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September 2009
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| Friday Night Flights Prediction - September 11 »
Never doubt that a lot can happen in a minute. Case in point: the aftermath of last night's Oregon-Boise St. game. Here at the station, the game wrapped up just as Joe Becker was about to go on the air with sports for our 10 o'clock show. The game clock hit zeros, and I got word to Joe the game was officially over before venturing out of the sports office for a drink of water. I came back into the office seconds later, and EVERYTHING had changed, all thanks to Ducks running back Legarrett Blount. If you haven't seen it, Blount sucker-punched Boise St. defensive lineman Byron Hout, in perfect view of the national TV cameras and thousands of people. The punch capped off the disaster that was opening night for the Ducks, when nothing went right. Within minutes, the video was all over the news and the web. As I write this some 14 hours after the incident, it's still the lead story in the sports world. Legarrett Blount has now been SUSPENDED FOR THE SEASON. I'll leave it to you whether or not you think this is warranted. But this is a black eye for the sport, and both schools. Is Byron Hout an innocent victim in this? No. College football players, the best of the best, should be far above taunting. Hout's words completely overshadowed his team's big win, one of the biggest in school history. But Hout was turning away from Blount when the punch was thrown. There is no excuse for a sucker punch. It's an act of cowardice. It's also an act that will stay with Legarrett Blount for his entire life. 6 CommentsLeave a comment |
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100% the correct move for the team, the school and for the player in that they are not kicking him to the curb in my opinion. My hat is off to Coach Kelly and the AD for doing the right thing and showing that there is a classy way out of this mess. All team sports (college to pro) should take note of this move and the effort to do what's right for a change.
Overblown. This is not the first punch thrown by a college player. If you are taunting someone, you should expect to get punched in the mouth. If you don't want to get hit, you should just celebrate your victory and leave the losing team alone.
Inexcusable....
Throw him off the team...NOW!
Take away his scholarship -- obviously he has not learned anything anyhow.
Wow -- shoots his mouth off then can't take any rebuttle -- poor sportman at the least -- really that was ASSAULT -- on national TV.
You or I would goto jail for that.
Time to stop treating athletes special.
Time to use this as a "teaching moment" by showing we will not tollerate this -- get rid of him and others might take notice.
That was a punch? I've seen harder hits during Soupy Sales cream pie in the face stunts. A flat footed face push delivered in a MaryKate Olsen Matial Arts style. Joy Behar creates quicker hand speed reaching for the Parmesean Cheese at the monthly "The View" spagettii feed. Perhaps the Oregon ducks should wear pink ribbons on their uniforms until that Boise State "Bronco" finds an assisted living situation where he'll be reminded to wear his helmet 24/7 lest an errrant pingpong ball render him down on the canvas once again.
I'm not sure, if suspension should be hole or half season, but in ether one, I think he needs anger management, for his acts signs of anger problems, and with out management the actions are likely to worse.
The Ducks downplayed a much more severe attack on an opposing player and set the stage for this incident. When Aaron Brooks broke Husky guard Ryan Applebee's facial bones with a vicious elbow U of O assumed a "Boys will be Boys" stance. The Brooks incident was much more serious but wasn't on national TV. The Ducks displayed much less contrition because the audience was so small I guess. I try hard to be a Duck fan but the historical toleration of outrageous behavior by fans and players makes it very difficult. It is a shame an athletic program that has such proud tradition in more humble times, has become so full of itself in recent years. Maybe we'll see a real change now. It is about time.