I »• » > - .** • t > . . ' k -5 •* w w. . • à - . - - ¿s. • . m ’ »'S« IS T 7 . . ./•* ¿ z ú L - S j'- r * «Ü Ü ’ -, » -• - S: T he P ortland O bserver • O ctober 18, 1995 P age Ai TROTTERS SIGN ‘TEX’ TO NEW CONTRACT The Harlem Globetrotters have signed head coach Charles “ Tex” Harrison to a seven-year contract extension. No terms o f the contract were released, but team officials say it may represent the largest financial commitment in Globetrot-ters’ his­ tory. Harrison has worked for the team for the past 35 years, 18 o f those as a player. He began his duties as a Globetrotter coach in the 1960s. “ Aside from my family, being a Harlem Globetrotter has been the greatest highlight o f my life,” said Harrison. “ I have had the good for­ tune to be part o f the most celebrated sports team in American history.” Harlem Globetrotter’ s Owner and Chairman Mannie Jackson said, “ Few people understand the mix o f basketball skills and entertainment that it takes to be a H arlem Globetrotter. Tex has devoted his career to the Harlem Globetrotters and this contract recognizes all he has done for this organization." Harrison isanativeofG ary, Ind. and currently resides in Houston. He attended North Carolina Cen­ tral University where he was the first player from an African-American school to be named All-American. Harrison played with the College All- Americans, a frequent opponent o f the Harlem Globetrotters, before donning the famous red, white and blue for his first game in 1954. Coach Harrison recently led the Globetrotters to a 10-1 series victory over Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s legend­ ary al l-stars in what many describe as intelligent and inspirational coach­ ing. The Harlem Globetrotters are the most popular family entertain­ ment show in the world as they have performed for over 100 million peo­ ple in 1 13 countries in the past 69 years. Ducks Climb To No. 12 The new Rose Garden from inside the arena bowl. The structure is designed for NBA and college basketball, professional hockey, indoor soccer, indoor track and field, gymnastics, major concerts, monster truck rallies, rodeo and bull riding, circuses, ice shows, boxing, professional wresting and convention and trade shows. Total capacity for NBA basketball is over 21,300. (Photo by Eric Noon) The Oregon Ducks this week rose 3 spots to No. 12 in the Associ­ ated Press College Football Poll af­ ter a 52-30 victory overCalifom ia on Saturday. Stanford fell from No. 16 to No. 23 after losing to Washington, 38-28 Florida State remained No. 1 in the media voting, followed by Ne­ braska, Florida, Ohio State, South­ ern California and Tennessee, the same order as last week. Oregon did a superb job defen­ sively to throttle California’s run­ ning game, especially with top per­ formances by Bryant Jackson and Jeremy Asher. The Ducks also made a dramatic improvement in kick cov­ erage. Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti praised the work o f Josh W ilcox, citing him for three tackles on the kickoff'team, two o f them right after he scored touchdowns. With 312 all-purpose yards, Oregon tailback Ricky Whittle had the fourth-best all-purpose day in school history. The Ducks face Washington State in Eugene Saturday. In other games Saturday, California w ill play Oregon State and West New M exico is at Portland State. SOCCER CAMP COACH SCOTT HONORED Join us in celebrating (Elje F o r t ia n i» O D b se ru rr’s A N N IV E R S A R Y • X Jeff Murtaugh (left) of the Oregon Special Olympics thanks coach George Scott for his volunteer efforts. ------------ --------------------- George Scott has been honored for his volunteer efforts on behalf of kids. Scott was one o f more than 100 individuals and organizations recent­ ly thanked for their participation in Oregon Special Olympics, the orga­ nization to benefit citizens with men­ tal retardation. He has been the director o f the Oregon Special Olympic Unified Soc­ cer Camps for three years. The camps bring children with and without dis­ abilities together to learn soccer skills. The participantsalsobuild friendships and gain awareness and acceptance about the differences in others. The camps have been so suc­ cessful since Scott became camp di­ rector that they have tripled in size. “ He expends enormous amounts o f energy to make sure everyone is having a great time,” Special Olym ­ pics representatives said. “ Whether he is teaching campers how to play asteroids’ ‘and karate kid ’ or play­ ing with campers and coaches in soc­ cer games, George is a motivator and leads by his own example,” Oregon Special Olympics pro­ vides year-round sports training and competition for children and adults. Currently, more than 5,500 ath­ letes train and compete in 14 Olym- pic-style sports year-round in all ar­ eas o f the state. Nearly 10,000 volun­ teers support the athletes by serving as coaches, chaperons, tim ers, fundraisers, promoters and in a host o f other duties. “ We couldn’t exist without vol­ unteers, everything we do involves them,” said Je ff Murtaugh, president o f O regon S p e c ia l O ly m p ic s. “Thanks to the selfless contributions o f our volunteers, this organization continues to thrive and the athletes benefit immeasurably.” „r........... ,¿..1...:....; Tires Need Proper Inflation W hile W all Street favors low inflation for the U.S. economy, just don’t try it for tires. It could be any­ thing but a soft landing. In tires, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company blames low infla­ tion for a number o f economic ills: Underinflated tires waste an es­ timated 4 million gallons o f gas daily in America. Tire life decreases about 10 per­ cent for every 10 percent the tire is underinflated. For example, an aver­ age passenger-car tire could lose about one-third of its life at 20 pounds per square inch inflation. The National Highway Traffic Safety Adm inistration estimates about 250,000 accidents a year result from improperly inflated tires. Tires should be inflated to the vehicle manufacturer’s recommen­ dations printed on a vehicle’ s door placard or in the owner’s manual, not the maximum limit stamped on a tire sidewall, according to Sam Landers, chief engineer o f Goodyear passen­ ger tires "Because o f summer’s heat,” Landers said, “most motorists have ignored a tire’s ' leading indicators' - like inflation pressure - over the past few months. They don ’ t real ize that a well-cared-fortirepaysbigdividends over the long-term.” Goodyear recommends that motorists check tire inflation pres­ sure monthly or before a long trip. The economy's soft landing ac­ tually could add to motorists’ prob­ lems. Slower growth is causing cau­ tious consumers not only to put off purchases o f new cars, but similarly to delay replacement o f worn car tires, Landers said. That means trouble, he added, with either state laws that prohibit worn tires or increased likelihood that bald tires might skid compared to tires with good treads. Couple that with an aging U.S. auto fleet in which the average car age is 9 years compared to 5 just 25 years ago Since most older cars gen­ erally have fewer safety features such as air bags and anti-lock brakes, hav­ ing good tire treads to avoid acci­ dents and punctures is paramount, Landers said. Up for debate is the severity o f the tire low-inflation problem, he said. In the 1970s, the National High­ way Traffic Safety Administration claimed half the nation’ s cars had underinflated tires. O ther studies stated that 25 to 28 percent o f cars had at least one tire “ seriously underinflated" (4 pounds per square inch or more below the manufactur­ er’ s recommendation). Goodyear conducted its own parking lot survey, sampling 250 vehicles or 1,000 tires. More than 28 percent o f the vehicles had one or more underinflated tires. Ten Percent Jump In Summer Sales More youth than ever relied on Tri-M et for their transportation needs last summer. Nearly 10,000 youngsters pur­ chased “ The Pass,” entitling them to unlimited travel at half the regu­ lar price from June through August. T h at’ s a 10 percent increase in sales o ver last summer when the pass was in tro d u c e d , and n ea rly double the average youth pass sales fo r a ty p ic a l month d u rin g the school year. The special $37 pass was avail­ able to those age 18 and under at participating schools, Tri-M et sales outlets and other locations around town. Pass holders also qualified for special discounts from: Mcdonald’s, Hollywood Video, Portland Rockies Baseball, IC U Skate Co., Metro Washington Park Zoo and Tower Records. More information about youth passes, bus and M A X routes, sched­ ules and fares is available by calling 238-R ID E . Explore Ri-Met’s Worldwide Ransit Station V is it T ri- M e t’ s newest tran­ sit station from anyw here in the w o rld and never leave home. T ri-M e t recently introduced its “ T ran sit station" home page on the w orld W ide W eb people who have com puter access to the Internet and W o rld W ide W eb can now access T ri-M e t in fo rm a­ tion from anyw here in the w orld, in clu d in g here at home inform ation availab le online at h t t p :/w w w .t r i-m e t .o rg d e ­ scrib e s: • how to ride buses and M A X light ra il trains • fares, schedules and route maps • carp o o lin g & b ic y c lin g options • em ployers who o ffe r their em­ ployees transit benefits • upcom ing p u b lic m eetings T r i- M e t jo b lis t in g s and W estside M A X co n stru ctio n up­ dates are planned for the future. Q uestions, suggestions and co m ­ m e n ts c a n be d ir e c t e d to ad rury@ tri-m et.org “this service makes it easier for our customers to get Tri-M et infor­ mation, and it encourages others to give Tri-M et a try ” Said Margie Harris, Tri-M et executive director o f marketing & customer service, “ this will attract new passengers, help keep the air clean and reduce traffic con­ gestion.”