Happy Wednesday!

Manti Te’o

This was one of the most inspirational stories of the college football season in 2012. Hell. It was THE most inspirational story. Manti Te’o, playing for a sudden resurgent Notre Dame football team and with the pain of the death of his grandmother and girlfriend within hours of each other. What strong character. How brave.

Uh huh. Yep. Sure. I wrote a post several months ago where I channeled my best Seth Meyers impression. “Really!?” This goes beyond “Really?!” This is “….how….why….what…..REALLY!?”

You say you were on the phone with her every night. Who were you talking to Manti? I (kind of, not really) understand wanting to play the game instead of going to your girlfriends funeral. But even if you don’t go to the actual burial, you’re not going to want to show up at the home of her family shortly there after to be able to grieve appropriately? This woman who you said was your everything and the love of your life, and you never met her in person. Your brother told a reporter in South Bend that he met your girlfriend in person. So….what about that?

I’m sorry. There’s no way that I can believe anything you say right now. Not a chance. Hell. I don’t even know if I should believe that your grandmother is really dead.

I’ve watched your October 2nd ESPN interview multiple times now, and it makes me sick. You are lying through your teeth. You show no emotion. You’re either a robot, never really cared, or she wasn’t real and you knew about it.

Personally, I always thought you were a bit overrated. Michael Clay was putting up similar numbers and wasn’t getting the national attention. But I understood why it was happening. Your team had a great story. You had a great story. The media loves that stuff. The public loves that stuff. Well, the public also loved the story of a man who won 7 Tour de France championships after beating extremely aggressive cancer.

When it comes to athletes and lying, you can take the high road or the road that ends at the edge of a cliff. Andy Pettitte, Mark McGwire, and Alex Rodriguez admitted to their steroid use and were able to move on. Never asked about it again. Story over (until they are up for Hall of Fame consideration). Even Kobe Bryant admitted to his extra-marital affair and went through a very public trial. People have moved on.

Then there are athletes like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. People who continue to lie, although the court of public opinion has spoken loud and clear.

Then there is the final category. The liars. Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong. Deny deny deny deny deny….admit. The more they denied, the closer to the edge they were pushed. The deeper the hole got. When the truth finally came out, they became branded as a liar, and that never goes away. Tiger is still trying to repair his image. Lance begins his journey tomorrow night the second the interview with Oprah is over.

So, Manti. You are standing at a fork in the road. This news has only been public for a few hours now, but everyone has already done research and determined that you are sitting on a throne of lies. You can continue this charade that you knew nothing (which just logistically doesn’t make any sense), or you can tell the truth and move on to your hopeful career in the NFL. And if/when you do finally admit the truth, I hope that you are stripped of the various awards that you won this year.

The choices are yours and yours alone. But just know that we all think you’re 100% full of shit.

A Golden Age for the Ducks

When I got the the University of Oregon in the Fall of 2008, the Ducks had a good athletic program. Nothing too special, but good. What unfolded in my time at the U of O was something truly remarkable. To say that I was there for all of it is really an astounding to me and something that I will cherish forever. I know I am probably missing a few things on this list, but this is a brief summary of the past 5 years of Oregon Athletics. Impressive to say the least.

(If you notice something that I am missing, please tell me and I will add it to the list!)

2008-2009:

• Football – Holiday Bowl (win vs Oklahoma St)
• Men’s Cross Country – National Champions
• Men’s Indoor Track and Field- National Champions
• Baseball team reinstated
• PK Park opens

2009-2010:

• Football- Rose Bowl (loss vs Ohio St)
• Women’s Indoor Track and Field- National Champions

2010-2011:

• Football- National Championship (loss vs Auburn)
• Matthew Knight Arena opens
• Men’s Basketball- CBI Champions
• Women’s Indoor Track and Field- National Champions
• Acrobatics and Tumbling- National Champions

2011-2012:

• Football- Rose Bowl (win vs Wisconsin)
• Men’s Basketball- NIT Quarterfinals
• Baseball- College World Series Super Regionals
• Softball- Women’s College World Series
• Acrobatics and Tumbling- National Champions
• Women’s Indoor Track and Field- National Champions
• Men’s Golf- Championship Match Participants

2012-2013 (so far):

• Football- Fiesta Bowl (win vs Kansas State)
• Football- #2 in final BCS Ranking of the seasons
• Men’s Basketball- Sweet 16 appearance (loss vs Louisville)
• Women’s Cross Country- National Champions
• Women’s Indoor Track and Field – National Champions (4th Consecutive Title)
• Women’s Volleyball- National Championship (loss vs Texas)
• New Papé Field opens
• Casanova Center expansion
• Baseball – National Seed, CWS Regional Host
• Softball – National Seed, CWS Regional Host
• Acrobatics and Tumbling – National Champions (3rd Consecutive Title)
• Men’s Golf – 2 stokes short of Championship match
• Women’s Golf – Championship match
• Women’s T&F – National Women’s Division 1 Program of the Year
• Host of NCAA T&F Championship
• 36 T&F All-Americans
• Four Sport Athlete Liz Brenner nominated for SI Athlete Of The Year

Amazing. Go Ducks.

(EDITED 6/18/13)

Happy New Year?

I just realized that I haven’t posted in the year 2012 yet. I’m going to write a good, long post real soon about stuff. Also, I’ll be writing more because I am in a journalism class which is forcing me to. I’m OK with that. I need to blog more anyway. So you’ll be hearing from me again shortly, but in the meantime, always remember to Water The Bamboo.

Whirlwind

Haven’t posted anything in a while, but I promise, I got a big post on the way. I’ve been in a true whirlwind the past few months, in the best way possible. So a good post is on the way.

In the “What Ever Happened To” realm:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BattleBots

Oregon + Acapella + Lady Gaga=

2.7 million views and counting!

Stressed but Content

There are times in your life that you sit down at the end of the day, exhale and say, I NEED SOME SLEEP! That has been almost every day of the past week. With the pledge process winding down, On The Rocks’ 10th anniversary show coming up, recording the OTR album, and school all going on at the same time, when I finally get to put my head down on my pillow at night, it is one of the best rewards I can get at the end of a day.

Yet, this isn’t a post about stress. Look at the title! Stressed but CONTENT, content being the key to the phrase. Even with all these things going on right now, I have found an event, moment, thing, whatever that has helped me be able to take a breath at any point in the day and say, “Finally! Something is going the way I had really hoped it would go!” You could browse the history of this blog and find plenty of posts which say, “I hope this happens this way,” and “I hope this happens that way.” Yet when it was least expected, one moment helped change everything for the better….and if I dare say, for the best! Great things can happen, and do happen. Now just to wait for all this stress to end (next week I will be a semi-free man!) so I can spend my free time how I wish. However, even with all the stress, this new found revelation gives me something to stop in the middle of my day, stop for a moment, take a breath, and for the rest of the day feel like relaxed and happy!

UNRELATED: 2 episodes of LOST left. Still trying to figure out what I’ll do when that show is out of my life. Need to find a new drama to watch. Flash Forward? Fringe? Something LOSTish. Suggestions?

It’s Not Halloween!

I hate the San Francisco Giants. I hate them. With a burning passion. Everything about the Giants. Their colors, their logo, their players. But the thing I hate most about the Giants is the arrogance and ignorance of their fans. I’m not saying all Giants fans are idiots. I know plenty of Giants fans who are very smart, intelligent people who know a lot about the game of baseball and the history of the sport. However, the fans I’m talking about are not these fans. The fans I’m talking about are they ones who are always angry, confrontational, mean hearted people. The people who yell and scream about how much your team sucks, but don’t use history to back it up. They people who claim that Tim Lincecum is better than any pitcher the Dodgers ever have or will had. Really? Better than Koufax, Drysdale, Newcombe, Hershiser, and Fernando? I would go on, but my battery is dying. In conclusion, don’t be an ignorant, stupid fan. Know what you’re talking about!

We’re No Strangers To Love (…or viral videos)

NYC Subway Gets RickRoll’d…a’cappella style!

It

“It gives allows us to escape. It gives us something to root for and believe in. It takes us on a roller coaster ride of emotions; from the lowest of lows, to the highest of highs. That ‘it’ is baseball. And for the next 6 months, America’s Pastime will be in full swing, making our summers seem brighter and our nights seem shorter. Yes, it’s the start of the [2010] season. When 25 individuals will become one team. When expectations are are their peak. And when Dodger fans start hoping that their summer dream turns into the reality of playing in the Fall Classic.” -Vin Scully, Opening Day 2009

Happy Opening Day!