Today, I head back to where my love of all things green and yellow began. My sister-in-law is looking at going to the University of Oregon in the Fall of 2013 and tomorrow is her tour. She's also going to be looking at Oregon State, probably the Arizona schools and maybe some others. Have some good insider comments to share on why UO would be a great choice? Post them below addressed to Jayme and I'll be sure to pass them along.
- With all of the talk about how the BCS is dissolving into a much better, more fair playoff system, the Wall Street Journal takes us back a few years to see who would be getting screwed under the proposed 4-team playoff. The article mentions how our Oregon Ducks, ranked 5, would have been behind Stanford last year and left out of the playoffs. Ultimately, I'm tending to lean more and more towards an 8-team playoff. Playoffs of most any type would be an improvement but I have far less of an issue with the #9 team getting screwed rather than the #3 team.
- Bill Connelly of SB Nation takes a look at the expectations for Oregon in 2012 in comparison to 2011. The short version? On paper, the two teams seem quite similar and we could be looking at another special season.I just haven't been able to get a good read on the team up until this point and with practices in the fall being closed (most likely), I may not know how to feel until after the opening game. True to form, I get more nervous and concerned the closer to the season we get. We may be favored in nearly all of the games we play but there is a reason why Vegas doesn't decide winners. Well, at least in College Football. Their thing is more boxing.
- Lots of debate recently on the blog about whether the Freshman transfers for men's basketball would end up costing Dana Altman his job. An angle that I don't remember coming up was how the transfers would affect the Academic Progress Rate (APR). As Ernie Kent's stellar years come off the books, the average is decreasing overall and the Freshman transfers will continue to affect it negatively. The program is probably facing a warning about academics after the next year as a result. For reference, the 4-year average for men's basketball is last in the Pac-12.
- Always a fashion trend, reports are that a pro dirt racer has adopted the Oregon Rose Bowl Helmet for his uniform.
- Friend of the blog, and Oregonian News Room Superman Ken Goe has a wonderful story up about how the City of Eugene, UO and Nike revived Track Town USA. This is a great piece by Goe and is a must read. Vin Lananna has his sights set on hosting the World Championships in Eugene, an event that has NEVER been held in a United States city. The US Olympic Trials have started and here's some background.
And finally, the song that is taking the world by storm. This is how I act when I hear that football is coming soon.