Want A Challenge? OFFICER TRAINING SCHOOL Start your career off on the right foot by enrolling In the Air Force OfficerTraining School. There you will become a commissioned officer in just 12 weeks. From the start you'll enjoy great pay, complete medical and dental care, 30 days of vacation each year, AIM HIGH www.airforce.com plus the opportunity to travel and see the world. To discover how high a career in the Air Force can take you, call 1-800-423-USAF, or visit our website at www.airforce.com Oregon vs. Washington Faculty/Staff Night Friday, January 1 5 7:00 pm Mac Court Admission is $2 for faculty/staff and guests when you show your ID at the door. STUDENTS!! Wear your hardhats to the game and collect your Webfoot decal to be eligible for great prizes at the end of the season!! Oregon vs. Washington State Pom Pom Day Sunday, January 1 7 1:00 pm Mac Court First 2,000 fans receive a pom pom Fox Sports will be broadcasting the game, so bring your smile, bring a sign and say "Hi" to Mom on TV! For more information call 346-4461. www.goducks.com Attention UO Students! U-Lane-O Credit Union is sponsoring twenty-five undergraduate scholarships, each worth $4,000 per year, for the 1999-2000 school year. To be considered for a U-Lane-O scholarship, the following documents must be postmarked by February 1, 1999: 1999-2000 UO Scholarship Application Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) U-Lane-O Scholarship Application Pick up your applications today in Oregon Hall. p8C900 Falcons face Vikings’ offense we NtC championship game on Sunday will prove challenging for Atlanta By Paul Newberry The Associated Press SUWANEE, Ga. — Ray Buchanan is sleeping just fine this week. No, he hasn’t suffered any nightmares about the prospect of lining up across from Randy Moss in the NFC championship game. “I’m going to take a butter knife out on the field," Buchanan, the Atlanta Falcons’ Pro Bowl comer back, said Wednesday. “If I cut him and he bleeds, that lets you know this man is human." Of course, Buchanan was being facetious. No knives will be al lowed Sunday at the Metrodome, though it might be the only effec tive way to halt the seemingly un stoppable Minnesota offense. The Vikings set an NFL record with 556 points during the regu lar season, then blew out Arizona 41-21 in a divisional playoff game last week. They have an endless supply of weapons that only be gin with Moss, the NFC’s rookie of the year with 69 receptions for 1,313 yards and 17 touchdowns. There’s NFC offensive player of the year Randall Cunningham, who threw for 3,704 yards and 34 TDs in a remarkable comeback season. There’s Cris Carter, who had a team-high 78 receptions for 1,011 yards and 12 scores. There’s Robert Smith, who rushed for 1,187 yards. There’s an offensive line that features Pro Bowlers Todd Steussie, Randall McDaniel and Jeff Christy. There’s return specialist David Palmer, who lines up all over the field. “There’s no way we’re going to stop them,” Falcons’ coach Dan Reeves said. “What we’re hoping to do is contain them, come up with a key play here and there to slow them down.” Still, if there was ever a team capable of beating the Vikings, it’s the Falcons. They have a punish ing runner in Jamal Anderson and a close-to-the-vest offense that led the league in time of possession. They don’t make many mistakes, either, also leading the NFL in turnover margin with a plus-20. “I think the biggest factor is go ing out there and letting them know they’re not going to be throwing the ball all over the place,” said Michael Booker, the other cornerback. “They’re not going to have that much time.” While the Vikings averaged nearly 35 points per game, no team scored that many in even one game against the Falcons. They allowed just 18 points per game — fourth-lowest in the NFL — and ranked second in run de fense and eighth in fewest yards allowed. “In the history of Atlanta, the defense has always been kind of the stepchild,” end Lester Ar chambeau said. “This is a differ ent year. Our defense is respected now.” Buchanan, safety Eugene Robinson and linebacker Jessie Tuggle were voted to the Pro Bowl, and someone from the de fensive line probably should have been. “Great players and great de fenses love great challenges,” said Archambeau, who led the team with a career-high 10 sacks. "Everybody is excited about going up there and showing Minnesota and the rest of the country what kind of defense we really are.” Buchanan, who had a team high seven interceptions, spent most of the season lining up against the other teams’ top re ceivers. But the Falcons aren’t saying how they plan to stop Moss, Carter, Cunningham and Co. Maybe Buchanan lines up one on-one against Moss. Or, more likely, the Falcons assign Booker and safety Eugene Robinson to double Moss and let Buchanan work solo against Carter. Brister finds success in Denver Following a difficult season with the Jets and then a year off Brister is glad to be a Bronco ByJohnMossmann The Associated Press DENVER — It was one of those disastrous seasons that can kill a career, and nearly did. But after enduring a purgatorial year with the New York Jets in 1995, and then being out of foot ball the following year, Bubby Brister has found peace and suc cess in Denver. After playing sparingly for the Broncos in 1997, Brister emerged as a competent backup to John El way when the latter suffered ham string, back and rib injuries this season. Brister, 36, started four games this season — all victories. In an other, he engineered a 34-17 comeback victory over Oakland in relief of Elway. “Since I’ve been here, it's like I’ve died and gone to football heaven,” Brister said Wednesday as he and the Broncos prepared for Sunday’s AFC championship game against his former team. Brister, who played seven years in Pittsburgh and two in Philadel phia, signed a free-agent contract with the Jets prior to the 1995 sea son — a season he finds unforget table, but for all the wrong rea sons, “As bad as it gets,” he said in describing the 3-13 campaign. He started four games in the middle of the season with modest results, sharing quarterback du ties with Boomer Esiason and Glenn Foley. “It was pretty frustrating at the time, thinking free agency was coming into play and (coach Rich) Kotite was moving to New York and I knew the system and we had the money to get players, and then we didn’t,” Brister said. “It’s fnistrating when you’re back there holding the ball and you know you really don’t have the players to compete. “I felt sorry for Esiason that year, he got killed. And Foley got killed. I was just happy I could run a little bit or I probably would have gotten killed, too. “There wasn’t a lot of disci pline on the team. Things got out of hand there for a while.” The Jets went 1-3 in the four games Brister started, and in his last start, chaos erupted. With the Jets trailing 3-0, Bris ter was benched in favor of F’oley, who then injured a shoulder. Kotite told Brister to re-enter the game, but he declined. Brister said Esiason also declined. “I told Kotite, ‘You benched me, I’m in the back of the line,”’ Brister said. "If he's stupid enough to bench me when it's 3 0, I’m stupid enough to say I’m not going in.” The incident, and the season, could have been a career-killer, and, indeed, Brister found no de mand for his services in 1996. Brister spent the year at home, even as the Jets limped to a 1-15 record and surely could have used him. Enter Bill Parcells in 1997, and the Jets’ revival began. “I’ve got some friends on that team, like Mo Lewis and Marvin Jones,” Brister said, “and I’m hap py to see that they’ve rebuilt their program.” Brister rebuilt his own career, thanks to a recommendation to Broncos coach Mike Shanahan from linebacker Bill Romanows ki, who had played with the quar terback in Philadelphia. “I thought my career might be over,” he said. “When you're out of the game like I was, 1 think you appreciate it more. I felt like I could still run and throw and could help somebody win. I want ed to play again.” New coach brings respect and victories to ASU Beating the Wildcats Thursday would be a milestone for coach Rob Evan’s program. By Bob Baum The Associated Press TEMPE, Ariz. — Sixteen games into his first season at Ari zona State, with his team getting better and better, coach Rob Evans would love a breakthrough victory for his promising pro gram. Thursday night’s matchup with seventh-ranked Arizona provides the perfect opportunity. ‘It's like the UCLA game,” Evans said. "Had we won the UCLA game, that would have been a milestone for this pro gram. Beating Arizona would be a milestone for this program.” Evans came to Arizona State from Mississippi, taking over a Sun Devil program still recover ing from the shame of a point shaving scandal, a program try ing to escape the long shadow of Lute Olson and his highly suc cessful teams down InterstatelO at Arizona. Of the players on the Sun Dev ils’ roster, only Bobby Lazor has beaten Arizona, and that was when he was a freshman and sophomore at Syracuse, before he transferred to Arizona State. The Sun Devils hav.en’t beaten the Wildcats since 1995, a span of six games. “You hear Arizona this and Arizona that,” ASU guard Eddie House said. “Well, if you beat Ari zona, it’s going to turn around. People are going to start talking about Arizona State.” After a miserable start that in cluded homecourt losses to Northern Arizona and New Or leans, Arizona State has won eight of its last 10 to improve to 10-6 overall, 2-2 in the Pac-10. The two losses were heartbreak ers, 72-70 at USC and 88-85 in overtime at UCLA. Last week, the Sun Devils blew out Washington by 24 points and Washington State by 28, the first time in 11 years that Arizona State has had back-to-back 20 point Pac-10 victories.