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Oregon has fired coach Mark Helfrich after a disappointing 4-8 season, and just two years after getting the Ducks within a victory of the programs first national championship.Helfrich was head coach of the Ducks for four seasons, leading the team to the first College Football Playoff championship game after the 2014 season. But Oregon faltered this year with a five-game losing streak, and finished at the bottom of the Pac-12 North with just two conference wins.After taking over when Chip Kelly left in 2013, Helfrich went 37-16. He had an $11.6 million buyout on his contract with the Ducks.Helfrich met with athletic director Rob Mullens on Tuesday night and was told was being dismissed. Helfrich issued a statement saying he was honored to have served at Oregon.It is with respect and disappointment that we receive this decision, Helfrich said. Plain and simple -- we didnt win enough games this season.At a news conference following the announcement, Mullens said that Oregon will look outside the program for candidates, and the new coach will make decisions about the current staff. There is no timeline for a decision, but recruiting adds urgency to the process.Mullens said he informed the players of his decision earlier in the evening.It was difficult, he said. Players were upset because they lost a family member.Ducks started this season ranked No. 24 in the preseason AP Top 25, but lost 35-32 at Nebraska in the third week of the season, starting the teams longest losing streak since 1996.The Ducks had a brief revival with a 30-28 victory over then-No. 11 Utah in Salt Lake City two weeks ago, but they ended the season with a 34-24 loss to rival Oregon State in the 120th Civil War game this past Saturday. The loss snapped an eight-game Oregon winning streak in the series.Afterward, Helfrich was asked about job security.Nobodys job is safe in college football, he said. Thats just the nature of the beast.Fan discontentment with Helfrich grew as the season dragged on and wins were scarce. Some questioned the wisdom of new assistant Brady Hokes new defensive scheme, or the reliance on graduate transfers at quarterback for the past two seasons rather than long-term player development.Didnt win enough games. I mean, thats blunt. But thats the fact. We have to own that part of it. And own the solution, Helfrich said following the loss to the Beavers.Whatever the reason, Oregons slide was a reminder of how hard it is to get good. And stay good.When Helfrich was promoted into the job at the start of 2013, he had the daunting task of replacing Kelly, who orchestrated Oregons hyperdrive spread-option offense and led the Ducks to their first national championship game appearance in 2010. An affable native Oregonian, Helfrich had served as offensive coordinator under Kelly and recruited future Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota.Helfrich went 24-4 in his first two seasons, including a loss to Ohio State in the first College Football Playoff championship. But last year he was challenged with replacing Mariota. He lured graduate transfer Vernon Adams from Eastern Washington, but Adams struggled with injury.The cracks were showing in that 9-4 season, the first with fewer than 10 wins since 2007. Losses to Michigan State, then at home to Utah and Washington State pushed Oregon out of the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2009.The ultimate embarrassment came in the Alamo Bowl, when the Ducks surrendered a 31-0 lead and TCU staged the biggest comeback in bowl history to win 47-41 in triple overtime.This season the Ducks brought in another graduate transfer at quarterback, Dakota Prukop from Montana State. But after five starts, Prukop was benched in favor of true freshman Justin Herbert.Herbert was one of the few bright spots in the dismal season, throwing for 1,936 yards and19 touchdowns with four interceptions in nine appearances.The overwhelming drag on Oregons success appeared to be the defense. The Ducks, who switched to a 4-3 scheme under Hoke, spent most of the season mired in the bottom of the NCAA defensive rankings. At times it appeared that the players didnt know their assignments.The defensive shortcomings were readily apparent in Oregons 70-21 loss at home to No. 5 Washington on Oct. 8. Huskies quarterback Jake Browning threw for six touchdowns in the victory, which snapped a 12-game losing streak to the rival Ducks.The issues on defense were again on display Saturday against the Beavers. The Ducks season ended without a bowl game for the first time since 2004. Oregon had finished every season ranked in the AP Top 25 since 2007.Mullens said he waited until Tuesday to put some distance between the emotions of the final loss.No one wanted Mark to be more successful than me, Mullens said. We were not competing in a number of games and we were on a poor trajectory.In the statement Tuesday night, Helfrich thanked his wife and family, the campus community, the fans, and his coaches and their families.Finally, to the players -- thank you, and I love you, he said. The future is bright for this young, talented team, and we will be supporting them and their new leadership.---More AP college football: -www.collegefootball.ap.org and -https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 Shoes NZ 2020 .com) - The Montreal Canadiens embark on their first road trip of the season as they head out west to battle the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Shoes NZ Nike .com) - The women will also have a new champion at the Australian Open. https://www.shoesnzonline.com/ . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. Cheap Shoes NZ . Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. Shoes NZ Sale .C. -- Calgarys Kevin Koe did it the hard way again. On Monday, group stage assignments and wild-card matchups were finalized for The International 6 in Seattle, Washington. The 16 teams that made the cut will be split into two groups of eight, and the top four will progress to the upper bracket. The bottom four will be put in the lower bracket and will enter the double-elimination bracket one loss down.Group A might have some dark horses, but Group B is the closest to being the group of death in Dota 2. Former TI and Major victors meet teams known for upsets and strong LAN appearances. Lets take a look at the stiff competition in Group B.Group B: Newbee Team Secret Vici Gaming Reborn MVP Phoenix Digital Chaos Fnatic Team LiquidNewbeeThe winners of The International 4, Newbee, are certainly a team to watch here. This team has mostly stuck to its region after a third place finish at the Manila Major, but a recent 3-2 win over Wings Gaming in the Nanyang Championships speaks volumes. Newbee is still an intimidating opponent, having taken series from nearly every team in Seattle with no intention of slowing down.Team LiquidLanding second at two Majors in a row, this Liquid squad will certainly be looking for some vindication this week. Off the back of some exceptional talent and teamwork, Liquid could easily make a run for three major grand finals in a row. Next to Newbee, Liquid is the second team to beat in the group, but theres more than a few teams that could stop both squads from seizing an easy berth to the winners bracket.MVP.PhoenixThe undisputed rule of Dota 2 LANs is that MVP.Phoenix will always show up, and TI6 will likely be no different. What was once a Cinderella story team is now a heavy competitor, and the champions of South Korean Dota are going to be making a statement at TI6. Coordinated aggression is the name of the game for MVP, and that plays well in group stages, where teams dont have full series to adjust to their opponents tempo. Look for MVP.Phoenix to put unsuspecting opponents on their back foot.Team SecretAfter a strong run through the European qualifier gauntlet and a second-place finish at the StarSeries Season 2 finals, many have changed their tune.dddddddddddd The roster swap that put Kanishka BuLba Sosale in the offlane might seem minute, but its opened up the map for Artour Arteezy Babaev, who cemented himself as an explosive, playmaking core during the StarSeries finals. It might be premature to call Secret the dark horse of Group B, but the level of play these five will bring to TI6 might be severely overlooked.Digital ChaosThough these five would probably love to be coming into TI6 with a better resume, the talent here cant be ignored. David Moo Hull has had breakout performances in the offlane, and the other two cores of DC have individual skill on their side. The breaking point will be if this team can band together and look more cohesive, more organized and more prepared. Two fifth/sixth place finishes coming into TI6 doesnt build confidence, but it does build a drive to silence the haters. If DC comes in with that level of motivation, it could easily unseat a few favorites.Vici Gaming RebornVici Gaming Reborn could have been a stronger competitor in the group, but itll be hard to say where Reborn will end up in the tournament. Some unfortunate visa issues led to offlaner Zhou Yang Haiyang being left behind, moving former mid lane sub Tong Mikasa Junjie to the three-role. Thats not the kind of move you want to deal with, especially prior to the biggest tournament in Dota 2. Theres no doubt that all of Vici Reborn is talented, but Yang was a consistently standout player, and Group B will test this modified lineup.FnaticFnatic rounds out the seven known teams, a team that would normally look like a potential squad to cause upsets and make the winners bracket. Its still possible, but the teams in Group B have played Fnatic before, and will likely know what to look out for. If Fnatic makes a solid run in the group, it will be off the play of Yeik MidOne Zheng Nai, who has been a standout for this SEA squad in recent weeks. ' ' '