DukDukGru

I am surprised by the hype. Oregon is Lanning's first head coaching gig. He hired a bunch of recruiters (as did Cristobal before him). There have probably only been a handful of games in his tenure where he hasn't had a player talent advantage. 1st game against Georgia they (UGA) definitely had more talent. UW last year could have been more talented...or at least pretty even. Last year he obviously lost the 1st game against Georgia. He also lost to UW (seemed like their staff out coached the Duck staff) and Oregon State [I can't remember all of the details...(Bo Nix played injured?)]. He also lost to UW again this year with 3 or 4 aggressive (his spin on it) 4th down calls. He is doing a much better job than Cristobal. He has made some aggressive moves (4th downs) that he stands by, but has been really good at managing the clock. He is young and pretty good but still gaining experience. AD was being interviewed on local radio about the extension. The AD tried to downplay the way Kelly, Taggart and Cristobal left being a direct cause of the extension with a bigger buyout but it seems pretty plausible. The AD was selling Lanning as impressive with his vision for NIL, Transfer Portal etc. and the way that college football is going. Lanning has coaching potential and an upside, but with the talent advantages he has had, it is still too early to really know conclusively.

Ducks extended Lanning in July. https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/oregon-locks-up-dan-lanning-with-45-million-extension-including-20m-buyout-should-coach-leave/

Our side conversation was focused upon which conference (AAC/MWC) would be a better home for OrSU/WSU now that they are outcasts. Televised Big 10 or Big 12 games don't really factor into the choice we were discussing. The more realistic question I was answering in my response was that as a PAC NW resident (who is not a primary fan of OrSU or WSU) I would be more interested in watching either school regularly play regional games against Boise St. or Nevada rather than cross country conference matchups with AAC schools like Temple and South Florida. This is a fan level response that does not even get into the economics of choosing either the MWC or AAC.

Agreed, with a spouse as an alum and living within short driving distance, there are some games I would consider buying tickets for as a fan of college football.

I am also curious what people think will happen to the infrastructure of the Pac 12 Network. You can't have the current commissioner sell things off rummage sale style cause he should already be canned. Can't have a deep pool of people who would apply to be the head of the Pac 4. Look for some entity to buy the whole hardware package at a discount like Apple? No other conference is going to want to touch it.

Shared this article with my wife who is an OSU alum. He is promoting the same idea. https://sports.yahoo.com/if-you-hate-whats-happening-to-college-football-heres-the-team-to-root-for-this-season-185034053.html

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/21994162/history-fun-obnoxious-inescapable-sec-football-chant

But if they did, it would be classy AF.

I would be interested to read the restaurant and menu commentary from the FT's time with you.

Gas station grocery talk is exponentially more interesting than anything recent about Desantis.

...and no parachute.

Finally, Trump's exquisite military school background will start to pay off.

Agree with most of stinkers are from early episodes. Some of the BBQ related joints have been disappointing--but there are other online sources to consult for bbq recommendations. That is one of the things that brought me to surly world.

Big Thumbs Up for Otto's in Portland. The wife and I eat there, but I remember it more for picking up various proteins to take home and cook myself.

I do some research before I travel. I have hit quite a few. There have been hits & misses and meh in there. Top of my list would be the Red Iguana in Salt Lake City. There big claim is mole'. Probably been there more than 5 times but less than 10 on our trips from West Coast. We had an amazing experience at Street in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Waiter was very knowledgeable about beer. Thai Beef Ribs were the headliner and we had two other dishes that were great as well.