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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2017
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Gary Henley | Sports Reporter
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SPORTS
IN BRIEF
BASKETBALL
Knappa
tournament
begins today
The Daily Astorian
Two days of tournament bas-
ketball starts today at Knappa, as
the Loggers host their annual Tip-
Off Classic.
The action begins at 4 p.m.,
with Oregon Episcopal vs. Astoria
girls, followed by OES vs. Asto-
ria boys.
First-day action wraps up with
Toledo vs. Knappa girls (7 p.m.)
and Toledo vs. Knappa boys (8:30
p.m.).
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE:
(Game times are approximate)
9 a.m.: Knappa JV2 vs. Astoria JV2
11 a.m.: Toledo JV vs Knappa JV boys
12:30: OES vs. Toledo girls
2:00: OES vs. Toledo boys
3:30: Astoria JV vs. Knappa JV girls
5:00: Astoria JV vs. Knappa JV boys
6:30: Astoria vs. Knappa girls
8:00: Astoria vs. Knappa boys
AP Photo/Don Feria
Warrenton girls
open with win
at Nestucca
The Daily Astorian
CLOVERDALE — The War-
renton girls basketball team had no
trouble against Nestucca Thurs-
day night, as the Lady Warriors
won their season opener, 63-24,
in nonleague action at Cloverdale.
Warrenton held an 11-0 lead
after one quarter, and outscored
the Bobcats 28-3 in the third
quarter.
Tyla Little led all scorers with
21 points and Claire Bussert
added 15 for the Warriors. Fer-
nanda Alvarez scored all seven of
her points in the first quarter for
Warrenton, which hosts Junction
City Saturday.
US bobsledder
Bailey hit
with 2-year
doping ban
Associated Press
U.S. bobsledder Ryan Bai-
ley was banned for two years for
what he contends was an inadver-
tent doping violation, ending the
former track and field medalist’s
bid to compete in the Pyeongc-
hang Olympics.
The Court of Arbitration for
Sport publicly announced the
ruling Friday, agreeing with
the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s
stance that a six-month ban Bai-
ley served earlier this year was
not enough.
Bailey was part of the U.S.
team that won a silver medal in
the 4x100-meter relay at the Lon-
don Games in 2012. That medal
was stripped years later follow-
ing the doping conviction of relay
teammate Tyson Gay. Bailey, still
angry about forfeiting that silver,
turned to bobsledding last year
with hopes of getting back to the
Olympics.
“I feel terrible for the guy,”
said U.S. bobsled driver Nick
Cunningham, who was racing
with Bailey this season and won
a World Cup silver medal with
him last month in Lake Placid,
New York.
SCOREBOARD
PREP SPORTS SCHEDULE
TODAY
Girls basketball — Gladstone at Sea-
side, 7:30 p.m.
Boys basketball — Seaside at Glad-
stone, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY
Girls basketball — Junction City at
Warrenton, 5:15 p.m.
Boys basketball — Warrenton at
Gaston, 5:30 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Warrenton 63, Nestucca 24
Warrenton
11 16 28 8—63
Nestucca
0 12 3 9—24
WAR (63): Tyla Little 21, Bussert 15, Al-
varez 7, Doney 5, Ramsey 5, M.Blodgett
4, Heyen 3, DeJesus 2, Kapua 1, Talan-
con, Foster, Diego.
Seattle Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham celebrates after a touchdown reception against the San Francisco 49ers.
Eagles bring 10-1 record to
Seattle to face Seahawks
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
S
UP NEXT: SEAHAWKS
EATTLE — It took a moment for
Bobby Wagner to recall four years ago
and what it felt like to be on a team that
was 10-1 at one point of the season.
“That was a long time ago. I just remember
a lot of winning and a lot of laughter,” Wagner
said. “It kind of just feels like you understand
you are going to get everybody’s best game.
“I just remember teams would put in plays
that they hadn’t practiced, hadn’t put on film,
so we just had to prepare for a lot of things
because when you’re that top dog, everybody
wants to take you down and they will do what-
ever they can to take you down.”
A team that looks very similar to that 2013
version of the Seahawks comes to Seattle on
Sunday night when the 10-1 Philadelphia
Eagles visit, riding a nine-game win streak
and showing many of the same characteristics
of that Seattle team from four years ago that
ended up winning a Super Bowl.
The Eagles have been pummeling oppo-
nents, winning the past four games by 20 or
more points. Should they add the Seahawks to
that list, they would join the 1999 Rams as the
• Philadelphia Eagles (10-1)
at Seattle Seahawks (7-4)
• Sunday, 5:30 p.m. TV: NBC
only teams in the Super Bowl era to win five
straight games by at least 20.
They are led by a second-year quarterback
in Carson Wentz who has blossomed in a sim-
ilar way to how Russell Wilson did in his sec-
ond year. The Eagles are committed to running
the ball with LeGarrette Blount and Jay Ajayi
and are the best in the NFL at stopping the run.
If that all sounds familiar, it’s because that
mimics much of the same formula Seattle
used to become an NFC power.
And after winning in Carolina, Kansas City
and thumping the Cowboys in Dallas, a vic-
tory in Seattle would add even more validity
to the Eagles being the favorites in the NFC.
“Their confidence, each week, gets a lit-
tle stronger and they enjoy playing together
as units, offensively, defensively, and obvi-
ously on special teams and they are having
fun doing it,” Philadelphia coach Doug Ped-
erson said.
“That is a credit to the players and how
well they prepare during the week. But yeah,
they are gaining confidence in each other and
it’s exciting to watch them play.”
Seattle has recently struggled at home.
Combined with the loss of Richard Sherman,
Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril with sea-
son-ending injuries, some of the Seahawks are
feeling as if they’re being overlooked even if
they are still only one-game behind the Rams
in the NFC West.
“It’s human nature. I’m not mad when peo-
ple do that. I understand. I get it,” Seattle line-
backer K.J. Wright said. “But in this building
we’ve got to know who we are, stay true to
what we do and believe in ourselves.”
Here’s what else to watch as Seattle goes
for its fourth straight win over the Eagles:
HOME DOGS: Seattle hasn’t been this
decided a home underdog since 2012 when
Wilson was a rookie facing New England,
and Sherman was the one walking off the field
asking Tom Brady “U Mad Bro?” Playing in
Seattle has been a fortress for most of Pete
Carroll’s tenure, but the Seahawks have lost
two straight at home. The previous time they
dropped three in a row at CenturyLink Field?
2008.
Middleton has 26, Milwaukee beats the Blazers
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
PORTLAND — The Bucks tried
to take 3-pointers away and contest
every shot, a tactic that worked well
against Portland.
Khris Middleton had 26 points,
Eric Bledsoe had 25 and Milwau-
kee beat the Trail Blazers 103-91 on
Thursday night to snap Portland’s
three-game winning streak.
Giannis Antetokounmpo added
20 points, nine rebounds and three
blocked shots for the Bucks, who
have won their last four games against
the Blazers.
“I think it was our defense,”
Middleton said. “(CJ) McCollum
and Dame (Lillard), those are two
dynamic scorers, especially from the
3-point line. We did a great job of
keeping them off the line.”
The Bucks led by 24 points in the
third quarter and the Blazers strug-
gled to keep up. Portland was also
vexed by turnovers, with 19.
Jusuf Nurkic led Portland with
25 points and 11 rebounds, while
Damian Lillard added 18 points.
Lillard’s layup closed Portland
within 94-81 with 5:52 left, and it
appeared the Blazers may rally, but
Middleton answered with an 11-foot
jumper. Portland’s frustration was
clear when Nurkic and coach Terry
Stotts both earned technicals for a
foul call on Nurkic on a block.
“Tough game,” Lillard said. “They
played physical, they played aggres-
sive defensively. We know they like
to load up and use their length, and
Sounders
return to MLS
Cup after rout
of Dynamo
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
AP Photo/Steve Dykes
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is tied up for a
jump ball by Portland Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless, right,
during Thursday’s game in Portland.
UP NEXT: BLAZERS
• New Orleans Pelicans (11-10)
at Portland Trail Blazers (13-9)
• Saturday, 7 p.m. TV: NSNW
they were allowed to play that way.
So it is what it is.”
Portland was coming off a 4-1 trip,
including a 103-91 victory over the
Knicks on Monday. The Blazers also
saw the return of forward Al-Farouq
Aminu, who missed 13 games with a
right ankle injury.
But they struggled with the Bucks
from the start.
Middleton hit a 3-pointer at the
buzzer to give the Bucks a 33-21 lead
at the end of the first quarter. Portland
went on a 10-2 run to close within
35-31, but Middleton slowed the rally
with a long jumper.
John Henson’s short jumper put
the Bucks up 46-33 as the Trail Blaz-
ers struggled to find much offensive
flow. Lillard went up for a layup to
end the half, and he was blocked by
Antetokounmpo.
Milwaukee led 60-45 at the break,
propelled by Bledsoe with 17 points.
Bledsoe’s jumper stretched the lead to
69-49 in the third quarter.
Bledsoe’s layup made it 83-59,
and boos could be heard among the
hometown fans.
Henson had 13 points and 10
rebounds for the Bucks, who with-
stood any efforts by the Blazers to
rally.
SEATTLE — On their way to
a title last year, all the benchmark
celebrations for the Seattle Sound-
ers came away from home.
Finally with the chance to
clinch in front of their fans, the
Sounders weren’t about to col-
lapse. They were dominant on the
way to another MLS Cup final.
Victor Rodriguez scored on a
nifty give-and-go with Will Bruin
in the 22nd minute, Clint Dempsey
added his third goal of the play-
offs early in the second half, and
the Sounders advanced to the final
with a 3-0 win over the Houston
Dynamo on Thursday night.
The defending champions
rolled through the Dynamo 5-0
on aggregate after their convinc-
ing two-goal win in Houston last
week. Bruin added his second goal
of the series in the 73rd minute as
the Sounders advanced to face
Toronto with the opportunity to
become the first repeat MLS Cup
champions since the Los Ange-
les Galaxy in 2011-12 — and on
the same field Seattle won its first
title a year ago. The Sounders and
Toronto played to a 0-0 draw in
the 2016 final before Seattle won
on penalty kicks.