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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2017
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Gary Henley | Sports Reporter
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SPORTS
IN BRIEF
Golf tourney
to raise funds
for wildlife
rescue center
Los Angeles reaches deal
for 2028 Summer Games
Associated Press
The Daily Astorian
LONG BEACH, Wash. —
“Birdies and Bogeys,” a golf tour-
nament that benefits the Wild-
life Center of the North Coast,
takes place Sunday at the Penin-
sula Golf Course in Long Beach,
Wash.
Golfers of all skill levels are
eligible to play in the scram-
ble tournament, which will bene-
fit the wildlife rehabilitation cen-
ter by providing funds needed to
care for, feed and treat hundreds
of injured, orphaned and starving
wild birds and other animals each
year.
The golf tournament is open
to two-person teams, and will
include games, raffle, prizes and
more. Included in the $40 entry
fee are nine holes of golf, a dona-
tion to the center, and a barbecue,
picnic-style dinner provided by
The Cove Restaurant.
Check-in starts at 2 p.m., with a
shotgun start at 3 p.m.
To sign up to play, golfers can
call Peninsula Golf Course at 360-
642-2828. “Drop-in” entries may
also be accepted, depending on
availability.
Rangers lose 6-4
to Mariners after
dealing ace
Associated Press
AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes
ARLINGTON, Texas — The
Texas Rangers seemed a bit wiped
out after a few emotional days,
both good and bad.
Hours after ace pitcher Yu Dar-
vish was traded, and a day after
Adrian Beltre’s 3,000th career hit,
the Rangers blew a big early lead
in a sloppy 6-4 loss to the Seattle
Mariners on Monday night.
“Obviously the magnitude yes-
terday, the high emotion with the
3,000 hits and then today with
the trades,” manager Jeff Banis-
ter said. “I don’t like to use those
as any type of excuse, but they are
human beings, and there are dif-
ferent emotions. … However, we
still feel like these guys continue to
battle.”
After jumping ahead 4-0 the
first two innings against Felix Her-
nandez, the Rangers couldn’t over-
come four errors , two balks and
13 strikeouts against the four Seat-
tle pitchers.
Cubs issue
World Series
championship
ring to Bartman
Associated Press
CHICAGO — Steve Bartman
is getting a World Series cham-
pionship ring from the Chicago
Cubs.
The Cubs announced Monday
they were giving a ring to the fan
remembered for deflecting a foul
ball that might have landed in left
fielder Moises Alou’s glove with
Chicago five outs from the World
Series in 2003.
Bartman was harassed after
the incident and has avoided the
spotlight since then. Chicago
beat Cleveland last fall for its first
championship since 1908.
The Cubs say they “hope this
provides closure on an unfortu-
nate chapter” and Bartman “con-
tinues to be fully embraced by this
organization.”
Bartman released a statement
saying he is “deeply moved and
sincerely grateful.” He praised
team owners the Ricketts family
and management, and called the
ring a reminder of “how we should
treat each other in today’s society.”
The facade of The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. It was announced
Monday that Los Angeles has reached an agreement with international Olympic lead-
ers that will open the way for the city to host the 2028 Summer Games, while ceding
the 2024 Games to rival Paris.
Mayor of Los An-
geles Eric Garcetti
speaks, during a
press conference
after the Interna-
tional Olympic
Committee (IOC)
Extraordinary
Session, at the
SwissTech
Convention Centre,
in Lausanne,
Switzerland in July.
Jean-Christophe Bott
Keystone
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles has
reached an agreement with International
Olympic leaders that will open the way for the
city to host the 2028 Summer Games, while
ceding the 2024 Games to rival Paris, officials
announced Monday.
The deal would make LA a three-time
Olympic city, after hosting the 1932 and 1984
Games.
With the agreement, the city is taking “a
major step toward bringing the Games back
to our city for the first time in a generation,”
Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement.
He called it a “historic day for Los Ange-
les, for the United States” and the Olympic
movement.
The agreement follows a vote earlier this
month by the International Olympic Commit-
tee to seek an unusual deal to award the 2024
and 2028 Games simultaneously. Paris is the
only city left to host the 2024 Games.
The Los Angeles City Council and U.S.
Olympic Committee board of directors will
consider the agreement in August. If approved,
the IOC, LA and Paris could enter a three-part
agreement, clearing the way for the IOC to
award the 2024 Games to Paris, and the 2028
Games to LA. The IOC vote is scheduled for
September, in Lima, Peru.
In a statement, the Paris bid committee
welcomed the announcement in Los Angeles
but stopped short of confirming the obvious,
that Paris is in line for the 2024 Games.
“Paris 2024 is proud to be working together
with the IOC and our friends in Los Angeles
to reach a positive solution for both cities, the
Games and the whole Olympic Movement for
2024 and 2028,” committee co-chair Tony
Estanguet said.
In embracing what amounted to the sec-
ond-place prize and an 11-year wait, LA will
receive a financial sweetener.
Under the terms of the deal, the IOC will
advance funds to the Los Angeles organizing
committee to recognize the extended plan-
ning period and to increase youth sports pro-
grams leading up to the Games. The IOC con-
tribution could exceed $2 billion, according
to LA officials. That figure takes into account
the estimated value of existing sponsor agree-
ments that would be renewed, as well as
potential new marketing deals.
The delay to 2028 opens a host of ques-
tions for Los Angeles, which is looking at the
prospect of retooling its multibillion-dollar
plans for more than a decade into the future. It
would face challenges from maintaining pub-
lic interest to recasting deals for stadiums, are-
nas and housing that have been in the works
for months and even years.
Speaking with reporters at a soccer sta-
dium in Carson, just outside LA, Garcetti said
the 2028 proposal was the better of the two,
promising to bring hundreds of millions of
dollars in additional benefits.
The deal “was too good to pass up,” the
mayor said.
He also suggested the IOC would easily
ratify the 2024-2028 deal in September.
Hall of Fame gets Easley after reconciling with Seahawks
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
SEATTLE — For more than a
decade, the Pro Football Hall of Fame
wasn’t a consideration for Kenny
Easley.
He was interested in anything
regarding football.
“I didn’t watch an NFL football
game, college football game, high
school football game, for 15 years
basically,” Easley said. “I didn’t watch
a football game until the night that I
was inducted into the Seahawks Ring
of Honor. (That) was the first football
game I had watched in 15 years.”
The day that Easley reconciled
with the Seahawks happened in 2002
and began another lengthy quest that
finally landed the hard-hitting All-Pro
safety a spot in the Hall of Fame. Eas-
ley will be the fourth Seattle Seahawks
player inducted, going into Canton on
Saturday as this year’s senior candi-
date after never being in serious con-
sideration during his time as a mod-
ern-day contender. Easley will join
Steve Largent, Walter Jones and Cor-
tez Kennedy.
Thirty years after Easley walked
away from football due to health
issues that were the source of his dis-
illusionment with the game, he is
embracing the recognition he is finally
receiving. He even dreamed of the
induction the night before he found
out he was bound for Canton.
AP Photo/John Froschauer
Former Seattle Seahawk Kenny Easley (45) is recognized during a
halftime celebration of the team’s 40th anniversary, during an NFL
football game against the Chicago Bears in Seattle in September. The
day that Easley reconciled with the Seahawks happened in 2002 and
began another lengthy quest that finally landed the hard-hitting All-
Pro safety a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Easley will be the
fourth Seattle Seahawks player inducted, going into Canton on Satur-
day as this year’s senior candidate.
“The dream was so vivid that it
was almost like I was already in the
Hall of Fame and it was just a formal-
ity for the knock to come at the door.
… It’s a great honor and that dream
just sort of made it feel like it was
meant to be,” Easley recalled.
Easley’s disenchantment from
football has many parts. He had an
ugly divorce from the Seahawks after
the 1987 season, in part because of a
kidney ailment that shortened his NFL
career. He was traded to the Cardi-
nals and failed his physical. He would
never play another down and believes
the large doses of painkillers he took
as a player led to his kidney issues.
Easley believed the Seahawks knew
of the kidney condition and didn’t dis-
close it to him.
He also believed his involvement
in the players’ strike in 1987 helped
lead to his departure.
It wasn’t until 2002, then with
Paul Allen as the owner in Seattle,
that Easley began to soften his stance
toward the Seahawks and was open
to being welcomed back by the fran-
chise. About the time Easley recon-
ciled with the team, a case was start-
ing to be made that Easley deserved
consideration for the Hall of Fame.
It was pointed out to Easley that he
was the only defensive player on the
NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1980s
not inducted into Canton. He was the
1984 Defensive Player of the Year and
an All-Pro three times. He picked up
strong support from influential voices,
perhaps none stronger than Hall of
Famer Ronnie Lott.
“Ronnie Lott has been talking
about Kenny Easley going into the
Hall of Fame since the day I retired,”
Easley said. “He kept the drum beat
going, and the remarkable thing
about that is he didn’t have to. He
was in the Hall of Fame, had a bril-
liant career and he didn’t have to say
anything about Kenny Easley. Every
time somebody would ask him or he
had an opportunity to say it, he would
say that Kenny Easley needed to be in
the Hall of Fame. Ronnie Lott is one
of the most remarkable human beings
that I’ve ever associated with.”