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21, 1995
» T he P ortland O bserver
CLASSIC FETES
PROS AND
PROSPECTS
Damon Stoudam ire o f Port
land, an all-am erican with the U ni
versity or A rizona, leads all scor
ers after the firs, w eekend o f the
Portland T op Prospects Pro Am
Slimmer B asketball Classic.
Ray Ross o f the U niversity o f
Portland was nam ed player o f the
week with a 29 point scoring av er
age.
The results after week one:
Saturday, June 17
Spurs 78, K nicks 9 1
Ray Ross 30
Damon Stoudam ire 4 1
Hawks 68, Lakers 65
Tony H am pton 19
Darnell V alentine 18
Sonics 80, C avs 58
Robert Key 24
M ike D oleak 12
Kevin Duckw orth 17
H ornets 78, Suns 85
Cannon C hatm an 25
LaVon Vann 2 1
Sunday, June 18
re' T , ' r r ’he, 22? d annual bmadcas' 01 An Eveni"S 0 F Championship SKaPng airing Wednesday. M y 26 at 8 pm ET
on rtSS (check local listings). This popular figure skating exhibition also features 1995 U. S. Ladies Silver Medalist Michelle Kwan.
Y
P
Suns 78. Spurs 76
Lavonn Vann 2 1
Kzell W esson I9
LaRon Bristol 17
BOYS OF SUMMER RETURN TO CIVIC
H ornets 61, K nicks 82
D enm ark Reid 23
Cannon C hatm an 21
Ray Ross 28
Erin C ow en 24
Cavs 75, Hawks 82
Antoine Stoudam ire 22
Anthony B utler 21
Tony H am pton 15
N ico Harrison 20
Sonics 90, Lakers 60
C harles M cK inney 26
Robert Key 19
Darnell V alentine 19
For one night last w eek, P ort
land was a big baseball town, and for
the 19,658 who m anaged to m ake it
to Civic Stadium , they saw the P ort
land Rockies bring back a gam e this
town will again have the opportunity
to grow on.
The Rockies opened their 1985
C lass A N orthw est League season
with big league class, as the young
men in pinstripes squeaked by the
Eugene Em eralds in front o f a truly
invigorated crow d, bv a single run 3-
2.
It w asn't ju st the nearly 20,000
people that m ade opening night so
special, it was m uch more.
2-0
2-0
2-0
2-0
0-2
0-2
0-2
F rom th e h ila r io u s San D i
eg o C h ic k e n , th e ra c c o o n m a sco t
or ju s t ch e w in g se e d s in the stan d s
an d w a tc h in g A m e r ic a ’s p a s tim e
p re s e n te d in a q u a lity fa sh io n .
th e fa n s se e m e d to lo v e e v e ry
m in u te.
T here was advertising every
where, but the way the rockies tied
the prom otions to the game itself was
very classy. Rem em ber folks, this is
Class A Baseball being m arketed in
a grow ing m etropolitan area that
hasn t supported the sport for many
years.
It takes a big league effort to
bring the kids and mitts, families o f
four and the disgruntled m ajor league
fans to the park to watch a gam e
whose players are ju st out o f high
school and college and who are ju st
starting their dream.
Bv D anny B ell
T his w as an im probable year for
the N BA cham pion H ouston R ock
ets.
Ending the season with a 47-35
record, the d efen d in g ch am p io n s
entered the playoffs sixth seeded in
the W est and having to play a mini-
sen es against Utah, a team having
one o f its best seasons ever.
U tah prom ptly w ent up 2-1 and
the w riting was on the wal I. Yet som e
how H ouston persevered and won.
The R ockets advanced to the next
round against Phoenix.
A gainst the Suns, they proceeded
to dig them selves into a 1-3 hole.
Charles Barkley w asconfidently pre
dicting Phoenix would and advance
to meet San Antonio.
But H ouston found a way to win
three straight, beat the Spurs and
advance to the NBA finals.
But the general consensus was
that O rlando had too many w eapons
for an aging H ouston Rocket team.
The M ag ic’s young legs, exuberance
The NBAs
WIN ONE MILLION DOLLARS’
ALL PORTLAND AMATEUR GOLFERS ARE INVITED TO
DO JUST T H A T - WIN »1,000,000 CASH PLUS A 1995 VETTE,
A T THE HERON LARES / OREGON FOOD RANK.
M illio n
The R ockies bring back to P ort
land a brand o f baseball w here the
players are really hungry and they
play the type o f baseball, us folks that
c a n ’t even im agine, can really grow
found of.
T h e se p la y e rs do h av e
d re a m s o f fin d in g th e b ig le a g u e s
so m e d a y a n d th e ir lo v e fo r the
g am e is v ery s tro n g at th is sta g e
in th e ir c a re e rs .
The players w ere undoubtedly
playing in front o f the biggest crow d
o f their lives and they really show ed
som e enthusiasm .
Many things m ade this night
special.
The clouds parted as the players
took infield before the gam e, “ Take
Me O ut To The Ball G am e,” was
sung by standing fans and a spectac
ular firew orks show follow ed the
game.
But m aybe it was ju st the fact
that baseball is back and being part o f
someth ing so c lose to the heart, breeds
excitem ent.
T h is is a n e w b e g in n in g fo r
P o rtla n d an d w ith th e R o c k ie s
p u ttin g o u t a q u a lity an d in e x
p e n s iv e p ro d u c t, th e fu tu re fo r
th e b o y s o f su m m e r an d th e fan s
o f a g am e th a t b ro u g h t us so m any
h e ro e s , is s h in in g b rig h t.
Houston Was Worthy Of Coveted Crown
Standings
Hawks
Knicks
Sonics
Suns
Cavs
H ornets
Lakers
Baseball is a sport ofatm osphere
and a certain electricity that the gam e
and stddium present. Jack and Mary
Cain, ow ners o fth e Rockies and their
great sta ff put on quite the show. It
was a brand o f baseball m ore than a
few people in attendance must have
fallen in love with for the first time.
“ W e 're thrilled, said Jack Cain,
on the success o f opening night. “ It's
ju st that w ere a little in d isb elief right
now.”
O f i l l f i i < Shoo! o n t
(ONLY SI A SHOT)
TOR ONLY »100 PER ATTEM PT. "ANYONE" CAN COME OUT AND TAKE A
SWING AT SCORING A WO YARD HOLE ■ IN - ONE.
THF. FIRST L IV I G O LIT RS WHO ACF I I IN THÉ FINAL!?,
POCKET $1.1)00,000 FACH'
C 4D Ä V S ONLYT)
WHEN: Jaat SStk * July k t— Saai • 8pm Daily
WHERE Heroa Lakes Golf Coarac__ (at tke driviag rang«)
WHO: ANY GOLFER, ALL SKILL LEVELS!
Terrell Brandon
Wants U
at his 4th Annual Free
Basketball Clinic
Saturday, July 29, 1995
10am- 4pm
living Park
corner o f NE 7th
& Fremont
Bring this aJ A r r t o w 5 FREE S H O TS $5 value ,u Shootout'
Registration
Forms:
aAA. NwrrBMf
I)
*'''<•< It»*'
ME&7EL
For additional Info call 655-9916
Williams Street Market
House of Sound
Records
Doris Cafe
Terrell Brandon
and hunger for a league ring would
dom inate a team w hose chem istry
w as suspect and who w ould rely
heavily on H akeem O lajaw on A l
though Clyde D rexlcr w as a proven
superstar, no one could figure out
how he w orked into the equation.
W hat the prognosticators failed
to recognize w hat that O lajaw on was
having the most im pressive playoff
perform ances in the history o f the
gam e and D rexler was turning in
consistent stellar perform ances av
eraging over 17 points, 6 rebounds
and 5 assists a game.
But more important, was the play
o f their supporting cast. T hroughout
the playoffs, a third and som etim es
fourth p lay er, step p ed up, be it
C harles H orry. Kenny Sm ith or Sam
Cassells.
W ho could forget Kenny Smith
perform ance in G am e I against O
lando, m aking a record 8 three poin
ers, including the regulation garni
tying three point shot with 5.5 sej
onds on the clock.
In the post season, the Rockets cl
feated the number 1,2, 3 and 4th rankc
teams in the league, teams with records <
57 wins or better. In an 82 game seasoi
that s awfully hard to do without heir
mentally tough.
H ouston rose to the occasio
like the cham pions they are. Even i
the face o f adversity, they refused t
give in without a fight.They demon
strated trem endous courage again?
overw helm ing odds.
In sw eeping the O rlando Magi
they dem onstrated they were worth
o f the coveted NBA crown.
Clyde Drexler Deserved It
C o n g r a tu la tio n s to C ly d e
D rex ler. F o re v er the p ro v e rb ia l
gentlem an. Drexler was calm and
cool even in victory.
His most em otional statem ent:
"How sweet it is,” D rexler said, as
the NBA trophy was presented to the
Houston Rockets after elim inating
the O rlando M agic, 4-0.
For 20 years o f organized b as
ketball. D rexler had been a bridcs-
m aid at least five other tim es, in high
school, twice in college and tw ice in
the NBA finals with the Portland
Trail Blazers.
But it took an uncharacteristic
display o f discontent and a p roviden
tial trade to realize an elusive prize,
the ring o f a cham pionship in the
NBA
Admittedly, Drexler should have
several productive years ahead of
him and this is not the end o f his
career. He is how ever, a deserving
candidate to receive this honor after
all his other achievem ents.
And too, in a way, D rexler vi
cariously brings hom e a ring for Po(t-
land. He has long been o u r spoijs
figure favorite son.
D rexler quickly m ade it a poifit
to recognize that his ring w as fpr
Portland as well as it was H ouston.
He also com m ented on how he in
tends to keep a residence in Portland
because o f the way he feels about
Portland
D rexler sp la y was instrum ental
in the R ockets w inning the series. He
proved a lot ol his detractors wrong
Y et alw ays low -key and deflecting
accolades, D rexler was gracious to
all concerned in victory, no, show ing
bitterness for past m istreatm ent or
defeats.
Clyde the G lide is ae lass act and
deserves our best w ishes and su p
port.