The Oregonian had a story this morning that was easy to find in the print product (it was on the cover of the sports section) about the state’s 6A football playoffs. I’d like to link to it but my rule is, if I can’t find the link on Oregonlive.com within a minute or two, I’m oughta there, and this one was hidden from me somehow.

Anyway, the gist of the story was that the four semifinalists in Oregon’s big-school playoffs, meeting tonight in PGE Park, are all from the Portland area. And, in fact, that’s the way it’s been for three of the last four years. Most likely, it will stay that way, too, because most of the 6A schools are clustered around the Portland area.

Anyway, that’s not the real story. What’s not mentioned is that for several years now, the championship game for 6A is pre-scheduled for out of the Portland area, at either Autzen Stadium or Reser Stadium. This year it’s next Saturday at Reser. Which is absurd. In the old days, they’d wait to see who the teams were in the finals before scheduling the location of the game — which is the way it should be.

Look, in these days of trying to conserve energy, of trying to stay out of our cars for unnecessary trips, of high gas prices, why in the world would anyone schedule this thing so that parents, students and fans must jump in their cars and drive all the way to Corvallis to watch a matchup featuring Beaverton vs. Jesuit? Or Lake Oswego vs. Southridge? I’ve been saying for years that this is idiocy.

And what worries me, heaven forbid, is that a bus carrying a team or a band or boosters has a serious accident on the freeway en route to a game in Eugene or Corvallis when the teams playing in the game are schools that could more easily be matched up in PGE Park — which is really a better locale than either Autzen or Reser because it’s smaller and more appropriate for the size of the crowds.

Putting 10,000 people onto the freeway next week for a 90-minute drive to Corvallis when they could drive (or take a Max train) 20 minutes to PGE Park is ridiculous.

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The Trail Blazers go on the road tonight — well, actually, it’s listed as a home game — to meet the Atlanta Hawks in Kansas City. Why Kansas City? This is apparently the exhibition game that’s usually played in Corvallis or Eugene.

From the Blazer media guide, perhaps this has something to do with it:

“From 1999-2002, (Kevin) Pritchard served as general manager, head coach and director of player personnel for the Kansas City Knights of the ABA, winning the ABA championship in 2001-02. A member of the 1988 Kansas Jayhawks NCAA Championship team, Pritchard is one of the University of Kansas’ all-time best. He averaged 12.2 points over four seasons while starting 129 of 139 games, was an all-Big 8 selection as a senior and was named to the All-Big 8 Academic Team three times. He ranks among the Jayhawks’ all-time top 10 in scoring, assists, steals and 3-pointers.”

I can’t believe I didn’t realize it sooner, but it’s a homecoming game for Kevin Pritchard! Can you imagine how rewarding it must have been to be the coach, general manager and director of player personnel for a team — then win the championship? Talk about building a franchise single-handedly. . .

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I was there in 1967, a college student who drove down the valley with a friend and our dates – and didn’t make it into the stadium until the second quarter because of the heavy traffic on Interstate 5. I was there two years ago when it happened again.

But both those OSU teams were talented squads. Really good teams. I’m still not convinced this Oregon State bunch is a great team and wouldn’t be surprised to see the Beavers get whipped at Utah next week. But what we saw Thursday night was downright shocking. It was incredible. The Beavers dominated the line of scrimmage — on both sides of the ball — for most of the game and beat a team it probably should have lost to by three or four touchdowns.

Seriously now, how many of those Oregon State players could start for USC? Maybe four or five out of 22? Maybe fewer than that. It’s seriously a joke. And this was no fluke. Trojan coach Pete Carroll was generous in his praise of the Beavers:

“We just got knocked around,” a downcast Carroll said. “It wasn’t a turnover game at all. That’s usually what happens. We just got beat. . . . Oregon State played great tonight. Mike had them ready.

“They played better than us. They played harder than us. They made all the plays they needed to make and they deserve a tremendous amount of credit. It’s a great win.”
 

This game was proof — and not for the first time — that Mike Riley is one of the best football coaches in the country. Man, I don’t know how he does it, but his teams continually show the ability to outperform their talent level.

As far as I’m concerned, Riley now has a lifetime pass. Seriously — he’s immune from criticism for ANYTHING for the rest of his career in Corvallis. That game last night was golden. And the Beavers better be ready because it’s the kind of game that will once again put Riley on some NFL team’s wish list. Or perhaps another college will come after him – a school that could actually sell out a game vs. a No. 1 team. That was my only quibble with the evening: How could there be empty seats for this game?

If you can’t sell every ticket for a game against the No. 1 team in the country, which games will you sell out? Yeah — I know. Washington, if the Huskies bring a bunch of fans, and the Civil War, where the Ducks supply part of the crowd.

That’s embarrassing. It’s not like it’s a 65,000-seat stadium. Is there someone inside that athletic department that could figure out a way to sell a few more tickets? If not, shouldn’t there be?

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