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.
M ost recently, they won the O regon State
G am es, the qualifier for the N ationals in New
O rleans 2001.
Finally, the 5th grade Pro-Am Team repre
sented the State o f O regon at the National AAU
Basketball Tournament in Cocoa Beach Florida.
There were a total o f 89 teams and the Pro-Am
team finished in the top 22.
Congratulations to these young m en who
have represented the State o f Oregon with a
touch o f class.
A ’
ô? *
NEED A CELLULAR PHONE?
ONLY 8174.99*
INCLUOES:
•
Cellular Phone
Caller ID
•
Leather C ase
Voicemail
•
Activation
Paging
Check your
local telephone
directory
for the agent
nearest you.
I
* JW®, T *
*
Simply Cdtolar S- Telephone fceeoweriiow
8040 NE Sandy Blvd, Suite 100B, Portland
Local 280*8000
Toll Free 1-877-280-8100
Do you rent?
Drive a car?
*
*
awasaaowa
AMERICAN FAMILY
S U R
A N
C
E
AUTO HOME BUSINESS HEALTH LIFE
Delicious Pub Fare
Weekly Specials
Handcrafted Ales & Wines
A l Your Protection Under One Roof
www.amfam.com
©1997 American famty Wmiai Insurance Company
and its Subsidiaries
8203 N Ivanhoe Street • Portland • (503) 283-8520
American Slandard Insulaner Company ot Wisconsin
w w w .m cm cn am in s.co m
American Standard Insurance Company of Oho
Home Office - Madnon Wl S3783
•
1000 Free Minutes
CarCharger
No Credit—Bad Credit-No Problem
•Must be at least 18, IO Required
Food,
'
ales a n d wines available to go.
Home Office
Columbus, OH 43240
t e r 4/00
'V
♦
k
t=J