They Are Being Called for Traveling

It’s one thing to have the Olympics come into your living room through the magic of television.

It’s quite another for the Olympics to move into your dorm room.

As the eyes of the world fall on Salt Lake City, some of the local basketball teams are hitting the road.

Players at Utah moved out of dorms to make way for the Olympic village, and high security and fences crisscross campus in preparation for the opening ceremony Friday at Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium.

“I wish I had the chain-link fence concession around here,” Utah Coach Rick Majerus said.

At Weber State--home to the curling venue known as the Ice Sheet at Ogden--a couple of players moved out of their rooms to make way for Olympic security personnel, and the Wildcats’ Dee Events Center has become the media venue for curling.

That means Weber State won’t play a home game during the month of February--a scheduling quirk that had Coach Joe Cravens fretting until the Wildcats--15-7 and in second place in the Big Sky Conference--started their five-game string on the road with a victory Saturday at Idaho State.

Brigham Young (14-6) is less affected. Though the Peaks Ice Arena in Provo is home to some of the hockey competition, it isn’t on campus, and the Cougars will play only one more road game than usual.

Utah--16-4 after suffering its first Mountain West loss Monday to Wyoming--actually will play two home games during the Olympics, Feb. 16 against Air Force and Feb. 18 against New Mexico.

With security high and traffic and parking disrupted, it will be interesting to see how many people venture to the Huntsman Center.

Classes are suspended until Feb. 26, so Majerus has taken his team on the road, building in extended stays in San Diego and Las Vegas around Saturday’s game against San Diego State and Monday’s game at Nevada Las Vegas and a trip to St. George, Utah, for practice sessions.

Majerus didn’t have to move out of the hotel near campus where he has lived for many years--but he has had visitors.

“I have an unbelievable porch--the best view in Salt Lake City--and the FBI is in there looking at it,” Majerus said.

“I said, ‘Look, I don’t have a grenade launcher.’ I just told them to make sure to lock up when they leave.”

So the Olympics are coming to Salt Lake City, and all some of these players are getting is a trip.

“It doesn’t make any difference. It’s just the way it is,” Majerus said.

“It’s once in a lifetime, and this school is benefiting.”

Burgess’ Long Road

It seems like a faraway time when Chris Burgess was considered one of the top high school players in the country in 1997--along with a fellow named Lamar Odom.

He was part of a Southern California crop that included Baron Davis and Jason and Jarron Collins--and like them, he figured to be in the NBA by now.

Burgess went from Irvine Woodbridge High to Duke, where he played behind Elton Brand--yet another player who preceded him to the pros.

Burgess transferred to Utah, but struggled with back problems his redshirt season and an ankle injury part of last season.

Sidelined for the last month because of a foot injury, his attempts to return to practice have resulted in setbacks.

“I just feel bad for the kid,” said Majerus, whose team has turned to an all-out three-point assault in Burgess’ absence. (It was successful until a poor shooting game against Wyoming.)

“My honest opinion, I don’t know if he’ll be back, but if he is back, he’ll be a third of what he is.”

Burgess was on the bench in street clothes for the Wyoming loss.

“It’s kind of sad,” Majerus said. “I yelled at him the other day, just to make him feel like part of the team.”

The Oregon Trail

Oregon’s sweep of UCLA and USC in Eugene last week was so impressive it vaulted the Ducks not only back into the Top 25 but all the way to No. 13--still two spots behind Arizona, a team the Ducks beat twice.

Behind the Two Lukes--Ridnour and Jackson--the extremely athletic Freddie Jones and much-improved big man Chris Christoffersen, the Ducks have proved themselves.

Everywhere except on the road, that is.

Oregon has a losing record away from McArthur Court, and all five losses have been on the road--including stumbles against Arizona State and Washington, not exactly the stuff of Pacific 10 champions.

Whether the Ducks can win the Pac-10--on second thought, make that top seeding in the Pac-10 tournament--could well turn on their performances at Stanford tonight and at Cal on Saturday.

“They don’t fear going on the road or anything,” Coach Ernie Kent said. “But they know how tough these battles are going to be with Stanford and Cal.”

Take note: The Ducks’ four remaining games against Pac-10 contenders are all on the road. Oregon closes out the regular season at USC and UCLA.

“People say this team is not a good road team; we just haven’t closed out the games on the road,” Kent said.

“We’re a relatively young basketball team that gains a lot of confidence playing at home in front of family and friends, on our own court. There’s a great comfort zone there for us. We’re still learning how to maintain that calm and focus on the road--although it is very deceiving, our road record, because we’ve never been blown out and we’ve been in every game.”

Kent’s prescription for the road: “Limit your turnovers and limit your bad shots, because the road is not as forgiving as Mac Court.”

Boos for Bloomington Fans

Turning on Steve Alford is one thing, though it certainly doesn’t show much appreciation for history.

But some Indiana fans’ treatment of Luke Recker in his first return to Assembly Hall as an Iowa player was truly odious.

Recker was the Hoosier hero who transferred to Arizona during the Bob Knight era but never played for the Wildcats, transferring to Iowa to play for Alford after being injured in a car crash that killed the friend who was driving and left his now-former girlfriend paralyzed.

“You try not to hear it, you try not to listen to it, but it’s a tough atmosphere,” the Indianapolis Star quoted Recker as saying after Iowa’s loss. “But I can guarantee you one thing: I’ve been through a lot tougher circumstances than this. This isn’t going to break me.

“I’m not happy with the way I played. It will forever be a memory in my mind. But if this is the worst thing that ever happens to me, I’ll survive and I’ll move on.”

Matter of fact, it wasn’t even the worst treatment he ever received at the hands of people who consider themselves Indiana fans.

“I received letters when I first got in the accident ... that said, ‘I wish you would have died,’” Recker said. “It was a personal decision for me to leave. I wasn’t happy in this program. It had nothing to do with the Indiana fans. They support their team.”

Give Indiana’s team credit for more class and compassion. As the Indianapolis Star noted, almost every Indiana player and coach embraced Recker after the game.