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Put your helmet on.
Alright team, bring it in.
C’mon, bring it in tight and take a knee.
First, I want to say, solid first half of the school year. Really good work by most of you.
But now you’re going to be heading off for five weeks and there are some things I want to impart to you before you leave.
Most importantly, be safe.
I want all of you wearing helmets at all times, or at least as long as LeGarrette Blount is still active on the University of Oregon roster.
The poor-sport power-back who jaw-jacked an unsuspecting Boise State player and tried to take his anger into the stands after an opening-night loss is back in action.
Blount is suited up and ready to fistfight the next team that holds him to negative-5 yards.
He was suspended for the season for his actions on Sept. 4, but was magically rehabilitated in mid-November.
I know everybody deserves a second chance and I don’t blame Blount for taking it. It’s the University of Oregon I have a problem with.
If a school is going to impose a punishment, they should stick to it and not waver when it’s financially advantageous for them.
Blount was rightfully suspended for the year, but when the Ducks became Rose Bowl contenders and the millions of dollars that go to the university for simply competing in that bowl seemed attainable, the Ducks sold their integrity for a shot at the cash.
If they wanted him to be suspended for the seven games he sat out, that’s the punishment he should have received.
And don’t say he hasn’t done much to help the team since his reinstatement.
Blount rushed for 51 yards and a touchdown in the Ducks’ Rose Bowl or bust win over rival Oregon State, a game that was ultimately decided by a four-point margin.
This brings me to the second thing I want you all to do.
Enjoy sports for the sport and not for the politics, because the politics will drown you in a steroid-enhanced soap opera.
While ESPN drones on and on about the latest coach firing or recruitment scandal, go outside and remind yourself what sports meant to you in the days of Little League or Pop Warner football.
Play horse in the driveway with your grandpa, compete in a backyard football game with your friends or maybe some golf with grandma, weather permitting.
When you do this, you’ll remember why we play sports in the first place.
We don’t do it to become rich and famous. We play sports because they bring us together.
The purity of sports will be tarnished over the break as the cash grab that is college bowl season consumes football fans, and it’s up to you to see past all the greed and politicking.
And finally, I want all of you to get some rest.
It has been a long semester and I’m going to need you fresh when you come back. So enjoy your families, your free time and please, keep your helmet on.
Walter can be reached at
sportseditor@theorion.com
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