SVP’s One Big Thing: Pac-12 departs, but Ducks-Beavers rivalry remains
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Scott Van Pelt, Host, SportsCenter with SVP
I remember when I learned Maryland was going to the Big Ten — couldn’t believe it. A charter member of the ACC leaving — that felt like a lot. It was all money-driven, I said at the time — I hate it, but I get it. As it turned out, it was a remarkably shrewd move when you look at the tens of millions more Maryland receives each year in revenue distribution.
It was hardly the end of the seismic change in collegiate athletics, but I wouldn’t have imagined a conference road game at Oregon would ever be a thing. However, it will be next season when the Ducks, along with Washington, USC and UCLA, come to the Big Ten.
Their departures precipitated the death of a storied conference more than a century old. Last week in Las Vegas, Oregon vs. Washington was the last gasp for Pac-12 after dark. The reasons behind it were the same as why my alma mater left, but the ACC remains — albeit an entirely different version of the one I grew up with. The “Conference of Champions” will be no more.
Thankfully — not everything is dying with it. Before the Apple Cup this year, Washington and Washington State announced that their traditional game would continue through at least 2028. Wednesday, John Canzano reported the matchup formerly known as the Civil War will as well. The matchup between Oregon and Oregon State — like the Apple Cup — is a game the sport simply has to have. For all that is abandoned in the name of progress and profit — rivalries and true generations-old battles must be maintained or the lifeblood of what makes the sport spectacular evaporates.
As Canzano wrote: “It took work.” To that, I’d say the things in life worth having and keeping mostly do. The easy thing to do for a lot of schools and rivalries after a conference breakup is to throw your hands up and say — I’m sure honestly — it’s too difficult, we can’t make it work. In this instance as Canzano explained, it required the assistance of Texas Tech and Boise State to move games already scheduled to make the puzzle pieces fit.
They could have simply explained — we don’t want to. Or — we do, but we’re stuck — so we’re sorry. But that’s not how it went. So the Ducks-Beavers series continues, and to those who did the work behind the scenes to ensure it will, I salute you.
From all the way on the other side of the country, a guy who’s never seen the game in person and likely never will, it makes me smile to know the people to whom this game matters more than it should get to continue to enjoy it. It’s worth the work required to preserve it for generations to come.
While the Milwaukee Brewers keep on rolling, another Wisconsin business is stocking up on beef and buns.
For the third time in its history, George Webb Restaurants will make good on its promise of giving away free hamburgers as part of a longstanding promotion to celebrate the Brewers winning 12 consecutive games.
The free burger giveaway will be held Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. CT at all 23 of the restaurant’s locations throughout Wisconsin. Vouchers for a burger at a later date will be available at all locations starting Friday.
“Hungry fans are welcome to stop by any location for a free, juicy burger and some camaraderie with fellow baseball fans,” the restaurant said on its website.
Starting way back in the 1940s, when Milwaukee was home to the minor league Brewers of the old American Association, George Webb promised free burgers if the local baseball team won 17 consecutive games.
The promotion dropped to 13 games by the time the Braves made Milwaukee a big league city in 1953, but that franchise couldn’t make it happen before departing for Atlanta in 1966.
George Webb changed the promotion to 12 games when the Brewers moved from Seattle in 1970. In 1987, the Brewers opened the season with 13 wins in a row, and more than 170,000 burgers were given away to mark the occasion.
The Brewers accomplished the feat a second time in 2018, closing the regular season with eight victories followed by four playoff wins. That streak led to 90,000 free burgers being given away in addition to 100,000 redeemable vouchers.
Prior to reaching the magic mark on Wednesday, the Brewers had come close on a few occasions, including an 11-game winning streak earlier this season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The San Diego Padres placed right-hander Michael King on the 15-day injured list Thursday because of left knee inflammation.
King (4-2, 2.81 ERA) had just come off the IL on Saturday, allowing two runs in as many innings of a no-decision against the Boston Red Sox.
It was his first start since May 18 as he dealt with shoulder inflammation.
Now, he’s back on the IL with a knee issue in a move retroactive to Monday.
It’s a setback for a red-hot Padres team, who will carry a five-game winning streak into a weekend showdown against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. First-place San Diego is one game ahead of L.A. in the NL West.
King had been scheduled to start the series opener Friday.
In the corresponding roster move, the Padres recalled right-hander Randy Vásquez from Triple-A El Paso.
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