Duck Athletics on a Roll

David R.

January 31, 2010 - 1:47 PM

Knowing what I know about the winter term in Eugene, I have gotten used to waking up and seeing some scattered cloud cover, usually accompanied by some light precipitation. I was shocked to wake up this morning and find the sun shining through my bedroom window. The sun usually appears for the spring time towards the end of the winter term, but certainly not this early. Yesterday I left my house in sweatpants and a jacket. This morning I was able to walk to the library in athletic shorts and flip flops. Memories of spring term rushed back into my head as quickly as they left once the rainy season began in Eugene this fall. In terms of the weather, any University of Oregon student will tell you that the spring term is the nicest by far. Catching some rays on the roof of my fraternity house was one of my favorite activities of last spring term. This term is going by even faster than the fall term, and it is only a matter of weeks before the sun comes out over Eugene for good.

After a slight lull the Ducks men's basketball team has managed to win two games in a row against Pacific 10 opponents. The Ducks played UCLA last Thursday night at Mac Court and won a nail-biter that extended into overtime. The Ducks won 71-66 in a game that allowed them to snap a five-game losing streak.

Yesterday, with the memories of Thursday's intense match still in everyone's minds, the Trojans from USC made their way to Eugene. The Ducks won by ten as sophomores Jeremy Jacob and Malcolm Armstead combined for 37 of the Ducks' 67 points.

The Ducks took the court with some flashy new uniforms as well. The team wore pink jerseys and shorts, along with pink basketball shoes to show support for the fight against breast cancer. It is cool to see this cause gaining so much support across the nation. In a similar effort, MLB supplies its players with pink baseball bats to be used for the same purpose.

Speaking of sports, I noticed recently that a post-season rankings list for college football has been released. Despite a loss in the Rose Bowl, the Ducks were listed at no. six because of how many returning starters we will have on the offensive side of the ball. Being that one of my five roommates is a college football freak, he is always keeping me updated on Oregon's recruits for next season. During this last week the Ducks made a huge acquisition is signing Lache Seastrunk, the heavily recruited running back from Temple, Texas. Originally a strong verbal commit to USC, Seastrunk began to waiver after Pete Carroll decided to make a move. Seastrunk is a five-star recruit and is considered to be one of the best high school prospects in the nation. A backfield with him and LaMichael James could cause nightmares for any defense. Our recruiting class is looking good so far, and I am excited to see where the pieces fall into place before next season.