Hager
continued from page 13
single-A baseball at all parts of the
country, stuck in some places like
the middle of Iowa in July. It’s akin
to Freddie Jones jumping to the
next level, playing in Medford, only
to finally see the pros three years
later.
I don’t care if I ever get back...
That said, there are things that
need to be changed in the college
game.
• First, change the “ping” of the
bat to the “crack” of the bat. Alu
minum bats just take away from
the feel of the game. The pros have
got it right when they use wood,
especially when games like the
21-14 championship win by USC
a few years ago are more frequent
than 5-4 scores.
The metal bats do have a little sig
nificance because they are much
different, giving the sense of the ex
clusive college feel. There’s just not
enough exclusivity there to make
metal worthwhile.
• The college level needs to mar
ket the game and its players with the
same vigor as football. While there
are no Joey Harringtons and David
Carrs in baseball, there are players
like Greene and Stanford’s Jeremy
Guthrie who have quality futures in
pro ball.
Why not get these guys some ad
time and get the college game out
there. The first step, though, would
be to increase the game’s involve
ment with ESPN.
Currently, only the College World
Series is televised by the media gi
ant. Why not, instead of just televis
ing the final round, get ESPN to
show the finals of the Super Region
als and Regionals before the final
eight converge on the small Nebras
ka city? There might not be much
airtime during the week for games
that most of the country doesn’t care
about, but even tape-delay would
get the job done.
Besides, there might be some peo
ple out there casually flipping
through the channels disgusted
with the pro game. They might set
tle on ESPN or ESPN2, watch these
games, and realize how enjoyable
baseball can still be.
• Create a collegiate all-star game.
Football has it with the Blue-Gray
game, and some games in collegiate
basketball have the same feel.
But with most of the nation’s best
in baseball spread across the coun
try, choosing the best 60 or so would
bring them together, allow them to
get acquainted with one another,
and ultimately allow them to show
off their immense talent.
During the weeklong College
World Series, the Friday before the
Saturday championship game always
seems to be an off-day. Why not bring
the 60 best from schools that didn’t
make the World Series and have them
play an all-star game during prime
time on TV that night. ESPN usually
doesn’t air much during the summer
that’s not related to the pro game, so
this could be a rating’s booster.
However, despite some of its
shortcomings, the game is still a vi
able solution to June doldrums
when basketball and hockey have
just ended their seasons, and pro
baseball is still embroiled in its
many, many problems.
Just take me out to Omaha.
E-mail sports reporter Hank Hager
at hankhager@dailyemeraid.com.
Track
continued from page 13
Santiago Lorenzo in the decathlon,”
Smith said. “Then you add some
good recruits, and the develop
ment of the athletes that are return
ing, we’re obviously very excited
about the journey of next year.”
With Stiegeler and Lorenzo
coming back in 2003, next year’s
Duck squad won’t lack for talent.
Three of the five Oregon Pac-10
champions will be back. Two of
the four Ducks who finished sec
ond at the Pac-10 meet will be
back. Smith’s recruiting class is
perhaps the best since his class of
2001, which was ranked No. 1 na
tionally by Track and Field News.
With the addition of those re
cruits and the maturation of young
stars like sophomore-to-be Eric
Logsdon — who ran the fastest
5,000 time for an Oregon freshman
since 1981, and did it with only
one shoe — and junior-to-be Nick
Bakke, who came out of nowhere
to win the Pac-10 javelin title, the
Ducks’ youth movement is obvi
ously under way.
“To be successful in the Pac-10,
it’s going to require (championship)
type of efforts not only by those
young men but also by other young
men,” Smith said.
Those young men will replace
the old men who leave the team
this year. Among the graduating
seniors are Harris, Kimata, Pac-10
decathlon champion Billy Pappas,
Pac-10 high-jump champion Kyley
Johnson and former Pac-10 high
jump champion Jason Boness.
Harris is the only one of those
athletes who will extend his season,
to the USA Championships in Palo
Courtesy Washington State Media Services
Javelin thrower Nick Bakke will look to defend his Pac-10 title next season.
Alto, Calif., later this month. Hart
mann may join him on the Stanford
track; the sophomore distance run
ner is currently a “B” qualifier.
For Smith and the rest of the
Ducks, 2001 and 2002 were just
the initial yawns of a sleeping gi
ant. The wake up call, they hope,
will come in 2003.
E-mail sports reporter Peter Hockaday
at peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com.
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