Mariota honored
University of Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota has won The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award®, presented annually by the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, Inc. and Transamerica to the nation’s top quarterback who best exemplifies character, scholastic and athletic achievement. At the conclusion of regular season and conference championship game, Mariota has completed 254 of 372 passes for 3,783 yards (68.3% completion rate) throwing for 38 touchdowns with just 2 interceptions and a QB rating of 186.34. The Honolulu native led the Pac-12 quarterbacks in rushing yards with 636. Mariota ranks fifth in the nation in total offense, averaging 342.2 yards per game and he has been selected as the Pac-12 offensive player of the year. Mariota’s achievements will be honored on Friday, December 12, in Baltimore, MD. For the 2014 Golden Arm Award ceremony, The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, Inc. and Transamerica are happy to be returning to The Embassy Suites Baltimore Inner Harbor Hotel and Grand Historic Venue. NFL Hall of Famer, former Baltimore Colt, and the great Johnny Unitas’ favorite target – Raymond Berry – will deliver the keynote remarks at this year’s event. Past Golden Arm Award winners include: Peyton Manning (Tennessee, 1997); Carson Palmer (USC, 2002); Eli Manning (Ole Miss, 2003); Matt Ryan (Boston College, 2007); Colt McCoy
(Texas, 2009); and Andrew Luck (Stanford, 2011).
Deal in U.S. Track & Field Hall of Fame
Lance Deal, the United States’ best hammer thrower and 1996 Olympic Silver Medalist, was inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame during the USATF Annual meeting, Dec. 4. Deal, who spent eight years as Oregon’s throws coach, is in his fourth year as the Ducks’ Director of Track and Field Venues. The most dominant American hammer thrower of all-time, Deal has been a member of the Eugene community for nearly 30 years. A four-time Olympian (1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000), he won a silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Games, becoming the first American to medal in the hammer throw in 40 years. In a professional career from 1985 to 2002, he won 21 U.S. Championship titles in the hammer throw and indoor weight throw. Deal achieved a No.1 world hammer throw ranking in 1996 and still claims 16 of the top-20 all-time American throws, including the American Record of 270-9 thrown in Italy in 1996. As Oregon’s throws coach from 2002 to 2010, he guided Ducks to 21 All-American honors and 12 Pac-10 titles. Oregon won Pac-10 Championships in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2008.