Saturday, December 18
Ducks see kicking ranks thinned
Associated Press
EUGENE, Ore. -- Oregon coach Mike Bellotti did not hide his
anger at punter Kurtis Doerr, who had to sit out practices for the
Sun Bowl after spraining his right ankle in a pickup basketball
game.
"I am more than upset," Bellotti said. "He's on my bad
list."
Doerr wore a protective boot Friday as the Ducks resumed bowl
preparations with a two-hour workout in the Moshofsky Center. At
least Bellotti also got some good news -- linebacker Matt Smith, who
had an injured left ankle, was able to resume drills for the first
time in more than a month.
Doerr predicted he should be able to rejoin workouts by Sunday
and said there was no question he would be ready to punt in the
Dec. 31 Sun Bowl against Minnesota. Still, a punter with an injured
kicking ankle wasn't exactly the news Bellotti expected to welcome
him off an airplane after a recruiting trip.
"I've never sprained an ankle in my life and it was the last
game we were going to play," Doerr said. "It's Murphy's Law, I
guess."
Bellotti had admonished Doerr not to play basketball during
Oregon's three-day break from workouts.
"My last words to him, because I know he's an avid basketball
player, were 'no more basketball,' after he twinged a hamstring
(the previous) week playing basketball," Bellotti said with
notable irritation.
"He obviously doesn't understand the word 'no' but he's going
to have to learn it or he won't be punting or playing for us,
period."
Contrite doesn't fully describe Doerr.
"It wasn't a very bright thing to do," the junior said. "I
have that feeling in my stomach like I'm 12 years old and I just
broke the neighbor's window.
"I think I'm done with basketball until I'm about 30 and
playing in a city league or something," Doerr said.
Smith's ankle, injured in Oregon's win at California on Nov. 13,
is healed enough that he was participating in drills Friday for the
first time in more than a month. He had watched the practices the
past two weekends, doing only some rehabilitation exercises on the
sidelines under the watchful supervision of trainers.
"It's a lot better," Smith said. "They want me to get out
there and run around, just to get back in the football sense of
things.
"It's still sore and that's a concern. I was real concerned
early about stopping on it and cutting on it but that was feeling
good so I'm happy about that."
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