CALLING YOU OUT - THE OREGON STATE BASKETBALL BEAVERS

by WCT, The Ship of Fools

“Calling You Out!” is a periodic segment where WCT takes people to task for irresponsible journalism, foolhardy activities, or just general douchebaggery. Nothing is sacred, no one is spared, watch your ass mister! You could be next!

This time, a classic case of when "keeping it real" goes wrong.

There is nothing wrong with some good old fashioned trash talkin'. Everyone likes to trash talk, right? The best of the best do it -- everyone knows that Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Reggie Miller were famous for their trash talking -- so why can't amateurs get in on the fun?

That was attitude of the Oregon State Beavers, who felt pretty confident heading into their match-up with Washington. So confident that they decided to show up at the Huskies' practice before the game, and talk a little trash.

"Don't let our record fool you" the Beavers reportedly kept saying. Said record, heading into the UW game, was an apparently-misleading 6-18, including a deceptive 0-12 conference record.

The confrontation apparently escalated, with the boastful Beaver Marcel Jones as the ringleader, talking about how bad he and his teammates were going to beat UW. The confrontation almost became physical, with Washington coaches being forced to step in and break up the fray.

It got worse. According to some Huskies, the Beavers followed the Washington players back to their team hotel, and began calling UW players and challenging them to meet them in the street outside. However, the Washington players declined, choosing instead to focus on the upcoming game.

Let me stop right here for a sec. Those of you who are familiar with blogs, or are familiar with the Chappelle's Show segment that I shamefully ripped off, know how this story ends, right? I mean, do I even need to continue? I guess it would be no fun if I stopped. So lets press on.

To borrow a phrase from a blogger more clever than I, the Beavers got pounded.

Predictably, Washington destroyed Oregon St. 97-59, handing the Beavers their 15th consecutive loss. To be fair, the 38 point final deficit was a bit misleading, as the Huskies actually led by 41 before sitting their starters, all of whom scored double-figures. Jones, the Beaver that was fingered (came up with that one myself!) as the leader of the pre-game smack-talkers, finished with three points, and bypassed the traditional post-game handshake.

Oh, one more thing I forgot to mention: Oregon St. (obviously) has the worst record in the Pac-10. But coming into this game, Washington had the second-worst. How bad must life be, to be the worst team in a conference, and have the team immediately above you in the standings come into you building and beat you by almost 40?

So let this be a lesson, young trash talkers out there, you have to back it up. When you talk trash pre-game, and your opponent hangs almost a hundred on you, on your home court, and beats you by 38 points, it sort of loses its effectiveness.

Granted, Jones was right. We should not let the record fool us. I have seen Oregon St. play, and they are, without a doubt, the best 0-13 Pac-10 team I have ever seen.