Wednesday
Best Bet
MLB: Seattle at New York
4 p.m., Fox Sports Net
Runge and Moos meet; report expected soon
RUNGE
■A complaint filed with the Oregon
Board of Investigators suggests Bond,
Schoeneck & King may be conducting
the evaluation illegally
By Adam Jude
Oregon Daily Emerald
For just the second time since the end of the
season, Jody Runge met with Oregon Athletic
Director Bill Moos Monday to reportedly dis
cuss some of the controversies surrounding
the women’s basketball program.
“We don’t have any details about the meet
ing, we only know that they met,” University
spokeswoman Pauline Austin said.
Eight unidentified players met with Moos
March 4 to request that the women’s basket
ball coach be fired. Moos responded on March
27 by hiring Bond, Schoeneck & King, a
Kansas City-based law firm with a reputation
for assisting troubled athletic departments, to
compile an “objective analysis” about Runge’s
program.
The three-member team of investigators
completed its interviews of more than 80 in
dividuals about three weeks ago.
Austin said the firm’s report could likely be
finished and handed in to Melinda Grier, the
University’s general counsel, by the end of the
week. Once Grier receives the report, she will
give it to Moos, who will then decide Runge’s
future with the program.
“We anticipate something happening this
week,” Austin said. “But that is only specula
tive.”
Runge and Moos could not be reached for
comment.
Additionally, at a meeting last week, the
Oregon Board of Investigators reportedly dis
cussed a complaint that Bond, Schoeneck &
Turn to Runge, page 10
ii We
anticipate
something
happening
this week.
Pauline
Austin
spokeswoman,
_tl
A fresh. .
start
■ Hyped tailback Onterrio
Smith is eager to begin play at
Oregon after an up-and-down
freshman year at Tennessee
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
A few minutes before Oregon’s third
scrimmage was to begin Thursday, the
Ducks were practicing their kick-offs
and returns.
Kick after kick, small return after
small return. Nothing too special.
But then an elusive Duck caught the
kick and cut right, then left, then right
and left again. He shaked and baked
two more defenders, before being
tackled around 40 yards later.
“Whoa, there!” one Oregon fan
yelled. “Who was that?”
“I don’t know,” his friend respond
ed. “But we better hold on to him
whoever he is.”
“Let me see that roster,” the first guy
said. “Hmm... number 2? Oh hey, it’s
that new guy, Onterrio Smith!”
“Onterrio... I think we’re going to
like this guy,” the friend said.
Onterrio Smith has been flattered
by the welcome he has received by his
, Oregon teammates and the Eugene
community. He wasn’t sure how he
would be treated after transferring to
Oregon from Tennessee under contro
versial circumstances.
Almost a year ago, on May 3, Smith
was kicked off the Tennessee football
program for “repeated violations of
team policy,” which later was reported
to be marijuana use. There also was his
Jan. 15,2000, arrest for allegedly hitting
the mother of his daughter, which
Smith was later found innocent of in
court.
So to say that Smith, a 5-foot-ll,
200-pound tailback, is happy to have
a fresh start as a Duck would be an un
derstatement.
“I would say I’m fortunate and also
blessed because my career could have
easily ended,” Smith said. “The day I
got kicked out of Tennessee could
have been the last of it right there. But
I have been brought in here with open
arms and I really have a lot of love for
that.”
Smith has top-notch talent, that
much has never been in question. But
now he also realizes how important
the game of football is to him and how
much he enjoys being a part of a quali
ty Division I program.
Smith was a highly sought-after re
cruit as a 1998 SuperPrep All-Ameri
Turn to Smith, page 12
Tom Patterson Emerald
Oregon sophomore transfer tailback Onterrio Smith has been all smiles since his arrival in Eugene last season.
Oregon State sweeps Civil War with a walk-off home run
Emerald
Except for two costly pitches, junior Connie McMurren pitched a "fantastic” game in a 4-3 loss.
■A home run in the seventh gives the
Beavers their eighth straight win over the
Ducks and overshadows pitcher Connie
McMurren’s four-hit performance
By Adam Jude
Oregon Daily Emerald
CORVALLIS — Connie McMurren deserved to
win this one.
The Oregon ace — shelled by Oregon State in her
last outing 10 days earlier — allowed just four hits
Tuesday against the 16th-ranked Beavers.
But it’s amazing how two pitches can change an
entire game.
A first-inning, three-run jack off the bat of Oregon
State’s Shawna Feldt and a seventh-inning, walk
off blast by Steph Adams were enough to propel
the Beavers to their eighth straight Civil War victo
ry, 4-3, and their third win in four games at the new
OSU Softball Complex.
In between the two homers, however, “Connie *
Mac” was nothing short of remarkable—especially
considering her struggles in the last month.
“I’ve just had this really, really bad run lately,”
said McMurren, who is now 8-14 this season. “But
to get past that first inning and pitch well was a
huge boost for my confidence. ”
For five and 2/3 innings — from the second to the
seventh — McMurren allowed just two hits and no
runs, while tallying three strikeouts and no walks.
Connie did a fantastic job today,” head coach Rick
Gamez said. “We wanted her to break out of her
slump, and after the first inning, she held her compo
sure and threw a great ball game. It was a hard-fought
game and it really came down to those two pitches.”
After two quick outs to start the bottom of the
seventh, the game appeared to be headed into extra
innings when McMurren got ahead of Adams 0-2.
But Adams fouled off a few pitches and worked the
count full before blasting a McMurren fastball over
the left field fence.
“It felt good,” Adams said. “Once I looked up and
saw how high it was, I knew it was gone.”
Said McMurren: “I’ve known Steph since I was
Tu rn to Softball, page 10