24 people booted at game with ASU
Yes, I said 24 people were kicked out of the game on Saturday against ASU! It wasn’t pretty. Two of the infractions were very minor. A guy tried to sneak in without a ticket. (How dare him!!!) Then two students jumped over the railing onto the playing area, before the game was over. (We had several people injured. We could have used them!) Then it got a lot worse. Fourteen people were booted for trying to sneak alcohol into the game. (I remember those days.) 5 were kicked out for disorderly conduct. (That is when a boyfriend tries to act tough around the police to impress his girl friend except she dumps him anyway, because of the embarrassment.) There was one guy that was too intoxicated. (Must have been an ASU fan. We couldn’t have anyone like that in Oregon could we?) Finally the most idiotic play of the game from a fan. One guy broke into the women’s restroom! (Must have been the guy that was showing off for his girl friend and he was looking for her.)
Seriously…… A college football game is not the place to be causing havoc for the fans around you. They deserve to enjoy the game. They do not need to be interrupted by drunken actions. If you wish to drink that heavy go to the Cheers bar in Boston, where everyone knows your name!
The State of OSU Sports Report
I am a member of the Athletic Director’s Advisory Board. We met on Saturday before the ASU game.
Bob DeCarolis highlighted how the many different sports were doing. Volleyball is on a tremendous upswing, beating ranked teams this year and they are very young. Women’s Cross Country has only been in existence for four years and they were ranked this year. The Women’s Soccer is extremely young; it looks good for next year. In swimming we have back our National Champion and Olympic performer Saori Haraguchi. The Men’s basketball team won their first game. (More on that later.) The Women’s basketball team crushed Lewis & Clark 98-35. (More information later)
Bob then shared the future for facilities for remodel or new construction.
1. There will be a new Student Success Center. It will be where help is available for academics, and tutoring. They will start building it next month. It will be between the parking structure that is across from Gill Coliseum and the Alumni building. It will have 30,000 sq. feet.
2. Speaking of Gill Coliseum, have you ever seen a sign, plague, or statue of the person that Gill is named after? If you say you haven’t, that is because there isn’t one. DeCarolis thought this was not right. He wants to have a statue of Slats Gill placed outside of Gill Coliseum to honor him.
3. The Valley Football Center will have some remodeling. There will be some new covering on the floor and wall in the halls. There will be new graphics on the walls honoring past athletes and coaches.
4. Goss Stadium is just about complete. They are just putting in the final touches inside the new facility on the west side.
5. Gill Coliseum is being resurfaced on the outside. You can see the huge plastic coverings on the south side. They will then go around the stadium until they meet again on the parking area between the two facilities. There is a lot of asbestos underneath all the paint they are taking off. Bob said you couldn’t burn down Gill even if you tried!!! Those of you that went to the first basketball game this year must have noticed the scoreboards were gone. There is something new going to happen there. No report from Bob on that.
6. There is a new boathouse being built for rowing.
7. There is a strong movement to build a new track. This would an excellent place to donate if you are looking for some way to help in the sports department. The track will be located south of the RV parking. When it is finished they will bring back men’s track!! They need 5 Million dollars to get started. So would one of you get out your check book and cover that?
How does he school pay for all of this? It is through donations, and matching funds from the government. Without your help none of these projects could even get started.
Let me ask you a question. If you have been paying into BASF funding to get football and basketball tickets, you are doing your part in supporting the athletic program and the whole university. What about if you are not contributing to BASF? What if you haven’t donated for any programs at OSU? Let me give you some ideas:
1. If you give directly to the athletic Department, and do not receive anything in return, (tickets) your donation will have a 100% write-off on your taxes. I can’t think of a better way for those of you that received your degree at OSU to thank them for your education. Your money will help hundreds of students reach the same dream you had when you were going to school there. A college degree! It doesn’t have to be thousands of dollars. I hope you will give generously, but even if you give as little as $100.00 that adds up quickly if all of you on my email list gives.
2. These are hard times. I can’t argue with that, but it is even harder for the young men and women to be able to afford to go to college. If you help out, you will have a tax deduction, and have the good feeling that you helped some youth at the same time.
If you want to find out more on how to help out with a donation, call Doug Oxsen at 1-541-737-7486 at his office, or 1-541-231-7244 on his cell phone. He can give you all the information you will need to help out in some way.
I heard somebody say something that is very profound. I have heard it many times as a matter of fact. “OSU never seems to attract ‘Blue Chip’ recruits, so they just settle for wins!”
U of O always out recruits OSU and U of O keeps on losing. They are like the energizing bunny! Why is this??? It is called COACHING!! Please understand that OSU has one of the best coaching staffs in the Nation. Coach Banker is considered one of the top defensive coaches in the United States. Coach Cavanaugh IS the best Offensive line coach on the planet! The special teams coach is highly regarded for his skills to build up that part of the picture. It goes on and on. That is what wins games. OSU has the type of coaching that is perfect for “2nd tier” players. They are excited to be recruited by a PAC-10 team, and they play their guts out to thank the coaches for it.
The Men’s basketball team played against St Martins last Sunday. It wasn’t pretty. St. Martins was ahead at one point in the second half, but I will look at the bright side:
1. The team is much faster than last year.
2. There was a new kid on the block. Daniel Deane, six feet eight inches and 245 pounds, not only scored many points, he was a force on the boards. He is able to mix with any big man in the PAC-10.
Omari Johnson will our next start for basketball for OSU. He scored at will, and looked very poised on the court.
3. The team was without players that may be starters. Calvin Haynes has to sit out until his quarter grades come in, and Calvin Hampton was recuperating from an injury.
The Women’s team was awesome against Lewis & Clark. They scored over 90 points and held Lewis & Clark below 40. It looks like this may be a breakout year. Time will tell.
I will have a new “Did you know?” feature. It will be in future newsletters from the website newsletter. It will have facts that not many people know about. I hope you will subscribe so that you can get some really interesting facts. One example…..Did you know that of the three loses that OSU has had this year the total wins and loses for all of them is 22-4? There will be many more of this kind of information.
There is a National Coach of the Year, program going. Mike Riley fits right into the qualifications that they rely on for the coach to be like. Please check it out, and vote for Coach Riley. He has earned it.
You will have to hunt for the right spot to vote but it is there. You will have to write in Mike Riley’s name, and they may ask you why you voted for him. Pour on the good words. They use that to help them decide. You will also notice some pretty well known names on the “Leader Board.” They are there just for that reason. They are well known.
The UCLA Pre Game
Mike Riley has never beaten UCLA on their turf. This game looks like another easy win for the Beavers. Not so fast!! It is always harder to away games. UCLA is very hungry for a win. We have our starting quarterback injured. This could a heart breaking game.
However, I do not think so. I think we will squeak this one out, 25-23. The sepcial teams will be the difference, Justin Kahut is very consistent now. Sammie Stroughter could break lose for a touchdown on punt returns and the defense could cause a fumble. Kick-off return specialist James Rogers has been close to breaking one loose too. Watch closely at the special teams.
The defense has gotten better each game. I feel they will have a good game, but there may be a touchdown from an interception. Over all we will prevail in the end, and get that famous monkey off of Coach Riley’s back for losing so many times to UCLA at their home field. GO BEAVS!
I will put the rest of the news in the next newsletter. I have gotten this one way too long. There is SO much news I can dig up for you each time I put out the newsletter.
In the next newsletter, (for those who have subscribed) will have some interesting thoughts from Bob DeCarolis on his adventure with Indiana experience as a candidate for the Athletic Director’s position there. You will not want to miss this one.
I hope you will join me for further adventures. If you have decided that this is it, I thank you for staying with me for the last five years. If you are staying to hear tons of more news in the coming months, thank you for your loyalty. You will be glad you did.
Subscribe now if you haven’t already!
OUT
Doug Bolton: Freelance Writer, Author of Close Encounters of the Heavenly Kind: Through Bumper Stickers
PH: 503-508-6589