Page 6...The Portland ()bserver...January 22, 1992
Blazers as Football Players?
ALAA ABDELNABY
BY BILL BARBER
There has been a lot o f specu­
lation about the Portland Trail Blazers
buying a Canadian Football league
franchise. The biggest problem with an
expansion team has always been that
you alw ays get the least experienced
athletes. M ost of the time the athletic
ability o f the new team is the major
reason they dw ell in the cellar for the
first decade.
Portland may not have to wait
ten years to have the Cham pionship of
the CFL under its Rose City (or Rip
C ity) belt.
W hat would happen if the Blazers
enacted a little used “ personnel serv­
ic e s” clause that is standard in its bas­
ketball players contracts?
We have all seen the lousy
expansion teams like Tampa Bay and
New O rleans as they struggle year after
year. It is no fun being razed by your
friends from around North America,
w ho call to tell you they ju st saw your
hom etow n team get beat by the Toronto
A rgonauts (103 - 6).
Alaa Abdelnaby has some
ideas. In an exclusive Portland O b­
server interview Abdelnaby nominated
him self as Director of player person­
nel. W e asked him how he would
utilize the players’ talents if the Blaz­
ers were pressed into service on the
new Portland Lightning Bolts football
team. “ First off, I would change the
name to the ‘Lazers.’ We would just
drop the ‘B ,’ which stands for Basket­
ball in Portland. Besides, it would give
Marshall G lickman the opportunity to
invent ‘Lazer C able.' “ W hat about
tailgate parties? “ That is the second
dung on the list!” Alaa said. “ No booze,
but the food! It would be the w orld’s
most diversified tail gate party. There
would be a wide variety o f food. We
would have “ Buffalo w ings’ for C liff
Robinson (from Buffalo, NY), Chitlins
for Buck Williams (from Rocky Mount,
NC), lotsa Cajun food for our Cajun
contingency, Robert Pack and W ayne
Cooper (New O rleans), plenty of Texas
beef for Clyde, deep dish Chicago-
style pizza for Duck, Virginia ham for
Jerome, and some W isconsin Cheese
for Terry Porter so he w on’t be hom e­
sick (U. o f Wise. - Stevens Point). At
half time I would give out Pita Bread
sandwiches with lamb, for the authen­
tic Arabs, or Tuna and Turkey for the
neuvel-cuisine eaters in the stadium,
because we know how diversified foot­
ball fans are. Fact is, since we do n ’t
have physicals until October, so
everytime we score w e’ll have a tail­
gate party. W e w on’t score that much
so we will stay pretty thin. W e will
score so infrequently that not only will
we spike the ball, our fans will be
allowed to come down on the field and
spike the ball. Heck, we will even give
them all a ball, if we ever score.”
OK Alaa, what positions would
you play your team m ates at on the
(B)Lazers Football Team?
“ Buck W illiams and I would be
defensive ends and tight ends too,”
Abdelnaby stated. “ Clyde would be a
flanker, running deep patterns, because
of his speed. Terry Porter would be our
Q uarterback, especially on passing
downs, because he com pletes so many
passes on the basketball court. Danny
Ainge would also be a QB because he is
always bragging about how good a
football player he was in high school.
He said he played every position and he
was great at all o f them .” (We had to
halt the interview until Abdelnaby could
stop laughing and regain his com po­
sure.) Alaa w asn’t done yet however.
* ‘If everyone was covered, Ainge could
throw him self the ball, thereby making
CFL history as the first man to com ­
plete a one-man outlet pass.” ( We had
to halt the interview again - same rea­
son). “ I ’m going to put Robert Pack in
the backfield. They c a n ’t stop him on
the basketball floor so they can ’t stop
him on the football field cither. Kevin
Duckworth would play the entire of­
fensive line on passing d o w n s, because
nobody can get to the guy with the ball
when Duck sets a pick. Jerome Kersey
will be our high Hying receiver. Mark
Bryant is our fullback and lead blocker.
He is powerful. Lamont Strothers is at
center, because they have to have big
helmets and facemasks. Ennis Wheatley
was going to be our free safety at the
start o f the season, but he has been
lifting so many weights, that 1 have no
choice but to make him a very strong
safety now. I have been saying W ayne
Cooper for Middle Line Backer, with a
few anti-inflam m atory m edications he
has got another good ten years in him. ”
Rick Adelman would still be the head
coach. Since the “ L azers” will be on
a very tight budget the first few years
the m anagem ent may also have to play.
Alaa agreed “ Yes, Marshall Glickman
will be on the field. He will have the
biggest uniform on the field. N ot be­
cause he the biggest guy, but because,
as Marketing Director, he can use the
oversized jersey for advertising corpo­
rate sponsors em blem s and logos. Even
logos o f the other teams, if the price is
right. It was M arshall’s idea to take out
the East Wall of the Civic Stadium and
replace it with the 40 foot high ‘ ‘Lazer
V ision” screen.
Alaa says, “ Marshall Glickman,
(who takes a lot o f ribbing about his
M arketing and advertising strategies)
has an idea for the opening ceremonies
of the first game. G eoff Petrie, #45, our
starting wide receiver, will have his
game jersey retired.”
There are a lot of advantages
to the Blazers playing football accord­
ing to Alaa Abdelnaby. ‘ ‘There is a lot
more time to rest between plays...we
would establish a new football term,
‘The Pick’, when Mark and Duck were
1992 Team Nautica USA Announced
blocking on sw eeps...w e’d be able to
play for more than 12,000 fans...W e
could slam dunk over the field goal
after touchdow ns...cut way down on
the dribbling...there are more refs on
the field to argue with...and we are
already a TEAM o f men who like to
play to w in.”
They are such a team in fact
that there is only one rule change that
might prevent the Blazers from be­
coming “ L azers.” The CFL is still de­
ciding if they will let players (Cliff
Robinson) wear head bands on the
outside o f their helmets. G ood Luck
(B)Lazers.
porticine)
èrail blazer/ -
24 HOUK
Seven junior sailors have been
named to 1992’s Team Nautica USA
after qualifying at the 1991 Orange
Bowl International Youth Regatta, held
at the U.S. Sailing Center, here, De­
cember 28-30. Named to the team
were singlehanded sailors Mike Hare
(La Porte, TX) and Danielle Brennan
(New York, NY); doublehanded sail­
ors Peter W ells (La Canada, CA) and
crew Robbie Dean (Newbury Park,
CA ), and Tracy Hayley (Coral Gables,
FL) and crew Linda Wcnnerstrom (Key
Biscayne, FL); and boardsailor Scott
Haladay (Lake Oswego, OR).
All of the team members have
qualified to represent the United States
at the IYRU Nautica W orld Youth
Sailing Cham pionship in Vilamoura-
Algarve, Portugal, April 9-19, 1992.
This year marks the first time Nautica
will be the title sponsor o f the W orld
Youth Sailing Championship, and the
second year that the Nautica Cup will
be awarded to the overall national team
which has gathered the most combined
points in each o f the five class divi­
sions.
Classes for the event will be Laser
(men’s singlehanded), Europe (women’s
singlehanded), International 420 (men’s
and women’s doublehanded) and Mis­
tral IMCO (men’s and women’s board).
The team will be funded by USSF
grants and Nautica International, Inc.
ALBERTA STREET MARKET IS A
GREAT PLACE TO SHOP
503/
236-4358
LOCATED AT 915 N.E. ALBERTA
281-6388 AND PRESCOTT
CORNER MARKET
LOCATED AT 1460 N.E. PRESCOTT
IS HERE TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY”
TAPED NOTES AND QUOTES
POSITIVE PEOPLE TO SERVE YOU
AT ALL TIMES!
STOP BY AND SEE JACK AND CREW.
ALBERTA STREET HOURS 8AM TIL MIDNIGHT,
PRESCOTT CORNER MARKET
HOURS 8AM TIL 12:30 PM.
THANK YOU
Boogie Cat Productions would like to thank the Community for its support. With the help of
local professional musicians who contributed their time, the "H a ppy Blue Year's" celebration at the
Texas II lounge was a total success. A special thanks to Jeff Parks, Owner, Mary Alice Brett, Manager;
and the Staff o f the Texas II for their contribution to this event.
This event was promoted for the enhancement o f entertainment in the Community.
"T he Community that works, plays, and prays together, stays together."
"Happy Blue Year"
from
Boogie Cat Productions
Norman A. Sylvester
KMHD
FM89.1
...All Jazz, All the Time.
KEEP WOODSTOVE
FIRES SMALL
AND HOT
Help clean up our air
AMERICAN X LUNG ASSOCIATION*
I of Ortgon
The Full Spectrum of Jazz...
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*
Nautica will also provide uniforms for
all team members.
“ W e are pleased to award, for the
second consecutive year, the Nautica
Cup -- a symbol o f outstanding per­
formance and excellence — as a dem ­
onstration o f our on-going com m it­
ment to youth sailing,” said David
Chu, president and founder o f N autica
International, Inc.
A training camp will be held April
6-7 at the U.S. Sailing Center in M i­
am i, FL. Coaches for the team have
not yet been named.
Gay Lynn (Newport, RI), a US
Sailing Senior and International Judge,
will represent the U.S. as a m em ber o f
the International Jury at the W orlds in
Portugal.
The Orange Bowl International
Youth Regatta was chosen as the quali­
fier for Team Nautica USA as the
dates of this year’s IYRU Nautica World
Youth Sailing Championship are quite
early.
The US Sailing/Nautica Youth
Championship, the event which usu­
ally decides Team Nautica USA, will
be held June 19-26,1992, at Alamitos
Bay Y acht Club, Long Beach, CA.
Applications are available to sailors
19 and under by calling Trish W alcott
at the US Sailing office at (401) 849-
5200. The deadline for submission is
April 1, 1992.
House Of Exodus Bingo
OPENS
Celebrate Black
History Month and St.
Valentine’s Day Special
Sisterhood Luncheon
In celebration o f Black History
M onth and St. V alentine’s Day we are
hosting a Special Sisterhood Luncheon
at the Texas Two Annex, 1625 NE
Alberta, on Friday, February 14, 1992
from 11:30-1:00 p.m. This luncheon
will be a joint effort between the Sister­
hood Luncheon Com m ittee, The Ur­
ban League Guild and The National
Council o f Negro Women.
The lunch will consist o f a buffet.
The cost is S8.5O per person paid in
advance. Please send payment to the
Black United Fund no later than Fri­
day, January 24th, 1992. Come out and
learn about the different sister organi­
zations in our com m unity, and help us
celebrate Black History Month & St.
V alentine’s Day.
W e look forward to your support
o f this worthwhile effort.
DECEM BER 6 ,1 9 9 1
FRIDAY EVENING
AT DIVISION ST. CORRAL BINGO
17110 S.E. DIVISION
PORTLAND, OR 97233
761-8548
DAY
TUESDAYS DOORS OPEN 9:00 AM
EARLY BIRD 10:00 AM SESSION (2)
EVENING
TUESDAYS DOORS OPEN 5:00 PM
FRIDAYS EARLY BIRD 6:30 PM
SATURDAYS
$500.00/53#
$200.00 CONSOLATION
W INNER TA K E ALL G A M E
LOTS O F PARKING
KXL-AM is Portland
Area’s Number-One
Morning Radio Station!
$75.00 PAYOUTS
BONANZA
LOTS O F SEATING
Public Notice
Wholesale to the Public 35% to 50% off
100% Human Hair 16" from $15.95
KXL Ncwsradio 750 is now the
num ber one morning radio station in
the Portland market, according to the
latest Arbitron Ratings. The Fall 1991
Arbitron Book reports KXL Ncwsradio
750 has a 9.8 share of the radio listen­
ing public (12+) from 6:(X) a.m. to
10:00 a.m ., making it Portland’s most
listened to radio station during M orn­
ing-Drive.
Steve Leader and Diana Jordan
com prise the morning team on KXL
Ncwsradio 750 from 5:00 a.m. to 9:(X)
a.m ., providing listeners with a mix of
news, traffic, weather, sports, business
news and more! One hour of Morning-
Drive includes the Rush Limbaugh Show
which is now the Portland area’s num ­
ber two most listened to radio program
(12+).
braiding and weaving
Wigs and Beauty Supplies
We will meet or beat
anyone’s prices.
Sales and Promotional items excluded.
Mrs. C’s Wigs and Beauty Supply
707 N.E. Fremont
Portland, Oregon 97212
(503) 281-6525
Open: 11:30 - 6:00 Tues thru Saturday
I