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EUGENE, Ore. -- The numbers were as telling as the names.Americas Olympic mainstays, Allyson Felix, LaShawn Merritt and Justin Gatlin, are all on their way to Rio de Janeiro. With the best times in the world this year to boot.Gatlins 100-meter run in 9.8 seconds at U.S. Olympic Trials on Sunday will certainly turn the most heads.Its the same time he posted last year at world championships in Beijing, where Usain Bolt nudged him out by a hundredth. Bolt pulled out of this weeks Jamaican national championships and his form will be a mystery for at least the next few weeks.Nobody needs wonder about where Gatlin stands.When the competition shows and the competition rises, Ive got to rise to the occasion with it, he declared.Even so, hes destined to head to his third Olympics as an underdog to Bolt, The Worlds Fastest Man.Ashton Eaton will be a favorite.The defending Olympic decathlon champions score of 8,750 was nearly 300 short of his world record. A bit frustrating for Eaton, but the score was still notable because it was one point better than the personal best of anyone who can qualify for the event in Rio. And besides, theres no such thing as perfect over a 10-event endurance test.As a decathlete, if you dont leave with something (frustrating), then you should quit, he said.Besides Eaton, nobody has carried the flag more nobly for the USAs track team of late than Felix, who has been to three Olympics and picked up six medals, including 200-meter gold in London.Her quest at Olympics No. 4 is to become the first woman to win gold in both the 200 and 400 meters. That mission landed on shaky ground when she hurt her right ankle this spring while working out. Its been a brutal comeback, she said, though the performance Sunday hardly showed it.Pulling away late, she finished the 400-meter final in 49.68 seconds for a .26-second win over Phyllis Francis, then collapsed in exhaustion and relief.Two months ago, I couldnt even walk, Felix said. To be here and have everything still come together, I dont know quite how it happened.Merritt certainly does.Fists pumping high down the stretch, he burst down the last 50 meters of the straightaway to finish in 43.97 -- a .76-second romp over Gil Roberts. It was a clinic, reminiscent of Merritts .99-second blowout over rival Jeremy Wariner in the 2008 Olympics.People always say they look at my film to tell their athletes, `This is how youre supposed to run the last part of the race, Merritt said. They havent been looking at it lately. I had to give them something to look at.Merritt said he feels good enough to give it a go at 200 meters, where he also holds the worlds best time of the year.Yet another world-best mark came from Chaunte Lowe in the high jump. Her jump of 6 feet, 7 inches beat Vashti Cunningham, daughter of former NFL quarterback Randall, by 1 1/2 inches.Lowe is on the way to her fourth Olympics, seeking the medal that has always eluded her there. Stoked by her performance, and the others she saw on this breezy, sunshine-filled day in Eugene, she was thinking bigger.Fitting on a day such as this.It felt so easy, Lowe said. I think Ill be ready. Just keep training, fine-tuning. I think we could see a sweep of the podium.Other happenings on Day 3 at track trials:GARDNER IS A GO: English Gardner ran a personal best 10.74 seconds in the 100 to put herself on a list of Olympic track-and-field newcomers that now numbers 25. She edged out Tianna Bartoletta, who will be going for a sprint-long jump double, and another first-timer, Tori Bowie, the bronze medalist at last years world championships. Bartoletta and Bowie both finished in 10.78 and, according to a statkeeper for the IAAF, this was the first wind-legal womens 100 with three times of under 10.8.BACK TO CAMP: Marquise Goodwins dream of skipping training camp with the Buffalo Bills is over. The receiver/long jumper finished seventh and didnt qualify for the Olympics. He said he strained his hamstring during qualifications Saturday and couldnt recover in time for the final. Now, he takes a few days off and gets ready for camp. Just a switch. Got to hit it, he said about the quick changeover.THIRD TIME IS A CHARM?: Tyson Gays chances of making a third Olympics now rest in either the 200 meters or a slot as part of the relay pool. Both Gay and Mike Rodgers got beat for the third spot in the 100 by Marvin Bracy, a three-time national indoor champ at 60 meters who also used to be a wide receiver at Florida State. Bracy is an Olympic newcomer, as is second-place finisher Trayvon Bromell, who finished second to Gatlin in 9.84.PUNCHING TICKETS: Qualifying for long jump were 2014 national champion Jeff Henderson, Jarrion Lawson and Will Claye. Claye took bronze at the London Games. The other two will make their Olympic debuts. Finishing in the two spots behind Eaton were Jeremy Taiwo and Zack Ziemek.QUOTABLE: The one thing I love about the athletes I coach, they love running for the United States. She wants to make this Olympic team. That was something that, like you saw, she was willing to pull every muscle in her body. -Allyson Felixs coach, Bob Kersee Steve Finley Jersey . 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The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far.Conor McGregors southpaw straight left won him the UFC championship inside 13 seconds and has become one of the most feared punches in the fight world. Along with his elusive footwork and eye-catching, hands-down style, the Irishmans punching ability has resulted in fight fans dreaming of a duel against boxing great Floyd Mayweather. Even if thats fantasy, McGregor has forged a reputation in the boxing world without ever stepping in a professional ring.But if hes such a good boxer, why did he depart the sport as a teenager? McGregor lost his most recent UFC fight to Nate Diaz so has he profited from a string of grappling-based opponents that lack skills with their hands? Conor McGregor lands a lead-hand uppercut Paschal Collins, Irelands seasoned boxing trainer, remembers an unknown MMA enthusiast who was at home in the boxing gym. Three or four years ago, I always reckoned that he could have gone all the way in boxing for the reason that his work ethic is unbelievable, Collins told Sky Sports. He trains - no, he practises - three times a day.You know when somebody walks into a room and they stand out? He had a confidence but behind the scenes he keeps his head down. I would watch him for an hour and hed practise the same move over and over. He stood out, absolutely.Hes brave, hes got a heart, and hes afraid of nobody. He sparred my nephew Stevie Jr, a cruiserweight, and showed no fear even when he was clipped. Conor was in my gym two weeks ago and I did southpaw pad work with him. He sparred my nephew Stevie Jr, a cruiserweight, and showed no fear even when he was clipped. Paschal Collins Before McGregors growth took him through Collins pro gym, he first learned to wrap his hands in the Crumlin Boxing Gym, an amateur establishment rife with young Irishmen learning about the discipline of the ring.He was like any other novice who we taught the basics to, Crumlin coach Phil Sutcliffe told Sky Sports. He could have been very good if he stayed with boxing.Some kids had more talent than Conor but didnt work as hard and eventually he found them out. He has skills from his time here - his hands up, his chin down, his elbows in. When he got good enough he was able to drop his hands because he could read the punches. Hes a very, very good reader. Conor McGregor hitting pads Hes ambidextrous, we teach that to all our kids, he can box orthodox or southpaw. His straight left changes fights. Its an opportunists punch - hes always had the ability to turn on his back leg to throw his back hand.McGregor took his boxing skills to the cage and exploded onto the UFC scene three years ago, immediately demonstrating an understanding of range that dumbfounded rivals.The same weapon that impressed his first coach Sutcliffe was still getting the job done. Three left-handed uppercuts accounted for Marcus Brimage in McGregors debut, then four more opponents crumpled beneath his left hand in 2014 and 2015. Dublin lighhtweight Jamie Kavanagh recently tweeted Conor McGregor about their younger days at the Crumlin amateur gym @JamieKavanagh90 A southpaws best weapon is the straight left, McGregors current coach John Kavanagh told Sky Sports last summer.ddddddddddddFor whatever reason, nobody hits harder than Conor.Contrary to popular belief, it tends to be tall, lanky, rangy fighters who punch the hardest. Conor has a generic X-factor when it comes to punching - even I dont know exactly what that is. Its hard to find a better system than western boxing to teach you how to hit as hard as possible.Super-middleweight world title challenger George Groves has been an impressed onlooker but when quizzed whether McGregor could cut it inside the boxing ring, he noted a crucial different in the Irishmans style. They attack from so far out. Do that in boxing and a skilful boxer would time you. George Groves They have to worry about takedowns so they have to throw punches from a much wider distance, Groves explained to Sky Sports. They can get away with things that we cant in boxing - for example they attack from so far out. Do that in boxing and a skilful boxer would time you.Were used to fighting much closer but if the UFC guys do that, theyre likely to be grabbed. They certainly have power, but in UFC they dont throw combinations. If youre a pure boxer you wont last long inside the cage - but vice versa.A submission defeat to Diaz in March, after tasting some of his own medicine standing toe-to-toe, led to criticism from WBA Super and WBO heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. Boxing is the ultimate combat sport, Fury tweeted. Where two proper fighters stand up and fight. Conor McGregor (left) lands a southpaw jab McGregors recent low-profile appearances in California-based boxing gyms may be a strategic attempt to avenge the Diaz loss in an expected rematch, rather than preparation to fight a certain retired kingpin of the ring. His recent defeat was attributed to a lack of boxing finesse by his own striking coach Owen Roddy.He was winning the fight but punched himself out, Roddy told Sky Sports. He was trying to force the finish. He was landing his shots but, because Diaz was able to take them, Conor was throwing higher and higher combinations and got exhausted. The tables turned. Conor McGregors boxing let him down against Nate Diaz Conor was trying to knock him out with every punch and was putting too much behind every shot. If we get him to only put power behind certain shots, he should reserve his energy more. If we stick to popping shots and moving, I think hell put Diaz away.McGregor is the latest in a fabled line of punchers from Ireland and counts former world champions Wayne McCullough and Steve Collins as fans, while Lennox Lewis has tweeted support. He may wear smaller gloves than his boxing predecessors but he is packing a punch in a different way. Also See: Mayweather on McGregor talk Fury slams beaten McGregor McGregor fuels Mayweather rumour Fury: McGregor copied me ' ' '