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CNNSI.com GROUP
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Sunshine on my shoulders Beavers pleased with decision to leave rainy Oregon
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- Oregon State football coach Dennis Erickson said all along his team was headed to Arizona five days before the Fiesta Bowl to escape practices in cold, drizzly weather. It appears he made the right decision. In the first practice before the New Year's Day game, the Beavers found themselves sweating under sunny skies in temperatures close to 70 degrees. Players wore shorts with their helmets and shoulder pads. "You can get going a lot faster, you're not having to try to work up a sweat -- it's nice," OSU quarterback Jonathan Smith said after a two-hour practice Friday at Scottsdale Community College. Erickson agreed. "The week we were up there, we had some bad weather and we don't have our indoor facility yet," he said. "Next year will be quite a bit different. But it's nice to get down here and be able to practice." All the Beavers' practices will be open to the public, and a few dozen fans watched Friday's workout. Among those on hand were Charles Byford of Chandler, Ariz., and his son Cohen, 11; Byford is the brother-in-law of OSU tight end Mark Walsh. "It's been a fun season," said Byford, who is originally from Roseburg. "We've gotten a lot of games on TV down here, and it's been fun to watch them and see them come up with some big wins. They've really turned the program around." A number of reporters were also on hand for OSU's first practice in Arizona, and their questions for Erickson were ones he's heard often during the Beavers' dramatic rise from doormat to Pacific-10 champion. "To think that three years ago Oregon State was 5-6, and now we're 10-1 and playing in a BCS bowl is remarkable, and that's what makes it special right now," Erickson said. "It's really an amazing story, and I'm proud of them."
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