THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2015
SPORTS
7A
Holiday hoops tourneys continue this week
’Tis the Season … for hol-
iday basketball tournaments.
Locally, Astoria High
School is hosting the annual
Vince Dulcich Tournament
today through Wednesday.
Following some early
games, Sutherlin vs. Knappa
boys tips off about 6:15 p.m.,
followed by Knappa vs. Asto-
ria girls (8 p.m.) and Rainier
vs. Astoria boys (9:30 p.m).
Game times are approximate.
The Seaside boys and girls
are playing in the SCTC Hol-
iday Classic at Stayton High
School, and Jewell is taking
part in Neah-Kah-Nie’s Drift-
wood Classic.
Across the river, Ilwaco
is hosting its annual Holiday
Classic.
On the boys’ side, Ilwaco
faces Montesano at 7:15 p.m.;
the Ilwaco girls begin play
Tuesday at 7:15 p.m. vs. Cas-
tle Rock.
Action concludes Wednes-
day with Toledo vs. Ilwaco
girls (5:45 p.m.) and Seton
Catholic vs. Ilwaco boys
(7:15 p.m.).
1:00: Clatskanie vs RA Long
2:30: Sutherlin vs Columbia River
7:00: Knappa vs Astoria
Boys
4:00: Clatskanie vs Hockinson
5:30: Sutherlin vs Knappa
8:30: Rainier vs Astoria
MONDAY’S SCHEDULE
SCTC Holiday Classic, Stayton
Girls
3:00: Seaside vs Yamhill-Carlton
Vince Dulcich Tournament
Girls
Boys
4:30: Yamhill-Carlton vs Seaside
Driftwood Classic, Neah-Kah-Nie
Girls
Noon: Jewell vs Neah-Kah-Nie
Boys
1:30: Jewell vs Willamina
Ilwaco Holiday Classic
Boys
7:15: Montesano vs Ilwaco
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By EDDIE PELLS
AP National Writer
The games people play.
There are around 300 in pro
football, 2,500 in baseball,
1,500 in basketball and thou-
sands in soccer every year
— and that’s just at the very
highest levels. Most blend
into each other. Only a few
stand out.
Those that leave a lasting
impression do so because
of, say, a flubbed snap on a
punt, or a play call that de-
cides a title, or a near-per-
fect, once-in-a-generation
race to the finish line.
Those games and races
kept us at the edge of our
seats in 2015 — then even-
tually brought us completely
out of our chairs and made
us shake our heads upon re-
alizing, once again, that just
when we think we’ve seen it
all, we’re reminded that we
really haven’t.
A look at some of the
best games and events of
2015:
Triple Crown
It had been 37 years since
Affirmed crossed the fin-
ish line first at the Belmont
Stakes to win the last Triple
Crown. And over those 37
years, horse racing and its
fans had seen 13 horses win
the first two legs, only to
falter — or, in one case, not
even line up at the Belmont.
American Pharoah finally
broke through. He start-
ed slow and carried a two-
length lead through most
of the race. But then, he
showed the heart and speed
of a champion, pulling away
over the last five furlongs
to cross the finish line in 2
minutes, 26.65 seconds —
ending nearly four decades
of close calls.
On the web: www.you-
tube.com/watch?v=WyDcX-
tVb8—U
Super call
The flub
All Michigan punter
Blake O’Neill had to do was
field the snap and get off the
kick, just as he’d done hun-
dreds of times previously
in practices and games. In-
stead, O’Neill fumbled the
snap and Michigan State’s
Jalen Watts-Jackson pulled
it in, cradled it to his body
and ran 38 yards for a touch-
down. The Spartans won
27-23, and because of that
win, they are still in the
hunt for the national title.
Some of the most memora-
ble reactions came from the
heartbroken, close-to-tears
Michigan fans, a few of
which were captured forev-
er on YouTube. “That’s why
football is loved so much in
America,” Michigan State
coach Mark Dantonio said.
“It’s because things like this
happen. Every now and then,
they happen.”
On the web: www.you-
tube.com/watch?v=RBlgN-
85wB6U
For openers
The first inning of Game
The 2015 U.S. Open will be
remembered for both. There
was Dustin Johnson’s hard-
to-watch three-putt from 12
feet that cost him the title
— a title that went to Jordan
Spieth, hardly a fluke winner
in anybody’s book. It was the
second major of the year for
Spieth and he set it up with
a 284-yard 3-wood from the
near-barren 18th fairway at
Chambers Bay that led to a
birdie. Four days of listen-
ing to players grumble about
conditions on the course,
then watching most of them
play down to their expecta-
tions, ended with 30 minutes
of pure drama — and with
Spieth cradling the trophy.
On the web: www.you-
tube.com/watch?v=YvPO-
7yLt-Yc
tie, and instead got the ball
to replacement back Karne
Hesketh, who squeezed into
rugby’s version of the end
zone for the winning points
in a 34-32 victory.
On the web: www.you-
tube.com/watch?v=JXhr-
wadiFQ4
Kathy Willens/AP Photo
Victor Espinoza reacts after guiding American Pharoah
across the finish line to win the Belmont Stakes horse race
at Belmont Park in New York, June 6. American Pharoah
started slow and carried a two-length lead through most
of the race. But then, he showed the heart and speed of
a champion, pulling away over the last five furlongs to
cross the finish line.
1 included the first inside-
the-park home run in a
World Series in 86 years.
Later, there was a power
outage that stopped play and
knocked the telecast off the
air. The game lasted 14 in-
nings and, at 5 hours, 9 min-
utes, was the longest World
Series Game 1 played. Kan-
sas City hit a game-tying
home run in the bottom of
the ninth and went on to beat
the Mets 5-4. And if that
wasn’t drama enough, there
was the underlying story
of starting pitcher Edinson
Volquez, who pitched even
though his father had died
only hours before the game.
On the web: www.you-
tube.com/watch?v=EJQkyv-
vMWQo
Rugby upset
It was supposed to be a
tuneup for perennial title
contender South Africa. It
ended up being “a rugby
miracle” at the World Cup,
as the TV announcers called
it, pulled off by none other
than 1,000-1 longshot Japan.
The “Cherry Blossoms” only
other victory on the world’s
biggest stage had come back
in 1991. This time, they
played South Africa toe-to-
toe for more than 80 min-
utes, and into extra time.
Trailing by three, Japan de-
cided against kicking for a
Seattle had the ball at
the New England 1-yard
line with two, maybe three,
chances to let one of the
best running backs in the
game, Marshawn Lynch,
bull in for what would have
been the winning touch-
down. Instead, Seahawks
coach Pete Carroll called
for a pass. Patriots defen-
sive back Malcolm Butler,
a one-time do-everything
employee at a fast-food
chicken restaurant, had
been focusing on that exact
play call during the week in
practice. He recognized it,
stepped in front of the re-
ceiver and intercepted the
pass to save the game for
the Patriots. Carroll then
spent hours, days and weeks
defending his play call,
while Butler no longer had
to worry about returning to
the chicken joint.
On the web: www.you-
tube.com/watch?v=U7rPIg-
7ZNQ8
Flurry of goals
In a rematch of the previ-
ous World Cup final, the U.S.
team played Japan, which
had beaten the Americans on
penalty kicks four years ear-
lier. Thanks to Carli Lloyd,
this game was anything but
a repeat. Lloyd scored in the
third minute, then again two
minutes later. The United
States scored four goals in
the first 16 minutes, capped
by Lloyd’s shot from mid-
field, and went on for a 5-2
victory. For a while after the
match, Lloyd’s Wikipedia
page listed her as “President
of the United States.”
On the web: www.you-
tube.com/watch?v=zrsxXa-
2DINw
The 3-wood and the
three-putt
So many majors are re-
membered as much for who
lost at the end, as who won.
New Years
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friends
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Awesome Rock & Roll Band!
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Entrees are served with garden green salad, fresh vegetables; choice of garlic
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