OMG LOLZ you guys were expecting an article today, weren't you? OMG you totally were. Dude, that sucks, cuz I so didn't write one.

Instead, it's the return of the Tako Tuesdays podcast! Yes, it is the return. I did do a couple of these last year. Seriously, I did! Look it up!

This week's edition, I focus on the major developments in this year's Super Bowl, basketball refereeing, vicious football rumormongering, and Shayne Skov being a naughty boy. Have a listen, won't you?

RIGHT HERE CLICK RIGHT HERE AND LISTEN TO WORDS

ADDICTED TO QUACK IS YOUR #1 SOURCE FOR OREGON RECRUITING NEWS! AND WE DON'T STOP WITH THE 2012 CLASS, OR EVEN THE 2013 CLASS. ADDICTEDTOQUACK.COM IS THE ONLY PLACE ON THE INTERNET WHERE YOU CAN FIND THE LATEST INFO ON OREGON'S 2029 RECRUITING PROSPECTS!

Andrew McAllister: 2'6", 36 lbs (OG) - McAllister, Mac to his friends at Noah's Ark Day Care, projects to be a Top 10 line recruit in the class of 2029. He has exceptional footwork for his age, able to stand on his own and move laterally to block his dog, Tracer, from going upstairs and getting into the cat litter. His low center of gravity and immense overall strength make him a prototypical guard in a zone blocking scheme. His current favorites include Alabama, LSU, Oregon, South Carolina, and Cheerios.

Continue reading this post »

If you haven't heard it yet, Steve Tannen on Sports Talk 95.3 in Eugene, had about a 20 minute interview with Chip Kelly where they talked about the recruiting process, Darron Thomas' departure to the NFL, some of the players coming back on the team next year, and most prominently Kelly's recent flirtation with taking the head coaching job for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Tannen did an excellent job getting to the heart of the matter with Kelly regarding his possible acceptance of the Tampa Bay job. First, Tannen asked him why he listened to the job offer in the first place. Kelly mentioned that he followed the same process that led him to Oregon 5 years ago.

Kelly felt like he was operating from "a position of strength" in that he loves the job he has and the people he works with, but he needed to gather the information from Tampa to be able to make a decision. He said, "they presented to me what their plan was for Tampa Bay, and it was extremely attractive."

One of the more interesting parts to me, was Kelly talking about needing to hear Oregon's side of the story before he had all the information. Two things really stuck out to me. First, Kelly made sure he had time to talk to Rob Mullens, Oregon's AD, before he made his decision. Mullens was on a flight home from England, so this delayed the process, compared to some of the other coaching changes that have gone on this off season where coaches waited until their superiors were actually on their flights or unavailable when they made their decision. Second, Kelly addressed this issue in a similar manner to the way he's addressed other off season issues. Gather all the evidence, hear both sides of the story and then make a decision. Only it was Kelly in the middle of this situation and not a rogue athlete facing punishment.

Next, Tannen talked to Kelly about reasons for making the jump to the NFL. Kelly addressed a couple of floating rumors when he said that he wasn't doing it for leverage to get a renegotiated contract, and he never wavered in his decision. He only made one decision and that was he wanted to stay at Oregon. Kelly talked about the unknown of the NFL and still struggling "deep down inside" about whether the NFL is something he wants to give a try.

Continue reading this post »

At this point, I almost wish Chip Kelly would've just left.

Hear me out.

Continue reading this post »

On Saturday, Darron Thomas forwent his final year of eligibility at Oregon to take his chances in the NFL draft. I wasn't expecting the announcement; in fact, I had already gone so far as to start the Darron Thomas Heisman Trophy campaign in last week's edition. My initial reaction was that is was a stupid decision, that DT is a late-round draft choice at best, and that he was killing any chance at an Oregon national title run. My feelings at the time were a mixture of anger, disappointment, and confusion. My current feeling on the subject is that I'm a selfish prick for feeling that way.

Continue reading this post »

One of the teams in the BCS National Championship game made exactly one first down in an entire half. And that's the undefeated and more highly ranked team. Call me crazy, but I think a prerequisite for playing for a national championship should be an offense with the ability to make more than one first down in a half hour. Is Alabama's defense very, very good? Yes. But this is not good football. No way.

Two weeks ago, washington's defense gave up 777 yards of offense and 65 points. Not to be outdone, Clemson gave up 70 points in a BCS bowl. Is this good football? Absolutely not.

It makes me happy to be an Oregon fan. More specifically, it makes me happy that our bowl game happened to be the best bowl of the season, a game between the two best offenses in college football playing at their highest level, and two opportunistic defenses that buckled down in the second half and turned a track meet into a heavyweight slugfest. In the Rose Bowl, there was a 91 yard touchdown run by De'Anthony Thomas. LSU's offense, in the entire national championship game, had 92 yards. Passing and running combined. Eight players in the Rose Bowl amassed more yards than LSU's entire offense. Eight. So congratulations to Alabama. You may not have won your conference, and you may have already lost to LSU in your home stadium. But you beat the living crap out of the Tigers, and left us all doubting your national title legitimacy.

More thoughts on the Ducks' 2011 campaign, and a look ahead to next season, after the jump...

Continue reading this post »

disclaimer #1: this post has nothing to do with Duck sports. So if you fall into the "Duck football junkie" category of readership, rather than the "degenerate who reads anything we write" category, this won't be for you. If you're a member of the Tribe of Skipstothecommentssection, then fear not. There's room for you at this hoedown.

disclaimer #2: this post contains spoilers to three of the greatest TV shows of all time: HBO's "The Wire" and "Boardwalk Empire", and AMC's "Mad Men". I don't feel bad about spoiling The Wire or Mad Men, because you've had more than enough time to watch them, and if you haven't by now, your empty shell of a life is not nearly an apt punishment. But Boardwalk Empire's season finale aired last Sunday, so if you're behind on the show or planning to watch it, stay away

To recap, nothing to do with Ducks, and SPOILERS.

Continue reading this post »

The meeting was a sham.

That in and of itself should not come a a surprise.

We knew Lariviere was going to get fired.  There was no doubt about that coming in.

What was frustrating was the arrogance displayed by the State Board of Higher Ed.  After listening to an hour of public testimony, they had the audacity to come back with pre-prepared statements.  After listening to public concerns about lack of transparency and trust, the Board has the audacity to lecture on the importance of transparency and trust.  While showing how out of touch they are by saying that all the outrage came as a surprise.

My first reaction was emotional.  And my first (and now deleted) thread on the subject was overly so.

That said, no amount of protest is going to bring Lariviere back.  Nor should that be the goal at this point.  We have to move forward, and that's going to include a number of things.

The Board of Higher Education, whether they like it or not, has a major mess on their hands.  People are very angry, and rightfully so.  And I think a lot of people are more angry about the process than the decision itself.  That University stakeholders, students, faculty, and alumni were not kept in the loop, then patronized when they finally got a chance to speak.  Clearly, Lariviere was a difficult man for the politicians to deal with.  But he also embodies what a lot of us feel:  that our chance for greatness is now, that we can't continue to be held back so that other univerisites in the system don't feel bad, and we certainly can't wait for years for a broken system to deliver results.  The Board has a lot, and I mean A LOT, of work to do to build trust and respect with the University community.  They cannot do that until they acknowledge their own faults in that process.  That was something they were not prepared to do tonight.  Perhaps, after reflection, they will be.

Continue reading this post »