Spring Game

Well, the spring game was interesting. No one was amazing, but at least the guys who are supposed to be leading the team next year looked good. The D overall was pretty good too. The passing game sure had trouble getting going, so hopefully that's a good sign (for the secondary).

Joe Newton, Sabby, Wheat-Brown, and Marcel Love all had good days. Matt Moore looked decent and is very mobile after knee surgery. Dorian Smith was getting in the backfield a lot, but not really getting to the QB. However, sacks were hard to recognize because the QBs couldn't be touched. The linebackers looked good and I think we will have no problem at that position.

Gundy had a good day, but he was playing against mainly walk-ons towards the end. Canfield didn't look like he's ready to start, but definitely has some good tools.

All of the RBs looked pretty good. Polk played a ton and looked good. Fuller looked good early, but didn't play much after the 1st quarter (why?). And a walk-on from Bend, Stewart, had a really good day.

There were some interesting quotes from the GT on the game:

Defense rules the spring

“I think this spring our defense as a whole stepped it up,” defensive end Jeff Van Orsow said. “We’re starting to get back to where we were, on top of the Pac-10 (in defense).”

...

“Their intensity has so much to do with the way they played,” quarterback Matt Moore said of the entire defense. “The secondary is playing awesome, and they are going to be one of the best next year.”

Yea, the D was pretty good. But it's interesting that everyone is very high on the secondary and the D as a whole. That's a good thing and I hope we do have a top 2 or 3 D next season.

Going into the summer, the Beavers must develop the receivers. The players know it, so they plan to spend extra time working out on their own.

“It was hard all spring because we were missing Sammie and Anthony,” Moore said. “It’s a long summer. If we can do it last year, with working with me for a first time, and now the experience we have working together, we’ll be fine.”

Amen. That's probably the single biggest concern for the team, next to pass defense.


Anyone looking for a Pac-10 summary of spring ball, here's one from ESPN from a few days ago:

ESPN.com - NCF - Pac-10 team-by-team spring guide

USC/Reggie Bush fallout...Ducks have undefeated season?

If this happens, I'm gonna hurl.

Apparently, the story about Reggie Bush's family not paying rent at a nice house in LA may have some positive ramifications for the Ducks (Bush's family never paid rent - FanBlogs).

Why? Well, one of the possible penalties is having USC forfeit all games Bush played in (Bush investigation could lead to USC forfeits - FanBlogs). Yikes. That would mean...Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!!! That would mean that officially the Ducks would have had an undefeated regular season and, thus, win the Pac-10 title. Yuck. (Oregon Ducks: Undefeated 2005 Pac10 champs? - FanBlogs)

Anything but that!

2006 Pac-10 Schedules

It's spring game day and that means looking ahead to next season. MDG posted a nice list of all the Pac-10 schedules for 2006. Check it out here:

mdg CFB: Pac 10 Schedules

Oregon State
9-2-06 EASTERN WASHINGTON
9-9-06 at Boise State
9-23-06 IDAHO
9-30-06 CALIFORNIA
10-7-06 WASHINGTON STATE
10-14-06 at Washington
10-21-06 at Arizona
10-28-06 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
11-4-06 ARIZONA STATE
11-11-06 at UCLA
11-18-06 at Stanford
11-25-06 OREGON
12-2-06 at Hawai'i


It's too early for predictions, but he has us going 6-6. That, my friends, would not be acceptable.

Matt Moore? or Gundy?...

Anyone else notice that the story about Matt Moore in today's Oregonian (What a difference a year makes) had a HUGE photo of Ryan Gunderson. Yep, pretty sure that Moore doesn't wear #10. Oops.

Oh, I guess some people did notice.

Here's the blog about it from Buker:

Behind the Beavers Beat

Then I pick up the O. off my front porch, and I've got a horrible flashback: please God, not again. Tell me we haven't mis-identified another OSU football picture.

Tell me we haven't told readers that Ryan Gunderson is Matt Moore. Again.

"Dad, maybe somebody at your office really likes Ryan Gunderson,'' my son says helpfully.

Hey, I like Ryan Gunderson, too. His parents live in my neighborhood.

But c'mon, he doesn't look like Matt Moore, and a jersey with No. 10 should not be mistaken for a jersey with No. 8. (If it will help the copy editors any, here is a mugshot of Moore without his helmet on taken from his freshman year at UCLA.)

Nice. That's why I love blogs. Because you can get immediate feedback and have a laugh.

Only one more day until the Spring Game!

Great blog on Mike Hass and the upcoming NFL draft

Here's a great blog post from Paul Buker (I think) on the Oregonian's Behind the Beavers Beat blog.

He talks about how ridiculous it is that Mike Hass seems to be slipping in the draft to maybe not even first day material. That's just plain ridiculous. Just watch the tapes! He has made more amazing catches at OSU in the last 3 years than I've seen ever.

Mike is going to make some GM that picks him in the 3rd round look like a genius. Especially when he becomes the next Steve Largent.

OregonLive.com: Behind The Beavers Beat

I've been covering football for 38 years. ... Hass will be a good NFL WR. .. what I see is a kid who is a hellacious downfield blocker, much like the Steelers' Hines Ward. ... he's a kid with a mean streak who won't have any problems handling the physicality of the NFL. ... and as for his ability to go up in a crowd and come down with the ball?

Amen to that.

Spring Game Saturday!

Aw man, I cannot wait for this weekend. It's going to be a Beaver Sports-fest for me. I'll start the weekend off with some baseball, then move to football, and maybe finish up with a little softball.

The baseball team is rolling. I'll ignore that loss to UP on Tuesday since they went back to form tonight with the 3-0 shutout win. Dallas dominating again.

It's spring been feeling a lot like summer lately which must mean it's time for some Spring Football. I like the fact that they are going back to two competitive teams.

For those who want something to listen to it sounds like KEJO (1240) is broadcasting the game and will have some cool interviews and sideline stuff. Might want to bring a portable radio. Of course, that will be GREAT for those tailgating the scrimmage.

Spring Game Saturday -- Ticket Information Included

The game can be heard live over KEJO (1240 AM) in the mid-Willamette Valley and KKNX (840 AM) in Eugene. The game will also be broadcast – live audio/video – through Beaver Nation Online. The broadcast group will include Mike Parker (BSN), Jim Wilson (BSN), Steve Preece (FSN and BSN), Bob Akamian (FSN), Javier Cervantes (KWBY) and FSN's Todd Mansfield and Cathy Marshall patrolling the sidelines. Marshall and Mansfield will be interviewing Head Coach Mike Riley and others during the actual game

I'm bummed that Straughter won't be playing. I think he was really making an impact early in the spring. Plus, it looks like Brandon Hughes (family commitment) and Yvenson Bernard (keep him healthy) won't be playing either.

Should be fun! Go Beavs!

OSU Baseball Sweeps Cal

I was cut off for Beaver Sports this weekend (last weekend to ski/board at Mt. Bachelor) and missed how the beavs were doing against Cal. There's nothing better than coming home and seeing the sweep.

OSU Completes Baseball Sweep At Cal With 9-7 Win

The baseball team is finally putting it all together. Perfect timing too. Just in time for the stretch run. At 28-9 overall and 9-3 in the Pac-10 they are poised to make another great post-season run!

I'm happy to see Chris Kunda rebound from last year and be hitting so strong. One of the better stories on the team this year. Of course Cole Gillespie is doing awesome. That guy is just plain hot.

We've got a ton of home games coming up this week with Portland again on Tuesday, then New Mexico and Cal Poly on Thursday - Sunday. Sweet! The weather is perfect. Time to watch some baseball!

Ouch. The first published editorial on the new face of the football sculpture in front of OSU

If you haven't driven by Reser Stadium in a while then you haven't seen the latest changes to the football sculpture out front. There are now glowing X's and O's on the outside. During the day, the glass reflects the sun and changes color depending on what angle you look at it. At night, there are lights inside each X and O that also change color depending on what angle you look at it (I'll try to get some pics next week).

Well, I kinda like that concept and don't mind the sculpture too much. But, I've had family members with less than glowing assessments of the thing. And even though I like the cool glowing features, it isn't completely ascetically pleasing.

Here's what the Darrin Crescenzi wrote in the Barometer:

Oregon State Daily Barometer Online - At Reser, a glowing orb of humiliation

Somehow, I don’t think the reaction will be positive. This statue, the icing on the our new half-stadium cake, will prove more than groan-worthy enough for Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon to devote five minutes to it on “Pardon the Interruption.” It is groan-worthy enough to get five minutes on “Sportscenter” or “Around the Horn” or “The Best Damn Sports Show, Period.”

Nothing about OSU earns that much television time. The statue is just groan-worthy enough to become what our university is famous for.

Isn’t it really strange how nobody on campus is talking about this monstrosity yet? It’s just like the rest of America’s stance on the South; it’s far too depressing to think about, so we just pretend it doesn’t exist.

I’m an art major with a high tolerance for stupidity. I get Pollock’s drip paintings. I get Rothko’s fields of color. I get Barrett Newman’s “zips” and Serra’s “Tilted Arc” and Duchamp’s “Fountain.”

But I don’t get a giant glowing football. The thing looks like John Madden had an epileptic fit while holding an erector set and a pack of Highlighter™ brand highlighters.

Yikes. I hope the rest of the country doesn't have that reaction. Anyone else seen the thing? What do you think?

OSU Gymnastics in Nationals? Who knew? Not Beaver Nation.

OK, so could the OSU athletic marketing dept. have done a worse job promoting the NCAA National Championships to Beaver fans? What I want to know is how come I hadn't heard that the Beavers made it to the NCAA Championships for the first time in 3 or 4 years? That normally wouldn't bother me, except the championships are in Corvallis!

So I'm gonna go cheer on the Beaver gymnastics ladies tonight and think to myself what a wasted opportunity the OSU marketing dept. since Gill probably won't be close to sold out.


On another note, I think its a bad move to start charging for softball, soccer, etc. They had great crowds supporting the teams the last few years when it was free. Now the crowds will be probably 50% as big and they're going to get an extra $7000 / year in gate revenues. Great. I hope that money goes a long way. Because you're losing goodwill from within the community. The only people who really go to those games for the "olympic" sports are parents, high schoolers in the area, and Corvallis/local residents. Maybe it won't affect attendance. But my guess is that it will. Anyways, I thought it was very cool when they made all of those events free a few years ago. Now I'm disappointed that they would take it back just to make enough money to pay for one in state scholarship. Maybe.


I'll stop ranting before I get to billboards, radio, and promotion of the Beaver brand.

Wednesday's Spring Scrimmage

So I went to the spring scrimmage today and was fairly impressed with some of the younger guys. It's hard to know without allowing sacks and real tackling what's really happening, but a few of guys impressed me.

Derek Doggett and Patrick Fuller look bigger to me. I think they hit the weight room hard in the offseason. Patrick might be a bit of a sleeper (oops, I just had my fantasy baseball draft last weekend). He looked bigger and better than last year. He made a couple of really good runs. Hitting the hole fast.

Sammy Straughter was pretty vocal. And he looked good. I think he will be the next good possession type receiver. I think he's fast too, but he can catch.

Other than that, Matt Moore looked like he throwing well. Canfield looked good too. It was great to see Joe Newton out there again.

I'm going to try to get a few pics from Saturday's scrimmage.

Steve Coury interview on the Joe Beaver Show sheds light on Gabe Miller situation

I just heard an interview with Steve Coury, Lake Oswego HS football coach, about Gabe Miller and his ruptured achilles tendon. Great interview by Mike Parker.

To summarize, he said that the surgery went well. The doctor said it had kept some of it's structure. Steve said he thought the injury was about a 6 on a 1 to 10 scale. Also, he said that the injury should take about 9 months to be fully recovered.

Bummer. At least everyone is confident that he will return back to full strength. It's too bad we couldn't have had him for next year. But at least we will have him for 4 more years after Joe is gone.

Jason Fyda leaves comment on my blog

The Jason Fyda saga continues. He left a comment on an old story from Sept. 22 of last year. If you're interested, check out his side of the story here:

Jason's OSU Beavers Blog: Article on former Beaver Jason Fyda

The official stance on the cheerleaders

I got this list on FAQs from the Beaver E-Clips newsletter that comes out every week or so. Just thought it had a ton of good info so I reposted it here.

This special edition of Beaver Eclips is being sent in response to requests from many Alumni Association members for more information about the university's decision to limit acrobatic stunting by its cheerleaders. Here is a statement released Monday afternoon by Luanne M. Lawrence, Vice President, University Advancement:

"Over the last week the media and Internet sources have reported changes to the Oregon State University cheerleading program. Unfortunately, much of the information has been misinterpreted or has been incorrect. With this e-mail, we would like to bring clarity to what is emerging through the Athletics Department in regard to OSU cheerleading.

"Nationally, colleges and universities are looking at safety concerns stemming from cheerleading stunts. According to the NCAA, cheerleading is the second-most "catastrophic injury-" prone activity. This year’s NCAA basketball championships barred stunting and reflect concern that has grown even more significantly as high visibility accidents, such as the recent Southern Illinois incident, brings to light the dangers of stunting. In the PAC-10, universities such as USC, Cal and UCLA have joined others like Nebraska and Duke in banning stunting during athletic activities. OSU is one of a number of programs across the country to examine the safety and support we provide to our students who participate in this high-risk activity.

"Next year’s athletic events will still be supported by a cheerleading team and by a dance team. The only difference is that the stunting will be eliminated. To counter some of the misinformation, OSU has developed an FAQ that follows."

Oregon State University
Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Cheerleading

April 7, 2006 – To help clarify any misunderstanding and/or misinformation
regarding cheerleading at Oregon State University and to update the public with regard to recent decisions, the OSU Dept. of Intercollegiate Athletics offers the following information:

Q: What is happening with cheerleading?
A: Contrary to erroneous media reports and internet gossip, Oregon State University is not discontinuing its cheerleading program. It is only eliminating the high-risk stunts such as pyramids and basket tosses.

Q: Will Oregon State be the only university that doesn't’t do cheerleading stunts?
A: A growing number of universities do not permit stunting by their cheerleaders for safety reasons, such as USC, Cal, UCLA, Nebraska and Duke. Other universities, conferences, and the NCAA are considering making similar changes.

Q: What is going to be the same?
A: Everything will remain the same for Oregon State cheerleaders with the exception of high-risk stunts. Cheerleaders will continue to lead the crowd in chants, help build fan enthusiasm, encourage crowd noise and create a fun, exciting environment at Beaver athletic events.

Q: Will the cheerleaders’ uniforms look any different?
A: No, the uniforms will remain the same.

Q: Will OSU’s cheerleaders continue to perform at all the same events, including road games?
A: Yes, they will.

Q: What is the concern about potential cheerleader injuries?
A: According to the NCAA, cheerleading is the second-most “catastrophic injury”-prone activity behind football. A study released in January’s issue of Pediatrics showed that cheerleading injuries across the country doubled from 1990 to 2002 for ages 5-18, mostly due to stunts, with a total of nearly 23,000 injuries in 2002. A 2003 article in the American Journal of Sports Medicine stated that cheerleader injuries were five times more common in college than high school.

Q: How will this move help OSU’s athletics department and its varsity teams?
A: Stunting requires a great deal of practice time and competes with men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball for time in Gill Coliseum and reduces the available time for our varsity athletes to do individual workouts. The athletics department will be better able to use its resources and practice windows to benefit its varsity teams. Stunting results in a higher injury rate per participant than our varsity sports. By cutting out stunts, cheerleader injuries will be reduced, and OSU’s training staff will be able to better serve our varsity athletes.

Q: Was this a financial decision?
A: No, cheerleading will continue to be funded at the same level.

Q: Does any of this affect Benny Beaver, the band or the basketball dance team?
A: No, those activities will continue as they always have.

Q: How can I try out for the new cheerleading squad?
A: Tryouts will be announced in the next few weeks, and information will be posted at http://www.osubeavers.com.

Doesn't sound like much of a change to me.

Some Beaver notes from Kerry Eggers on this, the second day of spring football practice.

An interesting note popped up in Kerry Eggers column in the Portland Tribune the other day about Dennis Erickson. Hey, it's sort of football related.

David Stern gives PAM the business | PortlandTribune.com

In a recent interview with the Seattle Post-IntelligencerÂ’s Jim Moore, new Idaho football coach Dennis Erickson was asked about leaving Oregon State for the San Francisco 49ers.
“I still can’t figure out why I did that,” Erickson said. “That was a brain-dead move right there.”
Are Beaver fans still bitter about him leaving?
Erickson: “The only person who should be bitter is me, for being stupid enough to leave.”

Yea, that was a bad move at the time. He had it way too good here.

Frankly, IÂ’m surprised Oregon State has beaten Oregon in the Northwest Dodge Dealers Civil War series for the second straight year.
Points are awarded for head-to-head competition in every sport. The Beavers are ahead 10-5 with two remaining points available in softball play, despite the Ducks receiving two points for their football victory.
Oregon, which surrendered the Civil War series 12-5 in 2004-05, has the higher profile and larger athletic department budget. The Ducks shouldnÂ’t be losing to their archrival as often as they have the past two years.

Why shouldn't the Beavers be beating the Ducks regularly? Frankly the Beavs are better in most sports that they go head to head. Or at least they are men's. In mens hoops and women's hoops they were very even this year. The Beavers are better in soccer and softball. Anyways, I don't think it should be such a surprise.