Charles Fischer

Yep, but last year they moved back up to the middle of the conference with their new coach, yet are at the bottom of the conference at the end of non-conference games this season. Injuries perhaps?

Absolutely, in 2025. The SEC has an incredible SIX of the top ten teams in this week's D1 poll, while there is huge opportunity in the B1G in Baseball for Oregon to be a dominant player over time. My prediction was that starting next year--the B1G Baseball title would be ruled by Oregon or UCLA The Ducks fit in so well as a "cold-weather" team who can flourish regardless of the climate. By our move to the B1G....we will no longer have to play Pac-12 Baseball mainstays such as Oregon State, Arizona and Stanford. Sub into the schedule the B1G teams, and you have a TON of winning for our Ducks!

With the way that the "Big-2" have emerged....it is good that we are with one of those leagues now. It DID turn out for the best for us, and the worst for them. Pranking is all they have left...

How can that be? You only start nine, but Waz now has built a DEEP bench, and on a given day--we get explosions from a new player. You can look at the stats right here, and it is pretty darn interesting with a ton of side-stories that I do not have time for at the moment. A Team Winning 75% of Their Games? Oregon is 9-3, and before you poo-poo Grand Canyon University, please know that we lost to them in a mid-week game a few years ago, and they won the WAC conference the last two years. These two mid-week games demonstrated the depth that Oregon is developing, as new players and their stories emerge. Pac-12 play begins on Friday at Arizona State, and I can't wait! So cool to see linebacker/safety Bryce Boettcher (below) hitting .342 and Sacramento State transfer Jeffrey Heard just killing-it at .447 as Coach Waz is identifying tremendous talent in the portal from unlikely places. It's exciting to see off-injured Anson Aroz now healthy, and playing so well at the infield, outfield and batting .571 thus far. This team is not a finished product yet, as a ton is yet to be figured out, but the upside is huge. It was so cool to see pitcher Ian Umlandt, from Sherwood Oregon, enter the game with the Ducks down 4-2 and he closed out four scoreless innings as the Oregon bats came alive for a 13-5 victory. You can watch the games this weekend on computer for free; just go to GoDucks.com and go to Baseball, the schedule, and click on the link to the live-stream. Oregon has deeper hitting, and a deeper pool of pitchers than any team I recall. We do not have the elite top-end guys yet, but they may develop over the season, and the quality talent across the board is evident.

It is the good people here--like you, that make my world-go-round. Love this community...

Meh. I got whacked out over this kind of stuff years ago, but when you have hundreds of episodes....it become water-off-this-Duck. I have current and former OBD members who would swear that I am a terrible person, or that I am a very kind, decent person. Both are right, depending upon their actions that brought about my responses to them. I have had a couple of hundred people personally attack me on the other two major Oregon websites in the past....for just a difference of opinion. So, I've had a TON of people angry at me before, for just going through life as normal. (As normal would be for me) So, I appreciate your thoughts, but considering my past--it would take a LOT to get to me now. This prank?

Actually, I did not get paid for it being read, but by placing a backlink into the article. A new gambling site needs to raise its profile on Google, so it is found by gamblers, thus an SEO Marketing company contacts me to place an article, or just a link into an article. The firm behind the link today is in South Africa, and the one the other day was located in Eastern Europe, Vilnius City, Lithuania. (I get emailed in the middle of our night, which is the middle of their work-day the next day) Vilnius City Old Town... Thank you for your kind thoughtfulness, 2002duck.

When you operate two websites over a dozen years, publish over 6,000 articles, and write an occasional incendiary one that sets people off...you will make some enemies. Not intentionally, but you cannot please everyone, and after a few hundred episodes with writers, OBD members or butt-hurt Beaver fans--it is unavoidable. I had a pretty good prank played on me last week, and even I had to laugh at it. Someone created a Craigslist ad in the business and furniture section, and announced that I was quitting my Charitable Planning business, and was giving away all my office equipment and furniture! They listed my office address, my cell phone number and plastered some pictures of furniture (not mine) to make it appear pretty real. The text messages and phone calls began at about 7:00 AM one day, and at first...I had no idea what they were talking about. Yes, I told them that I was still in business and planned to be for another 15 years or so... Once I figured it out, I asked each person who contacted me to mark the ad as fake, and after this happened about a ten times--the ad was taken down and the phone calls/texts stopped. It was only a few hours, and in the process had some nice chats with some Duck fans and told them about my sites. Everybody was very nice, and completely understanding. You gotta admit--that was a pretty good prank! After the first phone call/text, I had to laugh. Someone went to some trouble to create distress for me--and I actually had fun with it. I suspect they put more work into creating it, than I had in dealing with it. One who contacted me was actually in my office building and came up to look at the furniture! We had a couple of laughs about it, and met someone new as a result. Good question! My first thought was my ex-wife, but I really don't think it is worth her trouble. (She denies it, and I believe her) It could be a former OBD member I torqued-off because of my adherence to the rules. We did lose two prominent members in the past two months, and they are both tech-savvy enough to have done it. They broke the rules, and they left on their own accord....but I don't think it was either of them. I think it was a Beaver fan, because not only do we have the article linked above, but I have poured gas on the fire in the forum recently. What is your guess? I would assume this person thought it would be more than a Nothingburger for me, and my having fun with it probably ticks him off. You gotta admit....it is a pretty good prank! Thoughts?

Yep. It was an article I was paid to run because of a link in the article. When it comes to expenses of two websites...

How is it even possible to be that bad? Graves should…never-mind.

Mike, I want to thank you for a provocative topic and guest article contributed. You wrote years back for us, and you still got-it! I am still torn about whether the B1G-SEC thing is a bad thing, because we need some checks and balances to protect our interests at Oregon. (I know that is a foreign concept due our years in the Pac-12) We do accept guest articles written in an email or on a Word Document and sent to charles@fishduck.com, and I do want to thank Mike, but in particular Jon Joseph, Don Marsh, and Mike Whitty. So much talent in this collective group of Oregon fans! Guest Articles: Don't be Afraid to Try It!

Thank you Jon, as that is a great article and one of the few times I agree with the biggest SEC honk.

From John Canzano today... Q: The Oregon men’s basketball season has been crippled by injuries to scholarship players. How do injuries to other Pac-12 teams compare to the Ducks? — @DuckDan57 A: I reached out to Evan Miyakawa for some help on this one. He has a PhD in statistics and is a data scientist. Miyakawa tracks such things and agreed to take a look at the top 100 men’s basketball teams in the country when it comes to missed games by rotation players. His report is a doozy. The Ducks have nearly 50 combined missed games by rotation players this season. Colorado is second in the country. Said Miyakawa: “Oregon is No. 1 in games missed and it’s not even close.”

Agreed, but I first have to vent at the 35 million dollar scam. Then they will be...

I agree Jon, in that the SEC teams will beat each other up, and the final top 10 will be quite different from what he is projecting Pre-season. Second...a No. 4 in the nation projection for Our Beloved Ducks? Another top-five prediction, and not something we have seen in a long time--if ever.

I understand coping mechanisms, as I've engaged in them frequently since all the changes began. But the bizarre reverse of logic taking place, the weakness by those who can do better--it really distorts my big picture view that much further. And Mullens schedules OSU and helps their media money for 2024? Oh yeah, let's not forget that the company paying us twice the Apple offer is the company that destroyed the Pac-12? The people paying for everything...the fans, are told to bend over at every instance and take it. A lot to love these days!

...and our university presidents for tolerating this nonsense, for being so weak. Some here would say, "well that is the law." It is not, as the judge who granted everything to the Pac-2 is a Cougar honk, the biggest one possible. Getting hosed by a homer...is that justice? Had the proceedings taken place in Eugene, Phoenix, or LA....it would have been much more fair and not insisting on a venue that is not so biased or appealing in a different location is again...very weak.

Big differences, and it starts with the departure. We WANTED to stay in the conference, and only left when we received a terrible offer. Even with a reduced rate, Oregon doubles its payout over the next ten years. LA schools were out regardless-“they gone!” OSU/WSU were TRYING to escape as well,…weren’t they? But nobody wanted them, and they retreated to the “Stealing” mode. They continue to put out feelers to see if joining a P5 conference is possible. Thus, they are no different than us in pursuing opportunities, only they failed. Let’s look at another angle on this, and ask out loud, “what if both teams had been accepted into another conference? What them?” You know what would be happening… They would be splitting up the revenue among 12 teams, both current and future revenue streams. And what are they going to accomplish with the 255 million and future revenue streams? Nothing. Because they are a group of five set of teams, and there are no power five teams remaining to join their new conference. It is simply another group of five Conference. What kind of media contract will this new Conference receive? Nothing. It is no different than just another Mountain West conference, as they play San Jose State, Utah State, and Hawaii, etc. The money they are taking will do nothing to change their stature in the sports world. If anything, it will attempt to cover up their terrible ongoing management, at the expense of the teams that actually earned it. That is the opposite of what occurred with the LA schools and the other 10 teams of the former Pac 12. In retrospect, the LA schools did deserve more, and they are getting it via a full payout from the Big Ten conference. The rest of the former Pac 12 deserved much more than the two remaining teams, and we are getting that now as well. But we all deserve what we earned, and not be penalized by the MWest teams who posed as PAC-12 conference members, and did not pull their fair share due to their OWN management. So the question remains… Taking all of this into account, what do these two teams deserve? They have over already been overpaid by the tune of over $100 million over the decades via their fair share, and now they demand what the other teams have earned? At what point do you call this a massive charade and con job? I grew up as a beaver fan in Corvallis, who went eventually to Oregon, and who cheered for both teams, I was saddened by what happened to Oregon State in the beginning of this mess. But sympathy does not justify stealing the 35 million they are taking from the University of Oregon athletic department that was rightfully earned by our teams and fans. How can anyone justify this?

Not really. Mountain West games will be shown....Oregon State versus Utah State, and Washington State versus San Jose State...you know, what EVERYONE wants to watch! Yep!

So Canzano interviews the new Pac-12 Commissioner Gould, and she says that in terms of their plans going forward, "everything is on the table." WHAT is even available for you besides stealing what the other 10 members earned? What is left? The Crucial Component: Every power conference rejected you, even at nearly for free. Not even a Stanford-Cal deal. This means that the free-market has decided that you ARE a GROUP of FIVE set of teams, and the closest is the Mountain West. You can pretend you are going to build something...but what would it be? Combining six other G5 teams into a new conference and trying to pass it off as ANYTHING other than just another Group-of-Five conference? How long are you going to pretend that YOU WILL NEVER BE ANYTHING other than a G5 conference? And yet you try to justify why you are stealing money from the ten other teams, when in fact YOU OWE for the millions overpaid to you over the years for your "fair share." We were generous to you to the tune of hundreds of millions, and now you take more?

Doubt we would be on the B1G Network, as we do not officially leave the PAC-12 until the end of June. Beside, the PAC-2 has to steal as much revenue as possible. No matter that they did not earn it..,

Can any of you who have watched Oregon softball explain what is going on this year? Going into today’s game. The team is 9-7, when normally we would be 12-4, or 13-3, something like that at this juncture. We haven’t even entered, brutal conference play yet, and I hope this isn’t a rerun of what we saw with women’s basketball? Give me your analysis!

This year's pitching staff is large, and we are just beginning to get acquainted with them. One thing is evident; we ran out of arms at the end of the season, and it kept us from Omaha, and Coach Waz worked very hard to keep that from happening this year. Quite a few Surprises.... He successfully recruited the best ranked high school lefty in California last year in Toby Twist, who is already showing us some big upside. He has a nasty sweeping pitch that can arc downward like a slider, and then he throws a fastball with the same motion and will blow it by you. BIG recruit for Oregon... He pulled in our new Sunday starter in Kevin Seitter, who transferred from little Quinnipiac, yet he created an amazing 11 strikeouts in the last game. Another is Michael Freund from Umpqua CC in Roseburg, of which has been kind to Oregon in recent years with pitchers. He is still adjusting, but has some upside that Waz identified. Moorpark College provided Oregon with another pitcher in Jaxon Jordan, that everyone is excited about. His combo of Fastball, Slider and Changeup has impressed in his relief innings thus far. The most fascinating pitcher from a small college is Brock Moore, (above) from Menlo College. As another senior, he is trying to take advantage of our coaching and resources and is already getting everyone's attention. He looks like an edge-rusher at 6'6" and 230 pounds, and he did something I have not seen at PK Park before; he threw six pitches in a row at 100 MPH or higher. Whew! Then, he really set me off when he threw a breaking pitch that dropped from a high zone into the batting zone, a "front-door" drop that left the batter and all of us gasping. REALLY high upside here, and perhaps a closer later? While Gonzaga is not a small-college compared to those others above, Oregon got another left-handed transfer in Bradley Mullen, who has a fastball, but also a breath-taking breaking ball that got me shouting at the live-stream already. Throw in new freshmen Ryan Featherston, (impressive) Collin Clark and Cole Stokes, and it is hard to not be excited about Oregon's bullpen for this season. Waz has done a great job recruiting high school players, but has done an exceptional job scouting upside in pitchers that are clearly overlooked by other programs. The new pitching coach "Hawk" has been killing-it with the players as well. They love him... The Biggest Surprise? Where ARE They? We have FIVE pitchers from last year that we have not seen yet. They are starters and relievers who won games for us, and while there are rumors of injuries...there are also rumors of players not working hard enough in the off-season to improve and retain their place in the rotation. They are: Matthew Grabmann Leo Uelmen Jackson Pace Austin Anderson Dylan McShane I do not know what the story is, and of course...none of the journalists showing up to the press conferences ask the tough questions. Quite a curveball at us, and if these pitchers return with a vengeance? Oregon could be a very daunting team to hit against!

If the real ‘Natty contenders will play three or four games in the Playoffs in addition to the regular season games? A conference championship game stacked on top is too much. Dump them.

For that one year of purchasing the tickets...yes. And he will be replaced by another B1G fan next year? The additional revenue from joining the B1G will not fully be known for years. I just know it will be HUGE for the Oregon Athletic Department.