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
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... ..... ..
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