Tyler (Texas) High Rivals300 running back Cadarius McMiller committed to Oregon over the weekend, choosing to play for the Big Ten powerhouse over the likes of Arizona State, Baylor, Texas Tech, SMU, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Tennessee, Washington and Ole Miss.

“I really like the school,” McMiller said. “Nobody else showing me love like Oregon.”

That love begins with future position coach Ra’Shaad Samples.

“Coach Samp it’s a good relationship,” McMiller said. “It felt right.

“He’s a good dude. I feel like to be a good recruiter you have to have good communication and relationship skills and he has both of them.”

Rivals ranks McMiller as the nation’s No. 15 running back and No. 173 prospect overall. He visited Eugene a few weeks ago.

“The coaching staff of course,” he said of what stood out. “Everybody is cool. They got a good facility.”

McMiller also highlight the “winning” program.

“The head coach he’s a good leader. He knows how to run a program.”

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound McMiller has 10.2 speed in the 100m dash and as a junior he used his speed to rush for 943 yards and 17 touchdowns with 186 more yards receiving and three scores.

“I’m a run hard running back,” McMiller said. He can also play in the slot. “I’m not doing all that dancing. I’m straight downhill into somebody’s face.”

Oregon signed Rivals No. 4 ranked class in the 2026 cycle and with recruiting wins like McMiller they’ll compete for another top five haul in 2027.

I saw Bill Oram’s cri de coeur for Moda Center renovation, (“I hope I’m wrong, but this is why I fear the Trail Blazers could be as good as gone | Bill Oram,” Feb. 9). It was shortly followed by the news that state Sen. Rob Wagner is proposing that the state help foot the bill, (“Moda Center funding bill introduced in Salem with few specifics, broad support from top Democrats,” Feb. 11).

To be abundantly clear, it is obscene to propose spending more than twice the TriMet budget shortfall on a basketball arena. If moving the Blazers would “set Portland’s economy back by a generation,” an opinion Oram attributes to economists, I would need to see hard data to this end, and not histrionic pearl clutching about the spirit of the city.

According to Smart Growth America, every dollar invested in public transit generates four dollars in return. By that metric, $300 million in funding for TriMet would generate $1.2 billion dollars in return.

Portland is a city full of people who deserve reliable transit, and who depend on reliable transit. I cannot countenance spending civic funds on a basketball team while services Portlanders depend on, including transit, are in fiscal freefall.

Tom Dundon’s net worth is reported at around $1.5 billion. The city I live in is not his playground, and the state’s coffers are not his purse. I would appreciate if the paper of record would show some dignity before Croesus.

Moira Hicks, Portland

It’s easy to remember the date when Oregon became a state because it shares it with Valentine’s Day.

Although it would have been sweet if the day was intentionally selected, it was not. That day in 1859 just happened to be when President James Buchanan signed the bill officially admitting Oregon as the 33rd state in the Union.

Oregon is the first state with a Feb. 14 anniversary of statehood. The event was celebrated at the Capitol Saturday with live music by the Oregon Old Time Fiddlers Association.

The group performed classic American folk songs and fiddle tunes such as “Bile ‘Em Cabbage Down,” also known as “Boil Them Cabbage Down.”

The earliest known printed version of the song appeared in 1878, meaning it was probably known by people on the Oregon Trail, said Cathy Yale, chairwoman of the Oregon Old Time Fiddlers Association’s District 8. There are 10 districts.

Musicians invited kids to a table to touch an old-fashioned cigar box guitar, autoharp, fiddle and mountain lap dulcimer.

People also had a chance to see the original Oregon Constitution protected in a glass case on view in the Capitol Galleria. The document will be returned to the Oregon State Archives.

For more on Oregon’s birthday, see Oregon-themed valentines created by OregonLive.com. The Peak Northwest podcast, celebrating Oregon’s birthday and beloved places in every part of this state, can be heard at OregonLive.com/podcasts.