Sports Editor
Peter Hockaday
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com
Tuesday, February 18,2003
-Oregon Daily Emerald
Sports
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NBA: Houston at LA Lakers
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Lavin’s empire crumbles in Los Angeles
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has
expressed interest in the head
coaching job at UCLA when
Lavin vacates it after this season
Mens Pac-10
Peter Hockaday
Sports Editor
First it was a rumor, then it was a
question, now it’s almost fact.
Steve Lavin is done at UCLA.
The only rumors now are about who
will take over his job, and one of the
brightest stars in Bruin history, Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar, has expressed interest in
the job.
In an interview with ESPN’s Andy
Katz last week, Lavin, the UCLA head
coach, all but admitted he will be fired
once the season is over. That could be
sooner rather than later for the Bruins,
who are in real danger of missing the Pa
* cific-10 Conference Tournament.
“I’m approaching every game as if it’s
my last time somewhere,” Lavin told
• Katz. “The last time at (California’s)
Haas Pavilion, the last time at Mac
Court. I’ve got a lot of good memories
and experiences.”
"I'm approaching every
game as if it's my last time
somewhere. The last time
at Haas Pavilion, the last
time at Mac Court"
Steve Lavin
UCLA head coach
After that interview, Lavin’s Bruins
lost two more games, by a combined 52
points, to No. 1 Arizona and Arizona
State. That puts them at 5-16 overall, 2
10 in conference play.
The Bruins currently trail Washing
ton by one game for the eighth and fi
nal berth in the Pac-10 Tournament.
UCLA still has to play the Northern
California teams and Oregon, while
Washington has only Oregon as a big
road block in their schedule. Still,
when Washington and UCLA meet in
the season’s final game on March 8, the
eighth seed in the Pac-10 Tourney
could well be on the line.
Meanwhile, Abdul-Jabbar expressed
interest in the possible opening at
UCLA. In a conference call with re
porters in which he announced he has
been hired as a commentator for CBS,
Abdul-Jabbar called the UCLA head
coaching position “a dream job.”
“I haven’t spoken to anybody at
UCLA, but if things change at the end of
the season and there is a position open,
I hope they would consider me,” Abdul
Jabbar said.
The former UCLA star — playing as
Lew Alcindor — Abdul-Jabbar averaged
26.4 points per game and is the second
leading scorer in Bruin history despite
playing only three seasons. He will an
nounce first-and-second round NCAA
Tournament games for CBS this March.
Maybe the water’s tainted
UCLA isn’t the only struggling South
ern California team. USC also lost both
games to Arizona and Arizona State, and
the Trojans are now two games behind
Oregon for fifth in the conference.
USC isn’t listed as a “bubble team” by
ESPN, and it looks like the Trojans, who
have a 10-11 overall record, will miss
the NCAA Tournament.
This comes a week after USC beat
Oregon, UCLA and UNLV and had its
NCAA Tournament hopes revived. But
even if the Trojans win the rest of their
games and the Pac-10 Tournament,
they’ll finish 19-11.
Oh well. There’s always spring football
looming on the horizon.
Rank and file
Once again, parity is the dark horse
man wreaking havoc on the Pac-10
conference.
At least, that’s how it looks when you
see the latest rankings.
No. 1 Arizona, No. 18 California and
No. 21 Stanford were the only Pac-10
teams in the Associated Press rankings
for the second week in a row. The
Turn to Men's, page 10
Adam Amato Emerald
Steve Lavin's Bruins lost both games in Arizona and now sit a game out of the last spot in the Pac-10 Tournament.
Cougar women break losing streak against Cal
Washington State ends the second-longest
losing streak in Division I history at 45 games
Womens Pac-10
Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
When Washington State hosted California on Feb. 24,2001,
life was good.
The Cougars defeated the Golden Bears by 15 points.
And when the Cougars went into the locker room, they never
expected to lose their next 34 conference games.
But they did. Washington State didn’t win another game until
Feb. 13,2003.
Cal started the streak, and when the Bears returned to Friel
Court on Thursday night, they ended it. The Cougars tri
umphed, 67-64.
For head coach Sherri Murrell, it was a sigh of relief. One
team can only get kicked around for so long.
“When you get punched in the head 21 times it’s fun to get
that one blow back,” Murrell said after recording her first ca
reer coaching victory with Washington State. “It’s been two
years for our players. It’s been a long time coming and I am so
proud of them.”
The Cougars had a 45-game losing streak overall — the sec
ond longest in Division I history.
Washington State (1-22, 1-14 Pacific-10 Conference) can
thank juniors Bianca McCall and Lindsey Egeland, as the two
Turn to Women's, page 10
Members of the
Oregon ski team
live it up on the
wintery slopes,
despite a lack of
snowfall this
season.
Courtesy
Oregon club
ski team
wM*
I Lack of snow doesn t keep
Oregon ski team from fun
I The Ducks have had success this
winter despite starting training late
because of low snow levels in the fell
Jon Roetman
Freelance Sports Reporter
Snow falls from the sky as a skier prepares to
launch down a steep hill.
Heart racing and adrenaline flowing, there is a
struggle to remain focused.
J Breathing rapidly, the skier weaves through
tightly placed gates at high speeds.
In most cases, it would take fear or lack of de
Club Sports
Tuesday
termination to impede a skier’s progress. For the
Oregon Club Ski Team, fear and lack of determi
nation have never been issues.
There just hasn’t been any snow.
The Ducks usually start training at the
Turn to Club skiing, page 10