If I was a suit at NBC, I would hire Caitlin Clark to do analysis on the Olympic women's basketball coverage. The TV network gets to promote her 24/7. And then have her seated courtside to root on her country in the Gold Medal game, showing great sportsmanship and patriotism. It's a win-win-win for everyone.
If I'm Clark's agent, I'm taking her phone, handing her a burner phone, and sending her to Tahiti with five of her friends for the duration of the Olympics. She's done enough for the game and various "suits" for now.
You'll watch whatever Nike tells you to and Nike is about to introduce the world to Sabrina Ionescu. Then you'll fall all over yourself to let us know you knew she was The One all along.
John, the people who insist that OSU and WSU should just throw in the towel and join the MWC are invariably from former PAC12 schools who are projecting their animosity onto OSU and WSU for winning the legal battle for the $200M+. Of course, as you say, that would just be stupid to walk from that money for a lot less by joining the MWC. Ain't going to happen if for no reason than the money. But there is also the matter of pride. OSU and WSU want to get their revenge for how they were treated by their supposed sister schools in the PAC12
I love the convo about Duck Track and Field. It has been a powerhouse for all of my memory. When I was a HS runner in Albany, Hayward Field was our mecca. And that was before several upgrades (back when it was just green painted wooden stands down the home stretch). There were a couple Pac12 and NCAA Div 1 Championships there. The HS State Meet was there and even the Olympic Trials as far back as I can remember. Late May and early June were always special times. But yes, track is not a high profile sport outside the running community. With NIL, it probably takes money to build a national powerhouse program. In addition, Oregon is never a good climate for sprinters. Too cold in the winter and early spring. So, even at its peak, the Ducks never had great sprinters, men or women. It is hard to win national championships on the back of the distance races.
We have had good speed people like Devon Allen and we have dominated throwing events and jumps, winning several national titles, with all Oregon has compared to other top track schools we should be winning a title every 3-4 years and almost always in the running. There needs to be changes, mediocrity with the money spent and the history there is unacceptable.
I know there are exceptions. But the rule is that sprinters like warm weather climates which is why the historic dominance in sprints of Florida, LSU, Arkansas, Texas A&M and Tech and UTEP if you go back to the 70s. Arkansas won the national championship from 1992-99 with the sprints. Oregon has to make up the lack of regular sprint dominance with distance and field (weight) events, as you say. Some years it does. Even Washington State did well at nationals in the distance events when it had a line to African runners.
The Olympic Trials were stolen from Mt SAC Relays Hilmer Lodge Stadium in Walnut, CA. It was just rebuilt and unfortunately due to some construction delays caused by residents, it was supposed to be the site for the current Olympic Trials.
As a former distance runner, I would always rather run in Eugene, which is almost always still cool in June, than in central CA, where it is pretty hot by the end of June (Walnut is pretty far from the coast). Maybe the sprinters and field events don't care. But the distance runners do.
You are right....bad on me. I was actually thinking of Walnut Creek, now that I looked it up, just south of Concord, CA. There is also the somewhat famous (for runners) Golden West Invitational every year in Sacramento. I was not good enough for an invitation to that meet but it was something I aspired to
When will Caitlin’s teammates stand up for her on the court when she gets pushed around? Why do we even need to ask this? The WNBA is weak in this regard. In men’s basketball, if a teammate is leveled or fouled hard, teammates are up in the face of the perpetrator. Caitlin needs a ‘Maurice Lucas’. And the Fever coaching staff needs to be reprimanded for not ensuring this now happens.
You've hit the nail right on the head. Inept university leadership and Conference leaders who seemed to have their personal interests well out in front of the organization's was just too much. It is interesting to consider how often poor leadership impacts public and private organizations, profit and nonprofit both. All the weighty mission statements and goal descriptions mean nothing if the people responsible aren't accountable.
I have worked as an executive for a multi billion dollar multi national company, when its long time CEO retired (he was a horrible jerk but smart) a new guy took over and wanted to put his stamp on things and change everything, in a decade a company that was almost a century old was dead. Leadership is not everything but its close.
I'd call you a coward for avoiding your daughter after loading the goats. But then I scrolled down and saw those two photos. The look on her face told me you did exactly the right thing.
No one wants to see a grown man cry.
Daughters are special and it looks like you've got one of the cream of the crop.
JC, thank you for keeping the drum beat on the Pac12 and those responsible for it's demise. Somebody has to and you're the right person for the job.
As for the goats: If your neighbourhood has an association with CCR's, I reckon livestock in your back yard would be prohibited. Then again, in our last house in the USA we had CCR's in our neighbourhood prohibiting all manner of things, not least permanently parking a Class A motor home in front of your house - but that didn't stop some people from doing just that with no recourse coming their way. I was tempted to put an old washing machine on the front porch, park my car on the grass and hang an engine block from a tree in the yard. But I digress.
I would argue yes Caitlan Clark would make our Olympic team far better, watching her play even as a rookie shows she is head and shoulders above most in the WNBA. Without her I will not watch a single game out of spite for the awful women running that league. One of your audience questioned, "who to remove?" Well the player that played one game and is a general embarrassment to her country who she regularly criticizes.
"What were your first thoughts after the final out?"
How about, "Swing the freaking bat!"
My second though is, the new era is coming, let's get it on. Like Andy Dufresne said, "Get busy living, or get busy dying." I choose to get busy living and am excited to see what the future will bring for OSU and WSU. New opponents, new venues, new road trips.
The Pac-12 as we knew it is dead. So are the 10 teams who left, to me. I used to have a marginal interest in them and wanted them to succeed for the good of the conference. No more, I hope they lose every game and get stuck in Midwestern blizzards for a week.
PS: I watched parts of the NCAA track meet. Thousands and thousands of empty seats at Hay(there's nobody there)ward Field.
Glad your daughter enjoyed the goats. You had the right response to the handler. I grew up on a farm and goats have a purpose but are hard to take care of. And they get into everything.
Concerning Stanford and Cal coming back into the fold: I always laugh when I see this because everyone knows which particular school Stanford and Cal do not want to be associated with, located on Hwy99 between Sacramento and Bakersfield. Those two just need to get over themselves.
Stanford more than Cal, I suspect. Cal athletics will be so hurting financially because of the 1/3 revenue share and increased travel costs it might not have any other choice.
Who do you think would draw bigger crowds at Memorial Stadium, Fresno State, San Jose State and SDSU or Pitt, Syracuse and Boston College?
Regarding Portland Diamond Project. I keep hearing this is a real project but as of yet, have not heard who the sugar daddy is. I have heard names of those involved but none of them, even as a group, have the money to make this happen. As such, I continue to think this is nothing more than a land grab. Can you JC, explain how this works without a named owner proposed?
That's always been my question. Any MLB in Portland effort would have to include substantial local ownership. And the owner(s) would have to be willing to pay most -- if not all -- of the cost of building a stadium. It ain't gonna happen. None of the entities (City of Portland, metro area counties, the State of Oregon) are going to front money for one. If the first two tried, it wouldn't survive a public vote.
"Worst question ever." LOL!! Made my morning
I may take that as a personal challenge. I can be pretty obtuse.
Obtuse, but also with personal insults including a writer's family? That is a tough act to follow
Obtuse is a good line from The Shawshank Redemption.
Absolutely
Glad to hear the goats were a hit. BTW, you are a great dad to your daughters.
If I was a suit at NBC, I would hire Caitlin Clark to do analysis on the Olympic women's basketball coverage. The TV network gets to promote her 24/7. And then have her seated courtside to root on her country in the Gold Medal game, showing great sportsmanship and patriotism. It's a win-win-win for everyone.
If I'm Clark's agent, I'm taking her phone, handing her a burner phone, and sending her to Tahiti with five of her friends for the duration of the Olympics. She's done enough for the game and various "suits" for now.
Still not watching out of spite for the way the WNBA and National team has treated her, most people will never tune into a game without her playing.
You'll watch whatever Nike tells you to and Nike is about to introduce the world to Sabrina Ionescu. Then you'll fall all over yourself to let us know you knew she was The One all along.
John, the people who insist that OSU and WSU should just throw in the towel and join the MWC are invariably from former PAC12 schools who are projecting their animosity onto OSU and WSU for winning the legal battle for the $200M+. Of course, as you say, that would just be stupid to walk from that money for a lot less by joining the MWC. Ain't going to happen if for no reason than the money. But there is also the matter of pride. OSU and WSU want to get their revenge for how they were treated by their supposed sister schools in the PAC12
Exactly. There is literally zero reason for OSU and WSU to join the MWC a single minute before they're fully out of other options.
Loved the daughter/goat love.
Goats are tremendous lawn mowers.
I love the convo about Duck Track and Field. It has been a powerhouse for all of my memory. When I was a HS runner in Albany, Hayward Field was our mecca. And that was before several upgrades (back when it was just green painted wooden stands down the home stretch). There were a couple Pac12 and NCAA Div 1 Championships there. The HS State Meet was there and even the Olympic Trials as far back as I can remember. Late May and early June were always special times. But yes, track is not a high profile sport outside the running community. With NIL, it probably takes money to build a national powerhouse program. In addition, Oregon is never a good climate for sprinters. Too cold in the winter and early spring. So, even at its peak, the Ducks never had great sprinters, men or women. It is hard to win national championships on the back of the distance races.
We have had good speed people like Devon Allen and we have dominated throwing events and jumps, winning several national titles, with all Oregon has compared to other top track schools we should be winning a title every 3-4 years and almost always in the running. There needs to be changes, mediocrity with the money spent and the history there is unacceptable.
2 words for you Dean: Robert Johnson!
He ran the program into the ground. Greate leadership will bring it back
I know there are exceptions. But the rule is that sprinters like warm weather climates which is why the historic dominance in sprints of Florida, LSU, Arkansas, Texas A&M and Tech and UTEP if you go back to the 70s. Arkansas won the national championship from 1992-99 with the sprints. Oregon has to make up the lack of regular sprint dominance with distance and field (weight) events, as you say. Some years it does. Even Washington State did well at nationals in the distance events when it had a line to African runners.
I remember Harry Jerome,a Duck, being world class sprinter
The Olympic Trials were stolen from Mt SAC Relays Hilmer Lodge Stadium in Walnut, CA. It was just rebuilt and unfortunately due to some construction delays caused by residents, it was supposed to be the site for the current Olympic Trials.
As a former distance runner, I would always rather run in Eugene, which is almost always still cool in June, than in central CA, where it is pretty hot by the end of June (Walnut is pretty far from the coast). Maybe the sprinters and field events don't care. But the distance runners do.
Walnut is in Los Angeles county, not Central CA... You are thinking Walnut Valley.
Mt SAC (or more correctly Coach Ruh) brought the very first national track and field meet... UO copied Mt SAC
You are right....bad on me. I was actually thinking of Walnut Creek, now that I looked it up, just south of Concord, CA. There is also the somewhat famous (for runners) Golden West Invitational every year in Sacramento. I was not good enough for an invitation to that meet but it was something I aspired to
Good analysis Brian
When will Caitlin’s teammates stand up for her on the court when she gets pushed around? Why do we even need to ask this? The WNBA is weak in this regard. In men’s basketball, if a teammate is leveled or fouled hard, teammates are up in the face of the perpetrator. Caitlin needs a ‘Maurice Lucas’. And the Fever coaching staff needs to be reprimanded for not ensuring this now happens.
You've hit the nail right on the head. Inept university leadership and Conference leaders who seemed to have their personal interests well out in front of the organization's was just too much. It is interesting to consider how often poor leadership impacts public and private organizations, profit and nonprofit both. All the weighty mission statements and goal descriptions mean nothing if the people responsible aren't accountable.
I have worked as an executive for a multi billion dollar multi national company, when its long time CEO retired (he was a horrible jerk but smart) a new guy took over and wanted to put his stamp on things and change everything, in a decade a company that was almost a century old was dead. Leadership is not everything but its close.
Disregard for "Institutional Memory" can be fatal.
I'd call you a coward for avoiding your daughter after loading the goats. But then I scrolled down and saw those two photos. The look on her face told me you did exactly the right thing.
No one wants to see a grown man cry.
Daughters are special and it looks like you've got one of the cream of the crop.
He wasn't avoiding his daughter, he was avoiding looking her in the eyes.
Smart move JC....otherwise you might be an owner of a couple of goats!
Oh he's getting goats...
On your end of the PAC commentary, spot on remarks that needed to be said and were cathartic to read. Appreciate your voice.
It echoes thru the halls and the county lines, the streets and the cities all through the western seaboard and beyond.
JC, thank you for keeping the drum beat on the Pac12 and those responsible for it's demise. Somebody has to and you're the right person for the job.
As for the goats: If your neighbourhood has an association with CCR's, I reckon livestock in your back yard would be prohibited. Then again, in our last house in the USA we had CCR's in our neighbourhood prohibiting all manner of things, not least permanently parking a Class A motor home in front of your house - but that didn't stop some people from doing just that with no recourse coming their way. I was tempted to put an old washing machine on the front porch, park my car on the grass and hang an engine block from a tree in the yard. But I digress.
I would argue yes Caitlan Clark would make our Olympic team far better, watching her play even as a rookie shows she is head and shoulders above most in the WNBA. Without her I will not watch a single game out of spite for the awful women running that league. One of your audience questioned, "who to remove?" Well the player that played one game and is a general embarrassment to her country who she regularly criticizes.
She was 5-for-15 tonight, no rebounds, three assists and 10 turnovers. She'd be an end-of-the-bench scrub on the Olympic team.
I haven't read if Clark has had International Game Experience at the junior levels?
"What were your first thoughts after the final out?"
How about, "Swing the freaking bat!"
My second though is, the new era is coming, let's get it on. Like Andy Dufresne said, "Get busy living, or get busy dying." I choose to get busy living and am excited to see what the future will bring for OSU and WSU. New opponents, new venues, new road trips.
The Pac-12 as we knew it is dead. So are the 10 teams who left, to me. I used to have a marginal interest in them and wanted them to succeed for the good of the conference. No more, I hope they lose every game and get stuck in Midwestern blizzards for a week.
PS: I watched parts of the NCAA track meet. Thousands and thousands of empty seats at Hay(there's nobody there)ward Field.
Glad your daughter enjoyed the goats. You had the right response to the handler. I grew up on a farm and goats have a purpose but are hard to take care of. And they get into everything.
Concerning Stanford and Cal coming back into the fold: I always laugh when I see this because everyone knows which particular school Stanford and Cal do not want to be associated with, located on Hwy99 between Sacramento and Bakersfield. Those two just need to get over themselves.
Stanford more than Cal, I suspect. Cal athletics will be so hurting financially because of the 1/3 revenue share and increased travel costs it might not have any other choice.
Who do you think would draw bigger crowds at Memorial Stadium, Fresno State, San Jose State and SDSU or Pitt, Syracuse and Boston College?
Regarding Portland Diamond Project. I keep hearing this is a real project but as of yet, have not heard who the sugar daddy is. I have heard names of those involved but none of them, even as a group, have the money to make this happen. As such, I continue to think this is nothing more than a land grab. Can you JC, explain how this works without a named owner proposed?
That's always been my question. Any MLB in Portland effort would have to include substantial local ownership. And the owner(s) would have to be willing to pay most -- if not all -- of the cost of building a stadium. It ain't gonna happen. None of the entities (City of Portland, metro area counties, the State of Oregon) are going to front money for one. If the first two tried, it wouldn't survive a public vote.
Major league baseball in PORTLAND!? Did you see the “Rose Festival Parade”? Also, read John’s I 95 summary today. Just sayin’, Charlie