Oregon daily emerald., July 30, 1997, Page 5, Image 5

BEST BET
Major League Baseball
Atlanta vs. Florida
TBS (3), 4 p.m.
Committee
to continue
working on
realignment
■ MLB: Acting commissioner Bud
Selig said a decision on
realignment must come by October
The Associated Press
CHICAGO — Baseball realignment
came no closer to reality Wednesday
during a four-hour meeting by a com
mittee studying plans to readjust the
leagues as early as next season.
Acting commissioner Bud Selig
promised, however, that the issue will
stay in the forefront.
“I will keep pushing this very aggres
sively,” he said.
“There are a lot of different ideas.
Every club has a different thought
process, but yet the feeling about re
alignment is very positive,” he said af
ter the 12-member realignment commit
tee met. “Each plan has a lot of
variations to it and it gets complicated.
ccEach plan has
a lot of
variations to it
and it gets
complicated.
Clearly nothing
has been
decided. ,y
Bud Selig
Acting Commissioner
Clearly nothing
has been decid
ed.”
Selig said the
next step would
be another meet
ing of the com
mittee, perhaps
by conference
call early next
week, and then
to take any plan
to the executive
council.
Any realign
ment plan
would have to
be approved by a
vote ot the full ownership before a
schedule could be completed and pre
sented to the players’ union.
“We are still on track to try to do
something to implement for 1998, al
though that window closes a little bit
every day,” said committee chairman
John Harrington, chief executive officer
of the Boston Red Sox.
“We have to be done by October, ab
solutely,” Selig said.
“We’ve discussed the benefits, the
pluses and minuses of various realign
ment plans and we’ve discussed a lot of
overall philosophy, some results of
some data on different plans and sched
uling.”
AMERICAN LEAGUE
uaKiana.u
NY Yankees.7
Seattle. 7
Boston.8
Detroit.2
Chi. White Sox.3
lexas.l
Baltimore.3
Anaheim.5
Cleveland.2
Minnesota.11
Kansas City.1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Montreal.6
Colorado.12
Chi. Cubs.5
Atlanta.6
NY Mets.late
San Francisco_game
Cincinnati.0
Florida.6
St. Louis.4
Houston.7
SUMMER RECREATION
UO OUTDOOR PROGRAM
Bruce Mason, coordinator of the University Outdoor Program, puils off an “ender” in a play hole on the McKenzie River.
Magnificent McKenzie
By Ryan Frank
Associate Editor
Looking for an easy, calm rafting experience? How
about a challenging kayak outing full of stunts? Or even a
whitewater raft trip with up to class three rapids?
All the above can be found in one place: the McKenzie
River.
Bruce Mason, the coordinator of the University Out
door Program, said the McKenzie, located east of Eugene
out Highway 126, offers a wide range of opportunity for
rafters, kayaikers and canoers.
“In our area, [the McKenzie] is the ultimate as far as of
fering anything from an entry level to something chal
lenging for kayakers,” Mason said.
Mason said the river is wide enough in challenging
parts so that difficult, technical areas can be maneuvered
around.
“In that respect it is a great river for beginning to inter
mediate boaters because it has stretches you can learn
on, and stretches where you can be more challenged on,”
Mason said.
For the less experienced boaters, the Fin Rock to
Prince Helfrich Landing run offers an opportunity for
whitewater rafting and kayaking without many techni
cal worries.
“As far as an introductory whitewater run, the Fin
Rock run is a nice rim," Mason said. “Most of the day is
easy enough stuff that you can get your skills together, so
by the time you get to a couple of harder rapids at the
end, you can know whether you’re capable of doing
that.”
The Fin Rock run, the most popular on the river, is ap
proximately a 4 1/2 ride that covers 11 miles of the
McKenzie. For intermediate kayakers, there are three
“play holes” along the McKenzie. These play holes allow
kayakers a place to preform stunts and maneuvers then
paddle out and rest, then go back to the “play hole.”
In addition to its variety in difficulty level, Mason said
the river’s changing environment sets it apart from other
Oregon rivers.
“A lot of rivers have the same general nature or scenic
vista throughout their reach,” Mason said. “But the
McKenzie goes from a fairly technical, interesting white
water wilderness setting in its beginning, to a fairly calm,
urban demeanor as it gets closer to town. ”
While most rivers become easier to maneuver the fur
ther down the mountain they are, Mason said recent
floods have left logs on the lower stretches of the McKen
zie, causing what he called "some real death traps” on an
area that before could have been floated in an inner tube.
For a summertime McKenzie raft run, Mason said a
swimsuit, footwear, a life jacket, sun protection and
drinking water are all necessary equipment.
Kayak runs require a little more equipment. A helmet
and paddle jacket, which is similar to a rain jacket but
specialized for kayakers, are also necessities.
For a trip coordinated through the University Outdoor
Program, a rafting trip down the McKenzie would cost
$10, and a kayak trip would be $15, Mason said. The cost
includes some equipment.
The
McKenzie
River is the
area’s most
versatile
rafting and
kayaking
venue
This is the sixth
part of a
Summer
Recreation
series that will
appear every
Thursday in
the Emerald.
FIN ROCK TO HELFRICH LANDING RUN
■ RIVER RIDE:
The Fin Rock to
Heltrich Landing
run is the
McKenzie River's
most popular run
because of smooth
ride that ends with
with the Martin
Rapids.
RYAN FRANK/EmaraM