by Dave Del Grande

IT'S A GAME I'll never forget, an achievement that has to rank with the all-timers.

Fiesta Bowl 2001: Oregon State 41, Notre Dame 9.

Think about that for a second. Oregon State. Yes, the same program that lost 23-10 to Pacific in 1995 and got drubbed by 20 or more points by Pac-10 foes three times in the'98 season, prompting the firing of Mike Riley and the boldest hire in school history.

And now the 49ers have traded Steve Mariucci for Dennis Erickson, the former collegiate All-America quarterback who orchestrated the Beavers' improbable turnaround. I'm still waiting to hear how many draft picks and millions of dollars Terry Donahue had to throw in to make that transaction work.

Sure, Mariucci took Cal to a bowl game in his first year with the Bears -- just as Erickson did with Oregon State in 1999. But do you really think the Bears were poised to go 11-1 the next season and capture a Pac-10 co-title had their coach stuck around?

If so, Mariucci would have been hailed as the second coming of Bill Walsh in the Bay Area. Now imagine doing it at Oregon State. That's Hall of Fame material in and of itself.

I'm sorry to see Ted Cottrell have to settle for the silver medal again, but at least he can take solace in the fact he was beaten by a far better candidate.

This was such a no-brainer, even Jeff Garcia didn't need to be consulted.

DATELINE: Mike's party. Kobe Bryant had a chance to make the impression of a lifetime Sunday night in the NBA All-Star Game, but he blew it.

With the entire basketball world still gushing over Michael Jordan's incredible fadeaway jumper over Shawn Marion that stood to provide the margin of victory in the superstar's final All-Star appearance, Bryant strolled to the free-throw line with a chance to give the final salute.

By making three consecutive free throws, Bryant would wrap up a thrilling overtime victory for the West squad. Hitting just one, on the other hand, would allow Jordan's shot to go down as the game-winner and send everyone home happy.

Making two of three, meanwhile, was totally unacceptable.

I fully expected the creative Bryant to orchestrate the perfect finish. All he needed to do was quietly walk over to Steve Francis and tell him to position himself for a flying tip-in when the Lakers star intentionally missed his third -- and potentially game-tying -- free throw.

It's a win-win situation similar to going for a two-point conversion -- and the victory -- at the end of a football classic. Either Francis provides the most exciting finish in All-Star history or Jordan walks off the hero, knowing full well Bryant had given him a classy assist.

Instead ... well, suffice it to say even Bud Selig authors better endings than what transpired.

DATELINE: The bench. In retrospect, I should have known Bryant would do the worst possible thing. It was the theme of the evening.

After days of debate over possibly giving Jordan someone's starting spot, the NBA had a chance to script something captivating. Maybe instruct Yao Ming to slap the opening tip out of bounds, allowing Jordan to rise from his seat, tear off his sweats Superman-style and saunter into the game as the crowd went into an absolute frenzy.

Instead, Vince Carter was pressured into stepping down, Jordan reluctantly accepted the start and -- yawn -- another All-Star Game was under way.

DATELINE: Sophomore English. I applaud Jason Richardson for capturing the All-Star spirit when he assisted his own jumper via Carlos Boozer's head in the final seconds of the Rookie Challenge.

Boozer's stuffy reaction can only be explained one way: The guy went to Duke.

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