Drake

Coach Johnson led Oregon track and field to multiple national championships. Then things started to unravel and his contract was not renewed. The circumstances and rumors that led to that decision have definitely hurt the program. Nike and Alberto Salazar settled a lawsuit with Mary Cain with allegations of coaching abuse with regards to optimal weight for women athletes. Similar accusations had been circulating around Robert Johnson’s track program regarding optimal weight. Perhaps, not so surprising that his contract was not renewed.

No matter how many teams are in a playoff, and how many games each conference plays. Invites and seeding by committee will never be without some type of controversy. However, the CFP has taken steps to be more entertaining. Not that I think a 12th seeded team will have a chance to win, but because there will be interesting matchups. The playoff showcases meaningful games with top teams from around the country that normally may never play each other. Should be fun.

When Chip arrived at Oregon, Bellotti was looking to make large scale changes to the offense. Chip’s uptempo spread offense with zone reads was innovative and explosive. Looking at time of possession you would think Oregon was trounced. I have to wonder how much control that Ryan Day gives Chip. With a few quick 3 and outs does he get a nervous twitch about his new OC? Chip will have the highest rated players he has ever coached. However, they were already expected to compete for a National Championship before Chip arrived. Is nothing short of a Natty the measuring stick of success.

Utah and OSU created huge problems for DM. I suppose both defenses would have created problems for true freshman QBs. The obvious concerns are his 9 ints vs. 11 TDs, and the 25 sacks the opposition were able to record. Those are obvious red flags considering he was used sparingly a few games. The good news is that we have the luxury of having a 5* QB on our sidelines. He has potential, but he really needs to work at his craft. At least it sounds like the QB coach has solid material to work with. Let’s work on throwing it to the right guys and vastly improve his ability to read defenses.

Let me see… Big wallet donors contribute funds to bring in a coach, and then spend stupid amounts of money on NIL. Donors are now fully invested, and expectations soar. The coach “fails” to meet expectations. Donors put pressure on AD to fire the Coach. Coach gets fired, but still continues to receive millions from original contract signed. Big wallet donors contribute funds to bring in new coach… Wash, rinse, and repeat. The carousel never stops.

I guess I am not that grumpy when I go to the games. I Never have thought that the wave is something that I need to eliminate…lol… Let people have fun, if that somehow includes the wave, then I won’t stand in the way. However, I do think it is entertaining to watch the guy that is trying to start a wave, and nobody around him wants to help. I know the stadium needs improvements. For that, I will definitely get behind adding to everyone’s game experience.

Oregon's uniforms through the years WWW.NFL.COM Check out Oregon's best uniforms through the years. Nike has definitely helped with the branding of Oregon Duck sports. Having a retro uniform roll out is cool, and keeping things fresh year to year is what we do…however, there have been a few duds along the way that can stay permanently retired. I am not a huge fan of grey pants, and/or jerseys. I just need to remember that if the players and potential recruits think the uniforms are cool, then I am good with it as well.

Obviously it is early, but it looks like a solid beginning. One name missing from the top 25 is Alabama. Tough to stay at an elite level without the high level of recruits that they enjoyed while Saban was coach. I will be interested to see if DeBoer can keep both oars in the water while in the turbulent water of trying to maintain an elite level of recruiting, while replacing his OC, at what seems like an important time in the recruiting process. Have to laugh that Grubb, his previous OC, was hired by the Seahawks.

Expectations are much higher at some programs. DeBoer inherits a solid roster at Alabama and he will be expected to win from day one. Pretty sure winning 60%, or the 7 to 8 wins a year the article discusses, does not keep you employed at Alabama for very long. Contrast that to Cal…45% keeps you employed for 6 seasons and counting.

Chip can also be a liability. I know that if DL announced that he had hired Chip Kelly I would actually be somewhat disappointed with the hire. Kelly’s best years are behind him and he already has stated and demonstrated that he doesn’t like recruiting. It takes an all in team effort to maintain an elite level of recruiting. It will be interesting to see if Kelly transitions to the tOSU structure as gracefully as Day hopes he will.

All committee members probably have some bias. Utah, Baylor, and Michigan were represented on the selection committee, at least last year. The expanded playoff eliminates some controversy. The seeding of some teams will probably always bring some issues. Teams 13, and 14 might also get ruffled. Not that they have a chance to win, but some pretty big money is involved. Overall, if we are going to name a Champion, this seems like an improvement, but there will always be some chaos every year.

A new coach that is a proven winner is a good acquisition for the Chargers. I see that he has brought back Herbert’s “preferred” QB coach coach that left the Chargers last year to go to the Texans. He also brought his DC from Michigan, and hired Greg Roman as OC. Roman worked with Harbaugh at Stanford. Roman left the Ravens to work with Harbaugh. He has had great results as an OC in the league. He is the guy to hire to improve the Chargers running game. The Chargers need to protect Herbert. He takes too much of a beating. The Chargers were over the salary cap last year and went 5 - 7 last year. Harbaugh will need to assess the players and determine what changes can be made. Improvements along the OL would be a good start. Once again Herbert needs to learn a new offense. There will be a learning curve, but the Chargers will be a better team with the changes already made.

Lol I hate the NBA Comments crack me up. Whiny players, no defense, they don’t play like I want them to play, etc, etc….I do remember Doug Moe and the Nuggets not playing defense…we set the memorial Coliseum record for most point scored against them. 156 to 116 in 1983. 40 years of no defense. At least they give the sports bars live sports programming. Everybody has reasons to not watch certain sports, but for a long time the Blazers were the only game in town. Now we have another choice… Portland Timber soccer…sigh…not a fan. Although there is an active baseball sports group that has offered to buy the Red tail golf course in Beaverton to build a baseball stadium. I would definitely buy tickets for that.

Had season tickets through most of the Drexler era, until 3 years ago. The Portland crowd that attends games is knowledgeable and always very supportive. As for rebuilding, and trading Lillard. If he actually asked to be traded, then he deserved that his request be honored. The guy gave his all for the Blazers, and Portland fans loved him for it. Rebuilding in the NBA is painful and tedious. The team is a mess right now. They do need to tank the rest of the season and get another high draft pick. Who knows, they just might break the Sam Bowie, and Greg Oden draft curse. “Lickety brindle, up the middle.” Rip City will be back.

The biggest problems would be money and who controls it. Whomever controls the money, has the power. College football should be reorganized for many reasons. On the monetary side, conferences are currently negotiating media deals independently. Ever hear of “divide and conquer”? The media currently is winning the most important battle. They get to broadcast college football for less than it is worth. The NFL garners in excess of $11 billion in media rights revenue, college football around $2 to $3 billion. Is the NFL really 4 to 5 times more popular? There is an opportunity to capture more revenue. The problem is that college football needs to reorganize in order to capture that revenue. They need to collectively bargain as one unit with the media. Which means who then distributes that revenue? Is it distributed evenly? Will Universities and their mega donors all agree to a wholesale reorganization? Will everyone go quietly to their assigned conference? Will they agree on distribution of revenue? Good luck with all the operations, legal, and ego problems!!!

Nice!!! Gatlin Bair and Roderick Pleasant should have a match race. Roderick has the high school record in California in the 100 meters at 10.14 and Gatlin runs 10.15. For high school kids that is wicked fast. Roderick plans on running for the track team, which just means he will get faster. Not sure we have had guys this fast on the track just out of high school, and football speed is bit different, but a good receiver with this speed creates problems for the opposing DBs, including Roderick.

The networks have a lot of time to fill during a football game. Since Mahomes, and boyfriend Travis, connect on a lot of big plays, we all get to see the now obligatory shot of Taylor celebrating. Mahomes is partially to blame. Now if Taylor was dating someone who played center, like brother Jason, there would be far less celebration on a regular basis, and therefore far less Taylor.

The show must go on. The question becomes will the players show up?

Dorlus in beast mode. What a great spin move. Cool clip. He embarrassed the lineman and #73 who was watching thought he might get run over as well.

Looks to me like who has the bigger wallet to “lawyer up”, donors at Tennessee, or the NCAA.

Lawsuits will definitely decide the landscape of collegiate sports. The lawsuits brought forth on behalf of student athletes have an eye on the billions of dollars that are associated with college sports. However, not all colleges are created equal. Colleges certainly do not participate equally with the billions that are generated. If employee status is granted, then some colleges would be forced to eliminate sports because of the costs. If sports get eliminated, then opportunities to compete for many student/athletes are also eliminated. Employee status creates so many different issues and costs. How about a collective bargaining unit demanding higher pay? Maybe a player strike? In the end, we all will pay more for the privilege of watching sports. At some point it just gets too expensive.

Have a friend that attended every away game for a year. Kind of a milestone birthday thing… Unfortunately, his milestone birthday thing was in 2016. Safe travels.

2023 Enrollment totals….Grad and undergrad….(useless trivia info) Oregon. 26,843 tOSU main campus. 60,540. Illinois. 56,916 Minn. 54,955 Purdue. 51,528 Mich. 51,225 Rutgers. 50,737 Penn. 50,028 MSU. 50,023 Wis 48,956 Indiana. 47,002 Maryland. 40,792 Neb. 23,805 Northw. 23,161 I attended Oregon many moons ago. When possible I enjoy strolling through the campus for the memories, and to see the changes over the years. Taking a stroll around campus takes on a new meaning at some of the BIG Ten campuses. Students really have to plan ahead for that class across campus. For anyone wanting to see some of these campuses while attending an away game. Bring comfortable shoes.

Hurt feelings? One play and a player can be lost for the year. Like it, or not, the transfer portal is here to stay. It has changed the game. Oregon has chosen to adapt to the change and use it to bring in proven talent at positions they feel need depth. The reality of sports in general might be considered harsh. From grade school to the professional level any player can get hurt physically, or emotionally. What do you propose to do about that?

Oh my…just how good is DL and his support at addressing the on field needs to compete at the highest levels? I am kind of in awe right now.