SPORTS
Saturday, November 21, 2015
East Oregonian
Page 3B
NFL
Seahawks hope to ¿nd soOution for struggOes vs ers
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
SEATTLE — When faced with
adversity the past two seasons, the
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solutions.
The big question is whether
they can do it again this season,
and it starts on Sunday when the
Seahawks (4-5) host the San Fran-
cisco 49ers (3-6).
This week has created all kinds
of concern. Have the Seahawks
become soft and complacent since
winning a title and negotiating huge
salaries? Are they playing with the
same effort that got them to consec-
utive Super Bowls? Or, have the
Seahawks simply made too many
mistakes against good teams?
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the Packers, Bengals, Panthers and
Cardinals, who have a combined
30-6 record. Seattle has made
glaring mistakes in all four games.
Cutting down on errors would be a
big help.
“That’s what I have hope in,
that we’ve been able to come out
of the trenches, out of the gutter so
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Seattle wide receiver Doug Baldwin
said. “It’s a little deeper, it’s a little
later in the season. We’re under
.500 right now so it feels a little
deeper but it’s nothing we can’t do.”
While Seattle attempts to begin
a winning streak, the 49ers are
hoping to build on an unexpected
win two weeks ago over Atlanta.
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Seattle
Seahawks
quarterback
Russell Wil-
son (3) is hit
by Arizona
Cardinals
cornerback
Justin
Bethel just
after getting
a pass off
during the
second half
of an NFL
football
game, Sun-
day, Nov.
15, 2015, in
Seattle.
San Francisco
Seattle
49ers
Seahawks
(3-6)
(4-5)
SUNday, 1:25 p.m.
at CenturyLink Field, Seattle
TV: FOX
have a good game,” Bowman said.
THIRD-DOWN TROUBLE:
Seattle was 1 of 8 on third downs
against Arizona largely because the
Seahawks were in third-and-long
most of the game. Six of Seattle’s
eight third-down attempts were 10
or more yards. The struggles on
third down also led to the Seahawks
AP Photo/Stephen
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Brashear
39 minutes.
For the season, Seattle is 21st
in the league converting just under
36 percent of third downs. But
they are converting 48.6 percent on
third-and-8 or shorter.
ROAD WOES: The 49ers are
of Colin Kaepernick was a success overwhelming feeling around the suffered a career-threatening knee 0-4 on the road including being
and the 49ers defense looked like Seahawks was last week’s offen- injury in the 2013 NFC champion- outscored 74-13 in division losses
the dominant unit it was in previous sive game plan never got started ship game.
at Arizona and St. Louis.
years.
because of penalty problems and
It’s a vivid memory that Bowman
San Francisco hopes to change
Keeping it going in Seattle won’t falling behind 19-0. That limited has been thinking about for a couple its fortunes being fresh off the bye
EHHDV\7KHHUVKDYHORVW¿YHRI Marshawn Lynch to eight carries. of weeks because the trajectory of week — even if the task is daunting
their last six visits.
Expect Seattle to make Lynch a his career changed when he was in one of the league’s most raucous
“It’s a great opportunity to go priority. His only 100-yard game of hurt in the fourth quarter of that venues at CenturyLink Field
out there and start again this week the season came against the 49ers championship game. He missed the against a team that has ruled this
and play football,” Gabbert said. when Seattle ran the ball nine times 2014 season and said he’s still not rivalry of late.
“I don’t take those opportunities with Lynch on its opening touch- 100 percent. Nonetheless, Bowman
“I don’t put it on crowd noise,
for granted, and I’m going to enjoy down drive.
leads the NFC in tackles with 88.
I don’t put it on those things, but
them.”
BOWMAN’S BACK: Sunday
“It will be very humbling for me just coming out rolling, just go,”
Here’s what else to watch for:
ZLOO EH 1D9RUUR %RZPDQ¶V ¿UVW just to approach it again and be able Jim Tomsula said. “And that’s our
UNLEASH THE BEAST: The game back in the stadium where he WRMXVWSOD\RQWKDW¿HOGDJDLQDQG focus this week. Just, let’s go.”
NASCAR
College XC
Harvick primed to defend NASCAR championship
History awaits
UO’s Cheserek
with victory
By DAN GELSTON
Associated Press
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Go
ahead, just try and wrestle the
NASCAR Sprint Cup champion-
ship away from Kevin Harvick.
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quite like the champ.
A former high school wrestler,
Harvick has had a season’s worth
of dustups just in the nine-race
Chase alone. He’s sparred with
Jimmie Johnson and absorbed the
slings from critics who accused
him of holding up a race to
preserve his playoff spot.
Yet Harvick is still standing,
back at Homestead-Miami and
primed to join an elite group of
drivers who have won back-to-
back championships.
Richard Petty. Dale Earnhardt,
Johnson, too. Those are just some
of the greats who won consecutive
titles.
Harvick has tried to diffuse talk
that he’s the heavy favorite Sunday
to hold off Martin Truex Jr., Jeff
Gordon and Kyle Busch at the
same track where he clinched his
2014 crown.
His rivals aren’t buying it.
“He’s the favorite,” Gordon
said. “We’re the sentimentals.”
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success at Stewart-Haas Racing
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three wins and a whopping 12
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survived two rough outings as the
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second in his last two races.
“Coming into this week and
dealing with the second oppor-
tunity has not been near as hard
or near as stressful as it was last
year,” Harvick said. “Having that
playbook of what we did last year
and knowing that you can tweak
on that a little bit and knowing how
to manage the week is something
that you can’t put a price on that
because you’ve been there, done
that, and you have to try to get
better each time.”
Tony Stewart has marveled at
the season Harvick has put together
at SHR and the determination that
team has shown through three
Kenseth meets with
Logano prior to
NASCAR return
AP Photo/Terry Renna
Kevin Harvick interacts with his son Keelan in the garage before
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto racing practice Friday, Nov. 20,
2015, at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla.
rounds of the elimination-format
Chase.
“All four drivers are capable of
winning this, but having a driver
that’s been through it the previous
year and knows how to handle it
and knows what to expect, I mean,
that’s a big advantage going into a
week like this,” he said.
Harvick has long cited his
wrestling experience for shaping
him into the tenacious compet-
itor he’s become in NASCAR.
After starting out as an 86-pound
freshman, Harvick quit his senior
year — the last time he says he
gave up any anything, and the
reason he refused to count out his
Chase chances after a bleak start.
Harvick was knocked out of
the Chase opener at Chicagoland
when he connected with Johnson
and blew a tire. He later got into
an altercation with Johnson in the
motorhome lot and shoved the
Hendrick Motorsports driver. The
next week at New Hampshire, his
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of gas and was seemingly out of
contention.
Needing a win at Dover to
advance to the next round, he led
355 laps at a track where he had
never won and parked the No. 4
Chevrolet in victory lane.
Typical Harvick, mastering his
Game 7 races like no other in the
series.
Drama seems to follow him as
much as the smoke that blows off
the track during his victory burnouts.
At Talladega, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
tried to stave off elimination with a
win, but when Harvick refused to
cede position as his engine failed,
he triggered a race-ending accident
that bounced NASCAR’s most
popular driver from the playoffs.
Drivers were in an uproar.
Harvick said he did what he had to
do and NASCAR found no proof
that he deliberately caused the
crash to protect his position.
Harvick hasn’t noticed any hint
of payback in the ensuing races.
“I don’t think anybody has
done anything different,” he said.
“I haven’t raced anybody different,
and I think it’s just another race as
far as that stuff goes.”
This Sunday is far from another
race.
“When I sat at his house and we
met and talked about doing this,
that’s what we both said is, we
wanted to be in a position where
we could race for a championship,
and not only for one year but do
it for multiple years and keep
HOMESTEAD,
Fla.
(AP) — As Matt Kenseth
weaved his way through a
pack of autograph seekers, a
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him and reached out to shake
Kenseth’s hand.
“We all respect you, Matt,”
the fan told Kenseth.
“Thanks, man,” he replied.
Kenseth returned to the race
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was suspended for two races
by NASCAR for intentionally
wrecking Joey Logano as
payback. The action drew the
unprecedented penalty from
NASCAR and ultimately cost
Logano a spot in the Sunday’s
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Before practice on Friday,
Kenseth said he met with
Logano
at
NASCAR’s
request.
“I think everything will be
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mean, I wish none of it had
happened, obviously. There’s
probably certain things we’ll
never agree on, but I think
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we’ll work it out.”
things going,” crew chief Rodney
Childers said.
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ahead of his three competitors and
he’ll make history.
A year ago, he seized his
opportunity with a relentless dash
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after car to win the race and claim
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Stewart threw his arms around
Harvick and the close friends
and teammates held each other
tight for several moments. It was
Stewart who in 2012 convinced
Harvick that if he left RCR when
his contract expired at the end of
2013, he could help Harvick win
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Now, they’re poised to win it
again.
MLB
New Mariners GM continues active offseason with another trade
Associated Press
SEATTLE — New Seattle
Mariners general manager Jerry
Dipoto remained active with
another trade on
Friday,
dealing
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Flores
to
the
Milwaukee Brew-
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Luis Sardinas.
Sardinas, 22, was acquired by
Milwaukee in January as part of
the swap that sent pitcher Yovani
Gallardo to Texas. Sardinas hit
.196 with four RBIs in 36 games
with the Brewers this season while
playing second base, shortstop
and third. He batted .282 with 17
doubles, 16 steals and 33 RBIs at
Triple-A Colorado Springs.
The 23-year-old Flores batted
.308 with 17 doubles, nine homers
and 41 RBIs at Triple-A this year in
the New York Yankees and Seattle
organizations. He made his big
league debut on May 30 and hit
.219 (7 for 32) in 12 games with the
Yankees, who sent him to Seattle in
the July trade that brought Dustin
Ackley to New York.
Dipoto previously acquired
right-hander Nate Karns from
Tampa Bay, right-handed reliever
Joaquin Benoit from San Diego,
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and right-handed reliever Anthony
Bass from Texas.
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and believes he found his man in
Martin.
“I think we get one of the
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in baseball. He’s been among the
best in the league over these last
three years,” Dipoto said. “He’s
coming off of a down year and
frankly that’s when you acquire
guys. There was a soft spot in the
ability to go acquire Leonys and
we took advantage of that.”
Martin signed a $15.5 million,
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in May 2011 that included a $5
million signing bonus. It was one
of the largest-ever contracts for a
Cuban defector at the time, before
deals for guys like Jose Abreu and
Yoenis Cespedes.
He defected after playing for
Cuba’s national team in Japan at
the FISU World University Cham-
pionships in July and August,
2010.
Martin is coming off a down
year with the Rangers but is excel-
lent defensively and likely moves
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Martin played in 92 games and
hit just .219 in 95 games, missing
most of August and September after
breaking a bone in his right hand,
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Martin was left off the Rangers
postseason roster and then refused
to go to Arizona for workouts.
Also Friday, Seattle designated
left-hander Danny Hultzen for
assignment and selected the
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Powell from Triple-A Tacoma.
Hultzen, the second overall
pick in the 2011 amateur draft,
had shoulder surgery in October
2013 that caused him to miss the
following season. The 25-year-old
was 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA in three
starts with Double-A Jackson this
year, then went on the disabled list
on May 26 because of a strained
rotator cuff in his pitching shoulder
and was sidelined for the rest of the
season.
By CHRIS HANSEN
Eugene Register-Guard
Edward Cheserek will be chasing
history Saturday morning as he
navigates the grassy 10,000-meter
NCAA cross country championship
course at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State
Park in Louisville, Ky.
The Oregon junior from Kenya
has been the most dominant cross
country runner in the nation during
his three seasons with the Ducks,
and a win on Saturday will cement
his status as one of the greatest of all
time.
Already a two-time NCAA
champion, Cheserek is attempting to
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to win three
straight titles,
joining distance
legends Steve
Prefontaine,
Henry
Rono
and Gerry Lind-
gren as the only
other three-time
national cham-
pions in cross Cheserek
country.
“Sometimes when I’m chilling or
relaxing, I always think about year
to year and how the coaches have
helped me accomplish a lot in my
life,” Cheserek said. “I didn’t think
(about winning multiple titles) when
I came here but I got good coaches
and good teammates and a good
program and I was willing to work.”
The results speak for themselves.
Cheserek has won 12 of his last
14 cross country races, 13 of 17
overall, and is the only man to win
three-straight Pac-12 champion-
ships.
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freshman to win an NCAA cross
country championship in 2013
and has eight career NCAA titles
between cross country, indoor track
and outdoor track, a mark that is tied
for sixth all time with Ohio State’s
Jesse Owens and Arizona’s Lawi
Lalang. With a win Saturday, he
would tie Arkansas legends Mike
Conley and Robert Howard for
fourth all time with nine.
“Ed’s amazing,” Oregon soph-
omore teammate Travis Neuman
said. “The stuff he does just on a
daily basis is crazy. He’s so strong
and he’s just kind of on another
level. To have him helping out in
workouts, seeing what he does as far
as training goes, it’s really helpful
and pretty cool to watch.”
Prefontaine, the Oregon icon,
won his cross country titles in 1970,
1971 and 1973. He didn’t suit up for
the Ducks during the 1972 season
because it was an Olympic year and
he had competed at the Summer
Games in Munich.
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mentioned alongside Pre is not lost
on Cheserek.
“I think it means a lot to me,” he
said. “He’s someone when I came
here, I had heard about him. He
was a good runner and always kept
working and it kept motivating me a
lot when I was working. I read about
him and I thought I needed to really,
really work and maybe someday I
can put my name on a list with him.”