Friday, November 26, 2010

WOW! THE SEASON IS WINDING DOWN...

The NCAA football season is winding down, and who would have guessed anyone would beat the Boise State Broncos? Not me. I knew Nevada would at least give them a good game, and the Wolfpack did just that, and more. Nevada won the game 34-31, and as one of the ESPN announcers said, Boise State is now "off the radar" for the national championship.

I don't know if you saw any of that game or not, but it was a thing of beauty. While I don't count myself as a Boise State fan, I did think it would have been kind of cool for a national title to happen within shouting distance of where I live... but pride goeth before a fall. The game was tied 31-31 with something like nine seconds left, and Boise State had the ball. BSU quarterback Kellen Moore heaved a "hail Mary" pass downfield to receiver Titus Young, who made a spectacular catch. It put BSU in range for an easy field goal to win the game with two seconds left!

But after that miracle play, the Bronco players were celebrating like the game was over! I saw that, and my thought was "Hey... guys... your kicker has to make the field goal first..." And their kicker pushed his kick to the left and the game went into OT.

Boise State got the first possession, and when they had a fourth down and what should have been another easy field goal, their kicker missed AGAIN. On Nevada's possession, their kicker was true and it ended up 34-31.

It looks like the Broncos finally ran out of miracles. I feel somewhat sad about it, but I am also a bit relieved. I do admit some shame in knocking the Western Athletic Conference, as it looks like there is actually another tough team in that league besides Boise State. By knocking the WAC, I was knocking all the other teams besides Boise State, and in college football, anything can happen on any given day.

Which brings us to next Saturday, of course!

While it seems like there should be no way on earth the Oregon State Beavers should be able to beat the Oregon Ducks, it would not surprise me at all to see it happen.

Should it happen, it won't be the end of the world for me as a Duck fan. I have been a Duck fan for enough years to know that Oregon getting wins is nothing to be taken for granted. There have been a few Civil War games in the past when the Ducks appeared to be the better team by far, but did not come out on top.

The big key for Oregon State, of course, is for their defense to show up. Even if the Ducks have an off night on offense, their offense is probably better than average. Oregon has shown a weakness for giving up big plays here and there, and the Beavers will have to hope their quarterback Ryan Katz is at the top of his game, that running back Jacquizz Rodgers can bust a few big runs, and that the Ducks relax on the pass coverage.

The key for Oregon is to not deviate from the attitude they have adhered to all season. Love him or hate him, their coach Chip Kelly has done a magnificent job keeping the team sky high all the time, all season long. He and his coaching staff have also done a wonderful job making adjustments at halftime on both offense and defense, so even if the Beavers get out to an early lead next Saturday, I wouldn't write too much into it. Kelly keeps them focused, and if they get behind, it seems only a matter of time before they catch up and move ahead.

Before tonight's 48-29 win over Arizona, Oregon wasn't commenting much about the Civil War. I am not sure who it was that said if Oregon wins game number 11 (tonight's game against Arizona), they won't lose game number 12 (against OSU next week). Whoever said it, I agree.

The opportunity to play for a national title is something that doesn't come around every year. If the Beavers take that away from the Ducks, I have to say it won't be the end of the world for me as a Duck fan. Seriously, for me the worst part of it would be losing in-state superiority and also having to listen to certain OSU fans I know lord it over me for the next few years! LOL! The reason it wouldn't be so devastating is that with their win tonight, the Ducks clinched a BCS bowl game. That is also something that doesn't come along every year.

Beaver players and fans need to be thinking about their game at Stanford tomorrow, because they have to get that one out of the way before the Civil War. On one hand I'd like to see the Beavers win that one, naturally because they are an Oregon team. On the other hand, should they find some way to upset Stanford in Palo Alto, it would make them tougher to play next weekend as they would be on a really nasty high.

As it is, I'm not sure OSU's coach Mike Riley has figured out how to motivate his team from one week to the next. The Beavers are so up and down this year... you never know which team is going to show up next. Will it be the pushovers (losses to UCLA, Washington and Washington State), or will it be the giant-killers (wins over Arizona and USC)?

My guess is it will be something in between. But in college football... you never know what will happen!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

THIS IS RIDICULOUS

While I have tried to keep this blog apolitical, and although I will attempt to do so in the future, I couldn't let this one go:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/11/24/martin.michelle.obama.palin/

If you are a Sarah Palin fan, don't just stop reading the article because you think she is right about everything and because the author of the article is immediately critical of her. Read what U.S. Army Major Gen. Paul Monroe has to say, about halfway down the page. Then decide whether what Palin is blabbering about is right or not.

If you can even admit that you agree with her in lots of instances but that in this case she is overreaching a bit, you're maybe on the road to recovery. 8-)

I can say with certainty that kids were in far better shape 30 years ago than they are today. P.E. was a daily occurrence at school, and every day it included some hard exercise. Over the last 30 years, school curriculum has been gradually degraded by cutting out P.E., not making it a requirement, etc. Now we have a celebrity presidential wannabe talking about how the First Lady promoting physical activity equals more government intrusion into our personal lives? Or talking about how the First Lady believes parents can't do the job required to keep their kids in good shape? Michelle Obama has never hinted at either.

Good grief... reinstate P.E. as a school requirement wherever we can, increase the quality of school lunches, and for heaven's sake, if the First Lady wants to use her status to help promote good health and healthy choices, shut up and let her do it!

I tend to trust Paul Monroe (and Michelle Obama) a lot more on this issue than I trust someone who looks for an anti-government angle in *everything*. In her vain attempts to cast everything in an "anti-government" light, this time Palin casts common sense aside.

Friday, November 19, 2010

WHAT'S ON THE iPOD? No. 1

This is a list of what came up on my iPod when I set it to "shuffle play". What's on your iPod?

‎1. Mogwai - Friend of the Night
2. The Delgados - All Rise
3. Third Eye Blind - Never Let You Go
4. Wire - Blessed State
5. Beatles - I Want You (She's So Heavy)
...6. Pearl Jam - Green Disease
7. The Guess Who - Undun
8. Ebeling Hughes - Transfigured
9. Harry Nilsson - 1941
10. Jordan Zevon - Camila Rhodes
11. Ween - Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down)
12. Darker My Love - Add One To The Other One
13. Godspeed! You Black Emperor - Storm
14. Los Lobos - Whiskey Trail
15. M83 - Run Into Flowers
16. Fleetwood Mac - That's Enough For Me
17. Sugar - Man On The Moon
18. Smashing Pumpkins - Beautiful
19. David Sylvian and Robert Fripp - Brightness Falls
20. Jane's Addiction - Classic Girl
21. Truckasaurus - Up, Up, Down, Down, L, R, L, R
22. Massive Attack - Incantations
23. The Merry-Go-Round - Listen, Listen
24. Duncan Browne - Fauvette
25. Todd Rundgren - Worldwide Epiphany
26. The Replacements - Rock 'N' Roll Ghost
27. The Velvet Underground - Beginning To See The Light
28. Ambrosia - You're The Only Woman
29. Youssou N'Dour - Yo Le Le (Fulani Groove)
30. Grateful Dead - Not Fade Away
31. The Byrds - Mae Jean Goes To Hollywood
32. The Nazz - It's Not That Easy
33. Simon and Garfunkel - Somewhere They Can't Find Me
34. John Cale - Secret Corrida
35. Smashing Pumpkins - 1979
36. Todd Rundgren - Fidelity
37. Little Feat - Old Folk's Boogie
38. My Bloody Valentine - You Never Should
39. King Khan adn the Shrines - Welfare Bread
40. The Replacements - Valentine
41. The Bangles - Going Down To Liverpool
42. Pete Townshend - Parvardigar
43. Gordon Lightfoot - Minstrel Of The Dawn
44. Translator - Necessary Spinning
45. Meat Puppets - I Am A Machine
46. King Crimson - Elephant Talk
47. Steve Earle - Brand New Companion
48. Porcupine Tree - Waiting - Phase One
49. Porcupine Tree - The Joke's On You
50. Mogwai - Hunted By A Freak
51. Robert Wyatt - A Beautiful Peace
52. Faith No More - Evidence
53. Shearwater - Missing Islands
54. The National - Terrible Love
55. Boston Spaceships - Sight On Sight
56. Mercury Rev - Sudden Ray of Hope
57. Wilco - Handshake Drugs
58. Todd Rundgren - Tic Tic Tic It Wears Off
59. Gov't Mule - Devil Likes It Slow
60. John Cale - Circus
61. The Helio Sequence - Repeater
62. Genesis - Tonight, Tonight, Tonight
63. Frank Zappa - Echidna's Arf (Of You)
64. Robert Pollard - Strictly Comedy
65. Jack Logan - Good Times, Bad Memories
66. Shooby Taylor - Stout-Hearted Men
67. Yo La Tengo - I'm Set Free
68. Keith Emerson Band - The Parting
69. The Who - The Ox
70. Talk Talk - Today
71. The Who - God Speaks Of Marty Robbins
72. Collective Soul - When The Water Falls
73. Catherine Wheel - Half Life
74. Pete Seeger - We Shall Overcome
75. Echo & The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon
76. Mercury Rev - Tides Of The Moon
77. Low - Untitled
78. Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians - So You Think You're In Love
79. Harry Nilsson - Good Old Desk
80. The Feelies - Too Far Gone
81. Chris Squire - Hold Out Your Hand
82. The Ataris - The Radio Still Sucks
83. Rodd Keith - Hippy Happy Land
84. Simon and Garfunkel - At The Zoo
85. The New Pornographers - Miss Teen Wordpower
86. Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band - Sugar 'n Spikes
87. Pearl Jam - Love Boat Captain
88. Rolling Stones - Emotional Rescue
89. Robert Palmer - Sailin' Shoes
90. Pink Floyd - Eclipse
91. Jimi Hendrix - Hey Joe
92. Hall & Oates - I Can't Go For That
93. Stevie Wonder - Higher Ground
94. Neil Finn and Bic Runga - Precious Things
95. Joni Mitchell - Real Good For Free
96. Cheap Trick - Low Life In High Heels
97. Van Morrison - Domino
98. Warren Zevon - The Heartache
99. The Velvet Underground - I'll Be Your Mirror
100. The Flaming Lips - All We Have Is Now

Sunday, November 14, 2010

10-0... WILL IT LAST?

Still having a great time as an Oregon Duck football fan. Two more conference games to go, one at home against Arizona, and the final game in Corvallis against Oregon State.

Oregon barely got past Cal in Berkeley last night 15-13, but they did what they had to win the game. Cal controlled the game at the line of scrimmage, which is something that has not happened to the Ducks all season. And Oregon got lucky when Cal's kicker Tavecchia stutter-stepped during his approach on a successful field goal that put Cal ahead 16-15... but Cal was penalized for the missteps and the field goal didn't count. Tavecchia missed his second attempt and the score remained 15-13. Then the Ducks masterfully ran off a huge chunk of time at the end of the game to preserve the win.

Oregon's detractors are going to salivate because this game exposed some of Oregon's vulnerabilities and to them, this will mean Oregon will lose its last two games. To them, I say a win is a win. Oregon won at Cal, and they are still unbeaten. And they still need to take things one week at a time.

I wish I could say the Oregon State Beavers won yesterday too, but they were beaten in Corvallis by the Pac-10 Conference doormats, Washington State, 31-14. Oregon State's season seems to be going in the opposite direction from Oregon's. The Beavers are now 4-5, with three very difficult games ahead. They play USC next weekend in Corvallis; somehow they always seem to upend the Trojans at Reser Stadium, so I'll go with them to pull off the upset. In two weeks though, they have to go to Palo Alto to play Stanford. Then December 4, it is the Civil War game against Oregon.

While there is a very chance Oregon could end the regular season 12-0, Oregon State could very well end the year 4-8 and with no bowl appearance. I am hoping the Beavers can win their next two games against USC and Stanford to make themselves bowl-eligible with 6 wins, but then of course I hope they get stomped by Oregon in the season finale.

Again, like everyone else, Oregon needs to take things one week at a time. They don't play next weekend, which allows them lots of time to prepare for Arizona on 11/26. It will be a good game, as Arizona has a good defense and also has QB Nick Foles back from a knee injury. It will be higher-scoring than 15-13, but it might be as close as a couple of points!

That is the same day Boise State plays perhaps its toughest conference opponent, Nevada, in Reno. That ought to be a good game too.

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