North End Notebook -- For Shoreline Ad, Holidays Are A Moving Experience

The holidays are gone, but they won't soon be forgotten by Rich Gustafson, athletic director for the Shoreline School District.

Gustafson spent his Christmas vacation visiting New Orleans, San Antonio and Washington, D.C.

He attended the national AD conference in New Orleans, then zipped to San Antonio to watch his beloved Washington State Cougars (Gustafson is a 1963 WSU grad) play in the Alamo Bowl and spent New Year's Eve strolling in downtown San Antonio.

Then it was off to Washington, where he and his family watched the swearing in ceremonies at the House of Representatives on Jan. 4. Gustafson's wife, Nancy, is the sister of George Nethercutt, the recently elected representative from Spokane.

The Gustafsons took a red-eye flight and arrived at the swearing-in ceremony about 2:10 p.m., just five minutes before the festivities started. Gustafson later had his picture taken with Newt Gingrich.

Gustafson went to the Alamo Bowl with his wife and children, Rich Jr., a medical student at Vanderbilt, and Kristi, a teacher at North City Elementary.

The Alamo Bowl satisfied two of Gustafson's passions: travel and the Cougs.

"We enjoy traveling, and it's really pulled our family together," he said.

Gustafson's family includes 33 WSU graduates. His kids earned undergraduate degrees from WSU.

"It was lot of fun. A lot of fun," Gustafson said of his excellent Christmas adventure. "Now, I've got a lot of work to catch up on."

Walker mulls future

Cascade senior Iyan Walker said he still plans to accept a basketball scholarship from Oregon State University, but plans to talk to the Beaver coaching staff when OSU plays at the University of Washington Thursday.

Walker, a 6-foot-8 center, has signed a national letter of intent to play for OSU. But Beaver Coach Jim Anderson announced his retirement last week. He plans to coach the rest of the season.

OSU must honor Walker's scholarship, but he said he will talk to the coaching staff to find out if he likes the direction the program is headed.

"I'm still planing to go there because I'm still bound to the university," he said. "But it depends on how it works out."

Baseball clinic

Don Long, a 1980 graduate of Meadowdale High School, will be the featured speaker at the Northwest Professional Baseball Clinic.

The clinic will be Jan. 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the commons area of Lynnwood High School.

Long is the manager of the California Angels' Class AAA farm club, the Vancouver Canadians.

Other speakers will be Tom McCabe, area scout for the Colorado Rockies, and Mark Yoshino, assistant coach at Bellevue Community College.

Long said the clinic is primarily for coaches, but said some high-school-aged players may find the lectures helpful.

The clinic fee is $60, and registrations will be accepted at the door. For information or to register, call Long at 742-2094.

Zabukovec suits up

Because of a rash of injuries, Ken Bone, Seattle Pacific University men's basketball coach, has decided to use freshman center Bruce Zabukovec.

Bone had planned to redshirt Zabukovec, a 1994 graduate of Shorecrest High School. Zabukovec scored six points in 22 minutes in his first game, Dec. 30 against Puget Sound.

Zabukovec and the Falcons play in Bellingham tonight against Western Washington and host Montana State-Billings Saturday.

Boxing

The Battle of Seattle, an Olympic-style youth boxing tournament, is set for Feb. 18-19 at the Greenwood Boys Club, N. 87th St. and Fremont Ave. Boxers, high school-aged and under from Washington, Oregon, California and Canada, will compete in eight weight classes. Tickets are tentatively set for $15 for the two days. For information, contact the Greenwood Boys Club, 784-5396.

Notes

-- KRKO (1380 AM) radio will broadcast Friday's WesCo AAA girls basketball game at Cascade High School between the Bruins and Oak Harbor. Tom Lafferty will call the play-by-play.

-- The District I-AAA state qualifier diving competition will be today at Mariner High School, starting at 6 p.m.

-- The District I-AA state qualifier diving competition will be tomorrow at Kamiak High School, starting at 6 p.m.

-- Cascade is ranked eighth in this week's Class AAA state wrestling poll - despite last week's 28-24 loss to Snohomish. The Panthers are listed in the "others" category.