We know, we know … this is ‘Merica (!), and we don’t care about soccer. But from the a-picture-is-worth-a-1,000-words department, West Brom’s Gabriel Tamas after a collision with a Manchester City player — to shamelessly quote the British — is bloody disgusting.

***

Derrick Rose may not have made the best PR move when he said that although he’s been cleared to return, he doesn’t want to play until he can dunk. It’s led to the Bulls’ superstar taking a fair amount of abuse, and Joakim Noah is tired of it.

“If you tore your ACL and you have to be the starting point guard and have the expectations that Derrick has, then maybe you can judge, but everybody who hasn’t been in that situation before should really shut up because I feel like it’s just so unfair to him and to this team. We’re fighting, and everybody’s going to just s*** on somebody who’s been giving so much to this organization. It’s crazy to me.”

***

Oregon’s softball team clinched its first-ever outright Pac-12 title over the weekend, and they have climbed to second and third in the two major national polls, the ESPN.com/USA Softball and USA Today/NFCA polls, respectively.

***

Finally, we bring back the Tweet of the Day because De’Anthony Thomas has an important question for you.

WATS YO FAV HORROR MOVIE?

— DE’ANTHONY THOMAS (@1STCLASSMOMBA) May 7, 2013

Coach Robert Johnson and the Oregon track team cam now turn their attention to the postseason: The Pac-12 meets next week in Los Angeles, the west regionals in Austin, Texas and the NCAA championships at Hayward Field in early June.

Towards the end of the Oregon Twilight meet, the Ducks recognized their 19 seniors, including the most decorated senior class ever for the women’s team. The Ducks won four straight indoor national titles and added a cross country title this year, setting up an outside chance of a rare triple crown if the Ducks can capture the team title at the national championships.

It was also a homecoming for several former Ducks, including hammer throw winner Britney Henry and Galen Rupp, among others. Rupp was initially listed on the heat sheets for the 8o0 meters but made a late switch to run the 3,000. Rupp spent the first six laps running comfortably in second place before gliding into first on the final lap and clocking a 7:46.34, the second-fastest time in the world this year.

Fellow Olympian Matthew Centrowitz took first in the 800 in 1:47.95.

Though De’Anthony Thomas was once again a late scratch, members of Mark Helfrich’s squad went 1-2 in the 100 meters with Dior Mathis barely edging out B.J. Kelly for first. The pair was also part of the Ducks’ winning 4×100 meter team and Kelly added another third place finish in the 200.

The surprise of the meet was the performance of Oregon’s pole vaulters. Sammie Clark established a new personal record to win the women’s competition, and, not to be out-done, Matt Hidalgo set a PR on his way to winning the men’s pole vault.

“I definitely had a rough start (to the season),” Clark said. “I no-heighted my first three meets, but that only inspired me. I’m excited about the future.”

Austin Ouderkirk made it a 1-2 finish for Oregon in the men’s pole vault, clearing a seasonal best 5.10m, just behind Hidalgo’s 5.20m clearance that made him the first Duck to clear that height in three years.

The pole vaulters weren’t the only ones setting personal bests. Liz Brenner won the javelin competition — her first collegiate victory — with a PR, and Jillian Weir finished second in the hammer throw with a new PR, the third-best mark in Oregon history.

De’Anthony Thomas once again scratched from the field, but fellow football players Dior Mathis and B.J. Kelley finished first and second, respectively, in the 100 meters at the Oregon Twilight. Mathis clocked a 10.70 with Kelly not far behind at 10.85.

It’s the second-straight meet Thomas has scratched from. The sophomore also played very limited action in the Spring Game last week.

Oregon sprinters also swept the 4×100 meter relays with both the men’s and women’s teams finishing light years ahead of the pack. Kelley was a part of the Ducks’ 4×100 team and also finished in the top three of the 200 meters later in the day to cap off a busy day of competition.

The throwing events were kind to Ducks and former Ducks alike, with alum Britney Henry winning the women’s javelin, finishing just ahead of Jillian Weir, who once again threw a lifetime best on her final throw of the competition. In the men’s javelin Oregon’s Sam Crouser just beat out former Duck Cyrus Hostetler for first with a throw of 249-10.

Freshman Greg Skipper also finished first in the hammer throw with a mark of over 25 feet farther than the second place thrower.

In the shot put, Ducks Ryan Hunter-Simms and Ron Perkins finished 2-3, behind Concordia’s Willy Irwin, who made the most of his only fair throw earning a mark of 57-9.50, six feet better than Simms’ second place throw.

Liz Brenner threw a lifetime best on her first throw and the mark was good enough to give the sophomore the win.

Sammie Clark cleared 13-06.25 to win the women’s pole vault.

Galen Rupp returned to Hayward Field for the first time since winning a silver medal at the London Olympics. He was originally entered in the 800 meters in a field that also includes Matthew Centrowitz, but switched to the 3000 late on. Rupp ran comfortably in second for the first six laps before finally making his move halfway down the back stretch of the bell lap. Rupp ran the second-fastest 3000 meters of the year, finishing in 7:46.34.

In the men’s 800 meters it was another homecoming with Matthew Centrowitz making his move in the final 100 meters and winning the race.

He hasn’t coached a game yet, but former Oregon head football coach Chip Kelly is making waves in the City of Brotherly Love. The Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, a Philly-area chain, introduced the Chip Kelly Burger for May 1. 

The burger has Oregon blue cheese, red onion confit, crushed potato chips and mushroom spread.

ESPN is reporting that former Duck and one-time New York Jet Cliff Harris was arrested and charged with marijuana possession Monday in suburban New Jersey. Harris was with fellow former-Jet Claude Davis when the two were arrested. They were both released without bail because they were found with less than 50 grams.

Harris wowed fans during his time in Eugene, but his career infamously ended shortly after he was pulled over driving 118 mph on I-5. When the officer asked about the smell of marijuana in the car, he told the officer there wasn’t any left because “we smoked it all.”

A third individual, Daniel Godfrey, was also arrested and charged with unlawful possession of a weapon as well as possession of marijuana.

Oregon softball looks to be well on its way back to the Women’s College World Series with just two Pac-12 series left in the season. The Ducks are atop the conference with the Sun Devils right on their heels and the two are set to meet in the final weekend of the season.

But before the Ducks can focus on the series that looks like it will decide the Pac-12 crown, they have an in-state foe to worry about — the Beavers visit Howe Field this weekend. Oregon State is a top-50 RPI team, but it’s below .500 in Pac-12 play and looking to upset as the Ducks hope to make a push to host a regional.

***

After a strong showing at the Penn Relays last weekend, Oregon track returns to Hayward Field this weekend, this time under the lights for the Oregon Twilight. The sprint-heavy meet will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday with a featured events window beginning at 5:25 p.m. Meanwhile, the decathletes and heptathletes on the squad will be in Los Angeles.

The Duck men have moved up to fifth in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association rankings, with the women close behind at seventh. The Ducks will close out the season at the Pac-12 championships in Los Angeles before heading to the Western Regional prelims in Austin. Oregon will be hosting the NCAA championships June 5-8.

****

Oregon baseball’s George Horton and company hit the road again this week with five games in Washington: two midweek games against Seattle and a weekend set against a Washington State team the latter of which has historically given the Ducks fits. Heading into the week, the Ducks were winners of five straight, including a sweep over the Cardinal and a pair of walk-off victories.

Oregon and Oregon State are on a crash-course to be ranked No. 1-2 in the Pac-12 when the Beavers come to PK Park on May 17-19. Both also look like likely candidates to host at least one round of postseason baseball.

***

The spring exhibition season continues for the Ducks women’s soccer and volleyball teams. Jim Moore and the defending national runners-up host Portland State at 10 a.m. on Saturday, and new head coach Kat Mertz and the soccer team face the Pilots in Portland an hour later.

***

Papé Field will also play host to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation women’s lacrosse tournament, though the Ducks themselves just missed out on postseason play. Top-seeded Denver and No. 4 USC begin the tournament Thursday afternoon, with No. 2 California and No. 3 Stanford meeting in the second semifinal later in the evening.

Here are some images of potential designs for the Atlanta Falcons’ new stadium. As described by Deadspin’s Tom Ley, one of the super futuristic designs looks something like a metallic starfish hugging an otherwise normal stadium. However you describe it, it looks awesome.

***

The NHL playoffs start tonight and there are storylines-a-plenty. The favorites out of the west are the Chicago Blackhawks who beat basically everybody this season, but ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun warns not to count-out the defending champion Kings and their stellar goaltender Jonathan Quick. This reporter wholeheartedly agrees.

***

The Pac-12 coaches are reportedly discussing the idea of changing the league’s scheduling structure so that teams play eight league games instead of nine. With a selection committee coming to college football strength of schedule figures to become ever-more important, and an eight game schedule would allow coaches to schedule a fourth non-conference game against a high-profile opponent.

The spring game is just one practice, sure, but it’s the last one of the season and a chance to cap off a solid camp in a public setting. One season ago, Marcus Mariota won the starting job in the court of public opinion — though it’s important to note he didn’t win the job until the fall — but this year’s spring game leaves us with as many questions as it does answers.

The biggest question going into the game involves the inside linebacker position. The Ducks lost Kiko Alonso and Michael Clay — now a Buffalo Bill and a Miami Dolphin, respectively — and one potential replacement, Tyson Coleman, didn’t even play in the game due to injury. After the game, the position remains a mystery. The 802 yards of offense the white team racked up is a strange statistic. It was the only team to play offense, and its members were always on offense, so yes, they’re going to gain a lot of yards. But it was the ease with which Mariota and even Jeff Lockie and Jake Rodrigues led touchdown drives that is troubling.

“It’s probably not fair to look at the film,” defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti said. “I’m a little bit frustrated at not seeing enough effort, energy, finish, by enough backup guys.”

That’s not good, because with Aliotti’s defensive rotation some of those backups could see the field in 2013.

Bralon Addison accounted for 136 of those yards on eight catches. The Ducks haven’t had a true go-to receiver since Jeff Maehl, but with Mariota appearing an even more accurate quarterback than he was in the fall and a new head coach who loves to throw the ball it could be the receivers’ time to shine. A skeptic would ask if Addison and Mariota can repeat those numbers when they’re not going against a second team defense, and only time will tell.

On an encouraging note, is that head coach Mark Helfrich said Addison’s day looked a lot like the rest of spring practice. But Addison knows he hasn’t proven anything.

“We’ve got a lot of guys on this team that can make plays,” Addison said. “Coach Helfrich knows that, and that’s his main goal, just get the ball to guys in space.”

Lastly, the strangest position battle in football — who will kick for the Ducks next year. Even in an offense that scores touchdowns at ease, field goals have been a struggle for the Ducks and Jackson Rice leaves a big void at punter, too. Kickers Alejandro Maldonado, Eric Solis and Hayden Crook and punter Dylan Ausherman all saw action in the spring game, but they may all be battling Matt Wogan for a job when he gets to Eugene in the fall.

It was about as ‘Oregon’ as it gets. With the game tied in the bottom of the ninth, Mitchell Tolman squared to bunt with Friday night’s walk-off hero, Aaron Payne, standing 90 feet away from sweeping the No. 21 Cardinal. Tolman got the bunt down beautifully and with Payne breaking from third and Sam Lindquist had no chance to get the out at the plate.

Moments earlier, Ryon Healy tied the game with a double ripped down the left field line to undo the damage done by Justin Ringo’s home run which broke a 2-2 tie. It was the only earned run given up by Duck starter Jake Reed, who turned in a phenomenal 8 innings of work, scattering three hits and giving up just the one earned run.

Reed threw Ringo a changeup low in the zone — not normally a decision that leads to the longball — but the DH was sitting on the pitch and got enough on it to send it over the wall. On the next pitch, Reed shook off a sign for a slider and fired a fastball in for a strike.

“Maybe a little frustration,” Reed admitted. “I gave up a home run a few weeks ago and walked the next two guys and I wanted to make a point that that was a fluke and it was never gonna happen again.”

Stanford got its other two runs on something of a fluky sequence. With a runner on first Jake Reed coaxed a routine ground ball out of Austin Slater that turned into a would-be inning ending double play, but Slater bat caught Josh Graham’s glove and he advanced on catcher’s interference bringing up Brian Ragira who promptly ripped one up the middle to score two and tie the game.

“I think in the past it would have rattled me a little more,” Reed said. “I got two more ground balls out of that and he just got enough to get it up the middle.”

It’s the Ducks’ first series win against a ranked opponent this year and with the postseason approaching fast the sweep is a statement to the selection committee with Oregon hoping to be a national seed for the second straight year.

“When you beat a program like Stanford all three games, that’s a big accomplishment.”

But with three weeks left in the season, nothing is a guarantee. Still on the Ducks schedule, among other things, is a three game home set against No. 7 Oregon State.

There were no goals to write home about, but it wasn’t hard for Coach Kat Mertz to find positives after the Ducks finished off a scoreless draw with their in-state rivals.

“We’ve been focusing on our team shape defensively,” Mertz said, “So you hold a Pac-12 team scoreless, it’s awesome but of course we want to take care of the ball and put it away.”

The Ducks had some chances, most notably a first half shot that ricocheted off the side post, but they weren’t able to get much on frame, nor did they convert on any of their five corners. It was the second straight scoreless match for the Ducks, who previously dropped a 1-0 exhibition decision to Washington, but the mood is decidedly optimistic in Mertz first spring in charge.

Oregon State had the better of possession in the first half but spent almost no time in their attacking third in the second 45 thanks to strong defense from the Ducks and keeper Abby Steele’s willingness to challenge through balls.

“Abby’s a tremendous goalkeeper,” Mertz said. “She’s got great feet, great confidence so it’s nice for us to be able to play a higher backline.”

Not only did it help the backline, but Steele’s willingness to come out of her area nearly led to a Ducks goal as she played a pass from almost the center circle to a waiting Kiyomi Cook but Cook’s low cross didn’t find a teammate.

Oregon now travels to Portland for a May 4 match against the Pilots before closing the spring season in Ashland with a neutral site match against UC Davis.