After looking at the serious side of college football on Tuesday morning with John Walters of The Daily, today it’s time to get back on the field and discuss one of the best, yet least talked about teams in the sport, the Oregon Ducks. The Ducks are riding high after a dominating win over Stanford, and could continue to make their case for a back-door shot at a BCS Championship game appearance if they win this Saturday against USC.

To listen to the podcast on this website, click the green box below
To listen to the podcast on your iPhone or Android please click here
To download the podcast straight from iTunes, please click here
To subscribe to the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast, please click here

One prominent Oregon fan was in Palo Alto last week and will be in Eugene this weekend to take in the sights and sounds, and he stopped by the podcast on Wednesday to discuss it all. That fan? Dan Rubenstein, the co-host of “The Solid Verbal,” podcast and college football columnist at Bleacher Report. Nobody knows the Ducks program quite like Dan does, and on Tuesday he stopped by the podcast to discuss the following:

- Was he surprised by the ease with which Oregon beat Stanford? Also, what do the results of Saturday’s games say about both the Ducks and Cardinal at this point in the season.

- Is it fair to say Andrew Luck had a “bad” game Saturday night? How much was influenced by players missed to injury, and just overall poor play from the guys on the field?

- Heading into this weekend, what should Oregon fans expect from USC? Do the Trojans actually pose a tougher matchup for the Ducks than Stanford did?

There has been no bigger story both in news and sport in 2011 than the evolving situation at Penn State. It seems like every single day, every single hour, new layers are peeled back, with the latest coming late Monday night when for the first time, Jerry Sandusky spoke made public comments to the media. It was just one new evolution in a rapidly evolving story.

Simply put, what is going on at Penn State is something we all have an opinion on. But one man was actually in State College, PA last week covering the events, and he joined the podcast Monday night to discuss it all. His name is John Walters, and he’s a seasoned sportswriter now at The Daily.

To listen to the podcast on this website, click the green box below
To listen to the podcast on your iPhone or Android please click here
To download the podcast straight from iTunes, please click here
To subscribe to the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast, please click here

John and I spoke just before Sandusky’s public comments, but we still were able to cover this from virtually every angle, including:

- As someone who has worked in sports journalism for most of his adult life, in this the biggest story John has ever covered?

- What was his initial reaction was upon arriving in State College on Tuesday, and why Joe Paterno’s cancelled press conference marked the final nail in the coffin of the coach.

- What the community of State College is like, and why the complexities of that community added another layer and chapter to this story.

- How perspectives on this story varied from inside State College as opposed to outside of it.

Although the SEC’s two best teams- LSU and Alabama- are off this weekend, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t very important games that could shake up how the conference plays out. One of those games is Florida-Georgia in Jacksonville, as the Bulldogs continue to try and make a run at an SEC East title.

On Thursday I was joined by Seth Emerson who covers the Bulldogs for the Macon Telegraph and Columbia Ledger-Enquirer, as we previewed this weekend’s game. Amongst the many topics we discussed in this quick, but action-packed podcast included:

To listen to the podcast on this website, click the green box below
To listen to the podcast on your iPhone or Android please click here
To download the podcast straight from iTunes, please click here
To subscribe to the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast, please click here

- Given the two early season losses, how Seth would grade this Georgia team so far. Are they improved or has the schedule just been favorable?

- If Georgia has finally taken on a more mentally tough attitude, and whether they actually believe they should win Saturday’s game or not.

- Why, despite writers saying every year that “Georgia will break through and beat Florida” this is the year that Seth believes they’ll actually do it.

- With losses to the top two teams in the country, do we really know anything about Florida at this point? And given his limited time in this offense, even if John Brantley plays, will it even matter?

- A few keys which could be the difference in a Georgia victory Saturday.

It’s hard to argue that USC’s win over Notre Dame last Saturday was not only the best win of Lane Kiffin’s career in Los Angeles, but also that of Matt Barkley as well. But with Andrew Luck and Stanford coming into town this weekend, can the Trojans keep it up?

I asked that, and many more questions to ESPN Los Angeles USC writer Pedro Moura, who joined the podcast on late Monday. Pedro has covered the Trojans for four years, and had a press box seat for USC’s win in South Bend Saturday.  Nobody knows this team better, and Pedro dropped knowledge you can’t find anywhere else.

To listen to the podcast on this website, click the green box below
To listen to the podcast on your iPhone or Android please click here
To download the podcast straight from iTunes, please click here
To subscribe to the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast, please click here

Amongst the topics he and I discussed on the podcast included:

- How the night atmosphere at Notre Dame Stadium impacted the crowd noise, and why it may have been to USC’s advantage more so than their detriment;

- How Dayne Crist’s fumble on the goal line completely swung the game for the Trojans, and may have re-invented their season;

- Why the win at Notre Dame was not only the best of Lane Kiffin’s time in Troy, but also the most mistake free performance that Matt Barkley has had as well;

- What- if anything- the Trojans did differently on Saturday against the Irish that they haven’t done in past games;

- Moving onto Saturday’s game against Stanford, why the Trojans need to actually focus on stopping the running game first, before they try and slow down Andrew Luck;

For most of you regular readers here at Aaron Torres Sports, you know that my focus is almost exclusively on college football. But every once in awhile, even I’ve got to head up to the pro ranks, which is exactly what I did on Monday, when I welcomed Buffalo Bills safety Bryan Scott onto the podcast.

Bryan is one of the key cogs of a resurgent Bills team, not to mention a man of many interests outside of football. He discussed it all on the podcast, sharing insight on the following subjects with me:

To listen to the podcast on this website, click the green box below
To listen to the podcast on your iPhone or Android please click here
To download the podcast straight from iTunes, please click here
To subscribe to the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast, please click here

- His passion for music, and how that helped him pass time during the lockout;

- How he spent the Bills recent bye week, and why as a veteran, he now values the bye week more than in the past;

- How lessons learned last year have helped the Bills exceed expectations in 2011;

- Why Bryan and his Bills teammates don’t pay much attention to what the Patriots, Jets and others are doing in the NFL, and instead focus solely on themselves;

- Bryan discusses his time at Penn State, and how he carries life lessons Joe Paterno taught him until this day;

- Finally, Bryan talks about a song that he recorded in the off-season called “Dedicated,” which will be released on iTunes today, and how its message lines up with Bryan’s “Pick Your Passion Foundation,” and his new website ShowYourDedication.com, which is running great contest giveaways over the next month.

Of every major national sports columnist, few have been as honest and candid about the state of the Big East Conference than the Sporting News lead college basketball writer Mike DeCourcy. And on Tuesday, Mike stopped by the podcast, to discuss his latest column “The Big East Makes All The Wrong Moves,” which ran on Monday. It came out following John Marinatto’s “state of the union” press conference that announced that the Big East had raised its conference exit fee from $5 million to $10 million.

To listen to the podcast on this website, click the green box below
To listen to the podcast on your iPhone or Android please click here
To download the podcast straight from iTunes, please click here
To subscribe to the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast, please click here

Mike definitely brought the hammer, and made me think of several subjects in ways I hadn’t before, as he and I discussed the state of the Big East, as well as some big picture college basketball. Included were the following subjects:

- Why accountability to the future of the conference starts at the top, and how key programs, especially Louisville, are dropping the ball in that department;

- Given the evolving state of the league, if there is enough to gain for schools like Houston, Central Florida and others to leave their current situations to join such an unstable conference;

- Why Mike doesn’t see a scenario when the conference drops football all together, and becomes a “basketball only” conference;

- How a restructuring of the next Big East TV deal (similar to that of the Big XII) could hold the conference together, and strengthen it going forward;

After a one week hiatus, the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast is back, with one of my favorite guests easing me back into my hosting chair. Who’s that guest? Well, none other than fellow podcaster Ty Hilldenbrandt of the ultra-popular Solid Verbal.

As most of you know, Ty is a huge Notre Dame fan and a Penn State alumnus, and he and I had plenty to catch up on regarding those two schools, and beyond. We discussed several topics, including the following:

To listen to the podcast on this website, click the green box below
To listen to the podcast on your iPhone or Android please click here
To download the podcast straight from iTunes, please click here
To subscribe to the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast, please click here

- The rumors which leaked late last week of Penn State’s interest in Urban Meyer, and why a Freudian slip on Meyer’s behalf sent the Nittany Lion faithful into a frenzy;

- What percentage of Penn State fans actually want Joe Paterno to just retire, and why at this point most fans are numb to the idea of Paterno actually leaving;

- Moving over to Notre Dame, why Ty believes the Fighting Irish will be kicking themselves in a few weeks over early season losses, and why he expects this team to finish with a bang;

- Ty defends himself and Dayne Crist, in the “Crist vs. Tommy Rees,” debate;

- Turning to national storylines, Ty and I discuss some of the bigger second half headlines, and why “Bedlam,” between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State could end up being more significant than LSU-Alabama;

- Ty again defends himself, this time in the role that he and his co-host Dan may have played in the firing of Mike Stoops at Arizona;

Well Big Ten football fans, your time has come. After a weekend that could at best be described as “uneventful,” and at worst “nightmarish,” the conference opens up play this weekend with a pair of key games: Michigan State travels to Ohio State, and Nebraska makes its conference debut at Wisconsin.

And on Wednesday evening, Adam Jacobi of CBS Sports and BlackHeartGoldPants.com stopped by to break it all down with me, discussing the following subjects:

To listen to the podcast on this website, click the green box below
To listen to the podcast on your iPhone or Android please click here
To download the podcast straight from iTunes, please click here
To subscribe to the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast, please click here

- Last weekend’s dull, dreary and boring conference slate, that was lowlighted by Minnesota’s loss to North Dakota State and highlighted by Tim Brewster's new role as a Fox Sports sideline reporter.

- The emergence of Russell Wilson at Wisconsin, and how he has exceeded every feasible expectation early on in the season.

- Nebraska’s continued struggle on defense, and why it will almost certainly come back to haunt them in Madison this weekend.

- Ohio State turning the page with Braxton Miller, and why it still might not be enough for Luke Fickell to keep his job at the end of the season.

- The painful quarterback “battle,” that has Penn State fans ready to jump off the ledge, and why it isn’t getting better any time soon.

- Why Michigan is set to take a “Rich Rod-ian” like fall now that conference play has kicked off.

- And finally, and most importantly, Adam discusses how you can help BlackHeartGoldPants.com raise money for the Iowa Children’s Hospital and their "Touchdowns For Kids," program.

no comments

For those of you who are regular listeners to the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast, you know that for the most part, I pretty much stick exclusively to talking about a handful of sports. College football and college basketball rule the airwaves, with an occasional MLB or NBA chat.

However, when I was presented the opportunity to interview my first ever Olympian on the podcast, I had to jump at it. And that’s exactly what I did earlier this week, as I welcomed 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Natasha Hastings to the show.

Natasha is one of the most accomplished women in track right now, and over the course of her career has taken home an NCAA title at South Carolina, a World Championship, and a Gold Medal in Beijing in the 4x400 relay.

And on Wednesday, she stopped by and chatted with me about the following subjects:

To listen to the podcast on this website, click the green box below
To listen to the podcast on your iPhone or Android please click here
To download the podcast straight from iTunes, please click here
To subscribe to the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast, please click here

- How she grew up around track, and knew from a young age that was the sport she wanted to focus on;

- Her time at South Carolina, and when she realized that she had a future as a professional track athlete;

- Being a professional, and why the sport of track and field is much bigger in Europe than it is in the United States;

- The difference between running a relay vs. an individual race, as well as running a short relay vs. a long one;

- Why team chemistry and camaraderie is just as important in track as it is in other sports

With every team in the SEC having played at least one conference game so far this season, it only seemed appropriate to do a podcast that both recapped everything that’s happened so far, while also looking ahead to this weekend's upcoming games. And on Monday night, I did exactly that with Barrett Sallee of College Football News.

Barrett is amongst my favorite guests to have on the show, and knows this conference about as well as anyone in the business. And on Monday, he and I discussed the following:

To listen to the podcast on this website, click the green box below
To listen to the podcast on your iPhone or Android please click here
To download the podcast straight from iTunes, please click here
To subscribe to the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast, please click here

- In his eyes which team was more impressive in their Saturday win: LSU or Alabama? Is Jarrett Lee the most improved player in college football? Are the weapons around him better than expected?

- What to make of Alabama’s dominant win? Has Barrett been surprised so far by A.J. McCarron’s development? Also, what do we make of Arkansas? Can they rebound and get themselves back into the SEC West race?

- How about Auburn? They had a win over Florida Atlantic on Saturday, but the problems for this team remain. Is 6-6 and a bowl game even a guarantee at this point?

- Moving over to the SEC East, man, oh man, what is going on at South Carolina? Is the Gamecocks performance a direct reflection of Stephen Garcia? And if so, is it time to bench him?

- How about Florida? Is Barrett surprised by how good they’ve looked so far? Any reason to think that they can’t, or shouldn’t be favored to win the East?

- Wrapping up, why Barrett believes that Georgia’s play reflects the leadership at the top with Mark Richt. Also, why Tennessee will still be a tough out, even without Justin Hunter.

no comments