The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 11

Ctho Charlotte Dj K5 Monday February 10 1992 SECTION Marlin Elliott on front row 500 next Sunday made a stout run at clocking But he missed by three-hundredths of a second speed was 192090 his time 46853 seconds Only the Johnson-fielded duo topped 192 mph and that made them just the second set of teammates to start 1-2 in stock car biggest richest event dating to 1959 Chevrolet drivers Ken Schrader and Darrell Waltrip did it in 1989 when both drove for Rick Hendrick "This is a big thrill really pleased" Marlin said after taking his third straight pole for races in which a By TOM HIGGINS Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH Fla As generally predicted Ford drivers Sterling Marlin and Bill Elliott swept the Daytona 500 front-row starting positions Sunday for team owner Junior Johnson Marlin took the pole with a lap of 192213 mph moving around the 25-mile track in 46823 seconds in the slowest time-trial session for the season-opening NASCAR Winston Cup classic since Cale speed of 187536 was fastest in 1978 Elliott joining Wilkes County-based operation this season as a teammate to Marlin and set to make his first official start for the operation in the Please see Daytonapage 3B ESSSSl TOM SORENSEN All-star effort: Brightest star shines through ORLANDO Fla With the game about to end fans at Orlando Arena chanted Mag-ic And perhaps for the last time Magic was With two minutes 42 seconds left in Sunday's NBA All-Star Game Magic Johnson hit a three-pointer With 2:16 left Magic hit another With 1:25 left Magic hit Dan Majerle with a pass and Majerle hit a layup And when East all-star guard Isiah Thomas immediately ran down court with the ball Magic did the best thing of all He told his West all-star teammates to get out of the way so he and his good buddy Thomas who had kissed him on the cheek before the game could go one-on-one The tactic was from the playground the result from a hokey movie Thomas shot and missed Majerle scored again and now Jordan had the ball and the crowd made a noise that sounded like an electrical current in a broken wire teammates got out of the way by themselves this time and Jordan heir as the best and flashiest player drove to his right pulled up for an improbable high-arcing shot and missed And then it was turn Jordan and Thomas cheated they double-teamed him Then Jordan went away and Magic went one-on-lsiah Now the chant began And to put the chant in context the all-star crowd had made less noise than any Charlotte Hornets crowd at Charlotte Coliseum this season Until the end they know what to do This all-star game was not a lark It was tense Magic announced three months ago he had been infected with the AIDS virus and would not play basketball in the NBA again Fans voted him onto the all-star team but the other allstars did not all want him there Publicly they said they did Nobody had the guts to say otherwise But one East player told East coach Phil Jackson he want to guard Magic Two allstars told the Orlando Sentinel they did not want to compete with Magic during the NBA regular season or in the playoffs The all-star game had become a morality play what threw the fans off But Magic made it a wonderful game He scored 25 points added five rebounds and nine assists And now fans knew what to do With the chant in the background and Thomas in the foreground and the opportunity to make a perfect exit on the line Magic took an off-balance one-legged three-point shot and damn if it go in Magic scored his 25th point team won by 40 points and Magic who played a minute of NBA basketball all season was voted most valuable player by a media panel He got nine votes and Clyde Drexler got two likely from hard guys who tell their kids Santa Claus is a myth this is gonna be it for me this is the way I wanted it to be" said Johnson (This might not be it for him because he might play on the 1992 US Olympic basketball team) got Isiah one I got Michael two and the only one 1 get was Larry (Bird) But I'll see him on the Magic was a star but he also got to be one of the guys He got to sit on the bench between David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs and Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz and crack jokes and tell stories He got to clench his fist after hitting a driving scoop shot and he got to wave his arm after setting up Tim Hardaway of the Golden State Warriors for a layup He got to know how loved and respected he is He probably already knew but in case he his 12 opponents from the East walked up to him before the game and gave him a hug "Our game is a game of said Magic if you're on a team all for one and one for all I miss that And I will cherish this forever" On this day it was all for one and all for Magic Along the way he proved that thinking adults could get on a basketball court with a man infected with the AIDS virus and not die And not ppt infected And not even win tl DIN Welcome back Magic: Magic Johnson embrace from his friend and NBA All-Star Johnson leads By TOM SORENSEN Staff Writer ORLANDO Fla The East all-stars played like all-stars Sunday The West all-stars played like a team The West blocked out played defense passed relentlessly and ran as if the result would show up in standings The West won 153-113 in the NBA All-Star Game Magic Johnson was voted the most valuable player but teammates Clyde Drexler David Robinson Chris Mullin and US team wins Tim Sweeney (left) battles Roberto Ginetti for the puck in to for Associated Press gets an Isiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons before Sunday's was named the most valuable player as he led game foe game at Orlando Fla Johnson scored 25 points and the West stars to a 153-113 victory West to all-star victory is "He runs the floor great he can see the cuts and he seems to like to pass it to Johnson who had nine assists didn't always give the ball away He scored the last basket a three-pointer that concluded a one-on-one duel against Isiah Thomas was a storybook said Mullin who missed only one of his seven shots from the field was incredible Magic hit the shot gets MVP and we win the game "It was perfect This game just typifies him Why did that last shot go in? Because Skiers: Future all downhill Ortlieb wins gold on demonic course named MVP he is Magic as simple as that Takes the last shot and walks off the court" The last shot was about as dramatic as a shot that moves a 37-point lead to 40 can be but the outcome was determined early The West won the first quarter by 13 points the second quarter by 11 and the third and fourth quarters by eight each were dead as a said Michael Jordan who led the East with 18 "They were emotionally ready to play as a team Please see All-starspage 4B seconds behind Ortlieb and won the silver Piccard won a bronze in the downhill four years ago in Calgary Gunther Mader of Austria was third AJ Kitt an American medal favorite before the race finished ninth 16 seconds behind the leader The United States had three skiers in the top 20 Team officials said they were happy with the overall performance of the team but disappointed that Kitt ski his way into the top five finishers It was a magnificent day here in Jean-Claude hometown Blue skies warm weather perfect conditions for everyone who gathered to watch everyone but the skiers For this is a course with the personality of a dragon and many of the top downhillers in the world were consumed on the way to the finish line Marc Girardelli of Luxembourg who came in second in the last training run Saturday got off to a fast start Sunday but lost control on a turn and nearly skied off Please see Downhillpage 6B Tim Hardaway also played excellent and occasionally spectacular games The West shot 653 breaking the old record for field-goal percentage set in 1985 of 583 The game was less a show than a tribute Johnson who retired in November after learning he had been infected with the AIDS virus and might have played his last game It was also a tribute to the unselfish basketball Johnson plays just love working with him" said David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs who hit seven of nine shots and scored 19 points Associated Press Olympic hockey game The US rallied a 6-3 victory Storypage 6B By TIMOTHY DWYER Knight-Ridder Newspapers VAL France There is not another downhill course in the world like this one where 60000 ski fans can stand at the bottom and see about 80 of the race It was designed especially for the Olympics especially for the fans The designer Bern-hard Russi said it is the course of the future Sunday when the course was used for the first time in international competition downhill racers got a look at the future They like it Patrick Ortlieb of Austria won the Olympic gold medal by skiing a nearly perfect race down the serpentine course But even a gold medal could not change his mind about the 7219-foot de Bellevarde" called Descent To Hell" in one French newspaper hope I never have to ski this course again" said Ortlieb 24 It was the first win in an international race Franck Piccard of France who was so disgusted with his skiing earlier this winter that he contemplated quitting finished 05.