WiseKwacker

We've had several dogs and cats over the years, but our Italian greyhound, Zip, was my favorite. He passed about 12 years ago.

I agree. For those who persist with the "Dan Lanning has a Kalen DeBoer problem" narrative, I always counter with "Dan Lanning had a Michael Penix problem." For me, Penix is the second coming of Kenny Stabler, and may well develop into a better pro than The Snake. As a lifelong Husky hater, it pains me to admit that I actually enjoyed--no, appreciated--watching him loft those pinpoint deep passes to his receivers. And, having Odunze as a target didn't hurt any. So, I, too, don't see the Huskies being able to maintain their offensive efficiency next year without these two incredible weapons--no matter WHO they replace them with.

My two cents: I was as critical of Ty Thompson during the 2022 season as anyone. My overriding impression of TT then was that ever-present deer-in-the-headlights look on his face. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised this season to see what I thought was vast improvement in his on-field play, coupled with a little less of that previous glazed look. That's a tribute to his work ethic, I think. So, I wish him nothing but the best and I would LOVE to read about him lighting it up with some other team next year. He certainly has the physical tools to do so. After watching some FCS quarterfinal games Friday and Saturday, I think it would be great to see Ty go to a team at that level and really dominate. As to all the comments above debating whether or not Ty ever had a "fair" chance to show his skillset on the field for the Ducks, I'm of the opinion that he definitely DID have the chance. Furthermore, with regard to those above who worry about the Ducks' ability to attract top-rated H.S. quarterbacks to the program in the future, I think they're not really reading where college football has already gone. To understand my point here, I suggest a look at the articles about this year's Heisman Trophy finalists. Three of the four Heisman finalists this year (including OBD's Bo Nix) were transfers; all three were quarterbacks. In addition, previous winners Williams, Mayfield, Murray, and Burrow were all transfer QBs. Thus, I see teams like the Ducks, who have designs on making the CFP every year, predominantly using other teams to develop young quarterbacks in game action and then plucking the best of those out of the transfer portal. In doing so, they avoid the uncertainty of allowing an inexperienced QB prospect to develop on the field while (potentially) losing games. Certainly, every top team will continue to look for that high school phenom like Caleb Williams and Justin Herbert, who can come in and take the field immediately with top-level performance. But, realistically, those guys are an absolute rarity. So, what are the prospects for a guy like Austin Novosad? Well, he continues to work on his game in practice as the #2 QB. And, in the event, that the #1 QB goes down to injury, he gets his on-field playing time with the first team. If that never happens, he too will likely transfer to another school in a couple of years. Not necessarily sad; just the new reality of college football where quarterbacks are concerned.

Yeah, half interested in today's action, I turned on the TV and did my customary quick scan of the major sports channels. Lo and behold, stumbled upon the second of the Ducks vs Wolverines basketball game. What a doozy! Ducks win in overtime on a clutch three-pointer by Jackson Shelstad as time expires. Not particularly proud of patting myself on the back, but I--after seeing this kid play in last year's Les Schwab Tournament--I proclaimed on this site that this kid is going to be a great player. The kid needs work on his shooting, but his passing and on-ball defense are already outstanding. And, the kid wants the ball in his hands when the game is on the line. He's going to be better than our beloved Payton Pritchard if he stays for a full four years. For me, it's hard to take your eyes off him when he's on the court. He just glides around the court like a cat, ready to pounce. (Helped take a little bit of the sting out of last night's disappointment.)

Frankly, I've come to the conclusion that it's basically a personality thing. When faced with an undesirable outcome, some respond by asking how they can learn from the failure; how they can change the outcome in a positive direction the next time. Others tend to respond with anger, blame and excuses. Not sure you can change that in adults.

Thanks for that, Charles. Too bad you have to keep writing similar things OVER and OVER. A couple of thoughts this morning in the wake of a difficult Friday evening: I am like Ryan Robertson (see article) in that I watch Duck games on television in a room by myself. Similarly, I don't want to be around other people while watching the game. While being in a crowded stadium can certainly be electric at times, I find that being around fans--specifically some fellow Duck fans--can significantly detract from my enjoyment of the game. Among my chief complaints in that regard are the fans who angrily blame the refs for every thing that happens negatively for OBD. In looking back at the three most recent games against the Huskies, I make the following assessment: 1) last year, despite the fact that the Duck defense seemed to have no answer for the Penix passing attack, the Ducks would've won if Bo hadn't become injured mid-game; 2) in Seattle, the Ducks should've won if they hadn't shot themselves in the foot; and 3) in Vegas last night, the Huskies deserved to win as they dominated the line of scrimmage on both offense and defense. In looking at this season, sure, I'm disappointed it didn't end with an invitation to the CFP. But, I'm excited about the future. The defense made HUGE strides this year. And, despite my worries about a dropoff in offensive creativity with the departure of Kenny Dillingham, the offense actually improved this season. Recruiting is going very well. And, despite the naysayers, I think Dan Lanning is slowly but surely becoming a better game coach. The only blame I will throw out there is in the direction of the d*mned oddsmakers who put the Ducks at 9.5-point favorites for last night's game. I have no doubt that college kids on both teams read that stuff. Kinda looked to me like OBD ran onto the field believing that while the Huskies did not.

Personally, I don't fault Lanning for being aggressive and going for it on fourth down routinely. I'm glad he does that, and, in most cases, against most teams, it pays off. My problem with those situations is the staff's play calls. Last year, Bo's legs were a "secret weapon" early in the year on such plays; then, after his injury, they weren't. But, I was also heartened last year to see Kenny Dillingham occasionally incorporate the quick slant-in pass as a weapon in crucial short-yardage situations. (For years, I've lamented the fact that the Ducks have NOT included that play in their playbook while watching Mike Leach's Cougars routinely punish us with it.) Where has the 5-7 yard slant-in pass play gone this year? I think it's much less likely a receiver gets knocked out of the play on those quick-hitting routes than was the case in two of the three crucial fourth-down plays the team ran yesterday. As far as I'm concerned, DL's approach and the mentality it represents is great. Just develop and run better plays.

Fond memories of big Russ. As Howard Cosell dubbed him, Russ Francis was "all world." RIP

I think George should just take a tip from good old Matt Foley, motivational speaker:

The Chipster is just one of those guys who knows he's the smartest guy in the room on a regular basis. That's why he's never shy about sharing his opinions. I think he's absolutely right about how things should be divvied up in the college sports world. And, we may well end up with a system like the one Chip describes. It'll just take about 5-6 years to get there, most likely. Once again, Chip Kelly is just about 5 years ahead of everybody else in his thinking. (Man, I sure loved it when he was the Ducks' coach...)

What bugs me is constantly hearing (over many years) that the PAC-12/PAC-10/PAC-8 Conference is the BEST because its institutions have the highest academic standards among all the conferences. And, the PAC wouldn't THINK of adding certain schools because they aren't high-level research institutions. Well, this is about sports. And, the PAC is getting pilfered. Time for the PAC-9 presidents' group to wake up. Seems to me that the Arizona schools and Utah are ripe targets for plucking by other conferences. So, will we end up with the PAC-6? Ugh! The original conference alignments were set up along obvious geographical lines. To me, that still makes sense. From my perspective, college football has singlehandedly ruined college sports. I certainly don't see all this realignment stuff happening over men's basketball; and, certainly, not over any other intercollegiate sport. For me, a really sad aspect of all this realignment stuff is that instead of just rooting for the Ducks to win each week, I'll spend time rooting for USC, UCLA and Colorado to get their butts kicked. And, frankly, I don't need that level of negativity in my life.

Yeah, I wondered about that when the Powells left Oregon. I see the Huskies also have two ex-Duck distance runners on their T & fricken coaching staff (Kwiatkowski and Prakel). Hopefully, Schumacher will get the program on the upswing quickly. It's tough to watch the NCAA distance races (even the preliminary rounds) and only see an occasional Duck entered.

I'm not focused much on what Nix is getting; as far as that's concerned, I think he earned it with the amazing season he put up for the Ducks last year. By all rights, he should have moved on to the pros after completing his fourth year of college play, but got that free extra COVID year. We're the beneficiary of that fluke. What really jumps out at me on the list is Bronny James at the top. While many of the comments here are focusing on the disparity between the "rich" schools and the "not-so-rich" schools, I'm looking at the disparity between "student athletes." When this whole NIL deal was brewing, I think a majority of college sports fans were calling for student athletes to get a chance to get some financial benefit from their part in making college sports the big money-making machine that it's become. And, I think, many of us imagined a system where the money (NIL) would be spread around liberally to many "needy" student athletes. But, as things have developed with NIL, we're seeing that the vast majority of the money is going to a select few "top athletes," while most of the other athletes divide up the scraps. The example of Bronny James jumps out at me as how the system has developed in a not-necessarily-unexpected way, but certainly in a disappointing way: Is there a question of financial need in this case? Nope. Is Bronny James an established college star? Nope. Is Bronny James projected to be one of the top college stars next year? Nope. Is Bronny James projected to be a top NBA talent some day? Nope. Oh well, Go Ducks!

Man, would I love to see this kid play up to his potential. Watching him on the sidelines after yet another mediocre (or bad) on-field performance, he has that "deer in the headlights" look about him. Something about that tells me the problems are all in his head. To me, it almost feels like he needs someone on the field--or on the sideline--to make him angry. Sometimes, it seems, the most good-natured kids only tap into their potential when they are pi$$ed off at somebody or something. Pure speculation on my part. The fact that he didn't transfer, though, gives me hope that he feels he can turn the corner here as well as he could anyplace else. Hope so.

As Bronny James mulls his college choices, just wondering how it will play as Dana makes his final recruitment push by mentioning that he's coached such NBA stalwarts as Dillon Brooks. Talk about poking the "Cub..."

Likely not a popular opinion, but I truly have mixed feelings about this decision. Certainly, Dante made impressive strides in his game over the past few years. He was clearly a deserved All-PAC12 performer. BUT, as "mikethehiker" mentioned above, the Ducks' offense over the past two years has been pretty painful to watch most of the time. Certainly, the team's lack of consistent three-point shooters has been part of the problem. But, I also think the game has moved past the era of big, strong centers anchored in the key waiting for an entry pass. And, having seen Bittle come out of his shell and really begin to blossom during the NIT games, I wonder if he'll take a step back next year when playing power forward alongside Dante instead of being a mobile post man. Dante is a much better low post scorer than Bittle right now, and a better rebounder. Bittle is already a better defender than Dante in my opinion. He's a better outside shooter, and a far better passer. So, we'll see how things work out. Hopefully, Dana will pick up a couple more excellent outside shooters from the portal.

This one's a head-scratcher for me. Paopao is the one of those five fabulous freshmen that's been a starter from Day #1. She's had individual accolades in the Pac-12 as a Duck as well. On the other hand, it looks like the Ducks were not going to be serious Pac-12 contenders next year--much less national contenders--so it seems likely to me that she just has her eyes on transferring to a program that's on the verge of a title run who's in need of a point guard to get them there. Don't know if I can blame her for that sentiment, if that's what her motivation is. I guess we'll know more when she signs on with another program.

Personally, I see a distinction between trash talking and the hand/body gestures that are so prevalent these days. Trash talking has been around for years. (Has there ever been anybody better at it than Gary Payton?) It permeates every sport. What makes it acceptable to me is that it is something that happens between two athletes during the course of the competition. Clearly, the intent is to get the opponent off their game. Sometimes it works; sometimes it backfires. But, for the most part, it is an act between two players that most of us fans aren't privy to. The gesturing that's become so commonplace these days is different, in my opinion, because it's "public," out there for all to see. Frankly, most times it's used as a form of taunting an opponent. To me, it's a slippery slope that's rife with problems. When a smiling Steph Curry hits a three-pointer and gestures in celebration, most of us seem to think that's acceptable. Likewise, when Dame Lillard--an otherwise model NBA citizen--hits a game-winning 3-pointer and taps his wrist to signify "Dame Time," we are fine with it. To his opponents, though, it was a clear taunt. Ask Paul George what he thought of it. Thus, when Caitlin Clark went all WWE and did the "You can't see me" hand gesture against South Carolina, she set herself up for the retaliatory response that came from Angel Reese. Certainly, Reese took it to the next level of taunting by repeatedly doing it right in Clark's face. But, what's sad to me is that athletes today feel the need to do these stupid hand gestures to seemingly fire themselves up. Frankly, I'm sick athletes pounding themselves on the chest after a good play. (I guess that's easier than patting themselves on the back, eh?) Give me Barry Sanders, who understood a few things about the beauty of humility. Okay, gotta go and chase come laughing little kids off my lawn...

Don't like it. Don't like it one bit...doth sayeth the grouchy old man.

Frankly, I'm not terribly surprised. I don't really know how things go behind the scenes (off season workouts, practices, etc.), but I've heard the rumblings that Altman wasn't pleased with this guy's work ethic. Certainly, on the court Ware was a mixture of the spectacular and the really bad. You could see his potential, but he took way too many ill-advised shots, and he constantly tried for the spectacular block instead of just playing solid defense on his man. If a guy doesn't fit--particularly, with a good attitude about earning his spot in the lineup through his work during practices--then I think the team is better off without him. Frankly, by comparison, I also worried about Bittle as a highly-touted freshman when he played only sparingly in his first year as a Duck. He seems to have accepted the fact that he had to grow into a bigger role on the team and showed much improvement during the NIT when he got starter's minutes. Thus, I trust Altman. (Frankly, I liked his post-season rant. I like the fact that he is very dissatisfied with his team's performance the past two years. And, I think next year will be much improved.)

Tara V. is so highly-acclaimed--and she's earned it--but my impression every time after I hear her interviewed is, "Who'd wanna play for this grouch?" Of course, I always said that about guys like Bobby Knight, so there's that.

No disparaging remarks about the team's 3 leading scorers this season, BUT these last two games have been very revealing about this season. The team plays with much more fricken-L-O-W with this group of players. I'm really excited for next year...and I'm not giving up on this team's chances of winning the NIT. The real test for this group will be when they have to play away from Matt Court. So good to see guys like BIttle, Wor and Williams get a chance to show their skills.

Wow! What a super idea. ..

Thanks for taking the time to compile and share this info with us, Charles. As always, your GIFs are the best. You always manage to leave me smiling with those.