First thing’s first: Congratulations Pete Carroll on a record-setting game!
Today the Ducks scored the most points ever on a Carroll-led USC team.
The concern now moves to the post game celebrations. With the increased amount of over-entitled DPS officers bicycling about the last few days, it’s only a matter of time before some cop bothers a law-abiding student just trying to walk to the next party in the West University neighborhood before someone gets fed up and throws a bottle or burns something.
Who wants to take the over-under on taserings? I’m setting it at 2.
In any case, I hope you’re all going to be safe out there… and that riots actually do not happen tonight.
By the way, kudos to TJ for intercepting that last pass. Eat it Pete Carroll.
As we approach Saturday let us take into account that Halloween has been a historically bad day for Eugene. Riots in the early 2000’s and late 90’s on Halloween night have been a catastrophe–just wait until you mix in a night game at Autzen coupled with the emotional high/low of the potential outcomes. The Commentator is no stranger to the riots. A former unnamed staffer is on the front cover of a late-90’s Daily Emerald ripping up a stop sign. It’s fun for the whole family.
It doesn’t help that, according to today’s front page article in the Emerald, the Bias Response Team was called when a student organized a “blackout Autzen” facebook group. Reactionists and non-sports fans alike came together to question the student’s motivation for the event and its “racial implications”.
Something about the way the Athletic Department is distributing tickets this year has spawned more complaints than last year from students who want tickets but feel they can’t get them because of the new system.
That has the ASUO nervous. What does the ASUO have to do with it? Well, it is the ASUO that the Athletic Department deals with in determining the number of tickets it gives to students, and the only direct, structural line of communication it has with the student body.
Martell Webster finished with 14 pts, 3 rebs and a block.
Well opening night came and went for the Trailblazers and I have to say, they looked pretty good. After watching the new combination of Steve Blake/Andre Miller terrorize the Rockets, it may just be that the point guard situation in Portland becomes some kind of two-headed monster. There’s just not many teams in the league who can put out a 2nd string that’s as good as Miller and I think that he’s going to end up killing the second teams of a lot of good NBA teams.
Although he looked like a broken marionette on offense, Greg Oden looks to have improved his patience on defense substantially. He finished with 5 fouls in 26 minutes while accumulating 12 rebounds and 5 blocks (Not fouling out the first game is a good step for Greg). If he can be a presence defensively and create a “bubble” around the paint he can have the same effect Yao Ming had on the Blazers last year in the playoffs (only, you know, on our side).
Continuing with the “homer” theme, how good is Aaron Brooks going to get? All of us who watched him at Oregon knew he was a great college player, but when you see just how quick he is compared to the rest of the professionals in the NBA it really puts his talent into perspective. That guy is going to be good.
Anyways, tonight was a good start to a good year. See you at the Rose Garden.
Posted in Oregon, Sports | Comments Off on Obligatory Pinwheel Post
In case you though that Blount was out of the picture after his apology letter today, you might be wrong.
I was looking at some Oregon Ducks sports news today when I came across an article on Foxsports that hinted at Blount’s possible return to actually playing for Oregon this year. That article led me to Rob Moseley’s blog post on the Register Guard website.
Oregon football coach Chip Kelly will address the status of suspended running back LeGarrette Blount with media following the Ducks’ walk-through today, UO officials said, including the possibility that Blount could play again this season.
Last week, a UO spokesman confirmed the Ducks had been in communications regarding Blount with an on-campus conflict management program.
Of course, being the Register Guard the story is vague and Moseley doesn’t really provide much evidence to prove that Kelly is actually going to put Blount back on the field.
But hey, it’s Eugene! Unsubstantiated rumors are what make this town run.
The Register-Guard’s Rob Moseley writes today that “[a]ll indications are that Oregon will unveil a retro-style uniform” on Saturday. Speculation is rampant, but I think I speak for everyone when I say that the best-case scenario is that they resemble those worn during the 1995 run to the Rose Bowl:
Unfortunately, at this point it looks like the Ducks’ best hope for winning the game is for Cal’s Jahvid Best to be so impressed with Oregon’s tasteful throwback fashion statements that he simply takes a knee every time he touches the ball rather than risk exposing them to unsightly sweat stains.
The jury’s still out on how good of a head coach Chip Kelly is, but if there’s something we now know for sure it’s that he’s a pretty nice guy.
After the Ducks’ disastrous opening night loss to Boise St., Oregon alum and season ticket holder Tony Seminary emailed Kelly to register his disappointment. Attached “in jest” was an invoice for Seminary’s expenses to attend the game totaling $439.
Seminary returned the check to Kelly after making a copy, and tells EDSBS “I now know why his kids would run through a wall for that guy, because who does what he did, right? That is simply amazing.”
According to ESPN.com, Byron Hout, the player that taunted Oregon’s LaGarrett Blount following Boise St.’s 19-8 victory, will not be suspended by Boise St. or the Western Athletic Conference.
Coach Chris Petersen of Boise St. said that Hout’s actions didn’t warrant a suspension. Instead, Petersen has opted for “handling it internally”. Likewise, WAC commissioner Karl Benson said he could not verify what Hout had said to Blount, and therefore further disciplinary action by the WAC was not justified.
This may come as a shock to some college football fans, including those from Oregon. Regardless of what Hout said to Blount, the action of speaking and taunting Blount is absolutely unacceptable (and after a win, no less).
Blount had no justification for punching Hout, no matter what Hout’s actions were. Here’s what I have a problem with: I’ve seen Blount publicly apologize, call Chris Petersen to apologize and call Hout himself to apologize. Where is Hout’s public apology for inciting Blount? Although Hout’s responsibility for the incident is certainly less than Blount’s, I have yet to see him own up to it.
The University of Oregon and the Pac-10 acted quickly in doling out punishment for Blount (although admittedly, the decision to not revoke his scholarship doesn’t seem to match his full year suspension in athletics). In doing so, they’ve shown their no-tolerance policy for such actions on the field.
Since the public hasn’t been told what Hout’s punishment will be, it leaves fans wondering whether or not the discipline will be adequate. Only by taking public disciplinary action, like suspension, in regards to Hout’s actions will the WAC and Boise St. be able to save face.
For now, their “internal discipline” leaves something to be desired.
Well our first Saturday of college football is over, and it had some interesting storylines indeed. Besides Oregon’s own loss (and suspensions) some pretty surprising things happened this weekend.
I’ve recently been informed by a source that wished to remain anonymous that LaGarrett Blount’s interaction with fans at Boise St. was less than honorable–and not just on Blount’s side.
Apparently upon exiting the stadium, Blount was threatened to have objects thrown at him by several fans, including chairs. Blount was also called several racial slurs, including “Stupid N-gger” several times.
No word yet on what kind of action Boise St. plans to take for it’s fans in the sections involved with the altercation with Blount, but for the sake of their program’s respect I hope they at least bring some kind of justice to the situation. One would think that kind of action would not be tolerated in the conduct code of Bronco Stadium.
Alright, well the Ducks lost tonight. That’s not really a big deal, to be perfectly honest. We’ve all been ready for a letdown ever since Dennis’ knee went all kablooey on us.
Really the best part of the night was when LaGarrett Blount punched a Boise State player right in the jaw. It makes the guy look like a jackass (on national TV no less), but in Blount’s defense it was probably a Zinedine Zidane situation: the guy probably deserved to get one in the face.
LaGarrett, I’m sure your reasoning was perfectly sound. I’m glad to see you’re so fired up–that’s what we need. None of this “Nick Aliotti let-them-have-as-many-yards-as-they-want-bend-and-not-break” bullshit.
According to multiple sources, including the Oregon Daily Emerald and The Oregonian, LaGarrette Blount has been suspended for the remainder of the season, but will inexplicably be keeping his scholarship, allowing him to attend school and use the same resources as other athletes.
No word yet on why this decision was made, but it’s a head scratcher. Additionally, I’m personally looking forward to see just what was uttered to Blount by Boise St. player Byron Hout. In all likelyhood the University of Oregon, particularly the Athletic Department, will keep a muzzle on Blount, leaving interested fans and students alike out of the loop. Can we get a lip-reader on this, please?
The track and field world championships are currently underway in Berlin, and a slew of 2008-2009 UO graduates (from what is arguably the greatest track team in school history) and Oregon-based runners have made strong showings. Here’s the breakdown on the UO grads, all of whom were NCAA champions in their respective events:
Galen Rupp placed 8th in the men’s 10,000 meter. His Nike training partner, Dathan Ritzenhein, took sixth.
Rachel Yurkovich, placed 12th in the javelin. She was the first U.S. woman to advance to the world championship final in the javelin throw since 1983.
Brian Theisen took 15th in the women’s heptathlon, setting a lifetime best in the 800 meter.
Ashton Eaton placed 18th in the decathlon. Eaton was in fifth place at the end of day one, taking second in the 100 meter dash and notching a lifetime best in the long jump.
And here’s the list for Oregon-based athletes:
Amy Yoder Begley and Shalane Flannigan, both from Portland, took sixth and 14th in the women’s 10,000 meter, respectively. Begley was the highest placing U.S. competitor in the event.
Nick Symmonds of the Oregon Track Club Elite has advanced to the semifinals in the men’s 800 meter.
Three other runners for the OTC will be competing in the 5,000 meter: Matt Tegenkamp, Chris Solinsky and Evan Jager
Portland runner Kara Goucher is looking to make a strong showing in the women’s marathon. Her main U.S. competition, world-record holder Paula Radcliffe, was forced to withdraw from the race.
