Well, as I am sure you have all noticed the upgrade was completed this morning -- and relatively painlessly, as far as I can tell. 

As has been the case lately, there's not a lot out there this morning.  The Portland Tribune does have a feature piece on Garrett Sim that is a good read.  Sim also stars on the track team for Sunset High as a triple and long jumper.  And, those skills appear to translate well to the basketball court as the 6'1" Sim can apparently throw down a windmill and a 360.  Not too shabby.

Moseley posted a few days ago about a former Oregon associate selling off their Holiday Bowl ring.  It sold for over $700. It appears the ring was bought by someone who deals in sports rings rather than an Oregon fan, which is unfortunate.

Finally, Moseley breaks down Bellotti's contract today in the Register-Guard, and includes how much a few of the other Pac-10 coaches are making.  Of the coaches listed, Bellotti makes significantly less than Carroll and Tedford, but more than Riley (and what Dorrell earned).

First, I wanted to take a second to congratulate the track team, for winning their second Pac-10 Title in a row.

Second, I want to address the changes that are coming.  Many of you know that SBN has moved to a new blogging platform.  Most of our sites are already there, and we're looking at converting the remaining sites this week.  AtQ will be undergoing its conversion on Thursday, May 22nd.  Sometime on that day, there will be an extended downtime, after which the site will now be on SBN 2.0.

The long and short of it is that 2.0 rocks.  Lots of features that you will grow to love.  The bad news is that you will have to reregister for the site--but this new login will work for all SBN sites.  Remember, it takes like 20 seconds, so I hope that everyone will reregister.  If you haven't seen 2.0 yet, check out some of my favorite SBN blogs like Blazer's Edge or Lookout Landing.

We'll have more on those changes as they take effect, and you won't notice many of them until football starts.  But they will make this place 100% better.

GO DUCKS!!!

--Dave

Well, it's another boring week, and these should be commonplace for quite a while.  Here's what is around:

Max Unger was added to the Rimington trophy watch list.  He should have been added a while ago, but was somehow overlooked, but that mistake has been fixed.

There's also a good profile on Maarty Leunen from Draft Express.com.  It takes a good look at how his skills will translate into the NBA game.  I think that he could end up with a solid career if he ended up on the right team, in the right situation, like Kyle Korver in Utah this year.

Around the Pac-10, UCLA and USC are getting a bit pissy after Slick Rick used "spoof" video against USC in recruiting.  Oh how entertaining it is to have Rick Neuheisel back in the conference.

Also, ASU is cutting a 3 sports for budgetary reasons: wrestling, swimming, and tennis.  This is despite ASU's significant success in wrestling over the past 25 years.  I guess we're not the only ones who can complain about sports cuts.

GO DUCKS!

Well, not a whole lot of interesting Duck news out there (besides Dave announcing he's jumped off the college football playoff bandwagon - ugh).  Here's what's been happening over the last day or two.

There's been a lot published about the NCAA academic standards and how Oregon (and the rest of the Pac-10 have fared).  The only thing of interest (in my opinion) is that Derrick Jones may end up costing the Ducks a scholarship next year, as Moseley notes in his blog.  Basically, the Ducks need to have a four year average of 925 to avoid the loss, which means next year they need a score of 931.  For reference, they have scored a 934 and 931 in the last two years, so it seems like they have a decent shot of avoiding the penalty.

Also, in case you've missed it, Moseley has been doing the Writer's Block segment this week with Schroeder out of town.  Each day's segment can be found on the sidebar of his blog, and they are all worth checking out.

Finally, there were a couple of interesting articles in the Oregon Daily Emerald yesterday.  First, Kevin Hudson has a feature on walk-on wide receiver Elvis Akpla.  In other news, the Athletic Department is apparently going to start distributing student tickets online for football and men's basketball.  Also, there will be a set allotment of tickets for each class, with upperclassmen getting larger shares.  The tickets will also be associated with an ID card with students being penalized for obtaining a ticket and then not using it.

Yes, it is that time of year.  The absolute worst time of the college sports calendar.  There is literally nothing happening.  The top story at Duck Sports news right now is about Kevin Coster's band.  Just let that sink in a little bit.

About the only decent thing to come out lately is Jay's post over at the Duck Sports News blog on the whole Oregonian/Phil Knight series.  If you haven't seen his post, check it out.  Jay says pretty much everything that I am thinking about this nonsense.  Also, for another good rebuff at this affront to journalism, check out Dave's piece a while ago, which is still applicable today.

One thing that I would like to add all this is that Canzano and the Oregonian argue essentially that the University should not accept money that has any stipulations on it, as this is giving control to Phil Knight.

But this is absolutely preposterous.  It is very tough to argue that Knight does not have a lot of influence at the University of Oregon.  He has a very large amount of influence.  But to equate this with harm to the university is not even logical.  We must look at every situation and figure out the good and the bad that came from that.  Unfortunately, this was nowhere to be seen in the coverage.  It was sensationalist nonsense and poor journalism.

Furthermore, looking at this objectively, isn't this how the world works?  Any time that someone puts money into anything, be it business, politics, whatever, they gain some level of access/control over that entity.  Look at shareholders in a company:  The more money that someone has invested in a company, the more control they have.  The same is true in this situation.  Phil Knight has the ability to give money, and put stipulations on that money.  With the amount of money he has given to the University, in both athletics and academics, he has effectively become a significant shareholder in the University.  

This fact alone is not problematic.  Anytime money is involved, there is a chance for corruption, etc.  However, I don't believe this is happening.   There is no evidence of this going on, and the University has been nothing but transparent over the entire relationship, which I think we can all appreciate.  Money and its influence are a part of life.  But I believe the University is doing its best to be honest and open about what's going on.  It's not like we're an SEC school.  We've had no donor involved NCAA violations, and to my knowledge, have never come close to flirting with that line.

I believe that all parts of the University are better off due to Phil Knight.  If all of Knight's donations were taken away, every part of the University of Oregon would be worse off, and any sane person would agree with this.  

I am really getting tired of this same old junk coming from the Oregonian.  I don't usually get my sports news or opinions from the Oregonian, and this will decrease even more, as this affront to journalism continues.

Sorry, I just haven't had a lot of time for blogging lately.  Just because you're moved in to the house, doesn't mean the work is really done.

I'll resume posting regularly as soon as humanly possible, but it looks like it may be sparse for another week or two.  Sorry, real life comes first.

In the meantime, will someone get Canzano off Phil's ass?  

After the Masoli news yesterday, there wasn't a lot out there this morning.  Moseley has another article in today's Register-Guard on the newest Oregon QB, which includes some thoughts by Bellotti.  In particular, Bellotti commented on the fact that the starting QB position is still undecided:

Moseley also reports that Masoli will be in Eugene in June to begin taking classes and participate in voluntary conditioning.  

In other news, Moseley also states in his blog that Bellotti had no comments on the transfer of Na'Derris Ward, which Moseley believes is an indication that things are not yet finalized.

Finally, Cory McCartney of SI.com lists LeGarrette Blount as one of the Spring's biggest winners.  (h/t to Moseley for the link)

As always, feel free to post any other interesting links that I either missed or come up later in the day to the comments.

Go Ducks!

Well, it looks like JC QB Jeremiah Masoli will sign with Oregon.  According to Scout.com, he would have been rated the number one JC QB going into next season.   Because he was a full qualifier out of high school, he's able to transfer after one year -- which means he has four years to play three.  While Moseley thinks he immediately enters the competition to start next year, Rickert thinks the Ducks may try to red shirt him unless they need him.  Again, I have to believe that this is at least a partial indictment of the current QB situation.  I like the fact that Oregon is getting looked at by the top dual-threat QB recruits -- but, if Costa wasn't injured and if Roper hadn't looked inconsistent through the spring drills (and with the presence of Thomas and Harper) I think there would have been less interest on Oregon's part.  And, I think this is supported by Bellotti's statement that he would prefer to have five QBs on the roster in the fall.  There were already six this spring before Masoli, which seems to indicate that there will be redshirts and/or position changes in the works.  

This is a few days old, but Moseley predicts the two-deep heading into fall camp.  The biggest surprise is seeing Crenshaw listed as #2 at RB over Blount, though Moseley does say that it  is "close, if not even."  

Since Dave handled a bit of the draft round-up, there isn't a whole lot going on today.  And unfortunately, that will probably continue for some time.  We are entering the longest 4 month stretch of the sporting season, and boy, August cannot come soon enough.  Baseball, though a nice diversion, just doesn't cut it for me.  At least next year Oregon will have a baseball team to follow.

So, with that, lets hate on the Pac-10, Big 10, and Rose Bowl.  Another article just come out regarding the "plus-one" system that has been talked about to some degree or another, and the author of this piece flat out states that if not for the Rose Bowl, we would be on our way to some sort of playoff.  Also, a few days ago, another columnist claimed that college football was being held hostage by these 3 entities.

I do not disagree with either of these articles.  The second, especially, makes a great case for the elitism and greed of the Rose Bowl, Pac 10, and Big 10.  I can't really say it any better than the authors here.

But to me, the icing on the cake is that in the name of "tradition," quality football gets thrown out the window.  Last year, we were subjected to USC/Illinois (which I refused to watch).  It was a pathetic game, with a team that only got in because of its conference affiliation.  No other BCS bowl would have taken Illinois.  This was done purely because, hey, the Rose Bowl needs a Pac 10 and Big 10 team.  This was done despite possibility of having a Georgia/USC Rose Bowl.  

Screw tradition, I want to see the best football possible.  As a Pac 10 fan, I feel cheated.  I would much rather play in a different bowl game and play a good football team than go to the Rose Bowl and play a team like Illinois.  This type of blind following of tradition does a disservice to both players and fans.

This isn't even about a playoff or bowl system.  It's about two conferences and a bowl game deciding to have a bad football game for the sake of tradition.  And that its one of the most ridiculous, asinine things I've seen.  No wonder the Pac 10 gets such horrific bowl games.

GO DUCKS!

Okay, so I am all moved and got the internet hooked up today.  I'll start posting again tomorrow with our review of the Michigan game last year.

Congrats to J-Stew, Dennis, and Geoff Schwartz.

I'm espeically excited for Dennis, whose badassery is completely unparalled.

--Dave