Whew! It's over. Or...has it just started?

The 2006 college football season has offically started! The Beavers have recieved 30 commitments from high school and junior college players and now generally know what team they will have going into 2006.

First, we pretty much kept everyone who committed early. We did lose Alex Fa'agai and Alfred Rowe, but from what I understand they were still thinking. We did get one surprise in Danzel Issac and a few of the soft verbals we were concerned about came through and stuck with their commitments. The only guy I wish we would have nabbed is Straiten, the burner WR out of SFCC. We'll be OK at WR though. We got a few in this class and have some good ones already in the program.

Here's the list:

Offical Commit List

Keo Camat        LB   Portland, OR
Brady Camp       TE   Gresham, OR
Howard Croom     TE   Long Beach, CA
James Dockery    DB   Palm Desert, CA
Coye Francies    DB   Sacramento, CA
Geoff Garner     OL   Mesa, AZ
Joe Halahuni     TE   Orting, WA
Tom Hansen       LB   Sacramento, CA
Mitchel Hunt     DT   Tempe, AZ
Danzel Issac     LB   Thatcher, AZ
Casey Kjos       ATH  Middletown, OH
Kaulin Krebs     QB   Kahuku, HI
Keaton Kristick  LB   Phoenix, AZ
Joey La Rocque   LB   Valencia, CA
Gerard Lee       DT   Scottsdale, AZ
Alex Linnenkohl  OL   Olympia, WA
Mana Lolotai     LB   Honolulu, HI
Kyle Loomis      K    Roseburg, OR
Gabe Miller      LB   Lake Oswego, OR
Mau Nomani       OL   Tigard, OR
Timi Oshinowo    OL   Naperville, IL
Ryan Pohl        OL   Honolulu, HI
Clinton Polk     RB   Scottsdale, AZ
John Reese       TE   Upland, CA
Dwight Roberson  LB   Ventura, CA
Keith Robertson  DE   Los Altos Hills, CA
Dorian Smith     DE   Palm Desert, CA
Suaesi Tuimaunei DB   Kahuku, HI
Devin Unga       ATH  Kahuku, HI
Kevin Unga       LB   Kahuku, HI



The Register-Guard already has an article about the OSU Beavers class up online:
Decision day for UO, OSU: Beavers: Oregon State makes a strong push for defensive players

Where to look for signing day info!

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

Only one day left until signing day!

It's coming...

Pac-10 Baseball Preview

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 State

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.

Whoa, that's putting the pressure on.

Here's a USC preview from the Daily Trojan:

Clearing the fence

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.

"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.

Should be a good race in the Pac-10.

Beavers Men's Basketball Have a Tough Road Ahead

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!

A new article from Andy Darkins, OSU football LB

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.

Baseball America article on Oregon State

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.

Article out of Arizona about the Beavers improvement on the road this season

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.

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."

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.

Another early look at 2006 college football

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: 5-6

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

They do have the Beavers down as a team that should be better than last season.

Welcome Gabe Miller!

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 of
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."

Ah yes. Beaver Nation is happy.

The WSU win takes some pressure off

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.

Oregon State Baseball broadcast schedule

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.

Here's the baseball ticket information:

Baseball ticket info.

Single game reserved tickets will go on sale starting February 20th if available.

Beavs land LB Dwight Roberson, other recruiting news

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.

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.

Ventura County Star - St. Bonaventure's Roberson named to All-American team

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 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.

The LA Times - The Times' All-Star Football Team

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.

Also, it looks like 3 of the 4 Kahuku players to commit to OSU may be more of a "soft" verbal as they are going to take trips to at least another school. Looks like the Beavers coaches will have to keep working.

Honolulu Star-Bulletin - Warriors hosting defensive backs

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.

Beavers men's basketball loses tough game to Huskies

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.”

The Oregonian - No. 10 Washington 69, Oregon State 65 Beavers have 28 turnovers in loss

"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."

Well, the Beavers need to take that kind of effort into Pullman and salvage a win. That would set them up to have a chance at post-season.

UW seeks payback

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.

I guess we'll see how the Beavs do without Lamar Hurd and against a Husky team with a lot of confidence. The Beavs need to shoot very well and rebound to win. If the shooting % drops below 50%, the Beavs will lose (barring a total collapse by the Huskies).

Oregon State recruiting news from out of Hawaii

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.

The Beavers have landed three other players from Hawaii recently:

Football commitments - Corvallis Gazette-Times

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.

Those commitments apparently bring the list or verbals up to 26 according to Kerry Eggers.

In case you missed it: Kerry Eggers column had a ton of info

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.”

Some other news and notes:

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.

Oregon State baseball team ranked at the top of the Pac-10 in pre-season coaches poll

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.

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.

Somebody is getting better...

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

Arizona game on Fox Sports Pacific

The Arizona game is televised on Fox Sports Pacific (digital cable channel 415)!

Nice article about Lute Olson from the Register-Guard

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.

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."

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.

Articles from Arizona

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."

www.azstarnet.com - Thursday's scouting report

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

Arizona Daily Wildcat - McClellan adds depth to bench

Arizona game tomorrow night

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.

I must say that I like the new Behind the Beavers Beat blog that's going on over at OregonLive. They have some really good posts most of the time. Now if they could just get their RSS feed fixed...

Behind the Beavers Beat

Here are some shooting numbers that are worth considering as the Beavers prepare to face the Arizona Wildcats on Thursday at Gill.

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.

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.

One thing going against the Beavers in the return of Jawann McClellan to the Wildcats. He's their best outside shooter and could throw a few daggers into the Beavers upset chances. The good news is that it's his first game back and he may not be completely in sync yet.

Corvallis Gazette-Times - Beavers’ task gets bigger

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.”

Well, the Beavers will need all the help they can get. The crowd needs to be loud early and often. Go Beavs!

An EARLY look at the 2006 Pac-10 football contenders

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.

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.

Well, at least he's not counting out the Beavs yet.

Nice football wrap-up from Brooks Hatch

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.

Great win for the Beavers Men's Basketball team!

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.

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.

Man, Marcel really helps out with his rebounding. I don't think we could survive without his help on the glass.

I was very impressed with Jason and Lamar's control of the game and lack of turnovers.

The Oregonian - Oregon State follows road map to victory


Go Beavs!

A Mike Hass draft prep update from the Tribune

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.”

Marcus Vick in new production: Stomp

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.

Nice article on the OSU point guards: Lamar Hurd and Jason Fontenet

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.

Some interesting comments in today's Oregonian article on Beavs

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.

"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.

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.

Another interesting part of the article are some comments by Jeffers:

"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."

...

"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."

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.

One last quote for Trent Johnson, the Stanford head coach:

Stanford coach Trent Johnson agreed that preparing for the Beavers is as tough now as it was when they had Lucas.

"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.

"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."

I hope he's right. We need to start rolling and beating some teams badly.

Oregon State baseball ranked #8 in another preseason poll

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.

Reser Stadium technical underbelly

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.

A look at the Pac-10 after week 1

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!

Beavers lose a close won to Oregon in Eugene

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.

Current Sagarin conference rankings

Heading into the conference season I thought I'd take a look at how the conferences stack up. I like the Sagarin ratings from USA Today. Here's the top-16:

Jeff Sagarin NCAA basketball ratings

CONFERENCE CENTRAL MEAN SIMPLE AVERAGE TEAMS

 1 BIG TEN          = 83.07  82.59  ( 1)   11
 2 ATLANTIC COAST   = 81.93  82.22  ( 2)   12
 3 BIG EAST         = 81.16  81.80  ( 3)   16
 4 SOUTHEASTERN     = 80.85  81.14  ( 4)   12
 5 MISSOURI VALLEY  = 80.39  79.97  ( 5)   10
 6 BIG 12           = 80.04  79.87  ( 6)   12
 7 PACIFIC-10       = 78.70  79.15  ( 7)   10
 8 ATLANTIC 10      = 77.44  77.15  ( 8)   14
 9 MOUNTAIN WEST    = 75.95  76.26  ( 9)    9
10 WESTERN ATHLETIC = 75.82  76.06  ( 10)   9
11 MID-AMERICAN     = 75.54  75.15  ( 11)  12
12 COLONIAL         = 75.05  74.77  ( 12)  12
13 HORIZON          = 74.12  74.20  ( 14)   9
14 WEST COAST       = 74.03  74.75  ( 13)   8
15 METRO ATLANTIC   = 73.36  73.11  ( 16)  10
16 BIG SKY          = 73.29  73.20  ( 15)   8

The Pac-10 is 7th. Not sure how the Missouri Valley conference is 5th. The other surprise is that the ACC is second. Hopefully the low Pac-10 ranking means the Beavers will get to 8 wins again in conference.

Here's the Pac-10 as a whole and how they rank this pre-season:


HOME ADVANTAGE= 4.63     RATING    W   L  SCHEDL (RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 30
 11 Washington          = 88.13   10   0   67.94 ( 322)    0   0  |   1   0
 16 UCLA                = 86.86   10   1   75.73 (  97)    0   1  |   2   1
 30 Arizona             = 84.24    7   3   77.51 (  45)    0   1  |   0   2
 64 Washington State    = 80.70    7   2   71.94 ( 248)    0   0  |   0   1
101 Southern California = 77.89    8   2   68.11 ( 321)    0   0  |   0   0
112 California          = 76.82    6   3   69.80 ( 299)    0   0  |   0   0
124 Oregon              = 76.00    5   5   72.18 ( 240)    0   1  |   0   1
133 Oregon State        = 75.44    6   4   72.72 ( 223)    0   0  |   0   0
155 Arizona State       = 74.34    6   3   68.76 ( 315)    0   0  |   0   0
200 Stanford            = 71.05    4   4   69.03 ( 310)    0   0  |   0   0


Washington at 10-0 doesn't look nearly as impressive when you take into account that they had one of the easiest pre-season schedules in the nation. But I do think they will be good. Meanwhile Arizona and UCLA had one of the toughest, which makes their records all the more impressive. No one else in the conference has any excuses for their average records, including the Beavers. The Pac-10 is only 3-5 against top 30 teams and 0-3 against top-10 teams. Looks like the Pac-10 is a bit down this year.

Some new articles about the OSU baseball

Baseball season isn't here yet, but the buzz around the upcoming season is already starting. I'll mix in some baseball articles as things get closer, but here are a couple of articles to wet your whistle.

First, an article about Tyler Graham and Bobby Pfennigs, an OSU wrestler, from their hometown newspaper.

Great Falls Tribune - CMR graduates find success at Oregon State

Last spring, Graham became the only Great Falls native ever to play in the College World Series. A 14th-round draft choice of the Chicago Cubs, Graham might also be the only Electric City ballplayer to ever turn down a pro contract.

"The Cubs offered a great deal, but I thought coming back I could have a lot better year," said Graham, who hit .307 with 24 RBIs and 21 stolen bases last year at Oregon State. He played leftfield and batted second, but will move to centerfield and hit leadoff this season.

"I know what I have to do to get drafted in a higher round, and I plan to do it," said Graham, who worked out all summer on his strength and speed. "I've put in a lot of hard work already and I'm going to continue to do it."

And the Beavs are ranked #3 in the first preseason poll!

CSTV.com - Preseason Collegiate Baseball Division I Poll

1 Texas          56-16 496 1
2 Florida        48-23 492 2
3 Oregon State   46-12 490 7
4 Nebraska       57-15 489 6
5 Rice           45-19 487 16

Beavers beat Texas-Pan American and look good doing it

Nice win by the Beavers last night. I have definitely seen improvement from the early part of the season. The effort level is higher and the guys are sharper. DeWitz and Fontenet are coming around and Cuic has started hitting his shots. It will be interesting to see if the Beavs can pull off an upset this weekend at Mac court. That would be a huge win.

Articles about the game:

Corvallis Gazette-Times - Beavers secure an easy victory

The Oregonian - Oregon State 78, Texas-Pan American 54 Cuic fuels Beavers off bench to third win in row

Pac-10 Hoops Preview from Tuscon

Here's a nice article from Arizona giving a few pre-season grades on the upcoming Pac-10 men's basketball season starting this week.

Arizona Star - Analysis by Brian J. Pedersen : Preseason tells little, means less

What is the difference between Washington's 10-0 record — its best start in 30 years — and the 4-4 mark Stanford has posted so far? Or between the nine wins in 11 games recorded by USC and the six victories in 11 tries by Oregon?

Absolutely nothing.

The only record that matters now is the one each Pac-10 team has in league play, which for everyone is 0-0 heading into Thursday's openers.
...
Oregon State (6-4): Though still unable to play well outside of Corvallis, the Beavers might have found their go-to guy in senior guard Chris Stephens. He had a monster run at the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu and is shooting great (53.1 on field goals, 92.7 on free throws). Grade: C plus

I think most Beaver fans would generally agree with that grade. Inconsistency has killed them. However, I think Chris Stephens is back after a year taking a back seat to everyone else.

Cheap tickets available for Dec. 28th OSU Men's Basketball game.

The OSU Men's basketball team is in action tomorrow night (Wednesday) against Texas-Pan American. Don't know much about them, but it is the last pre-season game before the Pac-10 gets started this weekend in Eugene.

For those looking to go to the game, check out this deal:

$5 Tickets Available for Dec. 28 Game

Last-minute holiday shoppers have the opportunity to pick up excellent tickets to the Dec. 28 men’s basketball game between Oregon State and Texas-Pan American at Gill Coliseum, as some tickets will be made available for just $5 each.

Because student attendance for the game is expected to be low, these tickets are for general admission seating in section 11 (which is ordinarily student seating).

Tip-off for the game is at 7 p.m. Visit the ticket office in Gill Coliseum or call 1-800-GOBEAVS to place an order.

Come on out and watch the Beavs!

Oregon State football team notes

The Trib has some news on the junior college recruits that Oregon State landed recently during the early JC signing period:

Portland Tribune - Oregon State football

Dorian Smith, a 6-3, 255-pound defensive end who had about two dozen sacks at College of the Desert the last two seasons, should contend for a starting spot. Coye Francies, a 6-2, 195-pound cornerback who had 10 interceptions at American River this fall, should push returning starters Keenan Lewis and Brandon Hughes. Joey LaRocque (6-2, 230), from College of the Canyons, had 11 1⁄2 sacks this fall and is capable of winning a starting outside linebacker job.
Clinton Polk, a 6-2, 220-pound tailback from Scottsdale CC, will provide insurance behind Yvenson Bernard and could see more time than the reserves did last season.
Defensive ends Alex Fa’agai and Keith Robertson of Foothill College are expected to sign with OSU on Feb. 1, the date high school players can do so. Fa’agai should be available for spring practice, but Robertson’s arrival may not come until summer because of academic issues. If that’s the case, he may redshirt next fall.
The Beavers also received a verbal commitment from Tom Hansen, a 6-2, 220-pound high school linebacker from Sacramento, pushing their list of signees or commitments to 21. OSU coaches do not expect to sign Ismail Abdunafi, a defensive tackle from Bakersfield College who told a scouting service last week he was coming to Corvallis.

I'm glad that Dorian Smith already signed. He should be a monster.

Another disconcerting part of the article shows that Lamar is transferring. A week ago he was just thinking about transferring. I still think they should swtich him to RB in an effort to keep him. Or at least WR. I wrote about this a week or so ago: Lamar Herron should change positions to....

Too bad that recruiting is all we have to talk about, but maybe the extra time will allow our coaches to do a better job with it. Go Beavs!

Bowl season is nearly upon us, check out the staduims using Google Maps

I found this site that, has direct links to each stadium site for all the college football bowl games this season. It's a pretty cool use of Google maps.

Check it out:

Stadium NaviGator - Rose Bowl

Look down the right side for all of the bowls this year.

Here's another one:

MergeTek.com - Map of 2005-2006 College Bowl Stadium Locations

It's the season of giving and a local Portland girl needs help.

Read this story about Nikolette Harris and see if there's anything you can do to help. This reminds me a bit of the Austan Pierce story. Read on.

ESPN.com - Message boards spark fundraising campaign

Twelve-year-old Nikolette Harris' favorite sport is soccer. Her favorite college is Oregon State. But as the little girl lays in a Portland, Ore., intensive care unit, fighting leukemia for a third time, her likes and dislikes are quickly starting to change.

That's because of the swell of support she's receiving from college football fans across the country.

Nikolette suffers from acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common cancer found in children. According to the National Cancer Institute, 80 percent of children afflicted with ALL will recover from the disease. But Nikolette has already done this. Twice.

Problem is, Nikolette's body has grown resistant to chemotherapy treatments and she needs a life-saving bone marrow transplant. But the cost to her family -- after insurance -- is expected to top $125,000.

...

But that's nothing compared to what's happening on college football message boards across the country. In a place where most fans gather to complain about play calls, gripe about coaches, gossip about recruiting and trash upcoming opponents, fans have gathered to try and help save a little girl's life.

It all started on the Oregon message board, EDuck.com, where Susan Flad, a longtime Ducks fan, posted a message explaining Nikolette's story and asking for donations. Flad's mother, Betty Holden, was an instructional assistant at Nikolette's elementary school, watching up close as the child battled leukemia as a first- and third-grader.

"I still remember my Mom talking to me [about her] trying to keep from crying as this third-grader explained what chemo was, why she was bald and everything else," Flad said. "So I wanted to help. When I originally tried to gather donations in my office I got a total of five dollars. So I thought I'd give this a whirl."

The idea took off, with Oregon fans donating more than $4,000 in less than a week. Another fan saw the posting and, with the Ducks scheduled to face Oklahoma in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl on Dec. 29, challenged Oklahoma fans to beat Oregon's donations. After 14,000 page views and 225 posts on OUInsider.com, Flad said Sooner fans have raised close to $12,000 for Nikolette.

Check out her website here:
www.curenikolette.org

They have raised about $45,000 so far, but still need more help.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Football Attendance by conference

FanBlogs had a nice post on the Football attendances for each conference in 2005. I'm always interested in how the Pac-10 compares to the rest of the nation.

SEC Leads Nation in Football Attendance : Fanblogs College Football Blog

Conference	G	Total Attendance	Total Capacity	Average	Percentage
SEC	75	5,593,699	5,741,371	74,583	97.43
Big 12	72	4,204,574	4,425,186	58,397	95.01
Big Ten	69	5,007,067	5,333,226	72,566	93.88
ACC	72	3,762,511	4,150,596	52,257	90.65
Pac-10	60	3,448,759	4,063,411	57,479	84.87
Big East	46	1,812,406	2,170,505	39,400	83.50
Mountain West	48	1,693,216	2,154,584	35,275	78.59

In 2005, a total of 5,593,699 fans attended 75 games hosted at SEC institutions, an average of 74,583 fans per game, which is also best in the nation. SEC stadiums were filled to 97.43 percent of capacity for each home game in 2005, which was also best in the nation. The SEC has led the nation in percentage of capacity since the statistic was first kept in 1983.

The question is, who is dragging down the Pac-10?

Stanford with their 50% capacity. Thank goodness they are downsizing. Next worst is UCLA at 70%. That's rough considering the USC factor and the Rose Bowl is huge.

Here's the full list:

Attendance Report

Nice article on a new Beaver volleyball recruit from Salem

For those interested in volleyball (Washington just won the National Championship) here's a story on a local recruit:

StatesmanJournal.com - Cochran rises to the top

The 6-foot-3 Cochran was such a dominating force this year that she was named first-team all-Valley League, the Valley League player of the year, first-team all-Class 4A state tournament, first-team all-state and is the Statesman Journal All-Region volleyball player of the year

OSU Men's Basketball gets a quality win

That was a good win for the Beavs. The guys are starting to look more like they did a year ago. DeWitz dunking and hitting 3's, Fontenet driving and hitting 3's, and Stephens sniping from the outside. Stephens simply pulled them to victory. That's what he used to do two years ago and kinda got away from it last year. He needs to start driving a bit more and trying to make things happen like last night. I think the key was that Stephens got hot and they rode him.

Since I still don't think they have a true #1, but a lot of guy who can score, they need to ride the hot hand. If DeWitz is going off on his man, feed him. Any number of guys could get hot and score in bunches on this team. Stephens, DeWitz, Cuic, Marcel, Tsakarakis, or Fontenet could all score over 20 on a given night. It's about matchups and exploiting the best matchup on any given night.

The defense stepped it up as well and played a bit better. But again the other team was more aggressive on D. Oh well. The Beavs need a really good showing in Hawaii to get some precious wins back in an effort to get to post-season play.

The Oregonian - Beavers cash in on Stephens

Corvallis Gazette-Times - A sorely needed victory

“Today was the first time I was able to say we had a competitive effort for a full game,” John said. “We talk about a buzz word for us, and it’s energy. And at times earlier in the season you wouldn’t see it, a will to win. Today was the first time I saw that collectively in the kids’ eyes, a will to win that won’t be denied.”

Interview with Tim Euhus from Rochester

Here's a little interview with Buffalo Bills tight end Tim Euhus. Tim, an Oregon State star, has become a steady contributor to the Bills. Here's a bit about what he is doing lately.

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle - Bills Q&A: Tim Euhus

What keeps you motivated when you're on a 4-9 team that isn't going to the playoffs?

"To me it's still going to work every day and proving that I belong here. As far as not going to the playoffs, we didn't go last year so it's not like I've had that taste in my mouth. So I'm going to just keep working hard until I can get that taste."

...

Have you had much success on eBay with any great deals or steals?

"I went to Oregon State and we're the Beavers, so my wife doesn't know about it yet, but I just got a beaver pelt that I'm going to hang up next to my college helmet. I just finished refurbishing my basement — my major in college was construction engineering — so I just built the basement and had a blast doing it, and I have a little trophy area down there so I'm going to hang the beaver pelt."

...

What do you think you will do once your football career is over?

"I've thought about that a lot. I'd like to coach high school basketball at some point, whether that's when I'm 35 or I'm 50. I haven't put the idea of coaching tight ends in college out of my mind; I think that would be something cool to do if I get in the right situation. But I'm also not afraid to put to use my degree in construction engineering and maybe get into that industry."

Great job Tim! You represent Oregon State well and you make us proud!

Oregon State Men's Basketball vs. Georgia

The Beaver basketball team is playing in the biggest game of their
preseason today. The Georgia Bulldogs aren't top-25 material yet, but at 7-1 and a strong freshman class they will be a tough opponent.

Beavers Face Georgia at Rose Garden on Saturday

The game will air on FSN at 2:30pm. Technically, it's a home game. But it's at the Rose Garden so who knows which Beaver team will show up.

Some articles around the game:

The Oregonian - OSU remembers a season of basketball glory
Even the fans find it hard to forget when Charlie Sitton and the 1980-81 Beavers were ranked No. 1

The Macon Telegraph - Bulldogs enjoy surprising run

Dawgs return to court: Oregon St on tap

Corvallis Gazette-Times - OSU’s Marcel Jones elevates his game

Lamar Herron should change positions to...

OK, so this is a little old but I wanted to make a comment about it.

Portland Tribune - On Campus

Lamar Herron, a part-time starter at safety and Oregon State’s kickoff return man as a sophomore this fall, is considering a transfer. Herron is upset he lost his starting job to true freshman Al Afalava midway through the season. OSU coaches were considering moving Herron to outside linebacker last fall, but he wants a shot at receiver.

First, I think Lamar is way too good of an athlete to let go. Just from his kickoff returns it's obvious there is some major potential for offensive prowess. Even his high school coach thought his worst position was defense. I've seen a lot of people suggesting that he switch to wide receiver. I say make Lamar a RB. Wide Receiver is much harder than running back. Sure Bernard is at RB, but there are a lot of talented WRs on the team already. Especially if Marcel Love is able to come back next season. WR routes can take a while to learn and not everyone can catch everything.

After watching Lamar return kick offs so well I think he is best when there are people in front of him that he can go around or through. He would be a perfect downhill runner. I think he could be a huge stud a RB. What do you say Coach?

Fall Sports Roundup - How did Oregon State perform this fall?

Beaver sports this fall could be summed up as the slow fade. OSU's football, men's soccer, and women soccer all had hot starts and looked poised for post-season play. However, all faded down the stretch and just missed postseason. The Volleyball team had a successful rebuilding year going 7-11 in conference and 11-13 overall. The womens cross-country team is steadily improving as they finished 12th out of 30 at the NCAA west regional.

Even though the teams didn't perform quite as well and Beaver fans would have hoped, all the teams were very competitive and many individual players stood out. Achedemically, the Beavers fall sports excelled as they nabbed the 4th most number of players on the All-Academic team for the Pac-10. Only Stanford, Cal, and ASU had more than the 37 the Beavers had. That's a lot of players.

Ashland Article - 37 Oregon State University Athletes Named To All-Academic Teams

Individually, there were some great performances this fall season. Here's a look at who excelled on the field or court:

Football:

* Mike Hass: Fred Biletnikoff Award winner (best wide reciever), ESPN.com All-America team, Walter Camp All-America team, All Pac-10 First Team
* Alexis Serna: Lou Groza Award winner (best place kicker), American Football Coaches Association All-American Team, All Pac-10 First Team
* Trent Bray: All Pac-10 First Team
* Keith Ellison: All Pac-10 First Team
* Sam Paulescu: All Pac-10 First Team
* Sir Henry Anderson: All Pac-10 Second Team
* Derrick Doggett: All Pac-10 Second Team
* Jeremy Perry: Pac-10 Co-Freshman of the Year
* Keenan Lewis: Rivals.com All-Freshman second team

Men's Soccer:

* Robbie Findley: NSCAA Far West All-Region first team, All-Pac-10 first team
* Ryan Johnson: NSCAA Far West All-Region second team, All-Pac-10 first team

College football as a business

Very interesting post. College football is starting to look a lot like Major League Baseball.

FanBlogs: BCS Teams' Revenues and
Expenses

BCS Top Teams:

	Total Athletic	Football	Football	Net Football
School	Revenues	Revenues	Expenses	Contribution
Texas	$89.7M	$53.2M	$14.5M	$38.7M
Ohio State	89.7	51.8	25.7	26.1
Georgia	68.8	50.9	12.5	38.4
Notre Dame	57.6	41.8	15.1	26.7
Auburn	50.9	40.6	16.4	24.2
LSU	60.9	39.7	12.1	27.6
Penn State	60.8	33.2	10.7	22.5
USC	60.7	29.3	16.7	12.6
Virginia Tech	45.7	25.3	13.8	11.5
Florida State	39.0	18.3	9.1	9.2
Miami	39.8	17.2	10.7	6.5
West Virginia	35.9	17.2	11.3	5.9
Oregon	40.1	16.8	9.5	7.3

I was interested in how Oregon State stacked up.

The Equity In Athletics Disclosure Website

	Total Athletic	Football	Football	Net Football
School	Revenues	Revenues	Expenses	Contribution
Oregon State	$36.7M	$22.3M	$10.2M	$12.1M

There's some very interesting information in that website. I'd recommend taking a look for yourself. BTW, How did OSU make more money on football than the U of O? Must be the bowl game last year. How does Oregon make so much more money off of the other sports?

Oregon State hoops gets pounded on CBS Sportline

Kind of a weird assessment from Gregg Doyel over at CBSSportline.com. Maybe that's why it's called the morning knee-jerk.

CBS Sportsline: Monday Morning Knee-Jerk: What moron picked Texas?

Best team: Duke. That 97-66 win against No. 2 Texas was reminiscent of Illinois' early season blitzkriegs a year ago. Wow. Everyone who thought Texas was going to win, raise your hand. (It's going to be hard typing the rest of this with one hand.)

Worst state: Oregon. The University of Oregon is a mid-major capable only of beating other mid-majors -- and Oregon State isn't even capable of that. The Ducks were blown out by 30 by Illinois, while the Beavers were crushed at Portland, an ignoble bookend to their earlier blowout loss at Tennessee Tech. Maybe Oregon and Oregon State can meet in the NIT. Assuming either of them can get to the NIT.

His definition of mid-major must be different than mine. If you play in a top league and make it to the NIT, are you a mid-major? Strange. But come on, there's got to be a worse state than Oregon. What about Delaware or something?

OSU Men's Basketball: Another road loss

I missed most of the Portland game last night, but I did see the end of the game. Too bad that's the only part of the game I saw. Portland was hitting every 3 it took and OSU was missing everything they took. Unfortunately, they weren't even taking good shots. They best thing they did was drive and get fouled because I don't think they got a good look in the last 8 minutes.

Here's the problem. They lack a go-to guy. They don't have a #1 scorer. No David Lucas. No Steve Johnson. Not even a Corey Benjamin. They don't have anyone that want the ball down the stretch. Stephens used to be able to be that guy a couple of years ago. I think Marcel Jones could be that guy. But maybe not this year. Cuic has gotten much more aggressive down low, which I like, but he's not hitting shots.

It should be an interesting season. I'm interested to see how Jay John works with this group of guys.

OSU's Mike Hass and Alexis Serna named top players in the country at their positions

Wow. Congrats to Alexis and Mike. It is totally deserved for both players. Plus, Alexis gets two more seasons to get better! Simply amazing guys.

Lou Groza award winner - Alexis Serna

Biletnikoff award winner - Mike Hass

Go Beavs!!!

Statesman Journal - Big night for the Beavers

Corvallis Gazette-Times - Hass, Serna bring home national honors

Both Oregon State players made for feel-good stories. Serna made national news for coming back after missing three extra-points in a 22-21 overtime loss at LSU in his first game as a freshman.

Hass finished his OSU career as the first Pacific-10 Conference player with three 1,000-yard receiving seasons after joining the Beavers as a walk-on who did not draw interest from any Division-I program coming out of Portland’s Jesuit High School.

“Oregon State’s two-for-two,” Hass said. “Me and Alexis are the first players from Oregon State to go to the award show and we both won. It’s not a small program like people make it out to be. It shows that you can come to OSU and win awards like USC and Texas.”

The Oregonian - OSU walk-ons walk off with awards

Hass and Serna's achievements were made even more remarkable by the fact both are former walk-ons who didn't have a single Division I scholarship offer between them. It was the first time in the 15-year history of the ESPN awards that Oregon State had a finalist at the show, let alone two individual winners.

David Lucas signs with Befica in Portugal, and more

The Beavers are not resting on their laurels after the comeback win over UNLV. They understand they need to get better and start playing more consistent. Read on:

Statesman Journal - Beavers moving beyond UNLV comeback win

One of the bright spots this season for the Beavers, in addition to the emergence of Jones, has been the play of fan favorite Liam Hughes.

The 7-foot-3, 320-pound sophomore center has looked like more than just a long-term project. He blocked two shots and scored one point in five minutes of action in the first half of the UNLV game.

"You have to deal with him," John said. "He energizes the whole crowd and he (scored) a point."

David Lucas has found a home in Europe. He'll be playing in Portugal with a couple other Americans.

David Lucas, an all-Pac-10 forward last season who averaged 18.5 points and 7.0 rebounds, signed a professional contract last week with Benfica of Portugal.

"It was the right deal at the right time," said Lucas, who is one of three Americans on the team.

Sports Illustrated's All-America Team

Sports Illustrated released it's college football All-American team. No Oregon State Beavers made the first team, but there were a few mentions.

SI.com - NCAA Football - SI's All-America Team

Second Team and Honorable Mention


Second Team

WR Mike Hass, Oregon State


Honorable Mention

RB Yvenson Bernard, Oregon State
K Alexis Serna, Oregon State

Spotlight articles on Marcel Jones and Jack McGillis

A couple a good articles appeared in the local papers yesterday profiling new scorer Marcel Jones and true freshman Jack McGillis.

The Portland Tribune: Jones rises off bench, energizes OSU offense

Marcel Jones has emerged as a viable offensive go-to-guy in the first few games of the season. Anyone who can stop and pop like he has in the last couple of games should be looking to score on a regular basis. He is a prototypical 3 who is smooth and can hit the outside shot. If he can get better defensively, he will be a starter for the next 3 years.

“Marcel is an offensive-minded player who gives us energy,” OSU coach Jay John says of the Los Angeles native.
...
Jones has been Oregon State’s most consistent player, shooting a team-best .595 from the field and .818 from the foul line. He ranks as the No. 2 scorer with 13.5 points per game and is tied for the team lead with a 6.3 rebound average.

Corvallis Gazette-Times: Beavers glad McGillis waited to sign

McGillis was a late signee who took the place of Kenny Hooks, who left the program in the off-season. He's a tall kid who played QB in high school and is an outside sharpshooter.

“We didn’t know anything about Jack, but when we saw a film on him we really liked the kid and thought he would be a good one for us,” Reinert said. “He’s a good competitor, defends his position well and rebounds. And the one thing he can do really well is stick shots.”
...
McGillis improved steadily as a shooter, averaging 12 points a game as a sophomore, 17 points as a junior and 19.9 his senior year. He was 60 percent from the field and 49 percent from 3-point range that final season.

Clinton Polk commits to football team

Here's an article from the GT about Keston Kristick and Clinton Polk. Two of the newer recruits for coach Mike Riley.

Corvallis Gazette-Times: OSU football team lands two commits

Running back Clinton Polk out of Scottsdale Community College is headed to OSU, according to Scout.com. The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder was a previous OSU recruit out of Phoenix’s Desert Vista High, but spent his first three seasons at the junior college.

Latest Beaver Recruits

Two new signings over the last week or so. Some much needed DE help and another good looking LB to get in the pipeline. Marquez Herrod looks especially good on the d-line. I think he could be very special here at OSU.


Keaton Kristick

Scout.com - Keaton Kristick

Article on Kristick
Tucson Citizen - Football Playoffs: 'Huge' drive lifts Lancers to win

...
A 3-yard TD run by Eafon with 1:13 left in the third quarter had given the Lancers a 10-7 lead, but St. Mary's took the kickoff at its own 31 and burned eight minutes on a 17-play drive behind the bruising running of Kristick, a 6-foot-3, 225-yard fullback.
...
"I have a lot of trust in my coach, and whatever decision he mades, I approve of that," Kristick said. "I really respect coach Farrell."

Marquez Herrod

Scout.com profile - Marquez Herrod

North County Times - San Pasqual's Herrod commits to Oregon State

"He cares about graduation rates. He wants his players to get their degrees. He promised to take care of me, make me part of the Oregon State family, and I need that."
...
Herrod said the promise of playing time his freshman season also had a lot to do with his choice.

"They need defensive ends," Herrod said. "They told me that because of the numbers, I'll get a chance to play defense as a freshman, and if not, then certainly special teams.
...
"they're a young team, a team that's building for the future. So there are opportunities for young players. I really feel I'm getting in on something good."

Another couple of nice articles on Marquez:

North County Times - Once down and out, foster child Herrod is making a name and a future for himself at San Pasqual

UNION-TRIBUNE - Football helps Herrod leave past behind

Oregon State football assistant Robin Ross leaves to coach Western Washington

The Robin Ross era at OSU ended before it really got going. The linebackers coach, Robin Ross, has left OSU to take his first head coaching job at Western Washington. Ross was heavily involved in recruiting as well, so coach Riley will have to find someone dynamic to replace him.

Here's the article:

The Bellingham Herald - Western picks Ross

Beavers men's hoops make nice comeback to beat UNLV

Finally, the team is looking like they may be ready for the season. Specifically, the seniors Jason Fotentet and Nick DeWitz look like they are starting to play with confidence and no so tentatively. Plus, Cuic is looking like a real post player with strong moves to the basket instead of the fade-aways he shot last season. Lastly, Marcel Jones needs to continue to look for his shot because he is one of the best offensive weapons we have. I'm very impressed with Marcel.

Some thoughts:

* It seems like the book on the Beavers is to play them very physically. They seem to get rattled with pressure defense and very physical defense. They need to get over that. Luckily the refs were calling fouls this game so the Beavs could sort or stay close until they started hitting shots in the second half.

* The guards need to make something happen early. Drive and dish. Drive and pull up for a shot. I want to get it into the post too, but early in games the guards seem like they aren't totally into the game yet. Against UNLV when they started driving, we started scoring.

Game stories:

Corvallis Gazette-Times - Beavers get the point, win

"It was really emotional at the end,” Fontenet said. “I’m not going to say any names, but a couple guys on the team crying. I saw coach (Kevin) Mouton crying. It was guts and heart."

The Register-Guard - Better effort brings OSU back from blowout brink

The Oregonian - Big second-half rally saves Beavers

Article on Calvin Hampton: Men's Basketball big man

Here's a look at Calvin Hampton from the Gazette-Times. From what I've seen he will be a good one in a year or two. Too bad he isn't red-shirting.

Corvallis Gazette-Times - Hampton learning on the fly

“We saw tremendous upside in him, with the ability to be a pretty good player after some hard work,” assistant coach Kevin Mouton said. “You can’t coach 6-10. And not many kids that size can jump like him.”

...

Previous coaches just sent him out to cause havoc. He didn’t enjoy shooting or rebounding. The only thing he liked was blocking shots.

“I got stuck in that and it became a problem,” Hampton said. “I didn’t develop skills. I was just out there. I didn’t have the rebounding and scoring mentality after that. That kind of damaged me. That’s why it’s hard to get acclimated to the system. It seems like I’m not getting it, but its just so much of a struggle that I’m so stuck in my old ways.”

...

“He’s a sponge and he’s learning,” Mouton said. “We’re excited how quickly he’s picking it up. He’s going to fit perfectly into our puzzle. He’ll do anything for anybody, and I really respect the kid for his work ethic.”

For being a guy who just blocks shot, he has great balance and even the start of some good moves. He's closer in his shooting accuracy than Jeffers was when he first got here from what I've seen in limited action. I'm hoping for some good things from Calvin.

Beaver Men's Basketball news

Beaver Basketball has a semi-big game coming up against UNLV on Saturday at 2pm. It is televised on FSN NW. So here's the latest news coming out of the men's hoops program this week:


The Beavs lose another player to injury. Michael Johnson is out for season with a broken foot. To add to the pain, Jeffers is hurt with a sprained knee.
Corvallis Gazette-Times - Johnson breaks his foot

Jay has the team working harder in practice. Time to lay the groundwork for a successful season, eh?
The Oregonian - OSU hopes harder practices will adjust attitude
Corvallis Gazette-Times - John creates a tougher practice

Jay John has his own website now.
OSUBeavers.com - Jay John Website

And he got a contract extension for 5 years.
SI.com - John gets contract extension


Go Beavs!