European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 15, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday december 15, 1988 the stars and stripes Page 21 prep pickins Robinson shot Down a Essen of 42 All Good things they say must come loaned. So it was with cts san last Friday when the bit butt Barons came from behind to nip the Griffins 50-49 on Ben Robinson s 15-foot jump shot at the Buzzer Robinson s shot terminated the third longest consecutive win Streak in dodos boys basketball his tory at 42 games just four Short of the record held by Vincnza and three Short of runner up Vinno. That setback was Only the third in Gjessen s three year history As a Dodds High school. The Griffins went 15-2, 17-0 and 17-0 in compiling their winning Strine taking in mule three straight Smalt schools championships. Before Friday s same the last gics san setback was a 53-40 loss to bad or Cugnach feb. I. 1986, earlier. Gic Ssan had been beaten by Karls Ruhe. The 1986 Griffins came Back from a 39-33 fourth Quarter deficit in the Small schools title showdown to avenge their previous loss to bad Kreuz Nach. Giessen beat shape which was undefeated in Dodds strife both times for its 1987 and 1988championships. For Tilburg which has enjoyed tremendous Suc Cess in. Days of Yore the Victory was especially delightful it ended a 17-Gamc losing Streak. It was a great win Tilburg coach Geary Schwartz said monday.  did t win 8 same a Llast year and Healing anyone would have been a most Welcome achievement. Beating a team like Giesse with its Jong winning string was like icing on the cake. " Giessen was ahead of us but we forced a couple of turnovers and got close and Robinson came through with his shot. We unbounded the Ball with four seconds left he dribbled twice and let it go. It swished. What a great feeling Schwartz added. And then we came Back and beat them again on saturday to make our weekend  the end of the Giessen winning string leaves Avi Ann Wajih the longest current Streak 19 games. The saints who compiled a 17-0 record last year in route to the Molly championship opened this Campaign Las weekend with a pair of victories at Milan Friday s win was a hard earned 59-52 verdict sat urday s was a Good Deal easier 61-39. Milan should have one of its strongest teams in recent years because of the presence of Matt Passa Lacqua and and Chris Pinkow two outstanding seniors. Unfortunately the panthers won1 get another shot at the saints because Milan will be competing in the Small schools championship while Aviano de fends its big schools laurels. Last year All the ital schools competed in the same tournament. We had Hopes of pulling a big upset last week end a Milan spokesman said and for a while it looked like that could be possible however Aviano shut us Down in the third Quarter of Friday s game and we just could t beat them. We would like to play them again but we won t get a Chance to be cause of the tournament arrangement this year. There arc two tournaments one for the Small schools and one for the bigger ones and we re in the Small   Aviano had Loo much balance for Milan. Trie saints had five different people and seven All told in double figures in the two games and three differ ent saints had at least 10 rebounds in saturday s tussle. Although Germany aaa Spain and Turkey teams Haven t seen any action to Date there was enough Competition last week to select the outstanding boy and girl basketball performers. We Brocken a James Mcnight and Berlin s Nick Coleman Are the select pcs. Mcnight scored 24 Points grabbed 13 rebounds and was credited wit six steals and three assists Friday and had 26 Points five rebounds six assists and five steals saturday in the trojans sweep at Baum older. Coleman had 20points.and 13 rebounds Friday and 13 Points 19 rebounds and five steals saturday As the Berlin girls conquered osterholz in a pair. Officers and members of he Rumstein boosters club thought it was a crying shame that the High school wrestlers had to go from dec. 10 to Jan. 7, almost a month without any Competition because of poor Dodds scheduling. So they decided to do something about it. More than i so High school students have paid j 10 apiece and signed up for the Ramstein boosters club Holiday wrestling tournament monday and tues Day at Ramstein gymnasium. This is not a sanctioned Dodds event Aram slain boosters club spokesman said tuesday. However a wrestler must be a High school student to participate. Otherwise we could wind up with gis wrestling seventh and eighth graders and someone easily could gel Hurt. Every boy who enters is guaranteed at least two matches and that experience cannot be anything but Good for All  participation in such invitationals is not authorized according to Dodds Germany s Winter wrestling memorandum for All coaches. However it continues wrestlers who desire to compete outside of Dodds Germany scheduled events May do so pro Viding no school time is lost no school equipment or uniform � used no school transportation is provided and coaches do not coach. Why docs Dodds persist in having this negative Altitude Holiday tournament Competition is the in thing in the states. Practically every High school basketball and a Rushina learn in most states takes  in at least one Lour Namen Many participate in id during the Christmas holidays. Athletic directors and coaches in the know recognize the value of such tournaments because they arc Able to keep their kids in Good physical condition and the kids get that valuable experience. Wrestling is pretty Cut and dried one boy against another in a specified weight bracket but basketball teams get to compete against All kinds of offences and defences and Are better prepared when slate tournament Lime comes around. While most stateside schools compete in tournaments in their own Stales some teams go fur and wide to improve their game. In last saturday s Usa today there was a Story about the Louisville Southern High school girls basketball team s ambitious program. They opened dec. 3 across the Ohio River in the Cincinnati mercy Blue Chip invitational. Last week end they journeyed to Nashville for a two Day tournament. This week they will be competing in the Santa Barbara calif., tournament of champions and the Wilt close their month s Competition dec. 23-30 in the Altoona pa., Holiday tournament. I be been in girls basketball coaching for 13 Yea Sand i never dreamed that there could be these kind of opportunities said Southern coach Bill Brown. By the time our state tournament comes around we should have faced teams As Good As any Well see in our state played in front of big crowds and Learned How to Deal with big game pressure and we re also going to have lots of  to Thutt tsp fish / Ziomas bus of Trade Benzinger holds father s memory for reds Esasky Murphy by 1ierschel mssen5on Miami a Derrick Thomas is Back Home As an All american linebacker. For 16 years Thomas has Clung to the Hope that his father also May come Home some  fi-foot-4, 130-Pound Ala Bama senior has been mentioned in the same breath with such Zamalin backing greats As Lee Roy Jordan and Cornelius Ben Nett which is about As High a compliment As you can Gelin the Lin backing profession. Thomas  Robert Thomas . Ai r Force lost his life a. Least he has been declared legally dead while piloting Hisb-52 bomber Over Vietnam in 1972. The Mission was called operation linebacker that s quite ironic Thomas said monday As the associated press All America team taped Bob Hope Christmas special Here in Thomas Hometown "1 Haven t the slightest idea Why they called it that la was a Shock to me when i first heard that it was operation line Backer. -.--. V -7" All Thomas really knows is that it was december 18, 1972. From All i can gather the plane was returning from the Mission and it was hit and everybody bailed out except him. He waited until everybody else had bailed out they say that in the flames they saw him Parachute out but nobody Ever saw him again. Everybody else in the plane came backs Cepl  Bui miracles do happen and Thomas has never Given up Hope. My Grandfather used to Ell me Astory that there was a Man that went Over there during world War ii and he came Back when the Guys were going to Viet Nam so there s still a Chance that he can come Back Thomas Sard. My grandma always told me never give up Hope because she still believe that one Day he s going to come Back " perhaps capt. Robert Thomas was Here monday watching the spotlight Shine ii his All american son. "1 feel that he s watching me wherever he is and he s saying i m proud of you hang in there keep on fighting and Bethe Best thai you can be Thomas said. An All american is the Best any line Backer can be. Cincinnati Cap Rob Murphy and Nick Esasky Are leaving with mixed emotions while Todd Benzinger in t expecting a free lunch when he joins the Cincinnati reds both Esasky a first baseman and left handed reliever Murphy whom the reds traded tuesday to the Boston red sax say they Are glad to be out from under somebody. Wuh Murphy it is John Franco the Man who got most of he saves and glory while Murphy served As the setup Man in inc. Cincin Nati bullpen. Ite Runger it it be exciting to gel out from under John s Shadow Murphy said though he May find himself under a bigger one in Boston 6-fool-6, 245-Pound stopper Lee Smith / with Esasky it is manager Pels Rose it la be great to get out from under Pelc Esasky said. I Don t know what it is Why it is but Pete just does t like me so it is going to be Good for me psychologically to get oat of Cincinnati. The reds also got right handed Pitcher Jeff Sellers and a player to be named. Esasky 28, hit ,243 with 15 homers and 62 runs batted in last season. He committed just six errors in 116 games Athirst base. Murphy 28, was 0-6 with a 3.08 earned run average and three saves in 76relief appearances. We have Sceri Arroll 1" for left handed help for our bullpen for quite a while and we be Lieve hat Murphy will be a tremendous addition and certainly enhance our depth there Boston general manager Lou Gor Man said he is is Salty one of the Premier left handed relievers in the game  Benzinger 26, moved from the out Field to play first base for the first Tim last season. He hit .254 with 13 homers and 70 sri. He is a switch hitting native of Cincinnati our idea was to gel a Hilier and we think we got one in Benzinger reds Gen eral manager Murray Cook said. Benzinger becomes Bur first baseman and he can play right Field