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SPORTS THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS College Football EOU needs fast starts in 2016 EOU quar- terback Zach Bartlow rolls out to pass during a game against Mon- tana Western on Oct. 17, 2015 in La Grande. Locals making the adjustment Pendleton, Heppner natives excited for fi rst season at college level By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian LA GRANDE — Exactly one year ago, Pendleton’s Kai Quinn and Jacob Banks and Heppner’s C.J. Kindle and Patrick Collins were pouring their blood, sweat, and tears onto practice fi elds in Eastern Oregon, preparing for their senior years and last hurrahs on the football fi eld as high schoolers. This year, the quad of athletes again fi nd themselves on a practice fi eld in Eastern Oregon, but this time it’s all together as they are getting settled for their freshmen seasons at Eastern Oregon University. With fall camp nearing completion, Kindle said he’s been happy with the way he’s performed, but admitted his fi rst few days were a wake-up call. Contributed photo via EOU Athletics See LOCALS/2B Mountaineers hope offseason work leads to better results By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian LA GRANDE — For many sports teams, the cliche “It’s about how you fi nish” is a popular talking point, referencing the need to not let up down the stretch in games or in a season. But the Eastern Oregon Mountaineer football team has a different talking point for the upcoming season — “It’s about how we start.” Mountaineers coach Tim Camp points to the simple fact of his team being outscored 100-17 in the fi rst quarter of games last season as the need for that motto. “I should’ve been fi red!” Camp said jokingly. He’s serious about the team’s need to start fast in 2016, though. “Everybody always wants to talk about fi nishing but for us it’s just about getting going. College Football We emphasized it early in camp and will continue to work on it throughout the year.” The early defi cits were especially frustrating to Camp because of how well his team performed throughout the rest of games, outscoring their oppo- nents in every other quarter for a combined margin of 325-242. Senior quarterback Zach Bartlow said Camp’s message is well received as the team looks to improve on its 4-7 record from 2015. “We’re focusing on that for sure, it was addressed the fi rst night and every day since,” Bartlow said. “It all starts with how we practice, we can’t wait until the third or fourth drill to be at our best, we have to be ready for the fi rst … we have to hold ourselves accountable.” Bartlow, coming into his third See MOUNTIES/2B “There is no room for mistakes because as soon as you slip up, there’s a person right behind you ready to take your spot.” — Patrick Collins, EOU freshman defensive lineman MLB Sanchez homers again, Tanaka rolls against M’s New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge, right, slides in ahead of the tag by Seattle Mar- iners catcher Chris Iannet- ta to score in the second inning of a base- ball game Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016, in Se- attle. Yankees gain ground in AL wild card race By TIM BOOTH Associated Press Albany Democrat-Herald photo/AP OSU running back Tim Cook has overcome getting shot, getting cut from a JC team and a season-end- ing injury and is on the brink of getting his fi rst DI playing time. Beavers’ Cook nears end of rough road Injuries, academic ineligibility delayed his arrival at D1 By KEVIN HAMPTON Gazette-Times CORVALLIS — Tim Cook is on the brink of getting on the fi eld in a Division I football game. When Cook runs onto the turf at University of Minne- sota’s TCF Bank Stadium on Sept. 1 with the Oregon State football team, it will be the end of a long road that had several detours. Cook, a senior running back, has caught the attention of the coaching staff and OSU fans this fall with his powerful running style. See COOK/2B SEATTLE — It took little time for Yankees’ rookie Gary Sanchez to receive the type of respect normally reserved for established veterans considered among the elite hitters. Seven home runs in the past nine games will quickly earn anyone respect. And in the case of Sanchez in Wednesday’s 5-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners that torrid stretch led to him receiving two intentional walks just so the Mariners could face Mark Teixeira instead. “You don’t see it very often. You really don’t,” New York manager Joe Girardi said. “It means that (Seattle manager) Scott Servais is paying attention to how he is swinging, number one, besides just here in Seattle. It just says a lot about him, his abilities.” Sanchez’s home run in the fi rst inning and Masahiro Tanaka winning his fourth AP Photo/Elaine Thompson straight start helped the Yankees take two of three from the Mariners and close on one of the team’s they’re chasing in the AL wild-card race. The Yankees won their third straight road series. Tanaka (11-4) threw seven innings and got the better of the Mariners and his former Japan league teammate Hisashi Iwakuma (14-9). And yet he was overshad- owed by Sanchez. “It’s outstanding, aston- ishing,” Tanaka said through an interpreter. Sanchez homered into the second deck in left fi eld in the fi rst inning on the fi rst pitch from Iwakuma, his ninth home run in 18 games since joining the Yankees lineup on Aug. 3. He became the fi fth player since 1913 to have nine or more home runs in his fi rst 21 games. Trevor Story of Colorado had 10 homers in his fi rst 21 games earlier this season. Sanchez added a double later in the game and his intentional walk in the seventh inning led to Teix- eira’s RBI single for a 4-0 lead. The Mariners took no chances with the new catcher the next time, either, again intentionally walking him. The walks seemed almost See MARINERS/2B New York Seattle 5 0 AL Wild Card Standings Games Back Toronto ........... +1 Boston ............. +1 Baltimore .......... -- Seattle............... 3 Detroit .............. 3 Houston ......... 4.5 Kansas City ....... 5 New York .......... 5 Sports shorts US Soccer suspends Solo 6 months CHICAGO (AP) — U.S. women’s national team goalkeeper Hope Solo has been suspended for six months for what U.S. Soccer termed conduct “counter to the organization’s princi- ples.” FACES U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati said Wednesday that comments Solo made after the U.S. lost to Sweden during the Rio Olympics were “unacceptable and do not meet the standard of conduct we require from our National Team players.” Solo Solo called Sweden a “bunch of cowards” after the Swedes beat the U.S. 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the quarterfi nals of the Olympic tournament. Solo, 35, who was previously suspended for 30 days early in 2015 for her conduct, will not be eligible for selection to the national team until February. “We’ll say that it’s ironic the team now takes issue with the timing of Joey (Bosa)’s arrival since the Chargers decided to remain silent through the fi rst 14 days of training camp.“ — Brian Ayrault Agent at CAA, which represents former Ohio State DE Joey Bosa, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft and the last remaining unsigned pick. San Diego said Wednesday it was rethinking its standing offer because Bosa‘s late start will negatively impact his abili- ty to help the team this season. Participation in high school sports reached all-time high in 2015-16 INDIANAPOLIS – Led by an encouraging report in football participation nationwide, the number of participants in high school sports increased for the 27th consecutive year in 2015-16 according to the annual High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). Based on fi gures from the NFHS the number of participants in high school sports reached an all-time high of 7,868,900 – an increase of 61,853 from the previous year. After a decline of almost 10,000 participants in football the previous year, the number of boys playing 11-player football in 2015 was almost identical to 2014 with a drop of just 309 – from 1,083,617 to 1,083,308. Track and fi eld registered the largest increase in participants, with an additional 12,501 boys and 7,243 girls. Track and fi eld remains the most popular sport for girls with 485,969 participants. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1922 — In one of the wildest games ever played, the Cubs beat the Phillies 26-23. The Cubs led 25-6 in the fourth inning, but held on as the game ended with the Phillies leaving the bases loaded. 1991 — Carl Lewis reclaims his title of world’s fastest human by setting a world record of 9.86 seconds in the 100-meter fi nal in the world championships in Tokyo. Lewis clips four-hundredths of a second off the previous mark of 9.90 set by Leroy Burrell in the U.S. Championships two months earlier. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com