Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 13

THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC ARIZONA GOLF Phoenix LPGA player Danielle Am-maccapane is using weight training in hopes of improving in 1996. E9. SCOREBOARD, 10. COLLEGE CORNER, El 1. THURSDAY DECEMBER 7, 1995 Editor, Kathy Tulumello 271-8641 Last kiss for mom from fallen star Ex-Canyon guard lost dreams, his life and sister's CHRIS COBBS The Arizona Republic Mary Johns sat on her bed Wednesday afternoon, holding onto her youngest son, Eddie, weeping.

"Why?" she wondered aloud. "Why?" A day earlier, she was embracing another son, Rodney, in her living room, reassuring him that so much richness awaited his life. She knew he was unhappy. She knew he was depressed. She knew that for some time he longed to get back on the basketball court.

But, as Rodney Johns always did when he said goodbye to his mother, he smiled, kissed her gently on the cheek and gave her a hug. That was the last goodbye The last hug. A new hue is all that's left to do Jll mm VMa helping those less fortunate. He was always motivating. She can't believe Rodney, a quiet, peaceful leader throughout much of his life, had a death wish.

As he left the house with his sister to a destination she did not know, "He was in a great state of mind," Mary Johns said. "He was not a suicidal person." But, as police try to find clues, close See LAST KISS, page E5 The last smile. About a half-hour later, Mary Johns received the news. Police said Rodney Johns, running at least one stop sign, drove his 1987 Cadillac with his sister accompanying him at speeds in excess of 80 mph into a concrete retaining wall. It was not far from the south Phoenix housing project in which he grew up and inspired so many neighborhood youths in basketball.

Rodney, 31, and his sister, Deborah Peters, 36, were killed on impact. Why? Mary Johns wonders, wiping tears, planning for a funeral she cannot pay for. Rodney did not have insurance, she said. She paints a hopeful picture of her son, the hero of Grand Canyon University's 1988 national-championship team. Rodney, she said, was one of the strongest-minded people she knew.

He was always caring, always By Richard Obert As the hero of Grand Canyon University's 1988 national championship team, Rodney Johns was on top of the world. But his life later began to unravel. On Wednesday, Johns' life and that of his sister, Deborah Peters, tragically came to an end. As one of just 10 metro areas in the country with teams in each of the four major sports, the Valley has a long way to go to reach parity with the New Yorks and Chicagos in muggings, purse-snatchings, unaffordable studio apartments, taxi drivers who don't speak English, gridlock and general unpleasantness. We probably don't have enough criminal elements to throw a semi-respectable riot when we win our first world championship, or enough politicians crooked enough to take credit for it.

Of course, we don't have enough downtown office towers for a decent ticker-tape parade, either. We also have some catching-up to do in the area of marketing. Somebody needs to tell our local Staff writer David PetkiewiczStaff photographer ntensitv on the Shadow Mtn. showcase Matadors to play in national events orizon By Tom Blodgett Staff writer Arizona high-school basketball underrated or a wasteland? To be sure, Shadow Mountain Coach Jerry Conner knows the national reputation this state carries for prep basketball, and it's closer to the latter. Conner's Matadors have a chance to do something about that reputation this month as they hit the road for three prestigious national events.

Shadow Huskies' defensive back ready for 5 A title rematch By Jim Gintonio Staff writer Mixing metaphors is a perk of the coaching profession. Horizon assistant Anthony Paterno, nodding his head vigorously, was explaining why he likes having defensive back Sam Patterson on the team. "If you're going to bat, you want a football player like Sam by your side," Paterno said. The point is mm Mountain, Arizona's top-ranked team in Class 5A, begins its odyssey today at the Coca-Cola KMOX Shootout in St. Louis.

The Shootout is actually a one-day basketball show, not a tournament, and does not count in the Arizona 4 7 Mike Bibby The invitations flocked because of his play. well-taken. This is one tough kid. "He has a lineman's attitude," Paterno said. "He's hot a big kid, but he has the heart to play in Division Patterson's heart and soul will be put to a test when Horizon, the defending state Class 5A champion, battles St.

Mary's in a title-game rematch Friday night at Sun Devil Stadium. "My dad taught me a long time ago that football is a game of hitting," Patterson said. "Whoever hits the hardest is going to win." CLASS 4A FINAL Friday at Sun Devil Stadium Glendale Ironwood (12-1) vs. Scottsdale Saguaro (12-1), 5 pm, KGME-AM (1360) CLASS 5A FINAL Friday at Sun Devil Stadium St. Mary's (13-0) vs.

Horizon (8-5), 8 p.m., KGME-AM (1360) ASPN will telecast 5A game tape-delay, 7 p.m. Sunday and 9 p.m. Wednesday i haberdashers that purple is not the only color to dye a uniform blouse. It may be the hip tint du jour, but at this rate, we're all going to look like a giant bruise. While we figure out how to dress our heroes, accountants are working overtime on a supercomputer to determine if there is anyone in Maricopa County who can afford to take a family of four to see the Suns, Cardinals, Diamondbacks and Jets, or whatever hand-me-down name our hockey team gets (candidates: Scorpions, Coyotes, Lobos).

If you just go by the fine print where the standings are listed, the Valley is now every bit as big time as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, San Francisco, Dallas, Denver, and Miami. Youngest of the club But the Valley is also the youngest, freshest, most apple-cheeked member of this club. Think of it like this. Forty years ago, the Valley wasn't even shaving. New York and Chicago had bags under their eyes before Arizona attained statehood.

A look back at what was happening on the Valley sports scene in 1955, 1965, 1975 and 1985 helps to appreciate just how much our town has grown up. Consider the big news in 1955. You could pull on new cowboy boots on sale for $10.95 at Dale's, slip behind the wheel of your new Hudson Hornet Hollywood hardtop and head for the headline event of the day: the Phoenix Union-Flagstaff high-school basketball game. Better be there live, because you couldn't catch it on pay-per-view. The prime-time lineup on KOOL-TV featured Doug Edwards with the news, Wild Bill Hickok and Liberace.

But there was no Al McCoy and Cotton Fitzsimmons with the Coyotes-Axers telecast. By 1965, against a backdrop of social upheaval and war in Southeast Asia, the Valley was beginning to crawl as a sports town. College basketball had usurped the preps as the biggest local happening. A crowd of 3,482 saw Arizona State beat Cal Poly, 74-60, in Tempe, while in Flagstaff, a gathering of 3,600 watched the UofA beat the Lumberjacks, 74-69. I Combine those crowds and you still wouldn't have enough to fill the lower bowl at America West Arena.

Of course, it's not just Phoenix that's changed. The outrage in the sports pages in early December 30 years ago was over rookie signing bonuses in the NFL. "It's silly, just silly that these kids are asking and getting $20,000 and even $25,000," one coach said in a huff. Coming into being Ten years later, 1975, both the Suns and the Fiesta Bowl had come into being. But the Suns' win over Golden State received less coverage than an exhibition would receive these days.

There were several echoes of the present. Nebraska sold out its allotment of Fiesta Bowl tickets. And, St. Mary's reached the semifinals of the state playoffs. By 1985, the Valley had become a place that would be recognizable to today's inhabitants.

A decade ago, the Suns got off to a terrible start. If you think this year's 8-8 is cause for panic, you've obviously forgotten the 3-15 of 1985. Back then, there was still some question of whether Jerry Colangelo was a genius entrepreneur in the making. And there was no Charles Barkley on the local scene to shift the attention away from the team and onto the question of his own retirement. In retrospect, Phoenix, you've come a long way, baby.

Now if somebody could just come up with a new color scheme for all those purple garbage cans and light poles decorating downtown. Interscholastic Association's limit of two regular-season tournaments per team. The Shootout features seven games scheduled at the Kiel Center, one after the other, with 15,000 to 18,000 fans expected. That's at least 2,000 more than were on hand for last season's Class 5A championship game. The Matadors will play Centralia, 111., a perennial southern Illinois power.

The Orphans are the nation's winningest high-school program, with 1,760 wins in 88 years, entering this season. The Shootout is a showcase for the nation's most heralded prep talent. Seven players selected in June's NBA draft have appeared in the Shootout, including the Suns' Michael Finley. Therein lies the key to Shadow Mountain's invitation. The Matadors feature Mike Bibby, an Arizona See MATADORS, pageE6 Having 10 other kids in the family can teach you a lot, too.

The inspired play of Patterson and his defensive mates spearheaded a shocking, 42-3 victory over Mesa Mountain View in the semifinals last week. Patterson had an interception and a thunderous hit that caused a fumble, with both plays setting up touchdowns. Used late in the game as a running back, he scored on a 44-yard run. Coach Doug Shaffer calls Patterson "an intense young man." Patterson, 5 feet 11, 185 pounds, has five interceptions and almost 90 tackles this season. See HORIZON, page E6 Paul F.

GeroStaff photographer "Football is a game of hitting," Horizon's Sam Patterson says. "Whoever hits the hardest is going to win." Patterson is looking to lead his team to another 5A title this week. Chargers think playoffs possible Go online with mr tined to be home for the holidays. But the Chargers have resurrected their playoff hopes in the past two i it UP NEXT Cardinals at Chargers l2 p.m. Saturday Ch.

10, KESZ-FM (99.9) By Kent Somers Staff writer For nearly two months this season, the San Diego Chargers did their best to make all the naysayers who said they didn't deserve to be in last year's Super Bowl look like geniuses. They bumbled and stumbled around, committed nearly every conceivable error and made last season look just like what critics said it was a fluke. After starting 3-1, the Chargers lost six of their next seven games, and the defending AFC champions appeared des 1 1 fw I -4. 'j America Online subscribers can spar with former junior-flyweight champion Michael Carbajal today at 7 p.m. at Arizona Central, Phoenix Newspapers' new online site.

He'll be live in the Oasis chatroom to answer your questions. Just use keyword Arizona Central and click the What's Hot button. weeks, defeating Oakland and Cleveland. They are now 6-7, which in the NFL puts you in the middle of postseason contention. And with games left against the Cardinals (4-9), Indianapolis (7-6) and the New York Giants (4-9), the Chargers could well See CARDINALS, page E7.