Ducks Lose, Roll Tide?

Well, the 37 days leading up to the BCS National Championship are finally over. However, I come to you today reporting my sorrows of a tough loss for my Ducks. “I love my Ducks.” I consider myself to be the biggest Ducks fan that has never set foot in the state amongst the tall firs or at least in Clark County. I am not a recent bandwagon hopper, I’ve been quackin’ since the days of Joey Harrington, Luke Jackson/Ridnour. They still may have had their Nikes on back then but it was nothing like the hype they got this year with their 400 + uniform combinations and viral videos.

Today is the calm after the storm (if that even exists). I think it is fair to say that this may have been one of the better National Championship games in a long time or at least since 2005 with Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, and Vince Young lighting up the national stage. It was a great game won by a field goal as time ran out and that I don’t think anyone expected it to turnout the way that it finally did.

Vegas had the over/under at 74 points of which they fell far short. This game was supposed to be the fastest and most dynamic offense ever vs. the most dynamic player at the quarterback position ever. I think everyone expected the offenses to just light up the scoreboard and it would come down to whoever made big plays on defense that would win the game and this is exactly what happened.

Auburn’s defense came ready out the gates hitting the Ducks with early sacks and interceptions disallowing them to get their fast-paced and no huddle offense to affect them. They set the tone from the start as we saw mere glimpses of what the Ducks could do when they got in their zone by running it on first and second down and letting their receivers fly on third and short with confidence that they could go for it on fourth and short if needed.

It was this air of confidence that led them up and the down the field all season long which resulted in their record of 12-0 as they averaged almost a point for every minute they played this season. It seemed as though the bigger SEC defense was able to get to the quicker yet smaller Oregon offense by limiting big run plays by LaMichael James and Darron Thomas. Not allowing them to break through to their secondary is what won the game for the Auburn Tigers/War Eagles.

I still don’t know why they think they are cool enough to have two mascots but that is another story for another day. Cam Newton wasn’t exactly the player that everyone thought he was going to be last night either. With comparison to Vince Young playing style and athletic ability most people suspected him to run all over Oregon’s linebackers of which Cam had 3 inches and 30 pounds on. That wasn’t necessarily the case though as Oregon’s Defensive Coordinator, Nick Aliotti, threw a lot of different looks and packages at him confusing the quarterback that was able to do whatever he wanted all season long.

Auburn needed someone to step and make a play on defense and it was Demetruce McNeal that I believe won the game for Auburn. It was McNeal that made the play of the night where “The Truce” (as I have now dubbed him) brought down Oregon WR, Lavasier Tunei after a 43 yard pass at the 3 yard line. The Auburn defense would go on to stop Oregon from getting in the end zone after four straight run plays. If Oregon scores here they go for two and it would likely have been 19-19 with 2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Bad plays calls by Chip Kelly to try and punch a smaller QB and RB through a much larger and agressive defensive led to the Duck downfall.

The Ducks got the ball back and charged downfield and scored and got the extra point thanks to the sick hippy WR, Jeff Maehl. With their star player and Heisman trophy not playing up to par with a possible leg injury other Auburn players needed to step up. And it was Freshman RB, Michael Dyer. Dyer will forever be known for his play where everyone thought he was down and stopped playing only for him to roll over and keep going for more yards. Dyer would run it again for another controversial touchdown which was reluctantly overturned and marked at the half yard line.

Not scoring the touchdown and having to kick the field goal may have actually been a better situation for  Auburn. If the Touchdown counted there would have been :10 left on the clock for Oregon to possibly run a kickoff back. Auburn would probably kicked it out of the end zone or out-of-bounds to eliminate that but you never know what college kickers are going to do. So, us Quackers could only hope to summon a replay of Boise State’s Kyle Brotzman to shank the 19 yard kick. To our demise, that was not case as Auburn Kicker, Wes Byrum split the uprights with :02 left on the clock ticked off as Auburn would go on to win the BCS National Championship.

I am still a little bitter so I am now going to go on my rant to say that Auburn cheated by paying off Cam Newton. We all know they did and we are naive to think that paying off families through boosters and different bank accounts doesn’t exist. Everyone does it, so Auburn is not alone. I for one think that college players should receive not salaries but stipends correlated to their football team’s value to the university but that also is an issue for another day. But Cam cheated and I wish they would have had better evidence to convict him so the Ducks (who get paid in tons of free Nike shwag) would have had better chances at being Champs.

Finals Procrastination Tips and Material

I don’t really know where I want to go with this blog but being a “Chooseday Tuesday” I figured I would let my mind flow into my index fingers (because I still look at keyboard and type with two fingers) and whatever comes out, well comes out. It is that time of year where college students around the world (on a semester schedule) fill the lounges of Starbucks and invest in 5 Hour Energy Shots.

It wasn’t until my super senior year  of college that I realized what good studying actually was. It involved going to class, paying attention in class, taking decent notes, reviewing them frequently, and going over them again in-depth prior to the final while upon receipt of the study guide. Another good trick is to only study in 45 minute increments because your brain can only focus at full strength for that amount of time.

So, in this educational week it is my fiduciary duty to pass on this knowledge to all students. Study for 45 minutes and then take a 15 minute break. Then repeat. However, I cannot take credit for this wise information and the credit is due to my good friend and world renown studier, Nick Wesling. Now the only remaining question is how will you utilize your 15 minute breaks to maximize the retention of the information applicable to your finals?

That’s where I come in. I have compiled a short play list of non H1N1 viral videos to keep you on your toes and your heart light in what can be a very stressful week. These videos are intended to give you a quick little smile break from studying. However, they do come with a Surgeon General’s warning that they are contagious, so do not watch in excess. Side effects may include: songs stuck in head, random laughter outbursts, and sneezing.

The “Harlem Shake,” the “Stanky Leg,” and the “Douggie” have nothing on this new dance craze. The “Bernie” is the hottest new form of interpretive dance that is sweeping the across the Bible Belt. It is recommended that this dance is done prior to a final to loosen up all of your muscles in preparation for what could be a tense hour or so. The quality is not up to par quite yet but I’m sure it is only a matter of time before Wiz Khalifa and B.o.B. hop in da boof for a remix.

This next video is almost as ridiculous as the “Bernie.” I recently came across three young gentleman from the prestigious University of Oregon, who go by the name of Supwhitchugirl. These three young men make me wish I would have gone to the U of O, met them playing intramural basketball, and thus transformed the trio into a quad because they remind me a lot of myself anf friends. This video has gone viral and become the official “fight video” for the Ducks’ championship run.

This next video is also off from the rap supergroup, Supwitchugirl. Behind the quick lyrics and jerker outfits there is an unheard amount of talent. From the writing of the songs, to the production of the videos, to the search for early 90s Nike windbreakers, these three kids are the reason I want my sons to grow up in the Pacific Northwest, despite never setting foot outside of an airport there.

This other hit from Supwitchugirl brings me right back to my childhood. Well my teenage years, where we would hop the fence of Selma Bartlett Elementary to play basketball on the eight foot hoops. I still believe in  my heart, that when on eight foot hoops, I am the best dunker in the world, pulling creative dunks out of my ass that would have Luke Ridnour and Luke Jackson wishing they showed me around campus on recruiting trips. I also have a special place in my heart for this video because I too still save all of my Champion (brand) NBA jerseys in a kids size 40 from middle school.

This next video comes to you from the best History AP teacher in America, Mr. Jeff Johnson. Mr. Johnson and I hit it off ever since Junior year of high school, when I showed up on the first day of school wearing my Larry Johnson UNLV throwback. From that day forth we had a bond held together by a respect for local basketball excellence. We both held similar positions in UNLV’s student government and he still is UNLV’s #1 fan from the net-cutting days of the early 90s, to the grey days of the Early 2000′s with Mark Dickel, to our current ascending return to greatness.

This last video I will leave you with is something to get you in the holiday mood. It twas the night before Christmas of 2006 and our hearts were open wide and these two comedic and musical geniuses gave us something that was on their mind. They were wise enough to when a gift needs giving and they knew just the one. It’s their dick in a box!