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SPORTS Saturday, December 5, 2015 East Oregonian Page 3B NFL Seahawks, Vikings will square off with similar formulas By DAVE CAMPBELL Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS — When the Minnesota Vikings grow up, they want to be just like the Seattle Seahawks. Wait, maybe they already are. Time will tell, of course, whether the Vikings can reach the level of dominance the Seahawks set in 2013 and 2014 on their way to the franchise¶s ¿rst Super %owl victory and consecutive NFC championships. Even in ¿rst place in the NFC North, the Vikings (8-3) have more improvements to make before they can be in that conversation. This year, though, they’ve already surpassed the Seahawks (6-5) in the standings. With Adrian Peterson again leading the NFL in rushing and fueling a low-turnover offense, plus a consistently stingy defense and solid special teams, the Vikings have been using a formula for success that’s similar to the Seahawks even if it’s an imperfect compar- ison. “What I’ve tried to do is Seattle Minnesota Seahawks Vikings (6-5) (8-3) Sunday, 10 a.m. at TCF Bank Stadium TV: FOX build an organization and an environment here that consti- tutes winning. We try to win. We try to play smart football. We try to play understanding the quick situations of the game,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. “I never go into a season saying we’ll be 8-3 or we’ll be 3-8 or anything like that. I just kind of try to get our team to play the very best they can each Sunday. I think having a culture of winning helps.” The Seahawks have certainly established that. They started 2-4, but they’ve averaged 33.3 points over their past three games to climb back into the playoff picture. The defense is still stacked, even if it’s been more vulnerable than in recent years. “Half of their defense are game-wrecker type players. AP Photo/David Goldman, File In this Nov. 29, 2015, ile photo, Minnesota Vikings run- ning back Adrian Peterson (28) runs against the Atlanta Falcons during the second half of an NFL football game in Atlanta. So we’ve got our hands full,” Vikings left tackle Matt Kalil said. Here are some other things to know about the game: PETERSON PRIMED: Peterson had 125-plus yards in three of the last four games, hitting his stride for the stretch run like he did during his NFL MVP season in 2012. The Seahawks have allowed the seventh-lowest average per rushing attempt in the league, but Peterson gained 158 yards on 29 carries last week at Atlanta, which is now sixth in the NFL in that category. “It’s always a grind, especially around Week 13, but my body feels good, shoulders, legs mostly importantly,” Peterson said. “So, yeah, I feel pretty good. %lessed.” REPLACING JIMMY GRAHAM: The Seahawks will play their ¿rst game without Jimmy Graham after the star tight end was lost for the rest of the season to a torn MLB patellar tendon in his right knee. While questions have been raised about how well the three-time Pro %owler ¿ts with this offense, there’s no doubt he was a factor defenses had to account for. Graham was on the ¿eld for nearly 78 percent of Seattle’s offensive plays this year since arriving in a trade with New Orleans. He had just two touchdowns after totaling 51 scores over his ¿rst ¿ve seasons in the league, but he was creating openings for other Seahawks receivers simply by being on the ¿eld. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Graham’s absence won’t change the scheme. Luke Willson, who has 12 catches for 152 yards and one score as the secondary tight end, will be the starter. “Nothing I haven’t been through before,” Willson said, “and I’m ready to roll.” MINNESOTA MEMO- RIES: Carroll will make his ¿rst visit with the Seahawks to Minnesota, where he served as defensive backs coach from 1985-89. He was hired by Pro Football Hall of Fame coach %ud Grant. “I just found him to be an extraordinary person with incredible insight and under- standing of people and sports and the world,” Carroll said. MAKING THEM- SELVES AT HOME :The Vikings are 9-4 at the Univer- sity of Minnesota’s open-air TCF %ank Stadium, the best winning percentage in NFL history for a team playing in a temporary venue. They’ll move downtown into ¿xed- roof U.S. %ank Stadium next year. CENTURY MARK: Even with Marshawn Lynch sidelined for 4½ games so far this season, most recently because of an abdominal injury, the Seahawks have made the ground game a priority behind the bruising undrafted rookie Thomas Rawls. %y rushing for at least 100 yards as a team in 22 consecutive games, they’re tied with Carolina for the longest active streak in the NFL. That run, no pun intended, almost ended last week against Pittsburgh with exactly 100 yards on 27 attempts. The Vikings have held six of their 11 opponents under 100 yards rushing. College Roundup Dipoto not stopping in overhauling M’s roster Ducks fall to UNLV Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipo- to answers questions during a baseball press conference Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015, in Seattle, where the team intro- duced their newest outielder Nori Aoki. By TIM BOOTH Associated Press SEATTLE — When Jerry Dipoto took charge of the Seattle Mariners he arrived with a list of tasks to complete and a rough time- line for getting them done. Get his support staff in place, decide on his ¿eld manager and then be aggres- sive and active in overhauling a roster that needed changes. “Yeah, I can get a little hyper-focused,” Dipoto said. No kidding. When Dipoto and the Mariners get to the baseball winter meetings in Nashville next week, they’ll arrive as the most active team in baseball since the end of the regular season. The big names might be missing from Seattle’s trans- actions list, but it’s a ledger of additions, subtractions and alterations to the Mariners roster that’s even exceeded some of Dipoto’s expecta- tions. “We’ve done a lot of roster reshaping if that makes any sense and we didn’t go in to the garden with a spade. We kind of went in with a backhoe,” Dipoto said after Seattle announced the signing of free agent out¿elder Nori Aoki this week. “And I think we’ve effectively restructured the way our offense moves and the way our defense is posi- tioned.” It’s been non-stop for Dipoto since Nov. 5, when his Àurry of activity began with a six-player trade with the Tampa %ay Rays. Five additional trades and four AP Photo/Joe Nicholson free agent signings later and the Mariners have a completely different look from a season ago. Aside from Robinson Cano, Kyle Seager, Nelson Cruz and Felix Hernandez, lineup cards will be needed to keep track of the new additions. All this activity happened in the span of one month. And the ¿rst pitch of the 2016 regular season is still four months away, giving Dipoto plenty of time to tinker. “They are the core of our club, they’re signed long term, and they are celebrated elite all-star level players and that is the group we are building around,” Dipoto said of Seattle’s group of All-Stars. “What we’ve been trying to do today, and I think we’re doing it effectively, is we’re raising the Àoor around them so that we have the ability to go out and stretch that lineup, make it deeper.” Without ever making a public statement, Dipoto has clearly shown where he saw fault with the way that the Mariners had been constructed. The idea of power and playing static positions has been replaced by the priorities of athleti- cism and versatility. Seattle doesn’t intend on being a big spender in free agency, but the additions made already far outweigh any one big signing the club could have made. The out¿eld was Dipoto’s top priority — trying to put together a collection of players who ¿t within the vast expanses of Safeco Field. Aoki and Leonys Martin will join with Franklin Gutierrez, Seth Smith and Cruz in a ¿ve-man rotation among all three out¿eld positions. Dipoto also created depth at catcher with the acquisitions of Chris Iannetta and Steve Clevenger to give former No. 3-overall pick Mike Zunino time in the minors to ¿gure out his swing issues. First base was sacri¿ced after the trade of Mark Trumbo earlier this week. The one area where Dipoto acknowledges Seattle may have to get aggressive is starting pitching. If Seattle can persuade Hisashi Iwakuma to return, then its starting pitching quandary is mostly solved, even if the Mariners would then have a right-hand heavy rotation. %ut if Iwakuma decides to go elsewhere, then adding a proven starter to the rotation becomes the top priority. “There is a lot of offseason left,” Dipoto said. “The league, the industry, the market is going to de¿ne our timing on this.” By W.G. RAMIREZ Associated Press LAS VEGAS — Ike Nwamu scored 19 points to lead UNLV to an 80-69 win over No. 15 Oregon on Friday night. Jerome Seagears added 16 points as the Runnin’ Rebels defeated a Top 25 team for the second time this season. They beat then- No. 13 Indiana in Maui on Nov. 25. Patrick McCaw had 14 points for UNLV, and 7-foot freshman Stephen Zimmerman Jr. had 12 points and 12 rebounds. %en Carter scored 10 points. Zimmerman picked an ideal time for his ¿rst ¿eld goal of the second half, helping the Rebels end a near-10 minute drought from the Àoor. The Ducks closed to 59-54 before Carter made two free throws, Zimmerman connected on a jump shot and McCaw made a layup to restore UNLV’s double-digit lead. Oregon, which was held scoreless over the ¿nal 3:31, was led by Dwayne %enjamin’s 21 points. The Rebels controlled the tempo from the opening tip, burying three straight 3-pointers to open a 9-2 lead. UNLV used runs of 13-5, 10-0 and 7-0 to hold off the Ducks. COLUMBIA BASIN 85, BMCC 67 — At Pend- leton, a slow ¿rst half put the %lue Mountain Timber- wolves into a hole they couldn’t dig themselves outu of, falling to Columbia %asin 85-67. Jared Schultz led %lue Mountain in scoring with 15 points on 6-12 shooting and also grabbed six rebounds. Other top scorers were Jared Mathews with 14 points, D’Quan Crockett with 12 points, and Luke Meyers with 11 points. The Timberwolves are back in action today against Mt. Hood in Walla Walla at 2 p.m. Women’s Basketball GRAYS HARBOR 75, BLUE MOUNTAIN 68 — At Pendleton, the %lue Mountain Timberwolves couldn’t hold on to a half- time lead as Grays Harbor used a strong third quarter performance to put away the Timberwolves for the victory. The Timberwolves led 40-32 at halftime, but Grays Harbor outscored %MCC 28-17 in the third quarter and 15-11 in the fourth to grab the win. Kayla Reyna led the Timberwolves offensively with 17 points on a meager 5-20 from the Àoor. Other top scorers were Savannah Heugly with 15 points, %rook Haringa with 12 points, and %ailey Gregory with 10 points. As a team, %MCC shot just 28 percent from the Àoor and connected on just 11 of 44 shot attempts from three-point land. %MCC is back in action today when they host Edmonds at 2 p.m. SCOREBOARD Correction The Central Washington University mas- cot is the Wildcats. Incorrect information appeared in “Clem signs on with Eagles” in the Friday, Dec. 4 edition. The EO apolo- gizes for the error. Local slate PREP BOYS BASKETBALL Today Pendleton vs. TBD, TBD Mac-Hi vs. TBD (at Sherman), TBD Riverside vs. TBD (at Ione), TBD Irrigon vs. TBD (at Ione), TBD Pilot Rock vs. Monument/Dayville (at Fossil), 2:30 p.m. Crosshill Christian vs. Nixyaawii (at Molalla), 4:30 p.m. Bickleton (WA) at Helix, 5:30 p.m. Nyssa at Heppner, 5:30 p.m. Ione vs. TBD, 5:30 p.m. Echo at Condon/Wheeler, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday Pendleton at Walla Walla (WA), 7 p.m. Umatilla at Weston-McEwen, 7 p.m. Irrigon at Yakama Tribal (WA), 7 p.m. Heppner at Arlington, 7 p.m. Hermiston at Hanford (WA), 7:30 p.m. Mac-Hi at Helix, 7:30 p.m. Walla Walla Academy at Riverside, 7:30 p.m. Pilot Rock at Nixyaawii, 7:30 p.m. Echo at Columbia Christian, 7:30 p.m. PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL Today Mac-Hi vs. TBD (at Sherman), TBD Pendleton vs. TBD, TBD Pilot Rock vs. Monument/Dayville (at Fossil), 1 p..m Nixyaawii vs. Neah-Kah-Nie (at Molalla), 1:30 p.m. Ione vs. TBD, 4 p.m. Bickleton (WA) at Helix, 4 p.m. Echo at Condon/Wheeler, 4 p.m. Nyssa at Heppner, 4 p.m. Tuesday Walla Walla (WA) at Pendleton, TBD Umatilla at Weston-McEwen, 5:30 p.m. Irrigon at Yakama Tribal (WA), 5:30 p.m. Heppner at Arlington, 5:30 p.m. Hermiston at Hanford (WA), 5:45 p.m. Mac-Hi at Helix, 6 p.m. Walla Walla Academy at Riverside, 6 p.m. Pilot Rock at Nixyaawii, 6 p.m. Echo at Columbia Christian, 6 p.m. PREP WRESTLING Today Echo, Heppner at Irrigon Tournament, 9 a.m. Hermiston at Oregon City Tournament, 9 a.m. Riverside, Pendleton at Kennewick (WA) Tournament, 10 a.m. Mac-Hi at Estacada Tournament, TBD PREP SWIMMING Today Pendleton, Hermiston at Pendleton Meet (BMCC), 10 a.m. COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL Today Blue Mountain vs. Mt. Hood (at Walla Walla), 2 p.m. Walla Walla U. at Eastern Oregon, 7:30 p.m. COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Today Edmonds at Blue Mountain, 2 p.m. Walla Walla U. at Eastern Oregon, 5:30 p.m. Sunday South Puget Sound at Blue Mountain, 2 p.m. Football NFL AMERICAN CONFERENCE East W L T Pct PF New England 10 1 0 .909 347 N.Y. Jets 6 5 0 .545 272 Buffalo 5 6 0 .455 266 Miami 4 7 0 .364 225 South W L T Pct PF Indianapolis 6 5 0 .545 249 Houston 6 5 0 .545 232 Jacksonville 4 7 0 .364 236 Tennessee 2 9 0 .182 203 North W L T Pct PF Cincinnati 9 2 0 .818 297 Pittsburgh 6 5 0 .545 266 Baltimore 4 7 0 .364 259 Cleveland 2 9 0 .182 213 West W L T Pct PF Denver 9 2 0 .818 252 Kansas City 6 5 0 .545 287 Oakland 5 6 0 .455 264 San Diego 3 8 0 .273 244 NATIONAL CONFERENCE East W L T Pct PF Washington 5 6 0 .455 241 N.Y. Giants 5 6 0 .455 287 Philadelphia 4 7 0 .364 243 Dallas 3 8 0 .273 204 South PA 212 228 257 287 PA 260 234 299 257 PA 193 230 276 310 PA 207 220 280 307 PA 267 273 274 261 W L T Pct PF PA Carolina 11 0 0 1.000 332 205 Atlanta 6 5 0 .545 260 234 Tampa Bay 5 6 0 .455 248 279 New Orleans 4 7 0 .364 261 339 North W L T Pct PF PA Minnesota 8 3 0 .727 231 194 Green Bay 8 4 0 .667 289 238 Chicago 5 6 0 .455 231 264 Detroit 4 8 0 .333 253 315 West W L T Pct PF PA Arizona 9 2 0 .818 355 229 Seattle 6 5 0 .545 267 222 St. Louis 4 7 0 .364 186 230 San Francisco 3 8 0 .273 152 271 ——— Thursday’s Game Green Bay 27, Detroit 23 Sunday’s Games Arizona at St. Louis, 10 a.m. Seattle at Minnesota, 10 a.m. Jacksonville at Tennessee, 10 a.m. San Francisco at Chicago, 10 a.m. N.Y. Jets at N.Y. Giants, 10 a.m. Atlanta at Tampa Bay, 10 a.m. Houston at Buffalo, 10 a.m. Baltimore at Miami, 10 a.m. Cincinnati at Cleveland, 10 a.m. Denver at San Diego, 1:05 p.m. Kansas City at Oakland, 1:05 p.m. Carolina at New Orleans, 1:25 p.m. Philadelphia at New England, 1:25 p.m. Indianapolis at Pittsburgh, 5:30 p.m. Monday’s Game Dallas at Washington, 5:30 p.m. NCAA FCS Playoffs Todays’ Games William & Mary (9-3) at Richmond (8-3), 9 a.m. The Citadel (9-3) at Charleston Southern (9-2), 10 a.m. Colgate (8-4) at James Madison (9-2), 10 a.m. Western Illinois (7-5) at Illinois State (9-2), 11 a.m. Chattanooga (9-3) at Jacksonville State (10-1), 11 a.m. Montana (8-4) at North Dakota State (9-2), 12:30 p.m. Sam Houston State (9-3) at McNeese State (10-0), 4 p.m. Northern Iowa (8-4) at Portland State (9-2), 7 p.m. Basketball NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Pct GB Toronto 12 8 .600 — Boston 11 8 .579 ½ New York 10 10 .500 2 Brooklyn 5 14 .263 6½ Philadelphia 1 19 .050 11 Southeast Division W L Pct GB Miami 11 6 .647 — Atlanta 13 9 .591 ½ Orlando 11 8 .579 1 Charlotte 10 8 .556 1½ Washington 8 9 .471 3 Central Division W L Pct GB Chicago 11 5 .688 ½ Cleveland 13 6 .684 — Indiana 12 6 .667 ½ Detroit 11 9 .550 2½ Milwaukee 7 13 .350 6½ WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division W L Pct GB San Antonio 16 4 .800 — Memphis 11 9 .550 5 Dallas 11 9 .550 5 Houston 9 11 .450 7 New Orleans 5 15 .250 11 Northwest Division W L Pct GB Oklahoma City 11 8 .579 — Utah 8 9 .471 2 Minnesota 8 10 .444 2½ Portland 8 12 .400 3½ Denver 7 13 .350 4½ Pacific Division W L Pct GB Golden State 20 0 1.000 — L.A. Clippers 10 9 .526 9½ Phoenix 8 12 .400 12 Sacramento 7 13 .350 13 L.A. Lakers 3 16 .158 16½ ——— Friday’s Games Washington 109, Phoenix 106 New York 108, Brooklyn 91 Detroit 102, Milwaukee 95 Atlanta 100, L.A. Lakers 87 Houston 100, Dallas 96 New Orleans 114, Cleveland 108, OT Today’s Games Denver at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. Golden State at Toronto, 2 p.m. Charlotte at Chicago, 5 p.m. Portland at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Sacramento at Houston, 5 p.m. Cleveland at Miami, 5 p.m. Boston at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. New York at Milwaukee, 5:30 p.m. Indiana at Utah, 6 p.m. Orlando at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m. NCAA Men’s Basketball Top 25 Friday 1. Kentucky (7-1) did not play. Next: vs. Eastern Kentucky, Wednesday. 2. Maryland (7-1) beat St. Francis (Pa.) 96-55. Next: vs. UConn, Tuesday. 3. Michigan State (8-0) vs. Bingham- ton. Next: vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore, Wednesday. 4. Kansas (5-1) did not play. Next: vs. Harvard, Saturday. 5. Iowa State (6-0) did not play. Next: vs. Buffalo, Monday. 6. Oklahoma (5-0) did not play. Next: vs. No. 8 Villanova, Monday. 7. Duke (7-1) did not play. Next: vs. Buffa- lo, Saturday. 8. Villanova (7-0) did not play. Next: vs. No. 6 Oklahoma, Monday. 9. North Carolina (6-1) did not play. Next: vs. Davidson, Sunday. 10. Virginia (6-1) did not play. Next: vs. William & Mary, Saturday. 11. Purdue (7-0) did not play. Next: vs. New Mexico, Saturday. 12. Xavier (7-0) did not play. Next: vs. Western Kentucky, Saturday. 13. Gonzaga (5-1) did not play. Next: vs. No. 19 Arizona, Saturday. 14. Syracuse (6-1) did not play. Next: at Georgetown, Saturday. 15. Oregon (6-1) lost to UNLV 80-69. Next: vs. Navy, Monday. 16. Vanderbilt (6-1) did not play. Next: at No. 25 Baylor, Sunday. 17. Cincinnati (7-1) did not play. Next: vs. Morgan State, Sunday. 18. Texas A&M (7-1) did not play. Next: at Arizona State, Saturday. 19. Arizona (6-1) did not play. Next: at No. 13 Gonzaga, Saturday. 20. West Virginia (6-0) did not play. Next: vs. Kennesaw State, Saturday. 21. Miami (6-1) did not play. Next: vs. Charlotte, Saturday. 22. SMU (5-0) did not play. Next: vs. New Hampshire, Saturday. 23. Providence (7-1) did not play. Next: at Rhode Island, Saturday. 24. Louisville (5-1) did not play. Next: vs. Grand Canyon, Saturday. 25. Baylor (5-1) did not play. Next: vs. No. 16 Vanderbilt, Sunday. Hockey NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division GP W L OT Montreal 27 19 5 3 Detroit 26 14 8 4 Ottawa 25 13 7 5 Florida 26 13 9 4 Boston 24 13 8 3 Tampa Bay 26 12 11 3 Buffalo 26 11 12 3 Pts 41 32 31 30 29 27 25 GF 92 66 82 67 79 61 63 GA 60 65 75 62 72 59 69 Toronto 26 8 13 5 21 57 Metropolitan Division GP W L OT Pts GF Washington 24 18 5 1 37 78 N.Y. Rangers 27 17 7 3 37 76 N.Y. Islanders 27 15 8 4 34 76 Pittsburgh 24 14 8 2 30 57 New Jersey 26 13 10 3 29 65 Philadelphia 26 11 10 5 27 53 Columbus 27 10 16 1 21 62 Carolina 25 8 13 4 20 51 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division GP W L OT Pts GF Dallas 27 20 5 2 42 93 St. Louis 26 15 7 4 34 67 Minnesota 24 13 7 4 30 66 Nashville 25 13 8 4 30 65 Chicago 26 13 9 4 30 71 Winnipeg 26 12 12 2 26 73 Colorado 26 11 14 1 23 75 Paciic Division GP W L OT Pts GF Los Angeles 24 15 8 1 31 60 San Jose 25 14 11 0 28 67 Arizona 26 13 12 1 27 70 Vancouver 27 9 10 8 26 72 Anaheim 27 10 12 5 25 53 Calgary 26 10 14 2 22 65 Edmonton 27 10 15 2 22 67 ——— Friday’s Games Florida 2, Columbus 1, SO N.Y. Islanders 2, St. Louis 1, SO Buffalo 5, Arizona 2 Philadelphia 4, New Jersey 3, OT Calgary 5, Boston 4, OT Edmonton 2, Dallas 1, OT Anaheim 1, San Jose 0 Today’s Games Washington at Winnipeg, 12 p.m. Pittsburgh at Los Angeles, 1 p.m. N.Y. Islanders at Ottawa, 4 p.m. Nashville at Detroit, 4 p.m. Montreal at Carolina, 4 p.m. Toronto at St. Louis, 4 p.m. Columbus at Philadelphia, 4:30 p.m. Colorado at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Boston at Vancouver, 7 p.m. Tampa Bay at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Sunday’s Games Arizona at Carolina, 2 p.m. Winnipeg at Chicago, 2 p.m. Florida at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Ottawa at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m. Buffalo at Edmonton, 5 p.m. Pittsburgh at Anaheim, 5 p.m. Tampa Bay at Los Angeles, 7 p.m. Soccer MLS CUP Sunday, Dec. 6: Portland at Columbus, 1 p.m. 73 GA 53 57 64 55 64 70 80 75 GA 70 63 62 64 68 81 77 GA 51 64 80 75 67 94 80
