LinkedUp: Oregon Pepsi Invitational Recap, QB Mariota on Portland Radio, Nebraska Spring Game Must-See

Welcome in to another Tuesday Edition of LinkedUp. There’s a bit to get to today including a look back at the Pepsi Invitational from Hayward Field over the weekend, a look at an ‘athletic success’, and a young man battling cancer who had a chance to do something not many 7 year olds’ get to do. Track and Field is where we begin.

Oregon Men and Women Leave Mark at Pepsi Invitational

Mar 29, 2013; Austin, TX, USA; Jenna Prandini runs the third leg on the Oregon womens 4 x 400m relay that won its heat in 3:39.17 in the 86th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays at Mike A. Myers Stadium. Mandatory Credit Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Oregon Men entered the competition ranked 4th in the country and won the Pepsi Invitational thanks to strong performances by Mac Fleet, Mike Berry, Jeramy Elkaim, Johnathan Cabral and Greg Skipper. It was the 4th straight Pepsi Invitational win for the Oregon Men’s Track and Field Team. For the competition Oregon finished in 2nd place behind Texas A&M.

For the Oregon Women Redshirt freshman Jenna Prandini continued her breakout season with a win in the long jump and a runner-up finish in the 100 meters and overall finished 2nd behind Texas A&M.

"“It was a great meet on the men’s side. To have our No. 4 team go out and beat the No. 1 men’s team in the nation in Texas A&M was really good for us. On the flip side to have us get beat by Texas A&M on the women’s side was not the best. We will have to have to go back to the drawing board on that one.”Oregon head coach Robert Johnson"

Oregon’s Success  Begets Success On and Off the Field

Bob Welch from the Register Guard wrote about Oregon’s Success on the Field and how it translates off the field, by way of the fans. It’s pretty impressive.  UO sports light up the local economy — to the tune of $101.2 million in the 2011-12 fiscal year, according to UO Economist Tim Duy. Oregon is also in the running for one of the more prestigious awards of the year in the Capital One Directors’ Cup.

Mariota Airs His Thoughts on Portland Radio

In case you missed it last week Oregon QB Marcus Mariota took to the airwaves in Portland to talk about the Ducks, Stanford and Spring Football Practice, including an inside look at some of the position battles heading into the season.

One more quick Oregon Football mention, Phil Steele released his Preseason Top 25 and has Oregon at #3, but says if a certain coach remained with the Ducks they could be ranked higher. Interesting….Also, Stanford is right on the Ducks heels at #4.

 The NCAA Amazes Again

Apr 8, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; LLouisville Cardinals guard Kevin Ware cuts down the net after winning the championship game of the 2013 NCAA mens Final Four  Mandatory Credit: Peter Lockley/NCAA Photos via USA TODAY Sports

Monday night was one of the more memorable National Championship games in recent history.The Cardinals won 82-76 over Louisville to win the National Championship of Men’s College Basketball, overall the watch was a 20 percent increase over last year. However that’s not why I write..The Louisville Women’s team is in the Final Four too, but the National Championship Men’s team won’t be allowed to fly to New Orleans on Louisville’s dime. The NCAA ruled it would be “an improper benefit” for Louisville to fly the men’s team to New Orleans to see the women play. Technically, the ruling is that the players cannot travel to NOLA on Louisville or Pitino’s dime.

Leaving on a Good Note….

Last month at the Cal Spring Game there was a surprise as former Alum Marshawn Lynch made an appearance on a 4th down call and ran in for a Touchdown. This past weekend a 7 year old cancer patient, Jack Hoffman had one of the most memorable ‘touchdown’ runs I can remember. A very touching moment for this kid and his family. You can’t help but smile in watching the video as players surround him in the endzone at the end of the play.

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