SAIGONBOB

Oregon College Sports Fans:Oregon Ducks Vs. Arizona State:A New Era

    For a small state, Oregon has done some amazing things the last couple of years.
    Fans in the Eugene/Springfield and all over the state, are talking about, perhaps, the biggest football game ever played at home on Saturday, Nov. 3rd, 2007, between the University of Oregon and Arizona State.
    The Ducks are rated the number 5 team in the country, while the Sun Devils of Arizona are rated number 4 in the same poll.
    Could this be a new and powerful sports era for a state known for its beauty and track athletes?
    Lets face it: Nobody thinks about Oregon State Baseball, in the rest of the nation.  After all, if you are going to play College Baseball, those warm weather states, such as California and Florida, would be your first pick.  There are no major league baseball teams in Oregon, nor could you find a professional Football team in the Beaver state either.

    Yet, the Corvallis based (pop. 50,000) Oregon State Baseball team have won two world college championships in the last two years. It rains so hard during the spring in the state, that I don't see how they even get the chance to play round ball.

    Last year, the Beavs upset USC on the gridiron.  This year they gave the California Bears, in Bezerkely, the first defeat of their season.

    The U of O Basketball team surprised everyone last year by beating UCLA at Mac court, and then wound up in the elite 8, during the spring NCAA playoffs.

    The University of Oregon Ducks, under the quarterbacking of Dennis Dixon and running of Jonathan Stewart, plus a really good offensive line and a hot defense, have passed all expectations for the year and beat USC last week.  They continue to impress, even in their one defeat this year.

    Next year, Eugene...AKA "tracktown" USA will be host to the Olympic track prelims on the U of O campus.

    This may be the beginning of a new sports era for the State of Oregon.

    Its funny, because the citizens of Springfield (pop:150,000) and Eugene, just across from it on the Willamette River (pop:150,000) usually don't get along on a social or political level.

    The old hippies settled in Eugene during the 1960s, and Springfield is still a heavy blue collar town.

    For about 4 hours on Saturday, no one will argue about gun control or the Spotted Owl, instead they will be in love with each other, as they root for the hometown Ducks to defeat the undefeated Arizona State football team, just a walk across the river from the Oregon campus.

Thanks for reading:

    Bob Kholos

   

   

      

Oregon Volleyball Ducks Tie Record--Go on the Road

    Eugene, Oregon--The University of Oregon    (Update:

Ducks lose their first  game to Purdue, September 14th, to  snap  10 game winning---Then go on on to beat 20th ranked Ohio.) streak) Ducks---did it again.            
    They have tied their all-time record of winning 10 NCAA Volleyball Games in a row.  This includes the record of winning 30 straight matches without a loss.
    The way the Women play college volleyball is a best of 5 contest, but the Oregon team has not had to play more than the minimum 3 games in one contest.
    On Tuesday night (September 11, 2007) they bested Portland University at Mac Court, in order to tie the record.
    Now, they are off to the Big 10, where they play Purdue and 20th ranked Ohio on September 14 and 15th.

    The tough Pac-10 season starts with a home stand for the Ducks, when they play Washington on September 21, and Washington State on September 22nd.

    Although, we were impressed with the usual Women who play a consistently great game for the Ducks, we thought that little, Katie Swoboda (5'5") from Portland and Kristen Forristall (6'2") played an outstanding game.

    I could name the entire stating team as great...but we are always impressed with Neticia Enesi and her strong serve, along with the usual "suspects" like Gorana Maricic, Nevena Djordjevic, Sonja Newcombe and Heather Meyers ( couple of great aces), and the entire team.  There are so many more great players, but will mention them when the Pac-10 season gets underway.

    Thanks for reading:

    Bob Kholos

      
   

Vietnam Interviews(audio)-LA Rams Dick Bass/St.Louis Card(football) Larry Wilson-by Bob Kholos

   file:///Users/ameribob1/Desktop/Dick%20Bass,%20Larry%20Wilson%20Vietnam%20interview.MP3

I interviewed LA Rams, Dick Bass and Defensive half-back, Larry Wilson of the St. Louis football Cardinals, in 1966 at the Central Highlands base camp of the 4th Infantry Division, about a mile from the Cambodian border, and about 20 miles up the mountain from Pleiku.  I was a young 22 year old, PFC, who was drafted just after working in the news room of KMPC radio in Los Angeles.
As a result, the officers would pull me off of guard duty,etc..to do these interviews.
    Another, already posted, was with Dallas Cowboy great Don Meredith..also in 1966.
    This interview takes about 5 minutes.
    I will always be grateful to the USO and these entertainers and sports figures, who risked their lives, to give us a little joy in a tough situation.
    I hope to have my interviews with Jayne Mansfield and Nancy Sinatra, in Vietnam, at a later date.
    Thanks for reading:
    Bob Kholos   

Vietnam (audio) Interview:Dallas Cowboy Don Meredith..1966..by Bob Kholos

file:///Users/ameribob1/Desktop/saigon_bob_-_don_meredith_interview.mp3

("hit" line above. Apprx 20 sec. dead air start)
When I wasn't pulling perimeter guard duty with the 4th Infantry Division in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, the brass allowed me to interview some of the  brave sports and entertainment figures traveling on behest of the USO.
    This is my audio interview with Dallas Cowboy quarterback, Don Meredith ( I'm having technical problems loading my interview with Los Angeles Ram's running back, Dick Bass, and St. Louis Cardinals(football) Defensive Half Back, Larry Wilson. Will try again at a later date.)
    (I'm still trying to find my interview with Jayne Mansfield, and take out a "glitch" with my interview with Nancy Sinatra...all brave souls.)

    These interviews took place at the 4th Infantry Division Base Camp, about 20 miles up the mountains from Pleiku, and about a mile from the Cambodian border.

    The Meredith interview last about 2min 30sec.

    Thanks for reading:

    Bob Kholos

 

OREGON vs. KANSAS--NCAA VOLLEYBALL--SAO PAULO BRAZIL vs. SERBIA?

    Women's College Volleyball has never been better.
    The Oregon Ducks played the Kansas Jayhawks at Mac Court in Eugene, Oregon on a beautiful summer evening(Aug. 25,2007)
    Both teams looked good, but the Ducks survived and beat the visiting Jayhawks in front of a nice, pleasant crowd.

    NCAA Women's Volleyball is a vastly overlooked sport. It is the perfect competition for family view.

    The crowds are less intense than the swearing Basketball and Football spectators, and the athletes act as a positive role model for youth as well as the entire community.

    What I find interesting is the favorite international countries for each team.  Although the Ducks and Kansas had plenty of home town athletes, they also had their own favorite players from a particular country.

    The Jayhawks had three players from Sao Paulo, Brazil: 6ft, Caroline Ferreira Americo, 6-1 Isdadora Rangel, and 6-2 Flavia Lina da Silva.

    The University of Oregon Ducks, reached into former  war torn Serbia, for 6ft 3in, Gorana Maricic, 5-10 Nevena Djordjevic, and 6-0 Marija Milosevic.

    Instead of renting a movie for your kids, call your local college and find out when the next Volleyball game will be played.  Chances are: You'll get a great seat, where the children can actually see the game, and maybe even get a positive role model to boot.

    Thanks for reading:

    Bob Kholos

   

      
   

Oregon State Beavers--Baseball--Still America's Game!

   Who ever thought of recruiting for high school baseball players, for the Oregon State Beavers, in this rain soaked land--called Oregon?
    Many, if not most of the players on this College World Series Championship Team, come from the small town and farm area's of this Beaver State(Oregon Duck Fans--would call it the "Duck" state, but that is for Football and the Civil War Game.)
    Even though there is not one major league baseball team in Oregon, some great baseball players, who know how to hit a 90-mile-per-hour fast ball, and dig up hot shots hit at the shortstop, decided to go to college in the small town of Corvallis.
    The "Beav's" won their second NCAA title in a row.  Something only done by Texas (1949-50) Southern California (1970-1974) and Stanford (1987-88).--Those are big schools with big names.

    As I understand it from one of my family, who attends OSU, they also went "foreign" and recruited some great players from Canada.

    Baseball is a great sport.  The great Michael Jordan couldn't cut it.  If you get three hit's every ten times at bat..you are great...if you get 2.5 hit's for every ten times at bat, you are a bum!(unless you hit a lot of homers)

    Baseball is a game of inches and intense strategy.  In basketball and football, a few good players can make a big difference, but in baseball, which is heavily dependent on a good pitcher---the entire team on the field, is just as important and it still is a real team effort.

    It takes nine really good players and a terrific coaching staff to win.  But, to become NCAA champs, they have to play great..in every game.

    To win the series in Omaha, twice in a row, from a small college, is greatness!

 They are celebrating at the Campus of OSU today, (Monday,June 25, 2007).  The town size about 50,000.  Every town is small in comparison to California and Texas.

    When someone from LA asked me if Oregon was in the same time zone as California, I realized how tiny this state is compared to the big states.

    But, today, the Championship Beavers are in the biggest state in America....a Baseball State of Mind.

    Congratulations Oregon State Beavers!

    Thanks for reading:

    Bob Kholos

   

 

"Crazed Bunch of Idiots" Ducks beat UCLA-AGAIN!

    The last time the Oregon Ducks beat the #1 UCLA Bruins in basketball at Mac Court in Eugene, in 1974, the Westwood coach called the fans, " A crazed bunch of idiots," according to one fan at todays game.
    Ernie Kent, was on the floor, as a player, for six minutes in the 1974 upset of the Bruins.
    On Saturday, January 4, 2007...Ernie Kent was in his 10th year as the basketball coach for the Oregon Ducks...coaching the full 40 minutes in a 68-66 major upset of the #1 Bruins at Mac Court.
    All three of my daughters are home grown Oregonians, and the youngest was at Mac Court, screaming her lungs out in support of the Ducks.
    She said, "It was insane" inside the facility that is almost 80 years old.
    Aaron Brooks, one of the stars of the game for Oregon said after the game something to the effect...."They (UCLA) started missing some of their passes in the second half because of the noise."
    A generation later, "A crazed bunch of idiots" once again helped defeat a great Bruin team.
    This is a big deal in Eugene...population of about 150,000...with about 25% of them retired Hippies from the 60s.  Many refuse to buy cable and therefore were lucky...in their stupor...to watch the game on local television.
     While the 3-million or so citizens of Los Angeles are too laid back to support a pro-football team...the Oregon (pronounced...Oregun) population are a little crazed with euphoria of the hippie kind on this first Saturday of the New Year.
    What a year and a week for the sports fans of the Beaver State:  Oregon State upset the USC Trojans in Football and win the Sun Bowl.  The Oregon State Baseball team (Corvallis Pop---50,000) wins the College World Series, and the Ducks knock off top rated UCLA.
    Thanks for Reading:
    Bob Kholos
   

USC vs MICHIGAN--ROSE BOWL--2007

   (Update: I was so wrong about this one. It keeps me humble, however!)

Look for an upset at the Rose Bowl.  Michigan may clean USC's "clock."
    According to LA Times sports columnist, A.J Adande, the USC players will be feeling down because they didn't get the big enchilada this time.
    Much of college sports is emotional. A good coach can get good results repeatedly, even with less-than-great recruits.
    While the Trojans will travel across town, supposedly to play in a funk---'cause they only got the Rose Bowl--Michigan, on the other hand, will be happy to get out of the snow and cold, and come to the Palm Trees and warmer weather of Pasadena.
    At the best, this year, it probably should have been a BCS championship series between Michigan and Ohio State.
    After losing to the Beavers and Bruins, USC should be happy to get into the Rose Bowl.
    If they are unhappy when the coin is flipped on January 1st, they will get their spoiled attitude shoved into their face masks.
    The Rose Bowl, like the Baseball World Series, is bigger than the players on the field.
    The pageantry, Rose Parade, and excitement of playing in the "granddaddy of them all", should be enough incentive to be "up" for the game.
    To be honest, since the Nixon administration, I have had a hard time rooting for the college that has given us "The Plumbers" and "Rat F---ers" of a bygone era.(Too young?--See "All the Presidents Men.")

    Great sports era's come and go.

    The cross town rivals---UCLA Bruins---had one of the greatest college Basketball teams in the history of the game.  Johnny Wooden, the coach, kept his players up, as they lost one game in about 3 years.

    Walt Hazzard perfected the jump shot, and Wooden devised the full court press, to create an energy, which will probably never be repeated.  There are other teams which have shown greatness, but Wooden at Pauley Pavilion started it all.

    Yet, after 4 years of almost perfect basketball, the Golden years of Bruin Basketball ceased.

    Just as USC had an incredible run, to expect it to continue--like the longevity of Vin Scully--is pure folly.

    I will root for USC against Michigan at the Rose Bowl, but if I see an unhappy group of football players under Pete Carroll, or a lack of energy on the field, I'll turn off my TV, get in my car and drive to Venice and walk into my favorite little funky coffee and sandwich shop---The "Abbott Habit."

    What is really true about college football, is that some of the coaches make millions of dollars, but most of the players wind up with bad knees, and not much health insurance.  Therefore, I am not too thrilled at watching a team which has a bad attitude when they get to play in the Rose Bowl.

    I attended my first Rose Bowl, with a beautiful girl, named Iris, from Uni High in 1959, when we were both teenagers.

    Her parents escaped the Holocaust, and as a result she was able to enjoy a "light" date with a scrawny kid, and enjoy the sights and sounds of the Rose Bowl.

    We could care less who won and the final score--we just had fun.

    I expect no less(having fun) from USC and Michigan on New Years Day.

    Thanks for reading:

    Bob Kholos

 

 

 

Oregon Ducks vs. Arizona State

    The Ducks have had pretty good, dry and warm weather in Eugene, the past couple of weeks, in preparation for Saturday's game against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the desert.
    Other than the Sun Devils fan's cheering every time the Oregon team gets called for a penalty,and screaming obscenities at the officials for calling an Oklahoma type "On-Sides" penalty against the home team, the Ducks should finish off Arizona State by the end of the 3rd Quarter.
   
    The worst ref call was not Oklahoma vs Oregon

    I was a young kid, living in Los Angeles, when the 1956 Rose Bowl was played between Michigan State and UCLA.
    Of course, I was rooting for the Bruins.  It was late in the second half, and as I remember it (couldn't find it on Google) the game was tied 14-14.
    Red Sanders was the brilliant coach of UCLA, and 50 years later, I still remember the call.
    Michigan State was in the middle of the field, when the sideline referee stormed the field and threw a flag: "Coaching from the sidelines" against Sanders moved the yardstick 15 yards for the Spartans in the last minute or so of the game.  It was close enough for them to win the game with a field goal, 17-14.
    So, Sooner fans, don't be disheartened by the loss to the Ducks. It could have been a lot worse--in the Rose Bowl for a national title.
    Note: As mentioned, this is written entirely from my experience as a 12 year old, just about 50 years ago.  The "Sidelines" penalty is accurate, but some of the other details may be a little off.
    Thanks for Reading:
    Bob Kholos
   

University of Oregon Ducks Survive Oklahoma-by Bob Kholos

   

    It was a great game.  The University of Oregon football team has never won a game against the Oklahoma Sooners--Until today--Saturday, September 16th.
    The Ducks almost gave the game away with fumbles and intercepted passes, but rallied back before 55,000 crazed fans, scoring two touchdowns within the last 2 minutes, including blocking a Sooner field goal attempt with 2 seconds left, and survived 34-33.
    I'm sure the 4-thousand Oklahoma faithful, who attended the game in Eugene, are as frustrated as the Duck fans were when the Sooners intercepted a pass to end the Holiday Bowl last year, and crush Oregon hopes with no time left on the clock.
    Oklahoma, a team ranked 14th in the nation until today's game, were 4 point underdogs, but in reality, the Oregon fans feel it is an upset win over a storied, hard hitting Oklahoma franchise.
    The Oregon fans have been talking about this game for months. This was going to be the real test, to see if Coach Mike Belotti could take another underrated team and push it to the top of the college football world.
    With the exception of too many injuries to his defense unit, it appears he has the type of feisty team to test the will of the PAC-10 this season.
    They get a week off to heal their wounds, and then in two weeks, face Arizona State in the desert.
    For now, the fans are just excited, as I hear the fireworks going off in this small city of about 150,000.
    USC looked solid as they beat Nebraska in Los Angeles today.
    The Ducks travel to Los Angeles to face the Trojans in a few weeks. I hope to attend that game.
    So, Duck fans, put those Tofu Dogs, and meatless hamburgers on the grill and fantasize about the secondary improving, Jonathan Stewart staying healthy, and Dennis Dixon getting the same tough protection from his front line.
    Maybe, just maybe, they can put together a great season.

ADD: OK! OK!   I got enough complaints that I left out that horrible "call" against the Sooners by the officials. I admit it.

The best thing that could happen this year--The Ducks play the Oklahoma Sooners in the Holiday Bowl again.  Considering the Ducks lost that game on the last offensive play of the game, and the controversy surrounding this one...it would be a great match-up.  Of course the Ducks will probably have to beat UCLA at home and perhaps USC on the road to accomplish that.

    Thanks for reading:
    Bob Kholos