Some final thoughts before a little vacation around the holidays …

Here is the way I voted for the Heisman Trophy:

3) Dillon Gabriel, Oregon.

2) Ashton Jeanty, Boise State.

1) Travis Hunter, Colorado.

That is also the way voters across the country saw it as Hunter was crowned the winner during Saturday’s presentation in New York City, with Jeanty second and Gabriel third. It is the way I have been leaning since about midseason. Jeanty made a great late-season run and has amassed spectacular numbers —

2,497 yards and a 7.3-yard average and 29 touchdowns in 13 games. In many years — maybe most years — he would have been a deserving winner.

But 2024 wasn’t like most years. Hunter is the reason. The 6-1, 185-pound junior has been a two-way phenom for the Buffaloes this season. As a wide receiver, he has caught 92 passes for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns and rushed twice for five yards and a TD in 12 games. As a cornerback, he has made 32 tackles with four interceptions and 11 deflections. He is arguably the best player on both sides of the ball on a team that stands 9-3 heading into its Alamo Bowl matchup with BYU.

The only recent winner to compare in versatility with Hunter was Charles Woodson, who was a cornerback, receiver and return specialist for Michigan in 1997. In 11 games, Woodson made 43 tackles and had seven interceptions, caught 11 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns, rushed three times for 15 yards and a TD and returned 33 punts for 283 yards, including one for 77 yards and a score.

On my ballot, Gabriel beat out a pair of Cams — Miami’s Ward and Arizona State’s Skattebo — for third. Gabriel is the maestro for the offense on the No. 1 team in the country, having thrown for 3,558 yards and 28 TDs for a completion percentage of 73.2. That’s remarkable until you consider that his predecessor, Bo Nix, completed an ungodly 77.4 percent of his passes for the Ducks in 2023.

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A year ago, with the departure of Coach Jonathan Smith to Michigan State, Oregon State got hammered in the transfer portal. So far, that hasn’t been the case this season. The biggest names to enter the portal or announce they are leaving are linebacker Isaiah Chisom, cornerback Andre Jordan, offensive lineman Luka Vincic and quarterback Jevani McCoy. McCoy’s fall from grace at midseason made him an almost certainty to leave.

There will likely be a couple of more departures by key players, but it shouldn’t be the mass exodus of 2023.

Part of that is the Beavers’ talent nucleus was depleted. There are simply fewer players other schools covet. The other part is that Oregon State’s collective, Dam Nation, has a larger war chest with which to entice players to stay home.

Dam Nation executive director Kyle Bjornstad credits Coach Trent Bray, his staff and “the culture they have built” for a shorter list of departures. But Bjornstad admits that his resources are considerably better than a year ago. He won’t talk numbers, but says “fund-raising has gone exceptionally well.”

Bjornstad says he has targeted the key returnees from the 2024 team.

“I’ve talked with every single one of them, and some multiple times,” he says. Does he feel that most of them will choose to stay? “Yes,” Bjornstad says.

“No school is immune to kids hitting the portal, but I feel good about where we are,” he says. “We are being very competitive with NIL, which is a huge piece in college football right now. Look at the turnover at a lot of schools. You have to have good resources to keep the players we have. If we weren’t able to do what we’re doing, you wouldn’t see as much retention.”

At many schools, players are given a cash reward and asked only to play football. Word is at Oregon, for instance, each scholarship player gets $50,000 a year, compliments of Phil Knight. At Oregon State, players are required to perform service for money earned.

“Every single dollar these kids get is earned in some fashion through an NIL activity,” Bjornstad says. That might be through a social media post, an in-person appearance or autograph signing, voicing a radio ad, serving as the subject of a billboard, doing a mini-clinic or day camp or signing autographed merchandise for auctions, he says.

One major change in Dam Nation philosophy: The collective will now provide more assistance to coaches in luring transfers to Oregon State.

“We plan on being very aggressive in the portal with helping bring even more talent to Corvallis,” Bjornstad says. “Retention is always our top priority, but I want us to do everything we can to bring more talent here, and I want to win a bunch of games next year.”

Bjornstad says to look for more Dam Nation-specific fund-raising events by next spring.

“We’ve done some in partnership with businesses in the past year,” he says. “We’re going to ramp that up even more.”

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Over lunch the other day with former Trail Blazer Larry Steele, the subject of the Blazers’ tanking came up. I asked Steele, a member of Portland’s 1977 NBA championship team, what he thought of it.

“I very much dislike it,” Steele told me. “I don’t like the idea of tanking so you can get a better draft pick. Maybe if you have 10 games to go or so in a season and you are hopelessly out of the playoff picture — OK. But this has gotten way out of hand over the past four years.”

Agreed. Some of those who cover the team write that the Blazers’ “rebuild” is in its second year, but the truth is, they are in their fourth season in the tank.

In 2021-22, Portland was 25-34 and still in playoff contention when the front office called off the dogs. The Blazers lost 21 of their final 23 games to finish 27-55 and wound up with the seventh pick in the draft, landing Shaedon Sharpe. That team featured the likes of Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Norman Powell, Josh Hart and Jusuf Nurkic.

In 2022-23, the Blazers were 31-34 when they went into tank mode, dropping 15 of their last 17 contests to finish 33-49. They got the third pick in the draft, selecting Scoot Henderson. Lillard, Hart and Nurkic were still around and Jerami Grant and Anfernee Simons provided some firepower.

A tank job was on from the opening tip last season, when the Blazers — minus Lillard, Hart and Nurkic — started 3-11 and finished with a record of 21-61, worst in the Western Conference. For that, they got Donovan Clingan with the seventh pick.

With an eye on landing a prize in what is considered a deep 2025 draft class, the Blazers were 8-16 through Thursday in Coach Chauncey Billups’ lame-duck season. You should understand that Billups and the players are doing all they can to win. It’s just that general manager Joe Cronin, perhaps with a nod from vice chair Bert Kolde, is giving up today for what he hopes is a better tomorrow.

Over the past four years, that has meant sometimes holding out a player for an injury with which he normally might be able to play, or riding out an injury longer than necessary to ensure that the available lineup isn’t at full strength.

“I don’t know to what extent the injuries are (with the Blazers),” Steele says. “I have to think that sometimes there must be guys (who are sitting out) who can get out there and play. Between the tanking and playing with a little bit of injury — call that old-school if you want, but that’s what we expect.”

One problem is, it’s not fair to the fans who pay good money to watch their team play. Another problem is, losing is contagious.

“It becomes your culture,” Steele says. “Players get used to it. How do you turn that around? Oh, now we’re going to have a winning mentality? As a player, if you love the game, you are out there to win, period. And you want to be given your best chance to get the job done.”

Since the start of the Billups era in 2021-22, Portland’s record is 89-181. Only Detroit (67-207) is worse over that time period, with Washington (88-180) equally bad.

For all their maneuvering, the Blazers have added Sharpe, Henderson and Clingan to their nucleus.  These are the players — along with their first-round pick in the ’25 draft — they expect to lead them out of the darkness to the Promised Land in the years to come. Time will tell on that one.

In the NBA, teams tank almost every season. Most teams that go into tank mode, however, turn the corner after two or three seasons. To be in their fourth season on the tank is no badge of honor for the Blazers. It’s an embarrassment. Somebody should pay, and it shouldn’t be Billups. I’m not sure if the guy is a good coach or not, but he hasn’t been given a semblance of a chance to show what he can do with a capable roster.

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We have known for quite some time that player contracts are out of control in pro sports. But Juan Soto’s $765 million deal over 15 years with the Mets is beyond absurd.

Over the past four seasons, Soto, now 26, has enjoyed excellent health and has averaged 156 games a season. He will be 41 by the end of his contract, and no way he averages that many games over the duration. Chances are he will be retired before that.

But let’s say he averages 150 games a season for 15 years, giving him a total of 2,250 games played. That would pay Soto $340,000 per game played. That’s right — per game. Or more than $1 million for every three games. That doesn’t include potential bonuses (or escalators) that could push the total to $805 million, plus a fifth-year opt-out and a Citi Field game suite for the Soto family.

All this for a player whose career batting average is .285 with an average of 31 home runs and 92 RBIs over his six full seasons in the majors. Impressive, but hardly Ruthian or Bondsian.

For a little perspective, the president of the United States’ annual salary is $400,000. I know — Soto had a better year.

I remember looking at Damian Lillard’s final contract extension in Portland with amazement — a two-year, $112.5 million deal that pays him $54 million in 2025-26 and $58.5 million in 2026-27, when he will be 37. If he were to play 75 games a year — 150 total — he will be making about three-quarters of a million dollars per game those two seasons.

Jeepers. I’d settle for half of that.

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The CFP selection committee made it clear that strength of schedule is all-important in deciding on the 12 teams to make the playoffs. Alabama’s non-conference schedule included Wisconsin of the Big Ten, but also Group of 5 programs Southern Florida and Western Kentucky as well as Mercer, an FCS school.

For the latter three opponents to come to Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide issued payouts totaling $2.9 million, according to Front Office Sports.

Payouts to Group of 5 and FCS opponents by the 12 playoff teams: Texas $4.9 million, Ohio State $4 million, Tennessee $3.5 million, Penn State $3.1 million, Notre Dame $2.65 million, Georgia $2.45 million, Oregon $1.95 million, Indiana $1.75 million, Clemson $1.73 million, Boise State $425,000 and Arizona State $0.

If I’m Portland State, I’m on the horn with Texas, trying to line up a date in Austin.

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Eugene is going to earn its moniker “TrackTown USA” in 2025.

Hayward Field is scheduled to play host to the Big Ten Championships, the NCAA Championships, the Nike D1 Outdoor Nationals, the Nike Outdoor nationals, the USATF U20 Championships, the USATF Outdoor Championships and the 50th anniversary of the Prefontaine Classic.

Other than that, not many big meets to be held at U.S. track and field’s “Taj Mahal” next year.

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Readers: what are your thoughts? I would love to hear them in the comments below. On the comments entry screen, only your name is required, your email address and website are optional, and may be left blank.

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