Posted on 21 February 2013.
E.J. Singler may have more wins than anyone in Ducks history, but he has never walked off the court a winner against Cal. Oregon is winless against the Bears in their last 10 games dating back to the Ernie Kent era.
Oregon nearly snapped that losing streak earlier this month but fell apart in the last five minutes of the game.
Most of Cal’s scoring comes from two sources, juniors Allen Crabbe and Justin Cobbs. Crabbe leads the Pac-12 with just under 20 points per game, and Cobbs isn’t far behind, averaging 14.8. Outside of that, however, no Bear is averaging in double figures.
Meanwhile, Oregon is still without Dominic Artis, who continues to be sidelined by a foot injury.
Posted in Uncategorized
Posted on 20 February 2013.
Oregon starting pitcher Jeff Gold just missed out on the opportunity to register a decision when he left in the fifth inning during the team’s four-game sweep of Hawaii on Monday, but the good news is the comebacker that nailed him in the left ankle only left a serious bruise, and he was able to escape without any further damage — albeit a lot of pain.
“He was four and two thirds into it,” Oregon head coach George Horton said, “He was one out from getting a decision. Jeff’s not a selfish guy, but all pitchers know the fifth inning criteria … But it’s determined that it’s just a bruise — so as soon as he can run, he’ll be able to pitch. I think he’ll be available this weekend.”
Oregon’s home opener is this Friday against Loyola Marymount. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m.
Posted in Uncategorized
Posted on 19 February 2013.
He’s the quarterback of a high-profile team and the Heisman Trophy winner. He has torched the SEC record books and has quickly become a legendary figure. But there’s one thing Johnny Manziel hasn’t done — sit in a lecture hall, at least this term.
Manziel being on campus has become such a distraction that the redshirt freshman QB has been taking all online classes this semester.
***
It’s too late for Frank Lampard, but the 2014 World Cup in Brazil will feature goal line technology. Several systems will compete for the chance to be used in the World Cup, but all of them provide the same basic result. If the ball crosses the line, some kind of indication is sent to the referee’s wristwatch almost immediately. Unlike the delay of game video replays would cause, this allows for accurate and instant goal confirmation.
***
Disgraced South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius was officially charged with premeditated murder. Reports have also indicated that large quantities of steroids have been found at Pistorius’ home, though he’s insisting he’s just holding them for a friend.
***
The Pac-12 will not suspend the Ducks’ Tony Woods after his ejection from Oregon’s overtime win at Washington State. Oregon plays California this Thursday at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.
Posted in Uncategorized
Posted on 18 February 2013.
The No. 15 Ducks started off their season in Hawaii this week and notched a four-game sweep of the Rainbow Warriors.
After taking the first three games of the series, Oregon started off the afternoon down 1-0, but their bats would rally for a 4-2 win with J.J. Altobelli responsible for RBI singles in back-to-back innings.
Pitcher Jeff Gold injured his left ankle in the win when a comebacker stung him in the left ankle with the Ducks leading 3-1 in the fifth inning. He was in line for the win but left the game one out shy of making a complete start. It’s unclear if he will miss any time, but it won’t affect the Ducks’ weekend rotation.
Oregon makes its PK Park debut against Loyola Marymount this Friday.
Posted in Uncategorized
Posted on 16 February 2013.
It wasn’t quite a LeGarrette Blount moment, but it was close: Oregon center Tony Woods was ejected from the Duck’s overtime win at Washington State for elbowing Brock Motum in the back of the head, temporarily sending Motum to the locker room.
A look at the video monitor made it clear the elbow was a malicious one, and Woods was given the flagrant foul and shown the door. Oregon was forced to play the remainder of the game without the big man.
The Cougars would go on a run after the elbow, and halfway through the first half, it looked like they would run the Ducks out of the gym, but Oregon cut into the lead by halftime and went into the locker rooms trailing by just 11.
When Oregon played Washington State in Eugene, they were down by 10 at halftime and once again they started the third quarter on a big run to cut into the lead. On Saturday it was a case of déjà vu for Washington State as Oregon would eventually take the lead forcing a three from WSU just to force OT.
Posted in Uncategorized
Posted on 16 February 2013.
To open its 2013 campaign, Oregon’s Jake Reed tossed six scoreless innings, with the bullpen finishing off the shutout as they beat the University of Hawaii 3-0 in Honolulu.
The Ducks got the scoring started in the second on a J.J. Altobelli walk, then added a run each in the fifth and seventh innings. Oregon had six hits and, in true Oregon head coach George Horton fashion, three sacrifice hits.
The Ducks didn’t put up any crooked numbers but did keep the Rainbows at bay, limiting them to just five hits — four of which were singles.
Christian Jones picked up the save for the Ducks, which opted not to use superstar closer Jimmie Sherfy.
Oregon and Hawaii play again Saturday at 8:35 p.m. PST.
Posted in Uncategorized
Posted on 15 February 2013.
It’s a grind, the baseball team will tell you. Up to five games per week while balancing a full course load; it isn’t easy. But nobody will be particularly sympathetic this weekend as the Ducks play their first four games of 2013 in Hawaii for the third year in a row.
Oregon enters the year with sky-high expectations and a No. 15 ranking in the Baseball America Top 25, but they’ve been in this situation before. Last year’s team was an inning away from a trip to Omaha despite relatively low preseason expectations, while two years ago the Ducks were a top 10 preseason team that missed out on the postseason altogether.
The Ducks haven’t officially released a starting rotation, but it’s likely that returning starters Jake Reed or Jeff Gold will be on the bump to start the year for the Ducks. Meanwhile, former starters Christian Jones and Brando Tessar, each returning from injuries, will open the season in long-relief roles.
The star of the Ducks’ bullpen, though, will be closer Jimmie Sherfy. The junior right-hander from Camarillo, Calif., is on just about every stopper of the year watch list after a dominant performance in last year’s postseason.
Posted in Uncategorized
Posted on 14 February 2013.
Lakers owner Jerry Buss is back in the hospital. Buss is reportedly suffering from an undisclosed form of cancer, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Lakers haven’t commented on the situation, citing respect for the family’s privacy.
***
Dennis Dixon will be reunited with Chip Kelly after singing a two year contract with the Eagles.
***
One-time Olympic hero Oscar Pistorius has been charged in the murder of his girlfriend. Pistorius has a self-proclaimed paranoia about intruders and some early reports indicated he may have mistaken her for an intruder, but police pressers indicated they’d been called to his residence for several other domestic disturbances.
***
A new proposed rule in college football would eject players for illegal hits. What’s more, if the hit occurred in the second half or overtime, the player would miss the remainder of the game and the first half of his team’s next game.
Posted in Uncategorized
Posted on 14 February 2013.
Seattle is not typically a kind place to the Ducks, but Oregon got the win in Hec Ed tonight finishing off the Huskies 65-52. It’s the first time Oregon has swept Washington in 18 years.
Entering the game, the Ducks knew they’d have to execute defensively to slow down UW, and execute they did. Oregon held the Huskies to just 37 percent shooting in the first half and an even worse 32 percent in the second half. Oregon also took relatively good care of the ball, committing just nine turnovers all night.
The Ducks led almost wire-to-wire, with Washington leading briefly by one point.
But as bad as UW was offensively, Oregon was unable to pull too far ahead in the first half and went into the intermission leading by just six points after an E.J. Singler three-pointer at the buzzer was ruled no good.
The senior from Medford, Ore., had 11 points, one of three players finishing with 11 in a characteristically balanced scoring effort from the Ducks. Singler produced a highlight reel moment for fundamentals lovers midway through the first half. Singler got a rebound and dribbled beyond the arc before sinking a three. It was the only three Singler would make on six attempts, but Oregon did knock down four threes as a team on 13 attempts.
Oregon got a scare late when junior point guard Johnathan Loyd tweaked what looked to be an ankle or a knee. It is unknown if Loyd will miss any time, but it was certainly a scary sight to Duck fans.
Loyd did have his best offensive night since joining the starting unit, scoring all 11 of his points in the second half.
Oregon was out-rebounded 36-30 with the Ducks rebounding machine, Kazemi, held to just seven boards — only one of which was offensive.
Posted in Uncategorized
Posted on 13 February 2013.
The Dawg Pack Dirt — Washington’s version of the Pit Crew — is encouraging student fans at UW to taunt Ducks forward Arsalan Kazemi “in his native tongue.” (PDF).
Like the Pit Crew, Dawg Pack Dirt offers members of UW’s student section advice on how and why to heckle particular players. Most of the dirt is to be expected — it reminds students that E.J. Singler “is the younger brother of former Duke standout, and current Detroit Piston, Kyle Singler. His brother is hands down a better player … He needs to be reminded of this fact throughout the night.” They also make a crack at how Damyean Dotson’s name is spelled — “It is highly possible his parents were under the influence when they spelled his name; it truly is painful to look at.”
But it’s what they say about Kazemi that seems noteworthy:
“The fact is this guy is from Iran, and there is something highly intriguing and terrifying about that. Our best advice would be to not look him directly in the eye.
*Ahmadinejad is watching!
-He speaks Persian.
*Use Google, and explore the Persian language, make him feel at home with some taunts from his native tongue.”
Taunting from the students is part of the game, but this goes too far, says Pit Crew president Andrew Stephens.
“Heckling is just part of a student section,” Stephens said. “And funny pictures — the one of Fred for example — is just straight up funny. But when race gets into the picture, that’s just tiptoeing a fine line that always tips toward being too far.”
The Pit Crew doesn’t exactly have a sterling reputation itself, having garnered national attention back in 2008 for its treatment of Oregon native and UCLA center Kevin Love when he and the Bruins visited Mac Court, though they’ve been relatively quiet since that backlash.
The Oregonian’s Adam Jude tweeted before the game that University of Washington officials were aware of the situation and had addressed the students responsible.
Posted in Uncategorized