MIXED BAG AT THE PIT by ST

I attended Oregon's loss to St. Mary's in men's hoops on Saturday afternoon and came away with mixed reviews. Certainly the offense was hurt by the absence of Tajuan Porter with a bum ankle. We're so used to this team launching a bunch of 3's but they were just 2 of 5 from downtown and Drew Wiley hit one at the buzzer that did not impact the outcome of the game. While Joevan Caetron joined TP on the sidelines, it's key to note the Gaels were without their starting point guard Wayne Hunter. This St. Mary's team can really shoot and made some clutch 3-pointers at crunch time and were a perfect 10 of 10 from the line with the game still in doubt. The Ducks were weak from the free throw stripe, hitting just 12 of 21. The offense is at best a work in progress and at times the ball movement is a bit frustrating as they dished out a mere 6 assists for the contest. That said, there was some upside and the Gaels are a pretty good team. Juco transfer Malcolm Armstead looks like the best point guard the program has had since Aaron Brooks was drafted into the NBA. True freshman Jamil Wilson will get there but he's experiencing growing pains you'd expect from a newbie and at times seems a tad overwhelmed. Another true frosh, E.J Singler has game and along with Armstead was Oregon's best player. In the post game, the coach said they have to work hard to get better and that's a dead on, accurate statement. The Pac-10 is not as cutthroat as we're used to so with 4 non-league games left before the opener at Wazzou, they can heal up, make progress and hopefully make some kind of splash to create optimism heading into the new arena next autumn.
I know much is being made of Phil Knight coming out in support of Tiger Woods saying Nike is sticking with Eldrick as an endorser. Look, I've lost all respect for Woods as a man. He has no credibility because he presented a complete lie. Was messing around on his wife while she was pregnant with his two children. No way around it, he's a pig. That said, Nike golf is now a significant force in the golf equipment world. We're talking hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide. It doesn't exist without Tiger Woods. Golfers, think about it. Before 1997 how many of you played a ball, used irons or woods with the swoosh on them. We all used Calloway, Taylor Made, Titleist, Ping and the like. Now I see a ton of Nike in your bags. It's unreasonable for this company to turn their back on Woods now, despite his dispicable behavior. This is the classic case of the lesser of various evils. He didn't kill anyone, no abuse of Ellin is suspected and physical harm is not a factor. Nike can not ignore what Tiger has done for their product. Period.