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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 5, 2006)
C1'f g iu rila nò ODbserucr Page B6 P o r tla n d . O b s e r v e r Æ u t o R e v ie w A p ril 5. 2 0 0 6 S ports I Florida Gators Take NCAA Title Gators chomp Bruins to win 2006 Nissan Murano SL AWD by K athleen C arr T he 2(X)6 N issan M urano is a good ex am p le o f a cro sso v er vehicle: It’s d esigned to haul carg o like a sport-utility , but ride and drive like a car. T he M urano reflects an em p h asis on refinem ent and o ver-the-road confidence o ver off-ro ad ruggedness. For 2006. the M u ran o ’s styling has been freshen ed w ith a new g rille design, a ch ro m e low er grille insert and o th e r su b tle changes. It also gets L E D taillights that look distin ctiv e. T he M urano has co m bined a com plete package w ith a sm ooth ride, responsive h andling o f a car, the carg o space of a w agon, and the high driving position o f a sport utility. M uran o integrates aerodynam ics and high fashion, w ith a sleek front en d and sm ooth lines from front to back. T he C V T T ran sm issio n in the M urano has ju s, three ranges: D for norm al driving, S for sportier acceleration and L fo r the low est range. S hifting from D to S raises engine revs 25(X) rpm at a given road speed. D ropping from S to L increases eng in e speed by an o th er KXX) rpm . T he S L upgrades w ith a 10-way pow er adjustable d riv e r's seat, up g raded au d io w ith steering w heel controls, a com p ass, a garage d o o r opener, autom atic headlights, auto -d im m in g rearview m ir ror, pow er o utlets, fog lights, and a theft alarm . SL and SE m odels w ear new b rushed alu m in u m trim on the rear bu m p er and ch ro m e accents along the sides. Base price o f the SL is $30,600. T he N issan M urano offers the room iness and practicality of a sport utility w ith the handling, pow er and sm o othn ess o f a sporty sedan. It com es w ell equipped and its luxurious am b ien ce gives it the feel o f a luxury SU V . Tested Vehicle Information: Price: $40,335; Engine: 245 HP 3.5 Liter DOHC V6; Transmission: Xtronic CVT (Continu ously Variable Transmission) ACQUIRE 11 i l l PROPERTIES. Wally Tesfa Residential and Commercial Broker Oretjon/Washington A P - The Florida G ators won the NCAA m en’s cham pionship M on day, blow ing ou, the UCLA Bruins 73-57. Joakim Noah dominated the Bru ins on with 16 points, nine rebounds and a record six blocks for Florida’s first title in that other sport. . “ It’s like I’m in a cloud,” Noah said. “Not only d o esth is feel good, bu, it sm ells good and it tastes good. I can ’t even describe it.” The G ators and all their fans would certainly agree, especially after watching this runaway - apick- your-score kind o f gam e that was decided early. Many thought itco u ld n 'tb ed o n e IO years ago when Billy Donovan took over a basketball program that lived well in the shadows o f Steve Spurrier’s brash, high-flying foot ball juggernaut. Now, Spurrier is long gone and the G ators have as many national cham pionships in hoops as they do in football. “It’s undescribable,” said N oah, who now will decide whether to turn pro, "better than I'v e ever felt in my life.” For 40 lopsided minutes, the G ators (33-6) were too big, too long and too quick for UCLA, which cam e up a win short o f its 12th national title on a night when 95- y e h r-o ld fo rm e r c o a c h Jo h n W ooden w atched from a hospital bed in LA. He was adm itted for an undisclosed illness that w as said not to be serious, but the Bruins d idn’t try to use that distraction as an excuse. “O ur heart and everything we do on the floor is always a tribute to him, w hether h e’s healthy or not,” UCLA guard Arron A fflalo said. Florida and Noah, voted most outstanding playerin the Final Four, won by putting on a thorough dis play o f versatility and unselfish ness, a tradem ark o f this team all season. Lee Humphrey added 15 points, A lH orford 14 and Corey Brew er 11 for Florida. UCLA (32-7) was on a defensive tear coming into the cham- Florida players celebrate their 73-57 win over UCLA in the NCAA Final Four men's national championship basketball game in Indianapolis on Monday. p io n sh ip g am e, sh u ttin g dow n LSU ’sG len “Big Baby” Davis in the semifinals and allowing a total o f 90 poi nts in the last two games. Florida, th o u g h , w as ju s t too m uch to handle. T he G ators ran to a double-digit lead early and staved o ff every UCLA run. Noah capped it o ff with a m on ster dunk with 1:09 left. When the buzzer sounded, he lay fiat on his back at halfcourt and let the con fetti rain on him. His team m ates were in a pile a few feet away and Donovan was sharing hugs with his longtim e assistant A nthony Grant. The G ators won this by taking it right to UCLA early, looking inside to Noah, Brewer, Horford and se nior Adrian Moss. Unafraid to make the extra pass, even in traffic down low, they finished with 2 1 assists, eight by point guardTaurean Green. More im pressively, IO cam e from their frontcourt. It c o u ld n ’t h av e b een w hat UCLA coach Ben Howland ex pected after Florida's 73-58 win over G eorge M ason in the sem is, agam e the G ators won from outside and that H um phrey ended early in thq second with three straight 3s. The scrappy Humphrey, the lone ju n io r in a starting lineup full of sophom ores, did the honors again in this one, spotting up for open looks against a collapsing defense early in the second half. His first 3, 80 seconds into the half, gave Florida a 39-25 lead and forced H ow land to call tim eout. A sloppy offensive possession en sued, then Humphrey cam e back with another 3. • After Ryan H ollins’dunk, one of the few easy baskets for the Bruins, Brewer hit a 3 to m ake it 45-27 and prompt yet another Bruins TO. There was no strategy to stop N oah. T h e 6 - f o o t- ll fo rw ard dunked, sw atted shots and dom i nated the game much like his dad Al Horford o f the Florida Gators dunks the ball over the UCLA Bruins defense. did during his m agical run to the French Open title in 1983. Noah shot 7-for-9 and also had three assists and a steal. W hen it was over, the kid ran to the stands to try to find his family. “ I'm so happy,” Y annick Noah said, wiping aw ay tears from be hind his sunglasses. “ I'm so happy for him, but also for allo f his friends. They deserve it. It’s a beautiful story.” UCLA had all the history behind it, and a pretty good team , to boot. The Bruinsjust d id n 't have enough. Farm ar, w ho chose UCLA over Florida, w as their only scoring threat. He finished with 18 points. His backcourt mate, A fflalo, fin ished with l(), but was shut out in the first half, w hile this gam e was getting away. Florida is still IO titles behind UCLA, but this was one that should quiet the d iehards w ho said it co u ld n 't be done in Gainesville. PSU Track Athletes Honored « 503-2677586 cell 503-2491903 office 503-249-6527 fax wtesfa1@comcast.net Multi-Million $ Service MARTIN CLEANING SERVICE CARPET & UPHOLSTERY CLEANING Residential & Commercial Service Kenneth Mackins _______CARPET CLEANING 2 CLEANING AREAS OR MORE PRE-SPRA Y TRAFFIC AREAS INCLUDES 1 SMALL HALL $ 2 5 .0 0 1 CLEANING AREA PRE-SPRA Y TRAFFIC AREA (HALL EXTRA CHARGE) $ 3 5.00 STAIRS (with other service) The Portland Beavers unveil their 2(X)6 season this weekend with a sum mer o f giveaways, theme nights, fam ily-friendly events, three firew orks shows and the return o f Bark in the Park and Mullet Night. The activities kickoff a 72-gam e home schedule with P G E 's traditional giveaway o f 2(X)6 schedule m agnets during O pening W eekend, April 6 through 8, as the Beavers play Sacram ento nightly at 7:05 p.m. A long list of special dates highlight Each Area $ 1.50 Each A d d itio n a l S ervices • AREA A ORIENTAL RUG CLEANING • AUTO/ BOAT/ RV CLEANING • DEODORIZING & PET ODOR TREA TMENT • SPOT A STAIN REMOVAL SERVICE • SCOTCHGUARD PROTECTION the schedule, but regardless o f day, the Beavers feature a theme for every game. Tickets start at eight dollars and are available at area Ticketm aster outlets, the PGE Park box office, by phone at 5 0 3 - 2 2 4 -4 4 0 0 or o n lin e at w w w .ticketm aster.com . A variety of season-ticket options are still available by calling the Beavers ticket office at 503-553-5555. Ticket information is also availableatw w w .portlandbeavers.com . Kerry-Ann Blackwood Ju n io r K enneth M ackins and senior K erry-Ann Black wood were nam ed Big Sky C onference Track A thletes o f the Week Thursday by the co n ference office. Both Viking ath letes qualified for the Big Sky C ham pionship last weekend at the Oregon Prevjew in Eugene. M ackins placed first in the lOO-m eter d u rin g a recent m eet fin ish in g in a tim e o f 10 . 9 1 -s e c o n d s . T h e ra c e m arked the o u td o o r season deb u t for the reig n in g BSC Indoor 60m ch am p io n . T his is the first ath lete o f the w eek a w a rd fo r th e T h o u s a n d O aks, C a lif., native. For Blackwood, the award is her second career award, having earned athlete o f week honors during the indoor sea son on Jan. 25. Blackwood took second in the l(X)m hurdles March 18 with tim e of 14.65. Negro League Comes to Portland UPHOLSTERY CLEANING SOFA-------------------------------------- $6 9 .0 0 LOVESEAT -------------------------- $ 4 9 .0 0 SECTIONAL ---------------------------- $ 9 9 ,0 0 CHAIR OR RECLINER ---------------- $ 3 5 .0 0 THROW PILLOWS ------------------------ $ 5 .0 0 continued from Metro o n at th e m u se u m . T h e 5 3 - f o o t m o b ile e x h ib it title d “ T im e s o f G r e a t n e s s ,” w ill tra v e l th r o u g h 25 c itie s fro m A p ril to A u g u s t, w ith h is to r ic p h o to s , v id e o , u n i fo rm s , a n d a lo c a l h is to ry o f P o r t l a n d - a r e a le a g u e s . T h e m u s e u m r o lls in to to w n W e d n e s d a y fro m 5 p .m . to 8 p .m . a n d T h u rs d a y fro m 6 p .m . to 7 p .m . at th e m a in e n tr a n c e o f P G E P a rk , 18 4 4 S W M o r ris o n . S e e h u n d r e d s o f o th e r p h o to g r a p h s a n d e x h ib its at th e N e g r o L e a g u e s B a s e b a ll M u s e u m , in K a n s a s C ity . 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