FB: Northwest Conference

[Honus Rides Again]

With regard to L&C, back on September 2nd I wrote as follows:  "Buy a clue, act on it, and can the program."  Yet another Honus prediction rings true.  There are simply too many division three programs, and it's time for the weakest teams to disappear.  Better start looking over your shoulder Whitworth.  After my Loggers run the table this year maybe we should go independent.

Hey, I forgot, does Linfield have some sort of streak or something?  "Yeah, we do.  It started in like the 1950's, but we claim the whole thing anyway."  Best case scenario you might be able to pick up a hatchet-job Willamette chick on that.

"Return to dominance."

   

[d-train]

I'd agree with you guys: This clearly hurts the playoff hopes of the eventual second-place NWC team, especially if that team is Willamette or Whitworth. The Bearcats have only 6 D-3 games now, and one is out-of-region.  The Pirates have 7. The Lutes and Loggers have 8.  If the Loggers end up in the playoffs (which I doubt), they'll be a full three weeks removed from their last contest.

[wildcat11]

Article in the Oregonian on Lewis & Clark:

Lewis & Clark shortens season

on a side note....I posted my road trip story to the Stagg Bowl in the Around the Nation thread under General Topics.  It was a messed up trip but the Stagg Bowl game was well worth it.

[rbaikie]

This has a big impact on the NWC in that who makes the final decision as to how long conference schools have to wait to see if L&C is going to have a team next year? If L&C breaks this year's contract, then are any subsequent years still valid?

[Foss]

WC11, That would have been the worst trip of your life if we would have lost. Would have felt sorry for the person who sat next to you on the plane ride home. Good story with a happy ending.

Couldn't L&C have talked with the other NWC teams first? I'm sure the other conference members would have agreed to play only their second or third teamers in order for L&C to finish their schedule and give these kids a chance to play.

I doubt this will happen, but if the conference members want to get a 9th game they can, but they'll have to play a NWC member twice. Here's the deal:

UPS and Linfield both have an open date now on Nov. 5th. They will have played each other two weeks prior but we can't afford to be picky at this point now can we?

PLU has an open date on Oct. 22 and Whitworth on Oct. 29. PLU is scheduled to play Willamette on Oct. 29, but the Bearcats have an open date on Oct. 22. If Willamette was willing to push their game with the Lutes up a week and take their bye the following week, PLU and Whitworth could play again on Oct. 29.

This way all of the NWC teams would at least have 9 games (Willamette will anyway), there would be minimal shuffling involved, and if they got on it now there would be over a month and a half to set it up. I imagine they will probably just live with the 8 games, but this was just an idea.

[smedindy]

There is never any reason for any football program to disappear. It provides opportunities for student athletes to compete, and even if it's a rundown program they should be encouraged to build it up, not encouraged to drop the sport.

[Tuxguy]

It's a sad day in NWC foootball. This is the team that almost stopped the streak in 96. I hope they put it back together!:(

[Gig Harbor Cat]

Hey Tuxguy,
   where will te tailgate be set up tomorrow.  I am picking up Wildcat 11 at 10am in Mac and heading down.

        GHC

[Andy Jamison]

I am very glad that L&C dropped the program for the year.  For the last 5 or so years that game between L&C and Linfield has been a joke and a dangerous one at that.  We've lost some pretty good players to injuries against the Pio's which has hurt in the playoffs.  It'll give our guys an unexpected week to heal and recover from a pretty tough schedule prior to making a run through the playoffs.  

It hurts in the pocketbook for sure...but other than that their is no reason to play the game..  good call on the pios part..

Maybe this will make them decide to keep the program or let it go...the school needs to make a decision to support football or not...

It made me cringe to think of one of our key players getting hurt against them this year...

[wildcat11]

Andy,

How can you say that you're glad that they dropped football for the year? 

That screws up so many different aspects of the NWC season.  Yeah, L&C and Linfield game has been a joke for the past 6 years but it wasn't a joke in 1996.....the program does need help but dumping NWC play right before the rest of the NWC teams fire it up?

Yeah, I'm really glad that Linfield will not be able to properly honor the newest members of the Linfield Hall of Fame because there will be no game now.  I'm really glad that UPS players finish their season 3 weeks early now.  I'm really glad that kids will get one less chance to suit up for a college football game.  I'm really glad that Linfield now only has 3 regular season home games and the NWC schools only have 8 regular season games.

About injuries.....sure guys were lost for the year at L&C in 2002 but that can happen any Saturday.  Just ask Carl Haberberger (2000 Whittier), Marty Williams (2002 Menlo), Ray Lions (2003 Redlands), or Kelley Bertrand (WOU 2004).

Andy, you're right....Lewis and Clark needs to make up their mind but your last post is just plain ridiculous.

[Andy Jamison]

Calling the Linfield Pio contest a "game" has been a stretch for a long time... Suiting up to play a game against an overmatched opponent isn't a challenge and hasn't been much fun in my playing career.. it's like being in a men's basketball A league and playing an E league team... sure you get to break a sweat.. run up and down the court.. play some defense... shoot the ball... but once you're up by 25 pts most players are ready for the game to be over...

I've played against L&C when they were really tough in the early nineties.. if not for Kunle Thomas' field goal in 1993 we would have lost to them..

Having the weekend off at that point in the year will be helpful.. much more so than playing against the Pios.. (keep in mind I am thinking of 1st and 2nd team guys and not the 3rd team who have played the bulk of the minutes against L&C in recent memory) ... I'm more concerned about losing a key cog against an unworthy opponent... injuries do happen all the time.. I'm of the mind that limiting the exposure is a good thing.

The Hall of Fame stuff can be pushed ahead to the UPS game and done in conjunction with Homecoming or put off to 2006... it's too bad they let the program get to this point.. but the writing was on the wall for a long time..

[bluenote]

Wow...this L&C thing ticks me off! I believe they should have at least played out the year to the best of their abilities. Like some of the other posters have mentioned...this doesn't pass the smell test. It was clear in the Oregonian article today that most of the players were against the decision and wanted to play out the schedule in it's entirety. And why only play "non-league" games.... Why not ONLY play LEAGUE games... it's only one more game than they are attempting now and maybe by then they can recruit a few more guys out.. That makes more sense. Now everyone in the NWC is screwed over. Linfield only plays 4 home games this year and now it's ONLY 3!!! What does that do to the gate sales, consessions, advertising revenue, etc? We were counting on that game even if it was L&C. Alot of the 3-4-5 team guys play a lot in that game. The parents just like seeing their kids play, they don't care who it's against.. Is there a chance that the teams still left in the conference could draw names and maybe play 2 games agaisnt one other opponent in the conference? Like maybe we could play PLU twice home and away, or whatever, I'm not sure how it would work? Or what are the options at this late date? This is crazy....I bet the AD's are having a conference call sometime soon....I'd like to know what they come up with.

[Pat Coleman]

Agreed that they should've attempted to play out the season.

However, when holding non-refundable airline tickets to So Cal and Colorado Springs, and with two opponents headed to Portland with the same, financially it made more sense to do this, I'm sure.

Politically, obviously, it does not make more sense to do this. And your schools will continue to deal with that for some years, probably.

I would be very concerned about any future games I hold contracts for with L&C.

[bluenote]

I see your point Pat...financially it makes more sense. But I think the RIGHT/ETHICAL thing to do would be to play the league games if any and suck it up for the plane tickets, etc. They are really putting the other teams in the conference in a bind and their loyalties should be to the conference, not the non-league schedule. They should have more consideration than that and the bind it puts us in! I thought L&C had all kinds of money to blow...didn't they run into some financial dealings with one of their recent presidents who blew several million on some investment scheme in Idaho that went south?

[light n' darkness]

Maybe this one way the pios can screw the NWC teams. just walk out!

the guys a really feel sorry for are the L&C players. this must have ripped their guts out. you cannot put your whole heart into playing football and then have the rug pulled out from under you. thats not right. these kids deserved the opportunity to make other arrangements to play ball (when did they know they only had 34 palyers? will they lose a year of elegability?). the college has put itself in a bad position, who will want to sign up for football now? this can only be bad for everyone.

in 1985 the LHS mules took the prep bowl (hawaii's mythical state championship) with only 32 players on the team.

the spartans of de la salle only keep 40-45 players on the varsity (they won 151 game in a row)

football is a warriors game that develops charactor. i hope the players of l&c make the best of the situation and something positive comes out of all this.

on to the season at hand

go cats