Mudslide

I happen to be one of those lucky 5 guys in 1964 who won the world's first and only SmelloVision TVs. SVTV Corp...look it up...went out of business for some reason (??) before they had a chance to officially launch this amazing product. I have kept mine in working order all these many years. It was responsible for losing one marriage and winning another (fractured septum). Anyway Axel, you must have been one of the other 5 people to win one of these SVTVs back in '64. Because...you exactly nailed the stench coming from both of the Utah games. (Although...I noted just a tiny hint of Mojave-aged tuna.) Good job, brother.

Hey, I'm older than all you young'uns and I think that uni is the bee's knees.

I recall that NBC's 1991 purchase of the broadcast rights for Notre Dame football was hailed by many in the business as a long term business loser for ND, but a game changer for college football. Bidding wars for conference broadcast rights soon lit up the sports world. ND? They did "okay" financially, but never outdrew (dollar or) viewership much of the Saturday lineup competition. One example I'm quite aware of came in 2018 when they went undefeated, 11-0, (mostly against the Sisters of the Poor quality teams) going into the Cotton Bowl against Clemson. (Clemson held them to ONE field goal. ) But late that season, during the week of the Pitt-Notre Dame game, unopposed at the 2:30 time slot, they drew 2.8 million viewers. Not bad. But while splitting the next time slot with another game, guess who drew 3 million....Oregon vs. Washington. ND was consistently out drawn during their best (results) year in decades. So...ND is no media slouch. But they're no big deal, either. I believe what makes them so desirable to the B4,034G is all about the marketing of their history and tradition. By the way, I can say the same about USC. Their football teams have been mostly pathetic for the last 14 years now...the years since they were caught with their Pre-NIL pants down.

Another great post article. Hmmm...I guess my information was wrong. I frequently hear the voice of Vin Skully whispering in my, uh, brain. HE SAID that USC and UCLA would be subsumed by a lesser Mexican soccer league. (Blocking is illegal in soccer, after all.) The Rose Bowl is now officially the Blue Agave Bowl, by the way. I understood that USC also featured a snickered return of Steve Sarkisian as mascot. Again, clearly incorrect information. OJ is the much better choice, anyway. (Ah, memories of OJ knifing through the defense.) Oh well. I had much faith in the Skully whisperer. No longer. Thanks for setting me right, Axel. (By the way, do you ice skate? With practice, I foresee a Double Axel happening.)

I think it is the B16G teams that care...not USC or UCLA.

Scheduling of the B16G West will be problematic, perhaps untenable, with just 2 teams 2,000 miles from any other...media markets be damned. I think the conference will be quite amenable to taking Oregon (and whoever) unless or until ND green lights joining.

Charles you are both, and so much more that is good for us fans AND UO sports enlightenment. A very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you!

We have come to take them away!

Clemson, Florida St., Miami, and the Sisters of the Poor would make most sense for the SEC...geographically, culturally, and financially. To me the most likely result of this money caldron is Ducks, ND, uw, and Stanford being added to the BLotsG. As I mentioned elsewhere, ND has scheduled U$C and Stanford through at least 2025 (U$C). So Stanford also makes a lot of sense for the BMillionG. It would then sew up major media, geographic and large alumni areas on the West Coast...and get the largest, most fanatic (and nutty) alumni following in the nation, Notre Dame.

ND has a long running series of games with both U$C and Stanford. Those teams make sense for the B16G to snag ND while the apple is ripe. ND plays those two teams for at least the next 3 years. Even Cal is on their docket. With scheduling being a potential bug ladled in the BWhateverG soup, I'd think there is motivation for ND to give up its long lived independence. Of course the ACC may have something to say about the ND scheduling as well. All this convoluted thinking swirling around my equally convoluted brain makes me think the 4 California teams are going to the BZillionG conference. Our Ducks? I think they're ACC/Big 12 bound......with one potentially large caveat. No one is talking about the machinations of the SEC. Wouldn't we be surprised to see them grab the Ducks and Butt Sniffers, Florida St. and Clemson. as part of their national super-conference?! Well, wouldn't it?! Travel can be minimized through division scheduling. Super Conference....hmmm. It seems it's our zeitgeist and I don't like it. College sports has always been in flux. But more than that, tradition has been served. It is maddening to watch it swirl down the drain these days.

Axel, you are one fine writer. Thanks for the great and entertaining read. Do you write for a living? If not...why not?!

Well, now hopefully they'll at least change that goofy B1G name.

Thanks, Hayward. That video is a great find and thoroughly enjoyable with morning coffee.

I think I must have had too much pomodoro pasta the day I wrote those. Memory is a fleeting thing at 77. Mea culpa.

Yeah, see? 1972 and I are both decrepit old codgers. Thanks for the correction.

1972, yeah, we're goofy both old codgers. But to refresh...Oregon played Auburn for the Natty in 2010, losing 21-18. Oregon played tOSU in a playoff game in 2015 and got their butts kicked 59-3.

1972, I think the Ducks only played in one natty. They were also in another playoff but got their fannies handed back to them by tOSU. But I think we're mostly in agreement. I hope the Ducks take the high road on this new playing field, for sure. But no matter what, it will be costly in either money or results. There is no question about that. Charles gives us another 2-3 years before the mud really starts flying. I'll give him that estimate. But no matter what direction the Ducks take, they will have an increase in expenses. And that means higher ticket prices. I honestly do not think we can yet predict with any accuracy what the future of NIL will hold. There may yet be some unforeseen agreements or laws that will dramatically affect, good or bad, the future of collegiate sports. But I'm just an grumpy old codger who finds joy in the way organized sports used to be. The greed factor has flooded pro and college sports. For me, the joy and glow of organized sports has dimmed. YMMV

Let's say we find a diamond in the rough...a 3* that flourishes ala Mariota. That transfer portal will be mighty tempting when you hear that TA&M or ? will give you $6 mil to transfer there. No, Oregon must play the money game or flounder. But as Charles says, enjoy the next 2 years before NIL gets completely out of hand. Or you get tired of watching 18 year olds become millionaires, eschewing (mostly) the value of education, while you struggle to afford season tickets. Or whichever comes first.

WR kind of fell apart at the end of last season. Nay...he imploded and looked terrible doing it. We have been told that he had some undiagnosed medical issue. I hope it wasn't just the yips...because that is what it looked like. My 72 year old wife could shoot better than he in his last 10 games. The team has much better quality of depth at SG this year which should cheer us all. WR is experienced in this league and has a world of potential. I hope he takes on SMITHRIVERDUCK's suggestion, plays with fire in his belly and assumes a demanding leadership role on the team.

Jerry Coleman, a former Padres announcer, had a slew of malaprops. In fact, he was almost as famous for them as Yogi. My favorite has always been.... "He slid into second base standing up!" And for those of you that have ever watched some thoroughbred racing, this from Michael Wrona at Golden Gate Fields (Bay Area)...speaking about the stretch run of the leader of a race.... "He's hanging on like granny's last tooth!"

I think it's actually "out of chaos comes order". It's a process, and one that doesn't end well in the physical world and perhaps collegiate sports, as well. In physics it's Big Bang (chaos - NIL) leading eventually to the coalescence of matter in galaxies, planets, etc. (order - gov't/NCAA rules)....which eventually leads to maximum, boring homogeneity and randomness (entropy - all teams are completely matched). Science has cogitated for decades on how to reverse entropy. And now college football gets its shot.

My bucket list is short and sweet. Catch a 40 lb. chinook in the morning, watch the Ducks win the Nattie in the afternoon, and hit a par 4 hole in one at sunset at Torrey Pines. Easy peasy.

Phoenix always reminded me of some sci-fi story where an alien craft picks up a HUGE hunk of concrete from the midwest and then dumps it in the middle of a desert...just to see what happens. The best thing about Phoenix is its proximity to the Grand Canyon....and that's many hours of driving away. I've lived a few places....including Oregon. Thanks That said, I wouldn't trade the Oregon coast for any area/town/city in the U.S. We have mountains (wonderful hunting), rivers and ocean (great fishing), proximity to large (ugly) cities, great surfing (the 'tow-in'), quiet, peaceful, and safe towns, etc. Sure, it rains a lot here (it's only water) but the temperatures are always mild. In fact it helps everything here grow like a plant nursery gone wild. Nope, I'm an unabashed fan of this area and wouldn't trade. In my book, coastal Oregon is paradise. (I'm allowed to change my mind if the Pacific Plate ever gives way, lol!!)

My handsomest car? Sometime ca. 1966 I had an opportunity to buy a 1957 M-B 300 SL Gullwing for...........$4,000. This was off of a new/used car dealer. $4,000. And it was in just this color....

I saw her once in Oregon. That drool never did wash out of my shirt.