Sports Editor: Adam Jude adamjude@dailyemerald.com Friday, May 31,2002 Oregon Daily Emerald Best Bet NHL playoffs: Colorado at Detroit 4p.m., ESPN Speaker says gay athletes deserve more . from schools ■ Former National League umpire Dave Pallone tells his story of struggle in being a gay man in professional athletics By Chris Cabot Oregon Daily Emerald After 10 years of living his dream of working as an umpire in the premiere level of baseball, Dave Pallone’s job was ripped from him by Major League Baseball as a result of a Sept. 15,1988, New York Post article that revealed the secret that he had kept from the every one — including his own family. On Thursday, Pallone spoke in front of about 30 people in the EMU Gum wood Room about his struggles as a gay man in a speech entitled “Who’s Really on First.” “My whole world at that moment came to an end,” Pallone said about the day the story broke. However, the Watertown, Mass., na tive who now lives in Colorado Springs, Colo., said that day was bene ficial in some ways because it relieved an enormous weight that had been holding him down. In 1990, Pallone’s best-selling auto biography “Behind the Mask: My Dou ble Life in Baseball” was published, and he began touring the nation telling his story. “I just hope we can get to the day when people know that people’s sexu al orientation has nothing to do with their performance,” he said. “One of the reasons this room is not full to ca pacity is they feel that if they walk through the door people will think they are gay. Those stereotypes have to be removed.” During his professional umpire ca reer, which included eight years in the minor leagues before calling his first game at Three Rivers Stadium in Pitts burgh, Penn., in 1979, Pallone said that he had to live two lives. “All I did was lie — to my family, my friends, my peers and most of all to my self,” he said. With the stereotypes on homosexu als, Pallone had to decide between re vealing his sexual preferences or work ing in baseball. “I kept my dream and put my per sonal life on hold,” he said. Because of this, Pallone had formed no close relationships and had nobody to turn to. He was meeting presidents, Hollywood and rock stars and his childhood idols like Carl Yazstremski, Willie Stargell and Willie Mays, but he struggled in his personal life. “When you have something good in your life, you want to share it with someone,” he said. “I had no one to share it with.” After receiving a large settlement from Major League Baseball to walk away from the game he loved, Pallone went to opening day at Fenway Park on May 1,1999. He watched the first pitch and left the park. “I missed baseball so much, and that’s when I decided to tell my story,” he said. “Society and baseball — they Turn to Pallone, page 12 NCAA Championships Hartmann gets Ducks on the board Jonathan House Emerald Sophomore Jason Hartmann (62), seen here earlier this season at Hayward Field, finished fourth Thursday in the 10,000-meter race at the NCAA Championships in Baton Rouge, La. ■The sophomore runner f inishes fourth in the 10,000 to vault Oregon into 15th at the NCAA meet By Peter Hockaday Oregon Daily Emerald After almost two days, it took the experience of a sophomore to finally get the Oregon men some points at the 2002 NCAA Track and Field Championships. Sophomore Jason Hartmann scored the Ducks’ first points of the national meet Thursday night when he ran to fourth place in the 10,000-meter race in Baton Rouge, La. Hartmann finished third at the NCAA Championships in Eugene last year but said Thursday’s race was still a good learning experience. “Although I finished third my freshman year, I feel like I took a big step in realizing that I can run with these guys,” Hartmann said in a telephone interview. “I’m not intimidated by them. Hopefully they’re intimidated by me a little bit.” Hartmann said the race unfolded oddly, with three runners setting the pace early. “The first three guys took it out, and they separated pretty quickly,” Hartmann said. “Then there was a pack of 10 of us fighting for the fourth spot, and thank God I finished fourth. ” Hartmann’s time was 29 minutes, 28.80 seconds, which was 37.80 seconds slower than his personal best in the event. Eastern Michigan junior Boaz Cheboiywo won the race in 28:32.10, break ing a Bemie Moore Track — the LSU facility where the champi onships are being staged — record that had stood since 1981. “I think there’s more juice in my lemon,” Hartmann said. “I’m pretty happy about the race, but I know that I can go somewhere.” Hartmann’s fourth-place finish gave the Ducks five points in the team race. Only one other Oregon athlete had a chance to score Thursday, but Duck sophomore Nick Bakke didn’t make the finals of the javelin throw. Halfway through the meet, Oregon is in 15th of the 26 teams that have scored points. Senior Micah Harris did advance in the preliminary heat of the 110 hurdles, which sent him to the NCAA semifinals for the sec ond-straight year. Harris finished third in his heat, ninth overall on Thursday afternoon. “I felt my race was clean, it was good,” Harris said. “I only hit one hurdle.” Harris’ time of 13.81 seconds was 0.14 seconds slower than his personal best, but was good enough to propel him into the finals. Turn to Men’s, page 12 Javelin corps nets just two points for UO women ■A pair of freshmen lead the Ducks, but sophomore Sarah Malone finishes a disappointing 14th at the NCAA meet By Hank Hager Oregon Daily Emerald Like the thunderstorms that temporarily ravaged the Baton Rouge, La., area on Thurs day, the Oregon women’s javelin squad came in with force to the NCAA Championships, but left with a whimper. The trio, all ranked in the top 12 in the na tion, clearly did not have their day down in the Bay ou, with freshman Roslyn Lundeen taking the highest ranked spot at No. 7. Her top throw of 165 feet, 2 inches earned Oregon two points, but that’s all the Ducks would receive on the day. Fellow freshman Elisa Crumley, entering the NCAA Championships for the first time, earned a mark of 157-04, but was still five feet from making the final field of nine. Lundeen and Crumley became the first freshmen duo from Oregon to garner All-American status in the same event since 1982. Sophomore Sarah Malone, ranked fourth in the nation before the meet, fell to 14th with a top throw of 155-04. Lundeen’s final score gives Oregon eight points after day one, a marked improvement over 2001, a year in which the squad was able to post only two points. LUNDEEN CRUMLEY However, Lundeen had more than just the championship experience in Louisiana. Suffering from what she called food poison ing, Lundeen was stuck in her hotel room for much of Wednesday, missing the first day of the championships — even though she was n’t set to compete — and trying to recuperate her strength. “I was just so thankful to be coming out here,” Lundeen said during a telephone inter view Thursday. Crumley and Malone, on the other hand, were at full strength entering the meet. Both fell below regular season marks by at least 10 feet. Malone, who finished seventh at the 2001 NCAA Championships, could not be reached for comment. For Crumley, the excitement of participating in one of the most competitive meets in the na tion may have played a little part in her drop off. “It was just an intense experience,” she said. “I was maybe a little nervous.” Like the pole vault competition on Wednes MALONE day, which saw a ma jority of its competitors fall far below personal bests, the javelin com petition had its demons. Purdue’s Serene Ross won the meet with a toss of 195 08, while USC’s Inga Stasiulionyte — the fa vorite coming into the competition — fin ished second with a throw ot 177, almost nine feet shorter than her best throw in 2002. However, that is no consolation to Oregon’s trio. Crumley, while happy to have made the top meet in her first season, knew she could have done better. “It was just a matter of putting it all together,” she said. “I just didn’t feel it. It just wasn’t there.” Lundeen, on the other hand, jumped up five spots from her 12th place season ranking. “My rhythm was just on,” she said. “I was a little nervous coming into it, but the girls were just so friendly. It was a great experience.” And what of the thunderstorms that de layed the start of the javelin competition for an hour? “It’s really only going to be a disadvantage to the girls who aren’t used to it,” Lundeen said, comparing the weather to Eugene. “Sarah, Elisa and I knew it wasn’t going to be a problem coming into it.” Turn to Women’s, page 12