Duck07 wrote:Man, the WSJ may not be aware of it, but they just showed how pathetic the poodles are!
Then came a blow that felled Washington's program like a Douglas fir. A ruling that boosters had given illegal benefits to players led to harsh sanctions in the early 1990s, including a two-year bowl ban that spurred coach Don James, the Huskies' all-time wins leader, to resign in protest. A string of ill-fitting coaches dragged the program to its nadir, an 0-12 record in 2008.
Almost as bad was the unthinkable change taking place 4½ hours south. Oregon's 1994 victory over Washington helped secure the Ducks' first Rose Bowl berth in decades and stir the interest of an alumnus by the name of Phil Knight. The Nike co-founder has since given hundreds of millions to build Oregon's unsurpassed athletic facilities, helping the Ducks—a longtime nobody—become a college-football powerhouse.
"We don't have that one crackpot eccentric CEO that puts his money where his mouth is," Washington booster Jim Kenyon said. "I'm a pragmatic guy. I don't hate anybody. This is college football. I admire it, frankly."
Kenyon, a real estate developer, was among those implicated in the 1993 sanctions, which he called a "witch hunt" and which forced his separation from the football program for a few years. Kenyon now is active with the Tyee Club, Washington's booster group. (It is named for the largest of king salmon.) He says the Huskies are running a tight—even uptight—ship
Yea, right, you didn't have the Nordstrom family take players out onto their yacht and let them go below and collect cash, clothes and other gifts. Yea, they certainly aren't a "wealthy" family and any poodle trying to play the poor card is about as laughable as it gets. At one-time Howard S. Wright (who built the Space Needle amongst other things) was my grandfather and the family would literally take the boat from Medina to Husky Stadium for games. They were so dirty under James but they didn't care because they were winning and it was "part of the system." This revisionist history to forget that people like Billy Jo Hobert were getting cash, cars and coke from boosters is what makes this so hilarious to me or that a decade later they'd cover up Jeramy Stevens and Jeremiah Pharms but they talk about their glowing tradition. Delusional Dawgs I guess.
Paying players is a Husky tradition. The Washington Advertising Association had most of the team on the payroll during the early '50's, UW legend Hugh McElhenny was probably the most egregious....
For five decades, McElhenny grinned along with everyone else whenever the subject of his collegiate finances came up, offering only vague responses to each persistent inquiry.
No more. Now he's willing to deal with this matter head on.
"What they did with me was illegal," McElhenny said of the Huskies, publicly confirming for the first time that rules violations were committed on his behalf. "I know it was illegal for me to receive cash, and every month I received cash. I know it was illegal to receive clothing, and I got clothing all the time from stores.
"I got a check every month, and it was never signed by the same person, so we never really knew who it was coming from. They invested in me every year. Peg and I made more in college than I made in pro ball.
"When I look back, it was funny."
McElhenny said he and his wife received a combined $10,000 per year while in Seattle, give or take a few perks. That included Peggy's job with a medical insurance company (which was legitimate), his monthly $75 scholarship stipend (also legit) and an extra $300 monthly payment (definitely a rule-breaker).
As a rookie with the San Francisco 49ers, the big running back, even as a first-round draft pick, earned a modest $7,000 salary.
By today's standards, that $300 monthly allowance and $10,000 household income in 1950 would equal about $2,200 and $74,000, respectively.
He doesn't like Oregon too much, doesn't think we run any power running plays and that we run a cute offense. Honestly, after his chauvinistic comments about Condaleeza Rice I was hoping ESPN would find someone better for in his tirade, he went after her as well as the traits that the members HAVE to have and yet he didn't go after the guy who never played football on the committee, just the woman, even though that was a main point for him.
There are a few pundits who are picking Washington... and to some degree can understand their thinking in the sense the poodles are playing at home. It is an opportunity for them to keep their Pac 12 championship hopes alive while derailing Oregon's pursuit of the National Championship and Pac 12 championship. I think Oregon has to much speed for Washington.. and there are very few teams that can match up with Oregon. I am extremely nervous for this game because I do understand how difficult it can be playing at Husky stadium.
Mariota has started slow the last few weeks. I hope this week he doesn't start slow and the receivers help him by not dropping sure catches. Oregon has the talent and speed to make up early deficits but I really do not want Husky stadium thinking they have any significant chance at beating Oregon.
Washington is going to take what we've been doing for years, duplicate it, and in their 5th game, try to beat us with it. Its like trying to "outAlabama" Alabama. Its not gonna happen. They don't (yet) have the depth to compete with us late in the 2nd qtr, and second half. Oregon wins big.
