As much as it felt hard to laugh at an Oregon basketball player, that’s what most of the crowd at McArthur Court was doing Friday night during a charity wheelchair game called Rollin’ for a Remedy.
Aaron Brooks still tried to use his patented behind-the-back passes, but alas, the members of the Eugene Express caught on too quick.
Carolyn Ganes thought she could out-wheel one of the Express members, but wow, they were fast. Ganes found that out before tipping over in her chair to the amusement of the fans.
“It was weird,” Brooks said. “I’m not the strongest guy on the team. It’s hard for me to get up shots (in a wheelchair).
“I admire (the Express). They came out and kicked our butt.”
It was a hard game for the athletes involved, but it was important. Lauren Westendorf, the event’s creator, and the 11 players on Oregon’s side should be commended, no matter how much time was needed, for participating in a just cause.
That cause raised bone marrow transplant money for Davie Untz, a 3 1/2-year-old Eugene boy.
We’ve been so accustomed in this society to hearing about the bad. We almost begin to expect athletes to run amok with the law, almost forgetting they provide the community with positives.

The Associated Press stories run along the wire service, and ESPN.com picks them up. “So and so arrested for marijuana possession” or “so and so stands trial for assault,” we often read.
Most times, we click on these stories and give a cursory glance. “So what?” we think, it’s not as if we haven’t seen this before. Tomorrow, there could be more, so why care about this “isolated” incident?
Only once in a while, like in the case of Kobe Bryant or Leonard Little — who recently was caught driving under the influence six years after committing involuntary manslaughter in a vehicle — do our ears perk up.
“That’s horrible,” we think to ourselves. “Hopefully, he or she doesn’t get away with it if they did it” we mutter under our breath.
Then comes along a group like Westendorf, who is an Oregon volleyball player, and the rest of the athletes that played. We commend them in the back of our minds for helping raise money for a child with leukemia. We praise them for what they did, and say “Keep it up, we want to come back next year and watch you guys all over again.”
We do this with a shrug of the shoulders, a casual walk to the exits and a bit of forgetfulness. We know there’s still 350 more days before the event even comes into our frame of mind, so until then, we’ll remember it, but still, forget about it in a way.
That’s the shame.
According to the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital (Portland) Web site, approximately 2,700 children are stricken with leukemia each year. It’s a cancer of the blood and one that usually requires a bone marrow transplant.
That’s what Untz has.
He is lucky, in that sense, as Westendorf and others have helped provide a better chance for him.
We should all remember those like Untz. We need to remember people with debilitating diseases that make their lives hard, if not impossible. If remembering an athlete who has a disease makes it any easier to do so, go right ahead. But we all need to remember how good we have it sometimes.
And there are people like Westendorf who know that, who want to make a difference and don’t just sit there. They know they have the tools to change and better the life of an unfortunate soul.
There should be more opportunities to better the community through the athletic world. Athletes do a lot, most of which none of us ever see, but there’s always more that can be done.
That’s the key.
Remember, nothing is ever enough.