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.

• From AddictedtoQuack, an in depth look at the struggles of Jeremiah Masoli in poor weather situations. I’d be interested to see that data compiled into some sort of averages, but I was too lazy to do it myself.
• First, LeGarrette Blount offered another apology, this time in the Oregon Daily Emerald. Then, he was back on track for reinstatement.
• Ken Goe ruined my belief in Santa Claus, but at least made up for it by entertaining me.
• I found a coach clearly busying himself with anything other than proper voting (I’ll give you a hint: Air Force coach Troy Calhoun votes Cal 19th, leaves Oregon unranked).
• We found out coach Kelly does at least look at the polls even if he says they don’t matter. For the record, his take – “It doesn’t make sense” – parallels that of every free-thinking human.
• There was even a nice story on former Oregon point guard Kenya Wilkins taking his place in history among other Ducks players.
• Of course, worst link of the week goes to this. Losing Walter Thurmond III is a devastating blow to the Ducks defense.