Roseburg's Fine Despite the Beaverton 'Dumpster Fire'

I gotta say, Jaime Yraguen described Roseburg's loss to Beaverton perfectly when he called it 'a dumpster fire'.
You sort of want to watch it, but you know it just ain't good.
Despite that 41-20 embarrassing home loss, I think Roseburg is going to be okay.
Now, Sheldon is coming to town in two weeks for the SWC opener October 9th.
It is possible for Roseburg to up their game this week against Aloha, repair the damage suffered against Beaverton and get back to where they were mentally prior to the loss to the Beavers.
But maybe it would be better for the Indians not to go back to that mental place.
Roseburg's players might have started believing their own hype after the win over McNary. I certainly added to it last week, proclaiming that Roseburg might 'be back'.
Most of the time, teams on the rise have growing pains and I think this was one of those nights.
When I describe what happened against Beaverton, I tell people the game was like a Monday morning after a hard wild weekend when you back out of your driveway and hit the neighbor's car. Then you hit your dog, blow a tire and once at work, spill your coffee all over yourself. On the way home to change, you get stopped by a cop. And you don't have your license.
Basically, Friday night was a bad country song for Roseburg.
But those days happen and they do not necessarily reflect accurately the character or ability of the person - or in this case - team.
One more thing on this topic: Do not panic if the Indians happen to stumble against Sheldon. That game will probably be for the league title. Roseburg could go 4-1 in league and get the second place reward of a home playoff game in the first round - a victory in its own right. The only first round playoff win the Indians have had since 2002 was the last game played on grass at Finlay Field - a win in the mud over Marshfield in 2004.

One other thing, for those wondering about the change in the booth on the radio.
Robin Knebel's work schedule changed just before the start of the season.
Jaime Yraguen made himself available and despite a busy auction schedule around the state, Jaime worked a return to the radio into his life.
It takes a tremendous amount of time to do these games and the colorman and sideline guys do not get paid.
Thats why I'm very patient with new people to the games and never question someone who has to step away.
And another thing. Having Jaime back on the air with me is the closest thing to broadcasting games with my big brother. He has played for Coach Bell and his son did too, making him perfect for the gig of colorman. On top of that, he is unafraid to say what he thinks and can take any criticism people may have.
I happen to love having him back and appreciate his insight and the amount of time he gives to making 'my baby' - the broadcast - better.

Sweet Sports Weekend

I remember when a busy sports weekend for me meant hours in front of the tv after calling a football game on Friday night.
Well, now a busy sports weekend still requires hours in front of the tube, but thats on Sunday.
For me, Friday night required a two hour drive to and from Keizer to watch Roseburg's 28-7 impressive win over the Celtics. Watch out for the Indians. They have the horses to be VERY good this season. You can hear the game at www.kskrthescore.com.
I got home at about 12:30 Saturday morning, but there is a little bit of a funny story to tell. After a football game, the challenge is on to find a place to eat on the way home. By 10:00 most places are closed, leaving us with little choice other than typical fast food. Friday night, Drew Heard and I stopped at the McDonald's on Market Street in Salem.
When we walked in, we ran into a couple of people we know and started a short conversation. I went to the bathroom and in the two minutes I was gone, the entire Roseburg football team pulled up in two buses.
About 100 kids and their coaches filled the lobby, the doorway and the parking lot.
Drew and I hopped in the station rig and went through the drive-up window.
We beat the entire team to the punch and got our food just before members of the throng put in their orders.

After sleeping until 7 Saturday morning, I spent a few hours working around the house until driving to Eugene for the Purdue game. I had to pay to park near Autzen and then ran to the Moshofsky Center to be on the KUGN Gameday show with Jerry and Jorgy. About half an hour into the show, technical problems shut down the rest of the 4:00 hour. We were done before we really even got started on the show.
The rest of the afternoon was spent basically following Jerry Allen around and trying to look busy in the OSN broadcast booth at Autzen. Thats hard to do in a room full of people working hard to get the game on.

After the game I sat in on the Chip Kelly postgame, where Phil Knight always hangs out and then ran into Oregon baseball Coach George Horton and former AD Pat Kilkenny who was noticebly relieved with the win and smiling about the construction of the baseball stadium.
And much like the return trip from Salem, a stop at Cottage Grove proved to be longer than anticipated.
Even at 12:30am, the drive up window lines at McDonalds and Burger King were really long. I pulled into the gas n sip there on the main drag and stood in line with about a dozen groggy Duck fans. In fact, I drank most of the coffee/energy drink standing in line just to stay upright.
You know you're tired when you are singing to a commercial on the radio - and there isn't any music in the spot...

Sunday was spent with the aforementioned hours of tv time.
I continued to work on a fairly major home improvement project with the game on and managed to catch most of the Seahawks win over St Louis.

With another game Sunday night and a Monday Night Football doubleheader, life as a sports fan is pretty good right now.

And next week, I get to do it all again.

Weekend Recap

Ducks, Indians and Kitchen Remodeling, Oh My!?
A few days removed from Black Thursday, I've got a thing or two to say about the Oregon Ducks and the rest of the season:
1) I'd rather be Oregon than Oklahoma. At least our quarterback survived the Bronco debacle. Unfortunately, the Ducks may have lost safety TJ Ward to an ankle injury.
2) Few things have changed since the loss. There are plenty of opportunities to get back into the Rose Bowl. If Oregon digs in a focuses on each game instead of the prize at the end, they could find themselves back in the national picture, no matter what the BCS voters think. (BTW, they think Oregon stinks and now that won't change because many of them won't spend any more time on the Ducks.)
3) Point #2 is how it should have been anyway.

I will be part of this Saturday's Oregon Duck pregame show on KUGN live from the Moshofsky Center starting at 8am. I will be with Jerry Allen and Mike Jorgenson on that program. Yes, it is a BIG foot in the door.

I'm encouraged by the Roseburg Indians win over Gresham Friday night.
Returning players in the right places (and alot of them) combined with some quality depth may lead Roseburg back into the lime-light.
I wouldn't say Roseburg is ready for a state championship run, but how about finishing second in the SWC and getting a home playoff game.
But who would ever aim for second place?
Roseburg hosts Sheldon October 9th in what may be the league title game.

I spent the Labor Day Weekend...working.
We've all but gutted the kitchen, painting, refinishing the cabinets, replacing the trim all around and replacing some cabinets with shelving instead. New countertops went in Sunday and all my hard work paid off when Jannie loaded the shelves with her Pyrex against the light blue walls and white shelving and cabinets and squealed.
No really. She squealed.
That was all the payoff I needed.

Now, wainescoating, dozens of miter cuts and touch ups await us to make the whole thing "pop".

I am looking forward to Tuesday so I can recover from the three day weekend.

Its Official. I'm No Zebra.

Color me converted.
I used to think I knew what it was like to officiate a football game.
Like alot of people, I yelled at the TV and disagreed with calls on the air and off.
I have pointed out missed calls on obvious fouls and lamented what I thought were wrong calls on turnovers and catches along the sidelines.
No more.
I spent several Wednesday nights at the Douglas County Football Officials Association meetings leading up to the start of the high school football season.
It wasn't my idea. I think I must have gotten too friendly with Bruce Pettengill, whose expertise in correct officiating has driven me crazy while watching (and yelling) at Seahawk games.
Bruce is an official in Douglas County and suggested that maybe I take a turn in the stripes. Not only was this a good idea, but Bruce was also the kind of guy that could make it happen.
So, after hours of training and several seconds of carefully studying several manuals and booklets, I took the field at the South Umpqua football scrimmage.
In the parking lot before the practice game at Loghry Field I was as nervous as I can remember. It seemed like I couldn't remember the most basic rules of the game.
In otherwords, I knew eactly how those officials feel all the time.
(Just kidding. See, THATs the kind of comment that put me in this position to start with!)
Bruce gently guided me through a thousand goofy scenarios to talk me down from panic and we took the field with a bunch of helpful officials.
I got to blow my whistle and run around, spotting the ball and learning the technical aspects of the job. I even threw a flag, but I can't remember what for.
I was the line judge, then the back judge (much better) and just missed moving up to Umpire. The Ump crouches behind the linebackers and watches for holds in the middle of the line of scrimmage. That position requires agility and confidence, because several large, grunting players are literally fighting all around you.
The tight end on a drag route runs right through the area where the Umpire works.
Well, lucky for me, I never made it to the Umpire position because the scrimmage ended.
Later I learned Coach Hubbard and the Lancers had it in for me.
Once I moved to that spot, the coach was going to call for a tight end drag with the intent of making me either recognize what was happening and move out of the way - or (more likely) not see it coming and get introduced to football without pads.
Another ploy was to call a running play up the middle - another chance for the new guy to absorb some bodily harm.
In the end, I was unscathed.
And very happy with my performance.
Not a single person yelled at me.
That I know of.
Anyway, there is alot to see and react to as an official and I came away from my brush with death with a much better appreciation for the art of officiating.
Thanks, Bruce. Now go make the call.