Oregon daily emerald., November 24, 2004, Image 9

“The water and the chlorine taste the
same no matter where you are. ”
George Slavich on the Club water polo team’s need to adapt
to Notre Dame’s 45,000-square-foot swimming facility
■ In my opinion
BRIAN SMITH
LEFTY SPECIALIST
To NBA
fans: Stop
attending
the games
Before I begin, has anyone not seen the Pis
tons-Pacers brawl from the other night?
Well, if you haven’t, Indiana’s Ron Artest and
Co. took on the fans at The Palace of Auburn Hills
in an NBA-UFC championship-style matchup.
Imagine the cross-promotional possibilities.
Anyway, late in the fourth quarter with Indi
ana leading comfortably, Detroit’s Ben Wallace
shoved Artest after a hard foul. Artest backed off
and lay down on the scorer’s table. A cup of wa
ter was thrown at Artest by a fan in the arena,
and a heated lovers’ quarrel/soccer match
riot/street fight erupted in the stands and spilled
out onto the court.
So, is everyone uncomfortable with what
transpired?
Yes? No?
I’m not.
I thought it was funny.
Dennis Rodman’s pupil (complete with
matching jersey number 91) did everything he
could to take the “infamous” title away from
his mentor (sans a wedding dress, but hey,
you never know...).
Is it me or does the NBA have the craziest
players?
After I first saw the highlights, I was tempted
to defend Artest, but now after cameras have
shown the person whom Artest attacked was not
the person who threw the cup, I think Artest is
nucking futs.
Not to mention teammate Stephen Jackson.
The man started throwing out-of-control hay
makers at empty seats (and a fan) in a “defense
of a teammate” plea.
Or teammate Jermaine O’ Neal, who got a
crow-hopT’m-going-to-throw-you-out-from-cen
terfield head start before he dropped a Pistons
fan, who had come out on the floor.
Imagine the reality show possibilities of putting
Rodman and Artest, Bob Knight, Vernon
Maxwell, the entire Texas Rangers bullpen, Latrell
Sprewell and old-school John McEnroe in a
house for three months.
Fans and players have such a huge mone
tary divide between them that I’m surprised
more people haven’t thrown things in disgust
for this reason.
Hey fans, if that is the case, here’s a novel idea:
Stop going to the games. Ticket revenue makes
up part of their salaries, so stop going.
Before I get too philosophical, maybe it was
just as simple as someone who didn’t like Artest
and decided to — sober or drunk — chuck a cup
at him.
And if that is the case, I don’t know what to
say, except that I’ll just send Artest into your sec
tion and maybe he gets to you eventually.
Fans throw coins at players because after $200
for tickets, $13 for parking, $60 for an official
practice sweatshirt and $42 for a replica jersey,
that’s the only thing they have in their pockets.
Furthermore, if I paid $7 for a beer or a cup of
water, I sure as hell wouldn’t waste it tlirowing it
at a player. I would savor that Miller Lite/Coors
Light/Budweiser as if it were the nectar of the
gods. It would be the best beer I ever tasted.
Ever.
SMITH, page 10
■ Women’s basketball
Oregon survives late Southern rally
The Ducks led by 19 with 8:17
remaining and escaped the
Jaguars' late run to win 65-52
BY BRIAN SMITH
SPORTS REPORTER
The Oregon women’s basketball team al
most let one slip away against Southern
University on Hiesday.
Up by as much as 19 in the second half,
the Ducks went on a seven-and-a-half
minute scoreless stretch, allowing the Baton
Rouge school to get within eight before Ore
gon salted away the last minute and a half
to hold on to a 65-52 victory.
“We sort of thought the game was over
and we played a little bit to entertain, rather
than to put the knife in and turn even hard
er,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said.
“And you have to give credit to Southern
(for playing well in the second half).”
Oregon’s Cathrine Kraayeveld hit a turn
around jumper from the right side of the
floor at the 8:17 mark in the second half to
push the lead to 59-40.
“I think we played really well at times
and went on strings where we were playing
awesome defense and hitting our shots and
being aggressive,” Kraayeveld said. “But we
kind of let down toward the end.”
The Jaguars then scored ten in a row,
behind eight points by Ashley Blake, to
close the gap to 59-50 before Kraayeveld
sank two free throws and got the Ducks’
Nicole Barker | Photographer
Oregon point guard Corrie Mizusawa defends against Southern's Rolanda Monroe Tuesday at Mac Court.
lead back above ten.
“I think it was a lack of focus and we were
satisfied with what we had,” Oregon senior
Corrie Mizusawa. “And we let them get back
in the game.”
Freshman Gabrielle Richards ended Oregon’s
field goal drought with a layup with six sec
onds left to play.
“I think the big factor tonight was Richards,”
Southern head coach Sandy Pugh said. “I was
like, ‘Where did this kid come from?’”
Richards contributed 19 points off the bench
and was the team’s leading scorer. She went 7
of 8 from the floor and added three rebounds.
“I think Gabe was a real focal point for us,”
Smith said. “I think she got better in the second
WOMEN'S, oaee 10
■ Men's basketball
Ducks to make first-ever
road trip to West Virginia
After slipping by New Mexico,
Oregon takes on Marshall for
its initial away game this season
BY CLAYTON JONES
SPORTS EDITOR
The Oregon men’s basketball team travels
to West Virginia during Thanksgiving break
for its first road game of the season to face
Marshall Saturday at 4 p.m. PST.
Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said the
team now must prove itself on the road af
ter a victory over a good New Mexico team
Monday night.
“I think it is important for us to take this
show on the road,” Kent said. “I’m hoping
that the character of this team allows itself to
step up and come together on the road. ”
The Ducks defeated the Thundering Herd
last season at the Pape Jam easily, 90-61. That
game was with a different Oregon cast. This
year’s version is looking forward to matching
up with Marshall.
“We get a chance to bond on the road,”
sophomore Jordan Kent said. “This is where
the young guys get the experience because
these road games are brutal.”
Marshall lost its first game of the season by
one point to UNC Wilmington, 58-57. Much
like the Ducks this season, the Herd has had a
freshman infusion including Joe Miles at the
point guard position. He led the team with 18
points in his first-career college game.
The Herd played late Tliesday night and
defeated East Tennessee State 80-76 in its
home opener.
The Ducks have been an impressive defen
sive team thus far in the season and hope to
continue that trend against Marshall.
It will be the first road trip for a young
team and Ernie Kent said it will be key to
Oregon sophomore Jordan Kent helped lead the
Ducks past New Mexico Monday night with 14
points. He and the rest of the Oregon squad face
Marshall Saturday in Huntington, W. Va.
the team’s development.
“Next thing for us is to go on the road
and face the adversity,” Kent said. “It’s go
ing to do two things. It’s going to force you
to grow up and it’s going to help you deal
with that adversity.
“You can’t simulate that here (McArthur
Court).”
One thing Oregon does hope to improve is
its road record from last season. The Ducks
were 5-6 away from Mac Court compared to
11-3 at home last season.
“Hopefully we can get a lot more mature
and better on the road,” Jordan Kent said.
Unfortunately for the Ducks, their road
trip begins early Thanksgiving morning
MEN'S, page 10
■ Club Sports
Men's water
polo finishes
nationals at
Notre Dame
Meanwhile, the Club hockey team
split a two-game matchup with
UCLA during the weekend
_
BY BEAU EASTES
DAILY EMERALD FREELANCE REPORTER
The Oregon Club men’s water polo team fi
nalized its jump from mediocre conference con
tender to a national top-10 program this week
end, placing eighth at the National Collegiate
Club Water Polo Championship at Notre Dame
in South Bend, Ind.
The Ducks opened the tournament with a 14
5 win Friday night over Middlebury College of
central Vermont. The win put Oregon in the
winners’ bracket against No. 1 Cal Poly.
Oregon lost to the Mustangs 17-4, forcing
them into the consolation bracket and out of
title contention. Cal Poly went on to win the
16-team tournament.
“It was a good experience,” coordinator
George Slavich said. “We played on an entirely
new level.”
The Ducks lost their next two games, 15-11
to Miami (Ohio) and 10-9 to Villanova.
“We started out a little flat-footed,” Slavich
said of the Villanova match.
Exhaustion may have been a factor in the
Ducks final contests. Oregon was forced to play
its last three games in less than 24 hours, and
the tournament was in a regulation size 30-me
ter pool. The Ducks, lacking proper facilities,
had spent the year training in a complex five
meters shorter.
CLUB SPORTS, page 10