Sports Editor
Peter Hockaday
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com
Tuesday, June 3,2003
-Oregon Daily Emerald
Sports
Best bet
French Open: quarterfinals
Noon, ESPN
Bee gives
us much
rhathymia
Forget the NBA Playoffs. Never
mind the Stanley Gup. The best
sports event on television last week
was the Scripps Howard National
Spelling Bee on ESPN.
Yeah, I said “sports event.” Just be
cause the kids wear glasses thicker
than an offensive lineman, just because
their voices ring out in falsetto, doesn’t
mean these kids aren’t athletes.
Sure, they’re just spelling, but
could you spell “insalubrious” if it
wasn’t written right there? Insalubri
ous means “Not promoting health;
unwholesome,” and it was the third
round word for Sai Gunturi, who
eventually won
the whole shindig
in the 15 th
round.
How ‘bout
them apples? Ap
ples for the
teacher, that is.
Gunturi, who
lists his chief in
terest outside of
spelling as “play
ing violin,” might
get the snot
kicked out of him
when he gets
back to St. Mark’s school in Dallas.
But at least he’s $12,000 richer, got a
sweet set of encyclopedias and a
killer $1,000 savings bond.
Sai, what will you do with all your
winnings P
Well, I will read my Encyclopedia
Britannica and invest my bond for
encyclopedias for my future chil
dren. Without learning, we are in
salubrious!
Sai took out all sorts of characters on
his way to the top. There was JJ Gold
stein, a third-year participant whose
mother clutched a stuffed bee and
closed her eyes when JJ spelled. JJ
went down in flames when she spelled
“betony” as b-e-t-t-a-n-y.
What is betony? It’s a plant of the
genus Stachys in the mint family. JJ is
in eighth grade. When I was in middle
school, I was eating betony off the
playground because I didn’t know any
better. JJ was worrying about how to
spell it.
Then there was Samir Patel, the
youngest kid to make it to the end.
Samir, a 9-year-old third grader, is
about three feet tall and needed serious
mike adjustment every time he
stepped up to spell a word.
According to the Bee Web site, Samir
“is an avid reader. He is a fan of mys
teries, classics, myths, legends, history,
and Harry Potter books.” He also rocks
the world with his rock collection and
loves stamp collecting, too.
And the post-Bee party’s at Samir’s
house! We’re going to have a power
point presentation of Samir’s favorite
stamps! Yes!
Samir, sadly, went down in the
11th round on “boudin.” He spelled it
b-o-u-d-a-n-e. Of course, “boudin”
means “A Louisiana Creole link
sausage of pork, pork liver and rice.”
Mmmm, tasty. Gan I get some betony
with that?
Don’t worry, competitors can come
back until they hit high school. The
Turn to Hockaday, page 13
Peter
Hockaday
Two minutes for
crosschecking
Bouncing
bailers
Terrell Brandon and Freddie Jones lead a
contingent of former Oregon basketball
players into the professional ranks
Where are they now?
Hank Hager
Sports Reporter
Search throughout the seemingly endless list
of professional basketball leagues, and former
players appear from every college on the North
American continent.
Search a little bit
harder to find 23 former
Oregon players residing
on rosters at the end of
the 2003 season. Only
two — Terrell Brandon
and Fred Jones — play
in the NBA, but for the
21 others, playing pro
fessionally is more than
just living a dream.
Sometimes, it’s just
about making a living.
For Brandon, life in the NBA has been about
being the best at what he does. The 11th over
all draft pick in the 1991 draft, Brandon has
made his mark in the league as one of the top
point guards in the game. He has been injured
for the most part during the last two seasons,
but Sports Illustrated named him the top point
guard in the late ‘90s.
“I just try to be consistent and keep the
morals that my parents have given me over the
years,” Brandon told the Emerald in 2001.
“And not get out of character because of a
game. I mean, it's only a basketball game.”
In 1996, while with Cleveland, Brandon led
the Cavaliers to a top Eastern Conference
record, and at one point, averaged 19.3 points
Turn to Then & now, page 12
Part 1 of 2
Today: Catching
up with former
Oregon hoops
players
Wednesday:
Catching up with
former Oregon
football players
Duck Ultimate duo scores MVP honors
Ben Wiggins and Chelsea Dengler
both receive the Callahan Award,
the Heisman of college ultimate
Jon Roetman
Freelance Sports Reporter
A pair of Oregon Ultimate standouts
made history this season.
Ben Wiggins and Chelsea Dengler were
each presented with the Callahan Award,
which goes to the nation’s most valuable
male and female ultimate players. It was
the first time both award winners attend
ed the same school.
“It was a big honor,” Wiggins said. “It’s
voted on by the players, so it means that
much more.”
Wiggins’ award wasn’t a surprise, as the
5-foot-10-inch senior handler was the
best player on one of the best teams in
the nation. The opposite was true for
Dengler, as the 5-foot-5-inch junior utility
player shined for a team that failed to
make nationals, giving her less exposure.
“She was pretty much flabbergasted
(by winning the award),” Wiggins said of
Dengler. “It was kind of a surprise, but we
all know she deserved it.”
It was a fitting way for the duo to end
the season, as they have been friends
since elementary school. Both grew up
in Corvallis.
“They’re both amazing players,” soph
omore club Coordinator Ben Parrell said.
“There aren’t two people more deserving
of the award.”
The men’s ultimate season came to a
not-so-fitting end as the Ducks lost to
the Wisconsin Badgers 15-8 in the finals
of the national tournament. The Ducks
came into the tournament as the No. 1
seed after winning the Northwest Re
gional tournament. The Northwest re
gion was recognized as the strongest re
gion in the country, fielding seven of the
top 12 teams in the season’s final regu
lar season poll.
Despite losing to the Badgers, the
Ducks were pleased with the way their
season ended, as they weren’t even
picked to make the national tournament
before the season began.
“I’m absolutely (happy),” Wiggins said
on how the Ducks’ season ended. “Being
in the top two out of 300 teams is great.”
Before losing to Wisconsin in the fi
nals, Oregon breezed through pool play
and the preliminary rounds of the
Turn to UNkwrie, page 13
Jeremy Forrest for the Emerald
Ben Wiggins (top) and Chelsea Dengler share national MVP honors.