Sports
Oregon Daily Emerald
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
“J have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career.
I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have
been entrusted to take the game-winning shot...
and I missed it. I have failed over and over again in my
life. And that is precisely why I succeed. ”
NBA legend Michael Jordan on his success.
■ In my opinion
SCOTTI. ADAMS
INTENTIONAL GROUNDING
Duck fans
don't have
to settle for
number two
A funny thing happened to me in the stu
dent section last week when I cheered in
response to the announcement that Notre
Dame was up by three against USC. My
peers turned and looked at me as if I had
just slapped their mothers, or yelled “Go
Beavers,” or “Four more years!”
Why are Duck fans cheering for the Tro
jans? The same team whose children we
pledged to eat less than four weeks ago.
Look, I know the stakes. We win out, they
win out, we all win out. I’m all for rooting
for a fellow Pacific-10 Conference team in
its quest for a ticket to Pasadena this year,
which would theoretically piggy-back Ore
gon into a better bowl game. But nothing is
guaranteed these days in college football;
just ask California fans. So what kind of
man would dare dig his heels in and hope
for the Trojans to lose this late in the sea
son? You’re looking at him.
My readers, if you are so hell-bent on
backing a Pac-10 team toward going as far
as they can, then I’ve got a team for you to
root for — how about Oregon? The Ducks
sit alone in third place in the conference
standings, with the stiffest part of their
schedule waving its fists at them in the
rear-view mirror and only Cal, Oregon
State and two .500 or worse teams to go be
fore their to-be-determined bowl game.
Meanwhile, No. 1 USC faces the Washing
ton schools, the bay-area schools, Fresno
State and UCLA. With this in mind, one of
the two teams (UCLA or USC) sitting ahead
of Oregon is going to fall, leaving second
place for Oregon’s taking.
Don't get me wrong, a second-place hn
ish would be an awesome feat for the
Ducks in light of last season and it would
be even nicer if Oregon’s lone loss of the
year came against the top-ranked TYojans.
Still, no matter how many times you look
at second place, it doesn’t turn into first.
For every Simon, there is a Garfunkel. Sad
ly enough, Oregon fans aren’t even hoping
for first, they’re literally settling for second
— it’s like they’re throwing in the towel. If
being content as a runner-up could be put
into words, I’d call it loser talk.
USC is one conference loss away from
moving into a tie for first place with the
Ducks and wouldn’t you know it, if the TYo
jans lost last week to the Fighting Irish and
somehow lose an upcoming game to a Pac
10 foe, Oregon is in the driver’s seat.
Let me ask again, why are Duck fans
cheering for the TYojans? Perhaps they feel
that USC is simply not going to lose a game
this season. If you look at their progress
though, you’d see that the TVojans are get
ting closer and closer to being upset. With
each game their opponents are getting
more film to scout and are becoming
less afraid of the Men of Troy.
After their squeaker against Arkansas (70-17),
COLUMN, page 8
■ Club wushu
.,.:..-. -1
Marcus Larson | For the Emerald
University student Byron Chang practices his Wushu moves by performing a butterfly kick during a warm-up prior to a recent practice. Chang became interested in wushu af
ter an extensive career in break dancing.
Wushu builds bodies and minds
The club, devoted to the practice of a 'performance type ofkungfu'
meets three times a week and is free and open to all comers
BY JACOB MAY
FREELANCE REF’ORTER
Despite its popularity in mainstream
movies such as “The Matrix" and “Crouching
Tiger Hidden Dragon,” it is doubtful that
many students have any idea of what the
sport of Wushu is or what it looks like.
Wushu in a general sense is considered to
be a “performance type of kung-fu,” accord
ing to club coordinator David Ng. The club’s
Web page describes the martial art as “the
practice of keeping one’s mind and body
agile forever” and emphasizes “on
posture, composure, self-control, spirit and
lively movement.”
From a historical perspective, Wushu was
created as a way of combining offensive and
defensive tactics that could be used in a time
of war. The modern version of the sport still
remains a combat type of exercise and it is
currently the national sport of China.
In spite of its rich cultural history and cur
rent popularity in»the media, the club team
practices with relative anonymity here at the
University as the club consists of roughly a
dozen members.
However, the club’s small numbers are not
relative to the competitiveness of the team.
Last year, several members of the team placed
in the top three of their respective divisions,
which range from beginner to advanced.
Coach Phillip Dang also competes for the
U.S. national team and won two events at an
international meet in China last year. At the
collegiate level, he is nearly unstoppable as a
three-time Men’s All-Around champion at the
Collegiate Wushu Championships.
Ng realizes how lucky the team is to have a
coach like Dang, “No matter how much they
(the team members) know, they always learn
from him,” he said.
The team has two competitions every year,
one in the winter and one in the spring. The
team also practices and competes with
weapons such as the broadsword, straight
sword, staff and spear.
The sport offers its participants “an intense
physical training” that improves “speed, flexi
bility, coordination and strength.” There are
not only physical benefits, but mental ones as
well. “Students of the art are encouraged to
develop self-control and good character as
well. Martial virtues include self-restraint, re
spect, persistence and perseverance,” accord
ing to the club’s Wushu Web site.
This year Ng said there are a quite a few
new members, and his goal is to help bring
them up to a competitive level. However, no
one is required to compete. The club is free to
join and open to anyone who is interested.
Ng also hopes to teach new members more
about the sport in order for them to create a
stronger interest and develop a passion for it.
If there ever was a way for an individual to
come close to replicating Neo’s moves
rom “The Matrix,” Wushu is it. Practices are
Mondays and Wednesdays from 7-9 p.m.
and Fridays from 5-7 p.m. in the Multipurpose
Room 1, Room 41, at the Student
Recreation Center.
■ Duck football
Rejuvenated line helps propel Ducks
Unprecedented pass protection has given Kellen Clemens more time
to throw, which has played a part in the Ducks' No. 15 rank
BY LUKE ANDREWS
SPORTS REPORTER
In consecutive wins against Stanford,
Arizona State and Washington, Oregon’s
new spread offense amassed 1,677 yards
and 120 points.
Yet one of the most telling statistics may
be the one — the number of sacks given up in
the three games by the offensive line, which
has proved to be a driving force behind the
rebirth of an overwhelmingly powerful
Oregon offense.
“Our line has really gelled in the last few
games,” sophomore right tackle Geoff
Schwartz said. “We’re getting our calls down,
our communication down and we’re just mak
ing our blocks like we are supposed to do.”
The offensive line entered the season under
the microscope after surrendering a confer
FOOTBALL, page 6