SPORTS
Thursday, January 21, 2016
East Oregonian
NFL
Page 3B
Men’s Basketball
Jackson chasing unlikely Super Bowl
attracted the Patriots following
injuries to running backs Dion
Lewis and LeGarrette Blount.
“I think his career speaks
for itself,” coach Bill Belichick
said after signing Jackson in
December.
By KYLE HIGHTOWER
Jackson said the “by
Associated Press
committee” approach with James
White and Brandon Bolden that
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. —
was described to him in his initial
Steven Jackson wasn’t waiting
conversations with New England
by the phone late last month
helped him visualize a situation
when the Patriots called looking
he felt he could succeed in.
for a running back to plug the
It also helped that he had
KROHVRIWKHLUEDWWHUHGEDFN¿HOG
previously played under Patriots
He didn’t even hear it ring as
offensive coordinator Josh
he sat in a meeting with some of
McDaniels when McDaniels was
his St. Louis business partners,
in the same role for the Rams in
going over some legal documents
-DFNVRQUDQIRU\DUGV
for his restaurant there.
that season — at the time, his
“I had a missed call. My agent
seventh consecutive season of at
called me back and asked if the
least 1,000 yards.
Patriots reached out to me,” he
AP Photo/
“It just makes the transition a
Charles Krupa
said. “It kind of went from there.”
OLWWOHVPRRWKHURQFH\RX¶UHDI¿OL-
Six weeks later, the three-time
ated and exposed to the offense,”
Pro Bowl selection — who last
Jackson said. “Because it is quite
appeared in the playoffs as a St.
complicated.”
Louis Rams rookie in 2004 — is
In his two regular-season
in the unlikely position of being when most running backs are his last NFL game. He debuted
just a game away from a Super considered well past their prime, with the Patriots on Dec. 27 and appearances for New England, he
Bowl berth that he once accepted Jackson was content to enter said that before signing with UXVKHGWLPHVIRU\DUGVDQG
would never come.
New England, the only time he a touchdown. The Patriots only
post-football life.
“That was the largest factor
But when a franchise with watched a game this season was ran the ball 14 times in their win
RYHU .DQVDV &LW\ ODVW ZHHN EXW
to be honest with you,” Jackson four Super Bowl rings calls, it’s on Thanksgiving.
said. “I haven’t been in the post- worth hearing the pitch.
+H ¿QGV KLPVHOI LQ D ODUJHO\ Jackson had six of those carries
for 16 yards.
season in quite some time. It had
“Of course, you didn’t think unfamiliar situation.
Though he never thought
to be the right situation. It wasn’t RUZHHNVLQWRWKHVHDVRQLW
$IWHU -DFNVRQ ZHQW
one where I couldn’t move on would come...Nothing happens 10 consecutive seasons without he’d be in this position two
with life or I couldn’t move from SHUIHFW´-DFNVRQVDLGLQWKH a winning season or playoff months ago, Jackson said the
the game. It had to be one that locker room on Wednesday as appearance with St. Louis or most important thing to him right
EHQH¿WHGERWKVLGHV$QG,WKLQN he prepared to play the Denver $WODQWD
now is the support he’s getting at
this is one of the few opportuni- %URQFRV LQ WKH $)& FKDPSLRQ-
It didn’t stop his productivity, home from his family.
ties that allow that to happen.”
“I think it made it a lot easier
though. He remains the Rams
ship game.
$IWHU DSSHDULQJ LQ JDPHV
“But this time it seemed DOOWLPH OHDGLQJ UXVKHU as far as them allowing me to
ZLWK $WODQWD LQ -DFNVRQ to work out the best for both yards), and he had more than come back and get back into the
was released shortly after the parties,” he said.
1,200 yards and 12 touchdowns game of football,” he said. “They
season and was without an NFL
understand this is just an opportu-
Forget playing, Jackson LQKLVEULHIVWLQWLQ$WODQWD
MRE $W \HDUV ROG DQ DJH barely watched football after
It was the kind of resume that nity I couldn’t turn down.”
Kansas
City Chiefs
cornerback
Sean Smith
(21) and
defensive
back Tyvon
Branch (27)
tackle New
England
Patriots
running back
Steven Jack-
son (39) in
the irst half
of an NFL
division-
al playoff
football
game, Sat-
urday, Jan.
16, 2016, in
Foxborough,
Mass.
Former Oregon State
star was resigned to
life after football
+DPLOWRQ8&/$
beat Oregon State
Associated Press
&259$//,6 ² ,VDDF +DPLOWRQ VFRUHG
SRLQWV RQ RI VKRRWLQJ DV 8&/$
EHDW 2UHJRQ 6WDWH RQ :HGQHVGD\
night.
2UHJRQ6WDWHFXWLWVGH¿FLWWRDIWHU
a 6-0 run capped by a Drew Eubanks dunk
ZLWK OHIW 8&/$
responded by scoring the
next seven points. Hamil-
WRQ¶V OD\XS ZLWK
UCLA
remaining put the Bruins
XS
The margin hovered
around 10 points — or
more — the rest of the
FRQWHVW $ SDLU RI %U\FH
Oregon St.
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8&/$ LWV ELJJHVW OHDG
ZLWKOHIW
$OIRUG KDG SRLQWV
VL[ UHERXQGV DQG ¿YH DVVLVWV DQG 7KRPDV
Welsh added 10 points and 12 rebounds for
WKH%UXLQV3DF
8&/$RXWUHERXQGHG2UHJRQ6WDWH
DQGVKRWSHUFHQWFRPSDUHGWRSHUFHQW
for the Beavers.
Gary Payton II had 17 points and seven
DVVLVWVDQG7UHV7LQNOHDGGHGSRLQWVDQG
eight rebounds for the Beavers (11-6, 2-4),
who dropped their third straight.
Payton went to the bench with his second
IRXO ZLWK UHPDLQLQJ LQ WKH KDOI DQG
the Beavers were held scoreless for more
WKDQVL[PLQXWHV8&/$ZHQWRQDUXQ
GXULQJWKHVSDQWRWDNHDOHDG
$DURQ +ROLGD\ ZHQW FRDVWWRFRDVW DQG
sank a buzzer-beating jumper from the base-
OLQHWRJLYH8&/$DOHDGDWWKHEUHDN
———
TIP-INS
2UHJRQ 6WDWH 6HQLRU IRUZDUG -DUPDO
Reid was suspended a minimum of four
games for tripping a referee during Oregon
6WDWH¶VORVVWR8WDKRQ6XQGD\7KLV
ZDVWKH¿UVWJDPHKHPLVVHG
82
73
Women’s Basketball
More parity in Pac-12 means positive things for the entire league
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
For the better part of two
decades, Stanford dominated
women’s basketball in the
Pac-12. Now, teams like
$UL]RQD 6WDWH DQG 2UHJRQ
State are catching up and
building their own legacies.
The result of this growing
parity has been good for
the league as a whole. The
Pac-12 has four teams
FXUUHQWO\ UDQNHG LQ WKH $3
7RS$UL]RQD6WDWHDW1R
2UHJRQ 6WDWH DW 1R
6WDQIRUGDW1RDQG8&/$
at No. 20. Washington is just
outside of the rankings.
Utah
coach
Lynne
5REHUWVLQKHU¿UVW\HDUZLWK
the Utes, noted the challenge
as the league gets into the
WKLFN RI FRQIHUHQFH SOD\
“Every night, anyone can beat
anybody.”
Evidence of the Pac-12’s
upswing is in the RPI. There
are six Pac-12 teams among
WKHWRSLQWKH1&$$53,
rankings, more than any
other conference. That’s the
league’s best showing since it
expanded to 12 teams in 2011.
“I think the exciting
thing is we came out of the
preseason with the No. 1 RPI,
and I don’t think we’ve done
WKDW YHU\ PXFK´ $UL]RQD
6WDWH FRDFK &KDUOL 7XUQHU
Thorne said. “I think one of
the criticisms was the strength
of schedule for some of the
teams in our conference.”
%HFDXVH53,¿JXUHVLQWRD
team’s fate in the postseason,
there’s speculation that the
Pac-12 could see as many as
HLJKWWHDPVPDNHWKH1&$$
tournament this season, up
IURP¿YHWKHSDVWWZR\HDUV
The shift in the league was
apparent on Sunday, when
Stanford’s dominance over
2UHJRQ 6WDWH ¿QDOO\ HQGHG
7KH &DUGLQDO
Pac-12) had won 29 straight
meetings between the two
teams — stretching back to
2001 — until the thrilling
FRPHIURPEHKLQG
Beavers victory.
Deven
Hunter
had
SRLQWV LQFOXGLQJ ¿YH
SRLQWHUV DV ZHOO DV
rebounds, and the Beavers
HUDVHGDSRLQW
WKLUGTXDUWHU GH¿FLW DQG
¿QLVKHGRQDUXQ
The Beavers have been
on an upward track for the
past six years, when coach
Scott Rueck took over a
team in shambles and had to
stage open tryouts. Oregon
State won the league’s
regular-season title last year,
ending a 14-year streak during
which Stanford had either
won it outright or shared it.
$IWHU WKH ORVV 6WDQIRUG
coach Tara VanDerveer
pointed to the league’s parity.
“I think that now there’s a
little bit more — like in the past
there might have been teams
here, and some teams here,”
she said, indicating two levels
with her hands. “There have
always been good teams, now
there’s just a tighter pack.”
With stellar defensive play,
the Sun Devils also defeated
6WDQIRUGRQ-DQ
$UL]RQD 6WDWH¶V UDQNLQJ
this week matches the highest
ever for the team. The Sun
'HYLOV DUH WKH
only undefeated team left in
conference play, coming off
DQYLFWRU\RYHUWKH8WHV
on Sunday.
The school’s 12-game
winning streak is three shy of
the school record set during
WKHVHDVRQ
Turner Thorne thinks
there’s something more at
play when it comes to the
3DF¶VULVH7HOHYLVLRQ7KH
Pac-12 Network has made
women’s basketball on the
:HVW &RDVW PRUH DFFHVVLEOH
than ever before, which is key
to both ranking and recruiting.
³$ORWRIJUHDWSOD\HUVDQG
a lot of great teams didn’t
get near the recognition they
deserved,” she said. “Now
you can’t help but watch and
VHHXV)URPWKH¿UVW\HDULW¶V
been drastically different, in
terms of the polls, in terms
RI 1&$$ VHOHFWLRQ SOD\HUV
getting recognized.”
2UHJRQ¶V -LOOLDQ $OOH\QH
is one of those players
EHQH¿WLQJ IURP WKH OHDJXH¶V
H[SRVXUH $OWKRXJK WKH
'XFNV DUH
building under second-year
FRDFK.HOO\*UDYHV$OOH\QH
is rightfully getting national
attention.
/DVW ZHHNHQG $OOH\QH
became the Pac-12’s all-time
OHDGLQJUHERXQGHUZLWK
boards, passing former Stan-
IRUG VWDU &KLQH\ 2JZXPLNH
$ VHQLRU $OOH\QH KDV
appreciated the competition.
“This is probably the
toughest the Pac-12 has ever
been since I’ve been a part
RI WKH FRQIHUHQFH $QG LW¶V
so fun to go in every night
knowing you’re playing
against a great team, or a
team that’s going to make
\RX EHWWHU´ VKH VDLG ³$Q\
night, it’s anyone’s game.
The competition is just far
and beyond than when I
started.”
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