Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
JETS: Second-year player released immediately following VFXIÀHZLWK4%
Associated Press by his agent,
by the Jets. Bowles said Smith and Enemkpali apologized to the team
Enemkpali got into an “alterca- and fans.
“Geno and I let our frustration
tion” in the locker room Tuesday
get
the best of us, but I should have
morning.
just
walked away from the situa-
“It had nothing to do with
tion,”
Enemkpali said. “I deeply
football,” Bowles said. “It was
regret
and
apologize for my actions.
something very childish, and he got
cold-cocked, sucker-punched — It was never my intention to harm
whatever you want to call it — in anyone. I appreciate the opportunity
I had with the Jets.”
the jaw.”
Bowles said the Jets could add
Bowles wouldn’t go into detail
another
quarterback, but it appears
about the nature of the altercation,
veteran
Ryan Fitzpatrick will
except to say: “It was something
assume
the
starting job. Bryce Petty,
very childish, that sixth-graders
a
fourth-round
pick this year out of
could have talked about. It had no
Baylor, and undrafted free agent
reason for happening.”
Smith, who was having a good Jake Heaps out of Miami are the
training camp, will be sidelined for Jets’ other remaining quarterbacks.
It was a jaw-dropping announce-
the rest of the summer and likely for
ment
by Bowles, who earlier in
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camp
had to deal with the news
The season opener at home against
that
star
defensive lineman Sheldon
&OHYHODQGRQ6HSWLV¿YHZHHNV
Richardson
was suspended four
away.
“Depending on how surgery games by the NFL for violating the
goes, we’ll see where we go from league’s substance abuse policy and
then was arrested after a high-speed
there,” Bowles said.
Smith took to Instagram and road race in Missouri 12 days later.
posted a picture of himself sitting in Richardson could face additional
a car — mouth closed and looking discipline by the league for viola-
stern — and a simple message: tion of the personal conduct policy
once the legal process plays out.
“ILL BE BACK.”
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In a statement issued to The
Continued from 1B
AP Photo/File
New York Jets’ Ikemefuna En-
emkpali (51) during training
camp in Cortland, N.Y in July
2014. New York Jets quarter-
back Geno Smith will be side-
lined at least 6-10 weeks after
being punched in the jaw by
Enemkpali on Tuesday.
coach, spoke for about 2 minutes
before heading to a meeting and
then practice, but was clearly
angered by the situation.
“The team knows this is some-
thing we don’t tolerate, something
we can’t stand,” Bowles said. “You
don’t walk up to another man and
punch him in the face.”
While the players were not
immediately available because they
had practice, wide receiver Brandon
Marshall sent out a simple “cryface”
emoji on his Twitter page. Marshall
and Smith have been developing
solid chemistry this offseason, with
the two spending time together on
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It was unclear as to whether
there had been previous bad blood
brewing between Smith and Enem-
kpali.
“If you have a team and you
have a bunch of side issues, you
can’t tolerate that,” Bowles said.
“This is something that happened in
the locker room and we’re dealing
with it internally and that’s where
we are right now.”
Smith has had a rough two-plus
seasons in the NFL, starting with
his slip to the second round of the
2013 draft. He got the starting job
as a rookie after Mark Sanchez was
sidelined for the year after hurting
his shoulder in a preseason game,
and mostly struggled.
OKUNG: Negotiating contract without an agent
CENTER: Nowak has
played in just two games
Continued from 1B
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the business community who
have become mentors.
Matt McIlwain, managing
director of Madrona Venture
Group in Seattle, remembers
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time and being impressed
that the offensive lineman
had taken time to learn about
the company and the venture
capital process. That led
to additional meetings and
Okung taking the lead in
planning an event connecting
Seahawks players with tech-
nology entrepreneurs.
“Russell has impressed
me with his leadership skills,
his curiosity for learning in
new areas and his analytical
and thoughtful perspective
on a variety of business
topics,” McIlwain wrote in
an email.
Okung wrote in his piece
that an athlete has morphed
into being a businessman
who “understands the market
and his own personal value,
but has the self-assurance
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do so.” He said the interest
in business started in college
and he sees himself as a
corporation just as much as a
football player.
“We get a chance to get
so many stages, to really
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of solid play, but again had issues
with turnovers and consistency and
was benched a few times in favor
of Michael Vick. Smith has 34
interceptions and 41 total turnovers
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offensive coordinator Chan Gailey
was impressed with his progress
this summer.
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interceptions of camp on Monday,
an impressive stretch that had the
quarterback and coaches thinking
positively about his prospects for
the upcoming season.
“He took time that month when
we were away (before training
camp),” Gailey said of Smith
shortly before the news broke. “He
looked at it and studied it and talked
about it and thought about it. When
he came back, he really had a grasp
of it.”
Enemkpali had three tackles in
six games last season after being
taken in the sixth round out of
Louisiana Tech.
To replace Enemkpali on the
roster, the Jets signed cornerback
-DYLHU$UHQDVZKRKDVSOD\HG¿YH
NFL seasons with Kansas City,
Arizona and Atlanta.
Continued from 1B
Nowak won the 2011
Mid-American Conference
Defensive Player of the
Year award at Central
Michigan as a defensive
tackle. After signing with
the Jacksonville Jaguars
as an undrafted free agent,
a pair of injuries along the
offensive line led to Nowak
being moved to guard.
Following his release, he
signed with the Seahawks
and was a guard on the
practice squad last season.
“The whole process
of learning center and
VZLWFKLQJ SRVLWLRQV GH¿-
nitely has been a battle,”
Nowak said. “I really think
I have progressed a lot.
7KHUH¶VGH¿QLWHO\VRPXFK
farther I can go. There’s
no ceiling, I know that,
but I really think I have
improved.”
Nowak has played
in just two games in his
career, both coming with
the Jaguars in 2013.
Practices can only show
so much. While Nowak has
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the coaching staff on the
SUDFWLFH¿HOGVWKH\QHHGWR
see how he can handle the
AP Photo/Gregory Payan, File
Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Okung speaks to the media during the 2015 NFL Super
Bowl Media Day in Phoenix.
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to see it from a community
standpoint, but if I’m really
thinking about my legacy
and longevity, I’ve really got
to understand the markets,
really got to understand
where I’m investing my
money, the people that are
handling my money. That’s
just part of it. Growing my
business acumen, that is part
of it.”
Richard Sherman, the
Seahawks’ union representa-
tive with the NFLPA, said the
players association will be
involved from afar in making
sure Okung is getting a fair
deal when his next contract is
negotiated and will provide
whatever Okung needs.
For his part, Okung
knows his decision and being
public regarding his choice is
not sitting well with agents.
“A lot of guys really
want to understand it. They
don’t understand that they
have the resources at hand
to understand the numbers
of their situation. I don’t
know why,” Okung said. “If
it has to take me putting an
article out there for guys to
understand what I’m doing,
I’m all down for it. A lot of
guys are reaching out just to
understand my process.”
“The whole
process of
learning center
and switching
positions defi-
nitely has been
a battle. I really
think I have pro-
gressed a lot.
There’s definitely
so much farther I
can go.”
— Drew Nowak
responsibility of snapping
the ball and communicating
along the offensive line in
real game situations.
“We like the young kids,
but we’ve got to see them
play now,” Cable said.
Cable said there isn’t
a rush to declare a winner
for the job but that they’d
like to give the projected
starting offensive line a
couple of weeks to get used
to playing together before
the start of the regular
season.
MLB
Cleveland edges sinking Yankees 5-4 in 16 innings
INDIANS 5, YANKEES 4
CLEVELAND (AP) —
Michael Brantley’s RBI
single with one out in the
16th inning lifted Cleveland
to a victory over skidding
New York, which lost its
fourth straight and had its
lead in the AL East over
Toronto trimmed to a half-
game.
Brantley hit a hard single
off Branden Pinder (0-2) that
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couldn’t handle and easily
scored Jose Ramirez from
second base. Brantley’s
clutch hit ended the 5-hour,
4-minute game and triggered
just the second walk-off
winning celebration by the
Indians this season.
Austin Adams (2-0)
worked a perfect inning and
combined with seven other
Cleveland pitchers to record
16 strikeouts.
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New York’s lineup — Jacoby
Ellsbury, Brett Gardner, Alex
Rodriguez and Teixeira went
a combined 1 for 25.
CUBS 6, BREWERS 3
CHICAGO (AP) —
Anthony Rizzo and Jorge
Soler each drove in two runs,
Dan Haren picked up his
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Chicago won for the 11th
time in 12 games.
The Brewers, last in the
NL Central, announced
earlier in the day that Doug
Melvin is moving into an
advisory role after 13 years
as general manager.
The Cubs, meanwhile,
continue to roll.
Haren (8-7), acquired
from Miami on July 31,
pitched into the sixth.
Rizzo had two hits,
including an RBI double, and
drew a bases-loaded walk.
He is 19 for 42 in his past 12
games.
Soler extended his hitting
streak to 10, and Chicago
took advantage of three
errors along with some wild
pitching on the way to yet
another win.
DODGERS 5,
NATIONALS 0
LOS ANGELES (AP) —
Yasiel Puig drove in a career
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a homer and a triple, Zack
Greinke pitched six sharp
innings and Los Angeles
defeated Washington to snap
a season-worst four-game
skid.
Greinke (12-2) allowed
six hits, struck out six and
walked four to remain
unbeaten in his last 10 starts,
going 7-0 in that span. He
lowered his major league-
leading ERA to 1.65.
Puig homered into the
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fourth to score Andre Ethier,
whose leadoff triple stood up
after the Dodgers challenged
the call. Replays showed
third baseman Yunel Escobar
didn’t tag Ethier’s leg before
he reached the bag.
BLUE JAYS 4,
ATHLETICS 2
TORONTO (AP) — Jose
Bautista hit a solo home run,
Drew Hutchison pitched
seven strong innings and
Toronto won its ninth straight
game, beating Oakland.
Toronto starting pitchers
have held the opposition to
three earned runs or fewer in
15 consecutive games.
Hutchison
(11-2)
allowed two runs and four
hits in seven-plus innings.
The right-hander hadn’t
completed seven innings
since a complete-game
victory over the Chicago
White Sox on May 25.
Hutchison is 9-1 with a
2.68 ERA in 12 home starts
and 2-1 with a 9.00 ERA in
11 road outings.
Roberto Osuna pitched
the ninth for his 11th save.
ROYALS 6, TIGERS 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo.
(AP) — Lorenzo Cain went
4 for 4 with a home run and
Yordano Ventura pitched six
scoreless innings as Kansas
City defeated Detroit.
Cain, who raised his
average to .316, led off the
sixth with his 12th homer, a
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Mike Moustakas snapped
an 0-for-18 drought with
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Kendrys Morales aboard in
the same inning.
Ventura (7-7), who is
3-1 since the All-Star break,
limited the Tigers to two hits
but walked a career-high six.
He struck out eight, tying his
season high.
Eric Hosmer hit a two-run
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him 21 RBIs in the opening
inning.
METS 4, ROCKIES 0
NEW YORK (AP) —
Matt Harvey pitched four-hit
ball for eight innings, Ruben
Tejada had a go-ahead single
in the sixth and New York
beat Colorado for the eighth
straight time at Citi Field.
Juan Lagares had a
two-run double in the eighth
to help the Mets improve to
40-18 at home, matching last
season’s win total when they
lost 41 at Citi Field.
Harvey (11-7) was domi-
nant for a fourth straight
start. He walked none for
the third straight outing and
struck out four, pitching to
contact rather than overpow-
ering the Rockies. He was
lifted for pinch-hitter Curtis
Granderson with the bases
loaded in the eighth.
Granderson got a gift RBI
from Boone Logan for the
second straight night. He was
hit by a pitch with the bases
loaded Monday. This time
Logan walked Granderson,
who did not start against
Chris Rusin (3-5), a lefty.
Lagares, who has lost
most of his playing time
since the arrival of Yoenis
Cespedes, followed with the
two-run double.
TWINS 3, RANGERS 2
—
MINNEAPOLIS
(AP)
Eduardo
Escobar’s
two-out double in the ninth
inning drove in the winning
run, capping a late rally
by Minnesota for a much-
needed victory over Texas.
Joe Mauer and Miguel
Sano tied the game with RBI
doubles in the eighth, and
Glen Perkins (1-3) pitched a
scoreless ninth to pick up the
win, just the seventh for the
Twins in 23 games since the
All-Star break.