1983_05 Insight May 1983

              Insight
Reynolds
Raps
By Jeff Reynolds
J
Danny and the Tree
A Tree bit a man two weeks ago at the Boston Garden. A Tree 7-feet
high and a forest wide curled its trunk around a man in little white shorts
and gouged the man's middle finger. It happened in downtown Boston,
too, and not in the deep woods of Maine, where nobody would believe it
and everybody could doubt it. Amazing, huh?
There was no doubt about it either. The Tree chomped at the man's
finger on a nice quiet Sunday afternoon right in front of more than 15,000
people and a national television audience, to boot. CBS even got it on
tape — a Tree biting a man.
Danny Ainge, the man bitten by a Tree, needed a tetanus shot and
five stitches to close the wound that dug deep down to the tendon on his
finger. Ainge wasn't so surprised that Tree bit him: the Tree had been
shaking and blowing and wavering in the winds of defeat.
Those very same winds were whistling Dude to Atlanta, 66-52, in
favor of the Boston Celtics with a little more than six minutes left in the
third quarter when Wayne "Tree" Rollins thundered home a monster
dunk. Ainge and Rollins had crashed together a few momenta earlier
when Ainge was crashing through a screen and allegedly punched Rollins
in the chest.
Ainge denied punching Rollins, although be later admitted putting a
fist in Tree's massive chest, noting that it "wasn't hard enough to hurt my
wife."
But now, Rollins, all 7-feet of him, had just smashed his slam, turned
upcourt, and waiting for him a few feet away at the foul line was Ainge,
all 6-3 of him. Instinctively, Ainge raised his shoulder, and instinctively,
Rollins raised his elbow — both knew this was the moment of truth and
justice — and Rollins slammed a lethal flying elbow into Ainge's head
just as Ainge was readying his shoulder
Rollins turned to face Ainge, and Ainge ("I just reacted'') charged at
Rollins, picked up the Tree by the trunk and felled him with a low, swooping tackle at tbe knees.
The open-field tackle was swift and sure. Boston teammate M.L. Can-
later said of Ainge, "The guy's already played baseball and now he's
playing basketball. I was just hoping the Patriots weren't here scouting
him. You never know," Carr said. "He just might leave and go play footbaU."
Ainge's tackle caused both benches to erupt, and there were a couple
of interesting undercard bouts on tap in Boston's Kevin McHale and
Atlanta Coach Kevin Loughery and Boston's Larry Bird and Atlanta
rookie Dominuque Wilkins.
Bird knew exactly what he had to do to save Ainge — dive into the
pile and help. Bird said, "Ainge must be a tough guy, since it took three of
their guys to hold him down so one of their guys could bite his finger. Ifs a
sad thing when a guy 7-1 Vi has to bite a guy who's 6-3."
Ainge and Rollins were still locked in the bottom of the pile when
the Tree bit. "We were down on the ground and he had me wrapped up
and I had him wrapped up and people were on top of him," Ainge said.
"Then he stuck my finger in bis mouth — I thought he was going to bite it
off. I was trying to pull my hand away but be just stuck it in his mouth and
chomped on It really hard." -—
The fight finally broke up. Ainge was tossed out of the game for the
first time in his life (and probably the first Mormon in history to be kicked
out of a game for fighting) and the cut on his finger was repaired. Dr.
Thomas Silva, the Celtics' team physician, described the wound as "a
curved laceration of approximately three centimeters." Rollins still
denies that he ever bit Ainge. -
Sure Tree. 1 believe you, but just to be safe, the next time you come
over to my house, I'll hide the finger sandwiches. And for the record, it's
not true that Rollins has agreed to play the role of Bonkers in "The World
According To Garp II." But he still hasn't decided if he wants to star in a
remake of "Love at First Bite." And even if he does decide to do the
remake, I'm sure that DannyAinge won't be his co-star.
Last week, the NBA r>urtished Rollins for his actions, suspending him
without pay the first five ganres of next season and fining him $5,000. For
his part, Ainge was fined $1,000 in addition to the $250 automatic fine for
being ejected from a game.
Rollins protested the action, calling the league's action "absurd,
ludicrous and a shock." Rollins said he and the Hawks would appeal, and
if that didn't work, he would go to arbitration.
Rollins should just take his punishment and quit complaining. He got
what be deserved — fighting, elbowing and especially biting has no place
in any sport, and anyone found doing so should be severely punished. Professional athletes are supposed to be role models to younger athletes, and
biting and fighting aren't very good examples of good sportsmanship.
Bob CetU of the Red Wave Racing Team finished Sunday's 40 lap main event
at Madera Speedway In second place. CetU started in the number 14 spot In a
20 car field. He staged a late-race charge, i
ner Jonny Braill.
ERKOVlCll/taaljSl
catching the eventual wis-
Family team blazes track
JEFFOLSEN
Insight reporter
Automobile racing.
Bob Cetti, a native Fresnan, has
been doing it for more than 19 years.
Harry Smith says it's "in his
blood."
Together, with Smith building the
racing engines and Cetti performing
the driving duties, they form the core
of the Red Wave Racing Team.
Smith's sons, Mark and Ron, Cetti's
wife, Kerry, and Terry Fielding round
out the rest of the racing "family"
along with several other part time
members.
The team, which this month will
begin its second season when the
Super Modified Racing Association
(SMRA) starts its 1963 schedule,
hopes to have as much success as this
year's Bulldogs and the Red Wave.
While they are not associated with
either CSUF or the Bulldog Foundation, the Red Wave Racing Team does
share some of the same
characteristics that brought the 'Dogs
and the Red Wave success.
Perhaps the biggest thing they
have in common is teamwork. Like
the Bulldog basketball team, the race
team has its standouts. But, also like
the NTT champs, to be successful,
they will depend on teamwork. While
it takes only one person to pilot a race
car around the track, it takes the
whole crew a week of preparation
with   each   member   working   a
minimum 15 to 30 hours to have the
car ready for the weekend races.
"Even though I get the thrill of
driving the car, these guys (the crew)
really enjoy seeing th_e_car do good,"
said Cetti. "It's a family operation
and everybody that works on the car
is very dedicated."
Because of the crew's hard work,
the car is always in top condition, ex-
plained Cetti. "We never missed a
race last year even though we had a
couple crashes that really damaged
the car. Even after a crash we were
back the next week with the car looking brand new."
More than Cetti or the crew,
though, the car is the center of attention. Painted a-flamboyant bright red,
the numbeT74 car is kept in Cetti's
garage, which doubles as a workshop.
One of the most noticeable items on
the car is a slogan painted on the rear
challenging the other drivers. It
states simply "Catch The Red Wave."
Despite being stored in a garage,
the car still has a look about it that
makes one think of going extremely
fast. Many chrome parts, gleaming
red paint, thick racing'slicks and a
large sheet metal "wing" mounted on
top add to trie car's sleek but angular
look. Looking at it sitting in the
garage, one could imagine that at any
moment the massive-horsepower producing engine could erupt and send
the machine flying out of the garage
like a crimson rocket.
At the Madera fairgrounds speedway Imagination suddenly becomes
reality when the 440-cubic-inch, fuel-
injected, methyl alcohol-burning
Chevrolet engine is brought to life.
The deafening roar of the engine and
the crackling of the exhaust send a
vibration through the bones of anyone
standing near. Unlike* street cars,
super modified race cars usually do
not have starters and have to be ei ther
push started or starhsd with a
detachable auxiliary motor/.
While many people Wvjaeen
races on television, the^ifflQrVat-
ching an automobile farencw* only
truly be ea^ierienced in person. The
noise of dozens of roaring engines, the
smell of burnt alcohol and rubber, and
a screaming crowd combine to create
an atmosphere electrified with excitement that can be found nowhere else.
When the cars roll onto the track
this year, trying to "Catch tbe Red
Wave" is one thing Cetti hopes will
happen often to the other drivers. Cetti said... jokingly though, that some of
the drivers bad threatened to paint "I
caught the Red Wave" on their cars.
Along with the Red Wave Racing
Team, 63 other cars have registered
with the SMRA this season which
should make for an exciting and competitive year. Cetti, who claims be
had a "dry" season, finished 10th out
of 40 cars in last year's championship
point standings. Johnny Brazil won
the overall crown.
"Because tbe car was new last
year we had some problems with it
breaking," explained Cetti. "We
qualified for every race but we just
had some bad luck. When tbe car
stays together it really flies. We were
the fastest qualifier-on several occasions." ^C.A
The team has already gotten of f to /
a good start, this season, winning an
exhibition race at Mesa Marin race
track in Bakersf ield. Cetti expects his
biggest competition this year to come
from fellow drivers Johnny Brazil,
Ken Nichols and Everett Edlund.
While Cetti did have some car
trouble last season, tbe one race he
did win was a special one for him. Tbe
race be won was tbe second annual
Cetti's Kids' Night race. Cetti helped
start Kids' Night two years ago to give
handicapped children from the community an opportunity to experience
tbe excitement of racing. The children
are admitted free and during the
evening are given VIP treatment
Special activities are planned including a close-up look at the race
cars. One of the highlights of last
year's night was a wheel chair race
between race drivers and children
held on the track's grandstand
straightway.
Three years ago the speedway
had no facilities for the handicapped.
Because  of  Cetti's  work   those
facilities are now being built. Tbe
See Racing, page •
Supermarket owner makes Giant local investment
BOB   PICCINlNi
CHRISTY HOFFKNECHT
Insight reporter
The president of a Modesto-based supermarket chain is "spending
big" to make tbe Fresno Giants
baseball team profitable and fun.
Bob Piccinini has the exprience to
do that. Before be bought the Fresno
farm team of the San Fransico Giants
last winter, Picdnlni had helped turn
the Modesto entry In the California
League into enough of an attraction to
seU it for more than he paid in 1970. He
also operated a Triple A ballclub in
Sacramento for a few years in the
his 33-store portion of the Save "Mart
chain, co-founded by his father, for
about 20 years. With personal funds,
be will have invested approximately
$75,000 In John Euless Park, the
stadium the Fresno Giants call
''home." And he realizes the importance of this, because of past experiences with his Sacramento team.
"Tbe problem in Sacramento was
that they do not have a facility, and
they still don't," said Piccimni, wbo
eventually sold that team in 1979. "We
operated in kind of a make do football   stadium;   it   was   not  really
poor lighting has been another major
factor.
"Tbe general overall condition of
the bail park was terrible. The seats
were broken and everything was falling apart at the seams, "he explained.
Games could still be played at
Euless Park, but attendance figures
show that Improvements are needed
to keep tbe count up. Last season,
Fresno came in fifth out of 10 Cal
League teams in attendance, with
77,286 fans entering a broken-down
Euless Park. Stockton led the league
complished the lighting problem,"
Kccinini stated. The park has been
completely repainted; the grandstand
floor and tbe benches have been
repaired, and aisle carpeting has been
installed.
"Everything in the world that you
could say, was bad," Piccimni said
about the park. "As a result they were
not drawing people, or if they did
draw them they might not (have
gone) back. You want to go to a pleasant, nice, comfortable atmosphere
and be able to watch the baseball
game in relative peace, and that just
clouding Piccinini's perspective, even
though he sold his Modesto team for
more than be paid for the Fresno
Giants. He realizes that minor league
baseball is not a real m oneymaker, so
he had to improve on what tbe Giants
have—Euless Park.
"It's kind of a chicken and egg
thing, you can't draw the people
without spending the money, and you
can't spend the money without drawing the people. They (the Giants) had
to get somebody in there that was willing to fix the place up," Piccinini said.
He explained that the old owner
When the "For Sale" sign went up
on the Fresno Giants, Piccinini quickly took notice and bought the team
that he had had his eye on for several
years. This necessetated his selling
the Modesto A's for two reasons. The
first, Piccinini said, is that minor
league rules prevent an owner from
owning more than one team in the
same league. The second Involves
'Everything in the world that you could say,
was bad ...'
—Paccinini
Ithe
na.
Piccinini. 41, has been operating
'I had no interest in it (Modesto
A's) anymore. Fresno is a bigger
town, it's a better business opportunity," Piccinini answered. "Tbe size is
tbe biggest factor."
Since obtaining the club, one of
Piccinini's main objectives was to bring back some of the old spirit that
was lost, and to draw eager baseball
fans back to Fresno Giants' games.
Completely refinishlng Euless Park
was first on his list of priorities, but
with 117,561, and Piccinini's old team,
Modesto, was second In attendance
with 83,651.
But things may be different this
year, and there are already signs that
there is perhaps a completely different ballclub In tbe form of the
Fresno Giants. A change of personnel
is one difference, and another is the
$75,000 that Piccinini will have poured
into John Euless Park by the time the
Improvements are completed.
"Tbe majority of the cosmetic
•hlngs are done, but we haven't ac-
was not possible."
-Piccinini is a fan—be has enjoyed
baseball ever since he played in Little
League. But essentially be looks at it
as a business, with a potential for profit. That is his reason for repairing
Euless Park, as he explained.
"It's something I've done on my
own in an effort to have another
business, to make a buck. I don't
mean to make it sound like a cold
business deal, but realistically, that's
what It is, a business."
Visions of dollar signs are not
was a non-profit corporation made up
of 35 Fresno businessmen. Because
they had owned the Giants for the last
25 years and were not rnaking money,
they decided to sell the team that Piccimni had his eye on for several years.
He made an offer, and it waa accepted.
"I had always told whoever happened to be involved with the Fresno
team that If the Giants were ever
available, I would be interested in
talking to them," Piccinini said. Last
winter. Giants general manager Bill
Thompson called Piccinini to inform
him that tbe Giants were for sale.
"Their main concern waa that
whoever did buy it should know about
baseball, and how to successfully
operate a franchise,'' be added.
Now that he owns the Fresno
Giants, be has plans to run a profitable business, but, to Piccinini, no
specific goals for the team come to
mind. "Fresno (Giants) is a business
opportunity. It's like asking a guy that
owns a hardware store, what is the
specific goal in owning that store? His
goal is to do as much business as he
can and make as much money as be
can.
"Tbe Giants are exactly the same
thing. The only difference is instead of
Promotional ideas, as well as an
attractive ball park, may also lend to
a potentially successful attendance
record for the Giants this season. The
San Diego Chicken "is a potential,;'
Pi ccinini sa id, to perform as a crowd-
pleaser at one of the 65 home dates
scheduled for this season. With attractions such as that, Wcclnlni believes
attendance figures could reach
100,000, despite a dismal showing of
600 at tbe team's season home opener
on April 12.
"Tbe idea of baseball is fun, it's
entertainment. You do whatever you
have to do to make tt'
promotion in tbe world is a winning