How instant replay will work this year in the Pac-10

According to FanBlogs, the Pac-10 will have the same instant replay system as the Big-10 this season.

Upon further review: instant replay

"Only the replay official can stop play to review a call. All calls are reviewed by a replay official from the press box. If a play is in question, the replay official alerts the officials on the field and play is stopped. The replay official watches angles provided by the television coverage for that game. Calls involving clock and/or game management cannot be reviewed even if noticed by the replay official. Instant replay is used in all conference games. In non-conference games, the visiting team must agree to use the replay or it will not be available. The types of plays that are reviewable include plays that are governed by the sideline, goal line, end zone and end line, passing plays, and other detectable infractions, such as forward progress with respect to first down. "


Hmm, forward progress with respect to first down. Does that mean that the spot can be reviewed? What about games that don't have television coverage? Or do they all have to have some basic replay or TV coverage now?

Strangely negative article on the Beavers 2005 team

Herald and News: Klamath Falls, Oregon :: Beavers' offseason has been bizarre

First off, even though this writer is previewing the 2005 OSU Beavers football team and making a prediction, he has to bring up the offseason incidents multiple times. Not sure how important that is to rehash, but maybe they think their readers forgot about it already. Let's take a look at some of the excerpts.

On the offseason

"Aside from the $93 million put into renovating Reser Stadium, the spotlight has been on Corvallis because of a string of bizarre criminal activities"

...Then he rehashes all of the incidents, Rudolph, Walker, Siegert....

"None of the six players arrested were kicked off the team by head coach Mike Riley."

What's that comment? Why say that? You obviously think some of them should have been kicked off the team. Most other articles have simply said that they were suspended for the first few games. It also makes no mention of the new disciplinary policy that DeCarolis implemented.

On Quarterbacks:

"At quarterback, the Beavers will need to replace the talented, but mistake prone Derek Anderson..."

There's a nice back door compliment.

"The smart money is on Moore, who transferred from UCLA after being beaten out by Drew Olsen as the signal caller in Westwood, Calif."

Even this comment is somewhat negative..."beaten out". From what I understand he got injured and that's how he lost his job. The new coaching staff like Olson better than him.

On the running game

"In fact, the Beavers ranked dead last in Division 1 yards per game, at a horrid 70.7 ypg clip in 2004."

OK, it was horrid.

"Walker is a former blue chip recruit who transferred from the University of Florida.

As the aforementioned run-in with the law attests, he needs to keep himself focused off the field to be productive on it, but his talent is unquestioned."

Huh? Time to bring up the off field incidents again. Injecting your opinion in there. Nice. What he needs to do to be successful is have some holes to run through and hit them. When he talks about Siegert later in the article he doesn't bring up anything about the sheep incident again. Or how he needs to keep his mind off of gay sheep to be successful in the field.

On recievers:

"Haas isn't a burner, but he creates separation and catches everything in sight. In 2004, Haas broke OSU single-season school records with 86 receptions and 1,379 receiving yards."

This also seems sneakily like he's trying to put down Hass in some way. Let the numbers speak for themselves! Being a "burner" isn't all there is to being a WR.

His prediction:

"I believe the Beavers will end up with a best case record of 8-3, with a more likely 6-5 or 5-6 season on the horizon."

Well, at least he didn't pick us 7th in the Pac-10.

The next OSU Beavers scrimmage, notes from yesterday's scrimmage

According to the The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon, USA:

"The Beavers have scheduled a second and final scrimmage for next Tuesday, sometime between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on the team's practice field. "


I'd recommend 3:30 because they tend to finish the practice with the scrimmage. So it might start at 4:00, but if you can be there I would get there early just in case.


This last scrimmage was not really a full scrimmage, but it was cool to watch people perform in game-like situations. I got there late, but Fuller's run looked pretty good. Next year he's going to start looking like Steven Jackson. Especially the Beaver players seem to put on weight.

Some of the young guys look so big already! Pernell Booth is a big guy. DT of the future. Which may mean next year. Frank, Christopher, Tavita, Darlin all those young guys looked big. The future looks bright to me.

If any of the pics I took turn out OK, I'll update this with some pics.

The fight for the starting flanker job - Josh Hawkins and Ruben Jackson

There's a fight at the flanker position brewing. I feel Josh Hawkins will start the season as the starter no matter what. I think he has the size and potential to maybe pull a Robert Prescott and really improve for his senior year. Ruben will probably be a main guy on special teams and get to contribute that way early on. However, Hawkins needs to get going early because once Jackson gets the plays under his belt he could break into the starting lineup. I didn't see either of them in the scrimmage yesterday and Hawkins was not in pads.

Some articles on each player and the battles in general:

Josh Hawkins
The catch is key

Ruben Jackson
PortlandTribune.com :: Quick-study receiver gives Riley high hopes - Transfer Ruben Jackson emerging as OSU looks to replace Marcel Love

The fall-out from the Beavs Off-season of turmoil

Ever wonder what the guys who we're involved with the in-season and off-season incidents are thinking these days? Here's a follow-up article from the Register-Guard that talks to AWB, Rudolph, and others about their state of mind going into the season.

The Register-Guard :: OSU's bad boys change their ways

I like this quote from Joe:

"'I'd always been on the edge before,' said Rudulph, who has a scuffle-filled practice history with the Beavers. 'Now, when something bad happens, I just let it go. I've changed my demeanor. I think before I act.' "

Seems like this experience has changed him and possibly made him a better person in the long run.

Some of the other guys seem to harp on the fact that Corvallis is a small town. As if that's any excuse. However, they do seem to all have grown up a bit.

Seems that Riley is really a great guy. Jimtavis Walker's quote from the article is good:

"He stood by us throughout the ordeal. He would talk to us man-to-man. I was honest with him from day one and he was there to support me 100 percent."

That's really cool. I think that will only help his recruiting in the long run.

Scrimmage today! Also, check out the remaining practice dates

The first scrimmage of Fall Practice is set for today! Unfortunately, we don't know when it will happen other than sometime between 2-5. I've heard some say 3pm. But I've seen many scrimmages start at 4pm. But who knows!

Here's the schedule for the rest of the practices for the Beavs this fall:

Tue., Aug. 16 2-5 p.m.
Wed., Aug. 17 8:30-11 a.m. & 6:30-9 p.m.
Thu., Aug. 18 2-5 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 19 8:30-11 a.m. & 6:30-9 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 20 2-5 p.m.
Mon., Aug. 22 8:30-11 a.m. & 6:30-9 p.m.
Tue., Aug. 23 2-5 p.m.
Wed., Aug. 24 8:30-11 a.m. & 6:30-9 p.m.
Thu., Aug. 25 2-4:30 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 26 2:30-5 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 27 2-4:30 p.m.
Mon, Aug. 29 1:30-4 p.m.
Tue., Aug. 30 2-4:30 p.m.
Wed., Aug. 31 2-4:30 p.m.
Thu., Sept. 1 2-4 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 2 4:10-5 p.m.


Oregon State University Fall practice dates

Andy Darkin's Blog - check it out

For those who haven't read the Oregon State Beaver linebacker in the Barometer yet, all of his articles are posted on his blog:

The Rear End

Check it out. It's a good read. John Canzano wrote an article on him over the weekend:

This columnist a pairing of brawn, brains

Profile of Trent Bray, OSU Beaver MLB

The GT had a great article yesterday about Trent Bray. He went through a lot with the coaching change. It's an interesting read. Thank goodness he stayed because he's good.

Trent Bray stepping out of the shadows

Beavers practices open to public

The Gazette-Times has an interesting article about the Beavers fall practice and how it has been kept open to the public. I personally love the fact that the practice is open. Plus, I think it lets the fans get to know the players better and makes them more passionate about the team. I don't think there is much of a downside unless all of the Pac-10 schools start sending secret scouts/spys to scout the Beavers as an upcoming opponent. That won't happen because game film is a much better indicator of what the team can and cannot do.

I was just up at UW and wanted to check out Husky stadium. Well, there's a huge plastic trap wall around the practice field and the stadium to keep prying eyes away from the team. It felt weird. When you're 1-10 you probably have bigger problems than a few plays getting stolen in pre-season. How about selling tickets? One way to get the fans excited might be to open up practice and let them see the team develop. Just a thought.

Speaking of practice, I think I'll go tomorrow and take a few pictures of the team in action.

Hometown article on Nate Wright, new OSU RB

A little local article about new RB transfer Nate Wright. It's got a picture of Nate in high school in 2001 and some quotes from Nate. Lots of good background info on where he came from and how he got to OSU.

Charleston, West Virginia :: Sunday Gazette-Mail :: ‘All-State Nate’ has the Wright stuff at Oregon State

Anthony Wheat-Brown ready for a breakout season?

The GT had an interesting article on Anthony Wheat-Brown in Saturday's paper. One thing particular interesting is this little comment:

"Wheat-Brown experienced a growth spurt since last season, adding noticeable lean muscle. He says he feels stronger and faster."

Wow, I hope that's a David Lucas style transformation. Into a prototypical NFL reciever. If he could step up and become the next great reciever at OSU that would be awesome. We need a Newson/Hass type transformation for one of the young guys.

Come on Chaz

Looks like Chaz Scott may be out for the season due to acedemics. He's got until school starts to get in and enroll for Fall term. However, that means he'll probably miss a game or two at best.

Ouch. I thought he would be the next NFL guy from OSU. He may still be, but we could use him on the field.

Here's the story:

Not on the field, and not even in school

First week of practice...what happened?

This is a pretty good little summary of the first week of practice. A few quotes, list of who's out and who's in. A good quick way to get up to speed:

Yahoo! Sports - NCAA Football - Midweek practice update

The Wednesday Register-Guard in Eugene also has a good summary of the Personnel situation in the first week of practice.

The Register-Guard - Oregon State Football Notes

Another article on Beaver Running Game - good quotes

I really like the stories I've seen out of the Mail Tribune from Southern Oregon. Their stories seem to be chock full of quotes from the players. I think that's just really cool.

Beavers seek well-grounded O

Beavers lose Newton to muscle tear

Good lord. Not good news for our brutal pre-season this year. Hopefully he'll only be out 3 weeks to a month and can be back for the start of the Pac-10 season.

Read about it here:

Beavers lose Newton to muscle tear

Welcome Ruben Jackson

Our Wide Recieving core just got a shot in the arm. Ruben Jackson made it into school and should help bolster a WR group that was good last year but lost a key guy in Marcel Love just a few days ago.

He apparently is a really good return man too which is always a place we need some help.

Beavs lose Trent Greener, strength coach

The Beavers lost another member of the coaching staff last week. Trent Greener has moved on to the University of Washington or all places.

New Albany native is new strength coach at U of Washington

Hopefully it's a coincidence that the Beavers resurgence in 1999 coincided with his arrival. Trent had been the strength and conditioning coach since 1999 until last week. Check out the article for more info.

Stories on the Running Game

Some good stories on the new running backs for the Beavs in the GT this last couple of days:

Ready for impact : Fuller plans to play a big role for Oregon State

No more blues for Jimtavis Walker

I think the running game is the key to a sucessful season this year. It is soooo crucial since we have a new quarterback (or two) and were so bad at it last year.

Some good news for the Beavs!

The secondary got a boost as Aaron Miller has gained is eligibility and will start practicing with the team.

Also, the JC running back, Nate Wright, is in school and will be practicing as well. He is apparently very fast and quick. Sweet!

Quick Look at 2005 Beaver Baseball Players in the Pros - Nate Fogle

Three players from the OSU Beavers baseball team that made it to the CWS in Omaha got drafted and are playing in the Minors: Jacoby Ellsbury, Andy Jenkins, and Nate Fogle. Thought I'd check up and see how they are doing.

This week it's Nate Fogle


Nate Fogle, Spokane Indians (Texas Rangers affiliate)

Name	W	L	ERA	WHIP	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H
Nate Fogle	1	0	4.70	1.43	9	0	0	0	0	15.1	12

Stats

Looks like Nate is doing OK in his pro debut. The WHIP (walks + hits / ip) is a bit high for a reliever. You'd like to see that closer to 1.00. The ERA reflects the WHIP in that he's not exactly dominating people. But he's not doing bad either. At least he's getting into a few games.


Some recent articles:

Fogle contributes to triple play

Nate gets his first win against the Eugene Emeralds

Status of OSU Football going into fall camp

Great article in the Corvallis Gazette-Times today. Check out the OSU FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK.

The article details all the guys who may not make it into camp this year and their status, the new signees, the new walk-ons, and everything else you need to know! A must read.