Page B3 January 19,2000 (Ehe 'Portlanh (¡Observer _JJorllnni> /Sports ( O t lB l'l M U B H M M ¡M i Jefferson, Benson rivals will play at bigger facility COM KIBl I U )M O m fob T l i t P ortland O bserver T he Jefferson vs. Benson boys basketball series is m oving to the C hiles Center. In a m ove to accom m odate larger crow ds, the Portland Interscholastic L eague will play both gam es this season betw een the undefeated, top- ranked D em ocrats and No. 5 T echm en at the 5,000-seat facility on the U niversity o f Portland cam pus. The first game will be played at 7:45 p.m. on Friday January 2 1. T he other league gam e is scheduled for W ednesday, Feb. 23. T ickets, priced at $5 adults and $2 for students, will go on sale at each school later this week, and at theC hilesC enterticket office Friday night, said G reg Ross, PIL athletic director. “ W e tried to do this last year, but it d id n ’t work out,” Ross said. “ We knew their gam es with each other w ould sell out, but then w e co u ld n ’t find another place to play.” Last season’s two gam es sold out early, draw ing estim ated crow ds o f 1,800 at Benson and 1,850 at Jefferson, Ross said. This season, "W e w aited to see how Jefferson w as draw ing and they have been draw ing big crow ds right from the start — and to see what kind o f team Benson had. Benson w as ranked fifth, so w e figured we better find another place to play.” About a month ago, Ross said he began trying to find a larger neutral site. T he Chiles C enter w as the first choice, “since it’s a great place for a high school gam e, and it’s also convenient,” Ross said. W hen University o f Portland officials last w eek agreed to play host to the two gam es, both PIL team s w ere excited, Ross said. “T he only hesitation w as if only one gam e w ould be played there, and that m eant giving up the hom e advantage to one team ,” Ross said. “ But w ith both gam es there, neither has an advantage or disadvantage.” Both Jefferson-Benson gam es will be preceded by a girls gam e, starting at6 p .m . Jefferson's gam e at G rant on Friday w as a sellout, forcing the PIL to sell tickets days in advance. An earlier Jefferson gam e at Lincoln drew a near-capac ity crow d. BBBBb Portlands WNBA team, 'Fire' unveils logo V O M RIBL TED STUBS On January 14 ,2 0 0 0 , the look o f the city ’s newest team w as revealed in a special celebration at the RoseG arden Choosing a nam e w hich represents the energy, intensity and em otion the franchise intends to bring the city, Portland's W NBA expansion team revealed the logo and look o f the team w hich reflects those characteristics. “FIRE is what I look for in a player and it’s w hat all fans will see in this team ,” H ead C oach and G eneral M anager Linda H argrove promises. “I c a n ’t think o f a better w ord to describe the intensity 1 expect this team to bri ng to the floor every night.” Support for the W NBA by the P o rtla n d c o m m u n ity h a s b e e n unparalleled and w ill likely continue to grow as the franchise builds on its new identity. “FIRE describes not just the intensity o f the team, but also the fervor o f our fans, w ho h av e been ex trem ely supportive o f our local sports team s for m any, many years,” added Harry Hutt, Trial B lazers’ Senior VP o f M arekting O perations. Participants in the event include Linda H argrove, FIRE Head Coach? G e n e ra l M a n a g e r, C oquese W ashington, the F IR E ’s fifth round pick in the 1999 expansion draft (and a form er Portland Power players), Sandi Bittler, FIRE V ice President o f B usiness O perations, Harry Hutt, Trail B lazers' Senior VP, M arketing O p e ra tio n s, K ari S h an k lin , F ire Prevention Specialist from Gresham Fire Departm ent, and C om m issioner Jim F rancessconi, a city council m em ber since 1996. T he celebration w ill be held for the approxim ately 6,500 season ticket holders, sponsors and special guests w ho helped bring the franchise to Portland. Shooting contests, video m g n n g n t s , a u t o g r a p h s e s s io n s , a n d e x c ite m e n tp r io r to th e u n v e ilin g a n d other interactive events will build will continue after the identity is revealed to create an exciting, fun- f ille d e v e n t fo r e v e ry o n e in a tte n d a n c e . A p u b lic lo g o u n v e ilin g is scheduled to take p la c e la te r th is month. The new FIRE mark consists ofthe distinctive WNBA tw o-tone basketball represented in white and gold with stylized red flames licking the ball. T he typography sizzles with its strong and powerful font with internal accents o f red and a gold drop shadow. The FIRE joins the Seattle Storm, Miani Sol, and Indiana Fever as the W N B A ’s four expansion teams this summ er. Portland and Seattle will com pete in the L eague’s W estern Conference, while indianaand Miami will play in the Eastern Conference. All Portland hom e gam es will be played at the Rose Garden. NBA Standings Western Conference P A C IF IC D IV IS IO N M ID W IS T D IV IS IO N « i Pet OB Maam Away Can» W I P tl M H m m Away LA Laki'S 32 r 821 - 8-2 LI 18 3 144 215 tR.rt .'4 S 686 - 52 W-2 153 9-8 15-6 FarrthaM 28 9 ry 3 82 l- l 0 -3 15-6 »4 S Antorio 25 m Ml 1 64 »4 M-3 n-n 158 73 W5 86 07 I9B « n fiftû to 19 16 54] 5 73 Wl V8 7 8 nn 8-2 W5 «5-2 8-W 15-6 Penner ft 19 472 rz, 3-7 14 MT 312 9-12 LtO S tL LIO Stfc. CaM Seattle 25 D 658 M rra m e -'o 23 B «At 583 (//. > 9/, 46 Wl 16 5 5» 914 Mouainn 0 24 351 B 37 w A3 O wwg frtl 743 1014 27 ¿70 Z1 19 t-5 MO 3-tT 5-18 Dakas B 25 324 13 37 LI M3 515 816 j 30 189 24 19 Wl 4 16 114 3 20 r.tncmrtvr W 27 270 15 4« 1-3 544 5-13 5-18 71 LA SnMrn V a ie Eastern Conference A T L A N T IC D IV IS IO N W I P rt GB M i«ri 24 B 66.' - Sei. «'orli 23 14 627 PMd 22 16 Holton LtO SUL C E N T R A L D IV IS IO N Hana» Away W L Pel. ea HO SIA. lndiwi.1 Ovtrwt 75 17 676 - 7 J 14 w 71 -4 8 4 87 14 135 M lauiAea 2? v> 1? 4 64 W-7 U4 90 WH2 Ch