. Six
o f the last ten winners are no longer
coaching. Jack McKinney (8 1), Gene
Shuc (82), Frank Layton (84), Mike
Fratello (86), Doug Moe (1988), and Pat
Riley (90) are gone from the bench.
Chuck Daley (8 years) and Lenny W ilk­
ins (5 years) are the only coaches with
more than four years with their current
team. Living on the edge, not job secu­
rity, is a fact o f life for those in the
coaching fraternity. Four coaches (Wilk­
ins, Schuler, Ly nam Adelman have Port­
land on their coaching resume.
*****
There are 65 new faces on rosters as
o f opening day in the NBA. 45 of them
cam e directly from college and the o th ­
ers secured positions via the free agent
route. Allan Bannister (7 ’5") is the tall­
est and Steve Henson (5 ’ l l ") is the short­
est. They play for the Jazz and Bucks
respectfully. According to NBA news,
the average player in the league is 2 7 .1
years old, stands 6 ’7" and weighs 216
pounds. 4.08 is the average num ber of
years o f experience in the NBA. All of
the figures are up from last season.
Perhaps, the publication will come out
with the average salaries in the league.
*****
A recent study, according to
KATU-TV (ABC), indicated that sex on
the day before a game can enhance an
athlete’s performances. James W orthy,
star forward for the Lakers, was arrested
hours before lip-off in Houston. Had he
waited for the survey to be published this
past Tuesday, he might have saved his
W heaties and Oldsinobilc commercials.
Have you seen them lately?
Broadway Hair Weevers and Designers
will be offering X-Mas Specials Starting
Dec. 1, 1990 thru Jan. 1,1991
Curls $60.00
Reg. $65-$75
Relaxers $35.00
Reg. $45 & Up
10% off on partial weeves
15% off on full weeves
Free conditon or hair trim on press and curls
Nalls Full Set $35.00
Reg: $45.00
Manicure $8.00
Reg. $12.00
So stop by 5652 N.E. 42nd Ave. and celebrate the Holidays with
Hattie Porter
Flenard Grisby
Carolyn Stoudamire
Ethel Bates-Bailey
Karol Davidson
Grand Opening
Warren Moon, passing his way to possible MVP
by Aaron Fentress
W ith five games remaining on
the 1990 NFL regular season schedule
Houston quarterback, W arren Moon is
moving closer and closer to becoming
the first African-American quarterback
to win the N FL’s Most Valuable Player
award.
Through 11 gam es Moon has
compiled 3, 352 yards passing and
thrown 25 touchdown. As impressive
as those statistics may sound the two
statistics which stand out the most arc
Moon's 62.8% completion percentage
and his low 11 interceptions in 428
attempts.
Operating out o f the Oilers' “red-
g u n ” offense has given M oon the
oppurtunity to totally exploit his pass­
ing abilities. The Oilers' pass-run ratio
is an NFL high 70-30. Four of the
Oilers’ receivers (Ernest Givens, Curtis
Duncan, Haywood Jeffires and Drew
Hill) rank among the top six in the AFC
in pass receiving. T here’s no denying
that the Oilers have committed them­
selves to Moon and the pass.
With M oon’s numbers through
11 games his projected 16 game statis­
tics look like this: 4,875 yards on 391
com pletions out o f 622 attem pts
(62.8%), 36 TD passes and 16 intercep­
tions. Definite MVP numbers. The
only problem is San Francisco’s Joe
Montana is still in the league, and play­
ing well.
Statistically M oon’s numbers are
as good or better than M ontana’s (pro­
jected season statistics: 4,650 yards,
382-of-596 attem pts, 64% , 33 TD
passes, 19 interceptions) in every cat­
egory, except victories. Montana’s49crs
stand at 10-1 while the Oilers are 6-5. If
the Oilers fail to make the playoffs
M oon’s M V Phopes will also fail. If the
season ended today the Oilers would be
in as a wi Id card team . Just good enough.
For Moon an MVP award would
PUBLIC SERVICE
ANNOUNCEMENT
1-4 p.m.
WHO:
The North/Northeast Economic Development Alliance Inc.
WHAT:
WHEN:
Community Forum
WHERE:
MLK Neighborhood Facility
7:00 pm, December 5,1990
X ** ft * * l ^ t l 5 * i * * s
the Huskies to a 1978 Rose Bowl vic­
tory and was named Pac-8 Player of the
Year, Moon was only projected as a
fourth round NFL draft pick. Moon
decided to settle for a career in the CFL
(Canadian Football League) where he
played seven seasons with the Edmonton
Eskimos.
At Edmonton Moon led the Eski­
mos to five straight championships from
his rookie season in '78 to '82. In his
seven seasons Moon threw for over
21,000 yards, rushed for another 1,700
yards and posted back-to-back 5,000
yard passing seasons. M oon’s 5,648
W hen Bill Barker arrived in Port­
land in 1987, he wanted to reach out and
touch he lives o f youth whose academic
deficiencies prevented them from ob­
taining a college education, either through
an athletic scholarship or grant. Barker is
keenly aware that Proposition 48 forces
many outstanding high school athletes to
look for alternatives life styles in the
long sought after college education.
A chance visit to Oregon some
five years ago (at the invitation of a __
friend to "do some fishing ’) lured Barker
back to the state when his former em­
ployer (Ford Motor Co.) offered him
early retirement.
But a determination to " g e t in­
volved,” led him to foster the idea of
working with youth and launching Proj­
ect Scholarship.
Project Scholarship is a program
that sends college athletes back to school
to talk to boys and girls in the seventh,
eighth ad ninth grades and emphasize
the importance of maintaining a grade
point average acceptable for college en­
try. These athletes are beneficiaries of
the Project Scholarship Program them ­
selves.
They are given small stipends for
these appearances.
Barker concentrates on students
w ho arc not necessarily Division I m ate­
rial, but have college potential.
His primary concern at the m o­
m ent is sponsors for the program. He is
available to talk to groups, agencies, cor­
porations, churches or just about anyone
who is interested.
now serves as a volunteer for the Benson
Barker is a former coach at Molar Techmen High School football team in
High School in Cincinatti, Ohio, and Portland.
Wish You A Happy Holiday
Best Price In Town
7 Days Service
287-2121
2948 NE Martin Luther King Blvd.
December 2, 1990
Warren Moon
yards passing in 1983 is tops am ongst
pro football quarterbacks. In any league.
A lthough M oon's num bers in
Canada are impressive they have no
barring on his NFL career. Those num ­
bers must stand on their own. So far
they have.
"Look at the quarterbacks who
make the Hall o f Fame, and you’ll see
they have two things in common," said
Moon in a recent Sports Illustrated ar­
ticle. "One, they have a minimum o f 10
solid years in this league. And two, you
have to get to a championship. If I last
10 years, I should have some pretty
good numbers piled up.”
For Moon the numbers will be
there after his career is over. A cham ­
pionship is another thing. The Oilers
could, or could not make the Super
Bowl before Moon retires. If they don't
he will need that M VP award to have a
chance for the Hall of Fame.
From a political stand point Moon
winning the MVP award would ad an­
other bright chapter to the long legacy
of the black quarterback. A legacy
which doesn’t have many bright chap­
ters before the eighties.
In 1979 Doug W illiams became
the first black quarterback to lead an
NFL team toadivisionalcham pionship
and the playoffs when he guided the
Tampa Buccaneers to the NFC C ham ­
pionship. In 1984 Moon became the
N FL’s first million dollar black quarter­
back. In 1988 W illiams took the W ash­
ington Redskins to the Super Bowl and
was named the games MVP. In 1989
Philadelphia’s Randall Cunningham
signed a three million dollar contract.
Now if Moon could win the N F L ’s
MVP award in 1990, all the black
quarterback firsts in the NFL will be
accomplished.
Except an induction into the Hall
o f Fame. Maybe the Moon will also rise
to that challenge.
Project Scholarship: Looking For donors
Reese’s Oil Company
Help Celebrate
P&J’s Beauty Supply
Extra Flair Nail Salon
finally put him amongst the elite of
NFL quarterbacks. Namely Montana,
M iam i’s Dan M arino, C in cinnati’s
Boomer Esiason and D enver’s John
Elway. At 33 M oon’s career is winding
down making every year crucial to
making his niche in NFL history. But
in football history M oon’s niche ism ore
like a crater when you look at the statis­
tics he piled up in the Canadian league.
Despite a bright career at the
University o f Washington, where he led
Interested donors may contact the
Observer at 288-0033, or write: P.O.
Box 3137, Portland, O regon, 97208.
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