Another Friday, one week closer to the start of football season. Here's your quack:
- The Oregon women had a spectacular day at the NCAA Track & Field Championships. Though the meet was delayed due to weather, that didn't hamper the Ducks' performances. The Ducks had a great performance in the 4x400, where three freshmen stepped up when Amber Purvis couldn't go. The Ducks were the 4th ranked team entering the meet, but two teams above them, Arkansas and Texas, failed to qualify. Becca Friday and Jordan Hasay qualified in the 1500, while Claire Michel and Lanie Thompson qualified in the 3000 steeplechase. It will be a big day for the Ducks today, as Hasay runs the 5000 and Gardner runs the 100, and a few other finals take place that will give the Ducks a chance to get some points.
- It wasn't such a great day for the men. While Matthew Centrowitz moved on to the 1500 final, AJ Acosta did not, as he couldn't kick at the end to make the finals. Jordan Stray finished 18th in the hammer throw, and won't be in the finals. David Klech is sitting at 18th in the decathalon as some of the events were delayed due to weather.
- Ken Goe takes a look at the women's battle for the championship. They are in a battle with LSU and Texas A&M. Both schools have had their problems, but the weather problems have made it very hard to predict who will be able to win the meet. We'll know a lot more after today.
- The Pac-12 has added a bowl affiliation a bit earlier than expected. The conference has added the New Mexico Bowl for the 2011 season.
- Mitch Coffman of National Football Authority takes a look at Darron Thomas. He has a lot of praise for Darron, and calls him the glue of the offense. Rob Moseley had a few comments on this piece, and on the question of if the QB makes the system, or the system makes the QB. While Rob tries to answer this question, I don't think it's that simple. While any system should benefit the output of a QB, the skill level of the QB determines just how successful the offense will be. While Roper or Masoli maybe have looked good at times under Chip Kelly, their production was mediocre in comparison to Thomas, who has taken Oregon's offense to levels not seen since 2007.
- Moseley has a recap of the Oregon/LSU ticket situation. If you're still looking for tickets, might be time to get on Craigslist or Stubhub.
- We can't go a couple days without someone's opinion on the NCAA. George Schroeder says get used to scandal, because no one actually wants to clean up college sports. Meanwhile, HeismanPundit says that the NCAA is corrupt and should be cited for lack of institutional control.
Got anything else to share? Leave it in the comments. GO DUCKS!