The Sports Week in Oregon: A State of Euphoria

Next Wednesday is the Fourth of July, so celebrations are on the way in all 50 states. However, sports fans in one of those states will be setting off fireworks a week early. This week, Oregon is the sports capital of the USA.


Sunday night in Omaha, Oregon State won its second consecutive College World Series championship with a 9-3 victory over North Carolina. UNC also fell in last year’s championship series, so the Tar Heels once again settled for the honor of “best team outside of Corvallis.” The Beavers were superior in all facets of the game during the two-game sweep at Rosenblatt Stadium. Their advantage even extended to the dugout reporters, as Carolina settled for Kyle Peterson, while OSU hung out with Erin Andrews. ESPN invited an endless stream of inappropriate remarks by assigning its hottest female reporter to Beaver commentary.


OSU closed the postseason with ten consecutive victories. The run was particularly surprising given the club’s struggles in the regular season. The Beavers tied for sixth in the Pac-10 with a 10-14 conference record. They finished nine games behind league leader Arizona State, whom OSU beat 12-6 in Omaha. Last month, the Beavers endured a three-game sweep by the Sun Devils as part of a 4-8 May. However, a miserable May gave way to a championship in June. Dirk Nowitzki can only wish he had the same opportunity.


While the Portland Trail Blazers are not currently championship material, they will also have reason to celebrate this Thursday. The Blazers will take a step up in class after making the #1 selection in the NBA draft. Portland has not won a playoff series since its crushing Game 7 loss to the Lakers in the 2000 Western Conference finals. For a while, the Blazers still enjoyed relevance as the go-to team for cracks about criminal activity. However, even that honor has been stolen (as well as assaulted and driven drunk) by the Cincinnati Bengals.


However, on the heels of Brandon Roy’s Rookie of the Year campaign, the franchise will become relevant once again Thursday night. Unless Kevin Durant is the surprise choice, Ohio State’s Greg Oden will be Portland’s most anticipated draftee since Bill Walton in 1974. The Blazers certainly hope that Oden has better luck than Walton in avoiding injuries. However, they would be happy for Oden to follow the big readhead’s example in leading the Blazers to an NBA championship. Portland will even take the risk that 30 years from now, Oden will be an egotistical broadcaster bantering with Snapper Jones.


With sports in the Beaver State on the rise this week, perhaps it is time for Oregon to improve its state motto as well. The current one is “Alis volat propriis” - Latin for “She flies with her own wings.” First of all, no state should have a motto that sounds like a Patrick Swayze ballad from Dirty Dancing. Also, whoever “she” is, why would she be flying with someone else’s wings? The state animal is a beaver, so why would wings even enter the picture at all? Is the phrase a sly reference to the fact that One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest takes place in Oregon? As you can see, the current motto raises more questions than answers.


In the meantime, the state will enjoy its sports karma while it lasts. The Atlanta Braves could use some of that good fortune these days. The Braves have lost five straight games by a combined score of 27-1. If things continue to go poorly tonight against the Washington Nationals, expect manager Bobby Cox to get tossed early and break the major league record for ejections. Cox won’t stay around for the post-game press conference. He’ll be on his way to Oregon, looking for answers.

Obstacles Overcome By Oregon State Baseball

Oregon State defeated North Carolina 3-2 Monday night in the deciding game of the College World Series. The Beavers captured the title thanks to determined pitching, some ill-timed errors by the Tar Heels, and most importantly, tremendous resiliency. The odds were against the Beavers throughout the CWS. Those obstacles are discussed below.


Constant threat of elimination: After dropping its CWS opener 11-1 to Miami, OSU had to survive six elimination games in Omaha. The Beavers’ refusal to perish impressed Bruce Willis, who has asked them to appear in the next Die Hard movie.

Rice Owls: Oregon State needed two night-time victories over Rice to reach the championship series. And Owls are nocturnal.

Baseball broadcasters: ESPN’s Peter Gammons, a UNC alumnus, is widely respected and has been enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Fox’s Steve Lyons, an Oregon State product, is best remembered for dropping trou after sliding into first base.

A fan named Williams: OSU was supported in the stands by actor Barry Williams, while North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams was there to root on his school. One would think that Greg Brady would pale in comparison to a national championship coach. Then again, the theme from The Brady Bunch is far more popular than the UNC fight song.

Latitude: No northern school had won the CWS since Ohio State in 1966. Only by being an OSU did the Beavers have a shot.

Pac-10 runner-up trend in 2006: USC lost the national championship game in football, as UCLA did in basketball. Other notable 2006 runners-up include the Seattle Seahawks and Katharine McPhee – both hailing from Pac-10 cities. Fully aware of the trend, Pac-10 commissioner Thomas C. Hansen conceded to ACC counterpart John Swofford before the championship series.

National animal of Canada: This honor belongs to the Beaver. No team from Canada has ever won the College World Series.

Tigers draft picks: North Carolina pitcher Andrew Miller was Detroit’s first-round selection, while the Tigers snagged Oregon State hurler Jonah Nickerson six rounds later. Miller clearly has more value to Detroit. However, now Nickerson can heckle him, “Hey Andrew, does that fat contract come with a Most Outstanding Player award? Didn’t think so.”

ACC drought: No ACC school had won the College World Series since Wake Forest in 1955. So the conference was definitely due.

Mavericks’ 2-0 series lead: Yes, this is an NBA Finals issue, but the team with the Oregon State guy (Gary Payton) had to rally against the team with the UNC guy (Jerry Stackhouse).

Hurricanes vs. Beavers: This was the matchup when Miami and OSU met in an elimination game on June 20. The Hurricane, portrayed onscreen by Denzel Washington, was a fierce middleweight boxer who was wrongfully imprisoned. The Beaver was a kid from a 1950s sitcom. Gee whiz Wally, won’t the Beav get clobbered?

State capitals: North Carolina’s Raleigh is a thriving city hosting the Stanley Cup champions. Oregon’s Salem is one of those state capitals you always missed on a test.

The Bard of baseball: In the decisive game 3, UNC’s starting pitcher was Daniel Bard, a first-round selection of the Boston Red Sox. When you hear “Bard,” you think of Shakespeare, a standard of excellence for the past 400 years. However, that greatness backfired on Monday. Bard lost focus by insisting on reciting sonnets to impress ESPN’s Erin Andrews.

The mighty Casey: Pat Casey is the coach of Oregon State. You can’t expect a ballclub to win when its leader has a name synonymous with striking out. Fortunately, the CWS was not played in Mudville.

1961 cross-country team: This was the only previous Oregon State team to win a national championship. They had fiercely protected that honor, threatening any subsequent Beavers with the audacity to try to join them. The baseball club must now face the consequences, brazenly crossing these 60-something distance runners.


By overcoming these obstacles, Oregon State has provided great inspiration to its followers. They believe that anything can happen in baseball. Well, except for the Cubs winning the World Series.