' C i , •' M M tri’ftfÿ * . * HMHHI I m P ortland O bserver • M ay 29, 1996 P agi B 5 BULLS SWEEP MAGIC IN EASTERN FINAL B R IE F S NFL Owners Decide Against Voting On Cross-Ownership N ational Football League ow ners decided against voting on the issue of cross-ow nership during spring m eetings in C harlotte. N orth C arolina. The NFL may revise a policy that prohibits League ow ners from ow ning other pro franchises. W ayne H uizenga, w ho ow ns the Miami D olphins as well as the Florida M arlins baseball team and h ockey’s Florida Panthers, is exem pt from the rule until June 1997. The policy needs to be addressed since Paul Allen, ow ner o f basketball’s Portland Trail Blazers, recently purchased an option to buy the N F L ’s S eattle Seahaw ks. Orlando Magic owner Rich DeVos acknowledged w hat none o f his play­ ers would. Although he w asn’t happy about being swept by Chicago in the Eastern Conference finals, his disappointment was tempered by the realty that the Bulls simply were the better team. I nj uries were a factor, as was M icha­ el Jordan’s determ ination to atone for an Orlando playoff loss last year’s. ‘‘The danger a, this time is every­ body wants to point fingers. You go into what 1 call the blaming stage," DeVos said M onday. "M aybe no­ body’s at fault. Maybe Chicago is too good for anybody this year.” Indiana swept Orlando in the first round o f the playoffs two years ago, and Houston won four straight over the Magic in the 1995 NBA Finals. "It’s real sickening because w e're a better team than we displayed,” said Anfemee I lardaway, w ho had 28 points in Game 4. "W e had a great regular season and played well in the first two (playoff) rounds. We picked a bad time to come up with some injuries." "I think to a man if you asked our team, we would have liked to beat the Orlando Magic with their best players on the floor." said Chicago coach Phil Jackson." We beat the Orlando Magic, but it w asn't the Orlando Magic with their starters and Brian Shaw o ff the bench. It doesn't diminish what we did, but it w asn’t revenge. W e didn’t get them in a payback situation. This is a different team that we beat today.” Shaquille O 'N eal will become a free agent on July 1 and several teams with room to work under the salary STATE AND SENIOR GAMES OFFER NEW SPORTS Van Gundy Reportedly To Return As Knicks Coach Je ff Van G undy reportedly will be back as head coach o f the N ew York Knicks next season. The N ew York Post reported today that the K nicks will pick up a guaranteed tw o-year contract opt ion on Van G undy som etim e next week. Previous reports claim ed that the contract option on Van G undy was worth $ I million per season. The 34-year-old Van G undy was prom oted to head coach M arch 8th after Don N elson was fired. The K nicks w ere 13-10 under Van G undy and finished with the fifth best record in the Eastern C onference at 47-35. T he K nicks sw ept a three-gam e series from the C leveland C avaliers in the first round o f the Eastern C onference playoffs before losing a best-of-seven series to the C hicago Bulls in five gam es. The Knicks won an overtim e gam e from the Bulls, who won a record 72 gam es during the regular season, and played close in three other gam es in the series. Portland's own Damon Stoudamire was named NBA Rookie o f the Year. The Toronto Raptors star graduated from Wilson High School and plans to return to Arizona State University this summer to complete his degree. CONGRATULATIONS DAMON. Muster And Graf Advance At French Open Second seed T hom as M uster o f A ustria overcam e the first tw o obstacles in his way as he tries to defend his title at the French O pen Tennis Cham pionships in Paris. M uster had a relatively easy tim e with D enm ark’s Frederik Fetterlein in his opening-round m atch, w inning 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. M uster, the top claycourt player am ong the men, did not ap p ear to be bothered by asp rain ed ankle w hich forced him to w ithdraw from last w eek ’s tournam ent in St. Polten, A ustria. He broke F etterlein’s serve seven tim es and moved effectively throughout the match. W om en's co-num ber one seed Steffi G ra f o f G erm any also had an easy go o f it in her opening round match with L atvia’s Larissa N eiland. G raf, a four-tim e French O pen cham pion, needed ju st 53 m inutes to defeat N eiland, 6-3, 6-2. Michael Jordan cap, including the Los Angeles Lak­ ers, are certain to try to lure him Although NBA rules will permit Orlando to go as far above the cap as necessary to retain O 'N eal, there’s speculation he would prefer to be on the W est Coast, where it would be easier to pursue his interests in music and movies. The team ’s performance against the Bulls, who won two gam es decisively and two by overcoming double-digit deficits, also raised questions about whether Brian Hill will return as coach “The name o f the gam e is we didn’t do well, so every body wants to fire the coach. T hat’s not the way to go. The bottom line is nobody in management has even talked about replacing him." T h e 19 9 6 S tate G am e s o f O r e ­ g o n an d O re g o n S e n io r G am e s, fo r O re g o n ia n s o v e r 5 0 , a re o f ­ fe rin g a re c o rd 4 1 d iffe re n t sp o rts in th is y e a r ’s a m a te u r s p o rts fe s ­ tiv a l. O re g o n , w ith so m e 1 6,000 p ar- tic ip a n ts la st y e a r, h as b e c o m e th e la rg e st S tate G a m e s p ro g ra m in th e w e ste rn U n ite d S tate s. W o r ld , n a t io n a l , a n d s ta te r e c o rd s h a s been e s ta b lis h e d in v a rio u s ag e g ro u p c a te g o rie s , last y e a r a w o rld re c o rd in th e m ile run w as b ro k e n by Jo h n K esto n ag e 70 o f M c M in n v ille . Jo h n ran a 5 :3 4 m ile a n d lo w e re d th e re c o rd by 8 se c o n d s. N ew s p o rts a d d e d th is y e a r in ­ c lu d e g o lf, c a n o e in g , c a c h in g , w o m e n ’s , w h e e lc h a ir b a s k e tb a ll an d m a rtia l a rts. O p e n in g c e re m o n ie s w ill be h eld Ju ly 12 at M t H o o d C o m m u ­ n ity C o lle g e . F in a ls c o m p e titio n is s c h e d ­ u le d fo r Ju ly 13 an d 14 at v a rio u s s ig h ts th r o u g h o u t th e s ta te . 1996 State G am es o f O regon/O r- egon S enior G am es athlete entry handbooks are in all O regon Safeway Stores, N IK E T O W N , sports clubs and stores and park and recreations departm ents. Call (503) 520-1319. Y our T icket O ut Hornets Name Cowens New Coach The Charlotte H ornets are expected to nam e San A ntonio Spurs assistant Dave Cow ens as their new head coach. C ow ens, a Hall o f Fam e center with the Boston C eltics and M ilw aukee Bucks, confirm ed he had been offered the job in last F riday’s edition o f the C harlotte O bserver. T he 47-year-oid Cow ens would replace Allan Bristow, w ho w as fired April 23rd after five seasons in C harlotte. The H ornets w ere a disappointing 41-41, one gam e out o f the final Eastern C onference p la y o ff spot. C harlotte has advanced to the post-season tw ice in the last four years. Saberhagen To Undergo Surgery C olorado Rockies pitcher Bre, Saberhagen, w ho continued to experi­ ence pain in his right shoulder after arthroscopic surgery in O ctober, will undergo season-ending reconstructive surgery on the ailing shoulder. The surgery will be perform ed by D octor D avid A ltchek, the sta ff surgeon o fth e New York Mets. Saberhagen, a tw o-tim e Cy Y oung A w ard w inner, is expected to be sidelined 12 to 18 m onths. Saberhagen underw ent arthroscopic surgery to repair a labrum tear in the shoulder in O ctober. But Saberhagen continued to experience pain in the shoulder and w as placed on the 60-day disabled list by the R ockies in late M arch. 1 Jg »1 L 4.?, *4 Or. o% SHOOTOUT FO R C H R IST! G e t T he P ass 37 bucks. Ride the bus or MAX all summer. Get great stuff. Call 238-RIDE. THREE-POINT S H O O T-O U T CONTEST 128 NE Russell, Saturday, June 1 st, 1 9 9 6 2 :0 0 pm to 5 :0 0 pm (18 years and under only) FREE Fried Chicken & Grilled Hamburgers Speaker: Rev. James Boyd L\ Portland Metro Assembly of God Trophies and Prizes 1 ( With The Pass, get great deals at: W IN a Walkman, basketball, zoe Metro Washington Park Zoo ID\NER RECORDS MDE0 or music cassettel Come for a fun time: ages 9 - 20 plus for info, call Danny at 249-3750 all participants must stay for complete program for food Sponsored by Grace Collins Memorial Community Center H o w W e G et Th TRI-MET 238-RIDE TTY 2)8-5811