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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 26, 1995)
P age B2 A pril 26, 1995 • T he P ortland O bserver STOUDAMIRE AWAITS FUTURE Howard Cosell dies at 77: Howard Cosell a legendary figure in sports broadcasting died Sunday at New York University Hospital for Joint Deceases. His grandson Justin C ohane said Cosell died o f a heart embolism. Cosell is most remembered for his 14 years as a broadcaster on “Monday Night Football" and his verbal sparring matches with Muhammad Ali. Cosell was re vered and ridiculed for his tell-it- like-it-is approach to broadcast ing. In 1954 he left a lucrative law practice, for n ABC radio jo b that paid $250 a week. “ Howard Cosell was one o f the most original people ever to appear on American television." said ABC News president Roone Arledge, in charge o f ABC Sports during Cosell's hey day. GOLF Jacobsen Comes In Second: Peter Jacobsen the Portland based P.G.A. golfer regained the top money winner honors on the circuit with a second place tie with JeffSIum an. Both men had an opportunity to win but let it slip away as Jom Gallagher made a phenomenal comeback to win the Greater Greensboro open. Jacobsen shot an even par and Sluman was two over, as Gallagher manage a 6 under in the fin a l. J a c o b s e n ’s c h e c k o f $132,000 for second place tie lift ed him past Davis Love III as the top money winner with earnings of$870,321 forthe 1995 season. Jacobsen has two first, two sec onds and a third. GYMNASTICS A young Oregon State team making its first appearance in the six team finals NCAA national W omen’sGymnasticsChampion- ships. Finished sixth Friday be fore a crowd o f 7,758 in the Geor gia Coliseum. BASKETBALL Blazers will play the Phoenix Suns starting Friday in the best o f five play-off. Phoenix swept the B lazers during the regu lar season. bv D anny B ell Damon Stoudamire the stellar guard for Arizona, decided in the last week to by-pass the Desert Classic a showcase for the top seniors in the country at which many pro scouts will be attending. Instead he spent the week in Oregon, visiting parents and friends and taking a break from his studies. Stoudamire who has a good chance to end up in the lottery felt that the risk o f hurting his standing with the scouts out-weighed the chance o f D anny B ell Jimmy Jones who had been a fixture in the early television era o f P o rtlan d ’s sport scene and once served as the voice o f the Portland Trailblazers and Seattle Super Sonics, died at his Bellevue home last Thurs day on April 20th. Jones who was 62 had suffered a history o f heart problems dating back to 1975 when he experienced a seri ous seizure on Super Bowl Sunday while in Phoenix on a road trip with the Trailblazers. In the last few years, Jones had worked as a TV play by play an nouncer for Prime sports. His last telecast was Easter Sunday in which he called a baseball game between Oregon State and Portland State at Coleman Field on the Oregon State campus. Jones, was born in 1933 was an all-city fullback at Grant High in Portland, then played football forthe University o f Oregon for three years Jones began his career in televi sion at KPTV in I960, eight years after Portland s initial T V. station took to the air It was while at KPTV that Jones became one o f the states best known figures in sports doing play by play in a variety o f sports He became best known for his coverage o f the Portland Buckaroos hockey team, delayed football games, then later for announcer and T.V. play by play man forthe Portland Trailblaz ers. During all this, Jones stayed on to anchor sports for KPTV. In 1983 Jones left channel 12 television and Portland to become the play by play announcer for tele cast ofthe Seattle Supersonics games. Doug LaMear. a long time local sports anchor at KG W-T V w ho knew Jones as a competitor and a friend. Jimmy Jones said "I considered him a great guy to work with although we were com pet itors I'm very sorry to see him go he was a nice guy to have in the busi ness.” Reached at Palm Springs, C a lif. Harry Glickman. president emer itus of the Trail Blazers, said “ I can't recall anyone who ever had an un kind word to say about J immy Jones. He was a great guy, a great friend. and in my opinion, a very great sports caster." George Wasch the executive producer/director for Blazer Broad casting, grew up with Jones and worked with him from the beginning at KPTV and with the Blazer organi zation as well. "After col lege his first jo b was in radio in Salem, Wasch said. “ I encouraged him to come up to Portland and audition for some sports. One o f the first he auditioned for and got was for Hollywood Ford. Then we had a show called "Sports By line" and he did that. He did such a terrific job they hired him full time." “Jones," Wasch said was “as good as any body in the business and better than most. When he went on the air, he was really prepared He had a great announcing voice, had nice style and was enthusiastic. He was a real pro. Oregon State sports information director worked with Jones early in his career and his last baseball game on Easter Sunday , commented "from a professional stand point he said" I always thought he w as one o f best in the business. He was a consummate pro. You knew he was always "And he was one o f the best friends I ever had." Funeral service are to be held to day, Wednesday April 26 at 1:30 p.m. at W estminster Presbyterian Church Kloppenburn. Seattle vice president/ player personnel. “To me he's a can’t miss player. I think you’ll be talking about him like you do about Kevin Johnson in three or four years." " If he’s not the top, he’s the second best point guard in the guard, said Jon Jennings, Boston's director o f basketball development. “ He has phenomenal talent. He’s probably the best guard when it comes to the pick-and-roll which is conducive to offenses being employed in the NBA today." Stoudamire is a shooter and scor er, but the typical set-up point seems to be fading from the horizon. “He is one o f those players who has to somewhat dominate the ball to be effective," Jennings said. "A team has to understand he is going to have to be focal point o f an offense. The good thing is that he is a initiator, a creator and willing to make decisions.” Obviously as Stoudamire accli mates to the N B A there will be a period o f adjustment. But as Dave Twarzik, director player personnel for the Charlotte Hornets said. H e's a guy you’re go ing to play and a guy you're going have to live with... I think you have to let him go. To corral him too much, it may inhibit his game." At 5" I O’ Stoudamire is kind o f smallish, however he has dem on strated he has the quickness to com pensate for lack o f size. Its too early to know where Stoudamire might go in the draft. However there's strong indications that lie'll be chosen in the top 15. He said “ I'd be very disappoint ed I went after 15.” Several teams that are in imme- d iate need o f a point guard also are in the lottery they are Detroit, the L. A. Clippers, Miami, Milwaukee, M in nesota and Washington. Stoudamire said he's made up a list and all the lottery teams are on it. He said “ I know Minnesota has shown extreme interest, and I've even heard they’ve told a couple o f people they would like to have me. But those are just words" going to a losing team doesn't seem to faze Stoudamire, in fact he seems to invite the opportunity to be on a team like “ Washington or Detroit, or teams with good young talent." Stoudamire said. “I think I could blend right in, be successful and be a part o f something on the rise." SECOND SEASON BEGINS JIMMY JONES VETERAN SPORTCASTER DIES by climbing in the draft. “ I sat down with my family, I talked to my coaches at Arizona and they called a lot o f people for me" the Wilson High Graduate said "the con sensus was, 1 had four solid years at Arizona and I had proved m yself by playing international ball over the past couple o f years “ It w asn't that I thought I didn’t have anything to prove at Phoenix (the Desert Clas sic) but what more could I have done to improve my stock in the draft. In light o f that Stoudamire de cided since he is only taking two courses at Arizona this term to visit his girlfriend Renee Evans, who lives in Eugene, visit with his parents, Willie Stoudamire and Liz W ashing ton, and play some hoop with the old gang including cousin Antoine, a former Oregon Duck guard. Stoudamire said he carries a 2.4 grade point average and is only a semester short o f graduating with a degree in media arts. He claims to have every intention o f one day get ting a diploma. “ Most people tell me it doesn’t make any difference, that I ’ II be play ing pro ball" he said “but it’s impor tant to me. It’s something I want for myself. I’ll feel like I’ll have accom plished something important". One o f the most pressing issues for Stoudamire to resolve now is the selection o f an agent. Since last sea son he has been a hot item. He will be glad to have the process over. “ There are so many people coming at you, or trying to, he said. “ I’d say I’ve heard from 60 (agents) at least, maybe more. You go to your hotel room on a road trip and you might have four or five messages waiting for you from agents. Y oujustdon’tcall them back. “ I’ve narrowed it down the best I can. My parents are helping me. You have to find someone you feel comfortable with, but its hard to trust someone with handling your mon ey.” Evidently there will be money to handle. Opinion varies among NBA executives on how good he will be, but just about everyone likes the 5 root lOinch guard. He averaged 22.8 points, and 7.3 assists and shot .476 from the field, 465 from the 3-point line as a senior. “ In my opinion, he is the best point guard in the country " said Bob by E ric N oon For the 13th straight year The Portland Trailblazers are intheN B A Play-Offs, and for The Blazers the Second season will bring new life to a team who has struggled at times. The feeling among players is the real season begins in the Play-Offs and if your on a roll you can make a run at the finals. T hisyearm ight be a little differ- ent. The Blazers face off with The Phoenix Suns in the first round and are 0-5 in that season that decides if you get to move on. The Suns are a deep team and put a lot o f points on the board. The Suns will also let you back in the game and try to finish you off by relying on the outside shot. The Blaz ers need to slow down the tempo and use their size to force The Suns into a half court game. A half-court game and The Blazers usually don't go together. With the addition o f Otis “My Man" Thorpe down in the paint, and Harvey Grant inserted in the line-up the Blazers have a different look. Thorpe has been able to control Charles Barkley down low in the past. In a close game with Chris Dudley on the bench Thorpe could be the man to shut down Sir Charles and give The Blazers an inside threat on offense. Kevin Johnson is back and healthy for the play-offs and The Suns have a speed a d v an tag e at p o int as E llo it Perry has hurt T he B lazers in the p ast w ith his q u ic k n e ss like Jo h n so n . T erry P o rte r has to hit his o u tsid e shot to keep Perry o u t o f the p a ssin g lanes and fo rce the le a g u e ’s se c ond leading b a ll-s te a le r to w ork hard to d efen d the o u tsid e shot. G ran t w ill sta rt at the tw o g u ard and has play ed w ell th ere in the past few w eeks. YOU'LL LIKE THIS GAME! G rey h o u n d r a c in g is y o u r tic k e t to n o n - s t o p a c tio n ! G R E Y H O U N D May 3rd - September 30th G roup f a c ilit ie s , p a c k a g e s a n d d is c o u n t s a v a ila b le . Only 15 minutes East o f downtown Portland and 10 minutes West of Multnomah Falls NE 223rd & Glisan • Wood Village OR (503) 667-7700 General Information I z
