Okay, so predicting the future is tough, and we in the sports office are fairly horrible at it. At the start of the NFL season, we gave you our picks for the division, conference, and Super Bowl champions. Good news: Our conference and Super Bowl champs are still alive. Bad News: None of picked the divisions very well. In fact, nobody got more than 1 NFC division champs right. Here's our dirty laundry for all to see.

Continue reading "Fearless NFL Predictions - Revisited" »

Posted by Craig Edwards at 5:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

By Joe Becker

It's the final weekend of 2007 and just a few thoughts. I've got a Friday Night off for a change this week. I'm going to the Blazers game. As Blazer fans know...the team is fun to watch this season. They are also fun to cover.

Here are a few things I'll remember most about 2007. Boise State's victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl may have been the most exciting college football game i've ever seen.

In March, "THE ACE", Sports Photographer Brian Warner and I covered the Ducks Basketball team in the elite 8 in St. Louis. It was one of the best work related road trips I've ever taken.
As many viewers know, St. Louis is my hometown. The weather was fantastic while we were there, the Ducks played well...and all of our Live Shots from the Dome went well. Plus, I was able to see my family which was nice.

When the Blazers won the Draft Lottery...I was at the Venue, to cover the Blazers local Draft party. Not counting games...it was the most exciting moment I've seen covering the Blazers. Blazer fans are watching the franchise change right in front of them. From the front office on down...the Blazers are a Class Organization right now.

In June I saw Norah Jones and M. Ward in concert at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Great Show. They did an awesome duet cover of "Blue Bayou" during Ward's opening set.

I started Bass Lessons this summer...to get better.

I had a terrific family vacation to California. On the end of the trip, I was at A T & T Park in San Francisco, with my family, the night Barry Bonds hit Career Homer number 756. It was my first time in the park so that was great...and then to see Bonds hit the homer was quite a thrill.

The Ducks made a run at the National Championship until QB Dennis Dixon went down for good in Arizona. Channel 8 was there and I was on the sidelines when it happened.
Dixon's dad was there too and gave me an interview and was very nice and cordial during an emotional time. Dixon's Heisman hopes ended with his knee injury, but he handled himself like a champion and stuck with his team.

And now, the winning streak for the Blazers caps a great year.

I'm looking forward to 2008!

Happy New Year!

Posted by Joe Becker at 11:57 PM | Permalink

Justifiably so, all the buzz right now is on the Blazers 9-game winning streak. But the Oregon Ducks have found a way to steal some of their thunder. Word out of Eugene tonight is that Mike Bellotti thinks enough of the UCLA head coaching job....to agree to be interviewed by their Athletic Director, Dan Guerrero on Thursday. The Orange County Register broke the story....saying that members of UCLA's staff flew to Eugene to meet with Bellotti. Who knows if Bellotti is using this as leverage for a better deal. His contract does run for 5 more years....and pays him 1.1 million. Here's what the OC-Register had to say today:
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Bellotti, who was at practice as the Ducks prepared to play against South Florida in the Sun Bowl issued a statement, saying only: "I'm focusing on this team to play in this bowl game."

UO athletic director Pat Kilkenny refused to say whether UCLA officials asked for permission to contact the Ducks' coach.

"I can neither can confirm nor deny," Kilkenny said.
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This should at the very least ruffle a few Ducks feathers. With success, comes attention. It happens everywhere---including Eugene. With such a strong recruiting class coming in next season, I just don't see Bellotti making the move to Los Angeles. What? So he can play second fiddle to Pete Carroll for the next decade? Yes, the Bruins need to make a splash with their next head coaching hire....I just don't see Bellotti landing there. But, stranger things have happened before, right?

Posted by at 12:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

By Craig Edwards

Friday night was a busy one at the Rose Quarter, as the Blazers took on the Utah Jazz in front of sellout crowd. But after hopping off the MAX, I bypassed the arena soon to be formally known as the Rose Garden and instead headed to Memorial Coliseum. The Winterhawks dropped the puck about half an hour after tip at the Blazers game.

Continue reading "A Night at Memorial Coliseum" »

Posted by Craig Edwards at 9:38 PM | Permalink

By Craig Edwards

It's been a tough 13 or 14 months if you're an Atlanta Falcons' fan like me. First, a promising 2006 season fizzled out into another underachieving, non-playoff, 7-9 record. Last season's lowlight was head coach Jim Mora Jr. saying he'd want the job at the University of Washington if it came available. Mora was shown the door after the season.

As lame and annoying as that whole sequence was, it was NOTHING compared to what would happen next, as the team's star quarterback pleaded guilty to charges he staged dogfights. Then, in what can only be described as the worst case of timing and bad lack, just about every major step of the legal process took place on a day the Falcons played a game on national TV.

Monday was no different, as Michael Vick got sentenced to 23 months in prison... then the Falcons went out and played horribly, losing to archrival New Orleans 34-14 on Monday Night Football.

Just when things couldn't get any worse... they did. Tuesday, head coach Bobby Petrino decided that 13 games was enough NFL head coaching for him... and ran like the wind back to the college ranks and Arkansas (for less money). The Falcons now sit 3-10.

This season is all but over and a waste, but all is not lost in the ATL. Despite their record, the team does have some good young talent, especially on defense. Rich McKay is among the best general managers in football, and Arthur Blank is a good owner. It just feels like starting from scratch with a new coach might be the best thing to do right now. If they make the right draft picks in the first couple of rounds, Atlanta could turn things around fairly quickly. It's not uncommon in the NFL.

But for us fans, it's just a shame 2007 was such a trainwreck.

Posted by Craig Edwards at 7:14 PM | Permalink