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Regarding Paul Buker’s Reference

By
angry
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63

As you guys know, we were referenced in Buker's article this morning. You can read it here.

First off, I had no idea the article existed until a reader told me. Secondly, I dislike meta-blogging (i.e. blogging about this blog) because it strays from the agenda, but I've been forced to do it yet again because of misconceptions that need clearing up. Forgive me.

Moving on, I found two reader comments particularly frustrating/ignorant.

The first is by Beaver13. He writes:

I have another reason to dislike you Buker, you gave the idiots at angrybeaver some ink. Don't encourage those guys.

Verbatim, including what I will assume are just typos and grammatical laziness. Anyway, I've heard this sentiment a lot. The guys at Rivals, many of whom post at pure-orange.net as well, have a pact to never mention this blog. They believe that ignoring, censoring, and banning dissenting opinion will make the site go away. That I'm only doing this for attention and self-promotion. They believe this because I link the blog on other websites in an effort to promote it.

Okay, let me address this once and for all because it is highly frustrating. It is true; I do post the link on other sites, and in the past couple months I have tried to promote it more. I have reasons for doing so, which I've stated numerous times since starting the site in June of 2009. How about my "critics" ask "why?" instead of jumping to conclusions? I'm easily accessible (see contact button) to answer that question if anyone desires to ask it, and I can take the criticism and address it just like like I dish it out. What gets old is people making assumptions and implying the blog is about ego, some latent desire to be a journalist, fame, or money. I don't care about any of those things (on second thought, money never hurt). But if that was a goal I'd be accepting ads I've been offered. Enough said.

The second frustrating comment was authored by billybeav. He writes:

I think the angry beavs site is retarded as well….. Of course a duck would enjoy it, it is nothing but beaver bashing.

Again, I see this sentiment a lot. Does anyone who actually reads the blog truly believe it's just some bitter asshole blindly bashing the Beavers? There's reason and justification behind all the criticism. Pure Beaver bashing would be writing something like "James Rodgers is a terrible receiver!" if he drops one pass…and then finding ways to justify or exaggerate such a blatant lie. That would be ridiculous. But saying "Keith Pankey should not be near a football field" is the truth; a truth that bothers ardent fans like myself who want to see their team win games.

The guys who wrote those comments, sadly, probably won't read this post and respond to it intelligently. But, I encourage them to inquire about the purpose instead of jumping to conclusions. Is the blog perfect? No. My biggest flaw is that I have about a dozen other hobbies, and therefore I sometimes get lazy with my research. I also never edit my posts for grammar, etc. These would be valid criticisms. But the overall sentiment of this blog is spot-on accurate, and I will never apologize for the agenda, but I will gladly explain it to those who inquire instead of assume.

Discussion: Baseball

By
angry
-
38

Enough with the basketball and football failures. It's time for us to fail in another sport: baseball. With Cliff's writeup coming out in the Times tomorrow, I figured this would be a good time to discuss opening day.

The official site has an informative writeup on the infield and outfield:

Sounds like we're going to be a team that scrapes for runs. Maybe even more so than last year. Susac might be the best power threat. Nash is surprisingly going to start out in CF. I don't like the idea of Miller as a starting OF. He was terrible on offense last year; he couldn't even get bunts down. Maybe Poyer grabs that spot?

Without too much thought behind this, I like an infield of:

3B-Not sure. Maybe Jake Rodriguez? Great HS numbers, but zero experience, and he didn't exactly tear up the West Coast League.
SS-Carter Bell
2B-Tyler Smith (He really  needs to improve his offense to be an every day 2B)
1B-Dylan Jones/Parker Berberet
C-Andrew Susac/Parker Berberet

And an outfield of:

RF-Jared Norris
CF-Garret Nash
LF-Jordan Poyer? Probably a reach, but he seems like the best speed/power threat out of the group. More likely is Norris starting in LF and Miller starting in RF. Ugh.

Sounds like a lot of these guys are interchangeable. I'm starting to see why we're picked 8th in the Pac-10…not a whole lot of pop in this lineup. The pitching staff should be good to great, though. I'm really high on Boyd, and he's rightfully starting out in the rotation. The bullpen appears shaky, but there's going to be addition by subtraction with the graduation of "KRhod".

This team has the feel of a turn of the century dead-ball-era squad: an abundance of pitching, limited power, good speed, and good defense. While I love that era and style of baseball, I'm not sure it works well with the *ping* bats. Stefan Romero leaving early was a shock at the time, and it's tempered my enthusiasm for this year's squad. If an unknown quantity, such as Poyer or Rodriguez, can provide offensive pop then the team could do well.

Basketball: Oregon State @ UCLA

By
angry
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35

Today is the Lady Beav's birthday, so I am taking her out to lunch and then wine tasting. I'm not sure I'll be home for the game, but either way, I don't have time to write much about it this morning.

All I'd say is I'm expecting a loss for the same reasons I outlined last week:

1. The Beavers only play well versus Goliath teams where they have no pressure and nothing to lose.

2. The Beavers only play well at home versus such teams where the crowd forces them to focus.

With UCLA on a roll of late, they meet one of two criteria, which means a Beaver loss. This stat from the official site backs me up:

The Beavers are scoring about the same no matter where they play this season, averaging 71.4 points at home and 66.4 points on the road per game. The big difference is the scoring of their opponents, which are averaging 65.9 points at Gill Coliseum and 80.0 points per game on their respective home courts.

How do you explain allowing 15 more points on the road other than a complete lack of focus?

Nelson and Smith are going to have their way inside. Honeycutt will make them pay for playing a zone. I expect a romp, and the Beavers losing streak to UCLA to uptick to 13 straight.  The only things certain in life are death, taxes, and the Joe Burton costing the Beavers another game.

79-59, Bruins.

When: 1pm

TV: FSN (Nationally)

Radio: KPAM

Restructuring of Pac-12 Officials

By
angry
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14

The guy we've been complaining about for years, Dave Cutaia, has been asked to step down as coordinator of officiating. You can read about all the proposed changes here.

http://www.pac-10.org/News/tabid/863/Article/220365/pac-10-restructures-football-officiating-program.aspx

It's a lot of corporate, cheese-ball lingo, but the bottom line is that we should get better officials.

Remember all those guys who would show up to this blog and say our petitions and voice don't matter? I think they do matter. I know I personally bombarded Larry Scott via his lapdog Kirk Reynolds. I'm sure a lot of you did as well.

High five, beavlettes.

Basketball: Oregon State @ USC

By
angry
-
77

Some interesting quotes from Robinson today:

[Robinson] told me this week that he may have finally settled on his starting lineup for the rest of the season. He didn't put it up to a popular vote, but he did talk to his players.

Keep in mind, Robinson doesn't attach much importance to who starts. If somebody comes off the bench and tears it up, he gets more minutes.

So tonight at the Galen Center OSU will throw out a starting five consisting of two freshmen and three sophomores for the third straight game: Jared Cunningham and Ahmad Starks at G, Burton and Devon Collier at forward and Brandt in the middle. … with the calvary right behind in the form of Omari, Calvin, and Roberto.

The only real issue I have is Joe "the big injun that could not" Burton starting. Now that Collier has established himself, why not put Roberto Nelson in there? Robinson had this to say on the subject:

Robinson said Nelson – who had nearly a two year layoff from real games – "is working hard to break out of his slump (27 percent from the floor last five games) and that Burton needs to relax and just make plays. His offense will come.

"I remember how bad it was last year when he had four or five turnovers a game,'' said Robinson. "I don't feel as nervous when he has the ball in his hands as I did last year.''

Really? I feel more nervous than ever. Burton is like a pastry chef doling out the turnovers.

One other thing to keep an eye on: Jared Cunningham has gotten a free pass the past three games. Robinson mentions that Nelson is riding the pine because he's shooting 27% over his past five games. Well, Cunningham is shooting 27% over his past three, only making six field goals in that span.

The line on this game is -11.5, Trojans. That's a smidge high. Think two possession game, something like 69-63 Trojans. This is definitely a winnable game, though. One we should expect them to win, which is why it won't happen.

TV: FSN (8pm)

Radio: KPAM

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