Drex Heikes

If you judged on media markets, San Diego definitely. But Las Vegas isn’t truly second. It has 755K tv households. Fresno has 585K but those numbers are hugely misleading. The Fresno market includes only a 30-40 mile radius around the city and does not count the rest of the Central Valley, which is a huge part of the Fresno State fan base, from Bakersfield to Sacramento and even beyond. Those communities identify with the farm town team more than the Bay Area ones. Las Vegas has no surrounding communities to speak of. It’s isolated. If you add up the Central Valley viewership, it is well past Las Vegas. Central Valley total population is 6.5 million, nearly three times the size of Clark County NV at 2.3M. Academically, Fresno and San Diego states are in the Cal State system, which just won approval to start offering PhD programs. They are a step below the UC system schools but are rising and are much closer to the academic standards of the Pac 12 than the other teams mentioned. Football: UNLV is rarely competitive in its own conference.

Doug "Cowboy" Little. He was a hoot. Fearless, built more like a linebacker. Terrific competitor. Notalot: You nailed it. Lee attacked relentlessly, leaving earth at the foul line and staying airborne to the basket. The slam over Walton--the single most amazing thing I have seen in sports. I was in the bleachers up above the south basket so saw the finish through the glass backboard. I might have jumped higher than Lee at that moment. Well, maybe?

Steven A. They sound amazing. I didn’t arrive until 1971 and never saw any of the greats who came before. That story is wonderful. Thank you!

Thank you Charles. Merry Christmas. Great pix of the other Luke. Yeah, he was amazing. Definitely gym rat. I always saw him as more gifted than Jackson, which in my scale of gym ratticism put Jackson one millimeter higher. Those two together. No 1 and 2. What a joy.

I thought the name change was unnecessary (for the reasons many of your have noted). But I turned on a dime when Dennis Dixon and other former Ducks said the name always bothered them. I still don’t understand the leap from A civil war to THE American Civil War but I decided this really wasn’t an issue where an old white guy gets a vote. If our former athletes were bothered by the name, that’s enough for me. I’m of German heritage. You call me a kraut, I might bristle. I don’t think it’s political correctness to respect others’ views. Not sure we would appreciate it if the world called WWII the War of American Imperialism (which of course it wasn’t).

Platypus is perfect but otherwise keep it simple, few syllables at possible. The Classic The Oregon Classic The Lumber Bowl (Webfeet were lumbermen, Beavers gnaw trees).

Thank you Coach Eric. You broke it down clearly and engagingly. The vids bring it all home. I dig the touch about Nix’s eyes suggesting he knew from get-go he was giving ball to Sewell for that memorable TD.

Bingo. Great story. Thank you. It gives context to Lanning's aggressive and excellent clock management. Remember at USC in 2010, the Natty season? The Ducks got the gall back on their own 4 with 32 seconds remaining in first half. Announcer Chris Fowler notes that the Ducks are up by 12 points and will likely just run the clock out. Kirk Herbstreet says, yes, but on the other hand, he says, this IS Chip Kelly. As he finishes the sentence, Darren Thomas fires long ball to Josh Huff for 57 yard gain. As your story points out, that kind of behavior is demoralizing. Oregon didn't score again but the aggressiveness of that play sent a message that USC had to think about during halftime--on their way to a blowout loss.

Terrific interview, highly revealing about him as well as Lanning and others. They sound like football nerds. (Not sure they would be much fun at dinner unless you could talk Xs and Ox.) Props also to Feldman for a great interview. He got right at things quickly and asked great follow ups.

Auburn is a mess because of fouled up athletic department. Look at the turnover of coaches across their sports. If Lanning went, history tells us he most likely would be fired within three years. Assistants and coordinators leave Oregon and usually do well. But Oregon HC’s have always flopped. Every last one of them. Oregon Head Coaches: If You Leave, Your New Team Will Fire You FISHDUCK.COM From a couple of bleacher bums, here's a revelation that every Oregon head coach should consider: if you jump ship for a...

Thanks Eric. Another play broken down elegantly and clearly. I look forward to these each week.

1950s Duck, Oregon scored on 53 percent of its drives in 2007 when Dennis Dixon was QB. 60 of 114 drives. If you recall, Dixon's season and Heisman campaign crumpled to the ground in Arizona in third to last game of regular season. All these years later, it still is heartbreaking to read the play-by-play line from Oregon's third possession of 1st Q: Dixon sacked for loss of 5 yards. No mention of the injury. But Brady Leaf took over next play.

1950s Duck…I have those numbers for Dixon team somewhere. Let me dig them out for you. As for red zone, Mic, maybe the perception stems from this: Oregon has raced down the field a bunch of times—against Wazzou and Cal, notably—and had to take a FG. After traversing 60 yards and stalling inside the 20 to get just 3 feels like red zone woes?

Charles, thanks for that red zone efficiency info. Reading that its 87 percent, occurs to me that part of the scoring efficiency stems from a field goal kicker who has yet to miss. Wish I'd mentioned that in the article.

Brilliant choice. Perfect. Outstanding. Couldn't be better ambassador for Oregon. She is on way to becoming the most decorated athlete in Oregon history. The ESPN regulars are going to fall in love.

30Duck thank you for those memories. I was a senior in high school in Alaska when Oregon made that 41-40 comeback and read all about it because Dan Fouts had been knocked out of the game—unconscious—and came back to throw game winning TD. Here’s one back at ya. October 1971, Fouts is injured and Ducks have to play USC in the Coliseum. The backup QB is 5-foot-8 Harvey Winn. Miraculously, he guides the Ducks to huge upset. Two days later, Monday afternoon, I have an Econ 101 class in a PLC lecture hall. Before class, Winn comes in (had no idea he was in this class), walks down front and stands looking up at the room, as if trying to find an open seat. Someone starts clapping and soon all 100 of us join in. I figure it happened in all of his classes that day. By the afternoon, he knew how to trigger it.

Your policy is welcome and a reason this site is civilized respite from the trolling typical on social media. My thought: Your gray area will always be gray and that’s just fine. You can’t come up with a standard that everyone agrees upon. So impose your sensibility and don’t worry about it. It’s your site! Look, the US Supreme Court has wrestled with a definition of “obscenity” since the early 1960s. All those smart judges can’t agree on a standard and in any event are reluctant to try to codify it. You aren’t dealing with obscenity in your quest here but your purpose is similar—and like Scotus you will never find agreement about where to draw the line. I would paraphrase what Justice Stewart said in 1964. He admitted that crafting a legal definition of obscenity was all but impossible, then added: I know it when I see it. You will know what you find offensive when you see it. When it crosses your personal line, you should act and not fret about it.

Beautifully explained. Been wondering all week about that play. So the right side of O line blocks left and the left side blocks right. It’s brilliant. As a defender, having seen Oregon run left with virtually the same pulling OG and OT—you have almost no chance at foreseeing that play. Thank you for breaking it down.

I love those uniforms! They are ridiculously untraditional, ironic even, with a soupçon of chic. To me, they shout “Oregon” in these glorious Nike/Uncle Phil years.

These thoughts are terrific. I agree that Bellotti was a great coach, perhaps most of all because he wasn't afraid to admit mistakes and make changes. He kept Oregon out front. And when he made mistakes on assistants, as he did from time to time--as any leader does from time to time--he fixed it. That's an excellent trait in a leader. If you don't fix it, it festers and your best people suffer as they try to manage around the weak link. It was Bellotti's constant adjustments and his quest for excellence that brought Chip Kelly to Oregon. When people rave about Kelly, as I do, I save half the praise for Bellotti. He made the no look pass for the game winner.

His long interview after practice this week was remarkable. He sounded like a pro. Nothing that's thrown at him in games, practices or media appearances seems new. He poised, articulate, self-reflective, humble. Stay another 10 years far as I'm concerned.

Great story Darren. Your behavior mirrored my own. Stomped off. Hung up on friend in Salem I had been talking to as we watched game. Those first half red zone plays had driven me nuts. Didn’t go vertical once in four trips inside 10. Penalties. 6 minutes left, game over. I walked outside to cool off. Returned to find Ducks on the 1 yard line. As epic a comeback as I can remember since Oklahoma at Autzen. Thanks for writing that from the heart!

Felt sorry for MC last night for first time. He looked horrible at post game presser and sounded like a guy who realizes he might be the problem. He is. But can anyone say what it is? He seems to flatten his coaches and players to point they routinely underperform. What is it about him that causes that? Maybe some of you coaches have an idea?

The devastating pick 6 in 2nd quarter was tipped at line by a Wazzou defender, or so says a friend who watched slo-mo replay over and over. It was subtle. Changed the pass slightly, making it hang a little longer. My friend says only angle showing it is from pylon looking back toward Nix. Can others of you look?

Thanks for the too kind words. Many good points IMO. Especially: what happens when he gets hurt running? Indeed. Remember how Ducks tanked when Justin Herbert got injured running ball? Uff da. Augduck. A fellow traveler! How many thousand times have YOU listened to that song. I was 16 in 1969–so it is burned deep. A song born of genius and Merry Clayton kismet.