EUGENE, Ore. -- New Oregon coach Willie Taggart on Thursday said the Ducks are at a place where they can win a national championship.The unique and innovative qualities that the Oregon brand poses over the national landscape provide us with the opportunity to be successful at the highest level on a consistent basis, Taggart said at his introductory news conference Thursday.Taggart, 40, comes to Oregon via South Florida, where he went 24-25 as a head coach but led the Bulls to a 10-2 record in 2016. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Western Kentucky, his alma mater, going 16-20.Buckle up, because its going to be fun, Taggart said. We going to get after it. Were going to recruit the best of the best -- and you should here at the University of Oregon. We dont have to settle for anything. I look at our football program, and the University of Oregon is a national brand. And were going to go over the entire country to find the best of the best.He replaces Mark Helfrich, who was fired Nov. 29 after going 37-16 in his four seasons as a head coach.A little over a week ago, we set out to find a new leader, a new educator and a new coach to usher Oregon football into a new era, athletic director Rob Mullen said. We sought someone who shared our values, someone who had a track record of success, someone who genuinely cared about our student athletes, yet pushed them well beyond their potential. We found him. Willie Taggart is all of that and more.Taggart has coached in the Pac-12 before. He spent the 2007-09 seasons coaching the running backs under then-head coach Jim Harbaugh at Stanford, where he tutored Doak Walker Award winner Toby Gerhart.Harbaugh, who now coaches at Michigan, sent a congratulatory message on Twitter.Seattle Seahawks star Richard Sherman, who played at Stanford while Taggart was there, also shared his thoughts on Oregons hire.I think its awesome, Sherman said. Fantastic recruiter. Players coach. Theyll be very happy with the guy they got.Taggart said he will require that every member of the staff and team attacks each day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind, a saying that Harbaugh made popular last year.He also cited the influence of Jack Harbaugh, for whom he played at Western Kentucky.Ever since I met Jim Harbaugh, my life has gone nowhere but up, said Taggart, who reportedly received a glowing recommendation from Harbaugh for the Oregon job. Jack Harbaugh, who I played for, is my mentor, my everything. He is everything to me.Taggart said that it was Jack who made him want to become a coach.Seeing how he influenced my life and changed my life, I decided that was something I wanted to do, Taggart said. I wanted to coach. I wanted to influence young men and change their lives like [the Harbaughs] changed mine. Wholesale Running Shoes China . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. Running Shoes Sale Clearance . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p. http://www.runningshoescheap.net/ . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. Discount Running Shoes . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim. Running Shoes Wholesale China . Deulofeu injured a muscle in his right leg in Evertons 4-1 win over Fulham in the English Premier League on Saturday. Barcelona says that its team doctors will "co-ordinate" with Evertons medical staff as Deulofeu recovers. ATLANTA -- Point guard Ish Smith has the Detroit Pistons talking to each other on the court, moving the ball fluidly and getting stops on defense.The result has been an impressive run against quality opponents.We were just flying around, Smith said. Thats going to be the key for us going forward, just constantly getting better defensively. If we can do that, then well be pretty good.Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 23 points, Tobias Harris added 18 and Detroit beat the reeling Atlanta Hawks 121-85 on Friday night.The Pistons, who tied a team record with 17 3-pointers, have won five of six and are 3-1 on a trip that included stops at playoff contenders Oklahoma City, Charlotte and Boston.To win three in a row against three teams ahead of you in the standings, all over .500, on the road, in four days? coach Stan Van Gundy said. Thats a pretty good trip. So now the challenge is dont get full of ourselves.Andre Drummond finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds and Smith had 13 assists as seven players scored in double figures for Detroit.The Hawks, losers in eight of their last nine games, were 9-2 and tied for the Eastern Conference lead after beating Milwaukee on Nov. 16. Now they are one-half game behind eighth-place Detroit and headed to play Toronto, the Easts second-best team, on Saturday.Dennis Schroder had 17 points and 13 assists for Atlanta. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Mike Muscala scored 11 each.Caldwell-Pope had 15 points in the first quarter and finished the first half with 20 points on 8-for-16 shooting, 4 for 5 on 3s. The former University of Georgia standout and former Southeastern Conference player of the year finished 9 for 20 from the field.The outcome was decided early and resembled Atlantas recent blowout losses to New Orleans and Utah.Its been a diffficult run and the Hawks worst stretch of games under coach Mike Budenholzer, now in his fourth season, since they lost 14 of 15 from Feb.dddddddddddd 4-March 8, 2014.The Hawks played their second straight game without leading scorer Paul Millsap, who averages 16.1 points and is sidelined with a left hip injury. But star center Dwight Howard had just two points, took only four shots and was whistled for five fouls.I think as a team weve got to find a balance that we play inside and outside, Schroder said. Weve got to keep moving the ball. We cant throw it into Dwight and he plays 1-on-1. Thats not how we play, but Ive got to do a better job of finding him and getting him more post touches.Atlanta missed 10 straight shots from the field during a stretch in which it trailed 51-32 in the second.The Hawks never led after Caldwell-Pope hit a 3 at the 4:39 mark of the first. Detroit led 58-34 on Drummonds dunk of an alley-oop pass with 2 minutes left in the second.TIP-INSPistons: Two games after hitting 12 3s in Tuesdays win at Charlotte, Detroit was torrid beyond the arc. Jon Leuer, who finished with 16 points, went 4 for 5 on 3s. Caldwell-Pope finished 5 for 8. The team record of 17 3s was first set Dec. 28, 2014, at Cleveland.Hawks: Budenholzer went with his second unit -- Hardaway, Muscala, Malcolm Delany, Taurean Prince and Kris Humphries -- to begin the third quarter. The starters -- Schroder, Howard, Kyle Korver, Thabo Sefolosha and Kent Bazemore -- combined for 20 points on 8-for-28 shooting. They were outrebounded by Detroits starters 24-13 in the first half.UP NEXTPistons: Host Orlando on Sunday.Hawks: Visit Toronto on Saturday. ' ' '