Washington Waddler

Travel eastward, and the further you get, the deeper and stronger the pull of old tradition grows. And, by comparison, B1G bias pales the further east you get (how’d they accept us in the Ivy League?), and the south is on a completely different planet. Pretty simple formula: the less time you’ve spent together, the less time you’ve had to develop bad habits. Give them 20 years and maybe we’ll get a few smiles. Prefer being west.

Any word from Lombardi on Elise Sokolsky’s injury?

Could be that donors just don’t care. But, then why build MKA? Another possibility is Nike is sending a silent message that they are no longer onboard with Dana. They may feel that being a good coach is not enough if you appear to resist the change to the new transfer/NIL reality (hiring a GM, etc) that now runs everything. Dana may just be perceived as belonging to another age that can’t or won’t adjust to what runs the game today.

In this current world of college athletics where players have more than one option, it’s anyone’s guess as to whether someone is playing well for the program they’re apart of, or just to increase their transfer stock.

True, don’t recall any complaints when Sabrina & Co. were whitewashing their way through the first two rounds in Eugene. Kelly Graves note: it’s always troubled me the way Kelly could not keep nor succeed with the amazing recruits the Sabrina years opened to him. It was like watching the stock market of the 1920’s hit 1929. Then I read his remarks following the loss to Texas where he said, “For us, we were kind of a homegrown team in terms of, we had players that had smaller roles last year, and they moved into bigger roles. We didn’t just go out and pay and plug and play kids, and I’m proud of that. . . .” Like that market of the 20’s, the post-Sabrina years were just a little too much, and a little too fast, but it’s now beginning to feel like he’s finally getting his feet on the ground, and on his own terms: homegrown, and built from within. Like it.

About now, coach is probably reminding his team that the same guys they stomped by 14 runs beat USC just a few days ago.

Interesting how the women’s Sunday win was also a come from behind in their sweep of Penn State. Nice start to conference play against a team with 19 wins and (before us) 6 losses, two of which were against #1 Tennessee and one with #22 UCF.

The bigger the spotlight, the more glaring the results? At the end of a very successful season, it’s hard to resist not putting all those eggs in one basket where you’ll get either one glorious omelette or a broken mess? The big picture tells me Dan’s on the verge, but still needs a bit more seasoning. The bigger picture tells me he’s building it right on track to get there. I’ll go with the bigger picture.

Beavers go to Reser’s for a clam dip patch.

With about 2:20 left in the game and Maryland star Oluchi Okanawa racing down court after a turnover with what looks like a guaranteed go ahead lay up, Ehis Etute not only out runs her, but cleanly swats her shot into the stands If you didn’t understand then that Oregon was going to win, you just weren’t paying attention. There is no quit in this team.

True, but not the expenses of both fan bases. Just levels the playing field?

Another option is to eliminate 2nd round home field advantage, and award those games in a bidding process to lower tier bowl game cities. Would mean more travel, but more $$.

Yes, nice to know this Fisch will remain catch and release.

Just another hockey novice glued to the tube, but it looked like the OT format of removing one man from each team worked in our favor because Canada’s strength looked like its ability to keep us off balance by controlling the puck with well placed passes between their five, while we seemed to excel at one-on-one match-ups. Less men on the ice seemed to loosen things up a bit, and give better spacing for head to head battles. But just another opinion from a hockey ignoramus. One opinion there’s no questioning is Jon’s. We don’t win without Hellebuyck guarding the goal.

Challenging start to the season for Lombardi. On paper, her roster suggests superiority over last year’s, but clearly lacks the early focus that characterized 2025’s senior-led group’s motivation from being in her program for three years, and ready to break out. Day in, day out team consistency is not easy to achieve, and has to develop over time, if it does at all. But, that’s where I’m beginning to trust Melissa and her staff. They’ve shown a similarity to Dana Altman’s season long approach (this year being the exception) that has players team ready at the right time. This team has the determination. Game time experience together appears all that is lacking.

Columbus would’ve turned back if that’s all he found.

Financially, what made Oregon competitive in the first place was not fans in the seats, but the ambitious $$ of big time donors driven by love of school and the desire to succeed. Perhaps the Athletic Dept. is looking in the wrong place?

Not surprised he’s back in Eugene. In 2011 (his Freshman year) I was living pretty close to Autzen, and would regularly walk through the passage between the stadium and the Moshofsky Center to get to Alton Baker for walks. On sunny days, he’d sometimes be sitting by himself on the curved curb next to the reserved athletic parking area just relaxing and soaking it in. You can kinda tell when someone has found something for the first time that really works.

Silence is golden.

Good points, keep on dumping! There are always going to be exceptions to any rule. Oregon reached outside to get Chip Kelly after the 2006 season ended in four straight losses, and when the anxiety caused by the Helfrich melt-down incited a national search in order to right the ship and regain fan and media confidence. When head coaches replace coordinators, I think they have to take into consideration the current group of players they’ll inherit and their needs. Is the group primarily young, requiring an experienced, guiding hand, or focused veterans just needing fresh ideas? I can’t think of a time when I wasn’t concerned with any new appointment - young or old - until games got played. Wait and see is always tums time. While our recent success has offered that national platform mindset you speak of, it remains as much a gamble as hiring from within. Do you get a Chip Kelly or a Willie Taggart? Free-forming is a good descriptor for this sort of thing. As I wander around this, I keep ending up on the word ‘family’ as the best concept to hold onto when attempting to discern what, or what not makes the engine run smoothly at Oregon. From within or out, you’ll know soon enough whether or not the new guy is a part of what makes us - us.

Just as a gentle reminder to this conversation, much of what is being discussed here has been in place at Oregon long before Dan Lanning was born. Beginning with the program’s emergence during the Brooks/Bellotti era, it became increasingly apparent that much of our new success had its roots in the almost unheard of reliable longevity of its coaching staff, part of which was due to hiring from within. Not only recruits, but their coaches valued that they could rely upon the guy(s) making the pitch not going anywhere. From that perspective, Lanning is just beginning to tap into that part of Oregon’s DNA, and building upon something long in place, the value of which he is beginning to realize is a core element of the program’s foundation and success. What other way could he interpret the consistent, overriding message from both recruits and transfers that what they’ve found of value above all else at Oregon is a sense of family they’ve seen no where else? Our national recognition certainly makes for higher visibility than in those earlier days, and it’s to be expected and applauded that Lanning expects and encourages his coordinators to move on to head coaching positions. But, the media/fan driven hoopla of believing “Big Name” replacement hires is the only way to go is just that: razzle-dazzle. It’s from the consistency and trust that Oregon is built upon that makes us who we are today. Dan gets that.

Love how this group is learning what it takes, and evolving into the team they know they have the pieces to be.

Huskies have a premier brand alright; a ‘Duck’ seared and singed into their mutt butts.

While it’s not the real thing, any time I just need a Duck hit, my go to is the 5 minute ‘More Than A Feeling’ video of the 2008 C*v*l War game at Reser. Brightens my day every time.

How about a new regulation that inspectors who fail to be on site within 24 hours of the completed work are to be used as tackling dummies on the opening day of fall practice? Might hurry things up.