Wednesday
Best Bet
NBA Finals: Philadelphia at L.A.
6 p.m., NBC
SPORTS EDITOR: JEFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com
Runge v. Moos
finally comes to
a (positive?) end
OUT IN
LEFT FIELD
ADAM JUDE
I can finally sleep easy at night.
Jody Runge and Bill Moos might be happy to put
the past behind them and get on with their lives,
but, damn, I am ecstatic.
Nobody ever thinks of the lowly reporters when a cri
sis hits. I’m frickin’ exhausted, and that’s not just a ploy
to get some sympathy from my professors. Sure, I get my
name in print every day, but do you actually take time to
understand what I go through? Damn.
I don’t think anyone is more relieved than I am that
the University has finally released the Bond, Schoeneck
& King report, which Moos and other administrators
have allowed to get buried in dust while sitting on their
desks.
The Kansas City-based law firm, hired by Moos & Co.
for about l/20th of Runge’s future wealth — §24,500 to
be exact — turned in its report April 24, yet everyone
(with exception to the staff of The Register-Guard and
their trusty inside sources) hadn’t heard a peep about
what the Midwest big shots were saying about the future
of Oregon’s most successful program.
I wasn’t allowed to see the report, but Runge sure was.
And as much as she said the firm’s findings had nothing
to do with her resignation as head coach of the women’s
basketball program, in truth, it had a lot to do with it. It
may have had everything to do with it.
Upon initial readings, the most alarming fact re
vealed by the report is that the majority — probably
the vast majority — of the players with eligibility re
maining said they would not return to McArthur
Court if Runge was there.
Can you really blame them? I was intimidated-by
Runge just watching her at games from afar.
I don’t have anything personal against Ms. Runge, but
I’ve written those five letters — R-U-N-G-E — so many
times that I wake up at night trying frantically to stop
my hand from twitching. She always treated me well,
though. But, apparently, that wasn’t the case for those
who were supposed to be closest to her.
Runge argued that some of the players just couldn’t
accept their roles, many of whom were expected to take
the belittling that Runge dished out like Gatorade.
The lady knew how to win. She’s a hard-nosed,
straight-forward activist for women’s rights. And she ac
complished a lot, perhaps more than any other coach in
school historv.
But as Moos has said, the health of the student-athlete
comes before winning.
Which takes us to Mr. Moos. To her credit, Runge
wasn’t the only problem in this mess. Moos could have
handled things better as far as his candidness with the
media and Runge. If not the public, Runge at least de
served that much.
Moos only added to the alleged miscommunication
problems. In short, we could’ve all handled it better.
Regardless, I’m glad its over. Done with. Outta my life
forever.
Trying to keep something positive in mind through
the three months of turmoil, it seems that everyone end
ed up with something beneficial.
Ms. Runge will pick up a cool half-million dollars out
of the deal, albeit aligned with a smeared reputation.
Moos will hire a coach, hopefully sometime before
the end of the term, who will be successful but not so
demanding of his resources.
The team will soon have their wish: a fun-loving, per
sonable coach whom they can respect like a mother.
And I will be able to sleep easy, finally, knowing that I
don’t have to deal with this ever again. Hopefully.
Adam Jude is a sports reporter for the Emerald. He can be reached at
ajude34@yahoo.com.
Emerald
For less than five dollars, people can take in a Eugene Emeralds baseball game and enjoy a cool summer night at the ballpark at 20th and Willamette.
Take me out to Civic Stadium
■ Eugene’s professional baseball
team—the Ems—gears itself
up for another exciting season
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
On 20th and Willamette, across the
street from South Eugene High School,
sits history.
This is the site of a 63-year old stadi
um that has hosted such events as rodeo,
soccer, football and, of course, baseball.
And, just recently, it was voted by
Baseball America as one of the top-10
minor league ballparks in the nation.
“Of those 10, we were the only one
that wasn’t built in the ’80s or ’90s,” said
Bob Beban, general manager of the Eu
gene Emeralds.
Eugene’s Civic Stadium, not be con
fused with Portland’s former Civic Sta
dium (now known as PGE Park), is 18
days away from once again being filled
with the unmistakable sounds of the
America’s favorite pastime.
The Emeralds are the single-A minor
league team of the San Diego Padres and
have been calling Civic Stadium home
since 1969. The home-opener is June 24,
when Eugene hosts the Vancouver Cana
dians for a three-game series.
One of the reasons that the stadium
continues to be an attraction is its histor
ical feel and its easy-going aura that
helps fill the summer nights.
“I think the key is consistency,” Beban
said. “Year after year, we try to produce a
solid product with only minor changes. ”
Beban said that Civic Stadium, which
has seen more than $250,000 in im
provements over the years, is once again
going through some minor stadium up
grading expected to be completed by the
home opener.
The stadium generally draws enthu
siastic crowds between 3,000 and 5,000
people, keeping sports fans in the com
munity occupied until Oregon Ducks
football begins in September.
Matt Cook, a junior University stu
dent, was one of the many Emeralds
fans last summer during their South
Division championship year when
they went 40-36. Cook admitted to not
knowing much about the team until he
was forced to stay in Eugene over the
summer.
“It was my first time seeing single-A
baseball and I admit, I was pretty skep
tical at first,” Cook said. “But then I
saw the Ems and I was very surprised
by the fun-loving atmosphere of it all.
After seeing them over and over, you
can’t help but to fall in love with
them.”
The 2001 season marks a change for
the Emeralds as for the third time in four
years, they are now an affiliate for a dif
ferent major league baseball team. Prior
to the 1999 season, the Emeralds moved
to the Chicago Cubs from Atlanta, and
now they are a part of the San Diego
Padres organization.
Turn to Ems, page 6
Judo champs hopeful for Olympics
■ Senior Nathan Pietsch and
graduate student Sen Koshida
both won gold medals at the State
Games in Corvallis last weekend
By Jesse Thomas
for the Emerald
If you plan to stand toe to toe with
these two men, you’d better be ready.
The State Games of Oregon took
place last weekend at Corvallis High
School, where senior Nathan Pietsch
and first-year graduate student Sen
Koshida dominated for the Oregon Club
Sports Judo team.
The Ducks competed in a total of
seven matches and never lost, which
helped win them both gold medals. The
men competed in the black belt catego
ry with Pietsch in the middle weight
class and Koshida as a light weight.
“I was confident that I would do
well,” Pietsch said. “I went in with the
mind-set that I wanted to win.”
This is far from the first medals the
men have earned to add to their show
cases. Pietsch won
the gold this year for
an amazingly sixth
time and Koshida re
peated in his catego
ry winning the gold
for the second time.
“I am definitely blessed to have won
six times,” Pietsch said.
Koshida is from Japan and has been
practicing Judo for more than 10 years.
Because Judo is not nearly as big in the
United States as it is in Japan, Koshida
had no trouble with the competition.
“For me, the competition was not
that hard,” said Koshida, who is not
quite sure whether he will choose to
compete in the Games next year.
Pietsch said he was honored to win
the gold, but he is looking toward bigger
and better things. In 1999, he was the
Amateur Athletic Union Champion for
Judo. After traveling to places like Japan
and Korea to train and compete, Pietsch
was ready for a shot at the 2000
Olympic Team.
Unfortunately for Pietsch, he injured
his knee before the trials. He still trav
eled to the Olympic Trials but had to
withdraw before competition even
started. But being young, Pietsch said
he has hopes for future Olympic ap
pearances.
“The doors just have to open up,”
Pietsch said of his feelings toward being
on the Olympic Team in 2004.
The future remains to be seen for
these two, but with the way things are
going, it looks to be a bright one.