by James Busbee
he Memphis in
May International Festival is a time for most of us to kick back, relax,
and soak up a bit of the city's humid atmosphere. We can broaden our minds
with Brazilian culture, fatten our waistlines with barbecue, and uplift
our spirits at the Beale Street Music Festival or Sunset Symphony. But this
weekend, as part of the MIM celebration, one group of athletes will actually
do something. Without a doubt, their efforts will more than offset
our sloth.
On
Sunday, May 18th, 1,100 athletes will take to the water, wheels, and road
as part of the 15th annual Memphis in May Triathlon. Taking place at Edmund
Orgill Park in Millington, the race features consecutive competitions in
swimming, cycling, and running. About $10,000 in cash prizes and trophies
await the winners of overall and age-category divisions. The triathlon benefits
Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center, which last year received $7,000 in
proceeds from the race.
The MIM triathlon features a 1.5 kilometer (0.93 mile) swim, 40 kilometer (24.8 mile) bike, and 10 kilometer (6.2 mile) run. Last year, Memphian Vic Perini won the race in 1:50:47, and Siri Lindley of Boulder, Colorado, won the women's pro division in 2:03:55. The men's course record is 1:47:10, set by William Braun in 1993, and the women's record is 1:57:24, set by Carol Montgomery in 1995.
The first Memphis in May Triathlon was held in 1983 in Shelby Forest, with about 250 athletes competing. As the event expanded, it bounced around the region for several years, stopping at Herb Parsons Lake and in Lakeland. In 1987, the triathlon's organizers found Orgill Park, and the event has remained there since.
Across the country, triathlons are nearing the big time. The event will be a medal sport in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. But its rise to prominence has not come without controversy. Chief among the hot issues in triathloning is "drafting," where one biker rides tight on the wheels of another to take advantage of the decreased wind resistance. The Olympics will permit drafting, but purists decry it, since it can give substantial advantages to the drafter.
The organizers of the Memphis in May Triathlon have long advocated a no-draft rule, and it's won them national regard.
"We've proven that you can have a big race with good marshaling that's draft-free," says race organizer Pam Routh. The famous Iron Man triathlon in Hawaii has actually used race officials from the Memphis in May Triathlon to judge drafting violations. In the MIM event, cyclists caught drafting are immediately disqualified from the race.
"We run a good clean race here," Routh says. "Because of that, some of the world's best triathletes will be here, and we've gotten top billing in many trade magazines."
But MIM's triathlon has more going for it than just integrity. It's one of only 14 races in the country to serve as a qualifying event for the Iron Man; 36 competitors here will qualify for the Hawaiian challenge. Athletes from more than 40 states and five countries will be competing this year. USA Triathlon, the national governing body for the sport, has named the MIM triathlon its Southeast Regional Championship for 1997.
"A triathlon is a difficult event to organize because of the logistics involved," says Perini, last year's champion. "There are safety factors involved with people on the roads and in the water. Because Memphis in May is one of the largest triathlons in the country in terms of participation, that makes it even more difficult. But the organizers take pride in the race, and because of that it's highly regarded across the country."
Perini works as Methodist Hospital's associate director of pharmacy, and competes in about 12 triathlons each year. MIM, of course, is special to him. "This one's in my backyard, so I always focus on doing well."
Orgill Park's layout is ideal for watching the triathlon, and race organizers expect more than 2,000 spectators this year. A natural amphitheatre looks down on the transition area and finish line.
The MIM triathlon is the culmination of a weekend-long event. On Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., the Agricenter International will host a sports expo featuring sports clothing, accessories, and equipment for sale. The event is open to the public. After the triathlon will come the post-race party, an event Routh proudly proclaims as one of the best in the country.
Perini hopes Memphians will come out to Orgill Park on Sunday to check out the triathlon spectacle and cheer on the competitors. "All the athletes appreciate applause and encouragement, whether they're on the front end or doing their very first triathlon."
by Paul Gerald
BY ALL ACCOUNTS, THERE IS nothing easy about a rookie season in the NBA. You play twice as many games in almost the same amount of time; your opposition is bigger and better; the game is fundamentally different, centering on one-on-one match-ups; and there are countless off-court distractions.
Also by all accounts, former U of M star Lorenzen Wright handled his rookie season extremely well. And it says a lot about the Clippers franchise that after getting swept out of the playoffs in the first round they were widely congratulated on a fine season. It was, after all, their first trip to the "second season" since 1993.
"Just like my team, I have my ups and my downs," Wright said in a mid-season interview. "I'm doing a whole lot better than I expected to, and I'm playing a whole lot more."
In fact, Wright spent the season in two places no one expected: the starting lineup and at the center position. That happened because four Clippers centers were unavailable: Stanley Roberts, Kevin Duckworth, and Dwayne Schintzius were hurt and Brian Williams refused to sign with the team, winding up with the Bulls.
"I can play center, but I'm not going to play center in the future," Wright said. "I'm a power forward in the NBA, but wherever coach wants me to play, I'll go out there and play."
All a coach really wants out of an NBA rookie is to work hard, learn, and avoid trouble. When Wright arrived in L.A. as the seventh pick in the first round of the draft, the newspaper stories focused on two things: his relationship with his dad, who moved to L.A. to be with him, and his combination of work ethic and niceness.
Wright's coach, Bill Fitch, says hard-working nice guys aren't that rare in the NBA, but adds "at the time, with the way [Wright] was playing, that's all there was to talk about, what kind of kid he is. His game was light years away. He didn't have the slightest idea what the NBA game was about, let alone coming in and having to play center. But he's come a long way."
One thing that held Wright back was a foot injury that kept him out of summer work. He had only a month to get ready for the season.
Says Fitch, "He had to learn the pace, tempo, clock, players, what was legal and what isn't ... He had to learn all that in a four-week period and try to make the team, too, whereas most players get three months of summer work. So I just figure that whatever he gets out of this year is a bonus."
What he gave was a bonus, too. He was the team's second-leading rebounder at 6.1 per game, and, in fact, he posted some awfully impressive numbers along the way. Most encouraging is that all were late in the season: March 10th, he had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocked shots in a win over Golden State; March 25th he tallied 24 points and 14 boards in a win over Vancouver; two days later he had 20 points (hitting 10-of-11 field goals) in a loss to Atlanta; and on April 12th he had 23 points and 14 rebounds in a victory over Denver.
He also learned a few of the more subtle things about being an NBA player. He got his first suspension and fine -- one game and $5,000 -- for a "flagrant elbow" to the Mavericks' Shawn Bradley, and when asked in an interview to name the league's best player after Michael Jordan, he went with fellow Clipper Loy Vaught. "I've got to give my props to my teammate," he said.
Wright has kept a tradition left over from his college days, when he openly aspired to the team's single-game rebounding record. The Clippers' record? "Thirty-two," he snaps -- although he somehow forgot that it was the immortal Swen Nater who accomplished the mark back in 1979. Wright's high this year was 15.
Naturally, Wright got thrashed more than a few times. Utah center Karl Malone averaged 31 points and 12 rebounds in the Jazz's 3-0 playoff sweep, for example. Everyone agrees about one thing concerning Wright's future: He's no NBA center -- although, as Fitch puts it, "He's better than anything we've had to play that spot. He's filled in and done what we've asked him to do, and that's all you can ask."
L.A.'s director of player personnel, Jeff Weltman, says Wright is "just too small to be playing center on a nightly basis in this league. But you never say never. He has the quickness to play power forward, but he also has the back-to-the-basket game that enables him to play [center]. There are a lot of times where matchups dictate where he'll play, though, and he has the toughness, tenacity, and instincts to play in either spot."
Still, the Clippers, like every other NBA team, will be shopping for players this summer -- although since players need three years to achieve free agency, Wright will be a Clipper for at least two more.
"Center is a need we feel have to address as best as we can over the summer," Weltman says. "The problem is that pretty much every team except the ones with [David] Robinson and Hakeem [Olajuwan] and [Shaquille] O'Neal are looking for the same things, and there aren't that many big, talented players out there. That's why we were happy to be able to take Lorenzen in the draft this year."
While the Lakers are shopping, Wright will be working. Fitch said his "list for Ren this summer is longer than any list of chores his mamma and daddy ever gave him when he was growing up. But he's the type of kid who I know will work and achieve."
So look for Lorenzen Wright in pretty much the same position next season -- starting on a young, up-and-coming Clippers team with an experienced and proven head coach. But he'll probably be about one spot away from the center.