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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 2002)
Sports Editor Peter Hockaday peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com Wednesday, October 30,2002 Oregon Daily Emerald Sports Best bet NBA: Los Angeles at Portland 6:30 p.m.f ESPN Duck hunt starts as Oregon stumbles (M'. m—mV; tamam—5^ ——i ^111 ^ Jeremy Forrest Emerald Carson Palmer (3) said that the Ducks "lack class" after the Trojans'44-33 win Saturday, and also said it was the best win of his career. USC quarterback Carson Palmer takes a few parting shots after the Trojan win, and the Ducks react Oregon Notes Peter Hockaday Sports Editor Suddenly, it’s open season on the Dueks. After suffering their second-s. raight loss to Southern Cali fornia on Saturday, the Oregon football players had to suffer through the comments of Trojan quarterback Carson Palmer, who beat the Ducks for the first time in his four-year career. Among other things, Palmer said the Ducks have a “lack of class,” and that there was “nothing better” than winning in Eugene. “I don’t know anything we ever did to show little class,” Oregon linebacker Kevin Mitchell said at practice Tuesday. “I don’t know where that’s coming from. That’s (Palmer’s) deal.” Oregon tight end George Wrighster explained that the Ducks expected this, sort of. “That’s what happens when you’re the winningest program in the Pac-10 over the last nine years; everybody wants a chance to beat you,” Wrighster said. “Carson Palmer said this was the best victory of his five-year career, I mean, one victo ry? That’s a testament to our program.” The Ducks will run into a little more bad blood when they face the Stanford Cardinal on Saturday. Stanford was the only team to beat Oregon last year, and the Ducks felt that the Cardinal celebrated excessively after the game, as many of the players and band members danced at midfield at Autzen Stadium. How good is Howry? Oregon wide receiver Keenan Howry set the Pacific-10 Con ference record for consecutive games with a catch Saturday, and now he’s eying a record that hits closer to home. With two more touchdown catches, six more overall catches and 394 more yards, Howry will hold Oregon record in all three categories, and will then, officially, hold the mantle of the most productive receiver in Duck history. “To have him be the leading receiver in our history is a tremendous compliment to him and the type of person he is,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said. “He was, by most Turn to Football, page 14 Fans don’t let fans use ‘ThunderStix, ’ especially not at UO Up until this last weekend, I thought I’d seen just about everything. Was I ever wrong. Sitting in the student section Saturday at Autzen Stadi um, I was surrounded by thousands of long, white, skinny tubes filled with air. Then, as the Ducks saw USC’s lead jump even further, these ThunderStix were strewn in the air. It was almost as if I had to watch these things fly by my head more than the game itself. Then Sunday, while sitting down and watching the final game of the World Series, I noticed that an unlucky Giants player was struck — on purpose — by another stick, this time colored red, as he went to pick up the ball near the outfield fence. What in the name of the Jeffrey Maier is going on here? Are fans at sporting events across the nation so inept at making noise when cheering for their team that they have to pick up two inflatable pieces of plastic and bang them against one an other as though they were 6-year-olds? Apparently so. However, thanks to the Pacific-10 Confer ence, those of us at football and basketball games next sea son won’t have to put up with these things again. If you haven’t heard, the good folks in the Pac-10 decided — despite what could be obvious complaints from fans in the future — to ban the noisemakers from future conference football games. That’s going to take effect beginning next season. As for basketball, noisemakers were already prohibited, but if you ask most opposing schools, McArthur Court really Hank Hager Behind the dish Turn to Hager, page 14 UO enjoys physical Pac-10 play Adam Amato Emerald Robi Thayer (left, jumping) said she isn't afraid of big, physical teams like North Carolina. Two Oregon players prove women’s soccer to be a contact sport, and use it to their advantage Soccer Notes Jesse Thomas Sports Reporter It’s not football, although many Euro peans would disagree. The only padding is the tougli plastic pieces that protect their shins. But women’s soccer is a physical sport. “A lot of contact is inherent in the game,” Oregon head coach Bill Steffen said. “It’s a contact sport and it can be played with a certain level of physicality. There are physical challenges, and the players like that to an extent.” It isn’t a matter of the game being dirty, but a problem that Steffen finds is that the women can’t get away with things that men can in soccer. It all comes down to the discretion of the referee depending upon the situation and the tolerance he or she has at the time, according to Steffen. Two Oregon players who know what it means to be physical are senior Robi Thayer and sophomore Christine Mintz. Thayer and Mintz, who are two of the tallest players on the team, find that, as defenders, they take the majority of the cards and fouls. Thayer enjoys the opportunity to hit people, and in Friday’s game against Ari zona, she found that perfect opportunity’ to take a shot at one of the Wildcats’ top players. Turn to Soccer;page 12
