Thinking on a Tuesday Morning

It's tough being a college football fan in an NFL town. That being said, this past weekend was still great.

A few random thoughts.

It was the worst of times, it was the best of times for the Oregon Ducks. A season that had all the (forgive the pun) ducks in a row for greatness essentially ended on the Smurf Turf in Boise. They had it all; Jeremiah Masoli returning at QB, LeGarrette Blount in the backfield, USC, Cal, and Moo U. (Oregon State for you non-duck fans out there) at Autzen. It was all going to be sooo perfect.

Thud.

By the way, that urban legend about ducks mistaking the Smurf Turf in Boise for a lake and crashing into it? Yeah. I think no first downs until the third quarter pretty much proved that one isn't a myth at all.

Then, to top it all off, LeGarrette 'We Owe this team an a** whoopin'' Blount, gets taunted by some BSU twit, sucker punches him...and then attempts to fight the fans, his teammates, the cops, the North Idaho Potato Growers CoOp, and anything he can get his hands on.

And then it gets better. Seriously. How many times have you seen something like this happen? Player breaks team rules. Coach says 'We will discipline him internally'. Player misses home game against Dumptruck Community College. Player sees the error of his ways....miraculously coming back before the Big Game.

Except this time it didn't happen. LeGarrette Blount is done playing football at Oregon. Chip Kelly (and Bellotti) suspended him for the season. It didn't matter that the Ducks really don't have a backup running back. Or that LB was REALLY good. They drew the line in the sand. They said 'This is not acceptable behavior at Oregon. This behavior will not be tolerated. You will no longer have the privilege of wearing the Green and Yellow. And White...and Pewter...and Black.'

Thank you Chip. Thank you Coach Bellotti. Thank you for putting principle ahead of wins. Thank you for realizing that being a college football player does not abrogate you from following the rules of common society.

Now please don't change your minds and let him come back.

Is there any 18 year old you'd rather be than Matt Barkley? Movie star looks, a rocket arm, and the most prestigious starting job in college football. Quarterback. USC Trojans.

Anybody but me think it's ironic (and absurd) to hear the words 'loyalty' and 'trust' come out of the mouth of Rich Rodriguez?

Miami beat Florida State last night. Hey, at least you can't blame this one on Gerry Thomas or Dan Mowrey.

They paint the Notre Dame helmets with gold paint before every game. Lou Holtz was the head coach for the Irish. Anyone else think someone locked Lou in the paint room one too many times?

Highlights of the SEC non-conference schedule. Missouri State. Charleston Southern. Eastern and Western Kentucky. Southern Louisiana PLUS Lousiana Lafayette, Monroe, and Tech. Tennesee Tech. UTC. Florida Atlantic and International. Troy, lots of times. Furman. If I were an SEC season ticket holder and I saw this crap? REFUND! Props though to UGA for going to Ok. State this year and ASU last year. And LSU for playing UDub. And Auburn for going up to Morgantown (Git Them Couches Ready Boys! Flame ON!). Now, if only we could get Florida to leave the state for a non-conference game for the first time in two decades....

Steve Kornya's Rule #1 of College Football Scheduling. If you're going to consider scheduling Dumptruck Community College for your season opener, you need to beat them. Got that ACC? D-1 teams shouldn't lose to 1-AA teams. Ever. If you don't know you can win, don't put them on the schedule. And if you do lose? Well, my guess is, after that stellar performance against William & Mary, UVA coach Al Groh will be selling Kenmores by Christmas. By the way, James Madison has started looking awfully good in College Park this weekend.

Speaking of 'We Owe this team an a** whoopin', I'm reading the Baltimore Sun this weekend (albeit a couple of days late), and I come across this gem from Nolan Carroll, a fifth year Maryland cornerback. 'We feel this (season opening game against Cal) is a statement game for the whole nation to prove who we are.' What?? Couple of prefaces to this one. Cal came into the game as the #12 team in the country, predicted to challenge USC for the Pac-10 title. Maryland came in unranked, predicted to finish last in their division of the ACC. Cal returns 17 starters from a team that went 9-3; Maryland brings back 10 from an 8-5.

So this is a 'statement game for the whole nation'?

It was. Here's your statement. 52-13. Maryland football stinks. Thanks Nolan. 'The Nation' thanks you for clarifying that point.

Finally...

This past friday, 5 women (the 'Women in Black') were threatened with arrest if they didn't cease their protest in Baltimore's inner harbor. They weren't being violent. They weren't being disruptive. They were carrying signs saying 'Peace is Patriotic', as they have done most every Friday since 2003. Baltimore police officers told them they were 'breaking the law' and if they didn't leave they would be arrested. The commander of the Central Police District, Maj. Dennis Smith, has said the officers will be 'retrained'.

Here's all the training the officer needs. 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.' It's called the first amendment to the United States Constitution. It's called the Bill of Rights. If the Baltimore PD needs to be 'retrained' to understand this, maybe that retraining should involve the phrase 'Blue light special. Catfood. Aisle three.'