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Page 2B SPORTS East Oregonian NFL Thursday, August 3, 2017 MLB Turning 40: Brady showing few Philadelphia Phillies scrap signs of decline at milestone plans to honor Pete Rose By KYLE HIGHTOWER AP Sports Writer FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Professional athletes measure achievement in championships, with a constant eye slanted toward Father Time. Next up for Tom Brady is challenging the conven- tional wisdom of how long a quarterback can play at a high level in the NFL. The leader of the New England Patriots turns 40 on Thursday, an age considered both a line of demarcation and decline for even the game’s greatest names. Brady already redefined what it meant to have success after age 35 even before he captured his fifth Super Bowl ring last season . With a stated desire to play until age 45 — and possibly beyond it — Brady might one day find himself in rarer company. According to Pro Football Reference, Brady is poised to become the 20th quarterback in league history to appear in a game at 40 or older. Whether it’s a byproduct of the system he plays in, avoiding injury, or the training and nutrition regimen he swears by, unlike virtually all of his predeces- sors Brady isn’t showing signs of slowing down. “For Tom I think it’s gonna come down more to motiva- tion,” said Hall of Fame quar- terback Warren Moon, who retired at age 44 after 17 NFL seasons and six in the CFL. “Does he see himself having the same motivation, drive and desire five years from now that he has right now?” Since 2000, seven quar- terbacks have thrown a pass over the age of 40 in the NFL: Moon, Brett Favre, Vinny Testaverde, Matt Hasselbeck, Doug Flutie, Mark Brunell and Brad Johnson. Of that group, only Moon (1997, age 41) and Favre (2009, age 40) have earned Pro Bowl selections after crossing into their fifth decade. “I think injuries will have a lot to do with (how long Brady plays),” Moon said. “He’s won five Super Bowls. How many more years can he have that deep down, burning desire to want to win?” Favre posted the best season of any 40-year-old signal caller, completing 68 percent of his passes for 4,202 yards and 33 touchdowns in 2009 — his 19th season. Associated Press AP Photo/Steven Senne New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) pass- es at training camp on Tuesday in Foxborough, Mass. Moon threw for 3,678 yards and 25 touchdowns in his 14th season in 1997. Meanwhile, Brady is coming off his 12th Pro Bowl selection and is playing as if he’s still in his prime . At 39, he threw for 3,554 yards and 28 touchdowns in a regular season shortened by his four-game “Deflategate” suspension. In addition, his 67.4 completion percentage last season was second only to the 68.9 percent he completed during his 2007 MVP season . Brady also has been finding the end zone at a higher rate the older he gets. Brady has averaged 31 touchdowns per season since turning 35 in 2012. He aver- aged 30 touchdowns from age 26 to 30. In 2007, he threw for a career-high and NFL-record 50 touchdowns . By comparison, over his final five seasons, Peyton Manning averaged 34 touch- downs. Favre came in at 22. Hasselbeck played at 40 in 2015. He said Brady benefits from playing in a quarter- back-friendly rules era, but he does take a fair amount of hits. He also sees a player defying his age in other ways. “He looked better than I have ever seen at running or scrambling,” Hasselbeck said. “It was like all the extra attention he’s put in training and recovery showed up on the football field.” Unlike Favre, who loathed training camp, Brady still embraces the preseason. Since 2004 when Brady was 27, he also has relied on a nutrition and workout program developed by friend and health guru Alex Guer- rero. Under Guerrero’s guid- ance, Brady follows a mostly plant-based diet during the season. In 2013, Brady and Guer- rero partnered in opening the TB12 Sports Therapy Center. The basis for Guerrero’s program — in particular the plant-based diet component — has been criticized by some as junk science. But since Brady began working with him, other than a torn left ACL in 2008, he has not missed a regular-season game due to injury. Patriots coach Bill Beli- chick declined comment on Brady’s specific personal workout regimen, but he said the quarterback has long prioritized maximizing his performance. Receivers Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola also have used Guerrero’s methods. For the past three months, star tight end Rob Gronkowski has utilized the program as he works his way back from back surgery that ended his 2016 season after eight games. Brady has even served as his personal chef. “It’s going good — yes,” said Gronkowski, who turned 28 in May. “He cooks them for me, I eat them.” For all the respect Brady has garnered, beginning Thursday whatever he does going forward will come with all the reminders he is now in a special age group. “People don’t let you forget it,” Hasselbeck said. “People act like you’re getting ready to go in an old folks’ home.” Patriots backup quarter- back Jimmy Garoppolo said not even Brady’s Super Bowl rings can protect him from the jokes he’ll hear. “We have to, right? It wouldn’t be right if we didn’t,” Garoppolo said. “We’re there to bring him back down to earth every once in a while.” PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies have canceled plans to honor Pete Rose next week because of a woman’s claim she had a sexual rela- tionship with baseball’s hit king when she was a minor. The woman, identified as Jane Doe this week in a court filing, said Rose called her in 1973, when she was 14 or 15, and they began a sexual relationship in Cincinnati that lasted several years. She also alleges Rose met her in locations outside Ohio for sex. Rose’s lawyer says the woman’s claims are unver- ified. The Phillies were going to induct Rose into their Wall of Fame in an on-field ceremony on Aug. 12. Rose bobbleheads were going to be distributed on Aug. 11. The Phillies will not give away the collectibles and said fans with tickets for either game can exchange them or get a refund. “While I am truly honored that the Phillies fans voted for me to be this year’s Wall of Fame inductee, I am concerned that other matters will overshadow the goodwill associated with Alumni Weekend, and I agree with the decision not to partici- pate,” Rose said. Rose, who was banned from baseball in 1989, made four All-Star appearances and helped the Phillies to one of their two world championships during his five seasons in Philadelphia from 1979-83. Rose was selected through fan voting and was set to become the 39th inductee into the club’s Wall of Fame. But public pressure against Rose played a role in the Phillies’ decision to scrap the tribute. The women’s claim became public from testimony presented by the defense as part of a federal lawsuit Rose filed last year in Philadelphia against a lawyer whose investigation got the Cincinnati native kicked out of Major League Baseball for gambling. Rose contends John Dowd defamed him by saying on the radio that the former baseball great had raped young teen girls during spring training. Rose has acknowledged having a relationship with the woman beginning when she was 16, the age of consent in Ohio. Rose alleges in the lawsuit that Dowd damaged his reputation and endorsement deals during a July 2015 interview on WCHE-AM radio. Dowd said during the radio appearance that Rose associate Michael Bertolini told investigators he “ran young girls” to Rose during spring training, which Dowd called “statutory rape every time,” according to Rose’s lawsuit. Bertolini’s lawyers have denied that. Rose acknowledged in a statement accompanying Monday’s filing that he did have a relationship with the woman, but he said it started when she was 16. He also states they never had sex outside Ohio. At the time, Rose was in his mid-30s and was married with two kids. Rose’s personal prob- lems never seemed to affect his popularity in baseball. He’s a regular on the autograph circuit and does broadcast work for Fox. The Cincinnati Reds unveiled a bronze sculp- ture this season outside Great American Ball Park depicting Rose’s headfirst slide. He was inducted into the Reds’ Hall of Fame last June and had his No. 14 retired. The 76-year-old hits leader is banned from baseball’s Hall of Fame. Commissioner Rob Manfred has denied Rose’s latest petition for reinstate- ment, but hasn’t ruled out making him eligible for Cooperstown someday. The fourth annual Philly Sports Roast also said it canceled its Aug. 10 event with Rose as the guest of honor. Tickets that started at $150 will be refunded. Philadelphia’s Sugar- House Casino said it canceled Rose’s scheduled Aug. 12 autograph signing that was to be held just hours before his Wall of Fame induction. Refunds also were available for those tickets. The Phillies will still honor more than 40 alumni next weekend. KAEPERNICK: Continued from 1B make decisions for all the guys on the field right now. It’s about: Can he help us win games? “The biggest thing they have to decide is, is he a good fit for our football team? I would hope that any team, when it comes to Colin Kaepernick, would look at his skill and look at their needs and say, ‘OK, I’m going to give him an opportunity because I have a need in that area and he can fill it.’ Nothing else.” That’s one of the most important facets among the litany of items the Ravens are considering, but Bisciotti contends that Kaepernick’s protest last season — along with the quarterback’s assertion that he will stand for the Star-Spangled Banner this year — cannot be ignored. “Non-violent protesting is something that we’ve all embraced,” Bisciotti said. “I don’t like the way he did it. I liked it a lot more when he went from sitting to kneeling. I thought that if it’s still a silent protest, the level of disrespect isn’t as strong that way.” He wonders if the fans would be able to look past the protest and consider that the 29-year-old Kaepernick threw 16 touchdown passes against only four intercep- tions last year, and that his lifetime numbers in those categories are 72 TDs and just 30 INTs. “I hope we do what is best for the team and balance that with what’s best for our fans,” Bisciotti said. The subject has tran- scended football in the Baltimore area. All four Letters to the Editor in the Wednesday edition of The (Baltimore) Sun involved opinions of the potential signing of Kaepernick (three in favor of it; one against). MARINERS: Gallardo to start series opener in Kansas City today GOLF: starter this season, is sched- Continued from 1B Wildhorse uled to start the opener of a has 18 singles, 12 doubles and four-game series at Kansas pro falters City on Thursday night. He two triples. is 4-7 with a 5.94 ERA in 16 TRAINER’S ROOM Rangers: LHP Jake starts this season. Seattle is in second Diekman (colon) threw BP playing the fourth of 21 road in the cage before the game. games in a 28-game stretch. round Rangers: RHP A.J. Griffin Manager Jeff Banister said (oblique strain) is scheduled to there “is still a ways to go” and that there hasn’t been determined where Diekman will go for his next step. UP NEXT Mariners: Yovani Gallardo, who has been a reliever and Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Ari- el Miranda throws to a Texas Rangers batter during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2017, in Arlington, Texas. Miranda al- lowed five runs and three home runs in 5 2/3 innings to earn the loss. come off the 60-day disabled list to make his first start for the Rangers to make his first start since May 26. They open a four-game series Thursday at Minnesota. AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez SCOREBOARD Baseball MLB AMERICAN LEAGUE East Division W L Pct GB Boston 59 49 .546 — New York 57 49 .538 1 Tampa Bay 56 53 .514 3½ Baltimore 53 54 .495 5½ Toronto 51 57 .472 8 Central Division W L Pct GB Cleveland 57 48 .543 — Kansas City 55 51 .519 2½ Minnesota 51 54 .486 6 Detroit 49 57 .462 8½ Chicago 41 64 .390 16 West Division W L Pct GB Houston 69 38 .645 — Seattle 55 54 .505 15 Los Angeles 52 55 .486 17 Texas 51 56 .476 18 Oakland 47 60 .439 22 ——— Wednesday’s Games Cleveland at Boston, ppd. Detroit 2, N.Y. Yankees 0 Toronto 5, Chicago White Sox 1 Minnesota 5, San Diego 2 Baltimore 6, Kansas City 0 Tampa Bay 3, Houston 0 Texas 5, Seattle 1 Philadelphia at L.A. Angels, late finish Oakland at San Francisco, late finish Thursday’s Games Detroit (Boyd 5-5) at Baltimore (Gausman 8-7), 4:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox (Gonzalez 5-9) at Boston (Rodriguez 4-3), 4:10 p.m. N.Y. Yankees (Gray 6-5) at Cleveland (Salazar 4-5), 4:10 p.m. Tampa Bay (Snell 0-6) at Houston (McHugh 0-0), 5:10 p.m. Texas (Bibens-Dirkx 3-1) at Minnesota (Mejia 4-4), 5:10 p.m. Seattle (Gallardo 5-7) at Kansas City (Cahill 4-3), 5:15 p.m. Philadelphia (Eickhoff 2-7) at L.A. Angels (Bridwell 5-1), 7:07 p.m. Oakland (Graveman 2-2) at San Francisco (Blach 6-7), 7:15 p.m. NATIONAL LEAGUE East Division W L Pct GB Washington 63 43 .594 — Miami 51 55 .481 12 New York 49 56 .467 13½ Atlanta 49 57 .462 14 Philadelphia 39 65 .375 23 Central Division W L Pct GB Chicago 57 49 .538 — Milwaukee 56 53 .514 2½ St. Louis 53 54 .495 4½ Pittsburgh 51 56 .477 6½ Cincinnati 44 63 .411 13½ West Division W L Pct GB Los Angeles 75 32 .701 — Arizona 61 46 .570 14 Colorado 61 47 .565 14½ San Diego 48 59 .449 27 San Francisco 41 67 .380 34½ ——— Wednesday’s Games Minnesota 5, San Diego 2 Cincinnati 5, Pittsburgh 2 Miami 7, Washington 0 Atlanta 5, L.A. Dodgers 3 Arizona 3, Chicago Cubs 0 St. Louis 5, Milwaukee 4 N.Y. Mets 10, Colorado 5 Philadelphia at L.A. Angels, late finish Oakland at San Francisco, late finish Thursday’s Games St. Louis (Wacha 8-4) at Milwaukee (Garza 4-5), 11:10 a.m. Arizona (Greinke 13-4) at Chicago Cubs (Quintana 6-9), 11:20 a.m. N.Y. Mets (Montero 1-7) at Colorado (Mar- quez 9-4), 12:10 p.m. Cincinnati (Romano 2-2) at Pittsburgh (Kuhl 3-7), 4:05 p.m. L.A. Dodgers (Wood 12-1) at Atlanta (Newcomb 1-5), 4:35 p.m. Philadelphia (Eickhoff 2-7) at L.A. Angels (Bridwell 5-1), 7:07 p.m. Oakland (Graveman 2-2) at San Francisco (Blach 6-7), 7:15 p.m. MiLB Northwest League North Division W L Pct GB Spokane 6 1 .857 — Tri-City 4 3 .571 2 x-Vancouver Everett South Division 3 2 4 .429 5 .286 3 4 W L Pct GB Eugene 4 3 .571 — Hillsboro 4 3 .571 — x-Salem-Keizer 3 4 .429 1 Boise 2 5 .286 2 x-first-half champions ———— Monday-Wednesday No games scheduled (All-Star break) Thursday’s Games Eugene at Spokane, 6:30 p.m. Everett at Salem-Keizer, 6:35 p.m. Vancouver at Hillsboro, 7:05 p.m. Boise at Tri-City, 7:15 p.m. Soccer MLS Saturday’s Games FC Dallas at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Toronto FC at D.C. United, 4 p.m. Orlando City at Montreal, 4:30 p.m. Seattle at Minnesota United, 5 p.m. New England at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. Houston at Real Salt Lake, 7 p.m. Vancouver at Colorado, 7 p.m. Columbus at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Sunday’s Games Los Angeles at Portland, 1 p.m. New York at New York City FC, 3 p.m. Atlanta United FC at Sporting Kansas City, 5 p.m. Basketball WNBA EASTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct Connecticut 14 9 .609 Washington 14 9 .609 New York 12 11 .522 Atlanta 10 13 .435 Chicago 8 16 .333 Indiana 8 16 .333 WESTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct Minnesota 19 2 .905 Los Angeles 17 6 .739 Phoenix 13 10 .565 Dallas 11 14 .440 Seattle 10 13 .435 San Antonio 4 21 .160 GB — — 2 4 6½ 6½ GB — 3 7 10 10 17 ———— Wednesday’s Games No games scheduled Thursday’s Games Atlanta at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Friday’s Games Phoenix at Connecticut, 4 p.m. Chicago at Indiana, 4 p.m. Washington at San Antonio, 5 p.m. Seattle at Dallas, 5 p.m. New York at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. Golf PGA Tour FedEx Cup Standings Through July 30 Points 1. Jordan Spieth 2,579 2. Dustin Johnson 2,359 3. Hideki Matsuyama 2,204 4. Justin Thomas 2,060 5. Jon Rahm 1,718 6. Rickie Fowler 1,634 7. Brooks Koepka 1,629 8. Daniel Berger 1,573 9. Brian Harman 1,492 10. Kevin Kisner 1,474 11. Pat Perez 1,426 12. Charley Hoffman 1,289 13. Marc Leishman 1,251 14. Adam Hadwin 1,246 15. Kyle Stanley 1,188 Money $6,793,145 $6,561,568 $6,074,907 $5,131,179 $4,522,885 $4,334,972 $4,745,771 $3,883,474 $3,979,858 $3,787,354 $3,582,575 $3,205,641 $3,321,141 $2,834,762 $3,013,037 Upcoming Schedule WGC-BRIDGESTONE INVITATIONAL Site: Akron, Ohio. Course: Firestone Country Club (South Course). Yardage: 7,400. Par: 70. Purse: $9.75 million. First prize: $1,660,000. Television: Thursday-Friday, 10:30 a.m.- 3:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); 11 a.m.-3 p.m. (CBS). Defending champion: Dustin Johnson. Last week: Jhonattan Vegas won the RBC Canadian Open and Jordan Smith won the Porsche European Open. LPGA Tour Money Leaders Through July 30 Trn Money 1. So Yeon Ryu 14 $1,718,659 2. Sung Hyun Park 15 $1,501,172 3. Lexi Thompson 14 $1,279,576 4. Brooke M. Henderson 19 $1,027,689 5. Mi Jung Hur 16 $979,286 6. Ariya Jutanugarn 18 $979,161 7. Sei Young Kim 16 $955,462 8. Amy Yang 15 $856,158 9. Cristie Kerr 15 $853,462 10. Danielle Kang 16 $806,828 11. In Gee Chun 15 $776,682 12. Inbee Park 14 $697,444 13. Moriya Jutanugarn 19 $695,734 14. Minjee Lee 16 $689,977 15. Mirim Lee 14 $647,823 Upcoming Schedule RICOH WOMEN’S BRITISH OPEN Site: St. Andrews, Scotland. Course: Kingsbarns Golf Club. Yardage: 6,697. Par: 72. Purse: $3.25 million. First place: $487,500. Television: Thursday-Friday, 6-11 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday 7-11 a.m. (Golf Channel); 11 a.m.-2 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 7:30-11:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); 11:30 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. (NBC). Defending champion: Ariya Jutanugarn. Auto Racing NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series Points Standings Through July 30 1. Martin Truex Jr. 823 2. Kyle Larson 738 3. Kevin Harvick 726 4. Kyle Busch 723 5. Brad Keselowski 649 6. Denny Hamlin 649 7. Chase Elliott 616 8. Jamie McMurray 615 9. Matt Kenseth 594 10. Clint Bowyer 577 11. Jimmie Johnson 566 12. Ryan Blaney 529 13. Joey Logano 525 14. Kurt Busch 494 15. Ryan Newman 491 16. Erik Jones 469 Upcoming Schedule Sunday — I (heart) NY 355 at The Glen, Watkins Glen Int’l Speedway, Noon (TV: NBCSN). Continued from 1B pro Tom Sovay with 5-under 139. The top score of the day went to Spokane, Washington pro Steve Prugh who shot a 3-under 69 to jump into a three-way tie for fourth place at 4-under 140. One of the players tied for fourth happens to be the top amateur through two rounds, as Pat O’Donnell shot an even 72 on the day. Wildhorse Resort pro Mike Hegarty faltered with 6-over 78 in the round after a strong 1-under 71 on Tuesday to fall back to a 12-way tie for 49th place with a 5-over 149 total score. In the 36-hole team tournament, Gearhart pro Z Barbic and amateurs Doug Banks, Jeff Moenck and Richard Hamilton took the crown and the $1,000 payout with a 37-under 251, winning by three strokes over second place. The Wildhorse team of Hegarty and amateurs Gary George, Tom Rodriguez, and Jeff Quinn finished 7-under 281 to finish tied for 53rd. The third and final round continues Thursday morning at Wildhorse Resort Golf Course.