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 .
COUPON SPECIAL
I
A N Y 3 C LE A N IN G A R EA S
I
■
PLUS HALL & SOFA
OR
HALL, LOVESEA TA CHAIR
,
I
I
$ 1 3 5.0 0
Michael E. Harper, Sr.
I
l
Here when you need uet
A .D . W illia m s
CALL FOR APPOINTMENT:
(503) 281-3949
I
9045 SW B ahr. Suée 109
Hrtail.<)R972l9
(5(B)22l-.iW)
STATE FARM IN S l IR A N IT COMPANIES
• I liiM I
OFFICES: BLOOMINGTON.
Shop 503-282-2920
Cell 503-309-4488
213 N.E. Hencock
Portend, OR 97212
9 em-8 pm Tuee.-Set.