The Week in Links

Welcome to Game Day. For the many of you who haven’t watched a live Oregon game on TV since the trip to Boise, trust me, the view via plasma has become a lot better since then. You’ll enjoy.

As for me, I’m giving that nice couch groove some time off and am probably figuring out a way to enjoy beer before noon at the Rose Bowl as you read this. Here’s a select look at the week that was in links with a thanking nod to Duck Sports News for its daily collection of news.

• Ted Miller had a superb mailbag on Friday. He has a great response to the thought that LeGarrette Blount’s reinstatement had anything to do with the presence of a lawyer. There’s also a well-reasoned take on why an 11-1 Oregon would be higher ranked than 12-0 Boise. I know, pie in the sky stuff, but something I was thinking about addressing during the bye week.
• sportsBYbrooks wonders about Oregon’s “laundering” of Blount with big names like Tony Dungy and Dr. Harry Edwards. At this point, if you commit a very public crime, wouldn’t your first call be to Dungy?I’m kicking myself for not writing about this.
• Ken Woody, who’s always worth a read, tackles the Autzen Mystique. There’s science, human opinion, stats and a few shades of homerism. In other words, all the elements for a great post.
• Jeff Smith formally introduced us to Nate Costa and after reading, you have to feel at least a little more confident that Nate can handle the moment this weekend.
• Not a link because I wouldn’t even know who to credit, but the biggest news of the week was the ongoing saga of Oregon’s injury situation. Chip Kelly remained tight-lipped and even seemed a little, pardon the pun, chippy. I’m thinking he’ll need to relax a little bit over the long-haul in laid back Eugene.
• I actually linked to this yesterday, but it’s worth repeating. Paul Wulff said he was miffed at Chip Kelly’s defensive challenge to preserve the shutout last Saturday. He also says he’s collecting chips on his shoulder to pay back someday. Something tells me Chip isn’t shaking over Wulff’s “chips.”
• Finally, on the recruiting front, the Ducks picked up a marquee offensive lineman from Arizona named Nick Rowland. He’s listed as one of the top players in the country at his position by multiple scouting services.