Game 7 in the Rose City?

The Blazers will return to Portland later this week, the question is whether or not they will be hosting a game 7, or planning their summer vacations. I'm not 100% sold on the Blazers chances entering game 6, but I do believe that all of the pressure is squarely on the Rockets shoulders. Houston has gotten bumped in the first round every year since drafting Yao Ming back in 2002. Unfortunately for Yao, the pressure of making it into the second round is solely his, as T-Mac wont be their to take the blame for another Rocket collapse.

The Blazers have been so close to victory in the last two games in Houston. Taking my Blazers bias out of the equation, I still see this series coming back to the Rose City for game 7. With Deke tearing up his knee in game 2, Yao has shouldered even more of the load, playing nearly 40 minutes a night the last three games. The Blazers must get off to a fast start tomorrow, if that happens Yao will be sucking wind by halftime, making him a non factor in the second half.
Prediction: Blazers 89 Rockets 87

I hope this prediction is better than my game 3 one...(if you looked at my game 3 prediction, you know not to put any money on my picks, haha)

A Must Win Tonight?

After squeaking one out against Houston in the Rose Garden on Tuesday night, the Blazers must win one of the next two in Houston. I like our chances tonight, even though Deke didn't play a huge role for the Rockets throughout the season, his absence gives the Blazers a significant size advantage whenever Yao is out of the game. I also think that we need Travis, Rudy, or Blake to become that third scorer we have so desperatly been needing these last two games (I know, what great insight...not like that's what every Blazer fan is thinking too!). I have a gut feeling Travis will show up tonight, and that Rudy will provide the team with some timely three point makes. Portland settled down in game 2 (after the nighmare of game one, anything would have been an improvement), and I look for this new found confidence to travel with the team to Houston this weekend. Game 3 Prediction: Blazers 94 Houston 89

2009 Western Conference Playoff Preview

Here are my 2009 NBA Western Conference postseason predictions. As the playoffs progress I will analyze each math up more thoroughly.

First Round

1) Los Angeles vs. 8) Utah – Talk about a rough draw for the number one seeded Lakers. Just look at the eastern side of the bracket and see the cakewalk (aka Detroit) the Cavs have in the first round. I expect Bynum, Gasol, and Odon to present numerous match up problems for the Jazz throughout this series. Prediction: Lakers in 6

4) Portland vs. 5) Houston – As a fan of the NBA, this series intrigues me most out of all the first round series. Houston beat the Blazers 2-1 in their regular season match ups, but Portland is playing its best basketball of the season right now. While Artest and Battier should do a formidable job on BRoy, I expect LA and the ever improving second unit to send Houston home early (T-Mac wont be there to take the fall this season). Prediction: Blazers in 7

2) Denver vs. 7) New Orleans – Like most NBA fans I expected New Orleans to contend for the title this year. I also expected Denver to be on the outside looking in once postseason play started…shows you what I know. However with Denver landing Mr. Big Shot in the early season Allen Iverson, the Nuggets have become legitimate contenders. Prediction: Denver in 6

3) San Antonio vs. 6) Dallas – While most experts eagerly dismissed the Spurs after losing Manu, I expect Timmy and Tony have different ideas. With these two future Hall of Famers knowing what it takes to win in the playoffs, I expect the fragile Mavs to get bounced early. Prediction: Spurs in 5

Western Conference Semifinals

1) Los Angeles vs. 4) Portland – At the beginning of the season, Blazer fans were content with their team just making the playoffs. However the previous two meetings with the Lake Show (both wins in the garden) have given these young Blazers reason to be optimistic about their chances. Portland will certainly protect their home court, but winning a game seven is Los Angeles is an entirely different story. Prediction Lakers in 7

2) Denver vs. 3) San Antonio – Billups home coming will be enough to get the Nuggets into the conference semifinals. Running into a written off Spurs club is extremely dangerous, and honestly I just don’t trust Melo in the crunch. Fair or not, I often compare Melo with his 2003 draft class mates, LeBron and D-Wade. Those two have won big time games before, as has Timmy and co. Prediction: Spurs in 6

Western Conference Finals

1) Los Angeles vs. 3) San Antonio – If the Lakers can get past their most formidable opponent, the Blazers, they should stroll through this series (see last years match up, Lakers in 5). The Spurs have the brains to beat a club like the Nuggets, but the Lakers bring both brains and athleticism to the party. With Manu out, the Spurs have nobody to check Kobe… unless you are a Portland State homer and like Ime Udoka’s chances. The Lakers want this series to be a speedy one, because the Cavs will be game planning (or at least rehearsing their latest on court celebration routine for introductions in game one of the NBA finals). Prediction: Lakers in 5

2009 Oregon Football Season Preview

New head coach Chip Kelly will lead the Ducks into the 2009 season, hopefully picking up where Mike Bellotti left off. I honestly thought Bellotti would give it one more season, in a final attempt to lead the Ducks to the “Promised Land”. At least with Kelly taking charge there won’t be the transition phase that there would have been if the Ducks hired from outside the program. And who am I to say Kelly won’t lead the Ducks to new heights in his first year! Here are my off the cuff predictions at how the Ducks will do this season (yes I understand it is far too early…but none the less, here are my picks).

9/03 @ Boise State (L) – The national media will stay up late to see this classic. Oregon looks to make amends for last years thrashing in the Autzen Zoo, but Chris Petersen and the Bronco crazies will be to much for the Ducks to handle in this early season contest.

9/12 Purdue (W) – Purdue wasn’t much to write home to Mom about last season, and this season could be even worse with the departures of quarterback Curtis Painter and head coach Joe Tiller. Oregon squeaked out a victory at Purdue last season, but they should continue their Big 10 dominance with a thrashing of the Boilermakers at Autzen this year.

9/19 Utah (W) – The defending Sugar Bowl Champions visit Eugene for the first time since 2005. Utah won’t be nearly as impressive this year, but they still pose a formidable threat to the Ducks. Look for the Ducks to break this open in the 4^th, giving Utah their first loss of the season.

9/26 California (W) – Oregon continues their current home stand, hosting the Bears for the second time in three years. Oregon has lost the last three contests to the Bears, and Jeff Tedford will certainly have his team ready to play against his former employer. I look for Best to exploit the Ducks “green” defensive line, running for over 150 yards. With that being said, TJ Ward will get enough licks in on Kevin Reilly to throw off the Bears passing game, as the Ducks squeak by for their third straight victory.

10/3 Washington State (W) – I expect the Cougars to once again be the cellar dweller of the Pac 10, and possibly the nation. This game deserves no further comment (even from a very, very, very amateur writer like me)

10/10 @ UCLA (W) – With UCLA still in the rebuilding mode, I think this game could be a joke. UCLA played the Ducks close in Autzen last year, but Masoli was only a shell of the player he was yet to become. Will this rivalry lose it’s intensity with Bellotti vs. Slick Rick no longer a main storyline? I think not, as the Ducks do a number on the rebuilding Bruins!

10/24 @ Washington (W) – Oregon has not lost to Washington since the 2003 season, but only one of those wins has come in Seattle (2007 Storm Trooper attack). I like the intensity “The Shark” brings to a depleted fan base, but intensity won’t win you many games with the current talent on that roster.

10/31 USC (W) – This will likely be a match up of top 10 teams, and a Rose Bowl bid may well be on the line. To say USC is vulnerable would be an overstatement, but the Trojans will be breaking in many new faces that have never experienced the Autzen crowd (on Halloween at that). I just hope I have the energy to make it into the stadium that Saturday, because I know sleep will not come easy for me on the eve of this epic battle.

11/7 @ Stanford (W) – Oregon must avoid a letdown, after the previous weeks win over Troy. This game scares me to death, because I expect Stanford to be one of the more improved teams in the PAC this year. I see Oregon fighting from behind all game, but squeaking out the victory late in the fourth.

11/14 Arizona State (W) - A bye week would sure be nice right about now! Dennis Erickson looks to beat the Ducks for the first time since joining ASU. After what the Ducks did to the Devils down in Tempe last year, I see no reason why they shouldn’t win this game. This game won’t have the national “Game Day” hype of the 2007 match up, but it will have BCS implications for at least one team.

11/21 @ Arizona (L) – Playing for the 5^th time in 5 weeks won’t bode well for the Ducks as they enter Tucson. It’s likely that Arizona will be playing for a bowl bid, and they have had the Ducks number of late (winning two of the last three games, and ruining Oregon’s championship dreams in 2007). Oregon will be handed their first Pac 10 loss, and have a much needed bye week to prep for the Civil War.

12/3 Oregon State (W) – The Ducks look to end the trend of the away team winning the Civil War each of the last two years. While the loss to Arizona will have taken the Ducks out of the national title mix, there is still plenty to play for, in the form of a Rose Bowl bid. Masoli had his way with a veteran Beaver defense last year, and with a young secondary, the outcome could be even worse for Beaver Nation this year…if that’s even possible. Oregon wins back to back Civil War’s, and is headed to sunny Pasadena to break in the New Year.

Portland wins in San Antonio

I wasn't very confident that the Blazers would pull out a win tonight in San Antonio, even with Ginobli on the shelf and Duncan clearly hobbled with injuries. The first quarter did nothing to squash the idea that the Blazers simply couldn't get over the hump on the road against Western playoff teams. Roger Mason was raining threes like O.J. Mayo the night before and the Portland offense was sloppy as the Spurs seemed to be two steps ahead of the Blazers. It seemed like the scoreboard showed the Blazers with six points for about 15 minutes. Then an amazing thing happened. Portland woke up and proved just how big of an idiot I am for doubting them. This team continues to surprise and delight its fans, winning 6 of their last 7 to jump into a three-way tie for 3rd place in the conference. Now the team will finish with 3 of their last 4 games in the Rose Garden as they try to secure the best possible playoff seed.

Some individual thoughts....

Welcome back Greg Oden! Greg was active tonight, finishing some nice passes with thunderous slam-dunks. He also added 8 boards in his 22 minutes of work. He still picked up some fouls, but am I alone when I question the legitimacy of some of the calls that go against the big fella? I understand he has deservedly earned a bit of a reputation as a guy who will pick up some fouls, but it's gotten to the point where other players will flop when they are anywhere in his vacinity and the men in stripes will whistle him for an infraction. He still needs to be smart and move his feet, but he is getting jobbed by the officials often times as well.

Brandon struggled early on with turnovers but he really carried us through that 2nd quarter surge, like LaMarcus did in the 3rd (more on him later). He scored 26 and noted after the game that this was the first time in his career when he felt like he played well in San Antonio. It was kind of funny and refreshing for a two-time all-star to make a statement like that on national television. Reason #754 why I love this guy.

LaMarcus was captain of the ship in that 3rd quarter. He was hitting jumpers and converting offensive rebounds into points. His confidence and aggressiveness is a nightly thing at this point and it's showing us just how important he is to the team. Beast-Mode LaMarcus = Portland victories.

Joel Przybilla deserves a whole lot of credit for the win too. He didn't play as many minutes in the first half because Oden was playing so well but he was a monster on the glass throughout the second half. He also had many of the key stops that allowed us to take back the lead and build one of our own. My man-crush on the Thrilla continues on with absolutely no end in sight.

The bench as a whole played a critical role throughout the game. Rudy hit some timely threes and though I didn't hear it mentioned by the broadcasters, I thought he did a suprisingly credible job guarding Tony Parker in that 3rd quarter. Rudy can drive you crazy with his gambling on-the-ball defense sometimes but he stayed in front of Parker as well as anyone and forced him to take some tough shots. Sergio was also good tonight, getting into the lane and either finishing or finding Greg for a slam. Without him the team might have gone into the half staring at a much steeper deficit.

Other quick thoughts: Blake's buzzer beater was a real lift (duh), I still don't understand how Outlaw finishes some of those crazy, leaning jumpers, and a really don't get how Nate didn't pick up a technical or get tossed as that first quarter was going on. He is a much cooler and more patient guy than me because I was berating my T.V. like I was Christian Bale on the set of a movie. Anyway, good win for the team and let's all hope they can continue their strong play into their first postseason since 2003.

2009 National League Central

A look at the central, a division won last year by the lovable losers, the Chicago Cubs....

The Basement:

The Pirates and Astros appear to be the weaklings of the group. The Pirates best hitter last year (of the guys they didn't trade to the American League East midseason) was Nate McClouth. What a great story. He was selected to play in the midsummer classic and won a gold glove for his work in centerfield. The 27-year-old appeared to really come into his own, hitting over 20 HR and stealing over 20 bases while posting an OPS of .853. For the stat junkies he was estimated to be worth about 3.6 wins to his team last year, more than some better known CF like Curtis Granderson and Torii Hunter. The problem, he was actually a pretty bad defensive CF. You may ask, "Then how did he win a freaking gold glove?!?!" My answer is this: I have no clue. Most of the advanced defensive metrics have him as one of the three worst defensive CF for guys who played out there for at least 300 innings. It blows me away to think of the guys who vote on these awards and how little they care. Anyway, the rest of their lineup has a few bright spots for Bucs fans to look forward to. Ryan Doumit is a very good hitting catcher when healthy. Andy Laroche was rated as the 19th best prospect in the game by Baseball America in 2007; the Pirates got him from the Dodgers last season. The rotation is led by Paul Maholm and Ian Snell. Neither got to double digit wins last season but Maholm had a sub-4.00 ERA and Snell won 14 games and struck out 169 batters in 2006. If these two guys can pitch healthy and effectively all season, the Pirates could avoid the division cellar, but there is virtually no chance they contend for the Central crown.

The Astros appear to be pretty bad as well. They have the familiar sluggers in Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee and the dependable starter in Roy Oswalt, but little else. Miguel Tejada actually saw his defense bounce back in 2008, but his hitting suffered. Throw in the question marks surrounding the steroids and perjury and the Astros probably don't even know what to expect from Miguel this season. The rest of the rotation is pretty mediocre to downright bad. The Astros will struggle in 2009.

The Dark Horse

Cincinnati is a team with some good young position players and some pitchers whose careers are on the rise. Edison Volquez was a Cy Young candidate last year, going 17-6 and striking out over 200 hitters. Expect him to give up a few more homeruns this year considering his home park and propensity to give up the fly ball, but also expect him to win games and strike a lot of guys out. Johnny Cueto is another young arm who struggled last season at times, but he has good stuff and should improve in 2009. If veterans Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang give the club meaningful contributions this season, it's not inconceivable to think the Reds could have a decent little starting rotation. Jay Bruce was a huge outfield prospect who came up last year and could improve this season if he can get on base more often. He does have power as well; he hit 21 homers in just over 400 AB last season. Joey Votto is their young 1B who excelled last year, posting an .874 OPS with 24 HR. He probably won't ever be an elite power hitter but he will hit for average, get on base, and play solid defense at 1B. All in all the Reds have lots of younger talent and could grow up and improve as the season goes on.

Contenders

The Cubs are the favorites but the Brewers or Cardinals could challenge them for division supremacy. The Cardinals have an offense built around the great Albert Pujols, but a starting staff that will rely on the return of a healthy Chris Carpenter. The Brewers have all kinds of good young position players but very little starting pitching. They relied very heavy on CC Sabathia down the stretch last season and I just can't see them making up for the loss of the big fella. The point of all this is that the division is certainly the Cubs to lose. They have a strong lineup and a good pitching staff, although they are depending on the glass arm of Rich Harden, just ask Billy Beane and the Oakland A's how far that will get you. They saw a resurgence from Ryan Dempster last season and Carlos Zambrano won 14 games. Repeating these performances may not be all that likely however. Zambrano has pitched loads of innings year after year and may see his decline after the all-star break last year continue into this season. Dempster was a reliever for four years until last season and nobody knows how that increased workload will affect him in this year's campaign. The Cubs are certainly the odds-on favorite but I don't see them as the lock that many do to take the Central. We must always remember that they are the loveable losers, and after collapsing in the playoffs last year I am curious to see how they approach this season.

CY Young Winner

While I suppose Zambrano, Volquez, Harden, and the Cardinals' Adam Wainwright are all possibilities, I will give this one to Roy Oswalt. He has been a model of consistency through the years, making at last 32 starts six out of the last seven seasons. He won 17 games and struck out 165 hitters last season on a bad Astros team. I see no reason why he can't do it again.

MVP

Albert Pujols every day of the week. The guy probably the best hitter in baseball and should go down as one of the all time greats when he hangs up his cleats. He has played for eight seasons and finished in the top 4 in MVP voting seven times. The other season he finished ninth. The guy is a machine. There is no reason to think he won't post another 1.000 OPS and hit .330 with 35 HR. It's what the guy does.

The Division Winner

The Cubs. I hope it works out for them. Their fans deserve a winner and the post-season is always more entertaining when they are prominently involved.

2009 Beavers Football Predictions

With spring practice in full swing, and many exciting position battles to ensue for the Beavers, it’s a little difficult to predict how next season is going to turn out. Regardless of kickoff being roughly 150 days away, here is an extremely premature look at how I believe the 2009 Oregon State Beavers will fare. (I will certainly go into each match up in more depth as the season progresses, but here are my off the cuff predictions).

9/05 Portland State (W) – I like the fact that Oregon State will start the season against a relative cupcake, as opposed to LSU, Stanford, etc. in years past. Beavs win this one easily.

9/12 @ UNLV (W) – The Runnin’ Rebels did win at ASU last September, but struggled mightily the rest of the season. I expect UNLV to keep it respectable in the first half…but the talent gap will become evident early in the second, as the Rodgers brothers should have a hay day against this lower tier Mountain West opponent.

9/19 Cincinnati (W) – The Bearcats won the Big East last season and nearly upset Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. However this year’s team will have a completely different look as they graduated nearly all their contributors from a season ago. It should be an entertaining non conference matchup, but the Beavers, and more importantly the Pac 10 will get a much needed win.

9/26 Arizona (W) – Arizona will be out for revenge after last season’s thriller in Tucson. I expect Arizona to be decent this year, but the Beavs will catch them before their newly appointed quarterback is in any sort of a comfort zone.

10/3 @Arizona State (W) – Things were awful down in Tempe last season, and in my opinion its not going to be any better this season. Their will be a new quarterback for the Sun Devils, who also return nearly all of an underwhelming defense. The Beavers inexperienced defensive backs shouldn’t be tested much at all by Erickson’s bunch.

10/10 Stanford (W) – Oregon State will bring a top 20 ranking into this match up with the much improved Cardinal. However, I expect the Beavers will get their retribution after what happened on “The Farm” last season. Oregon State is slowly creeping onto the national radar.

10/24 @ USC (L) – Even with the losses of Sanchez, Cushing, Big Ray, and Matthews, Troy will once again be the class of the Pac, and possibly the nation. Pete Carroll was quoted saying this defense may even have more speed than last years group….that’s frightening. Once again the old revenge card plays a part, as the Trojan’s dismantle Oregon State in the Coliseum.

10/31 UCLA (W) – Slick Rick leads the Bruins into the Corvallis for the first time since his Washington days. While UCLA has to be improved (they couldn’t get much worse in all honesty), the young Beavers defense will come of age on this Halloween night, giving us all a glimpse of what the future may hold.

11/7 @ Cal (L) – The Beavers have had success against Cal in recent seasons. Cal and Oregon State will both be playing for the rights to a big time bowl game. The nation will be watching…unfortunately so will the Heisman committee…which means Jahvid Best will put up video game numbers.

11/14 Washington (W) – Dad’s weekend welcomes the Huskies to Reser Stadium. I expect Oregon State to rebound nicely from the Cal game and put a number on the ever so slightly improved Huskies.

11/21 @ Washington State (W) – Everybody will look forward to playing the Washington school’s this season. Fortunately for Oregon State they get the weaker of the cream puffs on the road (no need to waste a home crowd on Wazzu), as the crowd will file out early to go do whatever you do in Pullman on a Saturday night (my guess would be drink heavily).

12/3 @ Oregon (L) – The Civil War once again takes center stage as these old rivals go at it in Eugene this season. Similar circumstances to 2008 may be on the line, as the Ducks could be in the thick of the Rose Bowl race. I look for Masoli and crew (well not really crew...just Masoli) to give the Beavers young defense all it can handle, and more.

2009 National League West

Here is our first preview of the 2009 season. I know these are a little late but we will start out with the National League West and work our way through the divisions as the week progresses.

The Basement

I really don't see San Diego or Colorado contending for the division this year. Colorado should be encouraged by the return of Troy Tulowitzki at shortstop but they also lost their best hitter in the offseason, Matt Holliday. Jeff Francis, the ace of their 2007 staff during their run to the world series, is hurt again in 2009 and Colorado just doesn't have the pitching to compete with the stronger teams in the division. San Diego has a poor offense and if they struggle out of the gate like I think they will, ace right-hander Jake Peavy could be traded to a contender. They pose no real threat in my eyes.

Might Surprise

San Francisco should be improved behind phenom Tim Lincecum and a group of quality starting pitchers. Matt Cain strikes people out and would have a better record over the past few seasons if not for the Giants' pathetic offense. Jonathan Sanchez is a lefty who won 9 games with an ERA of 5.01 last year while striking out nearly a batter per inning in nearly 160 innings. His control is an issue but he was somewhat unlucky last year, giving up a high batting average on balls hit in play. That number should come down, and if it does, his ERA will come down as well. The immortal Randy Johnson is certainly a question mark at this point in his career but if he can come close to replicating the season he had in 2008 for the Diamondbacks the Giants' starting pitching could be very good. All of that said, I don't feel like they pose a threat to Los Angeles or Arizona, but I do think they finish 3rd ahead of Colorado and San Diego.

The Contenders

Los Angeles ended the Manny saga early in the spring, bringing back the mercurial slugger for two more seasons in Dodger blue. While he almost certainly won't duplicate his 2008 second half, he solidifies the offense built around young players like Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, James Loney, and Russell Martin. If Rafael Furcal can return to form coming back from injury, I think the Dodgers could roll out the top offense in the division.

Arizona has two studs at the top of their rotation in Brandon Webb and Dan Haren. Doug Davis and Max Scherzer will probably be their #3 and #4 starters. Doug Davis is a pretty mediocre veteran. He should post an ERA somewhere around 4.50 and win 8-10 games. Max Scherzer is much more compelling to me, despite dealing with a hurt shoulder this spring. He struck out over 10 hitters per nine innings last year out of the bullpen and if he can continue some of that success while starting games and staying healthy he should be another solid member of the rotation in 2009. The Diamondbacks also signed Jon Garland but he sucks and is a waste of $12 million in my eyes. The offense is very reliant on young players, but the hitters have talent. Stephen Drew and Conor Jackson were probably their best hitters last year, and both are young so they could see improvements in 2009. Stephen Drew could stand to cut down on his strikeouts and try and draw a few more walks. His defense at SS is fairly underwhelming as well. I really like Conor Jackson at 1B, despite the perceived lack of power. He should post a good batting average and OBP while hitting 15-20 HR. Chris Young in CF is guy who won't put up a high OBP or batting average, but should hit 20 homeruns and steal 20 bases. His defense seems like it should be better in CF considering his athletic ability, but the metrics show him to be pretty average out there. Justin Upton and Mark Reynolds are some other intriguing names on the roster. Upton is super young and talented. He is much stronger than his brother B.J. and could put up 20 HR. He turns 22 in August, so that is some pretty impressive power potential. Mark Reynolds has a lot of power potential as well. He hit 28 HR last year and could certainly build upon that again this year, but he will certainly strike out a lot and hit for a low average. All in all the Diamondbacks have a lot of talent but the uncertainty is just high enough for me to go with the Dodgers to win the west.

MVP

I think Manny Ramirez will be the MVP of the division; the guy was born to hit and shows no signs of slowing down. He will probably hit .300 with 30 HR and 100 RBI in his sleep. With an OPS that will creep toward .1000, he is simply the best hitter in the division.

CY Young

This one is tougher than the MVP choice. For me it comes down to Brandon Webb and Tim Lincecum, just like the NL Cy Young race last year. I will go with Lincecum because despite San Francisco's poor offense, he should still win 17+ games with a ton of strikeouts and a dazzling ERA.

The Pick

Los Angeles Dodgers

Kent Given One More Year

Oregon basketball coach Ernie Kent has been given at least one more year at Oregon. This will be Kent's 13th season at the helm, as he is coming off only his second losing season ever with the Duck's. I feel that Kent will be given the same ultimatum that Bev Smith was prior to this most recent reason....That is, make the NCAA tourney or go home. However, by bringing Kent back for next season, one could argue that Oregon is committed to him for at least two more years. Would they really fire him after next season, the year before the new arena opens? In my opinion Ernie has earned the right to have another go around with this team. Last years team was young and immature ....and if you recall Ridnour and Jackson rebounded from a disappointing freshman season, only to win the PAC 10 as sophomores the following year!!

On a side note: I know this has nothing to do with Oregon bball, but while watching the 11 o'clock news last night I saw Mike Bellotti roaming the sidelines. At the time I was unaware he was helping out with the QB's this spring, so I thought I must have been dreaming. However, it was not a dream, and nothing the AD department does surprises me anymore. I just wanted to express how fortunate Oregon is to have an iconic figure willing to put his ego to the side, and do whatever he can to assist the football program. This also will allow coach Kelly to take his time while looking for potential assistant coaches.