SOUND OFF.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Obnoxious fans

The company I work for has had season tickets to the men's basketball games at Mac Court for many years. I feel very lucky and privileged to have the opportunity to get to attend some of the games. The basketball teams that the Ducks have had over the years have been both fun and exciting to watch. I think Ernie Kent is one of the best coaches in the nation. The team he has assembled has some great potential; I look for them to win the Pac-10 championship next year.

Here's the rub. I've noticed over the past few years that the fans in the section that I sit in have become just plain obnoxious. They start riding the referees immediately and don't let up unless the Ducks somehow mount an insurmountable lead. It's a non-stop barrage of complaints and insults directed at the refs.

Sure there are going to be some calls that are missed, and Ernie has done a great job of teaching his players to overcome that. What I don't understand is how someone 200-300 feet away from a play could feel as if they know better than the ref what's going on down on the floor.

The Ducks didn't lose to Arizona because of poor officiating. Seldom is a game decided by a bad call. How about some cheering in support of the team rather than spending the entire game sounding like a bunch of babies? I hope that this isn't a widespread problem at Mac Court. Going to the games in the section I sit in just isn't that much fun anymore.

GREG CARTER

Eugene

More Brandi, please

Thanks for clearing up some of the mystery surrounding the relative absence of Oregon guard Brandi Davis. Like so many fans, I've sat in the stands or listened on the radio wondering why one of the team's most prolific scorers sits on the bench when the Ducks need points down the stretch. I would like to clarify, however, that not all of us appreciate her for her acrobatic shots and flashy play. Brandi is a gifted and natural athlete. Watching her perform is like poetry in motion. Her speed is a thing of beauty. Sure, we all whoop and holler as she drives in for an amazing layup, but for the most part, we just appreciate her natural talents.

Ironically, it is these natural talents that seem to have landed her on the bench so much this year. In Brandi's own words, the coaches want her to be more constrained, more fundamental. Can you bottle lightning? Her style of play is almost inherently unconstrained, but that doesn't mean undisciplined. Sure, we've all seen her blow a defensive assignment, or take shots that perhaps she ought not have, but name one other player on the team who is allowed only one mistake before finding themselves gathering splinters instead of baskets. Brandi seems to be held to a different standard.

I'd also like to clarify one other statement from the article: Drea, we don't love Brandi more than the rest of you, we just wish we'd see more of her.

STEPHANIE CARNAHAN

Eugene

Give Davis her chance

My Mac Court neighbors and I (sections 110, 111 and 112) could hardly disagree more with coach Bev Smith's evaluation of Brandi Davis' overall value to her team. Indeed, many of us have concluded that coach Smith would rather lose with Brandi on the bench than win with her in the game.

Both last year and this, the Ducks often have needed more quickness and firepower in the game, yet coach Smith refuses to insert her most athletic, creative player.

Moreover, when Brandi finally does get to play, the coaches seem to apply a double standard to her. When she does well, she receives neither praise nor even a friendly smile from them, and her every mistake, unlike those committed by her teammates, results in an angry shout from the coaches and often an exit from the game.

Recall as examples the Idaho State and California games this year. In both, the Ducks were playing poorly when Brandi entered. And in both, she turned the games around by scoring, rebounding, passing, leading the break and playing defense. Both opposing coaches and the radio announcer saw this, as did we, and praised Brandi's play. But both times, coach Smith pointedly declined to do so.

Successful teams today, men's and women's, feature athletic players who can run, jump and shoot the ball from off the floor. Within the past two years, coach Smith has dismissed one such player from the team and pushed another one to the end of the bench. We in the stands don't know all the facts of either case, but many of us wonder whether it might be time for coach Smith and her staff to adopt a more flexible idea of who can play the game.

JIM MOONEY

Eugene

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