The Grateful Duck

Just to remind South Carolina fans PAC: 3 - 0 SEC: 0 - 2 Whoops, we ball out West. And the SEC, better at talking than winning. Still adding to their losing %.

My opinion, this game started and ended with defense. The Ducks showed up on the defensive end. OBD's big men dominated. Whoop!

SEC continues its stellar March Madness trend: losing. 0 - 2. Oh, and the PAC? 3 - 0!

Since 2018 (2020 was cancelled) Pac-12 16 teams invited 8 to the Sweet 16 (50%) 3 to the Elite 8 (18.75%) 1 to the Final 4 (6.25%) SEC 32 teams invited 12 to the Sweet 16 (37.5%) 4 to the Elite 8 (12.5%) 1 to the Final 4 (3.125%) With more invites, the SEC has certainly been better at losing than the Pac.

I get the lil' brother hate and that, as this charade draws to an end, it seems that the lil' brothers are fleecing those of us that have left BUT... Ultimately, they both are being relegated to the netherlands of the cfb money-world, where the haves will (most likely) pummel the have-nots, to which they belong. At this point, I couldn't care less about OSU. Though I'll be rooting for the Lady Beavs....

South Carolina is a tough draw. That team surprised a lot of folks this year in SEC play. It took them a few upsets early/mid season to even crack the top 20. But after a couple conference upsets they could no longer be ignored. Also, their style of play may "wear down" the short-handed Ducks roster over 40 minutes. I'm not confident about OBD's chances here. Hate to be Donny Downer but I've been following the Gamecocks this year after those upsets and wondering why they were still not ranked...until they were. And though they did lose a few games down the stretch and got blown out by Auburn in the SEC tournament, they are a good, solid team. I hope I'm wrong, of course....

2nd half was tremendous despite the foul line discrepancy.

A+ game!

I don't care. Any victory over the men of Troy is glorious. Beyond beating those guys up north and not losing to the Beavs, USC losing to the Ducks is primal good. Watch the 2007 game highlights on YouTube...chills! Nothing beats the pick, but any victory (any!) over the condoms is close. There are some fan bases in B1G I'm hoping to knock down a notch as well. Welcome to the Duck dynasty....

Great articles. I appreciate the links to these! Our new brothers and sisters!

Short and sweet! Me too. Trading Lillard was the right thing to do, for both the player and the franchise. Based on the direction the team needed to go with young players/draft choices and really not hitting the free agent market, keeping Lillard would've been disastrous. (TBH, I'm not certain he'll win a ring in Milwaukee either.) I really would love to see a team in Seattle. 1st, I live up here. 2nd, having a more local rival is good for both franchises. I'll never hate the Nuggets, OKC, the Jazz, the T-wolves like I'd hate a new "Sonics" franchise. Gawd, I hated the Sonics! It's easier to root for this team as presently constructed: a young base, a couple of outstanding/likeable vets, and some 2ndary guys who give effort. Will they win? No. But if we keep collecting young, solid talent, we might again. Hell, if the T-wolves and the Thunder put together winning rosters... The Blazers certainly could. But... First, New ownership, preferably local! The Vulcans must go!

Cool beans!

Personally, I think there's a lotta things wrong with pro football, too many to iterate. I record red zone during the regular season and fast forward to things I care about: WFT and the Chargers. Or if something terrible is happening to the Cowboys, see schadenfreude! And playoffs, maybe parts of some close games (record some games and monitor on various sports sites). I think I've only watched the Lions (see Penei pancake somebody. That dude is cream!) for the 2nd half. Bits and pieces elsewhere. Who knows if I'll watch the super bowl? Literally, I don't much care if the WFT or the Chargers aren't playing. Or to check on the Cowboys getting snuffed. Taylor Swift is just another moment to fast forward through. That being said, who am I to care whether another young person watches the game just to catch a glimpse? Swiftys are as innocuous as little pony fans: truly their thing not mine. But better that than stealing cars, shooting innocent bystanders, storming government facilities, plowing into crowds of peaceful protesters, glorifying swastikas, senseless violence.... The world is full of things way more worrisome than Taylor Swift.

Re: Stubblefield. When I saw he'd been fired, my first thought was "would coach have a place for him on staff?" I'm glad the thought's out there. Since his departure, I've noticed a slight downturn in team play and staff recruiting. I'm hoping....

Who's Swift? No idea....

Chiefs. Because they're not Baltimore. WFT fan: loathe the Ravens. Preview: Lions.... The undercats... WFT fan: loathe the Niners.

August to Augduck: you're not alone!

Personally, I'm trying hard not to take any of this "outta my control" stuff too much to heart. Literally, doing that is hard on the heart AND the brain, physically, literally. If coach had left or not, my mantra should remain the same: outta my control, not my problem. Immediately I was ready to look at possible coaches who might be available and what the pros/cons of each. I wasn't going to moan, groan, gnash my teeth, cry, etc., becoming an unpleasantly unhappy chap. All of us have to live our lives dictated by what is best for the individual and loved ones that will give that individual the best opportunity to succeed by whatever metric any of us might apply. Coach Lanning, the players, the staff, the fans, etc., all of us in any given situation. Decisions might be made for the most selfish or altruistic reasons. But it should be dictated by the weighing of any and possibly all factors. And unless it is my decision, decisions can be outta my control. I'm trying to choose neutrality because the opposite is more heinous than just accepting what is for the fact in the matter. Plus I'm dealing with now ingrained anger control issues, depression, and negativity that is not who I want to be. I can't change what is past but I might extend my present equanimity into the future. Which is much more healthy for myself and those with whom I interact. But that's just me. We each and every one of us have our own trip, may it be long and strange, to the measure of each.

Great points from those better equipped to assess the Ducks prospects going forward. Thanks so for the sane assessments. Grateful Duck in Renton (I can hear the Huskies howling from Montlake. Music to the ears!!!)

Or the change of tempo/style may actually clash-crash rather than mesh. I haven't been keenly following the b-ball team, but how many of those wins have come from tier 1/2 programs? Next week will be a big tell. Utah/Colorado may be a better measure of the quality for our mesh/crash possibility. Before seeing Arizona later... I'm thankful that some Duck fans have been tracking the b-ball team. Football has been quite captivating for an off-season.

That last one: ouch! Brutal. The husky howling: classic!

Lanning replacements: Jedd Fisch Kenny Dillingham Will Stein Jeff Chadwell Liberty HC Sherrone Moore ...? If he's interviewing, he's interested. We've seen this play before.

Bo Nix. Leadership, loyalty, and the fact that he's acknowledged how wonderful everything about his Oregon tenure has been, basically life-enhancing. Thanks for being the man, Bo.

Mike, I agree. Penix just seemed off, not only missing throws, but not confident in any facet of his normal game. Of course, one could say that Michigan's defense had a major effect on his performance but it's not like the Ducks or the Wildcats hadn't already hit/sacked him previously. And the play selection/tempo was atrocious. The Huskies needed to speed it up a bit at times, especially after a longish play. The Husky offense was stuck in 1st gear, whether previous play was successful/not or the defense got rattled after a chunk play. Despite rooting for the Huskies, I'll still be able to troll them when the need arises. There's always a bright side to a Husky loss!

Mike, I love competitive games and all, but having watched a few too many USC beatdowns of OBD back in the day at Autzen (in the rain!), I draw the line at the Trojans. The only instances I'll root for the Trojans: vs. any SEC team or they are playing a team whose losing would benefit OBD's championship profile because OBD've already beat SC, by at least 2 tds. Losing and SC has to be a more regular feature before I want SC to win. Hearing that bit of their fight song after the most inane play...confirms my dislike anew over and over! Ugh!