… most likely a very big name. Not sure exactly who yet, but I have a pretty good idea who the Ducks are going after — and you’d be shocked.

That’s not to say Oregon will be able to talk these people into coming to Eugene — or will be able to meet their price. I’m just saying, there is a real ambition here to go after a proven winner and a coach who can kick-start the program into high gear. And I’m not going to underestimate their ability to reach into the upper strata of the coaching ranks for the right guy.

Yes, money talks. But so do facilities — and a commitment to being the best. And oh yes, the whole Nike connection is going to matter more in basketball than any other sport.

The best description of what they are going to try to do down there is this — take a look at how Oregon went about getting its baseball program established. The Ducks went after, and signed, George Horton — who already had a national championship to his credit. There were plenty of rumors around about who Oregon was chasing at the time, but everyone underestimated the athletic department’s goals.

In fact, I remember being stunned that Oregon could have the resources to bring a coach of that caliber on board. I realize that while baseball coaches — even the best ones — come a lot cheaper than big-time basketball coaches, I think Oregon’s strategy here is the same: go try to find the very best and do your best to meet his needs.

And I think, in the long run, that is the right way of doing things. Coaching, particularly in basketball where just a player or two can mean an NCAA tournament berth, is a huge part of the equation for success. Why not try to get the best?

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When you look at the James court memorandum and how it was written, it becomes a case that could be interpreted in so many different ways. I mean, it almost seems as if it was meant to be written that way, too. If anything, I think it took great pains to be soft on James.

“The defendant admits he grabbed the victim by her collar and pushed her against his car,” it says. Well, that could be a pretty violent act, I would think. But on the surface, the way it’s written, it seems to me that the writer didn’t intend to portray it that way.

Much the same thing could be said about, “Defendant caught the victim, grabbed her waist and they fell to the ground in the bark mulch.” I mean, it didn’t read, “The very strong and quick college football player chased the helpless young woman down, tackled her and threw her to the ground.”

One thing the document seemed to make clear was that there was a serious previous relationship between the victim and James. I’ve heard it portrayed as a stalker thing, where she’d been hounding him but the document seems to make it clear this was a couple who had been having a long-term, “intimate” relationship. And that she found someone else staying in his apartment. And that she was angry. That’s pretty easy to understand.

I don’t know how to figure out actually what happened. Not sure we’ll ever know. But you can rest assured that James ought to consider himself a lucky man. And with that, be very careful about his actions in the future.

In the case of Jeremiah Masoli, it’s pretty obvious by now that he’s missing all of next season not because of his illegal activity — the burglary — but the way he treated his coach. It’s pretty apparent that when the accusations came out, he lied to the cops and to his coach. I don’t find this all that surprising, actually — it’s what people often do when accused of a crime. The prisons, they say, are full of innocent men.

And while I understand Kelly feeling very betrayed by that, I’m not sure if his reaction to it doesn’t turn this thing into something very personal. And should it be that personal? I guess. Perhaps. Again, I’m happy I don’t have to make these sorts of decisions.

But Kelly has to make them — just as he is supposed to face the media when he makes them. The fact that he didn’t yesterday, that he made a statement and then turned the questions over to his athletic director, is pretty amazing.

Maybe the media should take that personally. Don’t think that some of them haven’t.

I’ve said this previously on radio and television and I’m not trying to be a wise guy. He needs a media coach — immediately. Often I find myself agreeing with what he’s saying, but I have a hard time getting past the delivery. He comes off defensive, combative, arrogant, cocky, brash — take your pick — at various times and it’s not serving him well. This can be fixed — at least to a point.

There are people out there who could help him. He makes more money than the president of that school, he’s the CEO of a major state-backed corporation, in a way, and he’s got to start sounding like one. Nobody does this better, by the way, than his athletic director, Mike Bellotti. Yeah, it’s why they had Mike carrying his water Friday.

But that isn’t sufficient. It won’t work in the long run.

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Tags: Chip Kelly, Dwight Jaynes, Jeremiah Masoli, LaMichael James, Oregon Ducks

Be interesting to see what happens when the justice system finally weighs in on LaMichael James and Jeremiah Masoli. And I think it’s prudent in these cases that people wait for all the facts to come out.

In the James case, when men are accused of assaulting women, it’s one of those crimes where they’re sometimes treated as if they’re guilty before anything is proved. And in some domestic violence cases, that’s needed in order to protect potential victims from their alleged abusers. It’s a sticky situation and I’ve worried all along that James could have been a target there instead of an abuser. But again, we really don’t know and I don’t think it’s fair to talk punishment until we really know what has happened.

That’s not to say I wouldn’t, as a coach, have suspended him when he was accused of the crime. I think the serious nature of the charge, and the fact that James put himself in that position to be charged in the first place, means you suspend him pending a resolution. Then reinstate him immediately if you find out he is innocent of wrongdoing.

When it comes to Masoli, I’d lean toward saying the same thing. I don’t think I’d kick him off the team unless I knew for sure that he actually is guilty of felony burglary — which he is charged with. Given that Masoli has a history of such crimes going back to high school, when he was involved in strong-arm robberies, I’d suspend him, too, pending the outcome of his trial.

And in Masoli’s case, if he’s guilty I cut him no slack due to the nature of his previous indiscretions. If his record was clean, I’d be tempted to go with a suspension of a few games — maybe take the position that this was some sort of fraternity prank gone bad, a momentary mistake that shouldn’t cause the complete loss of a kid’s future. But I’m not sure he’s now entitled to another chance.

I know this for sure — it’s not good to have your football team spread across the front page of The Oregonian in the off-season. That almost certainly always means bad news. And in this case, damage has been done by the behavior of a few players. The fact that these players are among the team’s best ones hurts even more.

And it’s all falling on Chip Kelly’s shoulders right now, fair or not. This is the part about being a head coach that being an offensive coordinator just doesn’t prepare you for.

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Tags: Chip Kelly, College football, Dwight Jaynes, Jeremiah Masoli, LaMichael James, Oregon Ducks

If all the reports coming out of Eugene are true, the Oregon basketball coach has already been told he’s out at the conclusion of the season.

My question is, “Why?”

No, not “Why is he out?” — he’s earned that the old fashioned way: by losing a lot of games. Home games, at that. But the more pertinent question is “Why now?” Why wouldn’t you wait until the end of the season?

There is a possibility, particularly with the parity in the talentless Pac-10, that the guy could win the conference tournament. Yes, a remote possibility — but it could happen. And if you’re going to fire him before the season ends, why not just hand him a gold watch and send him on his way immediately and let the assistant coaches guide the team the rest of the way?

I dunno. I have no idea what’s going on.

I will make a prediction here, though. Nike is going to have a hand in hiring the next coach and trust me, that company — oh, you ought to hear the stories about the wonderful off-season trips it sends its basketball coaches on — has all kinds of muscle with top coaches around the country.

I would expect the next Duck basketball coach to be a very accomplished coach, an experienced winner on the Division I level and someone whose name alone will help sell tickets and sponsorships in that new arena.

Anything less would be a disappointment.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, Ernie Kent, Nike, Oregon Ducks

At this point, this is all the Oregon football coach needed to do — come forward and assure people that he will not put up with misconduct. When the justice system finally renders a verdict, he can make a decision:

“There can’t be a rush to judgement,” Kelly said at a noon press conference. “When a decision is made, and if he’s convicted, we’ll make a decision.”

Kelly also said that he is frustrated that there have been three incidents involving player arrests since Jan. 24. “We don’t accept this and won’t accept this,” he said.

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Tags: Chip Kelly, Dwight Jaynes, Oregon Ducks football

Honestly, it was a rare opportunity. A last look at a place where I enjoyed many an enjoyable game throughout my life, from my time as a student at the University of Oregon (wow — the Ducks hold the ball on Lew Alcindor and almost beat the Bruins)… to Dick Harter’s Ronnie Lee teams… to covering the old Class AA state basketball tournament and players like Melvin “The Elevator” Lentz. So many fun times.

Rob Closs was kind enough to share one of his season tickets with me and also do all the driving. I couldn’t lose. Along the way we stopped for a tour of almost-finished PK Park (I mean, double wow — the city of Portland can’t get that done but the Ducks do, and in the Autzen parking lot. It’s going to be an incredible ballpark, folks.) And we cruised past the under-construction new arena, Pre’s Rock and a few other Eugene sights before watching the Ducks pull out an overtime win over UCLA.

Thanks to Rob, the night couldn’t have gone any better. A few observations from a memorable evening:

– I settled into my Mac Court seat and watched the arena filling up as players got ready. I couldn’t help but think, “Why?” Why do they have to leave this place? It’s been around long enough now it’s past the point of complaining about and become a piece of memorabilia. You know what I mean. An old baseball uniform can be pretty disgusting unless it happened to once be worn by Babe Ruth. This joint they call The Pit — man, it’s seen some great players, great games and memorable moments.

And beyond that, it’s just flat-out a great place to watch a game. All those balconies hanging over the court give you a feeling like an old opera house. Fans are right on top of the action. I cannot believe someone isn’t still building arenas like this. It’s unique. The only thing worse than leaving it is tearing it down. What a loss it will be — one of the great college sports venues ANYWHERE.

If you’ve never been there, or if it’s been a while, you really owe it to yourself to get down there before the season ends. Most of the games are NOT sold out, so really — don’t miss this chance to sample the atmosphere one final time.

– That said, I understand why this is happening. Times change and so does everything else if it wants to survive and prosper. And this campus is alive with new construction. For someone who hasn’t been there in a while, it was a real eye-opener. Man, the place where I spent two years goofing off in classes has really changed.

– I love the fact the Ducks are honoring players and coaches from opposing teams as well as the ones from their own school. Bill Walton was there Thursday night and was his usual hilarious self in a reception prior to the game. He’s a real beauty, a natural comedian with great timing and some wisdom, too. When I told him I was now doing radio in the mornings and had been around long enough my young cohorts were now calling me “The Godfather,” he looked at me with horror and invoked the names of two newspapermen who covered his career with the Trail Blazers.

“You’re not the Godfather. That would be Kenny Wheeler… or Bob Robinson!” he thundered. I love the guy. May God bless you with perfect health the rest of your life, Bill.

– The Ducks actually looked pretty good in this game. But on the other hand, the Bruins were pretty bad. I haven’t been around as long as Mac Court, but I can tell you that’s perhaps the worst UCLA team I’ve ever seen and certainly the one with the least amount of talent on it. And fewest athletes. What’s going on down there?

On the other hand, what’s going on in the entire conference? Ugh. Are we looking for that conference to get just one NCAA bid? And not even deserving that one?

– I met a ton of very nice people, saw some people I hadn’t chatted with in years and it all made for a wonderful evening. Thanks again, Rob! And I have to say it one last time, I’m really going to miss that old barn.

–

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Tags: Bill Walton, Dwght Jaynes, Mac Court, Oregon Ducks, Rob Closs, The Pit, UCLA Bruins

After all the television and radio shows I’ve done talking about this matchup, I’m going to do my best to try to sum up my thoughts on this game, without being too repetitive and without leaving something important out. We’ll be doing a giant, two-hour pre-game show live from Pasadena on Comcast Sportsnet Friday morning, beginning at 10:30.

OK, here we go:

– I’ve picked the Ducks to win this game since the night they qualified to play in it, and I’m not going to switch my selection. But I do believe it’s going to be a much closer and tougher game than I originally thought it would be.

– From being down here in Los Angeles on media day I can definitely confirm for you that the Buckeyes are bigger than Oregon. And not only that, they appear to be in excellent physical shape — even their linemen. They are an impressive group of athletes — not only physically but in the way they handled the media day stuff.

– We sort of knew that already, didn’t we? Oregon’s strength in this game has always been about speed and guile. The Ducks need to fool the Buckeyes a bit — with play calling and the option. I still think that’s possible but I don’t think Oregon is just going to line up and have its way with Ohio State.

– Ohio State figures to be the most disciplined and physical team Oregon has played all season. Don’t forget, their annual recruiting classes are the cream of the crop and I expect them to use their discipline to make it tough going, at times, for that Oregon option. And they’re a physical enough bunch I believe Jeremiah Masoli is going to get hit harder by these guys than anyone else all season.

– You think Boise State was disciplined against the Duck offense? Just wait.

– I cannot see Terrelle Pryor being good enough to beat the Ducks with his arm. I just don’t see it — and it’s why OSU would be well-served to get a lead heading into the final quarter. If they’re forced into a passing situation, he’s not the guy who is going to be able to pull that off.

– The Buckeyes must run. The Ducks will sell out to stop the run, daring Pryor to beat them deep. I don’t think he can do that with any consistency. That’s why I believe it’s imperative Ohio State be able to run no matter what Oregon does.

– I’m not sure how well Oregon will run, either — at least not without setting it up first with the pass. These guys have one of the best run defenses in the country and you can figure they’ll play the gaps with discipline and intelligence.

– But the Ducks’ real strength all season has been their balance. Oregon, I think, has a better chance of putting together a passing attack than the Buckeyes. It’s possible the team with the most passing yards will win.

– First team to 30 will definitely win. Maybe the first team to 20. It’s going to be a low-scoring game and I know a lot of Oregon fans won’t agree with that. But this isn’t going to be easy.

– Yes, I’m bothered by the weak showing by some of those other Pac-10 “powers.” I thought Arizona was better than that. I thought Oregon State would lose but didn’t expect a blowout. The Arizona thing was a complete joke, by the way. How do you give up all those points to Nebraska?

– Chip Kelly. I’m just not sure what to make of the guy. He certainly goes his own way and seems to feel he can do whatever he wants at times. But he better keep winning. And winning big. Trust me, if he doesn’t he’s going to be on a lot of hit lists. He really upset a couple of major television networks Thursday, walking away from interviews with them that were a contractual obligation for him. Seriously, ESPN was reportedly very upset with him. He just walked right past a dismayed reporter and refused to do it. That’s not smart, Chipster — these guys pay a lot of dough for the rights to these games and it’s money all those Pac-10 schools bankroll their programs with. But hell, if you can win 11 or 12 games a year, you can do whatever you want.

– There are a lot of Oregon fans ready to  anoint Kelly a real savior. Well, perhaps. But I remember the first season of Charlie Weis at Notre Dame when everyone was so excited about him winning with another coach’s players they gave him a huge contract extension — which they recently bought out. Not saying Kelly is another Weis, but I’m just pointing out the dangers of judging a coach off one season — no matter how great it is.

– It should be a wonderful game, perhaps the best matchup of the bowl season. A study in contrasts. Let’s make it Oregon 24, Ohio State 21.

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Tags: Chip Kelly, Dwight Jaynes, Jeremiah Masoli, Ohio State Buckeyes, Oregon Ducks, Rose Bowl, Terrelle Pryor

I’m usually the first guy to tell you that bowl games, unless they’re for the national championship, don’t mean an awful lot. I’m not one who thinks the games have any real lasting impact on recruiting. They’re mostly about tricking dedicated fans into spending a lot of money travelling somewhere to watch the team play.

But this Rose Bowl is different for the Ducks. And it’s different even from the opposition, the Ohio State Buckeyes.

What a lot of people have overlooked is that Oregon (like the Buckeyes) is a very young team, perhaps a year ahead of its best football. But a victory in the Rose Bowl would allow the Ducks to open next season ranked extremely high in the preseason polls — probably in the top five.

And if you eventually want to play for a national championship, it’s of maximum importance to get that early high ranking. See, if you don’t start the season very high, you won’t be able to survive to play in a national championship game with just one loss. And although this season is unusual, with all the unbeaten teams out there, often a one-loss team can find its way into that game.

But you have to lose that one game early in the season, and you have to start the season ranked high enough that you don’t drop too far after you lose.

Oregon, with a win in Pasadena, could do that.

Yes, Ohio State is young, too. And has the same opportunity for that lofty preseason ranking next season. But let’s face it, the Buckeyes are perennially ranked high. I don’t think they need the sort of boost in profile that the Ducks do.

Oregon, with a win, can take its program to an entirely new level. And it would likely mean a very big change in the way the Ducks are perceived around the country.

For Oregon, this game is huge.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, Ohio State Buckeyes, Oregon Ducks, Rose Bowl

We played some of this audio on the MSP today and it’s priceless. The legendary Mel Allen and Chick Hearn on the play-by-play call.

The Ducks came in as 19-point underdogs to the national champion Buckeyes and played so well in a 10-7 defeat that Coach Len Casanova was carried off the field afterward and Duck quarterback Jack Crabtree was named the game MVP.

Take a look at this game, whether you’re an old Duck or not:

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Tags: 1958 Rose Bowl, Jack Crabtree, Ohio State Buckeyes, Oregon Ducks

If you haven’t read this story by Kerry Eggers in the Portland Tribune, it’s a must-read. Nike is talking to Oregon State about designing an entirely new look for the university’s football program, from the colors, to the uniforms, even to the mascot!

Now while I’m not in love with some of those wild uniform combinations the Ducks use, there is no question how effective Nike has been in changing the image of the University of Oregon and its athletic department.

At the very least, Oregon State needs to dump that ridiculous “OS” thing that it went to a while back. When your most-popular cheer is “Ohhhh-ESSSSSS-YOUUUUU” you probably don’t need to drop the “U” part, do you? And the “OS” thing never caught on at all.

For the Beavers, this is exciting news. Go for it. And hey, if the old guys like me don’t like it at all, just do what the Ducks do — say it’s what the kids like and it helps recruiting.

You can’t argue much with that.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, Nike, Oregon State Beavers, uniforms