– The Eugene City Council announced on Wednesday that $3 million will need to be raised by the private sector in order to cover renovation, operation and maintenance costs for Civic Stadium. Before Wednesday, the previous fundraising figure was $5.5 million. The city will have six months to collect the $3 million and if they fail to do so, the city will not be able to complete its purchase of the historic baseball stadium. The city is competing with Eugene Family YMCA and Fred Meyer for the stadium property.
– Two Oregon football commits are on Rivals.com’s top 100 recruits list as National Signing Day (Feb. 5) approaches. Running back Royce Freeman is No. 52 and wide receiver Jalen Brown is No. 89 on the list. Safety/running back Budda Baker, who decommitted from Oregon last week, is Rivals’ No. 61 recruit.
– Speaking of Baker, the Bellvue High player spoke with The Seattle Times earlier in the week. Baker talked about his visit to Washington last weekend and his upcoming visit to UCLA, as well as why he decommitted from Oregon. “I don’t think I could live in Eugene for four years,” he said.
– In other Oregon football recruiting news, three players will make their official visits to Oregon on Friday. San Antonio defensive tackle Trey Lealaimatafao, Daytona Beach (Fla.) athlete Charles Nelson and Meridian (Idaho) safety Khalil Oliver are the three players who will be in Eugene. The Ducks expect to get five more commitments in the next two weeks.
– Oregon four-sport athlete Liz Brenner announced on Friday that she’ll be dropping her current sport, basketball. Brenner will now focus on the upcoming sand volleyball season and a tryout with USA Volleyball. Brenner, a second-team all-American in court volleyball, is expected to throw the javelin for the Oregon track and field team in the spring, as well.
– Former Oregon distance runner Galen Rupp was rewarded for his record-breaking American indoor 5,000 meter race last week. On Wednesday, Rupp was named the USA Track and Field Athlete of the Week. On Saturday, Rupp will look to break another record in the indoor two-mile race at the same place (Boston University) he ran last week’s 5,000 meter. Bernard Lagat broke Rupp’s previous U.S. indoor two-mile record in 2013 with a time of 8:09.49.
– Oregon Tech’s Danny Miles might become the second coach at any four-year men’s basketball program to reach 1,000 wins for his career. Miles currently sits at 998 wins and his team plays back-to-back games this weekend. The first game comes against Eastern Oregon Friday at 7:30 p.m. and the second is against the College of Idaho Saturday night at the same time.
Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415