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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 22, 2017)
SPORTS WEEKEND, JULY 22-23, 2017 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS Happy Oregon wins West Regional opener trails Pendleton all-stars rally past Southern California in pool play M PENDLETON y fi rst experience in Pendleton was nearly getting stranded at the airport. It was October of 2006, and I was in town to interview for the position of sports reporter at the East Oregonian. We landed late at night after a stormy, turbulent fl ight, and the promise of a ride from the sports editor apparently came with a time limit that had expired. Thankfully one of the fl ight attendants was kind enough to offer me a lift to my hotel, spinning what could have been Matt taken as an Entrup ominous Comment sign into an uplifting tale of small-town hospitality. When I accepted the position I told then- managing editor Steve Brown that I would give the paper a year, minimum, but I couldn’t see myself staying more than fi ve. I guess you could say the area grew on me. It was a big transition coming from the congestion and 24-hour convenience of living near a large city, but the friendly locals, wide open views and nearby mountains were acceptable trade-offs. Eventually, with a cheap pair of hiking boots and some ridiculous ideas about what it meant to properly pack for a week in the wilderness, I began to really explore the region’s backcountry. What I found there was like nothing I’d ever seen before, and it was after that fi rst hike into the Wallowa Mountains that I offi cially adopted Oregon as my new home state. Throughout the years, as other sports reporters came and went — eight at my last count — I’ll admit there were times when I thought there might be greener grass to be had. But when it came time to actually send out resumes, the idea of leaving all this natural beauty behind kept me from following through. Ironically, the mountain ranges and well-maintained trail systems that made it so hard to leave, actually planted the seeds for my departure now after more than 10 years covering the athletes and teams of Umatilla and Morrow Counties. In my time here I’ve seen 10 Pendleton Round-Ups, too many state championships to name, and a never-ending fl ow of student-athletes using sports as an avenue to further their academic opportunities. I thank those of you who allowed me into your lives, East Oregonian Contributed photo courtesy of Jeanine Youncs Oregon’s Allison Galloway gets a hit against Southern California on Friday in the fi rst game of pool play at the Little League Softball West Regional Championships in San Bernardino, California. Oregon won 6-3. SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Representing the very fi rst game of the 2017 Little League Softball West Regional tournament on Friday morning, Team Oregon made sure to give a good fi rst impression. Team Oregon, comprised of the Pendleton all-stars, scored six unanswered runs late to overtake Southern California for a 6-3 victory in Game 1 of pool play at Al Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino, California. Southern California scored the fi rst runs in the bottom of the third, when back-to-back walks from Oregon pitcher Sauren Garton led to a two-RBI triple and an RBI groundout for a 3-0 Southern California lead. Garton then settled in after the inning, recording four strike- outs and giving up six hits with zero runs the rest of the way and fi nished with seven punchouts overall. Oregon was able to get those runs back in the fourth. Three See LITTLE LEAGUE/2B PENDLETON Racers break in Round-Up Joe Kopp of Mica, Washing- ton leads the pack coming into the fourth turn of the eighth heat of the Thunder in the Blues fl at track racing on Friday at the Pendleton Round-Up Grounds. Staff photo by E.J. Harris Motorized racing returns to Pendleton arena after 77-year absence By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian The last time that motorized racing of any kind had zipped around the half-mile track of the Pendleton Round-Up Arena, the White House was occupied by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. That changed on Friday night, as the inaugural Thunder in the Blues fl at track motorcycle race enter- tained an intrigued crowd in the famed rodeo arena in the midst of Pendleton Bike Week festivities. Joe Kopp, the 2000 American Motor- cycle Association Grand National Champion and Mica, Washington See RACING/2B Golf Spieth turns in a beauty on nasty day at British Open Jordan Spieth of the United States on the 18th green at the end of his second round of the British Open Golf Cham- pionship, at Royal Birk- dale, South- port, England, Friday July 21, 2017. AP Photo/Peter Morrison See HAPPY TRAILS/2B Uses stellar short game to take 2-stroke lead By DOUG FERGUSON Associated Press SOUTHPORT, England — Jordan Spieth expected a rough time at the British Open before he even got to the golf course. He spent Friday morning at his rented house in front of the television, watching players battle a relentless wind at Royal Birkdale, all the while checking a forecast that was even worse for when he played in the afternoon. “It wasn’t a great feeling knowing we were coming into something harder than what we were watching,” he said. Spieth did more than just survive. With a short game as sharp as it has been all year, and a 3-wood that turned out a lot better than it looked and led to an eagle, Spieth seized control with a 1-under 69 that gave him a two-shot lead over Matt Kuchar going into the weekend. Spieth turned a bogey or worse into an unlikely par by chipping in from just short of the 10th green. And he learned enough from watching TV to know that going a little long on the par-5 15th would give him a better birdie chance than playing short. So he switched from a 3-iron to a 3-wood, hit it a little off the neck and watched it run hot and fast some 100 yards along the wet See BRITISH OPEN/3B Sports shorts Cavs’ Irving asks to be traded CLEVELAND (AP) — Two people familiar with the situation says All-Star guard Kyrie Irving has asked the Cleveland Cavaliers to trade him. Irving made the request last week to owner Dan Gilbert, said the people who spoke Friday to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team is not commenting on the star’s demands. Irving’s appeal was fi rst reported by ESPN. A four-time All-Star, Irving has spent six seasons with the Cavs, who Irving selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in 2011. The 25-year-old has overcome injury issues and developed into one of the league’s elite point guards. Irving is under contract for two more seasons with Cleveland, which has had a tumultuous offseason following a loss to Golden State in the NBA Finals. “It’s pretty cool to come in here and have a chance to go for three in a row. But it’s frustrating that it’s been 365 days since we’ve won one of these things.“ — Kyle Busch NASCAR driver on going for a third-straight victory in the Brickyard 400 on Sunday in Indiannapolis. He also won the last two Xfi nity Series races held at the track, tying him with Formula One superstar Michael Schumacher, who won the U.S. Grand Prix four straight years in 2003-2006, for most consecutive wins in Indy. Montreal Canadiens to charge for paper season tickets MONTREAL (AP) — Montreal Canadiens fans looking forward to the annual arrival of their season tickets got an unwelcome surprise when the team announced it would be charging extra for printed tickets. Canadiens spokesman Francois Marchand confi rmed that the default option will be mobile tickets and fans who want physical tickets will be charged $150 plus tax per seat. A letter to season-ticket holders cited security, ease of use and environmental sustainability as reasons for the change. A platinum season ticket last season cost $9,564 before tax, and the cheapest ticket sold for $1,795. While other teams do offer mobile ticket options, not all charge for physical tickets. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1962 — Gary Player of South Africa becomes the fi rst non-resident of the United States to win the PGA cham- pionship. 1984 — Kathy Whit- worth becomes the all-time winner in professional golf tournaments by winning the Rochester Open. Whitworth, with 85 career wins, passes Sam Snead’s total of 84 PGA tournament victories. 1996 — Naim Suley- manoglu of Turkey becomes fi rst weightlifter in Olympic history to win three gold medals. Suleymanoglu wins the 141-pound division by hoisting 413 pounds. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
