539 Comments

I don’t hold any animosity for Jonathan Smith at all. He’s the least guilty in this disaster. Godspeed, Coach Smith. Thanks for all you did for OSU. We will never forget it.

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Absolutely trash take.

Smith needed to stay at least one year. If the PAC2 experiment failed and he decided to leave, then no one would blame him. But have you seen the players Twitter posts, it's obvious he lied to them... Told them to stick with it for four months and blindsided them.

I hope whatever happens to the Beavs in the future also happens to Smiths career

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They did stick with him for four months--the months of football season this fall. Jonathan Smith has been much more transparent about leaving than 99% of coaches have before him.

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Transparent? He lied this week, he lied the day of the Civil War.

If Jonathan was a true Beaver he would have stuck around for a year and see if this ship and be settled.

Now in four month the carcass has been picked clean.

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Here we go! Now Beaver fans will trash Smith, just like they trash Oregon for their jump to B1G.

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Doesn't have to be called trashing Smith. He did a great job the last two years but left with mediocre 34-35 record and then jumped ship because he didn't like the odds of staying and fighting. Doesn't that make him a quitter? What else can you call it with some sugar coating? Wonder what kind of Rah-Rah speech he gave to his team before the Oregon game? "Win it for each other, win it for Oregon State!" Wonder how he felt at that moment knowing he was gone. Are all the John Wooden's gone?

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Are you willing or were you willing to help with a pay increase of about $4 mil yearly and donate big for NIL?

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Two things - 1. Don't you think $5 million per year guaranteed through 2029 is enough salary to coach a football team? 2. Whatever happened to honoring an agreement? He let the players, the university and himself down by going for a cash grab.

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All the John Woodens are not gone, they just coach for winning schools where they’re paid more money. It’s a different world.

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Examples please. Dan Manning is a good one, I know.

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Dana Altman, Chip Kelly, Kyle Whittingham, and dozens more.

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Beaver fans will always trash knight school for the countless really great reasons their fans and administration keep manufacturing with breath taking regularity. Thanks for one more. whoregon is not a victim of un-warranted contempt. I find it laughable that all you schmuck fans marinate so deeply about what any Beaver fans say about you.

Smith did his job well, earned his money, and any reasons the Beaver football program is on a precipice have nothing to do with him.

May you experience interesting times in the BFD conference.

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hah...A typical Beaver hypocrite...YOU have NO justification for calling ANYONE bitter...EVER!

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Have a happy holiday. I hope Grant will be able to recover from your questionable influences.

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If the shoe fits...

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Perfectly stated, Jean!

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Imagine Oregon State's current outlook of Smith never joined and they were still a 4 win program.

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Do you think the moon is really made out of green cheese?

What if it was made out of ribs?

Would you eat it?

I would.

With a tall Budweiser.

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I see we're just being stupid rather than recognizing the obvious point that Smith left Oregon State in a much better position than they would have been without him.

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Chill dude. Sorry you don't appreciate a little levity. I happen to agree with you.

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I thought Bud got cancelled. Oh, that was Bud Light. Carry on

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And then what if Darth Vader stopped Luke and the Death Star never blew up. SMH.

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Stop shaking your head...it's affecting your thinking abilities.

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UW, Oregon, USC, and UCLA can truly go to hell for wrecking the conference.

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There's plenty of blame to go around, but I assign more of the blame to USC and the two inept commissioners. Oregon and Washington panicked instead of taking leadership to shore up the conference. I still think they'll regret it down the line.

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Disagree. They knowingly bailed knowing full well it'd not only destroy their instate counterparts with whom they don't have to compete with now that they've ruined them. But they also hurt communities economically. They're just as culpable knowing that the conference was going to begrudgingly stick together. But UW and Oregon just had to put the nails in the coffin on Aug 4th.

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Understand your perspective and what's happening to OSU and WSU is just terrible and unfair. However, Oregon and Washington could never accept an Apple TV subscription based solution and be able to recruit nationally and remain competitive...that was a bridge too far. They had no choice.

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Lol. There's those excuses again. It was literally almost the same money the conference was already earning plus it had incentives. Sure. Its not $70M big 10 money now... but linear TV will be dead, the only people hanging on to cable is boomers.

They had a choice. And they chose to SCREW 100 plus years of tradition.

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Yeah, streaming may be the future in 3 to 5 years but in the near term a BS Apple deal in which NO players and recruits will be seen is a non starter. Kids and their parents will not sign up for that...they can go to Alabama, Michigan or Ohio St and be seen on Fox, CBS and ESPN or hope these lower income families can afford to watch their kids on streaming...not happening. Please make sure you tune into the minor league MLS soccer that's on there now...that's what would have become of the Pac 12...minor league with inferior players, full stop.

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Tom, I agree completely- The Apple deal would have regelated the PAC to G5 status- Recruiting would have nose-dived, and $20mil vs $60mil a year? No argument- gotta leave

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LOL... it's a non starter for baby boomers and people who apparently like to overpay for things. The comments you've made clearly demonstrate that you're not fully aware of what it entailed.

I'll just respond to people who can keep up with the convo from here on out. Thanks for self identifying.

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I agree with everything you said except the shot you took at my generation. Boomers are a hell of a lot smarter than you think. Think before you write.

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That generation has left the United States in financial ruin for the next generation with how they've lead this country in government, the workplace, as well as contributing to our cultural demise.

Respectfully disagree.

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Of course they had a choice. They chose fear and greed and money over the more valuable intangibles. Live by the sword, die by the sword.

Streaming is trending to overtake broadcast and cable. Soon. The karma is going to be interesting to watch.

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you do realize if the pac 10 had taken the 30 m from espn, no money would have been left for B12 and the reverse would have happened

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There are always choices in life. And we have to live with them.

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The Apple deal was better than everyone seems to think. It's all about $s anyway. I've lost interest in the whole joke college football has become. Lots of other entertainment to watch.

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The apple deal would have meant no ESPN, no Fox, no discussion on game day or Big Noon Kickoff. Zero coverage for the average fan and it would have killed the Pac 12 over time.

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recruits want to be on linear tv every week

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For starters that's not true. Apple could have sold games to other networks... it literally happens all the time.

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Disagree. The future lies ahed. Cable will be dead in five years.

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None of those schools owe anything to the ones who couldn't find a new home. This shift to mega conferences started well before this year. If anything it's the PAC 12 commissioners fault for not securing a better media deal. Why are the schools who have the chance to move supposed to sit it out while everybody else are pulling in 10s of millions in media deals.

How did they hurt communities economically? That's BS. It's business, plain and simple. Wake up.

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BS is right. You tell the people in Pullman it didn't hurt them economically who park cars at the church next to Martin Stadium to support youth groups who counted on money from USC and UCLA and other big schools coming to town and bringing their fans. Or the staff at restaurants, hotels, etc.

Or just keep making your completely uninformed comments. I think you'll choose the latter.

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So people are going to stop going to games now? Very doubtful. People dont pay for season tickets just to watch the game, especially given all games are now televised. They go for the entire experience and that's not going to change because WAZZU is playing different teams.

People from other schools will still travel to watch their teams play. They will still rent hotel rooms, pay for meals, and other sundries

The sky isn't falling. Chill out, drink some more eggnog, and see where the chips fall

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You have got to be kidding me. The beaver message boards are melting down with people who are done with college athletics. I know my friend won’t be getting $400 for game weekend at her Airbnb for a Fresno state game. The athletic department will cut jobs. Event staff will be cut in half. Enrollment will go down. I can’t believe you could be so clueless.

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You think that a school going from a Pac12 schedule to a Mountain West esque type schedule is going to keep the same interest and vigor?

I've let you troll me long enough with these low information comments you've been making.

Bravo on the troll job, or you're just that ignorant.

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Oregon and Washington did the same thing Smith just did...looked at the situation and went to the Big 10.

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Apples and oranges.

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Apples and Apples

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You could also say that John Canzano just went to the B1G, since the teams he most covers are going there.

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He's pretty consistently covered PNW teams. With respect to conference changes: He's recently said he's going to cover what his audience wants him to cover. Sounds like a good deal go me. Ive been following John for 10-15 years and I can say his content quality has gone way up since he started his own blog. Let's wait to see what he has for us this next year before making any judgment calls about his coverage.

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He does seem to have gotten awfully quiet, to the detriment of civility among his circle of supporters. But I guess when there are sources to be serviced, no one if immune from playing the game....

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I think Bob Dylan said it best:

You may be a state trooper, you might be a young Turk

You may be the head of some big TV network

You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame

You may be livin' in another country under another name

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes, you are

You're gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody)

Well, it may be the Devil or it may be the Lord

But you're gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody)

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Subscriber's and access....

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Difference is the schools owe a duty to the fans and citizens of Oregon and Washington. Coaches do not. This will have adverse knock on effects for two college towns for decades.

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columnist Jon Wilner: Oregon State fans should not blame Smith, Barnes or Murthy.

Former president Ed Ray a chief enabler of the failed Pac-12 policies that created this mess. More than anyone else connected to OSU over the past 6-8 years, he bears responsibility.

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In what way?

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Your argument regarding Ed Ray doesn't hold water when there were literally 11 other voting members of the conference.

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I think what Wilner was saying was that Ray had a leadership position on the Council and more influence than most of the other Pac Presidents at that point in time. For us fans, some of the details get lost over time. I remember reading columns about the first part of Scott's tenure and the fading influence of ADs as he kissed butts of the Presidents/Chancellors. Ray apparently was one who saw what he wanted to see rather than see the reality.

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As I recall, Ed Ray was a big Larry Scott supporter.

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So was every other Pac-12 president.

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I blame USC the most. They colluded with fox sports and started this all.

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The Commissioners all reported to the University Presidents

...can not get past that blame

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If Phil Knight wasn’t ok with this, he could and would have stopped it.

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Not necessarily. His brand is everywhere and he knows it. I wish he would have funded a teaching hospital in Eugene that was his biggest opportunity to cement his legacy. It’s not too late however. Sacred Heart would be the perfect venue.

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He did. It's called OHSU.

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You give Uncle Phil a lot more power than he has, but you can bet he did endorse this move.

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I argued (well disagreed with) John over a year ago, my opinion was Knight wanted to be in the big pond rather than stay in a deflted pac, John swore Knight wanted to stay where he could be the big dog .

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He had to give it his blessing or it wouldn’t have happened.

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You mean the Oregon Corhuskers?

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Add Larry Scott, George Kliavkoff, the university presidents and various networks to that list. Larry Scott got the ball rolling years ago with his greed and incompetence. That was the beginning of the sinking ship.

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At the eleventh hour, UW and Oregon could've kept the conference together and they didn't.

They're truly the worst of the worst for putting the finishing blow on conference and I hope nothing but awful things for their future.

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It was no more Oregon and Washington's responsibility to stay to hold the conference together than it was Smith's to stay and hold Oregon State together.

Blaming people for protecting themselves in hard times is ridiculous.

Oregon and Washington knew that trying to headline a subscription based conference on a streaming only deal wasn't going to go well and looked out for their own futures. Blaming them for the circumstances others caused is unfair.

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Yes, well stated. Unfortunately Michael and many others on here are so bitter and jealous they can't see this truth. I feel terrible for Beaver Nation. But feeling bad for them doesn't make your statements not true.

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Lol. These excuses are hilarious. Protect themselves from what? Not having as big of a scrooge mccduck money bin? GTFO with these dumb excuses.

I can't wait for UW and Oregon fans to complain in a couple years when their new conference isn't as great as they thought it'd be.

Who is literally going to tune in for these games versus Indiana... Northwestern, Rutgers, Maryland...? Trash football, and other trash sports.

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The fans aren't the ones who made the decision to move to the Big 10. As others have noted, it was a business decision, just as Smith's move to MSU was a business decision. Personally I'm not a fan of the move and as a Pac8-10-12 fan of over 40 years, I'm sad at the demise of the conference but I understand why Oregon and the other schools made their move. Too bad you don't see the big picture.

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In reality, though, what is the big picture? They’re gaining in footbal but what will they be expending in other sports? Where are the projections of the net gain? At the end of the day, I suspect it will be a very small amount relative to the TOTAL revenue budget of these large universities. Worth it — remains to be seen?

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Saying stupid things to the very people you're kicking while they're down like "sorry you don't see the big picture" is not only stupid, but completely callous. lol

It's impossible for me to refute arguments I haven't made, i.e. your strawman argument. I never said the fans made the decisions. But the fans sure acting like fools running around trying to defend being on the wrong side.

I sure hope you have fun next year figuring out who to dump on in your new conference. Rutgers? Northwestern? Indiana? Maryland?

Keep making those excuses for being the villains.

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Yeah, the prudent thing for Oregon leadership would have been to risk their own colleges future to save another. 🤪🤪🤪

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Oh yeah... they were in such dire straits with all their Nike money. I get that you're trolling, or possibly just completely inept.

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We’re talking football here oh bright one.🤡

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You wouldn't know football talk from a hole in the ground. Nice picture of yourself you posted.

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Truly a naive response. Smith did what was in his best interests and so did all the other schools give the fiasco they were presented with. College athletics are not an altruistic endeavor. It's a business.

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The “fiasco”they were presented should be changed to the fiasco that was “created” by the two “no shows” at the infamous Friday AM meeting

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Boy do you have inverted priorities Larry. How old are you? I've noticed over the years that those who justify choices with, "It's business." are lacking experience and seasoning. Or else have never had to take leadership enough to learn what is truly most important..

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I'm old enough to know that your response is naive. Some endeavors are altruistic where other considerations control. College athletics today isn't one of them, no matter how we wish it was.

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It's possible to play life, business, and athletics, as a win/win game.

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I'm sure it's comforting, albeit rather lazy, to denigrate your already hated in state rival and point fingers everywhere but home, than actually taking time to understand the multiple layers of nuance and moving parts over several years that led to the conference imploding.

For example OSU's very own former president Ed Ray, who was one of the most vocal and chief enablers of failed commissioner Larry Scott and his disastrous (non)leadership.

There are many who are implicit in this mess. Falsely dumping the blame on the program you already despise to keep your conscience clear simply ignores reality.

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LOL... I investigate aviation accidents for a living, literally my job to look at root causes and ask what were contributing, non contributing, contributing to the severity, and other factors.

If I were to map out the downfall of the Pac12, Oregon and UW 100% fall into the contributing category.

No false dumping or any other silly nuances you want to use when the information is available that on the morning of Aug 4th every other school was sitting on zoom waiting to begrudgingly approve a grant of rights for the sake of keeping the conference going, and UW and Oregon don't show up on time and there's rumors on the internet that they're going to the Big 10.

I'm sorry that facts bother you. Embrace that Oregon and UW are literally villains in this case, or just keeping making your excuses for everyone to see right through them.

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Again, conveniently ignoring virtually everything while cherry picking what you want the narrative to be.

You're absolutely correct about the morning of August 4th, as if that morning was the only pretext to the conference' demise. Pretty narrow look at a situation that was evolving for years, don't you think?

I said there were many who were implicit in this mess and yes, Oregon and Washington contributed. To say they and they alone are the only reason the conference isn't whole is disingenuous.

I don't have a problem having Oregon and Washington being villains. I do have a problem you don't or won't recognize the many other villains who contributed to this debacle, including the former OSU president.

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Yep, hours before the approval UW, Arizona, and UO get offers of a much better deal relative to visibility for their programs and money to support them. They did what they did for the interests of their schools....just as USC, UCLA and Colorado had done.

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Oregon and UW literally don't get a full share until 2029 of big10 money. They screwed everyone to keep the roughly the same net revenue until that point. Colorado's revenue pans out to be about the same as well.....

Also, not true regarding Arizona. Bobby Robbins was ready to stay put in the Pac12 despite their Big12 overture if UW and Oregon hadn't left. You can look up Brett McMurphy's tweet at 6:45am on August 4th regarding that.

Or.... you can just keep making these blind excuses rather than accepting that UW and Oregon are villains in the demise of the Pac12.

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enjoy your pity , nobody cares what you feel

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You're wrong on two counts. What pity? And apparently you cared enough to type a sentence

with weird spaces around your comma.

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It was SC, UW and UO that pushed for GK per UW president... So yeah its all on those three

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So are you adding coach Smith to your list of B1G jumpers to hate?

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Give it a rest. Enjoy your success instead of continuing the genetic pre-disposition of schmuck fans for being really bad winners.

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Canzano left that out didn't he.

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So Colorado is blameless even though they left before Oregon & Washington.

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Colorado never won anything in any sport as a member of the PAC-12.

Their departure improved the conference.

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Yep, but not OSU, nope they are innocent. Just because their long time President Ed Ray was complicit in keeping and enabling Larry Scott, well that’s all UO, USC & Washington’s fault.

We all know OSU is just a poor innocent bystander. It’s everybody else’s fault. 🙄

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Another inept response. There were 12 voting members of the conference. But its Ed Ray now? Lmao

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From Jon Wilner on X earlier today:

Frustrated, depressed Oregon State fans should not blame Smith, Barnes or Murthy.

Former president Ed Ray a chief enabler of the failed Pac-12 policies that created this mess. More than anyone else connected to OSU over the past 6-8 years, he bears responsibility.

As we've said before, responsibility for Pac-12 implosion is as follows:

51% presidents

25% Kliavkoff

24% Scott

(atop list of presidents: Crow, Ray and Block)

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