Hard to look at the news and think about anything besides Joe Paterno and Penn State. State College, a town of a little over 42,000 people, is as "small town" and as "college town" as you can get across this country. JoePa wasn't just a sports figure across the US, but he was an icon to this little town, a town where football and university are kings. A father figure to many in his community who dedicated his life to the cause that he loved. Besides just the true sadness of the entire situation, the overwhelming thought that comes into my mind is the same one that props up from time to time as I get older.
Our generations of people, just like our ancestors and future generations to come, will have heroes... people who lead our community through the shadows of dark times through the prosperity of light times. We build them up, place our hopes and dreams in their stead and look for them to provide a compass by which we can steer our ship. The common thread between us is that we are all infallible fallible and even though heroes from all throughout our lives may let us down (as we ourselves let others down), we must not let the hurt of these incidents detract us from striving for morality or helping those that have fallen get back up. We can all be leaders in morality, if only for ourselves.
On to the quack
- While most of the college football world is transfixed on Pennsylvania, people seem to be forgetting about this week's Game of the Century. This week's presentation comes to us from the Pac-12 as Oregon and Stanford play in a Top 10 matchup in this new fangled sport called "football". I can't help but look at how the two teams fared against each other the last two years. In both games, the team has dug itself quite the hole to dig out of. The question becomes: How concerned are you about a slow start on the farm?
- Autzen Zoo is predicting a huge win over the Cardinal this weekend with the Ducks taking it 38-20. I like a track meet in this game similar to 2009 and I think it will be a lot closer than AZ predicts. What do you think on the scores?
- In Volleyball news, the team picked up a trio of awesome recruits in Canace Finley, Martenne Bettendorf and Maddie Mage. Welcome to Duck Nation!
- The wide receiver position has taken some flack this season from fans with the losses of Jeff Maehl and DJ Davis but there is one local product that's happy to have a shot with his hometown team.
- There is an underlying storyline to the Men's Basketball contest on Friday when Oregon takes on the seventh-ranked Commodores of Vanderbilt. Garrett Sim went to Sunset High School and Commodore point guard Brad Tinsley went to Oregon City High School. The two met up in the semi-finals of the state championship tournament during their senior years. The article also references some redshirt options for Dana Altman going into the season. Speaking of Vandy, here's a preview from their perspective.
- Finally, we have an article discussing the virtues of College Football over Professional Football. There are some interesting points but the main item I always point to when comparing the two has to be how each sport deals with their stars. In pro football, the players are always the stars. Brady, Manning, Rivers, etc. In college, the coaches are the real stars. Saban, Miles, Brown, etc. That's what makes college football special to me. The leaders of the teams are the stars, not so much the individual performers.
That's all for the quack today. Remember to hug your kids, call your family members or talk to a friend you haven't spoken to in awhile. Life is short. Go Ducks