Coming out of the closet. This is a trend in athletics that has caught many off guard, some not so much. One thing is for sure, though, that the announcements of high profile players that they are gay has stirred plenty of debate and commentary across the board. Some are for the announcements, some against. The more troubling trend, though, …
Chicken Little is alive and well. Yesterday’s landmark decision, the latest in a series of landmarks that is sure to change the way we think of college athletics well into the future, set the angst-ridden fans into a free fall of emotion that had them virtually writing their own version of “Death to the BCS” with an updated “”Death of …
“Because we don’t know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can’t …
Last fall, during a game at Autzen Stadium, I witnessed a moment I am most embarrassed about; the booing of a college player. Has there ever been a more maligned player in Oregon history than Alejandro Maldonado? Criticism of players is fair game in my opinion; it is what we do. But as George Wrightster told me last week, it’s …
A couple of years ago, as Andrew Luck suffered another 20-plus point defeat to the Oregon Ducks at Stanford Stadium, a familiar statement was circulating around that “Stanford has an Oregon problem.” Of course, this refers to the fact that Stanford, but for a loss to Oregon in two consecutive years, would have been in the BCS National Championship Game. …
Over the past five recruiting classes, dating back to the 2009 recruiting class, Oregon leads the nation in an unregistered recruiting category – percentage of prospects signed that make it to campus. Contrast that with South Carolina, which will reportedly have eight players of 24 signed to this class who are not eligible. In Oregon’s case, this is not by some …
“Inebriate of air am I, And debauchee of dew, Reeling, through endless summer days, From inns of molten blue.” This is the second stanza from Emily Dickinson’s “Poem # 214.” Often referred to by the first line of the first stanza, this poem delves into what provides happiness to the soul. The voice of the poem is drunk on …
Is Mark Helfrich a better recruiter than Chip Kelly? That question has slowly crept into the minds of Duck recruiting fanatics as the early commitments have seemingly poured in over the last few weeks. Earlier this week, writing for Duck Sports Authority, I talked about the change in early commitments not being significantly different for the Ducks. At the time …
My FishDuck Friends — I wish to roll out a new feature called “Scott’s Turf” on the site that will appear on every Monday, which will have opinion-editorial pieces written by Scott Reed. Scott has been writing recruiting and game analyses articles every week for the Oregon franchise of Rivals.com Duck Sports Authority for many years. I’ve known him long before FishDuck.com …