June 21, 2000
Page B2
ï hv ÿortk'tuô (ßhövruvr
ÿkirtlanà
M etro/Sports
(Phi
■M M M i
Title game ends L.A.’s too long wait
So this is how it looks. The big man
hugs his mother and weeps. The bright
kid jum ps on a table and bounces.
Through a fine mist o f a purple-and-
goldconfetti snowstorm, acity dances
around them. So this is how it sounds.
A train rolling through Staples Center,
an airplane landing outside, different
accents, varied tongues, one three-
hour, deafening, glorious noise.
”1 love L.A.,” croons the singer.
"W e love it!” shouts the town.
So this is how it feels, after 12 long
years, to again live in a place where a
professional sports team takes the
very best o f that place and captures
the globe with it.
From a kneeling Orel Hershiser in
1988 to a leaping Shaquille O ’Neal on
Monday, the faintly flickering torch
has been passed.
Today it bum s deeply again in the
spirit o f a town that has been brought
together through two words that work
in any accent, any language, any
neighborhood.
World champions.
So describes the Lakers after their
116-111 victory over the Indiana
Pacers in Game 6 o f the NBA finals
Monday gave them a four-games-to-
two series win. It was this city’s first
professional sports championship
since the Dodgers won the 1988 World
Series, a period marked.
World champions.
Idiots tried to ruin it afterward as
idiots usually do, with a disturbance
in the streets. But it is hoped those
images do not last, and will not stain
B lflO M B E B C
The New South Wales State government will provide an additional $ 140
million ($84.8 million) in funding for the Sydney Olympic Games, the
Australian Associated Press reported. The additional funding includes
$50 million for immediate use to cover revenue shortfalls and cost
blowouts in sponsorship revenue, expanding telephone ticket sales,
higher ticket distribution costs and an increase in the number of
ceremonies, the agency said. Some A$70 million o f the funding will
replace a A$50 million contingency fund, which has already been spent,
the report said.
When he released the New South Wales state budget May 23, Treasurer
Michael Egan said all costs for hosting the Olympic Games were paid,
adding the government plans to use international interest in the Olympics,
provide long-term backing for the state’s economy.
Schonely from page 1
Los Angeles Lakers ' Shaquille O'Neal hoists the NBA Championship trophy, left, and his Ml P trophy after the
Lakers won the NBA Championship over the Indiana Pacers Monday, June 19, 2000 in Los Angeles. The Lakers
won the game 16-111.
a trium ph for the other 99.9% .
With 18,997 screaming in the Staples
Center, and thousands more watching
on a giant screen outside, the Lakers
created a new reality for a place
usually brought together under vastly
different circumstances.
This time, the earthquake was O ’Neal,
who bulled through the Pacer defense
fo r 41 p o in ts b e fo re te n d e rly
embracing.
’’Those were tears o f joy,” he said
later. “I just want to thank this city for
b ein g so p a tie n t w ith m e .”
The mudslide was Kobe Bryant,
whose intensity blanketed the Pacers
before his 21-year-old boyishness
landed
him
on
a
table.
’’Man, I didn’t know champagne hurt
so much when it got in your eyes,” he
said smilingly, typically.
And the smog? It was everyone else.
a group usually considered bit
players, but on this night penetrating
everywhere, with important 3-point
baskets from Robert Horry and Rick
Fox and free throws from Glen Rice.
’’This one is for the city,” said guard
Derek Fisher. “They have been
through so much with u s ... from the
top of the mountain to the bottom of
the San Fernando Valley. This is for
them.”
M onica H offm an tops 4A again
It was abittersweet season for Monica
Hoffman. TheCentral Catholic High
School senior pitcher had one o f the
m ost dom inant seasons in state
history. She did not give up a run until
there were two outs in the final inning
o f the final game of the season.
And although that run, which gave
North Eugene a 1-0 win in the state
title game, cost Hoffman and the Rams
their second straight Class 4 A title, it
did not stop Hoffman from winning
her second straight play er o f the year
award. Hoffman, who was the player
o f the year after leading the Rams to
the state title last year, won the award
again in a vote of coaches around the
state.
“Winning the award last year made
Sydney Olympics gets
$140 million in funding
me work harder this year,” Hoffman
said. “Whenever you win an award,
people are going to come out and try
to beat you. It was the same thing for
our team this season.”
H offm an transferred to Central
Catholic from Prairie High in Brush
Prairie, Wash., after her sophomore
year and instantly was the top pitcher
in the state. Last season, she finished
16-1 with 297 strikeouts, including 17
in the 1-0 eight-inning win over North
Eugene in the title game. She was 25-
1 this season. Over two seasons,
Hoffman compiled a 4 1 -2 record with
635 strikeouts and a 0.09 eamed-run
average.
Hoffman has signed a letter o f intent
with Oregon State. She will join 1996
player o f the year Crystal Draper of
Hood River Valley on the Beavers’
pitching staff. Meeting North Eugene
in two straight title games was like a
passing of the torch between Hoffman
and North Eugene pitcher Amy
Harris.
Harris, who got the win in this year’s
championship game, is the only
sophomore on the all-state first team,
and with North Eugene’s upset o f the
Rams in the title game, Harris and the
Highlanders are already the team to
beat next year.
“ I thought with the outcome o f the
championship game that Amy might
get (player o f the year),” Hoffman
said. “She was pretty dominant
against us.” Harris was 16-1 this year
and struck out 15 in the final. She and
Hoffman are the only repeat first-
team selections from last season.
North Eugene’s Mike Jodoin was
selected coach o f the year for the first
time in a career that goes back to
when softball became an Oregon
School A ctiv ities A ssociation-
sanctioned sport in 1979.
This was Jodoin’s 19th season as
North Eugene coach, and the state
title was his first. “It’s quite an honor,”
he said. “But our success has a lot
more to do with my assistants and my
players. It’s kind o f an honor for your
whole school.”
rally generator, a three-pointer against the clock, a momentum maker.
In 1977, the Schonz was selected Oregon’s Sportscaster o f the Year by a panel
o f National Sportscasters and Sportswriters.
Three years earlier, he was named Oregon Broadcaster o f the Year by the
Oregon Association o f Broadcasters, which has established a scholarship in
Bill’s name to be presented annually to a deserving college student who is
pursuing a career in broadcast journalism. In 1999, Schonely became the first
broadcaster to be inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall o f Fame. For several
years, he has served as master o f ceremonies for the Hall o f Fame’s annual
induction gala.Schonely's broadcasting career is thoroughly detailed in his
biography, “Wherever You May Be - The Bill Schonely Story.” Publi shed in
1998, and written by Oregonian sportswriter Kerry Eggers, the book serves as
a documentary o f Trail Blazer basketball. It is available at book stores
throughout Oregon.
Highly visible in Portland and throughout the state, Schonely regularly lends
his support to a variety of charitable causes, such as those sponsored by the
American Heart Association, the Life Flight program and M.D. A. Charities. He
serves on the board o f directors o f Emanuel Hospital.
In 1998„ Providence Child Care Center foundation honored Schonely with its
annual Heart o f Gold Award, which goes to individuals who have improved
the lives o f children with special needs in a positive way through advocacy
and action. The Hearing and Speech Institute o f Oregon also has honored
Schonely with a “roast.” And he began the new century by serving as holiday
chairman for the National Kidney Foundation o f Oregon and Washington.
Last summer, Schonz fulfilled another fantasy goal when he was invited by
J ames DePriest, music director o f the Oregon symphony, to guest conduct the
orchestra during an outdoor concert in Portland’s Tom McCall Waterfront
Park.
On April 30,1998, when Schonely put the wrap on his 28 year-career o f calling
Trail Blazer basketball games, he ended with his patented signoff:
“ Wherever, you may be .. .Good Night Everybody!”
But it clearly wasn’t a “goodbye.” As one o f the golden voices o f 20,h century
radio, Schonely continues his career in the new Millenium with some sage
advice to his ardent fans about how to succeed in life.
“Y ou’ve got to make your free throws,” he says.
Car Wash
2CCC K i l l ANL LIDE SCDEDDLE
Saturday, JUNE 24th
XX
/X /
Saturday, JULY 1st
10am-2pm
MAY, 2000 (P re se a so n )
Utah
14 Sun
6 00pm
JULY, 2000 (continued)
at Minnesota
5:00pm
7
Fri
S a c ra m e n to
7:00pm
9
Sun
W ash in g to n
7:00pm
11
T u es
at Los A n geles
7:30pm
12
W ed
at Utah
6:00pm*
26
Fri
MAY, 2000 (R egular S e a so n )
31
W ed
H ouston
7 00pm
KPTV
JUNE. 2000
KPTV
3
Sat
at Seattle
7 00pm
14
Fri
M innesota
7 00pm
6
T u es
at Los A ngeles
7:30pm
19
W ed
at Miami
6.30pm
8
Thurs
Utah
7 00pm
21
Fri
at Charlotte
6 30pm
13
Tues
Phoenix
7:00pm
23
Sun
a t M innesota
3:00pm
14
Wed
at Phoenix
7 00pm
24
Mon
at Detroit
6.30pm
17
Sat
Los A ngeles
7 00pm
26
W ed
S a c ra m e n to
7:00pm
20
T ues
C harlotte
7 00pm
28
Fri
Indiana
7 00pm
23
Fri
S eattle
6:00pm
30
Sun
O rlando
7:00pm
25
Sun
at S a c ra m e n to
7:00pm
AUGUST, 2000
28
W ed
C leveland
7:00pm
1
T ues
Miami
7 00pm
30
Fri
at Houston
6 30pm
4
Fri
H ouston
7:00pm
6
S un
a t S eattle
5:00pm
JULY, 2000
KPTV
A
nd
o
KPTV
KPTV
2
Sun
at Minnesota
3:00pm
7
Mon
at Utah
6 00pm*
3
Mon
at Indiana
6 30pm
9
Wed
Phoenix
7 00pm
5
W ed
at New York
4:30pm
*
4 7 4 7 NE MLK
PORTLAND O B SE R V E R
OR
3 0 3 4 NE MLK
NORTHEAST ONE STOP
CAREER CENTER
Help support the Hom e team !
$