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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017
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Gary Henley | Sports Reporter
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SPORTS
IN BRIEF
Cousins,
Davis lead
Pelicans
past Blazers
Mount St. Mary’s
tops New Orleans
to open First Four
By JOE KAY
Associated Press
By LES EAST
Associated Press
DAYTON, Ohio — Diminu-
tive point guard Junior Robinson
fearlessly dribbled into the heart
of New Orleans’ defense, pulled
up and hit yet another of his oh-so-
soft jumpers. This one decided a
frenetic opening game for the
NCAA Tournament.
The smallest player in Division
I scored 23 points Tuesday night,
including that go-ahead jumper
with 1:27 to play, and Mount St.
Mary’s held on for a 67-66 vic-
tory over New Orleans in the First
Four.
Robinson carried the Moun-
taineers (20-15) to only their sec-
ond NCAA Tournament win,
making jumpers with so much arc
they appeared to tease the ceiling.
“The way he plays out there
— his speed, his athleticism
— it’s just so special,” coach
Jamion Christian said. “When
you’re a smaller guy, you’re nat-
urally going to have a chip on
your shoulder and you want to go
out there and show the world the
things you can do.”
NEW ORLEANS — DeMarcus
Cousins scored 22 points, Anthony
Davis had 15 points and 15 rebounds
and the New Orleans Pelicans beat
the Portland Trail Blazers 100-77 on
Tuesday night.
Cousins had nine rebounds and
three assists. He made 9 of 17 2-point
shots but missed all five of his 3-point
attempts.
Jordan Crawford had 13 points
and scored in double figures for the
fourth time in four games since being
signed to a 10-day contract March
5. Solomon Hill scored 12 points,
E’Twaun Moore had 11 and Jrue Hol-
iday 10.
The Pelicans took the lead for
good in the first quarter and won their
second straight.
Damian Lillard scored 29 points
to lead Portland, which lost for the
second time in its last seven games.
Shabazz Napier came off the bench to
score 10 points.
New Orleans set season lows in
points allowed, field-goal percentage
allowed (30.3) and turnovers com-
mitted (five). Portland had its fewest
points this season.
The Pelicans’ lead grew to 50-36
at halftime and 77-54 after three quar-
ters as Portland failed to score more
than 20 points in any of the first three
quarters. New Orleans led by as many
as 26 points in the fourth quarter.
AP Photo/Diana Haecker
Iditarod champion Mitch Seavey of Sterling, Alaska, poses with his lead dogs Pilot, left, and Crisp
under the Burled Arch after winning the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, in Nome, Alaska,
Tuesday. Seavey won his third Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, becoming the fastest and oldest cham-
pion at age 57 and helping cement his family’s position as mushing royalty.
AP Photo/Don Ryan
Portland Trail Blazers forward
Cliff Robinson, front, drives on
Boston Celtics’ Pervis Ellison in
Portland in 1995.
Former Blazer
Robinson
discloses brain
hemorrhage
Associated Press
PORTLAND — Former Trail
Blazer Cliff Robinson says he is
recovering from a “minor brain
hemorrhage.”
Last week, Robinson’s family
disclosed that the 50-year-old for-
mer forward was being treated at
Providence St. Vincent Medical
Center.
Robinson issued a statement
on Tuesday saying he’s in the
“process of getting better.”
“My family and I appreciate
the prayers and well-wishes for
my recovery,” he said. “I had an
unfortunate incident with a minor
brain hemorrhage which means
I’ll be in rehabilitation for a while.
But I’m excited about trying to get
past this speed bump. I’m improv-
ing every day.”
Robinson was the 36th overall
pick in 1989 by the Blazers and he
spent eight years with the team. He
also played for the Phoenix Suns,
Detroit Pistons, Golden State War-
riors and New Jersey Nets during
his 18-year NBA career.
SCOREBOARD
PREP SCHEDULE
TODAY
Baseball — North Marion at Astoria
(at CMH Field), 5 p.m.; Nestucca at
Warrenton, 4 p.m.
Softball — Nestucca at Warrenton, 4
p.m.
THURSDAY
Baseball — Gladstone at Astoria (at
CMH Field), 5:15 p.m.; Knappa at Ken-
nedy, 4:30 p.m.
Softball — Gladstone at Astoria (at
CMH Field), 3 p.m.
FRIDAY
Baseball — Sandy at Astoria, 4:30
p.m.
SATURDAY
Baseball — Blanchet Catholic at War-
renton, 3 p.m.
Seavey is oldest, fastest
musher to win Iditarod
By MARK THIESSEN
Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska —
Mitch Seavey became the oldest
and fastest musher to win the Idi-
tarod Trail Sled Dog Race, in year
marred by an abnormally high
number of dog deaths.
After bringing in his dog team
off the Bering Sea ice and under
the famed burled arch on Front
Street in Nome Tuesday, the
57-year-old winner greeted each
of his dogs and thanked them with
a frozen snack. He later posed
with his two lead dogs, Pilot and
Crisp.
“They get frustrated when they
go too slow, so I just let them roll,
which was scary because I’ve
never gone that fast, that far ever,
but that’s what they wanted to
do,” he said.
Seavey set a time record of
eight days, 3 hours, 40 minutes
and 13 seconds, the Iditarod said.
That shaved several hours off the
record his son set last year: eight
days, 11 hours, 20 minutes and 16
seconds.
Seavey, who broke his own
record for being the oldest musher
set four years ago, said the dogs
know only one thing — 9½ to 10
mph.
“They hit their peak, they hit
their speed, and that’s what they
do,” Seavey said at the finish line.
“They trusted me to stop them
when they needed to stop and feed
them, and I did that, and they gave
me all they could.”
Seavey’s push for Nome was
tempered Tuesday with news of
the fourth death of a dog associ-
ated with the Iditarod among the
2,000 or so that started the race
March 6 in Fairbanks. While not
all deaths were on the trail, the
death total does match the entire
number of dog deaths for the
years 2012-2016 and prompted a
call from an animal rights group to
permanently end the Iditarod.
“They deserve far better than a
lifetime of isolation, cruelty, suf-
fering, and death training for and
running in the Iditarod. PETA is
calling for a permanent end to this
dangerous race,” said People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals
Vice President Colleen O’Brien in
a statement.
A spokesman for the Iditarod
Trail Committee said more than
40 veterinarians volunteer during
the race and dogs are evaluated at
each checkpoint.
“Any musher found guilty of
inhumane treatment would be dis-
qualified and banned from compe-
tition in future Iditarods,” accord-
ing to an Iditarod Trail Committee
statement emailed to The Associ-
ated Press late Tuesday.
Two dogs died on the trail.
Another was hit by a car in
Anchorage, and one dropped dog
likely died of hyperthermia while
being flown back to Anchorage.
The latter prompted race offi-
cials to change policies how dogs
are transported, including not
wearing coats in transport planes
and making sure there is proper
ventilation.
Pick a winner? Las Vegas casinos
can’t agree on NCAA favorite
By REGINA
GARCIA CANO
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — Can’t decide
the winner in your March Madness
bracket? Don’t feel bad. Las Vegas
casinos can’t agree on an NCAA
Tournament favorite, either.
The Wynn Las Vegas and West-
gate SuperBook originally listed
Duke as the odds-on pick to win col-
lege basketball’s national champi-
onship on Sunday. But both books
switched to North Carolina as the
favorite on Tuesday, less than 48
hours after the brackets for the tour-
nament were revealed.
Meanwhile, MGM Resorts Inter-
national had Kansas as a 5-1 favor-
ite, while William Hill opened with
North Carolina and tightened its odds
after early wagers.
“This year, a lot of people believe
there are eight to 12 teams that can
take home the tittle,” said Jay Kor-
negay, Westgate’s sports book direc-
tor. “The odds are so close in the top
contending teams that any time you
have an influx of money, that can
change the odds and make that team
the favorite at that time.”
At Westgate, North Carolina was
followed by Kansas at 6-1 — which
leapfrogged original favorite Duke.
The Blue Devils were at 7-1 and top
overall seed Villanova at 8-1.
“It’s uncommon; it’s a wide-open
year,” said Nick Bogdanovich, head
oddsmaker for William Hill, which
runs more than 100 sports books in
Nevada. “Usually, there are seven
or eight teams that you can narrow it
down to. But this year, I think there
are more teams that can win it than
ever before.”
UP NEXT: TRAIL BLAZERS
• Portland Trail Blazers (29-37)
at San Antonio Spurs (52-14)
• Today, 5 p.m. TV: CW35, ESPN,
KGW
Seahawks reach
agreement with
RB Eddie Lacy
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle
Seahawks are hoping Eddie Lacy can
be motivated by a one-year contract to
rediscover the form that made him the
2013 Offensive Rookie of the Year.
The Seahawks and Lacy agreed
to terms on a one-year deal Tuesday,
providing Seattle a big body for a run
game that was once the best in football
but lagged last season following the
retirement of Marshawn Lynch.
“I like that we’re bringing in a big,
tough guy that’s going to send a mes-
sage the way he plays the game,” Seat-
tle coach Pete Carroll said in an inter-
view with KIRO-AM, the Seahawks
flagship station, on Tuesday.
Lacy was the top offensive rookie
four years ago when he rushed for
1,178 yards and 11 touchdowns. He
also ran for more than 1,100 yards in
2014, but has since been slowed by
injuries and lost favor with Packers
coach Mike McCarthy at times.
Last season, Lacy played in only
five games, sidelined by ankle prob-
lems, and finished with only 360 yards
rushing and no touchdowns. Weight
has also been an issue for Lacy, but
Carroll said he would expect the run-
ning back to play in the range of 240-
250 pounds.
“He’s a big guy. There is nothing
wrong with that,” Carroll said. “There
will be a real concerted effort to make
sure he’s at his very best. This is a hard
time for him because he’s working
some rehab right now, but he is well
aware of our expectations and the stan-
dards that we are setting.”
AP Photo/John Locher
Odds are displayed on a screen
at a sports book owned and op-
erated by CG Technology in Las
Vegas in 2015. Las Vegas ca-
sinos can’t agree on an NCAA
tournament favorite, with favor-
ites changing within hours.
AP Photo/Mike Roemer
Green Bay Packers running back
Eddie Lacy (27) rushes against the
Oakland Raiders during the first
half of an NFL preseason football
game in Green Bay, Wis., in August.