TRUTH & BEAUTY (& WEIRDNESS)

A great man once said:

The game will not be beautiful. But when they play, it will be beautiful.

Indeed, it was not beautiful. This "W" win won't do much for our standings in the national polls, but but it's more than we've beaten the Bulldogs by in our last four meetings. Maybe the coaches and sportswriters will take this into account? No, we'd do better to hold our own against Oklahoma next week — we could've used Stewart more than his one carry (for a touchdown) but it's probably better to let him rest up for next week. And if we manage to finagle another "W" out of that game, BCS here we come (you have to think about these things early on).

Anyway, Last night I went to a party early in the evening, returned for the Ducks game; it was the first time in awhile I'd had a laptop and no distractions during a Ducks game. (I returned to the party afterward.) If stream-of-consciousness is your thing, well, knock yourself out:

What -- Jordan Kent fumbles! (Ernie Kent smiles?) ... sophomore quarterback? We can take this guy ... if I roll my TV stand up close, who cares that it's not HD? ... I hope Frenso just goes for it on 4th and 14 -- damn ... that was all Jordan's fault, not Dixon's ... Garren Strong doesn't look *that* hurt ... that was a first down, right? yes! ... weird how the Bulldogs stadium has stairs right behind the uprights -- sure takes the crowd out it, even if it's not quite like free throuws (though they do have thunder sticks) ... whoa, that dude knocked out? that dude looks worse than Strong -- didn't look like he got the worse of it either; Finley bounced more. but not our problem ... his problem ... great Dennis Dixon pass to Jaison Williams ... Dixon knows that one was his fault ... inside the 15! ... at the 2! ... good use of trick plays ... touchdown -- Jonathan Stewart! -- that was a giganic hole ... this team looks really confident ... 1st and 20 -- Bulldogs are getting penalized again already ... whoa -- touchdown?! flag? sure thought was incomplete ... QB dude DID get hit hard -- squashed, actually ... double-foul, canceling penalties ... after the TF? was his arm going forward? -- TOUCHDOWN! -- will they challenge? ... I disagree with the announcers -- him getting hit jerked his arm forward ... ah, that was almost a pass -- but I think it came out of his hand almost sideways -- it was the *hit* -- and who was he passing to? (does the pocket collapsing take him out of the pocket?) ... just like the early challenge in the OSU/UT game earlier -- agh, reversed. oh well. close call. 4th and a jillion yards, though ... if Jonathan Stewart reminds me of Jon Stewart, Dante Rosario reminds me of Rosario Dawson ... "looks like a chicken on a junebug when he gets into that secondary -- yeeha!" -- oh, fuck! good throw by Dixon. damn ... but hey, uh, awesome punt! ... damn -- our backs have been terrific at backing up and finding an alternate route ... should've given it to Stewart, but good run there, Dixon ... Jeremiah Johnson! -- didn't even need to hold the ball out -- no one was near him ... I think I'd like to see some Gaelic football ... c'mon Oregon! these Bulldog 3rd down conversions are killing us! ... and so will that false start! ... agh, 14-9 ... 14-10 ... g'dammit! -- 4th and 4? ugh -- and on the 30 or so. lame ... good tackle, I guess ... their run is working -- knock, knock, Oregon D-line ... phew -- no 3rd down conversion ... and a possession later: Dear Oregon offense, please do something ... that was a start -- flag? argh ... 4 penalties now ... well, that was something -- Dixon never seems to run for much yardage, but he does save absolutely awful situations, like that near-safety -- phew ... this counts as something ... gah! SO almost a touchdown -- c'mon, Jaison! ... jeebus. not playing like you guys want to stay ranked ... the AFLAC trivia question is about when a WAC team last beat the Ducks -- Hawaii in '94. I'm almost offended by the question ... bah. let's get a FG already then ... at least that. 17-10 is, well, you don't completely suck -- where's that competence I was talking about? ... INTERCEPTION! -- with :02 until the half, totally pointless, but NICE! ... [HALFTIME] ... defense has its mojo back? ... agh, Jackie Bates -- please stand up! -- Bellotti's on the field, yeah, that looks like it'd hurt -- but good deflection ... seriously, do we have ANY rush defense? ... once again, Fresno St. converts on the third down ... sheesh -- Bellotti, are you ready to lose your Fresno/WAC streak? ... good stop, need a few more ... hey, doing well ... Willie Glasper! ... uh, well, at least you made them fight for it? 17-16 - 17-17 ... Dixon's fault that time, not Williams' ... Dixon to Williams again! -- THAT was something ... and Jordan Kent again -- another 1st down -- better ... ugh, 4th and 2? please tell me you're going for it -- to Stewart -- wha? field goal?! BLOCKED?! RECOVERED!!!! -- conference?! agh! ... wow ... next play, touchdown! ... phew ... and no foul, despite the celebration ... nowadays, NCAA is the real no fun league ... so what if Paul Martinez is no longer perfect for the season -- at least he got that PAT ... even if we do win, which we should, we're still going to lose ground in the AP/USAT polls ... our secondary is kicking ass most of the time -- where's our D-line? ... finally! a 3rd down they couldn't convert ... change of possesion, and ... Dixon, not quite a Vick, but a great run for the first down ... not so good the next time ... and, punting again ... whoa, I've never seen this Drew Rosenhaus BK commercial ... weird. not nearly as funny as the one where the King comes out of nowhere to catch a TD pass, though ... ugh. Dear Oregon Defense, I am a disappointed fan, please keep them outside the 20 ... Dear Defense, please don't let them score a touchdown ... at least if we beat them by 7, that'll be more than we've beaten them by in the last five years ... I'd forgotten Dan Fouts was calling this game -- I'm guessing all the pro-Fresno State commentary is coming from him ... you know, a couple years ago you could easily mistake him for Dennis Miller on MNF -- 20 pounds later, no chance ... FUCK -- Brandstadter (?) should NOT have had that first down ... 24-23, 24-24 ... for the record, I was in the pisser during that Brandi Stater touchdown ... I knew I didn't want to see that ... fuck you, Fouts -- I don't *want* this to be a "great" football game ... for the fourth or fifth time this game, Dixon throws to absolutely nobody at all ... good Dixon-Williams first down ... and another good first down ... our guys can jook all right ... yes! pass to first down up the middle! ... YES! pass to first down up the middle! ... good run, Mr. Johnson ... Rosario Dawson for another first down! ... just give it to Stewart ... ugh, well, we recovered ... c'mon, guys! seriously! ... cripes --- AHA! FUCK YEAH -- Brady Leaf with the fake!! ... pitches it for the Martinez TD run ... nice ... Toeiana injured? not so good ... you know, the numbers on our unis really do look cartoonish ... and, a change of possession later... Bellotti's the winningest coach in Oregon history.

James Joyce, eat your heart out.

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In related news, I did not know this:

The Civil War briefly had a traveling trophy, an abstract maple-carved statue of a platypus (a creature which resembles a cross between a duck and a beaver). The Platypus Trophy was awarded from 1959 to 1962, after which it disappeared. Rediscovered in 2005 in a closet at the University of Oregon's MacArthur Court, there is a move to revive the Platypus Trophy as part of Civil War tradition.

These are the things I miss out here being surrounded by the ACC. Can anybody update me on the status of the Civil War (Brought to you by your Northwest Dodge Dealer) platypus?

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posted by WWB at 4:25 PM |