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Beaver Fans React to Duck Suspensions

By
angry
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75

Perusing the net, I’m once again embarrassed to be a Beaver fan.

That my brethren are cheering the suspension of Masoli only shows that they tremble and quake at the mere presence of the man who shredded consecutive Rose Bowl bids. Hey, I’m scared of Masoli as well–he is dangerous, borderline unstoppable in the spread offense. That being said, when the Ducks come to Corn Valley next season I’d like a crack at them with their best players. To be the best you must beat the best, and for that reason I’d like to see the Ducks at full strength. You can’t have a changing of the guard if one of said guards isn’t there to change out.

Now, let’s not confuse what I am saying here with legal matters. Masoli is guilty and should be kicked off the team permanently. Same with James–Kelly was both inconsistent and lenient, and this favoritism will lead to deeper problems for him down the road. But as a Beaver fan I should not want players kicked off the team. If I do, it only shows that I’m deathly afraid of this opponent. What the reaction should be is this: “What they did is illegal, and therefore they should not be afforded the privilege of playing football under scholarships paid for by Oregon residents, but this really sucks because I’d love to beat these guys at full strength next December.”  Instead, Beaver fans are ecstatic that they now have a chance at winning the Civil War while also taking the low road and reveling in the current Duck misery. It screams (classless) little brother, and frankly, I’m tired of playing that role, which is present in every athletic and academic endeavor the university pursues.

If the Beavers do win the Civil War this coming season, the feat will be tarnished in these eyes. Until the Beavers beat the best they’ll play second fiddle, and that’s a chair the old, tattered Beaver fan who lived through “28 years” is content sitting in, but the new generation of fan is coming on and we have higher expectations of what Corvallis can and should be. This is not your mom and dad’s generation you old, dying farts. Stop cheering on felonies because it’s beneficial to your inferior football team and instead criticize your own team so it’s better based on merit and mettle rather than an opponent’s attrition.

Ryan Allen Transfers

By
angry
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45

You might ask: what’s the big deal about a backup punter transferring, Angry?

Well, I will tell you.

I saw Allen punt in person a handful of times, and he was light-years better than Johnny Hekker. We’re talking punts that went above the stadium, ala an NFL leg. His only downside was consistency.

It begs the question: why would Riley spend so much time developing an equally inconsistent punter with a worse leg in Johnny Hekker? Anyone who watched pregame kicking could see Allen was the man.

I’ll be curious to follow Allen’s career at Louisiana Tech. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t make the NFL, where as Johnny Hekker has no shot. To me this is as egotistical as Mike Riley gets. He wants to have a “great story” and “uncover a gem”…a high school QB turned punter. If Riley can get him to be all-conference by senior year it will continue his reputation as a talent evaluator. The problem with that logic is that any coach could turn an average athlete into an all-conference punter if given four years. Most don’t do it because it’s a large investment with little payoff. Hekker was a liability last year. Do not mention the Sun Bowl or any false positive statistics–he was a liability and has been a liability since he joined the team. Riley has not once used the one interesting facet of Hekker: his ability to throw on a fake punt.

The bottom line is that Ryan Allen was the man for this job and because of egotistical stubbornness Mike Riley let him walk. Another questionable decision. These are really beginning to add up. Little roster tweaks like this are a big deal. Riley puts practically zero emphasis on special teams and other than lucking into Alexis Serna it’s come back to bite him (e.g. Civil War, Stanford 2008, etc). The program is worse off today.

In other news, Moevao was denied an additional year. I don’t think any of us can make a good argument against that decision and it’s what we all expected. Personally, I’m glad to see the reigns handed over to a player with more upside.

Huskies @ Beavs

By
angry
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13

I have no confidence in the Beavers winning this type of game. That is, a game that matters; a game that takes the respective sport to the next level.

On Friday we watched the baseball team lose this exact type of game. Yes, the baseball team was once elite, but start accepting that the CWS teams were five years ago now.

The past two Decembers we saw the football team lose this exact type of game, twice.

Now I’m supposed to believe the basketball team is ready to win a game that takes the program over the hump? No. The Beavs always fail in these “take the next step” type of games. Never mind a sporadic solid performance; until the Beavers consistently perform when the pressure is truly on I’ll continue to bet against them. There’s no reason they can’t or shouldn’t win this game, but because of all the psychological issues that come with attending Oregon State and playing athletics for Oregon State, they won’t.

71-59, Dawgs

Washington State @ Gill & The Coca-Cola Classic

By
angry
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11

Basketball| I expect the Beavers to win this game for two reasons:

1.  The Beavs have done a great job of neutralizing the best player on the court (this player is always on the opposition; the Beavers never have the best player). It’s a smart tactic that they do well, and this bodes poorly for Klay Thompson.

2. The chance to finish .500. With a win tonight the Beavs will be playing Saturday for a chance to qualify for the NIT and finish even on the year.

As you can see, the Beavers have both the motivation and strategy needed to win this game, and those two things win college basketball games. The only way they lose this game is if they go outside the moment and look ahead to Saturday. The home crowd should help them maintain focus. Beavs by 6. Also, how is this game not on television? Washington State and Oregon State need to figure out a way to get their matchups on TV. Got snubbed in football, now this. It’s 2010, guys.

Baseball| The Beavs, currently ranked #10 in the nation, begin the Coca Cola Classic versus UC Riverside.  In that game they hold a 10-3 advantage right now, but Kevin Rhoderick is in the game, so hold your breath. The opening game is an appetizer, with the main course served tomorrow versus #2 Arizona State. After that, a dud of a team in Utah State and then the ever-feisty Cal Poly. OSU should take 3 games in this tournament. Anything less is a disappointment. My feeling is that, while the Beavers have nice pitching, it’s still not elite. Arizona State will rack up somewhere in the 7 run area versus these guys and tantalize Beav hitters enough to come out with a win. Think something like 7-3, Sun Devils.

Note: It’s interesting that Pat Casey put KRhod in this game with a huge lead; he’ll be forced to use a different closer tomorrow in what he clearly views as a more important game. Smart move, and don’t think for a second it’s not calculated. Rhoderick, as is his wont, dominated the no-pressure-7-run-lead situation and padded his stats. This makes it difficult when apologists like myself want to wax criticism–we have to contend with his great numbers. I don’t like this player, as you can probably see, so I’ll be following the guy closely and exposing him for the fraud that he is.

OSU @ Galen and Tennesse @ Goss

By
angry
-
48

First of all, the basketball team…Jack, a key point you missed is the importance of this game in the overall progress of the program. I think a realistic goal for this season is the NIT. Technically a team doesn’t need a .500 record to qualify, but no sub .500 team has ever qualified since the rule change, so for all intents and purposes the Beavers need to win out.

That means tonight’s game is enormous. In the national picture it’s a blip on the radar, but for this program and the progress they are trying to make, it’s a stepping stone for both next season and respectability. Huge.

We know how poorly the football team performs in these “take the next step” type of games. How will the basketball team fair? I’m not sure. We’re two years into his “presidency”, and I still don’t know enough about Craig Robinson to say if he’ll have the team focused for this type of game. From what I’ve seen, I think he will, but the fact that the game is at the Galen Center makes me nervous. The Trojans, despite having nothing to play for (i.e. for those unaware, the Trojans inflicted self-imposed sanctions and will be barred from post-season play), will not be pushovers. What fascinates me about USC, and makes me respect them greatly, is how hard they have played when they could have packed it in months ago. It’s remarkable, really. They have a better conference record than the Beavers, a 16-11 overall record, and have knocked off some tough teams (e.g. Cal, UCLA) in the past few weeks while annihilating Washington by 25 just over a month ago. Like most teams, the Trojans perform better at home, and the Beavs have been poor on the road. This bodes poorly for the Beavs. And don’t assume the Trojans are just showing up because the game is on their schedule–they want to play tonight, they want to win, and this particular writer thinks they will.

As far as the baseball team, I just want to say that that was an impressive dismantling of Tennessee yesterday. 17-1. Wow. I’ve been watching baseball (mostly MLB) for over 20 years, and one thing I’ve concluded, mostly through empirical observation, is that it’s a sport of averages. It seems like every time I see team x dismantle team y, team x scores no runs the next day. Look for the Beavers to drop this game and score little in the process. Something like 5-1, Vols.

And speaking of the baseball team, what is the deal with Kevin Rhoderick? This is yet another 20 year old machismo knucklehead who thinks he can overpower hitters with his straight as the Marlboro Man fastball. How many guys have to fail with this approach before they have an epiphany, or before coaches teach them the art of movement, location, and change of speeds? Does anyone feel confident with “KRhod” closing games? This guy is the Armando Benitez of college closers.

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