After the scare in Berkeley last Saturday, this bye week has been awfully nice. Hopefully the Ducks aren't relaxing like we are:
- A few days ago, Ivan Maisel wrote that he would be voting LaMichael James 4th on his Doak Walker award ballot due to James' offseason issues. While he got responses from many Duck fans, he got one he didn't expect, from Chip Kelly. George Schroeder adds his two cents, and takes a look at how James' offseason arrest may impact his Heisman candidacy. Unfortunately, many voters won't look past the one-game suspension, and see the character that James has shown in the wake of his arrest.
- The Oregon men's basketball team has two more games in the next few days, and take on San Jose State and Texas Southern at Mac Court. While this season most likely won't result in many wins, Oregon's progress on the court, as well as a recent top 20 recruiting class have Duck fans excited for the future. Dana Altman met up with ESPN Radio to discuss his new class and what's in store for Duck basketball.
- The Oregon cross country teams are preparing for nationals, which will be on Monday in Terre Haute, Ind. Oregon mens and womens teams are both ranked in the top 10 heading into the meet, and figure to do some damage. Danny Mercado and Luke Puskedra are two Oregon stars that will challenge the field, and the Oregon women have one of the best 1-2 punches in the nation in Jordan Hasay and Alex Kosinski. While neither team is a favorite to win, both teams will be ready to move up if other teams falter.
- The Oregon volleyball team will be going for its 4th straight 20-win season over the weekend, as they host #6 USC and #10 UCLA. Oregon stands at 18-8, and want to get to 20 wins to assure an NCAA tournament berth, which would be their 5th straight.
- It seems like we can't go a day without more complaints about Pac-10 officiating. Poala Boivin of the Arizona Republic has a good article on how the Pac-10 must end conflict of interest for its referees.
It's been a pretty slow news day so far, so if you find any other quack, make sure to leave it in the comments. GO DUCKS!