On the afternoon of February 6th, Oregon held its traditional Signing Day press conference during which coach Mario Cristobal commented on the Ducks’ 2019 signing class and offered a glimpse into the overall status and health of the football program. Cristobal didn’t unveil anything new or revolutionary at the presser, but one thing did stand out. There was a marked …
Sometimes, bad publicity is better than none. Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott should hope that’s the case, as the maligned mogul has been picked apart and criticized by media outlets across the country this offseason. The conference is in turmoil, and every damning article that’s published continues to serve as a reminder that the Pac-12 is digging itself further and further …
Go undefeated. Alright, maybe it isn’t quite that simple. But it also is that simple, isn’t it? There are two routes that lead to the College Football Playoff for the Ducks, and one of them is definitely to arrive at selection day with 13 wins and zero losses — leaving no doubt in the mind of the committee about the worthiness …
Forty-five years ago, almost to the day, the UCLA Bruins came into Oregon and were beaten twice. It was such a shocking result that Sports Illustrated put it on their cover under that exact title: UCLA’s Lost Weekend. The Oregon men had one this weekend, and the women almost — almost — had one of their own. The men fell …
From the Pac-12’s “Taj Mahal Palace” in San Francisco, large-living Larry “Spendthrift” Scott has reached out to me to seek my advice on how to re-brand the conference. No surprise, as this is completely consistent with Scott’s other cogent business decisions. He just sent a big check to my consulting firm, better known as “JJ’s Crystal Ball Enterprises” (JJCBE). Apparently, he forgot …
At first, no one wanted Rudolph. I mean, c’mon, a red-nosed reindeer? So he and his buddy, an elf with aspirations to be a damn dentist, escaped to the “Island of Misfit Toys,” where they team up with a “Charlie-In-The-Box,” a non-returning boomerang and others to find their “misfit mojo.” Combining their complementary skill sets, they defeat the evil Toy …
In 2013, Chip Kelly walked away from Oregon football, but as it turns out, he probably should have walked away from football altogether. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20, but if posterity was of the utmost importance to Kelly, had he just walked away from it all, he could have become the Jim Morrison of college football — a few …
Oregon’s women’s team continued its great season on Friday against Oregon State in front of a sold-out crowd. (The men? Not so much.) Sabrina Ionescu is playing like the National Player of the Year. The pick and roll with Ruthy Hebard has become devastating. Teams have to pick their poison with those two and a waiting Satou Sabally and Erin Boley …
“The time has come,” the Walrus said, “to talk of many things. Of shoes, and ships, and sealing wax, of cabbages … and Kings.” Alice In Wonderland Apparently, Arizona State (ASU) President, Michael M. Crow heard the call of the Walrus. (The Walrus, by the way, was the symbol of death for many Norse cultures and also for the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” …
This article is about liberals and conservatives, but we won’t be discussing politics. Instead, we’ll be pondering all the different types of people that come to this site. We have readers in both political parties in varying degrees of intensity, as well as quite a cross-section of ages. I received a phone call from an 11-year-old in Brooklyn recently, and …
One of the most complicated coach/coordinator pairings in the country has lasted for only a season. The news that 247 Sports reported on Wednesday was confirmed in a press release from Oregon on Thursday: defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt and the Ducks have “mutually reached an agreement to part ways.” The timing may have been unexpected, but few thought that Leavitt would stay …
We live in an “Entitlement Era.” There are clear reasons why Oregon’s football team is mediocre and its basketball team is under-performing. A MAJOR reason why they are not the best that they could be is a profligate persistent problem of throwing $$$ at athletics to achieve championships. Thanks, Uncle Phil, and other big donors, for the lavish contributions. How is that working …