European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 4, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 38 the stars and stripes sports 3 saturday june 4,1994 Reggie shakes off whatever it was Spike Lee was saying to Reg Gie Miller in Madison so it Wasny to anything Miller been hearing most of his Are Garden the other night Ladris to heard before. Or Hasni Tife. A you can bet the House on that a Millers father Saul said thursday from the family Home in Riverside Calif. A i can to imagine anything in there Reggie Hadnot heard in our own backyard. Or out on some playground somewhere. And that a Cheryl Cher Ylo business a a he a used to it by now a Saul added a because that door boy has spent most of his basketball Days playing second fiddle to his  that would be 29-Ycar-old Cheryl Miller former College and olympic great combative coach of the Southern California women steam and arguably the finest female Talent the game has produced. Jim Litke Quot when they were younger he used to tag along by find Cheryl to the Yard Down by Cas Leview school. And if that Wasny to bad enough once they a seen How Saul paused chuckling softly ave dogged him without Cheryl could play Quot Saui pm Flora the other kids must n  and so the wonder of Reggie a performance wednesday night in game 5 May not be that he lit up new York s intimidating defense for 25 Points in the fourth Quarter of the most important game of his life. Or even that Reggie was Able to ruin the kicks and run his Mouth at the same time. That a practically his  no the real wonder of what Reggie accomplished is that finally at age 28, he can claim Pride of place in his own House. Which considering the House is no Small feat. A. Saul and Carrie Miller Are both 63, and raised five kids on his salary first As a chief master sergeant in the air Force and then As computer systems director at a nearby Hospital. Those kids now Range in Asie from 36 to 25. To this Day the father remains convinced that Saul jr., the oldest and now a saxophone soloist with the air Force band in Washington d.c., was the Best athlete. That a saying something since their Middle son 34-year-old Darrell played pro baseball in the California Angels organization for five years and the baby of the family Tammy was a standout volleyball player at Cal state full Carton and that a before figuring Cheryl and Reggie into the mix. Given All that competitive Talent its not hard to picture a succession of trash talking  2-on-2 games being contested from Dawn until dark on the half court Saul somehow shoehorned into the backyard it was always Saul or. And Cheryl is Darrell and Reggie and it was then that Cheryl began schooling her baby brother in Earnest. A but it Wasny to until the two older boys moved out that Cheryl really started wearing Reggie out a recalled Saul a pretty fair High school athlete Back in Memphis Tenn. A we used to bring the other girls from her High school team out to the House and make him play defense against them. He did no to like it All that much at first. But they a encourage him and he a always been a great self motivator besides. As soon As Cheryl would go into the House to Start her Homework Reggie would Start shooting his jumper 200 of them Day in and Day.  v. Quot. Though Reggie had been tearing up every Little Luau us program in the Vicinity of Riverside he decided to follow Cheryl into basketball when he entered High school. For the longest time it seemed like a game of diminishing returns since whatever he could do she could do better. A i remember the first big game he had in High school a Saul said. A the had something like 39 Points and he came in the House acting big and thinking a Well 1 really done the do.�?T. A that was before he found out his sister had scored 105 the same  though Only one of them still plays the game no one on the planet can get Reggie going like Cheryl. After playing unevenly through the first four games in the Eastern conference finals he was understandably reluctant to confirm the details of a Telephone conversation with Cheryl on wednesday. But she told the new York daily news she called simply to remind her Little brother that a Miller never plays Mellow a it was very Short and Sweet a Cheryl told the paper. A i said Reggie you know and i know that a not your style. You re not a White hat Guy you re not the Lone Ranger you re Black Bart a i told him to take off the Cape and get off the White horse a a Spike Lee Lake note \ you can Call him Ray or you can Call him Jay but anyone who knows anything about Reggie Miller knows the one thing you better not Call him is  tit a�ocla1td pres suns Johnson signs for his final 3 years a Phoenix a Kevin Johnson the Star Point guard of the Phoenix suns says be will play three More seasons and then Call it quits. He said his retirement plans Are firm unlike the shifting announcements by his teammate Charles Barkley. A a in a not like Charles a Johnson said. A a in a not going to Sway Back and Forth. Basketball will never consume my whole  Johnson a one year contract Extension was announced thursday allowing him to end his career in Phoenix after the 1996-97 season. Johnson will be 31 when he retires. Terms of his contract weren to released. The Deal was signed tuesday after three meetings Between Johnson and Sun president Jerry Colangelo. Colangelo told the Phoenix Gazette that the Deal makes Johnson the highest paid Point guard in the Aba but not the highest paid Sun. That Means Johnson a salary is More than the $3.34 million Tim Hardaway is paid by the Golden state warriors but less than the $3.5 million paid to teammates Dan Majerle and Barkley. The seven Yeary contract Johnson signed in 1989 was for $15 million. A a we re Able to Reward a Young Man who a done an outstanding Job and is a great example of what a pro athlete could be both on and off the court a Colangelo said. Johnson a seven year Veteran averaged 20.0 Points and 9,5 assists in 67 Garner with the suns in the 1993-94 season. He a the suns career assist Leader with 4,674 and this season became one of six players in Aba history to record a triple double with  program finally makes rockets a team by Michael a. Lutz Galveston Texas a the Houston rockets Are no longer Hakeem Olajuwon and others. The supporting cast has improved so much that Olajuwon did no to have to carry the team to the Aba finals. He got some help this time. A if it Wasny to Vernon maxwells 3-Point shooting it was Kenny Smith lighting up the scoreboard or Sam Cassell and Mario Elie coming off the Bench to Spur momentum or Robert Horry galloping through the Lane. A i love passing off to Robert Horry for a Dunk going Down the Lane a Olajuwon said thursday a not Otis Thorpe and 1 Are the oldest players on the team now. Quot the younger players help us to better our own games. We need the Young  the rockets marched through Portland Phoenix and Utah to their third Western conference title using a blend of youth and Veteran Talent. It Wasny to always As easy for Olajuwon who used to criticize his supporting cast. A it was a time when we were always losing in the first round of the playoffs a Olajuwon said. A management Wasny to committed to winning the championship. We were getting older players near the end of their careers instead of Young Talent Quot Portland was the first playoff team to Feci the sting of Houston a new balance. Maxwell took his Cue in the first game of ther playoffs hitting 5-of-8 3-Pointcrs and scoring 24 Points. The Trail blazers single covered Ola Juwon in game 2 while trying to cover the rockets outside and Olajuwon responded with 46 Points and six blocked shots a Quot we be got the team to win this thing a Maxwell said. A we just have to keep taking our shots with Confidence and make teams go through our defense. That a Horry maxell where it is. When we do those things we re Tough to  in the Western conference final against Utah Smith provided the perimeter scoring that kept the jazz scurrying to defend both inside and outside a this is no coincidence Quot Smith said a it shows me that everything we accomplished during the season was for real. Its just a great feeling. This is what its All  the rockets needed a break before the finals open next wednesday to heal their injuries. They took wednesday off after eliminating the jazz on tuesday night and will work out through saturday at their training sue in Galveston. Indiana leads new York 3-2 in the Best-of-7 Eastern conference finals to determine Houston s opponent in the championship Sam Cassell. Leads Strong Bench round. A i think it is just Gigantic Quot coach Rudy Tomjanovich said of the break a fall the benefits of getting it done will really help us. The longer you play the More the chances Are that something bad can happen. This gives us time to let some people get  Maxwell is playing with a sore wrist Thorpe is recovering from a hip Pointer and Carl Herrera May be Able to play in the finals after recovering from a dislocated shoulder. Horry did no to make it to thursdays workout because he was involved in a minor Auto Accident on route to Galveston. Horry was unhurt but arrived too late to practice. A some Guys will do anything to miss a workout a Smith said