Oregon Daily Emerald
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
T * i v VI .. _m
TIM BOBOSKY | PHOTO EDITOR
Eugene outfielder Mike Sansoe is drilled in the back during the game against Boise
Wednesday. Sansoe reached base in the first (single), third (hit by pitch) and sev
enth (error) innings. Eugene won 2-1 with a two-out RBI single by Drew Davidson in
the bottom of the ninth inning.
Emeralds escape
Hawks' talons to
win fifth game
Drew Davidson brought Seth Johnston home in the
ninth inning to inch the Ems to their 2-1 victory
BY SHAWN MILLER
SPORTS EDITOR
The game is on the line and
somebody needs to be the hero.
Eugene Emeralds (16-17) out
fielder Drew Davidson didn’t
have a problem stepping into that
role Wednesday, propelling the
Emeralds to a 2-1 victory over the
Boise Hawks (15-18) in the rub
ber game of the five-game series.
With the score knotted at 1-1,
Davidson came to the plate with
two outs and runners on the cor
ners in the bottom of the ninth in
ning. Davidson quickly fell be
hind in the count 0-2, before
drawing back-to-back balls to
even the count.
“I knew his (Boise pitcher) out
pitch was a slider,” Davidson
said. “I knew he was probably
going to throw sliders down and
away. He happened to leave it up.
“All I was trying to do was stay
on it and make solid contact.”
Davidson slapped the ball over
the right fielder’s outstretched
glove and off the wall, allowing
Seth Johnston to score the game
winning run. Johnston reached
base after a routine ground ball
was bobbled by Boise shortstop
Jose Rios following a leadoff flyout
by Daryl Jones. Nick Hundley
pinch hit for Jodam Rivera and
earned a four-pitch walk. Johnston
advanced to third on a fly out to
center field by Mike Sansoe.
“The guys battled, stayed right
there and won it at the end,” Eu
gene Manager Roy Howell said.
“(They) did the little things, got
guys on and over and got the
big hit.”
Boise scored its lone run in the
fifth inning, when Mark Reed start
ed the inning with a bunt single.
Reed moved to second on a
ground out by Rios and scored on
an RBI single from Davy Gregg fol
lowing a fly out by Jonathan Mota.
Gregg took second base when the
ball was thrown to home plate and
EMS, page 8
Portland signs lacrosse
team: The Lumberjax
The Rose Garden will be home to one more professional sports team
in January, when the Lumberjax will paint Portland black and gold
BY SCOITJ. ADAMS
FREELANCE REPORTER
Professional lacrosse reached Oregon with the
addition of the Portland Lumberjax, christened in
the Rose City almost three months ago.
The Lumberjax are the newest and most west
ern-based team playing in the National Lacrosse
League and will no doubt help lacrosse flourish in
Eugene and the entire Northwest.
The NLL boasts the best players in the world,
who have taken part in making lacrosse the
fastest-growing sport in the United States, accord
ing to Sports Illustrated. Attendance numbers for
the 2005 NLL season further illustrate America’s
embracement of lacrosse. Nearly 900,000 fans
came out last season to watch the 10 league teams
compete, drawing an average attendance of
10,400 fans per game.
The Lumberjax are owned by Angela Bati
novich of the Batinovich family, one of the lead
ing business families on the West Coast. At age
24, she is the youngest owner of a professional
sports team in America today. On May 11, she ex
pressed her enthusiasm for the league’s expan
sion to Portland at a press conference with NLL
Commissioner Jim Jennings.
“This is an exciting time for the National
Lacrosse League and the Portland community, as
we bring a major professional franchise for all
sports and entertainment fans to enjoy in the
Northwest,” Batinovich said. “Our team will bring
an entertainment option to Portland that features
high-energy, action-packed, affordable fun.”
Jennings was just as pleased as Batinovich with
the league’s addition.
“We look forward to seeing the NLL continue
to grow across North America,” Jennings said.
“The sports fans of Portland are going to love their
newest professional team.”
At the time of the conference, the team was
without a name, leaving that to be decided by the
fans in a contest. On July12, the Lumberjax, bear
ing black and gold team colors, was welcomed as
the new team name.
The Portland TVailblazers and the Winter
Hawks of the WHL will share the 20,000 seat Rose
Garden with the Lumberjax, who begin play
in January.
The Lumberjax can be seen as pioneers in
bringing lacrosse to the Northwest, the last fron
tier for the sport in America. The implementing of
expansion teams in other sports has at times done
wonders for their leagues. But the league’s benefit
is limited to how well the team performs. The best
example of this are the ill-fated Montreal Expos, a
product of a past love affair between baseball and
the 1967 World’s Fair held in Montreal.
The Expos combined efforts with the Toronto
Blue Jays to branch major league baseball into
Canada until 2004, when the franchise packed its
bags for Washington, D.C. The short-lucked Ex
pos had arguably their best season in 1994, but
the season ended prematurely because of a play
ers’ strike. Attendance numbers soared for the Ex
pos in 1994 only to wane in the following years,
leading to their demise.
The legacy of the Expos still lives in Montreal
today, where baseball is a staple sport for Cana
da’s youth. In an interview with Fox Sports three
weeks ago, Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher Eric
Gagne touched on his upbringing in Quebec,
where baseball was king when hockey was out
of season.
“During the summer, baseball was all we had,”
Gagne said. “It was very popular then and is still
today. It broke my heart and the hearts of many
Portland Lumberjax majority owner Angela Batinovich,
center, poses with new head coach Derek Keenan, left,
and assistant coach Jeremy Tellev.
in Montreal when the Expos folded. I hope base
ball can return someday. ”
Success has come early for a few expansion
teams in other sports who quickly garnered world
championships. The Florida Marlins claimed their
second world series title in 2003, just a decade af
ter being founded. The Arizona Diamondbacks
accomplished a similar feat in 2001 when they de
throned the defending world champion New York
Yankees, giving them their first world title in their
third year of play.
The NHL has had its share of successful expan
sion teams as well. Since moving to Denver fol
lowing the 1995 season, the Colorado Avalanche
has been the toast of the Western Conference,
winning a Stanley Cup in its first year and claim
ing another in 2001. The Avalanche won its first
Stanley Cup victory in 1996 over another expan
sion team, the Florida Panthers, who were estab
lished in 1993.
The possibilities are endless for the Lumberjax
as they further fortify lacrosse in the Northwest.
The club has laid a strong foundation in the
sports-friendly city of Portland under the leader
ship of Derek Keenan, the Lumberjax head coach
and general manager. Keenan has experience in
the league as a player and coach and looks for
ward to next season.
“This is a great franchise. It’s a great city, and
it’s a great facility,” Keenan said. “I’m excited to
start the building process.”
Since taking his job in Portland, Keenan has
spearheaded numerous off-season acquisitions
and trades following the franchise’s first Dispersal
Draft. Many players signed by the Lumberjax
played for Keenan when he coached for Anaheim.
LACROSSE, page 8
IN BRIEF
Galen Rupp named USA Track
and Field Athlete of the Week
Oregon’s Galen Rupp was honored as
the USA Track and Field Athlete of the
Week on July 19. The award was Rupp’s
second in his first season of collegiate
competitions.
Rupp set a new American junior record
in the 3,000-meter (7:49.16) on July 17 in
Lignano, Italy. The record broke the previ
ous mark (7:58.0 set by Gerry Lindgren in
1965) by nearly nine seconds and de
stroyed the longest-standing American
distance record.
On May 7, Rupp also established the
U.S. junior record in the 10,000 (28:15.51),
a record which had stood for 29 years.
Rupp will race the 1,500 in the Pan
American Junior Championships in Wind
sor, Ontario, July 29-31.
2005 season single-game
football tickets, T-shirts on sale
Single-game tickets for each of Oregon’s
home football games went on sale Friday.
Reserved tickets for the home opener,
against Montana on Sept. 10, and the
game against Fresno State on Sept. 17 are
$32 each. Reserved seats for USC (Sept.
24) and California (Nov. 5) are $42 per
game, while Washington (Oct. 15) and
Oregon State (Nov. 19) each cost $55.
Oregon has sold approximately 40,923
season tickets, compared to 40,725 from
last year. Season ticket sales have been
record-setting for the eighth year in a row.
Reserved tickets for all five of Oregon’s
road games are on sale as well.
Tickets can be purchased online
at www.goducks.com, via telephone (346
4461 or 1 -800-WEBFOOT) or in person
at the Autzen Stadium South Ticket Building.
The athletic department’s annual T-shirt
sales kicked off Friday as well. This year’s
model says “Get InDUCKted!” on the front
of yellow shirts.
The shirts cost $7, and $1 from each
shirt is donated to the Oregon cheerlead
ers and marching band.
T-shirts are available online at www.go
ducks.com, at the University Bookstore,
Oregon Sports in the Gateway Mall and at
all Duck Shop locations (Eugene —
Moshofsky Center, Valley River Center;
Portland — Washington Square, Down
town Portland).
Former University golfer hired
as head coach at UTPA
University of Texas-Pan American
named Andrew TYedway, a former All Pac
10 Conference golfer at Oregon, head
men’s golf coach Friday.
“I’m extremely excited about the oppor
tunity to join the UTPA family as well as
the Rio Grande Valley,” Tied way said. “The
opportunity to join this group of young
men and help them achieve great things
will be a memorable and rewarding expe
rience. I’m determined to bring out the
very best of these young men both on the
course and in the classroom.”
Tredway was an All Pac-10 honorable
mention nominee his senior season (2000)
and was a two-time NCAA Division I Na
tional Qualifier (1998, 1999). He also tied
for ninth at the Pac-10 Championships in
1999 and tied for 17th in 2000.
Tredway has spent the previous
two years as a teaching assistant for Hank
Haney Golf, Inc., in McKinney, Texas.
Prior to that, he was an assistant
women’s golf coach at Alabama for the
2002-03 season.
—Shawn Miller