I'm in a Virginia Commonwealth of Mind.

Old TV Western.
Click 'like' if you remember it.         LIKE

This is the first time Oregon has gone against Virginia since the Civil War (No Beavers, the ORIGINAL Civil War.) Here are some interesting little known facts about the state.

Virginia, State of, NOT.
Virginia, an original New England Colony, does not call itself a state. They prefer to refer to themselves as a 'commonwealth', I'm assuming because everybody within its borders is commonly wealthy.

In 1863, West Virginia seceded from Virginia because they thought Virginians were like "really over-the-top obsessed and weird about their slaves and stuff".

Virginia's main exports are tobacco, naval ships, and whacky conservatism. Their state bird is anything with wings that's fun to shoot (Bad news for Ducks.).
Their form of government is Baptist Libertarian, which is sometimes referred to as a Nudge-Nudge-Wink-Wink Confederacy.


Eric Cantor, House Representative, R-- Virginia.
The product of a Socio/Political experiment of sending
 a backwater redneck child to charm school.
"Now Master Eric, do not use your finger. Try this. It's called a toothbrush."

Virginia's state motto is the 2nd amendment written in King James style.  "And the Lord said, 'Let there be guns. Let your powder runneth over. I giveth to you the right to bareth arms . . . .'"

The University of Virginia is the oldest public university in the nation. It was founded by President Thomas Jefferson and established in 1819. Presidents Madison and Monroe also served as university presidents because, as Jefferson told them, "It's a pretty good gig after you retire from public service."

U of V is considered a liberal college by Southern standards because they let a black man onto the campus in 1950 -- four years before 'Brown vs. The Board of Education' in 1954.

The Game
[Apologies that the following three videos are links to take you to another site. I could not get them to embed into the blog. Just hit back arrow to get back. Also, regrets for stupid commercial at start of each one. The videos are worth the extra effort, as they show a key aspect about Virginia.]

Look at this short clip of a play from last week . . .
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:9621141

. . . . and this one . . .
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:9621356

. . . and this one.
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:9622068

This summary from the Miami Herald confirms what you just saw.

The Cavaliers play an aggressive defense designed to get penetration, which could leave them susceptible to misdirection against the Ducks' exceptional speed

Despite Oregon being favored by three touchdowns, Marcus Mariota and the offensive line can't have an off day. They'll have to bring their 'A' game against the Cavaliers stunting 'D'. This will be the most interesting part of the game to watch -- How Mariota and his offensive line handles Virginia's blitzing schemes. 

Misdirection running plays should nullify their blitzes. But Mariota can make this look easy if he makes spot on decisions of when to handoff, when to keep and when to throw. He can't allow himself to get confused by the Cavaliers' defensive front. If he plays well here, his Heisman stock will go up.

When Virginia has the ball.
Although Virginia has brand new assistant coaches, they're largely keeping their same pro style offense. In other words, they're just a bunch of Huddlers, the kind of team Oregon loves to embarrass.

A post in an SB Nation blog talks about Virginia's choice to continue with the pro style offense as a recruiting advantage.

It has long been considered a recruiting draw to basically tell prospects you run what they do in the pros, and it will be interesting to see how that changes as what the pros do also changes.

Because chances are still good that in the pros, you're going to get some fat old recycled coach who likes to stop the action for two minutes after every play so we can all watch him stand there and stare at his laminated Applebee menu. Then you huddle, and from that comes a fullback up the middle for a yard.

But despite their 4-8 record from last season, the Cavs are no slouch. The new members of the coaching staff are bringing new energy. And they've almost completely forgotten about the defection of LeBron James.

This should be an entertaining game.

BTW. Did you actually click the blue LIKE?
Like if you did.                                                 LIKE

Gametime 12:30 Pacific, likely on ABC or ESPN2.

Have fun at the game, Fieggens.
--kb

Let the Mighty Duck Soar

"I told the team: Welcome to Oregon football; we win 66-3 and there is a little bit of or some element of disappointment, or improvement or desire to get better. And that's a good thing." -- Coach Mark Helfrich

After the game I was wondering which would be worse -- Oregon playing an imperfect game, winning 66-3 and having lots of game film to review mistakes, or playing perfect and pounding a small school 80-0 with no miscues to review?

The answer is obvious. It's better to expose and work out mistakes now than later in the season when the opponents are better and the stakes are higher.

Marcus Mariota admitted to opening game jitters as he overthrew a few wide open receivers in the first half. Nicholls State had their best production either throwing or running in the area occupied by Oregon's young and lesser experienced linebackers.

Blocking is a never ending practice. And the defensive linemen probably wish they could have gotten to the Colonels quarterback more often. 

You use last week's game to prepare you for next week's game. Oregon can spend the next few days figuring out how they can get better. This is crucial because while those who are supposed to be smarter than me are taking Virginia lightly in their posts and tweets, I see a hungry Cavalier team with a potentially sound game plan and a desire to do nothing less than knock off Mighty Oregon. More on them later.

A FEW OBSERVATIONS OF THE GAME: Photos from Oregonian and Daily Emerald.


It was both exhilarating and scary to see
175-pound DeAnthony Thomas rush for a career
high 18 carries. After the game all the coaches
commented that he would carry 20 times if
he needed to, but he probably won't need to.

Huff. Endzone. Touchdown.
Receiver Josh Huff is due to have an amazing season.

 

#11 Bralon Addison is setting himself up
to be Mariota's other hot target besides Huff.

 

And of course just when the defense believe they have
everything covered, Mariota does this. 

This is Targeting, unless something else is.
Terrance Mitchell lowered his head to tackle the QB
low when the QB slid low himself. They collided helmets
and Mitchell was automatically ejected.
Later that evening, I watched a Northwestern player blitz
in to sack the Cal QB. He came in standing and his head
was straight up, as was the QB's head. Their cages collide.
The Northwestern player is automatically ejected.
Neither head hit looked intentional. 
Yes we have to do something about head trauma.
But is this current Targeting rule doing it?

OTHER GAMES

MOST IMPRESSIVE LOOKING PAC-12 TEAM THIS WEEK: HUSKIES
Just typing that made me throw up in my mouth. Why did they look so good as they clobbered Boise State 38-6 in their new improved stadium? One reason really.

Washington appears to have completed an overhaul of their playing style. Now they are attempting to play just like Oregon. Rapid no huddle. Spread. Dual threat QB.

But could you get a Dawg fan to admit it? Don't even bother asking.

LOOK AT THE COUGARS!!! 
Washinton State hung tough and had about 450 yards of offense with two chances to tie Auburn in the fourth quarter before losing.  
If "Coug'in It" means losing by a touchdown at Auburn, raise a beverage to WSU fans as they chant "We don't suck so bad. We don't suck so bad. . . . "


AND THEN THERE IS OREGON STATE:

Oh Beavers . . .  Beeeeeeeeavers, Beavers, Beavers, Beavers beavers beavers beavers . . . . BEAVERS, OH BEAVERS!!!!  What the hell happened?

With a defensive performance so amazingly, astonishingly, inconceivably dysfunctional . . . inept . . . impotent . . . confused . . . befuddled . . . detached . . ., they did something no other self respecting Pac-12 team had ever done against the Eastern Washington Eagles.

They LOST!!!!

Beaver fans, for your punishment I hereby sentence you to listen to the entire video of former W. Bush Attorney General John Ashcroft singing this BEAUTIFUL song he wrote himself: Let the Mighty Eagle Soar.

Duck fans, hog tie any nearby Beaver fans and force them to watch this.


NOW LET'S GO BACK TO THE STUDIO
Saturday at the Pac-12 studio, normally agile and coordinated USC alum Ronnie Lott fell off the set and flipped over the back of his chair onto the floor. Did any of the other guys jump up to help him and see if he was alright? 

Heck no. But Bruin alum Rick Neuheisel was there to flip Lott TONS of crap.

This is so good, they show it twice.


Next: Virginia

--KB

Sympathy? Yes. Apology? No.

Almost exactly a year ago, Hurricane Isaac hit the Southern coast and hammered, among other places, Nicholls State University and the little hamlet where it's located Thibodaux, Louisiana.

Because of all the damage around Thibodaux (pronounced "THIGH-boe-dox", I think.), the football team could not see their way to travel to Corvallis for a September 1st football game. They postponed their trip until the end of the season.

Until then, the Nicholls State Colonels (pronounced "colon-ELS". I believe it's French.) lost every game miserably except one. And that one was against a lower NAIA league team. In fact, that team they defeated -- Evangel -- was the only team they had beaten the previous year as well.

So after getting smacked by a hurricane, then spanked by nearly every team they played through the season, they took the trip to Corvallis on a cold December day where they got paddled 77-3.

Now to start off this season, they're back in Oregon to play the Ducks.

In the following dramatization, Kevin Bacon will play the role of Nicholls State over the past year:



John Canzano talked with Nicholls State coach Charlie Stubbs in this story. The former Oregon State offensive assistant is currently 6-27 in his three seasons at NS. But he's unimpressed with Oregon's fancy facilities.

Says Stubbs, "I've been to places where you have all the bells and whistles," he said. "You know, I came to Nicholls our very first year, we didn't even have coaching headsets. I was like, "Are you kidding me!?!" When I came here we only had 56 players, and now we have 110 players."

Canzano goes on to write:
Stubbs said he believes too much can be made of high-definition video technology, and "bells and whistles that come with money." He remembers coaching decades ago when there was no videotape of practice.
"We didn't film. We especially didn't film practice. Everything was on a yell-ah notepad."
Yes, Stubbs said it just like that: "Yell-ah."


Veteran Oregon fans can sympathize with small, low budgeted, losing teams. The Ducks were there. But what changed was a group of supporters inside and outside the university, including the coach, who said, "What can we do to improve?"

Yes, Phil Knight had much to do with it. But it wasn't all him. It was coaches telling him and others, "Recruits LOVE bells and whistles. Let's make Oregon a fun and modern place to play."

But that's fine. If Coach Stubbs believes in what he's doing, and satisfied with his game plan and reason for being here (They'll collect a check for $450,000.), then more power to him. Good luck believing your recruits enjoy your waxing poetic about "yell-ah pads", coach.

Coach Stubbs: "So you got yer fancy TV's and comfy couches
and swimming pools? Well Laa-Dee-FRICKEN' Daaaa! Maybe while
you're soakin' your tootsies in your hot tub, you can think about me
FREEZIN' MY GONADS OFF in a van parked down by the river!!!"

Obviously he's a man who expects more of his program. At Oregon State from 1985 - 1990 under Dave Kragthorpe, he helped steer the team to a 17-48 record -- a far better percentage than what he's got now.

They say temperatures at game time could approach the low 90's. Do everyone a favor, Stubbs. Don't pass. It just stops the clock. The sooner the game ends the sooner you can collect your check.

As I write this post, Ken Goe (who asked never to be mentioned in this blog) just published a worthy and necessary story in the Oregonian [Ducks' Lap of Luxury is Poor Message] about comparing the new and opulent Hatfield-Dowlin Football Performance Complex to some of the broken down facilities that current Oregon faculty have to struggle with. No doubt some differences are stark, and I for one will always join any campaign to improve academic conditions (They can start by tearing down and replacing that worthless Prince Lucien Campbell faculty building.).

But when I compare Oregon's present situation with Stubbs' wrinkling his nose at Oregon's success as he brings his uninspired football team in to whore their pride and collect their money, it begs the following question:
 
Who would you rather be, A school that snivels and wallows in its wanting, or one that says "We want to do what it takes to improve."? Isn't that the inspired lesson we want to teach to college students?

While the academic side of Oregon can always improve, and I'm glad that Goe's article doesn't let us lose sight of that, let's not forget the other opulent gifts from Knight: The Knight Law Center and the refurbished Knight Library, just two of the many new and improved buildings, facilities and dorms over the past 20 years.

No, this Mad Duck will NOT feel embarrassed for Oregon's success that either depresses the Nicholls States who are otherwise free to make forward choices for themselves, or galls the USC's and LSU's for beating them at their own high dollar game.

This is Oregon's time. No apologies. Welcome to the New Age.


Nicholls State game time 1pm Pacific on the new Fox Sports 1 network.

It Begins

Maybe this will be the year. We got the players, a good schedule, a good, albeit new coach. The NCAA Rules Infraction Committee -- after over two years of shaking their fingers, flapping their jaws and waving their arms -- decided there was just no making a mountain out of Oregon's molehill and slapped them with a benign probation. 

So the stage is set. Take care of business and maybe Oregon will be the team to end the SEC's vise grip on the National Championship.

Are head coach Mark Helfrich and his offensive coordinator Scott Frost ready? These are new positions for both of them. Will the play-by-play communication be tight? Will their "always on" 2-minute offense make the right critical decisions when there are actually 2 minutes left in a tight game?

Helfrich is in a great position. He's had four years with this successful team. The first thing he did was not do anything. He changed very little in the way the guys practice, although one change allowed us to see this.

In case you didn't know, the window inside practices was opened a little wider. Former Register Guard reporter Rob Moseley was hired by Oregon this season to a fun job: Full time head editor for Oregon's own blog at GoDucks.com. He gets to watch and report (lightly) on daily practices.

A look at the depth charts is promising. When reading stories of position-by-position personnel available to Oregon like in the links below, words like "deep in talent", and "perhaps the best ever" keep showing up.
 
http://www.addictedtoquack.com/2013/8/8/4600754/oregon-position-preview-defensive-secondary

http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2013/08/oregon_ducks_football_offensiv_5.html

http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2013/08/oregon_football_deep_and_talen.html

The whole country is recognizing Oregon's defensive secondary led by All American Ifo Ekpre-Olomu. The defensive line is two deep with talented veterans at every spot. An Alabama fan on their blog "Roll Tide Roll" said that Oregon's defense might be as good as theirs. That's high praise coming from those arrogant A-holes.  

The offensive line is also deep. Marcus Mariota has Hroniss Grasu, his all important center from last year, and two returning starters at the guard positions. The rest of the line are veterans returning from injuries plus some very talented redshirts ready to get into rotation.

The receiving corps is getting a lot of attention. Led by amazing wide receiver Josh Huff, the Ducks are giddy over his supporting cast of Keanon Lowe, Blake Stanton, Daryle Hawkins, and B.J. Kelley, who may be the second fastest player on the team behind De'Anthony Thomas. Colt Lyerla leads a stable of big talented tight ends.

As for running backs, it is clear that DAT, while he's a lightning bolt in cleats, should not, and will not, take a large number of pounding and grinding carries. Byron Marshall is apparently doing well to take over the primary running duties vacated by Kenjon Barner. Marshall doesn't come with the fanfare of a Barner or LaMichael James. But he's turning that into a hunger to make us forget about those other guys.

You may have heard that freshman sensation Thomas Tyner was seen limping off the field in crutches and an owie boot last week. No word on the seriousness of the injury. Coach Helfrich brushed it off as nothing.

For Oregon with all of it's weapons, this is not devastating news like it might have been years ago. No one was expecting Tyner to have a huge impact on this season. If he plays this season, it's just extra gravy on the cake. 

The biggest concern I have is at QB. No I'm not worried about Mariota. He's on track to be amazing this year. But if he goes down, Oregon could have a problem.

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20130814/UPDATE/130814024/Oregon-football-Backup-QB-position-behind-Mariota-continues

Backups Jeff Lockie and Jake Rodrigues are both talented red shirt freshmen. But they are green, and I don't mean in a good Duck kind of way. Mariota's experience enables him to make decisions like a pro. Oregon's offense doesn't get that with the other two right now.  Can they win games? Sure. But the big goal would be in doubt.

SO HAVE YOU SEEN IT YET?
 Next to the Casanova Center, Oregon built a new Football Perfection Center . . . (sorry) . . . Performance Center. It's making absolutely everybody's faces turn red. Most Duck fans glow with pride, while some blush in over-opulent embarrassment, and the Duck or general college football haters burn with envy and/or disdain.

It's extreme. No expense spared. Privately funded. $68 million. 145,000 square feet. The finest materials shipped from all over the world. World-class chefs. Cutting edge technology. For the most complete slide show with descriptions, go the source at goducks.com.

Or I can give you my own photo tour below.

University of Oregon Football Performance Center...

...with water feature.

Stairs to the front.
"Daddy, is this Heaven?"
"No son, it's Oregon Football."



Head coach's office overlooking practice fields.
 

Weight room.
"Hey are your shoes clean?
No stepping on the "O" with dirty shoes."

Priceless Art Gallery

"Eat Your Enemies" Food Court
The place for Buffalo Wings and Cougar Cheese.

Lobby with a hand made glass duck for
every player who went to the NFL.
Even Herman Ho-Ching?!?!?

Chapel

The coaches' very own hydrotherapy pool.
Didn't every James Bond villain, ever, have one of these?















Las Vegas shows every Wednesday night!



They call this the "War Room".
This is where they gather to laugh at USC.

Petting Zoo

Still, there's one thing I'm not seeing, as we
look upon this players' lounge outfitted with
all the necessary gaming equipment ......

.... I'm not seeing any designated area
for these student-athletes to study.
You know .....STUDY? SCHOOL? COLLEGE?
 Oh never mind. Forget I brought it up.
Don't want to be a fun sucker.

THE SCHEDULE
Here is a look at the teams in the upcoming schedule.

Saturday, August 31st: Nicholls State. I feel sorry for them. More on that next week.

Saturday September 7th: @ Virginia.  After going 4-8 last year, Virginia coach Mike London blew up his staff and brought in a new offensive and defensive coordinator.  We'll see if that fixes the problem when they open against BYU.

Saturday, September 14th: Tennessee. What? An SEC team is coming to Autzen?!?!? The Ducks served notice to all traditional football powers three years ago when they humiliated Tennessee 48-13 in Knoxville. But this year, former Cincinnati Bearcat coach Butch Jones will be in charge at Rocky Top U. Bring it on. Let's light up that scoreboard.

Saturday, September 28th: Cal. After a bye week, a great way to start off Pac-12 play. First year Cal Coach Sonny Dykes selected a true freshman to quarterback the team as they open their season against No. 22 Northwestern, No 2 Ohio State, and No. 3 Oregon. He says he hopes to put Cal "on the map." The map of what, I'm not sure. 

Saturday, October 5th: @ Colorado.  Colorado is another team with a new head coach. Mike MacIntyre brings a hurry up, no huddle style from San Jose State to try to turn around the 1-11 Buffs of last year. Oregon should offer them a good educational clinic on how that kind of system works when done well.
 "You're welcome, Colorado. Happy to help."

Saturday, October 12th: @ Washington.  The Dawgs are pretty proud of their newly renovated Husky Stadium. The Ducks need to go up there and help them BREAK IT in.

Saturday, October 19th: Washington State. The Cougs ended last year's 3-9 season with a stunning upset over Washington. Hopefully they'll continue to improve now that they've figured out the cagey part of their helmets goes on the front of their heads.

Saturday, October 26th: UCLA. This is the game that worries me. With this contest at home before a bye week and the anticipated matchup at Stanford, it's the classic trap game. UCLA may be the best team in the South Division.

Thursday, Nov. 7th: @ Stanford. The game everyone is talking about. The possible decider of the Pac-12 Champion and perhaps even the National Championship berth.

Saturday, Nov. 16th: Utah.  The Utes are . . . . Oh who cares?

Saturday, Nov. 23rd: @ Arizona.  Desert Storm was last century. While Coach Rich "Rod" Rodriquez has the offense working pretty well, his defense was more like Dessert Storm. Opposing offenses ate it up. Most of the defense's starters return. Is that good news?

Friday, Nov. 29th: Oregon State.  Last year at this time, people were asking if it would be Coach Mike Riley's last season. Would dissatisfaction ultimately burst his bubble? Today, he is the Dean of Pac 12 coaches and his team is ranked #25. The Beavs started last year with six wins and cruised to a nine win season. No one in the conference gets more out of his players than Riley. He and his team deserve respect. The Ducks will still give them an ass-kicking, but it should be as respectful as it will be respectable. Riley has earned that.

Teams Oregon will not play: USC and Arizona State. That's not good. Those are two ranked opponents that could've helped Oregon's strength of schedule. Utah, Colorado and WSU just don't fill that gap.

Next week, a sympathetic look at Nicholls State.

--kb

Tyner and Twins Top Talented List

As USC took it's victory lap for landing a bunch 5-star recruits, Oregon stuck it's foot out and face planted Tommy Trojan.

Rivals' Winners and Losers List explained it this way.

Winner: OREGON
The departure of Chip Kelly to the NFL sent the Oregon class into a shake-up, but when the faxes came in there was barely any damage done, outside of losing Dontre Wilson. The ability to protect five-star Thomas Tyner and four-star twins Tyree Robinson and Tyrell Robinson was a major victory for the remaining staff. That alone could have been considered a victory, but that was not all. Oregon flipped Rivals250 offensive lineman Cameron Hunt from California and followed by absolutely stealing Rivals250 defensive end Torrodney Prevot from USC. All told, the period after Kelly left may have been more active and productive than the time from the end of the regular season until the announcement was made.


Loser: USC The caveat with every negative to the USC class failure is the top-end success. USC signed more five-star players than any other program, landing five elite-level players. The problem is that it also saw a bevy of them de-commit. The Trojans lost five-star players Max Redfield, Jalen Ramsey and Eddie Vanderdoes, as well as four-star prospects Kylie Fitts, Torrodney Prevot and Jason Hatcher. They could not backfill with five-star Matthew Thomas and then failed in the attempt to land four-star defensive backs Priest Willis and Tahaan Goodman from UCLA as a package. After what looked like a class that many would call one of the best of all-time, it trickled down to a 12-man crew that wound up outside the top 10 nationally and limped to the finish with just four-star Quinton Powell coming aboard. Depth was an issue for USC this past season and, with a limited class like this, it could be again.  

Of all of Oregon's recruits, the primary focus was on only three: Thomas Tyner and and the twins, Tyree and Tyrell. Losing any of them from Chip Kelly's departure would have been disappointing.  

Tyner, you'll recall, is the Aloha High running back who ran for 644 yards and 10 TD's in just one game (No, really!). By the end of the season he had racked up about . . . oh I don't know . . . 87 touchdowns and 34,000 yards (No, not really, but practically might as well have.).  

Oregon's one casualty to Kelly's departure, RB Dontre Wilson out of Texas, is a loss to be sure in terms of talent. He chose to go to Ohio State after he said he felt Kelly's decision to go to the NFL was "wrong".  Ya OK, kid. Welcome to the world of "life isn't fair". Tyner had a different take on it when he said in an interview he was signing to be with Oregon, not Chip Kelly. What's more, Wilson might have seen an even bigger problem -- that of watching classmate Tyner get most of the carries.

I'll bet Dontre Wilson watched this on YouTube and said, "Ya . . . I'll get more love at Ohio State."


The Robinson twins are both four star recruits. Taken together, that's EIGHT STARS!!! They both did well on defense for their high school in San Diego, but at least one could also play receiver. Expect also to see them on the basketball court. And not just on it, but actually playing -- uniforms and everything.  

Speaking of receiver, the Union-Tribune reports the twins are bringing with them a friend, also from San Diego, four-star recruit Darren Carrington Jr. This guy has a tremendous vertical leap and sticky hands. Video of the three of them talking about "the O" here.

Darren Carrington (#7)


One part of this class that would make Vince Lombardi smile is the signing of FIVE offensive linemen. Helfrich isn't forgetting what makes good ball carriers great.

The one curious signee is that of a three star quarterback from Texas, Damion Hobbs. He looks great, but I hope he'll be happy as he likely redshirts, then sits behind current sophomore Marcus Mariota and two redshirt freshman including the highly talented Jake Rodriguez.

The QB position is logjammed with talent. Chris Harper saw that and went to Kansas State. Darron Thomas felt the pressure and left school early. And shortly after the Fiesta Bowl win, Bryan Bennett saw his play time at QB was limited at best and chose to leave instead of switching to another position.

I'm really surprised they even looked for a QB in this class. But Helfrich and Offensive coordinator Scott Frost liked Hobbs, and Hobbs wanted to come despite having offers from other great schools. So . . . all right . . . . good luck.

From the Oregonian, here is the main story, and here is a complete listing of Oregon's signees along with links to each of their profiles.

--KB     

It's Helfrich's Team Now

Note to Duck opponents for 2013: You know all those scouting reports and defensive schemes you had drawn up to load up the box and stop the running game? Oh you'll still need to hang on to those, but it just got harder -- to the point of being totally unfair.

This link to the Oregonian takes you to Mark Helfrich's first hire of his coaching era: Matt Lubick, son of Colorado State coaching legend Sonny Lubick, was named this year's top receivers coach in the nation by footballscoop.com and is considered a great recruiter as well.  Helfrich named him "Passing Game Coordinator" and Receivers Coach.
____________________________________
Helfrich is the Godfather
A release from Oregon:

EUGENE -- University of Oregon defensive back James Scales has been dismissed from the Ducks' football team for a violation of team rules, head coach Mark Helfrich announced.

The redshirt sophomore from Greensboro, N.C., appeared in 10 games over the past two seasons and recorded 12 tackles.

I was talking to others about Helfrich coming off as a really nice guy, a new guy, a young guy. How is he going to handle the first time one of his players tests him? Is he going to do that classic mistake of trying to be everyone's friend until he gets burned and is forced to toughen up?

I'm thinking of when Al Pacino became the new Godfather, how he had to (ahem) "tie up loose ends".

It's almost customary that when the new guy comes to power, whether its next in line in the Corleone or the Kim Jong family, somebody needs to get whacked. Bullets must fly, missles must be tested to create a cornerstone of strength for the new establishment.

We don't get to know the details behind Scales infractions or dismissal. But the result was very public. It was the shot heard around Duck Nation reporting the new sheriff in town. Helfrich sent the message. He's in charge.

_________________________________________
Yes Virginia, there IS a Santa Claus!!
Finally we got some cooperation from a legitimate team east of the Rockies. Oregon will travel to Virginia September 7th instead of Nevada according to this article. This will give Oregon Tennessee AND Virginia this season. That should please the BCS computers.


______________________________________
"Hello Kenjon, Joey Harrington here.
I'm just calling to give you some advice . . .
RUN!  RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!"

In the following article from the Detroit Free Press, look who likes Kenjon Barner
Lions have the need for speed at running back
Oregon's Barner could help fill void

The Detroit Lions: Where good careers go to die. 

_______________________________________________________
Leading the League in BASKETBALL!!
And ranked #10 in the nation, Oregon is undefeated in the Pac-12 including sweeps in L.A. and over the Arizona schools at home. At the risk of jinxing them, they're playing fantastic ball right now. Here is an R-G write-up of their win over Washington. Next they travel to the Bay area with a Wednesday, 8 pm tipoff against Stanford.

Carlos Emory dunks on the Cougs.
Why are these Ducks so good?

E.J. Singler models for you as he drains a three.
Gotta be the shoes . . . . .  and the socks.

--KB