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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 6, 2017)
12A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JUNE 6, 2017 CONTACT US FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorianSports Gary Henley | Sports Reporter ghenley@dailyastorian.com Preds even Stanley Cup Final, beat Penguins By TERESA M. WALKER Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Fred- erick Gaudreau sure is doing his best to earn his own locker with the Nashville Predators with a Stanley Cup Final debut for the ages. For now, he insists he is happy enough just to sit on the floor as long as he plays. An undrafted free agent play- ing in just his sixth postsea- son game, Gaudreau scored the go-ahead goal 3:45 into the sec- ond period and Pekka Rinne made 23 often-spectacular saves as the Predators beat the Penguins 4-1 on Monday night to even the series at 2-2. It’s now a best-of-three sprint to the Stanley Cup, and Nash- ville is riding a wave of momen- tum after outscoring the defending champions 9-2 in the Games 3 and 4 of their Final debut. Game 5 is Thursday night in Pittsburgh. Gaudreau, a 24-year-old rookie, only has a chair in the locker room, but he now is the second player in NHL history to score his first three career goals in a Stanley Cup Final, join- ing Johnny Harms with the 1944 Blackhawks. “He’s been unbelievable for us the way he’s come in, and he’s just been so good, timely goals and composed,” Nashville captain Mike Fisher said. “He definitely belongs, and he’s been a huge part of our success.” Submitted Photo Seaside Kids Inc. U14 softball team. Front row, left to right: Emily Philbrook, Gracie Rhodes, Briana Boyd, Tristyn McFadden, Emma Taylor, Haley Hughes. Back row: Coach Jason Boyd, Zoey Alexander, McKenzie Cole, Victoria Soprano, Ella Jesberger, Kandice Flaigg, Shelby Chester, Kiara Breckenridge, Coach Tobi Boyd. Seaside tied with Scappoose for third place. Seaside softball teams finish strong The Daily Astorian SEASIDE — Seaside Kids Inc. and the North American Fastpitch Association com- bined to host U14C and U12C softball tourna- ments, Saturday and Sunday in Seaside. Seaside Kids’ U14 team defeated Gaston 13-10 to open the tournament Saturday in pool play. Their second game was against the Griz- zlies of McMinnville, which posted a 13-6 win over Seaside. In Sunday’s eight-team bracket play, Sea- side was the No. 2 seed from the A pool and was matched against the Lady Royals from Eugene, the No. 3 team from the B pool. Going into the bottom of the fifth inning, Seaside trailed by five runs, but they rallied with six runs, capped by a game-winning sin- gle from Gracie Rhodes, which allowed Emily Philbrook to score the tying run and McKenzie Cole to slide into home plate for the 14-13 win. The win advanced Seaside to the semifinal game against Ignite from Vancouver, Wash. Ignite won, 18-0, then defeated the Leg- ends of Gresham 20-0 in the championship game. Seaside and Scappoose tied for third. The U12 Seaside team lost to O’Brien Tim- ber 9-3, and then fell 12-5 to Gaston Saturday. Sunday in bracket play, Seaside defeated Amity 13-4, then suffered a 10-5 loss to Rene- gade. Playing in the third-place game, Seaside lost 14-12. Seaside Kids’ softball program started playing in the fastpitch tournaments last year. Up until this weekend, the U12 and U14 teams had been winless. It was a very success- ful weekend for both teams, as they recorded their first wins, with third- and fourth-place spots, respectively. Both tournaments brought 17 teams to Sea- side for the two-day weekend tournament. UP NEXT: GAME 5 • Nashville Predators (2-2) at Pittsburgh Penguins (2-2) • Thursday, 5 p.m. TV: NBC County racks up coaching, officiating awards Seahawks add depth at quarterback The Daily Astorian Are you ready? Hank Williams Jr. returns to Monday games Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Hank Williams Jr. is bringing his rowdy friends back to “Monday Night Football” six years after ESPN dropped the country singer for his comments about President Barack Obama. ESPN says a new version of Williams’ longtime “MNF” theme and its “Are you ready for some football?” catchphrase will debut before the first regular-season Monday night game — a Sept. 11 matchup between the New Orle- ans Saints and Minnesota Vikings. The network says in a state- ment that it’s bringing back what it calls “most iconic music video in sports television history” because fans missed it. ESPN dropped Williams in 2011 after he compared Obama golfing with then-House Speaker John Boehner to Adolf Hitler golf- ing with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. ESPN executive Stepha- nie Druley tells USA Today Net- work-Tennessee that she’s not concerned about any backlash over Williams’ return. SCOREBOARD LOCAL SPORTS SCHEDULE TODAY Junior State Baseball — Neah-Kah- Nie at Warrenton, 5:30 p.m. THURSDAY Junior State Baseball — Warrenton at Neah-Kah-Nie, 5:30 p.m. BASEBALL Clatsop County Baseball State Champions, Coach 1957: Seaside (A-2) Baily Brim 1960: Seaside (A-2) Everet Clary 1972: Seaside (AA) Jim Auld 1994: Warrenton (2A/1A) Lennie Wolfe 2006: Astoria (3A) Dave Gasser 2009: Astoria (4A) Dave Gasser 2010: Knappa (2A/1A) Jeff Miller 2011: Astoria (4A) Brian Babbitt 2015: Knappa (2A/1A) Jeff Miller 2017: Knappa (2A/1A) Jeff Miller The Oregon Athletic Coaches Association named Seaside’s Teena Toyas, Clatsop Community College physical education instructor and longtime sports official, a 2017 Offi- cial of the Year. The organization honors two out- standing officials each year and was awarded May 20 at the Coach of the Year Banquet in Eugene. The coaches association selects from nominees that exemplify the highest standards of sportsmanship, ethical conduct and moral character and carry the endorsement of the association. Toyas has 38-plus years of service officiating basketball, volleyball and soccer in several states. She became a member of the North Coast Bas- ketball Officials Association in 1983, the North Coast Volleyball Officials Association in 1984 (in which she currently holds the commissioner role), and has been commissioner of the North Coast Soccer Referees Association since 1996. Toyas will be stepping down from her soccer commissioner role as she steps into the basketball commis- sioner role this fall. She has been selected for numerous state champi- onship tournament assignments over the years and has been selected to work many state championship final games. Along with her officiating and teaching duties, Toyas will also be stepping into a new role at Clatsop Associated Press RENTON, Wash. — The Sea- hawks’ search for some depth at quarterback has led them to jour- neyman Austin Davis. Submitted Photo Bill Westerholm, left, and Teena Toyas both had big years, with Wester- holm leading Seaside to a state title and being named Coach of the Year, and Toyas earning one of two Official of the Year awards. Community College where she will take on the dean of transfer education starting July 1. Other winners from Clatsop County: • Seaside’s Bill Westerholm was the 4A Boys Basketball Coach of the Year, after leading the Gulls to their first state championship; • Astoria’s Garrett Parks earned the 4A Girls Track Coach of the Year, following the third straight title for the Lady Fishermen; • Astoria retiring baseball coach Dave Gasser was given a “Coaching with Character” Award; • And Jewell’s Mark Fick was honored with a “Years of Service” milestone award, as Fick reached his 40th year of coaching. Seattle released Jake Heaps to make room on the roster for Davis, who was signed Monday after spending time with the Rams, Browns and Broncos. The 28-year-old Davis will be added to the backup compe- tition with Trevone Boykin, last year’s No. 2 behind starter Russell Wilson. Davis is in his sixth NFL season after entering the league as an undrafted free agent out of Southern Mississippi in 2012. Davis has appeared in 13 reg- ular-season games with the Rams and Browns, including 10 starts. He has gone 236-for-378 for 2,548 yards with 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He spent part of last season with Denver. Durant’s menacing defense leads way for Warriors By JANIE MCCAULEY Associated Press OAKLAND, Calif. — Kevin Durant is growing a little tired of questions about his ability to play defense. “Underrated?” Durant responded when recently asked about the per- ception of his D. “My coaches don’t feel like that.” Neither does he, and KD’s men- acing, 6-foot-9 presence from the paint to the perimeter is a big reason unbeaten Golden State is closing in on its second championship in three years. While best known for his sensa- tional scoring and shot-making from every corner of the court, Durant has been tough on LeBron James so far in UP NEXT: GAME 3 • Golden State Warriors (2-0) at Cleveland Cavaliers (0-2) • Wednesday, 6 p.m. TV: ABC AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant, center, celebrates with Draymond Green, left, and Klay Thompson during the second half of Game 2 of basketball’s NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cava- liers in Oakland, Calif., Sunday. these NBA Finals by smothering the Cavs superstar. The Warriors are two wins from a title going into Game 3 at Cleveland on Wednesday night. Durant is chasing his first cham- pionship and seems determined to do whatever it takes. So versatile with his length and ability to alter shots, he even played center during Sunday’s Game 2 when Draymond Green dealt with foul trou- ble in the 132-113 victory. “I don’t think there’s many teams in the league who their backup is bet- ter than their starter,” Green said. “So I think that’s a luxury that we have with KD here, and when I went out with foul trouble, obviously he — to say pick up the slack is kind of a ridiculous term, because he’s a great player, an MVP, one of the best play- ers in the world. So just the way he played on the defensive end, the way he played on the offensive end, he’s been doing it all playoffs long, but in these Finals, he’s really picked it up, and it’s been huge for us.” Durant and Green have set the tone all season on the defensive end, estab- lishing an intensity and toughness — and the rest of the Warriors had no choice but to do more during Durant’s 19-game absence this spring with a knee injury. “If we’re locked in on the defen- sive end, we’ll score enough points,” Green said. “Even on an off night, we’ll score enough points.”
