12A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2017
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Gary Henley | Sports Reporter
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SPORTS
IN BRIEF
Fishermen host
three-team
scramble
The Daily Astorian
WARRENTON — The Asto-
ria boys golf team played host to
a three-team scramble Monday
afternoon at the Astoria Golf &
Country Club, where Banks and
Scappoose showed up, along with
the Fishermen.
Each team had three teams of
two golfers each, in the best-ball,
scramble format. Only the top
two scores for each team counted
toward the final tally.
Scappoose was the team win-
ner, as the Indians’ top two squads
combined for a 149 team score.
The Scappoose No. 2 duo had the
best score, with a 72.
Astoria’s No. 1 squad — Kirk
Fausett and Taylor Palmberg —
teamed up for an 80 to lead the
Fishermen.
Astoria’s third team had the
second-best score, with Josh
Olson and Brian Wilder combin-
ing for an 84. Astoria’s No. 2 team
of Trevor Altheide-Nielson and
Dylan Altheide-Nielson had an
85.
NCAA: NC back
in running to
host events
Associated Press
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The
NCAA says it will consider North
Carolina as a host for champion-
ship events again after the state
rolled back a law that limited pro-
tections for LGBT people.
In a statement Tuesday, the
governing body said its Board of
Governors had reviewed moves
to repeal repealed the so-called
“bathroom bill” and replace it with
a compromise law. The NCAA
said the new law “meets the min-
imal NCAA requirements” while
expressing some concerns about
provisions within it.
The statement says a majority
of the board “reluctantly voted”
to allow for consideration of bids
from North Carolina during cur-
rent deliberations for sites running
through 2022.
The NCAA pulled seven
events from the state in September
for the 2016-17 season, including
opening-weekend men’s basket-
ball tournament games in March,
in response to the law.
Brady’s jersey
stolen again,
this time in fun
Associated Press
BOSTON — Tom Brady’s
Super Bowl jersey was stolen
again — this time by Rob Gron-
kowski in full view of 37,000
screaming Red Sox fans.
The New England Patriots
quarterback was showing off the
recently re-acquired uniform top
during the pregame ceremony on
opening day at Fenway Park on
Monday when Gronkowski ripped
it out of his hands. Brady chased
him around the infield and play-
fully tackled him in right field.
The Patriots said it was the
same jersey that had been stolen
out of their locker room in Hous-
ton after the Super Bowl vic-
tory over the Atlanta Falcons in
February.
“That was awesome seeing
those guys out there,” said Bos-
ton outfielder Andrew Benintendi,
whose three-run homer propelled
the Red Sox to a 5-3 victory over
the Pirates in a rematch of the first
World Series, in 1903. “I grew up
watching them and still do. It was
cool to see them all out there.”
SCOREBOARD
PREP SCHEDULE
TODAY
Baseball — Astoria at Scappoose, 5
p.m.; Seaside at Valley Catholic, 5 p.m.;
Ilwaco at Warrenton, 5 p.m.
Softball — Rainier at Astoria, 4 p.m.;
Clatskanie at Seaside, 4:30 p.m.; South
Bend at Ilwaco (2), 3 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
Baseball — Warrenton at Naselle, 4
p.m.; Knappa at Clatskanie, 4:30 p.m.
AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith
Houston Astros starting pitch-
er Dallas Keuchel walks to the
dugout after finishing the top
of the fifth inning of a baseball
game against the Seattle Mari-
ners, Monday in Houston.
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
North Carolina’s Kennedy Meeks holds the championship trophy as he celebrates with his team-
mates after the finals of the Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament against Gonzaga,
Monday in Glendale, Ariz. North Carolina won 71-65 ending Gonzaga’s first chance. for the title.
REDEMPTION
Tar Heels get it right this time
By EDDIE PELLS
Associated Press
GLENDALE, Ariz. — For a
whole year, the North Carolina
Tar Heels wondered if they’d get
another chance.
For a whole year, the Tar Heels
thought about what might have
been.
When Monday night’s slug-
fest with Gonzaga came to a mer-
ciful end, the Heels had all their
answers: The national title was
theirs, the nets were hanging
around their necks, the redemption
tour was a success.
Their 71-65 win will not be
mistaken for a work of art. But for
anyone who bleeds Carolina Blue,
it sure was a thing of beauty.
“This is what we worked for,”
junior guard Joel Berry II said.
“And the ups and downs we’ve
had? It’s all worth it.”
The story starts with the downs.
When Villanova’s Kris Jenkins hit
his 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat
Carolina in the 2016 final, coach
Roy Williams buckled over like
a man who’d just been punched
in the gut, put both hands on his
knees and tried to figure out to
explain it.
“The feeling of inadequacy
in the locker room last year is the
worst feeling I’ve ever had,” Wil-
liams said.
What ensued was a year of
working harder, doing more, mak-
ing sure That didn’t happen again.
With 1:40 left in the final, Jus-
tin Jackson took a laser of a pass
from Theo Pinson and laid it in
while being fouled. He made the
free throw, and that 3-point play
gave the Tar Heels a 66-65 lead.
Gonzaga didn’t score again,
though in a game that left fans
from both sides booing a spate
of over-officious officiating, the
game couldn’t be settled without
a controversial (non)call in the last
minute.
Leading by 1, and in a scrum
under the Carolina basket, Tar
Heels forward Kennedy Meeks
went to the floor to try to wres-
tle the ball away from Silas Mel-
son. Refs called a jump ball, and
with the possession arrow favoring
North Carolina, the Tar Heels con-
verted on an Isaiah Hicks runner to
push the lead to 3. Replays and pic-
tures, retweeted and reposted thou-
sands of times on social media,
showed Meeks’ right hand touch-
ing out of bounds.
But there was no protest, no
review.
“Probably on me,” said Gon-
zaga coach Mark Few, whose first
knowledge of the call came in the
postgame press conference. “From
my angle, it didn’t look like an
out of bounds situation or I would
have called a review. That’s tough
to hear.”
Through NCAA spokesman
David Worlock, national coor-
dinator of basketball officials
JD Collins said the play was not
reviewable.
Neither Few nor Williams
threw much blame toward the offi-
cials, but the refs made this game
virtually unwatchable.
They called 27 fouls in the sec-
ond half and put both teams in the
bonus with 13-plus minutes left.
They left the big men — Meeks
and Gonzaga’s 7-footers Przemek
Karnowski and Zach Collins —
among those languishing on the
bench in foul trouble. They stifled
any bit of flow that existed in the
game and turned it into a review-
driven free-throw contest. They
brought steady cascades of boos
from the crowd of 76,168, as fans
from each side took turns protest-
ing the whistles.
Timberwolves snap Blazers’
six-game win streak, 110-109
Keuchel,
Correa lead
Astros over
Mariners
By KRISTIE RIEKEN
Associated Press
HOUSTON — After a terrible
2015, Dallas Keuchel desperately
wanted to get off to a good start.
He did just that, allowing two
hits over seven innings before
Luke Gregerson and Ken Giles
completed the three-hitter for the
Houston Astros in an opening 3-0
win over the Seattle Mariners on
Monday night.
Keuchel (1-0) went 9-12 with
a 4.55 ERA last year after winning
the AL Cy Young Award in 2015.
He struck out four in winning on
opening day for the third year in a
row.
Last year, he didn’t pitch after
Aug. 27 because of shoulder
inflammation.
“I know what I’m capable of
doing when I’m healthy. I know
how bad I can be when I’m not
healthy,” he said. “I knew I was
good coming in and I was just hop-
ing to get the team off to a good
start.”
Manager A.J. Hinch thinks
Keuchel’s struggles last season
gave his ace an extra edge entering
this year.
“I think he comes into this sea-
son with a little chip on his shoul-
der, and rightfully so,” Hinch said.
“For him on opening day I think he
wants to set a tone for the club.”
UP NEXT: MARINERS
• Seattle Mariners (0-1)
at Houston Astros (1-0)
• Today, 5:10 p.m. TV: RTSW,
RTNW
Romo retiring,
headed to
broadcast job
Associated Press
By JON KRAWCZYNSKI
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS — As Karl-An-
thony Towns powered through Port-
land’s smaller frontcourt, the Trail
Blazers found out just how much
they’re going to miss big man Jusuf
Nurkic down the stretch.
Towns had 34 points and 12
rebounds and the Minnesota Timber-
wolves snapped Portland’s six-game
winning streak with a 110-109 vic-
tory over the Trail Blazers on Mon-
day night.
It was the second game for Port-
land without Nurkic, who galvanized
the team after coming over in a trade
from Denver at the deadline.
He will miss at least the rest of
the regular season with a fractured
right leg, leaving the Blazers to battle
big frontcourts in San Antonio, Utah
and one more time against Minne-
sota without him and just a 1½-game
cushion on Denver for the eighth seed
in the Western Conference.
“There’s a lot of good bigs out
there, and we’re thin right now. We’ve
got Meyers (Leonard) and (Al-Farouq
Aminu), who’s not really a five,” C.J.
McCollum said. “So we’re in a tough
position, but it’s not an excuse. We’ve
got to go out there and play and make
the best of it.”
Damian Lillard scored 25 points
but made just 7 of 21 shots, includ-
ing 3 of 11 3-pointers. His potential
AP Photo/Stacy Bengs
Portland Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless (4) grabs a rebound ball
away from Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, right,
in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday in Minneapolis.
UP NEXT:
TRAIL BLAZERS
• Portland Trail Blazers (38-39)
at Utah Jazz (47-30)
• Today, 6 p.m. TV: ROOT, CSNW
game-winning pull-up jumper at the
buzzer glanced off the rim.
Andrew Wiggins scored 29 points
and Ricky Rubio had 11 points, 16
assists and seven rebounds for the
Timberwolves, who bounced back
from an ugly home loss to Sacra-
mento that eliminated them from
postseason contention on Saturday.
“They’re playing small, we have
a big who can guard smalls and play
like a big at the other end,” Rubio said
of Towns. “That’s big for us.”
Aminu scored 20 points and Mau-
rice Harkless had 17 points, eight
rebounds and a big block of a Rubio
drive that gave the Blazers the ball
back with 4.9 seconds to play.
Lillard got a clean look, but
couldn’t knock it down and Portland
missed a golden chance to pad its lead
on Denver in a tense race.
DALLAS — Tony Romo is
retiring rather than trying to chase
a Super Bowl with another team
after losing his starting job with
the Dallas Cowboys, a person with
knowledge of the decision told The
Associated Press on Tuesday.
The all-time
passing leader for
the storied fran-
chise is headed
to the broad-
cast booth after
spending weeks
considering those
offers, the person
Tony
said. The person
Romo
spoke on condi-
tion of anonymity because Romo’s
decision hasn’t been announced.
Romo’s departure from Dal-
las has been the most likely out-
come since November, when he
returned after missing the first 10
weeks with a back injury. He con-
ceded the starting job to rookie
Dak Prescott with the Cowboys
in the middle of a franchise-record
11-game winning streak.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones
told Romo before free agency
opened that the team would release
him to give him a chance to con-
tinue his career with another con-
tender. But Dallas decided at the
last minute to try to generate inter-
est in a trade.