Mickey Mantle's Liver

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.

Perfection!!!!!

What do Oregon State University, Rice, and Colorado State University have in common?

Their men's basketball teams had perfect seasons.  Perfectly awful, that is.

It is one thing for Rice and Colorado State to go winless, but entirely different thing for the Beavers to go winless.  Unlike Rice and Colorado State, the Beavers men's basketball team has a history of success.  For the better part of three decades, the men's basketball team was one of the best teams on the west coast, if not the entire country

Top: The 1981 Beaver basketball team, nicknamed Orange Express, rolled through its season to a 26-1 record and a #2 ranking in the nation. Above: Ralph Miller, 1981's Coach of the Year. Left: In 1981, Steve Johnson became OSU's highest scorer and the NCAA's most accurate field goal shooter (at the time). He was named a first-team All-American.

The Beavers excelled at being the worst team in the conference.  They were the first team in PAC-10 Conference history to go 0 and 18.  They were last in the conference in field goal percentage, free throw percentage and points per game.  We weren't just bad, we were historically bad.

Remember when Oregon State was a basketball school, our football team stunk, and our baseball team was hardly memorable.  Now, our football team is one of the best on the west coast, our baseball team is the two-time defending national champions, and our basketball team is a national laughingstock.

Beaver Nation, just remember, football season starts in 6 months.....

Bobby Knight to coach the OSU Beavers? Think about it....

Robert Montgomery Knight's surprise resignation as the head coach of the Texas Tech men's  basketball team might have been Texas Tech's loss, but could it be Oregon State's gain?

Before you scoff and laugh off the thought that The General could be headed to Corvallis, there are some compelling reasons why it would not be out of the ordinary to think that Coach Knight coaching the Beaver Express.

First, it appears as though the Ducks are going to fire Ernie (or "Ernesto" as he is called in Seattle) Kent at the end of the year, unless Kent leads the Ducks deep into the NCAA Tournament.  And frankly, right now, it doesn't look like the Ducks are going to make the NCAA Tourney, so I think Kent's days are numbered.

With Kent leaving, the Ducks will likely get Mark Few, who reportedly wants to coach the Ducks in the worst way.  That means the Ducks are going to get a big hire as their coach, which is going to aid in recruiting and with boosters, not to mention the actual play on the court.

Getting coach Knight to Corvallis would have a much bigger impact than Few going to Eugene.  Is it a case of the Beavers trying to keep up with the Jones (or, actually, the Ducks)?  Yes, but that is the name of the game in college athletics.

Second, Oregon State has a recent history of going after, and getting, big name coaches.  Does anyone remember Dennis Erickson?  The Corvallis community is very attractive to the older set, the weather is much milder, and the standard of living is less expensive.  All attractive factors to a coach like Bobby Knight looking to relocate.

Third, Bob Knight said in his interview with Jay Bilas that he wants to go to a school that gives him a chance at winning, a school with a strong legacy of supporting men's basketball, in a high-profile conference.  Check, check and check.

Oregon State (despite the current team) can give him a chance at winning.  We have good players, just poor coaching.  Just about everyone familiar with college basketball will acknowledge that.  When asked, Doug Gottleib (ESPN's college basketball expert) said that he would coach the Beavers if no one else would.  Of course, the Beavers have a long history with its men's basketball team in a very very high profile conference - the PAC-10.

Now, I know some of you are going to think this is crazy.  First, you will bring up the fact that Knight left Indiana on less than friendly terms.  He was surrounded by controversy, much of it self-created.  I acknowledge that Knight is a polarizing figure, and many Beaver fans are going to leave Beaver Nation.  But remember, Erickson left Miami in similar circumstances, but winning has a way of finding new citizens to inhabit Beaver Nation.

In other words, if Knight became the Beavers coach, once he started winning all of those Beaver fans would suddenly find their way back to supporting the Beaver Express.

The other question is whether we can pay Knight enough.  The answer is two-fold.  Knight doesn't need gobs and gobs of money.  Not that he doesn't want gobs and gobs of money, all I am saying is that salary isn't the first thing necessarily on his mind.

And it doesn't take a boatload of money to live comfortably in Corvallis.  If the Beavers are going to make a serious run at Coach Knight, I am sure the Beavers can get pledges from its big donors to pay Coach Knight somewhere in the $1 million range.

The other answer has to do with Coach Knight's legacy.  Knight has an ego as wide as the Columbia River Gorge.  You can bet he doesn't want to leave his legacy in Lubbock.  He wants to win and go out a winner.  History demonstrates that you can win in Corvallis, and Coach Knight knows that.  Winning in a conference like the PAC-10 will add to Coach Knight's legacy and cement him as the best coach in college basketball history (ok, maybe second behind Coach Wooden).

I don't buy the claims that players won't want to play for Coach Knight.  Just as many players who don't want to play for Knight want to play for Knight.  We will get players that the Beavers would not otherwise even get a chance to talk to.

It is a win-win for Coach Knight and the Beavers.  I just hope DeCarolis dreams big and goes after someone like Coach Knight and bring some notoriety and success to a once proud and tradition-rich basketball program.

The worst college basketball team in the country?

It kills me to say it, but I think the Beavers basketball team may be the worst basketball team in the country.  I watched the game on Thursday against Stanford, and it doesn't look like there is anything this team can do on the court that is better than their opponent - other than perhaps turning the ball over.

Do we fire Jay John?  No.  I will say this, the team plays hard, and that is a reflection on the quality of coach we have at Oregon State.  Coach John clearly gets those kids to give everything they have every night.  Problem is, they are just overmatched night in and night out.

But they are not overmatched because the Beavers have no talent.  CJ Giles, Omari Jones and the Tarver boys have gobs of talent.  They are just young, and need more experience.  it doesn't matter who the coach is, the fact is the team just needs more time on the court.  Think about it, this team only has ONE SENIOR on the roster.  Jones and the Tarvers are still underclassmen.

Plus, according to Paul Buker over at Behind the Beaver's Beat (a must read for any citizen of Beaver Nation), the Beavers recruiting class next year should be phenomenal.  The bottom line is that the team has talent, it just needs time to mature.  John's contract doesn't expire until 2010 anyway, so why would we want to get rid of him (especially when no one else would likely take the job - talent or no talent).

So for now, it appears that we are going to suffer through a dreadful season of college basketball in Corvallis, hold out hopes for nest year, and count the days until baseball and football season.  How times have changed, it seems that when I was in school we counted the days until basketball season and held our breath during football and baseball season.

But I have one request in the meantime:  will someone please show these guys how to shoot a freethrow!!!!!!