Commentary – FLOCK TALK

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Opinion: How the ‘enrollment cliff’ is impacting college athletics

Scott ReedAugust 9, 2023393 Views0

As America's education landscape undergoes a transformation due to declining school-age children, colleges and universities are also grappling with declining enrollment. This trend is rooted in various factors, including the aftermath of the Great Recession and changing demographics. Even before the pandemic, cities and states were facing shrinking enrollment in public school systems. The pandemi...

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Sunday Morning Sidewalk: Values and congruence

Scott ReedNovember 27, 2022466 Views0

In January 2016, the Ducks entered halftime of the Alamo Bowl with a 31-0 lead and ultimately lost the game to TCU 47-41 in three overtimes. The following day I wrote a piece I called The Sun Also Rises: A Football Edition. I am reminded of that today as I reflect back on a game that could have turned out much differently. When I first thought about that article last night, I thought to myself...

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Sunday Morning Sidewalk: Balance matters

Scott ReedOctober 9, 2022654 Views0

This weekend played out differently than I had expected for a variety of reasons – not all of which are related to football. Due to some of those vagaries of life that sometimes creep into our days, I decided I needed to take my wife to Bend and spend a night away from home. We stayed within walking distance of the Old Mill District and were able to have a nice dinner at a local seafood restauran...

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Sunday Morning Sidewalk: Chasing Ghosts

Scott ReedOctober 2, 2022578 Views0

I was thinking a lot this week about chasing ghosts. There is an application to sports through individual existence that lends depth to the concept for me. As a middle child, it feels at times Like I have been chasing ghosts for most of my life. What does that mean? Psychotherapist Alfred Adler posited a relationship theory about a child being ‘sandwiched’ between siblings which affects the ps...

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Sunday Morning Sidewalk: Return of the Quack fun

Scott ReedSeptember 25, 2022486 Views0

As I prepared yesterday for a perfect fall day full of football, I took a little longer morning walk than normal – to the tune of an 8-mile walk. It was such a perfect morning for a walk and it seemed almost an insult to not enjoy my favorite time of year holed up in a living room watching pre-game broadcasts. I was thinking a lot about that walk as I watched Oregon make its comeback against W...

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Tuesday Tenor: Fan-Centric NIL Collectives

Scott ReedSeptember 6, 2022634 Views0

On Saturday I was headed to the grocery store for the basic necessities of a gameday at home with my wife. On my way into the store, a couple of guys in jeans and tee shirts greeted me at the door. As I (almost) always do, I greeted them with a good morning. I knew they were soliciting funds as I had seen their hand-drawn ribbons and poorly designed signs for breast cancer awareness. I did not st...

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Sunday Morning Sidewalk

Scott ReedSeptember 4, 20222383 Views1

A few weeks ago, I posted an article via this website. Not sure if anyone noticed the difference, but I created this site at the beginning of the year when there was some uncertainty about what the future might look like. I was very open that I liked writing for Rivals and communicated with our new publisher that I would like to continue writing for the site. But you also never really know how...

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Conference Realignment Myth Busting

Scott ReedAugust 26, 2022233 Views0

Bad take myth buster moment. A lot of people seem to think that two reporters who cover Oregon and Stanford respectively are 'clinging' to the Pac-1X staying together because ‘if Stanford and Oregon go to the B1G they won’t have jobs.’ This is about as uninformed as the economic forecast opinion of a 3-year old. No matter which conference Oregon and Stanford are in, those reporters will still ...

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Rose Bowl Memories – how the 2010 game changed our family

Scott ReedJuly 21, 2022254 Views0

John Canzano wrote a piece about his grandfather attempting to get to the Rose Bowl in 1929 - and how he made it to Pasadena a day late. This reminded me of my first trip to Pasadena. I would love to tell you a romantic story about a just graduated college kid who hitched a ride to Pasadena and found his way to the 1995 game against Penn State, but that would be a fantasy; a story that may be...

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Flock Talk: Invested in the program

Scott ReedMarch 3, 2018266 Views0

Thought I would make this a freebie portion because it really is a fun little section.REVISIONIST HISTORYThere is a certain renewed sense of hope and energy within the Oregon football boosters and alum. Josh Wilcox has been very vocal about his dislike of Oregon’s previous coach – but how much of that is related to Taggart’s inadequate attempt to reach out to former Ducks from the pre-2010 era