2009 Pac 10 Predictions

1. Oregon- Yeah I said it!!!! This is the year that SUC finally gets unseated at the top of the Pac 10 It will happen and it will be the Ducks that end their reign.

2. SUC- Second place will still get them to a BCS Bowl.

3. Cal- A solid but unspectacular year lies ahead for the bears.

4. ASU- A decent year lies ahead for the devils. Vegas is cold in December.

5. OS- Questions on D, at QB and a drop in production from Quizz will lead to a disappointing year for the Beavers.

6. Stanford- The Cardinal will improve and possibly sneak into a Bowl game.

7. UCLA- The Bruins are still a year away.

8. Arizona- The Mildcats will fail to improve upon last years Vegas Bowl victory. It could be the end of the Mike Stoops era.

9. Washington- The dawgs will do better last year. They certainly can't be worse than 0-12.

10. WSU- The Cougs are bad.

So long old friend............

Thursday September 3 will mark the end era in Eugene. The Single A Eugene Emeralds will play their final game in Civic Stadium before moving to the brand new PK Park near Autzen Stadium. Civic was built in 1938 and has been home of Emeralds since 1969. While there might be a little bit of sadness to see the old stadium go it is a move that should have happened years ago in my opinion. Despite my feelings on the stadium itself I do have many memories of the place.

Over the years I have attended many games at Civic. I've seen players who would go on to great major league careers and some who never made out of Eugene. I have many fond memories dating back to my early childhood. My family used to head to the ballpark several times each year. During those games I wander the ballpark trying to get foul balls. After games I would often wander the stadium collecting plastic cups and the mini batting helmets that they served ice cream in. Looking back I can't believe that my mother let me do that.

One of the long standing promotions at Civic was the Prince Puckler's Sunday throw. Each game kids are selected to try to throw a ball through a hole and win free ice cream from Prince Pucklers. Now days they let kids stand something like three feet away and give them a tennis ball to throw. Even if they miss the still get free Ice Cream. When I had the opportunity to do as a kid I had to stand about 20 feet back and throw a real baseball and I got absolutely nothing when I missed.

One of my favorite activities as a kid was trying to get autographs. I remember passing up an opportunity to get an autograph from someone playing for Bellingham Mariners named Ken Griffey JR. My reasoning was that I didn't feel like waiting in line and I didn't think he would ever be as good as his dad, oops. The one Autograph I did wait in line for was from a pitcher was supposed to be the next Nolan Ryan. I waited for 45 minutes and when I finally got it I was the happiest kid in the stadium. When he made it big this was going be worth a lot of money. I think it's safe that Todd Van Popple was not next Nolan Ryan.

The happy memories are great but the bottom line is that the old stadium needs to go. The stadium is in disrepair and it lacks many of the things necessary to be a viable stadium for minor league baseball. The cost to make the stadium viable is just too great and nobody has the money to pay for it.

On Thursday September 3 prior to watching my Ducks play Boise State I will make one final trip to Civic Stadium to watch the Emeralds play. For some it will probably be an emotional day, but not for me.

A look back at my 2008 Pac 10 preseason rankings

Before I publish my annual Pac 10 preseason rankings I thought it would be fun to take a look back at my 2008 preseason ranking. So here they are with the expert analysis that you've come to expect from Dennis' Daily Rant.

1. SUC- The Trojans are just too good
Bingo, Bango, Bongo with the exception of one bad night in Corvallis the Trojans were the class of the Pac 10 in 2008.


2. Oregon- No Costa, No problem! Roper (Maybe Masoli) and the Ducks will shine in 2008.
Again I was right on. The Ducks were 3-0 before Roper got hurt and Masoli took the job over. After a few bumps in the road the Ducks finished strong winning their final four games. Including a 65-38 victory over OS.


3. ASU- Look for a big year out of Judy Carpenter and the Sun Devils but it won't get them any farther than El Paso.
I was wrong.

4. OS(U)- Tough choice on Thursday night. OS(U)-Stanford or Barack Obama's convention speech.
For the record I choe the Beavers over Obama's convention speech and they didn't dissapoint. They help up their of my prediction below.

5. Cal- Another mediocre year for the Bears.
To quote Dennis Green "the Bears are who we thought they were"


6. Arizona- Mike Stoopid and the Mildcats finally go Bowling.
They finished one spot higher than I predicted, but they did go bowling.

7. UCLA- The Bruins will struggle in 2008 but watch out for them in 2009.
They finished one spot lower than I predicted, but again I think I was pretty close on this one. as for the second part of the prediction we'll see.

8. Washington- The Dawgs will improve but not enough to save Ty Willingham's job.
I was wrong they didn't improve, but instead got worse.


9. Stanford- Watch out for my week one upset. Stanford will beat OS(U)
I ranked them way too low, but I was right on with my prediction.

10. WSU- The Cougs will go for perfection in the Pac 10 but might just blow in the Apple Cup.
The Coogs were terrible, but the puppies were worse.


Overall a pretty good effort. We'll see how my 2009 rankings turn out .

I just want my dang sunglasses!!!!!!

This saga of my sunglasses began on a Saturday in June, June 13 to be exact. I walked into Rainbow Optics, a local eye wear store to inquire about a pair of prescription sunglasses. I settled on the Oakley Flak Jackets XLJ's much like the pair above. After crunching the numbers and figuring out how much my insurance would cover I decided to think about.

Two weeks later I went back and placed my order. I settled on a custom design with a green frame and yellow Oakley logos. I was told they would be ready in about ten days. That meant I would receive my sunglasses around July 7. I left the store happy and was looking forward to receiving my sunglasses.

I didn't hear from them in the ten days I was told. I decided to give them two weeks before I called. On Monday July 13 just as I was about to call them my phone rang. Great I thought, my sunglasses were ready! Instead of being told they were ready I was told they were on backorder and it would be another week or two. Backorder? Why did it take two weeks to tell me something they should have told me in two days? I voice my displeasure but decided to be patient and just wait for my sunglasses to get here.

Two weeks passed and I decided to call and see where my sunglasses were. After two phone calls I was told that they would be shipped overnight on August 1, meaning that they would be ready for pickup on Monday August 3. Once again I voiced my displeasure but this time I wasn't so nice about it.

That brings us to today August 4. After not hearing anthything I decided to call again. After two calls I was told they were being made and they would be shipped in 3-5 days. This time I was furious. Not wanting to say something I would later regret I decided to just act pleasanty pissed off. Tomorrow I will call again, not to yell at someone but to cut a deal. I know it's probably unrealistic to expect them to eat eat my entire out of pocket expense of $135 but that's what I'm going to ask for. If they don't counter with something close to that I will walk away entirely and stick them with a pair lenses with my prescription that have allready been made and they will also lose a long time customer.