Oregonian Sports

As one year closes, we take a look ahead to the next one on the Oregonian Sports podcast, setting goals for the local sports teams and figures as they enter into 2025. Can the Blazers shed some weight — at least contractually? And can the Timbers and Evander decide that what they really want is to work things out? And the Portland Diamond Project... really should host more in the new year. Other t...

Bill and James discuss Oregon’s upcoming matchup with Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. What might apply from the Oct. 12 classic in Eugene? What’s changed? What will perception be with a win or loss for each team? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s time for another episode of Ducks Confidential, an Oregonian Sports podcast about the Oregon Ducks. In this edition, columnist Bill Oram and senior writer Joe Freeman dissect five burning questions surrounding the Rose Bowl and the No. 1 Ducks’ chase for the first championship in school history. Who should they want to play in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff? How far do they...

In this season of giving... out college football awards, is a bit of consistency too much to ask? If Dillon Gabriel was the highest-regarded quarterback among Heisman Trophy voters, then how can he be the country’s third-best quarterback by AP All-American voters? Distinguishing the impact of Gabriel’s season against the years of Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders may depend on person...

With stars Bryce Boettcher and Dillon Gabriel busy on award stages, Oregon football has been putting in work in the transfer portal as it prepares for the Rose Bowl. We recap the week gone by on both fronts and discuss the upcoming Ohio State-Tennessee matchup — which will decide Oregon’s next opponent — on this week’s Ducks Confidential. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoi...

The Oregon Ducks are Big Ten champions. A thrilling win against Penn State earned Oregon the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff and a Rose Bowl berth. What to make of Oregon’s historic season so far, and their much-discussed path in the playoff? Ducks Confidential has you covered. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oregon is going to the College Football Playoff. That’s a given regardless of what happens in the Big Ten Championship game against Penn State. The question is whether the Ducks will earn a first-round bye and a direct pass to, presumably, the Rose Bowl, or if they will have to host a home game at Autzen Stadium in December. As the playoff field takes shape, Bill Oram and Brenna Greene, hosts of t...

The Blazer Focused podcast, hosted by Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian/OregonLive and Craig Birnbach, examines all that went right and all that went wrong for the 8-14 Trail Blazers during the first quarter of the season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The No. 1 Oregon Ducks capped an undefeated regular season with a thrashing of rival Washington on Saturday. Next up? A Big Ten championship game tilt with Penn State. Some in the sports media sphere think Oregon would benefit from a loss in this game to ease their hypothetical path in the College Football Playoff. This is not one of those podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...

Should Oregon State have started Ben Gulbranson at quarterback from the outset? Does the defense need a tweak, or a major overhaul? What are the Beavers’ biggest transfer portal needs? With Oregon State’s 2024 season in the rearview mirror, it’s time to get cracking on improvement and returning to bowl eligibility. Former Beavers defensive end Isaac Hodgins and The Oregonian/OregonLive’s Nick Dasc...

The Blazer Focused podcast, hosted by Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian/OregonLive and Craig Birnbach, goes over the impact of recent injuries, the inconsistent play of Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe and others, and if the 7-11 Blazers have played a little too well for their own good. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After much ado about tiebreakers, Oregon football has clinched a spot in the Big Ten championship game. But first, the Ducks seek an undefeated finish to the regular season with a win against Washington. A preview of that UW game, plus a recap of the week gone by for men’s and women’s basketball, on this week’s Ducks Confidential. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Isaac Hodgins admits he’s not sure he would have had Trent Brays’ go-for-it guts late in Oregon State’s 41-38 win over Washington State. But the Beavers’ former defensive end liked the result, as well as the subtle differences on defense that made a difference. The Oregonian/OregonLive’s Nick Daschel and Hodgins discussed everything that went into an OSU win that ended a five-game losing streak. A...

Washington State coach Jake Dickert pushed back on the idea that his Cougars and the Oregon State Beavers are pals, but did anybody really believe that was the case between the lines? On this week’s episode of the Oregonian Sports podcast, co-hosts Bill Oram and Brenna Greene discuss why OSU and WSU’s institutional alliance has little bearing on Saturday’s game and why the matchup has a long way b...

After eight conference games in as many weeks, the only team in the country to endure such a stretch, the No. 1 Oregon Ducks can finally breathe with a bye week. Oregon is 11-0 after a narrow, 16-13 road win over Wisconsin on Saturday. What can be gleaned from that one, beyond the result? And how are Oregon men’s and women’s basketball doing?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...

Is Oregon State on the right track, despite a five-game losing streak and the likelihood that the Beavers won’t play in a bowl game in 2024? Former Oregon State defensive end Isaac Hodgins and The Oregonian/OregonLive’s Nick Daschel talked about the ramifications of Saturday’s 28-0 loss at Air Force. What does it mean, and what has to happen to get the Beavers turned around. Whatever it is, Hodgin...

The Blazer Focused podcast, hosted by Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian/OregonLive and Craig Birnbach, discusses the death of Brian Wheeler, the Blazers' incredible two-game sweep of Minnesota, how the play of Donovan Clingan and Shaedon Sharpe offered hope, Chauncey Billips’ performance and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Blazers went from one of the worst losses of Chauncey Billups’ tenure as head coach to one of the most galvanizing wins in a mere 48 hours. Is there any path for Billups to find long-term success in Portland or will his coaching arc have to follow the path of his Hall of Fame playing career that required many stops before he found his footing? That’s the question Bill Oram and Brenna Greene fr...

Basketball season is here, and both the Oregon men and women are off to strong starts. On the women’s side, an upset win over No. 12 Baylor on Sunday night could spark the turnaround this program needs. Plus, No. 1 Oregon football commits too many penalties but pulls away from Maryland to move to 10-0. Will either of the Ducks’ remaining games before the Big Ten title game be remotely competitive?...

Are Oregon State bowl hopes dashed, or is there hope? In this week’s Beaver Banter podcast, The Oregonian/OregonLive’s Nick Daschel and former Oregon State defensive end Isaac Hodgins discuss the possibilities. Hodgins makes a case that OSU coaches will play video clips from Saturday’s 24-13 loss to San Jose State and show players that they’re not that far away from making big plays. The podcast e...

It was no surprise that Oregon was seeded No. 1 in the first College Football Playoff rankings. But Ohio State at No. 2? And what can we learn from these rankings with so much football left to play? On the Oregonian Sports Podcast, columnist Bill Oram and Brenna Greene of KOIN break down the initial reveal, and break down potential matchups and the Ducks' potential path to the Jan. 20 national cha...

The Blazer Focused podcast, hosted by Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian/OregonLive and Craig Birnbach, examines the team following a 3-5 start. Young forwards are playing well, but Scoot Henderson is still struggling. What does losing the right way look like? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Oregon football team is showing no signs of slowing down, fresh off a 38-17 road win at Michigan to move to 9-0. What can be parsed out of that game by way of criticism, and what was so dominant about it? Plus, a look ahead to the initial College Football Playoff rankings, and brief previews for Oregon men’s and women’s basketball. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s Beaver Banter podcast, with The Oregonian/OregonLive’s Nick Daschel and former Oregon State defensive end Isaac Hodgins, explores the team’s relevant issues as it heads into the final four games of the season. Should Oregon State make a change at quarterback? Are the Beavers capable of winning at least of their final four games and become bowl eligible? What is the danger of players ch...

Oregon will play the highlight of its road schedule this season when it travels to Ann Arbor to face Michigan. The Ducks beat the Wolverines in front of 109,733 people at the Big House in 2007, but few current Ducks really know what to expect in college football’s largest stadium. Derrick Harmon, however, does. The D-lineman who previously played at Michigan State said on Wednesday that games at M...