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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, AUGUST 11, 2017
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Gary Henley | Sports Reporter
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Los Angeles poised to take another
step toward 2028 Olympic Games
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Los
Angeles appears poised to take
another step toward bringing
the 2028 Olympics to the city,
despite questions about future
costs.
The City Council is
expected today to endorse doc-
uments at the heart of its plan to
stage the Summer Olympics for
the third time since 1932. The
contract outlines Los Ange-
les’ financial responsibility in
hosting the games, although a
budget for the proposed 2028
Games has not been completed.
The vote will take place less
than two weeks after the city
announced an agreement with
international Olympic lead-
ers ceding the 2024 Games to
rival Paris, while opening the
way for Los Angeles to host the
2028 Games.
Los Angeles City Coun-
cil President Herb Wesson has
called the agreement a “win-
win-win scenario.”
The deal comes with mil-
lions of dollars of financial
sweeteners for accepting the
later date. However, the extra
four years pose challenges for
Los Angeles from maintain-
ing public interest to rewriting
deals for stadiums, arenas and
housing that were all hooked to
2024.
City analysts have recom-
mended the council approve
the contract, which faces an
Aug. 18 deadline, but also
emphasized a revised budget
for 2028 could take months to
complete.
“There are inherent risks to
hosting such major events so
far into the future,” city ana-
lysts noted in a report on the
agreement.
LA will need to recast finan-
cial guarantees approved by the
city and state to cover poten-
tial shortfalls connected with
the 2024 bid. Gov. Jerry Brown
signed legislation last Septem-
ber that puts California taxpay-
ers on the hook for up to $250
million if Los Angeles was
awarded the 2024 Games and
they ran over budget. The city
had matched the amount.
Those reserve costs would
apparently go up for 2028. And
city analysts say the question
of state support might not be
resolved until 2018, though leg-
islative leaders have expressed
support.
The Olympics have a noto-
rious history of runaway costs,
but city officials have argued
their plan will stay in the black
by relying on the region’s many
existing stadiums and are-
nas, including the Los Ange-
les Memorial Coliseum and the
Staples Center. State analysts
AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the venue proposed for
Olympic opening and closing ceremonies and track and
field events. stands in Los Angeles.
previously concluded the 2024
plan carried relatively low risk,
because it avoided major new
construction projects.
The 2028 plan is expected
to remain largely unchanged,
without building any new, per-
manent venues.
The U.S. Olympic Commit-
tee board of directors must also
approve the deal.
The International Olympic
Committee vote is scheduled
for September, in Lima, Peru.
AP Photo/Gus Ruelas
Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, shown
here in July, has been suspended for six games un-
der the NFL’s personal conduct policy following the
league’s yearlong investigation into the running back’s
domestic violence case out of Ohio.
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson
Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Edwin Diaz looks out from the dugout after being removed during the ninth in-
ning against the Los Angeles Angels during a baseball game Thursday in Seattle. Diaz gave up three runs in
the inning and the Angels won 6-3.
Trout comes through in 9th
as Angels get past Mariners
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
SEATTLE — Mike Trout provided
the capper to a miserable night for the
Seattle Mariners.
Trout looped a three-run double just
inside the left-field line with two outs
in the ninth inning, and the Los Ange-
les Angels cooled off the Mariners
with a 6-3 victory on Thursday night.
Trout’s bases-clearing hit off Seat-
tle closer Edwin Diaz (2-5) came after
the Mariners staged a three-run rally
of their own in the eighth inning to tie
the game at 3-all. And it all seemed
secondary for the Mariners compared
to the concern over the health of lefty
James Paxton, who left in the seventh
inning with a strained pectoral muscle.
Paxton is hopeful it’s a minor
injury, but will have an MRI on Friday
that should provide the Mariners more
clarity how long they could be without
their ace in the middle of the playoff
chase.
“It hurts. He’s been our guy. He’s
been awesome. He really has,” Seat-
tle manager Scott Servais said. “Don’t
want to get too far ahead of it but fin-
gers crossed that he doesn’t miss too
much time.”
The Angels took advantage of
major control problems in the ninth
from Diaz, who walked three batters,
including Cameron Maybin on a 3-2
pitch to bring Trout to the plate. The
reigning MVP pulled a 1-1 breaking
ball and just kept it fair and clearing
the bases.
“There were a couple walks, so I
was assuming I’d take a strike,” Trout
said. “I was looking for a pitch to hit.
But I was kind of undecided on the first
pitch, so I just wanted to see one. After
that, I saw the slide pop up and hit a
double.”
The surging Mariners were com-
ing off a 6-3 road trip to move into the
second wild-card spot in the American
League and used the long ball to rally
in the eighth inning after getting noth-
ing going against Angels starter Tyler
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson
Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout swings for a three-run double against
the Seattle Mariners during the ninth inning of the baseball game.
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Skaggs. Making his second start since
coming off the disabled list, Skaggs
pitched shutout ball into the seven,
allowing five hits and striking out five.
But the Mariners got to reliever
Bud Norris in the eighth. Jean Segura
hit his seventh home run of the sea-
son and the duo of Robinson Cano
and Nelson Cruz continued to come
through for the Mariners. Cano drove
a two-out double off Norris (2-5) and
Cruz followed with his 27th homer
of the season and fifth in the past five
games to pull Seattle even.
That was it for the Mariners and
after Trout came through Cam Bed-
rosian pitched the ninth for his fourth
save.
“He’s the best player in the game.
You wouldn’t want anybody else up,”
Skaggs said of Trout. “He put the team
on his back. Very simple. It’s a plea-
sure playing with him.”
C.J. Cron hit a solo homer in the
second inning and Andrelton Simmons
added a two-run shot in the fourth,
both off of Paxton. It was the first hom-
ers allowed by Paxton since June 27
against Philadelphia and the first time
he allowed multiple homers in a game
since June 1, 2016.
Paxton had tied a franchise record
by winning his previous seven starts
dating to July 2, when he beat the
Angels. But he was not sharp in his
attempt at No. 8 and could be headed
to the disabled list for the second time
this season.
“I don’t think it’s anything too seri-
ous, but obviously don’t want to miss
time right now,” Paxton said. “Hope-
fully it’s nothing big.”
Injury woes
The latest injury to Paxton only
adds to a season of setbacks among
Seattle’s starting rotation. Drew Smyly
never pitched for the Mariners this sea-
son. Hisashi Iwakuma has been out
since early May with shoulder trou-
bles, Felix Hernandez is in his second
stint on the disabled list and Paxton
could be joining him.
Dallas RB Elliott
suspended 6 games
in domestic case
Off-field
issues trouble
Cowboys star
By SCHUYLER DIXON
Associated Press
Dallas Cowboys running
back Ezekiel Elliott was sus-
pended for six games Friday
after a yearlong NFL inves-
tigation of his domestic vio-
lence case in Ohio.
The 2016 NFL rushing
leader was suspended despite
prosecutors in Columbus,
Ohio, deciding a year ago not
to pursue the case involving
Elliott’s girlfriend at the time
in the same city where Elliott
starred for Ohio State.
The league said there was
“substantial and persuasive
evidence” that Elliott had
physical confrontations last
summer with his then-girl-
friend, Tiffany Thompson.
Elliott will be eligible to
return to the active roster on
Oct. 23.
Elliott has three days to
appeal the ruling. One of
his agents didn’t immedi-
ately respond to a request for
comment.
The NFL Players Asso-
ciation said it was review-
ing the decision and had
been in touch with Elliott’s
representatives.
The league revised its
personal conduct policy in
2014 following sharp criti-
cism of a case involving for-
mer Baltimore running back
Ray Rice. The policy gave
Commissioner Roger Good-
ell authority to suspend play-
ers for at least six games in
domestic cases, with or with-
out a conviction.
In a letter to Elliott
informing him of the league’s
decision, NFL special coun-
sel for conduct Todd Jones
said advisers brought in by
the league “were of the view
that there is substantial and
persuasive evidence support-
ing a finding that (Elliott)
engaged in physical violence
against Ms. Thompson on
multiple occasions during the
week of July 16, 2016.”
The Ohio case was the
first in a series of off-field
incidents involving Elliott in
his first year after the Cow-
boys made him the fourth
overall pick in the 2016 draft.
He finished with 1,631 yards
rushing in helping the Cow-
boys to the best record in the
NFC at 13-3 before a divi-
sional playoff loss to Green
Bay.
First US woman to
summit K-2 in Pakistan
says she is ‘proud’
Associated Press
ISLAMABAD — The
first American woman to
scale Pakistan’s dangerous
K-2 summit says it was a
“proud moment” when she
hoisted the U.S. and Paki-
stani flags at the top of the
mountain.
The 52-year-old Vanessa
O’Brien achieved her moun-
taineering feat on July 28.
K-2 is the world’s sec-
ond-highest mountain, at
28,251 feet or 8,610 meters.
For mountain climbers, it is
also considered particularly
difficult, after Mount Everest
O’Brien said Friday she
hopes her achievement will
promote
people-to-peo-
ple contacts between the
two countries. She says her
12-member team of interna-
tional climbers was grateful
to Islamabad for facilitating
their endeavor.
It was O’Brien’s third
attempt at conquering K2,
after being unsuccessful
in 2015 and 2016 when an
avalanche buried all of her
equipment and strong winds
forced her team to return to
base camp.