QUACK BACK: Volume IX

DUCKS VOLLEYBALL SPLITS PAIR

After sweeping the Washington schools the prior weekend, the Ducks volleyball team finished up a 4 game home stand this past weekend.

On Friday night, the 16th ranked Ducks hosted Utah. Utah came in just 3-9 in conference play. The Duck women took control of the match early with a first set win 25-13. The Ducks were unable to carry this momentum forward, though, as Utah stormed back by winning set two 25-22 and then took the third set with a close 28-26 victory.

Oregon was able to tie the match up with a gutty 25-17 win in the fourth set. After starting the deciding fifth set with a 6-4 lead, the Ducks saw the match slip away as Utah went on an 11-2 run to take the fifth set 15-8.

Having taken one opponent lightly, the Ducks would not make the same mistake twice as they dominated Colorado  (5-17, 0-15) in straight sets 25-21, 25-18, 25-18. The win took the Ducks to an 8-3 record at home this year with an overall record of 15-7 including 8-6 in Pac-12 Conference play.

Up next for the women a trip to Arizona to face Arizona and Arizona State this weekend.

CROSS COUNTRY RUNS IN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

The men's and women's cross country teams competed in the inaugural Pac-12 Conference Championship meet in Litchfield Park, Arizona, over the weekend. In a small surprise, the men, ranked #23 in the nation placed 3rd in the meet led by senior Luke Puskedra's 5th place finish. He was followed by sophomore Parker Stinson (7th) and freshmen Jeramy Elkaim (20th) Lukas Verzbicas (23rd) and Ryan Puckering (39th) to round out the scoring for the Ducks.

The women, led by a 3rd place finish by defending conference champion Jordan Hasay, finished 4th overall. Also running well for the Ducks were sneiors Claire Michel (15th) and Bronwyn Crossman (17th). Rounding out the scoring for the women were sophomore Lanie Thompson (22nd) and freshman Molly Grabill (32nd).

Next up for the team is the NCAA West Regionals at Stanford on November 12th.

DUCK CALLS

Soccer: After losing to #1 ranked Stanford this past weekend in their home finale, the women's soccer team heads to Corvallis for the first installment of the Civil War series. That match will take place Friday, November 4, at 7:00 PM.

Football: LaMichael James was named a semi-finalist for the 75th annual Maxwell Award, presented to the collegiate player of the year.

QUACK BACK: Volume VIII

DUCKS VOLLEYBALL SWEEPS PAIR

Having lost 4 consecutive matches against some of the top teams in the nation, the Duck Women Volleyball team got back on the winning track over the weekend with a sweep of the Washington schools.


On Friday night, in one of the most exhilarating matches of the season the Ducks fought back from an 0-2 deficit for their win. After dropping the first two sets 25-21 and 25-17 respectively, the team used the 10 minute intermission to recharge. The team exploded to their most dominating set of the season taking the third set 25-8. That marks the fewest points the Ducks have allowed in any set this season. The Ducks took the fourth set 25-13 before the penultimate fifth set. In a back and forth set, the Duck women fell behind early 4-0 and trailed 8-5 midway through the set before closing out the set and match with a late 10-4 run to take the fifth set 15-12.


After an exciting match on Friday night, Saturday looked to be another tough test as the Ducks faced 7th ranked Washington. Instead, the Ducks won in straight sets 27-25, 30-28 and 25-18. The win ups the Ducks record to 14-6 overall and 7-5 in Pac-12 play. For her efforts, sophomore setter Laura Plum was named the Pac-12 Conference offensive player of the week.


FOOTBALL DOMINATES COLORADO

Without their top two offensive players, the Ducks did not miss a beat against Colorado. Playing at Folsom Field for the first time since the 1987 debut of Bill Musgrave, the Ducks once again featured the debut of a talented young quarterback. Getting his first start as a Duck, Bryan Bennett played very well early and proved that Duck fans have much to look forward to for the next several years. For the Game, Bennett finished 11-20 for 156 yards and 2 touchdowns. Bennett also carried the ball six times for 69 yards.


Starting for the second consecutive week in place of the injured LaMichael James, Kenjon Barner showed that the Ducks do not miss much without the nations leading rusher. Barner scored an 84 yard touchdown in the first quarter and in very limited action carried the ball 10 times for 115 yards and 2 touchdowns of his own.


Up next for the football team is a home date with Washington State on Saturday, October 29.


DUCK CALLS

Cross Country : The Ducks travel to Arizona for the Pac-12 Championships this weekend.

Soccer: Women's soccer team upset #18 Washington State 1-0. That is their first win over a ranked opponent in over 2 years. For the season the Ducks stand 8-7-2 overall and 3-4-1 in Pac-12 play.


Football: Darron Thomas was named a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien award given annually to college football's best quarterback.

QUACK BACK: Volume VII

DUCKS VOLLEYBALL DROPS PAIR

After dropping two matches to highly ranked Cal and Stanford the previous week, the Duck women faced another stiff challenge with a  trip to Los Angeles. On Friday night, the women faced #3 ranked USC. After losing the first set 25-15, the Duck women fought back to tie the match at 1 set apiece with a close, back-and-forth set 27-25. The Trojans, winners of 9 straight coming in, had other plans, though and edged the Ducks over the final two sets 25-23, 25-21. The Ducks stayed close, but the Trojans were too strong in the end.

With no time to sulk, the volleyball team faced #6 UCLA the next night. For the second time this year, and the second time in as many weeks, the volleyball team consecutive matches. Mirroring the USC match, the UCLA women took the first set 25-21. THe Duck women, playing resiliently, fought back to tie the match at one set apiece with a gutty 25-22 win in the second set. Showing their strength, UCLA was able to win the final two sets 25-23, 25-19 to take the match. The Duck women fell to 12-6 overall and 5-5 in conference play with the losses over the weekend. The Ducks remain ranked, however, still coming in at #18 on the season.

CROSS COUNTRY COMPETES AT WISCONSIN ADIDAS INVITATIONAL

Jordan Hasay, already entering her junior year for the Ducks placed second overall to defending NCAA champion Shelia Reid of Villanova. Reid set the course record with Jordan only two seconds behind. The two were the class of the field. The Oregon women, led by Hasay, finished 8th overall in a very strong field.

The men's overall race was not nearly as competitive with top ranked Wisconsin running away with the team victory. Luke Puskedra led the Duck men with his sixth straight top-10 finish. Overall the men placed 14th in the field. Highly touted freshman Lukas Verzbicas made his debut for the Ducks finishing 62nd in the field
 
MATT KNIGHT MADNESS

On Friday night at midnight, basketball season officially began for the Ducks with the frist ever edition of "Matt Knight Madness." Used as a way to introduce fans to the men and women teams, the event spring-boarded the excitement of DameDay being on campus the next morning to showcase the teams. In an energy filled event fans were not disappointed.

There are new sales plans this season for including 3-game "mini-plans" for just $36. Time for Duck fans to start filling the new arena!

FOOTBALL WINS AGAIN

Against the best opponent the Ducks have faced since their season opening loss to LSU, the football team, without Doak Walker winner LaMichael James, still turned out 327 rushing yards to eventually wear down the Arizona State defense. In the end, even an injury to second year starter Darron Thomas could not slow down the Oregon offense. Redshirt freshman Bryan Bennett came on in relief of the injured Thoams and led the Ducks from a 3 point   deficit to a 14 point lead. Showing his speed, Bennett surprised the Sun Devils with a couple of big runs.

In place of injured star James, Kenjon Barner proved his own warrior mentality with 31 carries for 171 yards and a touchdown. The Ducks travel to Colorado this weekend for a 12:30 tilt with the newest Pac-12 member, Colorado Buffaloes.

QUACK BACK: Volume VI

DUCKS VOLLEYBALL DROPS PAIR

Womens Volleyball (photo courtesy Goducks.com)

In front of a record crowd of 6,210 the 15th ranked Women's Volleyball team faced their stiffest challenge of the season. After playing very competitive early against the Cal Bears on Friday night, the women lost 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-12). It was a tough loss for the Ducks to the defending national runner up and #4 ranked Bears team.


With no time to sulk, the volleyball team faced #7 Stanford the next night. For the first time this year, the women lost consecutive matches for the first time this season. After taking the first set 25-22, Stanford reeled off three straight sets 25-20, 25-21, 25-23 to take the match. Though the Ducks stayed close throughout, Stanford gave the women their first two match losing streak of the season. The losses dropped the Ducks to 12-4 overall and 5-3 in conference. Next up for the women is a trip to Los Angeles to take on USC next Friday followed by UCLA on Saturday October 15.

LAMICHAEL JAMES INJURES ELBOW IN ANOTHER RECORD SETTING PERFORMANCE

LaMichael James, (photo Courtesy Duck Sports Authority)

Never before had an Oregon Duck running back crossed the 200 yard rushing plateau in three consecutive games. In fact, it had not happened for any team in the conference since Hall-of-Famer Marcus Allen accomplished the feat for the USC Trojans in 1981. The career an single season record holder in all major rushing categories, who has proven his toughness time and again, made Autzen Stadium quieter than any opponent when he went down early in the 4th quarter with what appeared to be a serious arm injury.

After the game, James assured Duck fans he would play again this season. He had "only" dislocated his elbow and vowed a quick return. For his 30 carry, 239 yard performance, James was, once again, named the Walter Camp National Player of the Week.

FOOTBALL ROUTS CALIFORNIA
 

With LaMicheal James in the locker room, Darron Thomas completed a 3 yard touchdown pass to Lavasier Tuinei to complete the second half barrage that turned a 15-14 halftime deficit into a 43-15 win. Though the score was close in the first half, Cal never really stopped Oregon as the Ducks rolled to 270 first half yards.

The Duck defense played magnificently in the second half shutting down the Bears potent passing attack for most of the third and fourth quarter. A nice goal line stand ensured that the Bears would go scoreless in the second half.




MATT KNIGHT MADNESS

With the turning of the calendar to October, college basketball quickly approaches. The Ducks open the beginning of basketball with their own version of midnight madness. According to the team's twitter account, at midnight on October 14th (that's this Friday), the Ducks will open the official beginning of practice with an extravaganza expected to include some all-time Duck hardwood greats and some fantastic prizes. The second season under Coach Dana Altman looks to improve on an overachieving season that saw the team take the CBI title in dramatic fashion.

There are new sales plans this season for including 3-game "mini-plans" for just $36. Time for Duck fans to start filling the new arena!

QUACK BACK: Volume V

DUCKS VOLLEYBALL CONTINUES ROLL

This past weekend, the Women's Volleyball team continued their early season success by sweeping Colorado and Utah on the road. The Ducks dominated both matches 3-0 moving their season record to 11-1.

The Ducks are ranked #15 in the nation and sit alone atop the Pac-12 standings with a league record of 4-0. They continue a four game road trip this weekend with matches against Washington and Washington State before returning home for a pair of crucial matches against 4th ranked Cal and 6th ranked Stanford.


JAMES RUNS TO MORE RECORDS

LaMichael James

In Lamichael James' two plus years playing running back for the University of Oregon, he has put himself into very heady company. Already the all-time leading rusher in Oregon history, James added a few more records to his resume this past Saturday.

With 288 yards on 23 carries, James surpassed the single game record of 285 set by Onterrio Smith against Washington State in 2001. Adding to that, James also surpassed Derek Loville for most career rushing touchdowns. Truly an impressive week for James which was capped by being named Pac-12 player of the week.

FOOTBALL ROUTS ARIZONA

Duck Fans Celebrate

While LaMichael James was running over around and by the Arizona Wildcats defense Saturday, the rest of the team did much of the same. Kenjon Barner returned from injury to score three touchdowns (2 rush, 1 receiving). Finishing out the offensive fireworks, Darron Thomas accounted for four touchdowns of his own with two more passing touchdowns to go along with 2 rushing touchdowns. James once again leads the nation in rushing with 604 Yards.

Next up for the Ducks a Thursday night home game against Cal. Join us at the Official Duck Sports Authority Tailgate!

QUACK BACK: Volume 4

FOOTBALL ROUTS MISSOURI STATE

With a final non-conference game against Missouri State, the Ducks head into Pac-12 play with confidence, but questions. With the season opening loss, most observers had considered the defensive performance to be a very good effort. The last two weeks, however, have seen the Ducks "D" susceptible to the run.

Nonetheless, after Missouri State marched down the field for a score, the Ducks answered with 56 consecutive points to dismantle the Bears.

Along the way, fans witnessed an Autzen Stadium record 90 yard touchdown run by the incomparable LaMichael James. James, now just a single rushing touchdown shy of tying Derek Loville for the career school record, put on a show for the hometown fans rushing for 204 yards on just 12 carries.

AJ Jacobson and John Copp share their thoughts on the performance with their Grades and Analysis. A very fair take on the overall performance Saturday.

Alex McDougall got some GREAT in-game photos take a look at the Oregon-Missouri Game Photos.

Oshay Dunmore

RECRUITING BUZZ

The Missouri State game saw a few more visitors, both official and unofficial as Brett Bafaro made another trip down for the game this time joined by Oshay Dunmore, Stephen Amoako, his twin brother Eric and standout 2013 Running Back Thomas Tyner. It appeared all enjoyed the atmosphere as they were very vocal after they returned home about how much they enjoyed their trip.

Check out the recap from Oshay Dunmore's official visit. As for the Amoako twins, Eric had this to say about his trip "I love Oregon though! Can't wait to live here!"

Recruiting is just starting to really pick up. The Ducks have 8 commitments already and the class is expected to be a full class of nearly 22-25 kids, stay tuned to Duck Sports Authority for all your recruiting news!

VOLLEYBALL TEAM STILL ON A ROLL

The Oregon Volleyball team moved to 9-1 on the season with a sweep over the weekend of Arizona and Arizona State taking Arizona out 3-0 and easing by Arizona State 3-1. The successes have taken the Ducks to #15 in the national rankings.

This week, they head to Colorado and Utah as part of a 4 game road trip before returning home for home matches with Cal and Stanford.

OTHER NOTES:

*-Women's soccer fell to 5-4-2 with  disappointing 2-1 loss to Florida International. The Women continue their season this weekend with a Friday night home match (7:00 PM) against Utah.

*-Fall Golf Kicked off this week as well with the men and women both playing in tournaments.

*-Cross Country has it's next meet October 1st.

And that should about cover it for the week that was in Duck Sports.

Check 

QUACK BACK: Volume 3

A LITTLE “O” FLAP

Seems to me as if there was much ado about nothing yesterday. Of course, I am referring to Mike Pereira, Director of Pac-12 officiating, and his utterly ridiculous rant regarding the hand gesture which symbolizes the University of Oregon made by players in celebration WITH their fans after big plays.

Look, I understand the need to reduce taunting; true taunting creates far more negative side effects than we care to discuss in this venue. Nonetheless, football is a game. At Autzen Stadium, football is a game shared between 100+ University of Oregon football players and 60,000 screaming fans. By definition, a game should bring enjoyment not only to the spectators, but to it's participants, within reason, of course. The Oregon “O” has never, on any occasion, been directed at an opponent, nor has it been a prolonged expression meant to taunt or humiliate the opponent. It has always been a gesture that allows the players to share their pride in the University they represent with the fans whose pride is on display during beautiful fall Saturday afternoons.

I am not entirely sure that Pereira understood the firestorm he was creating when he made what he likely thought to be innocuous statements that would likely be ignored by most. Unfortunately for Pereira his words quickly spread and the outrage from not only Duck fans, but critics around the nation of an over-reaching conference official generated a faster than lightning reversal of field akin to LaMichael James' run at Tennessee.

Kenjon Barner Flashes "O"

The problem here, though, is not the initial words which turned out to be harmless, but the self-validation so critical to a man who should feel comfortable with his own character by this point in life. To watch the Oregon-Nevada game and come away with this statement seems more than ludicrous; it seems self-serving.

“I'll go so far as to guarantee you that Chip Kelly and the Oregon Ducks will get a phone call this week and tell them that "You need to stop doing this. Why do I guarantee it? Because I'll be the one to make it.”

Sadly, though, the need for validation seems to permeate our society. It might be time for Larry Scott to re-evaluate his decision to hire Mike Pereira, his need for validation makes him a danger to the integrity of the powerhouse that Scott is attempting to build.

BIG TIME VISITORS

5* DT Ellis McCarthy

As Football season begins in earnest, so too does recruiting. College football is unique compared to professional in that every year, you have holes to fill with new recruits. Great recruiting is the difference between losing seasons and trips to BCS Bowl games. Over the past few years, Oregon recruiting, thanks to Chip Kelly, has gone national. With this national cache comes more big time visits.

While it would be a coup of unimaginable proportions to snag every 5* recruit that visited Oregon, getting big time visitors is still a major accomplishment, regardless of commitment. For the Nevada Game Oregon has some serious talent visiting with the likes of 2013 RBThomas Tyner (Alhoa HS, Aloha, OR), 2012 LB Brett Bafaro (Liberty HS, Hillsboro, OR), 2012 Athlete Oshay Dunmore (Newport HS, Newport, OR, committed) and 2012 OL Kyle Murphy (San Clemente HS, San Clemente, CA).

In late news this week, one of the most sought after Defensive Tackles in teh nation has set a visit to Oregon! Monrovia DT Ellis McCarthy, a 5* DT with offers from every major program in the nation, McCarthy will be making his first official visit of the recruiting season to Oregon.

Keep an eye out for these visitors and their updates, they would all be exceptional additions as future Ducks!

OREGON ROUTS NEVADA

Obviously, this is not news to most, but it was a significant event of the past week in Duck sports. The football team, after a difficult trip to Dallas, was able to rebound and work out some kinks against Nevada. While the game was not perfect, it provided young players with ample opportunity to gain some quality minutes.

From the dazzling play of true freshman De'Anthony Thomas to the debut of Bryan Bennett, plenty of young Ducks made an impact not only on this game, but on the minds of Duck fans everywhere.

These being college athletes, grades and analysis are a critical component of how we view their performance. Take a look back at the Grades and Analysis from Duck Sports Authority and see how the team fared this week.

CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS OPEN SEASON

The men's and women's cross country teams opened their season with a dual meet as they faced the Gonzaga Bulldogs coached by one time University of Oregon distance runner, and former roommate of Steve Prefontaine, Pat Tyson. The meet was held at the Summer training camp for the Ducks in Sunriver.

Oregon's 4^th ranked women won handily by sweeping the first six places led by Senior Claire Michel's first place finish. Michel finished the 5000 meter race in 16:45.1 followed closely by several team mates.

The men's team, who did not race several of their top runners, did not fare as well, however. As a bright note the individual race was taken by Sophomore Ben DeJarnette who covered the 4 mile race in 19:39.5 winning the race comfortably by ten seconds. Unfortunately, the 16^th ranked mens team lost 26-33. The teams will remain in Sunriver for two more weeks.

The next meet for both the men and women will be the Bill Dellinger Invitational on October 1.

Quack Back: Volume 2

Follow along on our second edition of the week that was in Oregon Sports with the latest Quack Back!

This week we learned that there ARE worse fans than Husky fans; The Fear and Loathing in Autzen by future opponents is very real and that conference expansion is far from over. In fact, conference expansion has likely only just begun, so strap on your hats folks, we might finally see just how much power the Texas Longhorns truly wield! Now, on to the week in Duck Sports.

BREAKTHROUGHS AT THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

While Ashton Eaton's success might have seemed unexpected, taking the Silver Medal in the Decathlon at the World Championships of Track and Field at Daegu, Korea, his success was overshadowed by another Oregon Track Star, and legacy runner, Matt Centrowitz.

Centro is an accomplished NCAA runner with 3 Pac-10 1500 meter titles as well as an NCAA title and United States National Championship. While the Duck faithful were glued to their televisions (or seats in Cowboy Stadium) Centro was running a race Pre would have been proud to watch. Matt was aggressive from the beginning running stride for stride with the leader in second place. Just before the "bell lap" Matt found himself lagging in 8th place having been passed by several runners as they approached the final lap.

Matt Centrowitz earns the 1500M Bronze

Matt made a huge move on the backstretch to move to 5th place with 150 meters to go, yet, with 75 meters to go, he still found himself in 6th place before an impressive and incredible kick down the final 50 meters pulled him into a Bronze medal finish. Matt used a 51.6 second final 400 meters to reach the podium. Congratulations to Ashton and Matt for their incredible performances and exceptional representation of the University of Oregon!




BASKETBALL IN ITALY

The Oregon Men's basketball team made a 5 game swing through Italy that, though it ended with a loss, did provide some important experience for many of the incoming players and the chance to work together with the six returning players from last seasons CBI Championship team.

In the first game highly touted guard Jabari Brown scored 18 points to lead the Ducks while transfer center Tony Woods chipped in with 12 points and 5 blocked shots. The team was somewhat inconsistent, having gone 2-3 on their brief trip. In their final game, a 72-63 loss to Casale Monferrato, Brett Kingma was the lone Duck in double digit points with 13. Steady Junior, E.J. Singler added 15 rebounds.

Though the team finished 2-3 on this trip, the experience will be extremely valuable to a team entering it's second season under Dana Altman.

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL CONTINUES ROLL

After an impressive opening match win over Penn State, the Duck women fell to Minnesota the next day in a close 3-2 defeat.

Not to be deterred, though, the Duck Women have won all 4 matches they have played this week. Their four match win streak takes their overall record to 5-1 with a #16 national ranking. This week sees them take on Portland State and Cal Poly Before embarking on Pac-12 play next week. Keep it rolling Duck ladies!

LAMICHAEL JAMES BECOMES ALL TIME LEADING RUSHER

LaMichael James on his way to the record

As Duck fans flocked South to Dallas for the much anticipated game between Oregon and LSU, LaMichael James ran to another place in the Oregon record books. With 54 yards in the contest, James moved past Derek Loville in just his 27th game for a career total of 3,331. By the completion of this season, James is likely to surpass the records for rushing touchdowns (6 more) and total touchdowns (7 more). Continue to enjoy the blur that is LaMichael James, whenever he decides to take his talent to the NFL, he will leave as the most accomplished running back in Oregon history.

QUACK BACK: Volume 1

There were quite a few news stories this week surrounding Duck Athletics. Here is a quick Quack Back to three for the road.

IMPROBABLE VICTORY

Photo Courtesy GoDucks.com

Much like the Kamikaze Kids did to UCLA, the Oregon Women's Volleyball team pulled off, perhaps, the most stunning accomplishment in the history of Oregon Athletics by dismantling a four time defending National Champion Penn State team 3-1. To do this AT Penn State is even more incredible. Penn State had a 94 match winning streak at home. They had not lost a regular season match since 2004.

A big congratulations to Jim Moore and the Oregon Women's Volleyball team for this incredible accomplishment!

PRO COMBAT UNIFORMS

Photo Courtesy Nike

This week also saw the release of the Nike Pro Combat Uniforms for the Cowboys classic. The uniform release generated quite a buzz across the Oregon fan base as well as the internet search databases. Aside from the obvious aesthetic appeal of these uniforms to their intended audience, the young men who play college football, it should also be noted that these uniforms are scientifically advanced as well.

With the hype around the design and the ever changing Oregon uniform combinations, do not look past the advances of the uniform design. Specifically, the Hypercool top with mesh inserted cooling zones; Hyperstrong Compression shorts with integrated padding and lightweight materials designed for speed.

While fans may long for a bit of nostalgia, one thing is certain, the uniform designs will not likely remain stagnant for long. As long as there are young men assisting the designers of these uniforms, there will be changes. The Ducks own Brian Jackson has taken an interest in uniform design as well. In fact, he spent some time at Nike over the summer meeting with a Jordan designer. The future is not yet written, but Oregon seems to be remaining at the cutting edge of uniform design.

DEPTH CHART

Photo Courtesy GoDucks.com

The end of fall camp brought about the speculation of football depth chart questions. One thing fairly certain is that Hroniss Grasu has won the day as the starting Center for the University of Oregon football team. Sprinkled in were very few surprises. Many of the positions, to Oregon fans seemed resolved. What we learned in camp is that Ricky Heimuli and Wade Keliikipi, when healthy, likely start at Defensive Tackle positions, but are backed up by Taylor Hart and Isaac Remington very capably. In the other two areas most fans concerned themselves with, the Offensive Line and Wide Receiver positions seem to have settled themselves well.

In reality, though, Duck fans learned last season that starting is not really relevant to what the Ducks do on both sides of the ball. What is most critical to the Ducks success is not who starts the game, but just how deep the Ducks can go into a rotation of players to keep the team fresh for a second half barrage. With the abundance of talent on both sides of the ball for the Ducks, do not expect this to be a problem in 2011.

That's it for Quack Back this week. It is game week for Oregon. Oregon takes a trip to Dallas this week for its highly anticipated season opener against LSU. Football season is upon us Duck fans.