You want the truth? I’ll admit it.
I was too busy stuffing my face, sleeping
in and studying to keep up with everything that happened in the world of sports over the holiday weekend.
No worries. Hakuna Matata. No huge fights broke out or anything.
As normal, everything was documented and recorded as I was shoving my mom’s homemade mashed potatoes and cornbread stuffing in my pie hole.
Speaking of being shoved down a pie hole, did you see the NFL beating that Seattle took from Buffalo?
Willis McGahee scored four touchdowns on the ground for the Bills. He made more trips into the end zone than I made to the kitchen for more taters.
Be cool, my babies; the Seahawks still sit above St. Louis by half a game on top of the NFC West. It’s a good thing that game wasn’t played during Thanksgiving dinner or the Heimlich maneuver may have been necessary to dislodge a wishbone from my throat.
How about the pounding Detroit, and more specifically Joey Harrington, took on Turkey Day? It was just the same old, same old. The Lions struggled because they couldn’t figure out how to protect their passer, making Harrington a fantasy football owner’s nightmare.
On Sunday, Denver was upset at home in the snow by Oakland in a game that was better than the ‘fog bowl’ between USC and Oregon State a few weeks ago.
The two Ohio teams racked up about a bazillion points in their matchup over the break. Actually, the two teams combined for 106 points as Cincinnati won by 10 over the Cleveland Browns. You do the arithmetic; I have other things to talk about.
In the basketball world there was good news: Portland handed New Jersey its ninth-straight loss. However, Mo Cheeks and company sit at the bottom of the Northwest Division with Denver. The Blazers strung together a 16-1 run in the third quarter and Zach Randolph posted 23 points in the game. And if there’s one exciting thing in Rip City, it’s seeing Zebo fight through a triple-team.
Oregon alumni Luke Jackson and Fred Jones (who I never got to see play in person) are both on contending teams in the Eastern Conference.
Jackson scored a career-best seven points for Cleveland in nine minutes last week against the Chicago Bulls. It was only the third game he has played in this season.
Freddie, now minus the “ie,” is averaging 35 minutes per game this season with the Pacers. He scored a career-high 31 points against Orlando the day after the team’s Nov. 19 brawl with
Detroit. Frederick, minus the “erick,” tallied 14 points in Sunday’s loss to Seattle.
Luke Ridnour appears to be doing a fine job of stabilizing the Sonics’ top spot in the Northwest Division and its four-game win streak; currently the second longest in the league. Ridnour is
scoring nine points per game and dishing out
almost six assists on average. Keep an eye on those Seattle boys.
It should also be noted that neither of Oregon’s basketball teams have found bumps in the road. The men are 3-0 after a big win over Marshall. The newcomers have made a noticeable impact on the fluidity and
expressiveness of the Ducks’ game.
The women stand proud at 4-0. They claimed the Long Island Invitational Tournament last weekend, and Cathrine Kraayeveld was recognized as the tournament MVP.
Here’s something else to make you smile: The Oregon volleyball team earned a win the hard way against Portland State in its last match of the season on Saturday. A year ago, the Ducks finished 3-24 overall. This season, they settled with a respectable 10-19 record.
Senior libero Katie O’Neil broke the 1,000 career digs mark during the
final match and, believe it or not,
I witnessed that accomplishment in person. Sophomore attacker Sarah Mason was announced as an honorable mention for the 2004 All-Pac-10 Conference team this week.
Last, but not least, it should be mentioned that Ron Artest isn’t really a rapper, but instead a serious executive in the music industry with his own label: Truwarier Records. I’m sure I would feel ashamed eating the leftovers my mom sent home with me while his lyrics played over my speakers. Fred has your back though, Ron. Best of luck to you.

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