Morning Quack Fix: 4.1.09 (April Fools' Edition)

It's April Fools' Day, and those wily pranksters at The Register-Guard got in the spirit by posting a fake story about three Oregon basketball players being detained and cited for hunting ducks with BB guns. Wait, that's not a joke? Seriously?! Coulda fooled me.

• But the Duck Hunt saga isn't even the biggest Oregon hoops news today, this is: Ernie Kent will remain Oregon head men's basketball coach. The news broke on The Register-Guard's Web site late last night, but an official announcement is expected from the athletic department sometime today. Bob Clark states on his blog that there will be "staff adjustments" as part of Kent's retention plan. In other words, someone's getting blamed for the Ducks' worst season under Kent. It just won't be Kent.
• On to football: Oregon started spring practice today, marking the beginning of the Chip Kelly Era. The R-G's Rob Moseley's has a great piece on Kelly's new practice style and how it differs from Bellotti's, and The Oregonian's Jeff Smith adds his two cents to the Kelly transition (includes video). Now, if only September wasn't five months away.
• Speaking of September, you might have heard that Oregon's opener at Boise State had been moved from Saturday, Sept. 5 to Thursday, Sept. 3. Well, it's officially official as of yesterday. I'm not really happy about this. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm all about the ESPN exposure, but the whole Thursday game situation is going to make it a lot more difficult for me to travel to Idaho and attend the game during the week. What can I say, I'm selfish?
• The R-G's Greg Bolt reports that plans to finish construction on PK Park in time for the 2010 baseball season look promising. The design is finished, and bids for the next phase of the project have been coming in lower than expected, raising hope that the goal of opening the park in its finished form by next spring is do-able.
• ESPN's Ted Miller ranked Oregon cornerback Walter Thurmond III No. 10 on his list of the Pac-10's top 30 players. Thurmond is the fourth Duck to land on Miller's list thus far, joining defensive end Will Tukuafu (18), tight end Ed Dickson (16) and running back LeGarrette Blount (14).
• Also, our girl Kailee, an Oregon student and all-around hottie, has advanced in CollegeHumor's "America's Hottest College Girl" contest. Vote for her TODAY in her match-up against ASU's Courtney. (Can't say I'd blame you if you voted for Courtney though. Yowza!)
  
• And finally, the University of Kentucky unveiled a limited-edition Maker's Mark bottle honoring the school's current head football coach and an Oregon legend, Rich Brooks. First, the field at one of college football's greatest venues, and now a bottle of bourbon. That's considered progress, right?

There's inevitably going to be a lot of Ducks news today, so make sure you post your obscure findings in the comments.

GO DUCKS!