The Portland State women’s basketball team was active on the boards against Eastern Washington University on Monday, out-rebounding their opponents 43-36, but it was not enough to hold off their Dam Cup rivals as the Eagles beat the Vikings 68-56 on Monday.
The Portland State women’s basketball team experienced the worst loss of the season on Thursday night, falling 67-42 to the University of Northern Colorado Bears, but they came back on Saturday for a dramatic win against the University of North Dakota. The win was an important one for the Vikings.
Last week, two stories dropped that would ordinarily kick off a crap-storm of moral outrage from the world of sports journalism. The public shaming of cycling liar Lance Armstrong and the totally bizarre Manti Te’o dead-girlfriend hoax are exactly the kinds of situations that get all the “serious” sports journalists frothing at the mouth about the poison of athletic celebrity, the betrayal of innocence, the death of heroes, et cetera. Lots of heavy-handedness, lots of moralizing, lots of Jeremy Schaap slow-talking to us as if we were 9 years old.
Fans tend to equate achievement in sports with direct success on the field, celebrating athletes for their victories and titles and transcendent performances. Athletes, on the other hand, rarely share those idealistic notions of what it means to be the best in their sport over the course of a career. Lured more by a bump into a new tax bracket than the chance at a championship, players will often make every effort to capitalize on their name in the pursuit of cross-promotional fortune, endorsing a slew of products, making film cameos and releasing ghostwritten bestsellers.
This was the stretch that men’s basketball coach Tyler Geving dreaded most when the schedule was released before the season. “The road trip from Greeley, [Colo.] to North Dakota is going to be a long one,” Geving said in September during a preseason interview. “I have a feeling North Dakota’s going to be pretty good at home.”
The Portland Winterhawks lost their second game in a row on Saturday night, falling 4-3 in Seattle. It was only the second time they’ve done so this season, and the first time since Oct. 9. Portland had won eight of 10 against the Thunderbirds this year.
The Vikings continued their strong start to the indoor track and field season last weekend with an impressive performance at the Cherry and Silver Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M.
THURSDAY, JAN. 17 Women’s Basketball North Colorado 67 Vikings 42 Top performers D’shara Strange: 15 points, 10 rebounds Stephanie Lee: 17 points, 5 rebounds Men’s Basketball North Colorado 67 Vikings…
Kayaking hits the agenda for the Outdoor Program this month, with an “Intro to Kayak” seminar starting this afternoon and two all-day river trips on Jan. 26 and 27. Held at Portland State for the last six years, the seminar teaches participants the basics of whitewater kayaking and is open to those with limited or no experience.
Portland State had one goal at the University of Washington Indoor Preview last weekend: to send a message. With high expectations for the women’s team, the Vikings wanted the rest of the conference to know that they had reason to be confident.
In the past few years of challenging friends and coworkers to “pick ’em” football bets, I’ve tried to be as conservative as possible, taking into consideration the football pundits’ projections and Vegas spread. However, one team has always stood out to me as the underdog, one that never got its due accolades.