Good morning, Ducks! Next week at this time you will be doing one of two things. If you shopped early for a Valentine’s Day gift for your significant baby cakes, you will be enjoying the morning.

Ah, so nice.
If you waited until the last minute, your Valentines morning may look a little different.

“I thought it wasn’t ’til next Monday!”
But I have confidence in you, Duck! As the most knowledgeable fan base on the coast you are “Fat City! Right on top of things!”

Good job.
Of course, Oregon’s competition in the Pac-12 Conference are experiencing Valentine’s Day in ways appropriate to their status in life. I called around to see what the Pac-12 coaches’ wives were giving their husbands this year.
California Golden Bear Head Coach Sonny Dykes has a lovely and caring wife. The former Kate Golding heard the team needed some defensive help. In fact, Golden Bear fans were saying, “We have to find the next Richard Sherman.” So Mrs. Dykes wrapped a defensive stopper for Sonny.

Dee-fense! Dee-fense!
Washington State Cougar Head Coach Mike Leach is getting a surprise from his wife Sharon. She knows that recruiting to Pullman is not an easy job. In fact, if you have ever been to Pullman you needed a GPS to get home and therapy after the ordeal. WSU’s Pac-12 competition have great cities to offer recruits. The cities of Eugene, San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles are steak and potatoes. Denver and Phoenix are prime rib and salad. Sharon Leach is giving her husband something to sell that represents Pullman on the entree’ scale.

Sharon means well.
Washington Husky Head Coach Chris Petersen came to Seattle after a lustrous career playing bad teams 80% of the time. His wife, Barbara, supported him in his move from Idaho. Her Valentine’s Day gift to Chris tells me he’s not the only one in the house who regrets the move to UW.

Barbara Petersen is a subtle one.
Oregon State Head Coach Gary Andersen comes to Corvallis (and in range of FishDuck.com fire) from Wisconsin. His wife Stacey considered having him committed but later said, “I know, for better for worse, for Madison for … what’s the name of this place again?” But Stacey Andersen is a resilient lass and a real trier-girl. She decided to give her husband a Valentine’s Day gift to remind him that it wasn’t that long ago when Oregon State was relevant.

OSU expects to win and win soon under Coach Andersen. The tricentennial is looking pretty good.
Oregon Head Coach Mark Helfrich knows the Ducks have a target on their back. Megan Helfrich knows this as well. Is she scared? Her Valentine’s Day gift to Mark would indicate she is not.

A little of that green paint we put on the bike and this baby will be ready to carry the Duck on the field next fall.
Go Ducks! From hoops to hardball you are always in FishDuck.com‘s heart.
Top photo by http://fc01.deviantart.net
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Kim Hastings is a 1984 graduate of Northwest Christian College. He cut his journalistic teeth as sports editor of a paper in his home town of Fortuna, CA, and, later as a columnist for the Longview Daily News in Longview, WA.
He saw his first Oregon game in 1977 and never missed a home game from 1981 until a bout with pneumonia cut his streak short in 1997. He was one of the proud 3200 on a bitterly cold night in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1989 for the Independence Bowl, and continues to be big supporter of Oregon sports. He is an active participant on the various Oregon Ducks messageboards as “TacomaDuck.”