On his first day as Portland State’s head football coach, Jerry Glanville was already making an immense impact on Viking athletics, as approximately 500 new season ticket requests have been made since his hire. Following a candid press conference last Wednesday, where Glanville stressed the need for getting members of the city involved, and made guarantees like, “If you come here, to our home-field advantage, we’re going to knock you out,” a sudden buzz filled the Park Blocks.
After a couple action-packed weeks, Portland State is in an unfamiliar position–there is finally excitement surrounding Viking athletics. Here is the rundown: Tim Walsh is out, Jerry Glanville is in, both basketball teams are in the Big Sky tournament and the athletic director search is nearing its end.
After finishing a lackluster 2005 season with a 5-11-2 record, good enough for a fourth-place tie in the Big Sky, the Portland State soccer team appears ready to make a much better impression in 2006. With 10 seniors graduating at the conclusion of the 2005 season, there was definitely a gaping void to fill on second-year head coach Tim Bennett’s roster.
The NFL Scouting Combine prides itself on stripping pro prospects down to a pair of tight-fitting Spandex shorts and the 40-yard dash. Scouts look at this statistic so attentively that a couple hundredths of a second could mean the difference between millions of green on draft day or playing for the Arena football league.
General managers across the NBA have been tirelessly working around the clock helping to build anticipation for a blockbuster deal. But, the NBA trade deadline that ended at 3 p.m. Eastern Time yesterday, had less action than Darius Miles in a Blazers uniform this season.
The spectacle of NASCAR is taking over America and it’s in a hurry, barreling around the final turn and closing in on competitors like the NFL, NBA and MLB that previously lapped lowly stock car racing without a fight. After the thrilling photo finish and incredible sight of cars traveling at upwards of 200 mph plowing into one another, the wall and anything else in last Sunday’s Daytona 500, it is obvious why NASCAR is America’s premiere up-and-coming sport.
After more than 12-and-a-half months, Portland State has moved a step closer to finding a permanent replacement for the athletic director position, announcing the four finalists Wednesday. Finalists include Torre Chisholm, associate athletic director for development and marketing at UC Irvine; Pete Isakson, associate director of athletics for external operations at Washington State; Bruce Parker, director of athletics at Carroll College; and Chris May, associate athletic director for external affairs at Colorado.
With the entire city celebrating Blazers rookie Brandon Roy’s invite to the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge this weekend in Las Vegas, I have to question the mental state and capacity of loyal Rip City fans. Once again Blazers fans have really missed the boat.
Portland State athletics has had a storied history since its inception into Division II sports in 1963. PSU has had some exciting teams and players go through the Park Blocks, including Freeman Williams, Neil Lomax, Lynda Johnson, Kim Manifesto and three national championship-winning volleyball teams in the 1980s.
In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I will admit I was shot by Cupid’s arrow late Sunday evening, allowing me to realize my passionate love for none another than Wizards’ guard Gilbert Arenas. Oh, Gilbert, how I love you so much for your unfulfilled promise of dropping 50 points on the Blazers in your clash last Sunday.
I felt terrible, I mean, so bad for what I had just done. Actually, I guess it was for what I hadn’t done-dunked the freaking ball. Seriously man, I was right there with an open path to the hoop and I blew it. I made an idiot out of myself in front of thousands of people.