UO women
continued from page 7 A
set that it needs to reach the next
level or even to attain the type of
success that it did last season,
when the Ducks benefited from
former guard Lisa Bowyer’s re
lentless in-your-face, in-your
head brand of aggressive play.
“We miss the Lisa Bowyer per
sonality,” Runge said, “because
she exhilarated everybody that
way, with the things that she
did.”
Missing Bowyer, take II
Not totally unexpectedly, the
Ducks are missing Bowyer in an
other department as well: de
fense.
Although Oregon isn’t far off
last season’s all-time Pacific-10
Conference bests in both field
goal percentage defense (.364)
and scoring defense (59.2) this
season, the Ducks have uncharac
teristically allowed individual
players to have huge offensive
games against them.
The most points that any one
player scored against Oregon last
season were the 23 that current
WNBA guard and former Col
orado State standout Becky Ham
mon scored early in the season.
But this year, without their de
fensive standout Bowyer to dis
rupt the other team’s best offen
sive player, the Ducks let
Southwest Missouri State’s Jack
ie Stiles put up 38, DePaul’s
Lanae Williams score 37 and San
Francisco’s Sarah Wanless drop
26.
“Definitely, defensively we’re
missing her,” Runge said.
Dion hanging in there
Junior guard Lindsey Dion,
such an integral part of Oregon’s
Jeffrey Stockton Emerald
junior guard/forward Lindsey Dion is pushing forward despite an ailing right knee.
all-around game plan, has been —
and will be for the remainder of
the season — hindered by a tom
lateral meniscus in her right knee,
which occurred against South
west Missouri State.
She suffered the same injury
last season in the Ducks’ final
game against Iowa State, and it
took her more than three weeks to
completely recover, Runge said.
Unfortunately, with Pac-10
play beginning Saturday at Ore
gon State, Dion doesn’t have the
luxury of taking the necessary
time off to heal.
“She’s not at risk of being more
injured,” Runge said. “It’s just
that it bothers her. It’s definitely a
distraction not to be able to play
the way she wants to play. You
protect it even though you’re not
at risk, so we’re just gonna make
the best of it.”
Dion, a typically hard-nosed
yet-clean Oregon player, will
wear a knee brace for the remain
der of the season.
“It’s OK,” Dion said. “It’s not
any worse and it’s not any better,
but it’s not gonna get better until I
can rest it. It’s fine.”
New Orleans gives Dikta da can
NEW ORLEANS— Mike Ditka
bet just about everything on
Ricky Williams this season. On
Wednesday, he paid with his job.
Ditka was fired by the New Or
leans Saints after three straight
losing seasons, and he said he
would never coach again.
Beloved in Chicago for 11 sea
sons after leading “Da Bears” to
the Super Bowl in 1986, Iron
Mike could not stop a downward
slide in New Orleans that saw the
Saints finish 3-13 to match the
second-worst record in franchise
history.
“We tried, but we didn’t get it
done,” Ditka said. “That’s the
bottom line. When you don’t get
it done you’re going to get out of
there, and in a hurry.”
The 60-year-old Ditka said he
had hoped to stay on as coach de
spite the team’s troubles but de
cided he would never lead a foot
ball team again.
“Nope, never, no,” Ditka said.
Last spring, Ditka puffed an
eight-inch cigar triumphantly af
ter trading eight draft choices —
all the 1999 picks and the No. 1
and No. 3 for 2000 — to get
Williams. At that time, Ditka pro
claimed the Texas running back
the “final piece of the puzzle” for
the Saints and again talked of tak
ing the team to the Super Bowl.
But Williams, who was injured
for much of the season, gained
only 884 yards and two touch
downs rushing — including 7
yards on 14 carries in the final
game.
“I understand it fully: You’re
3-13, you have the expectations
we do, you bring in Ricky
Williams, and it doesn't work
out,” Ditka said. “I mean, we got
to be realists.”
Ditka originally signed a three
year contract and said he should
be fired if he couldn’t accomplish
his goals. He went on to rack up a
15-33 record, including a 6-23
record in the last 29 games, and a
league-leading 14-game road los
ing streak.
This year’s record is the worst
ever for Ditka. His previous worst
mark was 5-11 with the Bears in
1992.
New Orleans scored just 260
points this season, while giving
up 434.
Also fired by owner Tom Ben
son were general manager Bill
Kuharich, senior vice president
Terry O’Neil and the assistant
coaches — in what Benson de
scribed as the first step in return
ing the Saints to the spot the
team enjoyed in the late 1980s,
when it had its only winning
years and made four trips to the
playoffs.
“This was a difficult decision,”
Benson said. “Mike Ditka is one
of the greatest football people
ever.”
The Saints 45-13 loss to the
Panthers on Sunday at the close
of the season was among the
worst in Ditka’s coaching career.
It wrapped up the seventh
straight season New Orleans has
finished without a winning
record.
Despite the poor showing, Dit
ka said Benson’s decision was
surprising.
“I really thought we’d get an
other year,” Ditka said.
Financial terms of Ditka’s de
parture were not disclosed, but
he signed a contract extension
two years ago. The new deal runs
through 2002 and is reportedly
worth $2 million a year.
Benson did not meet with re
porters or answer questions. His
statement said the search for a
new general manager and coach
would begin immediately and
continue until he finds candi
dates to “take us where our orga
nization and our fans want to
be.”
Under Ditka, Chicago dominat
ed the NFC Central with 52 regu
lar-season victories between
1985-88. That was the most wins
by an NFL team in any four-year
period.
Ditka ranked second among
Bears coaches in both tenure and
victories. He coached the Bears to
six NFC Central titles, three ap
pearances in the NFC title game
and a Super Bowl title in 1986.
The Bears were 18-1 that year.
After the Super Bowl, Ditka was
honored as coach of the year.
After being fired by Chicago,
Ditka worked as an NFL com
mentator for four years. He was
hired by the Saints on Jan. 28,
1997.
His first year was marked by
sideline tantrums, yanking play
ers out of games and even a threat
to quit, which he rescinded later.
The Saints were 6-10 and 6-10 in
Ditka’s first two years.
“With all the ranting and rav
ing that people saw, he always
left it on the field,” said quarter
back Billy Joe Tolliver.
“He had his say and moved
on. He was never devious. He’s a
man’s man and a stand up guy
and I have a lot of respect for
him.”
— The Associated Press
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