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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 24, 2017)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 2017 CONTACT US FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorianSports Gary Henley | Sports Reporter ghenley@dailyastorian.com Nationals explode in 10-1 win over Mariners By IAN QUILLEN Associated Press WASHINGTON — Joe Ross was at his best on Tuesday night, when even his worst might have done the job for the Washington Nationals. Ross (2-0) allowed one run over a career high-tying eight innings in his return from the minors, Anthony Ren- don homered twice and drove in five runs, and the Nationals completed a 10-1 rout over the Seattle Mariners. “There’s really nothing more that you can ask for as a starter,” said Ross, who struggled in three April starts before being optioned to Triple-A Syracuse on May 2. “It kind of just takes a good amount of pressure off my shoulders.” Bryce Harper added his 14th homer and Jayson Werth hit his seventh off Chris Bergman (1-2), who allowed all SCOREBOARD PREP SCHEDULE UP NEXT: MARINERS • Seattle Mariners (20-26) at Washington Nationals (27-17) • Today, 4:05 p.m. TV: MASN, RTNW of the Nationals’ runs and 14 of their 15 hits. He was chased following an eight-run fourth, in which Rendon doubled before hitting his second homer of the game and seventh of the season. “I don’t know,” Rendon said, trying to explain the Nationals’ nine-hit, 11-bat- ter inning. “I guess we were swinging at good pitches.” Ryan Zimmerman also had three hits. Ross was demoted following his last two starts in April, in which he allowed five earned runs in each while failing to complete five innings. This time, he looked more of the 2015-16 vintage that had pitched to sub-4 ERAs in each season. He yielded five hits and a walk while striking out six, and retired 12 straight batters after a leadoff hit. Ross finished by striking out the side in the eighth, catching long reliever Emilio Pagan looking on his 102nd pitch. “That’s the guy I’ve been reading about in Triple-A,” Nationals manager Dusty Baker said. “His velocity stayed up most of the game. His arm slot is what he worked on. He gave us just what we needed.” Mike Zunino homered in sixth in his return from his own minor league stint. Robinson Cano went 0 for 3 in his first game back from the disabled list fol- lowing a thigh injury as Seattle dropped its fourth straight. AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Christian Bergman (56) throws a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals in Washington on Tuesday. Seahawks’ Kennedy found dead at 48 NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: GAME 4 TODAY Baseball — 4A State Playoff: Astoria at Estacada, 5 p.m.; 2A/1A State Playoff: Lost River at Knappa, 4 p.m. NFL cuts OT to 10 minutes By TIM BOOTH Associated Press Cortez Kennedy was a hulking force at defensive tackle, the cor- nerstone of a franchise that had lit- tle to cheer about for most of his playing career. And yet what Kennedy accom- plished as a player with the Seat- tle Seahawks — which was good enough for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame — was sec- ondary to the affable personal- ity that made him a revered figure long after his career ended. Police in Orlando, Florida, said the 48-year-old Kennedy was found dead Tuesday morning. Orlando Police Department public information officer Wanda Miglio said the circumstances surround- ing his death are still unknown but that there is nothing suspicious about it. An investigation is being conducted. “The full story lies in his lov- ing, fun, positive and giving heart,” said New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis, who worked for the Seahawks during Kennedy’s playing career. “In my many years working in the NFL, no one better exemplified what it meant to be a great player on the field, and yet that paled in comparison to what Cortez meant to the people who knew him off the field.” League also opens up flair in end zones By JIM LITKE Associated Press CHICAGO — NFL owners cut the overtime period from 15 min- utes to 10 minutes during the reg- ular season, but also gave players plenty of leeway to celebrate after a touchdown. The two moves are expected to result in more tie games and much more elaborate end zone dance parties. “I always planned all my cele- brations,” said Denver’s Emman- uel Sanders, already known for his flamboyant TD celebrations, including one that drew a fine last season. “Now I can go a little overboard without getting cussed out by the head coach.” At their regularly scheduled spring meeting Tuesday, the owners also decided to shift the 2021 Super Bowl to Tampa from Los Ange- les, where construction delays have pushed back the expected opening of the new home for the Rams and Chargers. Those teams will now host the league’s showcase event in 2022. Also approved at the meeting was the Oakland Raiders lease for a stadium in Las Vegas, where the team is expected to play the 2020 season. In the zone For all the maneuvering, end zone celebration talk generated the most buzz. After years of limiting how — and how much — players could celebrate following touch- downs, the league decided to loosen up its rules, allowing players to again use the football as a prop, cel- ebrate as a group and roll around or flap their arms like snow angels on the ground again if they choose. Even Commissioner Roger Goodell said he was looking for- ward to seeing what players would do with their new-found freedom of expression. Asked whether he celebrated the new guidelines approved at Tues- day’s spring meetings, Goodell just laughed. “I did,” he said. “I can’t tell you how.” Shorter OT The shorter overtime period will be used in the preseason and regular season. Playoff games will also use 10-minute time blocks in overtime, but won’t end in ties. Coaches’ concerns that too many players were exhausted and risking injuries at the end of the extra period was the key factor in the decision. Relative obscurity AP Photo/Tony Dejak Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving (2) goes up for a shot against Boston Celtics’ Al Horford (42), from Dominican Republic, during the second half of Game 4 of the NBA basketball Eastern Con- ference finals Tuesday in Cleveland. IRVING’S 42 CARRIES CAVS PAST CELTICS By TOM WITHERS Associated Press CLEVELAND — Kyrie Irving gritted his teeth, tightened up his left sneaker and hopped to his feet. The pain couldn’t stop him. The Celtics couldn’t either. Irving took over in the second half and finished with 42 points despite playing on a tender ankle, LeBron James added 34 and the Cleveland Cavaliers moved within one win of an almost inevitable third date in the NBA Finals with Golden State by rallying to beat Boston 112-99 on Tuesday night in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals. With James in foul trouble, Irving was forced to do more than ever and he delivered, scoring 19 in less than five minutes and 33 in a 19-minute stretch. “The kid is special,” James said. “I was happy to sit back and watch him. He was born for these moments.” The defending NBA champions, who shot 71 per- cent in the second half, opened a 3-1 lead in the series and can wrap up their third straight conference title — and a “three-match” against the Warriors — with a win in Game 5 on Thursday night in Boston. But if Games 3 and 4 are any indication, it won’t be easy. Fighting to keep their season alive, the Celtics aren’t giving an inch despite playing without All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas, who may need surgery on a UP NEXT: GAME 5 OF NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS • Boston Celtics (53-29) at Cleveland Cavaliers (51-31) • Thursday, 5:30 p.m. TV: TNT hip injury. The Cavs, meanwhile, wouldn’t be on the cusp of the Finals without Irving. With Cleveland in jeopardy of dropping its second game in a row after James followed an 11-point Game 3 debacle by picking up four first-half fouls, Irving put on a breathtaking one-man show. Freezing Boston defenders with his dribble and driving to the basket whenever he wanted, Irving made six layups, two 3-pointers and a free throw in a dizzying span of 4:48. He capped his blistering 19-point outburst with a 3 in the final second of the quarter and celebrated at mid-court by pretending to put two pistols back in his holster. “He saw Bron went out and he wanted to put the team on his shoulders,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. “He did that.” Irving said he was driven by the thought of the Cavs seeing their series lead vanish. “In the back of my mind, I thought, ‘They can’t tie up the series,’” he said. “We can’t go back to Boston tied 2-2. We needed everything tonight.” A star who spent his entire 11-year NFL career in relative obscurity playing in Seattle, Ken- nedy became the second Sea- hawks player inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012. He was an unmovable wall as a dominant defensive tackle, and a quiet, gen- tle soul away from the field never interested in finding himself in the spotlight. “Cortez Kennedy has been a pillar of the Seahawks franchise since joining the team as a rookie in 1990,” the Seahawks said in a statement. “Tez was the heart and soul of the Seahawks through the 1990s and endeared himself to 12s all across the Pacific North- west as a player who played with a selfless and relentless approach to the game. ... We are proud to have been represented by such a special person.” AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar Former NFL player Cortez Ken- nedy poses with a bust of him- self during the induction cere- mony at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in Canton, Ohio, in 2012.
