Mark Turgeon AND Bill Byrne to Oregon ?

****It probably will never happen but why not ! Oregon needs both a new men's basketball coach AND a new Athletic Director. Both men have worked at Oregon. Mark Turgeon was an assistant basketball coach to Jerry Green and Bill Byrne was our Athletic Directer in the 1980's when the athletic department had a much smaller budget.He got us into our first bowl game in a long time. He is a very creative guy. The folks in Nebraska, where he was the AD, called him "Dollar Bill" but we still love him in Oregon. What a package deal!. This idea is not original with me as I saw it posted on a "comment section" of an Internet news story earlier today. Both are now at Texas A&M as basketball coach and AD. But given the choice between living in College Station, Texas and Eugene, Oregon it's a no brainier. Don't get me wrong, I love Texas, their people and their spirit, (sports and otherwise).... "Remember the Alamo" etc. but the land is not hospitable. I have been to Texas and it's a nice place to visit but......... They both need to come home.... once a Duck always a Duck.

Ducks to Recognize Armed Forces at Spring Game Televised Live by ESPN

Now some GOOD news :

University of Oregon just issued the following press release on the Spring Game:

Courtesy: GoDucks.com


EUGENE – The University of Oregon’s final spring football scrimmage also will serve to recognize and offer support for the country’s armed forces and auxiliary organizations, according to an announcement Wednesday by the Ducks’ head coach Chip Kelly.

The annual Spring Game presented by Bi-Mart, which culminates the Ducks’ off-season drills, will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 1, in Autzen Stadium and is scheduled to be televised nationally by ESPN.

The “Support Our Troops and Families” tribute will include a four-hour Fan Fest in the Moshofsky Center prior to the final intrasquad scrimmage, as well as representation from branches of the nation’s armed services, the Oregon National Guard, the Coast Guard, the American Red Cross and various veterans’ organizations.

All Oregon players will wear specially designed jerseys for the occasion, which will be given to the troops im-mediately following the game, while Nike also will donate 5,000 t-shirts, with all proceeds from the sales for-warded to families of deployed troops and returning veterans.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to not only pay our respects for the sacrifices men and women around the country make every day and are often taken for granted but also allow our players to put some of their priorities into perspective,” Kelly said.

Admission for the Spring Game again will be a request of three non-perishable food items, which will be do-nated to Food for Lane County. Last year, the final spring scrimmage generated more than 22,000 pounds of food for the local food bank.

Parking in the east Autzen Stadium lots will be $5 per automobile, with the Ducks’ Sports Shuttles also operating from select locations.

The indoor Fanfest, which begins at 10 a.m., will include interactive games, live entertainment, a food court as well as provide educational booths and an outreach for veteran service organizations and military personnel.

Much of the pregame festivities will include participation from the armed services, including a joint service color guard and ceremonies to honor the men and women from the state and their families, who have sacrificed their lives oversees in Iraq and Afghanistan.

News Junkie (Updated)

What can I say I am a news junkie ! As a young child I liked reading history books and one day it dawned on me "history" is being made every day. I remember going to the Coos County Fair in Myrtle Point, Oregon in 1961 and Radio Station KWRO from Coquille had a Teletype machine set up in a fair booth so the general public could watch the news be printed out from the Associated Press(AP) or United Press International(UPI) on long rolls of paper. My folks were working the fair so I spent a great deal of time just standing there watching the raw news be printed out on those rolls of paper for the week of the fair. That is how radio stations and newspapers got their news in those day. I remember it was the summer of 1961 because the big story was the building of the Berlin Wall that August. I thought to myself It would be great if I could have one of those machines for my room so I could follow the news and not be dependant on the short, on the hour, news broadcasts of radio or the nightly network news broadcast on TV.

By the 1980's I was still an addict. I would get up in the morning and as I got ready for work I would watch Good Morning America on ABC or the Today Show on NBC. When I got home from work I would watch the ABC Nightly News and turn the channel over and watch CBS or NBC news as the news broadcasts were staggered so you could watch two broadcasts. I would then watch the McNeil-Lehrer News Hour on PBS and cap off the night with Nightline on ABC. On Friday nights I would watch the The McLaughlin Group on PBS and on Sunday This Week With David Brinkley on ABC and Meet the Press on NBC if they had a good guest. I had a subscription to the Medford Mail Tribune newspaper and the Portland Oregonian. Almost daily I would buy the San Francisco Chronicle from a news box near my office.I would also stop by the public library to read the Eugene Register Guard for news about the Oregon Ducks, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Page and the New York Times. I would also check out the latest issue of National Review Magazine.

That all changed with Cable News Stations and the Internet. FOX NEWS is now may major source of television news. I turn it on when I get up and turn it off when it is time for local news at 11 PM. If I am home it's on unless I am watching a movie or a sports event. Occasionally I will watch a TV show such at Friday Night Lights or House MD.On week nights when I get home from work I watch Bill O'Reilly, then Shawn Hannity and then Greta Vans Susteren.FOX NEWS then repeats the three shows and I watch again in case I misses something while doing a household chore or was talking to my wife. On weekends unless it is sports or a movie it's FOX NEWS. I leave it on as background in case there is a breaking emergency. I almost never watch the TV broadcast networks for News and rarely watch CNN and NEVER watch MSNBC. I do watch local TV news for local news sports and weather.

I have ended all my newspaper subsections except for the Medford Mail Tribune for local news.

I now have that "teletype machine" in my bedroom and at the office. It's called the Internet. My favorite news websites are; Realclear Politics. com, Politco.com, National Review online, Weeklystandard.com, and of course the Drudge Report.

I get the AP on my Yahoo home page for what it is worth and for Oregon Duck sports news it's Ducksportsnews.com. For newspaper news I go to the Oregonian at Oregonlive.com.the Eugene Register Guard's web site and Medford Mail Tribune's web sites.

When I first started following the news I first started to detect a liberal bias in 1960 when the press loved JFK. In 1964 it was clear they hated Barry Goldwater. However, the AP was very good.... just the facts. Up through the 1980's the newsrooms of America were still inhabited by old fashioned editors and many news people who still believed there job was just to report the news. As those news people retired or died off the baby boom generation started to take over the newsrooms and brought with them advocacy journalism that they had learned in the journalism schools in the turbulent years of the 1960's and on up to the present. Many wanted to be the next "Woodward & Bernstein" and bring a Republican President down. They now with a few exceptions control the major newspapers and the broadcast and cable TV news organizations with the exception of FOX NEWS.

However, the "Old Media" has become the dinosaurs of the past. Newspapers are losing circulation and having to lay off employees. The broadcast news shows have lost much of their power and viewers. CNN and MSNBC together do not approach the viewership of FOX NEWS. People now get their news and analyses from the Internet and from Talk Radio. It's a new world and I like it.

To only say Iranian nukes are unacceptable is to accept them

By William Kristol
Sunday, March 28, 2010; A15

In March 1936, Hitler occupied the Rhineland. The French prime minister, Leon Blum, denounced the act as "unacceptable." But France, Britain and the rest of the world accepted it. Years later, the French political thinker Raymond Aron commented, "To say that something is unacceptable was to say that one accepted it."

In March 2010, as Iran moved ahead with its nuclear weapons program, the American secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, speaking at the policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee last week, said no fewer than four times in one paragraph that a nuclear-armed Iran would be "unacceptable." It would be unacceptable simply, "unacceptable to the United States," "unacceptable to Israel" and "unacceptable to the region and the international community."

(To read the rest click on the title for a link)

As Winston Churchill said after Munich: "and doom marches on."

No Way to Treat a Friend and Ally

This week Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Obama at the White House. Here is a report from The Telegraph as to what happened:

*****As Adrian Blomfield reports for The Telegraph:

Benjamin Netanyahu was left to stew in a White House meeting room for over an hour after President Barack Obama abruptly walked out of tense talks to have supper with his family, it emerged on Thursday. The snub marked a fresh low in US-Israeli relations and appeared designed to show Mr Netanyahu how low his stock had fallen in Washington after he refused to back down in a row over Jewish construction in east Jerusalem.

… (Mr. Obama) immediately presented Mr Netanyahu with a list of 13 demands designed both to the end the feud with his administration and to build Palestinian confidence ahead of the resumption of peace talks. Key among those demands was a previously-made call to halt all new settlement construction in east Jerusalem.

When the Israeli prime minister stalled, Mr Obama rose from his seat declaring: “I’m going to the residential wing to have dinner with Michelle and the girls.” As he left, Mr Netanyahu was told to consider the error of his ways. “I’m still around,” Mr Obama is quoted by Israel’s Yediot Ahronot newspaper as having said. “Let me know if there is anything new.”

This from a President who has apologised to every enemy of the United States.

As Nile Gardiner of the Telegraph writes:

This is a foreign policy doctrine that is both destructive and fundamentally against the US national interest. The future security of the United States rests not upon the degree to which it can appease her enemies, but upon the strength of her enduring alliances with the rest of the free world. Israel needs Washington’s support and vice versa, not a slap in the face from a president whose idea of world leadership seems to consist largely of apologising for his country while throwing America’s friends to the wolves.

Barack Obama's minister,of 20 years, the Reverend Wright, loves to to give anti Israeli sermons....... maybe Obama was listening.

To read more click on the title for a link to the Times of London about the White House Dinner.

Warning: for American Travelers to Canada

The United States State Department has issued a warning to Americans travelling to parts of Mexico because of the violence of the drug cartels.

I thing the United States State Department should issue a warning to Americans traveling to Canada where free speech by Americans can bring criminal charges by Canadian bureaucrats. Canada does not have a First Amendment and free speech is limited.

For example Francois Houle, vice-president academic and provost,for the University of Ottawa advised conservative,Ann Coulter, who holds a law degree, to review Canada's hate speech and defamation laws before giving her talk at the university.

In an email sent to Ms. Coulter on Friday, a copy of which was obtained by the Canadian "National Post", Mr. Houle wrote: "Our domestic laws, both provincial and federal, delineate freedom of expression (or "free speech") in a manner that is somewhat different than the approach taken in the United States. I therefore encourage you to educate yourself, if need be, as to what is acceptable in Canada and to do so before your planned visit here." He continued, "Promoting hatred against any identifiable group would not only be considered inappropriate, but could in fact lead to criminal charges."

To read more click on the title for a link to the Canadian "National Post."

For me, I shall not be going to Mexico or Canada for a vacation anytime soon.

"What, me worry?"

Even Mad Magazine knows that the "slobbering love affair is over" in their current cover.

Robin and Marian (1976) *****

My wife and I first saw this movie in 1976 at the Holly Theater in Medford. I loved it then and like it even more today. Last night, I was looking from some escape from the endless talk on cable TV of Obama Care and put on my copy of "Robin and Marian" from my DVD library. This is a bitter/sweet story about an aging Robin Hood and a aging Maid Marion. Robin is played by a balding Sean Connery and Marian is played by Audrey Hepburn. This was one of Hepburn's last movies. She hadn't made a movie for awhile and so it was a treat to see her back on the big screen when this movie first came out. There were lines around her eyes but she was still beautiful.This is not your Robin Hood of Errol Flynn or Kevin Costner fame.This is a story of two lovers who have been apart for 20 years while Robin has been off to the Crusades with his king, Richard the Lionheart. Robin comes home with his trusty friend, Little John, disillusioned by his king and the Crusades. Richard Harris makes a great cameo as Richard the Lionheart and Nicol Williamson is fantastic as the faithful Little John and gives real dimension to the part. There is humor in the movie such as watching Robin and Little John try and climb a castle wall to escape the Sheriff's men and showing their age.

Here is the IMDB plot summary:

A sort of tragicomedy/adventure film, "Robin and Marian" picks up the Robin Hood legend some twenty years after most versions of the story, with Robin and his sidekick Little John returning to their old Sherwood haunts world-weary from the Crusades and their sickening brutality. They're informed by former cohorts Friar Tuck and Will Scarlett that Maid Marian now lives at the nearby priory, where she has become an abbess. Marian greets Robin's return with mixed feelings, but after he rescues her from his longtime enemy, the Sheriff of Nottingham, who tries to arrest her on religious grounds, the two become lovers once again

** SPOILER ALERT**

Some of the dialog in the movie breaks your heart:

Little John: Where do we go? Which way?
Robin Hood: North.
Little John: Why north?
Robin Hood: England's there. Let's go home, John

*************

Maid Marian: Let's take a look at you.
Robin Hood: [opens his shirt] Just a few bumps and bruises.
Maid Marian: [Reacting to his many scars] Oh!
[She touches them gently]
Maid Marian: So many... You had the sweetest body when you left. Hard, and not a mark. And you were mine. When you left I thought I'd die. I even tried. I walked into the woods and laid down by a stream and cut myself. Some damn fool forrester came by, took me to the abbey. So they say. No more scars, Robin. It's too much to lose you twice.
Robin Hood: I've never kissed a member of the clergy before. Would it be a sin?
*************


Maid Marian: I don't know how I look to you, but I'm not your Marian. I can't imagine living in the world again, or even for a minute wanting to. Come morning, I'm going to the Sheriff.
Robin Hood: What's the sense? Who would it serve?
Maid Marian: There's always God. You went crusading, didn't you?
Robin Hood: There are some things worth dying for.
Maid Marian: They had souls, too, the heathen that you killed. If I should die in prison-and I'd rather not, but if it comes-it's for a reason. I'll have stood for something, and I won't have taken another life to do it. What will you do now? Fight the Sheriff? More corpses? Aren't you sick of it?
Robin Hood: On the twelfth of July, 1191, the mighty fortress that was Acre fell to Richard, his one great victory in the Holy Land. He was sick in bed and never struck a blow. On the eighth of August, John and I stood outside watching while every Muslim left alive was marched out in chains. King Richard spared the rich for ransoms, took the strong for slaves, then he took the children-*all* the children-and had them chopped apart. Then he had their mothers killed. When they were all dead, three thousand bodies on the plain, he had them all opened up so their guts could be explored for gold and precious stones. Our churchmen on the scene-and there were many-took it for a triumph! One bishop put on his mitre and led us all in prayer. And you ask me if I'm sick of it.
Maid Marian: Why didn't you come home then?
Robin Hood: Bec... he was my King.

**********
Maid Marian:You never liked me much.
Little John: -You're Rob's lady.
You're Rob's lady.
If...
...you'd been mine, I never would have left you.
Maid Marion: Oh, damn you.
You've had him with you. You've had years! And I'm going to lose him.
-
************
After Robin's sword fight with the Sheriff of Nottingham with broad swords he is very injured

Maid Marian:I love you.
More than all you know.
I love you more than children.
More than fields I've planted with my hands.
I love you more than morning prayers or peace or...
...or food to eat.
I love you more than sunlight...
...more than flesh or joy...
...or one more day.
I love you...
...more than God.
Robin Hood I'd never have a day like this again, would I?

Iran's Nuclear Weapons :If you won't take them out Israel we will !

Last night Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu received scores of standing ovations from the 7,800 guests in attendance, the biggest event in the history of AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee). In his speech he said:

Seventy-five years ago, many leaders around the world put their heads in the sand. Untold millions died in the war that followed. Ultimately, two of history's greatest leaders helped turn the tide. Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill helped save the world. Indeed they deserve every applause. They helped save the world, but they were too late to save six million of my own people, the Jewish people. The future of the Jewish state can never depend on the goodwill of even the greatest of men. Israel must always reserve the right to defend itself.

Today, an unprecedented threat to humanity looms large. A radical Iranian regime armed with nuclear weapons could bring an end to the era of nuclear peace that the world has enjoyed for the last 65 years. Such a regime could provide nuclear weapons to terrorists. It might even be tempted to use them and our world would never be the same. Iran's brazen bid to develop nuclear weapons is certainly first and foremost a threat to my country, to Israel, but it’s a threat to the entire region; it’s a threat to the entire world. Israel thus expects the international community to act swiftly and to act decisively to thwart this danger. But we always reserve the right of self-defense.

We have been warned !

(To read the rest of the powerful speech click on the title for a link)

Bumper Sticker of the Day

"HONK if I am Paying for YOUR
Health Insurance"

(Click on the title for a link to a site where you can buy yours)

Jim Bartko for Oregon Athletic Director

Now that Greg Byrne has picked Arizona to be their new Athletic Director the choice of Jim Bartko is clear for the University of Oregon.

As I posted on Friday:

Jim Bartko is the current Executive Senior Associate AD at the University of Oregon and has been at Oregon since 1989 except for a short time at Cal in 2006. He was brought back to Oregon by AD Pat Kilkenny who replaced Bill Moos in 2007.
Over the course of his tenure, he has raised more than $350 million for capital improvements and facility enhancements, including a $91 million expansion of Autzen Stadium and $200 million for the building of a new basketball area.

From 2003-06, Bartko served as the associate athletic director responsible for university relations with major gift givers and prospects. In addition, he supervised the Ducks' men's and women's golf programs and equipment staff.

Bartko was Oregon's assistant athletic director for community and corporate relations from 1998-2003, and he served as assistant athletic director for the Duck Athletic Fund form 1994-98. He began his career at Oregon as a regional director of the Duck Athletic Fund in 1989 starting in Medford, Oregon where I first met him.

Bartko earned his bachelor's degree in sports administration with a minor in business administration from Washington State in 1987. He later worked as an intern and assistant director of marketing at WSU from 1987-89.

Jim would be an excellent choice to replace Mike Bellotti as AD. He has a great relationship with Oregon fans and Donor Phil Knight and is an all around good guy who has made and maintained many friendships with Oregon fans and donors over the years.

Greg Byrne to Arizona

ESPN is reporting that Mississippi State Athletic Director Greg Byrne it taking the AD job at Arizona in Tuscon. That's good news for Greg and bad news for the Ducks.... however, I feel sorry for Greg having to deal with their football coach Mike Stoops. In any case, congratulations Greg and welcome beck to the PAC-10.

Campaign Begins Today by Mitt Romney

America has just witnessed an unconscionable abuse of power. President Obama has betrayed his oath to the nation — rather than bringing us together, ushering in a new kind of politics, and rising above raw partisanship, he has succumbed to the lowest denominator of incumbent power: justifying the means by extolling the ends. He promised better; we deserved better.

He calls his accomplishment “historic” — in this he is correct, although not for the reason he intends. Rather, it is an historic usurpation of the legislative process — he unleashed the nuclear option, enlisted not a single Republican vote in either chamber, bribed reluctant members of his own party, paid-off his union backers, scapegoated insurers, and justified his act with patently fraudulent accounting. What Barack Obama has ushered into the American political landscape is not good for our country; in the words of an ancient maxim, “what starts twisted, ends twisted.”

His health-care bill is unhealthy for America. It raises taxes, slashes the more private side of Medicare, installs price controls, and puts a new federal bureaucracy in charge of health care. It will create a new entitlement even as the ones we already have are bankrupt. For these reasons and more, the act should be repealed. That campaign begins today.

— Mitt Romney is the former governor of Massachusetts and author of No Apology.

A Little of America Died Tonight

The ties that bind are breaking.

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.

Ronald Reagan

Back in 1927, an American socialist, Norman Thomas, six times candidate for President on the Socialist Party ticket, said that the American people would never vote for socialism but he said under the name of liberalism the American people would adopt every fragment of the socialist program.

Ronald Reagan

If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on Earth. And this idea that government is beholden to the people, that it has no other source of power except to sovereign people, is still the newest and most unique idea in all the long history of man's relation to man. This is the issue of this election. Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves

.
Ronald Reagan


Former Democratic pollster Pat Caddell on Fox News this afternoon said that the health-care bill about to passed is a “political Jonestown” for House Democrats and that Speaker Pelosi’s insistence on forcing them to vote yes is akin to mass suicide.

AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE AGAINST OBAMA CARE

According to the average of Real Clear Politics of a number of polls the American people are against Obamacare 49.3% to 40.1%

THE FIGHT IS NOT OVER !

Time to rally to the Republicans in the Senate on the "reconciliation" issues, then on to the midterm elections in November, the Presidential election in 2012 and beyond. This will be a running battle for at least three years ! I pity the Democrats in Red districts that voted with Palosi.... she can't protect you now!



Kathryn Jean Lopez at National Review online writes: "Congratulations, Democrats. Beginning now, you own the health-care system in America. Every hiccup. Every complaint. Every long line. All yours." Yes, they bought and paid for it with our money.

March Madness!!

KILL THE BILL !!!!!

The Congressional Budget Office said Friday that rolling back a programmed cut in Medicare fees to doctors would cost $208 billion over 10 years. If added back to the health care overhaul bill, it would wipe out all the deficit reduction, leaving the legislation $59 billion in the red.

Oregon AD Mike Bellotti to ESPN (UPDATED)

Mike Bellotti,University of Oregon's Athletic Director, announced today that he would resign as AD to take a job as an ESPN TV analyst for football. The University of Oregon will start a national search for a new AD along with their search for a new Men's basketball coach.

Two candidates that should be considered for AD are Jim Bartko and Gregg Byrne.


Jim Bartko is the current Executive Senior Associate AD at the University of Oregon and has been at Oregon since 1989 except for a short time at Cal in 2006. He was brought back to Oregon by AD Pat Kilkenny who replaced Bill Moos in 2007.
Over the course of his tenure, he has raised more than $350 million for capital improvements and facility enhancements, including a $91 million expansion of Autzen Stadium and $200 million for the building of a new basketball area.

From 2003-06, Bartko served as the associate athletic director responsible for university relations with major gift givers and prospects. In addition, he supervised the Ducks' men's and women's golf programs and equipment staff.

Bartko was Oregon's assistant athletic director for community and corporate relations from 1998-2003, and he served as assistant athletic director for the Duck Athletic Fund form 1994-98. He began his career at Oregon as a regional director of the Duck Athletic Fund in 1989 starting in Medford, Oregon where I first met him.

Bartko earned his bachelor's degree in sports administration with a minor in business administration from Washington State in 1987. He later worked as an intern and assistant director of marketing at WSU from 1987-89.

Jim would be an excellent choice to replace Mike Bellotti as AD. He has a great relationship with Oregon fans and Donor Phil Knight and is an all around good guy who has made and maintained many friendships with Oregon fans and donors over the years.

UPDATE:

From the Oregonian:

UO associate Bartko, who has been a UO administrator for 20 of the past 21 years, declined to declare himself a candidate.

"My goal at some point in my life is to be an athletic director, whether it's here or somewhere else," Bartko said. "But the timing would have to be right. ... I have enough to worry about, selling basketball seats and raising money."

And this from the Register Guard:

If not Kilkenny, the two most-likely options for Lariviere are Jim Bartko or Renee Baumgartner, each an executive senior associate AD.

Bartko said “I’ll do what’s best for the University of Oregon … if that opportunity is there, sure,” he’d be interested, on an interim or permanent basis.

Greg Byrne the current Athletic Director at Mississippi State would also be a great choice.I have no inside information that Greg is interested in the job but Oregon should be interested in him.

As Mississippi State Athletic Director:
On Wednesday December 10, 2008, Byrne hired Dan Mullen to replace Sylvester Croom as football coach.During the search for a new football coach Byrne got the nickname The Ninja for being out of town all the time and no one knowing where he was. Byrne got a lot of credit for hiring Mullen. Mullen had accomplished a lot at previous schools such as University of Utah where he coached NFL first round draft pick Alex Smith, and University of Florida where he recruited 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, and also won two National Championships at Florida. Byrne's father Bill Byrne is the current athletics director at Texas A&M University.(Bill was also Athletic Director at Oregon in the 1980's and got us into our first bowl game in a long long time)

Background:
Byrne was born in Pocatello, Idaho, and grew up in Eugene, Oregon during the time his dad was Oregon's AD. He attended Arizona State University majoring in Hotel Business. He started working around athletics working for the Fiesta Bowl. Then in 1995 he was named the director of the "Duck Club" for the University of Oregon.This is where I met him when he was stationed in Medford, Oregon. He was a real dynamo. In 1998, Byrne went from Oregon to Oregon State University, as the director of the "Beaver Club".( I have forgiven him) In 2002 he took a job at the University of Kentucky as an assistant athletics director. In 2005 he worked for a litigation support software company, CaseLogistix, out of Jackson, Mississippi, but remained in Lexington, Kentucky. In 2006, Byrne took over the "Bulldog Club" director job for Mississippi State University. When Byrne played high school basketball at Sheldon High School in Eugene, his assistant coach was Mark Few, now the men's head basketball coach for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. (Maybe he could help us hire Few as our basketball coach and fill both vacancies.)

Greg is also an all around good guy who works very hard and has made a lot of friends in the Duck community.

UPDATE:

From the Oregonian

If the Ducks take Moos' advice and look for an experienced athletic director, possible candidates are Mississippi State's Greg Byrne or Central Michigan's Dave Heeke.

Byrne, son of former UO athletic director Bill Byrne, has worked as an athletic administrator at Oregon, Oregon State and Kentucky. Reached Friday by telephone, Byrne declined to comment.

Heeke spent 18 years and Oregon and rose to senior associate athletic director/chief of staff before leaving for Central Michigan in 2005. He was not immediately available for comment.

On the Road to "Demon Pass" (Deem and Pass)

Waiting for the "Slaughter" ! This could be a long weekend. Has the United States become another Banana Republic? It ain't over till the fat lady sings. Could the fat lady be the Senate or the Supreme Court? As Drudge says Developing.......

'Davy Crockett' Star Fess Parker Dead at 85

This is a sad day for we aging "Baby Boomers." Before John Wayne, John Ford, Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan were my heroes there was Fess Parker as Davy Crockett. The "Davy Crockett fad" was one of the first fads to be enthusiastically embraced by the post war "baby boomers".More would come, such as hula hoops, Rock N'Roll, Elvis, the Beatles, and Woodstock, but first there was Davy Crockett. I had my coon skin cap and there was a whole counter at our local department store with Davy Crockett paraphernalia. I awaited each week to see if the Disneyland TV show, on ABC TV, had a new episode of "Davy Crockett." I could not believe he would be killed at the Alamo ! It was the first time I had heard of the story of the Alamo and it would be a story that would haunt me for the rest of my life.
When my kids were very young I would sing the "Ballad of Davy Crockett" to them at bed time because other than "The Star Spangled Banner" it was the only song to which I knew all the words. My Kids, now that they are grown, claim I made up my own version but I tell them there is more than one version. A few years ago my son stayed at Fess Parker's hotel in Santa Barbra and I was so excited I wish I could have been there. I have the DVD of all the "Davy Crockett" episode from TV . I think I will watch them tonight. It is a sad day :(

Click on the title for a link to view a YouTube video from The Alamo episode of the TV show.It's the night before they are all killed at the Alamo.(Crockett,Jim Bowie and Travis.) I thought it was sad in 1955 and is sure is sad today. So long Davy !

List of the 5 episodes and date of their first broadcast. They also made the episodes into a movie in color that I saw at a Drive In.

"Davy Crockett Indian Fighter" 12/15/54
"Davy Crockett Goes to Congress" 1/26/55
"Davy Crockett At the Alamo" 2/23/55
"Davy Crockett's Keelboat Race" 11/16/55
"Davy Crockett and the River Pirates" 12/14/55

"Lost Causes.... only causes worth fighting for"

I guess this is just another lost cause, Mr. Paine. All you people don't know about lost causes. Mr. Paine does. He said once they were the only causes worth fighting for.... You think I'm licked. You all think I'm licked. Well, I'm not licked. And I'm going to stay right here and fight for this lost cause. Even if the room gets filled with lies like these, and the Taylors and all their armies come marching into this place.

Picked up this quote over at National Review on line's blog "The Corner". "Mr Smith Goes to Washington is one of my favorite movies and if you remember Jimmy Stewart won at the end of the movie. Obama health care can be defeated !!

Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

Winston Churchill

Happy St Patrick's Day

Directed by John Ford who liked to claim that his real name was Sean Aloysius O'Feeny. Ford, an Irishman from Portland Maine, made his movie as an act of love for the native land of his parents. He made it in Ireland in 1952. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won Ford his fourth Oscar for Best Director.I can't wait for it to come out on blu-ray!

In this, John Ford's most personal movie, John Wayne's character is named "Sean" which was John Ford's claimed real first name. In the movie Wayne fell in love with Maureen O'Hara, whose character's name is "Mary Kate." The name of the two women he loved. Mary was the first name of John Ford's wife and "Kate" was Katherine Hepburn's nick name.

U of O Press Conference on Ernie Kent @ 3:30 PDT (UPDATED Ernie Fired!)

The University of Oregon is having a press conference this afternoon at 3:30 PDT on the status of Men's Basketball Coach Ernie Kent. We should get the official word at that time. I think the only issue is whether he was offered and or has accepted a new position in the Athletic Department. There has been speculation that he would stay on as part of the Oregon Sports Network(OSN) TV broadcasts team for Oregon Basketball Games. My opinion is that would be very awkward for everyone.The Press Conference will appropriately be at Mac Court.

UPDATED:

Oregon AD Mike Bellotti confirmed that he had will not renew basketball coach Ernie Kent's contract and Oregon was starting the search today for a new basketball coach.

Ernie Kent then spoke in an emotional speech about his love for the University of Oregon and all it has meant to him as a player, student and coach. Ernie at times had tears in his eyes and showed he was a fighter to the end. There were still 6 games to be played in regular season play when he was told his contract would not be renewed and that he had the option of quiting then of finishing out the season. Ernie said he was not the kind of man who would quite and stayed through the Pac 10 Tournament and never gave up.

I have been a strong advocate for the last year and one half that Ernie should be replaced but I respect the way Ernie fought to the end.

Hear Hear, Ernie Kent !

Press Release by AD Mike Bellotti:

EUGENE, Ore. — The University of Oregon has terminated the contract of long-time men’s basketball head coach Ernie Kent, according to an announcement Tuesday by the school’s Director of Athletics Mike Bellotti.

“The accomplishments Ernie Kent has brought to the basketball program at the University of Oregon speak for themselves,” said Bellotti. “No one can deny that this program stands in better shape today than when he took it over, and that’s a direct reflection on the passion he has displayed for this community, his alma mater and the players that he has brought into this program.

“This was not an easy decision for me, but unfortunately, when I looked at the past five to six years, I did not see the improvement and consistency that I had hoped for, and that we will need to move forward as we open our new arena and seek to reenergize and expand our season ticket base,” said Bellotti.

“I would like to thank Ernie for his professionalism during a difficult time in his career, and certainly acknowledge his contribution to the growth of the basketball program,” said Bellotti. “I believe the University of Oregon is well-positioned to build on the foundation that Ernie has helped put into place.”

Kent had two years remaining on his contract that went into effect on July 1, 2007, and was amended on July 1, 2008. That pact called for him to be paid an annual guaranteed base salary from the University of $150,000. With additional compensation from deferred income, ticket sales and the Oregon Sports Network the contract was valued at $1.06 million. According to a 2008 contract addendum, the University would owe Kent a sum of $1.15 million in lieu of his annual salary and incentives should his employment be terminated without cause.

Oregon will immediately begin a national search to hire a replacement.

Kent accumulated a 235-173 (.576) mark in 13 seasons at the Ducks’ helm. Combined with his six-year total of 90-80 at the Moraga, Calif., school, Kent owns a 325-253 career coaching ledger in 19 seasons at the NCAA Division I level.

Statement from UO President Richard Lariviere regarding Coach Ernie KentMarch 16, 2010

"Today, it was announced that Ernie Kent will no longer be the head coach of the University of Oregon men’s basketball team. Coach Kent has contributed to the university as a student-athlete, coach, leader and mentor.

Coach Kent played an important role as a teacher of student-athletes for the past 13 years. He led his team to success in the Pac-10. In the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate for academic achievement by student-athletes his record was exemplary. On the court, Coach Kent was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year and reached the Elite Eight twice in five NCAA tournament competitions.

My colleagues and I admire the work of this good man for his ability to shape the lives of young people. It is an enviable record. The University of Oregon appreciates his accomplishments and wishes Coach Kent the best in the future.”

Is that a Promise ?

Barack Obama has said he will not campaign for any Democratic congressmen who fails to support health care reform. Let's see..... in the last year.... after he campaigned for the Democrat candidates in New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts the Democrat LOST ! I also remember a trip to Copenhagen for the Chicago Olympics that also didn't turn out so well. So Please, is that a promise ?

"So, an entire year has gone to waste."

Senator Scott Brown's radio address from today:

Hello, I'm United States Senator Scott Brown from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

"When the people of my state elected me in January, they sent more than a senator to Washington - they sent a message. Across party lines, the voters told politicians in Washington to get its priorities right.

"And from my travels and conversation with people throughout this country, they told me that they want their President and Congress to focus on creating jobs and reviving America's economy. Instead, for more than a year now, we have seen a bitter, destructive, and endless drive to completely transform America's health care system.

"In January of last year, unemployment hit 7.2 percent and our economy was hurting badly. But, early in President Obama's term, he and the Democratic leadership of Congress made takeover of health care their first priority.

"Today, times are even tougher across our nation when it comes to our economy. Nearly one in ten Americans are still out of work. And still, the President and Congress are focused on ramming through their health-care bill, whatever it takes, whatever the cost.

"Maybe you remember what President Obama promised in his State of the Union address. He said he was going to finally focus on jobs and the economy for the remainder of this year. I applauded him for that. Well, here it is, it's almost spring. And what is he out there talking about again? That same 2,700-page, multi-trillion dollar health care legislation.

"So, an entire year has gone to waste. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, and many more jobs are in danger. Even now, the President still hasn't gotten the message.
"Somehow, the greater the public opposition to the health care bill, the more determined they seem to force it on us anyway. Their attitude shows Washington at its very worst - the presumption that they know best, and they're going to get their way whether the American people like it or not.
"And, when politicians start thinking like that, they don't let anything get in their way - not public opinion, not the rules of fair play, not even their own promises.

"They pledged transparency. Instead, we have a health care bill tainted by secrecy, concealed cost, and full of backroom deals- and that's just not right. They should do better. The American people expect more. "They pledged a true bipartisan effort. Instead, they have resorted to bending the rules, and they now intend to seize control of health care in America on a strict party-line vote.

"In speech after speech on his health care plan, the President has tried to convince us that what he is proposing will be good for America. But, how can it be good for America if it raises taxes by a half trillion dollars and costs a trillion dollars or more to implement? In addition, how can it be good if it takes another half a trillion dollars away from seniors on Medicare, and still includes all the backroom deals you have been hearing about for months?
"Well, for the past year or more, the new establishment in Washington has tried again and again to sell this plan to the American people. But the Americans aren't buying it, and for good reason. And now, what's going on is a last, desperate power play. They actually tell us that passing the bill is necessary, if only to prove that something can get done in Washington.

"Well, I haven't been here very long, but, I can tell you this much already: Nothing has distracted the attention and energy of the nation's capital more than this disastrous detour. And, the surest way to return to the people's business is to listen to the people themselves: We need to drop this whole scheme of federally controlled health care, start over, and work together on real reforms at the state level that will contain costs and won't leave America trillions of dollars deeper in debt.

"This, above all, was the message that the people of my state sent to the President and the Congress in the election over a month ago.

"You know some of my Democratic colleagues, you know, are being leaned on mighty hard right now. Speaker Pelosi and others are handing down their marching orders, telling them to vote for this bill no matter what. Rarely have elected leaders been so intent on defying the public will. For many members of Congress, the time for choosing is near - do what the party leadership demands, or do what the people have asked you to do. If my colleagues don't mind some advice from a newcomer, I'd suggest going with the will of the people.
"After all, from the very beginning of this debate, the American people have called it correctly. In every part of the country, Republicans and Democrats have agreed on serious, straightforward, commonsense health care reform. They expect us in Washington to do the same - working together, acting fairly and by the rules, and staying focused on the need to make the American economy as strong as it can be. That is the business that brought me here on an unexpected journey to Washington. And, it's the responsibility of everyone sent here to serve our country. We can do better - and I challenge my colleagues and the President to do just that.

"I'm Senator Scott Brown and thank you very much for listening."

LET'S GO DUCKS !!!!

A rebirth........Football Spring Game is May 1st!

FRIDAY: Judgment Day for two Oregon Ducks! (Updated)

Sometime you have to laugh to keep from crying. Who would predict that a Friday in March would be one of the most important days for Oregon Duck football. On Friday the two best players on the University of Oregon football team will appear in Lane County Circuit Court on criminal charges.

At 8:30 AM Oregon's best running back LaMichael James reportedly will plead "no contest" on an harassment charge arising out of an argument with an "ex girlfriend." He is presently under house arrest and spent two night in jail several weeks ago and has two Assault 4 charges and other misdemeanors pending against him.

At 1:30 PM Oregon's Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback, Jeremiah Masoli, will be arraigned on a felony charge of Burglary II arising out of the theft of some computers from a fraternity house.

Also on Friday, after the Circuit Court Judge is done with them, these players will face the "judgement" of Oregon football coach Chip Kelly.

I will resist the temptation to express my opinion on what should happen to to them until the facts are outlined in open court. I have faith in the criminal justice system and I have faith in Coach Kelly ! However, whatever will happen will have dramatic consequences for Oregon Duck Football. Let's just hope both cases are resolved on Friday.

To go from the highs of a team going to the Rose Bowl to the depths of the criminal justice system in a few short weeks is very depressing for this fan. Like a punch to the gut.

Yes, Friday will be a big day

UPDATE:

LaMichael James plead guilty to one count of Harassment and all other charges were dismissed. He got 10 day jail with credit for time served and will probably get a jail alternative for the other 8 days. Here is a summary of the District Attorneys Memorandum filed with the court outlining the facts of the harassment charge:

When the victim learned that the defendant (James) had a female house guest from outside Oregon, she went to the defendant's residence to speak with his house guest," according to the district attorney's memo. "The house guest was alarmed, refused to let the victim into the residence, and subsequently called the defendant.

James arrived at his apartment and asked XXXXXXXXXXXXX (the victim) to leave and "physically removed the victim from the area immediately in front of his residence door."

While James held on to her arms, XXXXXXXXXXXXXX grabbed his necklace and told James she wouldn't let go unless he let her go.

"During the ensuing push-and-pull, the defendant's necklace broke and he became angry," according to the DA.

James grabbed XXXXXXXXXX by her collar and pushed her against his car. XXXXXXXXX got in James' car and pulled his keys from the ignition. James grabbed XXXXXXXX to pull her from his car, but she kept his keys and ran from the car.

James caught up to her and grabbed her waist. The two fell into bark mulch on the ground.

James got his keys back, "ending the physical interaction," the DA wrote. "The parties talked without further physical contact before the defendant drove away."

The memo explains that the Abuse Prevention Act "requires immediate arrest in circumstances such as these."

"Uniform enforcement of that requirement has undoubtedly saved many lives, but it also requires law enforcement to make preliminary charging decisions based on initial reports before a more thorough investigation can be completed," the DA wrote. "Subsequent investigation and clarification of the facts often result in modification of the criminal charges."

"In this case, dismissal of some of the charges, the admission of guilt by the defendant, and the recommended sentences are all appropriate to the facts," the DA wrote. "The disposition recommended herein is also supported by the victim."

(I have removed the victim's name)

Jeremiah Masoli plead guilty to Burglary II this afternoon and was given "misdemeanor treatment" and probation with a community service requirement plus restitution. It also appears from court document that he lied to coach Chip Kelly about his involvement.

What will the coach do in each case...... the coach will have a press conference at 3PM.

UPDATE 2

Oregon football coach Chip Kelly suspend QB Jeremia Masoli for the entire 2010 football season. He is a senior but could come back if he wants for the 2011 season by using 2010 as a red shirt" year. It will be up to him

The coach suspended RB LaMichael James for only one game, the first game of the season against New Mexico.

I love coach Kelly and support his actions today. What a great coach.

Duck Football

A sad day to be an Oregon Duck. The Winter of our discontent! You know the news... I do not need to repeat it here.

Fight on, my merry men all,
I'm a little wounded, but I am not slain;
I will lay me down for to bleed a while,
Then I'll rise and fight with you again..

John Dryden, 1631-1700

Back in the Saddle Again!

*****La Qunita motels are running an ad on TV with the picture of Gabby Hayes talking. However, the "voice over" they use is done by an impersonator who sounds a lot more like Walter Brennan( lower picture) than Gabby Hayes (top picture).

As a kid growing up I loved Western Movies and still do. Many of the cowboy heroes had a "sidekick" for comic humor and both Water Brennan and Gabby Hayes were very good in that role. However Gabby Hayes had a much lower gravely voice and Walter Brennan had a high pitched voice. I guess La Quinta figured there are not enough of us "old timers" to be able to tell the difference. Both actors are gone now but they are not forgotten.

As Gabby Hayes would say: "yer durn tootin'! you young whippersnappers" or "durn persnickety female"

(click on the title for a link to more information on Hayes)


To listen to the real George "Gabby" Hayes click on this link of a youtube post. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7koigiUq7GE&feature=related

Romney in the Wilderness, Waiting

Click on the title for a link to a review of Mitt Romney's new book "No Apology: The Case for American Greatness" by National Review. A quote from the book:

"Never before has there been a generation of Americans that has imperiled the following generations’ opportunity for achievement and advance as we have done. And America’s ability to preserve individual freedom and the nation’s security is also in jeopardy, because unless things dramatically change, our debts and obligations will imperil our economy and our military — not because of fierce foreign competitors or the need to engage enemies militarily, but simply because of our own woeful negligence"

.

This weekend I saw an extended interview of Romney about his new book on C-Span, by Juan Williams, and Romney comes across as the kind of leader you would want in a crisis and we ARE in a crisis in so many ways . The nice thing about C-Span is they take an entire hour for their book interviews unlike the 2 minute interviews you get on the other TV channels. I like him a lot!

Feel sorry for Ernie Kent?

Yes, I do but before we feel too sorry remember two names.... Mark Hudson and Fred Litzenberger. They were two assistant of Ernie's that he fired.

He fired Mark Hudson last year to bring in new assistant coach Mike Dunlap to save his job for at least one more season. Hudson had been an assistant and "friend" of Ernie's for 12 years at Oregon and had been with Ernie at Saint Mary's before that. That didn't save him when he became expendable when it was necessary to save Ernie's job. As Hudson said "it's the business."

Fred Litzenberger "retired" as an assistant to Ernie at Oregon in 2005 after he brought some player's complaints to Ernie. As soon as he "retired" he "unretired" and is now the head coach at Vanguard University in southern California. Now Ernie may have had "business" reasons for letting Litzenberger go but loyalty did not save him!

So Ernie, thanks for the memories and you will always be a Duck but to quote Mark Hudson we have a new arena to fill and "it's the business"... we have to put people in the new seats and mediocre basketball at Oregon will not cut it anymore regardless of how long you have been a Duck. You gave it all you had and we thank you for that. As Ernie said when Litzenberger "retired":

"Fred has done a tremendous job for us in terms of the experience and tactical expertise he brought to the table," said Oregon head coach Ernie Kent. "We’re going to miss that. On a personal level, I’ve known Fred since 1987 when we were both assistants under Boyd Grant at Colorado State. That’s an 18-year relationship and I am certainly going to miss having him in the gym with us."

You Too Ernie... we will miss you and I mean that.


UPDATE: Ernie fights back...... Ernie is quoted today as saying:

"It's unfortunate we're in a day and age now where people attack you from all angles,'' Kent said. "And I'm talking about blogs and (the Internet) and all those kind of things, too. This is a team that's developing. So if you're fans, this is your basketball team. So support your basketball team or don't.

"But you can't say you're fans and you're going to support them when they're in Elite Eights and they're on championship runs, and now all of a sudden they're in a rebuilding year we're not going to support them - you can't do that.

"Somebody sent their child to the University of Oregon and they sent them to Eugene. And they sent him here so they could grow, not send him here so he could get beat up and not supported.''

Sorry Ernie, there have been too many "building years."


UPDATE 2 (MONDAY NIGHT)

The Eugene Register Guard is reporting tonight that Ernie Kent has informed his team that he will not be back nest year. I hope the team honors what Kent has done for Oregon by going "deep" into the Pac-10 tournament in Los Angles which starts on Wednesday when Oregon plays Washington State in the first game of the tournament. Go Ducks give Ernie a going away present.

UPDATE 3

Oregonians Canzano: P.J. Carlesimo to replase Kent ???????

Ernie Kent Fired!

Eugene, Oregon TV station KVAL is reporting that University of Oregon head men's basketball coach, Ernie Kent, was fired by AD Mike Bellotti on or about February 22. Click on the title for a link to the KVAL news story.

For me this is bittersweet news. Anyone who has read this blog know I wanted Ernie to be replaced but on the other hand Ernie bleeds green and yellow. He gave it everything he had and was successful in many ways. However, the bottom line is winning or at the least having competitive teams on a regular basis that give it all they have and that has been lacking the last few years. Tonight the Ducks beat Washington State to avoid the basement of the Pac 10 at season end. The Duck's finish in 9th place after finishing 10th last year. So long Ernie, thanks for the memories as a player and coach. You will always be a Duck!

UPDATE:

In regular season Pac-10 play Oregon had a winning record only 4 seasons out of 13. He had a 9 and 9 record for two seasons and 7 seasons with a losing record.