Well, friends, I guess George Harrison said it best: “All things must pass.”
As some may know, I will be leaving FishDuck in the near future as life and events necessitate a change. And with it, I will miss all the talented writers and editors who dedicated hours, days, weeks and months of their spare time to bring you stories about our beloved Oregon Ducks since 2011.
Before I say goodbye, here’s a quick roundup of Ducks happenings from the past week:
- Four Oregon Ducks baseball players — Aaron Zavala, Robert Ahlstrom, Cullen Kafka and Hunter Breault — were selected in the Major League Baseball draft this week. Zavala, a sophomore outfielder and Pac-12 Player of the Year, was selected 38th overall by the Texas Rangers (third-highest draft pick from Oregon).
- A number of Oregon athletes are headed to the Tokyo Olympics, including Jade Carey (Women’s Gymnastics, future Oregon State University student); Matthew Centrowitz (Track & Field – 1,500, UO graduate); Ryan Crouser (Track & Field – Shot put, Barlow High graduate); Crystal Dunn (Women’s Soccer, plays for Portland Thorns); Scott McGough (Baseball, former UO pitcher); Janie (Takeda) Reed (Softball, former UO outfielder); Galen Rupp (Track & Field – Marathon, Central Catholic and UO graduate); Jamie (Wesner) Scott (Women’s Basketball, former OSU guard) and Mariel Zagunis (Women’s Saber Fencing, Valley Catholic High graduate).
- Last week, former Ducks Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner spoke to the Oregon football team, according to Twitter. “Anything worth achieving takes more work than others are willing to put in. Maximize this blessing,” Armstead said. “There are no shortcuts. You’ve got to love the grind and hold each other accountable from start to finish,” Buckner said.
- Oregon defenders Kayvon Thibodeaux (1st Team) and Mykael Wright (4th Team) were named preseason All-Americans by Athlon Sports.
- For those of us who want to learn more about Aaron Feld, Oregon’s mustachioed strength and conditioning coordinator (and the only person able to prevent Mario Cristobal from leaving the sidelines during games), check out this episode on The Mighty Oregon Podcast.
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Thanks to @arikarmstead and @DeForestBuckner for speaking to our team. #ProDucks pic.twitter.com/bRzqYcuJp7
— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) July 9, 2021
Now that’s out of the way…..
I started writing for FishDuck roughly seven years ago when I was attending the University of Oregon, and was eager to get into sports journalism. Charles Fischer — Mr. FishDuck himself — took me under his wing and gave me a shot. It was a special opportunity, and now with this being my 145th article published on the site–it remains a thrill to write about the teams we so love.
When I started writing for FishDuck, Charles got media passes for the interns to attend all manner of UO sporting events. I covered Oregon football, baseball, softball and basketball — watching and reporting from the press box, rubbing elbows with professional journalists. I’ll never forget that.
Mr. FishDuck could get cranky after learning a writer missed his deadline.
After learning how to avoid the wrath of Charles, (See above) he and I would often talk on the phone, (as what he would call Duck-Buddies) about the exciting things in Oregon Sports unfolding in Eugene. And we still do.
I’m sad to leave, but I will always remember this special Oregon Ducks forum. Honestly, I don’t think we’ll find anything like it again. Thank you for all the memories, FishDuck. And Ducks fans, I’ll see you at Autzen! GO DUCKS!
Please share your stories for me to remember about FishDuck in the comments below.
Jordan Ingram
San Diego, California
Top Photo By: Eric Evans, UO Athletics
Please post your thoughts about this article here on FishDuck, (in the comments) as I need to keep things a bit active for web rankings. Thank you!
Want to know why we are no longer publishing articles every day on FishDuck? Learn about it right here, but know that Mr. FishDuck will still be publishing articles on FishDuck.
If you would like to be placed on the list to receive a quick notification email when I publish an article, do sign-up right here, and thus we can gather in the comments and discuss the topic like the old-days. (If you have ever posted a comment on this FishDuck site, I have your email on that list)
If you would like to reflect on so many accomplishments that have occurred over the last ten years of FishDuck, and the impact on so many–check right here to read it.
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Jordan is a lifelong Duck fan currently living in San Diego. Jordan graduated from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, after serving a prestigious fellowship with the Washington State House of Representatives. Upon graduation, he worked as an English language teaching assistant for the Spanish Ministry of Education’s Ambassadorial Program in Monforte de Lemos, Spain. Jordan has worked as a journalist, writer, and editor in Oregon, Washington, Montana, and California, covering a wide range of topics, including sports, local politics, and crime. He is VERY excited to be writing about his beloved Oregon Ducks.