Here we go! Here's where to look for all of the signing day good stuff:
Offical List:
OSUBeavers.com
Fan Boards:
Pure Orange - Recruiting Message Board
Recruiting Sites:
Rivals.com - Beavers 2006 Commitment List
Scout.com - Beaver Football Prospects
And if you have ESPN Insider you can get a nice Pac-10 list here:
ESPN - RecruitTracker 2006 - Pac-10
The Baseball Analysts have compiled a good Pac-10 baseball preview for this coming season. Basically it's a reminder of who the players to watch are and how the teams may fare.
The Baseball Analysts: Pac-10 Baseball Preview: Leave It To Beavers
1. Oregon StateWhoa, that's putting the pressure on.
2005: 46-12 | College World Series | 7th in final poll | 9th RPI
Coach: Pat Casey (341-234-4, 11 years)
Preseason Rankings: (8th by Baseball America, 3rd Collegiate Baseball and NCBWA)
A "feel good" story last year, Oregon State now has to live up to the huge expectations placed upon the program. Picked by the coaches to finish eighth in the league before the year began, the Beavers surprised everyone by winning the conference with a school-record 46 wins and advancing to the College World Series for the first time since 1952.
Led by one of the best pitching staffs in the country, OSU was selected by seven of the nine coaches to capture the Pac-10 title this year. The team's three starting pitchers--Dallas Buck (12-1, 2.09 ERA with a .194 BAA), Jonah Nickerson (9-2, 2.13 with a nearly 4:1 K/BB ratio), and Anton Maxwell (11-1, 4.33)--return for their junior years. Ace reliever Kevin Gunderson (6-4, 14 saves, 2.76)--all 5-foot-8, 155 pounds of him--is back as well.
Buck wasn't as sharp in the Cape Cod League as he was the summer before but is still expected to be no worse than a mid-first round selection in the June draft. Nickerson and Gunderson, meanwhile, pitched for Team USA last summer.
Whether Buck, Nickerson, and Maxwell can combine to go 32-4 again will be largely determined by how well the offense performs this year. Senior Tyler Graham (.307 with 0 HR and 21 SB), a speedster who was drafted in the 15th round by the Chicago Cubs, takes over for first-round draft pick Jacoby Ellsbury in CF and at the top of the lineup. Sophomore shortstop and Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Darwin Barney (.301, 2 HR, 44 RBI), sophomore catcher Mitch Canham (.325 with a team-leading 8 HR), and senior third baseman Shea McFeely (.319, 5 HR) will be asked to generate power in the middle of the order.
Put it all together and the Beavers are not only the favorite to win the Pac-10 title but are a legitimate contender for the national championship.
Taking the mound will be Ian Kennedy, undisputed ace and preseason first-team All-American. In two years, the right-hander is 19-5 with a 2.70 ERA. He has amassed 278 strikeouts in 209.2 innings, while walking just 69.Should be a good race in the Pac-10.
"He's a star," said USC coach Mike Gillespie. "Only an injury keeps him out of the first round (of this year's MLB Draft), only an injury keeps him from being a long-time major leaguer."
Kennedy headlines an able, yet inexperienced staff. Junior college transfer Shawn Olsen should be the team's second starter. Freshmen Tommy Milone and Ryan Cook will also get looks as starters.
"Our starting pitching is the best since I've been here," Kennedy said despite being the only returning starter.
Getting swept at home was not exactly what Beaver fans, players, and coaches had in mind. After dominating at home last season we had come to expect a whole lot more out of our team. OSU is now 10-10 overall and 3-6 in the Pac-10. Certainly the Beavers season isn’t over, but it’s getting dangerously close and the margin for error is ever so thin.
So can the Beavers do it? Can they complete the ultimate comeback and pull out a winning season?
Here are their remaining games before the Pac-10 tournament:
Cal
Stanford
@ ASU
@ Arizona
WSU
UW
@ UCLA
@ USC
Oregon
So what can they win?
The best candidates are the teams at the bottom of the conference. ASU at 1-8 and WSU at 2-7 are must wins. ASU is a road game, but is winnable with revenge on the brain. Next, they have to beat the Ducks in their rivalry game at home the last game of the year.
That puts the Beavers at 13 wins. They need at least 2 more to finish the regular season above .500. Their best shot is Cal or Stanford this coming weekend. Win both and we are in good shape (not an easy task). After that it has to be USC. They are beatable, but we play them on the road. The longshot is a win against UW. They have been more vulnerable this year than in the past and might be a W for the Beavs if they get confidence by beating WSU.
The task is not impossible, but the Beavs absolutely must win at least one game this weekend against the Bay Area schools.
Of course, if the Beavers go 15-14 in the regular season then they need to win at least one game in the Pac-10 tournament to guarantee a winning season and get a shot at an NIT berth. With the RPI of the Pac-10 this year a team 1 game above .500 probably won’t make it into the NIT, but at least you give them something to think about and a winning record is a big deal around here given the recent history of losing.
Go Beavs!
In case you're not paying attention to Andy Darkins blog, he has a new article up about the NFL draft and these senior all-star games.
The Rear End
However, let’s consider some recent facts surrounding the Senior Bowl selection process.
Last year, this alleged “all-star” game included only 10 of the first 30 players selected in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft. Over the last six years, the game has included only 61 of the 180 first-round NFL picks.
The Oregon State baseball team gets some national pub on ESPN and Baseball America. Also, recently they were ranked 6th in the first USA Today Coaches Poll.
ESPN.com - NCAA - Baseball America: Encore in store for Oregon State?
If Tyler Graham, who shifts from left field to center, can replace some of Ellsbury's production at the top of the order, and Barney and senior third baseman Shea McFeely can have the breakout years Oregon State thinks they can, then the Beavers will have enough offense to make them legitimate contenders again.
But after this season is when it will get interesting, because the pitching nucleus will be gone. The Beavers are doing their best to capitalize on their success while they can, installing a new scoreboard this season and raising funds to expand Goss Stadium at Coleman Field in the future. Making another trip to Omaha this year would likely secure their ability to lock up the Pacific Northwest's top recruits, helping sustain the program for the long haul.
Arizona papers like to keep tabs on the Beavers. I'm sure it's because of Jay John. Here's the latest:
Arizona Daily Star - Beavers more comfortable on road this season
After 18 games last year, OSU was 11-7 and 3-4.Amen to that. If the Beavs can pull out a 3-1 record over this four game stretch, that would go a long way towards an NIT bid. 4-0 and they may still have an outside shot at the NCAAs.
Half of this season's victories have come away from Gill Coliseum, including wins at California and Washington State — after going 0-9 on the road in the Pac-10 in 2004-05.
[...]
"That goes without saying," John said, when asked if the two-week homestand was a make-or-break part of OSU's schedule. "It looks good (to be at home for so long), but if you don't perform and get it done, it won't look as good."
I don't know how these people can rank the teams so early without knowing the impact freshman that might come, but here's another really early look at 2006:
College Football News Rankings
40. Oregon State 2005 Record: 5-6They do have the Beavers down as a team that should be better than last season.
Why to get excited: The schedule works out well with the only road games against bowl teams coming against Boise State and UCLA. 2005 might have been a bizarre bust, but almost everyone returns for 2006. RB Yvenson Bernard quietly had a tremendous season, QB Matt Moore threw for a ton of yards, the entire offensive line returns, and the run defense finished 17th in America allowing a mere 108 yards per game.
However ...
Why to be grouchy: …the pass defense was just this close to being the worst in college football allowing close to 300 yards per game. For good or bad, everyone in the secondary returns, but the front seven loses linebackers Trent Bray and Keith Ellison.
The number one thing to work on is: Besides pass defense, turnovers, turnovers, turnovers and penalties. No one gave it away more than the Beavers last year with 13 lost fumbles and 23 interceptions, and the mistakes kept them from going to a bowl game. The Beavers also struggled with penalties committing close to nine per game.
Biggest offensive loss: WR Mike Hass
Biggest defensive loss: LB Trent Bray
Great decision Gabe. The line of great tight ends shall not be broken. I
think this quote from Gabe himself says it best:
The Oregonian - Sought-after football duo stays
in Oregon
Oregon State was particularly appealing, Miller said, because ofAh yes. Beaver Nation is happy.
its recent trend in featuring and producing quality tight ends.
"Guys like Marty Maurer, Tim Euhus and Joe Newton are all NFL guys," Miller
said. "Oregon State has the tradition and that definitely made a difference.
The coaches were telling me I could be the next guy on that
list."
Big win by the Beavs on Saturday. I have a feeling that the Beavers are going to need a few more of those road wins to have the kind of year they want. How about Wes Washington? Did he step up, or what? He is possibly the best on ball defender on the team. Or at least the best stealer on the team. He had some clutch shots and handled the ball pretty well.
So far the Beavs have done better than last season overall. Or at least been more consistent. They haven't lost by much and have been in every game in conference. However, they also have yet to blow anyone out. Maybe they are more mature.
They must get the USC game on Thursday. That will be the key to the weekend. Then they can take their best shot at an injury riddled UCLA team and hope for another upset.
Thought I'd throw in some baseball news as things are getting closer.
OSU has released the baseball broadcast schedule. There will be a broadcast in Portland on KUIK-AM (1360)!
It looks like most of the games will be broadcast on the radio.
Official Site of Oregon State Athletics - Home
KUIK also airs Major League Baseball with the San Francisco Giants and NASCAR auto racing, and will tape delay any OSU games that conflict. KUIK will also carry weekly features with both OSU head coach Pat Casey and the voice of the Beavers, Mike Parker.
Single game reserved tickets will go on sale starting February 20th if available.
The Beavers football team landed another linebacker from California: Dwight Roberson. He's been named to all kinds of all-star teams and looks like he's a monster on the field.
Scout.com: Dwight Roberson Profile
Ventura County Star - Roberson named to All-State team
It's fitting that the No. 1 player from the state's top-ranked football program found a place on the All-State team.Ventura County Star - St. Bonaventure's Roberson named to All-American team
Dwight Roberson, the leading tackler on St. Bonaventure High's back-to-back CIF-Southern Section Division IV championship teams, was named to the All-State football first-team defense by CalHiSports.com.
[...]
Roberson was a three-year letterman for St. Bonaventure, playing a different position each season.
As a sophomore, Roberson was a defensive tackle. He moved to middle linebacker and outside linebacker for his junior and senior years, respectively.
The 6-foot, 215-pound Roberson had 174 tackles and two interceptions in 2004 and earned recognition to the All-State junior class team. Last fall, he had 120 tackles, three interceptions, four sacks and one blocked punt.
"He dominated our opponents," said St. Bonaventure coach Jon Mack. "He had the ability to change the outcome of games.
"Dwight was one of the premier players on the field whatever position that he played."
In four playoff games last fall, Roberson had 54 tackles, including 20 against Oxnard and 14 in the Division IV championship game against Moorpark.
Dwight Roberson of St. Bonaventure High was named to the 2005 PrepNation 101 All-American football team, it was announced Monday by PrepNation.com.The LA Times - The Times' All-Star Football Team
The team features the 101 top prep football players in the country from the 2005 season, as selected by PrepNation Editor and Publisher Jamie DeMoney. Game tape, all-state lists, sportswriters and other prep football analysts around the nation were used.
Dwight Roberson, St. Bonaventure, 6-0, 218, Sr.
Outside linebacker led the defense that delivered consecutive Division III titles for the top-ranked Seraphs, who were selected No. 1 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports. He had 120 tackles, four sacks, three interceptions, one fumble recovery and he blocked one punt.
Three other Kahuku seniors visited Oregon State with quarterback Kaulin Krebs, Kahuku coach Siuaki Livai said.
Krebs committed to the Beavers last weekend, and linebacker prospects Devin Unga (6-1, 201) and Kevin Unga (6-1, 222) and safety Suaesi Tuimaunei (6-2, 185) intend to continue with visits to other schools.
"I'd say they were impressed with Oregon State, but I'm not sure if they've decided to go there yet," Krebs said.
This weekend, the Unga twins will visit Utah, their home state. Tuimaunei will visit San Jose State. All three are All-State first-team selections.
In my last post, I said the Beavers won't win without shooting and rebounding well. Unless the Huskies collapse. Well, if the Beavs would have rebounded a little better and taken care of the ball then they would have won.
It's hard to comment on the game without being able to watch it. But all those 3rd chances the Huskies got were really frustrating. And I wish I could have seen that last shot by Stephens. Because the way Parker was calling it, the shot sounded forced and bad. Couldn't we have got a little better shot than that? Oh, and Wesley Washington was huge coming down the stretch. I hope he becomes our defensive stopper this year and grows into something really special over the next two years.
Huskies pressure OSU - Corvallis Gazette-Times
“Obviously, we missed our point guard,” OSU coach Jay John said. “With Lamar not being in there, it changed how UW was going to defend us. They came out and strangled and chased and trapped. With 28 turnovers it was success. They took a game plan and attacked us at a point where we are weak.”
[...]
“I thought Wes did a nice job,” John said. “The turnovers are still an issue. I felt he provided a spark and gave the rest of our guys some confidence. He was able to calm them down. And from the defensive standpoint, he battled. I’m pleased with the fight he brought to the game.”
[...]
“It could have been a different outcome if we had 10 less turnovers,” John said. “We played defense and battled on the boards. This script isn’t any different. We turned the ball over.”
"It was physical, but we were ready for it," said forward Marcel Jones, who led the Beavers with 14 points. "They got a lot of easy buckets. We had 28 turnovers, and I'm sure they scored about 20 easy baskets. It wasn't like they were killing us in the halfcourt. We just had way too many turnovers."
So, was the Huskies' defense that good, or were the Beavers that bad?
"No, the Huskies' defense was good," said Beavers guard Jason Fontenet, who started in place of Hurd. "And we weren't that bad. At times, we got a little careless, but I think we played well. We gave it our all out there."
According to the Seattle P-I the Huskies will be ready for the game against the Beavers tonight. Apparently, they still remember the 17 point loss at Gill last year. Of course, they beat the Beavers by 40 last season at Hec, so maybe the Beavs will still be pissed about that.
UW seeks payback for rare blowout
"Oregon State really has our number," senior forward Mike Jensen said.
The UW never used to lose at Edmundson Pavilion and couldn't win against the Bruins at Pauley Pavilion, and now that's been reversed.
The Beavers hope to keep everyone guessing tonight, with their past inroads not lost on the home team.
[...]
"They do have a chance of beating us here," UW senior guard Brandon Roy said. "There's no 32-game home win streak anymore; we have a two-game losing streak (at home).
"We've got to take them seriously. They beat Arizona. We're not good enough to overlook them."
That rare blowout to the Beavers is reminder enough.
The Beavers land a QB from Hawaii as the recruiting season start to head for the home stretch.
Kahuku QB to play for Oregon State - The Honolulu Advertiser
With a strong running game, the state champion Red Raiders didn't have to throw much. But when Krebs did, he was just a effective as the running backs he handed the ball to. Krebs completed 38 of 64 passes for 680 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was intercepted once and averaged 10.6 yards per attempt.
Two of them are twins, Devin and Kevin Unga. Devin is a 6-foot-1, 201-pound tight end who may switch to linebacker and Kevin is a 6-2, 222-pound linebacker
Both of them were first-team all-state by the Honolulu Advertiser and Star-Bulletin. They helped Kahuku to the 2005 state championship
Safety Suaesi Tuimaunei is the other player to commit. He’s a 6-0, 190-pounder who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.52 seconds.
Thought I'd highlight some of the info that Kerry Eggers dumped on Tuesday.
Picture another Crusader star - Portland Tribune
Apparently Mychal Thompson's son is Seth Tarver's best friend and is interested in coming to OSU. Maybe a sweet walk-on?
The former Trail Blazer’s oldest son, Mykee, is a 6-7 senior at Santa Margarita Catholic High in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., after having played junior varsity ball as a sophomore at Jesuit. “Mykee and (Jesuit senior) Seth Tarver are best friends,” Mychal Thompson says.
Mykee Thompson is a starting post on a team that is ranked second in the Southern California section and lost to the top-ranked team, Mater Dei of Santa Ana, in overtime last Tuesday.
“Mykee’s a late bloomer but a very good player,” his father says. “Understands the game — high basketball IQ. Versatile. Can shoot, pass, block shots. My only complaint is sometimes he needs to be a little more selfish, in a good way.”
The elder Thompson says Mykee’s first college choice is to play at Oregon or Oregon State, “or, if not, anywhere in the Pac-10.”
After 10 years with Easton Sports Inc., Oregon State baseball has signed a multiyear equipment agreement with Wilson Sporting Goods. The Beavers will continue to wear Nike Inc. cleats but will be provided hats, T-shirts, sleeves, sweat pants and travel bags from Wilson. Both companies will provide uniforms.
“I have nothing but good things to say about our relationship with Easton,” OSU coach Pat Casey says, “but we have a better situation with what Wilson can provide.”
[...]
Oregon State has received verbal commitments from three high school football players from Kahuku, Hawaii: 6-2 220-pound linebacker twins Devin and Kevin Unga and 6-1, 185-pound safety Suaesi Tuimaunei. That brings the Beavers’ commit list to 26.
The pre-season accolades keep coming for the OSU Beavers baseball team. Seven coaches in the Pac-10 picked the Beavers to finish first in the Pac-10. It should be an exciting season!
Corvallis Gazette-Times - Coaches poll names Beavers as champions
The Beavers received seven of the nine first-place votes for 62 points. USC and Stanford received one first-place vote each and were ranked second and third, respectively.
[...]
OSU opens its season Feb. 10-12 in the Coca-Cola Classic in Surprise, Ariz., with games against Nevada, Arizona State and Gonzaga. The Beavers begin their home schedule March 3-5 with a series against Nevada at Goss Stadium.
Ouch in more ways than one. First, the loss. Second, Lamar Hurd. The loss kind of puts the Beavs in a hole that they had almost gotten out of by beating Cal or Arizona. Bummer.
Beavs win! Beavs win! Man, what a game. A rollercoaster. I love how the Beavs took control of the game after the game was tied. Just refused to lose. This is the team Jay thought we would have since the beginning of the season.
The best part of the game was when Lute Olsen was just walking around on the court whil his team was trying to score. He was fed up with the no foul call on Lamar Hurd at the end of the game to stop the clock. But the way I figure it, the refs weren't calling hand checks all game, so why would they start calling them at the end!
Anyways, I was at the game but TiVo-ed it so those who didn't see the video can see how it looked.
Check out the Flickr set here:
Beavers Hoops win over Arizona
The Arizona game is televised on Fox Sports Pacific (digital cable channel 415)!
The R-G had a nice article about Lute Olson on Wednesday. Looks like Lute may be around a while.
The Register-Guard - Ron Bellamy: Discipline, wins define Olson era
There won't be a final retirement tour, the way Ralph Miller did it. No farewell gifts of rocking chairs, or standing ovations in road arenas, for the Hall of Fame coach who has been the dominant force in the Pac-10 Conference for the past 20 years.Lute has done an amazing job in Arizona. He rocketed past the Beavers in the mid 80's and that was the perfect time to build a dynasty. An he built a dynasty. Impressive that he could sustain that level of excellence over that huge length of time. By the time he retires he could rival John Wooden as the best Pac-10 coach in history.
The word will come out of Tucson, in one future April, and that will be that.
Except, Olson won't be retiring soon, and not nearly soon enough for all the coaches and programs the Wildcats have left in their wake.
At 71, the coach is on the verge of signing a new agreement that would keep him at Arizona for another five years, not that he won't be there even longer. Last week, Joe Paterno coached Penn State to the Orange Bowl victory at age 79.
"Oh yeah," Olson said, asked if he could envision himself still coaching at that age. "I could see that."
A look at what they're reporting down in Arizona about tonight's game:
www.azstarnet.com - Visitors get quite a chill at Gill
"That was a big win for them on the road against Cal," Olson said. "They played very well, and that was not a fluke, so I'm sure they have a lot of momentum coming home. They have been a very good home team through the years."
The scout says
"They've adjusted pretty well without Lucas. They're kind of balanced, not running the offense through anybody. There's probably some new wrinkles, but the things that caused us problems last year they're still running — some high-post screen stuff. You've really got to be prepared on what they're doing. Their big guys can step out and shoot it."
— UA associate head coach Jim Rosborough
Probable Starters
ARIZONA — F Marcus Williams, F Hassan Adams, C Ivan Radenovic, G Chris Rodgers, G Mustafa Shakur.
OREGON STATE — F Marcel Jones, F Nick DeWitz, C Kyle Jeffers, G Chris Stephens, G Lamar Hurd
The Arizona game is coming up and for the first time all season I think I'm excited about a home game. After that impressive win over Cal, I'm really wondering what Beavers team will show up. We do play well at home so that is a plus.
Greg over at the OregonLive.com Beavers Blog also points out that the Beavers have done relatively well against the Wildcats in recent seasons.
OregonLive.com: Beavers Weblog
Ok by quite a bit I mean they have won at home three times in the last seven seasons, their only three wins against Arizona in the last 15 years. For some reason though the beavs always seem to play well against Arizona, and they are 4-0 at home so far this season.Probably the biggest difference between years past and now is that before the Arizona game could make our season. Now, it's another game we have to win to get to post-season.
Here are some shooting numbers that are worth considering as the Beavers prepare to face the Arizona Wildcats on Thursday at Gill.If the Beavers can continue to shoot over 50% and play any kind of defense at all, they should get back to the NIT at the very least, IMO.
Oregon State's field-goal shooting percentage in first three Pac-10 games: 51.0 percent (75 of 147).
OSU's three-point shooting percentage in first three Pac-10 games: 42.5 percent (17 of 40).
OSU's free-throw percentage over same stretch: 70.0 percent (35 of 50).
OK, the free-throw shooting need work, but shooting numbers are impressive, especially considering all three games were played on the road.
[...]
Before the Cal game, when Coach Jay John talked about the Bears' height and their shot-blocking ability, it sounded as if we might see the Beavers resorted to a bunch of three-point shots, but that's not what happened. The Beavers worked their three-man weave along the top of the three-point arc, pulled the Cal big men out from under the basket, and created open shots from a variety of spots, including some uncontested lay-ups.
The Beavers made 7 of 11 three-pointers, but they also had a 22-20 edge in points in the paint.
McClellan averaged 5.8 points and 3.0 rebounds a game last season, making 24 of 61 3-point shots (39.4 percent). The Wildcats (10-4, 3-1) have missed his steady outside shot since Salim Stoudamire moved on to the NBA.
“Now that we’ll have McClellan back, he’s going to be a huge contributor for us,” Arizona coach Lute Olson said. “He’s our best perimeter shooter as far as consistency is concerned. He’ll be one of our top two rebounders because he’s aggressive to the ball.”
Bud Withers at the Seattle Times is busting out his crystal ball a bit early. Before any of next season's class is finalized he takes a look at how the 2006 college football season might shape up.
(BTW, I think this guy picked Oregon State to finish last in the Pac-10 last season...)
The Seattle Times - Pac-10 football should stay status quo for 2006 season
Not only will Washington and Washington State try to dig out from 1-7 league records, they must do it absent any obvious candidates to plummet past them.Well, at least he's not counting out the Beavs yet.
Don't infer too much from USC's hairbreadth loss to Texas in the Rose Bowl, other than the Trojans were too young on defense to get over that last hump. They'll be back, and quickly, assuming coach Pete Carroll doesn't get swept off his feet by an NFL owner with resources in place.
Arizona? Quarterback Willie Tuitama, and Mike Stoops' persistent recruiting, gives the Wildcats obvious hope. Stanford? Walt Harris showed this year he can coach. Oregon State? Maybe, but the Beavers looked like a 10th-place candidate in '05 and nearly went to a bowl game.
[...]
Oregon State: OSU tantalized fans with a solid start, then depressed them late by falling out of the bowl picture. That raised grumbling about coach Mike Riley, but he's safe with a guaranteed four more years.
The only key loss on offense is Biletnikoff Award winner Mike Hass, and OSU will return a terrific tight end in Joe Newton, injured in '05. Defense is more of a problem, with the loss of both tackles, solid linebackers Trent Bray and Keith Ellison, and the need to find pass-rushing ends.
Brooks has a nice wrap-up of the bowl season over the weekend. Some good little observations in there.
Corvallis Gazette-Times - Time to wrap up the bowl season
• Virginia Tech finally threw Marcus Vick out of school for the intent-to-injure stomp he delivered to Louisville’s Elvis Dumervil. Kudos to VPI’s “nine strikes and you’re out” policy. Maybe Rick Metsger should call someone in the Virginia legislature and straighten them out.
Can you image the ruckus if Tech had played Notre Dame?
[...]
• Call me amazed that the Pacific-10 Conference officiating crew at the Sugar Bowl didn’t flag Georgia wide receiver Bryan McClendon for excessive celebration or unsportsmanlike conduct after his perfect swan dive in the end zone following a fourth-quarter touchdown.
Let me see if I get this right: Mike Hass and Richard Seigler are flagged for brief poses at WSU in 2003, and Steven Jackson barely vogues after a go-ahead score at Washington, and two or three referees throw a penalty flag faster than you can say Verle Sorgen. But a guy from Georgia does a “look at me” half-gainer in a bowl game and it’s ignored completely.
Coincidentally, the same guy was the crew chief at the 2003 WSU game and the Sugar Bowl. That’s what I love about Pac-10 officiating, the consistency.
[...]
• I guess if Nike says jump, you reply, “How high?” That explains Oregon’s decision to wear back pants with a Brillo pad decoration on each leg at the Holiday Bowl, and the black helmet and chrome-colored helmets they’re supposed to unveil next year.
There’s no accounting for (bad) taste. But somehow I can’t ever see the Beavers wearing green, Washington State wearing purple, USC wearing any shade of blue or Cal wearing cardinal.
That win felt like last year for the first time this year. People scoring consistently and the defense being good enough to hold them off a bit. Lamar Hurd, Sasa Cuic, and Nick DeWitz really stepped up that game. Jones and Stephens have been doing well lately, but it really helped to have some guys knocking down 3's with confidence.
The first conference home game is this Thursday against Arizona. Let's fill Gill and pull of a nice upset!
Corvallis Gazette-Times - Beavers find a way on the road
John pulled point guards Jason Fontenet and Hurd aside during the shootaround and stressed to them about not forcing passes. If the turnovers were limited, they could play with the Golden Bears.Man, Marcel really helps out with his rebounding. I don't think we could survive without his help on the glass.
They accomplished that with only 12 turnovers, eight less than OSU’s average. That led to more shots, and better looks at the basket.
[...]
Sasa Cuic was a sharp shooter off the bench with 16 points, while Marcel Jones scored 13 and was the game’s leading rebounder with 11.
Last week's Tribune had a nice story on Mike Hass and what his is doing in his preparation for the NFL draft.
Portland Tribune - OSU receiver goes south for NFL polish
Hass says he has never run 40 yards for time.
“Not honestly,” he says. “I’ve never gotten into a stance and prepared to do it.”
Can Hass improve his speed?
“I think so,” Hass says, “with technique and being in shape and working out every day. I’ve never learned how to run the 40 or run the cone drills I’ll do at the combine. It can only help.
“A lot of what happens in the draft is about your numbers — your speed, your jumping ability and all that. It means so much. If you don’t do so well, you can drop so far.”
[...]
“The first-round receivers generally have the great speed,” says the scout, who asks to remain unidentified. “What Mike does at the combine and pro days, and how well he plays in the all-star games, will impact that. I would think if he runs 4.5, it will up his ante. If he runs 4.65, it’s going to hurt him. If he runs well and interviews well at the combine, if he plays well in the East-West Game (on Jan. 21), his stock can rise.”
[...]
“I feel good about my (NFL) chances, in part because of my coaches at Oregon State (Dennis Erickson and Mike Riley),” Hass says. “They were both head coaches in the NFL. I learned so much from those two guys. It’s been monumental to my career. I’ll take everything they taught me to the next level.”
For those who missed it, FanBlogs found some video of the Marcus Vick stomp on Elvis Dumervil's calf/knee in the Gator Bowl. This was total B.S. from Vick and he should have been removed from the game.
Roanoke Times - Video of the Stomp
The fallout:
Fanblogs College Football Blog - Marcus Vick suspended or gone?
Steve Usecheck, a Big 12 official who was the referee for the game, said none of the officials saw the incident.
Usecheck:
We missed that, and I'm sorry we did. The TV, everybody saw it but us. I wish we had the opportunity to talk to [Vick] because that was complete [expletive]. You bet I would have thrown his ass out.
[...]
I was really disappointed. We don't see football like that (in the Big 12). Those kids were just completely out of control. ... Louisville wasn't as bad. Virginia Tech was brutal.
Good article by the Gazette-Times on the Beavers point guards.
Corvallis Gazette-Times - Point guards looking up
“What makes me angry, this whole season I haven’t been playing the way I should be playing in terms of being aggressive and going to the basket, penetrating,” Fontenet said. “My shot, everything is going in-and-out. I’m just going through something right now. I spend day-in and day-out working on my shot. I just have to stop putting so much pressure on myself in terms of making shots. Eventually, hopefully, they’ll start falling.”I'm confident that Jason will get things going soon.
Today's Oregonian had a pretty good article on the Beavs that basically says what I've been saying for a few weeks: the Beavs don't have a #1. They have a lot of #2 scorers, but not a true go-to guy.
But even more interestingly are a few of the comments...
The Oregonian - OSU feeling the loss of go-to guy
When it comes to a "true" low-block, back-to-the-basket player who doesn't flinch when the game turns physical inside, the Beavers have 6-9, 258-pound junior Kyle Jeffers -- and little else.That's actually an interesting assessment by Kent. Maybe Kyle is growing more than we see. I've noticed he's better inside, but he's not exactly a force inside. But Kent thinks very highly of Kyle. Interesting.
"Kyle is steadily improving," John said. "Right now, his confidence is up, and he seems to have better balance in the post, having to deal with somebody always bumping into him. It's never clean down there. And some guys can finish while they're being bumped, and other guys can't. Well, Kyle is beginning to take some of those bumps and finish."
...
Oregon coach Ernie Kent was impressed with Jeffers' work ethic.
"He was a tough player for us to guard in terms of how active he was," Kent said. "I think there are going to be nights where he is going to score well, as long as they can keep him out of foul trouble and those things.
"We don't go down on the block nearly as much, but I think it's good, because everybody scores, not just one player," Jeffers said. "We're just as strong a team without him as we were last year. It's good to have a player like David on the team, but he shot the ball a lot, and it really didn't give other players a chance to get going."I'm not sure if I agree with Kyle. Balanced scoring is great, but you need someone who wants the ball down the stretch. Or maybe a guy who can simply score when everyone else is struggling to get going. Honestly, the only way lots of scorers and no true #1 works is if you can beat teams by 15-20 points. That way you don't have to find someone to get that basket with 10 seconds on the clock you don't have a go-to guy.
...
"That's what a team should be doing," said Jeffers, who is averaging 6.1 points and 4.2 rebounds while starting nine of the Beavers' 12 games. "We could have five players in double digits, and I feel that's better for us as a team."
"They have seven guys that, basically, can really pass it, really catch, and really shoot it," Johnson said. "I mean, our hands are full in terms of trying to defend this team and slow them down.I hope he's right. We need to start rolling and beating some teams badly.
"Lucas was an important factor last year, but . . . this is a team that's going to explode here pretty soon. I think they're as talented and as skilled as any team in our conference, and it's just a matter of time before they start going on a roll."
The Oregon State Beavers baseball team is ranked in another pre-season poll. This time Baseball America magazine has ranked the Beavs #8 in the nation. In addition, Dallas Buck is ranked as a second team pre-season All-American.
Baseball America Preseason College Top 25
Official Site of Oregon State Athletics - Baseball America Preseason Picks Rank OSU No. 8, Buck All-America Second Team
Defending national champion Texas tops Baseball America’s preseason rankings, with Clemson, Florida, Georgia Tech, Cal State-Fullerton, North Carolina, Rice, Oregon State, Tennessee and Missouri rounding out the top 10.
Just a quick post for anyone interested in the more technical aspects of Oregon State's new Reser Stadium expansion. Here's a short article/press release from the company that installed all of the audio and networking in the stadium. Warning: lots of technical jargon.
InfoComm - Symetrix delivers zone-to-zone coverage in Ore. stadium
Though Delta's integration expertise and experience working in the stadium market was essential to installing the facility's new sound system, one tool, a networked digital sound management system from Symetrix Audio, made the task far simpler. This tool helped ensure that the Beavers' home was as ready presentation-wise for the 2005 season as the team was for its gridiron challenge.
Now that the real games are getting going, I thought I'd take a look at how everybody fared on the first weekend of Pac-10 hoops.
Pac-10 Standings, Week 1
Arizona 2-0 9-3
California 2-0 8-3
Oregon 1-0 7-6
Washington 1-1 11-1
UCLA 1-1 11-2
USC 1-1 10-3
Washington State 1-1 8-3
Oregon State 0-1 7-5
Arizona State 0-2 6-5
Stanford 0-2 4-6
Let's see. Arizona and UW look like they are for real. Stanford may be having the down year everyone thought they'd have last season. Cal looks like they are back with Powe coming back from injury. And UCLA's loss early to Cal at home isn't a great start. Other than that there's not much to extract from the first weekend. ASU may take last place this season. WSU is going to continue to be dangerous at least.
Hopefully the Beavers can take advantage of Stanford's bad form by stealing a win. If the Beavers could find a way to go 1-1 this weekend, that would go a long way towards their confidence for the rest of the season.
Go Beavs!
The Beavers lost a close game against the Ducks on Saturday night and it was an opportunity lost. It's too bad the Beavs let the Ducks go on such a big run early in the second half, because the last part of the second half the Beavs did very well. So many missed opportunities at the free throw line.
I like the emergence of Marcel Jones. I hope he can continue to grow into a major part of this team. His rebounding is such a big help to the big men inside. And I'd really like to see Lamar continue to look for some shots. His height could be a huge advantage over the point guards who have to guard him. Overall, I like our options on offense. I'd like to see us riding the hot hand a bit more. The defense needs to step up a bit more. It's coming around, but everyone needs to be aggressive on D.
