Oregon Daily Emerald
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
“I’m like toilet paper, toothpaste and certain
amenities — I’m proven to be good. ’’
Shaquille O’Neal | Miami Heat Center
■ In my opinion
CLAYTON JONES
SEVENTH INNING STRETCH
Clarett says
Ohio State
put the buck
in Buckeye
Just when things couldn’t get worse for
Ohio State, they did.
Former Buckeye Maurice Clarett told ESPN
The Magazine that he was receiving improper
benefits from The Ohio State.
Oh how The mighty have fallen.
The Buckeyes aren’t ranked in the top 25.
They lost three games in a row for the first
time in quite a long time, including a loss to,
oh I can barely say this... Northwestern.
Now allegations are being thrown at
them that they are violating a cornucopia of
NCAA rules.
The former Ohio State running back,
who led them to a national title during the
2002 season, claims head coach Jim TYessel
along with other people within the program
and boosters set him up with fake jobs and
fast cars.
Clarett claims he was paid quite hand
somely for landscaping jobs that he wouldn’t
even show up for.
He said boosters “made sure your
money’s straight.”
Clarett said boosters would give him thou
sands of dollars and the better he performed,
the more money boosters would give him.
He continued on, saying that the program
arranged for him to be with an academic
adviser whose sole purpose was to ensure he
was eligible to play football. Clarett says he
was enrolled in independent study courses
and was handpicked professors who would
pass him whether he attended classes or not.
The New York Times quoted a teaching as
sistant at Ohio State saying Clarett received
“preferential treatment,” and that he walked
out of a midterm exam and still passed the
class after a professor gave him an oral exam.
Tressel is also accused by Clarett of setting
him up with loaner cars.
But let’s all remember this is a guy who
was kicked off the team for potential
academic and “financial irregularities” and
vowed his revenge against the Buckeyes.
Is this his revenge or is he trying to do the
right thing?
Who knows, but nobody from Ohio State
is saying anything.
Clarett isn’t the only one stepping up and
accusing Ohio State of illegal actions. Former
linebacker Marco Cooper, who played for the
Buckeyes before also being suspended after
two arrests of drug possession, claimed he
also had fake landscaping jobs, boosters
helped furnish his apartment and that he
borrowed cars from dealers in exchange for
signed Buckeye memorabilia, according to
ESPN The Magazine.
Maryland running back Sammy Maldona
do, who transferred from Ohio State, said that
advisers placed him in so many bogus classes
that only 17 of his 40 credits transferred to
Maryland.
He wasn’t forced out of the school.
Ohio State officials haven’t said anything
about the allegations, but Ohio State athletic
director Andy Geiger told ESPN The
JONES, page 6
■ Club Sports
Men's water polo wins division title
Oregon avenged its only loss of
the season by beating rival OSU
10-9 in the championship game
BY BEAU EASTES
FREELANCE REPORTER
The University’s Club men’s water polo
team is heading to the home of Touchdown
Jesus and the ghost of the Gipper in search of
a national title.
Oregon claimed a spot this weekend in the
National Collegiate Club Championships in South
Bend, Ind., at Notre Dame Nov. 19-21.
The 14th-ranked Ducks, who are first in the
Northwest Division of the Collegiate Water Polo
Association, won three matches this past week
end in the Northwest Division Championships
in Puyallup, Wash., including a 10-9 champi
onship game against archrival Oregon State.
“The win is the most important the program
has ever had,” coordinator George Slavich said.
It was the first-ever divisional championship
finals appearance for the Ducks.
“It’s a feeling of complete elation,”
Slavich said.
The national tournament has been a goal
since the start of the season, Slavich said, but
“it’s always surreal when it happens.”
The victory was also sweet payback for the
10-1 Ducks, their only loss of the season
coming to the Beavers in the teams’ first game.
“Not only were we avenging a loss,”
Slavich said, “but we beat our rival for the
first time ever. ”
The Ducks started off the five team regional
with wins over Western Washington and Port
land. Oregon defeated the Vikings 18-11 in the
opening round and the Pilots 21-4 later that day.
Slavich attributed the success of the season
and the tournament to team defense and an
efficient offense.
“We deserved it,” Slavich said. “We wanted
it more.”
Club hockey splits with California
The University’s Club hockey team also
found success on the road this weekend,
splitting two games with Pacific-8 Conference
leader California.
“Anytime you can get a win on a road trip,
Lauren Wimer I Senior Photographer
Freshman
goalie Noah
Saltman
attempts to
block a shot
in the Ducks'
season-open
ingloss
against
Oregon
State. The
Ducks turned
around to
beat the
Beavers 10-9
Nov. 7 to win
the North
west Division
Champi
onship
it’s pretty good," forward Justin Keeland said.
In a unique scoring twist, the Ducks tied the
Golden Bears 3-3 in regulation Friday night,
earning each team one point in the American
Collegiate Hockey Association standings. But
because Pac-8 rules require a winner for
conference games, Oregon and Cal went to a
shootout to decide the winner. Cal won the
offensive tiebreaker, giving them the Pac-8 win.
“It was disappointing we couldn’t pull it out,”
said Keeland, also the club coordinator. “We felt
we should have scored a lot more. ”
Cal opened the first period with an early goal,
but the Ducks answered with three quick goals
to pull ahead 3-1. The Golden Bears rallied late,
scoring two goals in the third period, the tying
shot coming with 28 seconds left in regulation.
Senior center Mike Tornabene led Oregon
offensively with two goals in the contest and jun
ior forward Justin Savich added a goal and two
assists. Defensively, freshman goaltender Matt
Nuernberg stopped 38 of 41 shots for the Ducks.
In Saturday night’s contest, the Ducks
rebounded from the previous night’s defeat by
again jumping out early. Oregon, riding on fresh
man Cal Brackin’s two goals, took an early 4-1
lead from which Cal would be unable to recover.
“We came out ready to skate,” Keeland said.
Cal scored two late goals in the third period,
to make the final score 4-3.
“We feel we proved something,” Keeland said.
Sophomore defenseman Mike Roley had two
assists in the win that also saw junior defense
man Jordan Guffin and Savich each score a goal.
Nuernberg allowed the three goals on 35 shots.
For the weekend, the llth-ranked Ducks
outshot their Berkeley counterparts 85-76.
The Ducks host College of the Canyons this
weekend before they travel to No. 10 UCLA Nov.
19 and 20 for their next Pac-8 matchup.
Eap wins Club Cross Country meet
Sopagna Eap won the University’s Running
Club’s first home meet of the season, Pre’s Tfail
Cross Country Open, Sunday.
Eap, a graduate student, won the women’s 5K
in 18 minutes, 29 seconds, 12 seconds ahead of
the second-place finisher. The women’s running
club had four athletes finish in the top 10 with
Tiffany Beechy placing fourth (18:45), Liisa
Heinonen seventh (19:44) and Meriel Hartling
ninth (19:57).
In the men’s 8K, Oregon’s Carlos Trujillo
finished seventh (26:17) on the course at
Alton Baker Park to lead the male runners.
Beau Eastes is a freelance reporter
for the Daily Emerald
Danielle Hickey | Photo Editor
Washington outside hitter Christal Morrison leads
the team with 294 kills this season.
■ Pac-10 volleyball
Stanford star approaches
Pac-10 career kills mark
With seven matches remaining, senior Ogonna Nnamani needs
123 kills to pass former UCLA star Kristee Porter's career total
BY STEPHEN MILLER
SPORTS REPORTER
The highlighted numbers in the Pacific-10
Conference this week are three and 20.
Stanford’s Ogonna Nnamani was honored as
the Pac-10 Player of the Week for the third time
this season. This is the fifth time she has been
recognized in her career.
Nnamani has accrued 2,133 kills in her stint
with the Cardinal and 506 this season. The senior
needs 123 kills to pass Kristee Porter and become
the Pac-10 career kills leader with only seven
matches left. She is the league leader in kills per
game (5.69) and points per game (6.35). Her .341
hitting percentage is seventh in the conference as
she has committed 124 errors on 1120 attempts.
Last week, No. 12 Stanford upset No. 4 USC
in a three-game sweep. Nnamani hit .578 and
landed 27 kills against the women of Tfoy.
She posted 24 kills and 14 digs against UCLA
for her ninth double-double of the season.
Nnamani has recorded double figures in kills
in 51 consecutive matches.
Stanford, now ranked No. 11 in the nation,
has posted three of the top-five team hitting
percentages in the conference this season
with its last being .460 against USC.
Twenty and counting
Washington (20-0 overall, 12-0 Pac-10) is
holding down the fort at No. 1 in the most
recent top-25 poll. Washington State won the
third and fourth games against the Huskies last
week to force a fifth game, but the Seattle team
prevailed once again.
Both Washington schools have played five
games in two of their last three matches. The
Cougars (4-21, 1-11) are the only team, besides
Oregon, to not have a home win.
The Huskies continue to rely on freshman
outside hitter Christal Morrison. She talked a
VOLLEYBALL, page 6