Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 9, 2016)
SPORTS THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2016 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS HERMISTON Sports shorts NCAA basketball attendance declined in 2015-2016 Rodriguez, Arstein hired to lead Bulldogs INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA says attendance at men’s college basketball games declined slightly last season. Total attendance in all three NCAA divisions was 32,382,283, the 10th-highest total in history. Fewer fans also attended Division I games, dropping to 27,234,610. And though the NCAA Tournament attracted 703,854 fans, it was well off the tourney record of 800,377 from 2012-13. The Big Ten Conference drew the highest number of fans, with slightly more than 3.1 million attending games and 11 of 14 schools averaged more than 10,000 per game. Kentucky’s average crowd of 23,361 was the nation’s highest. Hermiston stays in-house for new boys and girls basketball coaches By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian When November rolls around, the Hermiston boys and girls varsity basketball teams will have a little bit of a different look. After longtime girls head coach Steve Hoffert resigned in March after eight very successful years on the job and boys coach assistant coach under Hoffert. He said that he Dave Ego relinquished is very excited for the his position as interim opportunity to lead the coach, it left two holes at program now. the top of two successful “When Steve (Hoffert) programs. But after a wide told me he’d retire, it was search put forth by the a no-brainer for me,” school, Hermiston stayed Rodriguez said. “It’s been within the district limits a goal of mine ever since to select the next program I stopped playing basket- Rodriguez leaders, as girls assistant ball to become a head coach Juan Rodriguez coach and something I’ve replaces Hoffert and Casey Arstein, been working towards for a while a former boys assistant coach, was now.” hired to replace Ego. As an assistant, Rodriguez was Rodriguez knows the Bulldogs heavily involved in day-to-day program very well, as he graduated operations for the team, such as from Hermiston in 2005 and has game plans, running practices, spent the last four years as the lead NBA Finals Cavs roar back for win AP source: Miller rejects $114.5 million offer ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — A person familiar with the matter tells The Associated Press that Super Bowl MVP Von Miller’s camp rejected a contract that would have made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. FACES The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the nature of negotiations, said Miller’s Miller camp rejected a six-year, $114.5 million offer that included $39.8 million guaranteed in fi rst two years. Although the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement gives teams until July 15 to work out extensions with franchised players, Broncos general manager John Elway imposed a Tuesday night cutoff because he wanted Miller to attend this week’s mandatory minicamp and not miss the entire offseason program. “I mean, they had me ride a horse on the fi eld, so if they trust me with something like that ... I’d do it for sure.“ — Madison Bumgarner San Francisco Giants pitcher told the media on Wednesday that he is not worried about the possibility of injuring himself if he were to participate in the All- Star Game Home Run Derby next month. Bumgarner has 13 ca- reer home runs, and has two so far this season. The 26-year-old pitcher said he would like to be in the derby, but Giants management has been reluctant on their support. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1973 — Secretariat, ridden by Ron Turcotte, wins the Belmont Stakes in record time to capture the Triple Crown. Secretariat sets a world record on the 1½-mile course with 2:24, and a record for largest margin of victory in the Belmont, 31 lengths. 2008 — Ken Griffey Jr. becomes the sixth player in baseball history to reach 600 homers with a drive off Mark Hendrickson in the Cincinnati Reds’ 9-4 victory over the Florida Marlins. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com and fi lm study. That freedom gave Rodriguez a glimpse into what it takes to be the head coach, and says that a lot of the things he learned under Hoffert will stay with him during his tenure. “He was really successful and I really focused on how he dealt with players,” Rodriguez said. “There are a lot of details in running a program, and he did it very well.” So what can the Bulldog fans expect from the Rodriguez-lead Bulldogs? “The casual fan won’t see a lot of change, we’re still going to be a fast-paced team that uses our athleticism to get up and down the See BULLDOGS/2B Walker strikes out 11 as M’s win Seattle pitcher throws eight scoreless innings By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer SEATTLE — Taijuan Walker returned to his early season form throwing eight innings and tied a career-high with 11 strikeouts, and Chris Iannetta provided the offense with two home runs in the Seattle Mariners’ 5-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night. Walker (3-6) was domi- n a n t , allowing MLB t h r e e hits and winning Cleveland for the fi rst time since April 25. Wa l k e r had lost his previous Seattle six deci- sions after beginning the year 2-0 with a 1.44 ERA in the fi rst month of the season. Walker faced only one jam in the fourth inning with runners on second and third and two outs, but struck out Lonnie Chisenhall to end the threat. Iannetta hit a two-run homer in the third inning, added a solo shot in the fi fth off Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco (2-1) and had an RBI double in the seventh. UP NEXT RHP Josh Indians: Tomlin (8-1) is 4-1 in fi ve career starts against Seattle. Mariners: RHP Nathan Karns (5-2) is 4-1 with a 3.88 ERA in his last eight starts, but lost his last time out against Texas. 0 AP Photo/Ron Schwane Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) dunks against the Golden State Warriors during the sec- ond half of Game 3 of basketball’s NBA Finals in Cleveland, Wednesday, June 8, 2016. James scores 32 to sink Warriors in Game 3 By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer CLEVELAND — Crawling on the fl oor after a loose ball, LeBron James gathered himself and got to his feet. The Cavaliers stood with him. James had 32 points and 11 rebounds, Kyrie Irving added 30 points and Cleveland, pushed for 48 minutes by a delirious, champi- onship-starved crowd, hammered the Golden State Warriors 120-90 in Game 3 on Wednesday night to pull within 2-1 in the NBA Finals. On their home fl oor, where they have been dominant all postseason, the Cavs yanked their season from the brink of disaster following back- to-back blowout losses in the Bay Area. Game 3 Golden State Cleveland 90 120 “Coaching staff gave us a great game plan and we executed it for 48 minutes,” said James, whose energy from the start electrifi ed 20,000 fans, and most importantly his teammates. They Cavs did it without starting forward Kevin Love, with little help from their bench and by keeping Stephen Curry penned in. The league’s MVP was mostly MIA, scoring 19 points — two in the fi rst half — on 6-of-13 shooting. Harrison Barnes scored 18 and Klay Thompson 10 for Golden State, which had won seven straight over Cleveland — the fi rst two fi nals games by a combined 48 points — and came back to the birthplace of rock and roll looking to party like they did after winning the title in Quicken Loans Arena last year. The Cavs, though, have made this a series after it appeared the Warriors were on the fast track to another crown. James had called it “do or die” for Cleveland. Well, done and living. “We’ve got to give the same effort on Friday,” James said. “It started defensively and it trickled down to the offensive side.” The Warriors didn’t look anything like the team that won a record 73 games during the regular season or the one that overcame a 3-1 defi cit See NBA FINALS/2B 5 Oregon men’s golfer qualifi es for U.S. Open NCAA champion Wise wins sectional qualifi er at Royal Oaks By RYAN THORBURN The Register-Guard VANCOUVER, Wash. — The only thing missing for Aaron Wise were the roars from the gallery. After becoming the fi rst Oregon player to win an NCAA individual title and then celebrating the Ducks’ national championship at Eugene Country Club last week, Wise made a remarkable transition into profes- sional golf Monday by qualifying for the U.S. Open. Wise won the grueling 36-hole sectional qualifi er after fi nishing 9-under (67-68-135) at the Royal Oaks Country Club. On the back nine of his second round, Wise made a remarkable 50-foot putt from the fringe on No. 13 for one of his 14 birdies on the day. All he heard after that was crickets. A group of about 20 curious spectators followed Wise down the stretch, a far cry from the wild scene last Wednesday night when the Ducks beat Texas in extra holes on the home course. “I kind of gave it a little fi st pump and no one else clapped. It was like, ‘You know if I made that putt in Eugene, everyone would have been going nuts?’ ” Wise quipped after a fi nal fi st-pump birdie on No. 18 to fi nish the second round bogey- free. “We kind of realized it was a bit different, but it’s awesome. Anytime you’re playing golf, and obviously I’m playing well right now, I’m just enjoying it.” Wise’s consequential ride will continue with an opportunity to step onto an even larger stage at the 116th U.S. Open June 16-19 See WISE/2B Andy Nelson/The Register-Guard via AP Oregon’s Aaron Wise hits out of a bunker during his semifi nal at the the NCAA men’s golf championships at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, on Tuesday, May 31, 2016.