Sports Baack ready to step into spotlight By Steve Turcotte Of th* Emerald The list of outstanding defensive ends who have played on the Oregon football team goes on and on — Neil Elshire, Terry Dion, Mike Walter... Now toss another name into the hat — Steve Baack. Baack, who served as an understudy to players like Elshire and company his first couple of years, finally came into his own a season ago as a defensive end. The 6-4, 240-pound senior from John Day, has been moved from position to position in his tenure with the Ducks, but finally found his niche last year. "I think he has really found a home on the defensive line,” says Duck defensive coordinator Joe Schaffeld. “Once we moved him we saw that he was really a defensive end. He has pro ven that he can play." Baack came to Oregon four years ago with piles of high school creden tials — including a spot on the Oregon Class AA Shrine squad, an honor that would come back to haunt him. Baack was playing in the Shrine game before coming to Oregon and broke his hand during the contest. It was a bad enough break to require a cast. Baack eventually showed up on campus with a cast on his arm and the courage to try out for tight end. He wound up being redshirted his first year at Oregon, but not before be ing moved to the defensive side of the ball. After another position change, this time to middle linebacker, Baack made his final position change to defensive end his sophomore season. “Our defensive ends were getting hurt and the coaches asked me if I would like to play the position,” Baack says. “I got to play against USC in the 7-7 tie. “I think the coaches saw me as a defensive end after that. I told them that I felt more comfortable there because I played it in high school.” Finally finding a permanent home on the defensive line, Baack started four games his sophomore season before sustaining an injury against Washington State. But Baack came back last season to start in 10 of the 11 games and had Pac-10 quarterbacks running for their lives. Baack recorded 93 tackles last season — fifth on the team — and also had eight quarterback sacks, including a pair against Washington and a 10-tackle performance at Southern Cal. “I thought Steve played very well last season,” Schaffeld indicated. “He is a very good football player — he is strong but not overly big.” Baack will be the first to admit that his stature is not one of a typical defensive end, but what he lacks for in size he more than makes up for in quickness. “I don’t really have the size that other defensive ends do, but I am fairly quick,” Baack says. Schaffeld couldn’t agree more. “He is not really big for a defensive end but he makes up for it in strength and quickness,” says the Duck defen sive mentor. “He has very good strength and quickness for someone his size.” The comparisons between Baack and former Oregon defensive ends have been drawn. Baack may not be as big as the former Ducks were, but like Schaffeld says, Baack’s cat-like reflexes and his mobility on his feet more than compensate his lack of size. "I think Steve has a lot better agility than other defensive ends we have had here,” Schaffeld says. “The others have had the size but not the physical strength that Steve possesses. Size wise there is no comparison, but he has more strength.” Steve Baack’s tackle of Oregon State s Randy Holmes in the Civil War game last year forced a big fumble and led Oregon to a 7-6 win. Walter, who was Baack’s bookend on the other side of the line a year ago, is slated to go somewhere in today’s National Football League draft. And after watching his former teammate rise up out of relative obscurity to one of the nation’s premier defensive ends, Baack feeis he has the chance to do the same things his ex-line mate did. “I’d like to think I would be able to have a very good season next year,’’ Baack says. "Since this is my last year I’m going to give it everything. I want to have a successful season.” "I think Steve seeing Mike having a good shot in the draft is good incentive for him," Schaffeld says. “I would im agine it would get him interested.” BaacK is expected to carry a brunt of the leadership for this year’s edition of Duck football. His three years of ex perience is the most of anyone else on the defensive side of the ball for Oregon. "He’s the one with the most ex perience and I think we will look to him for the leadership," says Schaffeld of Baack. “It is important for him to have a good year, the whole defense needs it. He needs to asume the leadership responsibility.” That same responsibility has been assumed by the likes of Elshire, Dion, Walter... L.A. may be hurt, but did damage Blazers From Associated Press reports Now, about the problem-plagued Los Angeles Lakers. The Portland Trail Blazers found no trace of trouble in the defending National Basketball Association champions Sunday when the Lakers drilled them 118-97 in the opener of their best-of seven Western Conference semifinal playoff senes. Portland will check again tonight in Game Two in the Forum at Inglewood, Calif. In today’s other playoff action, Denver will open its Western semifinal series at San Antonio after defeating Phoenix 117-112 in overtime Sunday night to finish off the Suns in their mini-series. Philadelphia, leading New York 1-0 in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal, plays at home against the Knicks Wednesday night after its 112-102 victory in Sunday’s opener. Boston, which eliminated Atlanta 98-79 Sunday in their mini-series, opens the other East semifinal at home against Milwaukee, also Wednesday night. The Lakers limped into the playoffs with key forwards James Worthy and Bob McAdoo injured and some people wondered whether they could pull themselves together against Portland, which eliminated Seattle in two straight games. Not to worry. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 32 points, 14 in the first quarter as Los Angeles took control early. Jamaal Wilkes had 25 points and Ear vin “Magic” Johnson added 19 points. “We want to play better and we know we can,” said Trail Blazers coach Jack Ramsay. “We may have been a little fatigued, but we'll be back on Tuesday.” Denver lost its opening mini-series game against Phoenix, but the Nuggets bounced back and beat the Suns in the next two games to advance to the West semifinals. Boston kayoed Atlanta although the Celtics came out of the series with a major casualty. Guard Danny Ainge suffered a five-stitch bite on the mid dle finger of his right hand when he became involv ed in an on-the-court brawl with Wayne “Tree" Rollins. “I'm not very happy with the results of the fight,” said Boston Coach Bill Fitch. “I lost a player. Getting your finger bit to the bone just doesn’t make me very happy.” Ainge’s status was questionable for Wednes day night’s game against Milwaukee. The same situation faced the Knicks and high scoring forward Bernard King. King twisted his right ankle in the first half of the opener against Philadelphia and did not play in the second half. VINO'S SPAGHETTI HOUSE PIZZA I $