Yeah, I haven't blogged since I got up to Oregon and started working on finishing my M.Ed. Today marks the end of two of my three classes, though, and the two that are ending are the ones that required a ton of effort, energy, and e-focus. I have been able to pay attention to some things going on in the sports world, but not as many things as I would like. For instance: I haven't watched hardly any of the Blazers' summer league games. I think summer league is really fun, and this year might have been even more fun because of the way Jerryd Bayless has destroyed the opposition and Petteri Koponen has shown his abilities as a guard at this level. Something else I haven't talked about at all? How about NBA free agency or a few of the crazy trades (and trade ideas) that have been going on. Elton Brand? Baron Davis? Cory Maggette? Marcus Camby? (Not) Zach Randolph? Topics that interest me but that I haven't put any time into on this blog. Or I could have been talking about the fall of Jeff Francoeur. Or Chipper Jones' attempt to hit .400. Or Lofa Tatupu still being a great guy despite being charged with a DUI. Yeah, that one's pretty old, but it's still relevant and I haven't mentioned it until now. What's that? I failed to mention the University of Oregon football player who drowned earlier this week, when I've been on campus? Yep, until today. I was attending classes at the sight of the U.S. track and field Olympic Trials and didn't talk about the crazy atmosphere? True again. A guy who graduated from my high school became the first catcher to be charged with a loss as a pitcher in a game since 1901. (Thanks Jayson Stark.) How about the best swimming event in a long time, one that included three people from my high school – and could have had two more – competing against one of the best fields in the history of the sport, and I didn't mention it except on my other, non-sports blog? I did that too. Did I even mention the way Kevin Pritchard destroyed the rest of the association in the draft again this year? I don't think so.
All of that as a big way of apologizing and saying that I'm back. With a much lighter load for the rest of the term, and with the arrival of my iPhone, I plan on keeping things alive at this site for a good while to come.
And I'm putting in a new countdown. This one will tick off the days until the Blazers report to pre-camp camp. I'm giddy already.
Showing posts with label Ducks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ducks. Show all posts
Friday, July 18, 2008
Monday, December 31, 2007
Happy New Year
I'm listening to the game in Utah right now. The Blazers are going for 14 straight. Today has been a mess of a day, with me trying to figure out what's wrong with my car. There is something messed up with the transmission, which I thought was just the fluid, then thought it wasn't, but now I think it might be again. Then there's the debacle with my tire. The way the Ducks destroyed USF today was pretty good for getting my mind of the other stuff, but not completely. But if Portland can pull out this fourteenth win, well, the car worries will fade at least for a little while.
My brother Stephen and I showed up at the Rose Quarter box office around 4:00 on Friday to pick up the tickets for the game. While we were there I asked about tickets to the Sunday game with Philly. The woman at the window told me that the three levels of tickets we would have been willing to buy were all sold out already. This was on Friday afternoon. That was disappointing and also pretty cool.
We stayed around so we could get into the arena early and explore a little bit. Even though I had been to games in the Rose Garden, this was the first time I really walked around much. There were a few cool exhibits, particularly some stuff celebrating the championship team from 1977 and the finals teams from the early 1990s. Once we got to our seats we realized that dad was stuck next to a particular type of fan. This was a 30 or 40 something year old man, pudgy, with a beard. He was talking during the game to the players and coaches. Yes, talking. And he was saying some amazing stuff. "Nate, get them to play 'D.'" Stuff like that. At halftime dad moved over and sat on the other side of Stephen.
I was hoping that the rest of the crowd would be crazy, but I was kind of surprised that it was a little subdued. Well, it was subdued until the latter part of the third quarter. When the team really turned it on the crowd got rowdier, and that was a lot of fun. I enjoyed being part of the "M-V-P" chant during Brandon Roy's free throws. Most of the time that chant started in one of the other cheap sections. But there was one time that the chant was nearly automatic throughout the crowd, and it was pretty exciting. It was that sort of thing that happened often at the end of the game, and it was great to experience.
Two notes about the game:
My brother Stephen and I showed up at the Rose Quarter box office around 4:00 on Friday to pick up the tickets for the game. While we were there I asked about tickets to the Sunday game with Philly. The woman at the window told me that the three levels of tickets we would have been willing to buy were all sold out already. This was on Friday afternoon. That was disappointing and also pretty cool.
We stayed around so we could get into the arena early and explore a little bit. Even though I had been to games in the Rose Garden, this was the first time I really walked around much. There were a few cool exhibits, particularly some stuff celebrating the championship team from 1977 and the finals teams from the early 1990s. Once we got to our seats we realized that dad was stuck next to a particular type of fan. This was a 30 or 40 something year old man, pudgy, with a beard. He was talking during the game to the players and coaches. Yes, talking. And he was saying some amazing stuff. "Nate, get them to play 'D.'" Stuff like that. At halftime dad moved over and sat on the other side of Stephen.
I was hoping that the rest of the crowd would be crazy, but I was kind of surprised that it was a little subdued. Well, it was subdued until the latter part of the third quarter. When the team really turned it on the crowd got rowdier, and that was a lot of fun. I enjoyed being part of the "M-V-P" chant during Brandon Roy's free throws. Most of the time that chant started in one of the other cheap sections. But there was one time that the chant was nearly automatic throughout the crowd, and it was pretty exciting. It was that sort of thing that happened often at the end of the game, and it was great to experience.
Two notes about the game:
- Martell Webster's game didn't look very good on offense or with his stats, but I loved watching him play. He was hustling, he was working hard on both sides of the court, he was rebounding, and I just loved it. Outlaw and Jones are great too, and they really do give us a pretty formidable trio of small forwards. But I love Webster.
- Brandon Roy had another ridiculous layup in this game. I don't know if the highlight is floating around anywhere, so I'll just describe it. He got the ball at the top of the key, saw an opening, and took of for the hoop. As he took off, one of the Timberwolves stepped into the lane. I think it was Al Jefferson. Roy would have been called for a charge had he continued going up that way. So he didn't. He changed the axis of his body. Imagine a clock, with the ball as the center. His body rotated from six o'clock to around 7:30. He continued gliding through the air, and finished the layup softly with his right hand. It was beautiful. We all went nuts.
- Alright, I know I said two, but since I'm actually putting this up long after the streak ended tonight, I'm including this part. LaMarcus Aldridge decided to show up on offense tonight. For real. He had a career high. And even though we lost, it was good to see the kid put the ball in the hoop a lot. I think that will continue this season some, but I am fairly certain he'll be doing this sort of thing consistently in the next few years.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Injuries are my favorite
Let's get it out of the way: many teams in college football dealt with bad injuries this year. That's part of what has made the season so crazy. The reason I was so happy with Oregon's season mainly had to do with how the team fought through a bunch of their own bad injuries. There really is no excuse for losing a very winnable game, but when Dixon went out it felt like the season just ended. The most frustrating thing is that it seems the coaches knew he had a torn ACL. As much as I can't stand Brady Leaf, game planning for a game quarterbacked by him would have been far different from the plan with Dixon at the helm. And did they seriously think that a week and a half of rest would be enough to bring Dixon back from a torn ACL? Again, we should have won anyway, or we should have won the Cal game to take the two-loss prospect out of the picture, but was still really painful to lose the Heisman front-runner.
Nearly as painful as that game was the one that happened Friday night between Portland and Philadelphia. We went into Philly and took care of business for a little while, but something just happened. It was gross, and I only read the box score and recaps. Aldridge and Roy were both golden, which is great. But really, it hurts the team if only those two can produce. But the theme of this post is injury, not anything else...
...so I'll talk about the big Blazer injury news that's been floating around these last few days. Greg Oden is a BEAST. When I say beast, I mean a beast like this:
The stories are talking about the fact that Oden has put on 30 pounds since he was drafted. Maybe I should just quote the rest from the best coverage of this story, in Jason Quick's blog.
The difference in these two pictures might not be as obvious as many would think, but most probably remember the difference: Karl Malone had tons of muscle. There was so much bulk on his upper body. He was huge. David Robinson, while big, was lithe and cut. He was scary, but not because of how big he was. He was scary because he was in better shape than anyone else on the court. With Oden having a surgically repaired knee, McMillan thinks it would be better if he took a little of that weight back off so as to not increase the risk of injury on the knee. I agree, but it's also really exciting to see how committed to everything Oden is. I mean, he's maintained the fat percentage even though he can't hardly work out, only lifting weights. This kid is willing to do everything he needs to do.
The main reason I bring this up is that I might have finally come around to the "blessing in disguise" take on the Oden injury. In addition to Aldrdge being the focus of the offense down low and having to deal with the focus of the defense and Roy dealing with greater pressure, this actually does give Oden a chance to build muscle and work on his game and do other things before facing NBA competition. It also builds even more his desire to dominate, since he has to just sit, watch, and wait for an entire season. Man, injuries really are my favorite.
Nearly as painful as that game was the one that happened Friday night between Portland and Philadelphia. We went into Philly and took care of business for a little while, but something just happened. It was gross, and I only read the box score and recaps. Aldridge and Roy were both golden, which is great. But really, it hurts the team if only those two can produce. But the theme of this post is injury, not anything else...
...so I'll talk about the big Blazer injury news that's been floating around these last few days. Greg Oden is a BEAST. When I say beast, I mean a beast like this:
The stories are talking about the fact that Oden has put on 30 pounds since he was drafted. Maybe I should just quote the rest from the best coverage of this story, in Jason Quick's blog.And get this: A high-ranking Blazers source told me that Oden today still has the same body-fat percentage (7.8 percent) as he did when the Blazers drafted him, yet he has gained nearly 30 pounds, bringing him near 280 pounds.The body fat thing is crazy. A lot of the stories out there mention that Nate McMillan wants Oden to back off a little, and his reasons make sense. McMillan wants Oden to look more like this:
Translation: That's 30 pounds of muscle that has been attached to his upper-body (he hasn't been able to do any lower body weight training because of his knee surgery).
The difference in these two pictures might not be as obvious as many would think, but most probably remember the difference: Karl Malone had tons of muscle. There was so much bulk on his upper body. He was huge. David Robinson, while big, was lithe and cut. He was scary, but not because of how big he was. He was scary because he was in better shape than anyone else on the court. With Oden having a surgically repaired knee, McMillan thinks it would be better if he took a little of that weight back off so as to not increase the risk of injury on the knee. I agree, but it's also really exciting to see how committed to everything Oden is. I mean, he's maintained the fat percentage even though he can't hardly work out, only lifting weights. This kid is willing to do everything he needs to do.The main reason I bring this up is that I might have finally come around to the "blessing in disguise" take on the Oden injury. In addition to Aldrdge being the focus of the offense down low and having to deal with the focus of the defense and Roy dealing with greater pressure, this actually does give Oden a chance to build muscle and work on his game and do other things before facing NBA competition. It also builds even more his desire to dominate, since he has to just sit, watch, and wait for an entire season. Man, injuries really are my favorite.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Mad Dog
When I saw the headlines today about Greg Maddux re-signing with the Padres, I had caught a quick case of nostalgia. Somehow I missed the "Padres" part in my initial reading of the headline, and I wondered if he would be heading back to Atlanta to re-join Smoltz and Glavine. And I was really excited for a few seconds. Then I realized that the story was about him signing the deal with San Diego, and then I realized that it's probably better to not try to just relive the '90s. But for that second, I was ecstatic about the thought of having those three guys in the rotation with Hudson next year, with all the young guys battling for the number five spot. Well, unless Hampton actually comes back. Then we could have the best rotation from the turn of the century.
I only have a few things to say about the Oregon game on Saturday. The first thing that struck me was how much better I thought we looked against Cal and USC than we did against ASU. Maybe that's not true, but that's how it looked to me. The second thing that struck me was how dominant our offense was when we got into a rhythm. That offense looked unstoppable when things were going right. Sure, most teams would probably say that. But it reminded me of the Seahawks attack in 2005, back when Tobeck, Hutch, and Walter Jones just decimated defenses and Alexander was able to run all over them. Of course, that opened things up for the passing attack. That was exactly what it felt like watching Dixon and Stewart march all over the Sun Devils on Saturday. The last thing that struck me was how truly annoying LA fans are. I was watching the game at a sports bar here in Long Beach, and it was excruciating. The USC fans were really obnoxious as they watched the Trojans steam roll Oregon State. It made me wish even more that I was either at Autzen, with my family, or watching anywhere else in the world.
I don't think those things actually struck me in that order, I just listed them in order of importance.
I only have a few things to say about the Oregon game on Saturday. The first thing that struck me was how much better I thought we looked against Cal and USC than we did against ASU. Maybe that's not true, but that's how it looked to me. The second thing that struck me was how dominant our offense was when we got into a rhythm. That offense looked unstoppable when things were going right. Sure, most teams would probably say that. But it reminded me of the Seahawks attack in 2005, back when Tobeck, Hutch, and Walter Jones just decimated defenses and Alexander was able to run all over them. Of course, that opened things up for the passing attack. That was exactly what it felt like watching Dixon and Stewart march all over the Sun Devils on Saturday. The last thing that struck me was how truly annoying LA fans are. I was watching the game at a sports bar here in Long Beach, and it was excruciating. The USC fans were really obnoxious as they watched the Trojans steam roll Oregon State. It made me wish even more that I was either at Autzen, with my family, or watching anywhere else in the world.
I don't think those things actually struck me in that order, I just listed them in order of importance.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Game two wasn't as good
I know we didn't win that first game against San Antonio, but we played really well. There were good signs not only for next season, but for the rest of this one. Something happened between Tuesday night and Friday night. What it looked like was that Portland forgot how to play basketball in those intervening days. I listened to part of the game last night, and watched most of the ESPN gamecast too. I summed the game up for my brother almost the same way Dave at Blazer's Edge summed it up. I said this to Stephen: we were terrible, but three individual players did really well. Brandon Roy, James Jones, and Sergio Rodriguez were all pretty good. Unfortunately, that's a pretty low percentage of the people on the team. Especially since only one of those guys is a key cog in our attack right now.
Having said that, Sergio's performance is the encouraging thing for the future. Sergio played only 12 minutes, but he had eight points on 3-5 shooting, two rebounds, two assists, and one turnover. He hit one of his two three point attempts, and provided a great spark – as always.
Martell Webster actually had another decent game, which is pretty good. And Travis Outlaw was okay. So having those three young guys do well is a good sign for the future. But again, that future is hard to look at as we lose by twenty to the Hornets. Ugh.
In better news, the Ducks take on the Sun Devils today, and that is exciting. There's a nice little story about my friend Scott's older brother Brett, the assistant equipment manager for the University of Oregon, in the hometown paper. This week was also the first time in a while that I got to see a lot of great coverage of the Oregon team in national publications. I received my Sports Illustrated and ESPN the magazine with articles about Ducks in them. Plus, ESPN had stories about Oregon all over their website. Try this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, and this one. That's six different stories plugging the Ducks on the ESPN site. Pretty impressive.
Having said that, Sergio's performance is the encouraging thing for the future. Sergio played only 12 minutes, but he had eight points on 3-5 shooting, two rebounds, two assists, and one turnover. He hit one of his two three point attempts, and provided a great spark – as always.
Martell Webster actually had another decent game, which is pretty good. And Travis Outlaw was okay. So having those three young guys do well is a good sign for the future. But again, that future is hard to look at as we lose by twenty to the Hornets. Ugh.
In better news, the Ducks take on the Sun Devils today, and that is exciting. There's a nice little story about my friend Scott's older brother Brett, the assistant equipment manager for the University of Oregon, in the hometown paper. This week was also the first time in a while that I got to see a lot of great coverage of the Oregon team in national publications. I received my Sports Illustrated and ESPN the magazine with articles about Ducks in them. Plus, ESPN had stories about Oregon all over their website. Try this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, and this one. That's six different stories plugging the Ducks on the ESPN site. Pretty impressive.
Monday, October 22, 2007
With guns put back away...
Today I had a meeting with the math coach and the principal to talk about my professional development goals for the year. It was a really good chance to tell them how I was feeling. Of course, in the midst of that I found out that the gate to the fields would have gotten me into my room after all, so that I could have gotten all that work done on Saturday morning. Yeah, I wasn't too happy to find that out. Even though that's true, the weekend was still really nice, mainly because I didn't feel guilt about not doing any work over the weekend, since I thought it wasn't my fault.
I've never been more excited for college football than for the NFL. Ever. Not even during seasons when the Ducks were okay and the Seahawks were terrible. But this year, with the combination of Oregon being amazing and Seattle being not-so-amazing and the absolute craziness of the college season, I've found myself much more interested in the college game. It could have a little to do with how poorly my three fantasy teams are performing as well, but I think the competitiveness in college this year has more to do with it. Oh yeah, and cheering for the best offense in the country. I mean, Oregon rushed for 465 rushing yards and 39 first downs against the Huskies in Seattle on Saturday. They ran the ball 62 times, and 25 of those runs were for first downs. They attempted 30 passes, and completed 14 of those for first downs. They averaged 7.5 yards per rush as a team. Even though Washington is bad, that's just amazing. It reminds me of what the Seahawks did in 2005 when the offensive line made defenses give them the entire field. And that's what's been said about Oregon's performance: the line was unstoppable, which means that it doesn't matter what guy is running behind them. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have one of the best running backs in the country and a sneaky Heisman candidate at quarterback behind them. In fact, if Dixon had four more yards passing, one more yard rushing, and not thrown a Hail Mary interception at the end of the first half, he's looking at a game with 200 yards passing, 100 yards rushing, a better than 60% completion rate, and two total touchdowns – one in the air and one on the ground. Those are great numbers. We have USC and ASU at home in the next two weeks, and if we can keep the offense rolling and get the defense back to where it had been the last few weeks, we should be looking at the final three weeks beginning to think about BCS championship plans. Crazy. Oh yeah, and the Oregon basketball team should be coming back stronger this year than they were last year. It's a good time to be a Duck.
I've never been more excited for college football than for the NFL. Ever. Not even during seasons when the Ducks were okay and the Seahawks were terrible. But this year, with the combination of Oregon being amazing and Seattle being not-so-amazing and the absolute craziness of the college season, I've found myself much more interested in the college game. It could have a little to do with how poorly my three fantasy teams are performing as well, but I think the competitiveness in college this year has more to do with it. Oh yeah, and cheering for the best offense in the country. I mean, Oregon rushed for 465 rushing yards and 39 first downs against the Huskies in Seattle on Saturday. They ran the ball 62 times, and 25 of those runs were for first downs. They attempted 30 passes, and completed 14 of those for first downs. They averaged 7.5 yards per rush as a team. Even though Washington is bad, that's just amazing. It reminds me of what the Seahawks did in 2005 when the offensive line made defenses give them the entire field. And that's what's been said about Oregon's performance: the line was unstoppable, which means that it doesn't matter what guy is running behind them. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have one of the best running backs in the country and a sneaky Heisman candidate at quarterback behind them. In fact, if Dixon had four more yards passing, one more yard rushing, and not thrown a Hail Mary interception at the end of the first half, he's looking at a game with 200 yards passing, 100 yards rushing, a better than 60% completion rate, and two total touchdowns – one in the air and one on the ground. Those are great numbers. We have USC and ASU at home in the next two weeks, and if we can keep the offense rolling and get the defense back to where it had been the last few weeks, we should be looking at the final three weeks beginning to think about BCS championship plans. Crazy. Oh yeah, and the Oregon basketball team should be coming back stronger this year than they were last year. It's a good time to be a Duck.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Some loose ends
Last night I was going to watch the Blazers summer league opener on NBA.com, but the friends with whom I was staying took us out to miniature golf instead. I did catch Oden's monster dunk in the second quarter, and I saw enough of him and Aldridge together to get pretty excited. I know that Oden didn't play that well, but I'm not terribly worried about it. It's disappointing to lose, since our team seems like it should be so superior to all of the other teams from a talent perspective, but oh well. Most teams have all their first and second year players on the roster, and we left off our best guy. I have very little doubt that with Brandon Roy out there we would have been steadier and taken care of business against the Celtics much better. Hopefully Martell Webster and Sergio Rodriguez start performing a lot better, but we'll see.
I also read that Ime Udoka was there, since he'll be talking to other teams as a free agent. I think he's actually pretty important for the Blazers to keep, and because of the intangibles he brings to the team is worth over-paying a little. Granted, over-paying for him wouldn't be that high, but the toughness, the work ethic, and the poise he brings to a young team is vital to our development.
In case anyone is having trouble watching the webcasts of summer league games--if you want to, that is--let me know and I'll help you out.
I don't write about the Oregon Ducks very much, but this story was on ESPN.com today. It's about the Ducks' starting quarterback, Dennis Dixon, and his decision to play for the Braves lowest affiliate this summer instead of working out with the team in Eugene. As a Braves fan I have a little anticipation of the sort of things he could bring to the team eventually, since he's a really great athlete. He's fast, has a huge arm, and shows a knack for making spectacularly athletic plays. But as a Duck fan I'm a little concerned, since he was my choice to be the starting QB again this year. Even though I like him to start, he had a lot of things he needed to work on after last year. Hopefully that works out for both of my teams. We'll see.
I am in Bend right now, having stayed with some friends last night. I came over yesterday to hang out with Gregg Guerin, a really great guy--to quote David Yates, I'm sure--and friend of mine from Wheaton. He was in town visiting his girlfriend, which is a little weird. I had a really late breakfast with them around one o'clock at a great restaurant in Bend, and then we hung out for a few more hours. It was really fun to see Gregg, and quite enjoyable to tell his girlfriend stories from our time at Wheaton before the two of them met. It was also fantastic to get a chance to talk just a little bit about the Knicks and Blazers and the Mets and Braves, since Gregg is from Long Island. I told him my great idea--which is being put out here for the first time--to do some round table NBA discussions with a few representative fans of some of the up-and-coming teams in the league. I know the Knicks aren't really in that group, but Gregg would be a good addition anyway. He would represent the Knicks, my friend Ek would represent the pre-2007 draft sexiest team in the league Bulls, my friend J-Lew would represent the starting-five-forwards Atlanta hawks, and I would represent the post-2007 draft sexiest team in the league Blazers. I would love to find a way to use iChat or something like that to do a sort of around-the-horn video blog, using Final Cut to edit and put our conversation into one video, but I'm not sure if it's possible from each individual's computer capabilities, let alone my software abilities. It's something I want to look into, and since J-Lew and Ek are two of my few readers, I'm sure this will at least bring about a response as to what they think.
The last thing to mention is that my mom called me last night from Arlington, where they just moved, to tell me that there was a big fire. They were preparing, but hadn't had to go yet. As of this morning it sounded like things were more under control, but it made me think about just staying in Bend for another day so I wouldn't have to deal with a big fire.
I also read that Ime Udoka was there, since he'll be talking to other teams as a free agent. I think he's actually pretty important for the Blazers to keep, and because of the intangibles he brings to the team is worth over-paying a little. Granted, over-paying for him wouldn't be that high, but the toughness, the work ethic, and the poise he brings to a young team is vital to our development.
In case anyone is having trouble watching the webcasts of summer league games--if you want to, that is--let me know and I'll help you out.
I don't write about the Oregon Ducks very much, but this story was on ESPN.com today. It's about the Ducks' starting quarterback, Dennis Dixon, and his decision to play for the Braves lowest affiliate this summer instead of working out with the team in Eugene. As a Braves fan I have a little anticipation of the sort of things he could bring to the team eventually, since he's a really great athlete. He's fast, has a huge arm, and shows a knack for making spectacularly athletic plays. But as a Duck fan I'm a little concerned, since he was my choice to be the starting QB again this year. Even though I like him to start, he had a lot of things he needed to work on after last year. Hopefully that works out for both of my teams. We'll see.
I am in Bend right now, having stayed with some friends last night. I came over yesterday to hang out with Gregg Guerin, a really great guy--to quote David Yates, I'm sure--and friend of mine from Wheaton. He was in town visiting his girlfriend, which is a little weird. I had a really late breakfast with them around one o'clock at a great restaurant in Bend, and then we hung out for a few more hours. It was really fun to see Gregg, and quite enjoyable to tell his girlfriend stories from our time at Wheaton before the two of them met. It was also fantastic to get a chance to talk just a little bit about the Knicks and Blazers and the Mets and Braves, since Gregg is from Long Island. I told him my great idea--which is being put out here for the first time--to do some round table NBA discussions with a few representative fans of some of the up-and-coming teams in the league. I know the Knicks aren't really in that group, but Gregg would be a good addition anyway. He would represent the Knicks, my friend Ek would represent the pre-2007 draft sexiest team in the league Bulls, my friend J-Lew would represent the starting-five-forwards Atlanta hawks, and I would represent the post-2007 draft sexiest team in the league Blazers. I would love to find a way to use iChat or something like that to do a sort of around-the-horn video blog, using Final Cut to edit and put our conversation into one video, but I'm not sure if it's possible from each individual's computer capabilities, let alone my software abilities. It's something I want to look into, and since J-Lew and Ek are two of my few readers, I'm sure this will at least bring about a response as to what they think.
The last thing to mention is that my mom called me last night from Arlington, where they just moved, to tell me that there was a big fire. They were preparing, but hadn't had to go yet. As of this morning it sounded like things were more under control, but it made me think about just staying in Bend for another day so I wouldn't have to deal with a big fire.
Friday, March 23, 2007
NCAA championships
6:38 pm I’m writing this from the Carlton homestead in Roseburg, Oregon. (Which is for sale, by the way, if anyone’s interested.) My friends Joe and Brian have joined me to watch two NCAA events. We’ve been watching chunks of the NCAA swimming championships, and we’ll return to that after we watch the Oregon sweet sixteen game against UNLV. Joe is the teacher I’m working with this term, and he has been involved with swimming for 20 years. He also coached some at Roseburg High School. Brian is a sophomore at RHS. He is also a swimmer, and he’s watching the swimming championships for the first time since he was at the event watching his older brother win an individual championship. Oh yeah, his brother is my friend Patrick who won the 200-yard butterfly championship. And my apologies beforehand for not naming UNLV players or the announcers. I was too lazy to get the names.
6:45 pm We’re watching the 200-yard freestyle final after stopping the recording to catch the end of the Florida and Georgetown games. Those endings were both pretty good. I’m a little worried that this could be considered a bit of a letdown game for Florida, so that they’ll be absolutely sure to bring it against Oregon on Sunday. Yikes. We’ve already watched a bit of the swimming, which has been fantastic, and we’re getting ready for the Oregon game. Tip-off is in a little over five minutes. One of the events we watched already was the 100-yard butterfly. Patrick was sixth in that event. That’s his bad event, and he got sixth place in the NCAA. Yeah, it’s pretty sweet.
6:50 pm I’m still watching swimming. Right now the 100 backstroke is on, an event in which I was absolutely terrible. My excitement for the Ducks is building…
6:52 pm Seth Davis just picked Oregon to win this game, which might be a bad sign. Clark Kellog said the game will come down to the stars from each team and nothing more. Umm, really? Seth disagreed with that pretty strongly.
6:54 pm They just showed the starting lineups for the two teams, and I had forgotten that UNLV has a small lineup. That’s good for Oregon, since we also have a small lineup.
6:55 pm First foul of the game. Wow. The keys to the game: Oregon needs to “widen the lines.” I guess that means keep enough space on the floor so that the lane is open. Have they watched Oregon play this year? That's what our offense is. And then Leunen tapped in a missed three pointer. Nice start for Oregon.
6:57 pm Aaron Brooks just did what he loves to do: ran through three guys to make a finger role.
6:59 pm We just found out that Kruger is a graduate student who went to Arizona State. Yeah, I’m glad that loophole was closed. The shots are not falling for either…scratch that, Leunen just made a three. Nice. I love his game.
7:02 pm A pre-game scene from the Oregon locker room was just on. Let me cover that for you: shot pressure shot pressure shot pressure shot pressure shot pressure shot pressure shot pressure shot pressure shot pressure shot pressure. Yep, that covers it. It seems like Oregon's focusing on defense today.
7:04 pm Nice pass from Catron to Bryce Taylor, whom I love. Then UNLV answers with their first three. Both teams are still shooting poorly. And Brooks just had a lay-up blocked. Yikes.
7:07 pm They just showed the field goal percentages: UNLV was at 25%, Oregon was at 40%. See, I told you…okay, maybe Oregon’s shot percentage isn’t too bad, but they need to do better. And Catron does a good job to draw the foul and then score on the ensuing possession.
7:09 pm Catron is playing better than usual, and he’s playing more than usual. Good box out by Hairston, and then the foul gets called. And remember what I’ve been saying about the shooting percentage? UNLV has made several three-pointers since they showed the stat.
7:13 pm Oregon just did a great job with more offensive rebounding to get second chance points. If they keep doing this, they’ll be tough to beat. I just noticed that USC is beating North Carolina by five. If these two Pac-10 teams keep their leads, we’ll get three of ‘em in the Elite Eight.
7:15 pm Tajuan Porter just made everyone for UNLV look slooooow, then he found Hairston, who couldn’t get the shot to fall and ended up missing out on a three-point play.
7:17 pm That did NOT look like a foul to me, but apparently Brooks grazed his arm when he stripped that ball. Porter pulls up for a quick stop three and gets crushed. First free throw: good. Second: good. Third: good. We can count on Porter at the line.
7:19 pm With over seven minutes left, Oregon is up by two. Last I saw, USC was still ahead too. Oh my, here comes the Pac-10.
7:23 pm Catron just flew in for a board. He does NOT usually play this well, let me repeat that. Then Porter gets it for the open three. He doesn’t miss many of those.
7:27 pm The Ducks just got another turnover, but they called an offensive foul on Bryce Taylor as a UNLV player pushed him into a set teammate. Now UNLV gets the opportunity for a three-point play. Ugh, tie game.
7:29 pm That was a perfect introduction to Tajuan Porter for anyone who hasn’t met him yet. Brooks passed it to him on the sprint, and Porter drained the three. Porter gets two more on a crazy floater. AND ANOTHER THREE!!!
7:31 pm Another phantom foul called on Oregon as UNLV nails a three-point response to Porter.
7:34 pm Porter scored Oregon’s last 14 points in five minutes. Have I mentioned yet that he’s a freshman? Oh, and he just drained a three in some tall guy’s eye.
7:36 pm The Ducks are starting to hit from beyond the arc. They are good. And then Hairston works hard for a loose ball.
7:41 pm Leunen misses a long jumper to make the lead six going into the half. Oregon is up 37-33. Not a great first half, but I’m excited to see how Porter does in the second.
7:43 pm We’re watching the 100-yard freestyle final right now. This is fast swimming, and very impressive. Geez, this is unbelievable. I might be missing a live look-in right now, but I don’t even care. This kid Cesar Cielo from Auburn just won another race. He is really good.
7:46 pm Back to basketball and I was quite surprised to see Hansbrough without the schnozaroo. Good to see that USC is still ahead. Ew, a terrible shot by the Tar Heels, and then USC gets foul shots.
7:48 pm An and-one for USC that I convince my friends was not a travel. Seriously, he was stepping as he caught the pass, took a full step, and then he took off on the last one. Not a travel, right? Right? Maybe I watch too much NBA.
7:55 pm Catching the 200 backstroke before going back to the Oregon game. I also just checked online to see that Portland won their third straight game…without Zach Randolph. I’m still against trading him, but sheesh, that’s impressive, even against bad teams. It’s more impressive because the Blazers didn’t shoot very well.
7:57 pm I forgot to mention that USC was ahead at the half 42-33. Did Jeff Green travel? Clearly, according to Clark Kellogg. Seth Davis agrees. I guess I can’t argue with them both.
8:03 pm Tajuan Porter had 17 points in the first half. Yeah, he’ll be back next year with three other starters. Including Bryce Tayler and Maarty Leunen, who just made a great play for the score.
8:04 pm TAJUAN PORTER with 20 points, IN YOUR EYE. Leunen hits his own. This brings up my main point about this team: the starting line up is made of five guys who can score from anywhere on the floor. When the Ducks are playing at their top level, they can beat anyone in the country. I truly believe this to be the case.
8:06 pm That Holiday Inn commercial with the fake rodeo clown is frightening. I mean, his freaky chins and that crazy twisty hat-bow tie combination are very scary.
8:09 pm Another phantom foul called against Oregon. That was terrible, and Wink Adams is at the line to convert the three-point play.
8:11 pm The Ducks keep turning it over, which is pretty frustrating. If not for those, this game would be further apart than the ten point lead Oregon has.
8:12 pm I just mentioned that I’d be okay with Oregon and USC both winning by ten, and Joe and Brian called me on it. Really? As much as I want that, I would much rather just get an Oregon win. And Tajuan Porter just pulled up for another three-pointer. He is REALLY good. Timeout, and Oregon is now ahead 53-38. I hope you guys are all watching my team right now.
8:15 pm We just saw an ad for Letterman that included Gerber Red Bull baby food. Yeah, that’s some funny stuff.
8:18 pm Another foul called against Oregon. Blech.
8:19 pm Nice non-call as Leunen tried to get the rebound on a bad Porter shot as the 35-second clock expired.
8:20 pm As I started saying that Hairston must have ten rebounds, the announcers let me know that I’m right. Then the refs finally make a call against UNLV. Leunen plays with the ball, passes it off, and then Brooks finds Hairston for the dunk. Hairston follows that by working really hard on the defensive end. Oh, and now they're showing a graphic that says Hairston only has nine. Nice job by the announcers on that one.
8:22 pm Porter just hit another three. Let’s run through the returning players for Oregon next year: Porter, Leunen, Hairston, Taylor, Catron, and Oguchi. Each of those guys has played really well for Oregon at one point or another, and four are doing a great job in this game.
8:26 pm An ugly free throw miss for UNLV, followed by a make. They then get a jump ball, but if Oregon doesn’t let down they should be able to hang onto this game.
8:28 pm Everyone in the room agrees, the officiating has been pretty bad n this game. You should know, I’m the only real Oregon fan. Joe grew up in Alaska, went to Montana State for college, and spent much of his youth visiting his grandparents in Kansas. Brian’s two oldest siblings went to Stanford, his older brother Patrick is a senior at Cal, and his other sister is a freshman at UCLA. So he roots for the Pac-10, but not Oregon.
8:30 pm Oregon hasn’t been doing that well since I made the “game in hand” comment. Oops. Time to pick it back up. Another foul was just called on Oregon, prompting Joe and Brian to go crazy.
8:34 pm “Everything in her life was perfect, except her past.”
Brian responds: Umm, everything was perfect except her life up to this moment?
Me: Yeah, everything.
8:36 pm Another bailout call as a Rebel falls down. This is painful. You know what’s not painful? Tajuan Porter making another three right there. Then good defense by Oregon to force UNLV out of bounds.
8:38 pm Aaron Brooks just legitimately broke someone’s ankles, but Porter can’t capitalize. Wow, Brian and Joe are still laughing, as they try to figure out who sniped that defender from the stands. 63-49, Oregon.
8:40 pm Malik Hairston makes his own three, followed by a UNLV make and another TERRIBLE call against Oregon. Really, was that off the Ducks?
8:41 pm Ugly shot-clock violation against Oregon. I don’t think I’m being a homer when I complain about the number of calls against the Ducks. That last out of bounds seemed pretty ridiculous, and quite a few of these fouls have been pretty bad. Ugh, this is ugly.
8:44 pm Boo, USC is about to lose their lead. Stupid Trojans.
8:46 pm Hairston with another big rebound. He’s been playing well during this game. And the announcers just mentioned that this was Oregon’s best season since 1939, when they won the inaugural NCAA tournament. I wondered when that would be mentioned. Mark it down, they said that with 2:43 left in the game.
8:48 pm This exchange just happened between Brian and the announcer:
Announcer: if Lon Kruger were going to do an autopsy of this game…
Brian (interrupting): Is this game dead?
8:49 pm Oregon is now apparently running my favorite offense: turn the ball over as soon as possible.
8:51 pm Kruger just made another free throw to cut the Oregon lead to nine. Oregon finally gets it down the court and then draws the foul. Time to hit shots from the charity stripe. Brooks is good on the first one to bring it back to ten. And he makes the second.
8:53 pm Malik Hairston, Oregon’s worst free throw shooter, makes both. Oregon is still perfect from the line.
8:54 pm Another phantom call as Leunen slides by the UNLV player on the dunk.
8:55 pm After not rebounding, UNLV makes a three. It is now a six-point game. The turnovers have been frustrating, but the stripes are hurting pretty bad too.
8:57 pm You can see the Ducks playing as soft as possible so they don’t get called for ticky-tack fouls. That’s how the officiating can affect a team. Four point Oregon lead.
8:59 pm Porter goes to the line for the free throws, which is good for Oregon. He makes the first. In and out, even the rim is conspiring against Oregon.
9:00 pm Bad shot by UNLV, and Porter gets the long rebound and then tries to throw up a ¾ court shot while being fouled. Nope, they only give him two shots, and he hits both. Leunen avoids getting called for the foul and gets the rebound. Now he’s at the line.
9:02 pm Leunen misses both, and UNLV responds with a three pointer. Porter gets fouled and goes to the line for two more. He only makes one, then UNLV makes another three to cut the lead to two.
9:03 pm The Ducks get it in, and Taylor runs down the line and gets fouled. At the line with .9 seconds left. He makes both. That’s the game. Oregon has made it to the Elite Eight for second time in five years.
9:04 pm USC is going to lose this game, and we’re going back to swimming now.
9:06 pm We just watched the recap of the 800-yard freestyle relay, which was amazing. And now we get to see the recap of the mile, in which the NCAA record of another RHS graduate is missed by .08 of a second. Yeah, that’s not much time in the mile, especially in swimming.
9:09 pm Alexandrov’s disqualification “really kinda” opened the field in the 200-yard breaststroke. That was my best stroke, but I never swam a 200. Polyakov won that race. I’m sure that neither of those guys is Russian.
9:11 pm We’re now watching the 200-yard butterfly, the event that Patrick won. I’m the only one that’s seen this (other than when Brian was there). It’s still awesome to see Patrick win.
9:13 pm After the first 100 Patrick is in the middle of the pack, but halfway through that 25 he takes the lead. Then he burns everyone on the kick outs of the fifth, sixth, and last turns. As Joe said, Patrick just swam a smarter race than everyone. The announcer is saying a bunch of stuff about Patrick’s swim that we already knew.
9:16 pm I’m done with this running diary. It’s been a good night. We got to see Oregon pull out a close game, Portland won in overtime against Atlanta, and we’re watching some great swimming that includes our boy Patrick winning an individual championship. Now I get to look forward to Oregon playing against Florida. As long as the Ducks come to play, it should be a good game. I think we can pull it off, but we won’t know until Sunday.
6:45 pm We’re watching the 200-yard freestyle final after stopping the recording to catch the end of the Florida and Georgetown games. Those endings were both pretty good. I’m a little worried that this could be considered a bit of a letdown game for Florida, so that they’ll be absolutely sure to bring it against Oregon on Sunday. Yikes. We’ve already watched a bit of the swimming, which has been fantastic, and we’re getting ready for the Oregon game. Tip-off is in a little over five minutes. One of the events we watched already was the 100-yard butterfly. Patrick was sixth in that event. That’s his bad event, and he got sixth place in the NCAA. Yeah, it’s pretty sweet.
6:50 pm I’m still watching swimming. Right now the 100 backstroke is on, an event in which I was absolutely terrible. My excitement for the Ducks is building…
6:52 pm Seth Davis just picked Oregon to win this game, which might be a bad sign. Clark Kellog said the game will come down to the stars from each team and nothing more. Umm, really? Seth disagreed with that pretty strongly.
6:54 pm They just showed the starting lineups for the two teams, and I had forgotten that UNLV has a small lineup. That’s good for Oregon, since we also have a small lineup.
6:55 pm First foul of the game. Wow. The keys to the game: Oregon needs to “widen the lines.” I guess that means keep enough space on the floor so that the lane is open. Have they watched Oregon play this year? That's what our offense is. And then Leunen tapped in a missed three pointer. Nice start for Oregon.
6:57 pm Aaron Brooks just did what he loves to do: ran through three guys to make a finger role.
6:59 pm We just found out that Kruger is a graduate student who went to Arizona State. Yeah, I’m glad that loophole was closed. The shots are not falling for either…scratch that, Leunen just made a three. Nice. I love his game.
7:02 pm A pre-game scene from the Oregon locker room was just on. Let me cover that for you: shot pressure shot pressure shot pressure shot pressure shot pressure shot pressure shot pressure shot pressure shot pressure shot pressure. Yep, that covers it. It seems like Oregon's focusing on defense today.
7:04 pm Nice pass from Catron to Bryce Taylor, whom I love. Then UNLV answers with their first three. Both teams are still shooting poorly. And Brooks just had a lay-up blocked. Yikes.
7:07 pm They just showed the field goal percentages: UNLV was at 25%, Oregon was at 40%. See, I told you…okay, maybe Oregon’s shot percentage isn’t too bad, but they need to do better. And Catron does a good job to draw the foul and then score on the ensuing possession.
7:09 pm Catron is playing better than usual, and he’s playing more than usual. Good box out by Hairston, and then the foul gets called. And remember what I’ve been saying about the shooting percentage? UNLV has made several three-pointers since they showed the stat.
7:13 pm Oregon just did a great job with more offensive rebounding to get second chance points. If they keep doing this, they’ll be tough to beat. I just noticed that USC is beating North Carolina by five. If these two Pac-10 teams keep their leads, we’ll get three of ‘em in the Elite Eight.
7:15 pm Tajuan Porter just made everyone for UNLV look slooooow, then he found Hairston, who couldn’t get the shot to fall and ended up missing out on a three-point play.
7:17 pm That did NOT look like a foul to me, but apparently Brooks grazed his arm when he stripped that ball. Porter pulls up for a quick stop three and gets crushed. First free throw: good. Second: good. Third: good. We can count on Porter at the line.
7:19 pm With over seven minutes left, Oregon is up by two. Last I saw, USC was still ahead too. Oh my, here comes the Pac-10.
7:23 pm Catron just flew in for a board. He does NOT usually play this well, let me repeat that. Then Porter gets it for the open three. He doesn’t miss many of those.
7:27 pm The Ducks just got another turnover, but they called an offensive foul on Bryce Taylor as a UNLV player pushed him into a set teammate. Now UNLV gets the opportunity for a three-point play. Ugh, tie game.
7:29 pm That was a perfect introduction to Tajuan Porter for anyone who hasn’t met him yet. Brooks passed it to him on the sprint, and Porter drained the three. Porter gets two more on a crazy floater. AND ANOTHER THREE!!!
7:31 pm Another phantom foul called on Oregon as UNLV nails a three-point response to Porter.
7:34 pm Porter scored Oregon’s last 14 points in five minutes. Have I mentioned yet that he’s a freshman? Oh, and he just drained a three in some tall guy’s eye.
7:36 pm The Ducks are starting to hit from beyond the arc. They are good. And then Hairston works hard for a loose ball.
7:41 pm Leunen misses a long jumper to make the lead six going into the half. Oregon is up 37-33. Not a great first half, but I’m excited to see how Porter does in the second.
7:43 pm We’re watching the 100-yard freestyle final right now. This is fast swimming, and very impressive. Geez, this is unbelievable. I might be missing a live look-in right now, but I don’t even care. This kid Cesar Cielo from Auburn just won another race. He is really good.
7:46 pm Back to basketball and I was quite surprised to see Hansbrough without the schnozaroo. Good to see that USC is still ahead. Ew, a terrible shot by the Tar Heels, and then USC gets foul shots.
7:48 pm An and-one for USC that I convince my friends was not a travel. Seriously, he was stepping as he caught the pass, took a full step, and then he took off on the last one. Not a travel, right? Right? Maybe I watch too much NBA.
7:55 pm Catching the 200 backstroke before going back to the Oregon game. I also just checked online to see that Portland won their third straight game…without Zach Randolph. I’m still against trading him, but sheesh, that’s impressive, even against bad teams. It’s more impressive because the Blazers didn’t shoot very well.
7:57 pm I forgot to mention that USC was ahead at the half 42-33. Did Jeff Green travel? Clearly, according to Clark Kellogg. Seth Davis agrees. I guess I can’t argue with them both.
8:03 pm Tajuan Porter had 17 points in the first half. Yeah, he’ll be back next year with three other starters. Including Bryce Tayler and Maarty Leunen, who just made a great play for the score.
8:04 pm TAJUAN PORTER with 20 points, IN YOUR EYE. Leunen hits his own. This brings up my main point about this team: the starting line up is made of five guys who can score from anywhere on the floor. When the Ducks are playing at their top level, they can beat anyone in the country. I truly believe this to be the case.
8:06 pm That Holiday Inn commercial with the fake rodeo clown is frightening. I mean, his freaky chins and that crazy twisty hat-bow tie combination are very scary.
8:09 pm Another phantom foul called against Oregon. That was terrible, and Wink Adams is at the line to convert the three-point play.
8:11 pm The Ducks keep turning it over, which is pretty frustrating. If not for those, this game would be further apart than the ten point lead Oregon has.
8:12 pm I just mentioned that I’d be okay with Oregon and USC both winning by ten, and Joe and Brian called me on it. Really? As much as I want that, I would much rather just get an Oregon win. And Tajuan Porter just pulled up for another three-pointer. He is REALLY good. Timeout, and Oregon is now ahead 53-38. I hope you guys are all watching my team right now.
8:15 pm We just saw an ad for Letterman that included Gerber Red Bull baby food. Yeah, that’s some funny stuff.
8:18 pm Another foul called against Oregon. Blech.
8:19 pm Nice non-call as Leunen tried to get the rebound on a bad Porter shot as the 35-second clock expired.
8:20 pm As I started saying that Hairston must have ten rebounds, the announcers let me know that I’m right. Then the refs finally make a call against UNLV. Leunen plays with the ball, passes it off, and then Brooks finds Hairston for the dunk. Hairston follows that by working really hard on the defensive end. Oh, and now they're showing a graphic that says Hairston only has nine. Nice job by the announcers on that one.
8:22 pm Porter just hit another three. Let’s run through the returning players for Oregon next year: Porter, Leunen, Hairston, Taylor, Catron, and Oguchi. Each of those guys has played really well for Oregon at one point or another, and four are doing a great job in this game.
8:26 pm An ugly free throw miss for UNLV, followed by a make. They then get a jump ball, but if Oregon doesn’t let down they should be able to hang onto this game.
8:28 pm Everyone in the room agrees, the officiating has been pretty bad n this game. You should know, I’m the only real Oregon fan. Joe grew up in Alaska, went to Montana State for college, and spent much of his youth visiting his grandparents in Kansas. Brian’s two oldest siblings went to Stanford, his older brother Patrick is a senior at Cal, and his other sister is a freshman at UCLA. So he roots for the Pac-10, but not Oregon.
8:30 pm Oregon hasn’t been doing that well since I made the “game in hand” comment. Oops. Time to pick it back up. Another foul was just called on Oregon, prompting Joe and Brian to go crazy.
8:34 pm “Everything in her life was perfect, except her past.”
Brian responds: Umm, everything was perfect except her life up to this moment?
Me: Yeah, everything.
8:36 pm Another bailout call as a Rebel falls down. This is painful. You know what’s not painful? Tajuan Porter making another three right there. Then good defense by Oregon to force UNLV out of bounds.
8:38 pm Aaron Brooks just legitimately broke someone’s ankles, but Porter can’t capitalize. Wow, Brian and Joe are still laughing, as they try to figure out who sniped that defender from the stands. 63-49, Oregon.
8:40 pm Malik Hairston makes his own three, followed by a UNLV make and another TERRIBLE call against Oregon. Really, was that off the Ducks?
8:41 pm Ugly shot-clock violation against Oregon. I don’t think I’m being a homer when I complain about the number of calls against the Ducks. That last out of bounds seemed pretty ridiculous, and quite a few of these fouls have been pretty bad. Ugh, this is ugly.
8:44 pm Boo, USC is about to lose their lead. Stupid Trojans.
8:46 pm Hairston with another big rebound. He’s been playing well during this game. And the announcers just mentioned that this was Oregon’s best season since 1939, when they won the inaugural NCAA tournament. I wondered when that would be mentioned. Mark it down, they said that with 2:43 left in the game.
8:48 pm This exchange just happened between Brian and the announcer:
Announcer: if Lon Kruger were going to do an autopsy of this game…
Brian (interrupting): Is this game dead?
8:49 pm Oregon is now apparently running my favorite offense: turn the ball over as soon as possible.
8:51 pm Kruger just made another free throw to cut the Oregon lead to nine. Oregon finally gets it down the court and then draws the foul. Time to hit shots from the charity stripe. Brooks is good on the first one to bring it back to ten. And he makes the second.
8:53 pm Malik Hairston, Oregon’s worst free throw shooter, makes both. Oregon is still perfect from the line.
8:54 pm Another phantom call as Leunen slides by the UNLV player on the dunk.
8:55 pm After not rebounding, UNLV makes a three. It is now a six-point game. The turnovers have been frustrating, but the stripes are hurting pretty bad too.
8:57 pm You can see the Ducks playing as soft as possible so they don’t get called for ticky-tack fouls. That’s how the officiating can affect a team. Four point Oregon lead.
8:59 pm Porter goes to the line for the free throws, which is good for Oregon. He makes the first. In and out, even the rim is conspiring against Oregon.
9:00 pm Bad shot by UNLV, and Porter gets the long rebound and then tries to throw up a ¾ court shot while being fouled. Nope, they only give him two shots, and he hits both. Leunen avoids getting called for the foul and gets the rebound. Now he’s at the line.
9:02 pm Leunen misses both, and UNLV responds with a three pointer. Porter gets fouled and goes to the line for two more. He only makes one, then UNLV makes another three to cut the lead to two.
9:03 pm The Ducks get it in, and Taylor runs down the line and gets fouled. At the line with .9 seconds left. He makes both. That’s the game. Oregon has made it to the Elite Eight for second time in five years.
9:04 pm USC is going to lose this game, and we’re going back to swimming now.
9:06 pm We just watched the recap of the 800-yard freestyle relay, which was amazing. And now we get to see the recap of the mile, in which the NCAA record of another RHS graduate is missed by .08 of a second. Yeah, that’s not much time in the mile, especially in swimming.
9:09 pm Alexandrov’s disqualification “really kinda” opened the field in the 200-yard breaststroke. That was my best stroke, but I never swam a 200. Polyakov won that race. I’m sure that neither of those guys is Russian.
9:11 pm We’re now watching the 200-yard butterfly, the event that Patrick won. I’m the only one that’s seen this (other than when Brian was there). It’s still awesome to see Patrick win.
9:13 pm After the first 100 Patrick is in the middle of the pack, but halfway through that 25 he takes the lead. Then he burns everyone on the kick outs of the fifth, sixth, and last turns. As Joe said, Patrick just swam a smarter race than everyone. The announcer is saying a bunch of stuff about Patrick’s swim that we already knew.
9:16 pm I’m done with this running diary. It’s been a good night. We got to see Oregon pull out a close game, Portland won in overtime against Atlanta, and we’re watching some great swimming that includes our boy Patrick winning an individual championship. Now I get to look forward to Oregon playing against Florida. As long as the Ducks come to play, it should be a good game. I think we can pull it off, but we won’t know until Sunday.
Monday, March 12, 2007
NCAA tournament odds and ends
Once again, I have too many things to do this week NOT to post a blog about the best Oregon basketball team I've ever seen. First, here are a few quotes that get me excited for the road to the Final Four. From my friend J-Lew on the morning of March 10th:
I didn't get to watch Oregon's games this weekend, but I did get to read a lot about them (not the same thing at all), listen to parts of them, see highlights of them, and hear the commentary others were making. I've also watched more than a few of their games this year, so I feel like I can say the following things.
In 2002 I went to the Oregon-Kansas Elite Eight game in Madison and watched Oregon lose. That Oregon team had three great college players on it. That Kansas team was also amazing. The Oregon team this year is better than that Oregon team. Part of the reason for this is Ernie Kent deciding to use the players he has the way he wants to use them. That 2002 team had there players who could run and shoot with anyone, and then two token bigs to fill out the starting five. Robert Johnson, the starting 4, could rebound okay, but he and Chris Christofferson, the 7'2" starting center, couldn't run with the other three guys and weren't that strong inside. This year Kent has started his five best guys almost all season. Oregon starts four guys who are considered guards:
The bench is okay, but the most important thing about this team is that all five starters can make you pay on offense. The second most important thing is that the starting five can--and this weekend did--play really good team defense. They have great conditioning, as they showed by winning their three-games-in-three-days by an average of 20.3 points. They're led by a senior who got to play with "the Lukes" (Ridnour and Jackson) and three juniors who have finally been living up to their billing as the best recruiting class Oregon's ever had (back in 2004--if you follow the link Oregon's class for that year is ranked sixth, right behind Indiana and UCLA and right ahead of Louisville and (ahem) Florida. This team won road tests at Arizona and Georgetown and came back from a mid-season slump to ruin the rest of the Pac-10 in the conference tournament. I'll end this section about the Ducks with another quote from the Sports Guy. He's talking about how bad the Pac-10 is, but what's more important is the company in which he puts Oregon:
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I've decided to post my bracket here so that people can hold me accountable. I picked it the best way I know how: as fast as possible. Over-thinking ruins all brackets, I say. I might change one thing before the tournament starts on Thursday, which is to pick Southern Illinois over Holy Cross, but I think that the Salukis are going to miss the underdog status they've had in recent years and blow it in the first round. So here are the pictures of my facebook bracket, which I will be using in all pools I might enter this month. Click on the picture for a clearer view.
You'll notice that I have Oregon beating Florida in the Elite Eight (a game that should be amazing to watch), getting revenge against Kansas in the final four, and defeating Georgetown for the second time this year to win the whole thing in Atlanta. I know that a lot of this is wishful thinking, and I've talked myself into it based on how they played this weekend. But if they continue to play the way they did in the Pac-10 tournament, I really believe that they could pull this thing off.
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I watched most of Portland's game against Golden State last night. I know that the Warriors were without Baron Davis, but it was so good to watch the Blazers play with energy and poise. There isn't much to say other than the guys I already like keep making me like them even more: R-O-Y, Randolph, Udoka, Rodriguez, and Aldridge. It's also fun to see Freddie Jones, a member of that 2002 Oregon team, dunking on people for Portland now.
Alright, I need to finish my Unit Plan that will serve as part of my final in a really lame class tomorrow night.
Having watched 1 of my 2 allotted days at the Big Ten Tournament, I must say that it will be a mistake for anyone to select a Big Ten team to go all the way this year. This brand of basketball is the ugliest basketball I have ever seen. I feel like this tournament is setting the game of basketball back 30 years.And this is from J-Lew later on that night:
On the bright side, I was able to purchase a pretty sweet looking shirt to commemorate my time here....
After 2 full days of action, I am more convinced than ever about the Big Ten. Of course, now that I watched Greg Oden play in-person (and grab 19 freaking rebounds to go along with 4 sick blocks), I am now convinced he would be my #1 pick. Part of the reason that his numbers aren't guady (besides the one-handed thing), is that Thad Matta has a horrilbe offense that involves 3 guards taking turns over-dribbling at the top of the key before having to rush to get a shot up as the shot clock expires...I put his quotes first so that everyone knows he said it before the Sports Guy said this:
As for the Big Ten, its second-best team (Wisconsin) isn't as good as Kansas, Texas or Texas A&M, and I wasn't even remotely impressed by Purdue (a No. 9 seed), Indiana (No. 7) or Illinois (No. 12), although I do think Michigan State (No. 11) has a chance to crack the Sweet 16 because of Tom Izzo and Drew Neitzel. Regardless, how did the Big Ten send six teams to the tournament when most of its games had the same disjointed, scrappy, uncomfortable flow of a woman's basketball game? Did you ever watch a Big Ten game that didn't involve OSU and think to yourself, "Wow, this is some high-caliber hoops!" Oklahoma State would have been the third-best team in that conference and it's headed to the NIT. Same for Kansas State. And Syracuse.
Final note: Anyone who toggled between the OSU-Wisconsin and Texas-Kansas games knows which conference was better this season. That Texas-Kansas game was the most hard-fought basketball game I've seen since the Heat-Mavs NBA Finals last June ... and Texas was running on fumes. Meanwhile, OSU and Wisconsin were having the basketball equivalent of a rock fight on CBS. Gimme a break. The Big Ten is awful. Don't say I didn't warn you...Other than dunking, is there a noticeable difference between a game involving two Big Ten schools and a high-caliber women's basketball game?
I didn't get to watch Oregon's games this weekend, but I did get to read a lot about them (not the same thing at all), listen to parts of them, see highlights of them, and hear the commentary others were making. I've also watched more than a few of their games this year, so I feel like I can say the following things.
In 2002 I went to the Oregon-Kansas Elite Eight game in Madison and watched Oregon lose. That Oregon team had three great college players on it. That Kansas team was also amazing. The Oregon team this year is better than that Oregon team. Part of the reason for this is Ernie Kent deciding to use the players he has the way he wants to use them. That 2002 team had there players who could run and shoot with anyone, and then two token bigs to fill out the starting five. Robert Johnson, the starting 4, could rebound okay, but he and Chris Christofferson, the 7'2" starting center, couldn't run with the other three guys and weren't that strong inside. This year Kent has started his five best guys almost all season. Oregon starts four guys who are considered guards:
- Pac-10 all-freshman guard and Pac-10 tournament MVP Tajuan Porter (a 5'6" freshman from Detroit who bettered Jason Kapono's freshman record for three pointers in a Pac-10 season)
- first team all-conference and Pac-10 all-tourney guard Aaron Brooks (a 6'0" senior who hit game-winners against UCLA and Arizona and led the conference in scoring)
- 6'6" wing Malik Hairston (who fought injuries much of the season but still managed to become the 10th Duck to ever reach 1000 points for his career during his junior year)
- and Pac-10 all-tourney guard Bryce Taylor (a 6'5" guard who was 3-3 from the free throw line, 7-7 from the 3-point arc, and 4-4 on all other field goals to score 32 points in 31 minutes in the Pac-10 championship game against USC).
The bench is okay, but the most important thing about this team is that all five starters can make you pay on offense. The second most important thing is that the starting five can--and this weekend did--play really good team defense. They have great conditioning, as they showed by winning their three-games-in-three-days by an average of 20.3 points. They're led by a senior who got to play with "the Lukes" (Ridnour and Jackson) and three juniors who have finally been living up to their billing as the best recruiting class Oregon's ever had (back in 2004--if you follow the link Oregon's class for that year is ranked sixth, right behind Indiana and UCLA and right ahead of Louisville and (ahem) Florida. This team won road tests at Arizona and Georgetown and came back from a mid-season slump to ruin the rest of the Pac-10 in the conference tournament. I'll end this section about the Ducks with another quote from the Sports Guy. He's talking about how bad the Pac-10 is, but what's more important is the company in which he puts Oregon:
Anyway, watching all these games and comparing the conferences to one another, I don't see how anyone who knows anything about basketball could argue that the Pac-10 and Big Ten are better than the Big East, ACC or even the Big 12 (my vote for "most underrated conference"). UCLA, Oregon and Ohio State are all good. After that? It's a suckfest.
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I've decided to post my bracket here so that people can hold me accountable. I picked it the best way I know how: as fast as possible. Over-thinking ruins all brackets, I say. I might change one thing before the tournament starts on Thursday, which is to pick Southern Illinois over Holy Cross, but I think that the Salukis are going to miss the underdog status they've had in recent years and blow it in the first round. So here are the pictures of my facebook bracket, which I will be using in all pools I might enter this month. Click on the picture for a clearer view.
You'll notice that I have Oregon beating Florida in the Elite Eight (a game that should be amazing to watch), getting revenge against Kansas in the final four, and defeating Georgetown for the second time this year to win the whole thing in Atlanta. I know that a lot of this is wishful thinking, and I've talked myself into it based on how they played this weekend. But if they continue to play the way they did in the Pac-10 tournament, I really believe that they could pull this thing off.
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I watched most of Portland's game against Golden State last night. I know that the Warriors were without Baron Davis, but it was so good to watch the Blazers play with energy and poise. There isn't much to say other than the guys I already like keep making me like them even more: R-O-Y, Randolph, Udoka, Rodriguez, and Aldridge. It's also fun to see Freddie Jones, a member of that 2002 Oregon team, dunking on people for Portland now.
Alright, I need to finish my Unit Plan that will serve as part of my final in a really lame class tomorrow night.
Monday, February 12, 2007
I Am A Trail Blazers Fan
That's the name of the new online community I joined last night. I'm pretty excited about it, because now I'm sure I'll...wait, there is no good reason for me to be excited about it. But I still am. I have more work this week than I did last week, which is fantastic. I also start my teaching unit this week.
This weekend I got to see my friend Brian swim really well on Friday, but missed his race on Saturday that made another friend of mine cry because it was so good. I also watched a bunch of Super Bowl highlight shows put on by the NFL Network with my dad yesterday. The series is called America's Game, and it is very well done. Oh yeah, I also watched the Ducks lose on Saturday. I'm halfway through a post about my experience at the game last Thursday, so that'll be done hopefully by Wednesday. And it was great to get a Blazer sweep for the weekend, even if my predictions at Blazer's Edge weren't confident enough in my team.
I know there wasn't much substance here, but hopefully it gives you a few things to check out.
This weekend I got to see my friend Brian swim really well on Friday, but missed his race on Saturday that made another friend of mine cry because it was so good. I also watched a bunch of Super Bowl highlight shows put on by the NFL Network with my dad yesterday. The series is called America's Game, and it is very well done. Oh yeah, I also watched the Ducks lose on Saturday. I'm halfway through a post about my experience at the game last Thursday, so that'll be done hopefully by Wednesday. And it was great to get a Blazer sweep for the weekend, even if my predictions at Blazer's Edge weren't confident enough in my team.
I know there wasn't much substance here, but hopefully it gives you a few things to check out.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Some more McSweeney's, school, signing day, and another Blazer loss
Really, if yesterday's link to McSweeney's wasn't enough to get you checking that site everyday then I don't believe you enjoy reading or laughing. Here's a snippet from today. Think of it as another attempt to get you hooked.
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I have my first real paper of grad school due today, and of course I haven't started yet. That means I'll be working like crazy when I get home at one so that I can have it done by the time I go to class at four. Shouldn't I be working on that now instead of this post? Umm, good question.
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Today is signing day for college football, and hopefully the Ducks pull in some good guys. Not that it seems to matter, since we have a set pattern: underachieve, overachieve (but just enough to give hope for the next year), underachieve, overachieve, etc.
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Last night's Blazer game was ridiculous. I wasn't watching, but I did follow the gamecast at the beginning and then again at the end. Even though Nash wasn't playing, the fact that the Blazers could come back against the Suns is a good sign. And even if Nash had been playing, the fact that we continue to come out flat and get way behind early drives me crazy. How many times do I have to say "young" and "inconsistent" here? More than I already have, really? What if I just say it a whole bunch of times now, will that make the need go away? Worth a try, I suppose: young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent
There you go guys, now stop losing close games and coming out with no effort.
Funny, huh?THE AMERICANS
WHO VOTED FOR
GEORGE W. BUSH
WISH TO RETURN
THEIR TELEVISION.
BY WAYNE GLADSTONE- - - -
AMERICA: Yeah, hi. I bought this TV here about two years ago and I'd like to return it.
BEST BUY CLERK: Oh, yeah. I remember you. You loved this TV. What happened? Is it broken?
AMERICA: Broken? Well, I'm not sure. It's just that ... hmm. How do I explain?
BEST BUY CLERK: Well, what's the problem?
AMERICA: Well, I've heard there are other TVs? Like a smart TV that knows when your shows are on and can record them for you? One that can be programmed with parental controls and specifications.
BEST BUY CLERK: Yeah, sure, but you said you didn't want a smart TV. I remember. I tried to sell you that. But you said it was "haughty." That it gave you too much information—like it couldn't make up its mind. You wanted a "simple" TV that you could relate to.
AMERICA: Yeah, I know ... but this TV. I mean, sometimes I'll put it on a channel and it just stays there. No matter what. No matter how bad the channel is or how much I want something different. I even changed the batteries in the remote control and banged on the side of the set, but nothing works. It's like it's ignoring me.
BEST BUY CLERK: And that's a problem?
AMERICA: Well, yeah.
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I have my first real paper of grad school due today, and of course I haven't started yet. That means I'll be working like crazy when I get home at one so that I can have it done by the time I go to class at four. Shouldn't I be working on that now instead of this post? Umm, good question.
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Today is signing day for college football, and hopefully the Ducks pull in some good guys. Not that it seems to matter, since we have a set pattern: underachieve, overachieve (but just enough to give hope for the next year), underachieve, overachieve, etc.
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Last night's Blazer game was ridiculous. I wasn't watching, but I did follow the gamecast at the beginning and then again at the end. Even though Nash wasn't playing, the fact that the Blazers could come back against the Suns is a good sign. And even if Nash had been playing, the fact that we continue to come out flat and get way behind early drives me crazy. How many times do I have to say "young" and "inconsistent" here? More than I already have, really? What if I just say it a whole bunch of times now, will that make the need go away? Worth a try, I suppose: young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent young and inconsistent
There you go guys, now stop losing close games and coming out with no effort.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Friday night basketball
Last Friday night I got to partake in what first-ever and long-time Blazers play-by-play man Bill Schonely used to call “free basketball.” Twice.
When I turned on the Portland-Memphis game, the Blazers were still down by a bit. They had played a terrible first half, and had been struggling to come back throughout the third quarter. This was the game that Zach Randolph set a career high in points and shot attempts. But this is also a game that the Blazers would not give up on. It was so encouraging to watch them work, struggle, and do whatever they could to pull out this victory. I would have been really happy with this in most games, but because this was the second of a back-to-back, and one in which the first game of the two was terrible, I was ecstatic. I don't have much else to say because I've waited so long to write about it. But I was very glad that the Blazers came out during the second half and did what they could. This has been true in the last few games, as they've gone 6-4 in their last ten.
I turned on the DVR to capture the second half of the Oregon-Washington State game as soon as Portland finally won. I watched a bit, but realized that we were down and I was tired. After a half hour or so of reading in the guest room, I heard my mom come up from the garage and turn the TV on to check the score. The Ducks had been down by 13 or so when I had left. When she said that they were down by two, I decided to give the rest of the game a chance.
I have been saying all year that the best thing about this team is how good the top five are. With the 2002 elite eight team there were three great players and two good role players. But this team has five players that I trust with the big shot at any time. In the Cougar game Aaron Brooks and TaJuan Porter both made huge three pointers at the end, but it was Maarty Leunen who made two free throws with .5 of a second left in regulation. And then Brooks caught on fire as the overtime started. I know that we lost tonight in Pauley Pavilion, but this Ducks team is very good, and deserves to stay in the top ten (if we can beat USC on Saturday).
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J-Lew asked why Brooks was suspended. Sorry it's taken so long, but this is what I know. The league suspended him for the elbow during the Washington game in the Pac-10 tournament. That suspension was served the during the next game of the tournament. In addition, the team suspended him for the season opener and the first of two against Washington. Those suspensions were not imposed by the league, and were something done completely within house. For more on the background, go here or here.
When I turned on the Portland-Memphis game, the Blazers were still down by a bit. They had played a terrible first half, and had been struggling to come back throughout the third quarter. This was the game that Zach Randolph set a career high in points and shot attempts. But this is also a game that the Blazers would not give up on. It was so encouraging to watch them work, struggle, and do whatever they could to pull out this victory. I would have been really happy with this in most games, but because this was the second of a back-to-back, and one in which the first game of the two was terrible, I was ecstatic. I don't have much else to say because I've waited so long to write about it. But I was very glad that the Blazers came out during the second half and did what they could. This has been true in the last few games, as they've gone 6-4 in their last ten.
I turned on the DVR to capture the second half of the Oregon-Washington State game as soon as Portland finally won. I watched a bit, but realized that we were down and I was tired. After a half hour or so of reading in the guest room, I heard my mom come up from the garage and turn the TV on to check the score. The Ducks had been down by 13 or so when I had left. When she said that they were down by two, I decided to give the rest of the game a chance.
I have been saying all year that the best thing about this team is how good the top five are. With the 2002 elite eight team there were three great players and two good role players. But this team has five players that I trust with the big shot at any time. In the Cougar game Aaron Brooks and TaJuan Porter both made huge three pointers at the end, but it was Maarty Leunen who made two free throws with .5 of a second left in regulation. And then Brooks caught on fire as the overtime started. I know that we lost tonight in Pauley Pavilion, but this Ducks team is very good, and deserves to stay in the top ten (if we can beat USC on Saturday).
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J-Lew asked why Brooks was suspended. Sorry it's taken so long, but this is what I know. The league suspended him for the elbow during the Washington game in the Pac-10 tournament. That suspension was served the during the next game of the tournament. In addition, the team suspended him for the season opener and the first of two against Washington. Those suspensions were not imposed by the league, and were something done completely within house. For more on the background, go here or here.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
MId-week update
I was fortunate to watch the overtime of the Blazers win against the Timberwolves tonight. What stood out?
I have class every Thursday night, so I won't get to watch the Ducks play the Huskies tomorrow night. Aaron Brooks doesn't get to play in that one, so it could be a little rough. But we've played through other injuries already this year, so maybe missing the potential POY will show how tough the team is.
- Zach Randolph, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Brandon R-O-Y all made pairs of clutch free throws at the end. It's not that I don't expect this from all three of them. In fact, that may be the most amazing part. I do expect all three of those guys to make clutch free throws at the end of games.
- I'm sure a lot of people will talk about this play, but when Portland was down 96-93 toward the end of overtime Zach rotated over to help on Kevin Garnett. It was good, quick help. When KG passed out of the double he found Mark Blount under the hoop. I thought it was a bucket, but Martell Webster was there to frustrate Blount and force him into a travel. Two instances, on one play, of guys doing the "little things" that are so important. Why make a big deal about it? These two guys aren't known for their defense, and "little things" take on even more meaning with 45 seconds left in overtime.
- The line for Sergio Rodriguez was disappointing to me tonight, because I always want to see high assists and low turnovers. Sure, I like seeing guys score points--how would we win without 'em?--but what I really want is Sergio to elevate the passing game of the whole team. Having said that, I'll take 18 from Sergio off the bench. He really does keep showing more and more of the aspects to his game that will make him a fantastic NBA player.
- I still hate Jamaal Magloire. I don't have a follow-up to that.
- It will be interesting to see what happens when Travis comes back. People coming back from injury this year have messed with the team when we had good things going, so this could play out like that. Or it could be more like when Jack just came back from the concussion. Sure, it was shorter, but maybe the team has reestablished the right sort of chemistry to hold through another shift in playing times and roles. Hopefully.
I have class every Thursday night, so I won't get to watch the Ducks play the Huskies tomorrow night. Aaron Brooks doesn't get to play in that one, so it could be a little rough. But we've played through other injuries already this year, so maybe missing the potential POY will show how tough the team is.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Aaron Brooks...no, NOT that one
Since I'm not an insider at ESPN I couldn't read the whole thing, but it was nice to see a great player from my team get some love from Jay Bilas. This is most of what you can see if you follow this link:
I put my favorite part in bold, just to
emphasize it. Brooks really has been great for Oregon this season. I watched all of the Arizona game on Sunday and most of tonight's Cal game, and in each one he made big shot after big shot and took over whenever we needed somebody to do so. He's in the line of people like Luke Ridnour, Kenya Wilkins, and Terrell Brandon. In fact, here's what Ernie Kent said about that to Luke Andrews of the Oregon Daily Emerald, our on-campus newspaper:
So, for POY, the strongest candidates have been Wisconsin's Alando Tucker (big shots, big plays in big games), Texas' Durant (the most talented player in America), Nevada's Nick Fazekas (he has been as good as any big man), Florida's Joakim Noah (no player is more productive in just 24 minutes), UCLA's Arron Afflalo (plays on both ends and is the Bruins' heart), LSU's Glen Davis (big-time college player),Oklahoma State's Mario Boggan (one of the most productive interior players in the country) and Tennessee's Chris Lofton (this year's Redick). Let's add another name ... Oregon's Aaron Brooks. Brooks is averaging more than 18 points, almost 5 assists and 2 steals, and he has taken it on himself to hit every big shot Oregon has needed to win key games. It was Brooks who shot down UCLA, and he was magnificent on the road at Arizona. There might be a long way to go in this whole player of the year debate, but Brooks deserves to be in it as much as anyone we have named so far.
I put my favorite part in bold, just to
emphasize it. Brooks really has been great for Oregon this season. I watched all of the Arizona game on Sunday and most of tonight's Cal game, and in each one he made big shot after big shot and took over whenever we needed somebody to do so. He's in the line of people like Luke Ridnour, Kenya Wilkins, and Terrell Brandon. In fact, here's what Ernie Kent said about that to Luke Andrews of the Oregon Daily Emerald, our on-campus newspaper:When asked to compare Brooks to some of the great Oregon point guards of the past, from Luke Ridnour to Kenya Wilkins to Terrell Brandon and on down, Kent was quick to name Brooks near the top.
"He's definitely one of the best we've had here," Kent said. "I mean that, too. Athletically, he is the best. I don't think I've ever had a point guard that has his kind of stamina that can go like he can go for 40 minutes of a game, never miss a beat and come into practice and look the same way."
Saturday, January 06, 2007
This has been a big day
I already mentioned that I didn't watch Oregon beat UCLA. That was a pretty good start to this day for me as a sports fan. And then I got to see the end of the Seahawks game. As I've said, my confidence in the Seahawks has waned recently, so I was only watching the game every once in a while. But when I turned it on in the fourth quarter I was able to watch Seattle pull out a huge win. A HUGE WIN. I was recently discussing Jeremy Stevens with my friend Mark, and he was saying that Stevens is that good or something or other. I wasn't really listening. I argued that Stevens has come up huge, even though he has had a few problems with dropped passes. Well, he did it again today. And the other guy to come up huge was Lofa Tatupu. That guy is fantastic. If he had better body control--barely--he would have been able to keep his foot in bounds and the we would have been tied. But at the time I already thought that the safety might have been better for us. And it worked out that way. The defense came up HUGE. Babineaux stepped it up, that's for sure. It was great to have Bobby Engram back. Oh man, I can't talk about this any more, I just had to mention it. And not to jinx things, but the Blazers are ahead of the Kings at the moment, which would complete the trifecta for the day.
Oh what fun it is to ride
On Thursday my friend Jacob called to tell me that he might be able to get tickets to this morning's Oregon-UCLA basketball game. It seems that his mom gets tickets from her job to offer to clients, but sometimes the clients can't go. When that's the case, she can use the tickets herself. It sounded like her client was going to be busy, so Jacob and I were going to get to use the tickets. He told me this right after we lost our first game of the year, losing by two to USC. It sounded like the Ducks played tough, but couldn't quite pull it out. That was a distinguishing characteristic of the team last year: lots of talent but an inability to finish tough opponents. I had been hoping that this season would be different.
Last night I talked to Jacob again and found out that the client would be taking the tickets after all. With that, I sunk back into my recent routine of watching as much LOST as possible, hoping to get caught up with the series before it returns on February 7. When my connection
wasn't working so well I stopped trying to do that and started catching up with season two of Entourage. Before falling asleep I decided to take a ride on my bike this morning to figure out how long the trip to my new practicum site would be. Well, I ended up watching another episode of LOST before taking off, and so I didn't get onto the road until a little after 12:00.
I had a nice ride, and found that if I'm making good time I'll be able to get to school in about half an hour on the bike. I'm looking forward to this because it will solve one of the problems I had in my New Year's Resolution post--how to work out regularly and keep getting my foot healthy--and it will save me money and emissions. When I got back my phone was flashing with several messages. My friend John from Phoenix sent me this text:
on to listen to my one voicemail. It was another friend congratulating me, but this time at halftime. Halfway through the game Ian Lovett had called to wish me luck as the Ducks were up 40-30.
A few days ago I was going to post about how my two basketball teams, the Blazers and Ducks, had taken the confidence that had recently been reserved for my two football teams, the Seahawks and Ducks. But then Portland started going way downhill, and I got worried about Oregon after the USC loss. It looks like at least one of those teams still deserves my confidence, since Oregon proved that the close games will come sometimes this year.
It's too bad I didn't get to go to the game this morning, but it was a good bike ride, and it was really good to come back and have the nice surprise of winning a huge game.
Last night I talked to Jacob again and found out that the client would be taking the tickets after all. With that, I sunk back into my recent routine of watching as much LOST as possible, hoping to get caught up with the series before it returns on February 7. When my connection
wasn't working so well I stopped trying to do that and started catching up with season two of Entourage. Before falling asleep I decided to take a ride on my bike this morning to figure out how long the trip to my new practicum site would be. Well, I ended up watching another episode of LOST before taking off, and so I didn't get onto the road until a little after 12:00.I had a nice ride, and found that if I'm making good time I'll be able to get to school in about half an hour on the bike. I'm looking forward to this because it will solve one of the problems I had in my New Year's Resolution post--how to work out regularly and keep getting my foot healthy--and it will save me money and emissions. When I got back my phone was flashing with several messages. My friend John from Phoenix sent me this text:
That was a sweet game by your ducks. I was happy to see ucla lose. CongratulationsI had forgotten that the game was this morning, so I went
on to listen to my one voicemail. It was another friend congratulating me, but this time at halftime. Halfway through the game Ian Lovett had called to wish me luck as the Ducks were up 40-30.A few days ago I was going to post about how my two basketball teams, the Blazers and Ducks, had taken the confidence that had recently been reserved for my two football teams, the Seahawks and Ducks. But then Portland started going way downhill, and I got worried about Oregon after the USC loss. It looks like at least one of those teams still deserves my confidence, since Oregon proved that the close games will come sometimes this year.
It's too bad I didn't get to go to the game this morning, but it was a good bike ride, and it was really good to come back and have the nice surprise of winning a huge game.
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