OREGON SPORTS

High school, college & pro sports scores, photos & schedules

• Bellotti shows he measures up
A fter the Civil War ended Saturday at Reser Stadium but before Oregon coach Mike Bellotti left the field, he paused to embrace his mother, Carol.

• Cross country notebook For Jesuit teams, all roads lead here
For high school cross country teams across the United States, the ultimate destination is a race in Portland.

• Talent-rich Pilots see payoff in '09
Four years ago, the University of Portland women's soccer team lost in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals. At the time, the Pilots' roster included just two starting seniors. Three other potential starters didn't play because of national team commitments.

• Teams' cry: Off with their head coach!
The combination of mounting losses and frustrated owners has already resulted in two head coaches losing their jobs early in this NBA season.

• Appetizers come after 'gritty' win
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Weaving between Trail Blazers players Sunday, a teenage clubhouse attendant balanced a stack of boxes containing spicy chicken nuggets, nervously keeping one eye on the nameplates in front of the lockers and another eye on the wobbling stack.

• James Rodgers suffered broken collarbone in loss
CORVALLIS -- Oregon State coach Mike Riley was still trying to digest a blowout loss in the Civil War when he got the news Sunday that sophomore wide receiver James Rodgers, the team's No. 2 rusher and No. 2 pass-catcher, suffered a broken collarbone in the Beavers' 27-point loss to Oregon.

• Team in transition halts slide at 25
FRESNO, Calif. -- Oregon State snapped a 25-game losing streak and won its first game under first-year coach Craig Robinson, defeating Fresno State 62-54 on Sunday.

• Batum jumps into closing role
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- A new twist was added to the Trail Blazers' playing rotation on Sunday: Nicolas Batum as a fourth-quarter closer.

• BCS: Grin and bear it
Previously, Oklahoma was No. 2 in the coaches' poll, Texas was No. 4 and 42 points separated them. Now, Oklahoma is No. 2, Texas is No. 3 and one point separates them. So the Longhorns jumped the Gators. Texas played at home last week and made Texas A&M 4-8 with a 49-9 win. Florida went on the road and made Florida State 8-4. Not that the coaches were trying to get Texas past Florida, that was a side effect of the Standoff in the Big 12 South.

• Portland State Vikings struggle to make strides
Portland State coach Jerry Glanville's second season with the Vikings started and ended well.

• 'Mastermind' directs UO show
CORVALLIS -- In the cramped basement of Gill Coliseum, Oregon offensive coordinator Chip Kelly emerged from behind a curtain and was immediately surrounded by tape recorders and video cameras.

• Outdoors Calendar
Ifish Christmas party: Ifish Christmas pizza party and toy drive; toys and monetary donations accepted for Emanuel Children's Hospital Fund, 5 p.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday; Pietro's Pizza, 10300 S.E. Main St., Milwaukie. Contact: www.ifish.net

• Portland State 81, Seattle 67 Waters leads Vikings to third place
ANCHORAGE -- Reserve point guard Dominic Waters' career-high 22 points led Portland State past Seattle 81-67 Saturday to earn third place in the Great Alaska Shootout at Sullivan Arena.

• Riley, OSU temper bowl hopes
CORVALLIS -- Oregon State was beaten so thoroughly Saturday in the 112th Civil War game that it seemed preposterous to talk about the absence of Pac-10 leading rusher Jacquizz Rodgers, officiating, or the theory that injuries and the law of averages had finally caught up with a team that hadn't lost since Oct. 2 -- a team that seemed poised to barge into the Rose Bowl for the first time in 44 years.

• UO notebook Philyaw's advice: 'It's about leaving a legacy'
Among those celebrating outside the Oregon locker room Saturday night was Dino Philyaw, who famously caught the game-winning 19-yard touchdown pass in the 1994 Oregon Rose Bowl team's Civil War win in Corvallis.

• Wild, wild running drags Rose Bowl away
CORVALLIS B y the time the scoreboard finally stopped spinning, you couldn't walk the Oregon State sideline without tripping over symbolism.

• Oregon State's Andy Levitre is from California, but he feels the full weight of the rivalry
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• Basketball: OSU women
beat Arkansas in Bahamas Brittney Davis scored 16 points, Tiffany Ducker added a season-high 14, and Oregon State (3-0) held off Arkansas (4-1) for a 69-56 win Friday at the Junkanoo Jam in Freeport, Grand Bahamas. The Beavers will play No. 2 North Carolina tonight.

• Beavers to watch
Ryan McCants, RB: With Jacquizz Rodgers, the Pacific-10 Conference's leading rusher, doubtful for the game because of a sprained shoulder, the spotlight shifts to McCants, who will start at tailback if Rodgers is unable to play. McCants, a 6-foot-1, 240-pound redshirt freshman, was the opening-day starter for the Beavers but was relegated to second string after Rodgers emerged. McCants has rushed 69 times for 282 yards, including 52 on 15 carries against Arizona last week after Rodgers was injured.

• Bellotti stays cool under pressure
EUGENE -- When Mike Bellotti took over as Oregon's head coach in 1995, a tradition left with the departing Rich Brooks: The pregame hurl.

• Ducks to watch
Jeremiah Masoli, QB: Masoli's confidence has grown each week, helped by those two Pacific-10 Conference offensive player of the week honors. He was at his best during the first half of Oregon's win over Arizona, but didn't fare well in his last road start at California in front of many family and friends. How will the sophomore handle the hype of his first Civil War?

• In Corvallis, Mike Riley remains steady
CORVALLIS B efore he is through at Oregon State, Mike Riley figures to be the winningest football coach in school history.

• It could be a big day for OSU's backups
CORVALLIS -- Last season, it was Matt Sieverson at tailback.

• Late goal ends Pilots' season
STANFORD, Calif. -- The pregame prediction by University of Portland captain Megan Rapinoe rang true Friday night -- but not the way the she hoped.

• Leaning on old reliable
In a season that has seen LaMarcus Aldridge struggle with his shot, Greg Oden wrestle with expectations and Rudy Fernandez battle through fatigue, there has been one constant to the Trail Blazers: The excellence of Brandon Roy.

• Ready to come home hurt, but victorious
Oregon running back Jeremiah Johnson, a senior captain and converted Beaver-hater, talks about his views on the Civil War and on previous rivalry games.

• Reser Stadium hospitality? Yeah, right
EUGENE T he words easily came out of Jeremiah Masoli's mouth as he spoke of what it would take to win in Reser Stadium.

• Class 3A
Grant Union vs. Gold Beach, 5:30 p.m.

• Class 6A, 5A, 4A semifinals Rematches in playoffs: These foes are familiar
It's never easy to prepare for a playoff game, but it never hurts to be familiar with the opponent. Of the six semifinals this week in the OSAA football playoffs, four are rematches of regular-season games.

• Despite injuries, UP has soared
The third-ranked University of Portland women's soccer team has lost five potential starters to injury and national team call-ups. The rest of the roster is loaded with underclassmen. Three starters are returning from injury-induced redshirt seasons in 2007.

• Portland area has firm grip in the 6A
Four Portland-area schools located within a proximity of nine miles will get together tonight and stage the OSAA Class 6A football semifinals at PGE Park.

• The Beavers didn't freak, and we shouldn't either
The previous two seasons, with their twin 2-3 starts, turned into nine- and 10-win seasons. As ugly as that afternoon in Pennsylvania had been, radical overreaction didn't seem the best course.

• Top QBs power Central, Astoria
No. 1 Central and No. 2 Astoria have been nearly untouchable in Class 4A football this year -- in more ways than one.

• Cardinal to watch
Toby Gerhart RB: He compares to former Cardinal bruiser Tommy Vardell, both in style and in statistics. Gerhart is the first Stanford runner since Vardell to have six 100-yard rushing games in a season. Gerhart needs 89 yards to become the school's first 1,000-yard rusher since Vardell in 1991.

• Outdoors Forecast
OUTDOORS

• Before the War, it's just chatter
Turns out you can't make both Tuesday news conferences. You can get to parts of both news conferences, and you can be just as late to one as you are to the other (it's only fair), but you can't make both. The good news: Mike Riley and Mike Bellotti are football coaches in a rivalry week. Those are predictable creatures.

• Ducks prepare as if Rodgers will play
EUGENE -- Two freshman running backs from Texas are drawing a lot of attention this week at Oregon State and Oregon.

• Leading rusher 'very doubtful'
CORVALLIS -- Oregon State coach Mike Riley said Tuesday that freshman tailback Jacquizz Rodgers, the Pacific-10 Conference's leading rusher, is "very doubtful" for Saturday's Civil War.

• Nothing but the best
S ince they started playing club volleyball in middle school, West Linn senior Alyssa O'Neil and Jesuit junior Ali Grauert have played together, played against each other, won state titles and, most important, become friends.

• Prep football playoffs Repeat on mind of two
Gold Beach and Culver will go for repeat titles when the OSAA holds its football championship games for the state's three smallest classifications Saturday at Hillsboro Stadium.

• Three PSU players
earn Big Sky honors Portland State linebacker Andy Schantz, cornerback Deshawn Shead and receiver/kick returner Aaron Woods have been named second team all-Big Sky Conference.