FOCUSED ON, Track & Field, baseball and footballI think on Friday’s I will talk about many things that relate to Oregon, recruiting and the world of college athletics, but not focus solely on football or basketball; get into the non-revenue sports and use this time to kind of do a ‘freeplay’ writing where I get to discuss things outside of football.One of the things that attracts me to this i...
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I think it is time to put the ‘Helfrich bashing’ to rest. There is an old saying that everyone rises to a level where their position exceeds their competence – except for the very few who excel when they reach the highest levels.Sports is entertainment, but a high pressure entertainment for those who run organizations like Oregon football. With the high dollar contracts come high expectations. Wh...
Read MoreA wonderful Thursday morning. The response to yesterday’s article is very positive. I find covering stories like this very personally gratifying. Every once in a while we get a chance to do good rather than just do. One question which came up yesterday was about why I am writing stories from a blog instead of my normal outlet. That actually is not very complicated. I write here stuff that is...
Read MoreSpencer Webb is a young man of few words, but great substance.Over the weekend, the three-star tight end from Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento gave his verbal commitment to the University of Oregon. While the commitment is not binding, it was an indication of just how far the young man has come.The biggest scourge faced by far too many people – drug addiction – could have led to an e...
Read MoreOver at Duck Sports Authority, we do a weekly column titled 'Wednesday War Room' which originally began as Wednesday Whispers. I like to do stuff like that, just like Friday is 'Flock Talk' Friday. I think I want to bring back the whispers right here. This will be my daily thoughts on recruiting - non-premium stuff, of course. After all, I still work for a premium site and I cannot give the farm a
Read MoreWait? I came here for recruiting! I know, that last post was more depressing than a good ol' take on recruiting. No worries, more is coming. I just felt really strongly about the topic this morning and wanted to write about it.In general, I think that the world of recruiting coverage is changing. With the purchase of scout by 247, there are already some differences occurring elsewhere. The busines
Read MoreOn Friday night, I spent a very long session chatting with six players from a Southern California high school. The topics we discussed were wide ranging. Sometimes they bordered on regular chit-chat, as was the case when we discussed my former powerlifting career and subsequent ‘retirement/weight loss’, but there were also some very important topics broached.First, what impressed me most about al...
Read MoreTHE GOODThe weekend which seems to never end for Oregon recruiting was one of the most impressive weekends I have seen in all of the years that I followed – and then covered – college football recruiting. Teams recruit. All coaches do it, and all coaches aim for the best recruiting classes possible. It is no secret that the Oregon football team was languishing in the early national rankings for th
Read MoreFor every game, I write up a game recap using my own particular stylistic flair (meaning I use a different type of prose for introduction, etc.). I also do what we call 'Fifth Quarter.' The game recap is always free content, the Fifth Quarter is premium content for our members of Duck Sports Authority.I plan on linking that here, with some more generic thoughts, so here is what I saw from the pres
Read MoreWhat a long yet short weekend. One of the things I had planned to do this weekend was meet with some recruits in Eugene Friday. I had attempted to meet with some of the same kids when I was in California last month, but the timing did not make it as productive as I had hoped. This was about relationship building.Truthfully, there is so much in the world of recruiting that goes on, that I know thes
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