Page 6 -T h e Portland Observer - March 6,1991
THE LOCKER ROOM
Larry Smith
Igniting The Rockets
Isiah Thomas
BY ULLYSSES TUCKER, JR.
M ost N B A experts predicted the
demise o f the Houston Rockets after
A ll-S ta r center Akeem O lajuw on, the
teams “ bread and butter” , w ent down
w ith an eye in ju ry. Rumors spread
quickly that the Rockets were easy
pickings. T ell that to L a rry Smith, the
man who replaced O lajuw on in the
pivot, because the word never reached
him.
Smith averaged over 13 rebounds
per contest in helping Houston to im ­
pressive 31 -23 record (as o f this p u b li­
cation date). A n 11 year veteran out o f
A lcorn State, Sm ith enjoys the d irty
work and he leaves the scoring to Ver­
non Maxwell (16.7), Kenny Smith (17.0
and 78 assists), and O tis Thorpe (18.2
and ten rebounds). M a xw e ll scored 51
points in a 107-103 victo ry against the
Cavs.
“ W e ’ ll be happy when Akeem
comes back and everything's back to
normal, but in the meantime, there are
a lot o f guys on this team w ith talent
besides Akeem. W e ’re proving i t ” ,
said Smith. Thorpe, w ho leads the
N B A w ith 429 consecutive games
played, Smith, and M axw ell have
provided the Rockets w ith a triple scor-
Akeem Olajuwon
ing threat, but Smith's rebounding has
kept the Rockets very com petitive and
o nly four games behind San Antonio.
“ I try to keep m oving a lot, keep
active around the boards,” he said.
“ Sometimes guys don’t put a body on
me because I ’ m so small, and they say,
‘ This little guy isn’t going to get in
there fo ra rebound.’ So my size kind o f
works to my advantage, and 1 always
try to get good postion.”
Smith entered the season as one o f
only 11 acitve players to average at
least ten rebounds fo r their careers.
“ Everyone loves to shoot” , he said,
“ but i f you want to play, you do what
the coaches tell you to do. I don’t try to
do anything special. That’ s the way
I ’ ve been doing it fo r 11 years now. Just
do what the coaches want and don’t
complain too much. 1 don’ t have the
size o r height (6-7, 230 lbs) that other
guys have, so I ju s t try to work as hard
as possible and do the best jo b I can.”
Look fo r the Rockets to be even better
when Akeem returns.
Lsiah Thomas, another injured A ll-
Star, said that to play in the N B A ,
players need inner drive and mental
toughness. His childhood in Chicago
laid the foundation fo r his toughness,
m otivation, and drive. Thomas also had
Larry Smith
big brothers to push him around and
teach him how to be humble.
“ When I was growing up, I a l­
ways played w ith older kids. I never
played w ith kids my own age o r size.
1 wanted to be with my brothers, Preston
and Larry because I was so much
smaller than them, I always got picked
last. That was hard, but when I got
w ith my own age group, I was so
confident in m y skills and in my
demeanor.
“ I wanted to prove to m y borth-
ers and their friends that I deserved to
play w ith them. I don’ t think I ever
proved that. T hat’s what keeps me
driving,even today. I ’ m always afraid
to stop and say ‘O K , I belong now ’ ,
because to this day, I always feel there
is someone out there that docsn ’ t think
I ’ve proven m y s e lf’ . I f the Detroit
Pistons intend to “ threepeat,” they
had better prove to the rest o f the
league that they can win w ithout
Thomas, who is out fo r the season
w ith a w rist injury.
Shortshakcs: A closer look at
D a vid Robins on nex t week and the “ I
Have A Dream Foundation” . Hey Mark
Bryant, hope your foot is healing
properly. Miss talking to you in the
Locker Room.
Support our Advertisers, Say you saw it in the Observer
Could the Mariners see a pennant....
fay A a ro n Fentress
DeFazio Bill Would Force
Allies To Pay Fair Share
w on ’thesitate to leave. Especially i f the
.320, hit 17 homers and knocked in 93
...In 1991 ? No.
Mariners arc s till losing.
RBIs for the Mariners T rip le-A team If
The 1991 Mariners are still a mere
I f the Mariners do get smart and
Martinez can overcome last season's
clone o f past M ariner clubs that have
make G riffe y a lifetim e member o f the
major league slump, he could be called
compiled a 363-446 record over the last
Mariners, their only worry w ill be
upon to help the Mariners' offense this
five seasons. Seattle’ s five year w in ­
surrounding him with complimentary
season, which is exactly what they need.
ning percentage o f .449 ranks second to
talent. The good news for the Mariners
Last season, the Mariners placed
last in the Am erican League and worst
is that their farm system is fin ally show­ tw o players among the league leaders in
in the A L 's West D ivision. The M a ri­
ing signs o f producing some players
batting, G riffe y and Edgar Martinez
ners have yet to come up w ith a w inning
w orthy o f playing w ith Griffey.
(.302). And although the Mariners fin ­
season in their 15-year franchise history
The Mariners have a history o f
ished seventh as a team at .259 they also
but have managed to produce
finished 11 th in hits, 13th in home
back-to-back seasons in which
runs, 12th in fewest men left on
they upped their w in total from
base and consequently 13th in
the previous year. But no pen
runs. The Mariners biggest con­
nants look to be hanging in the
cern for the future is offense.
next couple o f years.
I f the Mariners can put to­
The d om in a nce o f
gether a lineup they w ill be com­
Oakland A th letics in the A L West
petitive because the Mariners
was sligh tly threatened by the
have put together a young tal­
Chicago W hite Sox last season,
ented pitching staff that could
who surprised everyone w ith a
become a force to be reckoned
94-68 record, second best in the
with.
A L . Infact, the W hite Sox wor.
The Mariners traded Mark
their season series w ith Oakland,
Langston in 1989 in an un-popu-
but it wasn’ t enough. Oakland
lar trade which may have turned
finished the season nine games
into a deal that could secure the
ahead o f Chicago and 26 ahead
Mariners pitching staff.
o f Seattle.
I t ’ s going to take
In the Langston trade the
some tim e fo r the M ariners to
Mariners landed Randy Johnson
even catch Chicago, let alone
(14-11,3.65ERA), Brian Holman
Oakland. Both teams have shown
(11-11, 4.01 ER A ) and Gene
that they know how to stay com ­
W ith G riffey, all (he Mariners need to do Harris (3-0, 2.35 ERA in T riplc-
petitive and keep themselves
A). I f these three can consis­
is
surround him w ith talent to contend.
from sliding by upgrading their
tently improve then the Mariner
talent in the o f f season; some­
staff, led by number one starter
thing Seattle has rarely done.
bad management o f their farm talent.
Erik Hanson (18-9,3.24 ER A)and Scott
...In the future ? Maybe.
Their m inor league affiliates have only
Bankhead, who should recover from
The M ariners have their franchise
produced six players for the Mariners
injury that forced him to only pitch 13
player in Ken G riffe y Jr. N ow they
who began their career w ith the orga­
innings in 1990, should continue to be
need to keep him and build around him.
nization.
stable.
G riffe y is considered by many to be the
In the late 80s, the Mariners dem­
In 1990 the M ariner staff finished
best young talent in the game and is the onstrated that they couldn’t assess talent
third in the A L in ER A (3.69), third in
only M ariner to ever start in an A ll-S ta r
as a series o f bad draft picks left their
fewest hits allowed (1 ,3 19) and number
Game.
m inor league cupboard bare. But the one in strike-outs (1,064).
G riffe y finished among A L lead­ organization rallied last season and ac­
In the bull-pen the Mariners have
ers in batting average (.300), total bases cording to mostexpert reports produced
one o f the premiere closers in the game.
(287) and slugging percentage (.481).
the third best class o f prospects in the
M ike Schooler had 30 saves in 34 op­
G riffe y demonstrated im proving power
A L . I f all these players pan out, the
portunities while posting a 2.25 ERA
by knocking out 22 homers and his
Mariners can look to start fillin g the win
and lim itin g batters to a .227 batting
defensive play in center fie ld ranks him
column in years to come.
average.
as the best at his position in the A L . But
F irst baseman T in o M artinez
For die hard Mariner fans who
can the Mariners keep him ?
heads the list o f prospects for the M ari­
have been w ailing fora winner the wait
W ith the skyrocketing salaries in
ners. Although Martinez faltered in his
ing may still have to be endured. But if
major league baseball, it w on ’t be long
major league debut at the end o f last
the present improvements shown by the
before G riffe y demands to be included
season batting, l-fo r-2 8 , Martinez has
Mariners continue anti the young pros­
in the four-to-five m illio n dollar club.
demonstrated that he is a talented left-
pects pan out, the waiting may not be for
And i f the Mariners don’ t pay him he
handed hitter. In 1990 Martinez batted
much longer.
Saying U.S. taxpayers are being
unfairly stuck w ith the tab fo r Persian
G u lf crisis, Oregon Democratic Rep.
Peter DeFazio introduced legislation
which would tax imports from allied
countries not making good on their
promises to help w ith the cost o f the
war.
“ A p ril 15th is the day that all
Americans have to settle up w ith Uncle
Sam,” said Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-
Springfield). “ A ll w e’re asking is that
our allies do the same.”
Deploying and supporting more
than 400,000 troops in the Persian G u lf
cost U.S. taxpayers more than $13 billion
before the w ar started on January 15.
Cost estimates for the 43-day old war
range between $500 m illio n and $1
b illio n per day.
Last fa ll, Treasury Secretary
Brady and Secretary o f State Baker
made several visits to allied nations to
obtain commitments to help pay the
cost o f the war. O f the $53 b illio n
pledged by U.S. allies to date, only $ 15
b illio n has been received.
The legislation would require
the allies to pay their bi Us by A p ril 15 or
risk having their exports this country
subject to a 2 percent ta riff.
O fth e $ 1 0 .7 b illio n for the war
effort pledged by Japan, only about $1
b illio n had been received by February
22. K uw ait has promised to pay $16
b illio n but only $3.5 b illio n has been
contributed. Germany has pledged $6.5
b illio n , o f which $3 b illio n has been
received.
“ Some o f the nations that stand
to gain the most from the free flo w o f
o il from the M iddle East have paid the
least,” DeFazio said. “ O ur troops have
done their part. Now its time for our
allies to do theirs.”
Rep. Lane Evans (D -IL L.),a
member o f the House Armed Services
Committeee, cosponsored DeFazio's bill.
“ American servicemen and women put
their lives on the line ,” Evans said.
“ We can’t let their families and average
taxpayers now pay all the b ills because
countries like Japan and Germany won’t
carry the freight.”
The lawmakers said the U.S.
imports more than $145 b illio n in
products from the five m ajor nations
s till in arrears on their war payments. In
1990 the U.S. imported $90 b illio n in
products from Japan, $28 b illio n from
West Germany, and $18 b illio n from
South Korea.
COMING
SOON
HOMES^ANTED
Jefferson Advances
to Tournament
Pictured #15 Tyrell Owens.
Photo by Veronica Green
In class 4A sub-tournament action last Saturday, Jefferson beat Beaverton
55-50 to advance to the 16-team state championship tournament held at the
memorial coliseum March 5-9. Jefferson and W ilson w ill represent the P.I.L. at
this years tournament.
Jessie Jackson Talks About
“ Common Ground”
and Corporate Responsibility”
BY PROFESSOR MCKINLEY BURT
A W h irlw ind trip to the Pacific
Northwest last Wednesday enable
Reverend Jackson to reach large audi­
ences w ith his two current themes,
“ Common Ground and Corporate
Responsibility. The first topic centered
around his position that tim ber workers
and environmentalists have a common
interest. The second addressed such
runaway” American corporations as
Nike, who do their manufacturing
overseas.
A Roseburg, Oregon w ork-force
o f about 800 timbcrland lum ber w ork­
ers were attentive as M r. Jackson struck
out boldly on new territory - the con­
cept that die-hard environmentalists and
those contemplating economic disaster
as the forests are “ closed d ow n ” actu­
a lly had a “ Common G round” . They
were told that both groups had a con­
siderable, long-term stake in the pres­
ervation o f the forest o f this country.
That jobs, resources and the environ­
ment equally depended upon ‘ planned’
tim ber harvests.
A bold move indeed considering
the audience ‘and’ the locale. In Port­
land, Rev. Jackson enjoyed the rapt
attention o f over 300 young people at
Grant High School. He interspersed an
overall theme o f educational prepara­
tion and self-discipline w ith attention
getting and topical citations o f black
inventors. For instance, Garrett M o r­
gan, inventor o f the gas mask (respira­
tor) being used by the m ilita ry in the
M iddle East, and by Israel. The audi­
ence was very responsive.
A query by one student, “ What
message can I take back to N ike?” ,
brought the firm reply, “ CORPORATE
R E S P O N S IB IL IT Y ".
Jackson expanded his answer w ith
the observation that Nike, like a num ­
ber o f Am erican firm s, employs cheap
labor in Asia to produce merchandise
imported back here to sell at markups
o f over 1000%: “ $10.00 production
cost in Asia and $180.00 retail in
Am erica.” “ When I say ‘ Corporate
R esponsibility’ , I intend that everyone
understand that such corporations do
not create jobs in A m erica.”
Reverend Jackson also spoke at
the M t. O live Baptist Church and at a
South East side ballroom under the
auspices o f the Rainbow C oalition, the
local chapter o f PUSH is headed by M r.
Delane Gamer. He advises that the em­
phases o f the local group w ill be the
Black Fam ily and that they w ill work
amicably w ith a ll other sectors o f the
com m unity.
288-0033
To reserve your space
A P R IL
17
&
2 4
Sunriver Accepts Entries
For Annual Chili Cook-Off
The Sunriver Area Chamber
o f Commerce is now accepting entries
fo r the Fifth Annual C h ili C o o k-O ff
Extravaganza combining food, fun, and
entertamment on Saturday, June 29 from
10.00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Sunriver
Village Courtyard. Festivities begin on
Friday, June 28 w ith an introduction
party for all judges and contestants.
This years official International
C h ili Society sanctioned district cook­
o ff w ill feature the largest first place
cash prize in Oregon; $400 fo r first
place, $250 for second, and $150 for
third place. Trophies w ill also be awarded
for first place in Showmanship, Best
Booth, and People’ s Choice divisions.
Winners w ill be eligible to advance to
the state com petition. A ll resort
contestants w ill be eligible for the Resort
Challenge Cup.
Everyone is invited to enter
the cook-off; businesses, restaurants,
resorts, and private individuals. For
complete rules, inform ation, and an
application, contact the Sunriver Area
Chamber o f Commerce at 593-8149.
Portland Community College
Can Help You
Bloom This Spring.
PCC has classes to help you grow!
Job training programs
College transfer courses
Help with basic skills
Or courses just for fun!
PCC has them all.
Days, evenings or
weekends
Convenient locations,
affordable costs
Watch your mailbox for
PCC's Spring Schedule
or call 244-6111 for
information
Classes begin
the week of March 25.
Bloom this
at PCC!
spring