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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Guide Weather Subscribe Contact Us January 25, 2005 Writing The Pine A night away from the lights Joe Zavala I've got bumps. They're red, itchy and all over. I would recommend these bumps to absolutely no one, except maybe Ashlee Simpson, who desperately needs an excuse to stay as far away from a camera and microphone as possible. You're probably asking yourself, "I wonder how he got those bumps." I'll tell you. I woke up one morning and they were there. Hours later, my doctor told me I was suffering an allergic reaction to a drug I was taking to rid myself of a previous infection. Exit infection. Enter flaming, gnarly red bumps. If this were a trade, I'd fire the general manager. Anyway, before the bumps - or B.B. - I had planned on covering the Southern Oregon men's basketball game against the No. 2-ranked team in the nation: Western Baptist. I knew it was going to be a great game. I was pumped. Unfortunately, so were my bumps, which got so big they actually voiced their opinion, at one point explaining that maybe the game was not such a good idea (come to think of it, they sounded kind of like Ashlee Simpson). So, much to my dismay, I was forced to stay in the office, a.k.a. sports reporter prison. A sports reporter in an office on game night is kind of like a fourth grader in detention during recess, except that instead of assignments and desks we have, uh, bigger assignments and smaller desks. Still working Ashlee Simpson bumps or not, I still had to keep up with the local sports happenings. Luckily, being in the field of mass media, I have all the latest technological advances at my disposal. Yeah right. I borrowed my son's Walkman to listen to the Ashland boys and girls games, and followed the SOU men and women via the Tidings' lightning-fast 3.5 kbps Internet connection (tip: just don't visit an actual Web site). I spent most of my time listening to the Ashland-South Medford boys game because the Grizzlies, in my opinion, are the most compelling local story right now. They're good, and have already won three Southern Oregon Conference games, which is about two more than they are accustomed to winning in an entire SOC season. Early in the game I could clearly make out the fans at the South Medford High gym chanting, "this is boring, clap-clap-clap-clap-clap, this is boring," and so on, as the Grizzlies walked the ball up court. This was a reference to last year's Ashland-South Medford game, during which the Grizzlies employed a slowdown strategy that irked the fans as well as Panthers coach Dennis Murphy. The Grizzlies clearly weren't desperate enough to try that this time, but the Panthers fan base - apparently removed from the wacky world of basketball standings - expected a repeat performance. This was frustrating to hear, but us Ashlanders can forgive and even have pity on those fans, knowing that in order to attend South Medford High you must first live in south Medford. The Panthers grabbed the early momentum and went on to beat the Grizzlies by 18. The fans cheered. My bumps wept. Back in Ashland, Alysse Carlson and Jamie Roupp were busy lambasting another SOC opponent. This time, Ashland's dynamic duo combined to score 45 points in the Grizzlies' 65-52 win over South Medford. The win improved Ashland and first-year head coach Ken Lathen to 6-0 in league play. Anybody who says they expected the Ashland girls to start league play 6-0 is either lying or Lathen. As for the SOU men, with no radio broadcast, the only way to find out what was happening was to watch and wait for the online stat sheet to refresh itself. It did so about once every 30 seconds. I was riveted. The Raiders won. Next time, I hope to actually watch the game, though. SOU's next home stand is Feb. 4-5 against Cascade and Warner Pacific. The Raiders wrap up the regular season Feb. 19 against archrival Oregon Tech. With any luck, the bumps will be gone by then. With my luck, you-know-who will sing the national anthem. Ashland Daily Tidings sports editor Joe Zavala can be reached at 482-3456 or by e-mail at [email protected] DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Slippers Women's Slippers men's slippers Ceramic Piggy Banks heloc libor rate Calenders 2005 Calender 2005 Accelerate Weight Loss Programs Memory Foam Mattress college loans alternative student loans Matchmaking & Dating Scripts Adventure Travel Conference Calls - $50/Month Security Systems student loan consolidation trillion cut diamonds Currancy Exchange Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams