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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 3, 2001)
Tuesday Best Bet MLB: Oakland vs. Seattle 3:30 p.m., FoxSports Northwest SPORTS EDITOR: JEFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com Dunleavy, Duke shine in March’s final madness TWO MINUTES FOR CROSSCHECKING PETER HOCKADAY It was tough to root for the Duke Blue Devils on Mon day night in the National Championship. They were, after all, the favorites. But I rooted for 'em. I rooted for Mike Dunleavy and his sweet stroke from the left side of the three-point line that led to 21 points. I rooted for Shane Battier, with his 8.75 GPA and the ridges in his head. I rooted for Jason Williams, who reminded me of those annoying kids on the playground, slashing and driving to. the hoop on each play. Except Williams is the player those kids wish they could be, making every one of those amazing shots. I rooted for Mike Krzyzewski; like a surgeon perform ing an appendectomy, he used x’s and o’s to out-coach another great, Arizona’s Lute Olson. It would have been nice to see Arizona win it all. It would have been a monumental tribute to Bobbi Olson, coach Lute’s departed wife. It would have been the excla mation mark on a milestone season for the Pacific-10 Conference, a season that saw four Pac-10 teams make the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16. But it just wouldn’t happen. Duke had too many weapons, as it has all year. Dunleavy, Battier, Carlos Boozer, Chris Duhon, it didn’t matter who scored for Duke. While Duke may have cut down the nets, a host of oth er teams created memories along the road to the Final Four this year. Watching CBS’ “One Shining Moment” piece at the end of the tournament made the tears come to my eyes, just like every year. “Pulling through,” in the lyrics of the song, was Hamp ton coach Steve Merfel, being lifted up by a player in child-like joy after his Pirates upset Iowa State in the first round. Pulling through was Temple coach John Chaney, one of the most legendary coaches in college hoops to never make the Final Four, who got oh-so-close this season. Southern California made the most glorious run in the tournament, upending sentimental favorite Oklahoma State, Boston College and Kentucky before falling to Duke in the Elite Eight. Pulling through once again were Mark Few and Gon zaga, who made the Sweet 16 for the third straight year and dropped that nasty “Cinderella” tag once and for all. The Maryland Terrapins pulled through to the Final Four, and a few of their sweet shots made the highlight reel. And of course, the ultimate man who pulled through was Olson, who survived the unpleasant memories of Bobbi’s death — and all the reporters who grilled him about it — to come within 10 points of winning a nation al championship for his closest comp'anion. The “shining moments,” were abundant in the greatest amateur sports competition in the country. One thing that didn’t pull through, and wasn’t exactly a shining moment, was my tournament bracket. My Final Four were Oklahoma, Stanford, Boston College and Ari zona, with ‘Zona over BC in the final. Yeah. Oklahoma? Gone in the first round. BC? Dropped by USC in the second. Stanford? Booted in the Elite Eight. Oh well. But hey, could anyone predict the whole tournament? E-mail me your bracket please, because I don’t think it’s possible. It is, after all, madness. So, until next year’s tourney, think Sweet 16, dream Fi nal Four and eat National Championship. Because there are only 347 days until next year’s shin ing moments begin. Peter Hockaday is a sports reporter for the Oregon Daily Emerald. He can be reached at phockaday@yahoo.com. Ducks look for in-state sweep ■The Oregon softball team should be wary of a dangerous Portland State team on the road By Robbie McCallum Oregon Daily Emerald To the untrained eye, it would ap pear that the Oregon softball team’s 3 p.m. doubleheader with Portland State will be a cake walk. Not so. Although the Ducks soundly defeat ed Portland State four times last season and contributed to the Vikings’ dismal 22-34 record, Portland State looks to be much improved. Oregon must not look past Portland State after a rough weekend against No. 2-ranked Arizona and No. 9 Arizona Statb. Rick Gamez’s squad is 2-3 on the road this season and 18-13 away from Howe Field. Today’s doubleheader kicks off a five-game road swing for the Ducks. Portland State, which returns seven starters this season plus the majority of its rotation, is 10-17 and the winner of five of its last seven. Morgan Siebert and Nicole Ivie lead the Vikings on the mound with six shutouts this season. Portland State also has a dangerous offensive combination with outfielder Kiauna Anderson, the team leader in doubles, runs batted in and home runs, and shortstop Vanessa Applegate at the cleanup position. Oregon counters with a deep pitch ing roster and versatile batting order. Sophomore Andrea Vidlund is ex pected to take the mound for the Ducks in the first game. Vidlund is 9-3 on the season with a 2.92 ERA. Freshman Anissa Meashintubby (2-1) should also see action out of the bullpen. Sophomore Lisa Wangler, who was crucial in Oregon’s 4-0 upset of Ari zona State on Sunday, will get a rest from pitching duties, but she will still be relied upon for offense as a desig nated hitter. Wangler leads the team in hitting with a .413 batting average. Sophomore infielder Alyssa Laux is another offensive threat with a .404 average and 15 RBIs. Fellow sopho more Janell Bergstrom emerged as a key player in the Arizona State upset, going 1-for-l with a home run and two walks. Senior third baseman Triawn Custer provides most of the power in Oregon’s lineup with team-leading statistics in Turn to Softball, page 8 cr-(f>uan\ .—.. ... ..... .. Emerald Steve Smith (6, making tackle) and Rashad Bauman (17) will anchor a defense that has many unanswered questions, but still could be a strength. Ducks start spring with hopes, holes ■The Oregon football team began spring workouts Monday, and it will need some help to reach this year’s Rose Bowl By Peter Hockaday Oregon Daily Emerald Finally, football season is upon us once more. No, it’s not fall, but the Ducks are play ing football all the same. The Oregon football team took to the gridiron again Monday afternoon for spring practices, three months after con cluding the 2000 campaign with the most wins in Duck history that ended with a win over Texas in the Culligan Holiday Bowl. “Now is the time that great teams are made,” Oregon football coach Mike Bel lotti said before the Ducks’ first practice Monday. “It’s not August first, it’s the day that your last season ended. ” As usual, the Ducks enter spring drills with a few holes to plug. The kicking unit and the defense are the biggest question marks, according to Bellotti. “Last year we reloaded the defense,” Bellotti said. “I hope that we’re capable of doing that again. We have some young men who are capable of stepping up, much like the Jed Boic es did last year.” This season’s de fense will be anchored by cornerbacks Rashad Bauman — the defen sive MVP of the Holi day Bowl — and Steve Smith, linebacker Kevin Mitchell and defensive linemen Seth McEwan and Zack Freiter. Mitchell is among a handful of line backers who will have to fill the spots vacated by stars Matt Smith and Garrett Sabol, so he is taking spring drills more seriously than most. “We want to get back in condition, catch up on some things, and just get better as football players,” Mitchell said. On special teams, the Ducks will rely on junior college transfer punter Jose Ar royo and a trio of inexperienced kickers. Freshman standout Keith Lewis, a spe cial teams wizard at Valley High School in Sacramento, Calif., could return punts and kickoffs this season, and may also factor into the defense. Oregon’s offensive outlook is bright. The Ducks return quarterback Joey Har rington, who is 14-2 as a starter, 1,000 yard rusher Maurice Morris at tailback and wide receiver Keenan Howry, who could become Oregon’s all-time leading receiver this season. As if that wasn’t enough, Bellotti has an exciting new running back recruit in sophomore transfer Onterrio Smith. “I’m excited to turn [Smith] loose,” Bellotti said. “We have tremendous depth at the tailback position. The toughest thing is going to be finding enough footballs to go around.” A handful of key Oregon players will enter spring drills with injuries. Fullback Josh Line, wide receiver Sarnie Parker and Turn to Football, page 8
