SB Nation User Blog: Addicted to Quack

semi-OT: What Should We Do With the Coliseum?

Addicted to Quack — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:53:03 -0000

The blog wars have started:

http://demolishthecoliseum.blogspot.com/

http://savethecoliseum.blogspot.com/

I'm curious what everyone thinks about this, as many Portlanders are very vocal about not getting rid of the old building. It would require a costly renovation to make it useful long term.

In full disclosure, I wrote the article on the top link, but I write this here because I just don't want to rewrite it. I'm honestly cuirious what most of you think of this, but know that postingon Oregonlive will devolve into name calling and insults. The news seems to only be reporting the anti-redevelopment crowd, so I'm curious to investigate the issue for myself.

Why do you want to keep or get rid of the Coliseum? And if we keep it, what should we do with it?

Dave's Weekly Thoughts.....

Addicted to Quack — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 05:16:11 -0000

On LeGarrette Blount being reinstated........

Everybody knew this was going to happen. Very nice that it happened before spring drills. Don't worry about Blount, he's literally got millions riding on this season. He won't screw it up.

On Paul Westhead being named coach of the women's team.......

At first, I was really surprised by the move. I mean Westhead's what, 70 years old? Can he really be here for more than three or four years? But the more I think about it, the more I like it. He's obviously a very good coach (having won both NBA and WNBA titles), but, just as importantly, he makes me want to watch a women's basketball game. Bring the run and gun to the womens team? I'll tune into a game or two and see how it goes. That's the genius of the move. Westhead is about as big a name as you can get. People will tune in to see how this team does. If it fails, you're hardly in worse shape than you are now. But if it works, and this team wins and draws big crowds, when it comes time to replace Westhead in a few years with a big fan base, winning team, and brand spanking new arena, you an go after a really marquee name at that time, and have a good shot and landing them.

On not yet knowing the fate of Ernie.......

I have no problem with Kilkenny taking his time on this. Its a huge decision. As I've said, it'll be hard to fault him either way. You know that you will have highs again if you keep Ernie. You also know you need more consistency to fill that new arena each and every year. My gut tells me that Kilkenny's decision will ultimately be based on whether he thinks Mark Few will come here or not. This would seem to be the only logical reason for the delay in information as he waits for Gonzaga's season to end. This is a real mess, and I'm not sure either decision is right or wrong. However, I find myself leaning more toward the keep Ernie side in the last few days. He's a good guy, graduates his players, and gets us those high highs. Plus, what he's done for the program has earned his something. But, damn, the lows are painful.

On Larry Scott being named new Pac-10 Commissioner.......

I know some of you are giving him a hard time because he was head of the WTA. However, he is saying all the right things, especially regarding our horrible, lousy, no good TV contract. This is a guy who recognizes the importance of exposure. I have no doubt that TV contracts and bowl arrangements will approve. Plus, Tom Hansen is being replaced, and that can't be a bad thing, can it?

On Portland getting MLS.......

Not Duck related, and I've only watched one soccer game in my life. But I find myself incredibly excited. I can get into anything if I've a team. Also, great job to get a sport while its on the cheap. I really think MLS is about to blow up, and this was a great opportunity for Oregon. I've already got Timbers fever. However, I know nothing about soccer. Can anyone loan me a copy of Soccer for Dummies?

--Dave

Dave's Weekly Thoughts......

Addicted to Quack — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:18:14 -0000

So I haven't been around much. As much as part of me wants to be a regular contributor, I find myself not wanting to isolate myself from my family for an hour everyday to write an article. But, once a week--now that's doable (and thanks to the several emailers who have asked for more of me). So once a week, I'll have Dave's Weekly Thoughts, where I post my thoughts on the week's Duck News. Here is the first installment:

On Mike Bellotti's Resignation........

Yeah, I really didn't see this one coming this year. Next year, the schedule lines up beautifully, and I thought that MB would go for one last shot at that magical season. I'll greatly miss Mike as our head coach. But we all knew Mike wasn't the kind of guy who was going to coach until he was an old man, and now he can have a comfy, plush AD job for as long as he want. He gets to be a Duck for life, collect a handsome paycheck, and not have the stress involved with being the head coach. And he's earned it. He'll be a fantastic AD. As for our football program, I think its in good hands. Bellotti to Kelly should be a seamless transition. We're fortunate to have two great coaches in our program.

On Bryce Brown going to Tennessee.......

Good riddance. I'm leery of kids like this. He a drama queen, a malcontent, and even his high school coach thought he was a pain in the ass. He's already got a quasi-agent, and only cares about his NFL future. Like Terrelle Pryor, I don't really like these kids that drag out the recruiting process and make a spectacle of the whole thing. He's got recruiting violation written all over him, and its just as good that he's not coming. Plus, its not as if we're hurting at running back. Best of luck to the kid, but I'll gladly let someone else take the risk there.

On Bev Smith's firing.......

So I messed up a few weeks ago when I said she was getting a free pass. My bad, and thanks for calling me out on it. But, yea, good for Kilkenny for making this move. One NCAA appearance in eight years is simply not good enough.

On Ernie Kent's future......

I still see both sides of this issue, and will be comfortable whichever way PK goes on this. That said, I sure love to watch a team that is fundamentally sound for a change, one that actually plays defense and runs an offense thats not shoot a three and pray it goes in.

On Men's Indoor Track winning the National Title.......

Congrats, but all the NCs in the world aren't going to make me care about track. Plus, there's something inexplicably annoying about Galen Rupp.

On Duck Hoops' season being over......

Thanks God. That puppy needed to be put down long ago.

Au Revoir

--Dave

Why Does Bev Smith get a Free Pass?

Addicted to Quack — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:23:23 -0000

There has been much debate about the future of Ernie Kent both on this site, and among Duck fans everywhere. I've publicly stated that I understand both sides of the issue, and won't be too upset with either scenario--whether it be Ernie Kent staying another season, or Ernie Kent being shown the way out. I stop and wonder, however, why women's head coach Bev Smith isn't being held to the same standard. Some of it has to do with the popularity and importance of men 's hoops versus women's hoops, no doubt. However, continuing to employ Bev Smith as women's basketball coach is both antithetical to the athletic department's philosophy, as well as harmful to the long term health of the women's basketball program. With Ernie Kent, there have been very low lows, but also very high highs, and no one can dispute that he has helped our program reach another level. Bev Smith, on the other had, has been consistent--consistently mediocre.

I don't pretend to know what transpired back in the 2000-01 season that resulted in Jody Runge resigning the position. I do know that eight players asked that she be fired. Clearly, she had lost her team, and was no longer in position to be a leader of the basketball program. However, she had made the NCAA tournament for eight consecutive years. Women's basketball in Eugene was actually fairly popular, and while asking for eight consecutive NCAA berths was a bit much to ask of a new coach, certainly to be one of the better programs in the conference on a consistent basis wasn't. In that task, Smith has been a failure.

She has made the NCAA tournament only once in those eight seasons. Only twice has she taken the team past the first round of the Pac-10 tournament. And the team is a loser again this year, losing to such powers as Montana and South Dakota State. Smith took what was arguably the second best program in the Pac-10, and has it firmly entrenched in the bottom three.

The athletic department has not put up with terrible programs lately, even in non-revenue sports. Our softball and volleyball teams were inarguably the worst in the conference, and we shelled out the dough to get some of the best coaches in America to fix them (Kathy Arendsen and Jim Moore). When wanting our track and cross country teams to return to past glory, we got the best coach in America, Vin Lananna, and promptly have won two national titles. When getting a baseball team, we weren't willing to accept mediocrity, and went out and got a top five coach in George Horton. And we know that in Mike Bellotti and Chip Kelly, our football program is in good hands.

Pat Kilkenny will have a tough choice in making a decision on Ernie Kent's future. Bev Smith's future should be much more obvious. In eight seasons as women's basketball coach, she has done nothing. Perhaps there should be more outrage over that.

Series Preview: Oregon at St. Mary's Gaels

Addicted to Quack — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:35:28 -0000

Oregon Ducks at St. Mary's Gaels (4 game series)

Louis Guisto Field, Moraga, California

Pitching Matchups:

Friday, Feb. 20--2:00 PM Tyler Anderson (LH) vs. Brian Justice (RH)

Saturday, Feb. 21--11:00 AM Erik Stavert (RH) vs. Scott Schnieder (RH)

Saturday, Feb. 22--2:30 PM Bennett Whitmore (LH) vs. TBA

Sunday, Feb. 23--1:00 PM Madison Boer (RH) vs. Anthony Aliotti (LH)

Game Notes:

Ducks | Gaels

So Dave announces his return almost a month ago, and doesn't follow that piece up until now? What gives with that? Well, my basketball season is up after today, which means more time for blogging. Usually, I'm pumped up this time of year as pitchers and catchers report for spring training, meaning my Mariners are only a few short weeks away from beginning the season. However, there is reason to start watching baseball in February now as, for the first time in 27 years, the Ducks will play a Division 1 baseball game today.

Following the Ducks will be sort of a work in progress as the season goes on. We don't know our players yet. I couldn't tell you what pitches Erik Stavert throws, or how patient a hitter Caleb Tomassini is. But part of the fun will be learning this team and watching it develop. We also don't know a whole lot about our opponents as, other than a few OSU games in the College World Series, not many of us have seen a whole lot of college baseball (its not on TV much, and the fact that we will get 13 games on CSN is a ton compared to what a lot of other teams have availiable). So, yes, it will be a learning process for us all but, hey, anything to take our minds off of what will soon be a 1-17 basketball season (God, we'd better beat the Beavers).

What I definitely don't have is any expectations. I know Coach Horton think we could get into the playoffs, and has assembled some real talent here in just the first season, but, to me, it is wholly unrealistic to think that a school that hasn't fielded a squad for three decades is going to come in and do great things in the toughest conference in America. It would be great if it happens, and I hope it does, but you chances are you won't have any fun this season if you have those kind of expectations (and, realistically, few do). The most likely scenario is that we finish dead last in the Pac-10. However, if we look competitve, win a few games, and beat the Beavers once or twice, that's great. Anything above that is icing on the cake.

Tyler Anderson will throw the first pitch for the Ducks today. He is a true freshman who throws four pitches, among them a fastball that tops out at 89, but with excellent control, and a 'wicked' slider that is very tough on lefties. He will go up against Brian Justice, who led the Gaels last year with a 5.12 ERA (which should tell you something about their pitching staff).

And after Justice, it gets even thinner for St. Mary's, as two of their weekend starters are guys who were infielder last year, and the fourth starter is TBA. I'm especially interested in Sunday starter Anthony Aliotti. With Aliotti, you know that his defense is going to let hm down sometime during the game </bad joke>.

Whatever, St. Mary's lacks in the pitching staff, though, they make up for it with their bats. Infielder Kyle Jensen was a second team All-American last season, hitting an impressive .421 with 13 homers and 52 RBIs. He's the best hitter in the WCC this season, and someone that could definitely hurt us. Aliotti (as an infielder) and outfielder Justin Lazio were also All-League players last season, hitting in the high .370.

However, with lack of production from the mound, the Gaels were a .500 team last season, and are expected to finish 7th in the WCC this year. Its a very winnable series to start the season, and doing that would give this team a lot of confidence moving forward.

For the first time in my lifetime, I will get to experience an Oregon baseball game. Its going to be a fun season.

Griffey --> Atlanta?

Addicted to Quack — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 20:21:24 -0000

Looks like we're not the only ones courting Junior. Atlanta is also after him, and would have to let him play OF in the National League.

Whether you're a Griffey fan or not, the fact of the matter is that somebody has to DH. It could be Wlad, Clement, or (God forbid), Johjima, but it looks as if the organization wants Clement to catch, isn't a fan of Wlad, and we really don't want Kenji DHing, so at this point, its Junior or Garret Anderson, and Junior is clearly the superior option.

Money being equal, I don't think he would choose Atlanta over Seattle, because he seems to want a storybook ending. But it could bump Junior's price up a bit.

Andruw Jones --------> Rangers

Addicted to Quack — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 19:56:52 -0000

Per WWL

If he continues to K in half his at bats, it won't matter that he plays in a bandbox. Coming off two bad seasons, its likely that he's done at 31, which is kind of sad, but whatever.

Its a minor league deal, though, and there is no risk to Texas. No harm in bringing him into camp to see if he's got anything left. Thankfully, Bill's no longer our GM, otherwise we'd have signed him to a 3/31 deal touting our new 'superstar' centerfielder.

We Call Your Willie Bloomquist and Raise: Cede Grass Creek Now!

Addicted to Quack — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 03:34:33 -0000

Mike Sweeney is a Mariner!

A legendary Royal. Second all-time in Royals home runs. Third all time in batting average. Fifth in RBI. So badass that he twice hit over .400 and had 83 home runs in one season! Yes, your attempts to break the spirit of all Mariner fans by stealing such Mariner legends as Gil Meche, Jose Guillen, and Willie Bloomquist were a crushing blow to all Mariners fans in Grass Creek. But this response will shake Royals Nation like an atomic bomb. Only signing the great George Brett would shake the souls of Royals fans more than this bombshell.

Its now a formality. Why even bother. Grass Creek, Wyoming is Mariners country!

We're No. 10! What Do We Do With Our Coach? And I'm Back (Sort Of)

Addicted to Quack — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 16:39:01 -0000

Yes, I'm pulling an MJ.

After two months of retirement, the writing bug has started to itch again so, with a big thanks to Jared, I'm back on the keyboard and ready to go. Jared is our fearless leader now--I just the humble writer. My sanity is much better that way (plus, Jared is doing a better job than I ever did--Great job, Jared). But enough about Jared and I--lets get to 1,000 pound gorilla in the corner of the room:

Our basketball teams sucks. I'm talking epically bad. And its getting worse, not better. What are we going to do with our coach?

This isn't a fire Ernie post. Some are calling for that, and it's hard to say that they are not justified: Our record stands at 6-13, including a flawless 0-7 conference record. Even more deserving is that we are moving in the wrong direction, having some good moments early (How on earth did we beat Alabama and Kansas State?), while looking flat out incompetent as of late (all conference losses save UCLA were by double digits--and we lost to UCLA by nine). We are the worst team in the conference, and its not even close. At this point, you have to wonder if, not when, we'll win a game. The team isn't good at anything. The key veterans--Joevan Catron and Tajuan Porter--are significantly worse than they were earlier in their careers. And the freshmen aren't improving. Sure, they could still turn around and win 4-5 conference games, but there are zero signs of that happening.

Now, nobody held any grand illusions about this season. Nobody in their right mind expected this to be a tournament team. We knew they would struggle a lot at times. But we didn't expect they'd struggle all the time. Its a season that has clearly spiraled out of control. Now, we don't need to tell Ernie Kent that this performance is unacceptable, because I can tell you he's losing more sleep over it than any of us are.

But does Coach Kent deserve to be fired because of this?

Detractors would point out what I have above, and add that he's not the best strategist nor teacher of the game. His great seasons have all come with mature NBA talent (Freddie, Luke, Luke and Aaron Brooks). And he has never coached a good defensive team nor a competent big man.

I have always been an ardent Ernie supporter. And I have always pointed out the undeniable record. For a program that was basically garbage for sixty years, Ernie turned things around. He is the school's winningest coach. He has consistently been able to recruit top tier talent to an outdated, falling apart facility. He has been to five NCAA Torunaments and two Elite Eights.

I have also said that what makes Oregon unique from other athletic departments is that we are like a family. Bellotti and Kent have been our coaches seemignly forever. Both have had unparalleled success. We always want our famiily to be successful. No doubt, the best outcome is for our basketball program to be successful with Coach Kent. And his success has earned him some benefit of the doubt.

But has he earned this much?

I have said everything this season except fire Ernie. And even at this dark juncture for Oregon Basketball, I am not ready to utter those words. I want to wait and see how the rest of the season plays out. I want to give Ernie every chance to be successful, because what I really want is for this team to be successful again with Ernie Kent as the coach.

But I will look at things after the season, and, for the first time, I am going to seriously ponder those words, and wonder if in the long run, our program is better off with another coach. Believe me, I hope that I can honestly answer that question with a no.

Pat Kilkenny has said that he can't imagine a scenario where he is ready to ax Coach Kent after this season. But barring a major turnaround, as the losses pile up and construction on the new arena accelerates, there is going to be pressure on him to explore the option. Usually, the fan base is on one side or the other on such issues. This will be very different. Regardless of which way Kilkenny goes, it will be hard to fault him.

DBD 1.21.09: ATQ's Declaration of Independence

Addicted to Quack — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:52:19 -0000

Addicted To Quack was claimed in the name of UC Berkeley on January 20, 2009, by California Golden Blogs. This led to a happy time. But, all empires inevitably run their course. Now it is time for LIBERTY!!! YARRRRR!!!!

via i530.photobucket.com

On the same evening, the 1st convention of of the Addicted To Quack Congress declared the following:

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the sporting ties which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all bloggers are created equal, that they are endowed by Peter Bean with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Such is now the necessity which constrains Addicted To Quack to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Cal Golden Blogs (TwistNHook) is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over Addicted To Quack. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

With their presence, they did infect the fine name of Addicted To Quack with Rose Bowl envy, a malady brought upon by never seeing ones team win outright a football conference champion and take it's rightful place in the Rose Bowl Game, presented by AT&T.

With this Envy, they continued this complex with an undue amount of emphasis on "non-revenue" sports. While the fine denizens of Addicted To Quack respect the accomplishments of all athletic teams of the fine University, placing priority on lower-level athletics gives off the appearance of inferiority.

During occupation, the citizens of Addicted To Quack were subjected to all manor of inside jokes and mannerisms. However, this "Bearificiation" failed to contain the best of all UC Berkeley blogging traditions, the "Double Air E-Honk." (http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2009/1/13/720074/dbd-1-14-09-what-do-you-me). When it was presented, it was a shell of it's former self. It is an insult that the traditions were not passed on adequately.

CGB, in an act of torture in clear violation of the Geneva Conventions, used ATQ pagespace to terrorize citizens by subjecting them to heinous activities, such as "tennis," and "rugby."

The lower level citizens of CGB, instead of opening their arms to their brethren, instead decided to bring up bad blood by posting heinous pictures of events of which we shall not speak.

Cal Golden Blogs tried to export to the North, crappy beer, the so-called JDraft. This is totally unacceptable to our refined palates.

With these usurpations, Addicted To Quack must free itself from the tyrannical shackles of South, and take up arms!

Now, as we all know, this paper alone means nothing. We will go to war, if we must. But I come as an emissary, in peace. We do not this struggle to escalate. But we have the power to win our independence. While in the North, TwistNHook failed to secure the only weapon capable of defeating Addicted To Quack, "The Banhammer." While he slept, it was taken from him. With this weapon, we take back our autonomy, for the freedom of our women and children!

Also consider yourself fairly warned, I, Dave, have come back from his self-imposed exile to lead us in this battle. Blood will be shed, men will be lost, but should our deposed tyrant not retreat peacefully, I will not rest until I hold his scalp high above Strawberry Canyon.

I think that I'm supposed to put some Bear news here or something, but I'm not going to. Dump away!