The most conspicuous landmark on the Willamette River Highway following the Willamette up to its headwaters southeast of Eugene has got to be the Lowell Covered Bridge. It’s an old wooden structure and in my mind it had been built sometime in the old wild-west days. We used to drive by it every now and then when I was a kid and you could tell even back then that it had been around for a while, taking pioneers in their wagons across the lake to whatever was on the other side

You may remember a few years ago when we attempted to attend a football game at Perrydale. For reasons that you can find in the archives (Central, March 2021), that didn't work out as we had planned, and reading that story again made me feel I may have been a little hard on the Pirates. The curse I put on the team caused them to go 1-4 during that Covid season, and the next season they went just 4-5. After I lifted the curse last season, they were able to record a 7-3 reco

Another holiday, and another Friday evening downpour. Luckily, we were headed south this time and by the time we reached Roseburg the rain was starting to let up. We were headed to Myrtle Creek. You know Myrtle Creek: That place where I-5 gets curvy and the speed limit on the interstate is 50 miles per hour. It was only fair that we finally got a look at the town and gave it a chance to be remembered for something more positive than that. We took exit 108, crossed the 10

As we entered the month of December there was just one final game to be played in all of Oregon high school football. The Central Catholic Rams of Portland were playing the Tualatin Timberwolves in the 6A championship game at Hillsboro Stadium. It would be the sixth state championship for the Rams, if they could win it, and it would be a first for Tualatin after losing in their first two appearances in 2007 and 2010. Central Catholic would again be conveniently playing on th

As seems to be the case each Championship Saturday, this Saturday was packed full of more sporting events than anyone could possibly keep track of. But the Arsenal game started at 4:00am, so Gabriel Martinelli scored to secure that win, and assure my fantasy team’s loss, long before the football started. Which gave me time to prepare my breakfast of champions - Grits “All The Way” - and otherwise prepare myself for an afternoon in my chair juggling the onslaught of soccer,

This week’s choice of games was made easier by the fact that there were exactly two teams playing games at their home campus, one of which we had already visited a couple of years ago. So, we joined the other suckers in the Friday rush hour traffic and made our way to Tualatin. Little Ednold wasn’t riding with us, but we would be meeting him there, so I made sure to put on my best dad outfit. Sometimes I can almost hear the high school kids whisper as I walk by: “who is th

If you were expecting a review of the latest Eric Clapton album I’m sorry to disappoint you. And if you aren’t a soccer* fan I encourage you to keep reading even through the soccery parts; you just may like the story all the same. *Or football, as I will refer to it from this point on since that’s the term those nutty Brits use for a game where you kick the ball around the field with your feet. They are so silly. In 1881 the members of the Glyn Cricket Club decided to try pla

After last week it was a piece of cake to follow the single remaining game this Saturday afternoon. The #4 Central Catholic Rams of Portland were meeting the #3 and defending champion Lake Oswego Lakers in the 6A championship game at Hillsboro Stadiium. The Rams would be playing for their fifth state championship and the Lakers were playing for their third. Both teams came in with 11-2 records. Hillsboro is Central Catholic’s home field so this would be the tenth game this s

What?? You thought the season was over? Even as I was savoring the late Newcastle goal that cost Manchester City a Premier League win on Saturday morning, there were still 12 teams in Oregon with their dreams of a state championship still intact. But, with the exception of Central Catholic who puzzlingly play their home games in Hillsboro, none of those teams will be playing another game on their home field, so we decided to leave The Bucket in the driveway this holiday wee

For our final game this season Mrs. Ednold and I headed to Lake Oswego to watch the defending state champion Lake Oswego Lakers host the Lakeridge Pacers in a state quarterfinal matchup between the two rivals. I have to admit I was worried that the conventional world of 6A football would be a little boring after where we had been the past few weeks. I needn’t have worried. We saw many things we had never seen before. These two schools are both from Lake Oswego and both compet