Just do it!

(Scroll to bottom of linked page) "Here's a tip: If you're cashing paychecks from the University of Oregon, treat Phil Knight with unabashed love; even genuflect at his Nikes if the occasion calls for it. Just don't tick him off or, heaven forbid, fall shy of grandiose designs for his beloved alma mater -- lest you might end up following Martin Smith down Interstate 5.


Phil Knight isn't subtle about the direction he wants to see the University of Oregon headed.Suspiciously, the longtime track coach resigned a day before the Ducks' season-opening meet this past March, leaving with three years on his contract. The $500,000 buyout he reportedly walked away with makes it sound more like a firing. If so, his testy relationship with the Nike co-founder didn't help. Nor did the almost sacrilegious idea that Smith, a prickly character who refused to seek input from Knight or former Oregon distance running star Alberto Salazar, delivered a successful program around a core of hurdlers, jumpers and throwers -- not seasoned distance runners like those who'd given legs to Oregon's storied track tradition and birthed a sneaker giant."