Page A9
October 09, 2002
S ports /METRO
Sprewell Told
to Stay Away
Nike chairman, CEO
and founder, Philip
Knight unties the
ceremonial shoe
lace with Mayor Very
Katz at the final
Anniversary Project
celebration at
Peninsula Park on
Thursday, Oct. 3.
To commemorate
30-years as an
Oregon -based
company and to
thank Portlanders
for years o f support,
Nike resurfaced
nearly 90 outdoor
basketball courts in
the Portland Parks
and Recreation
system
Latrell Sprewell
(AP) — Latrell Sprewell
was fined $250,000 Monday
by the New York Knicks,
who also told him to stay
away from the team until he
can make “a positive contri
bution.”
Sprewell was punished for
failing to tell the team that he
injured his shooting hand
when he tripped and fell on
his yacht two weeks before
training camp started. He had
surgery last week and is out
at least six weeks.
“He has a responsibility to
let us know. He had an obli
gation to do that,” said Madi
son Square Garden president
Steve Mills, who also met
with Sprewell, along with
coach Don Chaney.
Knicks president Scott
Layden em phasized that
Sprewell was not officially
suspended, but no time frame
was given for the four-time
All-Star’s return to the team.
Nike Completes Anniversary Project
After resurfacing 90 basketball courts, company will also provide funds for maintenance
In com m em oration o f its 30th
year as an O regon-based com pany,
N ike announced the com pletion of
its basketball court resurfacing gift
to P ortland Parks & R ecreation
today in a com m unity celebration
at Peninsula Park. The $2 m illion-
gift, m ade to the Portland Parks
Foundation, represents N ike’s larg
est one-tim e sports surface d o n a
tion anyw here in the w orld.
In ju st 75 days, N ik e's A nniver
sary Project resurfaced all o f the
ou td o o r basketball courts in the
Portland Parks and R ecreation sys
tem w ith a w orld-class, cushioned
R ebound Ace surface containing
recycled shoes. The sam e quality
o f surface featured on nearly 90 o f
P o rtla n d ’s o u td o o r b a sk e tb a ll
courts is also found at the A ustra
lian O pen, S y d n ey ’s tennis venue
"T his is N ike’s w ay o f saying
thank you to everyone in the P ort
land area for [all o f the) support
over the last three decades,” said
f One of the Anniversary Project's
main goals is to inspire kids to be
physically active.
—Gary DeStefano, Nike’s President of U.S. Operations
for the G am es o f 2000 and at the
country ’ s m ost prom inent outdoor
basketball court, H olcom b R ucker
Parkin Harlem .
Philip H. K night, N ike chairm an,
C EO and founder, w ho grew up in
southeast Portland.
T he project involved nearly 4.5
acres o f resurfacing. T he courts,
many o f w hich are 20 or more years
old, were resurfaced using recycled
shoes collected through N ik e's
R eu se-A -S h o e p rogram , w hich
collects, separates, and grinds up
athletic shoes to m ake N ike G rind
m aterial. The grind is then used in
athletic courts, tracks, fields and
playground surfaces.
It took nearly 170,000 shoes to
produce the Nike G rind material for
all o f the A n n iv ersary P ro ject
courts.
“ O n e o f th e A n n iv e r s a r y
P ro ject’s m ain goals is to inspire
kids to be physically active,” said
N ik e’s P resident o f U.S. O pera
tions, G ary D eS tefano. “T he first
part o f this gift w as revitalizing the
courts so kids had a great place to
play; the second part is ensuring
that the courts are m aintained prop
erly in the future.”
B e f o r e th e A n n i v e r s a r y
P ro ject, m any o f the c o u rts w ere
c u rr e n tly d e c o m m is s io n e d o r
sla te d to be due to th e sh o rtag e
o f m a in te n a n c e fu n d s. In a d d i
tio n to re s u rfa c in g the c o u rts,
N ike w ill now m atch up to $ 10,000
p e r y e a r in c o u rt m a in te n a n c e -
re la te d e x p e n s e s in c u rre d by
P o rtla n d P ark s & R e c re a tio n .
T h e m atch in g fu n d s pro g ram e x
te n d s th ro u g h 2017.
NFL Defends Record of Minority Hiring
15 years, the report noted that black
head coaches had been more suc
cessful than their white counter
parts, but that they w eren't hired
com m ensurate with that success.
(AP)-— The NFL, threatened with
a lawsuit over its lack o f black head
coaches, defended the steps it has
taken in minority hiring, but acknowl
edged Tuesday there is room for
improvement.
“Progress has been m ade and we
expect that progress to continue,”
league spokesman G reg Aiello said.
“W e take the issue very seri
ously and have initiated several pro
gram s in recent years under com
m issioner (Paul) Tagliabue to en
sure that our hiring practices are fair,
and that all coaches have opportu
nities to advance.”
Aiello w as responding to a report
released M onday by a group headed
by attorney Johnnie Cochran. U s
ing statistics com piled over the past
<' Black coaches are
being held to a higher
standard. Now is the
time for the NFL to
step up and make a
change.
— Johnnie Cochran. ■
“Black coaches are being held to
a higher standard,” said Cochran,
w ho suggested the league might be
sued if progress isn 't m ade. “Now is
the tim e for the N FL to step up and
m ake a change.”
To stim ulate the hiring o f blacks
as head coaches, C ochran proposed
that Tagliabue “rew ard at least one
team each year for developing a
diverse front office” with a draft
pick.
He also asked the N FL to require
team ow ners to include “diverse
racial groups” when interviewing
candidates for coaching positions.
A ccording to the proposal, “ow n
ers can choose to opt out o f this
requirem ent, but to do so they must
forfeit a draft pick.”
There currently are tw o black
head coaches in the NFL: Tony
Dungy o f Indianapolis and Herman
Edwards o f the New Y ork Jets. But
A iello pointed out that in the last
five years, 23 blacks have been in
terview ed for coaching positions
and th ree w ere hired: D ungy,
Edwards and Ray Rhodes, by Green
Bay in 1999.
Tyrone Willingham, currently the
coach o f Notre Dame, also was
am ong those 23.
Since Art Shell becam e the first
black head coach o f the m odem era
with the Raiders in 1989, there have
been five: Dungy, Edwards, Shell,
Dennis Green and Rhodes. Terry
Robiskie served as interim coach of
the W ashington Redskins for three
games at the end o f the 2000 season.
There have never been more than
three black head coaches in a sea
son.
Amtrak Promotes Trains to Seattle Seahawks Games
Seattle Seahaw ks fans living out
o f the Seattle area have another
w ay o f traveling to hom e gam es on
A m trak C ascades.
Football fans can hop on Amtrak
C ascades to Seattle from around
the area and arrive in tim e for k ick
off. Fans can avoid m ajor traffic
jam s on gam e day w hile enjoying
the scenic route to S eattle’s K ing
Street S tation and w alk directly to
the new Seahaw k Stadium located
ju s t outside the station entrance.
R egular one-w ay adult fares be
tw een P ortland and Seattle start as
low as $23. Space is lim ited and
reservations are required for re
m aining hom e gam es on N ovem
ber 3 ,1 7 , and 24, D ecem ber 8 and
22. G ame times are 1:05 p.m. or 1:15
p.m.
For train schedules, fares and
reservation information, call 1-800-
U S A -R A IL
or
v is it
w w w .A m trakC ascades.com .
Saûzied
¿z? Minority businesses 1
CApcciatly-
\Vomcn-Owhcd flu ste r
rART SAVING
worship or attend school
I
o f A rt» r t « is ti Bobe. Bridgeton Buckman
FVt. China Town. Otnciwd» wc« et t r
Concorda University, Downtown P in land. E m Columbia, (¡none
Hollow. Humboldt. Irvington, K en «. King. Northwest Portland, Northwest
Old tbwn. Overlook Pearl District, Piedmont. Portland
ty Collegr-Caacade Camput. Portland Slate University. Ports-
Sabia, St John». Sallivan'« Otilch University of Portland.
University Pari. Vernon, and Wivxllawn
m
*
r
Visir ovine« fedrrallv imunrd ni SIIO (toil
bv (hr Vanonal ( fedii I rinvi titnvniMrvivvi
a I5 ( io v r m m r w Agency
WILLAMETTE
Federal Credit Union
2151 N.W Front Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97209
i5 0 J ( ? 9 9 4 5 1 9
1888I 9 0 0 8 5 5 9
Go Livdîes!