gdp's Comments

Brooks Hatch : Brooks Hatch: 11/17 Wednesday update

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 22:57:47 +0000

Bud Withers of the Seattle Times did a pretty thorough story on this a couple years ago and his research determined that Pac-10 officials do call a substantially higher number of penalties compared to other conferences, especially holding and pass interference. The Pac-10 tried to spin it and say that's because the Pac-10 has so many wide-open offenses, but we all know that's crap. His research also showed that Pac-10 officials call more penalties in bowl games as well. So you can believe your lying eyes and Bud's research, or the Pac-10. Of course, SEC officials are regularly accused of protecting the league's top teams to enhance their BCS bowl chances, too, and some of the things I've seen inthat league make me believe that claim has merit, too,

Brooks Hatch : Brooks Hatch: Tuesday update 11/16

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 03:27:03 +0000

I think the opposite is true. Having been a former minor-league player, he knows just how hard it is to make the majors, and that in the long run virtually everyone who has the choice between signing at 18 or signing at 21 is far, far better off signing at 21 after three years of college.

Brooks Hatch : Brooks Hatch: Wednesday 11/10 update

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 01:18:02 +0000

I have very little contact with the FB program anymore, only went to part of one practice this year so anything I'd contribute wouldn't be informed opinion. However, the best indicator of future performance is past performance, and MR has proven to be an outstanding coach at OSU.

Brooks Hatch : Brooks Hatch: Thursday update

Fri, 5 Nov 2010 18:44:36 +0000

Some of those bleachers were purchased by Crescent Valley and used for its new grandstand. I think the problem was the footprint at Paul Lorenz Field was too small to erect those old end-zone bleachers, as was originally planned. At some point, there will be a new soccer stadium. I think there will have to be a dedicated donation to start this process, however.

Brooks Hatch : Brooks Hatch: Wednesday 10/27 update

Wed, 3 Nov 2010 02:21:19 +0000

They've drawn very well all season. Generally the grandstands are pretty full and there are lots of people lining the sideline. Corvallis is an excellent soccer city, and having a good team and free admission certainly helps. A more permanent brick and steel stadium would be a big asset, but until someone steps forward with a dedicated donation of a million or so, it's probably not happening.

Brooks Hatch : Brooks Hatch: Tuesday update, women's soccer

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 22:47:12 +0000

I have heard nothing about Cal baseball, which is still dead and expected to remain so.

Brooks Hatch : Brooks Hatch: Monday update

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:20:28 +0000

Both looked fine. Casey/Yeskie are very high on the young arms. But they are young. Buck, Nickerson and Gunderson struggled as freshmen so these new guys should be no different. As Nate said, trial by fire early. Way to early for a prediction.

Brooks Hatch : Brooks Hatch: Thursday update 10/22

Sat, 23 Oct 2010 06:22:25 +0000

That's where the Pac-10 network comes in, to televise the No. 4 or No. 5 priority game each weekend.

Brooks Hatch : Brooks Hatch: Thursday update 10/22

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 04:56:31 +0000

Well, let's talk in five years. Knee-jerk reactions (one way or the other) are usually inaccurate, and that's probably the case here.

Brooks Hatch : Brooks Hatch: Friday update 10/15

Sat, 16 Oct 2010 05:53:36 +0000

You will play every team in your division every year, and four of the six teams in the other division on a two-year rotating basis, so you always play the team from the orther division home and away. You can still plan a 13th game if you play at Hawaii but that pretty much eliminates the bye week, as the championship game will most likely be the first weekend in December, the week the Pac-10 regular season ends at the current time.

Brooks Hatch : Brooks Hatch: Monday update 10/12

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 19:21:22 +0000

Wow, I guess this is the place to be in Corvallis for Newfoundland news. Now we just need a couple of Newfie jokes. Here's a good one: An airliner is coming into land at an airport obscured by fog. Visibility is practically nil, the ILS system is on the blink, so the newfie pilot has to land on wits alone. "Flaps, check," he says to the co-pilot, "Landing Gear, check. Altitude, check. Right, we're going in. Hold on." The plane lands and comes to a screeching, grinding halt; just short of the edge of the runway. "Holy Cow!" exclaims the pilot, "This must be the shortest runway I've ever landed on!" The Newfie co-pilot looks left and right and says "Yeah, and about the widest, too ..." You can find more right here. http://www.newfiejokes.net/

Brooks Hatch : Brooks Hatch: Thursday update 10/7

Sat, 9 Oct 2010 22:09:16 +0000

Cash helps. But you're already a FOTB, Richard, long before Hood to Coast days..

Brooks Hatch : Brooks Hatch: Thursday update 10/7

Sat, 9 Oct 2010 01:15:37 +0000

So, a decision that results in millions in increased TV revenue over the 6- or-7-year life of a new TV deal -- money that not only keeps the athletic department afloat for the present but guarantees future financial stability and a new source of revenue for program and facility investments for years to come, -- is a "quick fix?" I can't argue with that kind of logic. As far as "the good old days being gone" are, USC earned $31 million over the life of the current TV contracts, OSU about $19 million. You're not living in reality if you think those percentages would change over the life of the new TV contract without guaranteed revenue sharing. Without revenue sharing, USC would get about $100 million in TV revenue while OSU got about $60 million - given, of course, that OSU continues to be on real paying TV (not FSN regional) as often has it has been recently, a historical all-time high. And the beauty of guaranteed revenue sharing is, it's an insurance policy for a bad season; the money's there even in a down year. When OSU loses, it's seldom on TV. When USC loses, it's still on TV virtually every single week.

Brooks Hatch : Brooks Hatch: Thursday update 10/7

Fri, 8 Oct 2010 23:08:01 +0000

Ken, Look, nobody likes USC. But it sounds as if USC (and, to a lesser extent, UCLA, which is also in the LA market but a distant No. 2 to the Trojans) are going to put the good of the conference ahead of their own personal interests and go along with revenue sharing. The Pac-10's ADs/presidents are smart men and women. They saw what happened to the original Big 12 when greed outweighed the collective good, and at least nine, probably 10, of the Pac-10 teams have no desire to become the West Coast version of Iowa State, Kansas State, Missouri or Kansas and get dwarfed by Texas (West Coast equivalent, USC) when it comes to splitting the TV money. The original Big 12 broke up because of greed. With competitive disparity practically guaranteed by the new Big 12's unequal split of TV money, they'll be doing the same song and dance in 5-10 years when anyone named Texas or Oklahoma finally realizes you can't compete when you're earning 65 cents for every dollar Texas receives in conference TV money. Equal revenue sharing made the NFL what it is today. It's the best way to ensure Pac-10 strength from top to bottom.

Brooks Hatch : Brooks Hatch: Thursday update 10/7

Fri, 8 Oct 2010 20:59:22 +0000

Part II: Men's basketball is a red herring. Even if OSU sold out every game the revenue jump would only be about $1 million, not anywhere near enough to offset the deficit, and about 1/10 of the "new" money OSU will receive annually under an equally-distributed new, football-driven, enhanced TV contract. Football always has, and always will, be where the money is in intercollegiate athletics. Again, BDC would have been remiss had he accepted any Pac-10 re-alignment plan that didn't call for equal revenue sharing. And as far as Utah goes, it "got" two BCS bowls and an invitation to the Pac-10 for its Top 5 finishes. I'd say that trumps any number of newspaper stories it supposedly didn't get (although I recall no shortage of news about the 2004 and 2008 Utes).

Brooks Hatch : Brooks Hatch: Thursday update 10/7

Fri, 8 Oct 2010 20:59:10 +0000

Sorry, you're wrong. Revenue sharing wasn't "worked out" before the Pac-10 expanded because there was a very short window between when the Big 12 schools decided to remain in the Big 12 and when Utah was invited. How could you work out a revenue-sharing plan beforehand when you didn't even know who would be in the league? USC and UCLA had a valid reason for wanting more money. They are on TV more. Market size determines the worth of the TV contract. LA is the biggest market. More people want to see USC and UCLA than the Beavers and Cougars, for example. Whoever pays the increased rights fees for Pac-10 football will do so in a large part because of the LA market, not because of OSU and WSU or Stanford. So the schools in the LA market would be absolutely justified for wanting a larger share of the pie, just as the New York Jets and New York Giants would be justified in demanding a larger share of the NFL's TV money were equal revenue sharing not league policy. The Los Angeles schools will lose money with equal revenue sharing. So they will be somewhat appeased by a North-South switch that will keep their historic rivalries with the California schools intact. It's called compromise, and horse-trading to benefit all parties, something the Big 12 was unable to do because Texas and Oklahoma were in it for themselves, not for the good of the conference. And now the Big 12 will cease to exist, without one of its most successful football programs (Nebraska) and one of its biggest TV markets (Denver), and without a very lucrative conference championship game.

Brooks Hatch : Brooks Hatch: Thursday update 10/7

Fri, 8 Oct 2010 18:38:28 +0000

Fire Bob De Carolis for accepting revenue sharing in exchange for a North-South spolit? You'd rather he advocate a divisional split that results in OSU earning 75 cents for every dollar USC or UCLA receives in TV money? The SoCal schools, who stand to "lose" money under equal revenue sharing, were not about to accept it without some kind of concession. OSU will not be kept out of Southern California under any divisional scenario. Even with a North-South slpit the Beavers would be there 7 or 8 years out of 10, and that's plenty. OSU has been a successful football program now for a decade. It's still $4 million in the hole financially, and hamstrung on what it can do in the future, because of a lack of resources. If equal revenue sharing - which will means millions and millions more over the course of the new TV contract - means there will be a north-south split to somewhat appease the SoCal schools, who are the Pac-10's top media attractions, then so be it. Sometimes, it is about the money. Especially when you're broke. And I'd hardly call a division that features Washington, OSU, Oregon, Cal and Stanford (under one scenario) or the Northwest schools and Utah and Colorado, the flagship schools in two of the fastest-growing states in the country, a lesser division.

Brooks Hatch : Brooks Hatch: Wednesday update

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:54:23 +0000

I think seniors are 62 and over. Never hurts to check.

Brooks Hatch : Brooks Hatch: Tuesday 9/28 update

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 01:48:57 +0000

I don't cover high school sports. Federal privacy rules prohibit the school from saying anything.

Brooks Hatch : Brooks Hatch: Tuesday 9/28 update

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 00:06:19 +0000

Not sure yet. I've asked baseball SI Hank Hager to let me know once the schedule is solidified. I'd say if it's not raining, they probably will have some kind of workout.