East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, January 10, 2015, Image 13

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    Saturday, January 10, 2015
SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 2015
Sports shorts
WR Carrington
did not travel with
the Ducks
DALLAS (AP) — Or-
egon wide receiver Darren
Carrington did not travel
with the Ducks to the na-
tional championship game,
according to a person with
knowledge
of his
absence.
The per-
son, who
is traveling
with the
team, spoke
to The Associated Press on
Wednesday on condition
of anonymity because the
individual was not autho-
rized to speak on the record.
A spokesman for the team
did not immediately respond
to email inquiries seeking
comment.
Carrington’s absence was
com. The Ducks play Ohio
State for the national cham-
pionship on Monday.
The 6-foot-2, 191-pound
redshirt freshman made
victory over Arizona in the
Pac-12 championship game,
for 126 yards and a touch-
down.
He also had seven catches
for 166 yards and two touch-
downs in Oregon’s Rose
Bowl victory over Florida
State on Jan. 1.
SPORTS
NFL
Seattle title defense begins at home
Seahawks look to avoid
Super Bowl champ jinx
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
SEATTLE — Here’s what has set the de-
fending champion Seattle Seahawks apart: They
seem to have perfected not overhyping an indi-
vidual game.
While others are willing to acknowledge the
enormity of the moment, the Seahawks thrive by
keeping everything even.
“I’m just thinking to myself, ‘It’s the same for
us. It’s not going to be different. It’s going to be
another football game. It’s going to be us ver-
sus y’all,”’ Seattle linebacker Bruce Irvin said.
“That’s the biggest thing. Our mindset is differ-
ent. Pete (Carroll) has us at a whole different lev-
el than other people think.”
That approach will be tested on Saturday night
when the Seahawks (12-4) host the Carolina Pan-
thers in an NFC divisional playoff game. Aside
from facing an opponent with similar qualities,
the Seahawks will be trying to overcome recent
history.
— Mark Presley
Canadian Museum of
History, on purchasing
for $300,000
the world’s oldest
known hockey stick
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1972 — The longest win-
ning streak in major profes-
sional sports ends when the
Milwaukee Bucks beat the
Los Angeles Lakers 120-
104. The Lakers had won
33 straight, but Kareem Ab-
dul-Jabbar’s 39 points sends
Los Angeles to defeat.
1982 — Joe Montana’s
third touchdown pass of the
game, a 6-yarder to Dwight
Clark, with 51 seconds re-
maining, lifts the San Fran-
cisco 49ers to 28-27 victory
over the Dallas Cowboys in
the NFC title game.
Contact us at 541-966-0838 or
sports@eastoregonian.com
No defending Super Bowl champion has won
a playoff game the following year since New En-
gland in January 2006. Three defending champs
have earned a playoff bye since then only to get
upset at home in the divisional round. The most
recent was Green Bay, which went 15-1 in 2011
and was knocked off by the New York Giants at
home.
That is the history the Seahawks are attempt-
ing to ignore and the trend the Panthers (8-8-1)
are hoping to continue.
“I think we have the experience of it being the
same game to us and understanding that we play
a championship game every week and this is no
different,” Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman
said. “We play it like it’s an elimination game ev-
ery week so it doesn’t change that for us.”
The Seahawks are riding a six-game winning
streak, turning the contentiousness of a 6-4 re-
cord into a second straight NFC West title and
the No. 1 seed in the NFC. They’ve also won
three straight regular-season games against the
Panthers.
See SEAHAWKS/3B
STANFIELD
Tigers roar past TigerScots
Stanfield blows out WMHS
in CBC league opener
By SAM BARBEE
EO Media Group
Since Daniel Sharp has been head basketball coach at
30 points. The matchups between the Tigers and TigerScots
were always knock-down, drag-out affairs that were settled
NEWARK, N.J. (AP)
— Gov. Chris Christie will
be attending this weekend’s
Dallas Cowboys game —
and paying for it on his own
dime.
A spokes-
for the
FACES man
potential
presidential
contender
“In terms of
historical
signifi cance, it’s
just scintillating
stuff. It’s really
exciting.”
Page 1B
1B
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS
Christie will attend
Sunday’s Cowboys
game
governor will
attend this
weekend’s
Christie
playoff game
between his be-
loved Dallas Cowboys and
the Green Bay Packers.
Spokesman Michael
Drewniak said Christie will
pay his own way to keep any
“silliness” out of it.
Christie’s Cowboys
fandom has sparked outrage
from Eagles, Jets and Giants
fans in New Jersey as well
as ethical question because
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones
paid for Christie’s recent
tickets and travel.
The Cowboys co-own a
company that has a contract
with
the Port
Authority of New York and
New Jersey.
Christie and Wisconsin
Gov. Scott Walker have
been trading barbs on social
media about the game.
East Oregonian
Not Friday.
Scots 73-43 in their Columbia Basin Conference openers Fri-
Boys
Hoops
Braithewaite said after the game. “To start
off league like that … We expect to carry
it the rest of the way through.”
mark press, and Weston-McEwen (5-7,
0-1) had a hard time handling it. The Ti-
Stanfi eld
73
Weston-McEwen
43
TigerScots head coach Brian Pickard
said if his team wants to win games, it has
to take care of the ball.
“You’re not gonna be in any kind of
game if you’re turning the ball over 35-
plus times,” he said. “I’m sure we had that
plus. The kids played hard. We’ve been
got some good open looks that didn’t fall. We’re just strug-
gling right now.”
jumped to a quick 10-0 lead, but Weston chipped it down to
In the second, back-to-back baskets — a 3-pointer from
Cedric Hall and a layup by Lane Rosencrans — got Weston
within four, but it would be the TigerScots would get to Stan-
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Stanfi eld’s Hunter Braithewaite shoots the ball in front of Weston-McE-
wen Grayson Zerba in the Tigers’ 73-43 win against the TigerScots on
Friday in Stanfi eld.
The Tigers pulled away and led by 12 at the break, by 19
after three quarters, and they blew it wide open in the fourth.
“We stuck with things,” Sharp said. “I looked up
at the board with about a minute and a half left in the
third quarter, and we basically played even. Then it just
popped ,and it popped quick. I think that was a big part
of it.”
College Football
Oregon’s Dargan goes
from sideline to spotlight
Senior safety making
impact in final season
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
DALLAS — The last and only time that
Oregon previously played for a national cham-
pionship was to cap the 2010 season, when the
Ducks faced Auburn.
Safety Erick Dargan redshirted that year,
one of about a dozen current Oregon players
who made the trip to Glendale, Arizona, for
that game. He watched from the sideline as the
Ducks fell to the Tigers and Heisman Trophy
winner Cam Newton 22-19.
Today, Dargan marvels at the evolution of
the Ducks from their debut on the national
stage against Auburn to this season’s college
football playoff, which culminates on Monday
night when Oregon (13-1) faces Ohio State
(13-1) for the title.
this week in Eugene as the Ducks prepared for
the title game. “A few of us on this team were
redshirting that year and saw what it took to
get there. This year we’ve been able to repeat
and play in the national championship game.”
But, to be frank, he didn’t think it would
take the Ducks this long to get back.
“No. We fell short a couple of times. But
we’re back now. That’s all that matters,” he
said.
Ducks in tackles (90) and interceptions (seven)
this season. He had a notable game in Oregon’s
59-20 Rose Bowl victory over Florida State on
New Year’s Day, with a forced fumble and a
third-quarter interception of Heisman winner
Jameis Winston.
Dargan has also evolved. While he doesn’t
normally grab headlines, following the Rose
Bowl victory he found himself in the spotlight
as part of a defense that overwhelmed the Sem-
inoles.
“The longer you go, the stronger you get,”
Prep Boys Basketball
Mustangs,
Knights each
open with routs
East Oregonian
PILOT ROCK — The top-ranked Mus-
tangs blitzed Pilots for a 73-44 victory in each
school’s Columbia Basin Conferecne league
debut Friday night.
Heppner (10-1, 1-0 CBC) put to rest their
went longer and we stayed stronger. Everyone
kept demanding more out of each other.”
The performance helped dispel the per-
ception that Oregon’s defense was soft. The
to Toledo its last time out — behind Weston
Putman’s 21 points and eight rebounds.
It took only a few minutes of play for the
Mustangs to assert their will. They burst out to
a 16-5 lead after one quarter and then extended
it to 36-16 intermission edge.
Heppner scored 27 points in the fourth
quarter.
Stellar post play from Patrick Collins and
Ross Cutsforth rounded out the Mustangs
romp. Patrick Collins totaled 10 points and
eight rebounds, while Cutsforth added 13.
The win sets up a matchup of 2A’s top two
teams next Friday in Heppner. The one-loss
Mustangs will host the defending state cham-
See DUCKS/2B
See PREPS/2B