Mary Young SP in West Linn is pretty awesome, with 3 improved Soccer fields, probably 25-30 or more miles of trails and both river and open space access for dogs. 2-3 year old beaver ponds with all kinds of critters. Worth checking out for the restless. Gonna be a long Summer if we don't get to travel.Not sure the usual regional tourist destinations are opening their arms just yet.

https://westlinnoregon.gov/sites/default/files/gis/parks/marysyoung_trailmap_20170201_300dpi.pdf

We have been so lucky here in Eugene with the weather the last couple months. Looks to be a gorgeous Sunday shaping up for us.

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So, it is from The Athletic and Aaron Fentress (consequently, premium), but there is a tidbit that really sums up what last year's team was about. After McCormick realizes he is going to lose a second season, he was depressed in a literal sense; “I was battling mentally with hopelessness,” he said. That led to a breakdown of sorts. McCormick retreated to his bedroom and sobbed.

Juwan Johnson gave McCormick this advice:

“I told him this is what makes the story better,” Johnson said. “This is when people aren’t looking at you as Cam the athlete; they are looking at you as Cam the person. I really wanted him to tap into who he was as a person.”

Link: https://theathletic.com/1808690/2020/05/14/oregon-cam-mccormick-injuries-get-back-on-field/#_=_

In Germany. At least we have a model to monitor. Card board fans, reserves wearing face masks. Wonder what the testing protocols are like.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/german-f...-beaches-reopen-lockdowns-ease-150245474.html

I have read that he is being recruited by Oregon for football. His brother is on the ASU track team, and he was also recruited by Oregon. Jadyn, like his brother, is a hurdler. Rumor has it that he will be a two sport athlete. Since track is not allowed to recruit athletes until their junior season, he is not currently being recruited by Oregon for Track. However, I have heard that he has a lot of promise for both sports ... but especially track. His brother Jamar was the top high school 110 hurdler and third ranked in the 300 hurdles. Could Jadyn end up being another Devon Allen?
That is what I’m hearing

Saw this in the news today. Sounds like fans and even some players masked up, but some Woorld Series games and others probably added to the spread. Delayed and shortened FB season.A short article, but the "War Fever" book sounds like an interesting read.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ml...ing-the-1918-spanish-flu-pandemic/ar-BB1491zZ
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One of the last installments in Dale's Help Wanted series,

Iron Giant

We have become used to big money college athletic departments. I love it. Most of you do as well. Football and basketball make money. That money plus a ton of donations add up to paying for the non revenue sports. Coaches get paid big salaries in order to build teams that win and thereby bring in the big revenue required to make it all come together. Half the NCAA struggles financially to stay at the table, while some thrive. So if we lose a football season college sports and fans will be out in the cold right? Well maybe not.

What happens to NCAA football and basketball’s biggest competition once big time ncaa sports stop? Isn’t ncaa football what feeds pro football? Besides, pro sports are going to also have financial obstacles as a result of the Covid-19 virus. So the competition won’t be walking away with all of the fan interest leaving ncaa sports in their wake.

I grew up in the shadow of a college stadium that once held 90,000 fans. Across the Bay, Cal had a stadium that once held 78,000 fans.... and they also have a track stadium that holds 22,000. The football stadiums were built in the 1920s and Cal’s Track Stadium was built in the 1930s. These stadiums sold out frequently. The players were rarely given athletic scholarships. The quality of play in both college and pro football was not nearly to today’s level. However because there was parity, the games were exciting enough to the public that people all over the country would spend Saturdays and Sundays glued to their radios to here the broadcast of these games. Coaches didn’t get paid enormous salaries. Professional football players held jobs in the off season. The players played the game out of love for the sport. The fans went to the games and had thrills. The marching bands played. The cheerleaders danced.... the electricity was all there.

So what about the minor sports? Well, they actually did better. Oregon had more men’s sports then, not fewer. They may not have had many athletes on scholarships but they sent athletes to the Olympics and had fan following. I see no reason why the woman’s sports wouldn’t also continue.

I am not advocating anything. I’m just saying that the primary ingredients seem to remain, money or no money and scholarships or no scholarships. Those primary ingredients are fans, stadiums, workout facilities, and athletes who want to play sports in college.

We couldn’t afford the big time recruiting, but we would still have recruiting. With the internet that would be much easier today than it was in the days that my Godfather from a farm in Iowa was an All American at Stanford and played against another All American, Norm Van Brocklin who came to Oregon from the Bay Area. Oregon had a ton of out of state players in the pre television era. One of Oregon’s most storied players, All American Johnny Kitzmiller who played for the Ducks in the 1920s was from Pennsylvania.

I believe that fans will follow their teams and buy tickets as long as the games are played. Television will continue to broadcast games. If our society is poorer it will all just happen on the cheap. Sports continued to be played during the depression. My parents went to college during the depression. They went to football games in large sold out stadiums. Tickets were cheaper, scholarships rarer, and everyone, including coaches took pay cuts. It was the depression, but we still had the Rose Bowl, World Series and The Olympics. Joe Louis still knocked opponents out while millions listen intently on their radios. You can not change the fact that fans, athletes, and coaches are not disappearing. It would just be a matter of time before football would begin generating money and coaches’ salaries increase. Should the current economics of college sports collapse they will continue with different economists then eventually things willchange and we will return to higher salaries and more scholarships.

No matter what circumstances may develop, one way or another, college sports will survive. Fans will still follow their teams and the marching band will play on... as long as there is no better alternative.

Want to know a secret? Big time talented scholarship athletes have never made a dime on the aggregate for college football. Great coaches drawing big salaries don’t make money for college athletic departments either. That is just a myth. Fan loyalty makes money for the athletic department. Fans will follow their teams as long as they play the game. What other sports alternative do they have? Fans packed the stadiums when the players were much slower, smaller and less graceful. So if the financial roof were to cave in due to either a cancellation or limitation of the football season, we would start back on the cheap. We will play with less resources, but college sports will continue.... and the fan base will remain. Television sets will tune in to see Notre Dame, Bama and for that matter Washington State.

From SI: (I could only get in 10000 characters)

College football's top-25 future overall power rankings
These are turbulent times with more questions than answers, including when college football will resume. The future power rankings, which always appear in the spring, hopefully provide a reminder of normalcy.

After examining quarterbacks, defenses and offenses, this list projects the top 25 teams for the next three seasons. The forecast covers the 2020, 2021 and 2022 seasons, and factors in both current rosters and future recruiting classes, as well as coaching, program trajectory and other categories.

The team rankings obviously contain overlap with earlier versions, particularly at the top, but there's some variance, too. Coaching success/longevity and potential coaching change is arguably a bigger factor when projecting how teams will fare going forward.

Check out last year's list, which had the eventual national champ (LSU) at No. 10 and the other three College Football Playoff participants in the top five (No. 1 Clemson, No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 5 Ohio State). I overvalued Texas (No. 7), Washington (No. 8), Michigan (No. 11) and Stanford (No. 15), while not giving enough love to Oregon (No. 14) and Minnesota (not ranked). Then again, these are three-year projections, so a lot will change.

Let's look ahead to the new team rankings.


1. Clemson Tigers
Future QB ranking: 1
Future offense ranking: 1
Future defense ranking: 2

Scouting the Tigers: Clemson has supplanted Alabama as the dominant team of the CFP era and leads off these projections for the second consecutive year. Both Alabama and Ohio State are in the conversation, but Clemson's ability to produce elite-level quarterbacks, reload on defense and dominate in recruiting is virtually unparalleled. The addition of D.J. Uiagalelei as Trevor Lawrence's likely successor solidifies the quarterback position. Skill-position depth on offense is never an issue, and the line isn't a liability.

Bryan Bresee (ESPN's top-rated tackle and No. 3 overall player) and Myles Murphy (ESPN's No. 4 end and No. 13 prospect) suggests Clemson's defense will thrive. The Tigers will enter next season favored to win a national title, and more could be on the way.



2. Ohio State Buckeyes
Future QB ranking: 2
Future offense ranking: 2
Future defense ranking: 3

Scouting the Buckeyes: Ohio State's impressive 2020 NFL draft output suggests the program has underachieved while going without a national title since 2014. Given the roster and a 2021 recruiting class currently ranked No. 1 nationally, the Buckeyes should expect to hoist a trophy in the next three years. Ohio State's defense restored its edge last fall after a messy 2018, and the outlook is strong despite losing two of the top three overall draft picks in Chase Young and Jeff Okudah. A veteran linebacker group and star cornerback Shaun Wade lead the 2020 defense, and a pipeline of younger players (Zach Harrison, Tyreke Smith) and recruits (Jack Sawyer, Tunmise Adeleye) fortify the future.

Coach Ryan Day has dramatically elevated quarterback play, which the Buckeyes should be able to sustain even after Justin Fields departs. Ohio State is recruiting elite-level offensive skill players such as Garrett Wilson (2019), Julian Fleming (2020) and TreVeyon Henderson (2021), and its offensive line should remain one of the nation's best, as five-star tackle Paris Johnson Jr. joins a talented group featuring Wyatt Davis and others.


3. Alabama Crimson Tide



4. Georgia Bulldogs
F


5. LSU Tigers


6. Oklahoma Sooners


7. Florida Gators


8. Oregon Ducks
Future QB ranking: 19
Future offense ranking: 13
Future defense ranking: 6

Scouting the Ducks: Oregon's defense projects as the Pac-12's top unit -- and among the nation's best -- and coach Mario Cristobal has upgraded areas like offensive line. The Ducks' overall recruiting momentum -- they landed ESPN's No. 6 class in 2019 and finished No. 13 in 2020 -- also strengthens the program's profile. Defensive coordinator Andy Avalos returns a veteran, ball-hawking secondary that includes non-seniors like Jevon Holland and Verone McKinley III. Defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux (nine sacks, 14.5 tackles for loss) will trigger the pass rush for at least two more years.

There are short-term questions on offense, but new playcaller Joe Moorhead is an exciting pickup and the run game should thrive with veteran back CJ Verdell and Outland Trophy winner Penei Sewell creating space. Moorhead's quarterback development -- sophomore Tyler Shough or Boston College transfer Anthony Brown -- likely will determine whether Oregon returns to the CFP.

Swinging over to a whole different part of the world.

Duck coaches active retweeting this morning

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“We don’t control the timeline — the virus does. Ultimately, football in the fall is not our call. It’s up to the governor, the Oregon Health Authority and Lane County. We will not do anything that puts at risk the health and wellbeing of our students, student-athletes, faculty, staff, fans or the broader community (including the city of Eugene). All of our reopening activities — including whether we have football games in Eugene — will take place under the guidance of and in coordination with state and local health authorities.”

https://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/20...onavirus-college-football-start-and-more.html