Charles Fischer

Before you ask...

You gotta love it! For sale for all Duck fans!

Jon, you are quite right about us getting hosed; the B1G gets marque games with Oregon, gets us for half-price, and then gets to set the schedule against us? Feels like Pac-12 Refs! But I think Oregon will make the B1G jump better than UCLA...

Sorry, but since I am "Hopelessly Devoted to the Ducks," I would like to believe that we will be in the tournament if we play tough defense like last night. We are not even at the half-way point of the conference season of 20 games, thus if we play well the rest of the way....

I gotta admit that I've always been a little bit of a SF fan, especially now because of a couple of starters on defense who are Ducks. I love the underdog story in how Detroit is finally winning, but they will have their chances again later, I believe. I'd like to see the Niners get this done before the roster ages out. (Armstead?) Who do you like, and who do you think will win and why?

My Duck-Buddies....I believe that last night was a landmark game for the Mens Basketball team. They could see and feel what the beginning of their upside is, that when they clamp down on defense, and move the ball--they can be a very tough team for anyone. It was apparent that Dante was getting the rust off against Utah/Colorado, and this game we saw more of his talents emerge. Unfortunately, it is taking Bittle longer, and I even have my doubts about how well we play with him in there, versus one of the fast-twitch smaller players? Now that was a perfect storm of great defense, and hitting all the shots, but nonetheless it shows the team, and gives them confidence about what they can do. For those who watched--do you think this was a big turning point in the season as I do? (I know, I am just a big Duck-Homer, but I am always looking to the bright points, and this feels like one) EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon remained perfect at home this season and retained a share of first place in the Pac-12 Conference with an 80-61 men's basketball victory Thursday over Arizona State before 6,170 fans in Matthew Knight Arena. The Ducks (14-5, 6-2 Pac-12) endured a scoreless stretch of more than seven minutes in the first half, falling behind by as many as 10. But they shot nearly 70 percent in the second half, 18-of-26, to turn the tables and break a tie in the conference standings with the Sun Devils (11-8, 5-3). "We took some questionable shots there — and that's being nice — that got us out of rhythm," UO coach Dana Altman said of the first-half cold stretch. "And defensively, we had eight deflections the whole first half; we had 27 the second half. That gives you an idea of the difference in the intensity." Oregon trailed 42-38 early in the second half, then proceeded to make its next 13 field-goal attempts. A basket by Kwame Evans Jr. broke a 47-47 tie and sparked a 15-0 run that gave the Ducks the lead for good, with Keeshawn Barthelemy providing seven points in that stretch. "It started with the defense — we got some stops, and then the basket got wider because we got some stops," Barthelemy said. "And we did a good job sharing the ball, making plays for each other." Jermaine Couisnard scored 19 points to lead the Ducks, and N'Faly Dante added 16 points with six rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Barthelemy scored 12, and Nate Bittle had seven points in his return from a wrist injury. How It Happened: After ASU scored to open the game, Bittle made a three-pointer on the first UO possession. With 15:01 left in the half, Dante scored to put the Ducks back in front by one, 10-9. But from there Oregon went 7:16 until scoring again, with ASU mounting an 11-0 run to lead 20-11. Dante finally ended Oregon's cold stretch with a dunk, and moments later a Jadrian Tracey three followed by a Barthelemy three-point play got the Ducks back within 24-21. A bucket by Couisnard two possessions later made it 24-23, before ASU stretched the lead to 33-28 at halftime. At that point the Ducks seemed to have stabilized themselves, but they still were in a hole. "I looked at everybody in the locker room, I could tell everybody wanted to win this game," Dante said. "We all knew what we needed to do, and everybody decided to play defense." The Ducks scored on their first five possessions of the second half, the last a putback by Dante for a 38-38 tie. Oregon finally took its first lead since 10-9 when Evans hit a three for a 47-46 advantage, and after an ASU free throw tied it, Evans scored again. That gave the Ducks the lead for good and sparked the 15-0 run, with Evans passing to Barthelemy for a three-pointer on the next possession. "He did a nice job there off the bench, really made a couple good plays for us," Altman said of Evans, a freshman who started 16 games before coming off the bench the last two. "KJ really wants to help the team." Oregon's 10th straight made shot was a dunk by Dante to cap the 15-0 run for a 62-47 lead. After the teams traded scores for a few possessions, it was 65-52 when the UO men scored another nine straight to forge their biggest lead of the night at 74-52. Up Next: The Ducks host the other team that entered this week tied for first in the Pac-12, Arizona, on Saturday (2:30 p.m., FOX).

There are a bunch of false coach quotes these days, and I believe this is one of them. AI can create anything to be very convincing, as some of the spam/phishing emails I've received are so realistic. Hard to tell them from the real thing...

Omigosh! What do the Huskies have left of a 2024 recruiting class? Ranked No. 64 with only FOUR of the 4/5-Star players coveted, where Oregon is No. 6 with Twenty of the 4/5-Star players? 2024 Washington Huskies football commitment list WASHINGTON.RIVALS.COM The definitive source for all Washington news. This will catch up with them, as you cannot get all you need from the portal... I feel so SAD for them!

Oh NO! Poor Huskies...

He may do as well there as he did Washington State? Maybe it was not a Grinch problem, but a Riley problem?

A buyout for a coach… who has not coached yet? I cannot fervently wish for this on the Huskies enough! (I know that Sherrod Moore is the likely new hire, but a guy can dream!)

Yep, I could see me wearing the virtual goggles, and then pull as if I was one of guards on a counter...and then run into the real wall. (But I'd probably enjoy it)

Cool! JHOP at ScoopDuck just made a prediction of Muhammad to Oregon, with a level of 70% confidence. How accurate is JHOP with his picks? Generally he is right about 85-90% of the time, and he is giving himself wiggle-room by not going with a super-high probability percentage. Not a shoo-in, but the fact that he is still visiting Oregon after visits to Texas and Alabama, and Jabbar did not shut down the Oregon visit to sign with one of the other two schools is great for the Ducks. Dano is the best with visits, thus a decent chance of getting his commitment to Oregon! P.S. I know people have not said "Cool" since the 1970s, but that is what you get with an old-fart.

We'll discuss the NFC final in a thread tomorrow, but I thought I'd start a discussion about the AFC Final between the Ravens and the Chiefs. Who do YOU like, and think will win and why? In the spirit of supporting the underdog...I want this to be Lamar Jackson's game, with all that has been written about him. I like KC, but the drama of their star tight end and a pop star is a bit much, and they've won plenty in recent years. That Baltimore defense is something to behold, but I must admit--I do not watch much NFL at all, especially when Justin Herbert is not playing. Generally, last weekend, this weekend, and the Super Bowl are the only full NFL games (outside of of Herbert) that I'll watch. So for those of you who know these teams--I'd love your thoughts on who will win and why.

Also from the 23rd and on the Texas site... Jabbar Muhammad visiting Oregon Texas leads for the No. 12 ranked prospect in the On3 Transfer Portal Player Rankings is headed to Oregon for a visit following a weekend trip to Alabama. After entering an On3 RPM pick for Muhammad to eventually pick Texas last week, the Ducks are more than making it a fight. Dan Lanning met with the Muhammad family prior to the visit, and the Ducks are all in. All in, and with a plan for Muhammad to come in and be a corner that rarely comes off the field. The cousin of Texas freshmen Malik Muhammad and Billy Walton recorded 46 tackles, 14 passes defended and three interceptions for Washington in 2023. He was named All-Pac 12 Second-Team following the 2023 season. Muhammad recorded 72 tackles and 12 pass break ups in three seasons at Oklahoma State prior to transferring to Washington.

Heartbreaking....just heartbreaking! 😂 (I really am a sicko for enjoying this as much as I do...and I'm good with it!)

OK...this sounds pretty good...

So Oregon has a tougher schedule than Ohio State, as proven by a terrific prior article by Mr. Joseph. But now we see that Oregon is on the third toughest schedule among the four newcomers to the Big Ten conference? That is one way to welcome the newbies to the Big Ten! Terrific research analysis and conclusions Jon! Charles

This is not good...can't even bend the leg?

See updates at the bottom of this thread... -------------------------------------------------------------- Now I understand the urgency to the recruiting of Muhammad, as Jahlil Florence may not be 100% ready for the season. Rumors of a serious injury... (Starting a new thread about Muhammad)