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Page 2B SPORTS East Oregonian Thursday, January 19, 2017 NFL High-octane offenses in conference championships defenses will be the deciding factor in Foxborough or Atlanta. Yes, the Patriots yielded the fewest points in the NFL this season, but the three best offenses they played were Arizona, Buffalo and Pittsburgh. The Cardinals matchup was in the season opener, when Arizona’s offense was not tuned-up. New England beat the Steelers without Roethlis- berger, who was injured, and no one would mistake the Bills for a juggernaut with the ball. Then again, the Patriots are a juggernaut with the ball. Look at how they beat Houston, the top-ranked defense in the league, in the divisional round even though Brady was not at his best. And think about what they are capable of. “I think we’ve just got to learn from it,” he said. “It was a lot of things, and then when you add our poor execution on top of that, then you add our turnovers on top of that, it doesn’t feel great because we worked pretty hard to play a By BARRY WILNER Associated Press This should be fun. The conference cham- pionship teams feature big-time offenses — yes, we know, the Steelers didn’t look like one in the red zone last weekend — that could turn the scoreboards into tote machines. And while Pro Picks has always preferred the bruising defensive battles, there’s no denying how entertaining Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger and Matt Ryan can be when flinging the ball around the field. Add in some terrific runners, led by Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon Bell and New England’s LeGarrette Blount, and such All-Pro targets as Antonio Brown and Julio Jones, and bettors will be in love with the over (60 for the NFC, 50½ for the AFC) this week. Indeed, it’s difficult to make an argument that any of the lot better than we played.” One thing the Steelers won’t be on Sunday is intim- idated by Brady and New England’s resume. The only way to win at Gillette Stadium is to be aggressive from the opening kickoff, and Mike Tomlin’s team will be that. Oddly, Roethlisberger has never faced the Patriots in a postseason game at New England. He’s 0-1, that defeat coming in Pittsburgh during his 2004 Offensive Rookie of the Year season. New England is a 5-point favorite to make its seventh Super Bowl with Brady at the helm; the Patriots are 4-2 in their previous trips. Pittsburgh, which has been to three Super Bowls with Roeth- lisberger, going 2-1, is the one AFC team capable of pulling off the upset. But it won’t. PATRIOTS, 34-26 Green Bay (plus 5) at Atlanta — As we marvel at the talents of Rodgers, not to mention his prognosticating, and enjoy how much excite- ment he brings to the field, there’s one thing we can’t ignore. The Packers are too undermanned in the secondary. Dak Prescott tore up Green Bay’s struggling and tiring D in the second half last Sunday. Cowboys receivers were so open that Jerry Jones probably could have completed some passes. That’s a recipe for failure against Ryan and all the weapons he has. Julio Jones could be a bit hobbled, which would even things up a bit. And if Rodgers gets back a somewhat effective Jordy Nelson from his rib injury ... Sorry, Cheeseheads, can’t persuade ourselves to believe. Pro Picks thinks this comes down to one unit being too banged-up and deficient. FALCONS, 35-31 HALL OF FAME: Seattle great Edgar Martinez garners 58.6 percent of the vote Continued from 1B Expos, who left Canada to become the Washington Nationals for the 2005 season, and joins Andre Dawson and Gary Carter as the only players to enter the Hall representing the Expos. Raines hit .294 with a .385 on-base percentage, playing during a time when Rickey Henderson was the sport’s dominant speedster. Rodriguez, a 14-time All-Star who hit .296 with 311 homers and 1,332 RBIs, was never disciplined for PEDs but former Texas teammate Jose Canseco alleged in a 2005 book that he injected the catcher with steroids. Asked whether he was on the list of players who allegedly tested positive for steroids during baseball’s 2003 survey, Rodriguez said in 2009: “Only God knows.” Bonds, a seven-time Mussina at 51.8 percent, Curt Schilling at 45 percent, Lee Smith at 34.2 percent and Manny Ramirez at 23.8 percent. Players will be inducted July 30 during ceremonies at Cooperstown along with former Commissioner Bud Selig and retired Kansas City and Atlanta executive John Schuerholz, both elected last month by a veterans committee. Bagwell was a four-time All-Star who spent his entire career with Houston, finishing with a .297 batting average, 401 homers and 1,401 RBIs. Raines, fifth in career stolen bases, was a seven- time All-Star and the 1986 NL batting champion. He spent 13 of 23 big league seasons with the Montreal MVP who holds the season and career home run records, received 36.2 percent in his initial appearance, in 2013, and jumped from 44.3 percent last year. Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, rose from 45.2 percent last year. Bonds was indicted on charges he lied to a grand jury in 2003 when he denied using PEDs, but a jury failed to reach a verdict on three counts he made false statements and convicted him on one obstruction of justice count, finding he gave an evasive answer. The conviction was overturned appeal in 2015. Clemens was acquitted on one count of obstruction of Congress, three counts of making false statements to Congress and two counts of perjury, all stemming from his denials of drug use. A 12-time All-Star on the ballot for the first time, Ramirez was twice suspended for violating baseball’s drug agreement. He helped the Boston Red Sox win World Series titles in 2004 and ‘07, the first for the franchise since 1918, and hit .312 with 555 home runs and 1,831 RBIs in 19 big league seasons. Several notable players will join them in the compe- tition for votes in upcoming years: Chipper Jones and Jim Thome in 2018, Mariano Rivera and Roy Halladay in 2019, and Derek Jeter in 2020. Lee Smith, who had 478 saves, got 34 percent in his final time on the ballot. Jorge Posada, Tim Wakefield and Magglio Ordonez were among the players who got under 5 percent and fell off future ballots. EDGAR GAINS STEAM: Edgar Martinez continued his steady climb toward becoming the first player who was primarily a designated hitter to be elected to the baseball Hall of Fame. Now, is there enough time remaining in Marti- nez’s two years eligibility to make up the remaining gap to reach the needed 75 percent of the vote? The former Seattle star and current Mariners hitting coach drew 58.6 percent of ballots when results of voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America were announced on Wednesday. Martinez was on 259 of the 442 ballots, good for sixth most among the candi- SCOREBOARD Nyssa Riverside Local Slate BOYS PREP BASKETBALL Friday’s Games Culver at Heppner, 6 p.m. Weston-McEwen at Pilot Rock, 6 p.m. Hermiston at The Dalles, 7 p.m. Hood River at Pendleton, 7 p.m. Cove at Echo, 7 p.m. Vale at Irrigon, 7:30 p.m. Burns at Umatilla, 7:30 p.m. Nyssa at Riverside, 7:30 p.m. South Wasco at Ione, 7:30 p.m. Arlington at Sherman, 7:30 p.m. Joseph at Nixyaawii, 7:30 p.m. Helix at Pine Eagle, 7:30 p.m. Saturday’s Games Pilot Rock at Heppner, 4 p.m. Burns at Irrigon, 4:30 p.m. Nyssa at Umatilla, 4:30 p.m. Vale at Riverside, 4:30 p.m. Ione at Horizon Christian, 5:30 p.m. Arlington at Dufur, 5:30 p.m. Sherman at Condon/Wheeler, 5:30 p.m. Wallowa at Nixyaawii, 5:30 p.m. Echo at Helix, 5:30 p.m. Stanfield at Weston-McEwen, 7 p.m. 1-1 0-3 4-9 4-9 21 37 2A Columbia Basin Conference Conf. Ovr Stanfield 2-0 11-1 Weston-McEwen 1-0 8-5 Pilot Rock 1-0 8-5 Heppner 0-2 8-4 Culver 0-2 0-12 Rank 4 9 20 13 40 1A Big Sky League Conf. 5-0 3-0 3-1 2-1 1-2 0-3 0-3 0-4 Ovr 10-4 8-4 8-2 7-5 8-6 3-7 1-8 1-11 Rank 3 27 12 29 19 39 62 47 1A Old Oregon League Conf. Nixyaawii 5-0 Joseph 5-1 Powder Valley 4-0 Echo 2-4 Wallowa 2-4 Cove 1-3 Helix 1-3 Pine Eagle 0-5 Ovr 8-4 11-3 9-3 3-12 2-12 3-8 2-8 1-11 Rank 20 14 11 51 54 31 52 65 GIRLS BASKETBALL 5A Columbia River Conference Conf. Ovr Hood River 0-0 6-4 Hermiston 0-0 6-7 Pendleton 0-0 3-5 The Dalles 0-0 3-5 Rank 16 22 21 20 4A Greater Oregon League Conf. Baker 2-0 La Grande 1-1 Ontario 0-1 Mac-Hi 0-1 Ovr 11-3 7-7 2-13 1-10 Rank 9 19 26 30 3A Eastern Oregon League Conf. Burns 2-0 Riverside 2-1 Vale 1-0 Umatilla 1-1 Nyssa 0-2 Irrigon 0-2 Ovr 10-4 8-4 11-2 6-9 8-6 7-7 Rank 6 23 7 29 18 31 2A Columbia Basin Conference Conf. Culver 2-0 Weston-McEwen 1-0 Stanfield 1-1 Pilot Rock 0-1 Heppner 0-2 Ovr 10-4 9-4 3-10 10-3 5-7 Rank 8 18 33 14 26 Conf. 3-0 3-0 2-1 2-1 2-2 2-3 0-3 0-4 Ovr 8-4 6-4 8-5 5-7 4-6 4-9 2-6 0-12 Rank 17 24 27 30 37 45 54 55 1A Old Oregon League Conf. Nixyaawii 5-0 Powder Valley 4-0 Echo 4-2 Joseph 4-2 Wallowa 2-4 Helix 1-3 Cove 0-4 Pine Eagle 0-5 Ovr 12-0 10-2 11-4 10-3 2-12 5-5 3-9 0-9 Rank 3 4 9 12 38 21 35 39 Sherman Condon/Wheeler Dufur Arlington Horizon Christian South Wasco Mitchell/Spray Ione GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL Friday’s Games Culver at Heppner, 4:30 p.m. Weston-McEwen at Pilot Rock, 6 p.m. Vale at Irrigon, 6 p.m. Burns at Umatilla, 6 p.m. Nyssa at Riverside, 6 p.m. South Wasco at Ione, 6 p.m. Arlington at Sherman, 6 p.m. Joseph at Nixyaawii, 6 p.m. Helix at Pine Eagle, 6 p.m. Cove at Echo, 6 p.m. Pendleton at Hood River, 7 p.m. The Dalles at Hermiston, 7 p.m. Mac-Hi at Stanfield, 7:30 p.m. Saturday’s Games Nyssa at Umatilla, 3 p.m. Burns at Irrigon, 3 p.m. Vale at Riverside, 3 p.m. Ione at Horizon Christian, 4 p.m. Arlington at Dufur, 4 p.m. Sherman at Condon/Wheeler (Condon), 4 p.m. Wallowa at Nixyaawii, 4 p.m. Echo at Helix, 4 p.m. Stanfield at Weston-McEwen, 5:30 p.m. Pilot Rock at Heppner, 5:30 p.m. PREP WRESTLING Thursday Hood River at Pendleton, 7 p.m. Friday Hermiston at Liberty, TBD Mac-Hi at Parma (ID), TBD Irrigon, Heppner at Grant Union Tournament, TBD Saturday Hermiston at Liberty, TBD Mac-Hi at Parma (ID), TBD Riverside at Gervais, 10 a.m. PREP SWIMMING Saturday Pendleton, Hermiston at Hood River, 10 a.m. MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL Friday’s Games Eastern Oregon at Northwest Christian, 7:30 p.m. Saturday’s Games Walla Walla at Blue Mountain, 4 p.m. Eastern Oregon at Corban, 7:30 p.m. WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL Friday’s Games Eastern Oregon at Northwest Christian, 5:30 p.m. Saturday’s Games Walla Walla at Blue Mountain, 2 p.m. Eastern Oregon at Corban, 5:30 p.m. COLLEGE WRESTLING Friday North Idaho at Eastern Oregon (men), 7 p.m. Sunday Eastern Oregon (women) at Clackamas CC Open, TBA Prep Standings 1A Big Sky League Arlington South Wasco Horizon Christian Condon/Wheeler Dufur Sherman Mitchell/Spray Ione Football NFL Conference Championships Sunday NFC: Green Bay at Atlanta, 12:05 p.m. (FOX) AFC: Pittsburgh at New England, 3:40 p.m. (CBS) Rank 7 28 23 24 4A Greater Oregon League Conf. La Grande 2-0 Baker 1-1 Mac-Hi 0-1 Ontario 0-1 Ovr 12-1 7-11 5-6 4-7 Rank 2 24 30 31 3A Eastern Oregon League Conf. Umatilla 2-0 Vale 1-0 Burns 1-1 Irrigon 1-1 Ovr 10-5 3-9 8-6 8-5 Rank 8 29 27 17 NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Toronto 28 14 Boston 26 16 New York 19 24 Philadelphia 14 26 Brooklyn 8 33 Southeast Division W L Atlanta 24 18 Washington 22 19 Charlotte 21 21 Orlando 17 27 Miami 12 30 Central Division W L Cleveland 29 11 8 9½ 9½ 11 GB — 1 8½ 16 18 GB — 2 8½ 9½ 12½ GB — 7 18½ 22 22½ Pct .667 .619 .442 .350 .195 GB — 2 9½ 13 19½ Pct .571 .537 .500 .386 .286 GB — 1½ 3 8 12 Pct .725 GB — 105 120 132 128 GF 141 132 128 119 126 135 86 GA 96 120 135 115 144 148 143 GF 125 131 117 124 111 112 94 GA 117 122 102 127 110 130 143 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. ———— Wednesday’s Games Pittsburgh 4, Montreal 1 Winnipeg 6, Arizona 3 Detroit 6, Boston 5, SO Florida at Edmonton, late finish San Jose at Los Angeles, late finish Today’s Games Ottawa at Columbus, 4 p.m. Dallas at N.Y. Islanders, 4 p.m. N.Y. Rangers at Toronto, 4:30 p.m. Washington at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Arizona at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Nashville at Calgary, 6 p.m. Colorado at Anaheim, 7 p.m. Tampa Bay at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Friday’s Games Chicago at Boston, 4 p.m. Detroit at Buffalo, 4 p.m. Pittsburgh at Carolina, 4 p.m. Montreal at New Jersey, 4:30 p.m. Nashville at Edmonton, 6 p.m. Florida at Vancouver, 7 p.m. PGA FedEx Cup Leaders Through Jan. 15 NCAA Men’s Top 25 Wednesday’s Games Oklahoma 89, No. 7 West Virginia 87 No. 10 Florida State 83, No. 15 Notre Dame 80 No. 16 Virginia 71, Boston College 54 No. 24 South Carolina 57, No. 19 Florida 53 No. 20 Cincinnati 81, Temple 74 Today’s Games No. 3 UCLA vs. Arizona State, 8 p.m. No. 4 Gonzaga at Santa Clara, 8 p.m. No. 11 Oregon vs. California, 6 p.m. No. 12 Louisville vs. Clemson, 6 p.m. No. 14 Arizona at Southern Cal, 6 p.m. No. 23 Saint Mary’s vs. Pacific, 8 p.m. No. 25 Maryland at Iowa, 4 p.m. Friday’s Games No games scheduled Women’s Top 25 Wednesday’s Games No. 2 Baylor 68, Iowa State 42 No. 9 Louisville 91, Georgia Tech 51 No. 22 Kansas State 74, TCU 63 No. 24 West Virginia 62, Kansas 51 No. 13 UCLA at Southern Cal, late finish Today’s Games No. 3 Maryland vs. Michigan, 3 p.m. No. 4 Mississippi State at Alabama, 5 p.m. No. 5 South Carolina vs. Mississippi, 4 p.m. No. 6 Notre Dame at Boston College, 4 p.m. No. 7 Florida State vs. Syracuse, 4 p.m. No. 15 Duke vs. No. 17 Virginia Tech, 4 p.m. No. 16 Ohio State vs. Wisconsin, 4 p.m. No. 25 Texas A&M at Missouri, 6 p.m. Friday’s Games No. 10 Stanford vs. Arizona, 7 p.m. No. 11 Oregon State vs. Utah, 8 p.m. No. 18 Arizona State at California, 8 p.m. NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division GP W L OT Pts Montreal 46 27 13 6 60 Boston 48 23 19 6 52 Ottawa 42 23 15 4 50 Toronto 42 21 13 8 50 Florida 46 20 18 8 48 Tampa Bay 46 21 20 5 47 Detroit 45 20 19 6 46 Buffalo 44 17 18 9 43 Metropolitan Division GP W L OT Pts Columbus 43 30 9 4 64 Washington 44 29 9 6 64 Pittsburgh 44 28 11 5 61 N.Y. Rangers 45 28 16 1 57 Philadelphia 46 22 18 6 50 Carolina 44 21 16 7 49 New Jersey 46 19 18 9 47 N.Y. Islanders 42 17 17 8 42 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division GP W L OT Pts Minnesota 43 28 10 5 61 Chicago 47 28 14 5 61 St. Louis 45 23 17 5 51 Nashville 44 20 17 7 47 Dallas 46 19 19 8 46 Winnipeg 48 21 23 4 46 Colorado 42 13 28 1 27 Pacific Division GP W L OT Pts Anaheim 47 25 13 9 59 Edmonton 46 24 15 7 55 San Jose 44 26 16 2 54 Calgary 47 24 20 3 51 Los Angeles 44 22 18 4 48 Vancouver 46 21 19 6 48 Arizona 44 13 25 6 32 Golf 1. Justin Thomas 2. Hideki Matsuyama 3. Pat Perez 4. Brendan Steele 5. Mackenzie Hughes 6. Rod Pampling 7. Cody Gribble 8. Russell Knox 9. Gary Woodland 10. Luke List ——— World Rankings Through Jan. 15 1. Jason Day 2. Rory McIlroy 3. Dustin Johnson 4. Henrik Stenson 5. Jordan Spieth 6. Hideki Matsuyama 7. Adam Scott 8. Justin Thomas 9. Patrick Reed 10. Alex Noren Points 1,614 1,177 754 648 643 560 481 449 411 382 YTD Money $3,802,167 $3,127,100 $1,873,685 $1,383,038 $1,354,838 $1,312,387 $1,152,195 $1,038,334 $1,035,251 $868,047 AUS NIR USA SWE USA JPN AUS USA USA SWE 10.60 9.59 9.19 8.41 8.19 7.95 6.34 5.78 5.40 5.24 Tennis Hockey Basketball BOYS BASKETBALL 5A Columbia River Conference Conf. Ovr Hermiston 0-0 10-3 Hood River 0-0 5-7 Pendleton 0-0 3-4 The Dalles 0-0 2-6 Indiana 21 19 .525 Milwaukee 20 21 .488 Chicago 21 22 .488 Detroit 20 24 .455 WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division W L Pct San Antonio 32 9 .780 Houston 33 12 .733 Memphis 25 19 .568 New Orleans 17 26 .395 Dallas 14 27 .341 Northwest Division W L Pct Utah 27 16 .628 Oklahoma City 25 18 .581 Denver 17 23 .425 Portland 18 26 .409 Minnesota 14 28 .333 Pacific Division W L Pct Golden State 35 6 .854 L.A. Clippers 29 14 .674 Sacramento 16 24 .400 Phoenix 13 28 .317 L.A. Lakers 15 31 .326 ——— Wednesday’s Games Charlotte 107, Portland 85 Philadelphia 94, Toronto 89 Washington 104, Memphis 101 New York 117, Boston 106 Detroit 118, Atlanta 95 Houston 111, Milwaukee 92 New Orleans 118, Orlando 98 Indiana at Sacramento, late finish Oklahoma City at Golden State, late finish Thursday’s Games Phoenix at Cleveland, 4 p.m. Dallas at Miami, 4:30 p.m. Washington at New York, 5 p.m. Denver at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. Minnesota at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m. Friday’s Games Milwaukee at Orlando, 4 p.m. Portland at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Toronto at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Brooklyn at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Chicago at Atlanta, 5 p.m. Golden State at Houston, 5 p.m. Sacramento at Memphis, 5 p.m. Utah at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Indiana at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. GF 139 122 111 132 108 126 118 104 GA 117 123 111 123 127 135 132 124 GF 145 138 157 158 132 122 GA 96 94 132 123 148 121 Australian Open Thursday At Melbourne Park Melbourne, Australia Purse: $37.4 million (Grand Slam) Surface: Hard-Outdoor Singles Men Second Round Richard Gasquet (18), France, def. Carlos Berlocq, Argentina, 6-1, 6-1, 6-1. Philipp Kohlschreiber (32), Germany, def. Donald Young, United States, 7-5, 6-3, 6-0. Pablo Carreno Busta (30), Spain, def. Kyle Edmund, Britain, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2. Gilles Simon (25), France, def. Rogerio Dutra Silva, Brazil, 6-4, 6-1, 6-1. Roberto Bautista Agut (13), Spain, def. Yoshihito Nishioka, Japan, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3. Women Second Round Johanna Konta (9), Britain, def. Naomi Osaka, Japan, 6-4, 6-2. Karolina Pliskova (5), Czech Republic, def. Anna Blinkova, Russia, 6-0, 6-2. Ekaterina Makarova (30), Russia, def. Sara Errani, Italy, 6-2, 3-2 (Ad-40), retired. Caroline Garcia (21), France, def. Oceane Dodin, France, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4. Jelena Ostapenko, Latvia, def. Yulia Putintseva (31), Kazakhstan, 6-3, 6-1. Caroline Wozniacki (17), Denmark, def. Donna Vekic, Croatia, 6-1, 6-3. Dominika Cibulkova (6), Slovakia, def. Hsieh Su- wei, Taiwan, 6-4, 7-6 (8). Elena Vesnina (14), Russia, def. Mandy Minella, Luxembourg, 6-3, 6-3. dates. It was his eighth try, and players get 10 chances. “In general I would have loved to be over 60 (percent), but at least I’m closer to 60 (percent) than to 50 (percent),” Martinez said on a conference call. “The jump is encouraging. I still have two more years to go. I think it is moving in the right direction right now.” After dropping to 25.2 percent in 2014, Martinez has made an impressive rise in the balloting, especially in the past two years. Martinez was at 27 percent in 2015, before climbing to 43 percent last year. Martinez’s jump of 15.2 percent from last year was the highest among any returning player on the ballot and put him in position to possibly make a surge during his final two years of eligibility. SEAHAWKS: Continued from 1B The Seahawks are attempting to reconstruct a position group using young players rather than spending resources. It’s a risky proposition if you miss on the right players, but can be a huge success if done correctly and allows for money to be spent elsewhere. “We’re not going to go out and spend a ton of money in free agency, on one guy to try to save the day. That’s not how we func- tion at all,” Carroll said. “We bring the young guys up, developing them and make them a part of this program. Then as they go and they earn their opportunities, then we’ll reward them as we can. I hope that it’s really clear that that’s the way we’ve done this with a really clear intent.” Because of their youth, the Seahawks had the lowest-paid offensive line in the NFL, spending just over $6 million on its inexperienced unit. Seattle ended up starting a converted basketball player at left tackle, a rookie at right guard, a second-year player with one previous game at left guard and a center on his third position in three years. Seattle’s offensive line was bound to struggle. In Carroll’s eyes, that also means he sees the potential in their future as a united group. “I think we have a chance now that this is maybe one of the two or three years, of the seven or eight, that we have a chance to come back with kind of the same group and have a chance to build,” Carroll said. “We’re going to try to, but we’re going to challenge the heck out of those guys, too.” The anchor for that group will be center Justin Britt. After playing right tackle and left guard his first two seasons, Britt found a home at center. He was a Pro Bowl alternate and the most consistent of Seattle’s linemen. Britt will be one of the certain- ties for next season along with rookie Germain Ifedi, whom Carroll intends on keeping at right guard despite his experience as a tackle in college. Left tackle George Fant was a basketball player less than two years ago and left guard Mark Glowinski had one start prior to this season. “The good thing about being a young group is we will be together a long time,” Britt said. “So the longer we’re together the better we will get together.”