Duckster

You guys have me laughing at some of the responses. I have to go along with Dav3 as my musical ears (some singing) don't pick up a heavy connection with Yale's FS. Interesting to me that to a large degree our senses serve to define our perceptions. And DC Feather ... great story, but I have to go full contrarian on the Lame-A .. Stanford FS. Free (English R Band early 70's) wrote and performed that little slice of drivel (Paul Rodgers...meh). The Hoover Tower crowd actually believe it's original. Granted, I've probably attended too many events at the Farm over the years to be objective. For the most part F- Songs are from a bygone era and serve as a bit of tether to a schools history, and of things past. In the proper setting, on fields of play, I think they are great and add a layer to the overall festivities. In that simple context I think Mighty-O stands up well. I defy anyone who was at one of those sardine crammed, sweat hot nights inside Mac Court to deny it. With Joe Romania dancing on high ...

So I think most of us already agree that Puddles is Head and Shoulders (Bill and Feathers?) ahead of the B1G mascots we will see next season. But how about our fight song, "Mighty Oregon?" Both USC and Washington have some pretty recognizable f-songs ( "Fight On", and "Bow Down" ). Really? Bow Down? To a dog? Possibly a little ego driven disconnect there? I digress ... I think "Mighty Oregon" is an under appreciated classic. But you can't deny that the B!G competition isn't going to be stiff. "The Victors" (Michigan) and "On Wisconsin" are certified classics. So what do you think sports fans? How do we stack up in the pantheon?

Good ponder point Charles. I do have some familiarity with Big West Baseball via my son's baseball career. It's a very solid baseball conference, with a number of teams (Irvine, Poly, The UC's, LB State, Fullerton) all capable of fielding CWS playoff teams. Some even have National Championships to show for it. I think OSU would find it a competitive conference. I also think the Beav's will continue to try and build around baseball as their one (and possibly only) signature men's sports. Much like the Gonzaga's, St. Mary's and Creighton's of the world in Basketball. Personally, I don't see them taking a major step backwards ...

I'm late to the dance here but great post Jon. This loophole in the system, exploited expertly by the SEC, has outraged me for years. It's an enormous advantage for that conference. For the top dogs, it amounts to a glorified bye week right before the push to the playoffs. Murray State in week nine? What a joke. Starters don't even need to suit up. But who's to stop them? NCAA is non functional and their existing media contracts have accepted it as part of the cost of doing business with the SEC. So what would ever motivate the SEC to change? More money possibly? More guaranteed teams in the new CFB playoff format? Something else?

Hey Pato ... interesting take, since the overarching theme of the article was about a flawed team coalescing in a matter of days (they got waxed by 20 at Arizona only a few weeks ago) into a gritty DA type of Tournament team. Sure Couisnard hunted a few shots, but his overall game (by his standards especially) was pretty measured. Many of his points came off drives to the basket and many of his three's were taken in rhythm with clean looks and shoulders squared. He also rebounded, played hard nosed defense, had 6 assists, forced his way to the free throw line (7 for 7) and had only 1 turnover. Kid played a great game, involved his teammates and was the tone setter. Hopefully it's a sign of more good things to come. Point being, when you post an opinion before the actual event takes place rather than after, the vision is rarely 20-20. Cheers.

In the biggest game of his life, he played the game of a lifetime. Congratulations JC! ...and let's keep it rolling. Scooo' Ducks!

Agree Mudslide and Dave 23 ... Shelstad could be the wildcard going forward. Love his overall game and his upside is enormous. Duck's shot selection another key. Focus on an inside - out ball rotation, where Dante or others touch the ball around the paint and kick it back out to the shooter, be it Shelstad or anyone. Guys can then step into their three's, feet set, shoulders squared. Couisnard has to be that facilitator... drive and dish. They can hit those shots! Good comments about free throw shooting Hayward. It's all about focus, repetition and confidence. No excuse for a team with as much talent as the Ducks to shoot below 70% from the line. SCOO Ducks! It's there for the taking ...

Thanks to all for the replies. Having Dante relatively healthy for a few games in a row is obviously essential for this team to compete. But in my mind the key to this game will be Couisnard. If he sets the tone defensively, rebounds and brings his intensity/ hustle on every possession the rest of the team will follow his lead. If he reverts to hero ball, hunts shots and tries to be an offensive force the Ducks are doomed. Can a leopard change his spots?

Good article Mike and appreciate the perspective. All's I will add is that the concept of "Legality" in the world in which we now live is governed more by perspective than in any era I can remember. You can throw the concept of "Fair and Balanced" in there as well ... There was little or no chance Oregon would stay and latch its' star to the two bottom feeders once the Pac 12 started to implode. You can't just throw 25+ years, and countless millions in Brand Building down the drain (nor 7 years of college for that matter ). Dan Lanning would assuredly be at Alabama now if we hadn't jumped ... I posted earlier in another response that Mullin's made a huge mistake scheduling the Beavers this year. The rivalry as we know it is now dead. Take a year off and find creative ways to re-establish how the contest should move forward. Meanwhile, the environment of this years game will be toxic and some good young dudes, who had absolutely nothing to do with the demise of the Pac-12 will bear the brunt of the vitriol. So ... cancel the game and replace it by gathering all the knuckleheads who actually WERE responsible for the demise of the conference and put them in a ring. Gather a representative from each member school... like say Bill Walton for UCLA ... then fill a bunch of socks full of Horse S and let the fun begin. I actually would buy a ticket for that ...

Meteoric rise for young Wyndom ... a year ago he wasn't even in the top 100 of World's best golfers, today he's ranked #5. No shame in losing to a generational player like Scheffler. Clark's game is rock solid. He's got every shot in the bag and at age 30 his temperament now equals his shotmaking. Saturday's recovery on 17 after his embarrassing chili dip told you everything you need to know about his confidence. Baring injury he'll challenge for every major in the near term ... and likely win another sooner than later (Masters??). There's a sort of Hoganesque quality to his game ... very impressive.

Nice analysis Jon. Would love to see Kansas sneak into the Playoffs. Always fun to watch a long dormant program on the rise. Leipold has done a real nice job there. I'm also in that camp however that has doubts about USC. I agree that the defense should be much improved but there is a fundamental culture flaw that runs deep within that program. Lots of So Cal kids from the powerhouse HS Football teams in the area ... Mater Dei, Bosco, Servite, Centennial et.al. ...filter to SC. These are kids who are very familiar with one another (starting with youth football) that are used to winning and winning big. By the time they hit SC the expectations of continued greatness and ego's are huge. Far as I can tell there is no "De-Recruitment" process in place at SC, or anything close to what has made Georgia under Kirby or Bama under St. Nick so formidable . As a result, you can pretty much count on the SC kids, especially at the skill positions, to fold up like cheap tents if they get behind early or get punched in the mouth by more physical teams. SC is typically a collection of classic front runners, lots of flash and dash but short on grit. Not sure I see that changing much under Riley and Company. Cheers!

Great intel Jon. Didn't realize Ducks miss both OSU and Michigan in 25'. Maybe that's our year, with Donte Moore leading the Ducks into immortality. A week three bye, along with the unbelievable, head scratching scheduling by Rob Mullins, with his late shoe-horned "away" in Corvallis, are both annoying. I think Mullins bowed to the external political pressures surrounding the Duck's departure from the Pac-12, and ultimately felt Oregon would be best served by throwing the Beavers a bone. Otherwise, that game makes no sense. Personally, I think they the two schools should have taken a year off and let things cool down before re-establishing a workable resumption of the rivalry. Many will cry "Tradition!" ... but tradition died with the demise of the conference. I expect a lot of bad blood and cheap shots in this years edition, above and beyond what constitutes a vintage rivalry game.

Jon and Mike ... good to be back in the fold fella's. Big Charles ... (dare I channel my inner Andy Bernard and go full on "Big Tuna?") ... he'll likely ban me. But while boarding his flight to Estonia, Charles reached out with a generous offer of his time and skills and got me writing again. Much has changed since I last wrote for the site, but the people here are the best, and I missed being part of the FishDuck community. I like your confidence Jon and am hopeful our first year in the B1G mirrors what you have predicted. I'm always more the doubting Thomas type by nature so am concerned with the degree of travel next year and the overall schedule. You outlined a few weeks back that 8 game gauntlet of games the Ducks must navigate without a bye. Daunting task! I fear that they may not have the roster depth this year (because you know injuries will spike with all that travel) to weather that storm. They could possibly be a better team with a worse record? And Mike ... you're spot on brother. I was making some notes to feature in my next post around this topic and the D-line was high on my list. Tosh and Dan still have some major work to do on the D side of the ball. Time for those guys to shine. And lastly, those Stanford losses ... they STILL STING!! I live about 20 minutes from the farm, and brutally had to attend a seminar at Stanford the Monday after one of those debacles, forced to listen to all the high minded conversations ( aka' Gasbags) about the "Greatness of The Cardinal." Still haunted by the memory ...

Hey Kirkland. Yes, our boy Mario will once again win the offseason and get his fan base all fired up for next season. Problem is, this is the very same rinse/ repeat Mario that will have that very same fan base at Miami tearing their hair out by week 4 with all his boneheaded coaching blunders, questionable schemes (the Pistol Plunge!!), and overall undisciplined yet never addressed level of play by his entire team. So, so glad that chapter of Oregon football is over.

Thanks for the great replies fellas. Happy, Hayward and J-Duck, agree that Lanning is (at three years in) starting to build the roster in his image as opposed to trying to mix and match the pieces left to him by previous regimes. The "speed kills" emphasis is apparent and will be one of the good sub-plots to follow in the spring game. Also, 100% agree on the need for some grinders to give the lineup some salt. Can Lanning find that next Nick Reed? Lion hearts like that are sometimes harder to acquire than 5 star's ... the rarest of breeds.