SOUND OFF.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Reality check

The recent quacking over Oregon's recruiting has my web feet in a bunch. I don't see any reason for alarm in Oregon's attempt to get Lynell Hamilton and Rodney Woods into Autzen Stadium.

First of all, Hamilton's parents need a dose of reality. Hamilton said himself that "every trip I went on, sex, drinking and drugs, they were all available to me." Every college campus in America has all of these things, and more, available to students. Do the Hamiltons actually think that they can rest their worried minds if their son attends San Diego State? Have they done their research? Obviously not.

I was once a high school senior selecting the University of Oregon as my college of choice. I would have been devastated if my parents decided for me to go elsewhere. Let the players make decisions for themselves.

I am a believer in second chances. A few years ago, June Jones, head football coach at the University of Hawaii, recruited a player in a similar situation to Rodney Woods. Jones took harsh criticism for that decision, but that player has since become a stellar player, but most importantly an outstanding citizen.

So for all those ruffled feathers out there, let's appreciate what the coaching staff has brought to Oregon athletics and watch them rebound in 2003.

CRAIG FURUYA

Honolulu

The DuckBlazers

Congratulations must go out to coach Mike Bellotti on his appointment of Bob Whitsitt, the new assistant head coach in charge of recruiting. Since Bellotti doesn't have time to evaluate all convicted felons who can play football, he has wisely given this job to Whitsitt.

Also, it is nice of Phil Knight to fly Rodney Woods' friends up on weekends to attend Duck games. They will have to buy their own tickets; no, they can get them through a rental agency. Also, there are probably some former players who can drive Rodney and his friends around and show them a good time. No speeding allowed.

To all you loyal Duck fans who make fun of other Northwest football programs, maybe it is time to zip your lips.

Bellotti and Whitsitt are recruiting this person for one reason, and one reason only. They think maybe he can play cornerback. If Bellotti is so concerned about rehabilitating a person, why not set aside two scholarships for his friends when they are released from prison regardless of their athletic abilities?

Welcome to Blazerville.

JOE SCHWARTZ

Corvallis

Incompetent band

Timmy Gafarlick and Steve Bowers, based on their comments in Sound Off (Feb. 2), have joined the growing flock of Oregon Duck football fans who are less than enamored with Mike Bellotti and his incompetent band of `California coaches.'

Based on the abysmal performance on both sides of the ball last season, I am shocked, dismayed, disheartened and sickened that Mickey Moos has not stepped to the plate and done something positive, like fire the whole bunch of them. You know that Bellotti certainly won't terminate any of his buddies. They have too sweet a deal. So what gives, Dr. Moos?

For the past six months in southern California, we constantly read or hear about another football recruit who had verbally committed to Oregon yet signed with someone else. What is it going to take for Moos to clean house? Will he wait until after the next season and watch this tragic-comedy of errors continue? My prediction for the Ducks in 2003 is 3-8, and I think I'm being optimistic.

Bellotti has already messed up the heads of two promising QBs and is now at work shoring up the woeful defensive backfield with convicted felons. Who gave this guy carte blanche to do and say anything he wants with no fear of recrimination?

If the truth were known, he can't take the heat. So why is he allowed to stay in the kitchen? Beginning right after the second-half collapse against Arizona State, I have sent Bellotti three letters. After reading the first one, he wrote `Not Accepted, Return to Sender' on the envelopes, and they came back to me unopened. What does that tell you about the man?

"Big-time" college football programs dismiss coaches all the time. Yet we continue to trust coaches who teach nothing and motivate less. By now, it should be painfully obvious to anyone with a glimmer of football knowledge that the Oregon Ducks will continue to paddle upstream (and lose) until Bellotti and his band of "California cronies" are gone.

STEVE THORWALD

La Verne, Calif.

A quick question

Where has Oregon's integrity gone?

One question, coach Bellotti: If that had been your son who was beaten to death, would you still be recruiting Rodney Woods?

RON WILSON

Eugene

Real toughness

I didn't read the article in ESPN The Magazine that included the comments from NBA scouts `that players with firm religious beliefs do not make good prospects because of their lack of toughness.' The scouts with that belief must work for some of the NBA teams that sign drug abusers, drunks, women abusers, etc., rather than players with high morals and strong Christian values. Surely the quoted scout must not have followed the career of A.C. Green.

I hope the Lukes do not have to demonstrate their toughness to any higher degree than they already have.

Keep up the good work, Ducks. It's a pleasure to watch you play.

CHUCK CRANDALL

Coos Bay

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