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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 4, 2000)
O c to b e r 4, 2 0 0 0 P ortbinb _ P ag e B 3 (Efyc ^lortlanò ©baeruer _ « Metro/Sports Sydney's Olympic Games Sent Off in Style Goodbyes shared after a wide array of memorable moments From the fields ofplay to Sydney’s spectacular harbor, A ustralia and the w o rld ’s athletes cut loose Sunday, bidding goodbye to tw o w eeks o f sporting triumphs and doping scan dals — a m em orable Sum m er O lym pics proud to claim the coveted title o f “best gam es ever.” Firew orks rolled east across the Sydney sky, an 8.5-m ile “ fuse” that carried the O lym pic to rch ’s sym bolic light from O lym pic Stadium along barges in H om ebush Bay to a jam -packed dow ntow n, w here the m ajestic H arbor Bridge exploded like a giant Rom an candle in a fes tive fusillade o f pyrotechnics. 100,000 thundered the response now know n across the world: “Oi! O il O i!” O rganizers w anted a relaxed clos ing show that let com petitors and spectators send the gam es o ff in style. A nd a raucous, untethered, schticky party they got. It veered oddly am ong com edy (slapstick rou- tin e s), an c ie n t ritu a lism (G reek priestesses in flow ing dresses) and the sim ply hallucinogenic (a giant upended fish skeleton and shrim p on bicycles) — testam ent to w hat choreography, technology and an arenafiil o f enthusiastic spectators can do. The festivities began m inutes af ter Elias Rodriguez o f M icronesia ran into O lym pic Stadium , ending the m en’s m arathon and freeing the arena for athletes to sw arm in. And if anyone w orried these w ould be dubbed the “D rug G am es,” it d id n ’t show Sunday night: T he O lym pic flam e w ent dark, but the partying went on. O ly m p ic s -g id d y fa n s a n d v o l u n te e rs p a c k e d a s ta d iu m c r a c k lin g w ith e n e rg y . T h e y d id th e w a v e , fla s h e d fla s h lig h ts b y th e th o u s a n d s in to a c r y s ta l- c le a r n ig h t a n d c h a n te d th a t s p irite d “ A u s s ie ” c h a n t. And w ith cam eras and carefree Marion Jones came into the Sydney Games hoping to win five gold medals. After her 100 meters win, it seemed her prospects were good. When all was said and done, Jones left Sydney with three gold medals and two bronze. France was w ithin four points o f the A m ericans w ith less than five m inutes to play, providing Team USA with an unsettling flashback to the semifinals against Lithuania. The U.S. w on that gam e 85-83 when Lithuania m issed a three-point at tem pt at the buzzer. “ B asketball has ev olved. I t’s com e a long w ay,” C arter said after Sunday ’ s gam e. “ W e gi ve respec t to France and Lithuania. They pushed us to the end.” Australia. Schrempf Announces Retirement Carter Pushes Team USA to Gold V ince C arter put the gam e aw ay with a double-pum p reverse slam, w hich he follow ed by blow ing a kiss to the crowd. M om ents later, he acknow ledged w hat had becom e evident at the Sydney G am es: The rest o f the world is getting m uch better at basketball. C arter and Ray A llen scored 13 points apiece Sunday as the U.S. M en’s O lym pic Basketball Team staved o ff a France rally to win the gold m edal gam e 85-75. smiles, 10,000 athletes flooded the biggest O lympic arena o f all. Swim ming gold m edalist Ian Thorpe, in a red coat, carried the A ustralian flag, waving it to the music. It was a fun, festive end to the games. And, boy, was it weird. Thirteen-year-oldN ikki W ebster, w hojoum eyed through 50,000 years o f Australian history in the opening cerem ony, returned to star in the more festive wrapup, w hich grew progressively more surreal. I f Sal vador Dali ever held a hom ecom ing parade, it might have looked like this. A lawnm ower crashed through a stage and hundreds o f band m em bers — on purpose — in a mass chase tom from a Buster K eaton movie. There emerged outsized plas tic dancers, robots on stilts and an angry inflatable kangaroo pushed by trolls in halos. A thletes batted around a behe moth eyeball. And nobody seem ed to m in d . “ L e t’s p a r ty ,” th e scoreboard pulsed. The cerem ony was broadcast live on giant screens across Sydney and Vince Carter P o rtla n d T ra il B la z e r s f o r w ard D e tle f S c h re m p f a n n o u n c e d h is r e tire m e n t M o n d a y n ig h t, b rin g in g an e n d to h is 15- y e a r N B A c a re e r. S chrem pf, w ho w as born and raised in G erm any, w as one o f the first international players to m ake an im pact in the NBA. He spent one year in Portland after six seasons with Seattle, 4'/j w ith Indiana and 3 '/ j w ith Dallas. “ I w ould especially like to thank the Blazers organization,” S chrem pf said in a statem ent. “ They are a first- class organization and gave m e the opportunity to play for a cham pion- ship-caliber team .” S chrem pf enjoyed the m ost suc cess with Seattle and Indiana. He represented the Sonics in tw o All- Star G am es and helped the team reach the 1996 N BA Finals. H e was nam ed to the A ll-N BA Third Team in 1994-95, w hen he averaged 19.2 points and 6.2 re bounds per game and shot 52 p er cent from the floor. W hile with Indiana, he w on the Sixth M an A w ard in 1991 and ’92 and was a 1993 All-Star. His best statistical season was ’93, when he averaged 19.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. Detlef Schrempf Blazers Sign First Round Pick The Portland Trail Blazers have signed E rick B arkley, th eir first round draft pick in the 2000 NBA Draft, to a m ulti-year contract. Per club policy, financial term s o f the deal were not disclosed. “W e are happy to announce the signing o f E rick,” said Bob W hitsitt, P ortland’s team president and gen eral m anager. “H e ’s a com petitive guy, he w ants to win and he know s that w e ’re trying to win. H e’ll be a good addition to our roster.” Barkley, a 6-fo o t-l guard from Portland's Pro-Am Basketball Team operating out o f the Blazers Boys and Girls Club at the national championships in Melborne, Florida. St. Jo h n ’s w ho was an early candi date from the draft, was a First team A ll-B ig East C onference selec tion as a sophom ore after being a unanim ous choice for the Big East A ll-R o o k ie T eam fo llo w in g his freshm an season. A veraging 14.6 points a gam e in tw o seasons at St. Jo h n ’s, he m ade 39.6 percent o f his shots from the field, including 32.8 percent o f his three-pointers and 72.7 p ercent o f his free throw s. B arkley also recorded 167 steals, fifth best ever at St. Jo h n ’s. Ç)(a t2 1 2 ll Portland Team Soars The Portland Pro-A m B asketball Team is in its third year o f operating out o f the B lazer Boys and G irls Club. This year’s 5th grade team had an outstanding season. The team started by w inning the Lakeside Invitational T ournam ent in Dec. 99. They then won the O regon/W ashington Tournam ent at the V ancouver Hoop. In Jan. 2000, they w on an Invitational T ourna m ent at the V ancouver Hoop. In A pril 2000, they won the State A A U C ham pionship, the qualifier for the national. In M ay 2000, the Pro-A m team w on the High If you insure your property and auto with American Family, you could save up to 20% on your auto insurance. Five A m erica M em orials W eekend T ourna ment. 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