Portland observer., December 17, 2014, Page 5, Image 5

December 17. 2014
$îortlanb (Observer
Pagei
Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota poses for photographers
after being awarded the Heisman Trophy on Saturday in New
York. (AP Photo)
Oregon’s Mariota
Awarded Heisman
Football’s
prestigious
award first
for Ducks
Lopez Hurt in Blazer Win
(A P) - P ortland w as dealt a tough blow in w hat
should have been a straightforw ard w in against short-
h an d ed San A ntonio.
S tarting c en te r R obin L opez broke his right h an d in
the third quarter and w ill be out fo r "a w h ile,” co ach
T erry Stotts said after the B lazers d efeated the Spurs
108-95 on M onday night.
L o p e z h a s n o t m isse d a g a m e fo r th e B la z e rs
sin c e c o m in g to th e te am in th e su m m e r o f 2 0 1 3 . H e
g a v e P o rtla n d so m e b a d ly n e e d e d s ta b ility a t th e
p o s itio n .
"It’s a little frustrating," said L opez, w ho said there
w as perhaps tw o breaks in his hand, and that it w ould
be reevaluated on T uesday. T v e been p retty fo rtu ­
nate w ith injuries in m y career."
Portland w ill likely start C hris K am an, w ho has
been L opez's backup this season after signing w ith
the B lazers as a free agent this sum m er.
H e s a big part o f this offense and this team and our
identity," L aM arcus A ldridge said about L opez. "He
does so m any things that p eople don't notice. H e's a
h ard w orker, the g uy that does all the things that
n o b o d y else really does in the first unit. So it's going
to be tough."
A ldridge had 23 p oints and 14 rebounds fo r his
13th do u b le-d o u b le this season. D am ian L illard also
had 23 points and a career-high 10 rebounds for
Portland, w hich has w on seven o f nine.
ceiver speed, he cam e into this sea­
son as the favorite to win the 80th
Heisman. He had twice as many points
(2 ,5 3 4 ) as second-place finisher
M elvin G ordon (1,250), the record-
breaking running back from W iscon­
sin. The other finalist, A labam a re­
ceiver A m ari Cooper, was third.
(A P) - M arcus M ariota, O reg o n ’s
M ariota, the first H aw aii native
ju n io r q uarterback and understated to w in the H eism an, has accounted
s ta r , b e c a m e th e D u c k s ' f ir s t for a P a c -12-record 53 touchdow ns
H eism an w inner going aw ay Satur­ (38 passing, 14 rushing and one
day night, capping a three-year clim b receiving) while directing the D ucks'
to college football's m ost prestigious w arp-speed spread offense.
individual aw ard.
"In H aw aii, if one person is suc­
"I'm hum bled to be standing here cessful, the entire state is success­
today," M ario ta said m om ents after ful," he said, draped in leis at his
he w as announced as the w inner.
new s conference.
M ariota isn't a bigger talker, but
It w ill be a m atchup o f H eism an-
h e steadily w orked through his a c ­ w inning quarterbacks in the C o l­
ceptance speech, thanking his team ­
m ates, teach ers, friends and his
h o m e state o f H aw aii. H e finally hit
a snag w hen it cam e tim e to thank his
m o th er and father. H e needed to
take tw o d eep breaths and still he
got choked up.
A pinpoint passer with wide-re-
lege Football P la y o ffs R ose Bow l
sem ifinal Jan. 1 w ith M ariota and the
D ucks facin g F lo rid a S tate and
Jam eis W inston.
"I'm ju s t looking forw ard to g et­
ting back on the field and playing
again,' M ariota said. "W e do have a
team goal."
Charles Washington
Past Publisher of the Portland Observer
In memory of an outstanding and dedicated
member of Portland s Longest Standing
M inority Publication.
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