Mickey Mantle's Liver

Ouchy!

OK, this one is gonna hurt.

I play in two fantasy football leagues.  Anyone who has played in a fantasy football league is familiar with the nickname fantasy football players have for Fred Taylor of the Jacksonville Jaguars - "Fragile" Fred Taylor.  Taylor earned that nickname because he is always getting hurt and being placed on injured reserve, where he can do a fantasy football team absolutely no good.

I am starting to wonder if the NBA's version of "Fragile" Fred is the Portland Trailblazers' own Greg Oden.

Since being drafted #1 overall in 2007, Oden has logged 13 minutes of actual game time.  He has 5 rebounds, two turnovers, two personal fouls and is a 0% shooter from both the field and the free throw line.  By the way, he has yet to score a point in an NBA game.  He also has had tonsilitis. microfracture surgery, a twisted ankle, and now a sprained foot (which will keep him out 2 to 4 weeks -- which means 4 weeks cause the Blazers don't want to rush things, you know).

Think about this for a moment, Oden has as many injuries (4) as he has shots from the field (4).  And by the way, don't forget that in Oden's only season at Ohio State University, Oden missed a lot of time because of an injury to his right wrist.

Face it, the guy is injury prone.

And he looked really, really bad the other night, to boot.  He looked slow, uncoordinated, and like a rookie who had never been to an NBA game in his life.  Tuesday night was not the kind of debut that Oden and Blazer fans were hping for, quite the opposite.  It was everything we were hoping would not happen.  But it did.

And Oden got injured.

I was - and remain - a BIG proponent of Oden.  When the Blazers were holding the #1 overall pick in 2007, readers of The Liver will recall that I was loudly calling for the Blazers to draft Oden.  I am still glad they did.

But now it is time for all of us Blazer fans to admit that which we were hoping was not the case - Oden's career and performance is going to be seriously limited by injuries.

Thank God we have Pryzbilla.

The Blazers' Season Starts Today

OK, I cannot remember the last time I have been this excited for the NBA seasons to start.  Probably the last time I have been this excited was in the early 1990s, when the Blazers made a couple of appearances in the NBA Finals.

How can a Blazer fan not be excited?  First, these guys are good guys.  Not just good basketball players, but fine citizens.  They represent the franchise and the city of Portland well.  Second, they are good players: young stars like Brandon Roy and LeMarcus Aldridge are exciting to watch and deliver on the floor.  Third, the obvious: Greg Oden's debut tonight against the Lakers.  Finally, the guy Blazermaniacs have waited a year-and-a-half to get on the court and shore up the middle with finally get that chance.  Let's hope he stays healthy and provides an imposing presence in the middle.

The only thing that sucks about this season is the fact that the Blazers play in the Western Conference.  The Western Conference is easily the best conference in the NBA, which will make it even more difficult for the Blazers to get themselves into the playoffs.  According to Sports Illustrated, the Blazers will pick up 9 games in the win column over last year's result - that would mean the Blazers would reach the magical 50-win plateau.

I think the Blazers will win 83 games.  Yes, 83 games.  I know there is only 82 games in a season, but the Blazers will get credit for another win based upon style points......

Ok, I am just being silly.  But I do expect this team to be much better than last year, and equally exciting.  The one thing about the off-season that no one is focusing on is the addition of Rudy Fernandez to the roster.  In the preseason, Rudy has looked great and every bit as good as advertised. 

There are two questions that remain unanswered going into the season.  First, what kind of defense is this team going to play?  Coach Nate is an excellent teacher of team defense, and to be sure, the team's defense picked up last year (which is reflected in the team's 10-game improvement from the year before).  But the defense last year wasn't where it needed to be.  I am sure that in the future Oden is going to be a defensive force to be reckoned with, but as a rookie, I am not so sure.  I will certainly be focusing on the defensive performance of the Blazers in the first few games.

The other question that needs to be answered is the Blazers shooting.  If you ask me (which you haven't), offensively the Blazers' biggest hole has been outside shooting.  Not so much three-pointers, but those 15 to 20 foot jump shots that a team needs to hit in order to open things up on the inside, where Oden could then do most of his damage.  Good shooting means more Oden, which means more wins.

I fully expect the Blazers to win 50 games.  Once again, Kevin Pritchard has done a materful job not just putting this team together, but keeping this team together (Channing Frye, anyone?).  You know the old saying, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Go Blazers!

Craig Robinson and his brother-in-law on ESPN Outside the Lines

OK, so I am a Republican.  But this is a sports blog and this is a pretty cool interview/story about Craig Robinson (OSU Men's Basketball Coach) and his brother-in-law.  Some guy named Barack.

Dear 49ers.....Keep Mike Singeltary

OK, readers here know that I am a rare breed of Bay Area football fan because I cheer for BOTH the 49ers and the Raiders.  These are tough times, because...well....both my teams stink right now.  And to be frank, as long as Al Davis is running the Raiders, that team is going to be smelling things up for a long time.

Ah, but the 49ers, on the other hand, have the solution (I believe) to their problems right in front of them in Mike Singletary.  I hope to God that the 49ers (ESPECIALLY after yesterday's post-game press conference) sign Singletary to a long term contract to coach the 49ers.

Why?  Because Singletary represents all that is great about the NFL.  He also has a body of work to back up his words.  He demands attention, focus, and commitment to the team, all qualities he displayed in his 11-year Hall of Fame career.  And there is no doubt that in that 49ers locker room, the best player in the room is Mike Singletary, and the players know it.

I surely hope the 49ers keep Singletary around for a long time.  believe he is the guy who can restore the winning tradition of the 49ers.

Why I hate the Huskies......

There are only two teams in all of sports that I absolutely despise.  And by despise I mean  really, really, really, really can't stand.  You know what I mean, when either of these two teams are playing, I ALWAYS root for their opponent.  One team is Satan's Team (otherwise known as the Los Angeles Dodgers) and the other team is the Spawn of Satan's Team, otherwise known as.....the Washington Huskies.

My hatred for the Fuskies runs sooooo deep that I actually wear green and gold the week before the Ducks of Faber College play the Fuskies.  Every game, I hope above hope that whoever is playing the Fuskies will run up the score.  I would like to see someone (USC maybe?) score 100 on the Huskies.

Does that make me a bad sport?  Probably.  But I can live with that, at least when it comes to the Huskies.

Why?

Anyone who lived through PAC-10 football in the late 1980s through the late 1990s can understand why.  During that time period, the Huskies were a very good football team, which was nothing new.  The Huskies program had been strong up to that point for a very long time.

But it was different in the 80s and 90s.  The Huskies were good, and their fans (and the University of Washington Football Program) let you know it.

Now, it is one thing to be confident, another thing to be cocky, and still another thing to be downright obnoxious.  Well, "Husky Nation", during this time, made obnoxious fans look well-mannered.

How many times did I, as an Oregon State Beaver fan, have to listen to Husky Fans talk about how the Beavers were lucky to be in the same time zone - let alone conference - as the Huskies.  Husky fans - and even the Husky athletic director at one time - questioned whether the Beavers belonged in the PAC-10 Conference at all.  The ultimate in disrespect.

The arrogance and contempt of both Husky fans and the Husky program earned Husky Nation the label as "the worst fans in the PAC-10 conference" by every other program in the PAC-10.  Of course, Husky Nation said that the rest of us were jealous of their program.  The truth is that we were sickened by it.

Of course now, 15 years later from the height of Husky football, we come to find out the program was cheating.  That's right, the only way the Huskies could reach their pinnacle is by cheating.  But that doesn't stop Husky Nation from living in the past, boasting about how great their program used to be.

Now, the Huskies are at the bottom of the pile, where they belong.  Friends of mine who are citizens of Husky Nation are much more humble when it comes to football, and they all acknowledge that the hatred they encounter by the rest of the PAC-10 is well deserved.

I now actually feel sorry for the Huskies.  Why?  Cause we were there once, and we may return to the dregs of college football sometime in the future.  Maybe with the certain dismissal of Willingham at the end of the season the Huskies will make it back to respectability.

And perhaps learn some humility along the way.

Why tonight's game against the Utes scares me....

I have several reasons why I am fearful about tonight's game in Salt Lake City against No. 15 Utah.  It is on the road, for one.  The Beavers always seem to be a bit "down" when they are playing on the road.  Almost like it takes the Beavs about a quarter or so to get their heads about them before they start playing.

The second reason to be fearful is the Beavs win last week, one of the biggest victories in the history of the program.  I am afraid that perhaps the team spent more time reading press clippings than practicing (a nasty habit the program has developed over the last few years).

But the biggest reason I am fearful that the Beavers won't pull this one out is based on the Utes' running backs - and in particular the size of the Utes' running backs.

A disturbing trend has taken shape on the Beavers' defense.  When the Beavers face a "big" running back, our defense makes the "big back" look like Gale Sayers. 

Consider this, in our two losses to Stanford and Penn State, Toby Gearhart ( 6'1'', 228 pounds) and Evan Royster (6'1, 220 pounds) ran for 147 yards on 19 carries and 141 yards on 17 carries, respectively.  In those same games, Stanford and Penn State's "smaller" backs did not fare so well.  Anthony Kimble of Stanford (6'1'', 200 pounds) and Stafon Green of Penn State (5'10', 189 pounds) ran for 49 yards on 18 carries and 19 yards on 11 carries, respectively.

In our two wins over Hawaii and SUC, Hawaii's backs (Kealoha Pilares,  5'10'', 190; Daniel Libre, 5'8'', 185) and SUC's backs (Stafon Johnson, 5'11'', 210; Joe McKnight, 6', 200) ran for a total of 47 and 58 yards, respectively.

The trend developing with the Beavers defense appears to be that the Beavers have a hard time stopping bigger running backs.  Exhibit A is the Beavs' defensive performance against Stanford, where the Beavers tried to knock Gearhart over, rather than wrapping him up and gang-tackling.  The same failed tackling was also evident in the Penn State game.

Utah's running backs are big.  Darrell Mack stands 6-foot, 220 pounds - a fireplug if there ever was one.  Matt Asiata stands 5'11'', 230 pounds, a "fireplug's fireplug", for sure.  These are big backs that are not going to get knocked down very easily.  The Beavers have to wrap these guys up and gang-tackle, otherwise it will be a long night for the defense.

Now, if I figured this out.  If I noticed this trend, then surely Mark Banker and his staff have noticed this trend as well, and made sure the team worked on tackling the big guys all week, right?  I sure hope so, otherwise it is going to be a long trip home from Salt Lake City.