Sports Editor:
Jesse Thomas
jessethomas@dailyemerald.com
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
Oregon Daily Emerald
SPORTS
Best bet
MLB All-Star Game
5p.m. Tuesday, FOX
Jesse Thomas
Go the distance
L.A. Lakers"
additions
ridiculously
inequitable
Oh yes, Wednesday will be a great day
for Los Angeles: It's the first day of free
agency and the first day the Glove and the
Mailman officially become Lakers.
A day when all other NBA franchises
look at one another and say, "Oh S#&T!"
As you should already know, Gary Pay
ton and Karl Malone verbally committed
last week to join the Lakers. And the Spurs
would be lucky to make a BB's dent in the
steel armor of the Lakers' starting lineup,
especially with the Admiral retiring, the
failure to pick up Alonzo Mourning and
Jason Kidd's dedsion to stay in New Jersey.
Four future Mall of Famers: the league's
second all-time leading scorer, the most
dominant big man ever to play, the best
defensive guard and a man who used to
sleep with his basketball at night — all
with the Lakers.
wu, diiu me mui mail — wnu cares*
They shouldn't get one, it's unfair enough
as is. But for kicks, I heard Annika Soren
stam was interested in taking up basket
ball and joining the men's ranks.
And did 1 mention the bill was only
$6.4 million for the construction of Amer
ica's new dream team? That's one-sixth
what Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant
will make combined next season. Hell, if
I knew they came that cheap, 1 would have
taken out more school loans and bought
them myself.
Malone and Payton are nearly 75 years
old combined, but Phil Jackson is still
driving a freight train that is unlikely to
stop short of 70 wins and a sweep through
the playoffs.
The Lakers starting line-up is like Barry
Bonds, and then some. You can throw any
combination you want, but they're still go
ing to knock you out of the park. With
Kobe, Shaq, the 18.3 points and 7.4 assists
career average from Payton and 36,374 ca
reer points of Mail delivery, you're going to
need the 1992 Dream Team to stop them.
But since every question has been
asked, every critic has criticized and the
stats speak for themselves, I offer the good,
the bad and the worse of "2003-04 Lakers'
Domination," coming to a court near you.
The Good:
1. Lakers' fans shouldn't have any
doubt that their team will win its fourth
title in five years. Easy enough, right? No
body will deny that they're the over
whelming favorite.
2. It's nice to see that some players
would rather see a ring on their finger than
a 50-karat dollar sign around their neck.
Since Payton and Malone have never
played on a championship team, this is
the perfect opportunity.
3. Bill Gates and Mitch Kupchak can sit
around with a bottle of cognac and a few
Cuban cigars while laughing at the beau
ty of owning monopolies.
4. No more having to see Mark Cuban
being obnoxiously loud about his team's
chance of making a title run. Because it
Turn to Thomas, page 8
Ems stroll to 6-5 victory against Bears
Eugene takes the win Monday with a balk
and closes out the series with the Yakima Bears
By Jesse Thomas
Sports Editor
The Eugene Emeralds won the last game of a
five-game series against the Yakima Bears in an un
likely fashion Monday night.
As the Ems headed into the bottom of seventh
tied 5-5, Yakima pitcher Danny Muegge wound up
for a pitch and simply dropped the ball. The um
pire signaled a balk and Ems first baseman Fer
nando Valenzuela was able to stroll to home plate
for the game's final run, putting the score at 6-5.
But it wasn't an easy stroll altogether for the
Emeralds, who won their second straight and
third of the series against the Bears.
Shortstop Alex Garcia got things going early for
the Ems by scoring the first run in the bottom of
the first inning. In four at bats, Garcia had one hit
and one RBI.
"It feels good that we won and the important
thing is to win day after day," Garcia said. 'Today
wasn't either a good day or bad day."
By the top of the fourth inning the Bears were
in stride and led 2-1. Left fielder Alex Frazier
earned an RBI on the Bears' second run by knock
ing in designated hitter Conor Jackson.
But the Ems would not be denied for long. Left
fielder Ryan Johnson came to the plate with two
outs in the bottom of the fourth inning and cracked
one over the right wall on a 1-2 pitch count.
"It was a good night and we just kind of let the
adrenaline do the work," said Johnson, who was
playing in his first game as an Emerald. "With two
strikes I was trying to put the ball in play and it just
worked out well."
The Ems took a 3-2 lead heading into the fifth
as Johnson also brought home Ems catcher
Omar Falcon.
"He's a kid that I saw for a little bit and noticed
he's a good hitter," Manage Roy Howell said. "It
was clear he was a good hitter and this was a very
good start."
And as the adrenaline began sweeping through
the crowd it became a cat-and-dog fight for the
two rivals with four lead changes on the night.
The Bears had the answer for the Ems in the top of
the fifth inning. As catcher Phil Avlas and shortstop
Adam Haley stood on second and third bases, sec
ond baseman Matt Morgan put one over the second
i
KPNW«11
Jessica Waters Emerald
Shortstop Alex Garcia crosses the plate to score the Emeralds’ first run Monday night against the Yakima Bears
en route to a 6-5 win.Garcia had one RBI and one hit in the win.
baseman s nead as the bears regained the lead, 4-3.
The Bears would soon increase their lead in the
top of sixth inning as third baseman Jamie D'An
tona stepped to the plate and cleared the left wall.
The Ems needed an answer and got one in the
bottom of the sixth inning. Falcon earned a single
into left followed by Johnson getting walked to
first, advancing Falcon to second.
As Jacobo shot one past the shortstop into left
field, Falcon scored the first run of the inning. Ihe
comeback began, and Garcia came to the plate
with the bases loaded, grounding into right field
to score Johnson for the tying run.
Relief pitcher Dirk Mayhurst did his job in the
top of the seventh by striking out three batters and
leaving two looking.
By midway through the seventh inning, the
Bears had no more answers for the cards Eugene
was dealing. As Valenzuela eventually scored from
third on the balk, Eugene closed out the sconng
with a one-run margin of victory.
"It was more like a tennis match tonight, and in
die minors you don't usually see a game-deciding
run on a balk," Howell said.
The Ems got the win Monday night but lost the
series on the year 6-4. This comes after Eugene's
romping of Yakima last season 10-0.
I layhurst (2-0) got the win on the night after pitch
ing two innings, allowing no hits and striking out four
batters. Muegge (I -1) takes the loss for the Bears after
dirowing two strikeouts and allowing one earned run,
which happened to be the deciding factor.
Eugene (15-12) will get a rare day off from com
petition today before heading to play Boise (7-19)
Thursday in a five-game series. The Ems currently
top the Northwest League West Division.
Contact the sports editor
at jessethomas@dailyemerald.com.
Rizzo gets her groove back
Courtesy
Angie Rizzo will play in her second LPGA Tour event of the year
starting Thursday in New Rochelle, N.Y.
Three years after graduating from
the University, Angie Rizzo is slowly
gaining her footing on the LPGA Tour
By Jesse Thomas
Sports Editor
Golf has its high and lows. Great
shots erase all bad ones, and die game
is never mastered. And through the
good and bad, even a two-week ab
sence can affect one's game.
Angie Rizzo missed nearly a year. But
after her highest finish ever this weekend
at 20th, Rizzo looks to be back on the
right track for finding her game again.
After leaving an LPGA lour event in
April 2002, the 2000 University gradu
ate was rear-ended in a car accident and
suffered severe whiplash and cervical,
thoracic and lumbar strains that re
quired several months of rehabilitation.
"I've never been injured before," said
Rizzo, who majored in business and
sports marketing. "So that was a set
back both physically and mentally."
The former 4-year member of Ore
gon women's golf has been in and out
of LPGA Tour events the past three
years. As a student of former women's
head coach Renee Baumgartner, Rizzo
won the State Farm Collegiate Cham
pionship in 1999 and placed in the top
five on four occasions.
Rizzo was also a two-time Academ
ic All-American while attending
the University.
"She was a diamond in the rough for
us," Baumgartner said. "She had in
credible talent. She hits the ball farther
than any player I've ever coached and
she was part of the best teams I've ever
coached." At the end of her Oregon ca
reer, Rizzo turned professional in Au
gust of2000. In 2001, the Coon Rapids,
Minn., native earned exempt status on
the SBC Futures Four, a smaller version
of the LPGA Tour, where she was able
to compete in every event.
In her return to qualifying school in
2001, Rizzo finished in a tie for 45th at
the LPGA Final Qualifying Tourna
ment, allowing her non-exempt status
for the 2002 season, meaning she
could play in selected tournaments.
"In this generation, she was the first
one to really make it and that was re
ally exciting," Baumgartner said.
"She's worked very hard and
Turn to LPGA, page 8