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March 1 3 ,1991—The Portland Observer—Page 5
THE LOCKER ROOM
David Robinson: He Has A Dream Too
BY ULLYSSES TUCKER, JR.
Recently, the Locker Room re
ported that star center D avid Robinson
o f the San A ntonio Spurs donated
$108,000 to the " I Have A Dream
F o u n d a tio n " fo r scholarships. The
program, which adopts a fifth grade
class, is set up fo r students at Gates
DAVID ROBINSON
Elementary School in San Antonio.
However, there’s one catch to the schol
arships, the students must graduate from
high school and enroll in college to
receive the money.
Robinson took a few moments after
his Spurs broke a 13 game home w in
ning streak against the T ra il Blazers
recently. The Spurs won 95-88 behind
the scoring and rebounding o f Robin
son.
‘ ’The I H A D Foundation is a great
foundation,” he said. “ It tells the kids
to work hard, w ork hard, that it w ill all
w ork out for you. Instead, it tells them
that i f you work hard and want to go to
college, we are going to help you be
cause i t ’ s worth that to us. In San A n to
nio, we only had one class and 1 wanted
to see them sponsor a black class there.
I think that i f you point the k id in the
rig ht direction and tell them that you’re
w illin g to help them, I think that they
w ill take it from there. I t ’s ju s t exciting
to see the looks on their faces and their
parents crying, sim ply because they
could not afford college. I t ’ s a great
feeling.”
L ike Ken L ew /i/C E O /LA S C O
Shipping and Attorneys Leonard G i
ra rd (Portland General Corporation)
and Pam Jacklin (Stoel, Rives, Boley,
Jones, & Grey), the prim ary sponsors
o f three 5th grade classes at M artin
Luther K ing Elementary School in
Northeast Portland, Robinson is active
w ith his class. Though his N B A sched
ule is active and the demands fo r his
tim e very high, he s till finds the tim e to
drop in on his students.
“ I do not donate money to any
thing that I don’ t feel strongly about,”
he said. ‘ ‘Last year, I d id a lot o f public
appearances and posters fo r them. I
knew then that I wanted to sponsor a
class, but I wasn’ t at that point yet
where I wanted to give everything.
This year, I ’ m at that point. M y mother
and father have helped me a great deal
also. I t ’ s really fu lfillin g .”
Robinson, who spends a consider
able amount o f time in N ikes’ Beaver
ton neighborhood, said that he would
like to meet the Cass at M L K oneday.
He w ill get his chance this summer or
sooner, since the N B A finalist from the
West m ight have to come through M e
m orial Coliseum.
More on D avid Robinson'. R obin
son says that he has always been a
com petitive individual, whether it was
academic or athletic. A graduate o f the
U.S. Naval Academy, Robinson talked
about how he formulated his drive and
energy.
“ I don’t like to lose at anything. I
don’ t want to say i t ’s pride in yourself,
because I think that the word is over
used, but i t ’s being able to feel good
about yourself. When I was a kid, I did
a lo t o f different things. I tried so hard
to find something I was great at. Not
ju s t good, but really great. So when I
grew to be 6-foot-8 inches in high school,
and I started developing as a basketball
player, I told m yself, ‘This is your
th ing ’ . N ow that basketball is m y job ,
I ’m zeroed in, thinking mostly o f that.
This is my chance to be great.”
New North
Portland Office
Opens
D»oo
The Employment D ivision’s North
Portland office has moved to a new
location. It is located in a fa c ility hous
ing fiv e Department o f Human Re
Stmhah
sources agencies. The new address is
30 N. Webster St. The new location
was specifically designed w ith E m
ployment D ivision customers in mind
and w ill offer easy access to these serv
ices as w ell as those provided by other
agencies. Contact Jerry Fugere, 280-
6004, or M artin Burrows, 280-6810.
Brenda Williams
named Employee
Of the Year!
Human Resources’ Brenda W il
liams was named Em anuel’ s Employee
o f the Year for 1990 at the annual
Service Awards Banquet February 28.
The honor comes w ith a special park
ing space fo r a year as w ell as a trip to
Hawaii. Congratulations, Brenda!
D
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(Left) First team all
tournament selecton,
Damon Stoudamire
of Wilson led his
team to the state title
by beating West
Albany 104-87.
Stoudamire scored
25 pints, grabbed 5
rebounds, had 11
assist and 3 steals.
Photo by Veronica Green
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Henderson could learn class from Sandberg
bv A a ro n Fentress
A year ago Oakland Athletics left
fielder Rickey Hendrson was a happy
man w ith his new four-year S12 m illio n
dollar contract. N ow he’ s unhappy.
When Henderson signed his con
tract he was one o f only two players
receiving S3 m illion -a -yea r to play
baseball. Since then everybody and
their grandmother has signed a $3
rrfllion-a-year contract, some ex
Henderson’s statement is easy to dis
cover in looking at the contracts o f
Nolan Ryan, Andre Dawson, Wade
Boggs, and Chicago Cubs' second
basemen Ryne Sandberg, to name a
few. A ll ofw hom make the same or less
then Henderson and are all locks for the
Hall o f Fame. None have complained
ceeding $4 m illio n and one player
ev£n receiving over S5 m illion-a-
year. Needless to say Henderson’ s
ego has been bruised. He just feels
that he is the best player in baseball
and should be paid the most money.
The argument over whether
or not Henderson is the best player
in baseball, o r whether he deserves
the fiv e -m illio n dollars a year he’s
asSing is not what concerns me or
my purpose for w riting this article.
He jderson is undoubtedly one o f
the best all-around talents in the
game and definitely deserves four-
to-five m illion dollars a year as much
as anyone. But must he cry like a
little baby to get it. W hat concerns
me is Henderson’s lack o f class
over money. Henderson should
honor his current contract and just
play ball.
T w o weeks ago Henderson
was a no show at Oakland’ s training
camp fo r tw o days. Henderson
voiced his opinion about his lack o f
financesanddidn’ tshow up to camp
until the third day and d id n ’ t do so
under h ap py c ircu m sta n ce s.
Henderson has let it be known that
his stay may not be permanent.
Upon showing up Henderson
was given a ja r fille d w ith SI bills
from his teammates who put to
gether the “ Rickey Henderson ap
preciation fund” asa little joke which
Henderson accepted but offered no
jo k in g attitude towards Oakland
management.
“ I ’ m the only player going to
the H all o f Fame m aking that much
less then Jose,” griped Henderson
the day o f team mate Jose Canseco's
signing fo r over $4 m illion-a-year
over eight months ago.
The ignorance shown by
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about their present contracts except for
Sandberg. Who, despite his gripes,
could teach Henderson a thing or two
about class.
When spring training opened for
Chicago Sandberg let Cubs' manage
ment know that he wanted a contract
extension worth close to five -m illio n a
year. Cubs management failed to
com ply so Sandberg went on about
his business, preparing for the 1991
season.
The comparisons between
Sandberg and Henderson's situation
are this- Both players are arguably
the best ever to play their position;
Both players are underpaid com
paratively to their peers and both
want to be compensated. But that’s
where the comparisons end.
"I'm going to put the contract
talks behind me and prepare even
harder to try and bring a w orld
series championship to Chicago,"
said Sandberg.
"I may h it only .250 i f I have
to play the season w ithout a new
contract," said Henderson who
batted .325 last season.
Comparing these two state
ments it is obvious which player is
a winner and which is a whiner.
Sandberg w ill take his S2.2 m illion
and play hard while Henderson w ill
take his S3 m illion and snivel until
October.
"Chicago management has
been good to me," said Sandberg
despite not getting the contract he
wanted.
Sandberg is right, manage
ment has been good to him. They
have given him life-long financial
security. What Henderson fails to
see is that Oakland management
has been as good to him. Now
Henderson should repay the favor
and play baseball
I f Henderson does decide to
w alk out o f camp again because he
can't live on S12 m illio n (I know
how hard that could be) then the
A ’s should trade him to Houston.
Let him finish in last place year
after year w ith his S5 m illion. Be
cause from the cellar we won't be
able to hear his w hining anymore.
Toll-Free Number On Job Rights For Returning
Reservists And National Guard Members
The U.S. Labor Department today
announced a toll-free telephone line to
provide inform ation on jo b rights fo r
relum ing reservists and National Guard
members called up for the Persian G u lf
War.
Those w ho call the number, 1-800-
4422-V E T, w ill be sent inform ation on
their rights under the Veterans’ Reem
ploym ent rights Act. Persons may also
contact the Seattle Regional VETS
O ffice at (206) 553-4831 for inform a
tion.
‘ ‘As those called up fo r the Persian
G u lf co n flict begin com ing home, our
attention w ill turn from the war to their
reentry into c iv ila in life. That return
includes resumption o f their jobs and
careers, ‘ ‘ said Secretary o f Labor Lynn
M artin.
“ Under the federal law, they have
a rig ht to return to the jobs they left to
go on m ilita ry duty. N ot only are they
entitled to their old jobs or an equiva
lent jo b , the law requires they be rein
stated w ith the seniority, status, pay
and other benefits they would have
earned had they remained on the jo b ,”
M artin said.
The Veterans’ Reemployment
Rights A ct, passed in 1940, covers all
personnel ordered to m ilita ry duty at
any lime.
The law is based on the so-called
‘ ‘escalator principle,: which means
veterans step back into their jobs at the
precise point they would have occu
pied had they kept w orking. The same
escalator principle applies in reverse,
however. I f there were layoffs at their
place o f employment, reservists or
National guard members may not be
entitled to their old job. Even so, they
w ill have accrued seniority fo r recall
and areentitied to unemployment bene
fits.
The toll-free number w ill be staffed
by operators between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.,
EST, but w ill have 24-hour message
recording.
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(Right) #50 Duray
Thirdgill of Wilson
gets the salm during
the first quarter of the
championship game.
Thirdgill scored 16
points, grabbed, 12
rebounds, and
blocked 4 shots.
Portland Record Still The Best In The NBA
Jerome Kersy gets fouled by Larry Nance
o f Cleveland as Brad Daugherty looks
on. Kersey scored 21 points and pulled
down 9 rebounds as Portland got by
Cleveland 104-96 Monday night. The
w in moves Portland’s record to 46-15.
Photo by Veronica Green
SECOND ANNUAL
Inner City Blues Festival
Thurs, March 21, 6:30-11
Norman Sylvester
Jim Mesi
Janice Scroggins and the
Portland Blues All-Stars
(Benny Wilson, Paul Jones, Dave Kahl)
with special guests
Paulette Davis & Power
Street Corner Singers
Ralph Black, Al Hickey, Lloyd Jones
Eddy McGee, Bill Rhoades, J C Rico
Margo Tufo, Johnnie Ward, & others
beans & rice included, no host bar
BBQ dinners for sale by Chuck Hinton's Ribs Express
$7.50 advance, $8.50 door, children under 12 - free (under 21 out by 10 PM)
T E X A S II (form erly Royal Esquire club), 1708 NF. Alberta
Benefit for the P O R T L A N D R A IN B O W C O A L IT IO N
tickets available at Music M illenium , laughing Horse