✽
❋✆✞✟✠✡✱ ❆☛✆✞☞ ✌✍✱ ✍✎✌✏
❚ ✁ ✂✄☎✁✆✝✁✆
Blazers draw Westbrook, OKC
for first round of NBA playoffs
❇❃ ➍❈❈❼ ➎➏ ➐❼➑❼❽❾❅❈
❍■❏ ❿▼▼➀➁➂➃➄❏➅ ➆◆❏▼▼
the Denver Nuggets rallied to beat Min-
nesota and nail down the second seed,
PORTLAND — For the second straight
season the Portland Trail Blazers earned
the third seed in the West and home-
q❩❴❝❨ ✐❩❝ ❨❜❪ ④❬❳①❩❵❢❣ r❜❯❢ ①❪❳❝ ❨❜❪①③❝❪
looking for a better outcome than last
year when they were surprisingly swept
in the opening round by New Orleans.
It won’t be easy.
The Trail Blazers take on Oklahoma
City, a team that swept Portland in their
four regular-season meetings.
“Being a top three team in the West is
quite an accomplishment. It shows that
❩❴❝ ❥❩❝♠ ❜❳❢ ④❳❯◗ ❩❵ ➒ ❪❢④❪q❯❳❬❬① ❳✐❨❪❝
last season to be able to bounce back and
❳P◗ ➝❩❝❨❬❳P◗ ❩➌❪❝q❳❭❪ ❳ ➉➞➋④❩❯P❨ ◗❪❖➋
cit against the Kings to win.
Though Oklahoma City swept Port-
land, all of the Blazers losses were by
single digit margins.
“You know every game that we played
against them has been a close game. We
lost all four against them last season, but
❬❳❢❨ ❢❪❳❢❩P ❥❪ ❫❪❳❨ ❨❜❪❭ ❳❬❬ ✐❩❴❝ ❲❳❭❪❢❞❡
Lillard said. “So we know that we’re ca-
pable of beating them. Each game this
season came down to a possession here,
a possession there. It’s going to be a
tough, tough series.
“We’ve got to go out and just be ag-
◗❩ ❯❨ ❳❲❳❯P ➒ ❨❩ ❭❪ ❨❜❳❨③❢ ④❝❩➌❯P❲ ❯❨ ❴④❞❡ ❲❝❪❢❢❯➌❪ ❲❩❯P❲ ❯P❨❩ ❯❨❣❡
Damian Lillard said. “That’s showing a
certain amount of grit and desire to get
back to this point.
“We should be proud of ourselves, but
Following a rough-and-tumble 129-
121 overtime loss in Portland on March
7, center Jusuf Nurkic said he’d be “the
Portland locked the No. 3 seed with a wild
136-131 win over the Sacramento Kings in
But the Blazers will have to go it with-
out their dominating 7-foot big man,
who broke his left leg after crashing awk-
wardly in an overtime victory at home
over the Brooklyn Nets on March 25.
Nurkic was averaging 15.6 points and
10.4 rebounds a game this season.
The Blazers have since relied on Enes
Kanter, who was waived by the New
❜❳④④❯❪❢❨ ❭❳P ❩P ❨❜❪ ❪❳❝❨❜❡ ❨❩ ✐❳q❪ r❜❴P➋
❩❫➌❯❩❴❢❬① ❩❴❝ ❫❴❢❯P❪❢❢ ❯❢ ♣❴❢❨ ❫❪❲❯PP❯P❲❣❡ ◗❪❝ ❯P ❨❜❪ ④❬❳①❩❵❢❣
❘✗✘ ✙✚✛✜✢✣✗✤ ✥✤✗✛✗
❙✦✧★✧✩ ✪✧✫❦✬✭✩✮ ✯✰ ✲✯♦✧✳✴✮ ✭ ✦✴✵✧✧✶✦✷✬✧ ✸✹✭♦♦ ✺✻✼✾✻ ♦✦✭✦✧ ✫✴✭✬✳✷✯✩✮ ❤✷✹✹ ✫✯✩✦✷✩✿✧
✴✷♦ ❤✵✧♦✦✹✷✩❀ ✫✭✵✧✧✵ ✭✦❁✵✧✭♦✿✵✧❱✭✹✹✧❛ ✸✯✬✬✿✩✷✦❛ ✸✯✹✹✧❀✧❂
Hard work pays off
for Joseph’s Beckman
❇❃ ❄❅❈❉❊● ❇❅❈●
❍■❏ ❑▲▼❏◆✈❏◆
turn out the way it should
have. I didn’t feel practice
Most athletes put in the
work required of them
during practice.
Others raise the bar,
❖P◗❯P❲ ❳◗◗❯❨❯❩P❳❬ ❨❯❭❪ ❨❩
hone their skills to take
them to the top tier of their
sport.
Joseph senior Steven
Beckman falls into the
latter category. His work
beyond the practice room
played a large role in him
becoming a three-time
state champion and two-
time high school all-Amer-
ican wrestler.
He’ll be counting on that
same work ethic to propel
him at the next level, as he
signed Thursday to con-
tinue his wrestling career
at Treasure Valley Com-
munity College.
“A lot of kids will go to
practice and work their
❫❴❨❨ ❩❵ ❨❜❪❝❪❞❡ ❜❪ ❢❳❯◗❣
“I’m not afraid to put in ex-
❨❝❳ ❨❯❭❪❞❡ P❩❨❯P❲ ❜❪ ✐❩❴P◗
success in putting the ad-
ditional hours in.
Beckman said during
wrestling season he would
typically work out in the
morning, during his lunch
break at school and after
practice. He did additional
cardio and weight work to
go along with the practice
sessions.
“It didn’t matter when
❥❳❢ ❪P❩❴❲❜❣❡
well in high school, but
last year when I went to
the national tournament it
That’s not to say he
wasn’t coached well, as he
said Joseph Head Coach
Tim Kiesecker “taught me
more than most coaches.
(But) where I was at was
not close enough to where
❥❳❢ ◗❯❵❪❝❪P❨❞❡ ❜❪ ❢❳❯◗❣
The results since that
freshman campaign speak
for themselves.
he’ll have for his summer
job.
❧ ❥❳P❨❪◗ ❨❩ ❫❪❣❡
Beckman was consider-
ing several other options,
including Eastern Oregon,
Corban and a handful of
East Coast schools. Part
of the decision to go with
rstt ❥❳❢ ❨❜❪ ✉❪✇❯❫❯❬❯❨①
②❧③❭ ❲❩❯P❲ ❨❩ ❫❪ ❖❲❜❨❯P❲
♥❪ ♣❩❯P❪◗ ❝❳❝❪❖❪◗ ❳❯❝ ❯P ❖❝❪ ❨❜❯❢ ❢❴❭❭❪❝ ❳P◗ ◗❯◗P③❨
winning three consecutive
2A/1A state champion-
ships for Joseph, taking
the 106-pound title as a
sophomore and junior and
winning the 113-pound
bracket as a senior.
And he didn’t just win at
state. He dominated. Sev-
en of his nine state tourna-
ment matches during that
three-year span he won via
pinfall.
He’s also excelled at the
national level, winning
second place in freestyle
wrestling and third in
folkstyle during the USA
National
Tournament
last summer to reach all-
American status.
That tournament, in
fact, revealed an aspect
of the sport he wants to
develop in college. While
Beckman listed quickness,
❢❨❝❪P❲❨❜ ❳P◗ q❩P❖◗❪Pq❪
among his assets moving
want to go to a college that
required me to come back
❯P ❨❜❪ ❢❴❭❭❪❝❞❡ ❜❪ ❢❳❯◗❞
noting that TVCC training
doesn’t start until October.
He also said spending
time at TVCC, which will
wrestle in events that fea-
ture a wide range of ath-
letes — including Division
II and Division III — will
enable him to get a taste of
college wrestling and see
how he stacks up before
deciding on a four-year
school.
And anyone concerned
about his size at college —
given he wrestled mainly
at 106 and 113 and the
lowest weight class at col-
lege is 125 — can rest as-
sured. He said he’s already
bulked up to around 140
pounds.
“I’m going to have to
cut weight, which is some-
thing I wouldn’t (have) ex-
❯❨ ❥❳❢❞ ❧ ❥❳❢ ❥❩❝♠❯P❲❞❡ ❜❪ to the next level, he no- ④❪q❨❪◗❞❡ ❜❪ ❢❳❯◗❣
said.
Currently, he works out
twice a day as he prepares
for the college level.
His work ethic was really
shaped after a freshman
year that he said “didn’t
ticed when wrestling at
nationals a year ago that
upper-echelon wrestlers
were better at defending
their opponent’s shot, or
takedown attempt.
“My shots worked pretty
check out the
Beckman takes pride in
being from a small school
❳P◗ ❖P◗❯P❲ ❳❭④❬❪ ❢❴qq❪❢❢
in a sport that’s been a part
of his life since age 4 or 5,
when he started wrestling
See Beckman / Page 8A
❨❜❪ ❝❪❲❴❬❳❝➋❢❪❳❢❩P ❖P❳❬❪ ❩P ➓❪◗P❪❢◗❳①
night. Rookie Anfernee Simons, just 19,
❜❳◗ ➔→ ④❩❯P❨❢❯P ❜❯❢ ❖❝❢❨ q❳❝❪❪❝ ❢❨❳❝❨ ❳P◗ ❨❜❪
Blazers used just six players.
On the surface it appeared the Blaz-
❪❝❢ ➣↔➔➋➉↕➙ ❥❪❝❪ ❨❝①❯P❲ ❨❩ ❢❯P♠ ❨❜❪ ❖P❳❬
❲❳❭❪ ❨❩ ❲❪❨ ❨❜❪ ➛❩❣ ➜ ❢❪❪◗ ❳P◗ ❳ ❖❝❢❨➋
round matchup with the Utah Jazz. But
See Blazers / Page 8A
Koepka, DeChambeau early
leaders at Augusta National
❇❃ ❸❅❹❺ ❻❼❽❺❹❾❅❈
❍■❏ ❿▼▼➀➁➂➃➄❏➅ ➆◆❏▼▼
AUGUSTA, Georgia —
Bryson DeChambeau be-
lieves science was at work
late in the afternoon at
Augusta National, creat-
ing a force in the atmo-
sphere where big roars
✐❝❩❭ ❲❝❪❳❨ ❢❜❩❨❢ ❖❬❨❪❝
through the back nine.
An easier description:
➇P❩❨❜❪❝ ❪✇q❯❨❯P❲ ❖P❯❢❜ ❳❨
the Masters, this time on
a Thursday.
Brooks Koepka got it
started, adding to his
reputation of playing his
best golf in the majors.
He rolled in a 20-foot
putt birdie from behind
❨❜❪ ➈➉❨❜ ❲❝❪❪P❞ ❨❜❪ ❖❝❢❨
of four straight birdies to
take the lead. DeCham-
beau answered with four
straight birdies at the end
of his round, with two
shots inches away from
being even better.
His 8-iron on the par-3
16th grazed the edge of the
cup. His 6-iron into the 18th
was even better, so good that
it rolled smack into the mid-
dle of the pin and bounced
back an inch or two.
Both wound up in a
share of the lead at 6-un-
der 66.
“Absolutely, there is an
energy and there is some-
thing in science that does
❨❳❬♠ ❳❫❩❴❨ ❨❜❳❨❞❡ ❢❳❯◗ ➊❪➋
Chambeau, who has a sci-
❪P❨❯❖q ❳P❢❥❪❝ ✐❩❝ ❪➌❪❝①➋
thing. “It’s great to have
momentum and great
atmosphere and gets you
all pumped up, creates
❳◗❝❪P❳❬❯P❪ ✉❩❥❣ ❣❣❣ ❧ ❫❪➋
lieve that’s partially what
❜❳④④❪P❪◗ ❨❩◗❳①❣❡
They were one shot
ahead of 48-year-old Phil
⑤ ⑥⑦⑧⑨
Mountaineers
softball to play in
Pasco this weekend
The Eastern Oregon
University softball team
moved this weekend’s
Cascade Collegiate Con-
ference series against
Providence,
Montana,
from La Grande to Pasco,
Washington, due to in-
❪❪❝❢ ❥❯❨❜ ♣❴❢❨ ❩P❪ ❖P❳❬
home series, which will
be played April 26 and 27
against Oregon Tech.
The Mountaineers en-
ter the series four games
back of Carroll College for
❨❜❪ ❖P❳❬ ❢④❩❨ ❯P❨❩ ❨❜❪ ttt
with
nine
q❬❪❭❪P❨ ❥❪❳❨❜❪❝ ❳P◗ ❖❪❬◗ conference games to play.
conditions at Peggy An-
derson Field.
It’s the second home
series this season that
EOU has been forced to
Golf tournaments
canceled,
rescheduled
The
q❩❴❬◗ ❜❳➌❪ ❫❪❪P ◗❩❴❫❬❪❢❞❡
See Masters / Page 8A
⑦⑩❶❷⑨
move due to weather, and
will leave the Mountain-
tournament
Mickelson, who delivered
thrills of his own.
Mickelson found some
momentum after shots in
the pine trees at No. 10
and in the water on No.
11, both leading to bogey
when he thought it could
have been worse. He an-
swered with three birdies
on the next four holes,
including a shot into the
16th that stopped inches
from the cup.
He had a 67, his best
start since 2010, when
he won his third green
jacket.
“It looked like, after
bogeying 10 and 11, that
would kill some momen-
tum. It was the other
way around, because I
made two great bogeys
that should have and
Heppner
Invi-
tational, which the La
Grande,
Wallowa/Jo-
seph and Enterprise girls
was scheduled to play in
Thursday, was canceled
due to weather condi-
tions.
Enterprise and Wal-
lowa/Joseph were slated
to be back on the course
today at Umatilla.
La Grande’s home girls
invitational, which was
postponed earlier this
week due to weather, has
been rescheduled for 1
p.m. Tuesday.
on the
✑
✒✒
✓✔✔
✓
✕
✑✖
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