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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 6, 2012)
a'*ìt :$Jortlanò (Observer lune 6, 2012 Page 13 Blazers Hire General Manager Executive leaves Clippers for Portland (A P) — T he T rail B lazers have hired form er Los A ngeles C lippers general m anager Neil Olshey to serve in the sam e role w ith Portland. The announcem ent by the Blazers on M onday cam e less than an hour after the Clippers revealed that they and O lshey had decided to part ways. Last season, O lshey oversaw a m ajor retooling o f the C lippers that included signing A ll-Star point guard Chris Paul in D ecem ber as part o f the biggest trade in franchise history. In the sam e six-day span, O lshey signed All-Stars Caron B utlerand C hauncey Billups, and re-signed D eA ndre Jo r dan. The Clippers finished 40-26 and reached the second round o f the play offs. "I am very grateful for the opportu nity to becom e a part o f this success ful franchise," O lshey said in a state m ent released by the Blazers. "Port land is a great basketball city with a rich tradition, an incredible fan base and com m itted leadership. I'm joining an organization that has a strong foundation and a bright future." Neil Olshey The Blazers have been operating under interim G M C had Buchanan for the past year. B uchanan, the team's director o f college scouting, took over w hen the team fired Rich C ho after about 10 m onths on the job. O lshey becom es the 10th general m anager in Blazers history. "Neil is som eone w e've had on our radar for quite a while. O ver the past tw o seasons he has dem onstrated success in co n stru ctin g a roster, m anaging salary cap and evaluating player talent," Blazers President Larry M iller said in a statem ent. "We feel very fortunate to have him in Port land and are thrilled about what this m eans for the future." photo by D eborah P orter Major softball players from north and northeast Portland celebrate their first place finish Sunday in the Little League Urban Initiative Northwest Jamboree at Lents Park. Jamboree Champions M a jo r so ftb a ll p la y e rs fro m a P o rtla n d O b se rv e r- sp o n so re d te am in th e P e n in s u la L ittle L e a g u e w e re c ro w n e d c h a m p io n s o f th e L ittle L e a g u e U rb a n in itia tiv e N o rth w e st Ja m b o re e on Sunday. T he g irls ’ team w on all five g am es they p lay ed in the tournam ent at L ents Field in southeast Portland, including the final contest by a score o f 11-9. HMM Elite Players to B attle in Rose City Showcase The 1 Oth annual R ose C ity Show M ichael B easley, and K evin L ove case by N IK E, featuring som e o f the becam e A ll-A m ericans, and before nation's top basketball players and B randon R ush and M ario C halm ers future college and N B A stars, tips led Kansas to the 2008 N C A A C ham o ff Friday, June 8 at L ew is & C lark pionship, they all had o ne thing in C ollege in southw est Portland. com m on -- they participated in the B efore D w ight H ow ard becam e R ose C ity Show case. an N B A A ll-Star, before Josh Sm ith P resented by C ourtside E n ter and Gerald Green won the NBA Slam tainm ent, the tournam ent w ill kick D unk C ontest, before O .J. M ayo, o ff w ith four pow er-packed, super 17 m atch-ups, featuring m any o f the top players in the country from the classes o f 2 0 1 3 ,2 0 1 4 and 2015. T he action continues through Sunday evening w hen a R ose C ity S h o w c a s e c h a m p io n w ill b e cro w n ed at 6:30 p.m . at L ew is & C lark College. F o r m o re in fo rm a tio n , v isit R oseC ityS how case.com Honored for Courage and Leadership c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 11 R oberts w as the other honoree, receiving the L ifetim e A chiev e m ent A w ard "for her tireless and steadfast activism as an ally to Oregon's Lesbian, G ay Bisexual and T ransgender (L G B T ) c o m m u n ity . Peter Cunningham , executive di rector o f the Equity Foundation, said, "We are honoring both Governor Roberts and C oach M urrell - they epitomize the strength and persever ance needed to lead the charge for equality in Oregon, and everywhere.” "I am deeply h o n o red to accept such an aw ard from the equity fo u n dation," said M urrell. "It w as spe cial to be alongside G o v ern o r B ar bara R oberts, w ho is a true p io n eer and role m odel fo r hum an rights." D uring her career at Portland State, M urrell has led the V ikings to un precedented success at the D ivi sion I lev^l, including a 98-60 record, 53-27 in the Big Sky C onference. She led the V ikings to the 2010 N C A A T ournam ent, PSU 's first- ev er trip to the N C A A s as a D ivi sion I program . M urrell also guided the V ikings to the 2009 and 2011 W N IT tournam ents and w as the 2010-11 Big Sky C oach o f the Year. Original Trail Blazer Dead at 72 F o rm e r P o rtla n d T rail B la ze rs cen te r/fo rw ard L eR oy E llis p assed a w ay S a tu rd a y in P o rtla n d at th e a g e o f 72 a fte r a lo n g b a ttle w ith c a n c e r. A m e m b e r o f P o rtla n d 's in a u g u ra l b a sk e tb a ll te a m , E llis w as se le c te d b y th e T rail B la ze rs in the 1970 N B A E x p a n sio n D ra ft. E llis led P o rtla n d w ith 12.3 re b o u n d s p e r g a m e an d ra n k e d th ird on the te am w ith a 15.9 sc o rin g a v e ra g e in 19 7 0 -7 1 , his o n ly se a so n w ith th e T ra il B lazers. E llis a p p e a re d in 1,048 N B A g a m es o v e r 14 s e a so n s w ith the L .A . L a k e rs, B a ltim o re , P o rtla n d an d P h ila d e lp h ia . H e p o ste d c a re e r a v e ra g e s o f 9 .7 p o in ts a n d 8.3 re b o u n d s, an d w as a m e m b e r o f the 1972 N B A C ham pion L.A. L ak e rs. A N ew Y ork n ativ e, E llis p lay ed h is c o lle g ia te b a sk e tb a ll at St. J o h n ’s U n iv e rsity . E llis an d his fa m ily se ttle d in P o rtla n d d u rin g h is N B A c a re e r a n d c o n tin u e d to liv e in the a rea a fte r he re tire d from th e N B A . LeRoy Ellis
