Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Tennis
Djokovic will sit out rest of 2017 because of injured elbow
By HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Tennis Writer
For more than a year, Novak
Djokovic’s right elbow hurt when
he hit serves or forehands. The
pain kept getting worse, and now
he’s going to give his arm a chance
to heal by sitting out the rest of
2017.
Djokovic will miss the U.S.
Open, ending his streak of partic-
ipating in 51 consecutive Grand
Slam tournaments, and aims to
return to the ATP tour in January.
He made the announcement
Wednesday — exactly a year to
the day after Roger Federer said he
would be sidelined for the second
half of last season.
Djokovic made his announce-
ment via Facebook , his website
and at a news conference in
Belgrade, Serbia.
“This is one of those injuries
where nothing can really help
instantly. You just have to allow
natural rehabilitation to take its
course,” Djokovic said. “Profes-
sionally, this is not, obviously, an
easy decision for me.”
Since entering his first major
tournament at the 2005 Australian
Open, Djokovic has never missed
Andrej Isakovic, Pool Photo via AP
Tennis player Novak Djokovic gestures, during a press conference
in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, July 26, 2017. Djokovic will sit out
the rest of this season because of an injured right elbow, meaning
he will miss the U.S. Open and end his streak of participating in 51
consecutive Grand Slam tournaments.
one, the third-longest active run
among men and seventh-longest
in history.
In that time, the 30-year-old
Serb has won 12 Grand Slam
titles, including the U.S. Open in
2011 and 2015. Only three men
have won more major tennis
singles championships: Federer
(19), Rafael Nadal (15) and Pete
Sampras (14).
“The remarkable series has
come to an end,” Djokovic said.
“My body has its limits, and I have
to respect that and be grateful for
all that I have achieved so far.”
He said that Andre Agassi, with
whom he recently began working
on a part-time basis, will be his
coach after the hiatus. Djokovic
plans to start with a tuneup tourna-
ment ahead of the Australian Open
at the start of 2018.
“He supports my decision
to take a break and remains my
head coach,” Djokovic said about
Agassi, also noting that he’ll be
looking for a new fitness trainer.
“He is going to help me get back
into shape and bounce back strong
after the recovery period.”
His last match was on July 12,
when he stopped playing during
his
Wimbledon
quarterfinal
against Tomas Berdych because
the elbow was too painful.
Djokovic said then he had been
struggling with the elbow on his
racket-swinging arm for about
1½ years, which he reiterated
Wednesday. He said he does not
need surgery.
Since winning the 2016 French
Open to become the eighth man to
complete a career Grand Slam and
the first man in nearly a half-cen-
tury to win four consecutive major
trophies, Djokovic’s form has
dipped. His ranking dropped from
No. 1 to No. 4; he failed to defend
any of those major titles.
He acknowledged Wednesday
that he “felt worn out” and “flat”
after the run of success that culmi-
nated at Roland Garros in 2016.
“I was searching for myself,
for motivation,” he said.
Djokovic made it past the
quarterfinals at only one of the
past five majors: last year’s U.S.
Open, where he lost in the final to
Stan Wawrinka.
Djokovic, who also mentioned
Wednesday that his wife is
expecting their second child,
reached at least the semifinals at
Arthur Ashe Stadium each of the
past 10 years. That includes seven
appearances in the final.
Henri Laaksonen of Switzer-
land, who is ranked 95th, will
get Djokovic’s spot in the field at
Flushing Meadows. This year’s
U.S. Open starts Aug. 28.
“All the doctors I’ve consulted,
and all the specialists I have
visited, in Serbia and all over the
world, have agreed that this injury
requires rest. A prolonged break
from the sport is inevitable,”
Djokovic said. “I’ll do whatever
it takes to recover.”
————
Associated Press writer Jovana
Gec in Belgrade, Serbia, contrib-
uted to this report.
MARINERS: Moore gives up pair of homers in 6 1/3 innings for third loss
Continued from 1B
a 2-1 fastball from starter
Andrew Moore out to center
field for his first hit in the
majors. At 20 years and 275
days old, Devers was the
youngest Red Sox player to
homer since Tony Conigliaro
in September 1965. Devers
added a single in the seventh
inning.
“It was surreal. When I
got back to the dugout I could
barely walk to be honest with
you,” Devers said through
an interpreter. “I was just so
happy about it. It was just a
good moment.”
Moore (1-3) was solid, but
the long ball was his problem.
Along with Devers’ shot,
Moore gave up a two-out,
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
Seattle starting pitcher Andrew Moore walks to the
dugout after being pulled from a Wednesday’s game
against the Boston in the seventh inning.
two-run homer to Sandy
Leon in the fourth inning.
Moore hung a 1-2 curveball
and Leon hit his sixth homer
of the season. Moore was
able to save Seattle’s bullpen
by lasting 6 2/3 innings.
“He’s learning. Certainly,
I like his competitiveness.
He just didn’t have that
pitch to finish them today
and the home run ball got
him,” Seattle manager Scott
Servais said of Moore. “I
do like the way he’s able to
make adjustments in-game,
he’s done that a number of
times.”
SHUTOUT SEATTLE
Boston recorded its
fifth shutout of the season
and second in the past two
weeks. Oddly enough, three
of Boston’s shutouts came
against Seattle; the teams
played just six times in the
regular season.
DAYS OFF
Boston’s Mookie Betts
and Seattle’s Robinson Cano,
both All-Stars this year, got
a break from the starting
lineup with each team having
a day off Thursday. Cano’s
only duty was catching the
ceremonial first pitch from
Seattle Seahawks QB Russell
Wilson.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Red Sox: Boston placed
right-handed pitcher Ben
Taylor on the 10-day
disabled list with a strained
muscle in his ribs. The move
was retroactive to July 23.
The Red Sox activated right-
hander Blaine Boyer from
the disabled list. Boyer had
been out since July 16 with
an elbow strain.
Mariners: OF Jarrod
Dyson (toe) is expected
back in the lineup on Friday.
Dyson missed the previous
three games after hyperex-
tending his toe crashing into
the wall last Saturday against
the Yankees. Servais wanted
to give Dyson one more
game off with an off day on
Thursday.
UP NEXT
Red Sox: After a day off,
Boston opens up a 10-game
homestand against Kansas
City. David Price (5-3) will
start in the opener.
Mariners: Following an
off day, the Mariners open
a three-game series with
the New York Mets. Ariel
Miranda (7-4) will start the
opener on Friday.
PAC-12: Also plan to centralize instant replay
Continued from 1B
NFL games. Some of that
discrepancy can be attributed
to stopping the clock after
first downs in college foot-
ball, a rule not used in the
NFL.
The halftime reduction
could be a significant
incentive to keep television
viewers tuned in. Scott said
up to 30 percent of the audi-
ence is lost during that break.
The changes could also
have a positive effect on
stadium attendance since
Pac-12 fans have complained
about the increase in late
starts under the conference’s
most recent television deal.
Fans might be more likely to
watch a game in-person on a
Thursday or Saturday night
if they have a chance to get
home before midnight.
For Arizona and Arizona
State, which hold their
early-season home games
after dark to avoid the desert
heat, it could mean their fans
spend less time in triple-digit
temperatures.
Pac-12 coaches consulted
about the change did not
believe it would hinder their
ability to make adjustments
at halftime, Scott said.
“I was delighted to hear
our coaches feel like 20
minutes is more than they
need from a student-athlete
health and rest and X’s and
O’s perspective,” Scott said.
Scott also announced the
league’s plans to operate a
centralized replay center,
joining other conferences
in consolidating its video
review facilities.
The Pac-12 title game will
stay at Levi’s Stadium in Santa
Clara, California, through
2019, Scott said. The league
also has the option to hold the
2020 game in Santa Clara.
PREDICTIONS: Arizona, Cal predicted to finish last
Continued from 1B
PAC-12 Preseason
Predictions
North
1st place votes Total
1. Washington
49
309
2. Stanford
1
247
3. Wash. St.
1
206
4. Oregon
1
163
5. Oregon State 0
101
6. California
0
64
South
1st place votes Total
1. USC
49
309
2. Utah
1
220
3. UCLA
1
209
4. Colorado
1
182
5. Arizona St.
0
109
6. Arizona
0
61
* - As voted by Pac-12 Media
NFL-caliber talent.
USC has been greeted annually with
frenzied preseason expectations, partic-
ularly since the dominant Pete Carroll
era. The Trojans have far more coaching
changes than conference titles in the
past decade, failing to take the crown
after being installed as the preseason
favorites in 2012 and 2015.
Another word of warning for the
Trojans: The media has correctly picked
the conference champion only twice in
the last decade.
Washington went 12-2 and won the
conference title game over Colorado last
season. The Huskies lost to Alabama in
the College Football Playoff semifinal,
but star quarterback Jake Browning
returns along with several key
components of coach Chris Petersen’s
burgeoning powerhouse.
The Buffaloes are picked to finish
fourth in the Pac-12 South behind Utah
and UCLA despite their breakthrough
season under coach Mike MacIntyre.
Arizona State ranked fifth in the divi-
sion, and Arizona was last.
Stanford is picked second in the
North after going 10-3 last season. The
Cardinal are followed by revitalized
Washington State and rebuilding
Oregon, which replaced coach Mark
Helfrich with Willie Taggart after going
4-8 last fall for its worst season in a
quarter-century.
Oregon State is picked fifth in the
North, with California expected to finish
last under new coach Justin Wilcox.
Oregon and Utah got one vote apiece
as Pac-12 title game champions.
SCOREBOARD
Baseball
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East Division
W
L Pct GB
Boston
56 47 .544 —
New York
53 46 .535
1
Tampa Bay
53 49 .520 2½
Baltimore
48 53 .475
7
Toronto
47 54 .465
8
Central Division W
L Pct GB
Cleveland
54 45 .545 —
Kansas City
53 47 .530 1½
Minnesota
49 50 .495
5
Detroit
45 55 .450 9½
Chicago
39 59 .398 14½
West Division
W
L Pct GB
Houston
67 34 .663 —
Seattle
51 52 .495 17
Texas
49 52 .485 18
Los Angeles
49 53 .480 18½
Oakland
44 57 .436 23
———
Wednesday’s Games
Tampa Bay 5, Baltimore 1
N.Y. Yankees 9, Cincinnati 5
Boston 4, Seattle 0
Philadelphia 9, Houston 0
Toronto 3, Oakland 2
Kansas City 16, Detroit 2
Cleveland 10, L.A. Angels 4
Miami 22, Texas 10
Chicago Cubs 8, Chicago White Sox 3
Minnesota at L.A. Dodgers,late finish
Thursday’s Games
L.A. Angels (Ramirez 9-8) at Cleveland
(Bauer 8-8), 9:10 a.m.
Oakland (Manaea 8-5) at Toronto (Stroman
9-5), 9:37 a.m.
Tampa Bay (Archer 7-6) at N.Y. Yankees
(Sabathia 9-3), 4:05 p.m.
Chicago Cubs (Lester 7-6) at Chicago
White Sox (Pelfrey 3-7), 5:10 p.m.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East Division
W
Washington
60
Atlanta
48
L Pct GB
39 .606 —
52 .480 12½
New York
47 52 .475 13
Miami
46 53 .465 14
Philadelphia
35 64 .354 25
Central Division W
L Pct GB
Chicago
53 47 .530 —
Milwaukee
54 49 .524
½
St. Louis
50 51 .495 3½
Pittsburgh
50 52 .490
4
Cincinnati
41 60 .406 12½
West Division
W
L Pct GB
Los Angeles
70 31 .693 —
Arizona
58 43 .574 12
Colorado
58 45 .563 13
San Diego
44 57 .435 26
San Francisco
40 63 .388 31
———
Wednesday’s Games
N.Y. Yankees 9, Cincinnati 5
Arizona 10, Atlanta 3
San Francisco 2, Pittsburgh 1
Philadelphia 9, Houston 0
Washington 8, Milwaukee 5
Miami 22, Texas 10
Chicago Cubs 8, Chicago White Sox 3
St. Louis 10, Colorado 5
Minnesota at L.A. Dodgers, late finish
San Diego 6, N.Y. Mets 3
Thursday’s Games
Milwaukee (Blazek 0-0) at Washington
(Scherzer 11-5), 9:05 a.m.
Cincinnati (Stephenson 0-3) at Miami
(O’Grady 1-1), 4:10 p.m.
Arizona (Godley 3-4) at St. Louis (TBD),
4:15 p.m.
Chicago Cubs (Lester 7-6) at Chicago
White Sox (Pelfrey 3-7), 5:10 p.m.
N.Y. Mets (Flexen 0-0) at San Diego
(Perdomo 4-5), 6:10 p.m.
MiLB
Northwest League
North Division
W
Everett
2
Spokane
2
Tri-City
2
d-Vancouver
1
L
1
1
1
2
Pct GB
.667 —
.667 —
.667
—
.333
1
South Division W
L Pct GB
d-Hillsboro
2
1 .667 —
Salem-Keizer
2
1 .667
—
Eugene
1
2 .333
1
Boise
0
3 .000
2
d-First-half champions
————
Wednesday’s Games
Hillsboro 6, Boise 1
Spokane 5, Everett 3
Salem-Keizer 6, Eugene 1
Tri-City 5, Vancouver 0
Thursday’s Games
Hillsboro at Boise, 6:15 p.m.
Everett at Spokane, 6:30 p.m.
Salem-Keizer at Eugene, 7:05 p.m.
Vancouver at Tri-City, 7:15 p.m.
Soccer
MLS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W L T
Toronto FC
11 3 7
Chicago
11 4 5
New York City FC 11 6 4
Atlanta United FC 10 7 3
New York
10 8 2
Columbus
10 11 1
Orlando City
8 8 5
Philadelphia
7 9 5
Montreal
6 7 6
New England
6 9 5
D.C. United
5 13 3
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W L T
FC Dallas
9 3 7
Sporting K.C.
8 4 9
Houston
9 7 5
Seattle
8 7 6
Portland
8 8 6
Vancouver
8 8 3
San Jose
7 9 5
Real Salt Lake
7 12 3
Los Angeles
6 10 4
Colorado
6 11 2
Minnesota United 5 12 4
NOTE: Three points for victory, one point
for tie.
———
Wednesday’s Game
Philadelphia 3, Columbus 0
Saturday’s Games
Orlando City at Atlanta United FC, 1:30
p.m.
Montreal at New York, 4:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at New England, 4:30 p.m.
Chicago at Sporting Kansas City, 5 p.m.
Colorado at San Jose, 5 p.m.
Columbus at Real Salt Lake, 5 p.m.
D.C. United at Minnesota United, 5 p.m.
Portland at Houston, 5 p.m.
Vancouver at FC Dallas, 5 p.m.
Seattle at Los Angeles, 7 p.m.
Sunday’s Game
New York City FC at Toronto FC, 2 p.m.
Basketball
Pts GF GA
40 37 22
38 38 21
37 40 27
33 40 27
32 28 26
31 31 35
29 22 30
26 29 24
24 30 32
23 33 34
18 18 38
Pts GF GA
34 32 19
33 25 15
32 37 30
30 32 31
30 37 36
27 26 29
26 23 34
24 28 42
22 31 37
20 20 28
19 25 45
WNBA
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W
L Pct GB
Washington
13
9 .591 —
Connecticut
13
9 .591
—
New York
10
9 .526 1½
Atlanta
10 11 .476 2½
Chicago
8 14 .364
5
Indiana
8 14 .364
5
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W
L Pct GB
Minnesota
17
2 .895 —
Los Angeles
14
6 .700 3½
Phoenix
11 10 .524
7
Seattle
9 11 .450 8½
Dallas
11 12 .478
9
San Antonio
3 19 .136 15½
———
Friday’s Games
New York at Indiana, 4 p.m.
Connecticut at Washington, 4 p.m.
Minnesota at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m.
Los Angeles at San Antonio, 5 p.m.
Phoenix at Chicago, 5:30 p.m.
Dallas at Seattle, 7 p.m.
AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
United States’ Jordan Morris scores the game-win-
ning goal against Jamaica during the Gold Cup final
in Santa Clara, Calif., Wednesday, July 26, 2017.
GOLD CUP: Altidore
scores 39th career goal
Continued from 1B
Morris, a star at nearby
Stanford from 2013-15, got
the breakthrough goal with
a 14-yard right-footed shot
after Gyasi Zardes crossed.
Jermaine Taylor tried to
clear with a header and the
ball was knocked by Clint
Dempsey with a leg back
to Morris. It was the fifth
international goal for the
22-year-old Morris, who
tied 16-year-old Canadian
Alphonso Davies for the
tournament lead with three
goals.
“I was nervous. It was
my guy that scored on
the goal, so I was trying
to make up for it any way
that I could,” Morris said.
“Obviously. I take respon-
sibility for that. But luckily
I could put one in the back
of the net.”
The U.S. extended
its unbeaten streak to 14
games (9-0-5) under Bruce
Arena, who became the
first coach to win three
Gold Cup titles.
U.S. captain Michael
Bradley earned the Golden
Ball at the tournament’s top
player.
The Americans had a
chance in the 19th minute
when Altidore’s swerving
30-yard shot was parried by
Blake, who dived left and
then beat Kellyn Acosta to
the rebound at the 6-yard
box. Acosta collided with
Blake and appeared to kick
the keeper’s right hand
before Jamaica’s Damion
Lowe cleared. Blake’s
hand was wrapped but he
couldn’t continue and was
replaced by Miller four
minutes later. As Blake left
the field, he acknowledged
the cheering fans with a
wave of his left hand, then
later emerged for the medal
ceremony with his hand
bandaged.
Altidore put the U.S.
ahead with a curling shot
past Miller’s outstretched
right hand into the upper
corner of the net just
beneath the crossbar, his
39th goal in 108 appear-
ances.
Lawrence, who scored
in a 1-0 semifinal win
Sunday against Mexico,
took another corner kick in
the 75th minute moments
after Alvas Powell’s shot
from close range deflected
off Graham Zusi — a
sequence that had Tim
Howard yelling at the
defense.
With 18 of 22 starters
from Major League Soccer,
this was a rematch of the
2015 Gold Cup semifinal
won 2-1 by Jamaica at
Atlanta. For the first time
since replacing Jurgen
Klinsmann in November,
Arena kept his lineup
unchanged. He inserted the
34-year-old Dempsey in
the 55th minute.
The Americans hope for
momentum built during
this run as they prepare
to resume World Cup
qualifying. The U.S faces
Costa Rica in a rematch of
the Gold Cup semifinal on
Sept. 1 at Harrison, New
Jersey, and play four days
later at Honduras. The hex
concludes against Panama
on Oct. 6 in Orlando,
Florida, and at Trinidad and
Tobago four days after.