I've been following you for awhile John as well as Wilmer. My family settled on Gales Creek in 1850 yet I was raised in Washington due to my dad's job and I'm a UW alum. Just attended like the 139th family reunion there and was awarded a a certificate for longest traveled to the reunion. Point being, lots of Oregon in our family. With that long winded intro, I laugh at how you go out of your way to avoid mentioning UW in your articles. My dad was close friends with Dee Andros and he never avoided my school like you do. LOL
Given when it was published, would the book by Mazer still be a good gift to an 18-yo who is encyclopedic in his knowledge of sports facts/trivia? Thanks, PC
We are so fortunate to have Marcus and Justin as former Duck quarterbacks!
If and it's a big If, that if is can Marcus stay healthy?
When you look at the situation he played in at Tennessee, you look at the number of Coaches he played for! Add to that the offensive line and their ability to protect him.
If Marcus and his team can stay fairly healthy, Marcus can be a top 10-15 this season.
Contrary to what Dez Bryant says about Marcus, he is a true professional and someone that all parents should want their children to look up to.
I would love to read the Answer Book of Sports! When I was in 6th grade, my ELA teacher shared that the newspaper was written @ an 8th grade reading level. I started to read it everyday, just as Danny Ainge was making headlines for North Eugene high school. I continue to be a huge fan of him today.
Suspect if the conference begins an incentive program to let schools who go to bowl games keep more of the bowl game payouts Arizona would take a quick exist to the Big12, sans ASU. Arizona would love to use that as an excuse to leave the PAC 12 minus 2. As a footnote, a big Arizona and Kansas basketball rivalry would be born since UCLA is no longer in the house.
You said there are not six great options out there to make a PAC 16. Nobody can tell me that that adding Kansas, Oklahoma St, Baylor, TCU, Texas Tech and either Houston, Iowa St or Kansas St is not adding value to the PAC 12 minus USC and UCLA. Adding the Dallas and Houston top five TV markets and the Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Tulsa and all the other smaller but valuable TV markets in Texas would bring great value. Adding an AAU school in Kansas and maybe another in Iowa State would help with academic culture. Texas Tech and Houston academics are not strong, but hopefully the good value in Athletics and bringing Texas markets into the PAC would even things out there. Plus adding a Baylor and Oklahoma St all-around high level athletic departments and respected schools of good value. A PAC 16 with the PAC 12 school that are left and six of the western Big 12 schools would be of great value and greater value then what either PAC 12 or Big 12 are alone at this time. I assume that you could look at a PAC 18 or PAC 20 also with BYU and San Diego St (maybe UNLV), but that may spread the money out too thin.
I've mentioned Gonzaga before. I think they have the sauce 2nd only to your grandma that makes all these conference hypotheticals inconsequential. The sauce is winning. Each P-10 school needs to win and the $$ and the recruits will follow. If Alabama were a 2nd or mid-tier program, I don't see the draw to play there otherwise. But they win and adapt as needed to keep winning. And they seem to keep Sabin off the coaching carousel.
Oh, John, another heartwarming personal share for a Saturday morning. Thanks.
Now, for the dark side: I moved to Oregon in 1965. I have also lived in Oregon for much longer than I lived (at went to school) in the dust bowl. My self recognition: When it comes to Universities I am an Elitist (note the caps). The Pac8 was a collection of the finest West Coast schools. I cringed when Arizona and Arizona State came aboard. I wasn't a fan but I did recognize Colorado and Utah as "best of class". Now the conversation includes (deleted)? My suggestion: All the schools mentioned and the remaining Pac 10 football programs come together and go play TV football; and the current remaining Pac12 Universities continue as a collection of a number of the finest Academic schools in the country (I call them the Left Coast Ivy League). Just sayin'.
Really off topic but what happens if the Nets don’t like Boston’s offer and refuse to trade KD? Then KD doesn’t want to play. Do the Nets have to pay him? Is he fined?
"...in 2025, the Ducks are playing in the Pac-12 Conference." Hmm, a bit confused by this since the Pac-12 has not yet entered a new media agreement? 3 summers from now is a long time. In fact, 3 months from now is a long time.
Before the end of Sept. if Oregon wins at Georgia, Utah wins at Florida, Stanford beats USC...then conference affiliation gets interesting again. Those are Big IF's. But, 2025 doesn't feel like a secure prediction to me. Not only could a lot happen before 2023, a lot could happen before the end of 2022.
John, got a mail bag question for you. ESPN got pushed out of the B1G so they could look more like the NFL and leverage promotion on Sundays. Very smart.
Now ESPN has lots of available airtime that they have to fill and two complete time zones that no other conference can cover as the PAC-12.
How about a game of chicken? The Pac-12 is far more valuable to ESPN in-tact as a viable and competitive product than it would be if they did the following:
1. Low-balled their media rights offer at $30m per school
2. Oregon, Washington, Cal, Stanford leave for the Big 10 kids table and take $50-60m compared to $80-90 for everyone else.
3. Now The B1G controls the pacific time zone and hands it over to Fox, NBC and CBS... out of ESPN’s hands. Quite a fall for the worldwide leader in sports.
Would it not be better for ESPN to make an offer that keeps the Pac-12 in-tact, financially strong, an automatic bid to the playoff and pulling nationwide eyeballs?
It just seems to me playing hardball with the PAC-12 after losing the B1G only hurts them more.
My grandmother's homemade ravioli was so good that I would never consider ordering it at an Italian restaurant. My dad and uncles learned how to make it, but like your experience it was close, but not quite the same.
Is your spaghetti sauce recipe a trade secret or are you willing to share it?
I've been following you for awhile John as well as Wilmer. My family settled on Gales Creek in 1850 yet I was raised in Washington due to my dad's job and I'm a UW alum. Just attended like the 139th family reunion there and was awarded a a certificate for longest traveled to the reunion. Point being, lots of Oregon in our family. With that long winded intro, I laugh at how you go out of your way to avoid mentioning UW in your articles. My dad was close friends with Dee Andros and he never avoided my school like you do. LOL
Thanks for your analysis and writing. 👍🏽
Given when it was published, would the book by Mazer still be a good gift to an 18-yo who is encyclopedic in his knowledge of sports facts/trivia? Thanks, PC
I am a die hard Marcus Mariota fan!
We are so fortunate to have Marcus and Justin as former Duck quarterbacks!
If and it's a big If, that if is can Marcus stay healthy?
When you look at the situation he played in at Tennessee, you look at the number of Coaches he played for! Add to that the offensive line and their ability to protect him.
If Marcus and his team can stay fairly healthy, Marcus can be a top 10-15 this season.
Contrary to what Dez Bryant says about Marcus, he is a true professional and someone that all parents should want their children to look up to.
Justin is cut out of the same cloth.
How lucky can we Duck fans be?
Go Marcus, Justin and our Ducks!!
I would love to read the Answer Book of Sports! When I was in 6th grade, my ELA teacher shared that the newspaper was written @ an 8th grade reading level. I started to read it everyday, just as Danny Ainge was making headlines for North Eugene high school. I continue to be a huge fan of him today.
Merge with the ACC and form EAST and WEST Divisions and creative scheduling to keep travel cost down.
Bill Walton will love doing games in Louisville and getting to see Coach Crum
Suspect if the conference begins an incentive program to let schools who go to bowl games keep more of the bowl game payouts Arizona would take a quick exist to the Big12, sans ASU. Arizona would love to use that as an excuse to leave the PAC 12 minus 2. As a footnote, a big Arizona and Kansas basketball rivalry would be born since UCLA is no longer in the house.
You said there are not six great options out there to make a PAC 16. Nobody can tell me that that adding Kansas, Oklahoma St, Baylor, TCU, Texas Tech and either Houston, Iowa St or Kansas St is not adding value to the PAC 12 minus USC and UCLA. Adding the Dallas and Houston top five TV markets and the Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Tulsa and all the other smaller but valuable TV markets in Texas would bring great value. Adding an AAU school in Kansas and maybe another in Iowa State would help with academic culture. Texas Tech and Houston academics are not strong, but hopefully the good value in Athletics and bringing Texas markets into the PAC would even things out there. Plus adding a Baylor and Oklahoma St all-around high level athletic departments and respected schools of good value. A PAC 16 with the PAC 12 school that are left and six of the western Big 12 schools would be of great value and greater value then what either PAC 12 or Big 12 are alone at this time. I assume that you could look at a PAC 18 or PAC 20 also with BYU and San Diego St (maybe UNLV), but that may spread the money out too thin.
I've mentioned Gonzaga before. I think they have the sauce 2nd only to your grandma that makes all these conference hypotheticals inconsequential. The sauce is winning. Each P-10 school needs to win and the $$ and the recruits will follow. If Alabama were a 2nd or mid-tier program, I don't see the draw to play there otherwise. But they win and adapt as needed to keep winning. And they seem to keep Sabin off the coaching carousel.
Oh, John, another heartwarming personal share for a Saturday morning. Thanks.
Now, for the dark side: I moved to Oregon in 1965. I have also lived in Oregon for much longer than I lived (at went to school) in the dust bowl. My self recognition: When it comes to Universities I am an Elitist (note the caps). The Pac8 was a collection of the finest West Coast schools. I cringed when Arizona and Arizona State came aboard. I wasn't a fan but I did recognize Colorado and Utah as "best of class". Now the conversation includes (deleted)? My suggestion: All the schools mentioned and the remaining Pac 10 football programs come together and go play TV football; and the current remaining Pac12 Universities continue as a collection of a number of the finest Academic schools in the country (I call them the Left Coast Ivy League). Just sayin'.
Really off topic but what happens if the Nets don’t like Boston’s offer and refuse to trade KD? Then KD doesn’t want to play. Do the Nets have to pay him? Is he fined?
"...in 2025, the Ducks are playing in the Pac-12 Conference." Hmm, a bit confused by this since the Pac-12 has not yet entered a new media agreement? 3 summers from now is a long time. In fact, 3 months from now is a long time.
Before the end of Sept. if Oregon wins at Georgia, Utah wins at Florida, Stanford beats USC...then conference affiliation gets interesting again. Those are Big IF's. But, 2025 doesn't feel like a secure prediction to me. Not only could a lot happen before 2023, a lot could happen before the end of 2022.
I want to know what are I formation and Wing T too?
John, got a mail bag question for you. ESPN got pushed out of the B1G so they could look more like the NFL and leverage promotion on Sundays. Very smart.
Now ESPN has lots of available airtime that they have to fill and two complete time zones that no other conference can cover as the PAC-12.
How about a game of chicken? The Pac-12 is far more valuable to ESPN in-tact as a viable and competitive product than it would be if they did the following:
1. Low-balled their media rights offer at $30m per school
2. Oregon, Washington, Cal, Stanford leave for the Big 10 kids table and take $50-60m compared to $80-90 for everyone else.
3. Now The B1G controls the pacific time zone and hands it over to Fox, NBC and CBS... out of ESPN’s hands. Quite a fall for the worldwide leader in sports.
Would it not be better for ESPN to make an offer that keeps the Pac-12 in-tact, financially strong, an automatic bid to the playoff and pulling nationwide eyeballs?
It just seems to me playing hardball with the PAC-12 after losing the B1G only hurts them more.
My grandmother's homemade ravioli was so good that I would never consider ordering it at an Italian restaurant. My dad and uncles learned how to make it, but like your experience it was close, but not quite the same.