Track Town, USA: I had a very big day and snapped so many photos, I am going to simply post them with captions, so I you can go about your day. The weather has taken a turn and we had sun, clouds, rain and wind off and on all day.
Dave arranged for a private tour of the new University of Oregon football facility - the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex. We were joined by Kathy, Woody, Mary and Steve.
The Hatfield-Dowlin Complex is a series of buildings adjacent to the football stadium.
The lobby has 64 55-inch televisions to make one large screen
THE RING ROOM: Just off the lobby, football bowl rings are displayed in cases fit for the Crown Jewels.
EAT YOUR ENEMIES - AND THE OTHER FOOD GROUPSThe best training table in the country. Pac-12 teams are featured in the neon circles on the sign.
Seating for 200 in the dining hall.
Locker room
Each player has a locker with his number, name and home town on the door. The doors open via an iPad-type keypad with a code. The lockers have racks for pads and helmets and are individually ventilated with a fan to dry the pads, helmets, etc. No more stinky locker room - and each locker has a phone charger!
Kathy inspects the showers - Italian marble - with custom 7-foot tall shower heads.
Team meetings and game film sessions are held in the theater.
ART CONTEST: the winner of an art contest has his masterpiece hanging in the team office. This painting shows the progression of Oregon football. From left to right: leather helmets on the lawn in front of famed Deady Hall. Pronounced dee-dee, the building was constructed in 1873 as the first building on campus. It stands today. The center panel shows a more modern age, when football was played on the grass at Historic Hayward Field... and finally the right panel depicting current Oregon football at Autzen Stadium.
Another striking art piece consists of hundreds of metal duck sculptures "flying" through a corridor. Each duck represents an Oregon player drafted into the NFL, complete with their initials. Ducks with golden beaks signify a NFL Hall of Fame member. Awesome!
Weight room. No comment needed here.
The player's lounge is equally stunning. I just love how the furniture is massive (because the players are massive). There are televisions, games, snacks - everything.
Custom-loomed carpets
Billiards, anyone?
The view from the lounge area is of the two outdoor practice fields and (to the right) an obstacle-type course of hills, sand, steps for drills and torturous workouts.
Even the parking garage is filled with art.There simply isn't enough bandwidth to show the stadium, the indoor practice field, the walk-through ice baths, barber shop, saunas, the Jaqua Academic Center and all the other facilities available to the football players student-athletes.
It was an amazing tour and I can't thank the Athletic Department enough for taking the time to show us the Hatfield-Dowlin complex... not to mention Penny & Phil Knight for donating the funds to create this fabulous facility. How could a recruit say no?
Next up? Fuel. Of course we went back to Cafe Yumm! for another rice bowl with tofu:
So delicious.But, apparently, there was some sorta track meet going on, so we returned to our seats at Historic Hayward Field.
Today, we were joined by Kathy & Woody's #3, Katie.
Busy weatherThe decathlon was completed today. Dakotah Keys finished in third-place with 8,068 points. Maicel Uibo (Georgia) was first, and last year's champion, Johannes Hock (Texas) placed second. Oregon freshman Mitch Modin finished in 13th place.
We watched the final decathlon event - the 1500m - from the shelter of the hospitality tent. Dakatoh Keys flashed us the "O" - and seemed pretty happy.The Ducks picked up six points from Keys and 5 points from Greg Skipper's 4th place in the hammer throw. Senior Laura Bobeck threw the discus 184'8" to break a 29 year school record, placing third and earning 6 points for the women. Half-way through the competition, Duck women and men are still in first place... with a lot of action left Friday and Saturday.
After our healthy vegan lunch, we all went to Marche for steak frites. Katie's husband, Greg, joined us and we all had a fabulous time.Until my next update, I remain, your shutter-pushing correspondent.
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Official NCAA results
NOTE TO READERS: I am not a sports reporter. This is my a report of my view of the day.
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