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Best Bet
NBA Playoffs
Indiana vs. Milwaukee
7:30 p.m., TBS
Monday
May 1,2000
Volume 101, Issue 142
Emerald
Offense shines in final spring scrimmage
Kevin Calame Emerald
With his pinpoint passing, redshirt freshman Jason Fife raised eyebrows and seemed to secure the No. 3 quarterback job.
■ Oregon did the expected,
controlling the reserves and
winning 31-0 to cap off the
spring season
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
There may not have been
40,000 screaming fans packed in
Autzen Stadium. There may not
have been an actual game being
played on Saturday afternoon.
Heck, there may not have even
been a real opponent.
But there was football.
And that’s all that mattered to
the 8,573 die-hard followers
who soaked in the Oregon foot
ball team’s annual Spring Game
under gorgeous blue skies in
Autzen.
At Thursday’s practice, head
coach Mike Bellotti said he
would be tough to satisfy in Sat
urday’s annual intrasquad
Spring Game.
The coach expected his Green
team — made up of first- and
second-teamers — to dominate
his White team — composed of
third- and fourth-stringers.
The Green team passed for
364 yards and reached the end
zone four times in shutting out
the White team 31-0 to close out
the spring season.
Was it enough to impress the
coach, who watched the entire
game from a bird’s eye view up
in the press box?
“Umm ... temporarily. Let me
say that,” Bellotti said. “I’m nev
er completely satisfied. I feel like
we’ve made some progress this
spring. I was pleased with the
way the green group operated.”
It didn’t take long for Joey Har
rington and the rest of the start
ing corps to set the tone for the
afternoon.
The White offense went an
unimpressive three-and-out to
open the game. Harrington then
trotted onto the field in his mal
lard green uniform at the 12:40
mark of the first quarter.
He came out firing on his first
play, a 16-yard
completion to
wide receiver
Keenan
Howry. On the
next play, Har
r i n g t o n
showed poise in the pocket and
found wide receiver Marshaun
Tucker deep downfield for a 40
yard pick up.
All of a sudden it was first
and-goal from the seven-yard
line, and Harrington handed off
to redshirt freshman tailback Joe
Broder, who rumbled home for
the touchdown. Broder led all
rushers with 43 yards on seven
carries.
Josh Frankel proceeded to
knock through the extra point
Turn to Football, page 14
competition brewing at quarterback spot
■ It wasn’t Joey Harrington or A.J. Feeley who made the
biggest impact at quarterback Saturday; surprisingly,
it was redshirt freshman Jason Fife
By Peter Hockaday
for the Emerald
Spring football practices are
over, and it would seem the
Ducks would have one question
answered — who will play quar
terback.
But head coach Mike Bellotti
has almost too much depth at the
signal-calling position.
The surprise of Saturday’s
spring football game came from
the No. 3 quarterback hopefuls. In
the second half, California natives
Jason Fife and Orlando Evans led
the green and white teams with
first-stringers Joey Harrington and
A.J. Feeley on the bench.
Fife instantly made an impact,
leading the first-string green team
to a touchdown and a field goal
in two drives. Fife went 14 for 17
for 186 yards — one more total
yard than Harrington — in the
Ducks’ final spring game.
“He runs the offense really
well,” wideout Keenan Howry
said of the redshirt freshman’s
performance. “It’s just a matter of
time before he steps in and takes
over the helm.”
Harrington, meanwhile,
played well all spring including
in Saturday’s scrimmage, and he
seems the clear-cut No. 1 QB go
ing into the fall. Harrington went
eight of 10 for 185 yards and a
touchdown.
More importantly, Harrington
led only four drives Saturday,
three of which resulted in scores.
“I feel a lot more confident
[than last year],” Harrington said.
“I’m a lot more consistent out
there on the field.”
Feeley has been bothered by re
occurring arm problems, but no
body knows how much work he
needs more than Feeley himself.
“All I’m worried about right
now is taking care of myself and
preparing my arm,” Feeley said
after his three-for-10 performance
on Saturday. “My goals for the
fall are the same as they’ve al
ways been, and that’s to be back
at number one.”
Feeley may be shooting for No.
1, but nobody is questioning his
No. 2 status — yet.
UO keeps taking right strides
■The Oregon women’s track and
field team shows improvement at
Saturday’s Oregon Invitational
By Mirjam Swanson
Oregon Daily Emerald
As if the possibility of personal records
and Pacific-10 Championship qualifying
marks weren’t incentive enough for the
members of the Oregon women’s track
and field team Saturday, event winners
also got to go home with nifty Oregon In
vitational souvenirs.
“We got the sweatshirts!” exclaimed
sophomore sprinter Endia Abrante in jest
after she anchored the Ducks’ 4x400 relay
team’s meet-ending win in 3:45.34, yet an
other personal best for the group. “We
PR’d by two seconds, so what can you
say? I looked up at the clock and I was just
amazed. It’s a great way to end the track
meet.”
And a fitting way. The quartet of sopho
more Jenny Kenyon, freshmen Eri Mac
donald and Janette Martin and Abrante, or
at least some combination of that core,
have improved with each race this season.
They ran a 3:48.20 at the Hayward Relays
on April 8, a 3:47.14 at Mt. SAC on April
15, and then a 3:46.88 at the April 22
Washington Dual.
On Saturday, Kenyon ran the first leg
less than a 1/2 hour after finishing fifth
the 200-meter dash. And when Oregon’s
only heptathlete handed the baton to Mac
donald, the Ducks were
nearly even with Seat
tle Pacific.
Macdonald faded a
bit down the back
stretch, seemingly tired
from her spectacular
come-from-behind win
less than an hour earlier.
But then, exactly as she had in the 800,
Macdonald rocketed off the final curve to
put her team in the lead.
Martin extended the advantage, and
Abrante affirmed the fact.
Turn to Women, page 12
Ducks stumble against UA
■The No. 17 Oregon softball saw its
four-game conference winning
streak broken after dropping two
straight to No. 2 Arizona
By Matt O'Neill
Oregon Daily Emerald
What started out as a promising week
end tinned into a two-game losing streak
for the No. 17 Oregon softball team.
The Ducks (33-20 overall, 5-8 Pacific-10
Conference) opened the three-game set
with a 1-0 win over No. 4 Arizona State,
but then dropped the next two to No. 2 Ari
zona 2-0 on Saturday, and 1-0 on Sunday.
Despite the consecutive losses head
coach Rick Gamez is pleased with where
his team is at this point of the conference
season.
“I don’t think that anybody expected us
to win or to be where we are [in the Pac-10
standings],” Gamez said. “We were picked
to finish last in the conference and here we
are in the thick of things.”
Starting pitcher Connie McMurren held
the Wildcats to five hits Sunday, but one of
those hits was the winning one. McMurren
gave up a home run to Allison Andrade in
the top of the third inning for the game’s
only run.
Arizona also had another scoring oppor
tunity in the seventh but was failed to
score, thanks to a controversial call that
negated a would-be run.
With runners on first and third and none
Hout, Lauren Bauer hit a
dribbler down the first
reached to tag Bauer
wards home plate. The
home-plate umpire
called her out, but the runner from third
crossed the plate, temporarily pushing the
Wildcat lead to 2-0.
After a discussion with the officials,
Gamez protested and forced the umpiring
Turn to Softball, page 20