Week 5
This season of college football has got to have been the strangest in recent memory. The season was strange early with teams like Rutgers coming out of nowhere and going undefeated early in the season. But was just 4 weeks ago that the strangeness of this season started to really take shape.
For three straight weeks the number 3 ranked team in the nation lost to lower ranked or unranked teams. There were other big upsets as well with teams like Tennessee losing at home in a wild game with LSU. Oklahoma getting hosed by the officials in a "loss" at Oregon.
So we come to this weekend. Ohio State and Michigan play another great game that proves that those two teams are at the top of the nation. Then you have the strange game again. How can one conference have this many weird games in one season. First Louisville upsets West Virginia. Then Rutgers upsets Louisville. And now Cincinnati upsets #5 Rutgers. That leaves 3 teams tied at the top of the Big East Conference.
So now with a boat load of one loss teams and only two undefeated teams left in the nation, what is going to happen. We now fall into that wonderful time when all the coaches and sportswriters try to decide who the best two teams in the country are. What ever happened to playing the game on the field and not leaving it up to coaches voting for their favorites or voting to influence where their team will fall in the shuffle. And don't think that there aren't a few payoffs and favortism being played out among the sportswriters to get their teams into the national championship game. AD's and SID's are working overtime to get their teams into the best possible game.
Once again, the BCS will leave us all wondering, WHAT IF? Should it be Ohio State - Michigan, Should it be Ohio State - USC, Should it be Ohio State - Notre Dame? What about undefeated Boise State? Everyone will have their opinions, everyone will have their complaints about who goes where. The final result is once again we have a paper champion in the biggest sport in all of college sports. D1 Football!
When oh when will someone have the balls to get a real playoff system in place in D1 football that will give us a true national champion. If it were not for the playoff system in college baseball, Oregon State would never have won the national championship. They came into the college world series ranked 8th.
Lets all go to our teams bowl games and be happy for our chances for a holiday vacation in some warm distant destination, to watch our teams play against an opponent that we don't see everyday. But until we have a playoff system, we will never have a true national champion in D1 college football.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Friday, November 10, 2006
Sucks to be #3
Week 4 Extra
For all who follow college football, the last 3 weeks of the college football schedule has been a wild and torturous ride if you have happened to be the team ranked #3 in the nation in Division 1A football. It also is strange that as of the writing of this blog it has only been 13 days since the first game was played.
The wild ride started just a little over 13 days ago on October 28th, when the then undefeated and #3 ranked USC Trojans came into a packed Reser Stadium in Corvallis to faced the unranked Oregon State Beavers. The Beavers took a huge lead in the 3rd quarter, 33-10 and then held on as USC made an amazing comeback only to lose a chance to tie the game on the final play of the game, when the try for the 2 point conversion was knocked down preserving Oregon States upset of the #3 Trojans 33-31.
Now move ahead 5 days to Thursday November 2nd for a nationally televised game between two undefeated teams. The new #3 ranked team in the country West Virginia Mountaineers and then #5 ranked Louisville Cardinals. Once again the underdog, Louisville Cardinals, gave a solid performance through 3 quarters and hung on through a wild shoot out in the fourth quarter to get the upset win over then #3 ranked West Virginia Mountaineers 44-34.
Now move ahead 7 more days to another nationally televised Thursday night game on November 9th, once again between two undefeated teams. The new #3 ranked Louisville Cardinals facing the #15 ranked and undefeated Rutgers Scarlet Knights. This time the story was reversed and perhaps even more amazing then the OSU – USC game in the fact that the #3 ranked Louisville Cardinals ran out to a 25-7 lead in the second quarter, only to be shut down by the Rutgers defense and find themselves in a 25-25 tie with just minutes to go. Louisville had the opportunities to stop Rutgers. Rutgers had third and long on their own 35 with fewer than 2 minutes in the game only to have the next play go for 26 yards and put Rutgers into field goal position. Then with 21 seconds left, it appeared that Louisville would survive to fight on as Rutgers field goal try sailed wide left. But wait! The Louisville DB on the left side of the line was offside! Rutgers reloads from 5 yards closer and seals Louisville’s fate as the ball splits the uprights. Rutgers 28 - Louisville 25.
So now after the remaining games of this weekends college football schedule are played, which lucky team will have the dubious honor of becoming the next #3 ranked team and, dare we say, the next victim to some under rated opponent. We will have to wait and see.
For all who follow college football, the last 3 weeks of the college football schedule has been a wild and torturous ride if you have happened to be the team ranked #3 in the nation in Division 1A football. It also is strange that as of the writing of this blog it has only been 13 days since the first game was played.
The wild ride started just a little over 13 days ago on October 28th, when the then undefeated and #3 ranked USC Trojans came into a packed Reser Stadium in Corvallis to faced the unranked Oregon State Beavers. The Beavers took a huge lead in the 3rd quarter, 33-10 and then held on as USC made an amazing comeback only to lose a chance to tie the game on the final play of the game, when the try for the 2 point conversion was knocked down preserving Oregon States upset of the #3 Trojans 33-31.
Now move ahead 5 days to Thursday November 2nd for a nationally televised game between two undefeated teams. The new #3 ranked team in the country West Virginia Mountaineers and then #5 ranked Louisville Cardinals. Once again the underdog, Louisville Cardinals, gave a solid performance through 3 quarters and hung on through a wild shoot out in the fourth quarter to get the upset win over then #3 ranked West Virginia Mountaineers 44-34.
Now move ahead 7 more days to another nationally televised Thursday night game on November 9th, once again between two undefeated teams. The new #3 ranked Louisville Cardinals facing the #15 ranked and undefeated Rutgers Scarlet Knights. This time the story was reversed and perhaps even more amazing then the OSU – USC game in the fact that the #3 ranked Louisville Cardinals ran out to a 25-7 lead in the second quarter, only to be shut down by the Rutgers defense and find themselves in a 25-25 tie with just minutes to go. Louisville had the opportunities to stop Rutgers. Rutgers had third and long on their own 35 with fewer than 2 minutes in the game only to have the next play go for 26 yards and put Rutgers into field goal position. Then with 21 seconds left, it appeared that Louisville would survive to fight on as Rutgers field goal try sailed wide left. But wait! The Louisville DB on the left side of the line was offside! Rutgers reloads from 5 yards closer and seals Louisville’s fate as the ball splits the uprights. Rutgers 28 - Louisville 25.
So now after the remaining games of this weekends college football schedule are played, which lucky team will have the dubious honor of becoming the next #3 ranked team and, dare we say, the next victim to some under rated opponent. We will have to wait and see.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
The State of Youth Sports
Week 4
What is the state of youth sports in your area? What do you think of the people in charge of teaching your kids about sports, how to compete and about good sportsmanship?
From recent articles in the Oregonian and from reading posts on Oregonlive, I find that the state of youth sports in the Northwest varies from area to area but it seems that only a few are able to find a balance between the two extremes. One extreme is the "go for broke, win at all costs" attitude that is within some organizations and the other extreme is the "pat everyone on the back and tell them what a good job they are doing, give varsity letters out to all regardless of ability or what their actual accomplishments are" that is happening in other organizations.
Within single communities the same comparisons can be seen from youngest of teams and coaches to the varsity levels as well.
What seems to be lost in all this is that sports is a means to an end. And the end is not what most coaches and parents think it is.
Sports are a character study in how to succeed in life and learn to work with others within a system to achieve a common goal. No single player on any team can accomplish a team goal without the help and input from their teammates and coaches. Even in so called "Individual Sports" like Golf, Tennis. A player cannot achieve his goal without the help and support of another individual at some point along his journey.
Sport is meant to be a competition. The purpose of competition is to WIN by bettering your skills to the point where the team can succeed in overcoming the opposition. The individuals who can best achieve those ends are the ones who become members of the team. The goal of the team is to continue to work to improve to the level necessary to WIN. The goal of each team member is to know their role within the team and to continually strive to improve their abilities for the betterment of the team.
Teams that are not endorsing these philosophies are teaching their players the wrong things. Sports competition is only a small part of a person’s life. Life is the ultimate journey that all of us take. Learning life skills that will help you deal with conflict, competition, failure and success are keys to making productive individuals who will be asset to our community and our world.
So, back to the first point of this article, what is the state of youth sports? Are the coaches and administrators in your area working to make successful individuals who know how to overcome obstacles and opposition, to work with others to achieve a common goal? Are the coaches of your teams so bent on winning at all costs that they are overlooking the damage they are causing to the self confidence of the individual? Are the coaches and administrators in your area emphasizing only fun and not teaching the important life skills mentioned above to better the person and the player? Is winning being written off because they want all to feel good about themselves without having done anything to achieve it? These are the extremes I speak of. Striving to win and be successful should be the goal for everyone in all things. But it is the journey one takes to achieve that goal that makes them the better person, not the achieving of the goal.
We have to teach our youth that life is not easy. Life takes work, life takes time, and life takes effort to be successful. When you think you have done enough to be successful is when you should do more. You can never stop in your effort to be the best you can be, it takes continuing effort.
In life you cannot just step into a job and be successful at it without the training, skills and confidence necessary to do the task. In marriage you cannot just expect things to always go the way you want them to go, it takes constant effort. In life you won't win every argument but you can win many more then others if you prepare properly.
If winning was not important we would not keep score. Like it or not, we live in a world that keeps score. But sometimes the scoreboard overshadows the real importance of sports. The betterment of the individual.
What is the state of youth sports in your area? What do you think of the people in charge of teaching your kids about sports, how to compete and about good sportsmanship?
From recent articles in the Oregonian and from reading posts on Oregonlive, I find that the state of youth sports in the Northwest varies from area to area but it seems that only a few are able to find a balance between the two extremes. One extreme is the "go for broke, win at all costs" attitude that is within some organizations and the other extreme is the "pat everyone on the back and tell them what a good job they are doing, give varsity letters out to all regardless of ability or what their actual accomplishments are" that is happening in other organizations.
Within single communities the same comparisons can be seen from youngest of teams and coaches to the varsity levels as well.
What seems to be lost in all this is that sports is a means to an end. And the end is not what most coaches and parents think it is.
Sports are a character study in how to succeed in life and learn to work with others within a system to achieve a common goal. No single player on any team can accomplish a team goal without the help and input from their teammates and coaches. Even in so called "Individual Sports" like Golf, Tennis. A player cannot achieve his goal without the help and support of another individual at some point along his journey.
Sport is meant to be a competition. The purpose of competition is to WIN by bettering your skills to the point where the team can succeed in overcoming the opposition. The individuals who can best achieve those ends are the ones who become members of the team. The goal of the team is to continue to work to improve to the level necessary to WIN. The goal of each team member is to know their role within the team and to continually strive to improve their abilities for the betterment of the team.
Teams that are not endorsing these philosophies are teaching their players the wrong things. Sports competition is only a small part of a person’s life. Life is the ultimate journey that all of us take. Learning life skills that will help you deal with conflict, competition, failure and success are keys to making productive individuals who will be asset to our community and our world.
So, back to the first point of this article, what is the state of youth sports? Are the coaches and administrators in your area working to make successful individuals who know how to overcome obstacles and opposition, to work with others to achieve a common goal? Are the coaches of your teams so bent on winning at all costs that they are overlooking the damage they are causing to the self confidence of the individual? Are the coaches and administrators in your area emphasizing only fun and not teaching the important life skills mentioned above to better the person and the player? Is winning being written off because they want all to feel good about themselves without having done anything to achieve it? These are the extremes I speak of. Striving to win and be successful should be the goal for everyone in all things. But it is the journey one takes to achieve that goal that makes them the better person, not the achieving of the goal.
We have to teach our youth that life is not easy. Life takes work, life takes time, and life takes effort to be successful. When you think you have done enough to be successful is when you should do more. You can never stop in your effort to be the best you can be, it takes continuing effort.
In life you cannot just step into a job and be successful at it without the training, skills and confidence necessary to do the task. In marriage you cannot just expect things to always go the way you want them to go, it takes constant effort. In life you won't win every argument but you can win many more then others if you prepare properly.
If winning was not important we would not keep score. Like it or not, we live in a world that keeps score. But sometimes the scoreboard overshadows the real importance of sports. The betterment of the individual.
Friday, November 03, 2006
A Win for the Ages
Week 3
In my 40+ years of watching Oregon State Football. I have had the great luck to witness in person many of the greatest games in school history and all three wins vs USC over the last 40 years. I was 9 years old the first time I saw USC in Corvallis. My brother was attending OSU and I spent many weekends on campus having a great time pretending to be a college student. It was those days that made me want to become a Beaver Believer myself, attending every home game from then till graduation in 1981. And although other opportunities in life have kept me attending games right after graduation. Since coming back to Oregon in the late 80's, I have not missed many games.
When Mike Riley came to Corvallis in 97 I could tell right away that something special was about to happen to the program. Mike got it started and Dennis Erickson brought it home. Since 97 I have not missed a home game and have the luck of attending two of the 5 bowl games.
Since 97 the Beavers have been to 5 bowl games in 8 years and never had fewer then 5 wins in a season. The bar has been raised as to the fans expectations on the field and it should be. The program is growing, new facilities, more exposure nationally and more revenue for the University. When I hear all the bad talk going on about how poor the program is or how bad a player or coach is I wonder? Where were these people prior to 1997? Don't they remember just how bad it was? 28 straight losing seasons. They only sold 6 to 7 thousand season tickets each year. Attendence averaged in the mid 20's for a home game. The big excitment each week was to see if the Beavers could hang onto the #1 ranking in the bottom ten.
Over the last nine seasons we have enjoyed watching our team climb to a #4 national ranking in the top 10. We have beaten twice each, two of the most respected and storied programs in college football history. Notre Dame and USC. We have won a PAC-10 championship, won 3 bowl games and seen the construction of a beautiful new football practice facility and stadium.
The future of football at Oregon State is bright. It is our job as fans and supporters of the program to continue to cheer on these young men, support the program through ticket purchases and travel to away games.
The administration at OSU is committed to continuing the success on the field and off the field. Will we continue to be successful? Yes and no, all programs go through droughts. Florida State is having one, Nebraska has had them and so has USC. We as fans just need to keep the faith and scream as load as we can at every game.
So hear are my greatest games of the past years in no particular order.
1. OSU 3 #1 USC 0 - 1967 - By the way the Beavers were 3-2 entering that game and had lost to Washington and been blown out by BYU.
2. OSU 20 Duke 16 - 1942 - Rose Bowl win at Duke because of WW2
3. OSU 21 Washington 20 - 1985 - Beavers had been losing for 14 years and had not been to a bowl game since 1965 Rose Bowl. They had only 21 wins in 14 seasons. Huskies were 38 point favorites to win and OSU set an NCAA record for upset margin.
4. OSU 17 Cal 7 - 1999 - guaranteed a winning season for first time in 28 years.
5. OSU 44 Oregon 41 - 1998 - Double Overtime, fans rush field thinking game is over but its not. Fans line field as Ken Simonton scores winning TD. What a game.
6. OSU 31 - USC 21 - 2000 - First win over USC since 1967 Giant Killers Upset of #1 ranked USC 3-0.
7. OSU 23 - Oregon 13 - 2000 - Both Schools come into game ranked in the top 10 nationally. An OSU win means a share of pac-10 title and possible trip to a major bowl game.
8. OSU 41 - Notre Dame 9 - 2001 Fiesta Bowl - First ever meeting between two schools. Notre Dame is the school with the storied past and OSU is a team with a great story. The Phoenix paper reads the next moring. "Tradition takes a beating Oregon State 41- Notre Dame 9"
9. OSU 38 - Notre Dame 21 - 2004 Insight Bowl - Notre Dame fans were talking trash before game that 2001 Fiesta Bowl was a fluke. That they would beat the beavers easily. "Tradition takes a beating - Part 2"
10. OSU 33 USC 31 - 2006 - Beavers had been stinking it up and had been blown out by the previous ranked teams they had played. Beavers dominate trojans for 2.5 quarters and hold on in one of the most exciting games I have seen to win the game on the last play of the game.
GO BEAVERS!
In my 40+ years of watching Oregon State Football. I have had the great luck to witness in person many of the greatest games in school history and all three wins vs USC over the last 40 years. I was 9 years old the first time I saw USC in Corvallis. My brother was attending OSU and I spent many weekends on campus having a great time pretending to be a college student. It was those days that made me want to become a Beaver Believer myself, attending every home game from then till graduation in 1981. And although other opportunities in life have kept me attending games right after graduation. Since coming back to Oregon in the late 80's, I have not missed many games.
When Mike Riley came to Corvallis in 97 I could tell right away that something special was about to happen to the program. Mike got it started and Dennis Erickson brought it home. Since 97 I have not missed a home game and have the luck of attending two of the 5 bowl games.
Since 97 the Beavers have been to 5 bowl games in 8 years and never had fewer then 5 wins in a season. The bar has been raised as to the fans expectations on the field and it should be. The program is growing, new facilities, more exposure nationally and more revenue for the University. When I hear all the bad talk going on about how poor the program is or how bad a player or coach is I wonder? Where were these people prior to 1997? Don't they remember just how bad it was? 28 straight losing seasons. They only sold 6 to 7 thousand season tickets each year. Attendence averaged in the mid 20's for a home game. The big excitment each week was to see if the Beavers could hang onto the #1 ranking in the bottom ten.
Over the last nine seasons we have enjoyed watching our team climb to a #4 national ranking in the top 10. We have beaten twice each, two of the most respected and storied programs in college football history. Notre Dame and USC. We have won a PAC-10 championship, won 3 bowl games and seen the construction of a beautiful new football practice facility and stadium.
The future of football at Oregon State is bright. It is our job as fans and supporters of the program to continue to cheer on these young men, support the program through ticket purchases and travel to away games.
The administration at OSU is committed to continuing the success on the field and off the field. Will we continue to be successful? Yes and no, all programs go through droughts. Florida State is having one, Nebraska has had them and so has USC. We as fans just need to keep the faith and scream as load as we can at every game.
So hear are my greatest games of the past years in no particular order.
1. OSU 3 #1 USC 0 - 1967 - By the way the Beavers were 3-2 entering that game and had lost to Washington and been blown out by BYU.
2. OSU 20 Duke 16 - 1942 - Rose Bowl win at Duke because of WW2
3. OSU 21 Washington 20 - 1985 - Beavers had been losing for 14 years and had not been to a bowl game since 1965 Rose Bowl. They had only 21 wins in 14 seasons. Huskies were 38 point favorites to win and OSU set an NCAA record for upset margin.
4. OSU 17 Cal 7 - 1999 - guaranteed a winning season for first time in 28 years.
5. OSU 44 Oregon 41 - 1998 - Double Overtime, fans rush field thinking game is over but its not. Fans line field as Ken Simonton scores winning TD. What a game.
6. OSU 31 - USC 21 - 2000 - First win over USC since 1967 Giant Killers Upset of #1 ranked USC 3-0.
7. OSU 23 - Oregon 13 - 2000 - Both Schools come into game ranked in the top 10 nationally. An OSU win means a share of pac-10 title and possible trip to a major bowl game.
8. OSU 41 - Notre Dame 9 - 2001 Fiesta Bowl - First ever meeting between two schools. Notre Dame is the school with the storied past and OSU is a team with a great story. The Phoenix paper reads the next moring. "Tradition takes a beating Oregon State 41- Notre Dame 9"
9. OSU 38 - Notre Dame 21 - 2004 Insight Bowl - Notre Dame fans were talking trash before game that 2001 Fiesta Bowl was a fluke. That they would beat the beavers easily. "Tradition takes a beating - Part 2"
10. OSU 33 USC 31 - 2006 - Beavers had been stinking it up and had been blown out by the previous ranked teams they had played. Beavers dominate trojans for 2.5 quarters and hold on in one of the most exciting games I have seen to win the game on the last play of the game.
GO BEAVERS!
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