http://media.www.dailyemerald.com/media/storage/paper859/news/2009/03/04/News/Emerald.News.Staff.Strikes-3658778.shtml

Strange situation...it involves the hiring of a new publisher to help the Emerald (which is running in the red) and potential conflicts of interest. Here's a response from the guy the board of directors originally named publisher:

http://www.dailyemerald.com/media/storage/paper859/news/2009/03/04/News/Steven.A.Smith-3659330.shtml

The Daily Emerald doesn't do much of a service to this blog, as the Register-Guard and Oregonian command most of the attention, but they occasionally break some news.

I'm curious to hear some opinions on this.

39-36 Oregon at halftime. Baylor's the No. 7 team in the nation, but the mother of a player died last night so their minds and hearts are in other places. If memory serves, this would be the biggest win in school history if the Ducks could actually pull it off.

The difference in this game simply comes down to hot shooting. Oregon has made several turnovers but the Ducks are shooting 56% from the field as a team. Micaela Cocks has 10 points and is perfect from three-point range.

The post by CV3000 over at Building the Damn was a very thought-provoking one: Who would you rather have from Oregon State's team on the Ducks? Now, I'd respond there, but in protest to the slow decay of the quality and respectability of BtD, I'm posting it here for debate instead. (Where have you gone, Jake?)

The offense will have three WRs, one RB and one TE, comparable to what both teams will likely use throughout the game.

QB: Jeremiah Masoli (maybe the worst of the 3, but the hottest hand going in)

RB: Jeremiah Johnson

WR: Sammie Stroughter

WR: James Rodgers

WR: Jeff Maehl

TE: Ed Dickson

OT: Fenuki Tupou

OG: Mark Lewis

C: Max Unger

OG: Tavita Thompson (yes, I'm stretching it, but work with me)

OT: Andy Levitre

DE: Nick Reed

DT: Ra'Shon Harris

DT: Stephen Paea

DE: Victor Butler (if it weren't realistic, Norris, Butler and Reed would all play the line)

OLB: Jerome Boyd

ILB: Keaton Kristick

OLB: Casey Matthews (another stretch of position, I know)

CB: Jairus Byrd

S: T.J. Ward

S: Patrick Chung

CB: Walter Thurmond III

P: Josh Syria

K: Morgan Flint

PR: Stroughter

KR: James Rodgers

Agree? Disagree? All I know for sure, is that this team would be in the nation's top 3 if it came together.

As if the season couldn't get any worse...Davis had somewhat of a breakthrough game against Stanford, but apparently he tore his anterior cruciate ligament at some point during the game. John Hunt (The O) and Rob Moseley (The RG) are on the case.

As far as Drew's development, this is a pretty crushing blow. He was used sparingly as a true freshman and didn't seem to get any more looks his way in the spring. This season, he hasn't done much, but it's not by accident that he earned his first career start against the Cardinal.

Ideally, he's fully ready for the fall, but this certainly deflates whatever morale we had coming out of that game.

The Oregon coaching staff let the Ducks down today.

Don't bother to say anything about the players. We get it. Thomas looked very good for his first collegiate action. Chris Harper still can't throw a ball very well and it's entirely possible his shoulder is still affecting him. Masoli got absolutely rocked on that one hit but was doing OK. The rest of the team turned in a decent overall performance, especially the offensive line, who won the trench battle all game.

I have absolute disdain for everything Chip Kelly, Mike Bellotti and Nick Aliotti did. They took the Ducks out of this game. Oregon kept themselves in this in spite of the coaches' decisions. I might do a second-part of this fanpost for the offensive coaching, but I'll start with the obvious: how bad Nick Aliotti sucks. So here are my grievances against him:

POOR RECOGNITION. Aliotti may be one of the worst defensive coordinators of a BCS team. Boise State was running an offensive clinic out there and was playing within themselves. They executed everything with precision. They ran the ball to set up the pass, even though the Ducks were stout on run defense all day. They protected really well against the pass rush. They spread the field according to Offensive Coaching 101 in the passing game: backs in the flats, TEs down the middle, WRs split wide. Occasionally, they'd mix their routes up and they were all ran well. Boise State is a well-coached team. We knew this going in. Aliotti had no idea what he was in for, as far as I could tell.

STUBBORN REFUSAL TO BREAK FROM THE ZONE. That was THE reason why nearly all of BSU's big plays happened. Vinny Perretta would never have scored his 73-yard touchdown if Aliotti hadn't left Matthews (or was it Paysinger?) out on an island to be burned. Tight ends were constantly left uncovered in the zone because it seemed like we didn't know what to do if they came into the zone. That's just bad preparation, and I lay that blame squarely at Aliotti's feet.

REFUSAL TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS. Oregon never got a pass rush going all game. Kellen Moore had plenty of time to throw and he made the most of it. The screen passes were all well executed with seemingly little resistance. Aliotti constantly sent three or four men to get to Moore, stupidly thinking that the Ducks' size and occasional talent advantage would factor in on every play. It didn't. Not once. The few times Aliotti rushed six men, he was only moderately successful because a) he never mixed his blitz packages and b) Boise State is disciplined when it comes to blocking. Aliotti never picked up on this.

KEEPING RECEIVERS IN FRONT OF DEFENSIVE BACKS. This is a stupid strategy and it always fails on third downs. Momentum on some drives was zapped because the Ducks couldn't make that third-and-long stop.

REFUSAL TO GET PHYSICAL. This goes back in part to the zone, but it seems at times like our defensive line is a little afraid of pushing coming to shove. Our linebackers are quick but notoriously poor tacklers (except for Casey Matthews). Our defensive backs don't do bump-and-run coverage; rarely, if ever, does Aliotti give opposing WRs any less than a 10-yard cushion on an obvious passing down.

Aliotti will never step down as long as he has those photos of Mike and Phil Knight engaging in some Holocaust-themed orgy, but the sooner someone offers him an HC job with more pay the better. I'm sick and tired of watching Oregon defenders get burned game after game.

So says her blog.

Or, for those too lazy to click, she has Oregon at No. 9 in the country.

Granted, it seemed like the entire country wasn't really that impressive outside of USC and BYU (who I feel is underrated by Yanity in this instance), but this kind of optimism...well, I don't know. It feels weird. This isn't John Hunt (he's the only Oregon media member allowed to vote in the AP Poll). I have respect for Molly and her P-I work is very well done, but I would appreciate a full explanation on all teams.

(Granted, she does eff up in a major way by putting LSU ahead of Oklahoma when Bob Stoopid's boys have been steamrolling fools. And I don't like how she's filled in the rest of the poll. But this has a lot of positives at the top, outside of LSU, for all its negatives.)

I guess the question I want to ask is...what does this say about Oregon, national perception, on-field performance, etc.?

This comes per Duck Sports News, and explains what we already figured. Unusually responsible of him if it's all true.

http://www.ducksportsnews.com/blog/2008/08/ducks-tupuo-self-reports-accepting-agent-improper-benefits/

Tupou self-reported his actions to the athletics department’s Executive Assistant Athletics Director for Compliance Bill Clever Wednesday of last week, and turned the monetary benefit over to the department’s compliance office. Clever immediately notified the Pacific-10 Conference and the NCAA, who in turn notified the NFL Players Association, the labor union which oversees professional sports agents and financial advisors. The NFLPA does not permit its members to induce current student-athletes with cash or gift benefits.

Tupou reportedly met with Tim Norling of the Phoenix, Ariz., firm of LMM Sports Management at a local Eugene restaurant in July. Norling paid for the $10 meal and at the conclusion of the meeting handed Tupou five $20 bills in their parting handshake.

The NFLPA lists Ethan Lock, Eric Metz and Vance Malinovic as the top certified associates of the LMM Sports Management firm.

Tupou alleges that he tried to return the cash benefit to Norling several times but was refused. According to NCAA bylaws, it is permissible for student-athletes to meet with agents. However it is impermissible to accept any benefits or enter into any formal agreement until a student-athlete’s eligibility has expired.

The day after he self-reported the meeting, Tupou requested permission to address his teammates and admit his infraction. Late Friday afternoon, the NCAA handed down a one-game suspension and also ordered Tupou to donate the improper inducement and the cost of the $10 meal to charity.