Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 26, 2018)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JUNE 26, 2018 CONTACT US FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorianSports Gary Henley | Sports Reporter ghenley@dailyastorian.com Junior golfers Washington State football player had brain damage at time of suicide in competition this week Associated Press PULLMAN, Wash. — The family of the Washington State football player who died of suicide in January said the 21-year-old quarterback had extensive brain damage that’s been linked to concussions from playing the sport. Tyler Hilinski was found dead in his apartment with a gunshot wound and a suicide note on Jan. 16. Mark and Kym Hilinski told NBC’s “Today” show today that the Mayo Clinic requested to do an autopsy of their son’s brain. The interview comes alongside the debut of a new Sports Illustrated doc- umentary about the family’s search for answers. The family in those inter- views said the autopsy results indicated that their son had signs of extensive brain dam- age known as chronic trau- matic encephalopathy, or CTE, which has been found in hun- dreds of former NFL players. The sophomore quarter- back was last seen alive the same day, when he dropped a teammate off on campus for morning class. Police said the rifle belonged to a teammate and that Hilinski took it with- out the teammate’s knowledge on or before Jan. 12. Kym Hilinski said they were shocked and numb after finding out that he had shot himself. She said he’d never shot a gun until the day before he died. There were no verbal signs that the young football player was suffering. His mother said he was quiet, reserved but SPORTS IN BRIEF Gordon’s 2 RBIs, key bunt carry M’s past Orioles BALTIMORE — Instead of using the long ball to win, the Seattle Mariners took a different approach. Take a walk, drop down a bunt, make a play in the field. Employing those basic skills, the Mariners beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-3 Monday night for just their second victory in eight games. Texas hires Oregon softball coach White AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas hired Oregon softball coach Mike White on Monday to lead a program that has been a steady presence in the post- season without becoming a powerhouse. In White, the Long- horns get a coach who led the Ducks to five Wom- en’s College World Series in nine seasons, and earned the overall No. 1 seed this past season before being eliminated by eventual national champion Flor- ida State. White’s Ore- gon teams won at least 50 games five times. — Associated Press SCOREBOARD LOCAL SPORTS SCHEDULE WEDNESDAY Junior state baseball — Neah-Kah-Nie at Warrenton (2), 4 p.m. THURSDAY Junior state baseball — Knappa at Clatskanie, 5 p.m. SATURDAY Baseball — Warrenton Alumni day, noon The Daily Astorian AP Photo/Young Kwak Washington State quarterback Tyler Hilinski runs onto the field with his teammates be- fore a September 2016 NCAA college football game against Idaho, in Pullman, Wash. always happy. “Did football kill Tyler?...I don’t think so. Did he get CTE from football? Probably. Was that the only thing that attributed to his death? I don’t know,” Kym Hilinski said in the documentary. The player’s other son also appeared in the documentary. Ryan Hilinski was noted as a star quarterback at his high school in California and is set to play at the University of South Carolina with the sup- port of his parents. Ryan Hilinski said his brother’s brain damage diag- nosis scared him and made him worried he may suffer what his brother went through, but that he’s still committed to playing football. “I think Tyler would want me to do the same thing. I don’t think he’d want me to stop,” Ryan Hilinski said. Tyler Hilinski appeared in eight games during his soph- omore season, throwing for 1,176 yards and seven touch- downs. His most memora- ble outing came in the sec- ond week of the season, when he led Washington State from a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Boise State 47-44 in triple overtime. Hil- inski threw for 240 yards and three touchdowns coming off the bench and was carried off the field after the victory. His only start came in the Holiday Bowl against Michi- gan State, although he played extensively in a loss to Ari- zona. He was expected to be the starting quarterback this coming fall during his junior year. Washington State said it’s adding more safeguards to help students, including a second formal mental health screening for all football play- ers and meetings with all var- sity sports athletes to consider mental health risks. The family has started the Hilinski’s Hope Founda- tion to raise awareness about mental health wellness for student-athletes. WARRENTON — Three divisions of golfers finished stroke play qualifying Mon- day in the 88th Bob Norquist Oregon Junior Amateur Championship, held this week at the Astoria Golf & Country Club. The junior boys (age 16-18), girls (15-18) and boys (14-15) divisions will begin match play Tuesday. The winners of this week’s cham- pionship in the junior divi- sions are crowned Oregon Junior Amateur champions. Nate Stember of Portland earned medalist honors in the boys’ age 16-18 division, fir- ing a 2-under par 69 to medal by two shots. Just last week, Stember earned medalist hon- ors at 2018 U.S. Junior Ama- teur qualifying, advancing to this year’s championship in the process. A rising senior at Lincoln High School, Stem- ber won the individual Class 6A state championship last month. Two players — Johnny Ward of Lake Oswego and Peter Grossenbacher of Eaton, Colorado — tied for second, both firing even- par rounds of 71. Carter Lee of Tillamook earned fourth place, shooting a 1-over par 72. Recent Seaside High School graduate Jackson Kunde of Gearhart tied for 19th with a 79. In the girls’ division, Olivia Loberg of Bend fin- ished at even par to earn med- alist honors. Loberg, a senior- to-be at Bend High School, recently won her second con- secutive Class 5A individual state title, helping her team win the state championship for the first time since 2008. Three players tied for sec- ond during stroke play qual- ifying — Victoria Gailey (Tigard), Mary Scott Wolfe (Beaverton) and Ashley Zhu (Salem). All three finished at 2-over par. The age 14-15 boys’ divi- sion featured some of the lowest scores of the day. Scotty Kennon (Bandon) fin- ished as medalist, shooting a scorching 4-under par 67 to lead the way. Brody Mar- coni (Portland) earned sec- ond place at 3-under par, while Brandon Eyre (Salem), Mateo Fuenmayor (Beaver- ton) and Ethan Tseng (Port- land) all tied for third, finish- ing stroke play qualifying at 1-under par. Carson Kawasoe of Gear- hart tied for 10th with a 77, and Gearhart’s Curtis Kunde tied for 21st at 85. The other two 18-hole divisions (intermediate boys and intermediate girls), fin- ished 18 holes Monday and will play another 18 holes of stroke play qualify- ing Tuesday. Pee Wee boys and Pee Wee girls will play 9-hole stroke play qualify- ing Tuesday. Match play starts Wednesday for these divisions. Game 1 of College World Series finals postponed by rain By ERIC OLSON Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. — Game 1 of the College World Series finals between Arkansas and Oregon State was postponed until tonight because of rain — just the latest in a line of delays caused by the weather this year. “In my 16 years of being involved with this champion- ship, this has been the most challenging College World Series as it relates to inclement weather,” NCAA director of championships and alliances Randy Buhr said. Rain fell most of the day Monday, and officials announced late in the after- noon that the game would be UP NEXT: CWS • Arkansas Razorbacks (3-0) vs Oregon State Beavers (3-1) • Today, 4 p.m. TV: ESPN delayed. The decision to post- pone came 90 minutes after the scheduled first pitch. Arkansas (47-19) will start Blaine Knight (13-0) against Luke Heimlich (16-2) of Ore- gon State (53-11-1). Game 2 of the best-of- three finals is set for Wednes- day and, if necessary, Game 3 would be Thursday. More than 4 inches of rain have fallen in Omaha since the start of the CWS on June 16. THE DAILY ASTORIAN PRESENTS A F amily Music Event FREE Houston’s Harden wins NBA MVP over James and Davis By BETH HARRIS Associated Press SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Third time was the charm for James Harden. The Houston Rockets star was voted the NBA’s Most Valuable Player after twice being runner-up, beat- ing out four-time winner LeBron James and Anthony Davis of the Pelicans at the NBA Awards on Monday night. Harden joined Michael Jor- dan as the only players to aver- age at least 20 points, eight assists, five rebounds and 1.7 steals in a season. He led the league in scor- ing, 3-pointers and 50-point games with four while helping the Rockets to an NBA-lead- ing 65 wins. “The last four years have been like knocking on the door, knocking on the door. Now the moment is finally here,” Harden said backstage. “Just every single year you try to come back and be better than you were the year before, and just to be holding that tro- phy finally, it means a lot.” James didn’t attend the show in Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Airport amid frenzied speculation about his future. He has until Friday to tell the Cavaliers if he will pick up his $35.6 million option for next season or opt for free agency. Harden, who is from Los Angeles, led his mother on stage before he accepted the trophy from Commissioner Adam Silver. “I’m not going to get emo- tional,” he said from behind dark sunglasses. “She’s my backbone in good times and bad times.” Oregon’s 234th Army Band and Hawaii’s 111th Army Band Featuring music of Leonard Bernstein, John Williams and Steven Reineke, as well as vocal selections from Moana, The Greatest Showman, the Broadway musical Hamilton, military marches and patriotic selections. 3 p.m. Saturday, July 7, 2018 AT ASTORIA HIGH SCHOOL DAILY ASTORIAN SUBSCRIBER PRE-SALE TICKETS AVAILABLE JUNE 18 - 22 General Public Tickets Available June 25 - July 6 (or while supplies last) PICK UP TICKETS AT: The Daily Astorian, 949 Exchange Street, Astoria or Seaside Signal 1555 N. Roosevelt, Seaside Tickets are limited. Up to 4 tickets per household, Tickets are available until July 6, 2018 or whil e supplies last.
