Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, February 16, 2000, Page 8, Image 8

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    February 16, 2000
Page B2
(E hv J a r lia n i) (©bavruer
Trail Blazers and Warriors face off in Oakland Black History Month
• Trail Blazers hope to extend winning
streak
Assoc ia ftp P ress
GAME: PortlandTrail Blazers(38-11)
at Golden State Warriors (12-35).
TIME: Tuesday, 10:30 p.m. EST.
The Portland Trail Blazers look to
extend their winning streak to five
when they head to Oakland, Calif, for
the first o f a home-and-home set with
the Golden State Warriors.
The Blazers posted a 107-100 win
over the Los Angeles Clippers last
Wednesday for their fourth straight
victory and 10th in their last 11 games.
Arvydas Sabonis led Portland with
23 points and Steve Smith added 17.
Rasheed W allace chipped in 15
points and 14 rebounds.
A t38-11,the Blazers own theN B A ’s
best record this season and lead the
Los Angeles Lakers by 1/2 game in
the Pacific Division.
Portland leads the league with a 47.3
team field goal percentage and is tied
with San Antonio for the league lead
in points allowed (89.3).
After Tuesday Portland plays six of
its next seven at the Rose Garden,
where the Blazers have posted the
N BA ’s best home record o f 20-8.
Tiger’s impact: raising interest, raising games
A ssociated P ress
T he 2-m ile stretch o f road from
Interstate 5 in San Diego to Torrey
Pines G o lf Course was bumper to
bumper about 30 minutes before Tiger
Woods teed o ff in the first round of
the Buick Invitational.
Ticket sales w ere astronom ical.
Officials estimated the gallery at close
to 40,000 for the final round and
considered using the adjacent North
Course - where half the field played
the first two rounds - as a parking lot.
The overnight ratings? Only the
highest for a PGA Tour event in the
last 13 years.
No, this is not the Tiger Tour.
He will not win every week, as
Mickelson proved Sunday. He will
not play every week, as the Phoenix
Open found out two weeks ago and
Doral will learn when the deadline
comes and goes a week from Friday.
But while Woods builds upon short­
term streaks and long-term records
every time he plays, he is bringing the
rest o f the PGA Tour with him.
Even Mickelson attests to that.
Mickelson could have felt slighted
by all the attention on Woods. After
all, San Diego is his hometown, Torrey
Pines like a home course. And as far
as his credentials, only one other
player in his 20s - Woods - has won
more on tour.
Instead, Mickelson embraced reality.
“The way Tiger has played the last six
events, and prior to that, has generated
a lot o f interest for the game o f golf,”
Mickelson said. “Galleries were so
large this w eek, they c o u ld n ’t
accommodate it parking-wise. And
I ’m a beneficiary o f that.”
Never mind that more people waited
to watch Woods than stayed to watch
Mickelson, who built a big lead and
held off a gallant charge. After tying
for the lead, Woods bogeyed two o f
the next three holes to squander a
chance to win his seventh straight
PGA Tour start.
But the only thing he really handed
Mickelson was the size o f the winner’s
check - $540,000, three times greater
than when Mickelson won the Buick
in 1993. The total purse this vear will
approach $158 million, most o f that
the result o f a TV contract that was
negotiated about the time Woods
first broadened g o lf s popularity by
winning the ’97 Masters.
“I’m making more money because
T iger is helping increase these
purses,” M ickelson said. “ He is
creating more excitement in the game
o f g o lf. A ll th e p la y e rs are
beneficiaries.”
Reds manager excited about Griffey
C in cin n ati Reds m anager Jack
M cKeon learned first hand the
excitement caused by the trade that
landed Ken Griffey Jr.
Since Thursday’s big trade, McKeon
has had trouble calling the office
because o f the jammed telephone
lines.
“ I haven’t been able to call in there in
two days,” he told the Burlington
Times-News from his Elon College
home over weekend. “The lines are
just tied up.”
But McKeon is happy for the interest
in the team and its new star player.
“It’s exciting really,” said McKeon,
who was won the NL Manager o f the
Year for guiding the Reds to within a
game o f the N ational League playoffs
in 1999.
“Y ou’ve got a chance to put the best
player in baseball in the lineup and
that’s kind o f nice.
A few weeks ago, McKeon figured
any possibility o f landing Griffey had
passed.
“It looked like it was dead in the water.
Then all ofa sudden it turned around,”
he said. “Seattle put themselves in a
pretty tough position. ... The longer
we waited, the more patience we had,
we knew the price would come lower.”
McKeon likes the odds o f Griffey
added to the lineup to bring the Reds
m ore success in 2000. He said
Cincinnati didn’t give up too much,
losing pitchers with a combined five
wins in the trade. “Y ou’re still going
to win w ith pitching,” he said.
’’(Having Griffey) will take a lot o f
pressure off our younger players.
Everything seems to be in place.”
McKeon starts spring training with
the Reds this week in Sarasota, Fla.,
after keeping a relatively quiet
schedule lately. He went to New
Jersey and New York for award
p re se n ta tio n s and a tte n d e d a
dedication o f a baseball field in his
hometown o f South Amboy, N.J.
Griffey’s first spring training workout
is scheduled for Feb. 23.
“When Griffey starts on the 23rd, it
will be a zoo,” McKeon said.
In 1908, Jack Johnson became the first black prizefighter to win the
world heavyweight championship when he defeated Tommy Burns in
Sydney, Australia. His ability' to hit hard with either hand, his flawless
defense, and his superb balance are, according to some experts,
unmatched to this day. With a career record o f 107 wins and 6 losses,
Johnson was inducted into the Boxing Hall o f Fame in 1954. This week's
observation o f Black History’ Month covers the years o f ¡950-2000. Can
you name the world-famous pugilist who was also known for his funny
poems? For the answer, look in Focus under the header. H
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