The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 05, 1995, Page 11, Image 11
Tale of two Mk
LARRY WILLIAMS
Out of Bounds
In the past few weeks, the return of two Mikes
has added much needed flavor and spice to their
respective sports: boxing and professional basketball.
Mike Tyson, who was released after serving
three years in the Indiana Youth Center for a
rape conviction, is a free man and, if all goes well,
should be in the ring within the next year.
Michael Jordan has returned to the hardwood
complete with his bald head and famous
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a late season resurgence.
For Tyson, the memories are farther away
but still clear in our minds. For Jordan, our minds
were still adjusting to the monstrous void left by
his departure in 1993.
Who can forget Tyson's run to the Heavyweight
Championship at the tender age of only
20, just three months removed from his teen-age
years?
Tyson rampaged and rocked the boxing world,
striking irreplaceable fear into the hearts of whoever
dared to step into the ring with him.
In the summer of 1988, Michael Spinks dared
to challenge this Boy Wonder. Prior to one of the
most hyped fights ever, Sports Illustrated ran a
cover story that told of the trials Spinks faced
throughout his lifetime and how he had overUSC
offers inten
NIGEL RAVENHU. Staff Writer
International Week is enveloping the cam]
bratory blanket of foreign films, discussions and
door Festival. For the more sporting students wl
from afar to develop their athletic prowess, their
status and nassoorts are forgotten the moment
field, track or court to represent USC in sport
tions.
NCAA coaches have long realized that one o
enues to victory is to take their recruiting effort
To foreign places with names that beg for an at]
assurance that they indeed exist, coaches sen<
letters asking whether you'd like to bring you
"the he$
proba
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<o Visa U.S.A. Inc. 199S
*y?
T!
:es: Jordan and 1
come them. In a nutshell, SI actually gave Spinks:
the sentimental choice to win the fight.
In its dreams.
After 93 seconds, Tyson had reduced Spink*
to a semiconscious feeble man who would soor
retire. Iron Mike continued his domination for a
while, and then came the destruction.
Star actress Robin Givens entered the pic
ture with her eyes on TV8011'8 wallet. Playing hin
like a fiddle, she put Tyson in some sort of trance
and they were soon married.
Predictably, not too long after that, Given!
filed for divorce. Able to snag almost half of Tyson's
wealth, she indeed had made a wise "business
decision." Barbara Walters interviewed Givens
and Tyson about their fallout.
In a pitifully orchestrated sob story, Givens
told the nation that Tyson was a horrible mar
and that he was selfish and cunning. Now, is this
just minutely hypocritical?
In 1990, Tyson was in Tokyo for a fight agains
a man by the name of Buster Douglas. Not ai
overly important event, this fight was suppose<
- to be an exhibition of Tyson's talents in a foreigi
i land against a weak opponent.
About an hour and a half later, the Tokyi
Dome and the world turned upside down whei
Iron Mike went down and the lowly Douglas wa
crowned the new Heavyweight Champion of thi
i world.
! During his attempted resurgence and an in
i evitable prize fight with Evander Holyfield, Tysoi
t was hauled into court to dispute the charge o
rape by Desiree Washington, a Miss Black Amer
national students
arrogant forehand to a small city
pus in a cele- Many teen-agers answer with ;
I today's Out- travel thousands of miles overlar
ho have come and compete in Columbia. Golfer S
international lete who came from a land wher
they take the strange notion, especially dressed
;ing competi- Hailing from Kuala Lumpur, M
extremely well to the Southeast e
if the best av- star of the Lady Gamecock golf t&
3 on the road, the international level by virtue c
as just for re- Malaysian national women's team
1 exploratory uate to the professional ladder,
r fleet feet or Gamecock tennis is the sport v
ture is most evident. Of the nine n
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it things in
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tyson mark needc
} ica contestant.
Despite the facts that Washington was the
one to make the trip to Tyson's hotel room at 3
i a.m. and that there was no sign of a struggle,
i Tyson was later convicted of rape and sentenced
i to prison.
Three years later, Tyson is out, and promot
er Don King is back on the Tyson bandwagon
i and is reportedly going to represent the boxer in
, his return. ESPN boxing analyst Charlie Steiner
reported that sources at the Indiana Youth
3 Center said King visited Tyson no more than 12
3 times in the three-year incarceration period ?
3 four immediately following his conviction, five
3 before his release and three times during the
time in between. Don King, such a role model,
3 humble man that he is.
l The day of judgment for Tyson will be the
3 first time he steps into the ring. If s not a sure
thing that the boxing instincts that made him
( so nowerfnl will still be Dresent. However, as
i many betting men have learned, I wouldn't bet
1 against Iron Mike.
1 Michael Jordan burst onto the scene in 1984
with the Chicago Bulls, fresh with a National
a Championship ring and an Olympic gold medal,
i An immediate impact, Jordan claimed Rooks
ie of the Year honors, racking up points and daime
ing notice.
Jordan's first real breakthrough came in game
five of the opening round of the 1986 playoffs
l against the Boston Celtics in the hallowed halls
f of Boston Garden. In an eye-popping performance,
- Jordan racked up 63 points, serving notice to the
athletes chance to
in South Carolina. Messay Abebe (Ethiopi
i confident affirmative and jamin Cassaigne (Frano
id, by air and sea to study Jimenez (Venezuela).
iew Ai Lim is one such ath- Women's coach Arl<
e a Gamecock is a rather al members in his squ
in garnet and black. Karolina Bulat (Poland
[alaysia, she has acclimated covic (Canada) and Tol
ind currently ranks as the coaches Helen Cook (En
im. Already experienced at complete the trans-Atl;
>fher long presence on the Three Canadians,
her career goal is to grad- tee and John Stoikos ner
Marvin Watts as ini
/here the international na- Peter Van Elswyck <
len, five come from abroad: Canadians on scholarsh
Said
life are free
trust fund
x waXtt to be.?
April 5,1995
id improvement
rest of the league that he was there to stay. The
Bulls lost that series, but everyone knew there
was more to come.
In 1988, Jordan and the Bulls returned to
the playoffs to square off against the favored
Cleveland Cavs. In game five of the series, Jordan
got some help by a rising star named Scottie
Pippen in leading the Bulls to the second
round, where they lost to the Detroit Pistons,
who would later take the Lakers to seven games
in the finals before falling.
The Bulls, led by Jordan, emerged as a true
power in the 1989 playoffs, where they again
played the Cavaliers in the first round. CI eve
land had claimed the best record in the league
that season, and the Bulls barely made the playoffs.
In game five of that series, Jordan stabbed a
dagger that will forever remain in the hearts of
the Cavaliers.
With six seconds left, Jordan took the inbounds
pass at the hash mark, dribbled across
the court, pulled up at the free-throw line, faked
out Craig Ehlo in midair and drilled the shot at
the buzzer. That shot sent the Bulls on a tear
that will forever be remembered.
In the next round, the Bulls took it to Patrick
Ewing and the Knicks to continue thai* improbable
run. They met their match in the Eastern Conference
finals, where the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons
proved too much for Jordan and the Bulls,
winning in six games.
The next year, the Bulls took the Pistons to
seven games before falling. Then, in 1991, it was
compete against
iol IT.nvirma Alarann n?./*nqHnrl Ran. a KaaVatV>
e), Jorge Esqueda (Mexico) and Maxsy takes to tl
ter/forwai
) Elkins also counts five internation- The rc
ad of eight: Muriel Abella (France), volved foi
), Victoria Davies (Wales), Sophie Ljju- but for m(
oi Rakic (Canada). Student assistant sidized ed
gland) and Pauline Rodriguez (France) agaipst tl
antic roster. perience1
- throwers Chad Moreau, Glen McA- spas,
-join Jamaican middle-distance run- The C
ternational track and field Gamecocks, athletes i
of Hamilton, Ontario, is another of the extra mill
ip in Columbia. He is halfway through garnet an
1800-77;
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for sports world!
finally Jordan's turn.
Defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 4-1 in thfl
NBA finals, Jordan finally shook the monkey ofl
his back and won the title.
It would continue for the next two years, afl
the Bulls became the first team since the CelticH
of old to win three in a row.
In the summer of 1993, disaster struck. OiH
an interstate highway, Jordan's father, JameH
Jordan, was slain. Many believed this to be thfl
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NBA, which shocked the world.
Well, after his unsuccessful minor leagu
baseball venture, Jordan has shocked the work
again with his return to basketball.
"Michael Madness" has breathed life into s
sport thafs dominated by bickering owners an<
spoiled players.
Every arena the Bulls frequent is sold ou
now, and there's an excitement that can onl
come with a player such as Michael Jordan.
A USA Today cover story March 30 read, "Ir
Chicago, where the Bulls play Boston tonigh
and Philadelphia Saturday, radio station WMAC
asked listeners Wednesday to vote on whethei
Jordan 'should be proclaimed King of the World.
Results: 41 percent said yes."
In the two Mikes' return to the sports world
the interest and excitement they left with theii
respective sports should also gracefully return
Such a change from the "harmonious" basebal
talks that dominate news coverage would be glad
ly welcomed by people such as myself.
; top competition
all career that has shown increasing promise. He
le Frank McGuire court with teammate Czech cen
H Clan-ma PYirmnrmlr
ute to Columbia may have been slightly more in
these athletes than the rest of their teammates,
wt, the effort pays off. Benefiting from a highly sublucation
and the opportunity to frequently compete
le best age-group competition in the world is an exworth
investigating if you're a young athlete overarolina
community should be thankful that these
ind the rest of their international peers went that
e, both literally and figuratively, to compete in the
d black.
7-0112 -syi
I VIAim STA TRAVEL
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5NGLISH T m
isday, April 5, 1995
1 Gambrell Hall j?p|
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