RVER
F ebruary 28, 1996
Strickland
Status Stays
In Limbo
When, or if. Rod Strickland will
return to the Portland Trail Blazers is
anybody’s guess.
Strickland has been suspended
indefinitely by the club after storm­
ing ot, the practice court Thursday
and vowing to never return to the
team
So far, he’s followed through on
the promise, giving up a salary of
about $28,(XX) per game plus any
fine the team might impose.
“I just look at it as one of the sad
symptoms of pro sports today,” Blaz­
ers president Bob Whitsitt said Sun­
day.
W hitsitt said h e’d expected
Strickland to rejoin the team at
Saturday’s practice, but that didn’t
happen.
Whitsitt declined to predict when
Strickland might return.
‘We’re hopeful down the road
that sometime he can get right and
rejoin us and be a positive part of the
team again,” he said.
Whitsitt said there have been com­
munications between the Blazers and
Strickland, but he declined to be spe­
cific.
“There’s a lot of delicate stuff
being talked about and I think it's
better tor all the parties tt/do it first­
hand and no, to start reading or hear­
ing things second- or third-hand,"
Whitsitt said.
The Blazers’ management has
taken a lot of criticism locally for
allowing the longstanding feud be­
tween Strickland and coach P.J.
Carlesimo escalate to what might be
J u r y F in d s
M oon
In n o ce n t
a point of no return.
“I don’t mind. That’s fair game,”
Whitsitt said. "I’m fair game. I’ve
been beat up worse and I’ll be beat up
worse again. That’s part of my job."
Whitsitt insists that Strickland
didn’t ask to be traded until last
Wednesday, leaving just one day to
try to make a deal under the NBA’s
trading deadline.
When no deal was made, the stage
was set for the impasse.
If Strickland follows through on
his threat to sit out the rest of the
season, he would forfeit about
$8(X),(XX) in salary alone. He still has
twoyears left on his six-year contract
that was to pay him $2.3 million this
season.
Whitsitt and Carlesimo have taken
a conciliatory approach, at least in
public, to try to get Strickland to
return.
“I don’t think we have any choice
but to do that,” Carlesimo said before
Sunday’s 93-81 loss to Detroit. “I
don’t think this is the time to be
killing a guy or anything like that.
Rod’s still a member of the team and
it would be better if we could work
things out.”
Not only do the Blazers need
Strickland’s 19.3 points and 9.5 as­
sists per game, their ability to trade
him after this season can only be hurt
by a long holdout.
But Strickland would not return
without some discussions takine
A Texas jury found Minnesota
Vikings quarterback Warren Moon
not guilty Thursday of charges that
he beat and choked his wife in a
family dispute last July.
Prosecutors had charged that
Moon assaulted his wife Felicia when
they argued about money at their
plush Houston area home, but the
Moons both testified he had not.
Moon would have faced up to a
year in prison if convicted.
The jury took jus, 25 minutes to
reach its decision in a case where the
alleged victim took the stand in favor
of the defendant.
The crowded courtroom, filled
with Moon’s family and friends,
erupted into cheers when the verdict
was read.
Afterwards, Moon and his circle
held hands and prayed.
The prosecution's case was weak­
ened when Felicia Moon told thejury
she started the fight July 18.
'NltSQ'f
Reid Fined For
Flagrant Elbow
Craig Lewis (from left) and Dyon Spencer d efen d while Tyrone Manlove and Jermaine Tompson advance
the ball, as the num ber one-rated team in the state, Wilson b ea ts Benson Saturday to win the Portland
Interscholastic League title.
(Photo by Mlchae/ Q HaHe)
The National Basketball Associa­
tion Monday suspended New York
Kmcks forward J.R. Reid for two
games and fined him $10,(XX) for
flagrantly elbowing A C. Green of
Phoenix during Sunday’s game.
NBA Senior Vice President of
Basketball Operations Rod Thorn
said the $10,(XX) fine is the stiffest
penalty in league history for an el­
bowing incident.
Retd struck Green in the mouth
with his elbow early in the fourth
quarter of the Suns’ 113-105 victory.
Green lost two teeth and had to have
them replaced.
OAKS LEADS TEAM IN
Cicely Marcella Oaks
led her team to victory by
scoring 24 points out of
28 points in the last game
of a Catholic Youth Or-
ganization (CYO) fifth
grade girls basketball
tournament.
Oaks, 10, is the daugh-
terofBeryI Sylvia McNair
v;:.;
jfl
f l ||
MH
NB
*—-------
C'cely 1
and the granddaughter o f Willie
Beatrice McNair o f northeast Port-
I
land. She is an honor
student at Cathedral
School in northwest
Portland.
The tournam ent
game was played Feb.
18 at Christ the King
gym in Clackamas
c e lla O a k s
Co^ -
,
Cathedral School
went on to win the contest, 28-20.
Keep up the good work, Cicely!
PCC CASCADE CAMPUS
OPENS FITNESS CENTER
Portland Community C ollege’s
Cascade Cam pus in north P ort­
land sponsors an open house,
W ednesday. March 6, 11 a.m. to
1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m ., to
showcase its new fitness center.
The new center is located in the
Cascade Campus Gymnasium, 705
N. Killingsworth. The even, is free
and open to the public.
Scheduled activities include dem­
onstrations of the fitness equipment,
drawings for a free fitness class and
other door prizes. Refreshments will
be served.
The center is equipped with six
Universal stations, stair steppers,
aerodyne bicycles, free weights and
other items.
PCC Physical Education In­
structor John Lee, who devel­
oped the program, said, “The new
fitness center is another dem on­
stration of the com m itm ent to
upgrade facilities at Cascade. I
am very excited about the new
facility.”
Come prepared to see how you
can increase your strength, reduce
stress, and build endurance and self­
esteem through regular exercise.
Contact Joy Ruplinger at Cascade
Campus, 503-978-5377, for further
information.
No. 13 Arizona Routs Beavers
Michael Dickerson scored 16
points and Reggie Geary added 15 as
13th-ranked Arizona routed Oregon
State, 84-60, in a Pac-10Conference
game Saturday.
Ben Davis, Jason Terry and Corey
Williams had 11 points apiece as the
Wildcats (21-5, 10-4 Pac-!0) won
For the sixth time in seven games and
itrengthened their hold on second
)lace in the conference.
Sonny Benjamin and lyan Walker
tad 11 points apiece for the Beavers
3-21,1-I4),whohavelost 13straight
;ames overall and 12 in a row to
Vizona.
“They are a good passing team,”
Beavers coach Eddie Payne said.
“They moved the ball around well
and when they are hitting the three’s
they’re tough to beat. They have five
guys that can score and five guys that
can put the ball on the deck and
create shots.”
The two teams combined for just
26 points in the first 14:12 of the
game as Arizona held a 14-12 advan-
tage. The Wildcats went nearly seven
minutes without a score as the Or-
egon State used a slow-down tempo
and used most of the shot clock be-
fore attempting any shots.
W e H ave M et the E nemy .
A n d it is 8 V » " x 11."
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