Floored - But Never Surprised. How to Stand Out!

Oregon's New Hoops Floor

So here it is... a new basketball floor for the Oregon Ducks.  Brace your self... "duck" if you have to... but it really shouldn't come as a surprise that Oregon (of all schools) would go to such great lengths to get noticed.

How many football uniforms does the school have?  Five?  Ten?  Seems like the number is somewhere in between which makes one wonder which one is the "traditional" uniform of choice.

No matter... the court will be framed on each side by a forest of firs... which pays tribute to the schools setting in the Pacific Northwest.  Do your remember the nickname for Oregon's 1939 national title team?  Most wouldn't... but they were referred to as the "Tall Firs."  Kilkenny Floor is named after Pat Kilkenny - a long-time supporter of Ducks Athletics and who served as Athletic Director from 2007 to 2009.  Get this.... look at the center of the court.  "Deep in the Woods" is actually meant to intimidate the opposition!    The man behind the design is Tinker Hatfield who was a former Oregon track and field star and V.P. of Design and Special Projects for Nike. 

Here's my take... great for Oregon and not that far away from Boise State's idea to have a blue football field.  The bottom line is simple - How do you get attention?  How do you stand out?  College sports teams and programs are a dime-a-dozen for the most part.  Everyone wants to get noticed and get a piece of the publicity pie.

I have no problem with it... and we can figure that other schools will do the same thing.  Let's just call it "Courting the Media."  And who isn't doing that these days?

* A few other things.

Question.... Who's more to blame... Randy Moss, Brad Childress or Brett Favre?  Seems like you could find a reason to lay the wood to any of these guys if you're a die-hard Vikings fan these days.  I grew up a Vikings fan, and loved the class of the organization under Bud Grant.  My view, Brad Childress is no Bud Grant.  He's on television waaay too much.  And in today's media world, if the coach is finding his way to the microphone that often, you can figure he's played a big part of the problem. He could really use some media training.... in a hurry.  Hey Brad.... HTK MEDIA's ready when you are.  And he might just have some time on his hands before too long.

* Derek Jeter's a free-agent.  Is this really going to get messy?  Why should it?  Let's be real... he's not worth what's being reported in terms of his asking price.  I remember working in Kalamazoo, MI and doing the first interview with Derek when he signed with the Yankees instead of going to Michigan.  He was classy then, and he's never changed.  Not my place to tell him what to do.  But it sure wouldn't hurt his already great image to take less than people figure he'll ask for, and retire a Yankee the way he came in - doing all the right things. 

* Tiger Woods has officially finished the PGA TOUR schedule without a win in 2010.  No surprise.  I've held firm all year that he wouldn't win a tournament. As for 2011?  Not a chance I stick to it.