Washington Waddler

Aside from money, it’s hard to fathom what the Trojan brain trust imagined the result would be from making this move. They have effectively put themselves on an island - both physically and psychologically - that makes them more like an independent than the member of a conference. Do they really think they’ll ever be anything more than a money-making, time-zone novelty to a conference that barely accepted Penn St and resists the idea of Notre Dame? They may add some Midwest recruiting clout, but it may be harder than they think convincing SouCal kids that it’s a good idea to play games in November in Minneapolis or Madison, especially with Oregon and others giving them an option. The only thing, aside from money, that I see they’ve gained from this move is the reputation of being a disloyal and utterly untrustworthy institution that’s willing to backstab anyone in pursuit of their delusional dreams of grandeur. No one - including their new conference and UCLA - will ever trust them again.

Thanks Mario.

You can’t help but mourn the loss of those who have survived adversity and transformed themselves. They are always an inspiration - a breath of fresh air. God speed Spencer, you are deeply missed.

Think all the NFL is looking for is any susceptibility to injury. His talent, passion and motor are known, and all that’s required is time in the saddle to eliminate any doubts.

It’s fascinating how, across the board, those fans of schools not being promoted in the media as contenders for top-tier conference membership are sounding the sage-like advice to wait, stay put, or form alliances, while the fans of schools supposedly being courted are channeling Chicken Little’s “the sky is falling!”, afraid of being left behind. It’s like watching a CFB version of 2012.

Agree. What a great read - playing teams that are passionate rivals as opposed to ones who just view you as time zone oddities? What were they thinking? However, I have to draw the line at Oram’s channeling of Jake Taylor. The idea of a cardboard cutout of Larry Scott being peeled a piece at a time with each Duck victory is beyond horrifying.

Maybe B1G is their Trojan Horse?

USC football - and UCLA while I’m at it - is a bit like surfing. So long as you’ve got the momentum of a wave behind you, it’s all good. But once the swells disappear, you’re dead in the water. Both programs have never known (and probably never will) how to create their own momentum. They just feed off the hard work of others, burning through enthusiasm, goodwill and excitement like it had an endless supply until they turn around one day to find the waves have all gone away. Clueless.

That’s got to be the most delightful sentence among all that Troylet drivel.

Makes me drool like a bloodhound just imagining Herbie running Chip’s version of the outside zone read.

With his experience and connections recruiting top-notch event assistants to the new facility should not be a problem.

I’m no lawyer, but it may be time for the FTC to review the traditional relationships of trust built over time between tv media and CFB’s cultural and financial investment by schools and fan bases in those relationship to see if any antitrust laws may apply as they might pertain to the FCC’s obligation to monitor antitrust activity by media corporations seeking to alter and monopolize markets previously built on these relationships. The move towards two mega conferences that affects the financial and cultural solvency of these long standing relationships between the private and public sectors could be interpreted as a violation by both Fox and ESPN as an attempt to restrain regional competition in their effort to acquire a monopoly that undercuts that well established relationship of trust (and financial solvency) between the sectors. Putting teeth in the FCC’s regulatory authority over attempts by Fox and ESPN to alter and monopolize this previously established relationship of trust might be the only way to create a limitation on the corrosive effect of tv media dollars. I know this is likely all hot air, but there has got to be some way of protecting something we all highly value from predators like Fox and ESPN who could care less. And without them, there is no poaching by B1G or the SEC.

Like um!

Like Mike Bellotti has considered, before Autzen’s expansion, we use to be a lot louder because the rebound volume was greater off the southern awning since it was lower and closer to the playing field. Not sure how you regain that advantage. Maybe a north side expansion with identical awning might do the trick?

There’s not much you can do when reality catches up to a coach who is unwilling to adjust to it. MC’s team produced during the Rose Bowl season, but the following year when opposing defensive coordinators played catch-up and studied his blue print, he never adjusted to their adjustments, and he lost his team’s faith in his vision.

Not coming from a financials background, I don’t pretend to grasp the contractual commitment difference between a tv and equity deal, but if one ties a percentage of a school’s value to private holdings irregardless of not knowing what may or may not effect a school’s future, I’d be inclined to question the wisdom of such a choice.

I get that. Volunteer fans were not the most hospitable to us traveling Ducks; almost as bad as the Michigan fans we sat around. Have to admit, if I ever hear Rocky Top again, it’ll be too soon. Welcome to the forum Dawg. Did a working stint in Atlanta a ways back (Sodom & Gomorrah is right), and enjoyed my trips to Athens. Lot of similarities to Eugene.

There’s a lot of interesting opinions stacking up out there in media-land concerning the eventual effect the move towards two super conferences will have on college football. Here’s an excerpt from one by a columnist at the Peninsula Daily News on the north olympic peninsula. Believe him to be partial to the Cougs. “The realignment will work . . . at first. The millions will be made for the networks and the lucky 32 or 48 or 64 programs included, but the shine will come off those nonsensical match-ups pretty fast, and the sport will be gutted of what makes it special and weird and different from the boring, corporate NFL: genuine regional rivalries and the passion of attending or holding a lifelong allegiance to a particular program.”

Finding her legs. It was only a matter of time.

Agree with TexasDuck that the SouCal teams aren’t so much running away from us as trying to shake up recruiting by changing conferences because they’ve been totally lost as to how to reclaim their traditional territory from us.

Nice to see that Trikweze Bridges, Steve Stephens IV and Patrick Herbert were part of this group. Learning to help others can’t help but benefit team chemistry.

Better late than never! Happy Birthday Charles! And how can crazed be considered anything but normal in a Duck fan if you’ve ever seen some Donald Duck cartoons, the model for our mascot.

The NFL model of control can only go so far in attempting to regulate the effect that media giants are having on college conferences because athletes aren’t the soul concern of universities. How could you implement NFL strategy in order to level the playing field If it could only lead to ridiculous scenarios such as drafting 4 and 5 star athletes but allowing 2 and 3 star to choose where they went? Students must always be the primary focus in the selection process. Another problem with the NFL model is how do you financially level the playing field between conferences? All the NFL commissioner has to do is deal with tv contracts and owners. A CFB commissioner would have to contend with university presidents, conference administrators and media corporations all of who have vested interest in maintaining there regional status quo. The advantage the NFL has over CFB is that it doesn’t have to deal with students, and it has effectively removed the power of regionalism from the decision process by maintaining control from beneath one umbrella. Regionalism defines college football, and students must always have the first say. You’ve got to start from there if you’re to ever find an answer.

Hi everybody, my name is Washington Waddler and I’m a Duckaholic . . . (Hello Washington Waddler) . . . and I’ve now gone almost ten minutes without thinking about USC or The Big Ten (clapping) . . . and . . . Ah Sh*t! Did I just fall off the wagon again? (Yes, but don’t stop trying!) . . . ah, thanks, I really need the support . . .

Some sports may be forced back into intramural status if the expected conference cut per school isn’t what programs are expecting.