D e c e m b e r 2 6 , 2001
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Sports/METRO
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Bonzi Wells Opens Mouth, Inserts Foot
Spurs Streak to
Ninth Straight
SAN ANTONIO- Tim Duncan
had 26 points and 12 rebounds
as the San Antonio Spurs ex­
tended their winning streak to
nine games with a 97-79 vic­
tory over Portland. The Spurs
are off to a franchise-best start
at 19-4 and matched the Los
Angeles Lakers for the longest
winning streak of the season.
David Robinson had 11 points
and a season-high 16 rebounds
for the Spurs. Steve Smith
added 14 points. Ruben
Patterson led the Trail Blazers
with 18 points.
Buhner Says He's
'Done' with Baseball
SEATTLE - Jay Buhner, the
Seattle Mariners’ right fielder
for 14 years, plans to retire at
age 37 because of a series of ]
injuries, the “Seattle Times”
reported. Buhner, the IO"1
player in major league history
to hit 40 or more home runs in
three consecutive seasons,
said: “I’m done. I need surgery
just to retire, on my left shoul­
der, which froze up on me, and
on my left knee.” Buhner hit
.255 - rising to .310 in
postseason play - with 310
home runs and 965 RBI for his
career.
Three NFL Stadiums
Ban Bottles
Plastic bottles will be taken out
o f the hands of fans at Giants
Stadium and the Georgia Dome
for NFL games. In St.Louis,
beer also will be poured for’
fans, although bottled water
will still be sold. Stadium offi­
cials made the moves recently
after watching rowdy fans in
Cleveland and New Orleans
disrupt games by tossing
bottles onto the field to protest
officials’ calls. The Pittsburgh
Steelers, Minnesota Vikings
and Green Bay Packers said
they are still reviewing their
security policies and may an­
nounce something soon.
Bonds to Stay with Giants
NEW YORK - Barry Bonds
will stay with the San Fran­
cisco Giants, deciding to ac­
cept the team’s offer of salary
arbitration. Bonds, who be­
came a free agent after hitting
a record 73 home runs, could
wind up with a one-year con­
tract worth at least $20 million.
He would prefer to sign a
multiyear deal, said his agent,
Scott Boras. “Barry will con­
tinue to work toward that,”
Boras said. Bonds, 37, faced a
deadline to accept the Giants’
offer o f salary.
Marshall Tops East
Carolina in a Thriller
MOBILE, Ala. - In the highest-
scoring bowl game in history,
Marshall rallied past East Caro­
lina 64-61 in double overtime to
win the GMAC Bowl behind
Byron Leftwich’s 576 yards
passing. Leftwich capped his
performance with an 8-yard
touchdown toss to Josh Davis
to end it. The Thundering Herd
(1 l-2)stormedbackfroma38-
8 halftime deficit, tying it at 51
in the final seconds o f the
fourth quarter.
Grant Hill to Have
Season-Ending Surgery
ORLAND O-Five-tim e All-
Star Grant Hill will miss the
rest of the season after un­
dergoing a third operation on
his left ankle. The Orlando
Magic form ward played in 14
games this season after miss­
ing all but four games last
year. He signed a seven-year,
$93 million contract with Or-
ando in August 2000. “I’m
disappointed for the fans and
my teammates,” Hill said in a
statement. “Hopefully, this
will lead me down the road to
recovery.”
Premiere Forward Bonzi Wells o f the Portland Blazers has always had the support o f his local fans; but told Sports Illustrated “ The fans don't matter.
by
A be E stimada
KGW.COM STAFF
A Sports Illustrated maga­
zine article in this m onth’s is­
sue examined how the poor
behavior o f some team mem­
bers has quickly alienated fans.
What may be particularly
infuriating for fans is a quote
from B lazers’ guard Bonzi
Wells, who told the article's
author, L. Jon W ertheim ,
“W e’re not really going to
worry about what the hell (the
fans) think about us.”
“They really don't matter to
us,” Wells said. “They can boo
us every day, but they’re still
going to ask forourautographs
if they can see us on the street.
That’s why they’re fans, and
w e're NBA players.”
“Sports Illustrated” enlarged
Wells’ quote and placed it the
middle o f the first page of the
story, titled “LosingTheirGrip.”
The Blazers attempted dam­
age control by releasing a state­
ment o f apology from Wells to
the fans, the organization and
the team.
Wells, who had been cited
by police earlier this fall after
refusing to leave the scene o f
a fight in downtown Portland,
said he made the remarks af­
ter the Blazers lost a game in
which he performed poorly.
The magazine makes refer­
ence to a Blazers television ad
w here W allace and W ells
sneak into a court to play a
game o f one-on-one after the
janitor has left.
“The running joke in Port­
land, however, is that the way
things are going, all the Blazers
may soon be playing in an empty
gym,” the article said. “As the
team is fast learning, selling
your soul is one thing. Finding
willing buyers is quite another.’
The article asserts that “the
Blazers have been a civic trea­
sure for three decades, the
N B A ’s answer to the Green
Bay Packers.”
k EHHEDY SCHOfli
MelWenamins
vt
Statement of Apology to Blazer Fans
The Portland Trailblazers
have released the following
statement on behalf o f Bonzi
Wells in response to the recent
“ Sports Illustrated” article:
“I want to sincerely apolo­
gize to the fans o f the NBA
and especially to the fans of
the Portland Trailblazers for
my insensitive rem arks. I
should not have said them and
there is no excuse. I am a
professional and should ofkept
my chin up and not let my
emotions take over. We had
just lost an important game and
1 was discouraged about my
performance. I took out my
frustrations on the very fans
th at have su p p o rte d me
throughout my career.
“The fans are the most im­
portant part o f this game and
without them, I wouldn’t be
where I am today. The fans of
the PortlandTrail Blazers con­
tinue to be the best in the NBA
and the team has appreciated
their support since 1970.
“I would also like to apolo­
gize to the Trail Blazers orga­
nization, the coaches and my
teammates for my remarks.”
Woods, Doyle, Campbell Take Top Honors
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla
(AP)— Tiger Woods, Allen Doyle
and Chad Campbell have won
g o lf s Players o f the Year honors
forthe PGA Tour, SeniorTourand
Buy.com Tour.
For Woods, the selection as
Player o f the Year is his third in a
row and fourth in five full seasons
on the Tour. He beat out David
Duval, Phil Mickelson and David
Toms.
Woods, who turns 26 on Dec.
30, won five tournaments in 2001
Martial Arts
Invitational
at Chinook
Winds Casino
The 2002 West Coast Martial
Arts Kick Off, “The 2002 Battle
o f the Belt,” will take place at
Chinook Winds Casino & Con­
vention Center in Lincoln City
on Feb. 2. Sponsored by The
White W olf Martial Arts Acad­
emy, the competition is open to
all ages.
Registration will begin at 7:30
a m on Saturday, Feb. 2, and the
tournament will run from 9:30 a m.
-4 :3 0 p.m. The Showcase Event
will begin at 6:30 p m. and con­
clude at 9 p.m.
Daytime Tickets are available
thru Frankie Rosenweig. Night­
time Showcase Tickets are avail­
able thru all Fastixx outlets
For additional information, call
503-560-0316 or go online to
BailleQfnidîdLiüm
»
and led the Tour for the third con­
secutive season with $5,687,777.
His Masters victory made him the
first player to hold all four profes­
sional major championships at
once.
Doyle, 53, won twice and posted
25 top-10 finishes in 34 starts. He
led the Senior Tour in earnings
with $2,553,582.
Campbell, a rookie on the
Buy.com Tour, won three times
and earned an automatic promo­
tion to the PGA Tour.
V H iî
CLASS BEGINS
W ITH A
HEARTY BREAKFAST
M o n d a y th ro u g h S aturday: 7am to 1 0 :30a m
S unday: 7am to 1 1:30am
Tiger Woods comes out on
top again as golf's Player of
the Year with five tournament
wins this year.
5736 NE 33r«l • Portland, Oregon
(503) 2 4 9 -3 9 8 3 • w w w .m rm cnam ins.com
The Bridge Builders
Fifth Annual
X 1
Kwanzaa Gala And Gentlemen's Ball
S/tl
Saturday, December 29,2001
111
o f the Times
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
A -
Downtown Portland, Southwest Broadway and Main, 7:30 PM
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Tickets for the ceremony are available only through TicketMaster
At 5 0 3 .2 2 4 .4 4 0 0 , or the Portland Center far the Performing Arts
$ tir
S ,
Post Celebration Gala*
The Governor Hotel, 611 Southwest Tenth Avenue, 10:00 PM to 2:00 AM
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For tickets and more information call 5 0 3 .3 0 b .2 9 b 0 , extension 3.
*Oyen to hiflh school graduates, is voirs & older.
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