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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 14, 2017)
SPORTS TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 2017 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS Men’s College Basketball PENDLETON Brackets create gambling madness T-Wolves win the weekend The Blue Mountain Timberwolves celebrate around team- mate Tate Spivey after Spivey’s walk- off single during Game 1 of Satur- day’s double- header with Shoreline in Pendleton. About $2 billion at stake in offices around country Staff photo by Eric Singer By EDDIE PELLS Associated Press Here’s one thing millions of Americans can agree on: March Madness is fun, especially when there’s a little money on the line. So fun, in fact, that more people will fi ll out NCAA Tour- nament brackets this week than voted for either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton in last year’s presidential election. Combining all those $10 and $20 entry fees that go along with most of the 70 million-plus offi ce pools being fi lled out as we speak, Americans will put in the neighborhood of $2 billion at stake when the tournament kicks off later this week. But though the brackets and the money spent on them have driven the tournament’s popu- larity upward — the 2015 tour- nament was the most-viewed in more than two decades, while last year’s took a hit because the Final Four was televised exclusively on cable — the NCAA itself does not condone gambling or fi lling out brackets for anything more than fun. Adding to the outlandishness of it all — CBS, which combines with Turner Sports to pay more than $1 billion a year to televise every game of the tournament through 2032, runs one of the country’s biggest bracket contests, offering players a chance to form their own private pools (for fun, of course) or to compete for prizes, including a trip to the 2018 Final Four (no purchase necessary). The NCAA also runs a bracket contest on its own website. But in a statement on gambling , it reminds players that while entering a bracket contest that doesn’t require an entry fee is not banned by the NCAA (but may be barred by individual schools), that “we have learned that these types of pools are often the entry for youth to begin betting.” “While the bracket is an important part of the excitement around the tournament, money does not have to be involved to enjoy March Madness,” NCAA director of public and media relations Stacey Osburn says. It certainly can make things more interesting, though. The American Gaming Association estimates that, in total, around $10.4 billion will be wagered on the three-week hoops extravaganza that starts Tuesday with opening-round games and ends April 1 and 3 at the Final Four in Phoenix. That’s $1.2 billion more than last year. Only $295 million of that will be bet legally — mainly at sports books in Nevada. Geoff Freeman of the AGA, which seeks to destigmatize gambling while making it legal See GAMBLING/2B BMCC baseball stops skid against Shoreline, sweeps Clackamas By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian PENDLETON — Offense has been a struggle for the Blue Mountain baseball team in 2017, as the Timberwolves came into Saturday’s doubleheader against Shoreline averaging just 2.8 runs per game and a four-game losing streak. But the bats fi nally woke up on Saturday and piled up 16 runs combined in the two games against the Dolphins, with Blue Mountain winning Game 1 7-6 and then drop- ping Game 2 10-9. Blue Mountain (2-7) sophomore Tate Spivey said that picking up the win to start the day was a big relief for the team. “Going into this weekend, we were kind of down with the losses we’ve had,” he said, “but we know the type of team that we are and the type of brothers we are so it was really good to get this win.” Spivey was the hero for Blue Mountain in Game 1, smacking a walk-off single into the left-center fi eld gap in the bottom of the ninth inning. With two outs and runners Staff photo by Eric Singer Blue Mountain’s Tate Spivey launches his game-winning single into left fi eld, giving his Timberwolves a 7-6 win over Shoreline in Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader in Pendleton. at second and third and the scored tied at 6-6, Spivey came to the plate just wanting to put the ball in play. He said he was looking for a fastball to drive in the at-bat, so when Shoreline (5-1) pitcher Tyler Wingert gave him the fastball on the very fi rst pitch, Spivey did not waste his chance. “He (the pitcher) just left it there hanging up a bit and I just took a hack at it,” said Spivey, who fi nished the day 2 for 10 with two runs scored and two RBIs. “As soon as it hit the bat, I knew it was going to be in the gap and it was going to be down and score Austin (Florez) ... man it was a good feeling.” The Timberwolves went into the ninth inning down 6-5 and in need of something to wake up their bats. Blue Mountain scored four runs and tallied three of their six total hits in the fi rst inning, and then went quiet. “We were talking amongst ourselves beforehand,” Spivey said,” the bats kind of went in a lull after the fi rst inning and we kenw that something would have to happen to wake up the bats and get back in it.” Nate Cantonwine got the Timberwolves started with a walk and then a perfect sacrifi ce bunt from Jared Rogers put the tying run at second with just one out. Then Shoreline’s shortstop helped the T-Wolves out with two fi elding errors — the second of which allowed Andrew Hively to score See BMCC/2B Women’s College Basketball Eastern Oregon knocked from NAIA bracket Three-pointer at buzzer won’t fall for Mountaineers By NIKKI SHERRILL NAIA Media SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Maya Ah You’s step-back prayer could not fall at the buzzer for Eastern Oregon, sending No. 1 overall St. Francis (Ill.) into the national semifi nals. The Fighting Saints defeated the Mountaineers in their fi rst-ever appearance in a national quarter- fi nal, 51-48 on EOU Saturday. D e s p i t e out-scoring overall No. 1 seed St. Francis (34-1) 34-26 in the paint and getting 26 points from its bench, Eastern Oregon (30-5) could not overcome a cold- shooting night from beyond the arc. On the night, the Mountaineers connected on only 2-of-19 from three-point range, a frigid 10 percent. St. Francis did not break too far 48 ahead, though, as it only jumped out a fi ve-point lead at St. Francis the 8:29 mark in the fourth quarter — its largest of the contest. Ah You led her Mountaineers back within three, but could not connect at the buzzer to send the game into overtime, ending their season. Charnelle Reed led St. Francis with a team-high 16 points and eight rebounds. The Fighting Saints out-shot the Mountaineers only from the 3-point line, going for 37.5 percent. 51 Eastern Oregon, however, had the advantage from the fi eld with 38.5 percent and at the charity stripe with 75 percent. Ashley Knight pulled through the strongest for Eastern Oregon with a game-high 21 points, which led all scorers. Knight also captured seven rebounds in her fi nal game. Ah You fi nished with 11 points, six rebounds and two assists. The Mountaineers dropped to 7-10 all-time in Sioux City at the national championship in their 10th appearance in program history. St. Francis lost to Marian (Ind.) 64-56 on Monday in the semifi nals. Sports shorts Centennial senior starts for Timbers CARSON, Calif. (AP) — Centennial High School senior Marco Farfan made his fi rst professional start on Sunday as the Portland Timbers beat the L.A. Galaxy 1-0 on Sunday. Farfan, 18, became the team’s youngest-ever player when he was signed as a 17-year-old in October, 2016, and was making his fi rst appearance with the team this season. The defender played all 90 minutes. Diego Chara scored in the eighth minute for his seventh career goal in seven MLS seasons to help the Timbers (2-0-0), which went winless on the road last season, win Farfan for the fi rst time away from home since beating the Galaxy on Oct. 8, 2015. The Galaxy (0-2-0) have lost three of their last four regular-season home games after a 15-match home unbeaten stretch. The Galaxy, already without several key players, were reduced to 10-men in the 34th minute after Jelle Van Damme received two yellow cards within a three-minute span. “A billion dollars, it has to be there. That’s our number, a billion, straight out of the gate.“ — LaVar Ball Father of UCLA freshman Lonzo Ball telling USA Today of his plan to package Lonzo with his two younger brothers LiAngelo and LaMelo, who both are committed to UCLA, for a mega shoe endorse- ment deal. He plans to create an apparel label for his sons should none of the major basketball shoe companies meet his price. Phillies trade Mariners for switch-pitcher Venditte SEATTLE (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies have acquired switch-pitcher Pat Venditte from the Seattle Mariners for minor league outfi elder Joey Curletta. The trade was announced Sunday. The 31-year-old Venditte had pitched three times in spring training for Seattle this year and twice for Italy in the World Baseball Classic. Venditte was 0-0 with a 5.73 ERA in 15 games for Toronto and the Mariners last year. Able to throw with both arms, he’s 2-2 with a 4.97 ERA in 41 games in the majors. The 23-year-old Curletta hit a combined .251 with 17 homers and 67 RBIs in Double-A and Class A in the Dodgers’ system last season. He sent from Los Angeles to the Phillies in the trade for Carlos Ruiz. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1933 — The Chicago Blackhawks forfeit a game when players refuse to return to the ice after their coach, Tom Gorman, is ejected. Boston, ahead 3-2 at the time, is given a 1-0 victory. 1962 — Detroit’s Gordie Howe becomes the second player in NHL history to score 500 career goals during the Red Wings’ 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers. 2004 — Hermann Maier, racing in his fi rst full season since nearly losing his right leg in a motorcycle accident, wins his fourth overall World Cup title. Maier also clinches the World Cup super-G title. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
