Page B8
(Tl|v |Jn rt lattò (©bscrucr.
March 31, 2004
OREGON
PARTNERSHIP
S ports
¡1
Fnvtntlng iu b tta n tt <Uww (hanging U r n
Helpline (Make The Call): 8OO-923-HU I’
linea de Ayuda (Spanish): 877-515-7848
Youthline (Teen Helpline). 877-553-TELN
Blazers Open Road Trip with Loss
Hurts in tough
battle for a
playoff spot
(A P )— This was the reason why
the K nieks added Vin Baker.
Baker made a j u mp hook over the
outstretched arm o f Theo Ratliff,
the league’s leading shot blocker,
with 38 seconds left to give the New
York K nieks’ a three-point lead that
held up M onday night in a 92-91
victory ov er the Portland Trail
Blazer.
Baker had two nifty low -post
m oves against R atliff for baskets in
the final 2'/j m inutes that helped the
K nieks to a crucial hom e win.
Damon Stoudami re had 20 poi nts
and Zach R andolph 19 forthe Blaz
ers, w ho began the night in a virtual
tie with Utah for eighth place in the
W est.
Portland had a shot for the win,
but Stoudam ire m issed an off-bal
ance 20-footer at the buzzer. Port
land lost for ju st the third tim e in 10
gam es.
The Blazers began a stretch o f
four straight gam es against teams
in the thick o f the Eastern C onfer
ence playoff race. A three-gam e
road trip will take them to New York,
Boston and P hiladelphia before
they return hom e to play New O r
leans on Saturday.
“This one hurts.” coach M aurice
Cheeks said. “It alw ays helps to get
the first one because it gives you
Connecticut's Jessica Moore (left) is embraced by teammate
Diana Taurasi, as they celebrate their 66-49 win over Penn
State in the NCAA East Regional Championship game in
Hartford, Conn. (AP photo)
Fifth Straight Final
Four for Connecticut
Portland Trail Blazers ' Derek Anderson drives past New York Knicks ' Shandon Anderson Monday
at New York's Madison Square Garden. (AP photo)
m om entum to get the second one.”
Portland was ahead for all but 77
seco n d s o f the first h alf, and
Stoudam ire had seven o f the Blaz
ers’ first 11 points in the third q uar
ter to give Portland a 58-48 lead.
The Blazers would lose tiebreakers
to Denver (lost season series) and
Utah (worse conference record) if
the Blazers finished tied with either
team for eighth place. New York is
assu red o f w inning tiebreakers
against Miami, Boston. Philadelphia
and Toronto and would lose the
tiebreaker with Cleveland.
NFL to
Keep Instant
Replay
(A P) — N FL ow ners voted to
keep instant replay for at least five
more seasons, and they added a
twist Tuesday: A team successful
on tw ochallenges in agam e will get
a third.
O nly once last season did a team
(A P)— The women’s Final Four
will have at least one frequent par
ticipant, and at least one newcomer.
D ianaTaurasi scored 27 points and
Connecticut blew open the game in
the second half to beat Penn State
66-49 on Monday night and earn an
unprecedented fifth straight trip to
the Final Four. LSU isgoing forthe
first time after beating SEC-rival
Georgia, 62 to 60.
B a rb a ra T u rn e r m a tc h e d
have two successful challenges.
The vote at the N FL m eetings
was 29-3, with C incinnati, Kansas
City and Indianapolis against the
five-year extension on replay.
The ow ners were given several
proposals on instant replay, includ-
Taurasi alm ost shot for shot in the
East Regional final, finishing with
26 points to help the Huskies stay
in the running for a third straight
title and fourth in five years. O nly
Tennessee has won three in a row,
from 1996-98.
Itw illb e aC o n n ec ticu td o u b lea t t
the Final Four because the m en ’s
team qualified Saturday, making
U Conn the fifth school to send ■
both team s in the same year.
ing one that w ould have m ade it
perm anent. They chose to go with
the five-year option and the extra
challenge.
“ It’s tim e for voting on it perm a
nently,” com petition co-chairm an
Rich M cKay said.
e. Fortiani) (Db sertin’
presents
Oregon guard Luke Jackson heads up court during Oregon’s 65-
61 victory over Notre Dame and in route to the final four o f the
National Invitation Tournament. (AP photo)
T h e 5 th A n n u al
Ducks Make NIT
Cory W ash in gton
Final 4 in New York M em orial A ll-S ta r B a sk e tb a ll G am e
(A P) — W ith a chance at its first m inutes to go in the gam e and said,
trip to the N IT cham pionship on the ‘G ive me the ball.' W hen he says
line, the D ucks know exactly what that, we put the ball in his hands
todo: G ive the ball to Luke Jackson. because he is a great player,” O r
A fter all, h e 's the one who got them egon coach Ernie Kent said.
to New York.
The D ucks were to play M ichi
Jackson scored I2 o fh is 14points gan in the sem ifinal T uesday night.
in the final 12:12, including the
This is O reg o n 's third trip to the
D ucks' final six to help them close NIT sem ifinals The D ucks have
out Notre D am e 65-61 Thursday never m ade it to the cham pionship
night in an N IT quarterfinal.
gam e, and their best finish was third
“ He turned to me with about six place in 1975.
Saturday, April 17, 2004
Doors open at 5 pm
(Admission: $2 Adults - $1 Youth 12 and over)
Self-Enhancement Inc (SEI)
3920 N. Kirby Avenue
Portland, OR 97227
Spring Practice Opens
The Portland State football team
w ill o p e n s p rin g p ra c tic e on
W ednesday, April 14 in prepara
tion for the 2004 season.
The V ikings will have 14 prac
tices culm inating in the annual
spring gam e on Friday. May 7.
H ead C oach Tim W alsh w el
comes back 39 letter-winners, which
represent 15 starters on the team. In
all. 75 players are returning to the
p ro g ram , in c lu d in g red sh irts.
Among 20 new recruits, fourw ill be
available to com pete in the spring.
Main Attraction
Cory Cougars vs Jammin’ 95.5 Nike Big Bailers
with special pre-game attraction
The undefeated 6th grade
Portland Disciples vs Oregon City Pioneers
Game Time * 6 pm
Summer Street Jam to Draw Crowd
Blazers Street Jam , the largest 3- sports to a th le te s w ith m ental
on-3 basketball experience in the d isab ilities.
U .S., is com ing to Portland this
A projected attendance o f 30,000
sum m er thanks to the Portland Trail athletes and spectators is expected
Blazers, Special O lym pics Oregon to gather for the round robin-style
and NIKE.
3-on-3 tournam ent, slam dunk co n
T h eJu ly 16 - 18 com petition will test, three-point com petition, free
p ro v id e a fun-filled w eekend for N ikeG O K ids’ Clinic, and appear
the w hole fam ily w ith b asketball, ances by Trail Blazers players and
m usic, and festivities. All net pro I (Kai celebrities.
ce ed s w ill ben efit S pecial O ly m
For tournam ent details and reg
pics O reg o n , a y ea r-ro u n d p ro is tr a tio n .
go
o n lin e
to
g ra m o f fe rin g O ly m p ic - s ty le www.blaz.ersstreetjam.com.
Proceeds benefit the amateur athletics and education program and the
Portland Disciples Basketball Program.
For more information call Mark Washington at 503-288-0033
www.news@portlandobserver.com
I
I
i