Syndicate
Twitter Link
A bargain at any price?
Just like lunch, there's no free sports.
Which is why I expect the new Pac 12 TV Network is going to inflate my already inflated monthly Comcast bill.
Ok, maybe I'm wrong. I hope so. But I doubt it.
This week the Pac 12 Czarzilla, I mean, Commissioner Larry Scott trumpeted his latest scheme to make Oregon and the 11 Dwarfs happy happy happy - by breaking ground, ceremonially, for the Pac 12 Studios in San Francisco, in the same building with Comcast SportsNet/Bay Area.
See what I mean? I already smell a conspiracy to cost me money.
San Jose sportswriter Jon Wilner "caught up" with Scott on Monday to get the scoop (actually, when there's a reporter around I seriously doubt it's hard to get Scott's attention. But try asking him a question if your a low-dollar fan).
Wilner reports the Pac 12 will launch its TV empire August 15, about two weeks before football kicks off. But there are "many unanswered questions in regards to distribution of/access to the national and regional networks," he reports.
Translation: What is this going to cost me?
Wilner pressed Scott for the facts, Sir, just the facts.
I also triple-checked with Scott about broadcast plans for football and men’s basketball games not shown on ESPN or Fox. (I’ve sensed confusion about who will see what and where you need to be to see it.)Here’s the answer: You’ll see everything no matter where you are, provided you’re a subscriber.
As Scoobie would say at this point of the interview, Ruh- Rho.
(The Big 10 Network, BTW, is available in Eugene on Comcast, for an extra subscription. I have no idea what it costs because there's no way in hell I'm paying a dime to watch some loser Big 10 team. On the other hand, I did some checking and it sure sounds like there are fees on top of fees.)
But Scott told Winer not to worry, because Pac12TV is a sweet deal at any price.
... from an operations standpoint, the Pac-12 Network(s) will be revenue-positive in Year One, although he doesn’t expect the league to distribute any network-related income to the schools in 2012-13.
"Revenue-positive"?
I don't want to know what that means.
But I do have a question.
What's it going to cost me?
Dear Chippy,
And yes, I also know you don't like to be called Chippy. But honestly, I do, and that's what I'm calling you from now on.
When you told me you were leaving it broke my heart. Yeah, I didn't see it coming. I get that now. All the signs were there - you being swamped at work, late nights and early mornings, always on the road, never home for long, then gone again.
You said you were super busy. I believed you.
Then I find out you were in Florida, of all places. Having secret meetings with who knows who. I was humiliated. I pulled the drapes. Couldn't even answer the phone. Couldn't eat. (Well, maybe a few bites.)
Sunday was worse. The truth sunk in but I still couldn't believe it - Gone, no goodbye, no explanation, no phone call. Just a note left on my step, folded into the newspaper. In the damn sports section! You knew how much I hate basketball!
Cruel, Chippy. Really low.
Then this morning I found your letter. My heart leapt. You're back? You love me? You really do? Oh Chippy, it was my dream come true!
Of course I am still here for you. Absolutely you are forgiven. I couldn't be happier you want to be together. How can you doubt you're the only one for me?
But I've had a lot of time to think, and a few things have to change. Little things, really, nothing major, like ...
Stuff it with wisecracks and smart remarks when my friends are around. Your juvenile sense of humor is wearing thin, way thin. When people ask you something, answer their damn question. Don't smirk. Don't snap at them or say they are stupid. Just open your mouth and sound like a grown up. You'll get used to it.
My favorite color is blue. Get it? Not bright yellow, moldy green, or faded black. I don't want a camo sweater for Christmas or a mirror finished hat. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. Use your brain before you buy something next time. Just once, think about some body other than you.
There are other things in life besides watching football games over and over and over. I'm in charge of the DVR and I have blocked ESPN. Get used to Golf Channel, Gold Rush and American Idol - because that's what we're watching.
Oh, and that big tall box in the kitchen? It's a refrigerator sweetheart. If you want something out of it, then pick up your lazy butt and walk your stubby legs in there and open the door. What? None of your favorite beer or ice cream? Geez, that's too bad. Maybe you ought to drive your sorry ass to the store and get it your self.
And one more thing Darling. Lose the stupid visor. The glare off your bald spot is distracting and people are laughing at you behind your back. Grownups don't wear shorts in the winter and your pasty whites really should be covered up year round. Get some socks while you're at it. I know 8th grade was your favorite class in school, but there comes a time to move on.
I know I have.
They come and they go
So Darron Thomas is turning pro and skipping his senior year at Oregon.
And exactly why does this surprise you?
Here's a real news flash - Kids from Texas don't move to western Oregon for the weather.
In the Matter of D. Thomas, this young man had his sights on the NFL long before he ever thought of wearing the thunder green and lightning yellow. Now he's chasing his dream. Oregon was a stepping stone.
What's more, I don't buy into the doom and gloom out there over the "loss" of DT and LaMichael James next year. Come on people - we knew they were just passing through. These guys aren't our children who move home after college.
Darron and LaMichael always were leaving Oregon for the brighter lights of paid football - we just thought we knew when that day would come. It came a little sooner than we hoped. That's all.
No big deal. So cease and desist with the outrage, O Mighty Autzenites. A new day is about to dawn.
And it won't last forever either.
~
Here's what I will remember about the Thomas/James years, and it isn't anything that happened in Autzen Stadium. It was last year in the new Matthew Knight Arena near the end of the season.
The loss in the National Championship had faded and hometown interest in basketball had shifted, enough that I paid the ransom to watch Oregon play in the Matt.
At half time I wandered the concourse checking out the sights. Somewhere near the gourmet hot dog concession I spotted two young men strolling, all decked out in red Nike gear - and instantly recognized Darron Thomas and LaMichael James.
LaMike was smiling broadly. He had stopped to talk to a small clutch of adoring middle schoolers, signed autographs, and obviously enjoyed the interaction.
Meanwhile, DT just stood there, towering over the shorter James. He utterly and completely ignored the kids - who only had eyes for LMJ. Thomas kept his gaze fixed high, over the heads of the crowd. He was imperious, uncomfortable even, and detached from the hubbub LaMichael was causing in the corridor.
Here was a contrast of two heroes. One fit in, and the other didn't. I could tell by his face Thomas didn't live in Eugene. He slept here. He didn't enjoy it. He endured it. I also saw this was LaMichael James' town, these little boys were his people. He did live here and, as effortlessly as he slipped into the end zone so many times, he was one of us.
So it is no surprise whatsoever that Darron chose to leave with less than 24-hours' notice. I suspect LaMichael - who has a much better chance of success in the NFL - struggled with his decision to skip his senior year as a Duck. I doubt Thomas struggled at all.
~
Speaking of quarterbacks, there is one ex-Oregon signal caller whose name won't likely be mentioned in the Oregon transition from Darron Thomas - his ol' buddy, Jeremiah Masoli.
After he left Oregon and finished his college career at Ol' Miss, JM tried out for the 49ers and ended up playing last year with a minor league pro team in Omaha. Rumor is that he may play in the Canadian League next year, and he still has his eye on the NFL - San Francisco wanted him to return kicks, but Jeremiah wants to prove he is a quarterback, so he's chasing that dream.
I follow Masoli because I had a small hand trying to help him out of hot water in Eugene two years ago. As events turned out, my role was meaningless. For a minute or so, before the traffic stop in Springfield ended it all, there was a glimmer of hope Jeremiah would be cleared of the Fratgate charges and regain his leadership of the Ducks. It was not to be, but in the process I learned a little bit about what made him tick.
This fall I reconnected with a guy who also was involved in Jeremiah's case. He asked if anyone ever followed up with me? No, I said, that wasn't expected and certainly not necessary. Then a few days ago I received a large envelope in the mail - a photo of Masoli in his Duck uniform, signed with a kind note that he appreciated my help and thanked me. Next to his signature, he wrote in big letters, GO DUCKS!
I only met Masoli once and he hardly knew me, yet he still has a connection to Eugene. That sort of character isn't what I expect from petty crooks and hoodlums, and Masoli is neither. He - like LaMichael - is a young man who adopted Eugene as a home.
This may be unfair, but I believe it - Darron Thomas will not send any thank you notes to any one who helped him in Eugene.
Certainly not two years after he bolted town in the dead of night with stars in his eyes.
New Year, new faces?
It's raining, so it must be Bowl Time
First look: Oregon vs Wisconsin
Black Monday in the Pac-12
That's one third of the football brain trust in the Pac-12, shown the door for a whole bunch of reasons.
Erickson was dumped because his approach to coaching just got old and the front office just got tired of it. The ASU athletic director had trouble spinning it with a straight face.
It was the completion of that toward the end where we began to not feel the on-field presence that ultimately led to the decision.
At least AD Bill Moos at WSU candidly admitted Wulff was canned because the university "didn't see 'butts in the seats.' Style points for honesty.
Locally, my city is getting ready to host the first football championship of the Pac-12 conference. This was supposed to be a big deal - but then the opponent ended up being UCLA, led by terminated "hit between the eyes" coach, Rick Neuheisel, whose failing was that other teams kept scoring more touchdowns. Other than that, UCLA liked him just fine.
Coach did most everything the right way at his alma mater. All except the winning part.
That has to help Oregon on Friday, right? A wounded team facing undistracted Ducks?
Oh, children, if life only were so simple.
In the grown up world, Oregon's football program has a huge distraction, because the State of Oregon couldn't leave well enough alone either this week.
On Monday the state board of higher education fired Richard Lariviere, the University of Oregon President, who by-the-way was the guy who quite possibly made the modern Duck Dynasty possible. His fatal flaw? Lariviere was 100% for the UO - from football to science to dormitories - but the big wigs didn't think he was a team player.
Huh? Whose "team" would that be?
Duck coach Kelly said he was stunned by Lariviere's dismissal. His was the administration that gave Kelly the green light to become the hottest new football program in America. Chip relied on Lariviere, more than most fans probably realized, to build that dynasty.
When the pin feathers hit the academic fan this week, Kelly had nothing bad to say about his boss.
"In my dealings with Richard I think he's brilliant, I think he's a visionary and I think he's been a great leader. I don't know what transpired, but when I got the news, I was really surprised."
Kelly had a lot of interaction with Lariviere -- he was a regular at Kelly's postgame press conferences, and Kelly said he's invited Lariviere to speak to the team before.
"I've got the utmost respect for him," Kelly said.
University presidents have lots of jobs besides supporting their football team. But the smart ones know that winning big games on Saturday (and Thursday, Friday and Monday) makes the university look good in the eyes of potential students, not to mention increasingly important donors - all the time generally shining a positive spotlight on their campus.
My hunch is that Oregon's strong football program didn't happen in a vacuum. It is part of a bigger picture on campus that needed strong administrative encouragement. The dean of the much respected UO School of Journalism and Communication, Tim Gleason, summed up why Lariviere's firing endangers Oregon's ability to continue to improve in all aspects of the university.
We are poised to make even greater progress, in part, because our president has modeled and encouraged creative, innovative, future-oriented thought and action. We are on a roll, to the benefit of all. Please do not stop us now.
So yes, we still have the same coach with whom we started the season, which is more than one-third of the Pac-12 can say. But Oregon has taken a hit that may be far more serious down the road. Who knows who the state board will hire to supervise Mullens, Kelly, Altman, Lananna, and the rest of the athletic department?
At time of rapid expansion in the conference - with dreams of athletic program financial independence very real - the new Oregon president won't just be a new face in Johnson Hall.
He or she will have much to say about the future of Oregon sports, and what it looks like three years down the road. Given the parochial views of the people who will hire the new president, Duck fans should be very concerned who will be calling the shots at this time next season.
Follow MDC on Twitter
Hey Duckies - due to overwhelming demand (I'm easily overwhelmed as some of you know... ) I've created a twitter link on this page for all of you who want to follow MDC at hyperspeed. I will tweet new posts and other stuff, so there's no reason for you not to be the first to know the scoop on the Duck poop.
Just scroll down the left side of the blog page, at the bottom of the green field cleverly titled "Twitter Link."
Go Ducks!
More Coaching Chaos
Dennis Erickson today fired as Arizona State's coach.
Paul Wullf's future at WSU to be decided in next 24 hours.
... and at Kansas and South Carolina
Best comment on line,
I hope Mike Belotti has an "unlimited plan" on his cell phone.
Go Away Skippy
* * *
Rick Neuheisel needs to go away. Right now.
Not two weeks from now, or next Saturday after the Bruins play Oregon for the Pac-12 championship. Win or lose, UCLA gets a new coach next season.
Don't wait for the guard to change. Forget Skippy today.
See, Neuheisel is a huge distraction and his collapsing house of cards is drawing attention away from the game. That creates cover for UCLA to sneak into Autzen and upset the Ducks.
Get away from us Skippy. You bother us.
After UCLA was humiliated in the LA Coliseum by USC, 50 - 0, Slick Rick was given a golden ticket to Autzen Stadium for one final glorious meet up with the Ducks. Instead of being sacked immediately, the UCLA front office gave Neweasel a parting shot. Cowards.
The body of evidence is overwhelming when it comes to Neuheisel's bad blood with Oregon. We are the team Skippy loves to hate.
As Washington's coach in 2002, he encouraged his team to dance on the O in Autzen. Same guy who, as Colorado's coach, called a fake punt in the fourth quarter against Oregon in the 1996 Cotton Bowl, when he was up by 3 touchdowns.
No way Neuheisel has forgotten this fond memory.
With potential Washington recruits in the house at the Oregon/Oregon State football game (Eugene, 2001), a video clip of Rick Neuheisel is juxtaposed with a scene from the movie "Airplane" that shows a woman vomiting. It is shown six times on the Jumbotron. Of course, the partisan crowd whoops it up each time.
If Rick loses by even one point he's gone.
If you’re going to lose badly, may as well do it in style. Right?
Neuheisel's imminent demise sets up a classic gotcha opportunity - his team is badly outmatched, and his best chance at going out on top is to draw the attention away from the game.
And hope Oregon's coaches and players are caught up in his drama and forget about Friday. Unlikely - but this is grasping straws time. Oregon is favored by 31.
So it almost certainly ends in Autzen. The LA Times warned Saturday night that even an upset probably isn't enough.
No hope there, Neuheisel's run is over at UCLA. Now he's just hanging around being annoying. Like the last guest from Thanksgiving, still rummaging in the refrigerator, making a mess in the kitchen.
Go. Away. Now.