Blazers host Suns

(Terry Porter and family)

Terry Porter, Shaq and crew will be coming to the Rose Garden tonight. The game is on TNT 10:30pm EST. I have been out of the blogging world the past week, due to graduation and driving a Uhaul over 1500 miles through the snow and some of this countries worst states (Nebraska).

I have been very frustrated with the Blazers lately, expecially since losing 3 out of their last 4 for a number of reason. I think and hope Les is going to do a post on those very reasons in the near future.

I believe Pheonix will be fighting to get into the play-offs this year, so this could be a big game. Let us turn a new leaf tonight boys. Maybe now that I am in Mizzou, they will not feel my frustrations as directly.

Looking for big things from Rudy and GO tonight.

Blame the Zebra's for loss against Orlando

Blazers played a great 4th quarter until the last 2 minutes. They gave up three 3-pointers in the last 90 seconds to loose by one point. It is a good game to learn from, but frustrating for players, coaches, and fans alike.

Jamar Nelson, Rashad Lewis, and then Turgalou with the game winner.

With four seconds left in the game Lamarcus hit a shot clock beating 10' jumper, but not according to the zebra's. If you watched the highlight on Sportscenter, they clearly showed the shot was off in time, which would have put the Blazers up by 4 points.

Instead, we were up just 2 points, and Orlando hit a buzzer beater, similar to what we did to Houston earlier in the year. I guess we had in coming.

But my beef is, review that shot clock shot by Lamarcus. I have seen them a number of times go back and review stuff like that, why not this team? This blew a big win, a perfect home record, and momentum going into a big game against Utah.

Ugh, but even though it was the ref's fault, we still had a plethora of issues. And did anyone see Dwight Howard manhandled GO. I will admit I am starting to get a bit impatient with GO, at this rate he will have more fouls then points this season, unacceptable from a 1st round draft pick.

Week 5: Pick 'em BLAZERS @ JAZZ

Well, Isaac was the sole man with the perfect week, this week congrats. By the way, I just assumed you scored 14 points, because I couldn't find it on-line. Well done big man.

For this week, now that college football is done for a while, this week I am going to do something slightly different. Its going to be all BLAZERS / JAZZ (game thursday night on national TV).

Week 5:

1. Who's European scores more? (Rudy or AK47, worth $10)
2. Who has more steals? (Roy or Brewer, worth $5)
3. Who has more points? (Memo or Aldridge, worth $10)
4. Game decided by more or less than 5 points. (worth $10)
5. Jazz are 9-3 at home, Blazers are 8-7 on the road. Who wins? (Blazers or Jazz, worth $15)

Bonus: If you pick all Blazers for you picks, and they are all right, you get a bonus $10 (and vis-versa with the Jazz)

Due Thursday by noon. Good luck.

TrailBlazers at Celtics Tonight

Well, we are undefeated against the eastern conference so far this year. Will the streak continue tonight? According to Vegas, the Celtics will win by 8 points. And only 25% of America thinks the Blazers will will.

The defending Champs are going for their 11th straight win and the Blazers are going for their 8th straight win.

I just wanted to remind you to plan your Friday night date around the game tonight. I think I will try to take Whit out to dinner before pre-game, which is 5:30pm MST on ESPN.

I am interested in two match-ups tonight.

1. Batum vs Pierce. Can this young guy with the 18' wing span keep Pierce from scoring over 20? Lets hope so.

2. Blake vs Rondo. Blake I think is a much more polished player, but Rondo is much quicker and really the key to this team of superstars. But Blake usually finds a way to do it, he has already faced a number of all-star point guards, and a number of quick guys like Derick Rose. Might I add Blake held Rose to his worst game of his young career only scoring one basket, and leading the Blazers to victory by over 40 points.

Prediction:

Blazers 100 - Celtics 99

Blazers already a power-house?

Blazer-Mania is alive and rolling. They are one of the hottest teams in the NBA right now. We are a few games away from the first quarter of the season being over and this is where the blazers are at.

Team Points:

• If the playoffs started today: The Blazers would be the #2 seed in the West facing the #7 Hornets. The Hornets are struggling and CP3 is getting frustrated with his team. Other than Peja and Posey he doesn't have much help, especially inside.
• We are 14-6 behind only the Lakers in the West.
• We are 7-0 at home. So two-third's of our games have been on the road, meaning we have a lot more home games coming up after another long road trip.
• We are in a very tough division. Right now the NW division accounts for 3 of the top 4 teams in the west (Portland, Denver, Utah). And Denver is still figuring out how to play with a guy that actually passes the ball, and Utah has had a lot of injuries. Meaning we could finish 3rd in the NW division, and still have home court in the playoffs.
• We are in the middle of a stretch of a month where we don't have more than one day off in a row. This is where our depth as been so important, as seen last night vs NY.

Individuals:

• G.O., relax, relax relax (and I am talking to ESPN, and the media not Greg here). They are so concerned that he is not Wilt or Bill Russell or even Bynum. He is shoting 50% from the field, 8 boards/game, just under 2 blocks/game, and is playing much better defense. Obviously we still expect much more out of him, but right now we are winning, while he is adjusting and developing.
• Rudy. How can you not love him? 12 points/game, and sees varied minutes depending on the opponent and flow of the game. Last night we went 4/8 from 3, including two daggers late in the game. And he regularly makes ESPN's top 10 highlights on oops from Sergio. In my non-biased opinion clearly the rookie of the year. Did I mention he has made at least one three is every single game this season (20) which is a league record.
  
• Steve Blake. He is my co-MVP for the first quarter of the season award with Big Joel. He is shooting 44% from three point land, 96% from the free throw line (he has only missed one all season, WOW), and knocking in over 11 points and over 4 assists/game. You may say 4 assists is not alot, but we don't run a typical offense, our 2, 3, and 4's get more assists than typical teams.
• Nicolas Batum. Did you know he starts? He is 6'8" and one of the longest players in the league, who is turning into a great defender. He fills up the stat sheet in all areas and helps us with some match up problems we have had in the past.
• B-Roy. Over 21 points a game and well on his way to being an all-star again. He is our go-to-guy and has already made a plethora of huge baskets in crunch time. The Houston game with .8 seconds left, wow! Most importantly he knows his role, typically we need points from him, other times we need him to play point and run the offense. Like tonight (vs Wizards) he scored 12 points in the final 8 minutes, taking over when necessary. My favorite player.
• Joel Przybilla. I wanted all my Minnesota connections to know how grateful I am for this 7'1" beast of a man they produced. Joel has been so clutch so far this season. Without him we would have had to force GO into many more minutes. He is averaging 7 points per, 9 boards per, and over 2 blocks per. And always grabs big boards in crunch time, like last night vs NY where he had 14 boards. If I were to buy a jersey today it would be big Joel's #10.

Friday 6pm on ESPN vs the defending aging champs in Boston. Watch out this game is a big indicator of where we are. By the way, the Blazers have not lost to any eastern conference team this season, making this match-up friday even bigger.

GO BLAZERS!

Pick 'em Week 4

You can view the current standings on the left. Many had a rough week last week, mainly due to the Beavs not showing up on Saturday. Lets hope for the UCLA miracle next week, that would still allow the Beavs to get to the Rose Bowl. Although, I am not excited about getting killed by Penn State again.

Questions for week 4, due wednesday at 5pm MST.

1. (Yes/No) Stephon Marbury will still be a Knick next monday Dec. 8? (Worth $10)
2. Blazers play on the road at NY, Wash., Boston, and Toronto this week. List the teams they will beat. (Each game worth $5)
3. Mizzou will upset Texas/Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game. (Worth $20 if Mizzou wins, worth $5 if TX/OK win). Who will win?
4. UCLA will upset USC. (Worth $20 if UCLA wins, worth $5 if USC wins). Who will win?
5. (Yes/No) Isaac will score 14 or more points vs Tigard on friday? (Worth $10)

Bonus: They Blazers big 3 will out score teh Celtics big 3 on Friday? (Roy, Aldridge, GO vs Garnett, Pierce, Allen)

Good luck.

Civil War Showdown

That's right ladies and gentlemen, the day is just around the corner and I'm here to give you my two cents worth. I have attended one Civil War game as a student at Oregon and it was quite the experience. It was a one-sided whoopin' down at Autzen; 56-14 to be exact in the Fog Bowl. You would think that I would say the same for this week but I'm actually expecting something different and maybe even quietly rooting the other way.

What we have is one of the best rivalries in the nation and that's saying something considering that most of the time, the game has no or little national significance. This year though, their is a lot on the line. The Beavers control their fate. They'll be smelling the roses if the beat the Ducks and they haven't been to Pasadena since 1965 for the Roses. If the Ducks win, they'll go Holiday Bowling and if they lose, they'll be making another trip to the Las Vegas Bowl because of the Sun Bowl's no-repeat rule. I wasn't here for the last Vegas appearance but I heard enough about the game from both sides and I bet that the Ducks don't want to go back.(BYU-38 Oregon-8)

I'm predicting this to be a really good game. The games tend to be close even when one team is unquestionably better but this is the first year in a while where both teams are evenly matched. There are a few things to look at. First, the home team has a huge advantage. Besides last year, the home team has won the last 10 games or something. However, the Beavers might be without the Quizz which would be a big lost to the Beavers not having the leading rusher in the Pac-10. I don't think the quarterback issue will be too much of a problem. Now for the Duck's problems.... The Ducks are hot and their cold, their good and their bad. No one really know which team will show up in Corvallis. Will it be the team from the Boise St. game? The team against Arizona St? or the team against Arizona that jumps out to a huge lead and almost gives it all back?

No matter the case, I'm expecting a high scoring, close game. With the Ducks having a bye week and an high scoring offense and crappy secondary, I wouldn't be surprised if both teams get into the 40's.

I am a true Duck fan (the picture should prove that)but I believe in bi-partisanship and reaching across the aisle.

That is why I will be rooting for the Beavers to win on the last play of the game. They just have too much at stake to want the Ducks to spoil the Beaver's Rose Bowl performance so the Ducks can move up to a 2nd tier bowl.

My prediction is Oregon State 41 Oregon 38.

Civil War Notes

You have likely heard that Quiz is doubtful for the game saturday. Sure this is a big problem losing the top rushing freshman in the nation. Not only will we miss is 5 yards/carry average, but we will also miss his ability to make plays after the catch on his screen plays.

But as good as Quiz is, this should NOT affect the outcome of the game. The Ducks are the worst team in the Pac-10 regarding their passing defense, and the Beavs are the best team in the conference for passing offense. I know that may be hard to believe if you have followed Beaver football for sometime, usually we do our damage on the ground. This year we have been so effective in the passing game.

Players like Shane Morales have really stepped up this year. Plus our yards after the catch really help. Stroughter and James Rodgers are play makers, as long as at least those two are healthy, and we can get them the ball in space, I like our chances.

Weekend of 11/23/2008 Update

Though we are all thinking about Pasedena and smelling the ROSES, we will have a tough test vs the Pac-10's number offense next Saturday.The Beavs showed heart on saturday in Arizona. Two hours before kick-off Canfield (back up QB) realized he would be playing in place of injured Moevao (shoulder). Then early in the first quarter, the best freshman running back in the nation, "Quiz" also goes down because of a shoulder injury.

I will save you details, Canfield played okay. James Rodgers and Sammy Stoughter stepped up, which we needed badly. And our defense played very well. The previous week Arizona scored 45 points at Autzen Stadium. And our defense held the Wildcats to 17 points, AT HOME.

Kahut (kicker), went from the goat, to the hero in just a couple of minutes. If we would have had him, when we played Utah and Stanford both of those games would have been victories. Maybe people forget we played the first 3-4 games with no kicking game.

I like our chances vs the Ducks, especially at home. I am hoping and praying Quiz will be back for the game, but we can win without Moevao.
One more shout out: Coach Riley, who is the man. He can plug any of these wash up back ups we have, and help them play at their highest potential. He does a great job of getting everything out of even his 2nd string players.
Civil War prediction:
*Subject to change depending on injuries
#17 Beavs 31 over #23 Ducks 24


Portland Trail BlazersI am disappointed a bit that we are not in first place in the division right now. We had a tough loss vs Pheonix last night, but we finally get some home games this week. Of the 14 games we have played, ten have been on the road. I am most interested in our game vs the Hornets this week. I have a feeling we could be seeing them in the first round, and a win this week against them would be big for our young guys and their confidence. Roy of course has been playing very well, Oden is starting to come alive, and Steve Blake is shooting lights out lately! We are still in a great spot, we need to win the games we are supposed to, and keep the under-dog games close.


Cougs
I didn't see the scuffle at the begining of the game, though I would have liked to. I really thought the Cougs had it when they were down 24-27, who would have ever thought the final score would have been 48-24, and Max Hall threw for 5 interceptions.

I am interested to see what happens in terms of BCS for Utah and Boise St.


Pick em, whit's great week, and next week.Some of you really struggled this week. I must give credit to Whit, she has only missed one questions out of ten (over the past 2 weeks). She is more then doubling everyone. Way to go Whit, you must have a very informative husband! Way to go Frau Whit.

A few of you were too focused on other things like the Holy war to submit your picks this week. I added a new rule, you are penalized -$20 if you miss a week.

This week's questions: (Week 3)
1. (Worth $20) Of course the Civil War. The Beavs will beat the Ducks. (Yes/No)
2. (Worth $10) The cival war game will be decided by LESS THAN 3 points? (Yes/No)
3. (Worth $10) Greg Oden will score at least 40 points in three home games this week. (Yes/No)
4. (Worth $10) Jazz will lose more than one game against the four horrible teams they play this week? (All at home: Bulls, Grizzlies, Kings, & the Nets) (Yes/No)
5. (Worth $10) Mizzou basketball will beat Cal this week? (Yes/No)

Bonus: Whit will win Week 3 of the pick 'em contest? (Yes/No)

Please email me your answers by wednesday 5pm MST.

Big week in college football

There is a lot that impact this week:

-The apple cup, The state of Washington battles to see who really is the worst team in football this year. Hey Locker, just don't get a penalty that loses your team the game this time.-Mich St at Penn St, Penn St can seal up a Big 10 title and a trip to the Rose Bowl with a win. Could the Beavs get a rematch vs the Lyons in Pasadena. How can you not love Joa-Pa- Boise St at Nevada, can the wolf pack pull off a huge upset to let someone else squeak into the BCS. Does anyone else think the WAC is horrible? We don't even know how good Boise St is, the only team they played was Oregon who was playing their 4th or 5th string QB.-Texas Tech at Oklahoma, I heard this morning on ESPN if Missouri can beat the winner of the Big 12 south in the Big championship game the Big 12 could have 3 teams in BCS game, which I believe they would deserve. Though I don't see the Tigers pulling that upset off.
-BYU at Utah (The Holy War), to me the Cougs really have a good shot at winning this game, I don't feel that very many people are giving them a very good chance. To me the Cougs clearly have a better offense, which talent at all positions. And Utah has not looked good at all the past few weeks (TCU & New Mexico). One stat I found interesting is that they both 36.5 points/game. It seems when these two teams have met in recent years, offense goes out the window, my prediction Cougs 24 - Utes 23.-Beavs at Arizona, to me this is the most frustrating game. We have been beating up the Pac-10 including the ever praised, "currently best team in the nation with Florida" USC Trojans. The thing I do not understand is how we are the under-dogs in this game. I guess I should not be surprised, we never get the benefit of the doubt. Arizona is tough at home, but the Beavs will win by at least a touchdown.

Blazers show no Bull, in the BEAT DOWN

Not sure if you tuned in the Blazer BEAT down tonight. Not too much I need to say about it, other than we won by 42 points.

Maybe you were too busy watching the Jazz struggle with the Bucks on FSN.

Roy lead the way with 20 points, Pryzbilla had 14 and I am pretty sure they were all dunks, then all of the following had between 9-12 points: Blake, Oden, Aldridge, Batum, Outlaw, Oden, and Frye.

Some of you may be wondering why Rudy is not on that list. He was not feeling 100% so only saw limited minutes. And that 1st round draft pick from Chicago that is so good, Derick Rose. Well he finished with one basket, and 1/8 from the field, 3 turnovers, and one assist.

We won the rebounding war 66 - 50. We did very well on the offensive glass as well. Did anyone see GO's first possession ever in the Rose Garden? Well if not, lets just say he threw it down with authority. Similar to how I used to in dunk ball on the 8' hoop.

Noah and his grily hair, Vinny, the number one draft pick, Gooden and his ugly chops/beard, and everything else ugly from Chicago were just not nearly enough to compete with the Blazers tonight.

Click here to see the top ten blazer highlights from last week!

Evan's Pick 'em contest 2008-09

For Week Two 11/16/2008 here are the big five questions, and don't forget the bonus like some of you did last week.
1. (Worth $10) Blazers will be #1 in the NW division after this week, Sat 11/22/2008. (Yes/No)
2. (Worth $5) Saturday Terry Porter will host his former team, the Blazers. Will Terry Porter win this first match up? (Yes/No)
3. (Worth $20) BYU beats Utah Saturday. (Yes/No)
4. (Worth $10) Rookie Rudy Fernandez will have more points than #1 overall pick Derick Rose Wednesday when they go head to head. (Yes/No)
5. (Worth $15) Evan's #1 seeded intramural b-ball team wins semi-final, and final game to be crowned champions, even though I am fighting like seven injuries right now. (Yes/No)

Bonus: James Rodgers has more TD's than his brother Quiz Saturday vs Arizona. (Yes/No)Here is the standings after week ONE:

1. Brandon "I bleed Cougar blue" with $50
2. Whitney "Greg Oden isn't retired?" with $40
Evan "Beaver/Blazer die hard" with $40
4. Greg "Houston Rockets for life" with $30
5. Aaron "I am taller than my older bro" with $30
6. Stu "Yes I own two horses" with $20
7. Isaac "Oregon H.S. baller of the year" with $15
8. Mere "Hiesman BYU womans F.F." with $10
Les "I beat my bro until he was 6'2" with $10
10. Tyler "Boise St Bronco die hard" with $-5
11. Adam "The legendary blogger" with $-10
Ryan "I forgot most of my picks" with $-10
12. Triz "Give me my money now" with $-15
13. Hales "The only east coaster" with $-20

Those who failed to ever email:
Brad, Driod, Richard, Ryan, Bjork, Josh

A few notes:
Isaac was the only one who picked Beaver Basketball losing to Howard, nicely done. To quote him, "Beavs win a b-ball game? Never."
Adam is a Blazer/Beaver hater and he paid the price, just like the Jazz have the last two games vs the Bobcats and Cavs.
B-Winter jumps out to the early lead and seemed very confident in his picks, only perfect score this week.
Many of you missed B-Roy who scored 22 points, not 24, sorry (including me).
Watch out for Hales, he has a deadly deep jumer and can come back in a hurry.

OSU/Cal Preview

Cal (6-3) losses: at Maryland 9/13, at Arizona 10/18, at USC 11/8

The finally ranked 23rd Beavs will look to extend their win streak to 6 games today. After we dropped our first game to Stanford I thought we had shot ourselves in the foot. Who would have thought we would be sitting pretty to go to the Rose Bowl with only 3 games remaining.The last time the Beavs had a conference win streak of 6 games, they were co-conference champs with the Huskies. Many of you may remember that year we killed Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl 41-9, with the likes of Chad Johnson, TJ Housh, Ken Simonton, Jonathan Smith, and many others currently in the NFL.

Last Saturday though, back up QB Sean Canfield may have cursed us by saying, (while we were in LA) "It would be a dream to come back here in January." (Refering to the rose bowl). It is still questionable as to who will start today at home vs the dangerous Golden Bears. Canfield has been very solid the last two weeks, completing 35 of 50 passes for 440 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Cal also is having issues at QB, last week both Riley struggled and was pulled at half time for the inactive Nate Longshore. I can't talk too bad about Nate though, since we are pretty tight with his family. A little history, Riley was solely responsible for the Cal loss last year vs the Beavs when they were ranked #2 in the country, I am betting he will be fired up for the game.I believe after we win today, easily covering the 3.5 point spread, it will give us more serious national attention. Making the following week at Arizona a must win big game, then finishing at home hosting the hippies in yellow green, a huge game.

Both teams average very close to 33 points, but the home field will ultimately give us the win. Plus our defense has been improving every week, giving up only 6 points last week. Cal will have their hands full again this week against an Oregon State defense which has held opponents to averages of 14.3 points and 260.3 yards over the last four games while forcing 10 turnovers. And do I really even need to mention Quiz, Sammy, and Shane Morales.

Evan's Prediction:

Oregon State 31 - California 24

Rudy Currently Ranked #1 Rookie in NBA

Here are the stats to prove it...

45.5 % from the field

46.2% from down town

91% from the charity strike

1.1 steals/game

2 assists/game

3 boards/game

15.4 points/game

and all that in an efficient 28 minutes of P.T.

(that just over one half for you math wiz kids out there)

But most importantly he brings ENERGY. The rose garden loves him, and he even plays well on the road as he showed yesterday dropping 16 points in Orlando. He has great court vision. We all know he has range from deep but he can also create a shot. He is a DIFFERENCE-MAKER. ANyone who saw his one legged jumper, or his dunk on Dwight Howard in the olympics knows exactly what I am talking about.

Well we are off on a long road trip but until next time; RUDY! RUDY! RUDY! RUDY!....

ps- watch out for Nicolas Batum creeping up that list as well, currently at #16

Read the full article from David Thorpe at ESPN

Roy Refuses to Lose

Though we lost a game we gave away in Utah two nights ago (thanks Adam for rubbing it in) revenge was ours vs Clyde's current place of residence, Houston.

If you didn't stay up until mid-night to watch the end of overtime you missed an instant classic. The Rockets are really quite the team I will give it to them (yes Greg Rose that shout out was for you). Of course they have T-Mac the only player who is hurt more than Yao. Artest was a great pick up for them, Aaron Brooks and skip-to-my-lou are tough in the back court. Then you have Battier and Barry who are automatic from deep. This could be the year they get out of the first round. And of course the second my winning coach in Blazer history, Rick Adelman.

The game: Basically the Blazers had a 3 point lead throughout the entire game. Then in the 4th quarter we got it up to a 10 point lead. Then we stunk it up from everywhere and turned the ball over. You could say our youth showed a bit.

"Call it divine intervention. On a night the Blazers honored the late Kevin Duckworth, Brandon Roy's prayer of a shot with 0.8 seconds remaining handed Portland a 101-99 overtime win that capped off one of the best finishes you'll ever see.

"Big Duck was looking down on us," said Blazers coach Nate McMillan. "He didn't want us to lose on his night."

"I was so disappointed that I fouled [Yao] on the last play," said Roy. "I told the group whatever you do, give me the ball and I'm gonna try to make the shot. We always talk in practice that with 0.8 you can catch and shoot. You still can get a shot."

The game-winner was perhaps even more impressive. Roy caught the ball out high near the left sideline, with his back to the basket and sprinting away from the goal. He stopped all his momentum with a jump stop, rose straight up vertically, and cleanly launched the victorious shot; somehow, a mix-up between Artest and Tracy McGrady had left him open without the benefit of a screen.

"It was just a hell of a shot." said McGrady about Roy's GW.

The Blazers can't breathe easy quite yet -- not with six of their next eight games on the road -- but they're feeling a lot better about their situation now than they were with 0.8 seconds left.

Only 16 points is unacceptable in the 4th quarter, especially considering we scored over 30 in every other quarter and almost 16 in overtime!

Go Rip City!

Kevin Johnson New Mayor of Sacramento

Many of you may remember KJ and his ability to posterize the big boys. I must also mention I have his autograph. Just thought this was interesting.

Former NBA star Kevin Johnson was elected mayor of Sacramento, California, on a day when more than a dozen U.S. sports figures ran for political office.

Johnson, a former All-Star point guard for the Phoenix Suns, is the first black mayor of Sacramento. The 42-year-old Democrat defeated two-term incumbent Heather Fargo in a run-off election. He compared himself to Barack Obama, who was elected America's first black president on Tuesday night.

"Sacramento also made history today in electing its first black mayor," Johnson said. "Both Obama and myself, we ran on a promise and the theme of change. No more business as usual."

Johnson had the backing of basketball greats Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley. He wants to raise the profile of his hometown and bemoans his city's image beside that of Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Read full article from the AP here.

Riley proving he is the best coach in the state

Once again, as has happened the last 4-5 years, the Ducks start out hot then fall apart and the Beavs have awaken from the early season slumber and are currently on 3 a game win streak.

There was just some conference stats that I just couldn't ignore.

#3 QB in the conference (L. Moevao) with a 140 rating (day to day with his shoulder injury)
#1 Rusher in conference (Quiz Rodgers) is just under 1000 yards on the season already after only 8 games. He is the only freshman RB to ever lead the Pac-10 in rush yards.
#2 Receiver (Sammy Stroughter) with just under 600 yards
#5 Receiver (Shane Morales) with 529 yards
#3 QB yards with 1,822
#5 in scoring, just a fraction away from number 3
#1 in passing yards/game with 260
#2 in first downs/game at 23

Lastly, did I mention the Beavs control their own destiny and are in first place in the Pac-10.

B-E-A-V-E-R-S!!!

Rough Start

Well if you missed the game let me wrap it up for you quickly.

We are young, and we showed it tonight. We were intimated to open our season in the house of the defending western conference champions. I will make no excuses, we got it handed to us tonight. Offensively we played bad. We need more "easy" baskets, ie- fast break, points in the paint, free throws, etc. We rely too much on the outside. Defensively wasn't bad, but not great either. The Lakers shot well (70% from 3-point, compared to our 41%).

Personal thoughts.
B-Roy cannot be our point guard, really he is comparable to Isaac. He could score from about anywhere on the floor at anytime, but he passes the ball way too much. Still he is the man and my favorite player, no bias on this blog.
Rudy played well minus a few dumb turnovers.
G.O. just did not look ready. I didn't expect him to do too much offensively, so not shocker there.
Lamarcus you need to man up, I am a big fan of yours, but come on, get tough and get in the paint. I want you to be Rasheed but you just aren't.
Channing Fry, why, why, why, and did you really pull up from 3 point land? Please stop.
We are so athletic, we need to run.
We missed Martell tonight.
Travis you force it too much.
Coach Nate be patient with these young guys.
K.P don't worry, yes you made the right decisions with these guys so far. Although we will need to ship a few out before the trade deadline, including Raef and his 12-13 mil.
This is only one game.

Friday on ESPN we have the spurs. The only team that has worse fans than LA (yes Bjork and Farnsworth, thats you). Let us come back against the Alamo Friday with some Spanish fire!

Don't give up yet Cougs...

Well Triz did a pretty good job of wrapping up the TCU/BYU game last night on Cougar Crazies. After a disappointing night I have decided to look for optimism.

1. The Cougs can still win the MWC. It is going to take some help but possible. Which continues to prove to be better than a number of BCS conferences including the Pac-10.

This is how, November 6th the Horned Frogs travel Salt Lake. This will likely be one of those few nights Cougar fans will cheer for the dreaded Utes. Utah obviously gets calls at home as we saw against Oregon State, and there kicker could make the difference. Then November 22nd the Cougs drive north to play the Utes in the big game. I objectively think the Cougs will beat Utah. Even after last nights ugly, slow looking, predictable, beat down. The Horned Frogs will also need to be upset by another in conference school, Air Force probably has the best chance, the same day BYU/Utah play.

The bad news, looks like they will be headed to Vegas for the 39th straight year to play UCLA/Oregon for the 24th straight year.

2. The Beavs can win the Pac-10. Who would have thought after a season opening loss to Stanford the Beavs could still win the conference. It was too bad we didn't start playing until the 4th quarter that game and still had a chance to win.

Anyway, here is how the Beavs can pull it off...
- Stanford still has to play Cal, Oregon, and USC. They will loose two of those games.
- USC still has to play Arizona (Who usually plays well at home vs the Trojans), Cal, and of course the season ender at UCLA (anyone remember what happen last time 2006 USC went to UCLA).
- Oregon is bad.
- ASU was probably the most overrated team in the nation going into this season.
- Everything from Washington is horrible.
- Arizona could throw some pac-10 teams off there horse.
- And of course, the Beavs will win out.

Here is how the Pac-10 will finish (in conference records)...
1. Beavers 8-1 (I hope this post doesn't curse them)
2. Trojans 7-2 (losses to OSU and Cal/UCLA/Zona)
3. Bears 7-2 (losses to OSU and USC/Stan/Zona)
4. Cardinal 6-3 (losses to ASU, OSU, and USC/Oregon/Cal)
5. Wildcats 5-4 (losses to Stan, OSU, USC, and Cal)
6. Ducks 4-5 (wins against Wash, Wash St, UCLA, & ASU although I will not be surprised if they lose out and fire Bilotti)
7. Devils 4-5 (wins against Stan, Wash, Wash St, and UCLA)
8. Huskies 2-7 (wins against UCLA and Wash St, another coaching change coming)
9. Bruins 1-8 (a lonely win against Wash St, it never pays to hire a cheater)
10. Cougars 0-9 (I think we all see this coming, you never know what can happen at the apple cup though)

And my last point...

3. I am so pumped for October 28 our season opener against the Lakers! Go Blazers

How can you not be excited?

Yes. I know it was one (the first) pre-season game. But GO scored 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Did I mention he did that in a casual 20 minutes?

Final score 110-81 Portland over Sacramento. I copied ESPN's article (summarized) below. B-Roy's knee looks fine. He also added 14 points and 7 assists in very limited playing time.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=281007022

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Greg Oden announced his delayed arrival to the NBA with a dunk two minutes into the preseason.

Oden debuted to a standing ovation, as did the rest of the young Portland Trail Blazers, in a 110-81 exhibition victory over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night. Oden finished with 13 points in just under 20 minutes." The big fella is a beast, man," teammate Brandon Roy said.

Oden won the opening jump over Sacramento's Mikki Moore. His dunk, two minutes into the game, was Portland's first basket. Oden wowed the near-sellout crowd with another couple of dunks in the second quarter. One young fan held a sign that read: "Welcome to the show No. 52."

"This team tonight was already showing him some respect," Blazers coach Nate McMillan said about the 7-foot rookie, "sending double-teams and trying to front him.

Roy, who had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in August, played a little more than 23 minutes and had 14 points and seven assists for the Blazers. Martell Webster led Portland with 15 points. Besides Oden, Blazers fans also got their first look at Spanish guard Rudy Fernandez, who played the past seven seasons for DKV Joventut Badelona of the Spanish ACB League. Fernandez, who played on the Spanish Olympic team that lost to the United States in the gold medal game in Beijing, was flashy offensively and effective defensively in his first NBA game. "I thought Rudy played great," Roy said. "People think he's a scorer, but tonight he showed he can pass." Fernandez made three particular passes to Webster late in the game that resulted in dunks, and brought cheers of "Rudy!" from the crowd."I'm not surprised at what Rudy did," McMillan said. "I've said all along his feel for the game is the best part of his game. He makes the right pass at the right time. I think that's the strength of his game."

ps- Does anyone else think the new Oklahoma City Thunder picked a lame mascot?

RIP CITY IS BACK. Watch out Utah and Kobe.

Mid-Season Rankings and Conferences

After regularly reviewing the mid-season polls, I have come to the conclusion, that they just don't mean much to me. Sure it means something to the BCS voters at the end of the year. But I feel I know where teams sit, regardless of what the polls say. How can you even keep track anymore due to the plethora of polls that are out there. Instead of making my own poll lets review the conferences.

Before I go there I just wanted to touch on conferences. Below I have ranked them and rationalized some of my decisions, others are just there.

Evan's Conference Rankings:

1. Big 12 (4 teams in the top 7, I don't think anyone can argue with that)

2. MWC (Obviously BYU & Utah and TCU who will likely get back in the top 25 soon. They have an outstanding record against the Pac-10 (6-1) and are looking good. Although let us not forget about that crap call the Beavs got on the 2 point conversion.

3. SEC (As much as it pains me, they are deep and we need each team to have 2 losses to help BYU's chances)

4. tie, BIG EAST/PAC-10 (WV already lost to Colorado & East Carolina. Oregon sucking this year is not helping the pac out any. Together they account for 43 losses, ouch)

6. BIG 10 (Similar to the WAC, without Penn St I wouldn't have even put them on the list. Ohio State I strongly dislike)

7. ACC (stick to bball)

8. WAC (horrible this year, my Rexburg Idaho flag football team could compete with everyone but the Bronco's)

Now where I am really wanting to go with this post, is to create my own Conference called, the BIG EC (Evan Carlile). Below are the teams in my conference and where they would be currently ranked.

1. Missouri Tigers. Offense is the best in the nation. averaging 53.4 points/game. There defense still has question marks, but with that offense that may be okay. Tigers play at Texas on the 18th.

2. Brigham Young Cougars. In my opinion, the complete team. Excel on both sides of the ball and special teams. Outscoring there last three opponents 137-14.

3.-10. in this order would be of course the Beavs, Boise State, USC, Oregon, Florida, Washington, Ohio State, and Utah

Some of you may be wondering about some of those teams, opposition in all things. It would just really help me get up for each game playing my dreaded teams every week.

Old Hatred Renewed...

Former Utes:
I know my grandpa was Ute, I know President Monson and Hinckley were Utes, but times have changed. Utah has evolved into that school that is known as: cheap shot artists, we are not BYU and never will be, too tight of clothes wearing, both fans, coaches, and players are all annoying, etc etc.

Excuses:
Granted I am not a big excuse guy, and we should have won that game 3-4 different times. But when you are a school like Oregon State and you don't have enough scholarships to give out it hurts in the skill positions. The place where that showed and we were most exposed last night, special teams! Kick off gave up an 80 yard return, an average of 38 yards/punt, do we even need to talk about the kicker?

My quick recap:
Fairly predictable game. We couldn't get the run game going up the middle. Play calling I was just not agreeing with on either side of the ball. Get the ball outside to the edges, bring more blitz packages, and we couldn't contain Utah running outside around the corners. Quiz still had over 100 yards rushing and 82 receiving. Moevao's height disadvantage was exposed, 4-5 batted down passes. He still played pretty well though 313 yards, 2 TD's, and 0 INT's. Brian Johnson is not good, our pass rush struggled, especially in the 4th quarter. Too much beer after last week's stunner.

Final Point:
The ref's lost the game for us. If you watched it you exactly what I am talking about. The Utah 2 point conversion. The pass was about 5 yards behind the intended receiver (uncatchable) plus the receiver ran into the LB who was covering, not the other way around. A total bail out call, even the House and Senate would have denied that Bail Out plan! Richard Chapman would not have thrown his yellow hanky, and is there a better ref out there? NO!

One more thing:
Did Utah really celebrate like they just beat the #1 ranked team in the nation? I love the Beavs, but we were 2-2 at the time, including a loss at Stanford. They were ranked 15 in the nation. You were supposed to win, in fact you were supposed to win by at least 12 points.

Lastly:
I am angry. My BYU at Utah prediction is BYU 52 - Utah 13. Last night they showed they don't have a change, even if it is at Rice-Eccles. Go Cougs.

Meet the Droid

Alright ladies and gentlemen, Ev has asked me to be a contributor to this sports blog and I gladly accepted this invitation. In this post, I want to talk about my credentials and then, what I think about sports.

First things first, Ev and I go way back and have spent many sporting hours together. He and I are the only players on our intramural football team to touch the ball every offensive play and it is helping the team to victory. My credentials for this job are as follows: 13th man on freshman bball team (for all of you that don't know, that is the last kid to get cut), 3 years Powderpuff coach, 2003 City League basketball MVP, the brother of the founder of courgarcrazies.com and thousands and I mean, thounsands of hours of Sportscenter watched.

Now on to the important stuff, the sports. I love football! I love college football and the NFL but I have more of a passion for college. I love a few teams and I hate a lot of teams. I am a Oregon Duck first(yes this means that there will be some Duck posts on this blog), BYU Cougar second, OSU Beaver third and then Pac-10. Some may call it a west coast bias but I prefer to refer to it as "I hate anything east of the rocky mountains." I don't like the SEC, ACC, Big 10, Big12 or Big East. In the top 10, I like BYU and USC. I can stand Missouri but that is only because they are new. The worst on that list is Oklahoma at #1. I always feel like the west needs more love. I swear almost every year, the Pac-10 gets shafted in one way or another and then there is the problem with the Mountain West and lack of love for the Cougs.

Later in the year, you'll be hearing about basketball from me, especially college, but I am a Blazer fan like Ev. Basically, you'll be hearing from me about football, basketball and anything else in the sports world that catches my fancy.

OSU has USC's number baby...

After watching USC pounce Virginia and Ohio State (a combined score of 87-10) I was obviously nervous for our Thursday night, nationally televised game. USC has so much depth, their recruiting vs Oregon State recruiting is two different worlds.

USC World: In LA, where every young college athlete wants to be, sunshine, play almost weekly on national TV, celebrities, Hollywood, lots of $$$ (we know they are getting cash just like old Reggie Bush), they have an airport close to campus, facilities, a reputation, always in the top 10, NFL drafted players by the dozens, etc etc.

OSU World: Corvallis Oregon, population 50,000 and a 90 minute drive from the nearest airport. A tiny recruiting budget compared to USC and most D1 schools, rain, rain, rain, rarely on national TV, no celebrities (other than the Linn County DA himself), and known as a school who is always in the bottom of the PAC-10 (even though in the last 10 years, that is completely false).

September Slumber: The Beavs are notorious for their September Slumber, as I call it. Since Coach Mike Riley has been at the helm, every year, we get better as the season goes on. I do not know what it is, but I like much better than Mike Bioloti who always starts hot, and finishes seasons horribly. (By the way I am still upset that we finished 3rd in the pac-10, including a win over the Ducks last season, and still Oregon got a better bowl, the Sun Bowl, and we got the Emerald Bowl.)

Beavs this season: So, we lost in week one vs Stanford on that stupid rule, where when you fumble it out of bounds out your end zone its the other teams ball on the 20 yard line. Then in week two we got killed (45-14) by Penn St, who made us look horrible.

USC/OSU history and OSU vs top 10: This section will be short and to the point. The last four times USC has come to Reser Stadium, they have lost three times (that 75% for the math guys out there). In the last 8 seasons, seven top ten teams have come to play at Reser Stadium, only one has left victorious, yes that is correct doctrine ONE! To all those people who say its a miracle, those stats speech for themselves, just ask Chad Johnson, TJ Housh, Derek Anderson, Dennis Erickson, or Steven Jackson. And did you watch the game? We clearly were the better team last night. We ran the ball all over that defense that has only allowed 10 points all season, and we scored 21 in the first half. Also one other note, Pete Carroll has the best turnover ratio of any current coach (its like +102). Last night the Beavs won 2-0 in regards to the TO battle.

The Game:

1st Downs	16	22
3rd down efficiency	2-10	7-16
4th down efficiency	1-1	0-0
Total Yards	313	343
Passing	227	167
Comp-Att	18-29	18-28
Yards per pass	7.8	6.0
Rushing	86	176
Rushing Attempts	22	45
Yards per rush	3.9	3.9
Penalties	7-84	5-27
Turnovers	2	0
Fumbles lost	1	0
Interceptions thrown	1	0
Possession	25:10	34:50

M. Sanchez

18/29

227yards

3 TD's

1 INT

L. Moevao

18/28

167yards

2 TD's

0 INT

J. Rodgers

37 carries

186 yards

5.0 yards/play

2 TD's

15 LONG

My quick game recap: We absolutely dominated the 1st half. Ran all over them, mixed it up on offense and defense, forced 3 and out on USC's first three possessions. We had zero turnovers, for anyone who watches Beaver football knows just how huge that is. "Quiz" Rodgers is the man, by brother in law said he runs like Barry Sanders. I agree, that is actually his favorite player, who he studies frequently and trys to mirror his running style. Did anyone notice on one 3rd and 6, and one 3rd and 5, we handed the ball off up the middle and got the first down both times! WOW! We let USC comeback a little at the end, dumped the Gatorade too early, missed the extra point, but still help on and partied hard in Corvallis.

Impact: Huge, but remember last year folks, all those top tens that continued to fall. Its only September, calm down. The Mizzou's, Sooners, Penn St, Florida, basically the SEC and Big 12 this will help. Maybe eventually this might even help the Cougs. Just so readers are clear, I love the Cougs. I know they will all be huge Beaver fans with me Thursday when we travel to UU.

Haters: To all of you out there who are Beaver haters, who are bandwagon USC, Mizzou, etc fans, to all of you who say, "how can you like Oregon St" they rarely get on National TV, they have nothing except rain. Oh you people FOF me. The Beavs are here to stay, and could really shake things up for the remainder of the season. Could the Beavs win out? Considering the weak year the PAC-10 is having its possible. Oregon is our biggest threat I think, and they have to come to Reser with their 9th string QB.

Conclusion: Oh how I love the Beavs. Oh last night was a great night. I think I embarrassed my wife a bit with my post game celebration. And I did win a bet I made with my wife, if the Beavs win I get an 8 minute back massage, if they loose I have to give it. Well lets just say my back feels great today.