University Of Oregon

Not that anyone in the sport of football was particularly happy about LeGarrette Blount throwing the sucker punch seen 'round YouTube. But from the high school ranks to the NFL, coaches could take one comforting thought: At least it wasn't one of my players. And in the days since Blount clocked an opponent and was suspended for the season, his mistake has been transformed into a teachable moment, an example to scare other athletes straight. "It was a gift for all of us to see the bad end of things," said USC Coach Pete Carroll, who addressed his team about keeping its cool.

Because of my deep family ties to the University of Oregon and my long-held sense of Eugene as an open-minded and tolerant place, the ugly, bigoted way that some Ducks fans behaved during the men's basketball home game last week against UCLA was an embarrassment. That feeling, and my outrage, deepened when a school spokesman said after the game that little could have been done to keep unruly fans from yelling whatever they pleased.

The Times' Chris Dufresne unveils his preseason college football top 25, one day (and team) at a time: No. 18 Oregon The Ducks have hired a new team doctor: Phil. No group out there deserves a bigger group hug. While California's free fall from No. 2 last year was inexplicable and, if you want to get harsh, unforgivable, Oregon's collapse from No. 2 deserved context and a get-well card.

Post-it note on coach's refrigerator: Knock Oregon State out of Rose Bowl. Win "war." Get own team to best bowl game possible. Help settle national title dispute. Pick up half-gallon of milk. It's going to be a things-to-do Saturday for Mike Bellotti. Not only is he coaching Oregon against Oregon State in the 112th reenactment of the Civil War, Bellotti may also have to help resolve another skirmish in the (Big 12 Conference) South.

They will gather on their home court this afternoon, wounded and yet grateful that their season has been placed on pause instead of stop. There is more basketball to be played for USC, even though the third-seeded Trojans were spit out like a videotape inserted into a faulty VCR on Saturday at Staples Center during an 81-57 loss to fourth-seeded Oregon in the championship game of the Pacific Life Pac-10 tournament.

There was a time last spring when Aaron Brooks wasn't sure he would return to Oregon for his senior season. His girlfriend was pregnant, he hadn't had a very good season, and the Seattle native heaped hometown scorn on himself when he threw an elbow at Washington guard Ryan Appleby's mouth in last season's Pac-10 tournament, earning a two-game suspension that spilled over to this season. But Brooks came back, and is he ever glad.

For almost a month, Oregon has been blowing past opponents, running up big wins with quickness and outside shooting. That wasn't going to be the case against Miami of Ohio on Friday. Matched against a methodical, defense-minded opponent, the Ducks had to scratch their way to a 58-56 victory in a Midwest Regional first-round game at Spokane Arena. "It just became a game we had to grind out and finish at the end," Oregon Coach Ernie Kent said. "They're a tough basketball team."

In the dog days of February, Oregon lost five of six games in one stretch. Now the Ducks are a victory from the Final Four, but it would have to be a big one. They face defending NCAA champion Florida next. The Ducks can thank 5-foot-6 freshman point guard Tajuan Porter for the privilege after watching him score 33 points and make eight of 12 three-pointers in their 76-72 NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal victory over Nevada Las Vegas in front of 26,307 Friday in the Edward Jones Dome.

George Horton, whose Cal State Fullerton teams were a fixture at the College World Series, left the Titans on Friday to take over a fledgling program at Oregon that could make him the highest-paid college baseball coach in the nation. Horton, 53, took Fullerton to the College World Series six times in his 11 years as coach -- including four of the last five. The Titans won the national title in 2004.