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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 29, 1998)
BIST BETS NBA Playoffs Utah at Houston, TNT (27) 6:30p.m. Sports Emerald Civil War Preview NICK MEDLEY/Emerald Jenny Cook, who is tied for first on the team in home runs, leads the No. 25 Ducks into today’s Civil War doubleheader against No. 22 Oregon State. Cook, who also leads the team in victories, will pitch Game 1. More than pride on the line for UO ■ WHO: No. 25 Oregon softball team ■ WHAT: Civil War Double header vs. No. 22 Oregon State ■ WHERE. Howe Field ■ WHEN: Today, 3 p.m. A sweep of the Beavers would solidify Oregon's chances for postseason play and equal its total number of wins from last season with eight games left By Joel Hood Sports Reporter The Oregon softball team was allowed to celebrate its sweep of No. 13 Arizona State for about a day be fore it had to turn its focus to Oregon State and ahead to postseason play. The No. 25 Ducks host No. 22 Oregon State at Howe Field today with more than just Civil War pride on the line. Two wins would give Oregon nine Pacific-10 Conference wins, which would already equal its total from last season with eight games still to play. Two wins would also solidify the Ducks’ playoff chances, and even its series record with the Beavers since head coach Rick Gamez took over the team last season. Several factors give Oregon a leg up. The home team has won in each of the teams’ four meetings this season: advantage Oregon. Another advantage for the Ducks is that they enter the game with momentum following a two-game sweep of No. 13 Arizona State in Tempe on Saturday. The pair of victories put Oregon (35-22 overall, 7 11 Pac-10) back into the playoff picture and gave it much needed confidence in its final homestand of the season, Gamez said. “I wasn’t sure what to expect from this team after the losses to Arizona,” Gamez said. “But they really did a great job. They were focused and knew that their backs were to the wall. ” After beginning this season with one of the best starts in school history, then struggling to a 5-11 start in the Pac-10, Oregon’s players believe that this team has finally come full circle. “We really got our butts kicked against Arizona,” Turn toUO, Page 9 Hey, enough about you already At the conclusion of Sunday night’s 108-99 Los Angeles Lakers victo ry over Portland, agroup of aging, out-of-shape sportswriters gath ered around Lakers phenom Kobe Bryant to ask him about the effects of a 2-0 series deficit on the opposition. Bryant answered in a manner that has be come all too common in athletics today: "When you see somebody get down on themselves, that’s when you have to attack.” Apparently addressing the assembled me dia by using the word “you,” Bryant unwit tingly pulled the pool of pencil pushers into ins peci giuujj, art ii mtjy could identify with play ing in the first round of the NBA playoffs as a 20-year old sensation. The prac tice has proliferated so much that one can barely make it through the first 10 minutes of SportsCenter without hearing an athlete refer to himself as “you.” Rob Moseley /\na u s driving me nuts. This is getting ridiculous. Over the last four or five years, the propensity of athletes to refer to themselves as “you” has escalated at an alarming rate. The concept of the world’s biggest egos being unable to use the word “I” is mind-numbingly maddening. Taken in context, “you” is a fairly general term used to shed a perceived egotism from the speaker. But as mentioned before, these are some of the world's biggest egos at work. 1 could understand if foe Schmoethe plumber said, “You never want to see your butt crack exposed. ” But Michael Jordan saying, "You just want to go out there and play well, and the points will come” (or something equally as cliche) is ludicrous! I can identify with the need to hike up the seat of my pants now and again, thus justifying the aforemen tioned Mr. Schmoe including me in his peer group, but I, and most other viewers, read ers, etc., have no idea of what it’s like to play in the NBA, much less drop a double nickel on the Knicks. As much as I would love to be included in Michael Jordan’s peergroup, his use of the word “you” in that fictional but-not-unlikely comment above is laugh able at best. A further sampling from the latest Sports Illustrated: Not to pick on the Bryant clan, but Kobe's Turn to MOSELEY, Page 9 Men enter final round in fifth Adam lreaway led uregon with d one-under-pdr 71 to put him in d tie for 11th individudlly By Tim Pyle Sports Reporter In the third round of the Pacific-10 Cham pionships in Orinda, Calif., on Tuesday, the Oregon men’s golf team shot the same score it did in Monday afternoon’s second round but fell from fourth to a tie for fifth place heading into today’s final round. The Ducks' third-round 365 at the 6,352 yard, par-72 Orinda Country Club gives them a combined 20-over-par 1100, which ties them with UCLA. “We didn’t play bad,” head coach Steve Nosier said, “but we could do a little better. We just have to put on our game faces [to day] and play a good round of golf. Hopeful ly we can move past a few of the teams ahead of us.” Andrew Tredway paced Oregon with a one-under-par 71 luesday. 1 redway rose from a tie for 15th to a three-way tie for 11th individually with a combined score of one over-par 217. Host California stayed atop the team ItJclUtJIUUcUU Uespiie SI1UUI ing a seven-over-par 367. The Golden Bears, who have an overall score of 1083, have a five-stroke lead on Arizona State, which rose from fifth to second place on the auciigiu ui a iuuc*iuiuci-pdl OD 1. California’s Dan Arroyo maintained his first-place individual standing with an even-par 72, giving him a three-round total of 208. Joel Kribel gained second place over all and two strokes on Arroyo with a 70 to give him a 209 through 54 holes. The Ducks' Ben Crane fell from a tie for 11th to a four-way tie for 17th with a 75. Crane, who is ranked No. 61 in the Master Turn to GOLF, Page 9 Leaders ■ OREGON: Tredway 217 ■ INDIVIDUAL: Arroyo, Cal., 208 ■ TEAMS: 1. California 1083 2. ASU 1088 3. Arizona 1090 4. Stanford 1096 5. Oregon 1100 (tie) UCLA 1100 Second-half comeback keeps Blazers’ hopes alive Nine Jourth-quarter points by Damon Stoudamire led Portland to the Game 3 victory By Bob Baum The Associated Press PORTLAND — Damon Stoudamire has his first playoff victory, and the Portland Trail Blazers are still alive. Stoudamire scored nine of his 18 points in a fourth-quarter surge Tuesday night as the Blazers over came Shaquille O’Neal's 36-point, 16-rebound performance to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 99-94. The Lakers still lead the best of-five first-round series 2-1, but the Blazers can pull even with a home-court victory in Game 4 on Thursday night. Walt Williams scored 17 points as the Blazers’ reserves outscored their Lakers’ counterparts 26-12. Lsaiah Rider had lBpointsand 10 rebounds. He was only six for 19 from the field, but sealed the vic tory with four free throws in the final 8.1 seconds. O’Neal was 16 for 23 from the field, including six for seven in the fourth quarter, but made only four of 12 free throws, in cluding two misses with 59 sec onds remaining and the Lakers trailing 94-90. In fact, all the Lakers were just 19-for-35 from the line. Turn to BLAZERS, Page 8
