From the Pac-12’s “Taj Mahal Palace” in San Francisco, large-living Larry “Spendthrift” Scott has reached out to me to seek my advice on how to re-brand the conference. No surprise, as this is completely consistent with Scott’s other cogent business decisions. He just sent a big check to my consulting firm, better known as “JJ’s Crystal Ball Enterprises” (JJCBE). Apparently, he forgot …
Anyone who has ever laced up or called plays knows that feeling – when a defense aligns itself as if it knows exactly what play is coming. Sometimes, opposing players and coaches even call out the play as if they were in the offensive huddle. And then there are times when everything is aligned just right, and it seems like the …
In 2013, Chip Kelly walked away from Oregon football, but as it turns out, he probably should have walked away from football altogether. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20, but if posterity was of the utmost importance to Kelly, had he just walked away from it all, he could have become the Jim Morrison of college football — a few …
“The time has come,” the Walrus said, “to talk of many things. Of shoes, and ships, and sealing wax, of cabbages … and Kings.” Alice In Wonderland Apparently, Arizona State (ASU) President, Michael M. Crow heard the call of the Walrus. (The Walrus, by the way, was the symbol of death for many Norse cultures and also for the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” …
This article is about liberals and conservatives, but we won’t be discussing politics. Instead, we’ll be pondering all the different types of people that come to this site. We have readers in both political parties in varying degrees of intensity, as well as quite a cross-section of ages. I received a phone call from an 11-year-old in Brooklyn recently, and …
One of the most complicated coach/coordinator pairings in the country has lasted for only a season. The news that 247 Sports reported on Wednesday was confirmed in a press release from Oregon on Thursday: defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt and the Ducks have “mutually reached an agreement to part ways.” The timing may have been unexpected, but few thought that Leavitt would stay …
We live in an “Entitlement Era.” There are clear reasons why Oregon’s football team is mediocre and its basketball team is under-performing. A MAJOR reason why they are not the best that they could be is a profligate persistent problem of throwing $$$ at athletics to achieve championships. Thanks, Uncle Phil, and other big donors, for the lavish contributions. How is that working …
The Oregon Ducks signed one of the top high school football players at any position during the December 2018 early signing period. That would be Kayvon Thibodeaux, a defensive end from Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, California. Thibodeaux was named the All-USA Defensive Player-of-the-Year in December, led his “Ballaholics” team to the American Family Insurance Skills Challenge Title, …
In 1999, Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young retired from the San Francisco 49ers. In 2000, the 49ers went 6-10 under coach Steve Mariucci and headed into the offseason trying to improve the team. General manager Bill Walsh and Mariucci felt they needed a quarterback, and on draft day, two of the most successful minds in the NFL went into …
For most of the season, we heard how the Pistol was the sole culprit of a dwindling run game. While I do not believe that the Pistol is responsible, I do believe that the manner in which it was used, is. It is possible to be creative with the formation. There’s more to the Pistol than the Inside Zone and …
People say that pressure makes diamonds. Fans of Oregon football hope that’s the case in 2019. After a couple of years flying under the radar, the Ducks are firmly back in the national picture. They stunned the country with their blistering recruiting performance, locking in a top-10 class for the first time in program history. And they were the talk …
Oh baby, the day is here! How will the Ducks do in the final LOI signing date for the 2019 class? Let’s keep track and I will be writing in the comments when Oregon has received the official letters of intent so we can take a big sigh of relief when the three we know of come in. Let’s take …