European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 15, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday. December 15. 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 25  hot blazers Clyde Drax scr tying up Indiana a George Mccloud tuesday has been a Portland Force. A it Hal Bock a sports writer with the night in night out Grill of games and planes you d expect Aba teams to win a few and lose a few. The Law of averages you know. The Portland Trail blazers seem intent on winning them All a or at least nearly All. Portland got off to the second fastest Start in Aba history with a single loss in the first six weeks of the season. That brought the blazers close to the 23-1 Start of season record set by the new York kicks in 1.969, before losing at Sacramento on thursday night to fall to 19-2. These Trail blazers and those kicks had one More thing in common a a a key player named Clyde for Portland it is Clyde Drax scr averaging better than 22 Points and six assists per game. For new York it was Walt �?oclyde1 Frazier the heart and soul of the a Nicks backcourt who now works As a broadcaster for the team. A it was easy As i recall a Frazier said of the kicks Streak a most of the time the starters got to the Bench Early. We were blitzing everybody especially at Home a Streak like that gets contagious a the kicks won their opener at Home by 25 Points Over Seattle. There were wins by 34 Over Phoenix 29 Over Baltimore 24 Over Atlanta 15 each Over Chicago and Bostons 18 Over Cincinnati and 14 Over Phoenix. Madison Square Garden was rocking and rolling \ the Only loss in the first 24 games came against the warriors who beat new York by three Points after the kicks had won their first five games. Frazier remembers coach red Holzmann a reaction to the 112-1.09 loss a a red said a go out. Enjoy yourselves. You re off tomorrow a a Frazier said anything else a yeah. He said a you Guys  a. They did no to really they proved that by winning the next 18 in a Row. Fora month from oct. 24 through nov 28, no team came closer than four Points. The 17th game in the Streak was a 30-Point Blowout of Atlanta of the Road. No. 18 was a Squeaker a one Point Victory Over the Cincinnati royals at Cleveland new York scored six Points in the last 16 seconds to steal the Victory. Two free throws by Willis red a steal and Basket by Dave Debusschere and a steal and two More free throws by Frazier brought the kicks Back and snapped the Aba record of 17 wins in a Row held by Boston. It seemed like this team simply could not lose. �?o1 remember coming Home after the win in Cleveland against the rivals Quot said Reed now vice president of basketball operations for the new Jeicy nets. A that was a big one because we Luke Boston s record. We bad come Back to win. We were feeling pretty Good about  but the end was near. On nov 29, with their record 23-1, the kicks finally lost again beaten at Montc by Detroit 110-98. The Streak was Over. A that was the worst part Quot Reed said. A you hate to play such a great game on the Road come Back to win the Way we did and then lose at Home the next night. You d like to extend it a few More games and then maybe lose on the  those kicks were As Good on the Road As they were at Home. The Middle of the 18-game Streak included five straight wins on a West coast Road trip none of them by less than 10 Points. A we could go anywhere ail beat people a a Reed said. A we were a confident team. It was an exciting year. It was a Good run but streaks done to go on lot  1 Zolzman tried to put the accomplishment in perspective. A after it ended red said a you Haven to won anything yet. You still done to have Llie a ring a a a Frazier said. The kicks would take care of that detail. They finished the regular season 6022, then won their first Aba championship a Frazier said the seeds of the Streak and the title were planted the previous Spring in the play offs when the kicks took Boston to six games in the Aba semifinals. The celtics went on to capture the championship adding to the Confidence of the kicks. A we Felt on a Par with them alter thai series a Frazier said. A we were very optimistic about our chances. I think the same thing happened with Portland. T hey fell in should 1 have beaten Detroit last year. They have the same Confidence we did. They re very much like we were Reed sees the same thing. A they May be ready Quot he said of the blazers a a they re  Brazier sounds like his old coach. A if they had broken our record for the Best Start that a be something a lie said. A but they still have to get the ring a terms a climber Zolak attack for bowl Date Shreveport la. A Maryland has sent its share of quarterbacks to the nil in the past decade and coach Joe Krivak believes Scott Zolak will be next Zolak spent his first three years backing up Neil of Donnell with the Steeles and Dan. Henning chargers. This season he compiled higher passing numbers than Boomer Esiason a the first of five Terra pin quarterbacks to play in the nil since 1984 a did in any of his three seasons i Quot Scott has exhibited that he is one of the reasons Why we Are where we Are a Krivak said. A the has taken the accolades when things Are Good and the heat when things Are bad. But he knows How to handle that and nothing has distracted from his preparation Confidence and leadership each  Maryland 6-5which completed its first winning season since 1985 while playing one of the nation s toughest schedules six Fop 25 teams meets Louisiana tech 8-3 saturday night in the Independence bowl. The terrapins will he matched against a team that has produced two nil quarterbacks including Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw. A bulldog Junior quarterback Gene Johnson is on his Way to passing some of Bradshaw a records set in the late 1960s. A Maryland gets 73 percent of its offence through the air Zolak has completed a school record 225 of 418 passes for 2,590 Yards second Best behind Hennings 2,725 Yards in 1986. Zolak threw for at least 200 Yards eight times. In a Quot season ending 35-30 upset of Virginia he completed 20 of 36 passes for 257 Yards and two touchdowns. A a a in a looking to go out on a Strong note maybe even stronger than Virginia. Trying to top it Quot Zolak said. A i want to show that i am a Good and exciting quarterback. I have worked hard All season and just want to w  Quot Johnson leads a balanced Louisiana tech team that finished 10th in the nation with 450 Yards total offence per game. The bulldogs rushed for 212 Yards 20th and Scott Zola Independence bowl on an radio Maryland is Louisiana tech 2 . Sunday. Passed for 238 Yards 28th each game. A i enjoy our offence because we have so Many weapons Quot Johnson said. Quot with the Guys i have on my Side i done to feel i have to do anything superhuman. My Job is to keep things in a Good flow and make positive things happen.�?�. R. T a. A Johnson who has 4,778 career passing Yards completed 165 of 297 passes for 2,129 Yards and 13 touchdowns. Since throwing four interceptions in the first two games he threw just five More the rest of the season. A i was sluggish in the first two games after sitting out the Spring with a broken jaw Quot Johnson said. A it would have been easy for things to pile up and Heap me Down. But that is not the character of this team done to let those things get the Best of you a the bulldogs who returned to division i a in 1989, lost two off heir first three games this season but come into the Independence bowl on a five game winning Streak. A. A a a. A. .