Happy Friday everyone. Make you you scroll down a bit and check out the Lil' Gorby auction info. If you don't know what I'm talking about, scroll down anyway, as the post should have all the info. To the quack!
- The Oregon basketball search stumbles into another day as Butler signs Brad Stevens to a twelve year extension. Oregon assistant Mike Dunlap is also out of the picture, as he is expected to be named an assistant coach to Steve Lavin at St. John's. And now, Pat Kilkenny is being honest, the Ducks aren't close to finding a head coach. And George Schroeder comes to the same conclusion we did yesterday, that the Oregon job just isn't as big as opportunity as we'd hoped.
- Oregon received it's second commitment for the 2011 season, from DE Sam Kamp out of Arizona. Kamp has good size and speed, and should have room to add a lot more strength. I found this video, and he definitely shows his potential, though there is obviously a lot to work on. It'll be exciting to see what he does under 4 years of Azz.
- Oregon track is set for a big weekend as they host the Pepsi Team Invitational at Hayward field. This will be an excellent test for Oregon's national aspirations as traditional power Texas A&M will be in town. Some of Oregon's heralded freshman will be looking to make their impact. Jordan Hasay, who won the women's 1500m last week at the Stanford invitational, will be starting the 5000m. Meanwhile, Mac Fleet will make his Hayward debut as he moves towards his goal of winning the national 1500m title.
- Baseball goes on the road to No. 22 Stanford this weekend to try and win their first Pac-10 series since reinstating baseball last year. Stanford has been ranked all season (despite a 13-11 record), but knocked off #2 UCLA last weekend thanks to a complete game from sophomore Jordan Pries, who the Ducks will face during the series.
- In some football news, I just keep getting more and more excited about this defense. Eddie Pleasant and Dion 'Praying Mantis' Jordan have been spring surprises switching positions during the offseason. We've heard all about Pleasant, but Jordan is now getting rave reviews. Chip Kelly called him a "natural defensive end" who is great with his hands. Redshirt freshmen Wade Keliikipi and Taylor Hart have also been drawn praise. With the physical talent there, it may come down to how quickly these young players can learn. Aliotti is implementing a large number of new defensive schemes, which will make gameplanning by opposing offenses very difficult. There are so many known quantities on the defense, with essentially 9 starters returning, that as good as the defense was last year, it has a good chance to be better in 2010.
Got any other quack to share? You excited about the defense as well? Leave your comments below.