No. 21 Ducks Enjoy 44-10 Rout of Washington

Roper started for the Ducks and completed 7-of-11 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. But he was replaced in the second quarter by Masoli, a junior college transfer, and did not return.

Coach Mike Bellotti said Roper had a concussion, but it was not clear how the injury occurred.

The Steelers reached agreement with fifth-round choice Dennis Dixon, a quarterback from Oregon - the 156th choice in the April NFL draft.

Dixon was named the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year and was one of three finalists for the Maxwell and Davey O'Brien awards in 2007 despite missing the final three games after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee. Dixon threw 20 touchdown passes and four interceptions and completed 67.7 percent of his attempts last season.

Road Trip Report - So Cal to Oregon June/July 2008:

Left 'the OC' from work Thursday 6/26 mid-day in the 2003 GMC Sierra 2500HD w/Duramax.  Stopped in Castaic for the 1st of 4 COSTLY fuel stops:

Odo: 38525.  76.7 trip miles.  4.5 gal diesel used so far.  16.9 mpg.  44 mph ave. (lovely traffic).  $118.57 @ $4.89/gal.

Stayed in Fairfield, CA that night and met with a client the next day.  Had a nice, long visit in the VERY smoky central California area, then proceeded north on I-505.

2nd fuel stop: Williams, CA.  Odo: 38962.  514 trip mi.  29.7 gal diesel.  17.3 mpg.  58 mph ave.  $122.35 @ $5.09/gal.

Made it to Grants Pass, OR in time for Coors Lights and a home-cooked meal.

Hit the ground running the next day with a jet boat adventure / dinner cruise (for my birthday - whoop whoop!).  That was a blast.  Then headed to the beautiful coast for 2 days - complete with a massive feast of fresh Halibut and Crab (thanks CC!!).  Went on the Rainie Falls hike with CC and Tanner, then a white-water rafting adventure the next day with Cuz Court and Larz!  All awesome!

On the 4th, hung out with Mumsie (after her house had been broken into days earlier ^*&@~!!) and special guest - Brett.  Had an AWESOME BBQ, then headed to CC's place for Tan's fireworks show.

Left early July 5th.

3rd fueld stop: Redding, CA.  Odo: 39419.  971 trip mi.  17.7 mpg.  60 mph (didn't use the truck at all on our adventures).  55 gal diesel so far.  $116.47 @ 4.97/gal.

Drove for HOURS south - picking up a worsening vibration south of Sacramento.  200+ miles north of L.A. - in the middle-of-nowhere - the right front tire failed.  No problem... I had made sure the spare had air before I left, and always knew there was a jack on-board.  But when I went to find the related tools - nothin'!  Fawk!

Call On-Star.  No help.  GM Roadside Assistance found me a tow company who would try to help for $150.  No choice.  Long story, short, I was back on the road in 2 hours.

4th fuel stop: Grapevine, CA.  Odo: 39881.  1433 trip mi.  81.7 gal diesel.  17.5 mpg.  63 mph ave.  $132.65!! That's a record!  $5.09/gal.

Finally made it home late that night.  Great trip thanks to my sister!  She really took care of all the plans and itinerary!

Now it's time for the RCD lift and 35s!!

The only thing that’s the same as when I first bought my 2003 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew cab 2500HD w/Duramax & Allison was...

Can you guess?...

The President.  I’ll save comment on him for another time.

1.  I was married.  Not any more.

2.  I was racing.  Not any more.

3.  I was working as a Claims Adjuster.  Not any more.

4.  I was hooked on Coors Light.  Not any more.  Not any less either - LOL!!

5.  I lived in Costa Mesa.  Now in Orange.

6.  I had HUGE equity in my house.  Now I’m upside down $150,000!  So sad.

7.  I had a dog.  :-(

8.  I only had to work 1 job.

9.  My house payment was 1/2 of what this one is.

10.  I had very little grey hair.  Now... ugh!

11.  I was in much better shape.

12.  Diesel had just begun to climb in price.  Now, it is the highest of the fuels.  Lovely!  $%*@!!

13.  My dad was still with us, as was Marty and Willy and Zach and Mr. Perez and Mr. Rowe and the list goes on.

14.  We weren’t in a recession (don’t kid yourself - we are knocking on the door of a serious recession).

15.  Becky BEX wasn’t a co-worker.  Now she is!  Yay!

16.  Sack Racing was a threat to win any 550 race.

17.  The Draktons had no children.  Now they have 2 beautiful kids!

Ok, ok.  I’ll stop.  The point is:  I am making my LAST TRUCK PAYMENT!!  I ordered the top-of-the line with all options (except DVD) at 0% interest.  So, GM carried the loan all this time with, allegedly, a very slim profit margine.  I’ve received a few notices that I’ll call ’soft recalls’ - problems they’ll fix at no charge IF they come up.  It’s been a good truck, but in hindsight, I would have scaled down.  37,000 miles in 5 years...  The mechanic looks depressed when he changes the oil.  "You never drive this!".  LOL!

There's no stopping Junior (next: 9th place finish in Daytona 500)
By Bob Margolis, Yahoo! Sports 2-14-08

The win in the Bud Shootout on Saturday looked easy. Thursday's Duel win looked to be a bit more difficult, but it was a win, nonetheless.

It was quite an impressive showing given just 24 hours earlier Earnhardt and his Hendrick teammates stood by as their crew chiefs removed the wounded engines from their respective mounts, this after Earnhardt discovered an issue in his engine during the afternoon practice session.

CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico–Mark Post of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., capped off a sensational 2007 SCORE Desert Series Wednesday by driving his Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy-Truck to the overall victory in the 40th annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, the granddaddy of all desert races.  Only 30 vehicles had completed the course in the first 32 hours of the grueling 1,296.39-mile race. With a 53-hour time limit in the elapsed-time race that started early Tuesday morning in Ensenada, Baja California, racing will continue until the course closes officially at 6 p.m. (PST) Thursday.

Post, 49, teamed with veteran drivers Rob MacCachren of Las Vegas and Carl Renezeder of Laguna Beach, Calif., to record the fastest overall speed in a four-wheel vehicle on down the length of the peninsula of Baja California, Mexico.  Post’s Rivera Racing No. 3 Ford averaged 51.13 miles per hour in covering the distance in 25 hours, 21 minutes and 25 seconds despite rain and dust throughout the distance.

The Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 win for Post was his third victory on the six-race 2007 SCORE Desert Series and helped him clinch his first and MacCachren’s second SCORE Trophy-Truck season point championship.  Entering the legendary granddaddy of all desert racing, Post/MacCachren held a slim one-point margin and five drivers had a shot at claiming the coveted point title.  They beat a near-record field of 424 starters from a SCORE-record 44 U.S. States and a SCORE-record 19 countries.  They are competing in 28 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs.

NCAA Bowl implications: After Oregon's 35-23 win over Arizona State, the Ducks remain the leader for the league's BCS bid - whether it is the national-championship game or the Rose Bowl.

The victory sets up the Steelers (6-2) to take a firm grip on the AFC North lead if they beat second-place Cleveland (5-3) on Sunday at Heinz Field. After that, the Jets (1-8), Dolphins (0-8) and Bengals (2-6) follow in successive weeks.

Today marks a very sad day here at DJ's Fort.  The KDX is gone.  My trusty friend.  The steel horse I rode.  Countless miles in the southern California deserts - upper and lower - and the mountains of southern Oregon.  The pinnacle of KDX's life was the 600 mile tour through northern Baja - coast to coast.  snif   

Bought this bike NEW in '92 (it's a '91).  I did NOT get a good deal.  I wanted that bike that day - and the dealer knew it.  $%&@!!  Oh, well, got my money's worth, and more, despite selling it sickningly below market value! 

I'll upload some photos of the green machine now.  Please think good thoughts.

A week after getting stunned by Appalachian State, the Wolverines were handed their worst beating since before Bo Schembechler worked the sideline at the Big House.

Dennis Dixon accounted for 368 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, helping the Ducks build a 25-point lead at halftime and cruise to an easy victory.

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In their first game in 15 years without iconic coach Bill Cowher stalking the sideline, the Steelers blitzed, battered and bullied their way to a 34-7 win over the hapless Browns, whose season opener couldn't have gone much worse.

Ben Roethlisberger threw a career-high four touchdown passes as Pittsburgh built an early 17-0 lead and rolled for Tomlin, the easy-going 35-year-old former defensive coordinator who shares Cowher's passion -- not his volcanic personality.

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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s season of turmoil won't end with him competing for a championship, but as NASCAR's 10-race playoff begins next week, at least he'll get to see how his future could look at powerful Hendrick Motorsports.

The most popular driver in the Nextel Cup Series came up short of the Chase for the championship for the second time in three years Saturday night when he faced huge odds to make it interesting and never gave the guys ahead of him reason for concern.

``We deserved to be in the Chase,'' Earnhardt said after a blown engine ended his night. ``We love racing. We'll be all right. This is disappointing. These dang motors.''

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EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- Quarterback Dennis Dixon ran for 141 yards, including an 80-yard scoring dash, to lead Oregon a 48-27 victory over Houston on Saturday.

Dixon also completed nine of 15 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns for the Ducks (1-0) in a wild game that included three touchdowns in less than a minute.

The Cougars answered with Keenum's screen pass to Alridge, who ran 86 yards for the touchdown.

Not to be outdone, Dixon ran a keeper 80 yards for a touchdown on the very next play. That made it 41-27 for Oregon. There were three TDs in the space of 58 seconds, and four in a frame of 1:38.

On Oregon's opening series of the game, Dixon took off with a 50-yard run. Paysinger scored for the Ducks on a 14-yard run to make it 7-0.

Following Alridge's fumble at the Houston 20, Jeremiah Johnson scored on a 3-yard run to make it 14-0 for the Ducks.