So, how did you do? Did you pick Oregon? Did you tell your friends you were picking Oregon, but you secretly thought South Florida would win but you didn’t want to sound like a know-it-all newspaper columnist or blogger? Did you move up, or down in the Bowl Bash? Don’t lie. Because it’s all there.

I’m not much of sporting, gambling man, myself. But I wanted to go out on a limb and conduct an experiment in predicting the Sun Bowl. Here’s how I picked Oregon and the points: I averaged all of the predicted scores listed below for both team and then I switched them. That’s it. I did what George would do. Sort of. Instead of doing the exact opposite of my own instincts, I did the exact opposite of everyone else’s. That’s how crazy this is!

Here was my prediction:

DuckSportsNews.com’s Prediction (JJ): USF 19, Oregon 24

Got the win. Close on USF’s points. Way, way off on Oregon’s points. But as Meatloaf said, “Two out of three ain’t bad.”

Let’s see how the less fortunate, and less optimistic, prognosticators did:

Prediction: Register-Guard’s Rob Moseley: USF 26, Oregon 20
Reality: Oops. And he even got called out by Chip Kelley on this one.

Prediction: Portland Tribune’s Jason Vondersmith: USF 31, Oregon 24
Reality: The Ducks played hard and USF was desperate.

Prediction: Sports Illustrated’s Stewart Mandel: USF 31, Oregon 28
Reality: Theatrical? The Ducks tamed that “Raging Bull”.

Prediction: Tampa Tribune: USF 27, Oregon 14
Reality: The Bulls displayed a confidence so quiet, they didn’t even hear it.

Prediction: Rivals.com’s Steve Megargee’s pick: USF 20, Oregon 10
Prediction: Rivals.com’s Olin Buchanan, national college football writer: USF 20, Oregon 10
Prediction: Rivals.com’s Mike Huguenin, college sports editor: USF 20, Oregon 14
Prediction: Rivals.com’s Bill King, Rivals Radio host: USF 28, Oregon 13
Reality: Stewart had the biggest of games and Roper did not turn the ball over.

Prediction: USFBullsEYE.com: USF 24, Oregon 10
Reality: The Bulls did not contain Stewart’s talents.

Prediction: Duck Sports Authority: USF 31, Oregon 34
Reality: We have a winner! But QB play and the receivers were not a concern. Plus, DSA never picks against the Ducks. So, DSA is going to be right a good part of the time.

Prediction: OregonLive.com’s Bob Rickert: USF 24, Oregon 27
Reality: We have a fan, here. If he were a Bulls fan, he would have gone with them.

Prediction: Fox Sports’ & College Football News’ Rich Cirminiello: USF 30, Oregon 17
Reality: He got one thing right: USF did not explode on offense. Maybe implode. But definitely not explode.

Prediction: Addicted To Quack: Oregon (if they win the turnover battle)
Reality: No score for Dave, but he got the turnover battle correct (5-1).

Prediction: CBS Sportsline: USF
Reality: Uh, no, no, no, no, & no.

Prediction: Jimmy Boyd’s Locksmith Sports: USF 29, Oregon 23
Reality: Jimmy got this one wrong. Not quite a lock, huh?

Have a great New Year! I know I will. I am officially announcing my retirement from picking games. I’m 1-0 and I’m going out a winner! Goodnight, everyone.

- Jay Jones

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Leave it to The Oregonian’s version of Debbie Downer to address the very serious issues of human rights in his column on the day the Ducks dominate the Bulls in the Sun Bowl.

If you want to read his column and his post on the column, go right ahead. It is a real human issue.

Casting light on dark side of Sun Bowl

What’s happening to the women of Juarez?

But here’s my question for Mr. Canzano: where is this not the case? Is there crime, corruption, and human rights issues within spitting distance of the Rose Garden? What about Safeco Field? AT&T Ballpark? The Coliseum? The Staples Center? Mr. Canzano, where in the wide, wide world of sports are these evils you speak of not within a stone’s throw of sporting events?

So, here’s my question to Mr. Canzano: other than write your column raising awareness of the issue, what have you done? Or is that it?

Up until the last year or so, I was a fairly political person. Actually, I’ve been interested in politics for most of my life. I haven’t always been politically active or involved, but I enjoyed them. That is until the last year.

After going on a short term mission trip to Thailand, my opinion on how you affect change in your sphere of influence dramatically shifted. I used to believe that most change happened through governments, elected officials, institutions, committees, and legislation. Can those things affect change? Absolutely. But that power rests in the hands of so few. And I don’t believe that any longer.

While in Thailand, and confirmed when I returned home, I learned that it’s what people do on a daily basis that affects the most change. And it’s not in the big things. It’s in the small things. Do I do something everyday that makes a difference? Probably not. But at least now I know I can.

Do you, Mr. Canzano?

- Jay Jones

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By Don Smalley
DSN Contributor
12/31/2007

Oregon played nearly a perfect game in every phase of the football game in a dominating display in a 56-21 win over South Florida.

In the first half, the Ducks played well and scored 18 points. Many were not sure the Ducks would score that much in the game. But in the second half, Oregon showed that they are one of the best teams in the country.

The shock of losing Dennis Dixon clearly affected this team in the Arizona and UCLA games. The Ducks were beginning to snap out of it in the Civil War, a game that should have been won.

But the Ducks showed their true selves today by scoring a Sun Bowl record 56 points, 38 just in the second half.

South Florida has had some good wins this season, but it was clear they were not ready for the speed and the power the Ducks had in store for them. For a team that was once ranked No. 2, Oregon made them look pretty ordinary.

Justin Roper made the quarterback situation an interesting one as Spring ball comes. He made a huge case to be the No. 1 guy despite the recruits and the junior college transfers. Roper did not make a mistake and made plays.

Jonathan Stewart set a Sun Bowl record 253 yards and was running free and easy. The offensive line blocked very well and opened up those creases that we saw earlier in the year. Stewart told the Oregon Sports Network that he hasn’t made a decision whether or not to go to the NFL. But after this performance on national TV, it’s hard to believe that we’ll see Stewart in a Duck uniform again.

It was also great to see Garren Strong score one more touchdown for the Ducks and his brother and to see what a good receiver Jasison Williams is capable of being.

The defense played great and hit hard … very, very hard. Ask South Florida’s Matt Grothe how hard as he missed much of the second half with a major concussion.

Oregon ends the season 9-4 and perhaps there is more excitement around the football program than there ever has been before.

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A family member sent these to me. And they are scary (like clowns). If you’ve ever seen “City of Lost Children”, you know what I’m talking about.

But I would swap these four jolly fellows in red for four in zebra-stripes on the field any day of the week.

(Any chance one of them looked at the others in the 3rd or 4th quarter and said, “You boys like Mexeeco?”)

- JJ

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It’s been a season of highs and lows. Hunting and hunted. And the sun always shines on TV. But will the Ducks? Ah, hah. That’s the question.

If you’ve read most of the predictions posted on DuckSportsNews.com over the last couple of days, you probably have the impression that the experts believe that the sun set on the Ducks’ ship a long time ago.

DSN is not in the business of predicting winners, predicting scores, laying points, or handicapping. But we’re contrarians. We’re going to go all-George on this one, and do the exact opposite. So, here’s our prediction (we’ll reveal our methodology later):

DuckSportsNews.com’s Prediction (JJ): USF 19, Oregon 24

To review, this is a quick rundown of some of those other, less optimistic predictions:

Register-Guard’s Rob Moseley: USF 26, Oregon 20

Portland Tribune’s Jason Vondersmith: USF 31, Oregon 24

Sports Illustrated’s Stewart Mandel: USF 31, Oregon 28

Tampa Tribune: USF 27, Oregon 14

Rivals.com’s Steve Megargee’s pick: USF 20, Oregon 10

Rivals.com’s Olin Buchanan, national college football writer: USF 20, Oregon 10

Rivals.com’s Mike Huguenin, college sports editor: USF 20, Oregon 14

Rivals.com’s Bill King, Rivals Radio host: USF 28, Oregon 13

USFBullsEYE.com: USF 24, Oregon 10

Duck Sports Authority: USF 31, Oregon 34

OregonLive.com’s Bob Rickert: USF 24, Oregon 27

Fox Sports’ & College Football News’ Rich Cirminiello: USF 30, Oregon 17

Addicted To Quack: Oregon (if they win the turnover battle)

CBS Sportsline: USF

Jimmy Boyd’s Locksmith Sports: USF 29, Oregon 23

- Jay Jones

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UCLA’s hiring of Rick Neuheisel as their football head coach has given me a timely opportunity to reveal my involvement in the whole Neuheisel/Duck Vision affair. In Part I, you can read Bob Welch’s 2003 column in The Register-Guard summarizing my role in the incident and Mr. Neuheisel’s response.

If you’re unfamiliar with what happened, just read the column as a whole.

Why is this such a big deal? That’s hard to explain if you haven’t been following Oregon football for a while. As Bob points out, Neuheisel’s Colorado squad pulled some pretty weak stuff in the ‘96 Cotton Bowl. And his teams have been fairly successful against Oregon. There was the whole guitar episode. And the nicknames for Rick abound. Ask any longtime Duck about Neuheisel and you should get a sense of how they feel real quickly. Duck Sports News’ Josh Wilcox even suggested that there should be legislation to prevent Coach Neuheisel from ever coaching in the Pac-10 again.

Needless to say, “sensitive” Rick Neuheisel is a “sensitive” subject for most Duck fans. And the Duck Vision piece featuring Rick added to the overall Neuheisel-Colorado-Washington-Bellotti-Oregon drama. Now, it looks like UCLA is going to be added to that list.

What follows from here on is a breakdown of Bob’s column, filling in, elaborating on, and correcting a few of the details.

But Jay and Alisa Jones of Eugene will always have a soft spot in their hearts for Rick Neuheisel, fired last week as the UW coach.

Do we have a soft spot in our hearts for Rick Neuheisel? I hate to say it, but yes. There I said it. It’s out in the open. But should I? I got upstaged at my own wedding by Rick Neuheisel! And the honeymoon? My wife will confirm the fact that there were times when I would zone out and just start saying, “I owe Rick Neuheisel a ‘Thank You’. I OWE RICK NEUHEISEL A THANK YOU!”

“We’ve been meaning to send him a thank-you note,” says Jay Jones, 29, who has never met Neuheisel but hasn’t forgotten his kindness.

I still haven’t sent him that “Thank You”. I probably need to do that. (Mindy, is it ever to late to send a “Thank You” card to someone?)

The Jones-Neuheisel story began in the wee hours of Nov. 30, 2001. Jones, a producer/digital artist for Chambers Productions, was editing a promotional spot for the company to be shown a day later on Autzen Stadium’s Duck Vision screen during the Civil War game.

That’s not entirely accurate. Actually, there was a bit of preproduction and production that was completed earlier that week. And we (in order to protect the innocent, let’s just call my partner-in-crime and editor on this project Ike) were editing the piece that Wednesday night before the game in order to get it approved on Thursday, leaving us Friday for any revisions.

In production, I played the role of the ‘man in the white lab coat’. What Bob did not note in the column, was that I was holding a sledgehammer. You see, I had always intended to include footage of Neuheisel in the promo. After my character tried to fix the Duck Vision problem a couple of different ways, my last resort was going to be to hit the screen with the sledgehammer. And my target was Rick’s face. I think that’s much rougher than editing Neuheisel bytes between a couple of clips from ‘Airplane!’.

The plug’s theme was designed to poke fun at a previous Duck Vision glitch; it featured a man in a white lab coat trying to fix a system gone haywire. Jones had interspersed sound bites from Neuheisel with a Lane County commissioners meeting and two fast-talking real estate salesmen. But the spot needed something more, Jones thought.

Again for space considerations, Bob couldn’t include all of the little details. The funny thing about the Lane County Commissioner clip was that the featured Commissioner was wearing a purple blazer and referred to it as ‘husker’ colors. No, that’s Nebraska. ‘Husky’ colors are purple and gold. Politicians and government officials shouldn’t attempt humor. Period. Then again, some say that about me, as well.

How about those “two fast-talking real estate salesmen”? How about them? Well, you’d just have to see them.

“We were literally flipping through the dials on all the satellite feeds at 2:30 in the morning when suddenly we saw the movie `Airplane,’ ‘ Jones says.

‘Airplane!’ is funny at any time of the day. But at 2:30 a.m. a lot of things that usually are not that funny, get a lot funnier. That probably could be applied to the promo. Is it funny? Probably not. It was funny to me and Ike. But it was 2:30 a.m. in the morning and we had no idea where were going with this idea! When Ike and get together, this promo inevitably comes up. And it’s still funny to us.

Bingo! Jones took a few “Airplane” scenes and played them off Neuheisel. In one, the ex-coach says, “I tell everybody who asks that we’re going to be a good team – eventually”; boom, cut to a scene of an airplane passenger throwing up in a vomit bag.

Well, I think we also included the ‘Turkish prison’ and ‘gladiator’ clips in there, too. Some of the other clips were from “The Grinch” and an infomercial featuring a vacuum that had enough suction power to hold a bowling ball.

Later, Neuheisel says, “I think the experience of having won a championship is a good thing” – boom, cut to a shot of another passenger holding her stomach, grimacing and saying, “I haven’t felt this awful since I saw that Ronald Reagan film.”

Here’s the deal with that: if we were not flipping channels at that exact moment, this wouldn’t have been that big of a deal. Well, maybe it still would of made some noise because of including Neuheisel, regardless of the context.

When I decided to include Rick in the promo, I knew exactly what I was doing. I knew the image of Neuheisel on the Duck Vision screen would draw laughter and boos. And I got my wish.

The promo was shown in front of 46,075 fans at Autzen, drawing laughter. When word reached Seattle, it drew anger. The Dawgs complained to Pac-10 officials that, with high school recruits in the stadium, the promo was inappropriate.

As it turns out, the word of the promo reached a lot farther than Seattle. A couple of years later, and a couple of thousand miles away, my mom was having dinner with a couple back East and the subject of the promo came up. They had heard about it.

The Pac-10 agreed and reprimanded the UO, which apologized to the UW and vowed to review all Duck Vision material from then on.

The funny thing about this is that the Pac-10 did not take any action until some time later. It was not a case of the Pac-10 acting in the week following the playing of the promo. And several media outlets tried to get a copy of it. Wisely, Chambers Communications did not release the promo. If they had, people would have realized that it wasn’t as funny as people remember it being.

Last August, knowing that he was to be best man at Jay and Alisa’s wedding, KEZI sports broadcaster Joe Giansante couldn’t resist. While in L.A. for a media day with Pac-10 coaches, he concluded a one-on-one interview with Neuheisel by asking if he’d be willing to extend video wedding greetings to the couple.

Joe did a great job here. He kept what he was doing under wraps at Chambers for six months. Pretty good, considering Chambers is a communications company.

Giansante divulged that the groom was the guy who had done the vomit video. And, remember, Giansante had been tough himself on Neuheisel, once comparing him to Hermie, the rosy-cheeked elf in “Rudolph” who wants to be a dentist and not a toy maker.

“A dentist?!”

Last February, Alisa and Jay’s wedding reception came to a hush when it came time for toasts. Suddenly, on a large video screen, more than 400 guests saw the towering image of Rick Neuheisel.

Actually, it was closer to 500. But who’s counting?

His smile was warm, genuine. “Congratulations, Jay and Alisa,” he said. “This is a big step for both of you and, Alisa, Jay wanted me to pass this on to you …’

His expression was warm and genuine. And here lies Neuheisel’s strength. This guy can go into any high school football player’s home and charm anyone. Regardless of his off-field issues, he produces on the field. And that’s why he’s going to be good for UCLA and the Pac-10 (and a problem for Oregon).

Neuheisel’s head lurched forward in mock vomiting. He laughed good-naturedly, then said, “Congratulations! I hope all goes well and everybody keeps their wedding cake down.”

There was no reason for Mr. Neuheisel to do this. None at all. But he did. And he played along with the joke. If I were in his shoes, would I have done the same? Would you?

“My jaw dropped,” Alisa says. “Then mentioning us by name …’

And we stayed in shock for about the next week.

Neuheisel isn’t going to be as good a sport about being fired, but Jay and Alisa won’t forget his let-bygones-be-bygones gesture – and the unique imprint it put on their wedding reception. “Duck fans were actually saying, `He’s not such a bad guy after all,’ ‘ Jay says.

Neuheisel wasn’t a good sport about being fired. So, he sued (he is a lawyer). And, he won.

It was a classy move, indeed. And in Neuheisel’s well-tattered honor, I hereby vow to forgive him for the fake punt.

I’m glad Bob was able to forgive him for the fake punt. And I think I have. But it sure would’ve been easier if it weren’t so cold at the Cotton Bowl.

Well, I think that about wraps up my explanation of the Jones-Neuheisel-Duck Vision promo. It’s just funny to think that Rick Neuheisel plays a part in two of my fondest memories.

And I owe him a “Thank You” for that.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

- Jay Jones

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Final: Oregon (7-5, 1-0 Pac-10) 76, Oregon State (7-5, 0-1 Pac-10) 72

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Merry Christmas, Pac-10. You just got the gift of having Rick Neuheisel back as a head coach in the conference (which I think is a good thing). And when you receive a gift, it’s generally proper etiquette to respond with a “Thank You”. Unfortunately, I still owe Coach Neuheisel a “Thank You”. Now, I might as well make it a “Congratulations” card, as well.

Almost five years ago, my wife and I received a wedding gift (of sorts) from Rick Neuheisel. As Bob Welch recounts in his column from 2003, I was responsible for the infamous “Neuheisel” piece shown during the 2001 Civil War game on Duck Vision. Through a turn of events, Neuheisel surprised my wife and I with a congratulatory message at our reception.

It was great. Except it had one, major drawback: we spent a good portion of our honeymoon in Hawaii thinking about Neuheisel. Mahalo, Mr. Neuheisel?

Aloha again, Coach Neuheisel.

“Every man has a good side – even Neuheisel”
06/17/2003
Bob Welch / The Register-Guard

When someone dies, people say nice things about the deceased.

When someone gets fired as head football coach at the University of Washington – and that someone has beaten your teams four out of five times, once while faking a punt late in the fourth quarter with a 32-6 lead – people, at least around here, don’t say nice things about him.

But Jay and Alisa Jones of Eugene will always have a soft spot in their hearts for Rick Neuheisel, fired last week as the UW coach.

“We’ve been meaning to send him a thank-you note,” says Jay Jones, 29, who has never met Neuheisel but hasn’t forgotten his kindness.

The Jones-Neuheisel story began in the wee hours of Nov. 30, 2001. Jones, a producer/digital artist for Chambers Productions, was editing a promotional spot for the company to be shown a day later on Autzen Stadium’s Duck Vision screen during the Civil War game.

The plug’s theme was designed to poke fun at a previous Duck Vision glitch; it featured a man in a white lab coat trying to fix a system gone haywire. Jones had interspersed sound bites from Neuheisel with a Lane County commissioners meeting and two fast-talking real estate salesmen. But the spot needed something more, Jones thought.

“We were literally flipping through the dials on all the satellite feeds at 2:30 in the morning when suddenly we saw the movie `Airplane,’ ‘ Jones says.

Bingo! Jones took a few “Airplane” scenes and played them off Neuheisel. In one, the ex-coach says, “I tell everybody who asks that we’re going to be a good team – eventually”; boom, cut to a scene of an airplane passenger throwing up in a vomit bag.

Later, Neuheisel says, “I think the experience of having won a championship is a good thing” – boom, cut to a shot of another passenger holding her stomach, grimacing and saying, “I haven’t felt this awful since I saw that Ronald Reagan film.”

The promo was shown in front of 46,075 fans at Autzen, drawing laughter. When word reached Seattle, it drew anger. The Dawgs complained to Pac-10 officials that, with high school recruits in the stadium, the promo was inappropriate.

The Pac-10 agreed and reprimanded the UO, which apologized to the UW and vowed to review all Duck Vision material from then on.

Last August, knowing that he was to be best man at Jay and Alisa’s wedding, KEZI sports broadcaster Joe Giansante couldn’t resist. While in L.A. for a media day with Pac-10 coaches, he concluded a one-on-one interview with Neuheisel by asking if he’d be willing to extend video wedding greetings to the couple.

Giansante divulged that the groom was the guy who had done the vomit video. And, remember, Giansante had been tough himself on Neuheisel, once comparing him to Hermie, the rosy-cheeked elf in “Rudolph” who wants to be a dentist and not a toy maker.

“Turn on the camera,” Neuheisel said. “Let’s do it.”

Last February, Alisa and Jay’s wedding reception came to a hush when it came time for toasts. Suddenly, on a large video screen, more than 400 guests saw the towering image of Rick Neuheisel.

His smile was warm, genuine. “Congratulations, Jay and Alisa,” he said. “This is a big step for both of you and, Alisa, Jay wanted me to pass this on to you …’

Neuheisel’s head lurched forward in mock vomiting. He laughed good-naturedly, then said, “Congratulations! I hope all goes well and everybody keeps their wedding cake down.”

“My jaw dropped,” Alisa says. “Then mentioning us by name …’

Neuheisel isn’t going to be as good a sport about being fired, but Jay and Alisa won’t forget his let-bygones-be-bygones gesture – and the unique imprint it put on their wedding reception. “Duck fans were actually saying, `He’s not such a bad guy after all,’ ‘ Jay says.

It was a classy move, indeed. And in Neuheisel’s well-tattered honor, I hereby vow to forgive him for the fake punt.

Tomorrow, I will write about some of the finer points to this story. And they are legion. But I will answer a couple of questions that usually arise out of discussing the Jones-Neuheisel story:

Do I have a copy of the Duck Vision piece?
Yes, I do. But it is locked up in a Swiss safety deposit box, for secure keeping.

Can I post the piece on YouTube?
I could. But I won’t. I don’t think the good folks at Chambers Communications and the University of Oregon would appreciate it.

What about the Neuheisel wedding reception message?
That I can’t do, either. As part of the arrangement Joe Giansante made with Rick Neuheisel, that video was a one time deal and will remain private.

- Jay Jones

Click here for Part II. 

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Tampa Bay Bucaneer’s punter, and former Duck, Josh Bidwell is in the unique position of having played for Oregon and currently living in the University of South Florida’s hometown. Exclusive to Duck Sports News, here’s what Josh has to say about this year’s Sun Bowl matchup:

The Sun Bowl this year pits the University of South Florida, which is here in Tampa, Florida, against the Oregon Ducks. Both teams’ seasons this year were eerily similar in that both teams were the number 2 ranked and most talked about teams at one point during the season, but both teams also drastically fell down the rankings by the end of the season. Unlike the Ducks though, the South Florida Bulls were not crippled by key injuries as the Ducks were and as such, the tone here in Tampa is one of great confidence. No one believes that a Dennis Dixonless Oregon team can hang with this, very healthy South Florida team. It is going to be a great match up and I know that the South Florida program, which has only been in existence for 7 years or so, is going to be very motivated and excited about this bowl game. There is a buzz here amongst the local fans that this could cap off, still, the greatest season in USF history…I hold quite a different opinion of course.

I have been asked about the bowl game by only two or three people from the local media here. I think they are tired of me telling them the same thing over and over. Oregon is a great team with whoever we put on the field to play. So, USF needs to watch out!

- Josh Bidwell

“When It’s Fourth and Long.”

August 1st was the release date of my first book, “When It’s Fourth and Long.” The book gives a detailed insight into my battle with Testicular Cancer and a look at some hard events I had to endure during my childhood. I was also able to put quite a bit of fun insights into actual life in the NFL during my experiences these past 9 seasons. There are fun stories of my days as a teammate of Brett Favre’s and my week in Hawaii during the 2007 Pro Bowl. The book is designed to entertain and inspire. I know all who read it will enjoy it.

You can visit joshbidwell.com to get more info on the book or you can get the book at any of the local Christian stores in the state as well as a select few Barnes and Nobles and Borders. This book can also be ordered on Amazon.com or any other major book stores website.

Josh Bidwell In The NFL

Remarkably consistent punter who is considered one of the NFL’s finest athletes at his position… Possesses one of the NFL’s strongest legs and is equally adept at displaying the necessary accuracy to pin opponents deep inside their own territory… Has been a steady performer over the past seven years despite having his 1999 rookie campaign dashed by a testicular cancer diagnosis late in training camp… Selected to first Pro Bowl in 2005… Appeared in 112 career regular season games and six postseason contests… Totaled 573 career punts for 24,277 yards (42.3 avg.) with a long of 68… Has placed 152 punts inside the 20-yard line in his career… For the postseason, punted 24 times for 956 yards (39.8 avg) with nine punts landing inside the opponents’ 20-yard line… 43.8-yard average as a Buccaneer is tops in team history… His 45.6-yard gross average in 2005 was the best single-season performance in team history… Signed by the Buccaneers as a free agent on March 13, 2004… Spent his first four professional seasons (2000-2003) with the Green Bay Packers as one of the NFC’s top punters despite often kicking in the NFL’s toughest weather conditions… Showed marked improvement in only second season in league, raising his gross average by a full four yards, jumping from a 38.5-yard average in 2000 to the 42.5-yard mark in 2001… Selected by the Packers in the fourth round (133rd overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft.

Selected by Green Bay in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft on April 18, 1999 … Signed by Green Bay on July 27, 1999 … Placed on Green Bay’s Reserve/Non-Football Illness list on September 4, 1999 … Activated from Green Bay’s Reserve/NFI list on February 7, 2000 … Became restricted free agent on February 20, 2003 … Re-signed by Green Bay as restricted free agent on April 30, 2003 … Became unrestricted free agent on March 2, 2004 … Signed by Tampa Bay as unrestricted free agent on March 12, 2004.

Josh Bidwell, the Bucs’ punter since 2004, owns the two best gross punting seasons in franchise history (2005, 2006), three of the top five net punting seasons in team annals (2005, 2006, 2004) and two of the top three punting yards seasons in team history (2005, 2006).

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Download PDF: GameDay in a Box | Sun Bowl: Oregon vs South Florida

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