Details are sketchy at this point, but Moseley is reporting that redshirt freshman safety Todd Doxey passed away on Sunday.  It appears that he died after jumping into the McKenzie River.

It is so tragic to see a young man pass away in what should be the prime of his life. Some will be sad that we never saw him on the field, but the real tragedy is that he will never experience what should be the majority of his life.

This incident definitely puts things in perspective.  Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and teammates.

Its a sad day for the Oregon Ducks family.

--Dave (addictedtoquack@gmail.com)

If you haven't heard by now, Arizona recruit and All-American point guard Brandon Jennings has spurned Arizona to play in Europe next season.  Jennings was a projected one-and-done player, but decided he had no interest in school, and instead of taking classes, wanted to make some dough.  This leaves Arizona in a bit of a pickle, not that I feel bad for them.

Of course, we all know the effects of other one and done players the last few years, such as Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, Jerryd Bayless, OJ Mayo and Carmelo Anthony.  Europe may start to look like an attractive option to some of these kids, especially as many coaches are becoming weary of them after situations like Mayo's, where the player can leave the school in a lot of trouble with little consequence to themselves.

Of course, the Europe route will allow players to be paid, but is an 18 or 19 year old kid really ready for the culture shock of playing in a different country overseas?

As an NBA fan, I love the one year wait rule.  Sure, the LeBrons and Garnetts were ready, but the vast majority aren't (even Kobe didn't start as a rookie).  If you're not an NBA fan, I can't tell you how frustrating it is to draft a player, have him take four years to develop, then move somewhere else as a free agent after the one season he finally becomes useful.  Not to mention the Korolene Youngs and Ndudi Ebis who never work out, period.  The one year policy is like insurance to an NBA team.

But as a college fan, I hate it.  Oregon hasn't been burned by any of these players, but it isn't really good for the game to have a Durant or Anthony become a big star, then be gone after one year.  If you look at the decline of the popularity of the college game, its because there is no continuity from year to year.

Now, the NBA has already stated that one and dones aren't their problems (just like honest referees, fans, and keeping historical franchises in the cites that have supported them aren't their problem).  But when colleges stop supporting these one and done players, they have to go somewhere, and methinks that the NBA doesn't want them all going to Europe (where some of those Euro teams are starting to win bidding wars with NBA teams).

I stated a few months ago what colleges need to do about the one and done problem.  But I also said that was no guarantee, as there will always be someone who wants to take advantage of the system.  In the above article, Lute Olson proposes a system like college baseball, where you make the decision to enter the draft out of high school, or stay in college at least three years.  I love the idea.  Why not do the same thing in basketball?

Of course, I still hate the idea of high schoolers in the NBA, so why not turn the D-League into a full fledged minor league?  Every team has an affiliate, can carry 12 players, etc.?  You could keep any high schoolers and second round picks, as well as assorted veterans (guys like Ime Udoka and Jemario Moon became solid NBA players, right).  It would give each team an extra stockpile of talent, and allow more time for development and evaluation.

You may think that most players would just declare, but think of the extra risk involved for the player.  The teams won't pick these guys with such lofty picks, knowing that they can't play for at least a year.  Sure, the truly unique talents like LeBron or KG, but Robert Swift isn't a lottery pick in this kind of draft.  Sure, those that have no interest in school will declare and either be picked up late or as a minor league free agent.  Good.  That's the point.  It would give them a place to get paid and develop their game.  But most players would want to stay in school and work their way into higher draft stock.

Its worked in college baseball for years, and that sport is reaching heights its never achieved.

Anyway, just my .02.  What do you all think?

GO DUCKS!!!

--Dave (addictedtoquack@gmail.com)

Leaders:

UO | USC

Passing:

Dixon: 157 | Sanchez 277

Rushing:

Stewart 103 | Washington 42

Receiving:

Dickson 69 | Turner 107

It was finally here. We had been gaining noteriety beating up on Fuskies and Cougars, but here was our chance to play with the big boys. SC was coming to town and, for the first time since Joey manned the offense, we had the horses that we EXPECTED to win. It was easily the biggest game in Autzen history up to that point. A win put us atop the leaderboard in the run for the roses, and made us a serious national championship contender. With our team firing on all cylinders, and John David Booty out for the Trojans, we were feeling pretty good. After all, they did lose to Stanford.

All of our optimism was quickly squashed.

Andre Crenshaw promptly fumbled the opening kickoff at the 21, giving USC the ball in prime scoring position. Giving our penchant for blowing big games the last few years, this had all the early makings of a big SC win. But our defense--our glorious, glorious defense, held. And, of fourth and one, Pete Carroll made a rare coaching blunder trying to have Joe McKnight hit the outside on a sweep instead of powering up the middle. McKnight never made it to the line of scrimmage, and the early crisis was averted.

This started a defensive showdown that lasted most of the game. Dixon managed to ride Snoop down the field for a touchdown late in the first quarter, and the teams swapped a pair of field goals in the second, to give the Ducks a 10-3 lead at half. Being is such a low scoring game wasn't exactly a familiar situation, and we surely weren't comfortable, but we did lead on the scoreboard.

That didn't last long.

SC came out firing to start the second half. Patrick Turner had his way with our DBs for three catches and about sixty yards on the drive, and came away with a score. The Ducks couldn't respond, despite a pitch to 305 lb. Geoff Schwartz, and nerves kicked in again. Fortunately, SC this time had the crucial turnover, at their own 16. And JStew quickly cashed in with a 16 yard score. It looked as if Matt Sanchez was going to respond, driving SC down the field, but Matthew Harper picked off a pass at the Oregon 15 with a minute left in the quarter.

We were 15 minutes away from slaying the Trojans.

Our hopes got even higher as Snoop hit paydirt on the first possession of the fourth quarter. Ducks now up two touchdowns, and teams are trading three and outs for much of the next ten minutes.

But you know SC wasn't going easily.

The Sanchez hooks up with David Ausberry with 5:25 to go and, after holding Oregon to another three and out, SC starts driving again. I'm really showing off my impressive vocabulary of four letter words at this point, but to no avail. My TV will not respond, and the Trojans keep marching down the field.

Until Matthew Harper goes all Kenny Wheaton on us and ends everything. Autzen explodes, Ducks beat SC for the first time since '01, and Dave slowly lowers his heart rate to life sustaining numbers. Our offense wasn't great, but for our defense to step up with their best performance of the year. To force three turnovers and hold Tailback U to barely over 100 rushing yards won the game on a day where SC was the only defense that we faced with the speed to go toe to toe with our offense.

2/3 of the season complete. 7-1, with really only one test to go. If we beat ASU, we KNEW that we'd be playing in New Orleans. After all, UCLA, Arizona, and OSewe were no match for Mr. Dixon.

It was shaping up to be Oregon's best season in program history.

GO DUCKS!!!

--Dave (addictedtoquack@gmail.com)

We're less than a month away from fall camp, and with the end of the US Olympic trials, football is coming into focus.

I don't think too many Duck fans, myself included, have many questions about the defense.  Oregon has (according to Phil Steele) the best secondary in the nation, with 3 players on the Thorpe Award watch list,  has a solid pass rush with Nick Reed an Will Tukuafu coming off the ends, and has depth and talent elsewhere. Every Mike Bellotti team that has allowed less then 25 points per game has had at least 9 wins.  No team that allowed more than that has reached 9 wins.  I think that this defense will allow less than 25/game.

As we all know, the questions are on offense, specifically, the QB.

Well, if Nate Costa has anything to say about it, there will be no drop off from last season.  Ted Miller of ESPN.com caught up with Costa, and had an excellent interview.  While none of us have really seen Costa play, he is saying all the right things.  It's fairly clear that at this point, according to the team and coaches, the QB spot is Costa's to lose, and I don't see him losing it.  He wants to be a leader, he is working hard, and he exudes confidence.  Will he make the plays?  We'll see, but he is in the right frame of mind to get things done.  Also, he seems to have really gleaned the wisdom of Dixon and Leaf, and taken the lessons of the last 2 seasons to heart.  Learning from the mistakes of 2006 and the successes of 2007 will be key to a great year in 2008.

And he should have lots of help.  The running game will be strong behind the offensive line, which has good experience at Center and Left Tackle, with a good amount of depth, and 3 solid running backs.  There's no reason to think that there would be a significant drop-off from last season.  The other main offensive newcomer, LaGarrette Blount, is also ready to hit somebody.  When asked about his upright running style, he said, "They’re going to hit me, I’m going to hit them. Let the best man win.”

The more I hear, the more opptimistic I become.  The running game should not have a large drop off, especially in the early games, and should be very dependable while the QBs and WRs grow.  Despite the tough road games the team faces, the schedule sets up nicely, with the majority of the toughest games in the middle to end of the season.  If Costa plays half as good as he talks, the offense should be very good.

In the Sun Bowl, I think the Ducks got a B- performance out of the QB position, and with a strong defense and running game, we all saw where that left the team.  If mistakes are minimized, there's no reason the team shouldn't average 30 points a game.  That's a big if, but with Chip Kelly running the show, it's not all that outlandish.

So, what are your thoughts on the offense?  Any predictions?  Leave 'em in the comments.

GO DUCKS!

Oregon 55, Washington 34

Leaders:

Ore | Wash

Passing:

Dixon 196 | Locker 267

Rushing:

Stewart 251 | Locker 78

Receiving:

Williams 60 | Russo 127

Those of you who have been here awhile know how much I hate the Huskies.  I know that the rivalry has calmed down a bit the last few years as the Huskies have been so terrible, but my hatred has not died down one bit.  If any other school, even OSU, had been so bad for so long, I’d start to feel bad.  With the Huskies, I just laugh and hope that it continues for as long as possible.  Happiness is a miserable Husky fan.  Its why I always look forward to the Oregon-Washington game, but also why I am always nervous about it.  We were in the middle of what looked to be a very good season, but all would be ruined with a loss to the Huskies.  And with UW showing signs of life, and the game in Seattle, it was hard not to be a bit on edge.

On the plus side, we debuted our “Storm Trooper” all white look.  While I was skeptical of the all-white look, it was completely and totally badass.

Oregon seemed to calm any nerves early.  Snoop, who would spend his day running wild over Washington’s so called “defense,” led an opening 61-yard drive almost entirely by himself, thought it would be capped off by a two yard touchdown reception by a wide open Garren Strong.  After a Washington three and out, Dixon played pitch and catch with every receiver imaginable, and this time Snoop finished off the drive with a two yard score.

Two possessions, and we had already shown that we could run over them, or pass over them.  Game over.  Right?

Except on the very next play, Jake Locker, who throws like my Grandma after a couple of shots of Jack, inexplicably beat our defense with an 83-bomb.  WTF?

It would have been better if we had all popped a few antacids right there.

This was a lot like the Stanford game.  Our offense remained decent, getting a touchdown in each of the next two quarters, but our defense was woeful.  Over the next two quarters, my drunk grandmother threw three touchdown passes, for a total of four on the game.  It was tied 31-31 going into the fourth.  Husky fans were delirious.  I was getting lambasted by my wife for an impressive swearing display that lasted most of the middle two quarters.

But that fourth quarter.  Oh, that magical fourth quarter.  The offense got rolling like it had at no other point in the season.  THIS was the first time where you looked at Dennis and said, “Wow, he could be the best player in the country.”  He ran the option to such perfection that the FSN cameras were following Snoop or Crenshaw one way or the other, only to see Dennis with the ball on the other side of the field.  It helped that both Snoop and Andre were dominant in their own right.  Snoop pummeled UW with 251 yards on 32 carries, Crenshaw added 113, and Dennis just missed the century mark with 99.  In total, 62 carries, 465 yards (7.5 ypc), and six TDs.  Oh, and the fourth quarter?  24-3.

Our defense may have been substandard until the final quarter.  Our offense most certainly was not.

Our rivals vanquished, now the talk could begin.  Next week was USC.  The question of were we for real?  The Trojans would make or break our season.

GO DUCKS!!!

--Dave (addictedtoquack@gmail.com)

I suppose by now you’ve heard about the Sonics leaving Seattle after 41 years.  I’ll spare you the details, because they’re easy to find if you’re interested.  But the Sonics fans got screwed.  Royally.

You’ve heard me talk before about why college sports are better than pro sports.  I’ve spoken of the atmosphere and the passion, the connection to your alma mater and the fans, etc.  But this is really at the crux of it.  No matter what, we always know that the Oregon Ducks will remain the OREGON Ducks.  No millionaire owner can come in making demands trying to take them away from us.  We, the citizens of the state, own the team, and it will always be ours.

We play basketball games in a crappy, 80 year old dump (and, while I love the dump, its still a dump).  Any pro team would’ve been out of that building 30 years ago.  We still haven’t broken ground on our new arena, but we know our team isn’t going anywhere.  I love my Blazers and Mariners, but I also know they could be taken away at any time (knowing that wouldn’t make it hurt any less, but at least I know the risk).  With the Ducks, my passion and loyalty will be rewarded by know that they will always be here.

Also, interestingly enough, while millionaire pro-sports owners try to extort cities to build them shopping malls for their teams to play in, millionaires who could never hope to own their college teams donate millions upon millions of dollars just to see their teams remain competitive.

It’s the best deal in sports.

GO DUCKS!!!

--Dave (addictedtoquack@gmail.com)

Leaders:

UO | WSU

Passing:

Dixon: 287 | Brink 251

Rushing:

Stewart 66 | Tardy 34

Receiving:

Williams 108 | Anderson: 127

Secretly, many of us feared this game.  After all, we’d seen it in the past, where the Ducks lose a game they weren’t supposed to, or lose one in heartbreaking fashion, and the wheels start to fall off.  Washington State was a terrible team, but we’d lost to some terrible teams in the past.

Not this year.  40-0 at halftime will put away any fears in a hurry.

For the second time in three weeks, fans wouldn’t see this game on TV due to the Pac-10’s “exclusivity” clause (thank God Tom Hansen is retiring!), but for those of us sitting in Autzen that day, we were treated to one of the biggest ass kickings in Oregon football history.

The start was rather inauspicious for a Duck blowout.  Alex Brink, the Sheldon grad upset that he wasn’t recruited by Oregon, finally played his first game in Eugene.  He wanted to beat the Ducks badly.  The Cougars won the toss, and Brink drove them down to the Oregon 9, until John Bacon intercepted Brink’s pass, and returned it to the WSU 42.  While I hate the “bend but don’t break” defense, it was run to perfection in this game.  Oregon got the ball, and JJ took it to the house on the first play.  7-0 Ducks.

It still didn’t look like a blowout.  Unfazed, Brink again drove the Cougs, this time to the Oregon 2.  Nick Reed then sacked him for a whopping 17 yard loss, and on the very next play, Jerome Boyd picked off a Brink pass at the Oregon 5.  The defense did it again.  Oregon would only get a field goal this time, but the spirit of the WSU offense was broken.  For the first half, their possessions went as follows:

INTERCEPTION

INTERCEPTION

PUNT

FUMBLE

PUNT (3 and out)

SAFETY

PUNT (3 and out)

PUNT (3 and out)

Three turnovers, a safety, and three 3 and outs in one half is never a good sign.  Meanwhile, Oregon’s possessions were the opposite:

TD Johnson

FG Evenson

Punt

TD Johnson

Punt

TD Dixon

TD Williams

TD Jones

On both sides of the ball, it was the most complete half of football I have ever seen.  Total domination in every facet of the game.  And, to boot, Oregon came out at halftime and drove down the field again.  This time, 5’7” freshman and ATQ hero Aaron Pflugrad would make his presence felt, with a gorgeous 22 yard TD reception down the middle of the field between two defenders.  Oregon only scored two field goals the rest of the game, as the Crenshaw’s, Leaf’s, and Cavaille’s of the team finished off the clock.

It was another test passed with flying colors by these Ducks.  But, oh, it came with a cost.  Cam Colvin went down in the second quarter, and as soon as I saw the replay on DuckVision, I knew his ankle was broken.  Also, JJ went down, another victim of the torn ACL bug that plagued us.  Both were huge weapons, and both were gone for the season.  So while we celebrated our victory, we wondered how our team would respond to the loss of two more weapons.

Next up were the hated Huskies.  And, while all of us expected a win, the Huskies in Seattle are never easy.  After all, lose that game, and everything we had done in the season was for nothing.  You want to have a successful season?  In my mind, it all starts with beating Washington.  Another week, another test.

GO DUCKS!!!

--Dave (addictedtoquack@gmail.com) 

Leaders:

UO | Cal

Passing:

Dixon:  306 | Longshore: 285

Rushing:

Stewart: 120 | Forsett: 101

Receiving:

Colvin:  74 | Jackson: 161

Some games we don’t really want to relive.

This was an early season clash of the titans.  #5 Cal was the team everyone expected to be here.  After thrashing Tennessee in the season opener, Cal was the team destined to challenge SC for the conference crown.  They returned two dynamite receivers in DeSean Jackson and Lavelle Hawkins, a very good running back in Justin Forsett, and a stout defense.  The only question may have been quarterback Nate Longshore, who thus far had been playing well.

We all know Oregon’s story.  We weren’t supposed to be at #11.  And, in spite of our hot start, I still think that much of the country was waiting for us to implode.  #5 vs. #11 was supposed to set an early tone for the rest of the season.  Time after time, we have seen such games be complete duds.  However, this game did not disappoint.

Really, this game started early in the morning.  College Gameday was on campus for the first time since I was in high school, and thousands of people showed up to take in the spectacle.  The band, the cheerleaders—UO pulled out all the stops for this one.  And, if you only watched on television, you don’t know the half of what went on at Autzen that morning.  It was early, dark, and cold.  But it was a party.  It was really a celebration of Oregon football.  If you’ve never been to a Gameday taping, they have giant TVs on which the crowd can see the broadcast.  My favorite moment—even moreso than Corso putting on the Duck head, was when a commercial for the UW/SC game appeared, and every broke out in the “Huck the Fuskies” chant.  I know that this happens all the time at Autzen.  But to do it with such enthusiasm before the crack of dawn was something to behold.

The wait between GameDay and the actual game was excruciating.  But, finally, kickoff was underway.  The first half was, um, slow.  The teams traded a pair of field goals until Snoop finally got in the end zone at the 4:36 mark of quarter #2.  No turnovers.  No fluke occurrences.  Just good, old fashioned defense.

The third quarter saw the offense come out as DeSean Jackson started running all over us.  Jackson would score, but Cameron Colvin would soon follow, and our slim 7-point lead carried into the fourth quarter.

What ensued has to go down as one of the most painful quarters in Oregon football history.

Cal came out strong with two touchdowns to take the lead, though Dixon quickly responded to tie it back up.  Oregon got the ball back on its next possession with 5:46 to go poised to drive down and win the game when Dixon made maybe the only mistake he’d make all year.  It was the wrong read, and a dumb throw that went straight into the arms of the Cal defender.  Justin Forsett finished the deal to give Cal the one score lead.

But Dixon got the ball back, and drove the Ducks fifty yards in three plays to the Cal 17.  His next pass was right on the money, but tipped, and intercepted.  But the defense would hold, and Oregon would get one final chance to drive 77 yards and tie the game.  Dennis was up to the task.

In just a little over a minute, Oregon ran a whopping 8 plays and had gained 72 yards.

As Cal called timeout with 22 seconds left, the Ducks stood on the five-yard line, first and goal.  There was no way this game wasn’t going to OT.  And, sure enough, as Dixon completed the pass to Colvin down the sideline, the game was ti—

Only it wasn’t.  The euphoria in the stadium quickly turned into confusion.  As Cam Colvin stretched out his hand toward the end zone, the ball squirted out—at the one-inch line.  It then trickled through the end zone, and out of bounds.  Cal football, touchback.  If the ball goes backward out of bounds, its still Oregon ball.  If it goes forward out of bound on any other spot on the field, Oregon ball.  It’s a dumb and excessively punitive rule, but it’s the rule.  One lousy inch, and our chance at perfection was shot. 

Autzen was as quiet as I’ve ever heard it after that.  You could’ve heard a pin drop exiting the stadium.  The eerie silence continued across to footbridge and onto campus.  Its amazing how silent 59,000 people can be.

But I feel the most sorry for Cameron Colvin, as this play will likely be his UO legacy.  He was finally stepping up to be the playmaker we all thought he would be, only to suffer this, then break his ankle the next game before he had a chance to erase this memory for our minds. 

At this point, we figured our national title hopes, however long they may be, were shot.  But although we were miserable for the day, the rest of the country saw this game differently.   We actually moved up in the polls afterward.  And the fact of the matter is that this game did as much—even in defeat—to cement our legitimacy to the rest of the country.  There was only one question left:  would we fold in our first real test of adversity?  Wazzu was up next week.

GO DUCKS!!!

--Dave (addictedtoquack@gmail.com)

Two Ducks found themselves drafted in the second round of the NBA draft yesterday.

Malik Hairston was drafted by Phoenix, then promptly traded to San Antonio.  I think that this is a great fit for Malik.  Malik has an NBA body and, while he never became the superstar we all envisioned, he does a lot of things well.  Bruce Bowen is 37, and Robert Horry is probably retiring.  That leaves Ime Udoka as the likely starting SF for San Antonio next year.  With Bowen's age likely to limit his minutes, there is room for another small forward on this roster.  And without the great expectations of being an elite scorer, I think Malik really has a chance to shine.

Maarty Leunen was drafted by Houston, to join with former Duck Aaron Brooks.  The Rockets have a ton of forwards--Shane Battier, Mike Harris, Carl Landry, Steve Novak, Luis Scola, and fellow draftees Donte Green and Joey Dorsey.  Even if the Rockets keep six of those guys--and that would be a lot--Leunen has to beat out two guys.  I hope he proves me wrong.  But Maarty isn't a low post guy in the NBA (wasn't really in college), and I question whether he has the quickness or offensive repertoire to keep up with more athletic wings in the NBA.

Bryce, to my amazement, wasn't drafted.  Here's hoping that he finds somewhere to play next years, and works his way into the league someday.

Congrats to Malik and Maarty.  Best of luck in the NBA*

--GO DUCKS!!!

--Dave (addictedtoquack@gmail.com)

*except when you are playing against Portland

[UPDATE]:

Here is a rundown of all conference players drafted:

3.  OJ Mayo (USC) Minnesota (Rights traded to Memphis)

4.  Russell Westbrook (UCLA) Seattle

5.  Kevin Love (UCLA) Memphia (Rights traded to Minnesota)

10.  Brook Lopez (Stanford) New Jersey

11.  Jerryd Bayless (Arizona) Indiana (Rights traded to Portland)

15.  Robin Lopez (Stanford) Phoenix

21.  Ryan Anderson (California) New Jersey

37.  Luc Richard Mbah-a-Moute (UCLA) Milwaukee

38.  Kyle Weaver (WSU) Charlotte

48.  Malik Hairston (UO) Phoenix (Rights traded to San Antonio)

50.  DeVon Hardin (California) Seattle

54.  Maarty Leunen (UO) Houston

If you haven't heard it, Tom Hansen was interviewed on KFXX on June 11th, though I hadn't heard this til just recently.  There are so many things that are wrong with what he says, and I covered it a lot in the comments of this fanpost, and Dave covered it as well in his post.

Almost all of us have problems with the direction of the conference.  Bad TV contracts, bad bowl games, unwillingness to look to the future, etc.  Hansen defends it all, which is not shocking.

But to me, the worst sin committed by Hansen is that he has shirked his responsibilities.  From this interview, it is clear he views his job as having little power, that he merely does the will of the university Presidents.  I think this is just plain wrong.

Hansen is the head of the Pac-10.  While he is accountable to some, he is not a mere figurehead.  His job is to direct the Pac-10 conference and bring the university Presidents on board.  His job is to come up with ideas and sell them to the universities.  His job is to innovate and then sell these ideas to the universities.

Unfortunately, this has not happened.  Instead, the Pac-10 rolls on, doing nothing.  There has been no innovation, only stagnation.  And Hansen shirks this, blaming the job description.  Well this hasn't stopped other conference commissioners (I'm looking at you Delany).  University Presidents have the #1 interest for their university.  Unfortunately, this can also make them short-sighted.  The relationship between the university and conference should be give and take.  But this has not happened.

Instead, we have a poor vision for the conference, all lame excuses.