It's time to replace the Big East... With the Mountain West

Year in and year out the Big East Conference has proven to be one of the weakest of the automatic qualifying conferences in D1 football. At the same time, the Mountain West Conference has established itself as the premiere mid-major conference by consistently beating teams from every BCS conference, including a 10-5 record against BCS schools in 2008. After the performances of both conferences last year and the way they stack up this year, its time to revoke the "automatic qualifying" title from the Big East and give it to the Mountain West.

Going into bowl season last year, the Big East had two teams ranked in the AP top 25 poll - Cincinnati at number 12 and Pitt at 18. Meanwhile, the MWC had 3 teams ranked going into bowl season - Utah at number 7, TCU at 11, and BYU at 17. Unfortunately for the Big East, both Cincinnati and Pitt went on to lose to lower ranked teams in their bowls finishing with only Cincinnati and West Virginia (who snuck in with a convincing 1 point win over 8-5 North Carolina) in the final rankings. Utah and TCU both beat top 10 teams in their bowl games finishing 2nd and 7th respectively in the final poll. And even though BYU lost their bowl game to a tough Arizona team, they still managed to stay in the final poll at number 25. At the end of the 2008-2009 season, it was pretty apparent that the MWC was by far the better conference when compared to the Big "Least".

Going into this season, things haven't changed much. D1 coaches have taken note of the MWC dominance and have voted 3 representatives into the initial Top 25 Coaches Poll. Meanwhile the closest the Big East can get to the Top 25 is Pitt at 30. To put it another way, nearly half of the teams in the Mountain West are considered better teams than anybody in the Big East. Of course, it can't help that the top two RB's from last year's Big East both left school early for the NFL. With all of these factors in mind, to say that anybody from the Big East has earned a BCS bowl over a MWC team would be criminally insane.

And it's not even just the top 3 teams in the MWC that are getting any preseason love. Just a couple of days ago Mel Kiper Jr. picked UNLV as one of his "surprise" teams for the season. Also, Air Force is returning 14 starters from last year's bowl team and should end up bowl eligible for a third straight year. If things turn out like they're supposed to, the MWC will have 5 out of 9 teams bowl eligible. Top to bottom the MWC has shown they are ready to become the next player in the BCS party.

So, do we really have to suffer through another year of watching a higher ranked Big East team fall on their face as an automatic qualifier, while multiple MWC teams prove they are the real deal? It is time for the NCAA to right their wrongs and start giving us the bowl matchups we deserve. In the end, only a playoff system would give us what we really want, but for now we can hope for this.

Coaches Poll Reaction

After a two month hiatus, Turf Burns returns as the college football season nears. The USA Today Coaches Poll was dropped today and surprise, surprise Florida topped their preseason poll. After that, things aren't so certain, so here is our first reactions to the first major preseason poll of the 2009 season.

OVERRATED:
-#8 Penn State
-#11 Oklahoma State
-#13 Georgia
-#23 Notre Dame

UNDERRATED:
-#10 Ole Miss
-#15 Georgia Tech
-#18 Utah
-#21 Iowa

SHOULD BE RANKED:
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Michigan State
- Rutgers
- Miami

TEAMS BY CONFERENCE:
SEC: 5
BIG XII: 4
PAC-10: 4
ACC: 4
MWC: 3
BIG TEN: 3
WAC: 1
IND: 1
BIG EAST: 0

The most glaring observation here is the lack of any Big East teams within the Top 25; especially when compared to the Mountain West's three teams. Add in Boise State, who comes in ranked at 16th, and a total of four mid-majors are ranked, twice as many as they have had in any other year. Although the Big XII is supposed to be the other premiere along with the SEC, they have as many ranked teams as the Pac-10 and ACC. However, the Big XII has three teams in top 11, compared the Pac-10 and ACC's one (USC and Virginia Tech, respectively).

Top Five "Where Will Amazing Happen This Year?" Parodies

If you've been watching the NBA playoffs this year, then no doubt by now you have seen the numerous "Where Will Amazing Happen This Year?" commercials. If you've been living under a rock the last month, the NBA's new ad campaign features slowed down, black-and-white video footage of big shots in recent and past NBA playoff games. Since their debut, dozens of parody videos have been put up on Youtube and I've done you the honor of compiling them into a single list for you.

5.


4.


3.


2.


1.


And as a bonus here are a few other versions not done by the NBA, but along the same line as the originals:
Brandon Roy
Aaron Brooks

Post-Spring Top 25

Spring practices are in the book, and the next wave of preseason polls are being released. So here is my early take on the Top 25 teams in college football next season:

1. Florida Gators
It's hard to pick against the Gators as the preseason favorites since they return all eleven starters on defense, and demi-god Tim Tebow decided to return for his senior season. Florida also has a very favorable schedule.

2. Oklahoma Sooners
It's a toss-up between the Sooners and Longhorns for the second spot, but as of now, I'll give the nod to the Sooners since they have Heisman winner Sam Bradford, and return more players on defense, which is crucial in what should be another year of video game-like offenses in the Big XII.

3. Texas Longhorns
The big question for the Longhorns this year is who is going to run the football. The passing game is in good hands with Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley, but someone needs to step up at running back and take some of the pressure off Colt McCoy. Senior Sergio Kindle looks to replace Brian Orakpo as the leader of the defense.

4. Southern California Trojans
Cal and Oregon seem to be trendy picks this year to finally dethrone USC as the Pac-10 champion, but until it actually happens you can't pick against the Men of Troy. If there is one team in the nation that reloads, as opposed to rebuilds, better than anyone else, its the Trojans. A wave of new 5* recruits will replace the holes on the defense and whether its Aaron Corp or Matt Barkley running the offense, the Trojans seem to be in good hands.

5. Virginia Tech Hokies
Hokie fans have been pointing to 2009 as their year for the last couple years, and are now waiting for those predictions to come to fruition. VT returns eight starters on each side of the ball, including QB Tyrod Taylor and RB Darren Evans on offense and S Kam Chancellor on what should be another stout defensive unit for the Hokies.

6. Ole Miss Rebels
The only team to beat Florida last year, Ole Miss looks to build upon its surprise season of '08 with another successful '09 campaign. Although they lost Michael Oher and Peria Jerry to the NFL, Jevan Snead and Greg Hardy return to carry the offense and defense, respectively. Ole Miss also has a favorable schedule with both Alabama and LSU visiting Oxford for games.

7. Ohio State Buckeyes
Although the Buckeyes only return 12 starters, they appear to be set on both sides of the line, which is crucial in the run-heavy Big Ten. The Buckeyes also return emerging superstar Terrell Pryor. Replacing key players lost in the back 7 on the defense will be Ohio State's biggest issue heading into the fall.

8. Alabama Crimson Tide
Nick Saban's Crimson Tide return nine starters, including LB Rolando McClain and monstrous DT Terrence Cody, on what was, statistically, one the stingiest defenses in the country last year. On offense, fixing the holes on the offensive line left by Andre Smith and Antoine Caldwell are a top priority.

9. Oklahoma State Cowboys
The Cowboys may have the best QB-RB-WR combo in the country with Zac Robinson, Kendall Hunter, and Dez Bryant. Add to that one of the top left tackles in college football, Russell Okung, and OSU should have one of the most explosive offenses next year. The Cowboys will be able to just about outscore anyone, but if they want to compete with Texas and Oklahoma in the Big XII South, they need their defense to come up with stops.

10. Oregon Ducks
With QB Jeremiah Masoli and RB LeGarrette Blount returning, newly appointed head coach Chip Kelly looks to work his magic once again. Masoli was efficient as any quarterback in the nation the last four games of 2008, and looks to rollover his success to this season. The defense must replace RVR Patrick Chung and DE Nick Reed, but a deep, experienced, LB corp will look to carry the defense.

11. Boise State Broncos
After a 12 win campaign last season, sophomore QB Kellen Moore and Boise State are the frontrunners to be this year's BCS busters once again. The biggest challenge for the Broncos is September 3rd versus the Oregon Ducks, their first game of the year. If they win that game, BSU has a great chance to finish the regular season undefeated once again. On defense, all four starters in the secondary return, in what could be one of the best in the nation.

12. Louisiana State Tigers
After a dissapointing 2008 season, LSU is looking to rebound and have a strong season in 2009. The offense has plenty of talent at the skills positions, including RB Charles Scott and WR Brandon LaFell. New Defensive Coordinator John Chavis has a lot on his plate, as he must fix the Tiger's defense, which was uncharacteristically porous last year.

13. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Paul Johnson's triple option offense was a smashing success in his first season at Georgia Tech, and with Josh Nesbitt and Jonathan Dwyer back, there should be no drop-off heading into season two of the Johnson era. Three defensive lineman were lost to graduation on a unit that ranked 24th in rush defense last season, but slimmed-down DT T.J. Barnes is expected to come in and shine.

14. California Golden Bears
Shocker, there's a QB controversy in Berkeley. Nate Longshore is gone, but now junior Kevin Riley is fighting for the starting job with Brock Manson and Beau Sweeney. Whoever wins the job has a fairly easy job: give the ball to Jahvid Best. Best, the nation's returning leading rusher, in my opinion, has the best chance of any non-QB to win the Heisman. Cal's defense will be lead by it's secondary, and All-Pac 10 CB Syd'Quan Thompson.

15. Penn State Nittany Lions
Penn State only returns 8 starters, but strong recruiting classes in the past are expected to pay big dividends now. PSU returns starting QB Daryll Clark and RB Evan Royster. LB Sean Lee is also healthy again, after missing all of last season due to injury. Penn State should find success in what should be another down year in the Big Ten.

16. TCU Horned Frogs
Another team with aspirations off crashing the BCS party, TCU returns a lot of key players from last years 11-2 team that narrowly missed a shot at a top tier bowl game. Defensive End and one-man wrecking crew, Jerry Hughes returns and is a threat to sack the QB every time he drops back. TCU also returns their top passer, runner, and receiver on offense.

17. Oregon State Beavers
The Beavers continue to surprise every year, and this year should be no different. They return only 3 starters on defense, but faced a similar situation last season and ended up having one of the top defenses in the Pac-10. This year the task could be a little more difficult, as the entire secondary is gone, as are DEs Victor Butler and Slade Norris, both lost to the NFL. The offense is in good hands, as both of the the explosive Rodgers brothers are back and healthy.

18. Georgia Bulldogs
The Bulldogs won't have the target on their back this season as they did last preseason, where they were the favorite to win the national championship. The offense returns seven starters but Matthew Stafford, Knowshon Moreno, and Mohamed Massaquoi are all gone. Luckily, the Bulldogs will return some key players who were out all of last season with injuries.

19. Iowa Hawkeyes
The Hawkeyes returned to the Top 25 last season after what was a string of disappointing seasons. Leading rusher Shonn Greene is gone, and Jewel Hampton looks to fill his shoes as best as possible. Fortunately for him, he'll be running behind one of the most experienced offensive lines in the nation.

20. Utah Utes
Last years only undefeated team, the Utes will have to replace a lot of talent lost, especially on offense. QB Paul Johnson is gone, as well as 6 other starters on offense. The defense also lost players to the NFL, but still returns 7 starters. The Utes have a tough schedule, including road trips to Oregon, BYU, and TCU.


21. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Despite constant Hot Seat rumors, Charlie Weiss remained as the head coach, and now must provide some results. He has strung together some fine recruiting classes, but he must start translating those successes into wins on the field. Ten starters return on offense, including QB Jimmy Clausen and WR Golden Tate. Eight wins should get the Irish back into the BCS for the first time since the 2006 season (Yes, I'm being sarcastic....kinda).

22. Nebraska Corn Huskers
Bo Pelini was an instant success in his first season at Nebraska, with a four game improvement from 2007 to 2008. While another improvement of that magnitude is unlikely, the Cornhuskers should find themselves back in the Top 25 throughout the season. They have one of the most dominant defensive players in the nation in DT Ndamukong Suh.

23. Texas Tech Red Raiders
QB Graham Harrell and WR Michael Crabtree are gone, but when has Texas Tech ever struggled to find able bodies to fill those positions? Taylor Potts will replace Harrell, and should put up big numbers. The Red Raiders also return 8 starters on defense.

24. Kansas Jayhawks
Todd Reesing returns for what seems like his 8th season at QB at Kansas, as the Jayhawks look to continue upon their newfound success under coach Mark Mangino. 1,000 yard WRs Kerry Meier and Dezmon Briscoe both return, as does RB Jake Sharp. The defense will need to undergo some adjustments after losing all three of its starting linebackers.

25. West Virginia Mountaineers
QB Pat White is gone, leaving newcomer Jarrett Brown with some large shoes to fill, but he should do a servicable job. Noel Divine is as good a RB as any other in the Big East, and should continue to post some big numbers. WVU has a rough schedule, with games at Auburn, South Florida, Cincinnati, and Rutgers.

The Allure of College Gameday

It's getting to be that time of year folks. Spring games are over, College Football Live is back on the air (albeit with rehashed stories every blogger has already beaten to death), and the Coors Company is busy stocking up for the last weekend of August. A few short months from now we will all rise on Saturday morning, throw some 'dogs on the grill with a beer in hand, and turn on the TV to honor the holy trinity of college football known as the Gameday Crew. The Gameday Crew, consisting of Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, and Kirk Herbstreit, are a staple of college football, and any campus they visit turns into an instant party. I was personally in attendance for College Gameday's first visit to Autzen Stadium in Eugene, OR; and even though it was still dark out when taping began at 7am, the scene was epic.

The allure of Gameday can be found in it's cast of characters. There is Lee Corso, who reminds everyone of their senile grandpa after shotgunning 4 or 5 Pabst Blue Ribbons and shouting profanities and racially insensitive remarks. Lee is the quintessential antithesis of cuddly little Lou Holtz. Lou is the sweet little old man who you pat on the head and give a Werthers caramel to every time he manages to string together a coherent sentence. To combat the beast that is Corso, Gameday also employs the beauty- Ohio State nobody quarterback turned ESPN heartthrob Kirk Herbstreit, also known affectionately as Herbie. Herbstreit legitimizes the show to wives and girlfriends everywhere, and throws a little bit of sanity into the crazy pot that is Lee Corso. And finally, there is Chris Fowler, the personality deprived host who's only contributions to the show are 30 second intros to pre-taped segments narrated by any number of ESPN peasants. Throw these three in front of a camera and you have television gold.

In just 113 days, college football fans around the world will all tune in to watch the madness of another season of college football unfold. Surely we will do a double take over something Corso says in a moment of stupidity, and without fail our wives and girlfriends will find a spot on the couch with us the moment Herbie starts making love with the camera (Editor's note: I know I got my spot ready). The characters of College Gameday help define the college football season. They are the opening act for the rock concert that is the college football season. I, for one, cannot wait.

Aaron Brooks: Red is the new Black

If I were Aaron Brooks, I might've stopped at 20 points in Sunday's game against the Lakers if it meant I wouldn't have to be seen on national television in this suit. Unfortunately (or not) for Brooks, he scored a career high 34 and became the star of the game as well as the post-game press conference. Apparently he is claiming he was tricked into it by one of his teammates, but I'm not so sure... One thing is for sure though, if I had scored my career high after wearing this suit I would probably wear it again for the next game. We'll see if Brooks thinks the same way on Tuesday.

Mark Cuban Hates Mothers

After Saturday's controversial Game 3 matchup between the Nuggets and the Mavericks, Mark Cuban, Dallas' owner and giant douchebag, reportedly had an exchange of words with the mother of Denver's Kenyon Martin. After Carmelo's game winning three, Cuban stormed the court arguing, an event that is not uncommon for him, before heading to the locker room, where he encountered Lydia Moore along the way. Reports are that as Dallas fans were yelling and calling Denver player thugs, Cuban looked at Moore and said "That includes your son," in reference to Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin.

Don't worry though, because Cuban totally has a good reason that vindicates his comment! Cuban, who has no problem running his mouth at officials, players, and now player's family, responded to the incident by saying Moore threw some "trash-talk-type comments" at him after one of the previous playoff games.

Stay classy, Mark Cuban and Happy Mothers Day Lydia Moore.

Larry Scott's Summer To Do List

If you haven't heard, Larry Scott was announced as the new Pac 10 commissioner. He will take over the position, currently held by Tom Hansen, on July 1st. At first glance, Scott appears to be a great hire by the Pac 10 conference. His background is mainly in marketing and television and most recently he has been praised for his work as the CEO for the Women's Tennis Association. He even helped the WTA land a $88 million sponsorship from Sony Ericsson, the biggest sponsorship ever in women's sports. This fact alone leads me to believe he will be a great fit for the Pac 10. After all, who really wants to watch women's tennis anyways?

All joking aside, Larry Scott has a lot of work to do to improve the state of Pac 10 athletics. Here is a list of things I would like to see him improve starting this summer on July 1st.

1. Officiating -
For the past several years, football officials from the Pac 10 have been a punchline in the other Division 1 conferences around the nation. From the UO/Oklahoma onside kick fiasco of 2006 to last years UW/BYU excessive celebration call, Pac 10 refs have proven to the nation how horrible they are. It has gotten to the point where other conferences are wary of playing Pac 10 teams on the road. This lack of respect is certainly not helping the perspective that most outsiders hold of the Pacific 10 conference as a whole. Scott needs to take action immediately to improve the officiating and bring respect back to this conference.

2. Bowl Contracts -
Within the last decade, UO,Cal and ASU have all been left hanging out to dry when the BCS committee decided to go with a less-qualified team from another conference in their place. When it comes down to it, USC is the only Pac 10 team that seems to get the benefit of the doubt during bowl selections. This costs the conference millions of dollars and untold benefits of the national respect that comes with having two BCS bowl teams. The Pac 10 as a whole gets about as much respect from the BCS as the MWC. What is worse, apart from the “Granddaddy of them all”, the Pac-10 bowl tie-ins suck. As a whole, the Pac 10 gets less money from its bowl contracts with only one January bowl game. We consistently get the short end of the stick when it comes to bowl opponents and level of competition. With Scott's marketing background, hopefully he can work his way into a couple of better bowl contracts and bring some more respect to the Pac 10.

3. TV Contracts-

Four of the top fifteen television markets are in Pac 10 cities: Seattle, Phoenix, LA, and San Francisco. Compare that to the two in Big 10 cities (Detroit and Minneapolis) and you can start to see how poor the Pac 10's current TV contracts are. Right now the Pac 10 has weak deals with ABC/ESPN and CBS and regional deals with FSN and VERSUS. In general, ESPN picks up the game of the week and FSN and VERSUS are left to fight for the leftovers. Both FSN and VERSUS receive horrible ratings compared to ABC/ESPN and neither regional network does anything to promote the Pac 10's perception around the nation. Often times, Pac 10 teams are forced to move games to Thursday nights in order to receive more television exposure. If the Pac 10 is to improve its national image, it will have to get more games on television during hours when the rest of the nation is watching. Whether this is through a new Pac 10 network, or a better contract with CBS or NBC is for Larry Scott to decide.

Post-Spring Pac-10 Football Predictions

Spring practices in the Pac-10 came to a conclusion as Oregon and Oregon state wrapped up on Saturday with their annual Spring Games. Here are my post-spring predictions on the conference standings and All-Pac 10 teams:

Conference Standings:
1. USC Trojans 11-1 (8-1)
2. Oregon Ducks 10-2 (7-2)
3. California Golden Bears 9-3 (6-3)
4. Oregon State Beavers 8-4 (5-4)
5. Stanford Cardinal 7-5 (5-4)
6. Arizona Wildcats 7-5 (5-4)
7. UCLA Bruins 5-7 (4-5)
8. Arizona State 5-7 (3-6)
9. Washington Huskies 3-9 (2-7)
10. Washington State Cougars 1-11 (0-9)

Awards:
Offensive Player of the Year: Jahvid Best, Cal
Defensive Player of the Year: Taylor Mays, USC
Freshman of the Year: Vontaze Burfict, ASU
Coach of the Year: Chip Kelly, UO

Pac-10 First Team:

OFFENSE:

QB: Jeremiah Masoli, Oregon
RB: Jahvid Best, California
RB: Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon State
WR: Damian Williams, USC
WR: James Rodgers, Oregon State
TE: Rob Gronkowski, Arizona
OL: C.E. Kaiser, Oregon
OL: Jeff Byers, USC
OL: Kristopher O'Dowd, USC
OL: Gregg Peat, Oregon State
OL: Chris Marinelli, Stanford

PK: Thomas Weber, Arizona State


DEFENSE:

DL: Dexter Davis, Arizona State
DL: Brian Price, UCLA
DL: Stephen Paea, Oregon State
DL: Everson Griffin, USC
LB: Spencer Paysinger, Oregon
LB: Vontaze Burfict, Arizona State
LB: Keaton Kristick, Oregon State
DB: Walter Thurmond III, Oregon
DB: Syd'Quan Thompson, California
DB: Taylor Mays, USC
DB: Alterraun Verner, UCLA

P: Keenyn Crier, Arizona

Oregon State Spring Football Winners and Losers

With the Oregon State spring football game now in the books, its time to take a look at the major winners and losers of the last four weeks of spring practice.

Winners:

Sean Canfield - With Lyle Moevao sitting out spring practices due to recent surgery on his rotator cuff, Canfield was given the large majority of the reps with the first team offense. This is almost the exact opposite situation from spring practice last year when Canfield was the one recovering from surgery and Lyle got all of the repetitions. In the first scrimmage of the spring Canfield completed 12 of 21 passes for 278 yards and 4 touchdowns including a pair of 70+ yard touchdown passes to projected starter Darrell Catchings. It appears, at least for the moment, that Canfield has taken a strong hold on the starting quarterback position and will carry that title into fall practice.

Darrell Catchings - The number one beneficary of Canfield's hot spring has been Darrell Catchings, the projected replacement for Sammie Stroughter at wide receiver. In 2007 Catchings earned a starting role as a true freshman due to injuries and a lack of depth. However, with the return of Stroughter and the emergence of Shane Morales last year, Catchings was relegated to role player status. Judging by the way he's been playing this spring, it looks like he's ready for a breakout year. Through the first two spring scrimmages Catchings had 13 catches for 423 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Defensive Front Seven - After losing four of the starting front seven from 2008, one of the focal points of spring practice was finding the impact starters to replace them. It looks like OSU may have done that with the way the defensive front played this spring. Newcomers Kevin Frahm and Ben Terry look like carbon copies of 2009 NFL draft picks Slade Norris and Victor Butler. Both players have great speed off the edge and will likely pile up the sacks in the upcoming season. Meanwhile, returning starters Keaton Kristick and Stephen Paea have appeared on a couple of preseason watch lists and will anchor the defense up the middle.

2008 Senior Class - In this years NFL draft OSU had a school record 7 players chosen. In order they were: Andy Levitre (Buffalo), Keenan Lewis (Pittsburgh), Victor Butler (Dallas), Slade Norris (Oakland), Brandon Hughes (San Diego), Al Afalava (Chicago), and Sammie Stroughter (Tampa Bay). Since then former wide receiver Shane Morales and former tackle Tavita Thompson have signed free agent contracts with Arizona and New York (Jets) respectively.

Losers:

Secondary - Replacing the four starters in the secondary proved to be a tough task for the beavers this spring. On most days the first and second team offenses took turns running circles around the new corners and safeties. If OSU hopes to be competitive in the QB heavy Pac 10, their new secondary will have to take a couple of large steps forward before games start. However, if the spring game was any indication, it appears they may have started figuring things out with the three interceptions recorded by the starting unit during the scrimmage.

Running Backs - Before spring drills even started OSU was made aware that they would be without backup running back Jeremy Francis who is helping his mother recover from a heart attack in Florida. Francis was a capable backup and played an important role in OSU's Sun Bowl victory last season. Meanwhile, Jacquizz Rodgers was held out of all contact spring drills as a precautionary measure while he recovers from a cracked scapula suffered in last years victory over the University of Arizona. This left the bulk of the first team carries to Ryan Mccants. However towards the end of spring practices, Mccants suffered a knee ligament tear and will need offseason surgery. Due to these injuries the spring game primarily featured redshirt freshman Jovan Stevenson and true freshman Jordan Jenkins at running back.

Knees - As it turned out Ryan McCants was not the only player to suffer a bad knee injury in spring drills. Backup MLB Tony Wilson and WR Kaulin Krebs will both need surgery to repair torn ligaments in their knees as a result of injuries suffered in practices leading up to the spring game. To make matters worse, projected starting tackle Timi Oshinowo went down with a knee injury during the game and will have an MRI to find out how bad it is.

Marketing - It started last year with the "Let it rage" marketing campaign. This spring it transformed into "I am orange". I know we have a bunch of players that wear orange uniforms as members of the OSU football team, but I don't think I've seen any players that are actually orange. And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, the slogan that goes with it is: "I am gone before they hear the thunder." What does that even mean? And what the hell does it have to do with being orange? Maybe somebody could explain to me how this ad campaign improves the image of our program but I highly doubt it.

Oregon Spring Winners and Losers

Oregon's spring football practices came to a close with the conclusion of Saturday's Spring Game at Autzen Stadium in front of a crowd of 12,000 people. Here are my winners and losers throughout the spring practices and game:

WINNERS:


Jeremiah Masoli and Justin Roper: Oregon's top two QBs showed that the position should be in good hands over the next two years as both players shone in the spring game saturday. Masoli was 15/22 for 215 yards and TDs with no interceptions on the day and provides hope to Duck fans that his superb play from late last season will roll over into the fall. Roper, the game's MVP, led the White to victory on his 22/34 passing with 311 yards. He accounted for all of the Green team's scores with three TD passes.

Kenyon Barner: Barner, who has practiced has a corner most of the spring, assumed the starting role in the spring game after injuries forced him to change positions. The former high school running back responded well, leading all rushers with 54 yards on 10 carries and showed some nifty moves in between.

Kenny Rowe: Rowe is the frontrunner to replace Nick Reed and start opposite Will Tukuafu at the other DE spot. Rowe constantly disrupted the backfield in the spring game accumulating 4 tackles, with 2 for a loss along with forcing other hurried throws.

Aaron Pflugrad: Pflugrad, who was my personal vote for MVP, led all receivers on the day with 107 yards and 2 TDs. Oregon is in desperate need for a WR to step up and Pflu looks like he can provide some consistency to a group that lacked it last year.

The Fans: It's spring football at Autzen Stadium, whats not to love about it?


LOSERS:


The Kicking Game: Oregon's kicking game was all over the place missing three kicks and having another three blocked.

The Snapping Game: A handful of snaps resulted in a loss of yards, including one when the white team was in the redzone that could have cost a touchdown. Errant snaps were also prevalent on field goal tries. Oregon continues to try and find a replacement for Max Unger on the offensive line.

Darron Thomas: Thomas was inconsistent today, underthrowing or completely missing some receivers and lacked in decision making skills at time. The sophomore should be able to redshirt as long as Roper and Masoli stay healthy and have another year of learning year under Chip Kelly.

The Fans: At least those that sat on the North side of the Stadium and had to brave the elements for most of the game.

Oregon Sping Game 1st half thoughts

First half of Oregon's spring game is in the book as the White team, led by Jeremiah Masoli, leads the Green team by a score of 14-7. Both of the White team's scoring drives ended with Aaron Pflugrad touchdown receptions of 60 and 17-yards, respectively. The Green team's lone score came from a spectacular one-handed diving catch by Chris Harper in the 2nd quarter.

A few players have stuck out after 30 minutes of play, the most impressive being Aaron Pflugrad. Pflugrad has caught just about everything thrown his way, and has also showed some nice ball skills once he has the ball in his hands. Meanwhile, on the Green offense, Chris Harper and Kenjon Barner have showed some nice glimpses of what they can do with the ball in their hands. Harper has been the most productive receiver for the Green team, while Barner has been impressive for a RB who has been taking reps as a DB all spring.

Defensively Chad Peppars and Josh Kaddu have stuck out. Peppars has been all over the field and made multiple tackles, including a blocked FG attempt. Kaddu has been effective at disrupting the backfield when he blitzes and had a hard hit on Chris Harper. On the Green defense, Walter Thurmond has done a good job against Jamere Holland, limiting him to one catch. Kenny Rowe also has two tackles for loss.

Speaking of Holland, his speed is impressive and stands out. Though he only has one catch, he burned TJ Ward twice on the last drive of the half, but Masoli overthrow him both times.

Problems in the first half were errant snaps by both offense's centers and poor kicking by the FG units.

Obligatory Erin Andrews post

As a sports blog, it is our duty to relay information and our thoughts to you in an educated, well-thought out way. However, there is also another unwritten rule for which all sport blogs must follow: fawn over Erin Andrews. While we here at Turf Burns enjoy Miss (we hope) Andrews sideline reporting as much as anyone else, our focus on this blog will stay to sports, and not so much those attractive females that cover it. However, one Erin Andrews post is a necessity as a sort of rite of passage for every sports blog. So without further ado, our obligatory Erin Andrews post:











We also enjoy Erin Andrew's younger, and just as attractive sister, Kendra:

Well done, Dan. Well done.

NBA should suspend Rondo

In case you haven't seen it, here is the video from Thursday nights game 6 between the Celtics and Bulls.



Rondo basically throws Hinrich into the scorers table after Hinrich made a good boxout. After the foul, Hinrich shoves Rondo and Rondo attempts to throw an elbow but doesn't make any contact. And the result? Rondo gets called for a flagrant foul and Hinrich gets a technical.

If this were the first example of Rondo's disrespect for his opponent and the game of basketball, I would not think that he should be suspended. Unfortunately, this is not the first instance where Rondo was obviously playing with the intent to hurt someone. In game 5 of this series, in the last minute of overtime, Rondo had another "hard foul" against Brad Miller that probably won the Celtics the game. I say "hard foul" because the refs didn't have the balls to call it what it should have been: a flagrant foul.



Rondo claims he was going for the ball, which makes a lot of sense for a guy who has only 11 blocks for the year and is giving up 11 inches and 90 lbs to Miller. Apparently Rondo got the ball confused with Miller's head, because it wasn't even close.

Between these two plays separated by a mere 12 minutes of game time, Rondo is quickly earning a reputation as a dirty player. Perhaps its coming out of frustration at the realization that not everything is going to be handed to him like it was last year. When it comes down to it, Rondo is a slightly better than average point guard with a great supporting cast. And he's quickly realizing that the Celtics are moving downhill while the rest of the league passes them by. This has made him a spoiled, angry player that has begun taking out his frustrations physically on the Chicago Bulls. It's time that the NBA sent a message that this behavior will not be tolerated - especially from a third year player. Rondo should be rightfully suspended for game 7 of this series for the safety of all of the players on the court.

Why NASCAR Isn't a Sport

This weekend, I was flipping channels and stumbled across the biggest display of redneckitude since the last Lynyrd Skynyrd reunion tour. Of course I'm talking about the Aaron's 499 (really NASCAR, you couldn't spare one more mile?). Before witnessing one of the most spectacular crashes I've ever seen, I caught myself lost in thought amongst the endless circling. My thoughts were mostly revolving around one deep question; what am I watching? After much contemplation, I believe I have discovered the essence of NASCAR. NASCAR is a glorified footrace.


Take away the pit crews, loud exhausts, and corporate sponsorships, and what is left are people travelling in circles to see who will finish first. The real oddity of the "sport" however, is that through endless rules and restrictions, the cars on the track are so similar, they differ only in color scheme. Literally, every car is forced by NASCAR rules to perform exactly the same. To expand on the track and field motif, NASCAR is comparable to watching 40 Steve Prefontaine's duke it out for 4 punishingly identical hours. Except there are no athletes... only "drivers". Guess what? I'm a "driver" too. I got my driver's liscense when I was 16 and I've been driving ever since.

So it begs the question: why do our redneck friends from the south live and breathe NASCAR? After additional contemplation, I believe the answer is a simple one. As previously stated, NASCAR is as much about the car as MTV is about music. NASCAR fans watch to see a mind game in it's simplest form. It's almost as if NASCAR is a redneck version of checkers. I use checkers due to the fact that checkers is the only board game played by rednecks that isn't produced by Hasbro and targeted towards 12 year olds. NASCAR fans cannot identify with the intellectually heavy mind games of a well crafted mystery novel or the genius of a well played hand of poker. Instead, they identify with the simple mind functions behind racing cars in big circles. I would say to each their own, but do the rest of us "normal" people really need to be exposed to your "sport"?

My advice to all is to simply ignore it and avoid the irreversable mental damage 4 hours of running circles can do to a developed mind. The day NASCAR evolves from carbon copied cars running in circles into a team sport that actually utilizes mechanical and driving skill is the day I will start paying real attention. Until then, I'd rather watch checkers.

NBA officitating and the "All-Star Treatment"

NBA playoffs have been in full swing since last week and teams are starting to punch their tickets into the second round. One thing I've noticed in the first round, and its something that seems to flare up around this time every year, are the the preferential calls given to the NBA's premiere players - the so called "All-Star Treatment." Two series where this seems to be most prominent are the Cleveland/Detroit and Portland/Houston series. I decided to take a look at the box scores from the eight combined games in these two series and noticed some interesting trends.

Yao Ming, Houston's All-Star center, combined for 8 personal fouls in the first two games in Portland but committed only 4 fouls in the last two at Houston, including only one foul in 44 minutes of play on Sunday. Meanwhile, Portland's centers, Joel Pryzbilla and Greg Oden, have combined for 18 fouls in the two home games and another 18 on the two road games. Why have Yao Ming's fouls been cut in half at home, while Oden and Pryzbilla have been called for the same amount? I've watched Yao get away with numerous fouls while Portland gets called for breathing on him. In the last two games I've seen Brandon Roy drive to paint three or four times and see Yao leave his feet, a cardinal sin for a big man, and knock Roy down with no foul being called. As a team, Houston committed 49 team fouls in the first two games, the same amount as Portland. However, in the last two games, Houston has committed 34 fouls compared to Portland's 52. Quite the discrepancy.

An even more startling trend is in the Cleveland/Detroit series. Lebron James, the clear candidate for this year's MVP award, took 59 free throws in their first round sweep of the Pistons. That is one more attempt than the entire Piston's team took all series. You read that right. In three of the four games in the series, James had more free throw attempts than Detroit. Another thing that stuck out to me was James committed only 5 personal fouls the entire series, three of which came in the deciding game 4.

My biggest complaint with the NBA has always been the inconsistent refereeing and the treatment the NBA's elite players receive. And with Los Angeles and Cleveland on a crash course to meet in the Finals, the inevitable free throw battle between Kobe and LeBron should be a classic.

There are some things money can't buy...

Going into last weekend's three game series between Boston and New York, both teams were tied for 2nd in the AL East at 9-6 behind Toronto. After being swept, the Yankees now sit 4 games behind Toronto and a full game behind Boston for the number 2 spot in the East. If this disappointing trend keeps up, the Yanks will miss the playoffs for the second straight year, and of course - I love it.

How poorly managed is an organization that can't win with such a ridiculously high payroll? The Yankees have a total team salary of $201,449,189! To put this number in perspective, the Yankees payroll is $80 million more than the Red Sox that just swept them, and 2.5 times as much as the division leading Blue Jays. The Yanks have 6 players making more than the highest paid player for the Blue Jays! And yet... they still sit in third and in line to miss the playoffs yet again.

Hank Steinbrenner wanted so badly to win the World Series this year that he went out and spent $423.5 million to acquire CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, and Mark Teixeira. And what have those guys done so far this season? Teixeira is hitting a measly .218 with only 10 RBI, and Burnett and Sabathia have a combined ERA of 5.15 and headline a rotation that is ranked no better than 10th in the AL in all major categories. Contrary to what the Yankees organization seems to believe, money can't actually buy you more wins...

Finally, what is perhaps the icing on the cake - the Yankees brand new $1.5 billion stadium that is averaging an attendance of only 85% of capacity, which is approximately 8000 fans less than last year. Adding all of these numbers up shows that the Yankees organization spent about $2 billion for three new players and a new stadium only to end up with less fans and a win total that lands them exactly where they finished last year - out of the playoffs.

Apparently there are some things money just can't buy.

Top 10 ugliest players in the NBA

Watching Luis Scola flop his way to a Rockets victory on Friday against the Blazers made me think about how ugly some of the European NBA players are. Most of the ugliest guys in the league are transplants from one European country or another. However, there are also some American players out there that look like they belong in prison on murder charges. Either way the NBA has A LOT of ugly dudes and someone has to rank them. So here it is - my top ten list of the ugliest players in the NBA.

1. Delonte West
Picture the leprechaun from the lucky charms commercials, only he's all methed out and semi-retarded. Now you should be picturing something along the lines of this:

2. Charlie Villanueva
Okay, where the hell are Charlie Villanueva's eyebrows? Does he shave them off? And if so, why? Cause it's definitely not helping his looks.

3. Andrei Kirilenko
Andrei Kirilenko's chin is so big it should have its own area code. And unlike Jay Leno's chin, Kirilenko's looks like it could poke someone's eye out. AK47 also reminds me of Rocky IV foe, Ivan Drago and wouldn't be surprised if he drops a "If he dies, he dies" quote in a postgame interview.

4. The Gasol Brothers
This one gets such a high ranking because its a two for one. Pau is probably the uglier of the two, but Marc is definitely not far behind. Fortunately for the two, if basketball does not work out they have a future career working as the Geico cavemen.

5. Robert Swift
I've never seen this guy play in an NBA game, but from the looks of this picture that's probably a good thing.

6. Mehmet Okur
Mehmet Okur is by far the creepiest looking dude in the NBA. He looks like an Eastern European version of Chandler from Friends. Seriously, what's with the gelled hair and single highlight?

7. Chris "Birdman" Anderson
Whether he's rocking the faux-hawk or long blond hair, he is so tattooed its hard to tell whether he belongs on the court or in one.

8. Luis Scola
Since when do they let women play in the NBA? At least get a real headband and stop the damn flopping already. I wonder if him and Laker's guard Sasha Vujacic share fashion tips with each other?

9. Joakim Noah
Maybe it's the gap-tooth, the long ratty hair, or just the fact that he went to Florida, but this guy is definitely one of the ugliest players in the league.

10. Robin Lopez AKA "Sideshow Bob"
If you haven't realized it yet, Robin Lopez is the physical incarnation of Sideshow Bob from The Simpsons. That fact alone is enough to land him on the list.

Honorable Mention - Sam Cassell AKA "ET"

Honorable Mention - Ronaldo Balkman

Honorable Mention - Zaza Pachulia

Honorable Mention - Brandon Roy's "playoff beard"

New faces leading Mariners to hot start

After a disappointing 100-loss campaign last season, the Seattle Mariners decided to make some off-season moves to retool the roster. JJ Putz, Raul Ibanez, and Willie Bloomquist are all out while Endy Chavez, Franklin Gutierrez, Russell Branyan, and Mike Sweeney are in. Last season, the M's offense ranked 26th in total runs, but this season they currently rank 18th, largely due to some timely hitting by the new faces.

The biggest reason for the Mariner's unexpected success is the effectiveness of the pitching staff. The Mariner's team ERA is 2.95, the best mark in all of baseball. Felix Hernandez is slowly starting to live up to the expectations that have surrounded him since he broke into the big leagues. Eric Bedard is in the form he was in 2007, when he was one of the premiere pitchers in the AL. However, the biggest surprise on the pitching staff is Jarrod Washburn. Washburn, who struggled last year, is off to a blazing 3-0 start with a 1.71 ERA. Brandon Morrow has stepped into the closer role well, going 5/5 on his save opportunites so far.

Four Oregonians drafted on Day One

As day one of the draft began his morning, a handful of Ducks and Beavers were hoping to hear their names called by NFL commissioner Rodger Goodell. The first round went by with none of the players being selected. It didn't take long though for the names to start flying off in the second round. In all, four players between Oregon and Oregon State were selected in the first round.

UO's Patrick Chung was the highest drafted Oregonian, who was selected with the second pick of the second round by the New England Patriots. Chung, who was the Patriots first pick of the draft, is in a prime position to step into the New England and assume the role as one of the starting safeties.

It didn't take much longer for Oregon CB Jairus Byrd to hear his name called. Taken with the 42nd pick overall by the Buffalo Bills, Byrd was a first-team All-Pac 10 player last year and led the conference in interceptions his sophomore and junior seasons before bolting for the NFL.

A third Oregon player, Max Unger, was also taken in the second round with the 49th pick overall by the Seattle Seahawks. The center was expected to be the highest selected Oregonian according to most mock drafts. Unger will most likely move over to guard with Chris Spencer already on the Seahawks roster.

Oregon State joined the party just two picks later when the Buffalo Bills drafted offensive guard Andy Levitre with the 51st overall pick. Levitre is noted for having started 35 consecutive games with the Beavers. Look for Levitre to one day be blocking for fellow Pac Ten alums Marshawn Lynch and Trent Edwards.

NFL Draft Thoughts

The 1st round of the NFL Draft is in the books and the biggest story so far is the Raiders selection of Darrius Heyward-Bey with the 7th overall pick. This pick makes no sense when both Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin are both available. However, it shouldn't be much of a surprise pick by Al Davis considering the hard-on he has for speed. Five other wide receivers have been picked in the first round, including Crabtree who fell to the 49ers with the 10th pick.

Seattle picking up Aaron Curry with the 4th pick was a nice grab, as he will contribute much more next year than QB Mark Sanchez will. The Seahawks should be able to get a few more good years out of Hasselbeck and can address the need for a QB in next year's draft, which will be fairly deep at the position.

The Lions have started off their draft strong as well. Stafford was the right choice to take with the top pick. He gives the franchise a face, which it sorely needs after its 0-16 campaign last season. Michael Oher could have addressed a need for the Lions at the 20th pick, but with this Tackle-heavy draft they can address the need in the later rounds. Brandon Pettigrew gives Stafford another weapon on offense as well as a superb blocking TE.

-Mike

Todd McShay's Unhealthy Glow

As draft day approaches, Mel Kiper Jr and Todd McShay have been dominating the ESPN airwaves. There coverage of the draft has recieved more airtime than the first round games of the NBA playoffs as well as the start of the MLB season. While they provide analysis of who they think are busts, sleepers, and everything in between I've only noticed one thing: Todd McShay's increasingly orange glow. Over the last few weeks, McShay's skin color has gone from a bad fake tan to an oompa-loompa-like orange. My theory is that as draft day approaches Todd McSpraytan's skin color increases with excitement.

Welcome to Turf Burns!

Check back soon as we start to post our thoughts and rants from this weekend's NFL Draft and NBA playoff games!