idontrollonshobbas

Quito Ecuador is beautiful, lots of English spoken, money goes a long way and may have the most desirable climate of anyplace I have ever been. It is 75-80 degrees ever day of the year (10,000 feet above sea level). You won't spend a lot on heating/cooling! However, medical is sketchy. Panama, due to canal history and lots of US expats, has reasonably good health care, is US dollar-based and is seamless with SS & Medicare. The coastal area are Florida-esque in terms of climate and critters. In the hills, the climate is much milder. Boquete is at nearly 4,000 feet.

Most countries in Europe have affordable rural towns and health care is affordable until Medicare kicks in....most EU countries have agreements with US Medicare to facilitate this. If you are looking to buy property for retirement the EU makes sense since it is much cheaper. We are debating rural Austria vs. Oregon Coast for retirement HQ. Housing is about half price in Austria. Of course, other things are higher like groceries, gas (fuhgeddaboutit), energy. But Austria Switzerland and Germany are spendy compared to Italy, France, Spain and Portugal. French-speaking Belgium is another affordable region where you get a lot of house for the buck. Dollar is about at its peak exchange now too.

His commitment to the fall line and confidence in his ability to either turn or jump to avoid disaster is fearless.

Hadn't thought of that....good point.

Dior's stock had dropped recently. Altman's transfers made this likely if not inevitable. Ducks will be fine.

2022 5-star point guard Dior Johnson to decommit from Oregon Ducks DUCKSWIRE.USATODAY.COM 5-star guard Dior Johnson decommitted from the Oregon Ducks and will look for a new school to begin his college career.

J'aime beaucoup le jour de St. Jean Baptiste! Allez les Canards!

Agreed.....which is why the portal is such a safety net. Particularly at QB where projecting prospects is so difficult. Oregon will always be able to attract solid QB talent through the portal and I trust KD and DL's player evaluation more than Cristobal's. If they really like a 5 star HS QB, then I trust them to spend NIL money wisely. Otherwise, I would rather pay for elite playmakers that project more easily

This year we have Bo Nix with Thompson and Butterfield on the pine. No need to pay THIS YEAR. Next year, different circumstances, different strategy. NIL dollars may go further in the portal anyway. Especially at QB where the risk is high.....why not kick the tires and go get the next Cam Ward/Bo Nix who has a track record. If all of our guys flop this year and leave, then next year you spend all of your NIL money on the 5-star high schooler and let him rip from Day One.

Highlights are good because they edit out 57 minutes of stoppages during the final quarter

Can't measure heart.....

I tend to agree with the observations that DL' s recruiting "prowess" (if I may) so far seems to supersede Mari-'s. In the transfer portal, what's impressive is the deliberation in the targeting to specific roster gaps: the RB's, Gonzalez, and DL's. In terms of HS recruits, MC seemed to rely on recruiting rankings to target players and a good sales pitch to reel in enough guys to rank a class highly overall with some 3 star development guys to fill in the blanks. But, there were always gaps....one year it was RB's, the next WR's, and then QB's. DL's strategy seems to be: identify position metrics for the system; target the best out there (anywhere they are) relying as much on evaluation as rankings; and then pitch the opportunity to be on the dominate West Coast team. His system seems to allow for better fit to player's talents as well. Of course, DL has NIL advantages that Mari- didn't based on the program timeline. Bottom line, DL is setting things up to have a higher talent composite, better depth, and a more attractive style of play to draw in better players over the long haul.

My dream would be that he gets the Blazers and immediately trades them to Seattle for the Kraken. NHL = No Divas

Great point 1972.....one note though on Dior. According to some, his ratings have dropped rather precipitously from their peak. I am recalling this from a podcast, and could have some details wrong but he wasn't invited to the USA team tryouts and he might have struggled in some all-star tournament games against elite competition. Further speculation included that Barthelemy was brought on for this reason to give Dior a year of seasoning.

Payton Pritchard is the only Duck I am aware of who seems to have outworked Luke Ridnour PRIOR to becoming a Duck. The stories of him dribbling the West Linn Hills in the offseason and the video of his dribbling routine are legendary.

I would expect the Vulcan curse of bad decisions to continue based on precedent.

Holden.....rough name for an O lineman

This might actually convince me to watch the NBA again after being a huge NBA and Blazers fan in the 70's and 80's

Judging from the look of its peak, I would say Three-Fingered Jack! Or, since I got lucky once or twice at Cougar Hot Springs I am going with Mckenzie Bridge

How great is Dana's approach with his athletes? Expect a lot, support a lot and respect their choices when it is time to move on. Integrity still counts.

50th anniversary of Title IX and Year 2 of NIL.....how those two can coexist is beyond my pay grade.

I think some of the Husky love is based on a relatively high roster composite index....or some such metric of overall talent. Many Petersen leftovers still on the squad, plus the 5 star legacy QB who is on travel squad, I think? Add in some respect for DeBoer as the anti-Lake, plus basic Husky delusion (Burton is a Doog, but I agree a good analyst) and there you have it! Interesting WNBA take. I think Jobs' widow, who is rumored to be a potential Blazer buyer, has also tried for a WNBA franchise ownership in the past. Maybe she is willing to throw tons of tech money at the Rose Quarter, like Paul Allen did? If they get Sabrina, I might actually tune into a game or two....unlike the Blazers who, IMHO, should just admit defeat already and trade Lillard too. They always hang onto the single aging ex-All Star too long.

Is this something the Ducks have done before....at this level of frequency? It seems Lanning is turning recruiting "up to eleven."

This^ I also wanna see him lead in the locker room. Dana said last year was the first that he didn't have to kick someone out of the gym after practice. If Richardson wants to play in the league, that's what it's going to take.

Thanks for posting this!