Good:
– The Oregon women’s basketball team advanced to 2-0 on Tuesday after beating Portland by a score of 113-86 at Matthew Knight Arena on Tuesday. The Ducks were able to overcome early foul trouble, as several Oregon starters played through the second half with four fouls. Leading the way for Oregon was sophomore Jillian Alleyne, who scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. The Ducks forced 20 turnovers in the game and scored 22 points off of turnovers.
– Following Monday’s practice, Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota indicated that he would “for sure” play against Utah on Saturday. Mariota played last Thursday’s game against Stanford with a sprained medial collateral ligament (MCL) strain in his left knee, but after testing his knee during practice, he appears confident that he will be able to play through the injury. After averaging over 63 yards per game on the ground prior to last Thursday’s game, Mariota ran the ball six times for -16 yards against the Cardinal.
Bad:
– Former NFL star Todd Christensen died Wednesday morning at the age of 57 after complications that occurred during liver transplant surgery. Christensen grew up in Eugene and was both a football and track star at Sheldon High School and went on to play tight end for both the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys. He was a five-time Pro Bowl selection and was a member of two different Super Bowl champion teams. He was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. Christensen had a wife and four sons.
– A recent “Outside the Lines” report indicated that youth football participation rates have declined drastically in recent years, suggesting that the concussion crisis in the NFL is affecting football participation rates at the lowest levels. Statistics provided to “Outside the Lines” indicated that participation in Pop Warner football has dropped 9.5 percent drop from 2010-2012, which is thought to be the largest decline in the program since it began recording participation statistics. While there are other factors believed to play a role in the decline of youth participation in the sport, Pop Warner’s chief medical officer, Dr. Julian Bailes, believes concern surrounding head injuries is “the No. 1 cause.”
Ugly:
One college basketball fan showed off his dance moves after yesterday’s clash between No. 2 Michigan State and No. 1 Kentucky yesterday and let’s just say they were … unique. Donning Spartan green, the fan celebrated Michigan State’s 78-74 victory by getting down to Usher behind the ESPN College Gameday set while the show was off air. All of a sudden, LSU’s “dinosaur” fan isn’t looking quite as bad.
Follow Chris Mosch on Twitter @chris_mosch