Monday
Best Bet
NBA Basketball: Portland at Boston
6 p.m., KEVU
_ _ _SPORTS EDITOR: JEFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com
Ducks mess with Texas
The Ducks are
led by Joey
Harrington on
offense and
Rashad
Bauman on
defense, as
they hold off a
strong Texas
team to record
their 10th win
TOMORROW:
Joey Harring
ton’s outstand
ing Holiday
Bowl
Oregon’s senior
class ends with a
bang
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
SAN DIEGO — As the fire
works blasted overhead after
Oregon’s 35-30 Holiday
Bowl win over Texas, Ore
gon defensive tackle Jed
Boice walked up to one of
the happiest Oregon fans on
the field.
“Money man!” Boice
yelled as he went in to em
brace the smiling supporter,
whose eyes were barely visi
ble underneath his green
Ducks hat.
As Boice let go of his bear
hug, it was seen that the fan
was none other than Nike
CEO Phil Knight.
Knight was on the field of
Qualcomm Stadium Dec. 29,
seconds after the conclusion
of the Culligan Holiday
Bowl, soaking up every bit of
Oregon’s dramatic win over
the favored Texas Long
horns.
“It was a great season and
what a way to end it!” said
Knight, who started attend
ing Oregon games in early
November again after his
much publicized dispute
with the University over la
bor issues. “God it feels great
right now. We beat Texas! I
mean, Texas. Look at that
team. Wow!
“You watch this team for
four years and see how hard
they work, and it’s just great.
It was really something spe
cial, wasn’t it?”
Knight’s views were sure
ly echoed by all of the Ducks
and their large showing of
fans among the 63,278 in at
tendance on this cool south
ern Californian night. The
victory secured the first 10
win season in Oregon foot
ball history, and helped the
Ducks end the season on a
positive note and get that
nasty taste of the Oregon
State loss out of their
mouths.
“That Oregon State game
is long gone, man,” defen
sive end Jason Nikolao said.
“This game right here was
our Rose Bowl and we
played like it. Texas is a huge
team, but we showed them
that we deserve just as much
respect.”
“We are the Pac-10 co
champs and we showed
why tonight,” said rover
Steve Smith, who snatched
one of the more impressive
interceptions of the season
in the first quarter. “It was a
war and there was a lot of
emotion going around. Vic
tory’s so sweet. If you believe
then you achieve, and that’s
been our motto all year.”
But, as was typical of the
2000 Ducks, they had to
fight and claw their way
right down to the final mo
ments of the game to capture
the win. The Holiday Bowl
has traditionally been a high
scoring, shoot 'em out affair,
and this game was no excep
tion.
The teams entered the
fourth quarter tied up at 21,
with both eyeing a win that
would put itself among the
top-10 teams in the nation in
the final rankings.
Oregon struck first in the
fourth when Joey Harrington
Turn to Holiday Bowl, page 8
Craig Mitchelidyer for the Emerald
Texas running back Hodges Mitchell experiences the wrath of an Oregon defense sandwich, as defensive end Saul Patu
(left) and linebacker Matt Smith (right) bring him down. The talented Longhorn was held to just 41 yards on 17 carries.
UO men take out OSU in War
■ Oregon’s Bryan Bracey, Freddie
Jones and Anthony Norwood score a
combined 63 points to lead the
Ducks to victory
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
Oregon won the opening tip, but little else
in the first 13 minutes of the game.
Missed layups, turnovers and even an air
ball plagued the Ducks as Oregon State took
leads of 7-0,15-3 and 28-15.
But then Duck guards Luke Ridnour and
Freddie Jones knocked home back-to-back
threes with five minutes in the first half. The
treys sparked the Ducks to a 17-4 run that
tied it up at 32 at the half in the Pacific-10
Conference opener.
The rest of the story can be explained
with these simple words from Oregon head
coach Ernie Kent:
“That second half was obviously the best
basketball that we’ve played all year.”
Oregon (10-1 overall, 1-0 Pac-10 )
outscored the Beavers (6-7, 0-1) 21-10 to be
gin the final half.
The result was a solid 84-66 Civil War vic
tory in front of a sold-out crowd of 9,087 at
McArthur Court.
The win continued the best Oregon start
in the Kent era and tied the 1996-97 team
that also opened up at 10-1. The victory was
Oregon forward Bryan Bracey slams home the re
verse jam off an alley-oop pass from Freddie Jones.
the Ducks’ 14th win in their past 15 meet
ings with their in-state rivals and, coinci
dentally, it also marked their third consecu
tive 18-point win over Oregon State.
Turn to Men’s, page 9
Ducks found inspiration
in Fightertown, U.S.A.
PEZ SEZ
-r
mm
SCOTT PESZNECKER
SAN DIEGO — People across.fhe
country affectionately refer to Saa v
Diego as “America’s Finest City.”
After spending just a few days
there, that lofty title seems deserving.
Everything I’ve ever heard people talk
about the city seemed right on the money:
The flawless weather, the incredible winter
sunsets, the non-stop social gatherings in
the downtown Gaslamp Quarter and all
else the downtown had to offer.
But me, I always knew San Diego for
something else; something better than great
weather, awesome scenery and bustling city
strips.
I’d think of my all-time favorite movie,
“Top Gun.”
Probably the high point of my entire win
ter break was walking into the Kansas City
Barbecue near the downtown waterfront,
where they filmed the bar scenes in “Top
Gun.” For me. walking into that place was
like entering a sacred shrine. Movie posters
of Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis adorned
the walls, along with pictures of F-14 fight
er planes from the movie.
I couldn’t help it — I had to buy a Top
Gun T-shirt before I left. That’s how cool
this place was. w.,._
& So, back to. iny column. What on earth
does “Top Cuff'’ have to do "with Oregon
football?
Plenty.
Following the Ducks’ 35-30 Holiday
Bowl win against Texas Dec. 29, Oregon
head coach Mike Bellotti sat beneath Qual
comm Stadium and reflected on his team’s
emotional win.
“We wanted to play everything right on
the edge,” he said, the gleaming Holiday
Bowl championship trophy sitting just to
his right. “We wanted to play one inch out
of control.”
Well, the Ducks did just that. At times it
paid off, other times it didn’t. But make no
mistake, it was that Top Gun-esque attitude
among the players and coaches that won
Turn to Pez Sez, page 9