J anuary 18, 1995 « T he P ortland O bserver
P age B2
OREGON
WINS
CIVIL WAR
BASKETBALL
All-star Voting
David Robinson o f the San
Antonio Spurs leads all Western
Conference players in the voting
o f NBA all-stars. Robinson has
402,477 votes, 8,030 votes ahead
o f Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwun.
C harles Barkeley o f Phoenix
leads among forwards, with 7,442
votes ahead o f Seattle’s Shawn
Kemp. Golden State posts two
to p v o te g e tte rs w ith Tim
Hardaway and Latrell Sprewell.
Undefeated
Behind the play o f Rebecca
Lobo, who scored 13 points,
pul led down 14 rebounds and had
9 blocked shots, Connecticut w as
able to maintain their undefeated
record and number 2 ranking, in
beating No. 19 Seton Hall in a
Big Eight w om en's game last
weekend at Connecticut.
UNLV Coach
Leaves Hospital
U niversity o f Las V egas
Coach Tim Gruguvich was re­
leased form the hospital after
spending a week o f treatment for
symptoms o f exhaustion. Doc­
tors found nothing significantly
wrong in tests, but recommended
that the coach continue to rest.
HOCKEY
NHL Players Ratify
Contract
Partial returns show N ation­
al Hockey League players have
ratified the ow ner’s last proposal
by 85 percent. The vote opens the
way to a 48-game season with the
playoffs beginning May 6.
BASEBALL
Owners Consider
Replacements
Baseball ow ners are p re­
pared to use replacement players
in the 1995 season and World
Series On the other hand, strik­
ing major league players, are con­
sidering a city-by-city bam storm­
ing o f all-star team games this
spring. “As difficult as it would
be to conduct a World Series with
replacement players, it would be
something we would do,” said
John Harrington. Boston Red Sox
chief executive officer and head
o f the m anagem ent’s operating
com m ittee. Spring training is
scheduled to begin Feb 16 with
minor-leaguers and replacement
players.
Join In
Celebrating
(© bseruer’s
UHIVERSARÏ
by
COMMUNITY
EFFORTS TO BE
RECOGNIZED
BY BUDWEISER
D anny B ell
So far this has been a Cinderella
year for the University o f Oregon
athletic department. After surprising
most o f the nation by winning the
PAC 10 and going to the Rose Bowl,
the basketball program gets o ff to a
whirlwind start and sits atop the PAC
10 with an 11 -1 record overall and 3-
0 in conference.
Saturday night, Oregon met Or­
egon State for their 300th meeting.
The Ducks went into the game at
Corvallis rated 25 in the country af­
ter beating No. 2 UCLA.
The Ducks took it to the Beavers
in front o f 10,258 fans and came
away with a 96-83 victory.
Oregon forced the usually sure­
handed Beavers into 18 turnovers in
the first half. Oregon State’s season
high had been 17 turnovers for a
whole game.
The Ducks got points from 10
players, and 41 points off the bench.
Orlando Williams gave the Beavers
headaches as he scored 25 points and
was 4 for 8 from three-point range.
Henry Madden contributed 13 and
Aaron Johnson 12.
“You never expect an in-state
rivalry to get out o f hand that way,”
said O regon’s Jeff Potter.
Oregon Sate got 31 points from
Brent Barry , 19 from Mustafa Hoff
and 13 from Vladimir Heredia, but
the Beavers committed too many er­
rors to come away with a win.
Standout shooter Williams com­
mented, “We showed we cannot only
win on the road we can do it, con­
vincingly.”
The Beavers were able to keep it
close and make a game o f it during the
first half. They were within 30-27 with
4:16 left when Hoff hit two free throws.
But 22 seconds later, forward Barry
was hit with a foul, his third. Coach
Jimmy Anderson had to bench him
and suddenly the Beavers fell apart.
The Ducks went on a 7-0 run to
make it 45-35 and the Beavers were
never able to get within single digits
for the rest o f the game.
“I was a little frustrated that I
had to sit out those minutes and see
Oregon stretch out to a 10 point
lead,” said Barry, who tied his career
high with 31 points.
by
01211781
AND BLAZERS
F o r th e f o u r th c o n s e c ­
u tiv e y e a r , B u d w e is e r a n d
th e T r a il B la z e rs a r e t a k ­
ing tim e o u t to re c o g n iz e
som e o f th e o u t s t a n d i n g
c o m m u n ity a c tiv is ts , c o n ­
c e rn e d c itiz e n s a n d v o lu n ­
te e rs w ho h e lp m a k e a d if ­
fe re n c e th r o u g h o u t O re g o n
an d so u th w e st W a sh in g to n .
N o m in a tio n fo rm s fo r
th e “ B u d w e is e r B la z e r s
C o m m u n ity S u p e r s t a r s ”
team a r e a v a ila b le a t all-
C h a m b e r o f C o m m e rc e o f­
fices in O re g o n a n d s o u th ­
w est W a s h in g to n , T r a il
B la z e rs ra d io a f f ilia te s a n d
th ro u g h th e T r a il B la z e rs
o ffic e , 700 NE M u ltn o m a h ,
P o r tla n d , O re g o n 9 7232.
All n o m in a tio n s m u st
be s u b m itte d by no la te r
th a n F e b r u a r y 2 8 th . A p a n ­
el o f ju d g e s w ill th e n r e ­
view all n o m in a tio n s a n d
se le c t th e ten C o m m u n ity
S u p e r s ta r s w ho w ill be r e c ­
o g n iz e d d u r in g a s p e c ia l
h a lf-tim e p r e s e n ta tio n a t
th e T r a i l B la z e r s h o m e
gam e a g a in s t th e D e n v e r
N u g g ets on S u n d a y , M a rc h
26. E a c h m e m b e r o f th e
C o m m u n ity S u p e r - s t a r s
te a m w ill a lso r e c e iv e a
p la q u e a n d a c h e c k f o r
$500 th a t w ill be d o n a te d
to th e c h a r i t y o f t h e i r
choice.
Oregon State's Vladimir Heredia looks for a play around Oregon’s tight defense in a civil war game
Saturday at Corvallis. (Photo by Brent Wojahn)
“I couldn’t believe I picked up
three fouls in the first half,” Barry
added. “The one charging foul that
they called was awful. But you have
to expect that in a civil war game. It's
always going to be a physical game
and it always tends to be ugly. In the
first half for us, it certain ly w as that.”
As always, it was the defense
and in this case early turnovers that
led to Oregon State’s early demise.
Inefficient ball handling also account­
ed for lost opportunities which O re­
gon capitalized on.
Oregon State, which had been
averaging 52 percent from the field,
fell to 29-68 shooting, while Oregon
managed to score at a 36-75 clip.
Maybe last w eek’s announce­
ment o f A nderson's early retirement
effected the play o f his team. But in
the final analysis it was execution,
hustle and defense that won the game
for the Ducks.
SPORTS AS A METAPHOR FOR LIFE
A d v e rtis e In
Jo u rn e y O f T h e H e ro
Wltc
D anny B ell
W hat is it that enthralls sports
fans? W hat is it about sports that
causes such intense emotion?
Could it be that sports and the
athletes that play represent to the fan
something noble, something heroic
that we all would aspire to if we had
the skills?
In many ways sports fulfills the
same need in sports fans as some
soap operas do for their followers.
Sports represents a microcosm
o f the universe - the journey o f the
hero who may very well have his or
her flaws, but who in the sports arena
pursues excellence with reckless
abandon.
Every sports hero is somehow
clothed in vulnerability, from lapses
o f character as in the case o f Magic
Johnson or physical obstacles as in
the case o f Bo Jackson to even falling
victim to fate like Michael Jordan
All athletes embody what hu­
mankind can rise to, at the same time
as humans they are subject to forces
beyond their control.
The wealth and prestige that
successful athletes command has el­
evated them to a class o f new nobil­
ity.
And as the new nobility, we have
heightened expectations ofthem. We
expect them to be loyal, morally up­
right, courageous, to endure pain,
play hurt and to a certain extent be
role models for our children.
But where does the journey be­
gin? Many times it starts in grade
school, if not then high school or
college, especially in the sports of
baseball, basketball and football.
Those who excel are given spe­
cial attention by teachers, coaches
and their peers.
They are taught the rituals o f
sports as they are groomed to move
from one level to the next in their
respective sport for what are more
often than not brief careers.
What happens during these ca­
reers in which, in reality, the athlete
serves as an entertainer?
Sometimes a performer plays in
unscripted dramas - like making the
winning basket as Larry Bird did on
so many occasions with time running
out on the game clock - or overcom­
ing everyone’s nemesis “age” as
George Foreman did when he re­
gained two heavyweight champion­
ship belts.
There is a little piece o f us that
every athlete carries when he or she
enters the arena and that piece is
hope. When the underdog faces the
favorite, there’s hope they will over­
come and be victorious in the field o f
battle. That regardless o f the odds,
that the heart, spirit and skill o f the
hero-athlete can surmount any chal­
lenge.
Therein, it may be that the jour­
ney is not one man or one team.
rather it is with the passing o f each
generation, a new horizon is to arrive
at and a higher standard o f excel­
lence is accomplished
The journey continues for every
sports fan everytime he or she sees
his or her team play.The journey is to
capture the imagination and to turn it
into poetry in motion.
^ jJ n rtla ttb
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