We have a wonderful hate-filled day in front of us, so let's get right to the quack:
- Oregon baseball's postseason starts today, and the Ducks should feel right at home playing in a pitcher's park. The home of the Class-A Connecticut Huskies boasts high walls around much of the park, which should help the Ducks focus on playing the game that they want to play, and help keep the Ducks from getting into a power battle, especially with FSU in the regional. The Ducks will be taking on the UConn Huskies this evening at around 4pm PST, led by Tyler Anderson, who was recently named to the all-conference team. This is a good first matchup for the Ducks, as UConn matches the Ducks inexperience, having not made the postseason since 1994. For great coverage of all action in our regional, make sure to check out FSU's SBNation blog, Tomahawk Nation.
- Oregon golf came through on the final round of stroke play at the NCAA championships, and is playing Wasington this morning in match play, inspiring an impromptu "Happy I Hate Washington Day." Oregon was led by Jack Dukeminier, who shot a course-record 66. Possibly more impressive, Dukeminier won the NCAA's 88 award for having the highest GPA of any golfer at the championships. Now that the Ducks are in match play, anything can happen, so check the comments for updates on how the team is doing.
- The big rumor of yesterday was that the Pac-10 would be extending invites to 6 Big XII teams and look to form a new super-conference, and has been semi-confirmed and then denied multiple times by everyone from Colorado AD Mike Bohn to Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott weighing in on the issues. There's a lot of great analysis and speculation floating around SBNation. Jeremy Mauss of Mountain West Connection has a great round-up of most of the rumors, and Avinash at CGB already has a great conversation going. This story is sure to be updating regularly, and the best place to get those updates is the SBNation storystream on this topic. As always, the comments are sure to be fast and furious today, so make sure to leave your thoughts on the topic.
- Lastly, we've heard the plans for the expansion to the athletic complex around Autzen, and no surprise here, the Ducks will be looking to use the same method of construction that was used for the Jaqua Center. This would mean that all construction would take place privately, and the completed buildings would then be donated to the school. There is bound to be a lot of fighting against this move, mostly from groups that stand to lose power from a project financed in this way. But as an athletic department, it's a great move, as we've seen from previous projects completed in this manner.
Lots to talk about today, so take to the comments. And GO DUCKS! BEAT THE HUSKIES!