BANGING GEARS...SORT OF by Tannen

So the Rose Bowl is a memory. Disappointing for sure, but if you don't doff your cap to the Buckeyes coaches, defense & Terrell Pryor you're a sore loser and we have no need for you. I see this one as pretty clear. Two really even teams played a pretty even game. The difference is Ohio State's offense converted 3rd down all day as the Duck defense could not get them off the field. Oregon's 2 turnovers were costly with the pick near the end of the half leading directly to an OSU field goal and the Blount/Masoli fumble taking away a likely TD for the U of O. When the Ducks got their take-a-way it was harmless as they were forced to punt. Do the math and I'm sure you can find 9 points in there easy. That said, it's time to once again get excited about men's hoops. After getting one gift wrapped on Thursday in Pullman Ernie's guys turned in a dominating performance at Seattle to chew up the Dawgs. It was the program's top performance since beating tournament bound Arizona to end the 2008 regular season. Oregon has not had a big fella finish off dishes or follows like Michael Dunnigan since I've been a Eugenean(1990). Malcolm Armstead is a terrific point guard who can score. I loved the way E.J Singler helped bust up the Washington pressure with his ball handling. Tajuan Porter can make a huge contribution but he must make better decisions. He dribbles to much and launched ill advised shots. He took a 3 pointer after the Ducks got a sweet offensive rebound ahead by 15 points with over :30 left on the shot clock. Another key to victory was only turning it over a season low 8 times. For the record, I have a list of those of you who have done nothing but bash this program & the head coach in particular. Do not come calling like you're a fan. You're a crybaby, fair weather pest!
As for the NFL, I'm obviously beaming over my Jets tearing up the Bengals to ice the final playoff spot. That sets up one of 3 rematches. Unreal! 3 games from yesterday will be replayed next weekend. Jets/Cincy, Arizona/Green Bay & Philly/Dallas. Much more on this when we rally the troops this afternoon at 3pm.
Enjoy your 2010.