A lot will be written about the Tall Firs of 1939 this week. Years ago, I interviewed guard John Dick who started on that squad. Dick, who grew up in The Dalles, went on to become an Admiral in the Navy and later retired in Eugene, where he lived until his death in 2011. Oregon’s ride back to the Final …
The Ducks beat Kansas Saturday with defense and because they rebounded. There’s so much to love about that win, and as coach Dana Altman pointed out, a few things to work on as they get ready for North Carolina in the Final Four. The Hot Hand Tyler Dorsey’s great first half gave the Ducks a cushion, momentum and belief that they …
Is that one of most improbable, surprising and stunning men’s basketball games in your memory? It should be, because by defeating one of the blue-bloods of college basketball in Kansas, (74-60) our beloved Ducks will play in the Final Four next Saturday for the first time in the modern era. I am still stunned, because even as a devoted Ducks …
One weekend and a half in and your NCAA tourney bracket is shattered beyond belief. Why? Where did you go wrong? You calculated the assist/turnover ratio in neutral-site games played in December, but before Christmas. You searched the power rankings put out by ESPN, NPR, and The Food Network. This was supposed to be your year. Alas, you made just …
A Ducks run at the NCAA men’s basketball national championship lies ahead. How the team performs and its final place in the tournament will be destined by its overall balance. Depth and balance have been the defining characteristics of the 2016-2017 team throughout the regular season and so far in the tournament. Balance is a key to how deep the …
Yes, Oregon is playing Michigan for a spot in the Elite 8. But for a couple moments let’s look at the trajectory of Oregon’s program under Dana Altman. Altman is on his way to being a Hall-of-Fame coach. One Final Four or one national title and he’s almost assured of it. At the pace he’s on, if he coaches another …
Football Recruiting News With his hiring in January, assistant coach Joe Salave’a instantly became one of Oregon’s best ambassadors. His pull has already become very apparent in that of the responses from several visiting preps, none bigger than Tuli Letuligasenoa (4-Star/Concord, Calif.). “The visit was great, the facilities were top notch and just the whole campus was beautiful!” said Letuligasenoa. The …
We took a peek at Michigan a week ago when the brackets were announced. But it looked like the Ducks would face Louisville so we focused on the Cardinals. March Madness strikes again. Here’s an in-depth look at the Wolverines: Overall Oregon needs to hit shots and if so, they should win this game. I don’t just mean 3’s or …
What really happened when the Ducks played the Rhode Island Rams on Sunday night? Why did the game go down to the wire and how did the team build its lead, squander it and then roar back? Many of you who are reading this article saw the game in part or whole for yourselves, and you have your own thoughts about …
As fans of our beloved Ducks, we have gone through many mental phases as the football program declined, and we wanted the coaches on the former staff (whom we loved and cared about) to succeed. I started pondering the differences between them and those we immediately noted with the new football staff, and, after collaborating with other fans, have come to …
Oregon is three wins away from the Final Four. Given the Ducks have already run off 8- and 17-game winning streaks this season, the Final Four feels like the Oregon’s destiny. But we’ve been here before. The Ducks have made the Elite Eight six times, including last year, and only made the Final Four once, but that was during the FDR administration …
With March Madness (my favorite three weeks of the year) underway, I am sure that we all feel a little lump of uncertainty in our stomachs because of how our beloved Ducks have sort of stumbled into the field of 68. Certainly we were all disappointed to see them get a 3-seed and be placed in the Midwest Region, where …