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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 2016)
SPORTS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016 HERMISTON Sports shorts &DYV¶.HYLQ/RYH UHLQMXUHVVKRXOGHU CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers forward Kevin Love has re-injured his surgically repaired left shoulder. Love, whose shoulder was dislocated in last year’s playoffs, left the À oor in the ¿ nal minute of the ¿ rst half of Wednesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Love turned toward Cleveland’s bench and said “it’s my shoulder´ before heading straight to the locker room for treatment. Love’s left arm hung limply to his side as he exited. It’s not clear how or when Love got hurt. At halftime, the Cavs only said Love will not return in the second half. The team is expected to provide more information following the game. Love came in averaging 15.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Lillard named ¿QDOLVWIRU86 2O\PSLFWHDP Portland Trail Blazers guard is one step closer to the Olympics. USA Basketball announced in a press release on Wednesday that Lillard had been FACES approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors as an addition to the list of 30 ¿ nalists for the Lillard 2016 Summer Olympic Games to be held from Aug. 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “Both Mike (Krzyzewski) and I feel like Damian is playing at a very high level and that he should be added to our list of Olympic ¿ nalists,´ said Jerry Colangelo, managing director of the USA Men’s National Team. Lillard has been part of the USA Men’s National Team since 2014. The of¿ cial 12-member roster will be announced later this year. “I think that sets a horrible example for kids, honestly. You can’t protect guys because they can’t shoot free throws. We’re getting paid a lot of money to make a damn free throw, dude. I think it sets a bad precedent. — Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers guard on the ‘Hack-a- Shaq’ strategy in the NBA. The rule has seen a lot of criticism recently, as many teams resort to intentionally fouling bad foul shooters to slow down offenses. 7+,6'$7(,1632576 1990 — Mike Tyson loses for the ¿ rst time when Buster Douglas knocks him out in the 10th round and captures the heavyweight champi- onship in one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. 2011 — The Cleveland Cavaliers stopped their NBA-record losing streak at 26 games with a 126-119 win in overtime against the Los Angeles Clippers. Antawn Jamison scores 35 points for the Cavs and makes a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left in the extra period. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS Bulldog signs on with MSU-Northern Simon continues career with four more years of football By SAM BARBEE East Oregonian Ever since he was in the third grade, Hayden Simon wanted to play college football. He dreamed of playing at The Ohio State Univer- sity, a school with an enrollment nearly the size of Umatilla County. Now, a decade later, Simon has realized his childhood dream, signing with Montana State Univer- sity-Northern in Havre, Montana last week, joining a program trying to pull itself out of an 0-11 (0-10 Frontier Conference) season at the National Association of Intercolle- giate Athletics (NAIA) level. Simon will play middle line- backer and perhaps get a few oppor- tunities to run the ball, something he did as a senior at Hermiston. “I just really liked their academic program,´ he said. And, while taking his visit in late January, he discovered that he “really liked the people there. That basically what did it for me.´ Academically, Northern provided some things the Simon family was excited to see. It has a relatively small enrollment (1,037 undergraduates for the 2015 ¿ scal year) which means the student-pro- fessor ratio is about 14-1 Staff photo by Sam Barbee Simon started playing football Hayden Simon of Hermiston smiles with his parents Deannie (far in fourth grade and was coached, in left) and Mike after signing a National Letter of Intent Wednesday. part, by his dad Mike, who helped oversee Simon’s football teams “I started noticing when he was then college. Ultimately it was on until he reached middle school. sixth grade entering into junior Hayden and his work ethic to get When Simon was about to make the transition into seventh grade foot- high,´ Mike said. “He had the there.´ A three-year starter at Herm- ball, Mike got an inkling that his ability athletic-wise to go to the son might have the tools to continue next level of football, whether it’s iston, Simon was an anchor on the high school, onto the varsity, and See SIMON/2B playing. PENDLETON Rough Riders skate into of season The Rough Riders Pendleton Ice Sports Booster Associa- tion offers local youth the oppor- tunity to play a sport unfamiliar to a lot of Ameri- cans. Staff photo by E.J. Harris Pendleton youth hockey league holds final games of the winter season By MATT ENTRUP East Oregonian PENDLETON — With just three minutes left in the ¿ nal game of their season, the Pendleton Rough Riders had one thing on their minds. “4uick, score a goal´ A random voice shouted out from behind the boards. Moments later that cry was answered as a player lifted the puck over the growing layer of ice shavings covering the rink and past the determined goalkeeper for what would be the game’s ¿ nal point. The players cheered in unison as smiling faces peered out from behind their face masks. Just a few seconds later the referee blew three shrill bursts of his whistle to signify the game was over. Players lined up to shake hands and then ¿ led off the ice at Roy Raley Park. So what was the ¿ nal score" “7-5,´ came one response. “8-4,´ another. “4 to something,´ a third player replied. It didn’t matter. What did matter was that for another year the Rough Riders had gotten to participate in their favorite sport. Sure, the conditions weren’t ideal — soft ice, thigh-high boards and a rink so small even seven players seemed like a crowd — but the players didn’t seem to mind it much. The game pitted the Level 4 Rough Riders against their Level 3 compatriots, high school against middle school, with the younger players in a perpetual power play with an extra skater to try to even the playing ¿ eld. It didn’t work, of course, but winning the game wasn’t the most important aspect of Wednesday night’s season ¿ nale. Keeping ice hockey alive and well in a region without much opportunity for the sport was the key victory. Since 2007 the Rough Riders have carried that torch for local youth. Consisting of four levels of competition ranging from players age 6-18, the organization has expe- rienced recent growth. “Two years ago we had 29 (players) and this year we had 45 come out for it,´ said John Bieker, a committee member for Pendleton Ice Sports, the non-pro¿ t that over- sees the organization. “We have a lot of beginners. When they ¿ rst come out here they can’t even skate and by the end of the season they’re doing really good.´ Pendleton’s tiny rink is the only one in operation in Umatilla County, but the Rough Riders make due. “We can de¿ nitely learn to See HOCKEY/2B NBA Lillard scores 31 as Blazers hold off Rockets Blazers slide into seventh in West with win By ANNE M. PETERSON Associated Press PORTLAND — Damian Lillard sparked a second- quarter outburst for the Portland Trail Blazers and ¿ nished with 31 points and nine assists in a 116-103 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night. Maurice Harkless set season highs with 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Blazers, who moved past Houston into a tie with Utah for seventh place in the Houston Portland 103 116 Western Conference stand- ings. They enter the All-Star break having won three in a row and eight of nine. James Harden had 34 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds for the Rockets, who have dropped three straight and six of eight to fall out of playoff position. Dwight Howard dominated the paint with 28 points and 13 rebounds. After trailing by as many as 21 in the second half, Houston closed to 93-88 early in the fourth quarter. But a Blazers timeout led to a scoring burst that restored the lead to 20 with 3:47 to go. An entertaining, if at times sloppy, game took on a far more spirited air with 5:02 left in the second quarter. Patrick Beverly committed a hard, and needless, foul on Lillard just past halfcourt, sending the Blazers point guard sprawling. Lillard spiked the ball in anger, of¿ cials reviewed the play to determine if it was a À agrant foul, and the crowd roared as Portland reeled off eight consecutive points and closed the half on a 13-4 run to take a 57-46 lead into the locker room. See BLAZERS/2B Portland Trail Blaz- ers center Mason Plumlee (24) shoots over Hous- ton Rock- ets center Dwight Howard, right, as Rockets guard James Hard- en (13) watches during Wednes- day’s game in Portland. (AP Photo/Steve Dykes)
