This isn’t a case of man love, but you’ve got to admit that ESPN’s Todd McShay is one handsome dude. That suit he’s wearing had to cost more than my entire clothing budget for the century so far. McShay is a former college quarterback. It was at the University of Richmond where he served on the scout team before a …
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out In Mark Helfrich’s short tenure as the Ducks head football coach he’s taken a team to the national championship game, developed a Heisman winner and turned a dismal 3-3 start into a 9-3 regular season finish. Yet who gets the kudos as top Pac-12 coaches? Stanford’s David Shaw you can understand. Utah’s Kyle Whittingham? Well, he’s done …
Hope and expectations are close companions in the hearts of Duck fans. For the past eight years our collective hope has been greatness, and our expectation has been a national championship. Twice the Ducks have reached football’s apogee and twice they have slowly fallen back to earth, saddened but not distraught, discouraged but not despairing. Each season our hope has …
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out As reported by ESPN at the recent Pac-12 Media Days, Washington coach Chris Petersen turned the tables and begged the dogs — to not get their expectations up too high. It’s not false modesty. It’s an honest assessment from the one insider who knows the Huskies best. Petersen also knows that man’s level of satisfaction relates highly …
It was great to hear that the Oregon Athletic Program finished the highest ever in the Learfield Directors Cup standings at tenth place, yet in the middle of the announcement by UO Media we saw something that really stood out; Oregon finished first among all schools having the same number of sports available for the ninth straight year! How does that work? The …
Oregon has gone from rags-to-riches in quarterback recruiting in just one year, and it has created an interesting quandary for us as fans to ponder. Should Oregon forget about a quarterback recruit for 2017? I don’t have the answers here, and it was one of the interesting little items that sit back in my mind – wondering what the Duck …
The number of preseason predictions touting Washington as a conference front-runner and Oregon as a fading asset have surprised me. Like so many of you – I thought we earned our stripes by ranking in the top ten nationally so often during the past decade. Yet it seems experts are quick to downgrade the Ducks for imperfections (while giving other …
It appears the Oregon baseball program won’t be making a return to the postseason for a sixth straight year. Despite spending the first month of the 2016 season in the Top 30, including a short stint in the Top 15, the Ducks (29-23, 14-13) have been eliminated from a chance at the Pac-12 title with one series left to play. Unfortunately for …
It’s official – the regular season for women’s softball has come to a close, but the competitive fire is just beginning to ignite. Oregon finished as the top team in the Pac-12, winning its fourth consecutive Pac-12 title. The Ducks don’t want to stop there, though; the ultimate goal is a national championship and they are willing to obtain it at any …
As summer approaches, many Duck fans await their favorite season of the year: football. The Ducks will look to bounce back strong after losing their star quarterback and key members of their coaching staff. After promoting Matt Lubick, the 2012 wide receiver Coach of the Year, to offensive coordinator and hiring ex-Michigan head coach Brady Hoke as the defensive cordinator, the team looks to build …
Oregon Softball mesmerized crowds with a stunning victory at the NCAA Eugene Regionals. The Ducks hosted Baylor, Fordham, and Long Beach State during the course of the weekend. Oregon faced off against Fordham and Baylor to come out on top of their postseason debut. The No. 5 Ducks breezed by Fordham on Friday night to take the win, 8-0, in …
Dear Reader, the following was my response to a suggestion that all teams including Florida International, play in a postseason bowl game and a criticism of the ridiculously bloated post season. Florida International University, Bowls for everyone? All 128 schools play a post season game? An interesting idea, but if there were a players’ union or at least player representation in the decision …