Student Season Ticket Standoff

Alex Towne FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Refresh … Refresh … Is this thing working? Did I lose my spot in line? Is it time yet? Will I be able to go to ANY football games this year? What if I don’t get tickets?! What has the world come to?! This is a scenario that I, and I’m sure many other Oregon students and fans are familiar with. …

Scott’s Turf: Does Stanford Still Have An ‘Oregon’ Problem?

Scott Reed FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

A couple of years ago, as Andrew Luck suffered another 20-plus point defeat to the Oregon Ducks at Stanford Stadium, a familiar statement was circulating around that “Stanford has an Oregon problem.” Of course, this refers to the fact that Stanford, but for a loss to Oregon in two consecutive years, would have been in the BCS National Championship Game. …

From Dons to Ducks: One on One With New Recruit Brady Aiello

Alex Towne FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Offensive tackle is arguably one of the most important positions on a football team. Vital to the outside run game and pass protection, an OT must be skilled in a lot of different aspects of blocking. Sixteen-year-old Brady Aiello from Lafayette, California, believed he had what it took to be the Ducks’ newest addition to a strong offensive line. The Ducks …

Scott’s Turf: Unofficial Destruction of Recruiting

Scott Reed FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

  “Inebriate of air am I, And debauchee of dew, Reeling, through endless summer days, From inns of molten blue.” This is the second stanza from Emily Dickinson’s “Poem # 214.” Often referred to by the first line of the first stanza, this poem delves into what provides happiness to the soul. The voice of the poem is drunk on …

Oregon Football — What’s the ‘BIG’ Deal?

Randy Morse FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

  A great man is always willing to be little. Ralph Waldo Emerson Zach Okun isn’t the future of Oregon football — he’s the now. All 6’4″, 315 pounds of him. The Newbury Park, California, high school junior decided to end his recruitment process almost a year in advance of national signing day for the Class of 2015. In the time …

From U.S. Soccer to the Ducks, It’s a Small World After All

Steven Holstad FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Americans are coming down with a severe case of World Cup Fever over the past week — and it has to do with team spirit. With the United States winning its first match against Ghana and playing Portugal to a draw, the national team has (so far) beaten the odds in the “Group of Death” and given the U.S. a …

Mark vs Mark: Who Will Reign Supreme?

Alex Towne FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Oregon’s second game on the schedule brings a match-up that could define the Ducks’ entire season, for better or worse. A win against Michigan State would help the Ducks dramatically improve their chances of contending for a National Title — especially under the new playoff system. While there has been a lot of talk about the offensive and defensive match-ups the …

Note from a Wounded Duck – an Open Letter to Rob Mullens

Randy Morse FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Dear Rob, Let me be clear. I am a Ducks fan. Have been since I was a three-year-old in Salem, holding a basketball almost as big as I was.  Have been since I played tennis and football for the South Eugene Fighting Axemen, the latter at venerable old Civic Stadium, within spitting distance of the new roundball palace that is …

Oregon’s Success Doesn’t Depend on Recruiting Rankings

Don Gilman FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Oregon will never win any recruiting championships.  While teams such as Alabama, USC and LSU tend to dominate in the rankings, the Ducks rarely crack the top-15.  Year after year they bring in solid, but unspectacular recruiting classes, yet year after year, Oregon takes those same recruits and turns them into champions. Why is that?  What is the key that allows teams without …

Let the Games Begin!

Lawrence Hastings FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Oregon football pummeled Texas in the Alamo Bowl last week.  Oregon baseball is No. 6 in preseason rankings.  And while that’s all good and fun, this, ladies and gentlemen, is basketball season.  So how exactly is the Duck basketball team performing?  Well, they are 13-0 and top-10 in the AP Top 25 — an incredible start to a season by …

Fool ’em Once

Lawrence Hastings FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Fool the Ducks once, shame on you.  Several teams ‘gave their all’ in an attempt to upset the mighty Oregon Duck basketball team, but none came closer than the tenacious BYU Cougars this past weekend.  In fact, in 38 minutes of gameplay, they prevailed.  The Ducks got their game together at just the right time, though, and managed to force overtime …

What Now Oregon?

Don Gilman FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Kevin Cline It would appear that after four straight years of BCS appearances, the University of Oregon football team will be left on the outside looking in.  Most likely the team will be headed to the Alamo Bowl, something that most pundits and fans would not have predicted before the season began.  Yet here they are. There is nothing wrong …