Spring is finally here.
The rainy weather, the disappointing ends of the basketball teams’ seasons are a thing of the past.
Sunny weather – fingers crossed – brings softball’s collision with Pacific-10 Conference play and track’s build-up to the Olympic Trials in June. The sports world, so intermixed with the national stage the rest of the year, is now squarely focused on Eugene.
Football brought debates about where Oregon fit among the BCS top 10 and a berth in a high-profile bowl game. Basketball held the discussion of Oregon’s place among the 64 teams in the NCAA Tournament.
Now that spring is here, the national spotlight is squarely focused on Eugene and rightfully so.
The last couple of years, Eugene sports fans have heard about the build-up toward the Olympic Trials, including the renovations to historic Hayward Field and the new scoreboard. Hype is about to meet reality with the countdown down to 86 days, according to Eugene 08’s official Web site.
All the attention this spring will be focused on the Olympic Trials, and it’s well deserved. This is going to be a historic event with athletes coming to Eugene from all over the country as they compete for a spot in the Beijing Olympics.
In the meantime, there are plenty of sports to keep the enthusiastic fan busy. Along with track, there is softball, lacrosse, tennis and golf. Baseball fans will have to wait a year.
Even away from the college scene, away from the television cameras and most media coverage, there used to be minor league basketball in Eugene.
Die-hard basketball fans experiencing withdrawals from the lack of college basketball could usually look forward to the next season of Eugene Chargers basketball.
The past two seasons, the member of the International Basketball League, has brought up-tempo hoops to the Eugene community. Usually, a player or two who played for Oregon donned a Chargers uniform.
It’s not the best brand of basketball. Offense is plentiful. Defense is mostly absent.