Fast Break

College athletics

Ducks’ sugar daddy gives $100 million

The University of Oregon’s plan to build a new basketball arena moved a giant step forward Monday when Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, pledged $100 million to the university, the largest philanthropic gift in school history.

The money is not targeted specifically for an arena, university officials said. Rather, it will create the Oregon Athletics Legacy Fund, which will help support all athletic programs.

But indirectly, officials said, the donation will boost the university’s effort to replace aging McArthur Court with a new arena near the eastern edge of campus.

“This extraordinary gift will set Oregon athletics on a course toward certain self-sufficiency and create the flexibility and financial capacity for the university to move forward with the new athletic arena,” athletic director Pat Kilkenny said. “Now we can roll up our sleeves and get to work on making the arena a reality.”

Baseball

Bonds’ home run ball hits auction

No. 756 is going to auction.

Barry Bonds’ record-breaking home run ball will be sold online, and fortunate fan Matt Murphy figures to be a half-million dollars richer.

The 21-year-old New York man said Tuesday he had no choice but to sell the ball – several people told him he would be taxed on the souvenir just for holding on to it.

“It wasn’t hard,” Murphy said. “It was simple math. I’m upset by the decision I had to make. … I wanted to keep it. I’m young. I don’t have the bank account.”

Bonds broke Hank Aaron’s record of 755 with a shot into the right-field seats on Aug. 7 against the Washington Nationals.

Sotheby’s/SCP Auctions will handle the sale at www.scpauctions.com from Aug. 28 through Sept. 15. The starting bid has not been determined, and auction officials estimated the ball would bring at least $500,000.