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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 20, 2015)
SPORTS THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2015 Sports shorts Oregon’s Freeman taking lead College Football EOU men ranked 4th in preseason Cross Country poll LA GRANDE — After a stellar 2014 campaign that featured a fourthplace ¿ nish at the NA,A National Championships, the Eastern Oregon University men’s cross country team was ranked No. 4 in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Coaches Preseason Poll. EOU bade farewell to ¿ ve seniors last season, including a pair of AllAmericans in Damion Flores and Lucas Updike. Pendleton High School graduate Tyler Zyph is a junior with the Mountaineers. By a unanimous vote, Southern Oregon was picked to defend its title. The EOU women were picked to ¿ nish ¿ fth coming off an eighthplace ¿ nish in 2014, with NW Christian picked to repeat as champs. RB works to be Oregon’s next star By ANNE M. PETERSON Associated Press EUGENE — Just a soph omore, Oregon running back Royce Freeman is already assuming a leadership role on the Ducks’ offense. That’s only natural consid ering he’s the top returning rusher on a team known for its dynamic running backs — a legacy that includes such stars as Jonathan Stewart and LaMichael James. Freeman will likely carry AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, File Oregon running back Royce Freeman, front, scores past a Florida State de- fender during the 2015 Rose Bowl. the load on the ground while Oregon adjusts this season to a new quarterback — whoever that may be. ³Now that , know more within the offense, , expect more out of myself, both performancewise and leadershipwise,´ he said. ³,t’s just something ,’m progres sively working on.´ Freeman is focusing on himself while Oregon’s quarter back competition plays out. The leading candidates to replace Marcus Mariota, Oregon’s recordbreaking Heisman Trophy winner, are Jeff Lockie and newcomer Vernon Adams. Lockie was Mariota’s backup “It’s quitting time and he wants to do pop quizzes about football at like 12:30 or 1 in the morning. I’m exhausted.” — Kenny Bell Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie wide receiver and training camp roommate of QB Jameis Winston. Bell spoke to the media about what it is like to live with the rookie QB. Bell added that Winston does not snore, and that Winston’s work ethic has pushed him to work harder outside of the team activities. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1944 — Robert Hamilton upsets Byron Nelson in the ¿ nal round 1 up to win the PGA championship. 2000 — Tiger Woods wins the PGA Championship in a playoff over Bob May, becoming the ¿ rst player since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win three majors in one year. He’s the ¿ rst player to repeat as PGA champion since Denny Shute in 1937. 2012 — ,n a historic change at one of the world’s most exclusive golf clubs, Augusta National invites former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina ¿ nancier Darla Moore to become the ¿ rst female members since the club was founded in 1932. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com last season and is the most familiar with the Ducks’ offense. Adams’ transfer to Oregon for his ¿ nal year of eligibility was delayed until he ¿ nished a math class needed to wrap up his degree at Eastern Washington, where he was a repeat Big Sky Conference offensive player of the year. ³, feel like every team has a new identity, the players who are out there de¿ ne it,´ Freeman said. “We’re going to see what this team’s identity is.´ A year ago at this time, Freeman was generating buzz in fall camp — but his talents See DUCKS/2B OUR VIEWS MLB Bullpen crumbles again Let’s talk pigskin Pistorius’ release date pushed back JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s Department of Justice says it is putting Oscar Pistorius’ release from prison on hold until his case is reviewed again by a parole board. Department FACES spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga says Pistorius’ release will have to be reviewed again Pistorius because he was approved to be moved to house arrest too early. Mthunzi says Pistorius should have served 10 months of his sentence before being considered for release. He was approved for parole in June, eight months into his sentence. Pistorius was due to be moved to house arrest on Friday after serving 10 months of his ¿ veyear sentence for manslaughter for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013. 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS T AP Photo/Ron Jenkins Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Joe Beimel looks down after giving up three straight home runs to the Texas Rangers during the seventh inning of Wednesday’s game in Arlington, Texas. Mariners pitchers have combined for a 5.62 ERA in over 16 games in the month of August, their worst month of the season. Rangers hit three home runs in 7th to down M’s Associated Press ARL,NGTON, Texas — Joe Beimel personi¿ ed the Seattle Mariners’ recently besieged bullpen in Wednesday afternoon’s 72 loss at the Texas Rangers. A onerun game got away quickly when Beimel allowed four of the ¿ ve batters he faced to score. The rally began with a hit batter and ended with backtobacktoback home runs by Mitch Moreland, Mike Napoli and Elvis Andrus, the ¿ rst homer coming on an 02 pitch. Beimel said afterward that he has been fatigued for the last week or so. Texas Seattle 7 2 He thinks there is a knot in his back and felt on Wednesday like he was “throwing through mud.´ “, thought ,’d be able to kind of ¿ ght through it,´ he said. His ¿ ve most recent appearances consist of 1 23 innings, 10 earned runs on eight hits plus three walks and a hit batter. Mike Montgomery (4) gave up three runs in the ¿ rst inning and then shut out Texas over his ¿ nal ¿ ve innings. Mark Trumbo hit his 15th homer this season, his sixth since joining the Mariners. ,t was his ¿ fth career homer off Derek Holland (11), his most off any pitcher. Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said he’s concerned with Beimel because he has been elevating his pitches but didn’t want to say more until he learns Beimel’s health situation. The Mariners came to Texas following a threegame series in See MARINERS/2B Little League Baseball Not another Mo’ne at this year’s LLWS Tournament begins today By ROB MAADDI Associated Press PH,LADELPH,A — Mo’ne Davis was the talk of the sports world and beyond after becoming the ¿ rst female to win a game in the Little League World Series. Her success has inspired other girls to pursue baseball, though no girls will be playing for the championship at Williamsport when the 1team tournament starts Thursday. “Females playing in the world series is a matter of luck,´ said Stephen D. .eener, chief executive of Little League. Many teams compete for each of the spots and participation from girls is still relatively low. Davis and her Taney Dragons won the MidAtlantic Regional last year and the teen ager captivated fans with her performance on the mound. She tossed a twohitter with eight strikeouts to help Philadelphia beat Nashville 40 in the series opener for both teams, becoming the only girl to get a shutout in series history. That thrust Davis into the national spotlight and she became an overnight celebrity. Davis appeared on the cover of Sports ,llustrated and was named The Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year. She wrote a book, starred in a Spike Leedirected car commercial, became the subject of a Disney See LLWS/2B AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File In this Aug. 15, 2014, fi le photo, Pennsylvania’s Mo’ne Davis delivers in the fi rst inning against Tennessee during a baseball game at the Little League World Series tourna- ment in South Williamsport, Pa. alking has never been a problem for me. A Little League baseball coach once called me Matt ,nterrupt for an entire season because he couldn’t get me to stop À apping my lips long enough to get a word in edgewise. , was the reason the whole school bus had to ride in silence, because , wouldn’t pipe down during a railroad Matt crossing. Entrup ,’m the Football one you’re shushing at the movie theater. So when , was informed that Wednesday we would be recording our ¿ rst EO Pigskin Pickers podcast of the season, my reaction was naturally terse and unprintable. There’s something about the presence of a microphone that just doesn’t sit well with me — and yes , realize the irony in that statement coming from a guy who makes his living shoving a recorder in front of people’s faces and then peppering them with questions they’ve had no chance to prepare for. ,’ve done live radio, once. And there’s a good reason for that. Thankfully Hermiston Herald sports reporter Sam Barbee was on hand to add another voice to the podcast, and we ¿ gured we’d take pity on the newest edition to the East Oregonian sports team and let Eric Singer at least get to know the teams before we ask him to break them down. He served as moderator. Despite my reticence, the end result wasn’t too bad. Mike & Mike it is not, but , de¿ nitely think we could have done worse. The ¿ nished product won’t be online until Friday, but here’s a preview of what you’ll hear if you search it out on EastOregonian.com/ podcast, iTunes or Stitcher. The most obvious storyline on the gridiron this season is how Hermiston follows up its championship season. The Bulldogs lost 12 allstate players to graduation during the offseason. Some of them made the list on offense and defense, and nine of them were on the ¿ rst team. Hardest hit was the offensive line, where all ¿ ve starters and three allstate performers must be replaced (the defensive line isn’t in much better shape). Then there’s the question of who’s going to win the starting See PIGSKIN/2B
