[Quack Attack]

The kid steps into the Twilight Room for the first time ... also, what you didn't know about OSU-Stanford

by Paul Buker, The Oregonian Friday August 22, 2008, 4:32 PM




FRIDAY afternoon, legendary S.E. Portland ... not dressing for practice today. Feel a twinge in my labrum, both ankles are sore, my thumb is swollen, and there is no cartilege left in either knee. Took me 45 minutes to shave off my Fall camp beard. Thought I needed to look clean-cut for the trip to Stanford Thursday morning. ... might seem like overkill for a team that only got five votes in the first AP poll, but I don't recognize that poll. I'm going with S.I., which means I'm following the No. 18 team in the country.

If you are a student at the University of Portland and you haven't been in this place, shame on you. ... my kid got his first look Friday.

Emotional, gut-wrenching day for the family as we drove all of 12 miles to the Univ. of Portland to help oldest son move into his dorm room.

He's going the Air Force ROTC route after deciding that Basic Cadet Training at the A.F. Academy not that appealing. ... dorm is co-ed. ... view looks pretty good to me. ... kid's girlfriend - who is going to OSU - not thrilled. ... mom fussed and fidgeted all morning, wondering if the damn mattress was soft enough, while dad made sure the boy got his first look at my favorite campus watering hole, the Twilight Room on N. Lombard.

I remember closing that place in the old days when I was covering Jack Avina's Pilots. ... Jack, and Rick, and Fuds and the guys on those teams, what up? ... great memories, great feel to the joint. ... T-burger is legendary ... now, the baton has been passed. The rest, of course, is up to him.

Where the hell am I going with this? ... oh yeah, OSU-Stanford Thursday (6 p.m., ESPN2) will be double-teammed by the blogger and O. golf writer Mike Tokito.
Got some notes here that might be of interest:

- first time OSU has opened with a conference game since 1994, first time OSU has opened with a road game since that 2004 epic at LSU in 2004.

- FYI, this is the first time since 1989 that both OSU and Oregon (playing Jake Locker and UW) have opened a season with Pac-10 games.

- OSU has won its LAST SEVEN GAMES in the Bay Area, four straight at Cal (who could have figured on that?) and three straight at Stanford. ... last time the Beavers lost in the Bay Area - their home away from home - was 1999 on The Farm.

- OSU has won six of the last seven vs. Stanford and eight of the last 11 but the Cardinal leads the series 47-24-3. ... last meeting, if you recall, was 23-6 OSU at Reser last Nov. 27, during one of the Beavers' patented late-season runs. .. in terms of physicality and athletes, it was a mismatch. ... OSU's def. vs. the Stanford offense was so one-sided it was hard to watch. ... I imagine the Cardinal will be reminded of that a few times by coach Harbaugh.
- PB