An Exhaustive List of People, Places and Things More Annoying Than Richard Sherman

Kim Hastings FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Anyone who has been tuned into sports news since Sunday knows about Richard Sherman.  He’s the Seattle Seahawks defensive back (and Stanford grad) who scared the living tweedle out of Erin Andrews after the NFC Championship Game. That Sherman should have behaved better is an accepted fact by those who believe in good behavior and an archaic word like “sportsmanship.” …

Oregon Ducks Football: Four Key Positions in Flux

Josh White FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Player personnel in college football is a constant revolving door — finding, developing and then plugging in the “next man up” is a never-ending battle for coaches. Entering the 2013 season, some notable personnel losses for the Oregon Ducks football team were apparent.  Three senior linebackers and the program’s second-leading rusher, headlined a group of departing players who had become …

Ducks Lose Another, Confidence at an All-Time Low

Dean Davis FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

SEATTLE, WA.- The Ducks were heading into Seattle having lost their last four consecutive games.  On Thursday night, Oregon battled against the Washington Huskies, looking to find themselves and maybe pull out a win.  This song has been playing for too long, however, as the Huskies pulled out a nail-bitting 80-76 win to push the Ducks to a five-game losing streak. …

To Quack or Not to Quack: Leaving Early For the NFL

Charles Glenn FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Great football players inevitably face a choice between leaving school early for the NFL draft or completing their education.  It’s a personal decision for each individual and most Duck fans support whichever direction the player goes, but the 2014 roster comes as a surprise to some of us.  Some Ducks, such as DeAnthony Thomas (DAT), should have stayed.  Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, …

Oregon Football Recruiting Analysis: This Class is “Good,” not “Great”

Chris Charbonnier FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Recruiting is a merciless and often brutal component of the college football system.  There’s no reason to sugar-coat it: the past couple weeks haven’t been ideal for the Ducks.  This is not going to be another article about Budda Baker.  There are plenty of those.  The fact is Baker is a great player and a great kid with a chance …

“Mighty Oregon,” Authorized History of Oregon Football available in a 4-DVD set

Jerry Thompson For the Fans

 

For Jerry Thompson, the addiction to Oregon Duck football began 11 days after his sixth birthday when he watched the Oregon play Ohio State in the 1958 Rose Bowl. He and his twin brother Larry, wore their new Christmas football uniforms to the game and witnessed the Ducks almost upset the No. 1 Buckeyes in a 10-7 loss.  Highlights of that game as well as a multitude of others, including the 2012  Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin, are contained in the 7-hour, 4-DVD production, “Mighty Oregon.” 

The Thompson family, who lived in Cottage Grove, followed Duck football through thick and thin, and Jerry became a student manager for the football team in 1969 and 1970.  After earning a degree in television and film, Thompson decided in 1987 to bring the history of Oregon football to life via video.

Roar the praises of her warriors: All the hits, misses and hijinks of Oregon football history are in the “Mighty Oregon” DVD collection, a 4-disc set.

“Even though the Ducks had not gone to a bowl game since 1963, they had so many great players and there was no way for fans to see them, so I approached the UO athletic department marketing person at the time about making the video. He turned me down, saying they weren’t interested in the past. I didn’t take “no” for an answer, so I went to the top and talked with A.D. Bill Byrne, and we struck a deal.”

The first version of “Mighty Oregon” came out on VHS and contained film action of such Ducks as Bill Bowerman (yes, he played football for the Webfoots), Norm Van Brocklin, George Shaw, NFL Hall of Famers Mel Renfro, Dave Wilcox, Dan Fouts and Gary Zimmerman; and virtually every Duck football player of any significance. Over 50 players and coaches (Len Casanova, John McKay, Jerry Frei, John Robinson, and Rich Brooks to name a few) were also interviewed).

The new DVD contains all of that plus all of the Mike Bellotti and Chip Kelly era.

There are numerous features such as humorous Duck tales, fantastic finishes, greatest hits, recruiting stories, action footage of every record-breaking play, and coverage of every bowl game.

Thompson takes his greatest satisfaction in a “seek and find” mission/obsession in 1987 to obtain footage of the 1917 Rose Bowl game in which Oregon beat Penn 14-0…Oregon’s only Rose Bowl win until this year.

 The UO, Penn, the Rose Bowl committee and numerous film archives around the U.S. were contacted to no avail. In a visit to Portland, Thompson heard a rumor that some footage of the game was on an old “Jim Thorpe, All-American” film.  Thompson rented the movie and was disappointed to find none of that game was on that movie.  By a quirk of fate, or divine providence as Thompson views it, he was visiting with a friend who lived a block away and told him about his fruitless search. The neighbor, who was not a sports fan at all, said he had for some unknown reason, recorded a documentary about college football off of his television, and told Thompson he could watch it.  Early in the video, the narrator talked about Dwight Eisenhower and Knute Rockne playing college football. Some old film footage was shown as the narrator talked about the two men, and lo and behold, the footage being shown was of the Oregon-Penn game! 

Thompson knew it was that game because of the still photos he had seen from the game. In the film you could see No. 7, Penn’s Heine Miller, playing without a helmet. The referees’ crew cut and v-neck sweater were also a dead giveaway. Thompson contacted the producer in Los Angeles, who said he had no idea where the footage came from, but he granted Thompson rights to use it for the “Mighty Oregon” video.

As an example of the “obsession” Thompson had about the project, the day after being released from the hospital after his second hip-replacement surgery, Thompson took his crutches and flew alone to San Diego to interview Oregon greats Dan Fouts, Mel Renfro, Woodley Lewis, Gunther Cunningham and Dave Grayson.

About one-half of the new DVD covers 1894 through the 1995 Rose Bowl, and the second half details 1995 through 2012. The video is organized into decades and years, so fans can easily go to periods in which they are most interested.

One can see color footage of Oregon-Oregon State from 1939, and even baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson playing football for UCLA at Hayward Field in 1940.

Thompson wrote and produced the video, which is licensed by the UO’s IMG. It is hosted by Dan Fouts and Tim Stokes and is narrated by Jerry Allen.

He priced the 4-DVD set at $29.95. Thompson has also been the editor of Mighty Oregon (formerly Ducks Illustrated magazine for the past 13 years.  The “Mighty Oregon” video can be ordered directly at:  modvd.com  or mightyoregondvd.com.

“I see this video as the “Roots” of Oregon football,” said Thompson. If you’re a Duck football fan, it’s like being a part of a family, and it’s fun to know your roots. For me Oregon football began in 1958, and for many fans it began with their first game they saw. As I put this together, the past became so interesting. For some that could be 1945, or 1990 or even 2011. It’s all there for the older fan or newer fan.”

 

Thompson can be contacted at: 541-221-3154

 

The Heisman: Just Say NO!

Mike Merrell Editorials

With the 2013 football season behind us, the hype for the 2014 Heisman has begun, with Marcus Mariota at or near the top of the list.  My reaction is simple: Just say NO! It’s not that Mariota doesn’t deserve consideration for the Heisman.  Quite the contrary, it’s the Heisman that doesn’t deserve consideration from Mariota, or any of the other …

Recruiting Update: 6’8 Goliath Heading to Eugene on a Visit

Mark Flores FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Football Recruiting News Life along the recruiting trail is beginning to reach a fevered pitch as signing day draws near.  Oregon’s 2014 class has seen some rocky moments over the last week but nonetheless figures to be one of the best in the country when all is said and done. Along with some familiar targets, the Ducks recently made moves …

Different League, Same Package: How the Oregon Offense Ran Through the NFL in 2013

Brian Flinn Analysis

Despite several reports to the contrary, the Chip Kelly Oregon offense is alive and well in the NFL!  The Eagles’ offense we saw go up and down the field in South Philly this fall bore a strong resemblance to the Oregon offense I studied from 2008 to 2012. Operating out of the shotgun and rarely huddling, the Eagles led the …

Oregon’s Conference and Post-Season Update: A World Turned Inside Out

Bryan Holt FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The woes on the hardwood continued for Oregon this past Sunday, as they dropped their fourth straight conference game to Oregon State.  After mirroring the best start in school history with 13 consecutive victories, what looked to be a promising season has quickly turned into a nightmare of disarray for the Ducks. Coming into Sunday’s game, an improvement on the defensive …

Those Damn Beavers!

Dean Davis FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

CORVALLIS, OR – The Ducks haven’t been playing their best basketball as of late, and they continued their struggles against their next door neighbor and Civil War foe, the Beavers, on Sunday afternoon.  Oregon is the third-highest scoring squad in the nation, averaging 88.4 ppg, but tonight, their biggest strength was their biggest weakness. Both teams looked like they were ready …