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Duck sits after rap video appearance

Anne M. Peterson

EUGENE, Ore. – Some are crying foul over the University of Oregon’s reaction to a humorous rap video paying homage to the No. 10 Ducks that has gone viral on the Internet.

A local rap group that calls itself “Supwitchugirl” posted its musical ode to Oregon’s football team on YouTube a couple of weeks ago and it immediately took on a cyberspace life of its own.

“I Love My Ducks” has since been feted on a national sports radio show. Coach Chip Kelly saw it and invited the group to his office. The rap challenged Lady Gaga’s latest on a local radio station’s top songs list.



The song is infectious, even if the rhymes aren’t exactly cerebral.

“Holy moly! Is that my boy Masoli? Cookin’ up the offense like he’s cookin’ ravioli,” it goes, giving due to Ducks quarterback Jeremiah Masoli. It also describes Kelly: “And then there is Chip. So crispy, so nifty, so cleeeaaaan.”



So what is all the controversy about? The rap video, filmed over the course of a few days and put together on a personal computer, features an appearance by the Oregon Duck mascot.

Oregon uses the Donald Duck character as its mascot under a special agreement with Disney. Because of the sensitive copyright issue, Oregon’s athletic department contacted the group and requested they remove it from YouTube. They did, but it was too late – the video had been reposted on different sites many times over – more than 300,000 times according to the group.

The student in the Duck suit who was in the video was suspended for Oregon’s game last weekend at Arizona State (There are four students who earn the right to portray the Duck for different events).

Some, including a columnist for The Oregonian newspaper, have said the university is being a wet blanket. The rap has no bad language and no one is making money off it.

A spokesman for Oregon’s athletic department did not respond to a request by The Associated Press for comment.

Meanwhile, Supwitchugirl says on their Facebook page that a Portland company has offered to edit the Duck out of the rap, in hopes of being able to put it up on Autzen Stadium’s video scoreboard during the annual Civil War on Dec. 3. The game, arguably the biggest in the 115-year series, will pit the No. 10 Ducks against No. 16 Oregon State with the winner heading to the Rose Bowl.

No word from the university whether the proposal was even a possibility.

BOWLING: Just about the only sure bet when it comes to the Pac-10’s prospects in the postseason is that Oregon or Oregon State will go to the Rose Bowl.

Other that that, it’s up for grabs.

Pac-10 teams have six spots in bowl games, and seven are bowl-eligible, meaning someone will be left out. To muddy it further, up to four teams could tie for second place in the conference.

First, the absolute: The annual Civil War on Dec. 3 will decide whether the Ducks or the Beavers go to the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day to play Ohio State.

Although Oregon (9-2, 7-1 Pac-10) and Oregon State (8-3, 6-2) could finish with identical conference records, Oregon State would win the tiebreaker for a trip to Pasadena with the victory.

In the scenario for a four-way second-place tie, Oregon beats Oregon State, Cal beats Washington and either Arizona or USC wins its last two games.

The No. 24 Trojans, with two games left – this weekend against UCLA and then Arizona in the finale on Dec. 5 – are still technically in the hunt for an at-large BCS bowl appearance. Although the prospects for USC (7-3, 4-3) seem really slim.

Trojans coach Pete Carroll said the team isn’t even looking at bowl prospects. In the past, he’s always waited until the end of the season when it was relevant to discuss it.

He figures his players might be thinking beyond the regular season, but in the end UCLA comes first.

“It probably enters into the conversation, but they’re not hearing it from me. They never have. And we’re not backing off anything. We’ll see how far we can go this weekend, and that’s how we do it,” Carroll said.

This weekend in the Pac-10, USC and UCLA play their annual rivalry game, as do Washington and Washington State and Arizona and Arizona State. Notre Dame visits Stanford.

After that, there will be the Civil War next week, followed by Arizona at USC and Cal at Washington.

The Huskies, Arizona State and Washington State are already out of the bowl contention.

The Pac-10 Conference has agreements with six bowl partners. After the Rose Bowl there’s the Holiday Bowl, Sun Bowl, Emerald Bowl, Las Vegas Bowl and Poinsettia Bowl. The assignments are based on league standing, but the bowl officials can choose teams in the event of ties.

HONORS: Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, holder Nate Costa and California linebacker Mike Mohamed picked up conference player of the week honors.

Masoli threw for 284 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 61 yards and three more scores in the Ducks’ 44-41 double-overtime victory at Arizona last weekend.

Masoli’s touchdown pass with six seconds left sent the game into overtime and his scoring run in OT won it.

Costa, the Ducks’ backup quarterback, recovered a low snap for the extra point on the touchdown that sent the game into overtime.

Mohamed had 10 tackles, six solo, and an interception with less that two minutes to go in Cal’s 34-28 victory over Stanford in the Big Game.


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