Now, children, come on over here. I'm going to tell you a bedtime story. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin. Once upon a time, there lived a magnificent race of animals that dominated the world through age after age. They ran, they swam, and they fought and they flew, until suddenly, quite recently, they disappeared. Nature just gave up and started again. We weren't even apes then. We were just these smart little rodents hiding in the rocks. And when we go, nature will start over. With the bees, probably. Nature knows when to give up, David.

Onto the Quack:

• The Diamond Ducks improved to 12-5 on the season with a 4-3 win over Texas State. Oregon got some timely hitting, and some ace relief pitching by Christian Jones and Jimmie Sherfy to seal the win. Same two teams square off tonight.
• The Oregon Duck reunion tour of Philadelphia continues as safety Patrick Chung was signed by the Eagles.
• After 25 straight on the road to open the season, Duck softball finally has their home opener today against New Mexico.
• The Pac-12 Tournament starts today and, needless to play, the Ducks have to start playing much better.
• Ted Miller talks athletic director salaries, and Rob Mullens is decidedly middle of the pack, ranking behind his counterpart in Corvallis.
• Finally, we have our first football commitment from next season, as 3*-4* linebacker Jordan Hoiem out of Hawaii has committed to the Ducks.