East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, April 21, 2016, Page 1B, Image 9

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    SPORTS
THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2016
1B
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS
Sports shorts
College Golf
MLS adds security
at its stadiums
Lien, Simmons lead Lewis-Clark surge
NEW YORK (AP) —
Fans attending games at
Major League Soccer venues
will be subject
to pat down
searches or
screenings
with wands
starting
Saturday.
New
guidelines announced by the
league also prohibit large
purses, coolers, briefcases,
backpacks and other large
bags. Bags will also be
subject to searches.
Ray Whitworth, senior
vice president of security
and operations, said the
updated measures will bring
MLS in line with other
professional sports leagues
in the United States.
Each venue will
decide which screening
measure — pat downs
or wands — is used. The
security procedures will
apply to all soccer games at
MLS venues, not just league
games.
Warriors men win
Frontier Conference
championship
East Oregonian
TEMPE, Ariz. — Chris Lien
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tier Conference Championships
with three-straight birdies, and
the Lewis-Clark State senior from
Heppner went on to post the lowest
round of the
was
enough
54-hole tourna-
to
surpass
ment to win the
Rocky Moun-
men’s title on
tain’s Colton
Wednesday.
Murphy, who
Lien made
entered
the
the turn at
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URXQG
ASU Karsten
with a four-
Golf Course
stroke lead that
at three-under
disintegrated
Simmons
par for the day Lien
when he shot
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three bogeys
under before hitting bogeys on and two bogeys on the front nine to
WZRRIWKH¿QDOIRXUKROHVWRFRPH make the turn at seven-over.
into the clubhouse with a 68. That
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1996 — The Chicago
Bulls wrap up the most
successful regular season in
NBA history with their 72nd
victory, getting 26 points
from Michael Jordan in a
103-93 decision over Wash-
ington. Jordan sets an NBA
record by winning his eighth
NBA scoring title, breaking
Wilt Chamberlain’s record of
seven.
2012 — Phil Humber
WKURZVWKH¿UVWSHUIHFWJDPH
in the majors in almost two
years, leading the Chicago
White Sox to a 4-0 victory
over the Seattle Mariners.
Contact us at 541-966-0838 or
sports@eastoregonian.com
Intermountain
team looks to
boost rankings at
home rodeo
East Oregonian
Title races are beginning
to take shape as the high
school rodeo season has hit
the halfway point and begins
the push toward the state
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iston.
With this weekend’s
action at Farm-City Arena
representing one of the
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standings are cut to the top
20 for the state champion-
ships, several Intermountain
team members are among
the group looking to solidify
their status as title contenders
in Hermiston.
One need look no farther
than the boys’ all-around race
to get a glimpse of the Inter-
mountain team’s strength this
season.
Five of the top eight
come from the Umatil-
la-Morrow County based
squad, and Hermiston’s
Preston Pederson leads the
See RODEO/2B
AP Photo/
Mark J. Terrill
NBA
Portland
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
Rodeo
title races
starting
to emerge
Los Angeles
Clippers for-
ward Blake
Griffi n, right,
goes up for
a dunk as
Portland Trail
Blazers for-
ward Mau-
rice Harkless
defends
during the
second half
in Game 2 of
a fi rst-round
NBA basket-
ball play-
off series,
Wednesday,
April 20,
2016, in Los
Angeles.
The Clippers
won 102-81.
CHARLOTTE, N.C.
(AP) — Josh Norman,
one of the NFL’s top
cornerbacks, is now an
unrestricted free agent
after the Carolina Panthers
surprisingly
their
FACES rescinded
non-exclusive
franchise tag
offer to the
All-Pro.
Norman did
not sign the
franchise tag
Norman
offer from the
Panthers which would have
paid him $13.9 million in
2016.
Now he can sign with any
team.
Panthers general manager
Dave Gettleman said
in a release Wednesday
that “after a number of
conversations with Josh’s
agent we realized that a
long-term deal was not
attainable” and that the
organization wishes him
well.
— Howie Roseman
Philadelphia Eagles
executive vice president
of football operations
on the team’s trade with
the Cleveland Browns.
The Eagles gave up
fi ve draft picks in ex-
change for Cleveland’s
No. 2 overall pick
in next week’s draft,
and Roseman said the
team intends to select a
quarterback. Cleveland
received the Eagles’ No.
8 overall pick as well
as a third and fourth-
round pick in this year’s
draft, and the Eagles’
fi rst-round pick in 2017
and second-round pick
in 2018.
HERMISTON
Clippers dominate Blazers
Panthers rescind
franchise tag on
All-Pro cornerback
“It’s a tough price
to pay. We’re
very sure we’re
going to get the
player we want.“
score of 76-74-68—218 and
Murphy came in at 76-70-79—225
to tie for second. L-C State’s Casey
Brown held a two-stroke lead on
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was hurt but a double bogey on No.
5 and a triple bogey on No. 18 to
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77—225.
Lien’s rise to the top on
Wednesday mirrored that of the
team as the Warriors overcame a
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with a score of 304-301-292—897.
See WARRIORS/2B
81
Los Angeles
102
Intermountain High
School Rodeo
Los Angeles closes strong for 2-0 series lead
By BETH HARRIS
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Chris
Paul scored 25 points, J.J.
Redick added 17 and the Los
Angeles Clippers pulled away
in the fourth quarter to beat the
Portland Trail Blazers 102-81
Wednesday night and take a
OHDG LQ WKHLU ¿UVWURXQG
playoff series.
Damian Lillard and Mason
Plumlee led the Blazers with
17 points each. CJ McCollum
added 16 after being held to
nine in their 20-point loss in
the series opener. Plumlee
and Al-Farouq Aminu had 10
rebounds each. Portland shot a
season-worst 34.1 percent.
Game 3 is Saturday in
Portland.
%ODNH *ULI¿Q KDG
points and nine rebounds
and DeAndre Jordan had 18
See BLAZERS/2B
• What: The Intermoun-
tain High School rodeo
team is hosting its annual
doublheader rodeo this
weekend.
• When: Friday, 6:30 p.m.;
Saturday 1 & 6 p.m.; Sun-
day, noon.
• Where: Farm-City Arena,
Hermiston
• Cost: Free admission,
concessions available
HERMISTON
Bulldogs’ Sexton signs with Blue Mountain baseball
Hermiston senior chose
Timberwolves from
several other offers
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
Tyler Sexton has had a love for
the game of baseball for as long as
he can remember.
That love has grown stronger
and stronger over the course of his
high school career, and now he has
the opportunity to take his talents to
the collegiate level for at least the
next two years.
On April 5 at a ceremony at
Hermiston High School, Sexton put
pen to paper and signed on to play
baseball at Blue Mountain Commu-
nity College.
“Every kid has that dream of
playing at the next level either
in college or the major leagues,”
Sexton said. “I liked the school and I
OLNHWKHSURJUDPVRLW¶VJRRGWR¿QG
a place where I feel like I belong.
³,W¶V GH¿QLWHO\ D EOHVVLQJ WR EH
Contributed photo courtesy of Blaine Ganvoa
Hermiston senior Tyler Sexton, center, signs his scholarship to play
baseball at Blue Mountain Community College on April 5 at Herm-
iston High School with his parents, Kim, left and Jim, right, and
varsity coach Lance Hawkins, far right, looking on.
able to maintain my health so I was
able to play at the next level.”
The Bulldog senior said he
considered several other schools
as well, such as Yakima Valley
Community College, Clackamas
Community College, and Columbia
Basin College, but in the end Blue
Mountain won over his heart.
Sexton said that Blue Mountain
coach Brad Baker will slot him in
as a pitcher, but also wants to utilize
his powerful bat and 6-foot-4 frame
DW¿UVWEDVH
The decision to attend Blue
Mountain came with the stamp of
approval from his parents, father Jim
and mother Kim, who are excited to
have just a short drive to Pendleton
to be able to watch Sexton at the
Timberwolves home games.
“My mom is especially happy
I’m staying close to home,” Sexton
said with a smile. “(My family) is
going to be able to make it to home
games since it’s only a half hour
drive versus Clackamas or Yakima
Valley that were an hour to four
hours away.”
Through 14 games for Herm-
iston in his senior season, Sexton
is hitting .307 (12-39) with 10
RBI, eight runs scored and a pair
of doubles at the plate. He has also
been very strong on the mound as
a reliever and starter, throwing 26.2
total innings with a 3.78 ERA while
racking up 33 strikeouts to 16 walks
and 17 hits.
————
Contact Eric Singer at esinger@
eastoregonian.com
or
(541)
966-0839. Follow him on Twitter @
ByEricSinger.