Oregon's chance at a Fiesta bid

I don't have a good feeling about this. The Oregon Ducks are ranked 7th in the BCS, behind Ohio State and ahead of Notre Dame, but the AP & USA Today polls have them at 8th, behind both of those two-loss schools. Notre Dame is a lock for the Fiesta Bowl, of course, given their history, glamour and weekly broadcast on NBC (and how the hell does one school rate such treatment? if there's any indication of the NCAA's corrupt relationship to money, this is it). Their opponent will either be Ohio State or Oregon, and I'm not really holding my breath that the right choice will be made.

Ohio State, of course, has the history. They are a long-time power and recent national champion. Of course, Oregon was denied its shot at the 2001 title by a BCS system that somehow put Nebraska ahead of them -- and then Nebraska got creamed in the title game while Oregon proved it should have been Miami's opponent. (Ohio State's victory, I still contend, was the gift of a bad official's call, not a legitimate title at all.) The Fiesta Bowl, like all other bowl committees, will look at two things: which team will bring the most fans and which team will draw the higher tv ratings.

I don't know if Oregon can challenge that argument. Will they travel better than OSU, as the saying goes? That one is probably a wash, although if travel costs are high enough, the shorter distance from Oregon (and California, where many Oregon grads live) may encourage more Duck fans. But a BCS bowl game will surely inspire Buckeye fans to pony up whatever the cost is -- not to mention escaping the Midwest in midwinter.

(Side note: Will more locals buy tickets for Oregon or Ohio State? It's not necessarily a deciding factor, given that we may be talking only a few thousand seats here, but the only sell-out for this bowl in recent years was when Oregon played in 2001. On that count, it appears the Ducks have a greater local/regional appeal.)

In terms of tv, which is undoubtedly the deciding factor, I think Ohio State holds the edge there. They are better known with the long history -- but maybe football fans are tired of them. Michigan fans might enjoy tuning in to see their hated rivals whupped on by Notre Dame, but perhaps Oregon has an appeal, too. They are a new face on the national scene, a program that has been growing in strength and producing terrific players. Several years ago, OSU tried to hire Mike Belotti away, and he chose to stay with Oregon. Maybe people want to see the fabled Irish against the nouveau Ducks, a team that was not supposed to be a BCS contender this year -- not even close -- and ends up in the national top 10. Maybe, like me, a lot of fans are simply tired of old teams like Ohio State who have been around forever and simply are just another boring powerhouse, like Oklahoma and Alabama.

Finally, of course, which team will give Notre Dame a better game? When Oregon played Colorado in the Fiesta four years ago, they blew them out of the water. Mike Belotti knows how to prepare his team for a big game. Ohio State has lost two games, and Oregon but the one -- to two-time defending champion Southern Cal. I know I'm a homer, but I honestly think the Ducks can stay with the Irish much more than the Buckeyes can. This is a team that has been under-appreciated all year, yet here they are, a Top 10 team. I know they can not only play with Notre Dame, they can beat them.

If they get the chance. And I'm not holding my breath on that.

Hire Ng & Hershiser, restore Dodger glory -- and credibility

In a few days, the Dodgers should name a new general manager. With the withdrawal of John Hart from consideration (he'll remain with Texas), the favorite for the position should now be Kim Ng. And that should mean that soon after, Orel Hershiser will be named manager. If these two things happen, the Dodgers will be well on their way back to glory -- and more importantly, to respectability.

The most important part of the decision is, of course, baseball: If Ng is selected, owner Frank McCourt must be convinced she'll do the best job of rebuilding the team into a champion. He can't be too far from that opinion. For starters, she's a Dodgers insider; she's been with the team for 4 years now. Prior to that she served with the Yankees during their recent glory years. She's held positions of responsiblity, including replacing both Bill Bavasi and Paul DePodesta after their departures. Obviously she's talented, bright and capable. A woman does not get these opportunities in pro sports unless she can deliver the goods. Hell, she worked for The Boss! I expect she sees things more in keeping with both McCourt and Tommy Lasorda or she would not be a candidate.

Second on the list of important factors is what her hiring would represent. The Dodgers are the team that brought African-Americans back to baseball, team of Jackie Robinson -- and Fernando, and Hideo Nomo, and players from around the world. As a woman, and a Vietnamese-American, she would signal that Frank McCourt not only wants a winner, he wants a winner that reflects in every way the nature of the game. Women have been fans of the game as long, and as fervently, as men; one day, they'll play the game (I bet there are any number of women who could throw an effective knuckleball or Moyer-esque changeup). At the very least, letting a qualified woman serve as GM is a long, long time overdue.

Hiring Hershiser would be, I hope, a no-brainer for McCourt. His success in a short time with the Rangers as their pitching coach shows he is a natural. As a pitcher, he did all the hard work necessary for success. And as vital as anything, the fans love him. Short of bringing in Fernando, Ron Cey or Tommy Lasorda, you could not find a more popular former player for the job. The loss of faith suffered by the players at Tracy's departure would, I think, be almost completely erased by hiring Orel.

Here's hoping, as one whose blood bleeds the same Dodger blue as Tommy, that in a very short time the team will have made huge headlines by hiring Kim Ng and Orel Hershiser. These are, by far, the two best people for these jobs.

The Ducks are Closing In

Ranked #10 in the BCS, a place no one believed they would achieve when the season started -- and especially after the massacre at the hands of USC -- the Ducks are two wins and a couple of losses away from one of the BCS bowl games. Here's how that would work.

Obviously they need to win out, and with a trip to Washington State -- winless in the Pac 10 -- and the home game against OSU, they should do that. Even without Kellen Clemens. Dixon and Leaf have their first game out of the way and look like an effective two-headed QB. With Whitehead's great running and catching, and their receiver corps, the Duck offense should provide more than enough points against both WSU and the Beavers. And the way the defense has picked up the pieces in the past month, I find it hard to believe either of those teams will have nearly enough offensive production. The Ducks D, led by Ngata, just gets better and better. And after the hell he suffered as a freshman, it's great to see Aaron Gipson have a standout senior year.

The two losses may be tougher to come by. Oregon needs someone above them to lose. There are plenty of candidates. Ohio State is not at championship form, and every game against Michigan is a big risk. Georgia and LSU have tough games remaining, and all it takes is for a couple of them teams above UO to lose just once, and the Ducks should climb to at least #8. And that would be good enough for one of the top New Year Day games. Mike Belotti won't win coach of the year -- that'll go to Joe Paterno, and probably rightfully -- but the quality results he's gotten every year he's been head coach (we'll just pretend 2004 did not happen, for a lot of reasons), prove that however much ink others may get, there's no one we'd rather have here in Oregon.