Bleacher Report - Articles by Scott Younker

Dave Feldberg's Journey To Eugene, Oregon

Scott Younker — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:05:07 -0400

A Cherry Coke bottle is the only thing behind the passenger seat of David Feldberg's Jeep that isn't related to disc golf. Disc-filled boxes and baskets made for the sport make vision out of the windows nearly impossible.

Crammed into the backseat, it's difficult to image there being room for the Coke bottle but there it sets, untouched by discs, boxes, or baskets. It's a strange look into the man who currently ranks No. 1 in the world in the alternative sport.

Dave Feldberg, a Michigan transplant, drives his Jeep off of the University of Oregon campus headed towards River Front Park. The jovial 31-year-old talks about reducing carbon footprints, recycling, and helping the environment making his choice to live in Eugene, Ore. seem like a perfect fit.

“I went to Western Michigan University,” he says, “We're considered pretty green, but we always heard about this place. Oregon. Eugene, and how environmental they were.”

Feldberg lights a cigarette, resting his elbow on an open window, letting cold, gray air into the Jeep.

“I don't know I imagined, a different type of living, completely,” he says of Eugene.

In 1997, at age 18, Feldberg's girlfriend at the time invited Dave to visit family in Washington and Oregon where they drove up and down the coast exploring Oregon. It was his first trip to the state.

He laments that after he turned pro in 2000 he never really had a chance to see Oregon again. He didn't get close until he went to Grass Valley, California for the Sky Pilot Open.

There he met the commissioner of the Professional Disc Golfers Association, or PDGA, Theo Pozzy, who is a native Oregonian. Pozzy invited Feldberg and his touring partner, Avery Jenkins, to visit Oregon to teach a clinic at Danby State Park.

At 24, Feldberg reached a critical career decision.

“Avery and I were good but we didn't know if we would be great.”

The touring partners decided that they needed to finish college. Their decision was aided by their driver and touring partner, Todd Branch, who retired from disc golf and returned to Michigan.

“We told people that we were looking at Colorado, Northern California, and Oregon,” Feldberg recalls. “But in all honesty, we only applied to Oregon.”

They were accepted into the University of Oregon and moved to Eugene that fall. It was the nicest, cleanest place, says Feldberg.

“This is a little weird, but I thought that if we [the United States] were going to get attacked, no one would attack Oregon,” he says in reference to terrorists.

According to Feldberg, the reason that he's really living in Eugene isn't based on his desire to live in a clean, sustainable city, but rather one man who Feldberg describes as a genius.

He blames it all on his friend and roommate, Sam Hielman. Hielman is an Oregon native who Feldberg met through his sponsor, Innova Championship Discs.

Whenever Oregon came up in conversation Hielman would “pump up” the state. Feldberg believes that Hielman had an ulterior motive of getting Jenkins and Feldberg to Oregon so he could move back and have friends to live with.

“He always says that he tricked us into moving here. I believe him,” Feldberg says.

Feldberg applied to the university to become a teacher but he graduated with a bachelor of arts in Japanese and a minor in business. He ended up becoming a teacher anyway.

While he was studying, Feldberg started a charity event on campus called Duck Chuck. He would take UO students to fifth grade classrooms and help them learn to read, then afterwards they would come on to the UO campus and play disc golf.

At one of the events, he met Elaine Coller, who wrote contracts for professors. Her group was the last to finish the course that Feldberg had laid out.

He had to go out and find them. Coller was having trouble with her throws and kept losing the disc off the course, Feldberg helped her refine her throw.

“She told me that she was going to quit,” he recalls. “I made sure that she finished.”

Coller ended up having a great time, according to Feldberg, and a few days after the event he received a copy of an email imploring the physical education department to hire him on as a disc golf instructor.

“I pretty much had the job handed to me,” he says.

Currently, Feldberg teaches two disc golf classes and a flag football class. His goal is to eventually become a permanent instructor with seven different classes a term.

“I want to build up the popularity of disc golf and get seven classes,” he says.

Feldberg feels that he goes above-and-beyond what most P.E. teachers at the UO do during classes. He says that he's very hands-on with students and he's received a lot of praise from students in his teacher evaluations because of it.

When asked if he feels that he's made the right decision to live in Eugene, Feldberg hesitates. He talks about how he enjoys the cleanliness, the good food, and attempts to be green.

He pauses before saying, “In general, I'm disappointed with the attitudes of Oregon people.”

Feldberg feels that Eugenites judge people by look. His analogy was that if you look like a hippie, then you must be a hippie.

“Instead of telling you what's wrong, they judge. They go out of their way to ask, 'What's wrong with you?'”

Still he says, “I plan to live in the area as long as I can.”

Pre-Draft Analysis: Minnesota Vikings

Scott Younker — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:58:33 -0400

With the NFL Draft quickly approaching I wanted to add my voice to the fray. However, I'll be taking a Vikings' specific look at what I'd like to see in the draft.

Minnesota has 6 picks this year in rounds one, two, three, five, seven, and seven. However, I think the Vikings need to focus on three specific areas to make the team better.

Cornerbacks

Antoine Winfield is one the best cornerbacks in the league, hands down. He had a spectacular season last year, but there is no one of note on the other side.

If Minnesota can pick up a decent to good CB in the draft I think their pass defense will be better and allow the linebackers to stay in the middle of the field instead of trying to run down speedier receivers.

I saw a lot of drafts after the college season ended with the Vikings taking Malcom Jenkins (Ohio State) with the 22nd pick in the first round. That's a pick I wouldn't mind seeing.

However, I think that the Vikings should wait until the second or third round to use their picks on a cornerback, because they have a more pressing need on the other side of the ball.

Offensive Line

Matt Birk while still motoring along is getting old and Ryan Cook can't handle the position of center. He's a decent guard but not a very good center.

Now, I'm going to admit to being an Oregon Duck here but I don't want to be seen as being a homer. However, I do think that the Vikings should take an OL in the first round.

Max Unger is the center that they need. He was a four year starter for the Ducks and led their successful spread attack all four years.

Unger is especially good at the run game, where he has the agility needed to push the line forward and the strength to create holes for backs like Jonathan Stewart, Lagarrette Blount, and Jeremiah Johnson.

Blount is like Taylor (though more athletic) and Johnson is a smaller, less speedy Peterson. These are runners that Unger is used too.

You can disagree with me on this one but I think that Unger would be a good replacement for the aging Birk.

Besides center, Hutchinson isn't getting any younger, and I do feel that the Vikes need to pick up somebody to start replacing the old guard on the line. I'm not sure who but a couple of guards would be nice.

Quarterbacks

For the past few seasons it's always been about the new QB that is needed to replace Jackson. This year, it's a reliable back-up to replace Rosenfals.

My hope is that the Vikings use the round five or the two seventh round picks on a quarterback. Chase Daniels (if he falls that far) would be a great fit in the Minnesota offense.

My other hope is that the Vikings cut Booty. I'm sorry that guy is a bigger failure than Jackson. In fact, if I was any other team I would cut Booty in favor of keeping Jackson.

Rosenfals is decent, but he gets injured. He needs a good back-up.

We'll see what happens on Draft Day, and I'll give the benefit of the doubt to anyone that the Vikings pick up, but I hope that they make some smart choices this year and pick up guys that will help the team get past the first round come December.

Ernie Kent Deserves More Time As Oregon Head Coach

Scott Younker — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:37:34 -0400

With Mike Bellotti's ascension to Athletic Director at the University of Oregon in June, two tough decisions will mark the beginning of his tenure. Both of them involve what to do with the currently-disgraced coaches of the basketball programs, Ernie Kent and Bev Smith.

The money is on Smith being let go, but most Oregonians are calling for Kent's head on a platter as well, a common occurrence in and around Eugene. Oregonians are fickle fans and as soon as a coach begins losing, the chants for him or her to get fired increase.

While Kent deserves some (or much of) the blame for this season's atrocious 8-23 record, keep in mind he had six starting freshmen and so needs another year to develop his players and build more chemistry. That, and he has a long record of success that should not be ignored.

Bev Smith has been running a futile program under the shadow of Kent's successful teams for years. Yes, she did have three N.I.T. appearances (and one championship), as well as an NCAA appearance, but the last three years have seen the female Ducks (9-21) underachieve or get blown out by their competition.

Kent, on the other hand, has won two Pac-10 tournaments, five NCAA appearances, two Elite Eight appearances, and two N.I.T. appearances. In 12 seasons, Kent's teams haven't been to the postseason in only five of them.

He is also the winningest coach in Oregon Ducks history, with 308 wins and a 308-237 overall record.

Ducks fans tend to have extremely high expectations and success gets to their heads. It's what makes them some of the most feared fans in the country.

It's also what makes them some of the hardest fans to please. Through his tenure as a Duck coach, Kent has been assailed on all sides by fans and the media when his teams haven't performed as well as many expected.

Give Kent time with young recruits and players and he does produce results. He has recruited good classes almost every year that he's been a coach, and next year with E.J. Singler (Duke player Kyle Singler's little brother), Jamil Wilson, and Jeremy Jacob will impact the team from the start.

Kent recruited a very highly touted class last year and he's got potentially good recruits coming in next year. He needs to produce next season or he's out. Another two-win Pac-10 season will not be acceptable. Sound like a deal?

Three goals for Kent's team next year:

1. Do not lose to Oregon State at home.

2. Win at least half of the Pac-10 games.

3. Win out the nonconference schedule.

Bonus goal:

Make the NCAA. Making the Big Dance is the goal for every team, but making the NCAA tournament is not out of reach of Kent's team.

His offseason goals should include:

1. Building better team chemistry.

2. A return to the fundamentals, especially for the freshmen and sophomores.

3. Better team play.

Yes, two of those sound similar, but the Ducks played a lot of me-first ball this last season, and that kind of attitude won't win games. Usually, Kent's teams are very much about playing team ball, but it seems some egos got in the way this year. It's an attitude that shouldn't be on the court.

Kent deserves another shot to get it off the court and bring Oregon back to its winning ways. One bad season shouldn't torpedo a successful career.