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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (June 10, 2002)
Sports Editor: Adam Jude adamjude@dailyemerald.com Monday, June 10,2002 Oregon Daily Emerald John Stoops for the Emerald Adam Amato Emerald Not alone in world of Ducks On the banks of the Hudson River, overlooking mighty New York City, there sits a tiny engineering college called the Stevens Institute of Tech nology. There is a legend passed down through generations at Stevens. It was a revolutionary, ambiguous time in America, some time in the ’60s or ’70s, and the presi dent of Stevens wanted to change the school’s image. This president held a vote, but the students, desperate to keep their “Engi neer” nickname, proposed mascots with names that were unprintable and certainly un usable. The presi dent, sitting in his office and mulling over the situation, was desperate. He looked out his window onto the banks of the Hudson River. And thus, the Stevens Ducks were bom. There is perhaps no better measure of the success of the Oregon program than the increased visibility for the Stevens Institute, a college in Hobo ken, N.J., whose members chuckle at the notion of “The Year of the Duck.” “Because of what (Oregon has) done on a national scale, it doesn’t make the Ducks sound so funny any more,” Stevens lacrosse coach Byron Collins said. “They used to just put ‘Stevens’ in the reports, now they say ‘the Ducks were led by... ’ We thank (Oregon) for that. “We’re riding on the coattails of Oregon.” Collins has Mike Bellotti’s job at Stevens; he is coach of the premier sport on campus. The lacrosse Ducks do, after all, draw between 750-1,000 fans on good days. Many of those fans are professors. “There is no football, lacrosse is it,” Turn.toHockaday,page15A . , . Hockaday IWo minutes for crosschecking Led by the football team’s historic 11 -win season, Oregon’s 2001 -02 sports resume is the most impressive in school history By Adam Jude Oregon Daily Emerald It started with a Sept. 1 football game against Wisconsin and ended at the NCAA track championships on June 1. The 274 days and 300-some events in between created what will surely be re membered as the best year in Oregon sports history. Future storytellers will label the 2001-02 school year “The Year of the Duck” because for the first time in school history — and just the eighth time in Pacific-10 Conference history — both the football and men’s basket ball teams won the conference champi onship. Oregon’s overall success, though, came from more than just its money-makers: The supporting cast of the women’s basketball, wrestling, ten nis and track teams all had memorable seasons. But many may have even considered this the greatest year in Oregon sports simply because of the success of the Oregon football team in the fall. The magical season, however, near ly got off on the wrong note. Looking to avenge a 27-23 loss in Wisconsin at the beginning of the 2000 season, the Ducks opened the 2001 campaign at Autzen Stadium in dramatic fashion against the Badgers. In what has be come a staple of the Oregon football program, Joey Harrington led the Ducks on a fourth-quarter comeback and pulled off a 31-28 victory. The Ducks would go on to win nine more times in 10 tries before heading to Tempe, Ariz., for the New Year’s Day Fi esta Bowl. Many prognosticators pro jected Colorado’s explosive rushing of fense to bowl over the Oregon defense. Turn to Year of the Duck, page 14A TOP LEFT: Freddie Jones TOP MIDDLE: Joey Harrington TOP RIGHT: Cathrine Kraayeveld LEFT TOP. Nicole Garbin LEFT MIDDLE: Luke Ridnour LEFT BOTTOM: Eugene Harris Dishing out prestigious Emmies ■The Emerald sports staff members honor what they feel is the best and worst of Oregon sports in the Year of the Duck By Peter Hockaday Oregon Daily Emerald Oh, it’s that time of year again, friends. That time when we look back on what happened, rem inisce, laugh, cry, all that stuff. It’s Emmie time. For the third year in a row, we here at the Oregon Daily Emerald will give out the presti gious Emmies, rewarding the best of Oregon athletics. This has been a special year for the Ducks, without a doubt, but you know all about it. So we won’t waste time getting to the awards (all awards are voted on by the entire Emerald sports staff). Most Entertaining Female: We start with the athlete who kick-started our year in a most en tertaining way. Freshman striker Nicole Garbin scored the only goal in her first match this fall and never slowed down as the Ducks ran through their most successful season ever. Garbin finished third on the team with five goals, and we can only hope that there will be more excitement to come from Garbin. Most Entertaining Male: When Onterrio Smith stepped on campus last spring, nobody knew what to expect from the flashy running back with the troubled past. But Smith proved all the doubters wrong by electrifying the field with his ooh-aah runs. With bobbing and weaving as his specialty, Smith also proved he could overpower defenders like the unfortunate Washington State safety who met Smith and lost on Smith’s drive for a touchdown in Pullman. Biggest Heart: A lot of Oregon athletes have heart, but none were as big as Eugene Harris’ this season. Coming off knee surgery in 2001 and playing in pain for most of his matches, Harris still managed to win a Pac-10 title and earn the team’s most valuable player award, with his wife and 4-year-old daughter rooting him on. For that, he earns our Biggest Heart award. Best Interview: This category was a no-brain er. We interact with hundreds of athletes over the Turn to Emmies, page 15A
