Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 23, 2018)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2018 CONTACT US FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorianSports Gary Henley | Sports Reporter ghenley@dailyastorian.com NFL IN BRIEF Favre: I went to rehab 3 times to fight addictions GREEN BAY, Wis. — Retired quarterback Brett Favre says he made three trips to rehabilitation centers during his Hall of Fame career to fight his dependence on painkillers and alcohol. Favre told Sports Illustrated he took as many as 14 Vicodin at one time during the 1995 season in Green Bay. Favre won the first of his three consecutive Most Valu- able Player awards that season. “It is really amazing, as I think back, how well I played that year,” Favre said. “That was an MVP year for me. But that year, when I woke up in the morning, my first thought was, ‘I gotta get more pills.’” Favre said his issues with pills caused him to spend 28 days at a center in Rayville, Louisiana, in the early 1990s. Favre also says he spent 28 days in rehab “strictly for drinking” in 1998. The story also mentions a previously reported 72-day stint at a Kansas City rehab center in the mid-1990s to get off Vicodin. “When I drank, I drank to excess,” Favre said. “So when I went in the second time, to the place in Kansas, I remember viv- idly fighting them in there. They said drinking was the gateway drug for me, and they were right, absolutely right, but I wouldn’t admit it. I will never forget one of the nurses. I had it all figured out. I fought with this nurse all the time. I would not admit the drink- ing problem. At the end, she said to me, ‘You’ll be back.’ “I was back. 1998. Guess who was waiting there when I walked in — that same nurse.” League approves $2.2B purchase of Panthers ATLANTA — The new owner of the Carolina Panthers is com- mitted to keeping the team in the Carolinas. And Charlotte is clearly his preferred choice. But David Tepper left a bit of wiggle room on his first day as owner of the team. The NFL unanimously approved Tepper’s $2.2 billion purchase of the team from Jerry Richardson on Tuesday, leading to immediate questions about the new owner’s thoughts on replac- ing 22-year-old Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. “What’s the name of the team? Carolina Panthers. It’s going to be the Carolina Panthers,” Tepper said. “And that means this team has to have some kind of pres- ence in the Carolinas and last time I saw, how many are there? That’s right, there’s two of them.” Tepper seemed to be implying that he might consider other cit- ies in North and South Carolina if efforts to build a new stadium in Charlotte fall through. The lease with Bank of America Stadium runs for only one more season. Helmet hits will lead to ejections under new rule ATLANTA — The NFL has passed a new rule for this season that says any player who initiates contact with his helmets is sub- ject to ejection after an in-game video review that will be decided in New York. Al Riveron, the league’s head of officiating, said a foul can be called regardless of where on the body — not just the head or neck area — that one player hits another with his helmet. The rule is not position-specific, so offen- sive players will be subject to the same criteria as defensive players. “This is about eliminating unnecessary use of the helmet,” Riveron said Tuesday at the NFL spring meetings. If a player is ejected, Riveron and his staff in New York will use net- work camera angles to determine if the ejection is necessary. He prom- ised that games will not become “an ejection fest” every week. — Associated Press AP Photo/D. Ross Cameron Seattle Mariners’ Jean Segura slides safely home ahead of the tag by Oakland Athletics catcher Jonathan Lucroy. Segura scored the go-ahead run on a double by Guillermo Heredia in the 10th inning, but was injured on the play. Mariners hurt, yet winning By GIDEON RUBIN Associated Press OAKLAND, Calif. — The injuries keep piling up, and the Mariners keep winning. Seattle had four everyday players out on Tuesday night, but it hardly mattered. Mike Zunino hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning and Guillermo Heredia dou- bled home the tiebreaking run in the 10th as the Mariners pulled out a 3-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics. Seattle has won four straight games and six of eight. “Really, really proud of our group,” man- ager Scott Servais. “The guys are fighting and clawing and finding a way to hang in there.” Two more Mariners players were hurt in their latest win, though neither injury was believed to be serious. Jean Segura hurt his left shoulder div- ing into home plate with the go-ahead run in the 10th. Mitch Haniger exited in the fifth, an inning after he was hit on the right forearm by a pitch from A’s starter Trevor Cahill. X-rays were negative. Segura singled in the 10th and scored from first with a headfirst slide, just beating the relay throw after Heredia’s one-out double to right-center off Yusmeiro Petit (1-1). “In my mind, I was trying to score,” Segura said. “I don’t even look at (third base coach UP NEXT: MARINERS • Seattle Mariners (28-19) at Oakland Athletics (25-23) • Today, 7:05 p.m. TV: RTNW Mariners: LHP Marco Gonzalez (3-3, 4.66 ERA) threw 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball in his last start but wasn’t involved in the decision in a 3-2 loss to the Tigers. enth homer, off Cahill. Oakland built a two-run lead in the middle innings. Semien scored on Matt Chapman’s double-play grounder in the fourth and added an RBI single in the fifth. The Mariners have won 13 of their last 16 games against the A’s and are 42-22 versus Oakland since 2015. YER OUTTA HERE Scott) Brosius. I know it was a good oppor- tunity to score at that time, late in the game, tie game. “The weather was not really good, either, to play baseball. But at the end of the day, it’s a good thing we got the win and we scored.” Oakland center fielder Dustin Fowler bob- bled the ball in right-center amid a light driz- zle before he got his throw off. “It’s slick out there. You try and get your feet underneath you and get a good handle on it because you know you’re going to have to get it in, there’s going to be a play at the plate,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “So whether or not he would have been safe or not, I’m not sure.” Nick Vincent (3-1) pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, and Edwin Diaz earned his 16th save. Marcus Semien barely missed a tying homer in the bottom of the 10th when his drive to left hooked just foul. Seattle trailed 2-0 when Zunino hit his sev- Servais was ejected by plate umpire Brian Knight after Ben Gamel took a called third strike to end the top of the ninth. FOR STARTERS Neither starter was involved in the decision but both pitched well. Mariners right-hander Mike Leake gave up two runs (one earned) in 6 2/3 innings of six-hit ball. He struck out three and walked none. Cahill allowed two runs in seven innings of four-hit ball during his second start since coming off the disabled list. He had been sidelined with a right elbow impingement. TRAINER’S ROOM Mariners: OF-2B Dee Gordon was placed on the disabled list with a broken right big toe. ... OF-DH Nelson Cruz was out of the lineup for a second straight game with a bruised elbow sustained when he was hit by a pitch Saturday against Detroit. Harden scores 30, Rockets even series By JANIE MCCAULEY Associated Press OAKLAND, Calif. — Chris Paul pounded the ball down demonstra- tively on Stephen Curry’s home court in sheer delight. And maybe he sent a little mes- sage: These Rockets are for real and very much remain in the champion- ship chase. Houston handled the defending champions in their hostile, impos- ing home arena and sustained the lat- est second-half flurry by Curry, get- ting 30 points from James Harden and another 27 from Paul to even the Western Conference finals at two games apiece with a 95-92 victory Tuesday night. Curry scored 28 points and Kevin Durant added 27 points and 12 rebounds but the Warriors missed their final five shots from the floor and their NBA-record postseason winning streak at home ended at 16 games. The Rockets shook off a 41-point embarrassment in Game 3, a 12-0 deficit to start Tuesday and another big run by the Warriors in the third, then won it with defense down the stretch. “We’re a team. We’re really good as a team,” Harden said. Paul rebounded Klay Thomp- son’s miss just before the final buzzer sounded for the first time and cel- ebrated in front of a stunned, yel- low-clad home crowd. A replay review ensued and it was determined Shaun Livingston fouled Paul before the game ended, so Paul made a free throw with 0.5 seconds left. Celtics hope return home can slow LeBron, Cavs By KYLE HIGHTOWER Associated Press AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez Houston Rockets guard James Harden passes behind Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant during the first half of Game 4 Tuesday. Game 5 is Thursday, 6 p.m. on TNT. BOSTON — The Celtics expected to see a different LeBron James in Cleveland after the Cava- liers fell into a 2-0 hole to open the Eastern Conference finals. Two games and back-to-back wins later , James has reminded everyone exactly why he’s been to seven straight NBA Finals. Boston will be back in the embrace of its raucous fans at TD Garden for Game 5 on Wednes- day. But a team that has thrived on youth this postseason suddenly looks disoriented without a go-to player and opposite a more vet- eran squad that has found a new attitude thanks to the fuel being provided by its biggest star. Celtics coach Brad Stevens said all you can do against James is “make it as hard as you can.” “LeBron is the best player of this generation and he’s just main- tained that because of his com- mitment to improvement,” Ste- vens said. “He’s always been an unbelievable physical player. He’s always been a savvy player. And he’s always had, just like the natu- ral instincts to make the right bas- ketball play along with his tremen- dous skill set.” Game 5: Today, 5:30 p.m. TV: ESPN Series: Tied 2-2