Stanford’s road to a possible Rose Bowl repeat just got longer.
Senior Randy Fasani, Stanford’s starting quarterback, will probably miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury, according to CBS.SportsLine.com. He sustained the injury in the first quarter of the Cardinal’s upset win over No. 5 Texas Sept. 16.
Fasani will undergo arthroscopic surgery Sept. 29. More will be known about the nature of the injury by then, but it is suspected to be a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Stanford coaches and players are reportedly moving on as if Fasani won’t return.
The injury moves redshirt freshman Chris Lewis into the starting role for a team that still considers itself a Pacific-10 Conference contender.
Lewis was a high school superstar, setting a California state record with 107 career touchdown passes while at Long Beach Poly. PrepStar rated Lewis the fifth-best prep quarterback in the country after the 1998 season.
Lewis struggled against Texas by completing just 12 of 33 passes, but he did throw for 214 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winning 15-yard throw to DeRonnie Pitts with just more than a minute left.
Oregon players earning some props
First, the Ducks got love from their fans. Then, they got love from Lee Corso. No love was given by visiting UCLA last Saturday — but they did get some love from the rest of the nation.
And on Monday, two Oregon players got some love from the Pac-10.
Junior tailback Maurice Morris and special teams freshman Keith Lewis received Pac-10 Player of the Week honors for their solid performances against the Bruins. Defensive end DeLawrence Grant of Oregon State also garnered the honor for his performance against San Diego State.
Morris made highlight reels across the country with his 37-carry, two-touchdown, 139-yard rushing performance. He also caught two receptions for 22 yards.
Lewis, a freshman safety, recorded four unassisted tackles on the Oregon kickoff and punt coverage units.
The Ducks’ ground offense carried the ball for 208 yards against UCLA. Oregon fumbled twice, but had no turnovers, and the offensive line allowed just one quarterback sack. Pressure wasn’t a problem for the Ducks either, as they were two-for-two on fourth-down conversions.
Oregon linebacker Garrett Sabol was also nominated for the honor.
DeShaun Foster, the Bruins’ star tailback, who was held to a mere 49 yards at Autzen Stadium, was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week Sept. 5.
ASU basketball player has Hodgkins
When Sophomore forward Justin Allen began practicing for another season of Arizona State basketball, he noticed he didn’t feel quite normal. His jump shot wasn’t falling as usual and he felt tired.
Now, he knows why.
The Arizona Republic reported Saturday that Allen, a 19-year-old from Malta, Ill., was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease. He will begin six months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments next week.
His Hodgkin’s is in the early onset of Stage II (IV is the most severe), according to his mother, Faye, a registered nurse. The Mayo Clinic’s Web site indicated that patients at Allen’s level have an 80 to 85 percent chance of complete recovery with no recurrence.
Allen, who played in 29 of the Sun Devils’ 32 games last season and averaged 2.9 points and 1.2 rebounds per game, thought perhaps he pulled an abdominal muscle or had the flu.
Biopsies of the lower abdomen, bone marrow and lymph nodes revealed the disease Sept. 14.
Hodgkin’s affects the lymph nodes, which store the cells used to fight infection, according to ASU team physician Steven Erickson.
