"It's Friday night in America and we're going to play a football game."

That quote is from Riverside football head coach Robin Graff. It's one of the coachisms you either love or hate. I tend to enjoy them, if only for the somewhat bucolic images they often evoke. Lots of teams in Eastern Oregon will take the field this Friday night with the playoffs at stake. At least five local teams will have the added pressure of needing a win to secure or keep alive their playoff hopes. Check this out for more details.

Not a blogger

All the time I spend at work returning calls and e-mails has been wasted...I should be using that time blogging! There's plenty to talk about, too, from the national (LeBron mentoring Terrelle Pryor) to the very local (apparently Hermiston's volleyball team is one of the smartest in the state). However, what really excites me is Pendleton football's chance to win its first league game this Friday when they play Summit. The Storm are 0-7 this year and have suffered a ton of embarrassing blowouts. So has Pendleton, but they've also come through with some wins—okay, two wins early in the year, but still. This is the Bucks game to win or lose. After the rough year they've had, I'm hoping they can pull together and get a well-deserved win.

Governor Chris Dudley?

Soooooo this is interesting. Republican Chris Dudley, former Blazers center, is considering a run for governor. I'm not sure I'm a big fan of athletes running for office. I mean, sure, it works sometimes. Look at Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and the bang-up job he's doing in that city...oh wait. Nevermind.

But it will surely add a little much-needed drama to the Republican primaries if Dudley does throw his name in the hat. What do you think? Good idea?

It's hunting season!

Hunting season has been in full swing for a couple of weeks now, and it's just about time for the EO to check up and see how things are going (at least this is what my editor tells me). In the next few days I'll be asking around and seeing just what's going on in Eastern Oregon as far as deer and elk hunting is concerned. Check the paper and online for a story this Friday.

I'm also trying to schedule a little hunting expedition with a local hunter. I've never been hunting and never shot something bigger than a beer bottle, so I figure now that I live in Pendleton it's time for me to go out there and try my hand at this region's favorite fall/winter activity. Mostly I just want to shoot rifles, but if I happen to hit something, hey, isn't that the point?

A little MNF

I'm just going to go out on a limb and say maybe it's not such a bad thing for the Dolphins that Chad Pennington is out for the year. The offense looked good against the Jets, and Henne was effective in the pocket. EO sports editor Matt Entrup disagrees with me, but I was impressed with what I saw tonight. One thing's for sure: Henne has at least twice the arm strength that poor Pennington (used to) possess.

BMCC volleyball @ home Wednesday

Coaches rarely let themselves get too excited about their teams' chances to make noise in the playoffs, but BMCC volleyball head coach Dave Baty's enthusiasm is hard to resist. The man practically bubbles over with barely contained passion, and why the heck not? His team, with 19 wins already, is just that good. They're intriguing, too, with a 6-foot-1 setter and a dominant middle blocker in 6-foot-2 Kristen Garlie. The outside hitters KC Schmidt and Rebecca Haight are just as talented. If you haven't been paying attention to the Timberwolves, now is the time to jump on the bandwagon. This is their year.

Catch BMCC in a home tilt this Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Get excited

We've got some big-time matchups on the docket for Friday night, but there isn't a more important one for local teams than Hermiston football's home game against Mountain View. These two teams are tied up at 2-1 in IMC play, which means that second-place is up for grabs. Both teams will make the playoffs, but seeding can play a huge factor and the Dawgs need all the help they can get.

Look at the their games against the IMC's best: A 30-22 squeaker against Bend and a 33-29 loss at The Dalles-Wahtonka, the class of the conference. The Mountain View game is Hermiston's last big league challenge before the playoffs start. This is the Bulldogs' chance to set the tone for how the rest of their season will play out. Look for a column this Friday.

More thoughts on Talbot

After having a night to think about the Jake Talbot situation with the Bucks, I've decided it truly is a good thing the kid decided to come back. He's put far, far too much time in with this team, with this group of seniors, to walk away—even if Pendleton gets embarrassed in its final four games. It's not just about finishing the job or any of the other trite platitudes we often espouse. We haven't talked about this much since the start of the season, but the Bucks are still less than a year removed from the death of coach Walt Johnson. Before that, it was the ignominy of hard losing seasons.

Sports is all about redemption, which is why I wasn't ready to call Talbot out for quitting and why I'm happy he's been given a second chance by Bucks head coach Mitch Sanders. It was by far the best coaching move in Sanders' short time in Pendleton to let Talbot finish his senior year the right way.

The reboot

This post marks the start of a new, concerted effort to actually start posting on a regular basis. Between Facebook, tweeting, watching insane dunks on Youtube—and actually doing my job once in awhile—I'll be posting bits from my overflowing notebooks and weighing in on Oregon sports happenings.

So...what's going on? Despite the fact that football season is well underway and I've watched several thousand hours of high school volleyball in the past few weeks, the thing I'm most excited about right now is the beginning of the NBA preseason. Specifically, I'm thrilled that Andre Miller looks like he just might be the perfect fit for a young Trail Blazers team that needs someone to take pressure off of Brandon Roy in the back court.

Miller went 5-for-6 from the floor in last night's 98-86 win over the Sacramento Kings and finished with 16 points and four assists. From The Oregonian's Jason Quick: "Miller barked out plays and directed teammates with hand motions and head nods, establishing order to what was otherwise a rusty and sloppy Blazers performance. When Miller left in the second quarter, the team scored five points in the half's final 5:49."

Greg Oden also looked good, scoring 18 points and grabbing nine boards. It's all very encouraging, but in the end, it's all very meaningless, too. The Blazers faithful tend to exhibit just a tad of homerism (understandable, considering Portland is a one-team town...okay, one legitimate team town) so let's not get ahead of ourselves here. It was the first preseason game, and the team still remembers its ungraceful exit from the playoffs in the first round last year. The Sidelines is still in "wait and see" mode, but things definitely looked encouraging.

Locally, I'll be interested to see how Pendleton handles it's homecoming football game tomorrow night. The Bucks take on undefeated The Dalles-Wahtonka and you'd have to be one of the kids' parents to pick Pendleton to win, but that doesn't mean that some good won't come from the game. This is a character test. I'm not expecting a win, but I'll be disappointed if the Bucks don't come out with some pride and lay their hats on some Eagle-Indians. If Mountain View beat them 48-0 and Crook County embarrassed them 34-19, I'm going with a generous 37-14 final.

As for Hermiston's away match at Crook County, well, there is absolutely no reason the Bulldogs should lose that game. The Dawgs should be in a surly mood after barely losing to TDW last week. Let's say 42-21, which would give Hermiston its first blowout of the year.

The joys of fantasy football

Tip No. 1 for fantasy football succcess: get to your draft lobby early. Tip No. 2 for fantasy football success: if you don't get there early, disable autopick.

Every year I try to play fantasy sports and get bored by the third week when my team starts tanking. Some people have insane strategies for drafting players and rotating them in and out as the weeks go by. Me? I usually just let the computer pick, because I'm too lazy or inept to make the live draft.

This year is going to be different. You'll see.

Umatilla soccer today

I'm heading out to catch the Umatilla soccer team take on Irrigon in a home tilt. This will be my first chance to see both teams in action. We'll have an update as soon as I get back. Then it's a QUICK recap, as our computer systems will be undergoing some sort of fancy maintenance at 9 p.m.

First pitch

Welcome to my new blog, where I'll endeavor to entertain, inform and tell the story of what happens before teams take the field (or court, or pitch, or track) and after the final buzzer sounds. More to come...soon.