Nerlens Noel, the freshman forward/center for Kentucky, has a fantastic name and great haircut. Aside from that, he is a hell of a basketball player and has been developing for his future career in the NBA. Noel followed Anthony Davis' footsteps to Kentucky to be the next defensive center to win over NBA scouts league-wide.

Tuesday night, his fate may have been altered. And I would argue that not only was Noel's fate altered but possibly college basketball as a whole. Noel landed awkwardly on his knee after aggressively pursuing a fast break attempt. He was screaming in pain and was helped off the court by his teammates. Even without knowing the extent of his injury, the reality is that this injury could have major effects.

At the beginning of the season, pundits from around the nation seemed to think that the only teams worth talking about in the Pac-12 were Oregon, USC, and Stanford.  Saturday in Corvallis, Oregon State threw a monkey wrench in their general direction.

Story #1: Beavers Stun #13 Wisconsin 10-7

Suffocating.  There is no better word to describe Oregon State’s defense, which held Heisman Trophy candidate Montae Ball to just 61 yards on 15 carries, forced two turnovers and limited the Badgers to fewer than 25 minutes of total possession time.  Sean Mannion threw one of his best games, going 29 of 47 for 276 yards and a touchdown to Brandin Cooks.  On the other side, Wisconsin quarterback Danny O’Brien never looked comfortable in the pocket, and got sacked three times.  This win could spark the Beavers to a tremendous season, and credit goes to coach Mike Riley and his defensive game plan.

Oregon: The Ducks start out with a very weak schedule this season. This is good news for their new quarterback, Marcus Mariota. Mariota, the redshirt freshman, looked very comfortable in week 1 as he led the Ducks to a 50-3 lead before he was sat for the rest of the game. By the looks of his performance, this will still be the high powered offense it has been the past few years under Head Coach Chip Kelly. I don’t see that changing much. Kenjon Barner and De’Anthony Thomas will be able to carry the load offensively.

This year, Washington and Stanford could be tough games, but they will both be held at Autzen Stadium so I’m not seeing an upset there. The only thing that has changed is that USC is now bowl eligible. USC will be coming out firing on all cylinders this season. As for the November 3 match-up between the two, this will be Oregon’s only loss – barring any key injuries to either team. USC played extremely well against the Ducks last season, beating them in a thriller at Autzen. I expect this year’s game to be very similar, so similar that USC will once again be the victor. I am taking an 11-1 record for Oregon.

As August comes to a merciful end, college football fans countrywide can feel the anticipation of another campaign that promises to be full of highs, lows and surprises. From California to New York, 120 teams are ending their long summer training and preparing to battle for the ultimate prize; a national championship.

The same can be said for the two Oregon schools.

Oregon, coming off of three straight Pac-12 titles, returns a plethora of talent, an easy schedule and a wave of momentum unlike any the program has seen before.

Oregon State, entering the season on the opposite end of the spectrum, looks to rebound from two disappointing seasons that have seen the program go from Rose Bowl contenders to North Division dwellers. The beauty of college football, however, is that everything can change in an instant. A 3-9 season can transform into a ten-win season, and vice versa.

Last Wednesday marked the premiere of the Pac-12 Network and the birth of conference commissioner Larry Scott’s brain child.

While it may be too soon to anticipate the fate of the Pac-12’s place on television, it’s already being stacked up next to the Big Ten Network and other conference channels. Of course, until the numbers can speak and football season runs its course, we can only sift through idle talk and speculation. One thing the premiere of the network has produced, however, is a closer look at the man behind the success of the Pac-12’s reach in the last three years: Larry Scott.

On this episode of The Slant, host Brad Stein interviews Portland State track star Joenisha Vinson. They discuss her career, future, and the Olympics.

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The third season under coach Steve Sarkisian went better than expected for the University of Washington. A 5-4 conference record, despite losing Jake Locker to the NFL, a tremendous season from quarterback Keith Price and running back Chris Polk, and a third place finish in the competitive Pac-12 North division. With Price back at quarterback, the Huskies are looking to make this season even better.

Price, a junior from Bellflower, California, completed 67% of his passes last season, throwing 33 touchdowns to just 11 interceptions, and over 3000 yards. The problem he faces is that his two favorite targets from last season have moved on. Derrick Brown and Thomas Vincent sit behind him on the depth chart, but with Nick Montana transferring, the job is tightly secured in Price’s hands.

The running back situation is more muddled, with last year’s leading rusher Chris Polk in the NFL now. Junior Jesse Callier will probably get the majority of the carries in Sarkisian’s balanced offense, and he showed signs of brilliance last season averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Sophomore Bishop Sankey is also in the running for some touches. Sankey averaged 6.7 yards per carry last season in limited action.

The receiving corps has been revamped, with Kasen Williams and James Johnson expected to start. Williams, a sophomore, caught 36 passes last season for six touchdowns, and has good size at 6’2 and 215 pounds. Johnson is a senior, and caught 28 passes, though he is smaller at 6’1 and 198 pounds. Josh Perkins and DiAndre Campbell will also feature heavily in the Washington passing game. The biggest weapon in the passing game, however, will be tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, rated by many as the top receiving tight end in the country. He looks to be the primary target after a season with 41 catches and six touchdowns.

The Paul Wulff era at Washington State University brought a lot of laughs to a lot of people.  Not many of these people were in Pullman.  After a four-year tenure that saw the Cougars win just 9 of their 49 games, Wulff was let go and Mike Leach, the somewhat controversial and always entertaining coach formerly at Texas Tech starts a new period in Cougar football, hopefully one that brings them back to the top of the Pac-12 Conference.

Leading the offense is senior Jeff Tuel, looking to rebound after an injury shortened his 2011 campaign to just three games.  He is penciled in as the starting quarterback after his sophomore season in which he threw for 2,780 yards with a 133 quarterback rating.  Sophomore Connor Halliday will compete with Tuel for the starting job.

When most people think of going out for a run, it is usually followed by a groan and perhaps a bit of dread. While it is difficult for many to understand the appeal of running, there are those “crazy” ones out there who can hardly sleep through the night because they crave that morning long run.

Running is part of human, woman, and nature. It is one with humans and the evolution of sports. In fact, Track & Field was one of the first sports ever recorded during Ancient Greek times. This sport allowed athletes to come from all different areas of the country and compete at an array of sports. What a sight to see! Since then, track and field has become quite the spectator sport, entertaining even those who don’t really consider themselves sports fans. Tapping into the runner’s mind is a gift. There is a mountain of defeat, hopelessness and dread that one must overcome before this euphoric state of being is reached. It is something beyond this world; this is why it is difficult to understand for many.

I am very fortunate to have felt this type of running “addiction” so to speak. And that it truly is. ..an addiction. In 2006, I was recruited to Northern Arizona University for cross-country and track and field. I was, and still am, a distance runner. I love running so far that I forget what mile I am, or for that matter where I am. I crave that feeling of losing myself within the power of running. While I was running at NAU, I felt so grateful to be surrounded by such an immense running community. Flagstaff Arizona, breathing at about 7,000 ft, was surrounded by soaring pine trees, snow covered peaks and some very fast runners.

During my time at NAU, I was blessed to meet some very amazing people, one of these people being Mr. Lopez Lomang. Lopez Lomang is recognized by many people throughout the world for his achievements in running, as the flag bearer at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and for his incredible journey to get to where he is today. Lomang, who currently resides in Portland Oregon, represented the United States in the 1,500m race in 2008 and is looking to qualify in both the 1,500 and 5,000m races this coming week in Eugene, Oregon.

The Western Oregon baseball team has held the No. 1 ranking in the West throughout all four polls as they earn the right to host the 2012 NCAA West Regional Championships at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer, Ore., May 17-20.

The Wolves (40-9, 29-3 GNAC) will host the tournament, as three other teams will be competing. Also playing in the tournament are No. 2 Dixie State, No. 3 UC San Diego and No. 4 Chico State.

WOU enter the 2012 NCAA West Regional won their 11th-straight Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship with a mark of 29-3.

The Wolves have taken part of the NCAA Division II regionals seven times, and have qualified for the West Regions in four of the past five years. The Wolves have also been in six of the past eight West Region championships.