European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 17, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday june 17, 1992 the stars and stripes b Page 29commentary bulls delaying focus on 3-peat by Jan Hubbard Michael Jordan proved to be the ultimate Leader and consummate performer to the very end. After the Chicago bulls won their second consecutive National basketball association championship sunday night Jordan led his entourage of teammates and coaches Back onto the floor where they entertained their fans with about 15 minutes of joyous dancing and merriment. It was perhaps the most spontaneous Celebration of a title the Aba has seen. The music was loud. The cheering and hand clapping was continuous. Teammates exchanged hugs and High fives. The championship trophy was raised again and again passed Down the line of teammates standing atop the press table. It was a magnificent scene All positive nothing ugly. At one Point during the festivities the crowd began chanting a three peat three peat  later Jordan was asked about that possibility. A beginning next season that a when we focus on that a Jordan said. A right now we just have to enjoy this  that is understandable yet the nature of sports is always to look ahead to project next years champions. Jordan and the bulls spoke often of the demands of winning a second consecutive title. Winning a third it seems would be next to impossible. Greater teams than the bulls have tried and failed. Only two teams have done it a the Bill Russell Boston celtics who won eight consecutive titles from 1959-66 and the Minneapolis lakers who won three from 1952-54. The los Angeles lakers with magic Johnson won five championships in nine years but never More than two straight. The celtics with Larry Bird won three titles in a six year period but never even repeated. The lakers with Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain had a 69-13 record in 1971-72, but that was the Only season that team was Able to win a championship. The list goes on a the John Havlicek celtics Walt Frazier kicks Kareem Abdul Jabbar Bucks Julius Erving 76ers. All won no More than one straight. Only the lakers Detroit pistons and now the bulls a the last three teams to win a title a have repeated championships since the celtics did it in 1969. There is a huge Price to pay in winning titles not the least of which is physical. Last year the pistons two year title reign ended when the bulls swept them in four games. The pistons had been wracked by injuries most notably to Isiah Thomas who had several. Those were the result of the schedule. During a five year period of excellence the pistons averaged 109 games per season. It takes a toll. Bulls coach Phil Jackson will have to do something to reduce the workload of Jordan and Scottie Pippen next season. Each averaged about two minutes More per game this season than last which was curious considering the bulls were so far ahead of the Competition during the regular season. No other team finished within 10 games of the bulls yet Jackson never rested his stars and there were some charges that Jackson was too caught up in the Effort to become the first coach to win 70 games. If you break Down the bulls schedule Over the last four years there is a revealing statistic. The bulls reign of excellence began with two appearances in the Eastern conference finals where they lost to the pistons. Now they be won two titles. During that Span Jordan has played 15,546 minutes in the regular season and playoffs. It is Ideal for a full time player to average about 35 minutes a game. If you Divide Jordan a minutes by 35, he has played the equivalent of 444 games during the last four years. And that is not counting exhibitions. Jordan of course is Superman but even Superman had his Krypton Ite. An excessive workload Over an extended period of time can break Down the strongest player. There also is the mental exercise of withstanding the assault of hungry teams who Are committed to taking the title away. The bulls talked about that often during the playoffs which they failed to dominate. The new York kicks extended the bulls to seven games even winning once in Chicago. The cars blasted the bulls by 26 Points in Chicago and extended the bulls to six games. The blazers were Over matched but they refused to quit and won two games when the bulls fell apart in the fourth Quarter. There Are challengers East and West. Take one team a the kicks. What if they add a significant player and Pat Riley again works his magic will the bulls have enough left to hold off the kicks in another seven game series added to the physical and mental demands is the olympic games in which Jordan and Pippen will bulls Michael Jordan Dutches championship trophy. Play although Jordan dismissed the Effort it will take. A a it a not going to be that hard a he said. A a i m going to have fun play Golf and relax. If we can t beat China with me playing six or seven minutes then we re already in  still after the equivalent of 444 35-minute games Over the last four years Jordan will find the of season is very Short. As Michael magnificent was strutting around the court sunday night however october seemed a Long Way away. At that moment three titles were unimportant. The Celebration of no. 2 will not end for a while. Nowadays owners hired to coach new Ottawa club Ottawa apr Rick Bowness came within four games of the Stanley cup final this Spring. He figures his next Date with the cup is Between seven and 12 years away. The 37-Vear-old Bowness was hired As coach of the National hockey league expansion Ottawa senators on monday a week after being fired by the Boston Bruins. A a it a been an unbelievable week a said Bowness. A from the Depths of depression last monday to the highs of being the first coach of the Ottawa senators. In be seen both ends of the  Bowness says he has no qualms about leaving one of the leagues most established and competitive teams for an expansion franchise. A a we la get there. In a confident in this organization a said Bowness adding he expects to beat the coaching Odds and stick with the senators until they claim the nil Crown. A i like the  Bowness was Given a a very serious commitment in Nis contract said senators chief executive officer Randy Sexton. A people always say you need a coach to take you two or three years and then you move on a added general manager Mel Bridgman. A a that a not our  Bowness seems a Good fit to the senators carefully cultivated corporate blueprint. A Journeyman Forward Over seven seasons with four nil teams Bowness stretched his limited Talent a Long Way with hard work. As a coach he a considered a Good teacher of Young Talent Well organized and someone who likes to deflect the spotlight. Bowness led the undermanned Oft injured and Rookie Laden Bruins to a 36-3212 record and took the team to the Stanley cup semifinals before losing in four straight to Pittsburgh. It Wasny to enough to save his Job and Bowness was fired. Actually the senators were out of the blocks Early. John Ferguson a former Mentor of Bowness who is now the senators director of player personnel Learned the Bruins were interviewing Brian Sutter and tipped Bowness three Days before the axe officially fell. Sutter who had turned Down the Ottawa Job was hired As Bostons coach shortly thereafter. A i knew the scenario that was going Down a said Ferguson. A a we jumped on it  Ferguson the former pm of the Winnipeg jets gave Bowness his Start in coaching in 1982 As a playing assistant with the jets farm team in Sherbrooke Quebec. Bowness went on to coach the Moncton Hawks the jets american hockey league farm team before taking Over As interim coach in Winnipeg in february 1989. I be then spent two seasons As coach of the Maine mariners Boston s former Ahl affiliate prior to taking Over the Bruins last season. Bridgman said Bowness will help in the expansion draft thursday when the senators will pick the Core of their inaugural 1992-93 roster. The Amateur entry draft will be held  wins in Europe soccer violence flares again by the associated press world Champion Germany was victorious and soccer officials were fed up monday at the european soccer championships in Sweden. Police escorted hundreds of English soccer fans to a separate Camp when they arrived in Stockholm on special trains from Malmo after a second night of rioting by soccer hooligans. The president of Europe a soccer governing body the Union of european football associations warned English clubs and the National team that they could be barred from future Competition. A if it does happen again and we see we Are runing into problems we have of course to sit Down and discuss about the future a uefa president Lennart Johansson of Sweden said. Swedish police said 28 people were detained monday bringing the number of englishmen arrested during the championships to More than 100. Police in Malmo said they believed the violence was Well organized. Two matches were played on monday. In Norr Koping Germany beat Scotland 2-0, and in Goteborg the Commonwealth of Independent states tied defending european Champion Netherlands 0-0. The Cis held Germany to a 1-1 draw in its first match. Germany and the Netherlands now have 3 Points apiece in two games. The Cis has two and Scotland none. The Netherlands plays Germany and Scotland meets the Cis in the last group games thursday. The top two qualify for the semifinals