NCAA 2009

[PDH]

Wyoming gets to play homecoming against New Mexico next week.  The same New Mexico team that is disintegrating, their coach has sexual harassment and a host of other things against him...for once Wyoming is actually middle-tier in the Mountain West!

(Mediocrity, the time might be NOW)

[CountDeMoney]

they were 14 pt underdogs, so I can't really be too bummed by a loss in ot.

They put themselves in a position to win, dammit.
And I sure hope you didn't take ND to cover.  They never cover double-digits. 

[katmai]

they were 14 pt underdogs, so I can't really be too bummed by a loss in ot.

They put themselves in a position to win, dammit.
And I sure hope you didn't take ND to cover.  They never cover double-digits. 

oh god no, even I'm not that dumb.
The huskies need to get their lines back to being dominant before they will win games like this one again. I just hope we have Locker for another year with these young wideouts and Polk who really is just a red shirt frosh.

[Eddie Teach]

At least ONE UW represented today.

Congrats to the Badgers.

[MadBurgerMaker]

   Miami wins.

[lustindarkness]

Auburn, 5-0?  I'll take it, ugly wins are still wins, and this one was not that ugly. 

[lustindarkness]

BTW, some great college football highlights today.

[Valmy]

TTech doesn't play the spread option like Michigan. They're more of a spread-out West Coast or air raid offense. Wet weather = slippery football. Look that that last sloppy ass drive in regulation today. Forcier gave it an amazing shot but he just couldn't hang on to the ball.

Now you are just being silly.  Is West Virginia in the desert or something?  I am pretty sure Rich Rod's offense has managed to work in the rain before.

[sbr]

Because they can smell a BCS bowl, of course, and they know their chances are better with Blount than without him. The fact that they are 3-1 is why they are going to shuck and jive to get him back - if the season was a write-off, they would not bother with the flack bringing him back is going to bring after they supposedly suspended him for "the season".

He may be their best back, but not by a whole lot, and not by enough to be worth going through all of this over.  LaMichael James had another great game tonight, as did their backups.  I do not think the Ducks need Blount to win the Pac-10 and/or go to a BCS Bowl game.  Their O-Line has to continue to improve, Masoli must stay consistent and the defense has to keep playing at the level they have been without thier best player Walter Thurmond III, who is out for the year.  I do think you are correct that there would be no talk of him coming back if they were even 2-2, but they aren't.

They cannot bring him back too soon, of course - there is only so much chutzpah you can get away with.

The season long suspension the school decided on was much harsher than anything the conference or NCAA would have handed down, if they had any intention of bringing him back they would have made it a 4-5 games suspension making him available for the hardest part of their schedule.  Kelly said when he suspended him for the year he had no thought that Blount would ever play for them again, then things happened to change his mind.

And this is the Pac-10 - the title will most certainly not be decided with 4 games left in the season. And who are we kidding - Blount is their best back, and they know it. They are smelling success, and figuring that by November the stink of him will have faded a bit, so they are laying to groundwork with these protestations of all he will have to do now.

You are right, the conference won't be officially  decided by then but the main pre-season players -USC, Cal and Oregon will have played the hardest parts of their schedules and have all played each other.  There may be some drama left by Nov. 7th, but not a whole lot.

I guess at Oregon a "season long suspension" doesn't mean all that much. If they wanted to suspend him for a few games, they could at least have the honesty to say so from the start. I love this idea that somehow going to class is so amazing that they need to re-evaluate his punishment. ZOMG! He went to class! He must be really, really sorry!

So you never change your4 mind or regret a decision you have made?  Once you have said something it should be carved in stone because it will never change?  That would be unfortunate for anyone you have influence over.  I am glad that coach Kelly is willing to realize the correct decision on Sept. 4th may not still be correct on Nov. 7th.

Are you under the impression that all of the star football players go to every class and get straight A's and are making steady progress towards degrees?    Kids who are on the team and play each Saturday have issues with getting to class regularly.  Many seniors will drop out of school after their bowl game and start preparing for the draft.  Blount was told he would never play college football again; many people in his situation would have packed their bags, and either transferred to a school they could play at this year, or signed with an agent for some cheap money and hired a trainer to prepare for the combine and draft.  It says something to me that the #2 back, and 56th ranked prospect in the country, who already has 3 kids, decided to stay in Eugene, practice with the scout team and go to class every day, something he didn't so when he was playing.

No one outside of the Oregon athletic program knows exactly what has transpired the last month in regards to Blount.  I have no reason not to believe coach Kelly when he says he never intended for Blount to play for him again, but as he watched Blount's reaction to the situation, met with people like Tony Dungy,  Harry Edwards and others in the school and Pac-10 conference, he realized that a season long suspension was not in the best interest of ANYONE, but mostly LaGarrette Blount himself.

As I doubt I have changed your, or anyone else's, mind on this there isn't much reason to discuss this any more until November, when and if a decision is made.

By the way you never answered my question about what you meant by "It is Oregon - of course they will let him back on the team."

[sbr]

Wyoming gets to play homecoming against New Mexico next week.  The same New Mexico team that is disintegrating, their coach has sexual harassment and a host of other things against him...for once Wyoming is actually middle-tier in the Mountain West!

(Mediocrity, the time might be NOW)

I will be pulling for the Cowboys.

[sbr]

BTW, some great college football highlights today.

I didn't get to see much, except the Ducks trashing of the Cougars.

[Alcibiades]

Juice Williams is one big failure as Illini QB. he's had one good game 2 years ago and a steady stream of shit.

He looked terrible, I was at the game.  He appears to have no awareness at all.

[Berkut]

Because they can smell a BCS bowl, of course, and they know their chances are better with Blount than without him. The fact that they are 3-1 is why they are going to shuck and jive to get him back - if the season was a write-off, they would not bother with the flack bringing him back is going to bring after they supposedly suspended him for "the season".

He may be their best back, but not by a whole lot, and not by enough to be worth going through all of this over.  LaMichael James had another great game tonight, as did their backups.  I do not think the Ducks need Blount to win the Pac-10 and/or go to a BCS Bowl game.  Their O-Line has to continue to improve, Masoli must stay consistent and the defense has to keep playing at the level they have been without thier best player Walter Thurmond III, who is out for the year.  I do think you are correct that there would be no talk of him coming back if they were even 2-2, but they aren't.

Indeed - which goes to show that this is most certainly, regardless of what spin the Oregon athletic department wishes to put on it, most certainly a football decision.

They cannot bring him back too soon, of course - there is only so much chutzpah you can get away with.

The season long suspension the school decided on was much harsher than anything the conference or NCAA would have handed down, if they had any intention of bringing him back they would have made it a 4-5 games suspension making him available for the hardest part of their schedule.  Kelly said when he suspended him for the year he had no thought that Blount would ever play for them again, then things happened to change his mind.

And this is the Pac-10 - the title will most certainly not be decided with 4 games left in the season. And who are we kidding - Blount is their best back, and they know it. They are smelling success, and figuring that by November the stink of him will have faded a bit, so they are laying to groundwork with these protestations of all he will have to do now.

You are right, the conference won't be officially  decided by then but the main pre-season players -USC, Cal and Oregon will have played the hardest parts of their schedules and have all played each other.  There may be some drama left by Nov. 7th, but not a whole lot.

That is BS, and you know it. Unless USC dominates again, the Pac-10 title will be decided in those last games, and most importantly, BCS bowl games will be decided then.

Great to get him back by then, oh so convenient.

I guess at Oregon a "season long suspension" doesn't mean all that much. If they wanted to suspend him for a few games, they could at least have the honesty to say so from the start. I love this idea that somehow going to class is so amazing that they need to re-evaluate his punishment. ZOMG! He went to class! He must be really, really sorry!

So you never change your4 mind or regret a decision you have made?  Once you have said something it should be carved in stone because it will never change?  That would be unfortunate for anyone you have influence over.  I am glad that coach Kelly is willing to realize the correct decision on Sept. 4th may not still be correct on Nov. 7th.

:puke:

I change my mind all the time - what I don't do though is hand down a punishment for one of the nastier actions I've ever seen on a football field by a total thug with a history of problems, and then turn around and say "Golly, I talked to Tony Dungy, so I guess Blount can come on back and help us win some football games!'

That isn't "changing your mind", it is caving to the pressure to win at all costs and pamper your star, no matter how much of a thug he is.

Are you under the impression that all of the star football players go to every class and get straight A's and are making steady progress towards degrees?    Kids who are on the team and play each Saturday have issues with getting to class regularly.  Many seniors will drop out of school after their bowl game and start preparing for the draft.  Blount was told he would never play college football again; many people in his situation would have packed their bags, and either transferred to a school they could play at this year, or signed with an agent for some cheap money and hired a trainer to prepare for the combine and draft.  It says something to me that the #2 back, and 56th ranked prospect in the country, who already has 3 kids, decided to stay in Eugene, practice with the scout team and go to class every day, something he didn't so when he was playing.

Yeah, he did all this without any idea at all that it would pay off in such a spectacluar fashion, I am sure.

No one outside of the Oregon athletic program knows exactly what has transpired the last month in regards to Blount. 

What is there to know? We know what transpired prior - he assaulted a player, tried to fight with fans, and was suspended for the year - turns out it was just a fake suspension though.

I have no reason not to believe coach Kelly when he says he never intended for Blount to play for him again,

I do - the fact that he is now saying he is welcome to play for him again suggests that his original statement was not made in all honesty. See how that works - he says one thing, then does something else entirely - that is pretty good "reason to believe" that he didn't mean it to begin with.

but as he watched Blount's reaction to the situation, met with people like Tony Dungy,  Harry Edwards and others in the school and Pac-10 conference, he realized that a season long suspension was not in the best interest of ANYONE, but mostly LaGarrette Blount himself.

Of course not - why, that isn't in anyone best interests to have your star back sit out the year. Certainly not HIS best interest, and that is what is important. Integrity, honesty, fair play, being an example, making it clear that some behavior is not acceptable...nah, those things are not important when it comes to Mr. Blount and Coach Kellys "best interest".

As I doubt I have changed your, or anyone else's, mind on this there isn't much reason to discuss this any more until November, when and if a decision is made.

Well, you are a Oregon fan, so it's not like there is any chance you won't buy into whatever spin they are shoveling your way - which is really funny since IIRC you said you agreed that he should never play for Oregon again. Now that the coach says "Well, you know, he really is a great kid when he isn't scuker punching other players and trying to attack fans..." and you are all "Oh yeah! Bring him back! It is what is in our best interests fersure!"

By the way you never answered my question about what you meant by "It is Oregon - of course they will let him back on the team."

Which part do you not understand?

[Eddie Teach]

Well, if time off for good behavior works for prison sentences, why not for football suspensions?

[charliebear]

Woo Hoo!  How 'bout those Spartans!  I'm still smiling.