30Duck

There hasn't been an Oregon team with as much depth as this season's Lady Ducks. Graves could get an honorary degree in Geometry for putting all the pieces together.

This makes sense, Boise State would be step down for Avalos and Moore, and there's not a Jerry Jones at Oregon for Avalos to get away from.

So, how about Oregon players getting ROTY in the NFL & NBA?

Staring the game at 2:00 is much better than at 8:00, even for a basketball game.

That's how they win championships in Washington. Since it was announced that Oregon would play in the championship game, Wilner, and Andrew Nemec, made it their responsibility to make sure that everybody knew Oregon didn't deserve to be there. After they won? Didn't hear much about Oregon being the second team to repeat as Pac-12 champions since Stanford did it in 2012, 13. No team has appeared in the championship game 3 years in a row.

Angela Dugalic was as close to Sabrina Ionescu as I've seen in the game against UCLA. She almost was enough for the Ducks to beat a very talented, veteran UCLA team, when the Ducks were just off. Many times it looked like the Bruins were going to pull away and turn this game in to a blowout, but Dugalic didn't let that happen.

That's the key. You don't have to look back to what Chip did in the past. Look at what Alabama did this season; led the FBS in scoring, nearly 50 points a game, and the defense held opponents to 20! A wide receiver, Devonte Smith, of Alabama won the Heisman. His teammates, quarterback, Mack Jones, and RB, Najee Harris, finished 3rd & 5th, respectively. Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, LSU last season, the best teams in football, all have explosive offenses, allowing their playmakers on offense to torch opposing defenses.. It's the way teams get in to the Playoffs now, and the recruiting you've done is getting Oregon to a similar position. Just Do It.

Whenever, and wherever, the game is, Oregon will be there, looking to extend their 3 game winning streak against the Cardinal.

Justin is poised to not only best Marcus in the NFL. but to surpass former Duck, and Chargers quarterback, Dan Fouts. But for meltdowns at the end of games, the Chargers are in the playoffs this season. Next season with a new coach, and key defensive players back, the Chargers will be one of top teams in the AFC.

This is really fascinating to think about. The QB battle is definitely one of big questions about next year. Typically, Shough would have the inside track to be the starter next season. But what did the subbing with Brown in the Fiesta Bowl do to his confidence? Does he see himself as the incumbent? Or, maybe he see's that he has even more to prove than the other contenders. Does he think it will be easier somewhere else?

Your entire post was interesting, but that one sentence said it all. Aside from the players that stood out, this is a really hard season to figure out. I think that Duck fans should be the happiest in the conference, certainly more so than the whiny bunch up north. The Ducks are two time defending champions, the fact that they are crying about it makes me smile. For the second year in a row, the Ducks popped USC's bubble, in LA. What's not to like about that? Oregon State? Maybe, they actually are happier than is Oregon. For now, beating the Ducks makes their season.

They definitely have the talent, just like they did against UCLA. But, the Ducks need all that talent to execute properly, for the entire game. The Ducks currently have a 3 game winning streak over the Cardinal; in the last 9 games, the Ducks have a 5-4 lead. During that span, Oregon is 2-1 @ Stanford, and 1-2 @ Oregon. In the conference tournament, Oregon leads 2-1.

This is exactly right. The Lady Ducks could lose some battles, but at the end will be just fine. UCLA played great, probably as good as they can. Oregon was off its game, missing key players, and still almost won! The men too are missing players, notably PG, Will Richardson, but they are playing great basketball now, and will only get better.

What a great story. He was a 1st rd. pick, but most #26 selections hardly see the court, much less be major contributors on a team as talented as are the Celtics.

No doubt, the breakout star was Henry Katleman! He should be in contention for MVP. Verdell has a tough decision, this wasn't the type of year he wants to go out on, but is it reasonable for him to think he can make it through next season without missing games? Dollars looked like he's ready for more time as the RB's & QB's battle it out.

Very good point, David, and why retaining Avalos would be great. The last thing the Ducks need is for having the D need to "learn" a new defense. In every sport, the goal is for players to not have to think, to have them all just knowing where to be, what to do.

From the minute he first stepped on a football field at Stanford to when he retired, the whole world basically has anointed Andrew Luck to be the best quarterback ever...who didn't really win anything. Don't have time to get in to all he didn't do, but one thing he did do was throw for more yards than did Justin Herbert in their rookie seasons. Luck did throw for 4, 374, Herbert, 4, 336. However, Herbert had a much better completion %, 66.7 to 54.1. Herbert also set the new TD record, 21, to Luck's, 23. Luck did throw more interceptions, 18-10. and Luck played in one more game. So, will people start talking about Herbert the way they did about Luck?

The WNBA will be full of pictures like this for years to come!

Well deserved! Duarte, along with Figueroa & Omoyuri, are the type of players that take teams deep in to "march Madness". Not only are they talented, they each have very high basketball !Q's, which helps explain why this Altman team is playing so well early in the season.

In a move that should not come as a surprise to anyone, Anthony Lynn was fired as the Chargers head coach. The Chargers finished 7-9, and but for some very bad coaching decisions, could have been in the fight for a playoff spot. With Herbert at quarterback, this will be a coveted position to fill.

It's definitely a great NBA picture of two great Ducks. The best picture of A Duck? Not quite.

This what really makes this game so aggravating. They give up the opening touchdown and it looks bad. But then they fly down the field and tie it up. Then they tie it up again with a few minutes left, and look to have the momentum and the ball tpo start the second half. But of course that's when everything fell apart. Unfortunately, in a way. Iowa State played the game that Cristobal seems to covet. Nothing exciting, just methodical, and if the other team makes mistakes, take advantage of them. So, ISU won that game, but they won't beat good teams in straight up games, and Oregon can't follow that model, and get where we want them to.

That was a very interesting game. It was up and down to start with, so it didn't really matter that Oregon didn't have a go to scorer at the basket. But, after Figueroa's put back slam, it was all Ducks. Duarte and Omoyuri picked it up as well on defense and shut Stanford down, and it will just get better when, hopefully in 2 weeks, Will Richardson is able to play.

Thanks for the article, Charles, in it we see why Graves is such a great coach. I was very proud of how the Ducks played, and I know he was. There were multiple times where the Ducks could have just given up. But, instead they battled back and could have won. I know they feel bad about losing, but it will only make them better going forward. Next game is @ Stanford, and they'll have revenge on their minds for the way the Ducks have treated them lately. They Cardinal is 4-0 in conference play this season, winning by an average of 17 points, they beat UCLA by 12, and in their last game, beat ASU by 8.

Exactly what I saw, actually for the whole game that was the difference. UCLA had a smooth efficient game, with Osborne and Onyenwere, two very talented and experienced players, leading the way. The Ducks certainly matched up talentwise, but this was the game where their inexperience was too much to overcome. The final seconds was where it hurt the most. UCLA played a great game, probably their best all year, and it took that to beat the Ducks, who played their worst game, and almost won.