Trail Blazers hungry for championship
By Lanaon Hall
The Associated Press
TUALATIN — They all came to
Portland with their best days be
hind them, hoping to give the
young Trail Blazers enough lead
ership and veteran guile to win a
championship.
Now, after their first regular sea
son together, veterans Scottie Pip
pen, Steve Smith and Detlef
Schrempf get to see whether all
their experience will be enough to
get the Blazers close to their goal.
“We’re a very hungry team,”
Scottie Pippen said before Thurs
day’s practice as the Blazers pre
pare for Sunday’s Game 1 of their
best-of-5 series against Minnesota.
“These players have a chance to
do something special.”
Portland advanced to the West
ern Conference finals last year,
only to be crushed 4-0 by the San
Antonio Spurs. The seasoned
Spurs exposed the-Blazers as a
temperamental bunch that wilted
under pressure despite talent.
When the unpredictable Isaiah
Rider is your best player, there’s
only so far you can go. With bil
lionaire owner Paul Allen’s re
sources and his deep desire for a
title, big changes were on the way.
In came Pippen, who was trad
ed from Houston for six Blazers —
one of whom, Stacey Augmon,
was waived and wound up back in
Portland; next was Smith, who
was traded for Rider and Jim Jack
son, and then Schrempf, signed as
a free agent.
Their salaries caused the Blaz
ers’ payroll to balloon to almost
$74 million, and what Allen really
bought was the kind of experience
the Spurs had.
Pippen, Smith and Schrempf
have appeared in 331 playoff
games among them. The other
eight players in the Blazers’ rota
tion have 322 postseason games,
and 98 of those belong to backup
point guard Greg Anthony.
“You want to come to an organi
zation that has a window of oppor
tunity better than others, and I
think we have that,” Smith said.
“We have a good chance, and
we’re probably one of six teams
that really have a legitimate
chance.”
Pippen and Smith have had
mixed results this season. Each
has played brilliantly at times but
also wallowed in terrible slumps.
Pippen seemed to score only
when he had to, or when he had a
lane to the basket and wanted to
show he still could cut and slash.
Schrempf has been a depend
able reserve, but has talked of re
tirement after 14 seasons. He aver
aged 7.5 points, his lowest since
his rookie season, and saw his
minutes cut from 35.3 to 21.6.
Unlike Schrempf, Pippen and
Smith welcomed their reduced
roles. Pippen averaged 33.5 min
utes, down from a career-high 40
last season. And Smith’s minutes
(32.8, down from 36.5 last season)
allowed him to keep his bad knees
healthy and play in all 82 games
for the first time in his career.
“They all accepted and wanted
reduced minutes, and they all had
very good years,” said Blazers
president and general manager
Bob Whitsitt. “It allowed us to get
some of the younger guys minutes
and let them play.”
Second-year shooting guard
Bonzi Wells appears to be the next
Blazers’ star. The 23-year-old has
averaged 8.8 points this season,
double his average from last sea
son, and will make his first play
off appearance Sunday.
Asked what his advice regard
ing the playoffs was, Pippen
replied: “You just relax and play
hard. It’s like the regular season;
the games are just a little bit more
intense.”
Softball
continued from page 9A
ball, Gustafson was the benefici
ary of a phone call from her coach
at Lane to Oregon head coach
Rick Gamez. She was given the
opportunity to try out, and she
impressed Gamez and his staff
enough to earn a spot on the Ore
gon squad.
“She was a kid that would
come out early and stay late,”
Gamez said. “She has worked her
self into a darn good player. Her
stats speak for themselves.”
This season Gustafson is the
Ducks’ second-leading hitter,
with a .346 batting average. She’s
also tied for third on the team
with 29 runs batted in.
Gustafson’s tough persona has
helped her come from a mere
walk-on player to a major contrib
utor. She is now the lead-off hitter
I
and an offensive catalyst.
“She’s great. She gets a walk, a
base hit, or a home run, she lets us
know what the pitcher is throw
ing,” fellow senior and roommate
Jill Robinson said. “She’s really
aggressive.
“I always have to fight with her
for the remote control at home.
She’s always trying to be tough
with my dogs. But the other day I
came home and she was asleep
with my dog cuddling in her
arms.”
According to Robinson,
Gustafson is a “softy” who tries to
act tough, which is why the song
that plays when she goes to bat is
a perfect fit.
Gustafson said she chose “The
Humpty Dance” by Digital Under
ground mainly as a joke.
“I really wanted the Humpty
Dance because I really like rap
music,” Gustafson said. “It just
fits me. It’s funny because my
teammates know I’m really into
rap and I’m laid back and funny.”
This weekend Gustafson will
be anything but laid back as she
returns to her hometown of-Cor
vallis to take on No. 14 Oregon
State for the last time. The double
header is big for the whole team
because the Beavers (31-13-1
overall, 3-8 Pacific-10 Confer
ence) got the best of the Ducks
(30-18, 4-6) at Howe Field on
April 11th. But Gustafson said she
feels more pressure because her
friends and family will be there.
“I remember going there last
year and not playing the way I
wanted to,” Gustafson said. “And
this being the last time, I wanna
play the way people remember
me playing in high school. It’s al
ways tough because I know
there’s going to be a lot of people
there I know and I want to play
well for them.”
But Gustafson will not be able
to beat Oregon State alone. She is
going to need her teammates to
step up and contribute at the
plate. Recently that has not been a
problem for the Ducks, winners of
six of the last seven. During that
stretch, Oregon has scored 34
runs while giving up only 20.
“We’re going to continue to try
to the put the ball in play and
make their defense work a little
bit,” Gamez said. “We’ll need to
shorten up our swings so we can
put more runners on and produce
more runs.”
Gustafson will be a big part of
that. After starting the season bat
ting in the third spot, she was re
cently moved into the lead-off
spot, which has benefited both
her and the team.
Since moving to the lead-off
spot, Gustafson has gone seven for
21 with three RBIs and three runs
scored.
“She showed signs of being a
pretty good lead-off hitter, so we
moved her there and kept her
there,” Gamez said. “And it’s paid
off.”
Not only has she set the table
nicely for the big bats in Oregon’s
lineup, Gustafson has also been a
steadying force in the middle of *
the infield, helping along younger
players such as shortstop Alyssa
Laux.
“Her experience has been a big
factor for the infield,” Gamez said.
“The right side has been pretty
solid all along.”
It will have to remain that way
to control the potent Beaver of
fense. Oregon State’s lineup fea
tures Tarrah Beyster who leads
the team in batting at .449 and in
home runs (11) and RBIs (35).
“Hopefully we’ll play a little
better defense,” Gamez said.
“And we hope to get some better
pitching performances up there.”
Jesus: A Furious Lover or a Finger Pointing Judge?
A fresh look at a not so new Person. BY: Carl Sanders
This Sunday is the
celebration of Easter, which despite
being masked by Cadbury Eggs, fun
baskets, and the Easter Bunny, has
always brought to attention the
question of: “Who is Jesus ChristT’
We all bring to the table our own
preconceived notions about who this
person is and what he stands for.
These thoughts include a wide range
of views of who Jesus is and come
from many different influences; what
we have heard other people say
about this man, what we have
gathered from His apparent
followers, and what we ourselves
may have dreamed up to make Him
comfortable. What we think of Jesus
certainly influences how we view
His life and message. This Easter I
ask the question: Have you seen the
real Jesus?
Many of us have
encountered the wrong Jesus. This
tragedy has resulted in an acceptance
of a wrong perception of reality. A
false perception because we think we
know who Jesus is, and because of
this, have possibly written him off as
being something He is not. This
tragedy is built upon misinformation.
Jesus is often portrayed as a Finger
pointing judge, but I am suggesting
that He is a furious lover. Many,
including those who claim to follow
Him, have broadcast this false view
of Jesus. This view that He is an
earthly representation of an eternal
recorder of rights and wrongs. His
name has been used to justify the
destruction of people’s lives through
colonization, war, and forced
conversion. Yet when one looks
thoughtfully «t his life a different
picture appears. He never advocated
killing or forced conversion. He
simply lived His life, which included
healing, performing miracles,
confronting hypocrisy, and preaching
about the mysteries of life. Jesus’
unique personality drew people to
Him. They came to Him not because
of He had a judgmental attitude, but
because of His furious love for
people, whom He called friends.
This love ultimately led to His death,
a death He did not resist. What a
different picture this is than what we
often see lived out by those who
claim to follow Him.
Brennan Manning, a
contemporary author convinced that
we often see the wrong Jesus, writes
“He is not moody or capricious; he
knows no seasons of change. He has
a single relentless stance toward us:
he loves us. He is the only God man
has ever heard of who loves sinners .
. . But of course this is almost too
incredible for us to accept.” In this
statement Manning raises the
question: Is Jesus a finger pointing
judge as He is often been made out
to be or is He perhaps a furious
lover.
Jesus spent most of His
time on Earth with sinners, those
labeled as unworthy of God’s love.
Simply put, Jesus loves sinners.
Whether we like it or not we all fit
into that category, though we may
not want to admit it because of our
pride. The Gospel of John reports
that on one occasion Jesus was
approached by a group of people
known as the Pharisees and the
Teachers of the Law, basically a
group of folks who think they are
better than most because they strictly
adhered to an exhaustive list of laws.
They brought to Him a woman who
was caught in the act of adultery.
They wanted to see if Jesus will let
them publicly stone her to death as
their law of the times allowed. They
came to Jesus, much like many of us,
with their own views on who He is.
They wanted to put Him in a position
that would allow them to arrest Him,
because He did not fit the mold they
had made for Him Jesus once again
broke their preconceived view of
who they thought He was. It is said,
that as all eyes were most likely on
the embarrassed, paraded woman,
Jesus bent down and began to write
in the sand. The account doesn’t
report what Jesus wrote, but that is of
little importance. All that matters is
that He, the one everyone came to
see, was doing something. With this
act Jesus put all of the attention on
Himself, and took it away from the
woman. If anyone was going to be
humiliated, Jesus would not let it be
the woman, even though to everyone
else she deserved such punishment.
Jesus did not look at this woman,
caught in the act of adultery, as we
do. Jesus only saw the woman
confused, lost, and in need of love.
He sees her need and her hurt. We
see her mistakes.
I think many who
witnessed this event left with a new
view of Jesus. A view that forced
them to leave behind their notions
that He only looked out for those
who deserved something. I think
they took hold of a fresh new
perspective of Jesus as a furious
lover who will stop at nothing to
show love to His children.
“Jesus comes for sinners,
for those as outcast as tax collectors
and for those caught up in squalid
choices and failed dreams. He
comes for corporate executives,
street people, superstars, farmers,
hookers, addicts, IRS agents, AIDS
victims, and even used car
salesman,” writes Manning. This
quote illustrates that Jesus is not the
joyless judge we may think he is, but
rather a furious lover. He is God
who made himself vulnerable by
invading our humanity, a God who
invites you and me, no matter where
we stand in the spectrum of
worthiness, to be His table guests.
He longs to share not only a meal,
but also the true life He brings.
May we be caught by the
Love of Jesus this Easter, and let go
of our own ideas that He is a finger
pointing judge. May we not be
misguided and accept a cheapened,
fake Jesus who makes us
comfortable, but seek to know Him
for who He is. With this change in
view of who He is, may we slowly
accept the Gospel of Grace He
preached. A Gospel that hinges on
the fact that He came not to seek and
destroy, but to save that which was
lost.
Sponsored by various followers of Jesus at U of O