Badwater

Hythloday talked about that a bit in the podcast I joined him on (that's up today at Addicted To Quack). I believe that he will have an article coming up in the near future regarding the metrics of his tweet.

The spring game was very vanilla. No running game to speak of, and I addressed that. I do think that Dillingham will open things up, but while the passing game will be substantially improved, I don't think it will be the level that everyone seems to be salivating about - to an extent. We really have not seen the Oregon run game yet, and we won't until September. The run game will inform the passing game.

Good Grief. The USC spin is tired and predictable, same as Notre Dame and Texas. Yes, LR is pulling in recruits, but he was going to. He still has an uphill battle against Oregon. While I think Oregon hasn't shown much - and they won't ahead of the Georgia opener - my prediction is that the great gnashing of teeth in LA LA Land during the 2022 season will grind teeth flat. The "experts" always gravitate toward the $$$s...did I mention Texas and ND? I'm not one to drink the Kool-Aid, but I do think that Lanning has put together a pretty good staff and he's arguably done more - and better - than what MC was left with. We're going to learn a lot about our Ducks in September. USC will also, but I don't know that knowledge will save them.

Also... I realize that he's in his dream job, and I hardly fault him for his gusto. HOWEVER, his in-game coaching is a huge question mark to me, and while he'll not lose money on the house purchase, I'm all...Dude, you've done nothing substantial to date. I don't wish MC bad, I just see the bad. With Lanning, we're talking a different head coach. I've been spurned plenty of times in plenty of sports as a Ducks fan - it's not isolated to football - and I'm a cynical old man; however, to date I'm still sold on Lanning. Until he proves otherwise.

Eight is not enough.

Baseless rumor. There are no woods in the outfield. Or bases, either.

I never pay attention to this pre-season silliness. It's just a number plucked from thin air; in the absence of seeing any of these teams play, it's nonsensical chatter. We'll see come fall what kind of Ducks team we have.

I'm not feeling Christobal with the same disdain as I did Taggart. I think Miami will get the same upswing in recruiting and on-field success that Oregon did with MC as head coach. To me, MC's pregame and in-game coaching abilities were always a question, and that's an answer that we'll get after a couple of seasons with him at the helm of Miami. A resurgent Miami will be good for the ACC, and ultimately has the potential to be good for the Pac-12 if we're talking alliances vs. the SEC in the future.

Thanks very much for your reminders, Charles. I appreciate you patience with those of us that don't get it right the first time. Or the second....

Bottom of the 8th - I'm not smelling an Oregon win today. UCLA has some great pitching on display.

Jokes aside - the Ducks will have to figure out the Bruins starting pitching, or it will be a long weekend.

I'm looking at the Pac-12 powers that be - the university administrators - to drag their heels on this. The whole Pac-12 crapfest was blown open by Canzano, and while you may feel negatively about him - as do I - he really showed the Pac-12 for the clown show that it is. I hope that these do-nothing administrators can manage something positive for the league.

Waz has been very clear about what he expects. What he says isn't a hint about Oregon's starting pitching, it's a de facto recognition of the pitching situation. We've been seeing it all season. Coach is not shy about pulling starters. He wants strikes, and walks gets you pulled. Every pitcher knows this. Doesn't matter the situation, doesn't matter if you're a "starter". We've had a sensational bullpen all season to allow this, and not every team can do it. I think, and maybe I'm wrong, that we'll narrow things down to a couple of solid starters; because that's all the Ducks need. They just might have the finest bullpen in NCAA baseball, right? GO DUCKS

He's visited and knows what he's in store for: "I visited all three schools. Coach Altman came to see me play in the eighth grade at the Les Schwab event. Since then he has been recruiting me. ... I was always on campus and I love their facilities." "Coach Altman is a cool guy," Cook said. "He's laid-back but serious on the court. He is a very receptive person. He listens to his players in-game. Assistant coach Mike Mennenga stayed in strong communication with me the whole process. We built a great relationship."

The ESPN line on him was that he needs work on ball handling, especially in a fixed half court defense, and needs to work on consistent 3s...but c'mon, all youngsters have things they need to work on, so can't really see the downside here.

Sabally is not unexpected. The others give the feel of a real disconnect between players and the coaching staff. This isn't little brother, here things went well last year and then this year...not so good, so lets dump some coaches. It's amazing to me how the women and men seemed to have totally paralleled themselves this year.

He's a lying liar with extra liar sauce.

Having lived in LA in the 60s, I have to say that the Coliseum and the Natural History museum next to it are things of beauty - and that's what makes every football victory down there all the more special.

I keep wishing that Mariota follows a Jim Plunkett path. Plunkett won the Heisman at Stanford and then had no success in the NFL until he landed at Oakland. Leading the Raiders to the Super Bowl was the stuff of legend. The NFL is a much different beast than 40-50 years ago, so that's probably wishful thinking on my part.....but I'd sure like for Marcus to see some genuine success.

I think we're going to have some answers in the spring game. I covered the spring game way back when, and this new kid called Marcus Mariota could not hide himself.

With baseball and softball going in literally full swing, you know what I'll have on my monitors - and that will be both. I feel for game attendees that need to make a choice between the two...it would be very difficult for me. It's very much an exciting spring for Oregon Ducks ball! (From Badwater at ATQ) Oregon Ducks Baseball Preview: USC Trojans Come To Eugene WWW.ADDICTEDTOQUACK.COM Ducks defend their Pac-12 lead

Fascinating talk.

Interesting take, Mr. Fishduck. I am waiting to attend the spring game and see 1) Who pops out, and 2) What, if anything, can be gleaned from what our offense is doing.

You can read my take on the game below... Oregon Ducks Baseball: Ducks Come Out On Top In A Nail Biter WWW.ADDICTEDTOQUACK.COM Oregon wins their fourth in a row

I did not read what was said about Mr. Bittle. I met him in Walmart at Delta Oaks before the beginning of the season and I have nothing but positive things to say about him. I honestly think he'll be quite productive for the Ducks in the future.