What’s the buzz from the world of sports? Here are some items that will have people talking:
1
We don’t know whether this is a good omen or a bad omen for Oregon, but Puddles the Duck lost his head Friday. While skydiving — yes, skydiving — for an ESPN segment, the Oregon mascot’s head flew off. Just his mascot head; not the head of the guy in the suit.
ESPN GameDay host Chris Fowler tweeted: “The ORE Duck head is missing. While skydiving today, it came loose & plummeted to earth. A search is ongoing. No joke.” Fowler later offered an update: “ORE Duck head has been recovered. In one piece. A good samaritan happened upon it and returned it. Crisis averted.”
Phew!
GameDay is in Eugene this weekend because Stanford is there and, well, that’s kind of a big game. And Oregon fans can rest assured that their mascot will be there in one piece.
2
While we can debate, discuss, praise, or criticize Mike Leach’s methods ad nauseam, one thing about the Washington State football program isn’t receiving nearly enough attention: The lack of offense.
Leach arrived in Pullman with a reputation as something of a Xs-and-Os savant. Yet the Cougars are eighth in the Pac-12 with 370 yards per game, and 11th in the league with 20.7 points per game. Both numbers are down significantly from last season.
Paul Wulff might not have had Leach’s flair for stirring up controversy, but we doubt the offense would have regressed under his watch.
3
Want to see a long winning streak in women’s basketball come to an end? Call on Stanford.
The Cardinal ended Baylor’s 42-game win streak on Friday in Honolulu. It was the fifth-longest such streak in NCAA women’s history. Stanford also stopped UConn’s 90-game streak in 2010.
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