Archive for September, 2009
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Arran’s Week 1 Football Picks
Posted by admin in Commentary on September 10th, 2009

Not Against the Spread:
| Which team will win the game? (My selections are in bold.) | |||
| 9/10 8:30 PM | NBC | Tennessee Titans | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 9/13 1:00 PM | CBS | Miami Dolphins | Atlanta Falcons |
| 9/13 1:00 PM | CBS | Denver Broncos | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 9/13 1:00 PM | FOX | Minnesota Vikings | Cleveland Browns |
| 9/13 1:00 PM | CBS | Jacksonville Jaguars | Indianapolis Colts |
| 9/13 1:00 PM | FOX | Detroit Lions | New Orleans Saints |
| 9/13 1:00 PM | FOX | Dallas Cowboys | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 9/13 1:00 PM | FOX | Philadelphia Eagles | Carolina Panthers |
| 9/13 1:00 PM | CBS | Kansas City Chiefs | Baltimore Ravens |
| 9/13 1:00 PM | CBS | New York Jets | Houston Texans |
| 9/13 4:15 PM | FOX | Washington Redskins | New York Giants |
| 9/13 4:15 PM | FOX | San Francisco 49ers | Arizona Cardinals |
| 9/13 4:15 PM | FOX | St. Louis Rams | Seattle Seahawks |
| 9/13 8:20 PM | NBC | Chicago Bears | Green Bay Packers |
| 9/14 7:00 PM | ESPN | Buffalo Bills | New England Patriots |
| 9/14 10:15 PM | ESPN | San Diego Chargers | Oakland Raiders |
Against the Spread:
| Which team will win the game? (My selections are in bold.) | |||
| 9/10 8:30 PM | NBC | Tennessee Titans (+5.5) | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 9/13 1:00 PM | CBS | Miami Dolphins (+4.5) | Atlanta Falcons |
| 9/13 1:00 PM | CBS | Denver Broncos | Cincinnati Bengals (-3.5) |
| 9/13 1:00 PM | FOX | Minnesota Vikings (-3.5) | Cleveland Browns |
| 9/13 1:00 PM | CBS | Jacksonville Jaguars | Indianapolis Colts (-6.5) |
| 9/13 1:00 PM | FOX | Detroit Lions | New Orleans Saints (-11.5) |
| 9/13 1:00 PM | FOX | Dallas Cowboys (-3.5) | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 9/13 1:00 PM | FOX | Philadelphia Eagles (+0.5) | Carolina Panthers |
| 9/13 1:00 PM | CBS | Kansas City Chiefs | Baltimore Ravens (-8.5) |
| 9/13 1:00 PM | CBS | New York Jets | Houston Texans (-4.5) |
| 9/13 4:15 PM | FOX | Washington Redskins | New York Giants (-6.5) |
| 9/13 4:15 PM | FOX | San Francisco 49ers | Arizona Cardinals (-6.5) |
| 9/13 4:15 PM | FOX | St. Louis Rams | Seattle Seahawks (-7.5) |
| 9/13 8:20 PM | NBC | Chicago Bears | Green Bay Packers (-3.5) |
| 9/14 7:00 PM | ESPN | Buffalo Bills | New England Patriots (-10.5) |
| 9/14 10:15 PM | ESPN | San Diego Chargers (-6.5) | Oakland Raiders |
Blazers Jeff Pendergraph undergoes successful surgery, could be sidelined 12 weeks
According to a late night text message from the Trail Blazers …
Rookie forward Jeff Pendergraph underwent successful surgery Wednesday to repair a left hip impingement and is expected to miss between 10-12 weeks while rehabilitating. Assuming Pendergraph’s rehab goes according to plan, he will return sometime in late November or early December.
Posted by Joe Freeman, The Oregonian September 09, 2009 22:19PM
Oregon’s LeGarrette Blount suspended for season but to remain with team
Running back LeGarrette Blount has been suspended for the rest of the season for his actions Thursday night, ending his career at Oregon.
The suspension would remain in effect through the bowl season, if the Ducks are invited, but Blount will remain in school, on scholarship and in the football program – through any bowl games the Ducks may play in – and will practice and have access to the school’s support services.
He just won’t be allowed to play in games.
After a 19-8 loss to Boise State on Thursday night, Blount punched Broncos linebacker Byron Hout, who appeared to be taunting him, in the face. Blount also shoved and punched teammate Garrett Embry and charged some fans in the Bronco Stadium stands.
Blount finishes his Oregon career with 997 rushing yards, including the negative-5 yards he ran for Thursday night, on eight carries.
Blount punched BSU linebacker Byron Hout in the face after Hout appeared to be taunting him, then Blount took a shot at teammate Garrett Embry before charging at some fans behind the end zone at Bronco Stadium. The Pac-10 Conference also will review tape of the incident.
As the nation’s sports fans spent the morning debating the sucker punch and what punishment might be handed down, Blount was with the team at the Casanova Center in Eugene. He sat eating lunch with teammates in the Pittman Room before the team’s afternoon practice. TVs in a hallway of the Casanova Center, often turned to ESPN, instead air a simple Ducks’ “O” logo this morning.
Players were not available to comment until after practice.
Late Thursday night, Blount didn’t want to talk about what happened but felt it was in his best interest to do so.
“I just apologize to everybody that was watching this – ESPN, national TV – I just apologize to all of our fans, all the Boise fans,” Blount said. “It was just something that I shouldn’t have done. I lost my head, and I shouldn’t have taken it that far.”
Blount had made headlines before the game when he was quoted as saying the Ducks owe the Broncos “a (butt) whuppin’ after last year’s 37-32 upset at Oregon. On Thursday night, it was Boise State, again, doing the whuppin,’ until Blount took out his frustrations.
Blount got an earful from some Broncos after the game. And when Hout touched Blount’s shoulder pads and had some words for the senior, Blount sucker-punched him. Blount was restrained by his teammates, but he also delivered a shot to teammate Garrett Embry, who was trying to be peacemaker.
Then, when receivers coach Scott Frost and a police offer tried to wrestle an angry Blount to the locker room, he got into it again with some fans behind the end zone. It was replayed over and again on ESPN. The national exposure that Kelly had courted had backfired.
Blount said he will stand by whatever punishment Kelly and the Ducks decide upon.
“I don’t know what kind of disciplinary action coach Kelly has in store for me, but whatever it is, I’m ready to take (it),” he said.
New Pacific-10 Conference commissioner Larry Scott also issued a statement Friday, saying the conference “has reviewed and endorsed the disciplinary actions” by Oregon.
Blount goes crazy
BOISE — It was the performance of a lifetime. A big-time coming out party for the new guy in charge and his disciplined, workmanlike team. It was a beautiful, proud performance by the Imperial Stormtroopers from the University of Oregon.
Every pass was caught. Every quarterback read was perfect. The Ducks’ players were in control, focused and sportsmanlike.
They made you proud.
Then, pregame warmups ended and they were disgusting.
It was Boise State 19, Oregon 8. Also, it’s so long to Ducks running back LeGarrette Blount, who should be kicked off the team today for what he did on Thursday at Bronco Stadium.
Blount punched Boise State’s Byron Hout in the face on the field after the game. Then, Blount put a fist to the helmet of Ducks’ teammate Garrett Embry, who was trying to play peacemaker. And what we have here is a low moment that can not be greeted with tolerance.
Blount left the field struggling with two police officers and two stadium security guards, and with Ducks assistant Scott Frost being towed along. There was a hostile brush with a Boise State fan, too. In the end, there was chaos and volatility all around this team, courtesy of Blount.
The Ducks running back should be arrested and charged with assault today for slugging Hout, who wasn’t even looking. Also, Blount should be served up by first-year head coach Chip Kelly as a reminder of everything the program should never become.
It was cheap. It was embarrassing. It was disgusting.
Dress all that ugliness in gorgeous all-white uniforms, rank it in the Top 25, put it on national television, and it still stinks.
What we have here is a real leadership moment.
So what’s it going to be, coach?
Forget that Oregon looked unprepared and confused against the Broncos on offense. Forget that the Ducks didn’t manage a first down until midway through the third quarter. Forget that it was the flattest football performance since BYU flattened Oregon 38-8 in the 2006 Las Vegas Bowl.
The game was a waste of time, followed by a nationally televised melee courtesy of Blount. The player managed a clumsy, self-serving, “it will never happen again,” apology afterward. And the football becomes secondary today. Which is only to say Oregon compounds the ugly loss if it keeps Blount around a minute longer.
Turns out that you can ride your motorcycle without a helmet on the freeway in Idaho. And that you can outfit yourself in bright orange, walk outside your home here, and blend right in without a hitch. But what you can’t do under any circumstance is show up and strut around trash-talking when things don’t go your way, then start punching people because you’re frustrated and agonized.
Will it never happen again?
We’ll see.
Right now, I can’t get the disgusting sight of Blount going berserk after the game out of my head. He finished the evening with eight carries for minus-five yards. Blount’s final rumble to the locker room, with all of those bodies tangled with his, unable to stop him, ends up the first time all evening the guy looked imposing.
We waited all summer… for this?
The Ducks punter, bless him, punted five times in the first half. Oregon has big-time questions revolving around its offense today. It got so bad that a national television audience was treated to an interview with former coach Mike Bellotti (now the athletic director).
Said Bellotti: “Frustrated … frustrated … frustrated.”
Sure, there were some other words mixed in between those three words, but you didn’t really need them anymore. Not after seeing Blount turn an awful and aggravating night into the worst evening in program history.
Bellotti did offer, “We need to run the ball more,” which is better than more punching of people I suppose. But even an eight-hour drive away, you could hear Ducks fans in Oregon standing in their living rooms booing their television sets as Blount was carried away.
What now?
Because there’s no point today in arguing whether Oregon should have run the ball more effectively, or passed it more effectively. Or blocked better. Or even arrived with an offensive game plan that made more sense.
This becomes about character now. Ethics, standards and accountability are at stake. If Kelly gives Blount a pass, or slaps him on the wrist, be sure this will become a program that regularly embarrasses all of us.
Who cares if it wins games? Damage like that is devastating.
Bellotti said after the game that Blount’s future will be a university decision. That the athletic director and the university president will consult and make a decision on whether or not to suspend him or remove him permanently. But if you’re Kelly, can you really accept Blount as part of your program should the suits give him a pass?
Kelly was disrespected multiple times on the Ducks sideline during the game. Players scoffed in his face. Another shouted at him. Bellotti undermined him, too, by walking up in front of Kelly’s players to offer the new guy input in the second quarter. And so we’re learning calling the plays is one thing, and leading the program is another.
Kelly still has a chance to lead today.
We’ve talked all summer about how different this program might look under a new coach. We’ve debated whether uniforms matter. And we’ve told each other that we couldn’t wait to see Kelly in charge. Figured it would take a whole season to learn what he’s about. But what we now have is the opportunity to discover who Kelly really is in a single moment.
Blount must go.
And when he does, keep your head up and your eyes on his fists.

NFL Week Two Picks
Posted by admin in Commentary on September 16th, 2009
Pick Em:
Against the Spread:
Season Stats:
Pick Em – 89.2%
Against the Spread – 57.9%
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