Sports Editor
Peter Hockaday
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com
Wednesday, November 13,2002
Oregon Daily Emerald
Best bet
NBA:
San Antonio at New Jersey
4 p.m., ESPN
Hey deejay,
mix me up
some sports
There are a lot of column ideas out
there. There are also a lot of ideas that
don’t really deserve their own column,
but deserve some column space.
And I need some fancy way to pack
age these ideas. It’s a smorgasbord of
ideas. A melting pot.
A mix tape. And these are the
liner notes.
Track 1. Pac-10 schools with football
stadiums directly attached to campus:
Washington State, Oregon State, Stan
ford, California,
Arizona, USC.
Pac-10 schools
with football stadi
ums separated
from campus:
Washington, Ore
gon, UCLA, Ari
zona State.
Psychological
test: Name the first
Pac-10 programs
that come to mind
when I list these Two minutes for
adjectives. Ready? crosschecking
Brash, arrogant,
confident.
Washington and Oregon for sure.
Probably UCLA, too.
Coincidence? You decide.
Track 2. Something fishy: Don’t you
get a weird feeling studying or eating in
“The Fishbowl”? Like you might, at any
time, see a giant set of eyes peering in
the windows? Maybe it’s just me.
Track 3. Luke Jackson’s 2002-03
season line: 21.3 ppg, leads Pac-10.
But despite this, Jackson stays for his
senior year, while Luke Ridnour enters
the NBA draft. Why? Jackson has
shone with more responsibility each
year (this year he’ll be an athletic
dunker to make up for the absence of
Freddie Jones), and he knows this.
Next year, with Ridnour gone, he will
be the man. Like, the man.
Why will Ridnour leave early? If
you were a projected lottery pick,
you’d go, too.
Track 4. Lyric of the century:
Guy: I smoke.
Girl: I smoke.
Guy: I drink.
Girl: Me too.
Both: Now we gonna get it on tonight.
From “Hey Ma” by Gam’ron.
Track 5. Taking out the trash: So no
body on either team is really talking
trash for Saturday’s game, which brings
out the trash-talker in me.
Hey, guys, you’re pathetic at talking
trash! Say what you will about Civil
War or the “Hick Bowl” — Oregon at
Washington State — Oregon-Washing
ton is the rivalry. It’s about big city
versus little city, stuck-up versus out
landish, wine and cheese versus beer.
Gome on, Ducks! Let’s see it, Huskies!
Where’s the trash?
Whew. That took a lot out of me.
Track 6. Best quote from Saturday’s
football game: “This is the only place
in the whole conference where I’ve
heard fans cheering an injury. Ever. In
14 years.”
From Mike Bellotti, on fans cheering
when Onterrio Smith had to be helped
off the field in the second quarter with
an eye injury. And he wasn’t happy
when he said that — he was spitting the
words with venom.
Bellotti has a right to be angry. That
Turn to Hockaday, page 6
Soccer reflects, sees potential
Five seniors are leaving the team,
with the torch being passed to
Oregon’s younger generation
Soccer season wrap-up
Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
Fifteen seconds left. Oregon is down 2-1 to
Oregon State.
Senior goalkeeper Sarah Peters makes the cru
cial save. Peters blasts the ball upheld to senior for
ward Amanda Orand. Orand splits the defense,
and finds the back of the net to tie the game.
Overtime. Senior Robi Thayer makes a solid
hit to one of the Beaver forwards. Senior Lind
sey Peterson recovers the ball and brings it up
past midfield to set up senior Sarah Denner.
Denner makes a high line drive shot to the right
side of the net. Oregon wins 3-2.
That’s the way the five senior Ducks would
have liked to see Friday’s game — and their ca
reers — end. But Oregon’s final game was not
the suspenseful thriller just described; it ended
in a loss to Oregon State, 2-1.
It doesn’t matter how it ended for the Ducks
because it was a memorable season all around.
“We gave it our all and I don’t have any re
grets,” Orand said. “I had a great season and I
love the team.”
Oregon walks away from the season 2-14-2
and 1-7-1 in the Pacific-10 Conference.
Injuries plagued the Ducks from the begin
ning and cost them in the end. Sophomore for
ward Nicole Garbin, the leading returning scor
er from last year, suffered a severe knee injury
before the season started.
And backup keeper Domenique Lainez suf
fered a right ankle sprain at the beginning of
September, which left her sidelined all season.
Oregon’s record reflects the tough competi
tion for the Ducks, as they faced the best in the
country. The women played the likes of North
Carolina, Portland, Stanford and UCLA along
with other NCAA veterans from last year.
According to preseason polls, 10 Oregon op
ponents were picked among the top 25 by Soc
cer America.
“We learned to play with any team in the
country,” junior midfielder Lindsey Werdell
said. “We were able to play through adversity
and play as a team.”
Werdell will return as a senior for Oregon
next year, but for the five other veteran Ducks,
___
Mark McCambridge Emerald
Sarah Denner was one of five seniors to play in their last game for Oregon in Friday's Civil War.
they have had to come to the realization that
Friday night was the last time they would wear
an Oregon uniform.
"We learned to play with any
team in the country We were
able to play through adversity
and play as a team"
Lindsey Werdell
junior midfielder
“It hasn’t quite hit me yet,” Peterson said.
“It’s kind of sad but now I can look forward to
other things.”
And for the seniors, it’s time to pass the torch
to a younger Duck generation.
Oregon found itself blessed with 13 newcom
ers on the roster this year, including 10 fresh
men. Of the new Ducks, four started more than
five games for Oregon this season and all gained
valuable college experience.
“All in all, this team has played some really
good soccer, and they can be a really good
team,” Oregon head coach Bill Steffen said. “It
will take a little bit of time and a little bit of ma
turity, but they are very capable.”
Steffen said if the Ducks can eliminate some
Turn to Soccer, page 6
Duck tails aren’t between their legs
Mark McCambridge Emerald
Keith Lewis (with ball), Steven Moore (4) and the Ducks are keeping
things light in practice this week despite losing three of four.
The Oregon football team is
keeping practice fun this week
Oregon notes
Peter Hockaday
Sports Editor
This is a team that’s lost three of its
last four games?
This is a team that’s dropped to
23rd in The Associated Press poll af
ter being ranked as high as sixth? A
team that won’t contend for a Pacific
10 Conference title after winning two
in a row?
At the end of practice Tuesday night,
the players of the Oregon football team
filled Autzen Stadium without joyous
shouts as they ran a drill that pitted the
scout team offense against the scout
team defense. To score a point, the de
fense had to prevent the offense from
gaining four yards, or the offense would
score a point.
Best of seven downs won the con
test, and that “team” avoided condi
tioning drills.
The defense won the first three
downs, and the defensive starters let
the offense know it, chanting “de-fense,
de-fense.” But the offense stormed
back, winning the next two, and now
the offensive starters started their own
“o-ffense, o-ffense” cheer. The defense
came up with a huge stop, and the de
fensive starters rushed the field as the
offense trudged toward the goal line for
running drills.
“We made the offense run, but we
didn’t have to, which was good for
me,” linebacker Kevin Mitchell said
with a grin.
Quarterback Jason Fife said that
drill epitomized the Ducks’ attitudes
this week.
“I’m glad coach did that,” Fife said.
“A lot of times we forget why we play
this game. Of course you want to win,
but above all we want to compete and
we want to have fun.”
No comment
For such a bitter rivalry, the players
of the Oregon and Washington teams
have been keeping relatively mum this
week. Both coaches are attempting to
avoid the controversial comments that
came out last week before the Oregon
Washington State and Oregon State
Washington games last week.
Turn to Oregon, page 8