During a tour of Oregon’s new Hatfield-Dowlin Football Complex, Jeff Hawkins said, “We are the University of Nike.” On Friday, Hawkins wrote a (yet to be published) Letter to the Editor of The Register-Guard saying his comment was taken out of context.

In the letter, Hawkins — the Senior Associate Athletic Director of Football Administration and Operations at the University — wrote that his comment was meant “as a metaphor for the shared ideals and passions that I believe exist between the UO athletic department and those of Nike.” Hawkins went on to say that Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, have made “extraordinary contributions” not just to UO’s athletic programs, but to the school’s academics, as well.

***

Former Oregon star Jessica Moore pitched a complete game shutout for the USA Softball Women’s National Team on Sunday in their 11-0 victory over Brazil. This was Team USA’s second win in as many games during their current run in the Pan American Games Qualifier. Instead of going the standard seven innings, the U.S. and Brazilian squads only played five due to the sport’s mercy rule. Team USA didn’t waste time building their lead, scoring six runs in the first inning.

Moore gave up just three hits and one walk in her dominant start.

***

Olympic gold medalist and Oregon alum Ashton Eaton accomplished another impressive feat on Sunday, winning the decathlon at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow. Eaton held off Germany’s Michael Schrader (silver medal winner) and Canada’s Damian Warner (bronze) to win the top prize, making it the third straight year an American has won the decathlon at the world championships.

***

According to multiple reports, former Spurs assistant coach Brett Brown was named the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday. Brown’s contract will last four years and will be fully guaranteed, according to those sources.

Brown will replace Doug Collins, who had been the 76ers’ head coach since the 2010-11 season. Collins resigned in April after a 34-48 season in which Philadelphia missed the playoffs. Brown had been an assistant coach for San Antonio the past seven years.

As preseason camp for the Oregon football team gets under way on Monday, there are still some unanswered questions. Many of them have to do with positions battles with spotlights on running back and inside linebacker. The Ducks lost tailback Kenjon Barner, as well as linebackers Michael Clay and Kiko Alonso (all seniors in 2012) this offseason, and haven’t found clear-cut replacements for them yet. However, the big struggle for coach Mark Helfrich and his staff appears to be choosing from groups of players who are all deserving of playing time. A big question at running back, for example, is whether or not De’Anthony Thomas will be the primary running back or if he maintains his role from the past two seasons as an all-purpose threat.

***

On Sunday, Ducks junior outfielder Scott Heineman pulled off one of the rarest feats a baseball player can achieve: playing all nine positions in one game. Heineman started the game at catcher for the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod League, who went up against the Harwich Firebirds on Sunday. He proceeded to play every infield position, then every outfield position, ending up in right field in the bottom of the eighth inning. With two outs in the inning, Heineman was summoned to pitch, completing his nomadic journey around the field. His versatility couldn’t lift the Whitcaps to victory as they lost 5-1.

According to Baseball Almanac, Heimeman’s accomplishment has been matched in the major leagues four times in the history of the sport.

***

Major League Baseball officially suspended thirteen players on Monday for violating the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Twelve of those players will be suspended for 50 games, and all of them have accepted their punishments. The thirteenth violator is the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez, who was given a 211-game suspension that will force him out of baseball until the end of the 2014 regular season. Unlike the other twelve players, however, Rodriguez will appeal his suspension, which goes into effect on Thursday, August 8. The 38-year-old third baseman will be eligible to play until the appeals process is over.

The other twelve suspended players: Nelson Cruz, Jhonny Peralta, Everth Cabrera, Antonio Bastardo, Jesus Montero, Francisco Cervelli, Jordany Valdespin, Fautino De Los Santos, Jordan Norberto, Cesar Puello, Fernando Martinez, and Sergio Escalona. All thirteen players were reportedly given banned substances by Tony Bosch, who ran the now-closed Biogenesis anti-aging clinic in Miami.

Earlier today, the preseason USA Today Coaches’ Poll was released and Oregon is ranked third on the list, behind Alabama and Ohio State. This is the second time since 2011 the Ducks started the season in this position.

Oregon actually took a step down from the final Coaches’ Poll last season. Thanks to their Fiesta Bowl victory and Notre Dame’s blowout loss against Alabama in the National Championship game, the Ducks were second in the final rankings.

Alabama received 58 of the 62 available first place votes in this poll. Ohio State received three, and sixth-ranked Texas A&M, led by reigning Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, garnered the final first place vote.

Including Oregon, the Pac-12 has five teams in the top 25. Stanford is right behind the Ducks at No. 4, followed by UCLA (21), USC (24), and Oregon State (25). Oregon’s first game against any of these teams will be on October 26, at home against UCLA.

Felicia Mulkey knows a thing or two about going into a season on the heels of a successful one. She’s the head coach of Oregon’s acrobatics and tumbling team, which has won three straight national titles. In the extremely young history of the sport at the college level, her team has dominated. And she doesn’t want the run to end.

“The staff and I pride ourselves on the culture of our team,” Mulkey says, “but we’re not satisfied.”

Mulkey says the student athletes on her team are grateful simply to be able to play the sport, but they all want to maintain their success as much as she does.

Acrobatics and tumbling is certainly not the only sport coming off a year full of accomplishments. The football team had a one-loss season that culminated in a Fiesta Bowl victory. The volleyball program achieved the highest win total in its history and made it to the NCAA Championship. Men’s basketball made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Baseball and softball had a combined record of 98-27. Track and field continued to dominate. Other sports had solid years, as well.

Overall, the Oregon athletic department shone about as bright as any in the country.

“Seeing other teams at Oregon play so well inspires us to be better,” says Erin Block, a rising senior on Mulkey’s team.

Block says there is some pressure being on such a dominant team, like there’s a bull’s eye on her and her teammates’ backs.

“I think everyone is out to beat Oregon,” Block said.

Instead of being motivated to dethrone the defending champs, Block and her teammates have been the ones wearing the crown, fending off those who want to take it. She has been with the team since their first national title, so she doesn’t know what it’s like to finish a season without a ring to look forward to. She hopes that doesn’t change in 2014.

Athletes and coaches aren’t the only ones who expect Oregon sports to keep up the good work.

“I think that Oregon athletics as a whole is still peaking in terms of their overall success,” said Oregon senior Max Brettler.

Senior Chelsea Fullmer says it won’t be easy for Oregon sports to maintain their dominance, but she still envisions greatness in 2013-14.

“I have high expectations for what the Ducks can prove,” Fullmer said.

While athletes like Block might feel some pressure being on a top team, Oregon sports have come to expect seasons like last. Football, track, acrobatics and tumbling, softball and several other programs have all had multi-year runs of success.

Mulkey says her team’s most recent recruiting class is “really good.” Block said she has been so busy preparing for the upcoming season, that winning those titles hasn’t quite hit her yet. Mulkey and Block are more than happy about the championships, but going into next season, they’ll be thinking about one thing.

“We’ve celebrated the title,” Mulkey says, “but we want to keep improving and get that fourth one.”

For the second straight night, the Eugene Emeralds beat the Vancouver Canadians with some offensive fireworks in the bottom of the 8th inning. Unlike Saturday’s game, when the score was tied 2-2 going into the eighth inning, the Ems trailed by a run heading into the bottom of the eighth. With the score 8-7 and a runner on, Hunter Renfroe crushed a home run to turn the one-run deficit into a one-run lead. The blast — Renfroe’s fourth of the season — would prove to be the game-winner, as Eugene held off Vancouver in the ninth to take the third game of the series.

The Ems play the Canadians again tonight at PK Park. First pitch is at 7:05.

***

Football recruit Brandon Lee cut his final list of potential schools to five on Saturday, and Oregon is one of them. The other schools on Lee’s list are Louisville, Northwestern, Virginia Tech, and the Ducks’ Pac-12 rival, Cal. Recruiting experts from 247 Sports expect the outside linebacker will commit to Louisville, especially if Lee’s high school teammate Kenny Jones chooses to play for the Cardinals. However, 247 Sports does list Lee’s interest as “warm” for all five schools.

The 6’3″, 215-pound Lee is rated as a four-star prospect by both 247 Sports and ESPN.

***

On Friday, the Philadelphia Phillies signed Cuban pitcher Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez to what might end up being the most expensive contract ever given to an international player. The deal for the Cuban right-hander could be worth up to $59 million. Gonzalez, 26, will make a guaranteed $48 million over six years with an $11 million option for a seventh. If that option is vested, Gonzalez’s contract will be worth more than what is currently the most expensive international contract: the $56 million deal pitcher Yu Darvish signed with the Texas Rangers.

Ducks baseball recruit Matt Krook was all set to become a pro. The left-handed high school pitcher was selected by Miami with the 35th overall pick in June’s MLB draft, and even though he expressed his love for Oregon, his decision was made.

“I love Oregon, love the coaches up there, but I think at this point I’m ready to play pro ball,” Krook told the Miami Herald shortly after being drafted on June 6. “I just want to get my career started.”

The slot value for the 35th pick this year was just below $1.6 million, and the 18-year-old Krook could expect a contract close to that figure from the Marlins. Weeks after the draft, sources said the two sides had agreed to terms, so Krook to Miami was all but a done deal.

Then he failed his physical. There was an unspecified issue with Krook’s pitching arm or shoulder, which led the Marlins to reduce their initial offer. The new offer? Around $650,000, according to MLB Trade Rumors. That’s the slot value of a third-round pick.

Krook did a 180, spurning the Marlins and a chance at an early pro career to become a Duck. Oregon head coach George Horton suddenly had an elite pitching prospect inserted into his 2014 roster.

“We’re obviously elated,” Horton recently told The Register-Guard. “He’s one of those guys who when you recruited him, you know it’ll be a long shot if he ever shows up on campus, and he’s one of the highest-profile kids we’ve recruited.”

Krook, who pitched for St. Ignatius College Prepatory in San Francisco, was a well-known commodity heading into the draft. MLB.com’s draft and prospects expert Jonathan Mayo ranked him as the 55th best draft prospect in the country. Baseball America had him even higher, at number 42 on their list, and ESPN’s prospects expert Keith Law ranked him 30th.

While no level of baseball is quite as demanding as pro ball, Krook will still be joining a team with sky-high expectations that come with a squad that has finished in the top three of the PAC-12 standings two years in a row. It’s also a squad that has its fair share of accomplished pitchers, to boot.

Last year’s Oregon pitching staff finished third in the conference with a 2.78 team ERA, trailing only the PAC-12 champion Oregon State Beavers and the College World Series champion UCLA Bruins. The Ducks also return their three main starting pitchers from last season: Cole Irvin (2.48 ERA in 2013), Tommy Thorpe (2.16 ERA) and Jake Reed (3.50 ERA). Krook, fair or not, might be expected to perform on their levels, especially because he was such a highly rated prospect.

While arm or shoulder injuries from a pitcher are usually a coach’s worst nightmare, Horton might be relieved that Krook has recently dealt with those issues. Without them, Krook would probably be somewhere in the southeastern United States right now, getting ready to start his pro career.

In the Miami Dolphins’ first practice of training camp, former Oregon defensive end/linebacker Dion Jordan could merely watch his teammates from the sideline. Jordan missed Sunday’s practice due to an ailing right shoulder, which was surgically repaired in February. He was placed on the non-football injury (NFI) list, and he isn’t sure when he’ll be able to get back onto the field. If Jordan isn’t activated before the beginning of regular season, he will be forced to miss the following six weeks, keeping him out of action until mid-October.

A day before Sunday’s practice, Jordan signed his rookie contract. The deal is reportedly worth $20.6 million with a $13.3 million signing bonus (guaranteed money) over four years. The former Duck was selected with the 3rd overall pick in April’s NFL Draft.

***

On Saturday, Oregon junior outfielder Scott Heineman was named a starter for the Cape League All-Star game. Heineman will play center field for the Eastern Division All-Stars this coming Saturday, July 27. Heineman is one of three Ducks playing in the Cape Cod League this summer. Relievers Garrett Cleavinger and Darrell Hunter are the other two players, although neither of them will be joining Heineman in the All-Star game.

Heineman had the most at bats of any Oregon batter last season, with 230, and started 58 of the team’s 64 games. He ended the season with a .278 batting average, 4 home runs and a .346 on-base percentage.

***

Phil Mickelson won the British Open (aka: the Open Championship) on Sunday with a final round 5-under 66 – the best round of the day and tied for the best round by any golfer in the tournament. Mickelson, 43, began the final round five shots behind the leader Lee Westwood but ended up winning the Open by a fairly large margin. He finished at 3-under, which was three strokes better than second-place finisher Henrik Stenson. Westwood finished tied for third place at 1-over. Tiger Woods, who went into Sunday tied for second place and two shots behind Westwood, finished tied for sixth at 2-over.

Mickelson seized the Open on the back nine, sinking birdies on holes No. 13, 14, 17, and 18. This was Mickelson’s fifth major championship victory and just his first Claret Jug.

Former Oregon softball star Jessica Moore was Team USA’s starting pitcher against Japan on July 14 in the championship game of the General Tire World Cup of Softball, held in Oklahoma City. Moore was tagged with the loss, however, giving up six runs in 3.2 innings. The final score was 6-3.

Moore’s previous start went much smoother, to say the least. Against Australia, the right-hander threw a complete game shutout, giving up just one hit. She also struck out four as the U.S. National Team won 4-0.

Moore just finished her historic four-year career with the Ducks. She holds Oregon softball records for wins (100) and strikeouts (915), and boasts a 2.08 career ERA. This past season, Moore was a First Team All-American and was named the PAC-12 Pitcher of the Year.

***

The watch list for the Biletnikoff Award, given out annually to the nation’s most outstanding wide receiver, was announced earlier on Tuesday. Ducks senior wideout Josh Huff is one of the 75 receivers on that list.

The award is named after Fred Biletnikoff, who was an All-American receiver for Florida State and played his entire Hall of Fame professional career with the Oakland Raiders. USC’s Marquis Lee won the award last season and is on this year’s watch list.

Huff led all Oregon players in 2012 with 493 receiving yards and 7 touchdown receptions. Only De’Anthony Thomas (45) had more receptions than Huff’s 32.

***

Oakland’s Yoenis Cespedes won the Home Run Derby last night in New York’s Citi Field, sealing the victory over Washington’s Bryce Harper with a 455-foot blast to center field. The A’s slugger hit 32 home runs in the contest, which tied him for the third highest total in Home Run Derby history. Only Bobby Abreu in 2005 (41 total HRs) and Josh Hamilton in 2008 (35) have hit more. Cespedes also mashed his way to third place on the all-time list for most homers in a single Derby round, with 17 in the first. Again, only Hamilton (28 HRs) and Abreu (24) have ever hit more in a single round.

Cespedes, 27, didn’t hit the longest blast of the night, though. Detroit’s Prince Fielder took that crown with a 483-foot moonshot in the first round. Harper took second place in this category, as well, with a 471-foot bomb.

Of the eight Derby participants, Cespedes is the only one who isn’t on either of the rosters for tonight’s All-Star game. The Cuban defector has 15 HRs, a .223 batting average and a .293 on-base percentage this season.

Oregon defensive backs Ifo Ekpre-Olomu and Terrance Mitchell were both recently named to watch lists for the same two prestigious awards. Yesterday, their names were put on the list for the 2013 Bronco Nagurski Trophy, which is handed out annually to the best defensive player in college football. Today, Ekpre-Olomu and Mitchell were honored on a more specific watch list: the Jim Thorpe Award, given each year to the best defensive back in the nation.

Mitchell, unlike Ekpre-Olomu, hasn’t appeared on any other watch lists this summer, so far. Ekpre-Olomu was honored on Monday with a spot on the watch list for the Bednarik Award, which is also given out to the best defensive player in the country.

***

Former Oregon basketball player and coach Stu Jackson will be stepping down from his position as the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball operations, the league announced Wednesday. Jackson’s job involves “all oncourt and international basketball operations, including game rules conduct, discipline and analytics,” the NBA said in a press release. Rob Thorn was named the NBA’s president of basketball operations, a position he will officially get when Jackson leaves office on August 1. Jackson was named the VP of basketball operations six years ago.

Jackson played for the Ducks from 1974-76, and was an Oregon assistant coach from 1981-83.

***

Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman won the National League Final Vote for next week’s MLB All-Star game, finishing ahead of Los Angeles’ Yasiel Puig. Many view this as a surprise given the hype around Puig, who has been one of, if not the, most electrifying players since he was called up to the big leagues over a month ago. Freeman, in fact, set the Final Vote record with 19.7 million fan votes. The previous all-time high vote total was 15.6 million set by Shane Victorino in 2009.

Freeman has a .313 batting average, 9 home runs, and a .392 on-base percentage this season. Puig, a Cuban defector, is hitting .397 with 8 HRs and a .429 OBP. However, Freeman has played in 79 games this year, compared to Puig’s 36. This is also Freeman’s third major league season, unlike the rookie Puig.

Watch list honors keep piling up for Oregon football players. A day after Marcus Mariota, De’Anthony Thomas and Ifo Ekpre-Olomu were named to watch lists for prestigious postseason awards (Maxwell Award for Mariota and Thomas; Bednarik for Ekpre-Olomu), tight end Colt Lyerla was added to the initial list for the 2013 John Mackey Award.

Lyerla, a junior, is one of 37 tight ends in the nation on the watch list for the award, which is given each year to the best tight end in college football. The award is named after the late John Mackey, who was just the second true tight end in history to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

***

On Sunday, former Ducks pitcher Jimmie Sherfy signed a contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who selected him in the 10th round of last month’s MLB draft. Baseball America’s Jim Callis reported the deal is worth $100,000.

The long-haired closer was one of six Oregon players drafted in June, but only he, first baseman Ryon Healy and reliever Cole Wiper have signed with the teams that selected them. Sherfy was one of the best closers in the nation last season, posting a 2.25 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 40 innings.

***

Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant wasn’t too happy after reports surfaced yesterday that the Lakers plan to waive forward Metta World Peace with the amnesty clause. Bryant posted two tweets regarding the World Peace decision, saying he would’ve kept the player formerly known as Ron Artest and that the Lakers wouldn’t have won Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals without him.

Bryant also made news by unfollowing former teammate Dwight Howard on Twitter after Howard signed with the Houston Rockets. Bryant sent out a tweet saying, “I wish d12 the best honestly. I just find it hard to follow players that wanna kick my teams ass #thatsjustme.” Right after posting those three tweets about former teammates, Bryant tweeted his support of new teammate and Howard replacement Chris Kaman. However, Bryant has since deleted the tweet from his feed.