And All That…
Go Ducks, go Phils, go have a safe and happy Halloween!
Open thread for all three…
Tag: "NCAA football"
On Embracing Our Contradictions
It should go without saying that I a) substantially agree with all of Scott’s critiques of major NCAA athletics, and b) will be cheering heartily today for both the Cats and the Ducks. For the former, I think this exchange is appropriate:
Moe: All right, Homer, I’m not gonna lie to you. There’s a good
chance you can beat Tatum. But you gotta visualize how
you’re gonna win, okay?
Homer: Gotcha.
[dreams on about his victory]
Announcer: A congenital heart defect has apparently felled Tatum moments
before he could step into the ring.
Go Cats! Go Ducks!
…. Question; do people actually beat rented mules, or is that just an expression?
24th
Holy crap. Not only did we not break Oregon State’s hallowed PAC-10 record of futility, thanks to Idaho (for whom one of my future brothers-in-law works for), but on the heels of the 16-13 upset of USC, Washington is in the rather unlikely position of being back in the national top-25.
Where we belong.
This time last year, the UW would have had a difficult time breaking the state top-25.
I was going to say something about English cricket in the one day internationals against Australia, but they somehow managed to win the seventh and final match, thus dragging their record in that series to 1-6. Good thing the Ashes don’t factor in the ODIs.
Not the Sort of Company You Want to Be In
Washington 23 – 31 LSU
Unlike my colleague Dr. Farley, I will not be blogging much on the (American) football program of my alma mater. (Perhaps it’s because we suck?) I fully expected the University of Washington to not win against LSU yesterday. Indeed, this speaks to the new depths that this formerly glorious program has reached when I walk away from that game thinking “hey, we only lost by a touchdown or so, that’s great!”
Then I read this final paragraph in the Seattle Times’ account of the game:
It was the 15th straight loss for the Huskies, tying a Pac-10 record set twice previously by Oregon State. The first 14 Washington losses came under Sarkisian’s predecessor, Tyrone Willingham.
Because that makes all the difference. We tied a record set by Oregon State?
Bloody hell.
Go Du…… never mind
Jesus. Kind of a disaster. Babies are agitated, angry, and fussy. Not an auspicious beginning to the Chip Kelly era.
Bellotti Bumps
Mike Bellotti is stepping down as Oregon’s football coach to become the school’s athletic director, and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly will be promoted to head coach.Bellotti, who has coached the Ducks for the last 14 seasons, takes over his new position July 1, replacing athletic director Pat Kilkenny. Kelly becomes coach on March 30, the opening day of spring practice.
The moves first were announced in December, but no timetable was set for the transition.
Bellotti will serve in the interim as senior counselor to Kilkenny, who will step down June 30.
Oregon’s athletic department scheduled a news conference Saturday to discuss the transition. Bellotti would not comment until then.
Bellotti, 58, has gone 116-55 as coach of the Ducks. This past season Oregon went 10-3 with a 42-31 win over Oklahoma State in the Holiday Bowl. The Ducks finished the season ranked No. 10.
Not really much question that Bellotti was the finest head coach the Ducks have ever had.
"Trust me. It was an important game."
This is funny. However, I feel confident in asserting that the AutoZone Liberty Bowl was substantially superior in this respect to the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl, where UK played in 2006 and 2007.
Ht Evan.
Bowl Mania Final Standings
The Knows Pickers win it! If the winner would furnish me with an address, I will furnish s/he with an appropriate prize. I’m almost (but not quite) inclined to give a prize for last, too; 9-25 is impressive in its own right.
| RNK | ENTRY, OWNER | RECORD | TOTAL |
| 1 | Dr. Squid Knows Pickers, C. Carrell | 20-14 | 402 |
| 2 | Ain’t That Pretty At All, R. Cobeen | 17-17 | 368 |
| 3 | Foggy Bottom Line, S. Scott | 19-15 | 356 |
| 3 | long time lurker, J. DeLange | 18-16 | 356 |
| 5 | enelson44, E. Nelson | 18-16 | 354 |
| 6 | Cookie Monsters, J. Lobasz | 18-16 | 353 |
| 7 | Schwyzer, H. Schwyzer | 20-14 | 341 |
| 8 | Bishus, O. Bishus | 18-16 | 333 |
| 9 | Gaw, C. Gaw | 21-13 | 331 |
| 10 | g, s g | 21-13 | 330 |
| 11 | Evan, E. Robertson | 19-15 | 329 |
| 12 | gj manatees, b. junge | 17-17 | 320 |
| 13 | Tha Crusha, T. Militano | 16-18 | 319 |
| 14 | Seals, C. Seals | 18-16 | 310 |
| 15 | penasquito, W. Wyatt | 15-19 | 299 |
| 16 | husker doo, c. rasmussen | 17-17 | 291 |
| 17 | Kooistra, K. Kooistra | 18-16 | 282 |
| 18 | Samoan Napoleon Trefoil, J. M | 16-18 | 281 |
| 19 | Minnesota Venturas, J. Fecke | 15-19 | 278 |
| 20 | jmack, J. Mackin | 13-21 | 271 |
| 21 | Jshinola, J Shinola | 16-18 | 270 |
| 22 | Smith, P. Smith | 16-18 | 269 |
| 23 | B, J B | 15-19 | 264 |
| 24 | The Usual Suspect, E. Gomez | 16-18 | 261 |
| 25 | Drunken Warthogs, S. Ehrlich | 15-19 | 259 |
| 26 | Go green, go white, W. Chum | 12-22 | 258 |
| 27 | Girding the Nittany Loins, D. Stefanon | 14-20 | 252 |
| 28 | Pootie Tang, D. Raskin | 13-21 | 248 |
| 29 | EV_Debs, B. Alpers | 12-22 | 240 |
| 29 | Dr. Awkward, Z. Keane | 14-20 | 240 |
| 31 | Fraud Guy, E. Cerevic | 15-19 | 233 |
| 32 | Cincinnati Bearded Ducks, R. Farley | 16-18 | 231 |
| 33 | Stay Classy, C. M | 15-19 | 225 |
| 34 | With the Russians, too, D. Merrill | 15-19 | 224 |
| 35 | Ottawa Rough Riders, K. Witter | 13-21 | 191 |
| 36 | kodos423, k. crockett | 12-22 | 179 |
| 37 | smith, m. smith | 11-23 | 148 |
| 38 | Ducking Minerva, M. Power | 9-25 | 128 |
Bowl Mania Standings
If my calculations are correct, we’re down to two:
| Rank | Name | Record | Max | Current |
| 1 | Dr. Squid Knows Pickers, C. Carrell | 17-13 | 420 | 371 |
| 2 | Cookie Monsters, J. Lobasz | 17-13 | 399 | 352 |
One other team has a max above 371, but is eliminated because of pick duplication. Cookie Monsters need victories by Ohio State and Ball State in order to win the title.
Go Cats!
Hostility to the SEC aside, I am obligated to cheer for the Wildcats. Go Cats! Beat the Pirates! Or at least escort them to a suitable third country for prosecution!
Pac-10 Rocks, Pac-10 Rolls…
5-0. Frankly, I’d take USC -10 against either Oklahoma or Florida.
Image by Memphis Jay.
3-0
I don’t really pay much attention to college football these days — an admission that I think would earn me an ass-kicking from Rob, Scott and Paul if I lived within driving distance of, well, anywhere — but this must have been just about the crappiest bowl game ever.
It’s been a while, evidently, since a bowl game ended with so few points on the board. The 1959 Cotton Bowl, the only same with fewer total points, ended in a nil tie. The account in the Dallas Morning News the next day is pretty amusing.
Early in the second period, the Air Force took the initiative, sweeping 52 yards to the TCU 6. Oddley enough, only one pass was employed by the smallish Falcons in that drive, one for 14 yards from substitute Quarterback Eddie Rosane to End Tom Joswiak. After TCU slowed the attack, Halfback George Pupich tried a field goal from the 12 but was wide to the left.In defense of the unsuccessful kickers on both teams – Pupich and Spikes – it should be noted that the 10-mile-per-hour wind – played some tricks.
All the more reason to abolish the Air Force, if it can’t compete in a 10 m.p.h. wind. What were the Russians supposed to make of this? Frankly, I’m amazed we ever won the Cold War.
