Questions from a reporter’s cold Olympic couch
Maybe I’m stressed out from
midterms.
Maybe I’ve got tonsillitis. Maybe
I’m coming down with pneumonia.
Because I’ve been watching these Win
ter Olympics, and there’s just certain
things I can’t figure out. I’m confused.
Mixed up in the head. Slowed down by
this Olympic cold.
Please, I’m crying out for help here.
Does anybody know why they announce
the medal winners in French before Eng
lish? Did they move the Olympics to Mon
treal in the middle of the night without noti
fying anybody? Did France win the
second-most-fans-in-Salt-Lake-so-they-an
nounce-all-the-medals-in-F rench award?
On a separate note, did old guys really
need to talk “snowboard speak” to the
American boarders who swept the half-pipe
on Monday? It’s really sort of embarrassing.
Did the Oregonian need to run the headline
“Bionic, dude! AU.S. sweep”?
One SportsCenter reporter, who tried des
perately to sprinkle a few mentions of “sick”
and “gnarly” throughout his interview with
the trio Monday night, actually ended the
interview by saying: “You guys were awe
some. Is that a cool word to use?”
The snowboarders re
sponded by smiling
bleakly, too dumbfound
ed to speak. These guys
are Olympians, too. They
understand that Olympic
medals mean slightly
more than X-Games
medals, so cut them
some slack... dude.
Moving on, how cool
are Canadians? If I was
n’t an American, I’d be a
Hockadav Canadian. I’m now offi
. . c cially rooting for Cana
T\vo minutes for da ^hy? Be®ause
crosschecking they’re just good people.
Those two figure
skaters, Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, got
absolutely cheated out of a gold medal.
They were robbed, blindsided with an
Eastern right hook that came from the gen
eral direction of the former USSR, and had
their gold medals replaced with silver
ones.
Their reaction? A shrug, a few tears, lots
of hugs. A big ol’ high-five for the Russian
winners.
Canadians.
Keeping with the figure-skating theme, I
can’t wait until the women’s singles get un
der way. Before you call me a pansy, check
out the tape of Bob Costas interviewing
American teammates Michelle Kwan,
Sarah Hughes and Sasha Cohen the other
night. These three girls, all Americans, hate
each other — with a capital H. Don’t be sur
prised if metal tire irons are brought out on
the night of the competition. Can you say
Tonya Harding?
And furthering my sickness, what’s all the
hulabaloo about Picabo? She’s the most dec
orated skier in American history? Ummm,
she won a gold and a silver. We Americans
need some more decoration. She’s had a mil
lion and a half knee surgeries, and we ex
pected her to win gold? We have expecta
tions that are too high for overrated athletes.
Is there any name cooler than Johnny
Moseley’s “dinner roll” trick?
Is there any sport cooler than curling?
Well, maybe a few.
Like, for instance, the biathlon. Have
you ever tried cross country skiing, then
shooting a rifle at a target 50 meters away
ASAP? Yeah. It’s tough. Real tough. Let me
tell you.
And, on a final note, does anybody know
why an international event can stir up so
much national pride? Seeing the World
Trade Center flag carried in, a team — the
“Miracle on Ice” U.S. hockey team from
1980 — lighting the Olympic flame, each
American medal more important than the
last, it just ignites this small flame of its own
in the gut of most Americans at a time when
those fires need desperately to be lit.
Who’s ready for the hockey to start?
E-mail sports reporter Peter Hockaday
at peterhockaday@daityemerald.com.
Mens
continued from page 13
that stresses his points.
“The next three home games are
crucial in order for the Ducks to win
the Pac-10 championship and to ad
vance to the NCAA Tournament,”
Kent said in the e-mail. “We’re
counting on the Pit Crew to be loud
and dominant, but at the same time
let’s be respectful of our visitors. As
we continue our great reputation at
Mac Court, let’s be sure to use ‘ap
propriate’ chants and remember to
show respect to our visitors.”
Oregon has three home games
left, against Oregon State on Satur
day and the Washington schools
the following weekend.
Chatting for’nour
Those who don’t run into Oregon
point guard Luke Ridnour on cam
pus today can go online to ask him
all those burning questions.
Ridnour will be fielding electronic
questions from fans on ESPN.com,
starting at 2:15 p.m. Fans can also
submit questions before 2:15 if they
want, and they could be answered
during the chat time.
Accoladin’
The first honor has rolled in for
the Ducks, and it could be simply
the start of the awards season.
Ridnour and senior guard Freddie
Jones were named to the National
Association of Basketball Coaches
2002 all-district team, while forward
Luke Jackson was named to the all
district second team. Jones and Rid
nour joined Gonzaga’s Dan Dickau,
Stanford’s Casey Jacobsen and fellow
Cardinal Curtis Borchart on the Dis
trict 14 first team. The second team
includes Zach Gourde from Gonza
ga, Phillip Ricci from Oregon State
and Utah State standouts Tony
Brown and Desmond Peniger.
“This whole team has been in
harmony, which has allowed those
guys to do the job that they’re capa
ble of doing,’’ Kent said, referring to
Jones, Ridnour and Jackson. The
award is “a compliment to the
whole team.”
It doesn’t get worse
With the top of the Pac-10 more
crowded than a New York subway
train, the Ducks are lucky to play their
next three games at home against the
bottom of the conference, even if the
bottom is as packed as the top.
Oregon State, Washington and
Washington State hold a combined 6
33 conference record. On the road, the
terrific trio is 2-17. Both road wins be
long to the Beavers, who beat, coinci
dentally, Washington and Washing
ton State in the Evergreen state.
Offending
Just how good is Oregon’s offense
this season?
Really good.
Not only do the Ducks lead the
conference in scoring per game
(86.3 points per contest), but
they’re also tops — by a lot — in
margin of victory (15 points per
game, compared with Stanford’s
11.7) and field goal percentage
(.489 compared with UCLA’s .480).
The Ducks also lead the Pac-10 in
three-point percentage, field-goal per
centage and three-pointers per game.
E-mail sports reporter Peter Hockaday
atpeterhockaday@dailyemerald.com.
Women’s
continued from page 13
that forced her to sit out fast .season
— Williams has racked up 411
points, with 271 coming in Pacific
10 Conference play. At 1,275 career
points, she needs 30 more to move
into ninth place in Oregon history,
passing Angelina Wolvert.
Perhaps Williams’ greatest feat
this season is her ability to knock
down her free throws with precision.
“I really don’t ever practice free
throws,” she said. “I think it’s just
more of a mental thing, being confi
dent when I shoot. ”
In 85 attempts this season from the
charity stripe, Williams has made 75.
She leads the Pac-10 with an 88 per
cent free-throw average and is look
ing to etch her name in Ducks’ histo
ry with the highest percentage in a
season in school history. In the 1994
95 season, Sally Crowe made 86 per
cent other free throws.
“It’s weird. When I was younger, I
used to practice free throws all the
time, and I was only about a 75, 80
percent shooter,” Williams said.
Williams is already the school’s
all-time leader, shooting 84 percent
for her career.
Dodgin’a bullet
Unlike past seasons, the Ducks
have been blessed with good health
this year.
Only three players — Edniesha
Curry, Amy Parrish and Kourtney
Shreve—have missed time due to an
injury or sickness this season, and all
were for only a short period of time.
“I think that it helps you in prac
tice,” head coach Bev Smith said.
“You’re able to get people the
amount of repetition (they need).
Being this is a new team and a new
system, that counts big time. ”
Curry, the most seriously injured
of the three, was a late scratch from
the starting lineup at USC in De
cember because of an injured foot.
She entered the game late, but the
Ducks were unable to overtake the
Trojans, losing 83-73.
She sat out the next three games
against Washington, Washington State
and Arizona, seeing the Ducks go 3-0.
Parrish and Shreve have each
missed one game. Shreve sat out
Feb. 2 against Arizona, a game the
Ducks lost 84-68.
“In a game like that where we did
n’t have anything firing, she could
have been important,” Smith said.
In an 18-game conference season,
and with an additional 10 out of
conference, injuries are a normal
part of the game. However, the
Ducks have survived the common
sprains and pulls that can hinder
athletes during games.
“We have to give credit to Geoff
Ginther, our strength and condition
ing coach,” Smith said. “We haven’t
had a lot of those wear and tear in
juries, and it seems like we’re doing
something right in that area of prepar
ing our athletes physically so they
can come back the whole season. ”
The “K” factor
She’s 6-foot-3, and averages 8.9
points per game. She grabs 7.8
boards per game and has increased
that total to 9.7 in Pac-10 play.
But Cathrine Kraayeveld does not
care about her statistics.
“I don’t really pay much attention
to it, but I just know that my team
needs it right now,” she said.
In her last nine games, she has
collected 107 rebounds, good for
11.7 per game. In addition, her 9.7
boards per game in conference play
places her third in the Pac-10.
E-mail sports reporter Hank Hager
at hankhager@dailyemerald.com.
University of Oregon
Athletic Department
Teamwork Internship Positions Available
Become a member of the Oregon Athletic Department
Gain valuable experience in:
* Recruiting process of student athletes
* Marketing and Promotions
* Graphic and Layout Design
* Event Planning
There will be an informational meeting on Thursday,
February 21st in the football theater located on the
2nd floor of the Casanova Center (next to Autzen
Stadium). Meeting will start at 7pm.
Pick up your application in the football office on
the 2nd floor of the Casanova Center. Interviews
will be held February 26 -- March 1, 2002. You
can sign up for your interview time when you pick
up your application.
| APPLICATION DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY22,2002
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