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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 1985)
WALL Restaurant Delicious Dishes from our Menu H Barbecued Duck i&b m Hunan Beef GREAT ■ GREAT! 1 WALL 1 IS? Restaurant Coupon good for *1°° off each dinner (up to 2) for U of O Students M2 Main in Springfield • 72*9133 INTERNSHIPS can give you the edge in the career race. The Career Development Internship Program has internship opportunities for juniors and seniors with majors in the College of Arts and Sciences. Opportunities include: MARKETlNfi/SALES •Eugene Hilton •Red Lion •Eugene/Springfield Visitors and Convention Bureau •The Cloakroom(retail) COMPUTER RELATED •Goodwill •City of Eugene: Fire Information Services Pimur RELATIONS •WISTEC •Baden & Co.(advertising) •Red Cross •Hult Center for the Performing Arts •Eugene Symphony iVJHlVU RESEARCH/ •Metro Partnership •Corrections Dept •City of Eugene: Purchasing Building Division a POI TNSF.I .ING/REL ATED •Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation •Corrections Dept. PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT •City of Eugene: Intergovernmental Relations Transportation •Eugene Public Library •United Way Position Descriptions are in 221 Hendricks Hall, sign ups begin Nov. 4. FOOD 17 Coburg Rd. i uuu Eugene TER N0 need to mark. Wo have scanners. OPEN 24 HOURS Lowenbrau t-peck bottles $059 mm * Top Sirloin Steak USD A Choice $2?9 Ritz Crackers 10 oz. package S1 49 regularly S1.S5 Carrots Two pound bog 49° Mineral Water six flavors to ckooM from 691 riser” Cheese Frankfurters S1 49 Chico~San Rice Cakes 791 Broccoli 491 Carnation Cocoa 12 1-oz. envelopes S1 49 Family Size 4-pack Toilet Tissue 891 "•» (ram Mature', Ufa Mega-E*400IU 90 capsules S52f 100 capsules $924 Chelated Calcium Magnesium Zinc 100 capsules $400 290 capsules $924 It’s a proven fact that you save money when you shop Mark & Pack U.S.D.A. Food Stamps Welcome Springfield Store 303 S. 5th 9-8 Daily Sunday 10am - 7pm Ratball Continued from Page 4B itn eiirl’urn t/nrv hIIu* of a condition than a game. I ne lasi game oi night takes place after several hours of play, just before everyone is ready to go home. Play generally breaks down about half way through the game: players take half-court shots, stop running the floor, make long, errant baseball passes and extensively reduce the contest to a joke. The "final games” don't actually end more than they disintegrate. It’s a classic syndrome that occurs anywhere ratball is played, "The last game is always trash," says the Hat, who has had an average night. “But this spot is mostly OK. Three rats. Tuesday: , We ventured into Springfield to check the rat scene at the Memorial Building. Walking into this place was like walking into a Bruce Springsteen video. No “Air Jordan" wardrobes for these guys. The regulars come dressed to play in their jeans, camouiflage jackets or their old high school issue gym shorts. Instead of bringing radios, some of them bring their wives or girlfriends to cheer them on and help keep score. Housed in an old building, the gym itself in spires images of 1950s-style. Saturday afternoon CYO games. The nostalgic feel prevails with the exception of one feature: 198bs-style clear backboards with breakaway NBA rims. The Master is quick to exploit this big-time at traction by working several sensational slams into the game, including his favorite: the "Flying Suicide Slam." But despite such technical trickery, the Rat finds the competition in Spr ingfield "above average." Nevertheless, the Ratmaster is on fire at the Memorial Building and gives the gym a good rating. • . , "These are my kind of players," says the Master of the hard-nosed, blue-collar menagerie that fills the gym until nearly 3 a.m. "I give it a three and a half." Wednesday: . „, The most unique setting in Eugene for ratball is. definitely found beneath the Highway-105 over pass; near Second Avenue and Washington Street, Six baskets, suspended from the bridge, hang down to form a large set of outdoor courts that are protected by a giant "roof, which is ac tually the freeway above. The courts are lighted at night, but the Rat and I arrive at 3 pm.. just in time to get in a game with some high schoolers, who frequent the courts im mediately after school gets out. The Ratmaster is immediately set on edge when one young ratster in a "Wham!” tour T-shirt begins cranking Madonna's 'Like A Virgin cassette on his box. "Definitely not your serious rat music," says the Master, who mostly likes to jam to Run D.M.C. or Chaka Khan. The Rat has trouble with his outside shot here. nuu iiuua mw ■—- —- » pery, resulting in a negative rating. He finally allows that the location of the courts is a positive factor and that maybe he's fust had an off day. Grudgingly, he agrees to up the rating. "Two rats.” Thursday: Steeped in tradition, the "Y” has been the cor nerstone of community athletics for more than a century. Eugene's YMCA features a large, two court gym for ratsters. The courts however, are short and narrow, mandating unique, four-on four full-court games, a practice, as any ex perienced ratballer knows, that is virtually im possible on a regulation-sized court. The play is physical and intense, with a lot of pressure on a team to "keep the court. The Rat master even threatens to erect a '‘Caution-Hying Elbows" sign after he is continually struck in the heat of battle by flailing limbs. The evening is slightly marred by "Mike." a player who calls a foul about every 30 seconds. At one point. Mike makes a bogus "three-in-the key" call, an appalling claim in any ratball game, and a serious rat faux pas. "There’s one of these kind of guys in every gym,” advises the Rat about Mike. "The best way to deal with them is Just to take it to their face." And take it he does, putting on an aerial circus with an assortment ol long range bombs and "def jam slams." . . . Even considering Mike's attitude and the fact that one must pay to play at the YMCA. the Master likes the place. "Smart players, tough players, good players.' he says. "I give it three rats." Friday: On his last day in town. I knew I had to take the Master to the proverbial rat mecca — Essllnger Hall. ■ ■ _ , Simply put. with personal biases aside, hssl inger is the premiere spot for ratball in Eugene. It has the most open gym times, the best courts, and the widest array of players. We hang out at Esslinger for an entire day and night, and get involved in nearly 25 games, a bona-fide rat-a-thbn. As expected, some games are good and some are bad. Bitter arguments concerning the prodigous calling of fouls and errant score keeping arise oc casionally (a common haphazard in ratball) prov ing that Esslinger isn't infallible. Then again, rat ball isn’t supposed to be a divine creation, and that's the whole idea: The Ratmaster. who turns in steady perfor mances all day long, likes the feel of the place "It sme|ls like a gym in here.” he says, nod ding and drawing a deep breath. "Four rats. Nah, what the hell. 1 feel good. Make it five." And at last we have realized what we set out to find on this ratspedition: a perect score. We’ll Tackle Your Sports Injuries! We specialize in all types of sport related injuries We welcome new patients We bill all insurances 190 E. 18th Call Today. 484-5438 Wednesday, November 8. 1985
