Burton • Santa Cruz
• Ride • Rossignol •
Salomon *K2
YOUR SNOWBOARDING
HEADQUARTERS
S'h&W&OMd* Slcjs.
I3t* l Liwrtucc • Eugene • 6*3-1300 • vm.btnnkishot.cofli
ittrqy/HI/hop
Purchase any North
Face Gore-Tex
Jacket from Berg's
and receive a
Fleece Vest
backpack
Free!
($70
Value)
13th & Lawrence • Eugene • 683*1300
www.bergsskisttop.com
llBillBlIlllplllll
TOYS-DVDs
UNGERIE'&MORE
EXCL
ZLjtivELV
ifKMT
1166 South A Springfield
Open 24-7
(Almost)
726-6969 /A
I
: ULffcaji*. gl MlSaM^Arr
wIviBf SIWMwm w*Q jJ* wvBCU w3B5 fyCyftXS
of artists in a digital world? Get
♦W|Y Awimn SMtSCi#* ^
different point-of-view.
ARTISTS
AGAINST
PIRACY
www.ArtistsAgainstPiracy.com
Hockey returns to
its home ground
■After a week off, the Ducks
are healthy and ready to
rebound from tough losses
By Inge Scheve
for the Emerald
The Oregon club hockey team
faces off with Western Washington
University this Friday and Satur
day for its last home games of the
fall term.
IsportsF7
The Ducks
don’t expect
an easy oppo
nent in the
Vikings, said
Oregon cap
tain Tyler
Shaffar.
“Last year they were a really
good team,” he said, noting that the
Vikings field one of the best players
in the league in forward Julien
Lalonde from Quebec, Canada.
“They’re underrated,” Shaffar
said. “They have a really solid or
ganization, top notch.”
Oregon defenseman Tim Gib
bons agrees: “I’m expecting a tough
game. We’ll work hard and give it
60 minutes of focus.”
In preparing for the weekend’s
games, the Ducks have looked back
on what didn’t work leading up to
these games. The last few games
have been frustrating for the Ducks,
especially in Seattle where Oregon
dropped two games to Northwest
rival Washington.
This week’s practice has re
volved around simplicity, Shaffar
said. Simple vortex, quick passing
and timing to refocus what’s hap
pening on the ice.
“We have the better skills, but
we’re not executing. We just don’t
work together,” Shaffar said. “We
should not be 6-7 right now.”
On a brighter note, almost every
one is back injury-free after a game
less weekend that healed the
wounds from Seattle.
Josh Hardin will be back as the
main goalie, but the starting line for
Friday has not yet been picked,
Shaffar said.
Friday is also a mini-Greek night,
Shaffar said.
“We’re hoping to get a decent
sized crowd this weekend,” he
said.
Both games will be played at the
Lane County Ice Arena at 7:30 p.m.
Pac-10 may consider
withdrawing from BCS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Pa
cific-10 Conference could with
draw from the Bowl Championship
Series if No. 5 Oregon State isn’t
picked for the Fiesta Bowl.
“I think the BCS has been very
good for college football, but it has
to be good for all the participants,”
commissioner Tom Hansen told the
Los Angeles Times on Tuesday.
The Fiesta Bowl is preparing for
Sunday’s pick of teams to play in
one of the BCS’s four major bowls.
No. 2 Miami and No. 11 Notre
Dame are the leading teams for the
Fiesta Bowl. Oregon State (10-1),
whose only loss was by three points
at Pac-10 champion Washington,
could lose out on the big payoff of a
BCS bowl. Relegating the Beavers to
the Holiday Bowl would cost the
Pac-10. which shares bowl rev
enues, about $4 million.
The Pac-10 contract to take part
in the BCS expires in 2006.
“There is an extra burden on the
Fiesta Bowl this year. I hope they
feel that,” Hansen said of the possi
bility that Fiesta officials could ig
nore Oregon State’s higher BCS
standing and go for a Notre Dame
Miami matchup.
Another scenario has No. 8
Kansas State getting an automatic
Fiesta berth if it beats current No. 1
Oklahoma in the Big-12 title game.
That would give the Fiesta selectors
just one at-large choice for their
game, which has a $13.5 million
payout.
The Rose Bowl is in the BCS ro
tation to have a No. 1-2 game once
every four years. But the No. 2 team
in the Pac-10 has regularly been
shut out of the other premier bowls
in the BCS. Arizona was the only
at-large selection for a major bowl
in recent years, going to the 1994
Fiesta Bowl.
In 1997, No. 5 UCLA was by
passed by the Sugar Bowl in favor
of No. 9 Ohio State. UCLA instead
went to the Cotton Bowl.
“The Pac-10 may be better off go
ing back to the Rose Bowl and for
getting the rest,” Hansen said. “I
wouldn’t want to continually sub
ject our teams to the anticipation oi
being selected and fairly consid
ered when it just doesn’t happen.”
The BCS rankings have Oregon
State at No. 6 and Fiesta Bowl offi
cials have said the Beavers are still
a high consideration.
Holiday hooks'Horns
By Bernie Wilson
The Associated Press
SAN DIEGO — The Holiday
Bowl has hooked the Texas Long
horns for its game Dec. 29.
Or, as Texas coach Mack Brown
sees it, the ’Horns hooked the Holi
day Bowl.
“I feel the Holiday Bowl is really
excited about this team, but they
can’t be more excited about us than
we are about going,” Brown said af
ter the Longhorns accepted the Hol
iday Bowl’s invitation Wednesday.
The No. 12 Longhorns (9-2) have
a lot to look forward to on their first
trip to San Diego, which happens to
be the hometown of Ricky
Williams, who won the Heisman
Trophy at Texas in 1998.
The Longhorns wanted to play in
this game not only for the chance to
play a top 10 team from the Pacific
10 Conference and hopefully finish
in the top 10 themselves, but also
for recruiting exposure in Southern
California.
“They really, really want to be
here,” Holiday Bowl executive di
rector John Reid said.
The Holiday Bowl would like to
bring in No. 5 Oregon State (10-1),
but the Beavers remain in the Bowl
Championship Series picture. If the
Beavers receive an invitation to a
BCS game on Sunday, the Holiday
Bowl will invite No. 9 Oregon (9-2).
Regardless of the opponent,
Brown got a head start on scouting.
“I got the Oregon-Oregon State
film out today and started watching
it,” he said during a conference call.
“I figured that’s about all we can do
between now and Sunday.”
The Longhorns are on a six-game
winning streak going into their
third straight bowl game under
Brown, and their 40th overall. >