Booyah!

Yeah, it may be what have you done for me lately, but the last 15 years have been pretty dark up at UW... From the whole probation years, then throw in Rick "The Weasel" Neiuheisel and his band of thugs (no seriously, if you want to read up on it the Seattle Times did this little piece: Victory and Ruins Its pretty fascinating actually, not to mention absolutely appalling the things going on at that program) Next the HORRIBLE Keith Gilbertson and now with Tyrone Willingham.... sigh...

I guess thats what happens when you start actually having tough admission standards for football players (cough ND cough)... It looks better for graduation rates, but uh the success on the field is sacrificed...

Rochin54 wrote:Only downer is that I miss the ND-Michigan game, probably the best game at Notre Dame Stadium this year.

What, they aren't playing any class A high school games this year in ND Stadium??

not technically

For years UW was King of the NW. UO and OSU would get killed every year and so would WSU.

UW was big time and commanded repect nationally. I never thought the Oregon schools would ever catch up, to be honest.

Having tough admissions standards makes it really difficult to field an elite football program, no doubt. I knew something was up with Neiuheisel the first time he opened his mouth. But, really, not following UW closely, I simply don't understand why they have slipped so far. Can one coach screw up a team so bad that they can't get back up?

(Whitsett did this with the Blazers quite effectively!)

Ah, UW.

If you've got a spare hour, I highly recommend this series by the Seattle Times about the 2000 Washington Huskies and the legal problems, cover-ups, lack of administrative control etc. etc. that went along with that 11-1, Rose Bowl winning team:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/victoryandruins/

The thing is... I don't think all of the things highlighted in the article were specific to UW. I think a lot of them are endemic in big-time D1 football. Oregon State went through a bit of it a few years ago, and Oregon has a long history of sweeping its players discretions under the rug (including Belott's son's multiple DUIs).

So I don't take that series as putting dirt on UW per se... I see it as exposing the dirty secrets of big-time D1 football.

I will take Stonehouse a step further and say that story is a must read for every college sports fan, to show how things can go so terribly wrong and to keep everything in perspective!

But Stonehouse is also correct in that this sort of behavior, sadly, likely goes on at most major programs across the country...

Yeah.... The article was a big eye opener... From players literally being touted as family men but at the same time being cited for domestic abuse and having 2 girlfriends on the side, to date rape covered up by "friends of the university", not to mention outstanding warrants for armed robbery DURING football season (for a player who would urinate upon himself on the field to intimidate), and players trying to succeed academically being ostracized because their desire to learn interferes with their football commitments...

And yeah you can't tell me this is the only place this happened...

And FANatic... its been a long and slippery road for the Huskies, from outright probation for a backup quarterback accepting $40K to buy a truck equipped with gun racks, to Lambright (and those damn Purple helmets) and Nieuheisel both allowing the program and players to absolutely run wild, to Gilbertson being completely inept, its been a long steady stream of mistakes. Now 2 of Willingham's prized recruits J.R. Hasty and E.J. Savannah are both gone (both were top 50 recruits when taken, including Hasty as the #2 RB in the country) because they couldn't measure up academically. I think its been just one thing after another, and honestly unless academic standards are relaxed the purple and gold are going to be mired in mediocrity for a very long time....

I think that's a cop-out. Until there is accountability for academic and athletic success, there will not be improvement. However, there must be accountability for academic success across the board (i.e., all institutions). There is no rule that says good or great athletes cannot be succesful in the classroom. Total BS.

Haha yeah, but until you can get that enforced nationally, which the NCAA tries to do with threats of scholarship removal, it's all for naught. If some players have the choice of going to a place where they are going to be challenged academically as hard as they are through football vs. a place where they can do football and coast through school, unfortunately a lot of players are going to choose that for fear that their "game" and chances that academics might interfere with that. I've seen it happen with players getting bad advice, told the game is what was going to be their ticket to success instead of a degree... For the VERY talented it works, but for the average "student athlete" it doesn't. That said the schools willing to accept athletes with no intention of actually being students automatically have a leg up over institutions requiring people to actually get that degree and better themselves academically. Until that disparity is closed, it isn't a cop out, it all becomes a matter of who gives first, the institutions trying to establish integrity, or those willing to sacrifice it for success on the field.

Rochin54 wrote:Yes! After hitting the 40 hour mark for the week when I left work last night, I was greeted at home by the tickets I was able to round up for the Oregon at Purdue game this Saturday:

Row 15, 47 yard line, Ducks sideline, inlcuded a parking pass, all at face value!

Oh happy day!!! Only downer is that I miss the ND-Michigan game, probably the best game at Notre Dame Stadium this year.

GREAT CHOICE, Rochin! Not only did you see a Ducks Double OT win , you didn't have to sit in the deluge at ND.

Well, the Ducks sure learned what they are made of today. Boy, I hope Roper is all right, though. The Harper and Masoli show worked for parts of the UW and USU games but there are tougher opponents to come.

One thing that maybe was overlooked the first two games was how strong they are in the second half. Recall that the game was within UW's reach until a 20 point 4th quarter. Today UO comes back to tie it with a punt return TD and another off a turnover to tie the game just that quickly.

FANatic, if the Ducks were stressing you out today, a nice soccer game or two might be just the cure. Fortunately, there are two tomorrow!

Is Justin Roper made of glass??

Are all UO QB's made of glass?

They must be channeling the Seahawks WR corps....

FANatic wrote:Are all UO QB's made of glass?

Dwight Jaynes asked a little different question on the same subject.


What would you do?