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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017
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Gary Henley | Sports Reporter
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Oregon strength coach suspended
Three players sick
after workouts
By KAREEM COPELAND
Associated Press
The University of Oregon sus-
pended football strength and con-
ditioning coach Irele Oderinde one
month without pay after three players
were hospitalized following a series
of intense workouts last week.
The school announced the deci-
sion in a statement Tuesday evening
and detailed a review of the incident.
It added that all future workouts have
been modified and the strength and
conditioning coach will now report
to director of performance and sports
science Andrew Murray instead of
coach Willie Taggart, who apologized
in the statement.
Oregon’s statement detailed that
players began an off-season condi-
tioning program last Tuesday after six
weeks away from “football-related
activities” and Oderinde led those
workouts.
Three days into the sessions one
player complained of “muscle-sore-
ness and displayed other symptoms
AP Photo/Thomas Boyd
Three Oregon players were hospitalized following a series of intense workouts last week. The strength and
conditioning coach has been suspended for one month without pay.
of potential exercise-related injury.”
The medical staff took “appropriate
action” and two other players later
complained of the same symptoms.
“I have visited with the three
young men involved in the incidents
in the past few days and I have been
in constant contact with their fami-
lies, offering my sincere apologies,”
Taggart said in the statement. “As the
head football coach, I hold myself
responsible for all of our football-re-
lated activities and the safety of our
students must come first. I have
addressed the issue with our strength
and conditioning staff, and I fully
support the actions taken today by the
university.
“I want to thank our medical staff
and doctors for caring for all of our
young men, and I want to apologize
to the university, our students, alumni
and fans.”
A hospital spokeswoman con-
firmed that one of the players, Doug
Brenner, was released from Peace-
Health Sacred Heart Medical Cen-
ter at Riverbend on Tuesday and the
other two were in good condition as
of the evening.
“The university holds the health,
safety and well-being of all of our stu-
dents in high regard,” director of ath-
letics Rob Mullens said in the state-
ment. “We are confident that these
athletes will soon return to full health,
and we will continue to support them
and their families in their recoveries.”
The Oregonian was the first to
report late Monday that the players
were hospitalized after being taken
there late last week. The newspaper
reported that the mother of one of the
players said her son has been diag-
nosed with rhabdomyolysis, a condi-
tion that occurs when muscle tissue
breaks down and leaks into the blood
stream. The condition can cause kid-
ney damage.
The University of Iowa said Fri-
day it will pay $15,000 to settle a law-
suit brought by a football player who
was diagnosed with exertional rhab-
domyolysis. William Lowe was one
of 13 Hawkeyes hospitalized follow-
ing a high-intensity 2011 workout.
Lowe’s lawsuit alleged that
coaches and trainers failed to properly
supervise the January 2011 workout
and didn’t immediately offer medi-
cal care after he and others reported
severe pain and symptoms.
Rainier
sprints past
Warrenton,
54-30
The Daily Astorian
RAINIER — Warrenton’s
Landree Miethe opened the game
with a steal and a score, but the
rest of the night belonged to Rain-
ier, which posted an eventual 54-30
win over the Warriors in a Lewis &
Clark League girls basketball game
Tuesday at Rainier.
Warrenton senior Tyla Little
made five 3-pointers, which kept
the Warriors in the game.
But a 14-3 run by the Columbi-
ans to open the third quarter turned
their 24-13 halftime lead into a
38-16 advantage.
“We started with a 2-0 lead,
then we just couldn’t score,” said
Warrenton coach Robert Hoepfl.
“We ran the offense and executed
really well, we just have to finish.
“Turnovers hurt us, and (the
Columbians) are quick to turn turn-
overs into points,” he added. “They
have a great team and they’re
well-coached.”
Little finished with 18 points to
lead Warrenton, while junior Desi-
rae Hansen scored 19 for Rainier.
Little connected on three
3-pointers in the fourth quarter
for the Warriors, who fall to 3-4 in
league, 8-6 overall. No. 9-ranked
Rainier improves to 7-1, 13-2.
In the boys’ game, Rainier
defeated Warrenton 52-40, helping
the first-place Columbians improve
to 6-2 in league, 7-7 overall.
SCOREBOARD
PREP SCHEDULE
TODAY
Wrestling — Knappa at League Meet,
Vernonia, TBA
THURSDAY
Boys Basketball — Astoria at Valley
Catholic, 6 p.m.; Seaside at Scappoose,
6 p.m.; Warrenton at Clatskanie, 8 p.m.;
Ilwaco at Willapa Valley, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball — Astoria at Valley
Catholic, 7:45 p.m.; Seaside at Scap-
poose, 7:45 p.m.; Warrenton at Clats-
kanie, 6 p.m.
Swimming — Seaside at Tillamook,
4 p.m.
Wrestling — Seaside at Astoria, 5:30
p.m.; Warrenton at League 4-Way, Willa-
mina, 5 p.m.
FRIDAY
Boys Basketball — Knappa at Gas-
ton, 8 p.m.; Jewell at C.S. Lewis, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball — Knappa at Gas-
ton, 6 p.m.; Jewell at Seaside JV2, 6
p.m.; Raymond at Ilwaco, 7 p.m.
Wrestling — Gary Seaney Tour-
nament, Tillamook, TBA; Seaside at
Nestucca, 5 p.m.
SATURDAY
Boys Basketball — Astoria at Sea-
side, 6 p.m.; Raymond at Ilwaco, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball — Astoria at Sea-
side, 7:45 p.m.
Wrestling — Knappa at Gervais, TBA
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Rainier 54, Warrenton 30
WAR (30): Tyla Little 18, Miethe 4,
K.Blodgett 3, Dyer 3, Diego 2, Bussert,
M.Blodgett, Morrill, Alverez, Heyen.
RAI (54): Desirae Hansen 19, As.Nor-
man 8, Taylor 7, J.Crape 6, Schimmel 5,
Gray 4, Harkleroad 3, Sanchez 2.
Warrenton
5 8 5 12—30
Rainier
15 9 17 13—54
AP Photo/John Bazemore
Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux (95) sacks Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) during the second
half of an NFL divisional football game Saturday in Atlanta. Seattle’s offensive line has been a source of concern.
Don’t expect big spending by
Seahawks on offensive line
Skill set needed to
protect Wilson
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
RENTON, Wash. — Being an
offensive lineman for the Seattle
Seahawks this season was a tough
proposition.
No players drew more ire and
more criticism from analysts and
fans than the ones responsible for
protecting quarterback Russell Wil-
son. Much of the criticism was jus-
tified. The main reason Seattle
ranked 25th in the NFL in rushing
and allowed Wilson to be sacked 41
times was issues by a young, inexpe-
rienced group up front.
But all those hoping the Seahawks
would start over and spend big to
bring in a completely new offensive
line next season were given a dose of
reality by Pete Carroll this week.
It’s not going to happen.
“We’re going to work really hard
this offseason to make sure that we
make that spot really competitive
again. We’re not going to rest on
anything or set back, we think we’ve
got it now. We’ll continue to work,”
Carroll said. “There’s opportuni-
ties, of course, in the draft and free
agency and all of that, that we’re
open to. We’ll never turn away from
any of those chances. But if noth-
ing happened these guys are coming
back, and they’re going to get after
it.”
That’s not necessarily what Seat-
tle fans wanted to hear: The Sea-
hawks are attempting to reconstruct
a position group using young players
rather than spending resources.
It’s a risky proposition if you
miss on the right players, but can
be a huge success if done correctly
and allows for money to be spent
elsewhere.
“We’re not going to go out and
spend a ton of money in free agency,
on one guy to try to save the day.
That’s not how we function at all,”
Carroll said. “We bring the young
guys up, developing them and make
them a part of this program. Then as
they go and they earn their opportu-
nities, then we’ll reward them as we
can. I hope that it’s really clear that
that’s the way we’ve done this with a
really clear intent.”
Because of their youth, the Sea-
hawks had the lowest-paid offensive
line in the NFL, spending just over
$6 million on its inexperienced unit.
Seattle ended up starting a converted
basketball player at left tackle, a
rookie at right guard, a second-year
player with one previous game at left
guard and a center on his third posi-
tion in three years.
Seattle’s offensive line was
bound to struggle. In Carroll’s eyes,
that also means he sees the potential
in their future as a united group.
“I think we have a chance now
that this is maybe one of the two or
three years, of the seven or eight,
that we have a chance to come back
with kind of the same group and
have a chance to build,” Carroll said.
“We’re going to try to, but we’re
going to challenge the heck out of
those guys, too.”
The anchor for that group will
be center Justin Britt. After playing
right tackle and left guard his first
two seasons, Britt found a home at
center. He was a Pro Bowl alternate
and the most consistent of Seattle’s
linemen.
Britt will be one of the certainties
for next season along with rookie
Germain Ifedi, whom Carroll intends
on keeping at right guard despite his
experience as a tackle in college.
Left tackle George Fant was a bas-
ketball player less than two years
ago and left guard Mark Glowinski
had one start prior to this season.
“The good thing about being a
young group is we will be together
a long time,” Britt said. “So the lon-
ger we’re together the better we will
get together.”