Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 30, 2017)
Page 2B SPORTS East Oregonian GONZAGA: Open to changing conferences TALL FIRS: Continued from 1B Denver-based writer Terry Frei, who grew up in Eugene and is the son of former Oregon football coach Jerry Frei, wrote a book about the Tall Firs called “March 1939: before the Madness.” “They were so well-coached and they were big along the front line — almost revolutionarily big — and they had racehorse guards, especially the captain guard Bobby Anet, who kept everything in control,” Frei said. “So I think it was a real comple- mentary chemistry-type team far ahead of its time that way.” Dick led all scorers with 13 points in the championship game against the Big Ten champions before maybe 5,000 fans, many of whom were given free tickets. Fans in Eugene listened to the game on the radio — it was the same year John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath” was published and that “Gone with the Wind” came out in theaters — then later descended by the thousands at the local train station to welcome back the team. “They were largely for the most part small-town boys. Laddie Gale was from Oakridge, two of the starters were from Astoria, Slim Wintermute was from Longview, Washington, and John Dick was from The Thursday, March 30, 2017 Dalles,” Frei said. “So there was a small-town feel to the team, small-town heroes who stepped up big.” Frei noted with a laugh that the players got $2 from a kitty to celebrate following the victory. Several of them took a train from the Northwestern campus into Chicago. “I think some of us had a couple of Heinekens or some- thing,” Frei quoted Anet as saying later. “It was quite late and none of us were big on bars or things like that, mainly because nobody ever had any money.” Third-seeded Oregon, which last year advanced to the Elite Eight before falling to Oklahoma, defeated No. 1 seed Kansas 74-60 on Saturday to advance to the Final Four. North Carolina beat Kentucky 75-73. In the other semifinal, Gonzaga faces South Carolina. Altman believes this Oregon team is building its own historic legacy. “The seven years we’ve been at Oregon we’ve had great guys to work with. I feel great for those guys that our staff had a relationship with, but I also feel good for all the other players that have built Oregon basketball; 1939 is a long drought, but there are a lot of guys that played and built some tradition at Oregon,” Altman said. Continued from 1B coach in 1999. Roth also found the money to retain the coach when bigger programs came calling. It was Roth who marshalled the resources to build the McCarthey Athletic Center, a huge improvement over the old home court. He oversees the depart- ments that ensure players remain eligible and graduate. These days he is basking in the acclaim of the team’s first trip to the Final Four. “People don’t realize how hard it is,” Roth said. “How crazy hard 19 straight NCAA Tournament appear- ances are.” He noted that last year’s team that advanced to the Sweet 16 lost four starters, including two to the NBA. “Now we are in the Final Four,” Roth said. Roth grew up in Moses Lake, a small town 90 miles west of Spokane, and played one year of JV basketball at Gonzaga in the early 1980s. He returned to the school as a low-level administrator a few years later, and was named athletic director in 1998. “They haven’t been able to get rid of me since,” Roth joked. One of his earliest tasks was to retain Few, then an assistant coach to Dan Monson. Few was being courted by larger programs that could offer more money, Roth recalled. The solution was to anoint Few as Monson’s designated successor in the summer of 1998, Roth said. Monson led the Zags on their magical run to the Elite Eight a few months later and then left for Minne- sota. Few was elevated to the top job and has taken the Zags to the NCAA Tournament every year. Over the years numerous schools have tried to hire Few away, but Roth has been able to find the money to keep the coach in Spokane. “We are a model for other schools,” Roth said. “Why just give in, if you can keep your successful coach?” As a private school, Gonzaga does not disclose salaries. However, docu- ments Gonzaga filed with the IRS show that Few made more than $1.6 million in salary and other compensation from the university for the year ending May 31, 2015, the latest year available. Roth’s other showcase achieve- ment was securing the funds to build the 6,000-seat McCarthey Athletic Center, a $26 million project that would have been unthinkable without the series of NCAA appearances. The MAC has been sold out for all but one game since it opened in 2004, and was a huge improvement over the bandbox Martin Centre, which had less than half the capacity. Roth has remained a key player as Gonzaga continued to upgrade its program. Years ago, the Zags switched to charter flights instead of flying commercial. They play a tough non-conference schedule and all of their games are televised. Roth estimates that athletic department revenues have grown by a factor of 30 in two decades. Twenty years ago, the university was struggling with declining enroll- ment and debt. Now enrollment has nearly doubled to more than 7,500 students and construction cranes sprout on campus, developments that are largely attributed to the success of the basketball team. Because of the success, Roth has had offers to move on to programs in the Power 5 conferences. He has declined. “I’ve been very content,” Roth said. “Gonzaga’s been great.” One of the things he is proudest of is that, with the exception of one, all of the basketball players who finished their eligibility at Gonzaga have graduated. Three Gonzaga players — Dan Dickau, Kelly Olynyk and Nigel Williams-Goss — completed the rare feat of becoming both athletic and academic All-Americans, Roth said. Last year, Gonzaga and Dart- mouth were tied as the best academic performers among athletic depart- ments, Roth said. Gonzaga is often criticized for playing in the relatively weak West Coast Conference, which consists mostly of small private schools. Saint Mary’s and BYU are the only league rivals who can consistently challenge the Zags. Roth said the conference is a good fit in most respects. But Gonzaga remains open to changing confer- ences in the future, should there be an opportunity to improve the level of opponents, he said. “I have no crystal ball on confer- ence realignment,” Roth said. PREPS: Irrigon baseball wins two on walk-off hits by Adams and Fleming Continued from 1B BASEBALL IRRIGON 13, WESTON-MCEWEN 12 (8 innings) — At Irrigon, the TigerScots rallied to tie the game with four runs in the top of the seventh but couldn’t be the first to beat the Knights as Irrigon starting pitcher Adrian Roa returned to shut them down and Lino Covar- rubia scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth on a single by Caleb Adams in Wednesday’s non-league game. Irrigon (6-0) scored 10 runs in the fifth and sixth innings combined to take a 12-8 lead into the seventh, but was unable to close out the determined TigerScots (2-3). A pop-out came for the first out, but a walk followed by an error put two on with one out. Travis Hendley (3 for 5) doubled to score Kris Roggerrio, then Brett Speed (2 for 5) singled to drive in Brendan Dearing. Then two wild pitches brought both players in to tie the score. Irrigon turned to Roa, who left in Weston-McEw- en’s four-run third, and this time he was able to keep the TigerScots off the board. An error extended the inning, but Roa got a strikeout for the last out. The Knights had bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the seventh but a fly to right field and ground-out to second forced the extra frame. Some good defense by Irrigon left one stranded in the top of the eighth, and Keith Fleming and Covar- rubia walked to start the bottom of the frame. The TigerScots brought in Dylan Cain to try to pitch out of the jam and he got two quick outs, but with both runners stealing Adams hit a hard grounder to the left side that brought Covarrubia around for the game-winner. Roa got the win with six strikeouts and two walks, and allowed three earned runs on eight hits in four complete. UP NEXT Weston-McEwen hosts Pilot Rock for a double- header on Saturday, April 8, beginning at 11 a.m. ——— (8 innings) R H E W-M 024 200 40 — 12 14 4 IHS 110 082 01 — 13 9 7 B. Speed, W. Phillips (5), K. Roggerrio (6), D. Cain (8). A. Roa, J. Phillips (3), Z. Henrichs (6), A. Roa (7). W — A. Roa. L — Roggerrio. 2B — T. Hendley, H. Sater, J. West, D. Cain (W-M); L. Covarrubia, A. Rice, Z. Henrichs (IHS). IRRIGON 9, MAC-HI 8 — At Irrigon, the Knights scored three runs with one out in the bottom of the seventh and got their second walk-off win of the day when Keith Fleming singled to center field to bring Austin Rice across the plate for the winning run in a non-league game on Wednesday. Rice (2 for 4) singled to reach base and drive in Johnny Phillips to cut the Pioneers’ lead to 8-7, then Adrian Roa (2 for 3) walked to load the bases. Tanner Mills (2 for 5) hit a grounder and reached on an error to bring in Lino Covarrubia for the tying run, and Fleming (3 for 3) ended it on the next at-bat. It capped a flurry of scoring a the end of the game as Mac-Hi (2-3) scored two in the top of the seventh and five in its last three at-bats, and Irrigon (7-0) scored four in the last two innings to stay undefeated. Covarrubia pitched the last 2 2/3 innings in relief for the win and allowed three runs on three hits and three walks, with two strikeouts. The Pioneers took an 8-6 lead in the top of the seventh when Dareagan Stephens (2 for 2) hit a two-RBI double to score Devon Cothey (2 for 4) and Anthony Hardesty. Stephens finish with three RBIs, and Jesse Jones (2 for 3) added two. UP NEXT Mac-Hi plays at Riverside on Monday at 4 p.m. Irrigon will play a double- header at Umatilla on Friday, April 7, starting at 1 p.m. ——— Friday Stanford (32-5) vs. South Carolina (31-4), 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2) Connecticut (36-0) vs. Mississippi State (33-4), 6:30 p.m. (ESPN2) Sunday, April 23 — Food City 500 at Bris- tol Motor Speedway, 11 a.m. (TV: FOX) R H E M-H 030 021 2 — 8 7 4 IHS 220 101 3 — 9 10 0 A. Martinez, M. Brinkley (4), M. Cun- nington (7). B. Harrington, N. Gumbert (3), L. Covarrubia (5). W — Covarrubia. L — Cunnington. 2B — D. Cothey, J. Vela, D. Stephens (M-H); A. Roa, C. Adams, L. Covarrubia, T. Mills (IHS). SCOREBOARD COLLEGE SOFTBALL Local Slate PREP BASEBALL Today Hermiston vs. Cleveland (at Volcanoes Stadium), 11:30 a.m. Hermiston vs. Summit (at Volcanoes Stadium), 2 p.m. Pendleton at Bishop Kelly (ID), 6 p.m. Friday Pendleton vs. Caldwell (ID) (at Skyview HS), 10:30 a.m. Pendleton vs. Wood River (ID) (at Skyview HS), 10:30 a.m. Hermiston vs. Central Catholic (at Volca- noes Stadium), 2 p.m. Saturday Hermiston vs. TBD (at Volcanoes Stadi- um), TBD Pendleton at Vallivue (ID), 1 p.m. PREP SOFTBALL Today Bonanza at Echo, 4 p.m. Knappa at Heppner (2), TBD Friday Weston-McEwen vs. Pilot Rock (at La Grande), 9 a.m. Irrigon at Dayton, Noon Pilot Rock vs. Echo (at La Grande), 1 p.m. Irrigon vs. Woodburn (at Dayton), 2 p.m. Echo vs. Union (at La Grande), 3 p.m. Stayton at Mac-Hi, 4 p.m. Weston-McEwen vs. Bonanza (at La Grande), 5 p.m. Junction City at Mac-Hi, 6 p.m. Saturday Pilot Rock vs. Bonanza (at La Grande), 9 a.m. Weston-McEwen vs. Union (at La Grande), 11 a.m. Pilot Rock vs. Vale (at La Grande), 1 p.m. Estacada at Mac-Hi, 4 p.m. COLLEGE BASEBALL Saturday Wenatchee Valley at Blue Mountain (2), 1/4 p.m. Friday Eastern Oregon at Carroll (2), 1/3 p.m. Yakima Valley at Blue Mountain (2), 2/4 p.m. Saturday Eastern Oregon at Carroll (2), 10 a.m./Noon Wenatchee Valley at Blue Mountain (2), Noon/2 p.m. Recent Scores COLLEGE BASEBALL Wednesday Yakima Valley 5, Blue Mountain 3 R H E BMCC 010 000 020 — 3 9 1 YVCC 101 110 01X — 5 11 0 T. Heiman, N. Pena (6), C. Connolly (8) and J. Rogers. J. Hadley, E. Henke (7), P. De- pasquale (9) and J. Kirchoff. W — Hadley. L — Heiman. 2B — C. Sutton (BMCC); C. Mckenzie (YVCC). HR — J. Rogers (BMCC). Blue Mountain 10, Yakima Valley 5 R H E BMCC 212 110 003 — 10 12 2 YVCC 001 111 010 — 5 10 3 B. Howell, C. Root (7), K. Enriquez (9) and C. Labbe. H. Boyd, J. Garcilazo (4), C. Harris (7) and J. Kirchoff. W — Howell. L — Boyd. 2B — T. Rea, T. Spivey, A. Florez, T. Heiman, C. Sutton (BMCC). HR — T. Rea, T. Spivey (BMCC). PREP BASEBALL Wednesday Fairview (CO) 9, SHERWOOD 5 SHERWOOD 14, Palmer (CO) 4 Deer Valley (AZ) 14, CANBY 6 APTOS (CA) 4, Aloha 2 WEST LINN 7, West (CA) 4 SHADOW HILLS (CA) 4, Barlow 1 TROY (CA) 8, Jesuit 3 NORTH MEDFORD 22, Northglenn (CO) 4 (5) ALHAMBRA (AZ) 11, Southridge 3 Chatfield (CO) 8, SOUTH EUGENE 7 SHELDON 11, Libertyville (IL) 10 HOOD RIVER VALLEY 9, Lake Oswego 3 WESTVIEW 3, Grandview (CA) 1 Beaverton 10, CHATFILED (CO) 8 SIERRA CANYON (CA) 10, Centennial 0 MONARCH (CO) 14, Tualatin 3 Ralston Valley (CO) 17, WEST SALEM 11 VERRADO (AZ) 4, Centennial 3 CRATER 2, Century 1 McMinnville 9, FOREST GROVE 5 Hillsboro 11, ROOSEVELT 0 (5) MARIST CATHOLIC 16, Horizon Chris- tian-Tualatin 6 Silverton 4, BANKS 2 LEBANON 10, Parkrose 0 ASTORIA 20, Yamhill-Carlton 3 JOY CHRISTIAN (AZ) 9, Baker/Powder Valley 6 Phoenix 8, DOUGLAS 2 Junction City 16, NORTH VALLEY 4 JUNCTION CITY 4, Mazama 3 NEWPORT 6, Estacada 5 Henley 21, ESTACADA 7 Henley 19, NORTH BEND 6 NEWPORT 14, North Bend 3 (5) CLATSKANIE 10, Evergreen (CO) 3 (6) Glide 15, VALE 1 (5) GLIDE 10, Willamina 2 WHEAT RIDGE (CO) 8, Taft 4 Vernonia 17, RIVERSIDE 9 Scio 14, RIVERSIDE 3 GREEN MOUNTAIN (CO) 13, Neah-Kah-Nie 1 (6) PREP SOFTBALL Wednesday Century 15, NORTH SALEM 4 (5) CENTURY 16, North Salem 1 (5) CASA ROBLE (CA) 12, West Albany 5 Pendleton 17, MILWAUKIE 0 Marist Catholic 7, FOOTHILL (NV) 5 Hood River Valley 13, RANCHO ALAMI- TOS (CA) 3 (6) SANTA MARGARITA (CA) 4, Hood River Valley 1 (6) Glendale 9, ILLINOIS VALLEY 5 Grant Union/Dayville/Prairie City 5, IRRIGON 4 IRRIGON 10, Knappa 0 BURNS 14, Willamina 3 RIVERSIDE/ARLINGTON 12, Knappa 3 RIVERSIDE/ARLINGTON 8, Burns 4 GRANT UNION/DAYVILLE/PRAIRIE CITY 14, Willamina 4 (5) Hockey Basketball NBA Wednesday’s Games Atlanta 99, Philadelphia 92 Oklahoma City 114, Orlando 106, OT Charlotte 110, Toronto 106 Miami 105, New York 88 Milwaukee 103, Boston 100 Memphis 110, Indiana 97 New Orleans 121, Dallas 118 Golden State 110, San Antonio 98 Utah at Sacramento, late finish Washington at L.A. Clippers, late finish Today’s Games Brooklyn at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. Cleveland at Chicago, 5 p.m. L.A. Lakers at Minnesota, 5 p.m. L.A. Clippers at Phoenix, 7 p.m. Houston at Portland, 7:30 p.m. NCAA Men’s NCAA Tournament FINAL FOUR At University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, Ariz. National Semifinals Saturday South Carolina (26-10) vs. Gonzaga (36-1), 3:09 p.m. (CBS) Oregon (33-5) vs. North Carolina (31-7), 5:49 p.m. (CBS) National Championship Monday, April 3 NCAA Women’s Tournament FINAL FOUR At American Airlines Center Dallas, Texas National Semifinals NHL Wednesday’s Games Chicago 5, Pittsburgh 1 Los Angeles 4, Calgary 1 Washington at Colorado, late finish St. Louis at Arizona, late finish Today’s Games Columbus at Carolina, 4 p.m. N.Y. Islanders at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Florida at Montreal, 4:30 p.m. Dallas at Boston, 4:30 p.m. Detroit at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m. Ottawa at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Toronto at Nashville, 5 p.m. Anaheim at Winnipeg, 5 p.m. San Jose at Edmonton, 6 p.m. Motorsports NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Points Leaders Through March 26 1. Kyle Larson 243 2. Chase Elliott 214 3. Martin Truex, Jr. 205 4. Brad Keselowski 179 5. Joey Logano 174 6. Jamie McMurray 162 7. Ryan Blaney 157 8. Clint Bowyer 143 9. Kevin Harvick 137 10. Kyle Busch 136 Upcoming Schedule Sunday, April 2 — STP 500, at Martinsville Speedway, 11 a.m. (TV: FS1) Sunday, April 9 — O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, 10:30 a.m. (TV: FOX) Tennis Miami Open Wednesday At The Tennis Center at Crandon Park Key Biscayne, Fla. Purse: Men, $6.99 million (Masters 1000); Women, $6.99 million (Premier) Surface: Hard-Outdoor Singles Men Quarterfinals Fabio Fognini, Italy, def. Kei Nishikori (2), Japan, 6-4, 6-2. Rafael Nadal (5), Spain, def. Jack Sock, United States, 6-2, 6-3. Women Quarterfinals Johanna Konta (10), Britain, def. Simona Halep (3), Romania, 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2. Venus Williams (11), United States, def. Angelique Kerber (1), Germany, 7-5, 6-3. Doubles Men Quarterfinals Brian Baker, United States, and Daniel Nestor, Canada, def. Philipp Petzschner, Germany, and Alexander Peya, Austria, 6-3, 5-7, 10-3. Lukasz Kubot, Poland, and Marcelo Melo (6), Brazil, def. Jamie Murray, Britain, and Bruno Soares (4), Brazil, 2-6, 6-3, 10-8. Bob and Mike Bryan (3), United States, def. Marin Cilic and Nikola Mektic, Croatia, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 11-9. Women Quarterfinals Chan Yung-jan, Taiwan, and Martina Hingis (5), Switzerland, def. Andreja Klepac, Slovenia, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Spain, 6-4, 6-2. Gabriela Dabrowski, Canada, and Xu Yifan, China, def. Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina (2), Russia, 7-6 (3), 6-1. EAST'40OREGON marketplace Place classified ads online at www.eastoregonmarketplace.com Lost & Found 5 FOUND: ELECTRIC Drill Tutuilla Road Call to describe (541)240-1020 Special Notices 10 CLASSIFIED LINE AD DEADLINES East Oregonian 3pm the day prior to publication Hermiston Herald 10am Tuesday 1-800-962-2819 classifieds@ eastoregonian.com Special Notices 10 FOR YOUR Flights, Accommodations and Tours - call Kerry 541-377-6855 or email: Kjcbaird@gmail.com. Ready for a new Adventure? Business Travel? Drop by the office for Answers, Brochures and Ideas. Follow the Gallery on my website at www.turnherenow.com TURN HERE REALTY & TRAVEL (541) 377-6855 PLEASE CHECK YOUR AD ON THE FIRST DAY OF PUBLICATION. While we are happy to make any necessary correction, we cannot be responsible for errors appearing for multiple days. Thank you! Buy It! Sell It! Find It! The East Oregonian Classified 1-800-962- 2819 Special Notices 10 THE CITY of Pendleton Parks Department has surplus vehicles and equipment for sale. For more information please stop by the parks office at 865 Tutuilla Road Pendleton Oregon to pick up an information packet. Each vehicle will have a minimum bid attached. The condition of this property is not warranted and sold as is. Highest bid will take possession. Bids good until March 31st. Office Hours are 7:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday thru Friday. Personals 20 Email or Call Terri or Dayle classifieds@ eastoregonian.com 1-800-962-2819 to place your classified ad!! 1-800-962-2819 Homes for Sale 100 ADAMS - $139,000 Craftsman home, large kitchen, Huge Trex deck. Large fenced yard, corner lot, great outbuildings. Modern HVAC, newer. Jef 541-969-9539cell to schedule a showing #16651304 Coldwell Banker Whitney (541) 276-0021 ATHENA - $119,900 Athena property! 3bed, 2bath, 1400 sf(m/l) manufactured home. Situated on a corner lot, nice yard, tool shed. Built in 1999. Jerry 541-969-6378cell #16448284 Coldwell Banker Whitney (541) 276-0021 CLASSIFIEDS - LOOK here first before you buy! BLUE JEANS REALTY. Residential, Commercial, Mountain properties. Call us today to sell your home or buy your new property. “Our office is wherever you are” Rocky Mikesell Blue Jeans Realty 541-379-8690 Homes for Sale 100 Call Kerry 541 377 6855 for relia ble trustworthy service with all list ed homes in the area to find the one on your wishlist.Contact: www.turnherenow.com or email: kjcbaird@gmail.com. Find your n ew home while the interest rates are still low. TURN HERE REALTY & TRAVEL (541) 377-6855 CALL THE “Weekend & After Hours Realtor” to view homes at a convenient time for you. Available on Short Notice, Special Financing Program Information! Call Matt Vogler, 541.377.9470 John J. Howard & Assoc. (541) 377-9470 CURRENT LOW Inventory is providing a good time to sell! Call Matt Vogler (The Weekend and After Hours Realtor) to receive a Free Comparative Market Analysis specific to your home. John J. Howard & Assoc. (541) 377-9470 Homes for Sale 100 EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination." Familial status includes children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women, and people securing custody of children under 18. This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll-free at 1-800-669- 9777. The toll-free telephone number for the hearing impaired is 1-800-927-9275.
