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Page 4— I he Portland Observer - December 19, 1990
• Portland O bserver
THE LOCKER ROOM
Jeff Malone: Adjusting To Salt Lake
JEFF MALONE
BY ULLYSSES TUCKER, JR.
Aucontraire to NBA public opin­
ion, Jeff Malone is not having a difficult
time adjusting to Salt Lake City and no,
■he city is not as bad as it is made out to
'e. Though his scoring numbers might
'Ot indicate it, Malone is actually enjoy-
•g himself and blending in with the
’azz.
Malone has made adjustments be­
fore. He played high school basketball
in Macon, Ga.(Southwest), college ball
at Mississippi State University, and was
drafted by the big city Washington Bul­
lets in the 1983 NBA Draft (10th). He is
no stranger to the slower pace. Malone,
a laid back southern gentleman type,
does not care where he plays at this stage
of his career or miss the faster paced
lifestyle. Malone wants to compete for
the NBA Title.
“ Washington was a faster city ” , he
said. “ 1 had some real good times there.
Salt Lake is laid back and the people are
very nice. I’m not so much impressed by
a city. 1 just wanted the chance to play on
a great team that can contend for the
title. People have welcomed me to the
city and I’m having fun.”
Malone noted that the only adjust­
ment he has had to make is on the court,
not off of it as some expected. Utah has
established stars like John Stockton, Karl
Malone, Thurl Bailey, and Mark Eas­
ton. The Jazz runs an inside oriented of­
fensive attack and the Bullets ran a pass-
BOY SCOUTS
Earl “The Pearl“ Monroe: Giving Back
ing game.
OF AMERICA
“ I was able lo move around a little
more to gel my shots in Washington,” he
M ary K. R ich ardson
said. Here, 1 had to get used to spotting . .
up tor my shots and standing more, but D ire c to r o f In S c h o o l S co u tin g
I’ve tome along. The season is still young.
Columbia Pacific Council
I would like to be shooting (.450) the ball
2145 SYV Front Ave,
better too.” Currently, Malone is aver­
Portland, Oregon 97201
aging 15.9 per contest, seven less than he
(503) 226-3423
scored last season and he is also taking
fewer shots. “ It’s no big deal. I knew
that I would shoot less before I arrived
out here. I just need to make the ones I
get.”
AKC Rottweiler
A two time NB A All-Star (86 & 87),
Puppies
Malone is more relaxed this season be­
Large Heads, Big Boned,
cause he no longer has the pressure of
mahogany,
from
k Dark
X H i r\
H iu iiw g u iip
11 w i l l
scoring thirty points per night for his
famous import, Schitt
team to win ball games. Utah, predicted
Bloodlines
to be a power in the west with the addi­
tion of Malone, had not played up to ex­
also stud service
pectations until recently. “ We are going
Lg. Beautiful male
to get better as the season goes on” , he
said.
Reflecting back on the block busier
three way trade that sent Pervis Ellison
from Sacramento to Washington and Bob
Hansen, Eric Leckner and a 1990 Island
2nd round draft choices from Utah to
Sacramento, Malone said that he was
ready for a change.” We were stuck in
the middle in Washington. It was very
hard because we couldn’t get the top
lottery pick or go deep in the play-offs.
We were always picking between 10 and
13 in the draft. So, when I got traded out
here, I was very' happy about it because
they won 50-plus games last year. If
everything clicks for us, we have a chance
to do some serious damage in the play­
offs and go very far. I’m looking forward
to getting some good play-off experi­
ence and going into the second-third
rounds. I’m real excited about our
chances.”
Despite his excitement about Utah’s
chances, Malone is very impressed with
the quick start of the Portland Trail Blaz­
ers.” They are going to be tough if they
keep playing like they are now. It’s real
tough to run up and down with them
because they have so many great ath­
letes. Their bench is deep too. It is defi­
nitely much tougher out here (Western
Conference) than back east.”
BY ULLYSSES TUCKER, JR ,___
Back in the school yards of South
Philadelphia he was known as a guy
who invented and patented his own
moves. After a professional career that
spanned 13 years and 17,000 points and
culminated with his election to the
Basketball Hall of Fame, Vernon Earl
Monroe, Jr. became better known as
“ The Pearl” to sports fans throughout
the country.
He was college basketball’s scor­
ing champion, a man of a million twists
and turns, who came out of little Win­
ston-Salem College in North Carolina
to become the National Basketball As­
sociation’s second draft choice in 1967.
A sa member of the Baltimore Bullets,
he was named the NBA Rookie-of-the-
Year and to the NBA All-Star team for
the first of four limes. In 1971, Earl
Monroe was traded to the New York
Knicks, where he would become the
heart of a championship-winning team,
meshing his talents perfectly with those
of Walt Frazier, Willis Reed, Dave De-
Busschere and Bill Bradley. These five
would set a standard for New York die­
hard fans that later teams would never
attain. In 1990, Earl joined these team­
mates as members of the Basketball
Hall-of-Famc.
While one member of that legen­
dary team today has his sights on the
White House and the others over the
years have remained in the limelight
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McMurphy's
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Working or Not
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Trail Blazer Clyde
Drexler
Give Awards
a major player within the community.
Monroe is president and chief ex­
ecutive officer of Pretty Pearl, Inc., an
entertainment production and manage­
ment firm he founded in 1979. Most
recently he worked for ABC Radio Sports
as a broadcaster for the NBA Champion­
ship Playoffs.
Perhaps most significant is Monroe’s
1
4
Merry Christmas
&
hiappy N ew year
7J £
through their continued association with
the game, Monroe has followed a slighdy
different path-as a successful entrepre­
neur in the entertainment industry and as
4
4
4
4
Sevier's
SANITARY SERVICE
Wishing You and Yours A
Very Happy Kwanzaa!
R.D. Sevier & Son
1011 N.E. Alberta
Portland, Or 97211
287-0262
Thanks to the dollar
Part 1 of 2
Card collecting has lost it’s innocence
bv Aaron Fentress
Reese’s Oil Company
Wish You A Happy Holiday
Best Price In Town
7 Days Service
287-2121
Brian Washington And Clyde
Drexler
503635-2973
6
(A V
Z 5
05
TOP T€N
«««MM
*•'«•«’.%
Portland Trail Blazer, Clyde Drcx-
ler was on hand Monday December
17,1990 to gi ve students of Holy Redcn-
mcr area school their annual Scholastic
Improvement Awards.
The awards are given with the coop­
eration of Avia and The Bank of Amcr-
cia each year.
MJ O
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Shadow
Masters
& Sound
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Aloha, OR 97006
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L etlty E. Hammond
. < < » * < -
What is a piece of cardboard with a picture of a star
athlete on it worth? Anywhere between five cents and a few
thousand dollars. Believe it.
Last weekend I attended my first sports card show at the
Portland Memorial Coliseum. The experience was eye
opening. Or should I say depressing. Why didn’t I save all
those cards I collected asa little kid? If I had, I wouldn’t need
to borrow my college education from the government in the
form of student loans.
A lricndol mine did save all those cards he collected as
akid. The net worth now; $10,(XX). ForChristm ashe’sgiven
me a Rickey Henderson rookie card worth $ 180; just one of
four he owned.
For me the hobby of collecting sports cards has been
renewed. I want in. Both financially and sentimentally the
rewards can be many. But you must be careful. It can be
addicting and 1 inancially dangerous. To sell cards for money
is fine, but to rob the innocent collector should be a crime.
While walking around spending time observing differ­
ent card stands at the card show the first thing I noticed was
the prices. People will rob you and not think twice about it.
My first experience involved a Jerry Rice card. Rice’s
rookie card goes for S45. The card I saw was a special 1,000
Yard Club card from Rice's second year, yet it said rookie on
the price tag. The price tag also read $20. Being the
investigator that I am I immediately looked around for the
same card. I found some across the room selling for $3 a
piece. Being the aggressive person that I am I went back to
the where the I irst card lay and confronted the dcalcrabout his
overpriced card. He looked at the card and said it was a
mistake. He then said he would sell it to me for 75 cents.
I wonder, if I had simply pulled out $20 originally,
would he would have sold it to me for 75 cents. I doubt it. all
of his cards were over priced according to the Becket price
guides to sports cards.
Every month Becket magazine comes out giving you a
complete list of sports card prices. This is the sports cards
collectors bible. But they won’t swear on it.
The Becket says that a Walter Payton rookie card is
worth $210, if in mint condition. Yet I saw Payton’s card
being sold lor as much as $295 and $350. Each card's dealer
had different rational behind their prices.
The dealer of the $350 card said that any mint card
should be priced higher than that listed in Becket because it’s
an older card. But Becket’s whole basis in which they set
their prices is based on the card’s condition, popularity and
age. That's why the card's worth is listed at $210. Not why
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it should be $350. He had no logical explanation for his price
other than to rip someone off. No need to argue with the man,
I walked away.
The dealer of the $295 Payton card really had no
rational behind his price. As a matter of fact when I informed
him that the card was valued at $210 in Becket he immedi­
ately said he would sell it to me for that amount. I wonder;
if I had given him $295 would he have said, “Oh that’s too
much.” 1 doubt it.
The point behind these stories is to illustrate that what
was once an innocent hobby forchildren has grown intoabig
money scam for adults.
The hobby of collecting cards is really a hobby for the
heart. In reality a card is only a piece of card board with a
picture on it. Nothing more. What makes them so valuable
to people are the memories of collecting them and the
memories that a certain player provided for you when you
watched them play. That’s what sports cards should be all
about.
For me that memorable player is Walter Payton. I have
collected all of his cards except his rookie card and his second
year card which prices at S50. When presented with the
financial opportunity, I will have no problem putting down
S260 lor those two cards. They will be worth it. B ull won’t
pay $350 tor his card. Not to a person who is a disease to an
otherwise innocent hobby.
Another experience I ran into occurred at a card shop in
Aloha. My friend, who gave me the Henderson card, was
attempting to trade one of his Henderson cards to a card dealer
for a $60 Pete Rose, a $45 Willie Mays, and a $20 Johnny
Bench. A total of $125 worth of cards in exchange for a $180
Rickey Henderson. A $45 advantage for the dealer.
You must always figure that the dealer wins because
he’s the one in business. Seems fair right? Wrong.
The dealer was insulted by the proposition. He claimed
that my friend s card wasn t perfect, due to a barely notice­
able bend in one of the comers of the card, and there for not
worth $125 in trade. Yet silting in one of the man’s glass
cases was the exact same Henderson card, in worse condition
than that of my friends, priced at $175. You tell me who
should have been insulted.
In the final analysis a dealer can charge what he or she
wants for a card. But a card is only worth what the buyer is
willing to pay. II the joy of having a par,icularcard will make
you lorgct about the cash you laid down for that card then it’s
worth the price. II not, then you are being robbed or your
money and your love of collecting cards is being robbed of
it's innocence.
C * - * ■* «j y # •
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long-standing involvement with the cit
youth, where he has put to good use hit
concern for education with his back­
ground in sports and music. A recipie
of scores of community awards and I
he presently holds membership on the
boards of Crown Heights (Brooklyn)
Youth Collective, the New York Stati
Voluntary Services Commission, the
Literacy Assistance Fund and Harlem
Junior Development.
With this in mind, Monroe has taken
an active role in projects like the Ama­
teur Athletic Union/MARS MILKY WAY
High School AU-american Award and
scholarship program, which will recog­
nize outstanding high school seniors.
The nationwide program honors well-
rounded young men and women who
excel in academics, athletics and com­
munity service. A minimum of 96 col­
lege scholarships, ranging from $750 to
$40,000, will be awarded.
“ I was fortunate. I had a strong
family support structure that allowed me
to realize my dreams,” says Monroe,
whose family owned a small grocery
store in Philadelphia. “ Today, inner-
city kids without that support system
face so many potential dangers. I think
it’s important for these kids to have role
models within their own communities
and of their own age to look up to ." For
more information about the awards, please
contact Mary Ellen Dougherty (201-852-
1000) or Sara Coulter (212-527-8832).
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