Spring Excitement

David R.

April 29, 2010 - 5:00 PM

As a new intern for the athletic department, my first job is to help out at Oregon's spring game coming up this weekend. The teams have already been selected and the game will be aired on ESPN so that our troops abroad can watch some college football.

Tomorrow morning at nine a.m. I have to head over at the Casanova Center next to Autzen to help set up the inflatables that are deployed during football games. The following day on Saturday I have to back at nine again to help set up for the game. I am really excited to get started. It sounds like a lot of fun and it is the kind of thing that I would love to go into after my time at Oregon.

While college football season is slowly approaching, the first round of the NBA finals is slowly coming to an end. My boys from Denver were able to hold off the Jazz last night in Colorado. Nene, the Nuggets starting forward sustained a knee injury during last night's game and will likely miss the rest of the series. Those who have watched any of this series know that the Nuggets were trounced during both games in Utah earlier in the series. The Nuggets have to find some way to steal a game in Salt Lake City. Lord knows the home town crowd will be rowdier than ever, especially when the Jazz can smell blood in the water. Even with a victory last night the Nuggets still have their backs against the wall. Some how, some way, the series needs to come back to Denver. Even if the Nuggets win tomorrow night the series will only be knotted at three.

The Portland Trailblazers, the fan favorite in Eugene, are in a similar predicament, but they have the opportunity to tie their series in their own building tonight. As rowdy as it gets in Salt Lake City, the Portland Trailblazers have arguably the best home court advantage in the NBA. The Phoenix Suns are the clear favorite, but the favorites haven't necessarily fared to well thus far in this year's playoffs. The Nuggets and the Dallas Mavericks, both favored, have experienced a few road bumps in the opening round.

I have spent a great deal of my time lately trying to organize a special event for Habitat for Humanity, my group's client in Allen Hall Public Relations. We are coordinating an event titled "How To...", in which we will teach students how to fix basic appliances around the house. As many college students will be on their own after graduation, these can be helpful tips to know. For example, fixing a leaky faucet isn't too difficult, but I wouldn't even know where to start if I hadn't learned how.

Yesterday I drove around Eugene and dropped off a few donation letters at some of the local bakeries. We are trying to find a business that would be willing to sponsor the event by providing cookies for it (many students can be easily enticed with food). We are hammering out the final details, and I hope that the event is as successful as we hope it will be.