Birnbaum replaces Leaf at WSU \
Teammates say the
quarterback is eager to
get out of his
predecessor’s shadow
By Nicholas K. Geranios
The Associated Press
PULLMAN, Wash. — You can
scratch one goal off Washington
State quarterback Steve Birn
baum’s quest to replace the irre
placeable Ryan Leaf.
Birnbaum recently tied Leafs
team quarterback record with a
320-pound bench press, and then
waited for the inevitable phone
call from San Diego.
“Hey, buddy, I hear you’re ty
ing some records,” Birnbaum
said, in his best Leaf imitation.
“What’s going on?”
What’s going on is that Leaf is
gone to the San Diego Chargers of
the NFL after shredding the
record books in leading Washing
ton State to the Rose Bowl last
season.
Birnbaum, a little-used under
study, has been handed the start
ing job by coach Mike Price.
At 6-foot-4 and 223 pounds, the
junior is shorter and lighter than
Leaf, claims to have a weaker arm
and admits he lacks the fiery
rhetoric that made Leaf a field
general.
“He could throw it off his back
foot into the end zone,” the 21
year-old Birnbaum said. “I’m
physically not able to do what he
did, the 60-yard bombs.
“My game’s a little different. I
will not try to do what Ryan did,”
Birnbaum added.
Leaf set school records last sea
son with 3,968 passing yards, 34
touchdown passes, 330 passing
yards per game and 5,922 total of
fensive yards, among others.
He took the 10-2 Cougars to the
Rose Bowl for the first time in 67
years.
By contrast, Birnbaum com
pleted just 11 of 19 passes for 142
yards last season, with one touch
down and one interception, in
five games.
Birnbaum was little seen after
mid-season. The team revealed af
ter the Rose Bowl that Birnbaum
had tom the anterior cmciate liga
ment of one knee midway
through the season. He had
surgery in January and missed
spring drills.
But he contends he is 100 per
cent recovered.
“Health permitting, it will be a
great two years,” Birnbaum said.
He got off to a rocky start in
Monday’s first scrimmage, com
pleting just 6 of 15 passes for 34
yards, with one interception.
Offensive lineman Rob
Rainville, one of only two return
ing starters on offense, said the
team has confidence in Birn
baum, despite his lack of game ex
perience.
“Leaf was a guy you wanted on
the field,” Rainville said. “But
when Bimbaum came in, no one’s
confidence came down.
“He’s anxious to get out of Ryan
Leaf s shadow,” Rainville said.
Birnbaum, from Chino Hills,
Calif., expects the Cougars to
throw more short passes to run
ning backs this season, since four
of the Fab Five receivers from
1997 were lost to graduation.
After spending the past couple
of seasons as Leafs roommate,
where they shared marathon
video game battles, Birnbaum got
his chance to start a year early
when Leaf decided to forsake his
senior season for the NFL.
“He was a very good friend on
and off the field. The guy was the j
second pick in the NFL draft,”
Birnbaum said. “I’ve set myself !
some high standards. ’ ’ j
Among the things Birnbaum
learned from Leaf was the danger
of trying to win a game single
handed.
Blazers lower ticket prices by 14%
Officials were afraid of pricing some
fans out of coming to games
By Landon Hall
The Associated Press
PORTLAND — The Portland Trail Blazers, wor
ried that fans would be put off by a scheduled in
crease in ticket prices, announced Tuesday that seat
prices at the Rose Garden would be reduced by an av
erage of 14 percent.
The average ticket at the 19,980-seat arena last sea
son cost $39.40, according to the team. At the re
duced price, the average ticket will cost $34.71 this
season.
Some seats in the upper level will cost as little as
$10. Tickets in the upper levels have been reduced
by 57 percent.
With the new price plan, the team eliminated a
7.5-percent increase that had been scheduled for this
fall because of a contract implemented when the
Rose Garden opened in 1995.
“I think eventually, we could have reached the
point where we would have priced some people out
of coming to a Blazers game,” said Harry Hutt, the
team’s senior vice president of marketing operations.
“We wanted to prevent that.
“Ticket pricing was just too aggressive. We just
wanted to make it more affordable.”
The move also comes as part of owner Paul Allen’s
goal of selling out more games. The Blazers had 10
sellouts in 1997-98.
The price cuts come at a time when many NBA
teams face the threat of losing money and fan loyalty
because of a lockout. The owners locked out players
July 1 after they were unable to reach an agreement
with players on several issues, mostly how much of
the league’s annual revenue should go to player
salaries.
Last week the league said that refunds will be giv
en to season ticket holders, with interest, for any
games canceled because of the lockout.
“Lockout or no lockout, we would have done this
anyway,” Hutt said. “We started planning this back
in February or March.”
The Rose Garden also will lose 1,600 seats after
settling a federal lawsuit with advocates for the dis
abled over the number of wheelchair-accessible seats
should be in the arena, and where they will be
placed. A judge ruled that the Rose Garden’s wheel
chair areas were located in areas less desirable for
game viewing, and that the ticketing system made it
difficult for disabled fans to obtain prime seats.
The $10 upper-level seats had been scheduled to
increase to $15 for the 1998-99 season. The most ex
pensive tickets, lower-level seats that were to go up
to $116.50, will cost $96.05 next season.
Hutt noted that the Blazers’ $34.71 average ticket
price is less than the league average in the NFL
($38.09) and NHL ($40.64).
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