Oregon Daily Emerald
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
“I have never seen a fight like that in
a game since I was in high school. ”
Phoenix Suns guard Quentin Richardson on the Pacers-Pistons melee
■ In my opinion
STEPHEN MILLER
OFF THE CROSSBAR
Turkey Day
food relived
and sports
unraveled
You want the truth? I’ll admit it.
I was too busy stuffing my face, sleeping
in and studying to keep up with everything
that happened in the world of sports over the
holiday weekend.
No worries. Hakuna Matata. No huge fights
broke out or anything.
As normal, everything was documented
and recorded as I was shoving my mom’s
homemade mashed potatoes and cornbread
stuffing in my pie hole.
Speaking of being shoved down a pie hole,
did you see the NFL beating that Seattle took
from Buffalo?
Willis McGahee scored four touchdowns on
the ground for the Bills. He made more trips
into the end zone than I made to the kitchen
for more taters.
Be cool, my babies; the Seahawks still sit
above St. Louis by half a game on top of the NFC
West. It’s a good thing that game wasn’t played
during Thanksgiving dinner or the Heimlich ma
neuver may have been necessary to dislodge a
wishbone from my throat.
How about the pounding Detroit, and more
specifically Joey Harrington, took on Tlirkey Day?
It was just the same old, same old. The Lions
struggled because they couldn’t figure out how to
protect their passer, making Harrington a fantasy
football owner’s nightmare.
On Sunday, Denver was upset at home in the
snow by Oakland in a game that was better than
the ‘fog bowl’ between USC and Oregon State a
few weeks ago.
The two Ohio teams racked up about a
bazillion points in their matchup over the
break. Actually, the two teams combined for
106 points as Cincinnati won by 10 over the
Cleveland Browns. You do the arithmetic; I
have other things to talk about.
In the basketball world there was good
news: Portland handed New Jersey its ninth
straight loss. However, Mo Cheeks and com
pany sit at the bottom of the Northwest Divi
sion with Denver. The Blazers strung together
a 16-1 run in the third quarter and.Zach Ran
dolph posted 23 points in the game. And if
there’s one exciting thing in Rip City, it’s see
ing Zebo fight through a triple-team.
Oregon alumni Luke Jackson and Fred Jones
(who I never got to see play in person) are both
on contending teams in the Eastern Conference.
Jackson scored a career-best seven points for
Cleveland in nine minutes last week against the
Chicago Bulls. It was only the third game he has
played in this season.
Freddie, now minus the “ie,” is averaging 35
minutes per game this season with the Pacers. He
scored a career-high 31 points against Orlando
the day after the team’s Nov. 19 brawl with
Detroit. Frederick, minus the “enck,” tallied 14
points in Sunday’s loss to Seattle.
Luke Ridnour appears to be doing a fine job of
stabilizing the Sonics’ top spot in the Northwest
Division and its four-game win streak; currently
the second longest in the league. Ridnour is
scoring nine points per game and dishing out
almost six assists on average. Keep an eye on
MILLER, page 10
■ Duck soccer
Lauren Wimer | Senior photographer
Oregon freshman Kami Kapaku, seen earlier this season, led the team in goals (4) and points (9) in a season that the Ducks struggled through offensively.
Ducks limp through season
Plagued by adversity,
Oregon goes winless in
Pac-10 conference
BY BRIAN SMITH
SPORTS REPORTER
Nothing went according
to plan for the Oregon
women’s soccer team this
season.
From spring practice to their
final match against Arizona in
early November, the Ducks
struggled against a relentless
enemy —injuries.
Oregon spent its entire season
patching together a lineup —
which included as many as five
freshmen — to face a schedule that
included 10 teams that qualified for
the 2004 NCAA Tournament.
At one time or another through
out the season, the Ducks were
without six starters due to injuries.
The end result was a 3-13-3
overall record and Oregon’s first
winless Pacific-10 Conference
season since the team gained
varsity status in 1996.
“It didn’t go how the seniors
wished it would have,” Oregon
senior Kelly Baird said. “We had
a lot of youngsters, and the older
players (on the team) couldn’t
get it done.”
Ducks struggle through
unhealthy fall season
Injuries. Injuries. Injuries.
The one constant in an incon
sistent season.
Going into the spring, Oregon
was without forwards Nicole
Garbin, Mele French and Andrea
Nicole Barker | Photographer
Oregon sophomore Andrea Valadez was second on the team with 35 shots and
ranked fifth on the team in points (3).
Valadez. At the end of the year,
Valadez was the only one of those
three in the lineup — and she still
suffered from nagging leg injuries.
Garbin, Oregon’s top offensive
threat from last season, was lost
for the year after suffering a knee
injury early in spring practice.
For her career, Garbin ranks
first all-time in assists (13), is
tied for second in game-winning
goals (6), is third in points (36),
third in goals (12) and fourth in
shots (112).
“(Injuries) played a pretty big
part,” Baird said. “When people get
injured, (the team) can’t use them,
and that is obviously a factor. ’’
The injuries left the Ducks
without much offense for the en
tire season. Oregon was shut out
a record 10 times and scored
more than three goals on only
two occasions.
Oregon was the lowest scoring
team in the conference, managing
only four goals in nine conference
matches. In comparison, confer
ence leader UCLA scored 20 goals
in the same span.
Oregon was also the only team
to score less than 10 points during
conference play. The Ducks
ranked last in every offensive cat
egory in the Pac-10.
The bright spot offensively for
Oregon was the production from
freshman Kami Kapaku. The
Hawaii native led the team in
goals (4) and points (9). Her three
points against Wyoming was a
team-high in 2004.
Steffen resigns as
Oregon head coach
The 2004 season also saw
the end of Bill Steffen’s reign as
head coach.
Steffen compiled a 49-107-14
record during his nine-year
tenure. His 2003 squad won a
school-record nine matches and
tied for a school-record three wins
in conference play.
As the Ducks’ head coach, Stef
fen never finished above seventh
in the conference.
Prior to his arrival in Eugene,
Steffen served as a women’s assis
tant coach at North Carolina for
three years (1993-95), helping the
Tar Heels to two NCAA national
titles and a third trip to the nation
al semifinals.
Ducks lose Mele French
due to medical problems
Recurring injuries also claimed
the career of French, another one
of the Duck top scorers.
The junior suffered from
ongoing concussions and made
the decision after an Oregon
State match midway through the
season to end her career for
medical reasons.
“She was one of the most dan
gerous forwards in the Pac-10,”
former assistant head coach John
Galas said. “Behind Garbin, she
was a player that the conference
had to take notice of.”
In 2004, French ranked second
in points (5), tied for second
in goals (2) and tied for third
SOCCER, page 10