Tyson may get hit with fine
RENO, Nev. — A member ofithe Nevada Athletic
Commission wants the panel to take a tough stand
and fine Mike Tyson for his punch after the bell Sat
urday night.
The former heavyweight champion and his advis
ers also should get a “strong” letter from the com
mission condemning Tyson’s actions against Orlin
Norris, commissioner Luther Mack said Monday.
Norris went down from the late blow after the first
round, hurt his knee and couldn’t continue. The
fight was declared a no contest, and Tyson’s $8.7
million purse is being withheld pending a commis
sion hearing Friday.
“I would be in favor of some kind of fine based on
what I saw and how the fight took place,” Mack said.
“I don’t have a number in mind. It has to be a sum
that he knows we’re serious. We have to make sure
we protect the integrity of boxing. We have to take a
strong stand.”
Mack, a Reno businessman, said referee Richard
Steele has the right to declare no contest. The ruling
was made after a consultation between Steele, ring
side physician Dr. Flip Homansky and commission
members.
Steele also called the punch an accidental foul,
and that is why Tyson was not disqualified.
The commission released Norris’ purse, but it
withheld Tyson’s share. Because of a managerial cut,
an IRS lien and legal action, Norris was paid only a
little more than $200,000.
Another member of the five-man commission,
Glenn Carano of Reno, said he won’t make up his
mind about what action should be taken until the
matter is brought up in public.
“I’m about as displeased with the outcome of the
fight as any other fan,” Carano said. “You wish a
Mike Tyson fight would not end with a controversial
situation. ... Things just seem to follow Mike Tyson
around.”
The Associated Press
Bliss
Continued from Page 7
missed the entire 1996-97 season
due to an inflamrnated arch and a
torn tendon in his knee.
And so another season passed
with Bliss unable to prove his
worth to Dellinger. Some athletes
would get discouraged by such
misfortune and look elsewhere,
but not Bliss.
“The thought of transferring
never crossed my mind,” Bliss
said. “I was going to run for the
Ducks, and during that summer
following my injury, I stayed in
town and trained hard with other
runners and was determined to
make the team.”
In the fall of 1997, during his
sophomore year of eligibility,
Bliss finally opened up
Dellinger’s eyes with his 10th
place finish at the Willamette In
vitational. He was immediately
thrust into the top seven and
gained valuable experience from
competing in big events such as
the NCAA Championships.
The following season, Bliss fell
short of Dellinger’s expectations
with a poor early-season perfor
mance and was held out of the
Pre-NCAAs.
“I had raced with a bad back,
and to get the axe like that pissed
me off and got the fire burning,”
Bliss said. “For the Oregon Invita
tional a couple of weeks later,
Dellinger held out the varsity
guys and said that whoever wins
the race will get to run varsity. I
knew it had to be me, and it was.”
Bliss went on to finish fourth
for the Ducks at the Western Re
gional and then impressively fin
ished 48th at the championships,
where he nearly became an All
American.
Which leads right back to this
fall, Bliss’ senior-season finale.
“Andrew has stepped up really
well this year and has really im
proved over the years,” said Fein,
the Ducks’ other co-captain. “It’s
a great feat for him to work his
way into the top 25 in the coun
try.”
“Andrew is an example of
someone who has worked hard
and, like all good athletes, is will
ing to persevere,” Smith said.
“His consistent and gradual climb
through the past five years is a
clear-cut example for the younger
athletes of what can be accom
plished.”
Oregon’s freshmen are clearly
taking notice of Bliss’ habits.
“He’s a great runner and leads
by example,” Jason Hartmann
said. “All of the guys respect him
for all he’s done and really look
up to him.”
Bliss also runs track in the
spring for the Ducks, but when
asked to compare the two sports,
a telling smile appears on the face
of a man who clearly loves what
he does in the fall.
“I live for cross country,” Bliss
said, smiling all the way through.
“I just love everything about the
sport and running around over
different surfaces. It’s definitely
my favorite.”
His unquestioned appreciation
for the sport has him less than a
month from securing an All
American berth, a feat he still
can’t imagine is within reach.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to
describe in words what it would
mean to accomplish something
I’ve wanted for such a long time,”
Bliss said.
Pac-10
Continued from Page 7
ter reaching the Rose Bowl.
Be assured, Toledo’s trying his
best to avoid that scenario.
“I’ve yelled at them, I’ve
screamed at them, I’ve worked
their tails off. I’ve done all those
things,” Toledo told the Los An
geles Times. “What I’m going to
do as the head football coach is
I’m going to tell them all that we
need to stick together, we don’t
need to point fingers, we need to
get better.”
For real, though.
UCLA currently ranks eighth in
total offense and ninth in total de
fense among Pac-10 teams. The
only team that’s worse defensive
ly is, fittingly, Stanford, which
gives up more than 470 yards a
game.
Regardless, the Cardinal could
earn the Rose Bowl berth this sea
son — although that’s something
the other Pac-10 teams have yet to
concede. If it does, it will be the
fourth team in seven years to do
so after having a losing record the
season before.
The Cardinal would also be the
Pac-lO’s sixth different Rose Bowl
representative in the past six sea
sons.
Oregon State on a roll, sort of
For all of this season’s surpris
es, Oregon State is about where it
was expected to be.
The Beavers (4-3,1-3) got their
first conference win last Saturday
and remain convinced that they
are in the middle of a wonderful
season.
They’ve won more than they’ve
lost. And for the second time
ever, they’ve drawn more the
30,000 fans for three different
home games.
Now they’re convinced that
they’re going to win at Washing
ton State (2-5,1-3) this weekend.
Oregon State is 0-8-1 in Pull
man since 1978. And those eight
losses haven’t exactly been of the
close variety either.
In those nine meetings, the
Cougars have outscored the Beavs
309-95. In 1989, Oregon State lost
41-3. In 1991, it was 55-7. And 51
6 in 1993.
Of course, the situation is a lit
tle different this season. The
Beavers have Dennis Erickson,
once Washington State’s coach, at
the helm.
And they are coming off the 55
7 blowout of UCLA. So naturally,
confidence is higher than ever —
even if they have to play without
star tailback Ken Simonton, who
was injured in the first quarter
against the Bruins.
Again, that’s not so surprising
because the Beavers confidence
has been almost illogically high
most of the season.
“Before every game [defensive
line coach] Michael Gray asks us,
‘What do you think the final score
will be?”’ Beavers’ senior defen
sive tackle Shawn Ball told the
Corvallis Gazette Times after the
UCLA game. “I put down 42-0, so
I was relatively close.”
Sun Devils try to aviod loss
Arizona State coach Bruce Sny
der watched Reuben Droughns
run all over Arizona last Saturday
and shuddered.
A few hours earlier he’d
watched his top defensive line
man, Junior Ioane, go down with
a knee injury that could possibly
knock him out of action for sever
al weeks.
Add that to the list of the Sun
Devils’ other ailing defensive
players, including safeties Bran
don Faulkner, Alfred Williams
and Willie Daniel, and it’s obvi
ous that Snyder has a legit reason
to worry.
Arizona State is ranked ninth
in the Pac-10 in rushing defense
while the Ducks are ranked first
in total scoring.
Snyder is left hoping that his
standout tailback J.R. Redmond
and a walk-on freshman, Patrick
Wilson, will be able pick up
enough slack in the secondary to
limit the Ducks’ attack, which is
also the 16th-best in the nation.
Fall Career Fair
with participating Graduate & Law Schools
November 3 (One day fair)
11 a.m. - 4 p.m. EMU Ballroom
Check out the list of participating firms and schools at uocareer.uoregon.edu
Special Pre-Fair Presentation
How to Gain Admission to Highly Competitive Graduate Schools
by Don Asher
Monday, November 1 Noon
Alumni Lounge, Gerlinger Hall
*National expert and author of “Graduate Admissions Essays: What Works, What Doesn't and Why”
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
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