As the Ducks approach their first conference game against Colorado, I am reminded of a story that is both tragic and triumphant all at once.At the time I was in San Diego, California. I was just finishing Marine Corps boot camp the week before a game between Colorado and Oregon at Autzen Stadium. When I returned to Eugene, the news was everywhere.Late in the game, trailing by 7 points, Colorado ha
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A fictional tale of a life in and out of sports. This story is told in the first person. Any resemblance to persons real or imagined is unintentional.As children, slipping off to sleep, we all had dreams; thoughts of life yet to be lived. For some, those thoughts centered on a life ordinary; for some, on a life less ordinary. Dreams are what shape our conscious minds from within the subconscious.
Read MoreJohn Walls with his motherIn July of 2004, just two months in to his battle with leukemia, John Walls had already begun to show just how much difference one person can make.While John was undergoing intense chemotherapy in an attempt to rid his body of cancerous bone marrow, he had received some particularly painful news; none of his family were marrow matches. Realizing just how difficult a bone
Read MoreTwo weeks ago, I wrote a story titled "Did Will Lyles Help or Hurt Players?" In the article I mentioned that a source inside the athletic department had confirmed that Lache Seastrunk had received impermissible benefits through Will Lyles. Today, Yahoo Sports confirms with a specific example of an unofficial trip to Tennessee which was paid for by Tennessee coach Willie Mack Garza through Lyles.Th
Read MoreSOUTH CAROLINA ALLEGATIONSLost in all of the realignment talk this week is a notice of allegations. Surprised? Did the NCAA go from inquiry to allegations in less than a week? No. This was a notice received by the South Carolina Gamecocks.In a trend that the NCAA has seemed to crack down on this past season, this involves (mostly) impermissible housing benefits. What started as a single incident a
Read MoreFighting TogetherJohn Walls with George Crace during 2004 Championship SeasonWhen adversity strikes the member of a group, the group has only two choices; fragment and fall apart, or grow closer together and make the whole greater than the sum of it's parts.John Walls was in 8th grade when he was diagnosed with leukemia yet many expected him to play varsity as a freshman; he was that good. More im
Read MoreThat sound you just heard? It might be screeching tires, or it might just be the Pac-12 putting the brakes on expansion.From the beginning, Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott has preached equality. In selling the Los Angeles area teams on the concept of Expansion 2010, Scott was able to garner a major concession from the two power brokers: equal revenue sharing. In doing so, Scott laid the groundwork
Read MoreThe official word was received, of course, from the NCAA at some point during the week. Ever feeling the need to snipe, media folks have pounced on when Oregon chose to announce their receipt of the Notice of Inquiry as some sort of "fowl play" intended to divert attention away from the announcement.What these constant critics do not seem to understand is that NO time would be considered a "good"
Read MoreThe Beginning: StayStrongAs Duck fans left Dallas, many of us felt down; defeated. Perspective.In a world where our every step seems calculated and pondered far in advance, the most important thing any one person ever does is build relationships. How we build those bonds is the true measure of our character. How we nurture them is the truest measure of our maturity. The impact of these bonds is ou
Read MoreLate last month I received word from a source that is familiar with athletic department policy regarding potential sanctions for individual players. However, due to my inability to verify NCAA protocol in this instance, I chose not to report the information.Today, however, I received confirmation about NCAA policy.This is not regarding institutional sanctions. Rather, this information ...
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