If Oregon can pull of a series win over Stanford, at home, this week they will have swept Football, Basketball, Baseball, and Track and field, not to mention indoor track.

While we are happy as clams at something that I'm not sure has ever been done in the PAC#, is this a statement about Oregon or sign the conference has troubles overall?

USC running back 6-0, 215.

Ducks feel pretty good about their running back room and probably won't add more than a player or at most two in the portal, most likely a grad transfer at OL or DB.

But man, Carr is an intriguing name with good size.

School Record. Meet Record. Stadium Record.... and now #2 in the NCAA!
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On June 11th and 12th the NorCal Ducks are hosting our annual dinner/ auction and golf tournament fund raiser for scholarships for ALL student athletes. This year we’ll be at Cache Creek and the famous Yoche Deha golf course.

We are very excited that Coach Cristobal will be joining us along with other coaches from football and basketball, men’s and women’s golf and volleyball.

Check out the details at www.norcalducks.com

Time will certainly tell-- a lot of immediate challenges including the college football playoff and name, image and likeness.

But this is what George Kliavkoff identified as his priorities in his introductory statement:

“I want to be very clear about my top three immediate priorities for the conference. First, we will protect and support our student-athletes. Second, we will make decisions to optimize revenue for our member institutions, including renegotiating our media distribution deals. And third, we will do everything we can at the conference level to make our teams more competitive in revenue-generating sports, especially football.”

How does he do these things? Or can he?

Interested to see how everyone views the team coming out of spring practice.

Several DSA forum contributors have remarked on how quiet it's been lately on the recruiting front, a dearth of news, just an occasional Top Ten list or offer announcement.

Hold on to your snap-back caps. There's about to be a flood of news, followed by some actual commitments.

The Ducks have close to three dozen official and unofficial visits lined up for Dairy Month. In addition, with the quiet period ending, the coaching staff will crisscross the country working clinics, making school visits and reaching out to high school programs and coaches.

I'll update this thread daily with visit announcements and confirmations. Maybe Brandon and A.J. will lend a hand as well.

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Zion Branch June 25

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Tyler Booker June 14

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Dayne Shor June 4-6

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More to come...

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Women of Oregon scored 18 points on day one of the Pac-12 Championships led by a victorious Carmela Cardama Baez in the 10,000 meters. Almost simultaneously, Lauri Paredes was taking second in the javelin to cap a productive day at Loker Track Stadium in Los Angeles. On the men’s side, the Ducks got a combined seven points from Dalton Rasmussen and Jack Yearian in the javelin and 10,000 meters, respectively.

On the first day of running prelims, the Ducks also collected 13 qualifiers—nine men, four women—for Sunday finals.

Cardama Baez stopped the clock in a meet-record time of 32:38.73, surpassing the previous mark of 33:10.84 by Vanessa Fraser of Stanford in 2018. The effort also broke the Loker facility record and moved Cardama Baez to No. 2 on the UO all-time list. Cardama Baez becomes the sixth UO woman to win a conference title at 10,000 meters and the first since Alex Kosinski in 2012.

“I wasn’t looking for any certain time, honestly,” Cardama Baez said after the race. “I knew Haley Herberg (of Washington) was a grinder and I was expecting her to take it out. I wasn’t really look at the time. I just wanted to stay consistent and run big at the end.

“I didn’t even know I broke the meet record until Helen (Lehman-Winters) just told me. It makes me confident that I have a lot left and I want to keep doing better. This is my 10th 10K so it’s cool that I can get 10 points for my team and get a meet record, too.”

Cardama Baez is also entered in the 5,000 meters which is scheduled for Sunday at 5:50 p.m.

As the women’s 10K was being run, Paredes was battling her way to a runner-up finish in the javelin. She was in fourth place after five rounds but got the implement out to 53.40m/175-2 on her final throw of the competition, good for eight points for the Women of Oregon. With the throw, Paredes became the No. 3 performer in school history. She has now produced a season best in each meet this year.

Rasmussen scored the team’s first points of the weekend with his fourth-place finish in the javelin, good for five points for the Men of Oregon. He had a best of 63.60m/208-8 in the fourth round to score in his Pac-12 debut. Yearian crossed the 10K finish line in 29:00.99, good for seventh place and two points toward the UO total

Friday’s 10K was the first of Yearian’s track career, having not covered the distance competively since the 2019 NCAA Cross Country Championships.

The Men of Oregon were a perfect 9-for-9 in preliminary action on day one with four qualifiers in the 1,500 meters, three in the 200 meter and two in the 400-meter hurdles. James West (3:42.02) was the fastest of the four UO qualifiers, and the second-fastest qualifier overall with his season-best time.

On the women’s side, the Ducks advanced at least one runner in all three running prelims. In the 400-meter hurdles, freshman Alexa Webster (59.57) claimed the final time qualifier with the help of a personal best that doubles as the No. 10 mark in UO history.

Moving On…

Men’s 200m – Gaston Bouchereau, Rieker Daniel, Jacoby McNamara

Women’s 200m – Kemba Nelson, Danyel White

Men’s 1,500m – Reed Brown, Jackson Mestler, Cooper Teare, James West

Women’s 1,500m – Hannah Reinhardt

Men’s 400m hurdles – Jonathan Harvey, Will Mundy

Women’s 400m hurdles – Alexa Webster

Friday also marked the beginning of the multi-event competitions, which are typically held during a separate weekend. Max Vollmer sits in second place after day one with 4,066 points and is one of three UO men in scoring position along with Nathan Poff in fourth place and Jett Kinder in sixth. Vollmer began the day with PRs in the 100 meters (10.82) and long jump (7.15m/23-5.5) and will enter day two trailing Cal’s Hakim McMorris who leads the field with 4,268 points through four events.

In the heptathlon, Mathilde Rey and Taylor Chocek are in 11th and 15th place, respectively. Rey has 3,071 points and is within 90 points of scoring position with day two—long jump, javelin, 800 meters—ahead.

Up Next: In addition to the conclusion of the multi events, the Ducks will have a combined 14 scoring chances—seven for each team—in six events Saturday. The decathlon resumes at 1 p.m. (PT) with field and running events starting at 3:30 and 4 p.m., respectively. All field events will stream live on Pac-12.com.

2021 Track and Field Pac-12 Championships – Day 1

Loker Track Stadium (Los Angeles, Calif.)

MEN

200 Meters

5. Jacoby McNamara – 20.87q

6. Rieker Daniel – 21.07q

8. Gaston Bouchereau – 21.20q

1,500 Meters

2. Cooper Teare – 3:42.60

3. James West – 3:42.02Q (SB)

9. Reed Brown – 3:42.54Q

10. Jackson Mestler – 3:43.87Q

10,000 Meters

7. Jack Yearian – 29:00.99 [2 points]

400m Hurdles

2. Jonathan Harvey – 51.25Q

5. Will Mundy – 51.75Q (PR)

Javelin

4. Dalton Rasmussen – 63.60m/208-8 [5 points]

Decathlon (Day 1)

2. Max Vollmer – 4,066 points

2. 100 Meters – 10.82 (PR) [901]

2. Long Jump – 7.15m/23-5.5 (PR) [850]

1. Shot Put – 14.93m/48-11.75 [785]

6. High Jump – 1.85m/6-0.75 [670]

2. 400 Meters – 49.03 [860]

4. Nathan Poff – 3,633 points

6. 100 Meters – 11.09 (PR) [841]

8. Long Jump – 6.70m/21-11.75 [743]

5. Shot Put – 12.14m/39-10 [615]

9. High Jump – 1.79m/5-10.5 [619]

5. 400 Meters – 49.99 [815]

6. Jett Kinder – 3,585 points

8. 100 Meters – 11.26w (+2.2) [804]

3. Long Jump – 6.89m/22-7.25 [788]

3. Shot Put – 13.73m/45-0.5 [712]

4. High Jump – 1.88m/6-2 (PR) [696]

13. 400 Meters – 55.35 [585]

WOMEN

200 Meters

2. Danyel White – 23.13Q (SB)

4. Kemba Nelson – 23.38Q

12. Jasmin Reed – 23.83

14. Iman Brown – 23.87w (+2.7)

1,500 Meters

2. Hannah Reinhardt – 4:21.03Q

16. Nicole Louw – 4:29.36 (PR)

10,000 Meters

1. Carmela Cardama Baez – 32:38.73 (PR) [No. 2 UO] [10 points]

16. Caramia Mestler – 34:53.94

400m Hurdles

8. Alexa Webster – 59.57q (PR) [No. 10 UO]

Javelin

2. Lauri Paredes – 53.40m/175-2 (SB) [No. 3 UO] [8 points]

13. Riley Traeger – 43.65m/143-2

Heptathlon (Day 1)

11. Mathilde Rey – 3,071 points

13. 100m Hurdles – 15.11 [827]

9. High Jump – 1.66m/5-5.25 (PR) [806]

3. Shot Put – 12.40m/40-8.25 (PR) [688]

15. 200 Meters – 26.55 (PR) [750]

15. Taylor Chocek – 2,886 points

14. 100m Hurdles – 15.13 [825]

13. High Jump – 1.57m/5-1.75 (=PR) [701]

11. Shot Put – 10.90m/35-9.25 (PR) [589]

14. 200 Meters – 26.30 [771]

This a a stereo meet, with the jumps, sprints, and hurdles in Tucson, and the middle distance, long distance and throws in Eugene. I started to post a thread right after it ended, but just couldn’t find the time or energy.
The Ducks continue to improve.
Here is the story:
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BERKELEY, Calif. – Oregon’s offense got off to a fast start before the pitching locked it down the rest of the way in a 3-1 win over California to complete a four-game road sweep of the Bears.

The Ducks finish the regular season 37-15 overall and 14-10 in Pac-12 play and will learn their NCAA Tournament fate during Sunday’s selection show (6 p.m., ESPN2).

How it Happened: The Ducks jumped ahead early on once again, scoring in the top of the first to go up 1-0. After Hanna Delgado doubled with one out, Rachel Cid cashed her in two batters later with a two-out RBI single to left field. Cal answered with a run in the bottom half to make it 1-1.

Oregon reclaimed the lead with a pair of runs in the second, capitalizing on some Cal mistakes to take a 3-1 lead. Shaye Bowden reached on an error to lead off before Maddie Hopper doubled and Alyssa Brito was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. Deijah Pangilinan drew a bases loaded walk to force home Bowden before Vallery Wong plated Hopper with a sacrifice fly to right field.

The Oregon bats went quiet the rest of the way, but the pitching staff shut down the Cal offense over the final six innings. Samaria Diaz relieved starter Brooke Yanez in the fourth and worked three scoreless innings before Raegan Breedlove came in to pick up the save in the seventh, getting a ground-ball double play to end the game.

What It Means: Oregon currently sits in fourth place in the Pac-12 standings, with the potential to finish third in the conference if UCLA beats Arizona this afternoon. The Ducks are the only team in the Pac-12 to complete their entire league schedule, playing all 24 conference contests in addition to the nonconference back end of the doubleheader each weekend. Oregon played 36 of its 52 games this season against Pac-12 opponents.

Notable: The sweep was Oregon’s first road Pac-12 sweep since taking all three games against Cal in May of 2018 … Cid finished the weekend 7-for-12 with a homer and five RBIs … She also ended the series with a .643 OBP and three runs scored … Oregon pitching combined to post a 1.25 ERA with 31 strikeouts to just six walks over the weekend … Diaz did not give up a run over 6.2 innings with eight strikeouts, while Yanez fanned 20 batters while posting a 0.51 ERA in 13.2 innings … The Ducks improved to 21-7 on the year in games decided by three runs or less.

On Deck: The Ducks will find out their postseason road during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday at 6 p.m. PT on ESPN2.

That's it. That's the post.

No one here should want to run for Well Actually Guy of the Universe. The campaign is exhausting and there are endless recounts.

The Oklahoma commit is planning a trip to Oregon now:

Not posting this to add a plastic bag of gasoline to our long-running pandemic debate. The statement is newsworthy here at DSA because it potentially allows fans to attend games, which is a huge benefit to Oregon football.

The Ducks get a lot of energy from their home crowd, and that energy makes them a more passionate and motivated team.

The Game Day atmosphere at Autzen is one of their strongest recruiting tools.

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Both Duck nines are winding down their regular seasons today.

SB is down in Berkeley for a doubleheader after a 2-0 win over the Golden Bears yesterday in the series opener. Cal is 17-17 on the season. The first game is beginning at 12 p.m. on the Cal Live Stream-4 or you can listen on KWVA 88.1 FM

Utah baseball is not so good with a 14-26 record. This is the first of a three-game set in SLC. First Pitch: 5:05 p.m.
ORE Starter: LHP Robert Ahlstrom (5-3, 2.11)
UTAH Starter: RHP Justin Kelly (0-8, 7.84)
TV: None
Radio: 590 AM (EUG); 910 AM (PO

That's an advantage for the Buckeyes, playing in their own time zone. But Oregon practices in the morning and will train for it, mentally and physically.

The bigger challenge is that tOSU is so dang talented.

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Going to be another busy and hectic day tomorrow (relief is on the way for me though); thought I would post Flock Talk here tonight.


Getting defensive

When we are young, we believe in magic; we believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairies and every sort of magic that brings joy; and I think that such hopefulness can be a very good thing. As we grow, though, these beliefs are replaced by realities that seem to drown out what little hope might be left.

After his introduction in 2009, Larry Scott commented on hope for the future, his recognition that the (then) Pac-10 wanted more commercial success and his leadership experience in athletics was widely praised.

The Pac-10's member schools "are craving different, more media exposure, more commercial success where it's possible, innovative and different ways to promote the conference -- all things I feel I've done before," Scott said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

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When Scott negotiated the largest media rights deal in college football history two years later, even more praise was heaped upon the slender shoulders of a former college tennis player from Harvard.

And the great deal that was, suddenly was not. The projected windfall of a Pac-12 Network never came to full fruition as it became painfully clear that Direct TV did not value the Pac-12 as much as other conferences – and data have backed their negativity more than anything. Viewer numbers for Pac-12 games – despite some significant television markets – do not match those of the SEC, Big-10 or Big-12.

That 2011 deal was considered a coup at the time; but all it really did was set the market for the SEC, Big-10, Big-12 and to a lesser extent the ACC. Holding out hope that the next round of negotiations will bring a sudden windfall seems a fantasy more so than a reality.

So, when George Kliavkoff was introduced as the next Pac-12 Commissioner and began with the “honest” assessment of what is wrong with the conference, he already missed the mark. He said many of the right things like "we know where our bread is buttered," and "we're focused on the revenue sports and winning in football and men's basketball," it resonated well.

But so did Larry Scott’s introduction.

Kliavkoff is still going to be hamstrung by university presidents who want to make public their belief that “the prestige level of the public universities within the conference will be among the main differentiators in the Pac-12's favor when compared to other P5 conferences.”

In the same breath when talking about revenue expansion, he ignores the reality that college football and basketball viewers absolutely do not care about the prestige level of the universities that they choose to watch on television. They just do not care. The difference between the SEC and other Power Five conferences is very simple: they have more viewers and get better television deals – hence more money into their coffers to pay coaches more. You get what you pay for.

The biggest item on the agenda for an incoming Pac-12 Commissioner is to get more fans in the stands and more eyes on the television; you cannot win this battle from supply side television where putting the games on televisions generates higher viewership; you have to force every school to take football and basketball seriously enough that the best coaches and best players want to be plying their wares in the Pac-12 Conference. All of the other talk is window dressing.

Less eyes equals less money. More money will equal more eyes. So, will Kliavkoff convince university presidents to willingly generate huge debt to prop up football and basketball programs? In the Pac-12 landscape, that seems highly improbable.

If Kliavkoff wants to turn around the Pac-12 and make them competitive with those other conferences financially, the negotiation he has to win will not be with television networks, but with university presidents.

Can Oregon break ground for the Pac-12?

For the last couple of years, Oregon has seemed the best chance for the Pac-12 to break the streak of non-national championship years for the conference.

It is going to be a tough road for basketball as they integrate what will constitute a team that is virtually brand new. While Dana Altman does a fantastic job blending the mixed parts that have become his yearly basketball rotation, he has not really come close to a national championship since the departure of Dillon Brooks, Jordan Bell, Dylan Ennis, Payton Pritchard and Tyler Dorset came a rebound away from a National Championship Game appearance in Phoenix. That team was led by players who had been teammates for three years and a fantastic freshman.

It is too early to call the 2021 Oregon football team one that will break through that ceiling; a tough road trip early may give some indication, but honestly, a single championship will not turn the tide of viewers and attitudes. It will be called a fluke and pushed aside as an anomaly that cannot be duplicated with regularity.

It would take sustained excellence by the conference or domination by a single school to generate the kind of viewership needed to stand toe-to-toe with the SEC or Big-10 for television revenues. Instead this is going to take conference wide investment and a conference wide push. Will it help if Oregon breaks through and wins a title? Absolutely. Either way, however, an investment in winning must take place before the conference simply sets the stage for the rest of college football.

How does this affect recruiting?

Right now, across the United States, college football coaches are drooling at the thought of stealing more elite West Coast players. This hire energized their belief that the conference is not wholly invested in the sport that pays most of the bills.

Part of that football investment has to include money at every university to hire bigger staffs; to recruit like Oregon. And I think that is where the Ducks can change this game for the conference. Right now, Oregon and USC pretty much are the only schools that land elite talent. Getting players to Washington State might be deemed difficult – but there were those that thought Oregon was too difficult to lure recruits to; and they were wrong. It takes energy, devotion, commitment and a relentless drive to have the absolute best talent on every roster.

Some teams have attempted to mimic Oregon, but too many accept their plight as also-rans and that kind of defeatism is what separates the Pac-12 from other conferences.

This is a big gamble. Either the conference wins big, or they fall flat on their face. Given that it was the presidents and chancellors that wanted this hire, I am not convinced the conference wins big here.

Do we even have a team left...another transfer?