Clubs

With the NBA Playoffs slipping away every day, the Portland Trail Blazers face the interesting question of how much do they continue to stress their starting line-up with constant playing time?

Does Damian Lillard need to play 38 minutes per game for the rest of the season just to win a few more games? What about getting the bench some more PT?

The Washington Nationals shut down Stephen Strasburg last season in late season, even though he was one of the best pitchers in baseball to give his arm rest for the rest of his career. That something the Blazers should start thinking of with their starters?

That's a key point for Monday's Sportsland podcast, with hosts Cliff Pfenning and Derek Weber, recorded weekly from Blitz in the Pearl, located in Northwest Portland.

The other hot topic is what's the future for Oregon State men's basketball? The program has been going forward under Craig Robinson - including 20 wins last season, but the roster is looking very much like it's headed for second-division finishes into the near future. Is coach Robinson still the long-term coach in Corvallis?

Tune in for that and more, with a 39-minute show.

There are few years - in any state - when a group of high school wrestling champions go on to future greatness at the national and international level than Oregon saw in 1963.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of a group that included two future World Champions and three future Olympians, one of whom played in the NFL for a season.

And the year also included the first cultural exchange team from the state to go abroad - to Japan for a monthlong tour.

Rick Sanders, then a senior at Lincoln, Henk Schenk, then a senior at Silverton, Fred Fozzard, a junior at Marshall, and Jess Lewis, a sophomore at Cascade all won titles in 1963.

All would go on to national and then international success on the mat, and on the football field with Lewis’ career.

It happened several times during the Grand Opening celebration of the Evergreen Curling Club’s new home in Beaverton, Jan. 5: someone about to be honored for their commitment to the club could not be found.

“I think they’re at the bar,” was the usual response.

The new facility, located at 10950 SW 5th Street in Beaverton, features three sheets, a lobby, meeting area with tables, and a bar.

“It’s part of the culture of curling,” said Doug Shaak, who founded the club 11 years ago. “You share a drink after a match, or sometimes before, or even during a match.”

Having a good time with a long-term lease involved raising more than $300,000 to locate, design and construct the ice sheet, which is in a converted warehouse.

The club has used the ice at Lloyd Center as its home, but members decided in March of 2011 to commit to fundraising for their own ice.

“The big step was making the commitment to raising the funds,” said Bruce Irvin, the club president. “Once we made that commitment, we got taken seriously and we were able to raise what we needed.”

The club eventually raised $400,000, enough to pay for the facility and have some funds left over for club needs.

Shaak said the club entered the year with 116 members, but they were aiming for some substantial growth now that there’s a daily place to play.

“Our goal is to continue to grow and have stable leagues,” he said. “We want to be able to go to national events and represent the club well.”

The national championships are set for Feb. 9-16 in DePere, Wis., where dedicated facilities number in the dozens. The Evergreen sheets are only the second such facility on the West Coast.

Membership dues are $65 for adults for a year with league playing fees extra. The league’s website shows off the sports’ casual nature with it’s security question: “if you are human, please add 150+45 and put that in the result box.”

Irvin said development of talent to be competitive at the national level will be a focus in the next decade.

“I can see us reaching that level in about 10 years,” he said. “We need to get kids that are about 10 years old involved, but with consistent coaching, good coaching, I think that can happen.”

Down 12-7 and facing a spot in a the Silver Division, the girls from the Oregon Juniors Volleyball Academy rallied to hold their position and win the January Power League qualifier at the newly refurbished Eastmoreland Courts Sunday evening.

OJVA beat Webfoot Juniors 16-14 in the third set to finish unbeaten on the day in the 16U qualifier that sets teams up seedings that affect locations for the three Power League tournaments heading into the regional tournament.

The top 16 teams, performance-wise, from the Power League events advance to the two-day championships, April 20-21, at Oregon State University.

The OJVA team, including standouts from Beaverton and Lake Oswego, finished second to Portland Volleyball Club in 2012.

OJVA entered Sunday's event seeded No. 2 in the region, and as the highest seed in the qualifier. But, Webfoot, powered by Newport sophomore Kalli Dixon, won the first set of the best-of-three final and led 12-7 when the match slipped away. Webfoot served for the match at 14-13, but couldn't hold off the OJVA rally.

What a year, 2012.

The Oregon football team nearly played into the BCS Championship again, while Oregon State got a whiff of that excitement, too.

An Oregonian won the Olympic decathlon.

Oregonians played in the greatest women's soccer match of all-time.

The Timbers struggled with scoring, player movement, coaching changes, but didn't diminish their fan support, and even moved forward by moving into the new women's soccer league.

The Winterhawks missed playing into the Memorial Cup by one game.

Oregon won the women's national cross country title and missed the volleyball title by one match.

Jesuit won its record fourth-straight boys basketball title.

Oregonsports Journal takes a look back on 2012, the team highlights, athlete highlights and drama that accounted for the past 12 months, available to subscribers.

http://oregonsports-com.myshopify.com/products/subscription

The Portland Winterhawks just can't lose - almost, this season.

Even when they do lose, it's almost a shame.

Friday, the Hawks outshot visiting Tri-City 46-13, yet lost 3-2, only the team's sixth loss in 31 games this season. Those losses include a 5-1 loss in the season opener to Seattle in which they outshot the visitors 30-2 in the first period alone only to finish those 20 minutes down 1-0.

Portland rebounded from Friday's loss with a 6-2 win at Seattle Saturday, followed by a 4-1 win over Tri-City Sunday afternoon on their home ice.

Portland plays host to Everett Friday and Seattle Saturday - both games at the Rose Garden. Saturday's game is the annual "Teddy Bear Toss," in which fans are invited to bring stuffed animals to donate to charities, saving them to toss on the ice upon the game's first goal.

Meanwhile, the Portland Trail Blazers have struggled of late, losing six of their last eight games, and yet a win over Toronto Monday would give them the same record as - the Los Angeles Lakers, 9-12.

Toronto enters Monday's game at 4-17, a record better than just one team in the NBA, although part of that might be due to the team's schedule. The Raptors have played 14 of their 21 games on the road and are 1-13 in those games, including a 102-83 loss at the Los Angeles Clippers Sunday.

Portland lost 99-80 in a listless performance at home to the Sacramento Kings Saturday night.

Oregon State will visit Portland for a men's basketball game Wednesday at the Stott Center, a game the Vikings are promoting as a "white out" on 12-12-12. The Beavers are 5-2 on the season with losses only at No. 10 Kansas (84-78) and Alabama (65-62) in a tournament game in New York City. Roberto Nelson and Ahmad Starks each hit five 3-point shots during an 85-54 win over Grambling State Saturday night.

Portland State is 2-4 with its Big Sky Conference opener on Dec. 20 at home against Idaho State.

HERE'S THE TOP FOUR EVENTS TO KEEP UP ON FOR THE WEEK

Monday - Toronto at Portland Trail Blazers

Wednesday - Oregon State at Portland State men's basketball

Thursday - Oregon vs. Penn State, women's volleyball Final Four, Louisville, Ky.

Saturday - Seattle at Portland Winterhawks, Teddy Bear Toss, Rose Garden

Joey Harrington led the Class of 2012 into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame Tuesday night, but "Mouse" Davis did his best to steal the show at the Multnomah Athletic Club.

Davis, who helped popularize the Run and Shoot offense, told the crowd of nearly 200 how he had not only stolen the offense from another coach who had written a handbook on its basics philosophy, but how he had crafted it into an offensive juggernaut and then used it to turn average players into NFL stars.

He made sure to let the audience know how it all worked out, too.

"I made it happen," he said while keeping the audience entertained during his 10 minutes of stage presence alongside master of ceremonies Bill Schonely. "Not only did I make that offense, but I turned guys who could barely throw the ball into NFL stars. They owe it all to me."

Davis and Harrington were joined by the 1962 Oregon State football team, longtime equestrian standout Rich Fellers and the late Leo Davis.

More than a dozen members of the '62 Beavers were on hand, including quarterback Terry Baker, who won the Heisman Trophy that season.

Baker brought the trophy to the ceremony.

It didn't take long for Oregon to show off its game to a national television audience Thursday night.

Only about 19 minutes.

Kenjon Barner ran for 143 yards and three touchdowns, Marcus Mariota added 135 yards, and No. 2 Oregon manhandled Arizona State 43-21 at Sun Devils Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.

Facing its first true road test, Oregon (7-0, 4-0 Pac-12) turned what was supposed to be a duel in the desert into another we've-seen-this-before rout by running over the Sun Devils in the first half.

The Ducks had their way against what had been the Pac-12's best defense, racing to a 36-point halftime lead and rushing for 406 yards to win their nation-leading 12th straight road game.

Arizona State (5-2, 3-1) got the start it wanted, forcing a fumble on Oregon's second play and scoring a touchdown on its first.

The Sun Devils wilted after that, unable to make up for the early loss of star defensive tackle Will Sutton or find a way to slow down the Ducks as they raced past.

Taylor Kelly, the Pac-12's pass efficiency leader, threw two interceptions that set up Oregon touchdowns in the first half and had 93 yards on 10-of-18 passing while being chased by the Ducks most of the game.

Arizona State's defense, its anchor through the first six games, allowed 454 total yards, including 48 more rushing than it had the previous four games combined.

Mariota threw for one touchdown, ran for another and had one receiving in his first true road game.

Oregon took a 43-7 lead with 11:33 left in the first half on a 1-yard touchdown run by Barner, a play set up by an interception and return to the 1.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/ncaa/gameflash/2012/10/18/49787/index.html#ixzz29kkLqyYq

The Oregon football team gets a chance to turn its infrequent flier miles to frequent flier miles Thursday with a Pac-12 Conference game at Arizona State.

The Ducks have played five otheir six games - all wins, at home with just a road win at Arizona having been on the schedule.

Thursday, they play an ASU squad that's 5-1 overall, 3-0, and on the cusp of being ranked.

While the Sun Devils may appear a threat to the Ducks on paper, Oregon has rolled through its opponents this season, getting a mild scare only from Washington State, which it led just 23-19 at halftime. Oregon eventually won 51-26.

Thursday's game will be televised by ESPN.

Following Thursday's game, the Ducks have nine days off before a home game against Colorado, which preceeds a road trip to No. 6 USC that most of the nation views as a preview of the Pac-12 title game and biggest hurdle the team has to a spot in the national championship game.