Charles Fischer

I do not like to use the word, "depressed," but I do think "feeling bummed" at the moment is apt. I had to ban/blacklist a fellow who, the majority of the time, was a good contributor here. But when he went off-the-rails...it was something I could not allow to continue. This actually was his second time, as I banned him a year ago, but I do like to give people second chances. The negative and the positive to giving people a second chance is that it works out about half the time. But the half that it doesn't is a downer, but I must protect everyone from the nastiness of the rest of the world. And I genuinely liked the guy, but he could not summon impulse control within him. The problem is not with the rules since we had so many thousands of great comments with so few deleted. The problem is with just a few people on occasion who cannot control their behaviors. If this seems like I'm laying on the therapist's couch talking to you--I am. I love the community here, and I love reading all the posts that are so remarkable due to the absence of any tension or aggression. But like everyone else--I hate being the bad-guy. But I do it, as I promised I would, because if I don't...things can get ugly in a hurry. The GOOD NEWS? Thankfully the vast majority of you never saw the offending posts as we eliminated them immediately. And the last offending one was actually in the middle of the night! Can you imagine getting out of bed, going downstairs to the computer (I saw the post on my phone) and then deleting the post and then banning the guy at 2:43 AM? Geez... And the good news is that I rarely ever have to do that, or even delete a post. And usually when I do the offending party writes, "sorry, my-bad, love what you are doing and I won't do that again." And I tell them "thanks, and let's forget it and move on." And we do. Most everybody here are really reasonable people, and that makes it easier. But there are some messed up people out there and a free forum like this is going to have some turn up that I have to deal with. But you don't, and all the squabbling done in the email exchanges and ugly stuff? You won't ever see it. We don't need the buzz-kill to our fun atmosphere, and I am not going to let the half-of-1% make things dour for the rest of us. Hug a Moderator! These guys cover a shift where they check in every so often and in the process of reading posts as they normally would--check for violations. It is easy work, and they agreed to a schedule so that things are caught within an hour or so, and we all should express our appreciation to Steven A., Haywarduck, Smith72 and 30Duck. Their posts are in light green and mine are in yellow so you quickly know who is keeping an eye on things for the benefit of all. Can you spare a few hours out of the 168 hours in each week? Email me charles@fishduck.com and join the team that makes this forum so incredibly special. YOU can REPORT an Offending Post Anonymously You have to follow the rules so if someone is violating a rule and we haven't seen it yet--let us know! It takes ten seconds and you can learn how to do it right here. The violator and the community does not know you reported it, and everyone is grateful when you do! The objective with this post was not to dump my "being-down" on you, but to let you know that people are actively working to protect the community--and it happens every day to keep this GREEN REFUGE the special place that it is. And my thanks to all of you who create the 99.50% of the posts that are fun and informative to read. Charles

We are all in that boat...although the boat is quite a bit lighter. The number of people posting compared to normal is way down, as I believe it is now sinking into people--the truth about Cristobal. And they are checking out of Oregon football.

THAT is pretty funny and so true Duckman. We are all running at the football....with only one eye open!

This is a good ESPN article about Kayvon and his longer term goals outside of football. Oregon's Kayvon Thibodeaux is More Than the Next Potential No. 1 NFL Draft Pick by Tom VanHaaren of ESPN

Amen, Duck Brother.

Hello My OBD Forum Friends! Lets get these predictions started today and remember I look for the spread with then the closest score that has the spread correct. The data I need from you is: (entries without all the information are invalid, and predictions on other threads don't count as I am not going to hunt them all down) --the winner --the score, and the tiebreaker information needed from each of you is... --the amount of turnovers Oregon creates --the number of sacks Oregon records on Cal --the number of passing yards. My guess is: Oregon, 34-16, 1, 3, 224

While I wish we would stick to our traditional colors--this is cool. Now if the fans wore yellow--it would be better on TV. We've looked pretty good in black before...

You really know how to get to me...

Good gosh Mike...it is SO GREAT to have you back!

This is from WillametteDuck over on 247 posting about TOS (the other site, which to them is ScoopDuck)... I should say that SD does get some gems often, although this one (to me) sounds too good to be true. Mr. FishDuck On Chad Doing’s show yesterday, there was a guy from TOS that had some interesting comments on Oregon. "He was saying his sources were telling him we are going to see a different team on Friday. Much more dynamic. Seven McGee on the field more, different QB, and any freshman that should be playing will be. (Namely, receivers) He also said that MC realized he has to open it up on offense, the time is now, and the youth movement is on. That is what this guy was hearing. May be a real interesting Friday night!"

Prediction Thread begins Friday morning! If we can make it that long...

Yep....who knows what we see?

A really good summary of what to expect and watch for--thanks.

"It feels like a waste of my time watching these games." When a conference beat-writer is starting to share this....yikes. (Now I do have my doubts about his dedication to the conference and his craft, but....) He does make some very interesting points, and Oregon is front-and-center in the conversation. Whew! 3 Reasons Why Pac-12 Football Sucks by Nick Bartlett of Oregon Sports News

You are a great long term fan Annie...not many people recall Joe Farwell. Toughest LB by the pound...

A Duck-Buddy mentioned it on the phone yesterday and I've been thinking about how Thibs was limping coming off the field for his limited reps versus Arizona, and was not the pass-rush factor we needed against Stanford. We don't think his ankle is 100%...how about you?

I have been impressed with the Athlon pre-game analyses, and their comment about the Cal pass rush might raise some eyebrows. And I personally think we are quite lucky to have Jamal Hill to replace Bennett Williams, as we will be just fine at that spot. I worry more about our linebackers and defensive line. Thoughts? California vs. Oregon Football Prediction and Preview by Kyle Kensing of Athlon Sports

While the article is about his rising draft position--there is good analysis about him. Good publicity for the Oregon defense? VERONE MCKINLEY III SOARING UP 2022 NFL DRAFT BOARDS by Brentley Weissman of The Draft Network

I am surprised with his take, but see his reasoning--although I wonder if he watched the Stanford game?

Steven A., Steven A., Steven A.! Read my post again please, as I am NOT discussing uniforms, but what people wear to the game. That color is in the background for photos and on television, and yellow looks best, IMHO. I even provided photos with cool colors in the background to demonstrate my point and it had nothing to do with uniforms.

You strike your deal when you are the hottest....and the Trojans are not that currently. Win big and often as they did with Pete Carrol, and then the timing makes more sense, IMHO.

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Good one...

Very cool, and thanks for posting it! I cannot believe the names below Justin on that list? Brady? Rodgers? Mahomes? Whew! Gotta enjoy this while we can...

Way to go Annie, making sure your seats are filled; I did the same thing as I cannot go to the game, get home at midnight here in Eugene, and then start all my game/article/video/photographer tasks at that hour. I'm getting too old for that!