Ducks swing for
domination today
The Oregon softball
team tangles with
Simon Fraser
By Tim Pyle
Oregon Daily Emerald
Simon Fraser should pose no
threat to the Oregon softball
team in a 1 p.m. game today at
Howe Field.
But the same was said of Port
land State, which made the No.
17 Ducks (35-20 overall, 7-11 Pa
cific-10 Conference) work for a
doubleheader sweep in Eugene
on April 14 and then shocked
Oregon with a 5-4, 10-inning
victory in game two in Portland
on April 22 to earn a split.
However, Simon Fraser is
not even on the same level as
the Ducks—literally.
A member of the NAIA, Si
mon Fraser should not be able
to match Division I-A Oregon’s
overall talent.
Leadoff hitter Jill Robinson
gets her first chance at breaking
Heather Holte’s single-season
home run record for the Ducks,
which Robinson matched with
a three-run bomb over the cen
ter-field fence in Sunday’s game
two victory over Arizona State.
Currently, Robinson and
Holte are deadlocked in the
Oregon record books with 12
homers apiece.
From the leadoff spot, Robin
son, a junior who plays center
field, ignites the potent Duck
lineup. In addition to owning
the team lead in homers,
Robinson paces the team in
stolen bases with 18 and has a
.305 batting average, 38 runs
scored and 34 runs batted in.
In that 9-6 win over the No.
10 Sun Devils on Sunday after
noon, Robinson went three-for
four with that homer, two runs,
three RBIs and three steals.
“Anytime she gets on, we try
to do something aggressive,”
Oregon head coach Rick
Gamez said.
Robinson
said she was
surprised at
the first steal
sign she re
ceived from
Gamez be
cause she fouled had fouled a
pitch off of her foot earlier.
“If I have a chance, stealing
is fine,” Robinson said. “I trust
my speed. Not all of the time,
but most of the time. ”
After the Ducks struggled to
just three hits in game one
against Arizona State, Oregon
exploded for a season-high-ty
ing 15 hits in game two. The hit
ters in the first four spots of the
lineup — Robinson, Missy Coe,
Andrea Gustafson and Katie
Mackey — combined for seven
hits, five runs and five RBIs.
Gamez also said the return of
Jennie Cook, who played in
both games Sunday as the des
ignated player but still cannot
pitch as she recovers from a
thumb injury, helps the offense
immensely.
Physical pounding gets to Elway
By John Mossman
The Associated Press
DENVER—John El way will re
tire Sunday because he no longer
believes he can handle the physi
cal punishment of the NFL.
Denver Broncos owner Pat
Bowlen confirmed Monday that
Elway was leaving football be
cause he “felt in his own mind that
he had some physical problems he
didn’t think he could overcome. ”
The usually durable Elway, 38,
missed all or part of six games last
season with hamstring, back and
rib injuries. Of more concern,
however, was a troublesome left
knee. Limping around a golf
course in California last weekend,
he admitted he eventually will re
quire an artificial knee.
Bowlen said the news confer
ence, already delayed several
times, will be held Sunday at a
time and location to be deter
mined later this week.
“We wanted to be very sensitive
to the families involved in the
Columbine [school shooting] situ
ation,” Bowlen said. “We wanted
to make sure we did not in any
way interrupt the grieving
process.
“We feel that Sunday probably
is the time when we could put this
tragedy behind us, and perhaps
John’s press conference could be
received as sort of a happy time.”
In Monday’s Denver Post, El
way left no doubt about his plans.
“Absolutely, I’m retired,” he
told the newspaper. “One of the
reasons I held off saying anything
was to make sure it’s what I would
do.
“I seriously considered coming
back, but I just couldn’t make it be
cause of my knee,” he said. “I’ve
never liked it when an athlete says
he’s retired and then comes back.
Once I’ve decided, I am certain. ”
Bowlen said he was in Australia
nearly two weeks ago, promoting
his team’s Aug. 6 preseason game
there, when he received a tele
phone message from Elway.
“As soon as I got the message, I
knew what it was about,” Bowlen
said. “I called him back and basi
cally it was a short conversation.
He said, ‘Pat, I’ve decided to retire
and go on with the rest of my life. ’ I
told him I respected his decision
and was really happy for him.
“Because I couldn’t get back un
til the following week, we origi
nally decided to announce it on
Wednesday [April 21]. With what
happened at Columbine [April
20], that was very much not appro
priate. And it was just a matter of
time before the press figured out
what was going on.”
Bowlen, who said he will retire
Elway’s No. 7, insisted he would
not lower his expectations for the
two-time Super Bowl champions
this season, despite the loss of the
Hall of Fame-bound quarterback.
“John will be missed, for sure,”
Bowlen said. “But, no, our expec
tations are going to be the same. I
think we’ve got a very solid foot
ball team. Bubby Brister is going to
play well, and, of course, we have
Terrell Davis and many other very
good players on this team.
“I would have loved to have had
John come back for another year.
I’d love to see him three-peat, do
something that no other quarter
back has done in history. But that
wasn’t to be. So we’ll go forward.
We’ll be fine. I think we’ll be a
good football team, if not a great
football team.”
Bowlen said he was more wor
ried about the leadership void left
by Elway’s exit.
“Everybody loves to talk about
the comebacks and all the rest of
those things, but there is much,
much more to John’s participation
on this team than that,” he said.
“His physical accomplishments
are unparalleled, but my biggest
concern right now is the man that
John was — the guy he was in the
locker room and the stability he
brought. Losing that is going to be
difficult for us, quite frankly.”
Even while confronted with the
evidence of Elway’s decision, his
teammates were in a state of denial
Monday.
“I still have to hear it come out
of his mouth before I believe it,”
wide receiver Ed McCaffrey said.
“I just can’t imagine football,
much less the Broncos, without
him.”
Added Davis, “Until I hear it
from him, he’s still on the team.”
Brister, Elway’s heir apparent,
was reluctant to discuss his new
status until the official announce
ment.
“If, in fact, he does retire, I’m go
ing to miss him,” Brister said.
“Nobody will ever be John Elway.
If he does retire, I hope we can
keep the machine rolling.”
But linebacker Bill Romanows
ki said he saw the retirement com
ing.
“Last year when he came back,
he said that definitely was going to
be his last year,” Romanowski
said. “You have to believe what he
said. In my mind it’s always been
official.
“In the two weeks prior to the
Super Bowl last year, John’s inten
sity was unbelievable. I’ve never
seen him like that. He wanted that
game so badly. You just knew.”
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