Charlotte
SPORTS
8B
THURSDAY
June 24,1993
Gems Shine Going Into AAU Nationals
By Herbert L. White
THE CHARLOTTE POST
The Charlotte Gems aren’t
the biggest team going to the
AAU girls' basketball cham
pionships next month.
But size isnjt what matters
to them.
The Gems are the first
Charlotte team to make the
nationals, which will be
played July 29-Aug. 8 In
KnoxvUle, Tenn. The Gems
It's Time
Well-Spent
For Orioles'
Reynolds
By Chuck Melvin
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CLEVELAND - Harold Re
ynolds used his spare time
wisely.
During the second of two
rain delays Sunday, Re
ynolds talked hitting with
coach Davey Lopes, then
stroked a two-run double
that put Baltimore ahead for
good as the Orioles beat the
Cleveland Indians 6-3,
It was the first of Reynolds'
three hits in the game. Chris
Holies also had three hits; a
home run. double and single.
"During the rain delay, Da
vey Lopes was telling me that
I've been feeling for the ball,"
said Reynolds, who had two
hits In his last 15 at-bats at
that point. "He said I should
start swinging the bat and
try to hit the ball out one
time."
The Indians cooperated by
sending In a familiar face,
Dennis Cook.
"I faced him In Baltimore
earlier," Reynolds said. "He
beat us there. He pitched me
hard Inside there, and I fig
ured he’d do the same thing
here. So I looked for the
same thing, and I hit him."
Jamie Moyer (3-3) won his
third straight following a
string of 16 starts without a
victory. He went 5 1-3 In
nings, allowing three runs
and five hits.
A parade of five relievers
followed and held the Indi
ans scoreless on three hits
the rest of the way. Gregg Ol
son finished for his 19th
have been nearly unbeatable
In the 13-under age group,
compiling a 17-1 record.
From Starters to the bench,
the Gems have been brilliant
all year.
'They've worked very hard.
The bench has been real pro
ductive," said coach Reggie
Wilson. "I've got kids who on
most teams would start."
Defense has been the key,
with Charlotte beating oppo
nents by an average of 25
points per game. The Gems
"We play according to our defense.
All man-to-man, no zone."
Charlotte Gems coach Reggie Wilson
know how to put the ball In
the hoop with leading scor
ers Nikki Herron (Spaugh)
and Tonya Phifer (Alexander
Graham) at the forward and
guard spots, respectively.
The rest of the starting five
Include point guard Rachel
Lewis (Charlotte Latin), for
ward Janae Whiteside (Haw
thorne) and 5-10 center
Deldra McAfee (Kennedy),
who has a basketball pedi
gree as the niece of former
save.
"I think we have the best
bullpen In the league, top to
bottom," manager Johnny
Oates said. "All six guys are
throwing the ball well."
The Orioles have won 15 of
19 games since May 31, and
they went 7-3 on their 10-
game road trip. They've won
six consecutive series, their
best such streak since they
won seven series In a row In
1986.
Cleveland has lost six of Its
last eight.
Holies, who was hitless In
his last 17 at bats, got Balti
more started with a home
run In the second Irmlng, his
ninth, moments before the
first rain delay. Cal Ripken
then doubled home a run In
the third, shortly before the
second delay.
In the fourth. Matt Young -
who had replaced Cleveland
starter Paul Abbott follow
ing the second delay -
walked two batters and left
with two outs after aggravat
ing a sprained left knee.
Young (1-5) became the loser
when Reynolds greeted Cook
with his two-run double.
The Orioles blew a chance to
break It open tn the seventh,
when they failed to score af
ter loading the bases with no
outs. But they added a run on
Leo Gomez's single In the
eighth, and two Cleveland er
rors set up David Segui’s RBI
single In the ninth.
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
raOTO/PAUL WnUAMB m
Pete Moore, the Charlotte Knights' assistant general manager, gave up the world of high fi
nance for basebaU. He doesn't have regrets, either. "A lot of people don't see the advantages
in this area as opposed to being a commercial lender or lawyer," he says.
Knights' Executive Pete Moore
Learning About BasebaU On Job
By Herbert L. White
THE CHARLOTTE POST
etc Moore could
easily be mistak
en for an Invest
ment banker or a
stock broker.
But Instead of
helping custom
ers make a kill
ing on Wall
Street, he's tak
ing care of business with
the Charlotte Knights.
Moore, assistant general
manager of the Class AAA
baseball team Is learning
about the business of base
ball, which Is not unlike
the business of finance,
something he did as a stock
broker before getting a
master's degree In business
administration at Duke
University. But there are a
lot of posslbllltes In
sports.
"A lot of people don't see
the advantages In this area
as opposed to being a com
mercial lender or lawyer,"
Moore, 29, said. "It's
unique. It's like running
your own business.”
Moore's Job is to work
with the Knights' front-
office staff In game-day
preparations, such as trav
el and ticket sales. The job
has opened Moore’s eyes to
a sport he admits was near
ly foreign to him eight
months ago.
"I’ve seen more baseball
In these 4-5 months than I
have in my entire life," he
said.
A former high school All-
America quarterback at
Burlington Williams,
Moore played defensive
back at Duke. His parents,
Richard Sr. and Rosa,
didn't stress sports, opting
to push academics Instead.
Moore got a football schol
arship while his sister. Dr.
Roslyn Crisp, a pediatric
dentist tn Burlington, went
to college on academic
scholarships. Sis wasn't
much of an athlete (Moore
calls her "totally uncoordi
nated"), but It didn't mat
ter.
"My parents never forced
me Into sports," Moore
said. "Sports was always
on the back burner. They
were more Interested In
what we were learning In
school."
After being a successful
quarterback in high
school, Moore found him
self making a tough transi
tion In learning to hit peo
ple at Duke. Ronnie Lott
didn't have to fear for his
Job as It turned out.
"My nickname was High
way because I got run over
so much." he said.
After hanging up the
cleats In 1986, Moore land
ed a Job with the Charlotte
Hornets In ticket sales,
where he caught the eye of
the bosses, owner George
Shinn and president
Spencer Stolpen. After two
more years In grad school,
Moore was back working
for Shinn Enterprises, this
time for the Knights.
"I'm not new to the organ
ization. I'm new to base
ball," Moore said.
After being a player,
Moore is finding himself
adjusting to the front of
fice. Instead of Just keeping
See KNIGHTS On Page IIB
NBA all-star Walter Davis.
Ashley Smith is a three-
point threat off the bench.
'We're very up-tempo. We
don't have a lot of big peo
ple," Wilson said. 'We have a
lot of athletes. We play ac
cording to our defense. All
man-to-man, no zone.”
The nationals will be
tougher, but the Gems are
used to facing challenges.
Knoxville will bring more of
them.
"It'll be a different experi
ence, because in North Cmo-
Una, a lot of teams will get
big," Wilson said. "But In the
nationals. We'll probably see
teams more athletic than we
are. But we don't fear any of
them. We can't. We don't
know any of them."
To help the Charlotte Gems
pay for the cost of going to
the nationals, donations can
be sent in care of the Char
lotte Gems, 5541 South Blvd.
No. 144, Charlotte, N.C.
28217.
Despite Label,
Michigan's Fab
Five Still Winners
By Mark Gray
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
College sports Is such a cruel and unforgiving world.
Split-second decisions are the difference between legendary
status and ongoing lamentation. How-
COMMENTARY ever, what fans, alumni and the press
lose sight of what Is that the people
who are under such an intense micro
scope are between the ages of 18 and 23.
These kids, because of an athletic scholarship and the prais
es of so-called experts, have to reach almost unforeseeable
goals, and If they fall short, all the world comes crashing
down around them. Former Michigan forward Chris Webber,
despite a mental lapse, which could have cost the national
championship. Is still a great player and so is the team.
Webber, along with Jalen Rose, Jimmy King, Juwan Howard,
and Ray Jackson were billed as the "Fab Five" coming out of
high school. Some even went so far as to say that this was the
finest collection of college basketball talent to ever lace up a
pair of sneakers. Each member of this quintet did rank In the
top 100, which only added to the galactic expectations of col
lege sports enthusiasts. It was assumed that this team would
waltz to a national championship, however, twice they have
come close, but that only counts In horseshoes.
BUI Walton, suddenly anointed by the television world as
the supreme ponttflcator of basketball talent, has branded
this team as "underachievers." Walton's underachievers have
merely won 55 games tn two years. They have also won eight
of 10 NCAA Tournament games and played in two straight na
tional championship games.
Underachievers? Not really.
In fact, Walton was an underachiever as a professional bas
ketball player. True, he was on a couple of championship
teams. However, he never played a full 82-game season and
his career ended in 1988, much like It had always been spent -
on the Injured list.
No team tn the history of college basketball has been scruti
nized as much as this edition of the Michigan Wolverines, in
spite of their success. Before Mike Krzyewskl's Duke Blue Dev
ils won back to back titles they lost to UNLV and LoulsvlUe In
the final game. Dean Smith, who traditionally, has the best
talent money can buy at North Carolina, has been to the
NCAA "Sweet 16" round 18 straight years, has only won two
national championships, but nobody has ever branded any of
those teams as underachievers.
Unfortunately, the teason this team has been chastised as
heavUy as they have Is because they are five Inner city black
kids who are talented and have the audacity to let the world
know It. Sure, their heads are bald, their shorts are baggy, and
they talk a little trash on the court. However, In the '90Ss
that's what the game Is all about. A little chatter between
players Is common, but they never have physically assaulted
any of their opponents. After this year's West Regional Final,
See FAB FIVE On Page 9B
Law Wins
100 Meters
FROM NEWS SERWCES
Jim Law has added another
sprint championship to his
trophy case.
Law
The Char
lotte resident
won the 65-
69 age group
gold medal tn
the 100 me
ters at the
U.S. Nation
al Senior
Sports Clas
sic rv in Ba
ton Rouge,
La. last week, adding It to his
win In the 200. The event Is
the nation's premier bienni
al multi-sport athletic com
petition for athletes age 55
and older. More than 7,200
senior athletes are in Baton
Rouge competing in 18
sports. Including cycling, tri
athlon and basketball.
This Cowboy
Is Pitching
Shoes In Ad
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS - Coming soon to a
movie theater near you: Dal
las Cowboys running back
Emmltt Smith and his new
line of Reebok footwear.
Smith, winner of the last
two NFL rushing titles, is
featured In a commercial for
Reebok's Preseason collec
tion. The spot will be seen on
4,200 movie screens In more
than 120 markets, Reebok
officials said.
The shoe company Is spend
ing $7 million to promote
Smith and Chicago White
Sox first baseman Frank
Thomas In two separate
black-and-white ads meant
to give viewers the feel of be
ing part of the action In a
professional game.
See EMMTT On Page 9B