Kurt Rambis

I always wanted a Bentley Continental GT. In the States, I enjoyed driving a Benz and then a Lexus, and was hoping someday to work my way up. Man, I can't imagine driving any of those where I live now, with lots of two-way traffic on what should be one-way streets. Some of the streets here were actually built originally by the Romans, and they didn't have to worry much about vehicle width in those days. Now instead of aiming at a Bentley, I drive an old Citroen C1, powered by an asthmatic squirrel with a limp. It has all the power of Emmitt Smith in his last desperate run with the Cardinals, but it's tiny and fits everywhere. I see people trying to navigate Bentleys and big Range Rovers here and I just laugh at them. The ironic thing is that this is actually what NIL was supposed to be - Stroud making promotional appearances at the dealership and getting something in return. Not recruits basically being given bags of cash to sign their NLI.

An Oregon State grad must have done the math on USC's recruits. Either that, or USC is including some extra stars with their NIL money: Recruits: 5 5-stars: 2 4-Stars: 4 3-Stars: 1 Huh?

Same here - first game I ever watched was Super Bowl IX, Steelers over Vikings. It's been all Black and Gold ever since. Klemm had one year there as head OL coach, I believe. He replaced a guy who got fired, and ended up with two rookies starting on the O-line. Two all-pros retired prior to that season (one unexpectedly due to injury), and the starting tackle was placed on IR early in the season, so the whole line shifted around. The talent level on the Steelers O-line was lacking and it was patchwork, plus they were trying to protect an aged QB who could no longer move. I have no qualifications for evaluating the quality of an O-line coach; I'm just hoping the Steelers' offensive line woes were connected to the lack of talent, youth, and significant injuries rather than to the coaching. My one concern is that he left the Steelers with two games left in the season, which is really strange. I wonder whether he wanted out that badly or they wanted to be rid of him that badly.

We've heard it all before. Oregon can't compete in recruiting because we're not one of the blue bloods, like Oklahoma, USC, Alabama, etc. Oregon can't compete in recruiting because we're stuck in the Pacific NW, without a huge recruiting base. Oregon can't compete in recruiting because we're not in the NC game every year. Oregon can't compete in recruiting because Eugene isn't a major media market. Oregon can't compete in recruiting because we're not in the SEC or Big 10. Oregon can't compete with USC in recruiting. Oregon can't compete on the national stage because other schools out-recruit us. Now it's Oregon can't compete in recruiting because we won't pay billions to 18-year-olds. So now it's just time to prove 'em wrong once again.

I've stopped trying to figure out how these kids make their decisions. Before NIL, you'd think decisions would largely be driven by fit-with-scheme, opportunity, academics, and chance to win. And I'm sure that was a lot of it. But then you would hear kids talking about liking a college because that's where their girlfriend is going, or loving the uniforms, or having watched previous players at that school growing up, or the weather, or the campus, or the crowd at the spring game, or how they "really prioritized me"... I'm going to assume some kids are just going to be mercenary - Michigan offers $1.5 million while Alabama offers $1.6, so Roll Tide. Others may look at where friends are going, who's getting drafted from that team, TV exposure, conference rep, coaching staff, "family feel," and a bunch of other stuff (including everything listed above). If everything is a bidding war for the Ducks, that really increases the chances of getting a lot of the mercenaries.

Two other points I see regarding some of the extreme NIL figures we see. First (and this plays out constantly in the pros), there will always be some team that is willing to throw crazy money at a player. Some free agent QB might get offers of $20 million a year from the Panthers, $22 million from the Bears, and $24 million from the Seahawks - but then some clown owner will come in and throw $35 million at him. Smart teams look at the overall picture, not the outliers, when considering what to pay. Second is that I wonder how long it's going to take before college teams are throwing expensive freshmen into games before they're ready, because they just invested a million bucks in Jamal so Jamal is damn well going to play. Now, Jamal can't read coverages yet, so he ends up doing a crash-and-burn the way DJ Ukelele did at Clemson (no way I'm going to get that spelling right - you know who I mean). Now he's very possibly going to lose his job to another hot-shot incoming 5-star. How many careers will that ruin, the way Tim Couch was ruined by the Browns and Joey Harrington by the Lions before they were ready? Or how many smart teams will pull reclamation projects off the scrap heap in the transfer portal and end up with a great starter (who then may threaten to do the transfer portal unless he's paid)? Still a LOOOOOONG way to go until we know how all the NIL stuff will eventually play out.

The moment the article started with "coolest-looking, most iconic" I knew the list was going to be garbage. Those are two completely different things. The Model T and VW Beetle are iconic, would you argue those are two of the coolest-looking cars ever? Most iconic? Basically it's huge, popular programs that have kept the same design forever: USC, Bama, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, etc. Coolest-looking? That's a completely different list. Some of the special helmets from the military academies are among the coolest-looking helmets I've seen. Many of Oregon's designs. Some of the alternates I've seen from SDSU, Indiana, ASU, and Northwestern. But a pure white helmet with a navy blue stripe? A crimson helmet with a white block number? What in the world makes those cool? (Then, of course, you have some that just go way overboard, like Oregon's pink helmets or whatever Maryland tried to do with that abysmally ugly state flag. I got vertigo just glancing at that thing.) IMHO, the only "iconic" helmets that are cool are Michigan, FSU, and Texas. The rest are simply boring.

Huh. I understand questioning his coaching and his decision to jump ship. But questioning his recruiting? That's the one thing that never seemed to be a problem. Even QB - he got a five-star and a couple of four-stars. The fact that they didn't produce during his time here and/or he chose to go with the grad transfer isn't really a function of recruiting.

What is your ultimate goal: Stay long-term and win national championships at Oregon To to the NFL Return as HC to the SEC (like UGA) (Can you tell the last two coaches have left me gun-shy?)

Bears have competition at nickel cornerback brewing BEARSWIRE.USATODAY.COM The Bears are set outside at cornerback. But there’s competition at nickel cornerback brewing between Tavon Young and Thomas... Some good things being said about the former Oregon CB.

Tank McNamara by Bill Hinds for May 21, 2022 | GoComics.com WWW.GOCOMICS.COM May 21, 2022 Where we all are...

Remember those pocket schedules they used to give out? Somewhere I still have one of those featuring Reggie Ogburn on the cover, and I believe another one with Vince Goldsmith. And I don't think it counts as memorabilia, but I still have the newspaper clipping of the AP Top 25 the first time the Ducks appeared in it in the Rich Brooks days.

Favorite of all time was when Steve Spurrier heard about a fire in the Auburn library that destroyed about 20 books: "The real tragedy was that 15 hadn’t been colored yet." Now that's funny.

To some extent, I do understand the idea that it is not the responsibility of football players to fund the women's golf team. At the same time, my prediction is that if something like this passes in any state, one of two things will happen at every affected university: 1. Schools will drop football entirely or drop out of FBS and focus on smaller sports, much like many smaller private universities operate (Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, etc.). Apparently Cal, Stanford, and UCLA are already considering this if the bill passes. 2. Schools will drop most sports other than football, men's and women's basketball, and enough cheap women's sports to satisfy Title IX. They'll just become football and basketball factories and forget all about volleyball, baseball, gymnastics, etc. One of the big challenges in all of this is that it puts schools in an impossible situation. Title IX says overall opportunities in women's sports must be equivalent to men's sports. Since there are no women's football teams, with 85 scholarship athletes, that means a bunch of Olympic sports like swimming and soccer must be funded. But this law at the state level would also basically say that the main source of funding for these women's opportunities must dry up. I also find it stupidly ironic that apparently one of the motivators of this bill is to help minority athletes. Yet to get the bulk of this money, they have to get a degree. How many of these kids actually get degrees now? How many are being prepared to do so entering college or while in college? For many players (minority or not), this is not a realistic goal - they're just there to score touchdown or hit threes. They simply are not prepared to succeed academically, and colleges mostly worry about keeping them eligible, not graduating them. So now we give them a bunch of money only if they do something for which many have never been prepared? Brilliant. How about raise it to half a million if they get doctorates? The ones who already get their degrees are the most prepared to be successful in life; the ones who have little chance of getting their degree are the ones who probably need the most help, but they're the ones who'll get the least help. Not only that, but the best of them (athletically) leave early for the chance to score a big contract in the NBA, WNBA, or NFL. Now you tell them they have to choose between a certain $800,000 if they stay all four years, or the possibility of much more in a pro contract if they leave early? Look at how many leave early and don't even end up getting drafted (Dux football had at least three this year). And people ask me why I left California...

Let's hope they have something special planned for the unis - but not ridiculous "special," like the pink highlights or the orange socks.

Sorry, caught a typo - I think you meant to write "Ducks BEATING Bama (NCG) 2023." Happy to help...

My wife's bucket list includes renting a supercar (Ferrari, Lamborghini) and driving the roads around the Amalfi coast, ever since we did that in a crappy mini-compact rental a few years back. Me, I'm more the '59 Coupe de Ville type of person, and those simply don't fit on our European roads.

Curious - what are "our teams" in Utah? I grew up in Oregon even before the Seahawks and latched onto the Steelers because most locals were 49ers fan and my family escaped Cali so I wasn't interested in following them. Most of us ended up fans of the Steelers, Raiders, Cowboys, Rams, etc. - the teams most often featured on TV because they were good. Wondering if it's the same around the Wasatch range.

The only way any of this gets addressed is by Congress. Hope it's not a political statement to say I generally want gov't to stay out of stuff like this, but this is increasingly just complete chaos.

Another beautiful example. Personally I'd probably go with the GTO, but this would be a close second. I hate that the Pontiac brand doesn't exist anymore.

Funny thing is that as much as I love football, I don't really go to games. I've seen the Ducks play in person literally ONE TIME - my wife got us fantastic tickets to see Herbert and the Ducks get absolutely slaughtered by a crappy Arizona team in Tucson. Never even been inside Autzen. I've seen the Cardinals play a few times, and most importantly saw my Steelers destroy Tennessee at Heinz Field on Thursday Night Football a few years ago. Been courtside at a few Clippers games and saw my namesake and the Showtime Lakers play in the Great Western Forum a few times. Lots and lots of Pepperdine basketball and volleyball games. Suns, Mercury, Rattlers, Angels, Dodgers, Coyotes, and Diamondbacks a few times. But bucket list? If Oregon made the NC game or the Steelers went back to the Super Bowl, frankly I would prefer to watch it on a 60" TV in the comfort of my home. My only bucket list thing (and we'll probably do this pretty soon) is to see Portugal play in person. (Can't call is soccer any more - I have to do "football" and "American football".) If I had the chance to do NBA or something like North Carolina or Kansas basketball courtside, I'd do that in a heartbeat - but you can see the whole court from that close. Football you miss half the action even if you have great seats.

That's for sure. Grew up in southern Oregon and loved the area, but the winter weather and intense fog in that area gets old fast, as does having a small, limited airport. Couldn't have lived there while traveling 50,000 miles a year for business. Lived in LA and enjoyed being by the ocean, close to my alma mater in Malibu, and having everything you could ever want in terms of food, merchandise, sports, and entertainment nearby, but the crime, smog, traffic, and graffiti were out of control, as were the taxes and the cost of living. Lived in Phoenix for years and loved how easy it was to get around, 8 months of fantastic weather, best sunsets anywhere, easy airport, and low cost of living - but 4 months of 114 degrees, nothing but tan, and *&^! scorpions in the house got really old. Now living in Braga, Portugal. Low cost of living and a beautiful area, but as a small city it lacks the diversity I've grown used to (e.g. no decent Mexican restaurants), and still really struggling with the language. Plus not really easy to watch college football and having an eight-hour difference from clients on the west coast of the US is a pain. Good and bad...

That is downright gorgeous. There's just nothing like classic Detroit metal.

Well, those are three different questions: what car would I have if I had my choice, most beautiful car, and "best" (however that's defined) car ever built. What car I would want is based partly on usability - I wouldn't really drive a '31 Bugatti Royale around my city. Most beautiful car is just one criterion - looks. Maybe the '31 Royale, maybe a '38 Cord, maybe a '67 Pontiac GTO, or a '59 Coupe de Ville. Best car would have to be a combination of a variety of factors - maybe functionality, dependability, looks, fun?

As a resident of Europe, believe me, this is my daily life...