Not quite a miracle, but still great

Tonight the US Mens' Olympic hockey team beat Team Canada on their own turf by a score of 5-3.  I'm very excited about that!  In international hockey competition, Canada is nearly always the main rival of the US.  Getting a win over the likes of Scott Niedermeyer and Jarome Iginla is just superb.  If this US team keeps playing well, a medal could be in store.  Perhaps even a gold medal.

The game itself was quite exciting to watch.  It was very physical, and both goalies had a lot of work to do with all the shots being taken.  It was as good as any Stanley Cup final game I've ever seen.  It really should have been on NBC, but as we've seen this year, NBC can't seem to make any good decisions about anything. 

The 1980 game against the Soviets was the Miracle On Ice, but I hesitate to call this one a miracle.  Both teams are full of great NHL players, the very best in the game.  Canada may have more superstars with brand-name quality, but the US team is younger and has just as much talent.  Not only that, but the expectations for the US team aren't as great as those of the Canadian team.  If the US team plays their game and doesn't mess up too much, they have just as much a chance at the gold as anyone.  Was this a miracle?  No, but it was a really great hockey game that Americans can be proud of.

I Smell Roses

Yesterday my University of Oregon Ducks won their Civil War football game against Oregon State by a score of 37-33.  Not only was this our big rivalry game, but the winner goes to the Granddaddy Of Them All, the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day.  So, for the first time since 1994/95, the UO is playing in the Big Game.  Hooray!

It's amazing to me to think back on how far the UO has come and what it took to get back to the Rose Bowl.  Famed coach Mike Bellotti was never able to get us there, although in 2001 we should have gone.  He went there as an assistant coach, and now as Athletic Director, but never in all his time as UO head coach.  New coach Chip Kelly did it in his first season, but Mike Bellotti played a huge part in it too.  He built the program to where it is today, recruited the players and hired coach Kelly.  All his hard work has paid off, even if Mike doesn't get to enjoy it as head coach.

I'm really impressed with new head coach Chip Kelly.  He seems to run the program very well.  He seems to be a true leader.  He seems to care about more than just winning.  In retrospect, I like how he handled the LeGarrette Blount situation.  He handled it himself, no matter what anyone else thought he should do.  He handled it like a real leader.  I'm sure he has thousands of football decisions to make each and every day, so I'm impressed that he took the time to make a player's personal life his priority.  I think that tells me a lot about what kind of person Chip Kelly is.  I like where this program is headed.

The last time the UO went to the Rose Bowl, I was fourteen years old, still in middle school.  Since then, the team has been to more bowls than I can count.  We've been in the national picture a few times.  Even though we've played some big games and played in some big bowls, this moment feels like the result of all those years.  This is the top for us, with the exception of the national championship.  This is the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.  I can't wait to see what happens next.

Go Ducks!

More thoughts on LeGarrette Blount

I've been thinking about the whole LeGarrette Bliount post-game punch debacle, and I think I came to the wrong conclusion about Blount's suspension. I still agree he should not be allowed to play, but I was wrong to suggest that he should be completely kicked off the team and lose his scholarship. With access to teammates, coaches, support services and school, LeGarrette will have a better chance of turning things around. The coaches can keep an eye on him and help him come out of this situation in better shape. I honestly don't know how much the coaches are responsible for what happened (probably not much at all), but their responsibility to the player doesn't end here, and it really shouldn't. However, I don't think Blount should be allowed to travel with the team or be there during games. He will be a target for any opposing fan, much less our own fans.

I've read a lot of comments about the situation on the internet, and many people have disagreed with Blount being suspended the entire season. I think an entire season is the right thing to do. Where do you draw the line? Just because a line hasn't been drawn before doesn't mean it can't ever be drawn. If each player who did such a violent thing after or even during a game was kicked off the team, violent incidents would be less likely to happen.

This whole thing is really making me think about what I tolerate from sports. I'm a hockey fan, and punches are thrown in nearly every game along with much, much worse at times. And I'm advocating that a football player be kicked off a team for throwing one punch? Why should there be a difference between hockey and football? Maybe there shouldn't be. Maybe each hockey player who fights should be disallowed to play in his league. It may seem harsh, but if that punishment had been in place all along there would likely be no culture of fighting in hockey.

Another thing I've read is that "football is a violent sport! Deal with it!" Well, where do we draw the line? How violent is too violent? There's a huge difference between tackling and punching. Guys usually don't get injured if they're tackled. Where's the line? If someone dies, would that be too far, or would it just be "violent football"?

I realize sports are physical, but now I'm wondering just how much violence we should accept as part of the basic game(s). Wow, I really found something to blog about this weekend!

Ashamed

I never thought I'd say this, but today I am ashamed to be a Duck.

After last night's University of Oregon-Boise State football game, a loss for the UO Ducks, UO running back LeGarrette Blount punched a Boise State player after the player touched him and made a comment. Blount then tried to go after some fans who were taunting him and had to be led out by coaches and security. The shameful video can be found here, if you can't already find it on Youtube by search for LeGarrette Blount.

Today is has been announced that Blount will be suspended for the rest of the season. As of right now, he will still be allowed to practice and travel with the team, remain on scholarship, and access services. I, for one, don't think that goes far enough. I think he should be completely kicked off the team. I don't think it sends a good message to keep him around the team. He should be shunned for his outrageous behavior.

Yes, Blount should be punished, but he also needs to be helped. Simply keeping him from playing football is not going to help him become a better person. I think he should be given some sort of counseling and anger management at the very least. This is clearly a young man - still a kid, really - who needs some help growing up. He lost it last night, and he's going to lose it again someday if someone doesn't help him learn to control himself and think before he acts.

Read More . . .

Meeting Stanley

Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals (National Hockey League) was held tonight. My team, the Detroit Redwings, lost 2-1 to the young, talented Pittsburgh Penguins. Of course, I'm sad that the Redwings lost, but at the same time I'm happy for the Penguins. They truly earned this Cup (although I think they should have to explain what happened in game five). Their goalie put on one hell of a performance against some world-class players.

As a hockey fan, I'm satisfied with the result of this year's playoffs. The Penguins have some of the best young talent in the league, and winning a cup makes them legitimate superstars. It takes pressure of them to prove their talents, and it should give the NHL a big publicity boost. Now the league can show off pictures of golden boy Sidney Crosby hoisting the Stanley Cup. They have to be happy about that.

I think it's cool that the Wings and Pens met a second year in the finals. They really are two of the best teams in the NHL. Matchups like this can only be good for hockey. This all reminds me of the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s. Like the Penguins today, the Oilers had a lot of good young players who were hungry to prove themselves and win the ultimate prize. They went up against the best team in the league in the finals one year, lost, learned what to do, and came back the next year to earn the Cup themselves. Time will tell whether this version of the Penguins can win more championships. Time will also tell whether the team can stay together at all. Sooner or later, all these young guns will become too expensive to keep. Someone's gonna have to go. I don't think it will be Crosby - he's untouchable (for now). I think Malkin will be the player who the Penguins just cannot afford. That's why I'm glad Pittsburgh won the Cup - they were in a race against time and salaries.

My Redwings may not have repeated as Stanley Cup champs, but the rest of the NHL should watch their backs. Detroit will have a new hunger for a Cup come playoff time next season.

A Second Shot at Stanley

Congratulations are in order to my Detroit Redwings for making it into the Stanley Cup finals a second year in a row! Once again, we're playing the Penguins. The NHL should be happy about that!

Don't tell anyone, butI would actually be fairly happy if the Penguins won this year. They deserve it, for getting this far again and having to put up with the Redwings once again. On the other hand, Marian Hossa deserves a cup too, so - Go Wings!

Sunday Scribblings - 2/15/09

Sports

I have had an up-down relationship with sports. Until I was ten, I didn't care for them at all and didn't pay them the least bit of attention. But one day in gym class, we played floor hockey. For some reason, that interested me, so I started getting into hockey. Not playing hockey, but watching it. In middle school, I was known as the kid who liked hockey. It was practically my life.

By the time I got to high school, I started liking other sports too. I was the sports editor for our school paper, so I attended all sorts of games. I was practically the only student at the water polo games and swim meets who wasn't related to or friends with one of the swimmers. I think I saw a little of everything except for golf and cross country.

Sometime in college, I fell out of love with most sports. I attended some football and basketball games, and track meets, but not as much in my last two years at the University of Oregon. Sports were not a priority for me anymore.

Today, that is still the case. I watch the occasional Oregon Duck football game on TV, but if I miss one, it's not a big deal. I don't even watch hockey as much as I used to. Occasionally, my dad and I will go to UO basketball games or to the local junior hockey games. We don't go to the football games, and even if we did I'd rather watch them at home because it's difficult for me to see what's going on when everyone else is standing. The hockey and basketball games are fun, though. You get the whole experience.

I do sometimes feel uncomfortable being a non-sports fan in a society that worships sports, but mostly I don't worry. I believe that sports are fun to watch, but not the most important thing in life. It's just a game, you know? If there's something I'd rather be doing, I can let the games be.

Now, having said all that, here are my thoughts on some sports:

Hockey - My favorite sport. I'm a huge Detroit Redwings fan, but I really don't care much about most of the other teams. I was more connected to hockey in my younger days. I think I was destined to be a hockey fan because I have two distant relatives who played in the NHL.

Basketball - It can be entertaining at times, but too many dunks make for a boring time. I do like the element of drama you get in basketball. There's nothing more thrilling than that last-second three-pointer to win the game.

Football - not really a fan. Too little action for me. Plays usually don't last too long. It just bores me to death.

Baseball - Another boring sport. There are too many home runs now. I do, however, appreciate the romance and history of the game. You don't get that with today's MLB cheaters, but players and teams of the past are fascinating. I like all the rituals of the game. I just don't like watching it.

Track and field - I like nearly everything except for the long distances. Track meets are fun. You get to see a variety of events happening at the same time. If you don't like what you're seeing, look at one of the other events.

I'm also fascinated by some of the winter sports. Skiing is kind of cool, especially ski jumping. Luge is crazy. Figure skating, though, isn't much of a sport.

Another fun sport is lacrosse. It's like a weird mix between soccer and hockey.

Those are my thoughts on sports. I may not be a huge fan, but I do have some appreciation.

Skewed priorities

The University of Oregon's athletic department is a self-supporting entity run by athletic director Pat Kilkenny, who in the past has donated money to the University. In fact, he donated money to buy off the former A.D.'s contract. Nike founder Phil Knight, an alumnus of the University, is also a donor and some in town think he has far too much influence over athletic decisions.

The most recent controversy in the UO athletic department is the firing of the women's golf coach. It wasn't handled very well, and in today's Register-Guard article about the situation, executive senior associate A.D. Reneé Baumgartner was quoted as saying:

"This is a $52 million business."

One can assume she is referring to the UO athletic department.

I think that quote shows everything that's wrong with today's collegiate sports. Should college athletics be considered a business? After all, a university is a public institution, not a business. Is it fair that $52 million can be made of the sweat, blood, tears and effort of college athletes, all of whom do not get to share any piece of that $52 million aside from any benefits such as equipment or improved facilities. Some receive scholarships, but many others do not. Only a select few will ever play professionally.

When you really look at it, college sports have become exploitative. Athletics are supposed to be extracurricular activities, not a multi-million dollar business.

Memories of Hayward Field

I don't expect very many people reading here to care about this, but I'm posting this for myself as well as my readers.

The 2008 Olympic track and field trials are being held in Eugene this week, at the University of Oregon's famous T&F facility: Hayward Field.



I don't have a ticket to the trials, but I do have a small history with Hayward Field. Today, I'm going to post my fading recollections of the times I have spent in that old place watching people run and throw and jump.

My first experience with Hayward Field came during a campus tour I took just after my junior year of high school. We had made our way to the athletic side of campus, and before I knew it we were standing before an oval track, framed by old covered bleachers. There were a few people jogging on the track, as usual. "So this is Hayward Field," I said to myself. It was almost a religious moment. I'm not a huge fan of track and field myself, but to be at a place I had heard so much about was very touching.

Next, I came to Hayward for the 1999 Oregon high school track and field championships. There were a few people from my school competing, so I wanted to go watch them perform. I really enjoyed myself, fully taking in the festive atmosphere. I sat in the old bleachers, the East Grandstands:



It's the same feeling you get sitting in the upper balcony of McArthur court, without the vertigo. They're wood bleachers, not quite comfortable, but the history and atmosphere completely make up for that. It was very exciting to sit where thousands people sat while watching Steve Prefontaine.

My first impressions of Hayward as a track facility were great. I think it's a wonderful place to watch a track meet. You can see every event but the hammer right from your very seat. When the crowd gets going, the noise reverberating around the grandstand covers, there's nothing like it.

Of course, I ended up attending the University of Oregon, and I took in a few meets while I was there. One thing I liked about the meets was the liberal seating policy. At least when I was a student, you were allowed to sit wherever you fancied. I'd switch between the East and West grandstands. One has history, and the other is closer to the finish line. If I recall correctly, I attended the Pepsi Invitational. I can't recall if I went to the Twilight meet. In my sophomore year, I actually lived right across from Hayward Field. That was nice! I'm pretty sure that we didn't even need a ticket to get in, just a student I.D. My years there were not the glory years for Duck track and field. The crowds weren't very large.

I did experience one large crowd at Hayward, though: the crowd at the 2002 Prefontaine Classic. In non-championship meet years, the Pre Classic is the most prestigious meet of the year. I wanted to attend one, so I paid for a ticket (I think it was around $18 or something like that, I can't really remember). As luck would have it, I picked a great year to go. Alan Webb, a high schooler at the time, was entered in the mile. There was a buzz surrounding his appearance, and it was well justified. Webb broke the high school record in the mile that day, and his performance in the mile is said to be one of the all-time memorable Hayward performances. There were other great events to watch, but that was the one I remember best.

The Pre Classic was my first encounter with ticketed seating for Hayward, and I ended up sitting somewhere in the first twenty rows of the West Grandstands:



Not a bad place to sit! It was a packed house that day. That makes the seating even more uncomfortable, but who cares when there are so many great events to watch?

I can't recall attending any other meets after the 2002 Pre Classic. Even though I'm not a track nut, I think I should look into buying a ticket for next year's event. Maybe I'll even attend the NCAA championships or something like that. At the very least, I'll attend a Duck meet.

I hope you enjoyed my memories of track meets and sunny days. By the way, I took all of the above photos of the facility. If you'd like more information about Hayward Field, you can find it here.

Cats and Wings

Congratulations to the Detroit Redwings (my team!) on their Stanley Cup Championship win tonight. Man, those Penguins made us work for it! Our goalie Chris Osgood had to stop a last-second shot that would have tied the game, and even then it slid parallel to the goal line. Yikes!

As promised, here are some photos from my new toy!

Saturday Night Fight

Last night my dad and I went to see the local junior hockey team play. Going to a hockey game in this area is entertainment as punishment. It's freezing, the bathrooms are horrible, the food is horrible (they changed the french fries! I don't even like those anymore), the soda machine costs a quarter more than other places. The guys doing the P.A. announcements are the worst the facility has had in years. They play very loud music, and they play it during every single stoppage in play, even if it's five seconds. They play a different song each time play stops. Sometimes they don't get the song stopped when play resumes. It's extremely annoying.

The above is not why I wanted to post. I wanted to post about the game itself. Our team won 9-2. There are usually great numbers of two things during these games - goals and fights. Last night was no exception. At least three players on the other team (Puget Sound) were kicked out of the game. The last ejection came during the last few minutes of the game. One of the Puget Sound players got into a fight with one of our guys. The officials broke it up pretty quickly. I don't know what the referee said to the Puget Sound kid, but he did not like it. He shoved the ref! The crowd let out a gasp when he did. We all knew he'd be kicked out for sure. The kid must have known too and didn't care, because a half a minute later he threw his glove at the referee too. When he left the ice, he hit his helmet against the glass.

I've seen some wild hockey, but that story is one of the wildest. I've never seen someone get out of control like that, and I've never seen anyone physically abuse an official. I can only wonder what kind of hell the coach gave the kid after the game was over. I'm also wondering if the officials didn't go in the locker room and give him hell themselves. If I were the coach, that kid would be sitting out the next game for sure.

A Few Of My Favorite Things, Part 2: Personal, Food, Sports and Other Things

Here are some more of the best (and a few of the worst) things about my 2007.

Best moment of 2007: Taking a graduate class at the U of O and earning an A+ grade.

Worst moment of 2007: My mom's boss losing the battle with cancer.

Favorite purchase of 2007: My iPod nano! Now I have music wherever I go.

Favorite movie of 2007: Flawed though it may be, Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End was the most entertaining of the very few movies I saw this year.

Favorite meal out of 2007: Fish and chips! I sampled many of the local F&C meals this year, but here are my favorites:



Florence Mo's Halibut and Chips were delicious! At least the fish was; the fries had an off taste. But the halibut was great - warm, firm, and encased in a smooth batter. I enjoyed every bite of that fish!



Tied with Mo's is local favorite Newman's. It's run by a fish market, so you know the quality is good. The batter is a cracker-crumb type. Not my favorite, but the fish is good and the fries are yummy. The portion size may be a bit small, but it's just right for me. The cod is good and dependable, but I discovered the hidden secret of this place - the salmon! I don't know if I'll be able to order any other kind of fish there ever again.

Favorite home-cooked meal of 2007: The hamburger meat that came from the very large, rather dead bull that my dad and uncle cut up one weekend in July right here in our kitchen. It was a disgusting sight, and I hid in my room as much as I could, but the resulting meat makes the tastiest burgers I have ever eaten in my 27 years on earth. Seriously. The meat is very high quality, juicy, and smooth as butter. Tasty too. My dad will often make it taste even better by adding bacon to my burgers. How can you turn that down?

Best sports moment of 2007: Local basketball. My old high school, North Eugene, won our first boys' basketball state championship in 30 years and went undefeated too. The University of Oregon mens' team won the Pac-10 championship and also went as far as the elite eight in the NCAA championships. It was a March to remember!

Worst sports moment of 2007: The U of O football team's national title hopes disappearing when quarterback Dennis Dixon got injured. He tore his ACL against Arizona State, hid his true status from all but the coaches, tried to play again in the Arizona game and made the injury worse during that game. It was his last game of the season and his last as a Duck. Oregon lost the next three games, and now we're playing in the Sun Bowl instead of the Rose Bowl or better. Well, it was a fun season until Dennis got hurt!

Tastiest dessert of 2007: The carrot cake my mom made for my dad's birthday. I'd heat a piece in the microwave to make the frosting get all warm and gooey. It was sinful and as good as anything I've ever eaten. Yum!

Stay tuned sometime later for my favorite blog posts of 2007. Tomorrow my year-in-review concludes with my favorite photos of the year. Enjoy!

O!

Earlier this morning, when I was writing about the UO football game, I had no idea that, just hours later, I would find myself AT the game. Someone I know had an extra ticket and invited me along, and of course I took his offer!

The game was great! The UO Ducks won 35-23. It was the first time I've been in Autzen Stadium since the big renovation. It gets crowded and loud on game day! There's a tailgating 'city' across the street. People brought their RVs, their dogs, their grills, games, all sorts of things. Then, about a half hour before the game, people start pouring into the stadium. Every available seat is taken - but not usually sat in.

I had a decent view of parts of the field, but otherwise couldn't see much. That's what you get being short! They have a video screen on the scoreboard, so I was able to catch things I missed on that. I also bought a brand new "Livestrong" Oregon logo hat. The proceeds go to cancer research. I bought it because it looks cool, and as a tribute to my mother's boss who was claimed by cancer a couple months ago.

Here are some more ESPN blog links about the UO game: One Two Three

I'm not going to do a Flickr Fun Saturday, but here are a few photos of the one and only Autzen Stadium:

Let's
Go
Ducks!

Duck on a Harley

And, of course, something from me:



*update* One more photo, to show you what Oregon really looks like.

On The Oregon Trail

Today's U of O vs. Arizona State game is huge - the biggest of the season thus far. Lee Corso on ESPN donned the Duck head today to predict Oregon as the winner in today's game. ESPN also sent their blog writer Stewart Mandel to Eugene to report on all the madness in a series called "On The Oregon Trail."

Here are the links to part one, part two, part three and part four. I'll link any other entries that I see later on.

Go Ducks!

Congratulations on the University of Oregon Ducks' football win over Michigan this afternoon. 39-7! We spanked 'em!

Well, OK, I guess Michigan isn't so hot after their loss last week to Appalachian State. But a win is still a win, and a win over a legendary program is still a win over a legendary program, no matter what their status.

Most importantly, we defeated one of the top programs in the nation twice in the past five years! How cool is that?