Ducks Football 2010 Preview

Trafton B.

September 2, 2010 - 11:11 PM

College Football is back! Today officially marks the beginning of the 2010-11 NCAA Football season. As of now, USC is ahead of Hawaii much to new coach Lane Kiffin's delight. Future Pac-10 competitor, Utah, upset #15 Pittsburgh in overtime. And Terrell Pryor's three touchdown, 271-yard day for Ohio State has already scored 29 points for my fantasy team.

Football is on everyone's mind in Eugene, and it's certainly the main topic of discussion in our house with two of the six roommates interning with the football team this season. For the second year, Kevin is working on the Oregon defense, which means he's been watching video and preparing for New Mexico this weekend. And Ross just scored an internship with the UO Marketing and Promotions department, so he's been busy passing out schedule cards and posters lately. Both will be on the sidelines this weekend at Autzen Stadium.

I was thinking about giving you some sort of Pac-10 preview, but then I realized you could just read that on ESPN. I'd rather give you the students' perspective on this season's upcoming games. I won't give any score predictions, though, because we're obviously winning each game.

September 4th vs. NEW MEXICO. Sadly, I'm missing the season opener but with just cause. Dave Matthews only plays for one weekend at the Gorge each year and the Ducks will be playing through December. I would like to see Darron Thomas; debut as the starting quarterback though. If he's as good as Kevin keeps telling us, then we're in for a few fun season.

September 9th at TENNESSEE. Cam, Ross and Kevin will all be Knoxville when we take on the Volunteers. It isn't as hyped of a game as original thought out to be, but it'll be a fun one to watch at a local Eugene sports bar.

 

September 18th vs. PORTLAND STATE. One last tune up before Pac-10 play starts. I'm more excited to see the student section fill up as everyone moves back before school starts.

September 25th at ARIZONA STATE. Not much to say here. Just come back to Eugene with a victory. Fall classes start the following Monday, so I don't need anything else to complain about.

October 2nd vs. STANFORD. This'll be the first true test of the season. QB Andy Luck returns after having a ridiculous Freshman year, but this time he doesn't have All-American RB Toby Gerhart in the backfield. Last season the Cardinal beat the Ducks in a 51-42 shootout. It was a brutal game to watch, I can tell you firsthand. It was a long ride back from Palo Alto last year. This year we want retribution.

October 9th at WASHINGTON STATE. ZZZzzzZZZZzzzz.....Sorry, I thought we had an off week.

October 21st vs UCLA. This matchup is more fun to watch during Track & Field season.

October 30th at USC. It's a Halloween Night rematch and I'm sure that USC remembers the beat down we handed to them last year. They want payback and I'm never one to count USC. They may not be able to go to a bowl at the end of the season, but they can still knock us out of contention if we aren't on our game.

Nov 6th vs. WASHINGTON. Ducks vs. Huskies is always a classic rivalry. I can't wait to see clips of Kenny Wheaton's "The Pick" playing on the big screen. Ask any homegrown Duck Football fan and they'll tell you that they love seeing U-Dub lose way more than Oregon State.

November 13th at CAL. I know I don't have a very good track record of watching the Ducks play on the road, but it still means a road trip with friends and a few nights of home cooked meals with Mom & Dad. There's a real good chance I'll be in Berkeley come November, especially if- sorry, when we're still in the hunt for a BCS Bowl bid.

November 26th vs. ARIZONA. We beat a lot of good teams last season and ticked a lot of people off in the process, but I don't think anyone wants to beat us more than Arizona does. Their fans were literally out of the stands and ready to rush the field! Last year's double overtime, comeback victory against the Wildcats probably goes into the Top 3 game I've ever watched.... in any sport. What I'm trying to say is I'd be fine if we just beat them handily this time around. It'd be easier on my nervous system.

December 4th at OREGON STATE. What can I say that hasn't already been said? The Civil War is the only way to end the season. Last year, it was a battle for the roses. The year before we just knocked the Beavers out of the Rose Bowl. Hard to believe that a Beavers' win in the 2009 Civil War meant they'd be heading to the Rose Bowl but a loss meant they'd go to the Emerald Bowl. I have one more shot to see the Ducks play in Corvallis before I graduate. This year the Civil War is the Saturday before finals week. I hope I don't have any exams on Monday.

The Ducks made it to the Rose Bowl last season but the team left Pasadena empty handed and left us fans heavy hearted. The expectations are high for this team and I'm hoping they can do work some magic for my last season in the student section at Autzen Stadium.

Countdown until Season Opener: 2 Days!!!!

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Waste Warriors at the Eugene Celebration

Trafton B.

August 28, 2010 - 4:24 PM

The Eugene Celebration is somewhat like a community pep rally. It's a weekend dedicated to strengthening neighborhood relationships between citizens, small business owners and students alike. Consider it a massive block party with great food, parade floats, live music and friendly people sharing a common purpose of celebrating the city they live in. Earlier today, I had the chance to join the celebration for a few hours, but not in the exact fashion you might be thinking.

 

Around noon, Steven and I volunteered to represent the University of Oregon as Waste Warriors at the Celebration. It was a behind the scenes gig that I'd heard about from the PPPM email list serve a couple weeks ago. According to the email, we would be helping to sort materials generated by the event into recycling, compost and waste and in return we'd receive a free t-shirt and a weekend pass to the festivities.

The t-shirts is pretty cool, I'm not going to lie, and being your average college student I was stoked to be able to work my way into the event rather than pay, but whether or not the fruits of our labor outweigh the vulgar nature of our duties still remains in question. Allow me to elaborate.

 

Our task was to take the contents of somewhere between twenty-five and thirty trash bags and separate them into compostable material, comingled recycling, glass recycling, waste, etc. Simple, right? It was exactly what the job description explained. It was around the time when our two leaders, Lupe and Willie, started handing out smocks and vinyl gloves that I started to worry. The next two hours was spent sorting through oodles and oodles of Lord-knows-what people had thrown away throughout the weekend.

 

Bag after bag was dumped onto our sorting table. Our team of five UO students and a Eugene community member sifted through the remnants of several different food stands, all of which looked like they were very appetizing at one point. We saw a few cartons of melting Ben & Jerry's ice cream, lots of disposable plates and silverware and an unlimited supply of empty coffee cups. Let's just say that I'm really happy that Café Mam in downtown Eugene serves their fair trade coffee in compostable cups. And based on how many people are drinking it, I wish I could say the same for Starbucks.

 

I already know what you're dying to find out. What was the worst smell you encountered, Trafton? There was some heavy competition between diapers and leftover Greek cuisine, but the clear-cut winner goes to a few bags of soggy cigarette butts. I'll spare you the details of that foulest of stenches and leave it at that.

 

It really wasn't nearly as bad as I make it out to be. I could have done without the smell, obviously, but aside from that it was no more than few hours chatting with new friends and learning what can and cannot be composted by Rexius' compost facilities. I learned that any recyclable plastic that has touched food could no longer be recycled. Sadly, it gets sent to the dump. Those 99¢ Arizona Ice Teas that we all love don't have any CRV value in Oregon, whereas the majority of all other aluminum cans and plastic bottles can be returned for 5¢ a piece at Safeway or Market of Choice. And, like I said before, I'm really glad that most disposable cups are compostable these days, because Eugeners sure drink a lot of coffee and soda.

 

I'm certainly glad I went, although I wish I could have stayed at the Celebration afterwards. After our shift ended around 2:30, Steven and I quickly bolted home to rinse off the grunge that comes with two hours of digging through trash. We never did make it back to downtown. Oh well, I guess there's always next year.

 

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Eugene Emeralds vs. Everett AquaSox

Trafton B.

August 26, 2010 - 10:31 PM

Earlier tonight my roommates - Ross, Steven and Winston - and I headed over to PK Park to watch some Minor League Baseball action as the Eugene Emeralds took on the Everett AquaSox. Okay, we may have been lured to the park by Thirsty Thursday, but at least we're supporting our local team, right?

 

The highlight of the night happened around the 3rd Inning when a foul ball off the bat of the AquaSox clean up hitter found its way to our section. It ricocheted off the top of the stadium behind home plate and plopped down in the row in front of us. The ball actually landed directly into a girl's cup and splashed soda all over the kid next to her. At the same time, I became overzealous trying to catch the ball and happened to spill some of my drink on the kid too. I felt really bad until he leaned over to his mother and laughed, "I think I need to take a shower when I get home." His spirits remain high and the girl gave the ball to him afterwards, so it all worked out in the end.

 

Meanwhile, the game turned out to be a big victory for the Ems. They were down a run until the bottom of the 5th inning when they scored two twice lands to a subpar defensive effort by the Everett infielders. First, Wes Cunningham whiffed on a change up for the third strike, but the ball scooted past the Everett catcher to the backstop, which allowed Cunningham to take first base and Oscar Garcia to steal home to tie the game. Later in the inning they scored again when the second baseman booted a groundball. We concluded that any player still in Single-A short season at this time of year probably deserves to be there. We noticed that everyone was lacking a certain polish and shine that Triple-A and Major Leaguers shared.

 

At that point, the score was 2-1 and the Emeralds never looked back. They tacked on four more runs in the 7th inning to go up 6-1, which ended up being the final score. For the rest of the game, we sat back and enjoyed the show. Winston recognized the Emeralds catcher, Rocky Gale, who he'd played with at McNary High School in Keiser.

 

Meanwhile, Steven and I were doing our best impressions of Major League scouts as the Emeralds bullpen took over in the later innings. A little known fact about me is that my dream job is a baseball scout in the major leagues. I would literally drop any job and any future plans if I were given the opportunity to become a scout. Getting paid to watch minor league games. All I have to do is hold up a speed gun and jot down notes every once in a while. Sign me up!

 

I'll make one bold prediction. Mark my words; we'll see Xavier Esquivel in the major leagues in a few years. He pitched a perfect 7th and 8th inning for the Ems - six up, six down with three strikeouts. Watch for that name coming up through the Padres farm system. We'll see if I'm cut out to be a scout or not.

 

Hopefully, we'll be able to make it to another game before the summer ends. The Salem-Keiser Volcanoes are coming into town next weekend. They're the minor league affiliate of the Giants, so I might actually have a little vested interest in the game. The Dave Matthews Band concert at the Columbia Gorge next weekend might get in the way though. I'll keep you posted.

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NCAA Fantasy Football: Draft Day '10

Trafton B.

August 22, 2010 - 11:54 PM

It might not be fall quite yet, but football season is right around the corner. And, to prepare for the upcoming season, the roommates have all joined a Fantasy Football league.

 

It's a guy thing, I know, but it's hilarious how involved we become in this. Tonight at 10PM, we all sat down on our computers and went through the grueling ninety-minute draft. There are ten guys in the league and as of now we're spread out across Oregon - half in Eugene and half in Portland. Throughout the entire process, we were smack talking each other with our draft center chat room. Then we all realized that we hadn't been in a chat room since middle school, which made us feel old.

 

We're all big sports fans, but we don't take the Fantasy league too seriously. It's just your average friendly competition for bragging rights. Plus, we have an excuse to watch SportsCenter at night. Now we can call it "research."

 

The first few picks are usually a mad dash to pick up Oregon players. LaMichael James, Darron Thomas and Jeff Maehl were picked up early. My final pick in the 14th Round was Oregon Kicker, Alejandro Maldonado. I'd done enough research to know that he's fighting Rob Beard for the starting job. In the end I just wanted to have a guy named Alejandro on my team. And if he does play this year, I can singing Lady Gaga's "Don't Call My Name (Alejandro)" after every extra point he kicks.

 

An hour and a half and we were all about ready to pass out, eyes heavy from staring at our computer screens. The hardest part is over though, and we're geared up for another season.

 

There are high hopes in Eugene for another trip to Pasadena on New Year's Day. We've been preparing ourselves mentally for the grind of College Football Saturdays. Walking up at the crack of noon, putting your finest yellow Gameday shirt and trekking over to Autzen. I get excited just thinking about it.

 

Countdown until Season Opener: 12 days!

 

 

 

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The Eugene Routine

Trafton B.

August 20, 2010 - 6:06 PM

The second round of Summer 2010 is off to a great start and I'm beginning to fall into a familiar rhythm of life in Eugene, slightly modified for the seasons.

 

It's my first full week back at Facilities Services and I'm quickly remembering how to update my campus energy and utilities spreadsheets. My supervisors apparently had a demanding summer while I was away, so they were happy to have me back to share some of the workload. We're working tirelessly to have Knight Arena and the new Ford Alumni Center online and running before students are back in the fall. The two buildings are set to open in January and May of 2011.

 

Work ends around 4 o'clock. I sign off my time sheet and ride my bicycle home down 18th Street. Depending on my personal energy level, I'll either head out for a run down by the millrace on the Amazon Creek Trails or see who's all wants to walk over to South Eugene High to play Frisbee.

 

Just this week, my roommates and I discovered Washington City Park on the other side of College Hill. It's a steep five and a half blocks but well worth it. We shot some hoops, tossed around the Vortex and even took a quick batting practice; off-season workouts for Intramural Softball next spring. We want that championship t-shirt.

 

Today, after Winston and I got off work we met up with some friends at McMennamins on 19th Street for Happy Hour. Cheep burgers and good drinks. Like we need another excuse to get to McMennamins with those cajunized tater tots.

 

Life in Eugene is certainly slower during the summer. Less school work to worry about. No midterms to prepare for. Plus, you can wear something other than a rain slicker. I think I could get used to this.

 

 

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