Within moments after winning the Rose Bowl for a spot in the national championship, the T-shirts were up on Oregons website. Won Not Done, the shirts read. The sentiment - also on tees made for opponent Ohio State - was perfect for the Ducks, who are a win away from proving once and for all that they belong among the nations elite. Its a position theyve been in once before, when they faced Auburn for the national title to cap the 2010 season and came up short. Weve still got to finish this. Were one step closer to achieving everything we ever worked for, everything we ever wanted, senior linebacker Derrick Malone Jr. said. Oregon has never won a national championship. The Buckeyes have seven national titles dating back to 1942. Just a decade ago, the Ducks finished the season 5-6 but theyd flirted with national prominence in 2001 when quarterback Joey Harrington helped lead Oregon to the Fiesta Bowl. Then Chip Kelly arrived in Eugene in 2007 and reworked Oregons offence into a distinctive high-flying spread. Since then, the speedy Ducks have been consistently ranked. Kelly was promoted from offensive co-ordinator to head coach before the 2009 season and the next year the Ducks went 12-1 and first played for the title. Oregon fell to Auburn 22-19 on Wes Bynums 19-yard field goal as time expired. Afterward Kelly vowed, Well be back. Kellys successor, Mark Helfrich, made good on the promise: Here the second-seeded Ducks are, following a 59-20 victory over Florida State in the Rose Bowl. Ohio State defeated Alabama 42-35 in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans later Thursday night. The loss in college footballs first-ever playoffs snapped a 29-game winning streak by the third-seeded Seminoles, and Oregon emphasized its dominance by piling up the most points ever scored in a Rose Bowl game. It was quarterback Jameis Winstons first -- and maybe only, if he decides to go to the NFL -- college loss. They were undefeated the last two years, and I mean just that in itself says a lot about what theyve been able to do. Coming in, we didnt focus on that, quarterback Marcus Mariota said. We just wanted to focus on ourselves and really just trying to execute to the best of our abilities. But in the midst of the game, Oregon also took a huge step in changing the national perception of the Ducks -- shoving aside the image of a gimmicky team with a multitude of uniforms that could never stand up to the defending national champion. I hope they keep saying they (the Ducks) are soft, because it just motivates our guys, offensive co-ordinator Scott Frost said. Mariota is the personification of Oregons ascent, becoming the first Duck to win the Heisman Trophy. He has an ongoing conference record with 40 touchdown passes this season. Hes also passed for a touchdown in each of his 40 games of his college career -- the longest streak in FBS history. The junior from Hawaii, who opted at the end of last season to stay at Oregon, has 56 total touchdowns this season. Along with his 40 via pass, hes also run for 15 scores and caught a TD pass. Hes the first FBS-level player to pass for 40 and run for 15. Never one to put the focus on himself, Mariota was grateful for the opportunity to add to the teams legacy with a shot at the title. All the hard work, all the stuff that we put into it during the off-season and for it to kind of pay off and allow us to be a part of this game, its a great feeling, he said. Were very fortunate to be a part of it, and were excited to get going and get prepared for it. Rockies Carlos Gonzalez Jersey . 25 against Miami. Hillis left Browns Stadium about two hours before kickoff, a decision that has led to speculation he was upset over ongoing negotiations with the club on a contract extension. Rockies Chris Rusin Jersey . Tepesch, back from the minor leagues, earned his first major league victory in more than 10 months and the Rangers edged the Seattle Mariners 4-3 on Wednesday. -- Lindsey Vonn squeezed in a little freeskiing on Thanksgiving morning, a step in the right direction for a return to racing after reinjuring her right knee in a recent training crash. Rockies DJ LeMahieu Jersey . "It feels good, Ive never had one before, not even in College," Hagelin said after the Rangers outgunned the Jets 4-2, behind some solid goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist following a pretty wide open first period. Cheap Throwback Rockies Jerseys . Though the 26-year-old said he was able to participate, coach Dwane Casey kept Johnson out as a precaution.The late Roger Millward epitomised the sort of play that is in danger of disappearing from the game, says Sky Sports Phil Clarke in this weeks column... The death of a legend is always a time of great sadness, but it should also be a time of great hope and inspiration. Millward was both a great player and a successful coach.If you have the chance, please spend some time and search for footage on the internet which shows just how good a player he was. He was fast, brave, skilful and evasive, but more than anything he was instinctive. He used his eyes and the creative part of his brain to attack his opponents. He set up and scored hundreds of tries by reacting to what was happening around him. The best tries are always the ones that you dont expect to see, and he scored many of those. I hope his legacy can be an inspiration to the next generation of midfield maestros. Phil Clarke on Roger Millward In my opinion, most fans pay to see creativity on a rugby field. They appreciate the brutal battle that takes place in the middle of the pitch, and they dont mind seeing a try from a pre-planned move now and again, but it is magic moments that they talk about on their way home, ones that are totally unrehearsed. These are what makes them return for the next game.I watched a great TED talk recently by Sir Ken Robinson. It posed the question Do schools kill creativity? - he looked at the path all educational systems have gone down over the past 100 years and identified that we have prioritised logical thinking over creativity. WATCH: Super League tries Phil Clarkes top 5 Super League tries from round 13 It is a bit the same in rugby league. The structured play of who stands where, runs into which hole in their opponents defensive line, passes behind which team-mate, its a bit like watching a driverless car.It just does not excite you even though I can see that it efficiently gets you from A to B, or over the tryline. If we are not careful we are in danger of ridding the game of creative thinking by simply focusing on having more attacking numbers than defending ones. As rugby league mourns the death of one of its greatest players, Sky Sports remembers Millwards career in this fascinating interview with Brian Carney Its logical but it doesnt fire the part of the brain that makes you smile or get up out of your seat.ddddddddddddThere is a bigger danger that the shift away from an autonomous thinking in attack will become boring - if it hasnt already. Worse still, we are in danger of damaging young players by encouraging them to copy this style of play.Not all coaches are guilty of it but I worry that we are stifling the talents of more players by getting them to play like robots. The obsession with completion rates discourages players from taking a risk. We need to radically alter that thinking and encourage players not to worry about being wrong and losing the ball, mistakes will happen. Millward lifted the Challenge Cup with Hull KR in 1980 after beating Hull FC 10-5 in the final It seems to me that coaches need to feed the imagination of their players, not just provide a template like a choreographer would do for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Professional sport is about entertaining people and we need to remember that.Roger Millward epitomised the sort of play that I think is in danger of disappearing from the game. The best tries are always the ones that you dont expect to see, and he scored many of those. I hope his legacy can be an inspiration to the next generation of midfield maestros. Also See: Rugby League Set of Six Should Marsh try have stood? Pundits Follow @SkySportsRL cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '