Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey • Page 31

Feb. 13, 1989 Asbury Park Press 3 College Basketball 6 Scholastic 8 John Geiser 2 Cr6 Bill iiaurM -nl riAnuixniATi A 'V A v. AV VN i i jr j' Oilers defeat Rangers By BOB JORDAN Press Staff Writer NEW YORK The normal way to get the attention of the cocky and confident Edmonton Oilers is to oppose them in the Stanley Cup finals. Then they beat your team in five games, maybe six, and talk highly of the worthy opponents as they hoist the Cup away. But when two of the Oilers' future Hall of Famers, Mark Messier and Jari Kurri, are knocked for loops by bodychecks.

and the defending Cup champions begin talk of revenge that's the quickest way to have the Oilers lake you seriously. At least, that's what worked for Michel Petit and the New York Rangers last night. The Oilers won the hard-hitting affair against the Rangers, 3-1. Maybe the Rangers were trying to accomplish too much in one swoop. To have their sights set on hopping back into first place in the Patrick Division, while also trying to gain the respect of the Oilers was a little much to accomplish in front of 17,412 fans at Madison Square Garden.

"I feel we should have won the game," said Ranger coach Michel Bergeron. "I'm not down on my team. I feel we played pretty well." The effort turned out to be short of the one-point gap between the division-leading Pittsburgh Penguins and the Rangers. But the aggressiveness of Petit was more than enough to have the Oilers clamoring for his scalp in a careful manner. "Sometimes you have to make a choice between winning and getting even," said Edmonton coach Glen Sather.

"That's how you win championships. There will be another day." Petit banged into Messier's left knee with a hip check as the Edmonton captain moved through the slot with the puck at 8:17 of the second period. With two seconds left in the period, he slammed into Kurri in his defensive left corner. Neither of Petit's victims could finish the game because of sprains to their left knees. Sather said the pair may be out of action for seven to 10 days.

"Both of them, they were clean bodychecks," Petit said. "I'm not a chippy guy." "Both of them, to me. were kneeing," Sather said. Petit was not penalized on either play. The Oilers with Dave Brown recently added to their complement of policemen didn't take any penalties in retaliation toward Petit.

Not that they didn't put any heat on the defenseman. "They tried to get me." Petit said. "The whole team was telling me that, 'You're not going to finish the Since Messier had roughed up both of the Rangers' hotshot rookies he speared Brian Leetch late in the first period and tried to punch Tony Granato in the second period Petit had reason to add some lowbridge to his check of Messier. As for the hit on Kurri, referee Paul Stewart didn't issue a penalty because he claimed Kurri was hurt tripping over Stewart's leg. While the Oilers stewed over Pe See RANGERS, page C5 The shrew they call February When Paul Gallico decided he didn't want to play sportswriter anymore, someone asked him why.

"February," he said. And that was before they invented the Super Bowl in order to keep January from making you completely crazy. Of course, that was also before the NBA came up with the idea for an All-Star weekend, with all the trimmings, in the middle of February, the longest month. Still, there were those for whom this event held no particular appeal. For instance, Red Smith.

There was no magic in anything the NBA had to offer so far as Red Smith could discern. In fact, at one point he wrote that if the NBA ever decided to hold the seventh game of its championship series in his backyard, he would draw the blinds. Off that, you can well imagine how yesterday's doings in Houston might have gone over at Red Smith's house. Al Smith (no relation) might have put it this way: "No matter how thin you slice it, it's still baloney." That's Al Smith the politician, not Al Smith the outfielder (also no relation). Al Smith the politician made that remark in 1936, so you know he wasn't talking about the All-Star weekend or anything else remotely related to the NBA, which hadn't been invented then.

And the remark was made in the heat of an election year, so he probably didn't even say this in the month of February. But watching this All-Star weekend reach its crescendo yesterday, one had to wonder if the shoe didn't (It or the barn door was open or something. Especially if one was listening to the sweet warbling of the Hubie bird. Of course, one was permitted to push one's remote control buttons, thereby inviting Indiana and Purdue into one's living room. Only that had its drawbacks too.

With Indiana and Purdue one got the vibrant Vitale and, no matter how thin you slice him Anyway, as Lord Byron once wrote, "Society is now one polish'd horde, Form'd of two mighty tribes, the Bores and the Bored." And for all we know, they didn't even celebrate February the way we do back when Lord Byron was thinking up stuff like this. Nevertheless, Lord Byron and Al Smith (the politician) and Red Smith and Paul Gallico came springing to life yesterday as I attempted to watch the All-Star game in the middle of the interminable month they call February. I wondered: Do I need this? My mind wandered, as is its wont. Let's see now. Pitchers and catchers.

Green grass. Unshelled peanuts Steinbrenner. Please, not that. I'll do anything. Please, it's only February.

This is a time to contemplate things. Such as the coming of a new baseball season, such as the coming of spring, sunshine, flowers, warm breezes and Dave LaPoint and Andy Hawkins and how much money these two guys are gonna make this year and how many lifetimes it's gonna take me to make as much money as these two guys are each gonna make this year. Oh, good. Depression's here. Thought you'd never make it.

Depression, meet ennui. Ennui, depression. Depression, February. February, ennui. Can I get anyone a diet soda? How 'bout a stalk of celery, anybody for a stalk of celery? Sorry, no dip.

Oh, yeah. Depression, ennui, February, meet 1989. Say, how 'bout that swimsuit issue, eh? This was not healthy, thinking about Dave LaPoint and Andy Hawkins (or is it Andy Hawkins and Dave It was time to see what Indiana was up to. And there was Jay Edwards, sticking that huge jump shot, and Vitale, drowning out the crowd, and geez, I wonder how much Jay Edwards will be making It sure was nice of Sports Illustrated to put out that special swimsuit edition. Otherwise, nobody would have anything to talk about.

Now everyone can talk about how bad it is or how good it is or how this is such a flimsy issue (get it, huh, get It's all part of February. Like Kareem taking a three-point shot yesterday. That's February. Ain't it grand? That Paul Gallico, I don't know about him. Then I sank back in my seat and started talking to Maggie the cat and she got up and left the room.

"Somebody's boring me, and I think it's me." Dylan Thomas wrote that. Probably in February. Bill Handleman is an Asbury Park Press staff writer. His column appears Monday, Wednesday and F'iday. 1 BOB BIELKAsbury Park Press Ambassador Christian's Bill Dawson drives to the basket against Victory Christian's Jeff Booker during a recent game.

Dawson, who is currently sidelined by an ankle injury, has battled outside problems and is within 11 of 1,000 career points. Dawson winning toughest battle school's obscurity in sports, neared the point plateau in basketball. Had it not been for several events two years ago, he might never have had the chance for any success. One of Dawson's problems was when his father left his family's East Keansburg home and moved to Georgia, leaving his mother to take care of him and a brother. "I became involved in drugs and alcohol," Dawson said.

"The first time I tasted beer, I was on" drugs or alcohol stay addicted and any plans, dreams and potential go down the drain. Bill Dawson is one of the others. He has seen, and lived through, the bad times. But, with help from several people and a much higher source, he is on the road to a successful life. Dawson is a 5-foot-ll, 160-pound senior guard at Ambassador Christian Academy in Toms River quite a long way from Middletown High School North, which he attended for two years.

By JOHN ZUCAL Press Staff Writer Life can be tough for a kid growing up. There are plenty of ways, and reasons, for a child to stray from the accepted norm in today's world. Whether it be peer pressure or problems at home or school, some resort to drugs or alcohol perhaps as an escape from their problems or just for acceptance into a group. Unfortunately, some who do get "hooked Dawson has quickly, but quietly, due to the See DAWSON, page C6 West outscores the East Karl Malone scores 28, is named MVP i i p. It I fc.

I about right. "I played enough," said Barkley, the only 76er in the game. "Once our team got behind by so much (28 points) at the half, the main thing at that point was just to have fun and hope nobody gets hurt. Hey, I got my shots in the first quarter. Everybody got a good chance to play.

I was a happy camper today." Barkley all but two of his points in the first half, when he ted the East in scoring. He scored 1 1 in the first quarter. "I came, I broke a sweat, now I'm going home and I'll be happy," he said. The game was played before the largest crowd in NBA all-star history. A total of 44,735 people filled the Astrodome to the rafters, but after the first quarter, they didn't see much of a game.

The East shot woefully in the first half just over 40 percent and the West blitzed to an 87-59 lead, setting an all-star record for most points in a half by one team. Malone scored 10 points in the second quarter, when the West blew the game open, taking amazing 76-45 lead at one juncture. Malone's Jazz teammate, John Stockton, racked up 17 assists and scored 11 points. In fact, he had a triple-double if you include his 12 turnovers. Dale Ellis of Seattle scored 27 points and shot well from the outside for the West.

But his performance was quiet compared to Malone's. "When I saw that Magic wasn't going to be here, I By BOB FORD Philadelphia Inquirer HOUSTON They gave the All-Star Game's MVP trophy to a rugged power forward yesterday, a guy who ran the floor with evil intent and crashed the boards with ferocity. He scored 28 points, and his team won in a walk. Some people think he's the most dominating frontcourt player in the NBA. Sorry, Philadelphia.

It was the other guy. A quiet truck named Karl Malone was chosen as the most valuable player of a game dimmed by the absence of two of the league's brightest lights. Without Larry Bird and Magic Johnson and with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar making a feeble all-star goodbye the door was open for the young Turks to step through. Malone, the Utah Jazz's enforcer, may have won the award more on presence than anything else as the West team held on for a 143-134 victory over the East after leading by as many as 31 points. With the fleeting exceptions of some eye-popping passes or a few Michael Jordan aerial displays.

Malone's jackhammer drives to the basket provided the most memorable moments. "I still think Charles is the baddest," Malone said in deference to Barkley. "I'm third or fourth. But today I was right up there with him." Barkley, making his first all-star start, scored 17 points and led the Eastern Conference team with eight rebounds. He played 20 minutes, which he judged to be 1 VNn Kir Associated Press Karl Malone goes up for two points over Charles Barkley during yesterday's NBA All-Star Game, won by the West, 143-134.

1 See WEST, page C4.