Dear Coach Saban, Thanks to you and your friends, the NCAA, recently announced they would be considering a rules change to prevent offensive units from snapping the ball during the first 10 seconds of the 40-second play clock, thus allowing defensive units to make substitutions during that time and ostensibly promote the safety of the players. It comes up for …
Men’s Basketball: Ducks Lean on Seniors, Dump Dogs
Oregon needed to make a statement during this three-game home stand. And now it is two down, one to go for the Ducks (17-8, 5-8) after a 78-71 win over the Washington Huskies (14-13, 6-8) on Wednesday night. The win marked the 500th for Dana Altman – and 90th (most all time at UO) for Johnny Loyd — but it wouldn’t …
Recruiting Update: Oregon to Crash Midwest Border War?
Football Recruiting Interest The Midwest has never been known to be much of an Oregon recruiting hotbed, but fortunes may be changing as newly-minted Ducks linebacker Jimmie Swain (3-Star/Olathe, KS) is spreading the word about his new team. Swain’s junior teammate, tight end Josh Moore (3-Star/Olathe, KS) became very familiar with the Lightning Yellow & Thunder Green after the elder Swain started …
Oregon Men’s BB: Is There Still Enough Time to Make the Dance?
With just one month away from Selection Sunday on March 16, experts around the country are buzzing with predictions over which 68 teams will fill the brackets for the NCAA tournament. The Oregon Ducks (16-8, 4-8 Pac-12) have just six games and a conference tournament to boost their computer ranking in order to gain an at-large bid to participate in …
In Defense Of: The Duck Defensive Line
Gone from the 2013 Duck D-Line are such stalwarts as Wade Keliikipi, Taylor Hart and Ricky Havili-Heimuli. All very good players who will be missed, but the cupboard isn’t bare. Though some fans panicked at Oregon’s inability to close on a couple of highly regarded D-Lineman on LOI day, there remains much to look forward to from the Duck’s DL …
Recruiting Methodology Drills Deep at Oregon
Coach Mark Helfrich pulled the curtain aside for just a moment recently to let Oregon fans get a glimpse of some of the deeper recruiting strategies implemented by Oregon football. We know how Chip Kelly began a much more intense ‘vetting process’ when he became HC, but it has become apparent that Mark Helfrich has stepped it up even further. …
Buh Bye, Beavs — Ducks Take Civil War, 93-83
EUGENE,OR. – Earlier this season, the Ducks lost to the Beavers in Gill Coliseum, Corvallis. Oregon did not forget the sour taste of defeat against those damn Beavers, and came out this past Sunday with a vengeance. With Oregon’s play being exceptionally great against very good teams the past few games, going against a team lower in the standings, such as Oregon …
Rule Change Proposal Will Destroy College Football
Disingenuous, adjective: “Not truly honest or sincere: giving the false appearance of being honest and sincere.” (From the Merriam-Webster online dictionary.) They should call it the Bret Bielema rule. Or perhaps the Bielema-Saban rule, since it is, in part, due to these two coaches’ influence that this rule is now being considered. For those who are unfamiliar with this proposal, …
College Football Nation: NCAA Hating on Oregon and Michael Sam Speaks Out
What a week of college football and there is not a single game going on. We have Michael Sam making headlines for being the “first” gay football player to come out publicly and now looks to make it in the NFL, becoming the first openly gay player on a roster. You have the NCAA making new rules to make college …
The Tax Man Cometh . . . and is Subdued
The perks of working for FishDuck.com are ridiculous. I’m writing this from my timeshare week in Aspen, and its less than a month after this Super Bowl party: But there comes a time, every year, when we have to pay the piper for all of these perks. When tax season rolls around free-lance writers take it up the . . …
Lets Talk About a Couple of Recruits!
My desk is a mess, we are up to our elbows in work that demands attention, the temp outside is 19 degrees, the east wind is screaming down the Gorge and snow is falling like a lake-effect blizzard in Cleveland – but we can’t get focused because we are really excited about a couple of Oregon Duck baseball recruits! Looking out the …
Chip Kelly Update — Is Michael Sam the Eagles’ Answer?
If you read or listen to or watch any kind of sports media, you’ve heard more about Michael Sam this past week than even the Winter Olympics. Yes, it’s a big deal, Michael Sam coming out as the first openly gay major-level football player, and all the discussion is an important part of digesting this big step forward. His timing …