Bigger than the Oscars. More prestigious than the Grammys. More important than the ESPY’s.
It’s time (cue drum roll) for the second annual, in-your-face, bigger-than-a-sumo-wrestler Oregon Daily Emerald Emmie Awards. Last year we started a tradition of honoring those athletes and coaches we work with day-in and day-out. They give to us all year long, and now it’s time to give back.
Without further ado, let’s get to the awards, which are all voted by the sports staff. With that said, our first award was actually decided by, well, you.
People’s Choice Award: Through the Internet, we are now able to poll our readers on their sporting opinions, and we love it. Last week, we asked you who you thought was the most valuable Oregon athlete in 2000-01.
The winner was an obvious choice. He’s the Ducks’ most well-known quarterback, Joey Harrington. The junior signal-caller led Oregon to a 10-2 record and a Holiday Bowl victory over Texas. He received a remarkable 56.8 percent of the vote, despite facing three other athletes. Now, back to your regularly scheduled awards.
Most Entertaining Female Athlete: It must be tough to play against Monique Tobbagi, Oregon’s junior outside hitter for the volleyball squad. She has scary power, not much control and a whole lot of flash. One point, she’ll spike the ball 10 feet wide of the line, then come back the next to smash it in your face. That unpredictability makes her our most entertaining female.
Most Entertaining Male Athlete: Freddie Jones runs the court on the fast break, but there’s one defender back to meet him. As Jones elevates, the defender goes up with him. No problem for Freddie, who seemingly reaches from somewhere near the opposing team’s bench to slam the ball home.
Alex who? Jones easily replaced flashy Alex Scales with a high-flying act of his own this season. He was the man that UCLA coach Steve Lavin compared to Batman. Freddie Jones is our most entertaining male.
Best Play: There were no Darius Wright buzzer-beaters this year, but those football “cardiac kids” had some big plays of their own. The best play was undoubtedly in the Holiday Bowl, when the Ducks were up 7-0 in the first quarter. Harrington handed off to Keenan Howry — a high school quarterback himself — who tossed it back to a wide-open Harrington 10 yards from the end zone. The actual signal-caller stumbled, nearly lost his balance, but fell in the end zone to give Oregon a 14-0 lead. How ’bout them apples?
Best Athlete Nobody Knows About, But Should: He was an All-American his freshman season at Oregon. He is the star of a Duck team that is otherwise starless. Because of him, Oregon may recruit better players in the immediate future.
Still don’t know who we’re talking about? That’s why we have the award. He is Oded Teig, the Ducks’ top tennis player, who is poised to land on the top 10 list of Oregon victories next year — as a junior. He ended the season with a 21-17 record, and a few top upsets to go with it.
Biggest Heart: There’s no doubt that Lindsey Dion has heart. The Oregon women’s basketball senior played through injuries, team turmoil and a rocky schedule, and kept her cool the entire time. And every time she stepped on the basketball court, she was greeted with rousing cheers as Oregon’s fan favorite. Hats off to Lindsey, for being a bright light in a dark program.
Best Interview: This is a category close to our hearts, because we interact with athletes almost every day. Our pick for best interview was another women’s basketball star, Angelina Wolvert. Wolvert was always open and candid, and still had no problem getting a reporter to smile.
Worst Interview: Joey, we love you, you’re a great quarterback and a greater person, but you stink at interviewing, man. Seriously. You never take the credit, always take the blame, and never offer a fresh quote no matter the situation.
Like a comic whose show has been running for too many years, Joey Harrington is too polished, too unemotional and just too darn nice to make a good interviewee. Sorry, buddy, but you take the loss on this one.
Best Senior Class: The women’s basketball team will be an entirely different squad next year. Not only will it have a new coach, but it will try to replace four key seniors who notched a lot of minutes and a lot of points. Wolvert. Mowe. Meharry. Dion. All four departed, even emotional leader Camber Ellingson was lost to graduation. We toast those five with a special best seniors award. Congratulations.
Best Game: Last year brought us the “Miracle at Mac,” this year it was the “Miracle at Sun Devil Stadium.” The Oregon football squad was down by 14 points three different times, once with four minutes left in the game. Game over?
The Ducks drove downfield after pulling within seven, but tight end Justin Peele was stopped at the one-yard line on a fourth-and-goal pass. Game over?

Arizona State tailback Mike Williams fumbled the ball to Oregon, with neither team able to stop the clock. Harrington connected with Peele in the end zone on the very next play. In overtime, the Sun Devils went for two after trading touchdowns with the Ducks in the second extra period. They missed the fake to tight end Todd Heap. Oregon won, 56-55.
Game over.
Best Coach: Ohio State wanted Mike Bellotti, but he was so valuable to Oregon that the Ducks offered him a bundle of money to stay.
Or was it that Oregon was too valuable to Bellotti? The football coach has built the Ducks from nothing into something. He has made Autzen Stadium into the most feared football venue on the West Coast, and he has built the Ducks into a national title contender. It’s time for coach Bellotti to get his due: An Emmie.
Rookie of the Year: While Oregon got fresh talent in nearly every sport this year, none was as anticipated as Luke Ridnour’s. The point guard from Washington was a major recruiting coup for the men’s hoops team, and Ridnour didn’t disappoint. He averaged 7.4 points and 3.8 assists per game in his freshman campaign.
But Ridnour’s most awesome accomplishment was an award handed to him by the Pacific-10 Conference: Ridnour received Freshman of the Year honors for his performance this season. It was the first such award for an Oregon athlete.
Most Valuable Female Athlete: Our winner in this category received last year’s “most entertaining” award for a reason. She lights up an otherwise dreary soccer game with her hustle, her breathtaking one-on-one moves and her resiliency. For all these reasons, Chalise Baysa is our 2000-01 Most Valuable Female Athlete.
Baysa will enter the Oregon record books for an entirely different reason. This season she became Oregon’s all-time leading scorer with a pair of goals against Arizona, and with one more season left, she’s only just starting to show what she’s capable of.
Most Valuable Male Athlete: This crazy Argentinean could have won most entertaining. He could have gotten best interview. He could have won for best play, best game and biggest heart. But that would have been just up Santiago Lorenzo’s alley; He’s used to winning everything.
Lorenzo captured Eugene’s hearts with a rousing, last-second victory in the NCAA Championships decathlon two weeks ago at Hayward Field. The win came on the heels of a Pac-10 Championship two weeks earlier in Berkeley, Calif.
Lorenzo couldn’t have had a more dramatic finish. Heading into the 1,500-meter race, the final event of the decathlon, Lorenzo needed to beat Te
nnessee’s Stephen Harris by two seconds to win the whole thing. He beat Harris by four seconds.
Congratulations, Santiago, on a great season. And finally…
The Jody Runge Lifetime Achievement Award: The name says it all. We’re sta
rting a new award this year, in honor of Jody Runge, who recently stepped down as women’s basketball head coach. The award’s first recipient is… Jody Runge! After years of winning constantly, Runge finally lost in the game of life. Her interactions with her players led them to essentially remove her from her post.
Let’s just hope that next year’s recipient isn’t Bev Smith.
So, there you have it. The second annual Emmies were an unqualified success. The Emerald sports staff will continue to be committed to covering Oregon sports, week in and week out.
For those suckers staying in Eugene this summer, read us on Tuesdays. For the rest of you, we’ll catch you in the fall.
And that’s the ball game, folks.