New Hires by Ducks and Pac-12 Inspire Hope

Darren Perkins Editorials

As we hit the one-year mark in the hiring of new Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff, I couldn’t help but correlate it to the Ducks’ hiring of new head coach Dan Lanning. While there is still a long way to go in determining the overall success of these hires, there is certainly one thing that both have inspired for Oregon fans… …

Oregon Ducks, Pac-12 Flop in the Draft

Darren Perkins Editorials

While it is always a great sense of pride when an Oregon Duck is selected in the first round of the NFL Draft, especially in the Top 10 (Kayvon Thibodeaux was picked 5th overall by the New York Giants), it is of even greater frustration that no other Ducks were selected. I went to the Paul McCartney concert here in Spokane …

Could Ty Thompson be the No. 3 Quarterback?

Darren Perkins Editorials

Last week, while skimming through the OregonLive.com sports pages, something caught my eye that made my brow sharply rise as I caught a partial headline reading: “Jay Butterfield gets No. 2 QB reps.“ Hmmm… What a surprise it would be if the highly-touted Ty Thompson fell to third on the Oregon depth chart. I have not seen anything official on any depth charts …

Altman Needs to Find Alpha Dogs

Darren Perkins Editorials

The good news for the Oregon basketball program is that after the Ducks’ two previous trips to the NIT under Dana Altman, they bounced back the following season the reach the Sweet 16. The bad news for the Ducks is that the 2021-22 basketball season was full of disappointment. As mentioned in yesterday’s FishDuck posting, Altman was frustrated that he …

Red Flags are Flying on Kayvon Thibodeaux

Darren Perkins Editorials

Must be NFL Draft season here at FishDuck as we hit on Oregon’s super-star Kayvon Thibodeaux for the second straight day. Unfortunately, as we draw closer to the draft, red flags keep rising on Thibodeaux. Thibodeaux’s latest transgression occurred this past weekend at the NFL Combine. Thibodeaux was expected to participate in drills after completing his solid 40 yard-dash (4.58 …

Lack of Clutch Player Dooms Ducks

Darren Perkins Editorials

Will Richardson is a very good college basketball player. It has been a joy to watch him grow and develop over the past few years and carve out his place as one of the better Oregon basketball players during the Dana Altman era. He is unselfish, a great teammate, a hard worker, and has represented the Oregon program with class …

Believe it, Duck Fans: USC Is for Real

Darren Perkins Editorials

Two years ago, after the Ducks blew out USC in the Coliseum, I wrote an article warning Oregon fans to enjoy it while they could, because, at some point in the near future, the Trojans would correct course and once again become dominant. At the time I wrote that, it was widely expected that Clay Helton would be fired after …

Dana Altman is Working Another Miracle

Darren Perkins Editorials

After a mid-December loss to Stanford, the Oregon men’s basketball team stood at 5-5 (0-2 in Pac-12) and appeared lifeless, out-of-sync, incoherent and listless. I could go on. Even the most adamant of Dana Altman backers, such as myself, were resigned to this season being a rebuild. Altman, who seemingly every year starts with a motley crew of a roster …

A Super Fast, Way Too Early Prediction for 2022

Darren Perkins Editorials

The 2021 season wrapped up last night, which makes today officially the first day of the off-season. During the next eight months, we will all no doubt experience analysis paralysis of what to expect from our 2022 Oregon Ducks. There will be recruiting and transfer portal updates, getting familiar with the new coaching staff, spring football, and the hype, excitement …

The Pac-12 is On the Rise

Darren Perkins Editorials

In the aftermath of an atrocious bowl season, I have been sensing from many Oregon fans that the Pac-12 is doomed. Many fans feel the conference missed the boat by not expanding with the remaining Big 12 teams after Texas and Oklahoma bolted for the SEC. Some think that it is only a matter of time before USC and Oregon …

The Alamo Bowl Blues

Darren Perkins Editorials

For the past couple weeks, I have been waiting for the enthusiasm for the Alamo Bowl to kick into high gear, but alas, I find myself still stuck in neutral. It seems the days of being ecstatic about the Ducks landing a terrific matchup in a second-tier bowl game is so 20 years ago (like the 2000 Holiday Bowl versus …