A letter in the March 24 edition of Sports Illustrated reads:

"I was shocked to see, in a photo of the Oregon student section, my son partaking in the harassment of UCLA's Kevin Love. When he came home the following weekend, his car was taken away and he headed back to school on a bus. I am embarrassed and wish to apologize to Kevin and his family." — Armando Navarro, Clackamas, Ore.

And they say that print media is dead.

Here's the SI story in question.

And, following below are some other potential bus customers that SI missed. You kids should be ashamed of yourselves!

Thanks For The Bus Ride, Sports Illustrated! [theWhammy]

MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS

1. Erick Dampier, Basketball Guru. Mississippi State's best postseason performance came in 1996. (Insert high-larious joke about Dishwalla, the movie "Bulletproof," or Bob Dole here) The Bulldogs won the SEC tournament by surprising eventual national champ Kentucky in the conference finals. They then went on to reach the Final Four in the NCAA's, defeating #1 seed UConn and #2 seed Cincinnati before losing to Syracuse in the semifinals. The team was led by center Erick Dampier, also known as "Damp" or "Contract Year," guard Darryl Wilson, and halfway possessive forward Dontae' Jones. Jones, a junior college transfer, risked being ineligible before the season, but, through the miracles of big-time college basketball, managed to pass thirty-six (freaking! and totally legitimate!) hours of coursework over the summer in order to qualify. Also, Dampier visited my middle school one time to recruit participants for some skills camp he was running, and he had, like, the biggest head I've ever seen on anyone ever.

2. Just Not Ready For a Commitment. In the late 90's and early aughts, lots of high school basketball players skipped college and went directly to the NBA. It's doubtful that any college program was a bigger loser as a result of this than Mississippi State. Over the years, the Bulldogs lost out on three top players—Jonathan Bender, Travis Outlaw and Monta Ellis—all of whom committed to the Bulldogs
before telling MSU, "It's been real, baby girl, but I'm not ready for a 'relationship' relationship." On the flipside, State might have been the biggest beneficiary of the 2003 Dave Bliss-Baylor Scandalgate Funktacular, as it freed Lawrence Roberts to transfer to State without having to sit out a year. He subsequently won the SEC Player of the Year Award and the hearts of Bulldog fans everywhere.

3. The "Voice of the Bulldogs." Jack Cristil has been the play-by-play announcer for State basketball games since 1957, and for football games since 1953. He started calling games so long ago, it was the Stone Age. No, but seriously, it wasn't the Stone Age...it was the Ice Age! No, really, it was the Stone Age. Cristil got his start before the era of sportsertainment, as evidenced by the fact that, oh, I don't know, listening to his broadcasts is actually enjoyable. The man in old school in the best sense. Upon his hiring, then-AD Dudy Noble told him, "Boy, here's what I want you to do. You tell that radio audience what the score is, who's got the ball and how much time is left and you cut out the bullshit." Where, oh where, is that voice of reason when our hype-machine-lanced sports world needs it most? — David Newman

OREGON DUCKS

1. Should of Just Been a Duck. The Oregon student section, or The Pit Crew, was awesome enough to get mentioned (with an accompanying picture) in Sports Illustrated as one of the nastiest, most verbally abusive, over-the-line student sections in the country. Oh wait, not so awesome. When Portland native Kevin Love made his way up to Eugene in January, The Pit Crew exacted their revenge on his going to UCLA instead of Oregon (where daddy Stan played with Ernie Kent) by posting his cell phone number on Facebook (leading to death threats), throwing things at his family in the stands (including his Beach Boy uncle, Mike Love) and chanting things about Kevin Love that I won't get into here. Ok fine, they insinuated that he enjoys the peen.

2. The Phil Knight Dome. McArthur Court has been around for 80ish years and is falling apart. Beyond the clear structural issues, it's apparently partially overrun with insects and features what are probably the least appealing locker rooms and press areas in the country. Will Phil Knight stand for that any longer? No, no he won't. Plans are now all but finalized, thanks in part to Uncle Phil donating, you know, like a hundred million dollars to the Duck Athletic Fund. Scheduled to open in 2010ish, the new arena, which will be built on land now occupied by a bread factory next to campus, will be the most expensive ($200m) college arena ever built. There's talk of it housing two playing areas, one regular 12,500 seater and a smaller gym for volleyball and other miscellaneous activities. As far as anyone can tell what $200 million buys you arena-wise, the mockup looks like some sort of cross between the Death Star and a Brita Water Filter.

3. Fun Duck Facts. Ray Schafer, an Alaskan 7-footer, is married and has his wife rebound for him when he practices alone in the arena at night ... Freshman PG Kamryn Brown hurt himself playing in a pick-up game at the Rec Center in the middle of the season ... Aaron Brooks was really good last year, and they're not as good without him ... Oregon got new uniforms midway through the season (blacks, yellows, greens, and whites) and the names are on the backs are printed in same color as the jerseys themselves ... Since growing a beard for the season, Maarty Leunen has been the best and most consistent player for the Ducks ... Freshman SF Drew Viney looks like he's 14 years old ... Senior PF Mitch Platt looks really funny and pale in one of those skin-tight Nike under-jersey shirts. — Dan Rubenstein

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2. The Phil Knight Dome. McArthur Court has been around for 80ish years and is falling apart. Beyond the clear structural issues, it's apparently partially overrun with insects and features what are probably the least appealing locker rooms and press areas in the country. Will Phil Knight stand for that any longer? No, no he won't. Plans are now all but finalized, thanks in part to Uncle Phil donating, you know, like a hundred million dollars to the Duck Athletic Fund. Scheduled to open in 2010ish, the new arena, which will be built on land now occupied by a bread factory next to campus, will be the most expensive ($200m) college arena ever built. There's talk of it housing two playing areas, one regular 12,500 seater and a smaller gym for volleyball and other miscellaneous activities. As far as anyone can tell what $200 million buys you arena-wise, the mockup looks like some sort of cross between the Death Star and a Brita Water Filter.

3. Fun Duck Facts. Ray Schafer, an Alaskan 7-footer, is married and has his wife rebound for him when he practices alone in the arena at night ... Freshman PG Kamryn Brown hurt himself playing in a pick-up game at the Rec Center in the middle of the season ... Aaron Brooks was really good last year, and they're not as good without him ... Oregon got new uniforms midway through the season (blacks, yellows, greens, and whites) and the names are on the backs are printed in same color as the jerseys themselves ... Since growing a beard for the season, Maarty Leunen has been the best and most consistent player for the Ducks ... Freshman SF Drew Viney looks like he's 14 years old ... Senior PF Mitch Platt looks really funny and pale in one of those skin-tight Nike under-jersey shirts. — Dan Rubenstein

It has been an awfully difficult week for Oregon. In the span of three hours last Thursday, the Ducks lost a clear BCS spot and a Heisman Trophy with the injury to Dennis Dixon, and the state even suffered a minor earthquake just off its coast. The good news? Greg Oden's mending!

St. Mary's Upsets Oregon In Latest Ducks Disaster [Sports By Brooks]
St. Mary's Will Upset Oregon [The Fanhouse]

So, how does the shuffle play out? Well, assuming LSU doesn't lose in the SEC title game, they're in. Which means the other BCS slot should be filled by whoever escapes the Big 12 scrum. If it's Missouri, that could also mean Chase Daniel moves into the Heisman leader; if it's not, it's Tebow fever. For all the talk of rivalry week starting tomorrow, the real college football news came last night. Chaos is fun.

Oregon Falls At Arizona [Rivals.com]

Yep, the Heisman Trophy candidate is also just taking one class this year: Billiards.

As with Leinart, we don't see anything wrong with this: The reason Dixon is only taking one class is because he's already set to graduate with a degree in sociology. (Because, of course, the only reason to play college football is to get a degree.) The only downside is that, unlike Leinart, Dixon is unlikely to sleep with his class partners. Which might be for the best, actually.

Oregon QB Has A Lot Of Balls [Sports By Brooks]

• LSU 41, Alabama 34 — Ah, this was a big win for the Tigers in Tuscaloosa. I'm sure that from here on out, people will finally stop questioning Les Miles as a legitimate coach. Yep. No doubt about it.

• Navy 46, Notre Dame 44 — Bread cost a nickel. Gas cost a quarter. Hippie bone marrow was free — you could just go up to them when they were asleep and siphon it through a tube. This was our world when Navy last beat Notre Dame.

Ram Vela. Remember that name. One day, you'll read about how he singlehandedly brought down a fortress of Middle Eastern terrorists or victoriously wrestled down a pod of super intelligent dolphins set out to destroy our way of life. Vela lept a ND defender and sacked quarterback Evan Sharpley in the same motion during an Irish fourth quarter drive.

• Arkansas 48, South Carolina 36 — "Hi, I'm Darren McFadden. You may remember me from such college football seasons as 2006 and ... well, just 2006." McFadden ran for 323 yards, passed for a touchdown, and I'm fairly certain he nursed a dying foal back into good health. Some may assert he still has a chance to win the Heisman, but Colt Brennan killed an octopus in the offseason. Still too close to call.

(Photo straight from the Arizona Republic)

Malik Hairston fouled out at 3:54, Marty Leunen fouled out with 1:24 left, Joevan Catron fouled out with :47 left, and Aaron Brooks played most of the second half with four fouls. It's not that Oregon played poorly — well, except for Tajuan Porter, whose jumpshots, for most of the game, seemed to be allergic to the net — they just didn't have enough to mess with Florida. Porter was 2-12 from the floor and was called for a travel on one of Oregon's last opportunities with under 9 seconds to play. Poor little guy.

Brooks finished with 27 for Oregon, and game MVP Lee Humphrey racked up 23 for Florida. Joakim Noah chipped in 14 points and 13 boards for the Gators, too.

It sets up a UCLA/Florida Final Four rematch. The other Final Four game will be Ohio State vs. either Carolina or Georgetown, which is starting any second now.

Oregon couldn't make them pay and put them in a hole, though. They never opened up much of a lead, and at about the 7:00 mark, Florida went on a mini-run and took the lead, which they have yet to relinquish. They take a 40-38 lead to the half.

While James Brown and Len Elmore try to get a handle on the magical ability of Lee Humphrey's jumpshot to obliterate nylon, Aaron Brooks has 14 for Oregon, Humphrey has 14 for Florida, and Oregon's Malik Hairston, described by James Brown as having a "nice package down low," and I couldn't agree more, has 12. Florida's trio of Noah, Horford and Brewer has combined for 12. And yet, Florida leads.

Both Clark Kellog and Seth Davis like Florida, if that means anything to you (which it absolutely shouldn't). It should be a fun team to watch, though, between Florida's dominant frontcourt, and the Ducks' explosive backcourt.

The weather is beautiful in most of the country ... the perfect day to park yourself in front of a television and forget about sunshine for a little while. You wouldn't want to miss it if the Gators win, and Joakim Noah starts grinding on Len Elmore.

OREGON

1. Everybody Hates Ernie. Sort of. After the past two seasons, everyone and their mom wanted Ernie Kent fired for having his second consecutive underwhelming season. Sure, his team made the Elite Eight in 2002 (some say in spite of him), and after the Lukes (Ridnour and Jackson) left, Kent's teams struggled for a couple years (albeit with a national top 10 recruiting class), but even throughout this year's run (winning the Pac-10 Tournament, ending the season #10 in the AP Poll, current Sweet 16 team), some fans still have had enough of him and want fresh blood (read: Mark Few, Mike Montgomery) coaching near the shores of the mighty Willamette. On top of the pressure of coaching for a school that has suddenly decided that it's supposed to be a basketball powerhouse, Kent tore his left rotator cuff before the season after taking a spill on his bike. After wearing a sling for the first few games, Kent got run over by an Arizona player later in the season (during a game), re-injuring the shoulder. Then, factor in the fact that his three-sport (basketball, football, track) son and Jordan was unable to play this season while recovering from torn toe ligaments sustained during the Las Vegas Bowl while wearing one of those ridiculous fade paint helmets, and you have kind of a fucked up year for ol' Ernie.

2. You Bastard. Pat Kilkenny was recently named the new athletic director of Oregon, despite having no NCAA athletic department experience and being a gigantic billionaire booster. The apparent consensus is that he was brought in to get a new basketball arena built, in part because former AD Bill Moos and Nike founder and huge Oregon booster, Phil Knight, weren't the best of pals. The possible site is the former Williams Bread factory (good riddance), right next to a group of the dorms on campus. One would think that the smell of fresh bread would be something to look forward to, but trust me, being greeted by sourdough every morning gets tedious and old quickly. Beyond that, though, Kilkenny has done some good. He took care of first and second round tournament tickets for the students who waited in line overnight and provided a luxury bus to Spokane, possibly the first time a luxury bus has ever been told to go to Spokane.

3. More Fun Duck Facts. Reserve guards Chamberlain Oguchi and Churchill Odia have both played for the Nigerian national team in international tournaments...PG Aaron Brooks and his lady friend had a daughter in the offseason and was close to transferring to a DII school in his hometown of Seattle...SG Bryce Taylor went to the same high school as the Gyllenhalls, Tori Spelling, and Murphy Brown herself, Candice Bergen...Alaskan third string center Ray Schafer had a short-lived beard this season that looked about as good he plays ...Tajuan Porter is still short, in case you haven't heard...The aforementioned Oguchi went to George W. Bush High School, which all things considered, is probably the easiest high school in America. — Dan Rubenstein

UNLV

1. What's next, cable access? After spending most of the decade as part of ESPN's Big Monday package, the Mountain West brain trust decided to leave ESPN for a TV deal with College Sports TV (CSTV). Over the course of the season, UNLV appeared on ESPN2 once (because Bobby Knight was approaching Dean Smith), and the rest of the season was spent on a combination of CSTV ,The Mtn. (a Nevada/Utah CSTV affiliate) and Versus (formerly OLN). Honestly, it would only be appropriate for tonight's game should be broadcast on The Food Network or The Discovery Channel.

2. Top 5 NCAA coach all time? Lon Kruger joined a rather illustrious group of coaches when UNLV won the MWC conference tournament; he became the fifth coach to take four different programs to the NCAA tournament. The win over Wisconsin moved him into even further select company, joining Gene Bartow, Rick Pitino, Bill Self and Eddie Sutton in taking three teams to the Sweet 16. (All four went onto the Elite 8 with all their teams.)

3. 30+ wins then and now. The Rebels have reached 30 wins for the first time since finishing 34-1 in 1990-1991. This year's Rebels have one first-team, one second-team and one third-team all conference player, with no national honors. The 1991 team saw Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon, Anderson Hunt and Larry Johnson make the first team and George Ackles make the second team all conference. Additionally, that squad had two first team All-Americans and three honorable mentions. — David Fucillo

OREGON DUCKS

1. Not that Aaron Brooks. From the same school that gave the sports world another Jaison Williams (current WR) and Steve Smith (former CB), comes current point guard and Pac-10 Player of the Year candidate Aaron Brooks. He can't throw 50-yard backward passes, but highlights before this season include breaking his wrist after punching a basket support at UCLA and then nearly breaking a semi-albino shooting guard's face. In all fairness to Brooks, I'm not sure if popping a Washington Husky is technically a punishable offense.

2. Mac Court is really old. McArthur Court is about 80 years old, and if you go to a game there, you might die. OK, maybe not, but a lot of the stands are supported by wood, and when fans start getting excited and get on their feet, being in the building becomes, to say the least, uncomfortable. The rumor is that a new arena won't be built until there's a new coach, due to the fact that people (read: those with the greenbacks) seem to want Ernie Kent out. A 23-win regular season, however, probably ensures that somebody will be hit with a roof shingle or fall through the stands at some point next season. Also, on a somewhat related Mac Court topic, the student section was told to tone it down after starting a "Your Son Hates You" (clap clap, clap clap clap) chant directed at Henry Bibby. Classy all the way.

3. Fun Duck Facts. The uniforms (save for maybe the bright yellow ones) probably won't blind anybody and have no diamond plating or fade paint ... Backup point guard Adrian Stelly worked as a janitor at Mac Court his freshman year before walking on the following year ... shooting guard Chamberlin Oguchi plays for the Nigerian National Team ... shooting guard Bryce Taylor has improved significantly since cutting off his Sideshow Bob dreadlocks before the season ... It's not a typo, forward Maarty Leunen really does spell his name with two As ... Freshman Tajuan Porter is 5'6" and somehow tied the Pac-10 freshman record for threes ... I once saw backup forward Mitch Platt in a Quizno's. I don't remember his order, but it didn't impress me, much like his 30.8 percent free throw percentage that season. — Dan Rubenstein

MIAMI OF OHIO REDHAWKS

1. You Give "Of" A Bad Name. In NCAA football we have Miami and Miami of Ohio. Perhaps in basketball, we should have Miami and Miami of Florida. Who's with me? (Charges out of Delta House) ... (Returns) What the f**k happened to the Deadspin I know? Where's the spirit? The Miami University RedHawks have qualified for the tournament of 64 — I mean 65 — for the 17th time in school history. The one in Florida has reached the tournament but a mere five times. MU also has twice as many tournament wins as "The U." (Six vs. three.) Miami University has hardly earned the consolation of using the "Of [state]" when it comes to basketball in March. And we're just the folks to change that thought process. LET'S DO IT!

2. I Wonder What That LeBron Guy Is Doing Now. You may not believe this, but the guys playing for Miami this season had trouble against LeBron James in high school. The Brothers Pollitz (Eric and Tim) lost in consecutive years to James and company in the Ohio Division III quarterfinals in 2002 and 2003. Doug Penno — that dude who hit the banked 3-point shot to beat Akron in the silly MAC Championship — was on the team that lost to James' high school in the state championship game, 40-36. So could it possibly be construed as ironic that Penno and Pollitz won a conference championship on the very court on which LeBron James plays professionally (Quicken Loans Arena)? No? Yeah, I didn't think so either.

3. WHAT ... Is Your Name? What ... Is Your Quest? For a school stowed away in Southeast Ohio's armpit, Miami sure has a lot of famous graduates: Woody Hayes, Weeb Eubank, Paul Brown, Ara Parseghian, Ben Roethlisberger, Ron Harper, Charlie Liebrandt ... ah hell. Just read the damn list. Not listed, but should be, is author Scott Ginsberg, known as "The Nametag Guy." He claims to have worn a nametag 24/7 for the last six years. (Most. Awkward. Sex. Ever.) He claims that the nametag not only gives him a profound level of approachability and confidence, but it keeps the evil pirate ghosts from invading his mantra and selling his soul for rum. Ginsberg is clearly a glaring omission on the list of notable MU alum. If only there were some way I could add his name to that Wikipedia list. — Matt Sussman

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The Ducks aren't sure yet if they'll wear them for their bowl game. They'd like to, but they've only received helmets for about half the team. I guess Nike's running low on color-changing crazy motherfucker paint.

The plan appears to be the wear the new helmets along with their bright yellow jerseys and bright yellow pants when they take on BYU. I thought you should know now, so you'd have time to run to your optometrist before the Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl on December 21st.

Within two years, I predict Oregon will be taking the field in uniforms that make them invisible.

New lids give Ducks new look [The Register Guard]

Saturday was an outstanding day for college football — particularly if you went to Syracuse, grumble grumble — but it was not so pleasant for Oklahoma fans, who, as this video rather clearly shows, were screwed out of a big road victory against Oregon. It's funny, because one wouldn't think it would be possible for so many calls to be missed on a play as simple as an onsides kick ... but there it is, regardless.

By the way, Brady Quinn, huh?

Turns Out Oregon Didn't Recover The Ball [The Wizard Of Odds]

But we'll let a couple college football blogs take it over for us.

• Every Day Should Be Saturday: "Cirrohsis of the eye."
• The M Zone: "For the love of God, somebody has to reign in these designs the Nike folks are forcing on you and your team. You guys are a major college football team, not contestants on Project Runway."
• The Wizard Of Odds: "The innovations and ensemble possibilities — 48 in all — will once again make the Ducks the most unusually outfitted and fussed-over team in the nation."

All together now ... "I'm still standin', after all this time ... looking like a true survivor ..."

(UPDATE: The Uniwatch Guy has plenty to say about this.)

No, really. "Senior Amy Harris is expected to miss a month with Bicipital Tendinitis while freshman Elise Orange has taken an indefinite leave of absence due to personal reasons. Oregon is already with out the services of sophomore Alicia Cook, who was declared academically ineligible for winter term. Harris is hopeful to return for the start of the Pac-10 season, which opens Mar. 31 vs. Arizona State at Howe Field."

We know the budget for Ducks softball is probably not on a par with the football program. But nobody can pitch? There's gotta be somebody on that campus who can throw a ball, right? Sure, they wouldn't be any good, but that's hardly stopping the SWAC.

Softball To Miss Tournament This Weekend [GoDucks.com]
Far From The Limelight And Far From Successful [NY Times]