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Pete Thamel: The Sweet 16 is not a done deal. Pete Thamel casts doubt on College Football Playoff expanding past 16 teams WWW.ON3.COM . Pete often hits the CFB mark.

An ERA is a very faulty gauge for performance as one bad inning, or a 1/3 of an inning will produce a huge number, and has been mentioned before, baseball is tough. A really good hitter will go out 7 out of 10 times. Nolan Ryan is a Hall of Fame pitcher, the leader in career strikeouts, but only won 53% of his games. Willie Mays started his first season going 0-21. Figure out baseball" Wee Willie Keeler said it best, "Hit it where they ain't"

Unfortunately, with the NFL being a money machine, imitation won't just be flattery, with income counting more than anything, NFL-lite is coming. We scoff at Washington's split championship, "but those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end"

The best analogy I can think of is golf. Pitching, or playing golf at a high level requires precise mechanics, and mental toughness. If your timing is slightly off things go south quickly, and a mental lapse can be costly. Throw in the weather factor, add some bad luck, and you have can easily have a bad round, or bad inning. A swing/pitching coach will help players achieve higher levels, but can also help players with their mental approach when they are in a slump. College players in both sports are one step from being professional players. So we are watching the top non-professional players. It can be a very fine line between those who go on to have a professional career, and those who don’t.

Hi Charles Baseball is such a funny game sometimes. You never know what is going to happen. That's why we enjoy it so much. I don't know either why a team can be so good and then seem to fall apart so suddenly. I can see a pitcher or batter having a slump, but when the entire team does, that is certainly perplexing. Based on their ups and downs, I looked at their schedule. February 14th - March 10th 13 home games 3 road games March 11th - April 24th 15 home games 8 road games April 25th - May 9th 6 home games 4 road games It's easier to win at home then on the road. Maybe that has something to do with it. And there could have been a flu bug or cold virus circulating throughout the clubhouse that made the players feel a bit ill. Let's hope everyone is healthy and ready to kick the Huskies butt.

Terrific comments that all lean in favor of the regular season meaning more, which makes sense. The problem? Since the 1980s, it's all been about Dollar$ and Cent$. If the House settlement is approved, programs will have to come up with $20.5 million in direct payments to athletes. (But they're still not employees, right?) This comes at a time when the majority of athletic departments are in the deep red. Oregon being in the black is a testament to Rob Mullens. I've dumped on his scheduling from time to time, but Rob is doing the job that counts, and Oregon is counting the money. State laws regarding athletes being paid directly and via NIL are all over the place. The latest ploy is to exempt compensation paid to athletes from state taxation. Give It Up for U and State! College sports need NFL-like protection from Congress. Is this attainable without turning college football into NFL-Lite? I hope so.

Hi Jon The Big Ten baseball tournament is double-elimination. 12 schools will be in the tournament and five will not make the post season. There will be pool play to start the tournament. Pool A Pool B Pool C Pool D Seeds Seeds Seeds Seeds # 1 # 2 # 3 # 4 # 8 # 7 # 6 # 5 # 12 # 11 # 10 # 9 The games will be played at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska. This is great to hear. It will give our Ducks a taste of what it's like to play there. Should they advance, they will be more comfortable with their surroundings. I like our chances. Go Ducks!

I am a baseball fan, but I really don't know the sport very well, and could always use some help by those who have been around the game far longer than I. We've had WILD swings in pitching performances over three different stretches during the season, and I have no explanation... February 14th until March 10th: A pitching staff ERA of 2.88, (superb!) and our record was 14-2 for that stretch. March 11th until April 24: Pitching Staff ERA of 7.87, (Yikes!) and a record of only 13-10. April 25th until just before last night: An ERA of 1.26, (WOW!) and a record of 8-1. Last night's goose-egg of runs given to Washington will drive those stats for Our Beloved Ducks even better. I don't understand how a whole staff can go on a funk, but I also do not know what the coaches did to bring them back to exceptional pitching. Can we keep it up? Thoughts? A New Pitcher Emerged, and We Needed Him!

The Bastard-Huskies do have a good pitching staff, and their starter today, Jackson Thomas, (A fellow with two first or last names?) has an ERA of 3.92, while Oregon counters with Collin Clarke with an ERA of 4.10. Clarke had a bad stretch, but with a number of good outings has brought it down, and we hope for more of the same today. Oregon started out great against their pitcher last night...but then Washington almost completely shut the Ducks down the rest of the game. This will be another tight game, and while I believe we are the better team--we got to bring-it every day as we will get the best shot from the Huskies. Collin Clarke

I still don't understand BB to UNC? Cal and Stanford in the ACC? Why not. Is Nebraska ever going to a contender again? I don't see it. SMU? Cam Ward? From Incarnate Word to WSU to The U, and now to a really bad Tennessee team with a new coach. Meanwhile, USC & UCLA are doing okay in the B1G, UW is chasing its tail, Oregon is winning championships,

Sit, Washington, sit.

As Charles said, I hate the play in game because it devalues the regular season too much. Take the SEC this past year, you would've had Ole Miss, South Carolina, LSU and Florida playing each other for a spot in the playoff. To me that's ridiculous, it was ridiculous to see a three loss team in the field but the ACC was terrible. A five loss Florida team doesn't belong in any sort of playoff. Objectively a three loss Ole Miss, LSU, or South Carolina doesn't either. Would South Carolina be a threat the way they closed out? Probably. Ole Miss was hyped all year but they lost to Kentucky and Florida. They lost that right because the regular season carried weight.

Look at how many first round picks came from the Big 12 compared to the B1G . In total the Big 12 had two first round picks. Oregon, Michigan and Ohio State each had more by themselves. The conference champion ASU had one draft pick in totality. That was in the third round . I can see Scott winning 6-8 games this year. Maybe even challenge for a playoff spot as early as the 4-4-2-2-1-1 model goes into effect.

Time doesn't stop. Ten years ago today you had Oregon coming off a conference championship and making the first ever CFP Four Team Edition. They won in blowout fashion in the Rose Bowl before meeting Ohio State in the title game. Marcus Mariota won a Heisman and went number two to Tennessee to be their franchise QB. Fast forward and you have Oregon coming off a conference championship. They made the first ever CFP Twelve Team Edition. They played in the Rose Bowl vs Ohio State. Cam Ward was the Heisman runner up and went number one to Tennessee to be their franchise QB. A few things have changed though. How crazy would I have seemed if I told you Oregon won the B1G in their first year. USC, UCLA and Washington also joined the B1G. Texas and Oklahoma joined the SEC while Stanford , Cal and SMU were in the ACC. The PAC -12 consists of two programs, Deion Sanders is coaching Colorado and Bill Belichick is in college coaching UNC. Would you believe me?

Stretch Run Begins With Rivalry Win EUGENE, Ore. — With two weeks left to play themselves to the top of the Big Ten Conference and improve their chances of hosting postseason games, all the No. 5 Oregon baseball team can do is take it one game at a time. Friday night was an impressive example. The Ducks got seven innings from ace Grayson Grinsell to lead a shutout effort by the pitching staff, and they jumped on another one of the Big Ten’s top Friday starters to beat Washington at PK Park, 5-0. Oregon (36-13, 17-8 Big Ten) moved within three games of first-place Iowa with five to play — the last three of those being against the Hawkeyes. “We know what the position is that we're in,” said UO outfielder Anson Aroz, who had three hits Friday. “We’re taking each day like it's our last and just trying to win one game.” With Iowa playing a nonconference series this week, Oregon has a chance to get within two games of the Hawkeyes before heading to play them in Iowa City next week. UCLA remained a game ahead of the Ducks for second place in the Big Ten by also winning Friday. “They always say it doesn't matter how you play in February and March, it matters how you play in May and June — and I think we take that to heart,” said Grinsell, who posted his seventh quality start of the season. “We're ready to go with five games left now; six before today. We're gonna go out every game like we want to win this thing, because we do.” Friday’s win followed a pregame ceremony during which Oregon’s home facility was officially named Bob Kilkenny Field at PK Park, in honor of the father of former UO athletic director Pat Kilkenny. A crowd of 3,866 packed the stands to take it all in.' Grayson Grinsell “Really special,” UO coach Mark Wasikowski said. “I know that means a lot to coach (George) Horton; we love coach and that's a really big, big thing for our guys. They wanted to put up a great performance, and Grayson did that. To have the whole family here, we gave the game ball to Pat obviously, in honor of Bob and what the family wanted to do for that great legacy.” How It Happened: Grinsell (8-2) only allowed two runners to reach third base all night, but one was in the first inning. A two-out single and an error on a pickoff attempt put the Huskies 90 feet away from the game’s first run, but Grinsell retired the next hitter to strand the runner. The Ducks then went to work against UW starter Max Banks, who hadn’t lost a Friday start in Big Ten play until facing the Ducks. After Mason Neville walked to open the bottom of the first, Parker Stinson successfully executed a sacrifice bunt and Jacob Walsh followed with an RBI single. Walsh was the first of five straight Ducks to reach before Banks settled in for the night. Drew Smith was hit by a pitch to advance Walsh to second, and Aroz’s first hit of the night plated Walsh for a 2-0 lead. Maddox Molony and Burke-Lee Mabeus then walked, forcing in Smith, and two batters later Carter Garate was hit by a pitch to score Aroz and make it 4-0. “That's big-time stuff,” Aroz said. “We want to give Grayson the run support that we can, and (also) beat good pitchers, because we're going to run into them down the road.” The pitcher’s duel that most anticipated Friday then developed, with Banks getting through six innings and only allowing one more runner as far as second base. Grinsell, meanwhile, got a strikeout with the bases loaded in the fourth to end that threat, and another strikeout to cap a 121-pitch effort in the seventh. Mason Neville was SAFE at home! “It was a gritty one today,” Grinsell said. “Just tried to stay one pitch at a time, trusted in (pitching coach Blake Hawksworth) and Waz and it turned out the way we wanted to with the win.” After Grinsell finished his seven scoreless innings, Jeffery Heard provided some insurance with a solo homer off the UW bullpen in the bottom of the seventh. It was Heard’s first home run since Feb. 28. “It felt really good,” Heard said. “I mean, it’s no secret it's been a minute since I've hit one. So it felt nice, for sure.” Cole Stokes threw the eighth for Oregon, striking out four hitters after the second reached on a passed ball. Seth Mattox continued to hold down the back of the UO bullpen, throwing a 1-2-3 ninth to complete the shutout. Notable: Grinsell has allowed 12 earned runs in 65.1 innings over his last 10 starts. … Grinsell’s 251 career strikeouts moves him into fourth all-time at Oregon, passing Alex Keudell (2009-12). … Grinsell’s 17th career win moved him into a tie for 10th in UO history with Tyler Anderson (2009-11) and Mike Nicksic (1966-68). … The UO staff has posted four straight quality starts in conference play. … Heard’s homer was the 91st by the team this season, 10 behind the program record set in 2023. … Neville’s walk in the first was his 50th of the year, tied for the UO single-season record with Aaron Zavala in 2021. Up Next: The two teams meet again Saturday (2 p.m., B1G+).

If you are a bastard husky, some dirty dog was barking up the wrong family tree, no? WOOF!

I blame Helfrich totally for that Alamo Bowl. Dumbest most embarrassing loss I can remember in my decades of watching Duck football. Should have left him on the tarmac in El Paso.

Ducks win 5-0 over the Bastard-Huskies, as Oregon's Seth Mattox just mows through Washington so easily in the ninth... Grayson Grinsell has been MONEY for the Ducks...

5-0 Ducks after eight innings, Cole Stokes puts Washington down, and makes it look routine.

5-0 Ducks after seven innings, as Grayson Grinsell is up to 121 pitches...and he still slaps the Huskies with a wet newspaper! Jeffrey Heard subs in at right field, and justifies the move with a home run over the right field fence to add to the lead!

4-0 Ducks after six innings, as Grinsell has been SO GOOD. He has 101 pitches...he has gone further before, but do you risk his arm versus a reliever not doing as well? Four runs is not enough with these BASTARDS we are playing...

4-0 Ducks after five innings, as the pitchers have been superb. With a lead--it is crucial that Grayson Grinsell keep the Huskies howling...and he has.

4-0 Ducks after four innings. I got to hand it to the Husky pitcher, as he is mentally strong and pulled himself together together. Meanwhile, Oregon’s Grayson Grinnell, has been wonderful, as he got out of a bases-loaded jam and left Washington with nothing! (I enjoy this WAY too much)

This is what I am happy to see for B1G play....adding the two intra-league long, springy bangers to set screens, rebound, defend, dunk and block shots. If we aren't going to shoot 40% from 3PT, then we need rebounders and rangy defenders to cut off lanes on the break and extend pressure on defensive sets.

4-0 Ducks after three innings, as Grinsell’s change up pitch is driving Huskies nuts.