Fans Chant For Charles
On what was likely Charles Barkley’s last night as a member of the Phoenix Suns, his fans made him feel at home one last time as they said goodbye.
Barkley returned to Phoenix as a Dream Teamer, dominating the show Wednesday night in a 119-58 romp over China.
Barkley, who expects a trade to Houston to be announced today, was cheered every time he touched the ball. With 1 minute left, he re-entered for an encore appearance after the crowd chanted “We want Charles.”
“We never won a championship in my four years here, but the fans always stayed with us every single day,” he said. “My gripe is with the organization, not with the people of Phoenix.”
Barkley got a standing ovation as the game ended, and he acknowledged the adulation with a wave. He finished with 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
The Olympic team, playing the third game of a five-game exhibition tour, had no problem doing as it pleased against China.
The United States shot 69 percent, had 24 dunks and scored 44 points off turnovers in the most lopsided game of their tour. The next game is Friday night against Australia in Salt Lake City.
IOC members accused
Some members of the International Olympic Committee “deal in outright bribery and fraud” when voting for an Olympic host city, says a journalist in a television program to be shown next week.
Andrew Jennings, a British author who has spent years chronicling IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, charges that some of the 100 IOC voters are “at best along for a joyride, at worst, criminal.”
“The only thing they do, every two years, they have all their presents, all their gifts, all their jetting around the world, having their feet kissed by all the supplicant cities for the Games, they cast their votes about where they’d like to spend their summer holidays,” Jennings said. “It’s a job-creation scheme.”
The interview, conducted by Frank Deford, is part of the show “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel,” which will be broadcast by HBO on Monday.
Jennings contends some IOC members pressure bidding cities for perks such as college scholarships for their children.
Cuban star awaits word
Rolando Arrojo, Cuba’s No. 1 baseball pitcher, was in seclusion in Miami, recovering from the ordeal of his defection and awaiting word on his legal status and his prospects for playing in the major leagues. “You can imagine what he feels like today after the defection,” said Rene Guim, a spokesman for the sports agent who helped Arrojo flee the Cuban Olympic team in Georgia and drive to Miami.
Guim said the pitcher was mentally exhausted after leaving his wife and two children, ages 9 and 1, in Cuba.
Arrojo left the Albany, Ga., hotel Tuesday, where the champion Cuban team was staying. Guim declined to name the teams that have called about Arrojo, who is 28, according to Guim. Earlier reports had put his age at 32.
Notables
Gymnast Dominique Moceanu has resumed regular workouts but is still in some pain a month after doctors found a stress fracture in her leg. With 10 days to go before Olympic gymnastics competitions begin, Moceanu is using a portable ultrasound device, getting extra sleep and taking vitamins with hope that the fracture in her right tibia will heal.
The Los Angeles Times and the Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service were among the U.S. media groups facing last-minute snags caused by an alleged million-dollar housing scam.
Olympic sailors got in a last few hours practice in Savannah, Ga., before tying down their boats in anticipation of gale force winds from Hurricane Bertha.
However, the sailors likely will escape Bertha’s wallop, with the storm headed for North Carolina.