SPORTS
THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2016
1B
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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.