With less than a week to go, the excitement in Eugene is palpable. At restaurants and coffee shops alike the talk is all the same. Will the Ducks crush LSU now that they are missing key players? Will Oregon be able to keep up with their injured starters out and those who are suspended? I suspect it would be difficult …
Time for Kelly and Ducks to show own adjustments
In college football, you don’t want to get a bad rap. It’ll start messing with players’ heads. It’ll be heard in recruits’ homes. It’ll infiltrate columnists’ laptops. The Oregon Ducks went underground this past week, preparing in earnest for the huge LSU matchup on Saturday night in Arlington, Texas. No. 3 vs. No. 4 in the season opener. A national …
Closed practices sound strategy, but death for a fan blog
Chip Kelly’s decision to close practices makes sense from a competitive standpoint. The Ducks are working on wrinkles, innovations and subtle changes to their offense for LSU, and with the blogosphere, Twitterverse, cell cameras and loose lips out there, no sense giving anything that Les Miles and his staff will have to adust to on the fly in Dallas. But …
Duck games on the Deck.
Like most Duck fans, I’ve had my share of game experiences at Autzen Stadium. I’ve cheered on the team, reveled in the victories and suffered through the losses, tailgated with friends before and after in the parking lots through rain or shine. But my perspective is a little different than most of yours, at least a little bit lower, because …
Family Connections Run Deep at Oregon
The Oregon Ducks football team is a family. This is something stated often, the family atmosphere that surrounds the football program and its connection to the community. It’s an easy thing to claim, but difficult to fully comprehend until seen first-hand. It starts at the top, with the majority of the Oregon Ducks coaching staff having been a part of …
Interview with an SEC honk
Kevin, the chief writer and editor of College Football Zealots, a southern-leaning football blog that covers the nation, sent me an email the other day with six questions on the Ducks: 1. Oregon has to replace a lot of starters on the front seven of their defense. Who are some of the new starters that will need to step up …
A Call For Respect And Composure As The LSU Matchup Draws Near
Football is a beautiful game, complex in nature and thrilling to watch. It is also an ugly game, one that pulls at every emotion while brutally wreaking havoc on the body physically and mentally. For the participants, they work year round for that opportunity to perform; for the fans we anxiously anticipate all year those few days when we can …
I.C. really clearly now: A 12-1 regular season
“So much for elbow room,” says my friend I.C. Green as we watch Oregon’s morning practice wind down from the soccer stands at Kilkenny Field. “I remember when there were only three or four of us at fall camp. Rich Brooks used to come over and chat us up. How times have changed. “But at least then we were standing …
Football’s losing war on marijuana
Tennessee Titans backup quarterback Chris Simms has pleaded not guilty to driving while under the influence of illicit drugs, in this case marijuana. On Tuesday, in a lower Manhattan court room, a police officer told jurors that on July 1, 2010, at around 1:00 a.m., Simms made a “tire-squealing “turn” just before a police sobriety checkpoint in lower Manhattan. The …
Cantu’s Oregon career a cautionary tale in the recruiting hype
He tore the labrum in the third week of summer workouts in 2008, getting tangled up with a safety. It was never completely right after that. He greyshirted that year, enrolled Winter Term of 2009. He shined in Spring Practice, nabbing three balls for 111 yards in the 2009 Spring Game. One of Oregon’s first recruits from Texas along with …
The 1989 Independence Bowl: How Oregon Overcame Years Of Losing Thanks To An Old Pair Of Shoes
It had been a time of great suffering, 26 years to be exact, since Oregon had last played in a bowl game. There had been opportunities, but the heartbreaking trend known as “Duck-Luck” repeatedly reared its ugly head preventing Oregon from elevating itself above the mire; unfortunate injures or odd circumstance always getting in the way. For a time Oregon …
It’s a new stage for former Duck cheerleader Katelynn Johnson
Katelynn Johnson can still be spotted on the sidelines of football stadiums. Her infectious laugh remains. So does her unflagging energy. But no more pom-poms. No more whipping up the home crowd. No more green and yellow and black and gray (at least not in public). Now, it’s all about microphones and cameras and joshing with fans of every stripe. …