2020-21 Preseason

https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/john_canzano/2020/10/canzano-oregon-gov-kate-brown-is-officially-adrift-in-college-sports-sea.html

What in the actual hell. I didn’t know this was happening.

And we thought that Coach Porter was making Pilot men's basketball unwatchable.

Governor Brown and the state are now adding their touch.

This is surreal. Really?

wrv wrote: Really?

Yup, really!

As Canzano stated, the reason UO and OSU got the earlier jump to start full practice is because of the waiver they were given for football, but PSU plays football too, just not in the Pac-12!   (And as we all know, UP is undefeated in American football since 1950).



The UP basketball teams are still able to practice with full teams on the court, but they cannot go up and down the court...essentially they are playing half-court basketball.

The last I had heard, the governor's office had not yet read UP's latest submission for a waiver for full practice to begin, but I've also been told UP's request was denied.

There has been some talk of moving the practices to Vancouver, USA, although Canzano's article states that has been prohibited by Salem. Apparently Scott Leykam and Jim Etzel at Sports Oregon have been in discussion with the governor's office this week in an attempt to clear the log jam.

As we often say, "it's always something!"

Unbelievable! What about non D-1, Lewis and Clark etc. Our usual pre -season wins?

https://www.koin.com/sports/pilots-vikings-left-behind-as-other-ncaa-schools-return-to-play/

Come on Portland State, get your act together!

Snus Junction wrote:Unbelievable! What about non D-1, Lewis and Clark etc.  Our usual pre -season wins?

I don't think any other level of collegiate basketball is going to begin before January, so I'd say there's a chance that for the first time in a long time the Pilots won't be playing non-D1s at all this year.

Snus Junction wrote:Unbelievable! What about non D-1, Lewis and Clark etc.  Our usual pre -season wins?

Haha, not to worry, Oregon and OSU are the only schools with approval to practice, all the D2, D3, NAIA, and JUCOs are in the same boat at UP and PSU.

In the article cited by Deaner, and in other articles on the web tonight is this negative view from Salem (the bold is mine):

“One issue is timing––COVID-19 infections are surging across Oregon just as colder weather is pushing more people to gather indoors. With case counts on the rise across Oregon, our office has paused offering exemptions to additional indoor collegiate contact sports activities at this time. Earlier in the fall, Pac-12 schools were specifically granted an exception to the collegiate guidance if they submitted health and safety protocols to the Oregon Health Authority for approval, and that exception does not extend beyond the Pac-12 at this time.

The Pac-12 also submitted a detailed testing plan which included dedicated resources for testing supplies and lab work for the University of Oregon and Oregon State. To date, we have not received a plan from Portland State. We have received a plan from the University of Portland. Our office’s focus right now is stopping the increase in COVID-19 cases so that more K-12 students can return to the classroom. That unfortunately means putting on hold additional approvals for other indoor contact activities that run the risk of further spreading the disease in our communities, like indoor contact sports. We hope we can reconsider these exceptions soon.

We understand the frustration many college athletes in Oregon are feeling right now. But the fact is COVID-19 cases are on the rise. The best thing we can do to bring back more indoor sports is to work together to drive down infection numbers to safe levels in communities across Oregon, by wearing face coverings, washing hands, watching physical distance, and avoiding social gatherings.”

This is unbelievable. Either shut it all down or open it up for everyone. Shouldn't be able to grant dispensation to Ducks/Beavs and not similar institutions with comparable plans.

I think the powers that be at UP should go ahead with their practice plan as devised. What is the governor really going to do? Lockdown? Arrests? Shoot all the basketballs?

I get she worries about the slippery slope (D2 then D3 then NAIA, then community colleges, then high schools) but she's the one that put the slip in the slope by approving Oregon and Oregon State.

I mean, you're either serious about stopping the pandemic or it's lip service. Gov Brown if your serious make no exceptions, if you're not, let everyone play and let the chips fall where they may.

Canzano: Oregon Gov. Kate Brown absent and out to lunch on college basketball stance

https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/john_canzano/2020/10/canzano-oregon-gov-kate-brown-absent-and-out-to-lunch-on-college-basketball-stance.html

Certainly can't help having Canzano aim both barrels at this issue!

I know the line has to be drawn somewhere, but damn... you can't just draw the line in the middle of D1. Imagine if this was one state north and the governor let UW and WSU play but not Gonzaga!

On its face, it appears Kate Brown and the state are acting irrationally with regard to PSU and UP basketball, that is if PSU and UP are willing to strictly implement the same protocols that OSU and UO are currently.

At this or some point in the near future, UP may need to consider legal action. I am for the safety measures involving COVID, but you cannot allow this unequal treatment with no seeming rational basis to explain why the institutions are being treated differently. Damages will occur if there is a loss of revenue because of this disparate treatment. To be consistent the state and Kate either need to stop Oregon Pac-12 play now and put them in the same position or allow the Viks and the Pilots the same opportunity to play.

One could conclude that Kate has given in to the political might of the Oregon Pac-12 schools but intends to treat the smaller institutions with less clout with disdain.

DoubleDipper wrote:Canzano: Oregon Gov. Kate Brown absent and out to lunch on college basketball stance

https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/john_canzano/2020/10/canzano-oregon-gov-kate-brown-absent-and-out-to-lunch-on-college-basketball-stance.html

It looks like Canzano is preparing to give the Governess the Larry Scott/Mrs. Belloti/Steve Patterson treatment. A constant and consistent downpour of whining in the O, on Twitter, on the radio, on TV...this tactic has served him well in the Oregon sporting world, guess we will see how well it works in Oregon politics.

GodSpeed Clownzano!!!

I've been told the governor's office has told UP to wait until mid-December before resubmitting their application for a waiver just to BEGIN PRACTICING.

Even if the waiver were then approved immediately, it would men UP would have less than two weeks of practice before the beginning of WCC play, and there would be zero preseason games.  

I've also been told there is at least one player on both the men's and women's teams who are considering transferring to somewhere they can play basketball.

Dwight Jaynes mentions the Pilots need to wait 6-12 weeks before resubmitting their application for a waiver:

https://sports.yahoo.com/why-gov-kate-brown-portland-202644184.html

Scott Leykam: "I owe it to our kids to keep fighting..."

The interview with Scott begins at the 2:00 minute point and ends at 14:00.

https://soundcloud.com/kxtg-the-bald-faced-truth/bft-interview-scott-leykam-5?ref=clipboard&p=i&c=0

DoubleDipper wrote:Scott Leykam: "I owe it to our kids to keep fighting..."

The interview with Scott begins at the 2:00 minute point and ends at 14:00.

https://soundcloud.com/kxtg-the-bald-faced-truth/bft-interview-scott-leykam-5?ref=clipboard&p=i&c=0

Scott is always a good listen. Here's hoping something can get done soon, but it looks like the Pilots and PSU are far from the only schools that are facing uncertainty with under a month to go until college hoops is supposed to start.

@MattNorlander wrote:THREAD: College basketball’s season starts a month from today, but behind the scenes, according to sources, widespread concern is quickly escalating over the stability -- if not survival -- of every Orlando-based ESPN event. This is a huge deal.

Read all of his thread here - https://twitter.com/MattNorlander/status/1320364281892843521 - basic summary is that many events still on the schedule are very much up in the air, especially all the MTEs that are supposed to be held in Orlando.

2020-21 WCC Preseason Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll
Team (First Place Vote) Pts.
1. Gonzaga (9) 81
2. BYU (1) 69
3. Saint Mary’s 63
4. Pepperdine 57
5. San Francisco 52
6. Santa Clara 38
7. LMU 33
8. Pacific 31
9. San Diego 16
10. Portland 10

https://wccsports.com/news/2020/10/25/mens-basketball-gonzaga-picked-to-win-ninth-straight-wcc-championship.aspx

So zero surprises. And shout out to the one coach who had the Pilots ahead of San Diego!

DoubleDipper wrote:I've also been told there is at least one player on both the men's and women's teams who are considering transferring to somewhere they can play basketball.

Just as the women's team is turning the corner. Extremely frustrating.

**** it.

They should just start practicing.

Woodless 2.0 wrote:**** it.

They should just start practicing.

Looks like they're trying to do just that!

https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/john_canzano/2020/10/canzano-university-of-portland-basketball-programs-preparing-to-hurdle-gov-kate-brown-and-move-out-of-state.html

This makes me furious! I hope you all remember this when it's time to vote. Our state has gone nothing but down hill under her "Leadership".

Kevin wrote:This makes me furious! I hope you all remember this when it's time to vote. Our state has gone nothing but down hill under her "Leadership".

It's one thing to express our frustration with the Pilots inability to practice, but quite another to espouse our political views here.  Some long-time contributors from the past have left PilotNation because of the political views that have been expressed.

Many of us use social media to express partisan views, but the PilotNation sport threads are not the appropriate place to do it, IMO.  

The UP student-athletes I've spoken with are frustrated at not playing or practicing, but instead of being angry they are very understanding of the restrictions, especially as at least four relatives of Pilots have died from COVID-19.

Like most, I too am disappointed UP's student-athletes are not getting the opportunity to play or practice in full contact mode, but as the state of Oregon is currently experiencing it's all-time two-week period high of COVID cases and deaths since the pandemic began, perhaps the measures being taken by the state government are prudent.

OSU and UO were fortunate to slip in under the wire before the rise in cases, and yes it is true the PSU and UP are D1 schools, but I don't think that should be a measuring stick by which schools open practice when we consider the D2, D3, NAIA, JUCO and high schools that would also expect to open if UP were to open for full contact practice.

Yes, I want the UP student-athletes to play, but I also understand the pressures the state government is under to set priorities and save lives.

I appreciate Leykam's measured response and potential solutions to the dilemma, and I'm sure it is much more palatable to the government folks (who are after all only human) than Conzano's whining about the lack of fairness to UP and PSU, even if is unfair.  After all, UP and the state of Oregon will be around long after Canzano is forgotten, and Leykam understands that.

At least one D1 school has already given up on playing this season, and apparently others are seriously contemplating doing the same.  With the number of COVID cases at an all-time high throughout America and much of the world, it is a strong possibility that many schools will play only 10 to 15 games this season, if that!

Governor Brown is in a corner. The gym is great if old. More than enough room. State semi-finals played there.

I meant to say Hudson’s Bay in Vancouver. 20 minutes from campus

DoubleDipper wrote:Like most, I too am disappointed UP's student-athletes are not getting the opportunity to play or practice in full contact mode, but as the state of Oregon is currently experiencing it's all-time two-week period high of COVID cases and deaths since the pandemic began, perhaps the measures being taken by the state government are prudent.

I agree steps need to taken against the pandemic. But one has to ask why UO and OSU are not shut down if prudence dictates the government stopping intercollegiate sports--they practice and play in this state as well. Again, the state is choosing to treat like circumstances differently. You imply that it is all understandable because of the timing of the applications--I suggest it is likely more than timing. If the shoes were on the other feet, I suspect UP and PSU would be limited or shut down and their exemptions revoked in whole or in part. The simplest explanation for disparate treatment does not seem to be mere prudence. To quote an old hackneyed phrase, "follow the money."

Say what you will about Canzano who apparently is the only one you are prepared to criticize, Canzano has a point--it is not mere whining.

None of us has a crystal ball, but I think there is a great deal that is legitimate about the complaints lodged against the governor and her actions.

None of us can be sure what the appropriate resolution is, but I do know that if Leykam allows the players to be removed from the state for practice and/or games, he is disagreeing with your suggestion about what a prudent course of conduct by the governor is.