SPORTS
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Soccer
Disappointed
U.S. faces
Panama for
third place
By RACHEL COHEN
Associated Press
CHESTER, Pa. — Asked what
winning the third-place game at
the CONCACAF Gold Cup would
mean, U.S. captain Michael Bradley
paused for a moment, then said
softly, “Not much.”
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pride and competitiveness would
keep the Americans
Gold Cup
playing hard against
a
short-handed
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promise
repeated
States
often by his team- United
vs.
mates and coach
Jurgen Klinsmann
on Friday. Once the
U.S. was stunned
Panama
by Jamaica in the
•
Saturday
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1 p.m.
short its bid to repeat • • TV:
FS1
as Gold Cup cham-
pion,
Saturday’s
third-place match was left to build
momentum and try out different
lineups.
In many ways, those are always
objectives for Klinsmann as he seeks
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against the world’s best. For a coach
in his position, the trick is to win
enough in the short term to stick
around to possibly see through those
long-term results.
“We want to continue the process
toward 2018,” he said about the next
World Cup. “This is Year 1 after
the World Cup in Brazil, a year of
rebuilding the pieces and bringing
in young, new players, trying a lot of
things out.”
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two young players, center backs
John Brooks and Ventura Alvarado.
The 22-year-olds have been shaky at
times in the Gold Cup, and they were
unable to prevent Jamaica’s Darren
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goal of Wednesday’s 2-1 loss on a
throw-in.
“They have to go through these
pains,” Klinsmann said, adding,
“We’re going to do a step back here
and there.”
He noted Brooks and Alvarado had
made for a winning pairing in their
brief tenure together before the semi-
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victories in June exhibitions against
world champion Germany and the
Netherlands, another European power.
“Enormous, enormous talent” is
how he described the two.
“We’re going to keep on developing
young players, keep looking into the
future,” Klinsmann said. “Two, three
years down the road — what does this
team look like? ... You have to keep
developing a team that you have in
mind toward 2018 that’s hopefully
better than you did in Brazil.”
Panama, reeling from the chaotic
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of suspension or injury. On the
verge of victory Wednesday, the
Panamanians, playing with 10 men,
were called for a disputed hand ball.
Mexico tied the game on the penalty
kick and went on to win 2-1 after
another penalty in extra time.
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and Gabriel Gomez and forward Blas
Perez are hurt, while forward Luis
Tejada and goalkeeper Jaime Penedo
were each suspended two games by
CONCACAF on Friday. Penedo was
disciplined for pushing the assistant
referee after Wednesday’s match.
Tejada received a red card, then was
punished additionally for not leaving
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Panama’s federation also was
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In the Panamanians’ latest
criticism of CONCACAF, the feder-
ation’s president, Pedro Chaluja, told
reporters earlier Friday that “we feel
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“There are third parties with inter-
ests, and we know that it can’t be
possible that the best-ranked referee
in CONCACAF has such a poor and
suspicious performance in a game,”
he said.
Coach Hernan Gomez said Chalu-
ja’s reaction was “human nature” but
wouldn’t add to the criticism, saying
“rules are rules.” CONCACAF
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Rica — which lost to Mexico on a
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Gomez initially said that six
players were at risk of missing World
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card accumulation, but CONCACAF
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*ROG&XSZRXOGQ¶WDIIHFWTXDOLI\LQJ
Panama played some kickball
during Friday’s practice, seeking to add
a lighthearted note to a trying week.
Klinsmann plans to shake up his
lineup against Panama, but didn’t
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DaMarcus Beasley would play in the
second half.
East Oregonian
Page 3B
Tour de France
Froome upset with stage winner Nibali
By JOHN LEICESTER
Associated Press
LA TOUSSUIRE, France —
Chris Froome always expected his
rivals to throw everything at him
and his Tour de France race lead. He
just didn’t expect that would happen
when he was stopped by the side of
the road.
Showing bristle beneath his mild
manners, the British rider angrily
tore into Vincenzo Nibali, calling
him “unsportsmanlike,” after the
defending champion accelerated
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stuck wheel on the toughest Alpine
climb on Friday.
Nibali, who went on to win
Stage 19, said: “He was very angry
but that’s his problem.”
Froome said a stone or piece of
asphalt jammed between his brake
and rear wheel on the Col de la
Croix de Fer climb, forcing him to
pull up momentarily to unjam it.
While Froome stopped, Nibali
rode away.
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on the exhausting Alpine stage that
moved Froome one step closer to a
second Tour victory.
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to the La Toussuire ski station,
Nairo Quintana launched his most
sustained and telling attack against
the 2013 champion, and this time
got the better of him.
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this Tour that he’s not untouchable,
Froome chose not to stay with the
Colombian, his closest rival, as he
rode away, eating into the Team Sky
rider’s overall race lead.
Froome said he preferred to save
energy for Saturday’s last Alpine
stage, which features two very hard
climbs. So rather than hunt down
the Movistar rider, Froome rode
steadily, telling himself: “‘I don’t
need to panic but I do need to keep
something in reserve.”’
He didn’t hold back on Nibali.
$WWKH¿QLVK³,WROGKLPH[DFWO\
Wout Poels
of the Neth-
erlands, left,
Britain’s Chris
Froome,
wearing the
overall leader’s
yellow jersey,
and Robert
Gesink of the
Netherlands,
front right,
climb during
the nineteenth
stage of the
Tour de France
cycling race
with start in
Saint-Jean-
de-Maurienne
and finish in
La Toussuire,
France, Friday.
AP Photo/Laurent
Cipriani
what I thought of him,” Froome said.
There was other unpleasantness
out on the road. TV images of the
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tator spitting toward the race leader
as he sped past.
Froome said he didn’t see the man
but called his behavior “appalling.”
Earlier in the Tour, Froome said
another spectator threw a cup of
urine at him and another punched
his teammate Richie Porte.
“We are human beings,” he said.
“You can’t come to a bike race to
spit at people, or to punch them or
to throw urine at them.”
Froome’s reduced lead of 2
minutes, 38 seconds over Quintana,
down from 3:10 at the start, should
still be enough to get the British
rider through the last competitive
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to Paris on Sunday, which is largely
ceremonial and won’t change the
overall podium standings.
Still, the smaller cushion will
force Froome to watch Quintana
very carefully and means he cannot
afford a bad Saturday on the two
“Hors Categorie” climbs, meaning
they’re so tough they defy catego-
rization.
The last of those, up 21 hairpin
bends to the Alpe d’Huez ski station,
is cycling’s most iconic ascent and
will be lined with screaming spec-
tators.
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“I’m in a great position,” he
added. “I can’t wait to get up there.”
Nibali’s win rescued what has
otherwise been a disappointing Tour
for him.
The Italian said he didn’t see
that Froome had pulled up, even
though television images appeared
to show him looking back over his
left shoulder at the Team Sky rider
before accelerating away.
Nibali said he was speaking to
a teammate, not looking back at
Froome, and that he always had
planned to attack on that climb.
The manager of his Astana team,
Alexandre Vinokourov, defended
him, saying: “Vincenzo doesn’t
have eyes in the back of his head.”
Froome said: “It seemed to me
that Nibali had the whole climb to
attack but he chose the moment that
I had a mechanical (problem) to
make his move.”
“That, in my opinion, is very
unsportsmanlike,” he added. “It’s not
in the spirit of the Tour de France.”
Nibali said he was “very disap-
pointed” at the way Froome spoke
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“too hard and too unjust to be
repeated.”
He added that as far as he is
concerned, no rule says other riders
must wait when a race leader has an
accident.
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rode furiously to catch back up
with other podium contenders. But
Nibali was gone, chasing French
rider Pierre Rolland, who summited
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Riding with the No. 1 bib as
defending champion, Nibali has
been crushed by Froome at this
Tour. He started the day in seventh
place, 8:04 behind.
Hitting 70 kph (45 mph) on the
Croix de Fer descent and shaving
the edges of bends, Nibali caught
Rolland and overtook him on the
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WNBA
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By DOUG FEINBERG
Associated Press
‘Showtime’ Shoni returns for encore
By BRIAN KOTLOFF
a CTUIR member and former
UNCASVILLE, Conn. —
WNBA Media
Hermiston High School standout.
Tamika Catchings didn’t want to
The people’s choice garnered
get sentimental thinking about her
The way Shoni Schimmel sees 8,881 votes, trailing only leading
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it, if the fans who vote want to vote-getter Elena Delle Donne in
Catchings, who announced last
the East backcourt.
see her in the All-Star
IDOO WKDW ZRXOG EH KHU ¿QDO Game, the least she can
“It’s awesome. You
season, will be playing in a record
just kind of run with it
do is put on a show.
10th game Saturday. The WNBA
and embrace it. People
The Atlanta Dream
usually skips the All-Star Game
like you because of
guard, who lit up
during Olympic years.
who you are. That’s
the All-Star stage in
“I’m excited,” Catchings said.
something that I don’t
Phoenix with a record
“I think everybody thought I’d be
take for granted.”
29 points, is back as a
sad about this coming to the end,
Schimmel,
who
starter for the Eastern
the last this, the last that. I’m really
earned the nickname
Conference
despite
not. It’s time. The young players
“Showtime”
while
experiencing a sopho-
are playing so well.”
playing at Louisville,
more slump, averaging Schimmel
said she’s been thinking
The WNBA’s future is bright with
5.0 points in 15.1
about how to top last year, but
young stars Brittney Griner, Maya
minutes off the bench.
Moore and Elena Delle Donne, who
She understands as much “having fun is the main goal.”
LV SOD\LQJ LQ KHU ¿UVW JDPH DIWHU as anybody why she is here.
WHEN: Saturday, 12:30 p.m.
leading the fan voting this season.
“It shows how much my fan
TV: ABC
Delle Donne was supposed to play
support means,” said Schimmel,
in the last two All-Star contests but
missed them because of injuries.
“They call me old. I’m not old, anything special was planned for
Catchings is one of the few just wiser than you guys,” Catch- Catchings, but did say that everyone
All-Star veterans playing in the ings joked.
was aware of the situation.
game Saturday, which features 10
Eastern Conference coach
“We all know what she’s
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3RNH\ &KDWPDQ ZDV TXLHW RQ LI brought to the game and what
she’s meant to the WNBA over the
years,” Chatman said.
It almost would have been
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Indiana Fever forward hit the
game-winning layup in overtime to
lift the East to a thrilling 125-124
victory over the West. It’s going to
be tough to top that.
“That was some game last year,”
Chicago guard Cappie Pondexter
said. “We all know in the locker
room that it’s Catch’s last one and
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out with a loss.”
Moore knows that with
Catchings leaving next year, other
players are going to need to step up
on and off the court.
“She’s been so much a part of
what I’ve known as the WNBA,”
Moore said. “In high school, I was
watching her compete and being
compared to her, wearing knee
pads like her. She’s somebody who
embodies so many things that you
want the next generation to look
like. The responsibility she takes
off the court. She brings so much
heart to the WNBA.”
NASCAR
Drivers still adjusting to new rules package at Brickyard
By JENNA FRYER
Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — A new
rules package for Indianapolis
Motor Speedway provided visibility
issues for drivers. More troubling
for NASCAR, though, is that after
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there was little indication the
changes will produce better racing.
NASCAR, in its effort to
improve the on-track product, is
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namic packages to see what could
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cars. The package used two weeks
ago at Kentucky was well-received
by the drivers, but NASCAR
switched to a high-drag setup for
Indianapolis, where passing has
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“Hey man, this is a big event for
us, it’s crucial that this event goes
down as a good race every time
we are here,” Clint Bowyer said.
“Settling for second-best is not an
option. I’m proud that NASCAR
realizes that and pushes hard to
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better than what we’ve had in the
past when we come to such an
important venue.”
There were mixed opinions after
three long practice sessions Friday,
and many drivers said anytime
they got too close to another car,
the turbulence was so rough, they
had to back off to avoid crashing.
AP Photo/Michael Conroy
Sprint Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick (4) drives through the first
turn during practice for the NASCAR Brickyard 400 auto race at In-
dianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Friday, July 24, 2015.
“Passing will be tough to say the
least, but we’re trying something
new,” Denny Hamlin said. “I can’t
fault (NASCAR) for trying — they
tried what we wanted to try (at
Kentucky) and I thought we had a
pretty successful race. Now we’re
trying something different. We’ll
see if it’s better or not.”
Last year’s Brickyard 400,
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Jeff Gordon, featured just 15 lead
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number that NASCAR would like
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16, and the margin of victory is a
whopping 2.371 seconds.
With drivers feeling as if they had
to back off whenever they closed in
on another car, it’s not clear if those
statistics will be improved Sunday.
Carl Edwards said “I couldn’t
get closer than 15 car lengths,” to
another car before he had to back off.
But Jamie McMurray, winner
of the 2010 Brickyard, said it’s too
early to judge the package.
“We haven’t had a restart, and
to me, the restart is where this
package is going to play a bigger
role than in practice,” McMurray
said. “The thing with practice is
that as you start to catch the car
in front of you, typically their car
is not very good. So, when you
see somebody catching you fairly
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on it and get your car better.”
Part of the high-drag aero
package includes a 9-inch spoiler
with a 1-inch wicker bill. Although
part of the spoiler is clear and gives
drivers a gap, most seemed to think
it wasn’t big enough to see through
from the rearview mirror.
“It’s challenging to see,” Joey
Logano said. “I think I can see
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and any cars that are further back
than that I can’t see.
“That isn’t the end of the world. If
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probably not too worried about it
anyway. When they get close is
when you want to see it, but it is nice
sometimes because we don’t know.
We’ll see with this whole drafting
package down the straightaway
when that run is going to start.”
Hamlin said he’d have preferred
a clear wicker, but was surprised at
how much he was able to see.
But that wasn’t even Hamlin’s
biggest issue Friday.
His vision out the front wind-
shield was severely hampered
during practice when his hood
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occurred because his team failed
to tighten the hood pins before the
second practice.