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10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2017 CONTACT US FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorianSports Gary Henley | Sports Reporter ghenley@dailyastorian.com Four Loco: NHL plays 4 OT playoff games in crazy night SPORTS IN BRIEF Titans, Mariota being patient as QB recovers By TERRY MCCORMICK Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Mar- cus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans have yet to set an official timetable for the quarterback’s return from surgery on his right leg. The latest benchmark is report- ing for the start of the offseason program. The third-year quarterback now will finish his recovery from the season-ending injury at team head- quarters after doing much of his rehabilitation at the University of Oregon this offseason. “It’s important to be here, because together, you’re building the foundations that you’re going to use throughout the entire year,” Mariota said Monday. “You’re building the chemistry and the camaraderie that’s going to make this team successful. I’m happy to be here, and I’m excited to be here. I’m sure all the guys are.” Mariota broke his right fib- ula on Christmas Eve in a loss at Jacksonville and had surgery a few days later. That started the recov- ery process that the Titans initially said would take up to five months. Mariota spent the first two months in a cast. “It’s kind of building those foundations back up, and I think we’re in a good place,” Mariota said. “I understand that I’ve got a lot of time to get my body right, and that’s my goal.” Umpires may soon take to mic for replays By BEN WALKER Associated Press Adrian Gonzalez dives headfirst into home, seems to beat the tag by Cubs catcher Willson Contreras, but is called out. Safe, shout fans at Dodger Stadium who see replays on the board. Umpires go to their headsets for a video review, and nearly three minutes later, the signal comes: Out! Want to hear exactly how dis- puted calls get decided, like that one in last year’s NL Champion- ship Series? Soon, we might. While nothing is set, Major League Baseball and umps are expected to discuss a plan — most prominently used in the NFL — for crew chiefs to wear a microphone and explain replay rulings. Under one possible scenario, they would start at the All-Star Game on July 11 in Miami, tweak the process over the season’s sec- ond half and then go forward with the experiment in the playoffs. People familiar with the talks spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because an agreement has not yet been reached. Last year, MLB asked for the plate ump to wear a mic at the All- Star Game, but there wasn’t enough time to do it. The umpires are in the middle of their five-year labor deal and any change would involve negotiations, plus a comfort level on both sides that the system would be efficient, accurate and easy. By JAKE SEINER Associated Press AP Photo/Jeff Chiu Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum, left, drives against Golden State Warriors forward Da- vid West during the second half of Game 1 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series in Oak- land, Calif., Sunday. The Warriors won 121-109. Blazers need more than just Lillard, McCollum By JANIE MCCAULEY Associated Press OAKLAND, Calif. — Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum made brilliant playoff debuts, and it still wasn’t enough for Portland in Game 1 against Golden State. The Trail Blazers know that if they are going to get past Ste- phen Curry, Kevin Durant and the mighty Warriors, they’re all going to have to do more. Portland’s star backcourt com- bined for 75 points in a 121-109 loss Sunday, and the Blazers now are trying to find better ways to get others involved. “I think to beat the Warriors, we’re going to have to maybe make that extra pass more often and be able to depend on guys more often to allow them to have that type of success so we can actually beat them,” Lillard said. “We have a huge game, and I think that gives us an opportu- nity to stay in the game. But to get over that hump and beat them, we’ve got to make those plays and give guys more opportunities so we can have them as well on the offensive end.” Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night at Ora- cle Arena. UP NEXT: GAME 2 • Portland Trail Blazers (41-41) at Golden State Warriors (67-15) • Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. TV: TNT, NSBA, KGW McCollum scored a playoff career-high 41 points and Lillard added 34 in another impressive performance in his hometown. Yet star-studded Golden State kept bringing in reinforcements to back Durant’s 32-point outing and 29 points from Curry. Draymond Green was perhaps most menac- ing on both ends to the Blazers, who missed injured 7-foot center Jusuf Nurkic. Coach Terry Stotts wasn’t sure whether Nurkic would return for Game 2, with each team taking Monday off from formal practice. Nurkic missed the final seven games of the regular season with a nondisplaced fracture in his right leg. Without him, the Warriors had their way in the paint. Green finished with quite the line: 19 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists, five blocked shots and three steals in a game featuring 22 lead changes — 15 of those in the third quarter. When Curry and Durant sit at the start of the second and fourth quarters, Green realizes he and the second unit must establish a defensive energy. They did just that in the fourth quarter, and it sparked a 15-2 run on the offen- sive end. Exactly what Warriors coach Steve Kerr had in mind. “He said the defensive inten- sity of this lineup could change the game for us,” Green said. “So we went to it earlier in the year when KD was still healthy and it started working for us. Getting back to it at this point in the sea- son, we knew the offense was there. We had 88 points at the end of the third quarter, but the prob- lem was they had 88 points. So we knew we had to come out and get stops if we were ever going to pull away in that game. “That group did it, and then we were able to knock down some shots, but it started with our defense.” Lillard and McCollum com- bined to go 28 for 54, the rest of the team just 12 of 39 — Mau- rice Harkless 5 for 13 and Allen Crabbe 1 of 5. Green, David West and JaVale McGee made things challeng- ing most of the afternoon for the Blazers. Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press Washington Capitals goalie Bra- den Holtby (70) looks on as the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrate the game-winning goal during overtime in Game 3 of an NHL Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Toronto on Monday. Cano, Cruz power Mariners past Marlins in Ichiro return By JIM HOEHN Associated Press SCOREBOARD PREP SCHEDULE TODAY Baseball — Astoria at Tillamook, 5 p.m.; Seaside at Banks, 5 p.m.; Warren- ton at Portland Christian, 4 p.m.; Knap- pa at Nestucca, 4:30 p.m. Softball — Astoria at Seaside, 5 p.m.; Warrenton at Portland Christian, 4:30 p.m.; Knappa at Nestucca, 4:30 p.m.; Ilwaco at NW Christian (2), 3 p.m. Track — Naselle Comet Invitational, 3:30 p.m. Girls Golf — Seaside at Quail Valley, 11 a.m. WEDNESDAY Track — Astoria/Tillamook at Seaside, 3:30 p.m. THURSDAY Baseball — Tillamook at Astoria, 5 p.m.; Banks at Seaside, 5 p.m.; Ilwaco at North Beach, 4 p.m. Track — Warrenton at SW Christian Invitational, 4 p.m.; NWL Meet at Knap- pa, 3:30 p.m. In Toronto, Tyler Bozak’s tip-in put a charge into the Air Canada Centre. Ditto with Nash- ville when the Predators scored in OT for another win over Chicago. They had some extra fun in Boston and Calgary, too, before Ottawa and Anaheim finally broke through. There are few thrills quite like overtime playoff hockey, and the NHL hasn’t had a night with this sort of excitement in more than 30 years. All four postseason games Monday went to OT for the first time since April 10, 1985, accord- ing to the Elias Sports Bureau. The only other time it happened before that was April 11, 1980. “Those are the most fun games to play, definitely” Bozak said. There’s been fun to go around in these playoffs. Eleven of 24 postseason games have gone to overtime in the first round, including all three games between Toronto and Washing- ton and two between Ottawa and Boston. All eight first-round series have included at least one OT finish. The record for an entire postseason is 17 overtime games in 2013. And with underdogs like Nashville, Toronto and St. Louis threatening early upsets, these playoffs are getting an extra boost. “It was a 10,” Predators coach Peter Laviolette said of the atmo- sphere Monday. “I’m not sure there’s another place like it.” Nashville got its win behind a backhand goal from 20-year-old Kevin Fiala 16:44 into OT, the longest game of the night. Fiala and teammates Mike Fisher and James Neal jumped together into the end boards to celebrate a 3-0 series lead over the top-seeded Blackhawks. The quickest end came in Cal- gary, where Anaheim stunned the Flames. Perry scored 90 seconds into extra time, helping the Ducks rally from three-goals down to win — a first in the team’s post- season history. Around the Sad- dledome, fans in red sweaters threw up their arms in frustration before quietly making their way to the exits. AP Photo/Ted S. Warren Seattle Mariners’ Robinson Cano rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Miami Marlins to score Jarrod Dyson in the first inning of a baseball game, Monday in Seattle. SEATTLE — Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz hit consecutive first-inning homers, Ariel Miranda pitched seven scoreless innings and the Seattle Mar- iners beat the Miami Marlins 6-1 Mon- day night in Ichiro Suzuki’s first visit to Safeco Field as a member of the 3,000- hit club. Miranda (1-1) allowed four singles and only one runner to reach second base while striking out five. Nick Vin- cent pitched a perfect eighth before Evan Scribner allowed Christian Yelich’s third home run in the ninth. The Mariners won their fourth straight after a 2-8 start. Cano crushed a 2-1 pitch from Tom Koehler (0-1) 441 feet to right-center for his second home run, a two-run shot that UP NEXT: MARINERS • Miami Marlins (7-6) at Seattle Mariners (6-8) • Today, 7:10 p.m. TV: FSFL, RTNW scored Jarrod Dyson. Cruz followed with his second homer, lining a 1-1 pitch to center to make it 3-0. Suzuki was honored before the game for getting his 3,000th hit last season, then got another ovation before his first at-bat in the third inning. Suzuki won two batting titles in his 11 1/2 seasons with the Mariners and set the season record with 262 hits in a 2004. He grounded out three times Monday, though, and his average dipped to .067 (1 for 15). Suzuki last played at Safeco on June 12, 2014, when he was with the New York Yankees.