Important decisions are being made in the athletic department offices. How to salvage a good recruiting class in the face of coaching turnover. Who will call the plays? What will be the vehicle for the transmission of play calls? (Hand signals, message board or, my favorite, carrier pigeon?) How do we replace the two graduate assistants who were responsible for…something? …
Next Man Up: How Coaches Replaced Legends
Next man up. That mantra doesn’t apply only to the roster, it applies to Oregon’s coaching staff as well. 1977 was the last time the Ducks didn’t hire their previous offensive coordinator to fill their head coaching vacancy. On Sunday, Mark Helfrich became the latest one to follow that path, and in doing so allowed a staff that had previously …
No. 16 Ducks Wake Up in 2nd Half to Topple WSU; Seniors Ignite Rally from 10 Points Down
The high-flying Oregon Ducks, alone in first place through the first three weeks of Pac-12 play and ascending rapidly on the national basketball scene, struggled mightily early in their game against Washington State Wednesday night at Matthew Knight Arena, and seemed ripe for their first defeat in eight contests. The Ducks sleep-walked their way through much of the first 20 …
Meet Your New Ducks: The Big Uglies Up Front
The Ducks are chock full of offensive linemen entering the latter half of their careers. They are nowhere near in trouble of having extra bodies to plug in should a couple of starters go down next year; however, picking up some OL recruits is great for our offense given the constant rotation OL coach Steve Greatwood has in games. Upwards of …
Recruiting Update: Go Baby Go!!!
Football Recruiting Editorial On the eve of my one-year anniversary with the fine folks of FISHDUCK, the news concerning Chip Kelly’s departure reared its head. As I processed the early morning ESPN text alert, I was strangely at peace with the announcement and similarly to new headman Mark Helfrich, directed my thoughts to February 6th and beyond. While not …
Quack Attack on the PAC
Can I just say how insanely happy I am as a Duck fan to see the men’s basketball team doing so well? The team is 16-2 and undefeated at home. They have upset some major players in the college basketball world and have garnered the attention of fans all over the country for their splashy wins. The Ducks’ only two …
DUCKS SWEEP LA WITH 76-67 WIN OVER UCLA; TAKE OVER PAC-12 LEAD
LOS ANGELES — The surprising No. 21 Oregon Ducks continued their special season yesterday by dominating the final 3 1/2 minutes of their battle against No. 24 UCLA to win a huge game on the road, 76-67. The win moves Oregon to 16-2 overall and puts them in first place in the Pac-12 Conference with a 5-0 record. On Friday, …
Notes From Around the College Football Nation: The Notre Dame Mess and Chip Kelly the Eagle
So what did we miss? We have Te’o’s girlfriend coming back from the dead, Oregon’s head coach finally made his exodus, and more conference realignment news. I guess that means the offseason is here, and now we can get ready for signing day. Lots of top recruits are still out doing visits, so it will be interesting to see where they …
Basketball’s Success Directly Linked To Altman
With Saturday’s win at UCLA, Oregon men’s basketball moved to 16-2 (5-0) on the season, their best conference start in 39 years. With victories over then 4th-ranked Arizona and 21st-ranked UCLA, Oregon sits atop the PAC-12; a nice thought at the beginning of the season, but certainly not a reality. Right? Well, it’s time to stop calling this team a …
There Are Days When Life Sucks Major Eggs
I opened Facebook Wednesdy morning and saw a sad face beside the headline ”Kelly to take Eagles job.” I felt bad for the Notre Dame fans. You see, it had to be Brian Kelly because we had already gone through this with Chip Kelly. Then, in response to the cold finger of fear that was working its way from my …
Black Mamba loves to go bowling
As I sit and reminisce on the Fiesta bowl and the performances of Oregon players, I can’t help but be impressed by one particular player: De’Anthony Thomas. This got me thinking about his bowl performances in comparison to season outputs. Don’t get me wrong, he thrives during the regular season, but it is apparent that he is a beast in …
We Were Mighty Oregon Before Chip Kelly Got Here. We Still Are.
For me, it seems that a byproduct of getting older is a certain jadedness. There isn’t a whole lot anymore that emotionally stuns me the same as it might have in years past. I’m still surprised now and then, but rarely do I get blindsided and emotionally drained. I suppose that after experiencing gut-wrenching events in my life, the impact …
