SPORTS
TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2017
1B
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Baseball
Fans fl ock to ballparks to see eclipse
Minor league
teams hold game-
day viewing parties
By GRANT SCHULTE
Associated Press
AP Photo/Paul Beaty
Minnesota Twins players Ehire Adrianza front, and Er-
vin Santana back, along with other members of the
team watch the solar eclipse before a game between
the Twins and Chicago White Sox Monday in Chicago.
LINCOLN, Neb. —
Baseball fans in more than
a half-dozen cities from
Oregon to South Carolina
crowded into minor league
ballparks Monday to watch
the solar eclipse at game-day
viewing parties.
The Lincoln Saltdogs
wore special black-and-
white jerseys and stopped
their game just before 1 p.m.
to watch the eclipse darken
the sky. Spectators erupted
in applause at 1:02 p.m. as
the moon crawled in front of
the sun until the whole sky
looked like a late-evening
sunset. The air turned chilly
and went still.
“It made me all teary-
eyed,” said Robyn Mason,
who watched with her
husband, Greg, from a grassy
embankment near the third
base outfi eld. “It was just so
momentous. Just really cool
— and very pretty.”
Other teams hosting
events included the Salem-
Keizer Volcanoes in Oregon,
the Idaho Falls Chukars, the
Bowling Green Hot Rods
in Kentucky, Tennessee’s
Nashville Sounds and the
Greenville Drive, Columbia
Firefl ies and Charleston
RiverDogs, all in South
Carolina.
The Volcanoes’ game
against the Hillsboro Hops
started late because the Hops
got stuck in traffi c. The game
stopped briefl y in the fi rst
inning as fans and players
paused to watch the eclipse.
Many
players
donned
disposable protective glasses
See ECLIPSE/2B
Mariners slide past Braves
NFL
MLB
O-line still
a dilemma
for Seattle
Seattle
Mariners
Yonder
Alon-
so (10)
avoids
the
tag of
Atlanta
Braves
catcher
Kurt Su-
zuki (24)
at home
to score
in the
fourth
inning
of a
baseball
game in
Atlanta.
Fant’s injury throws
wrench into lineup
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
RENTON, Wash. — It
wouldn’t be the preseason
without uncertainty about how
the Seattle Seahawks offensive
line will look come Week 1.
In what has become a
regular occurrence the past
few seasons, the line has been
thrown into fl ux again with
the season-ending knee injury
suffered by expected starting
left tackle George Fant in last
Friday’s preseason game against
Minnesota. Fant suffered a torn
ACL and some MCL damage in
his right knee and will undergo
surgery soon.
The loss of Fant completely
alters an offensive line that was
on the verge of being mostly
settled for the fi nal two weeks
of the preseason. Fant and Luke
Joeckel were set on the left side
with Justin Britt at center and
Germain Ifedi the expected
starter at right tackle. The only
competition appeared to be
at right guard between Oday
Aboushi and Mark Glowinski,
with Ethan Pocic and Rees
Odhiambo serving as backups
across the line.
“We’re moving. We’ve got
to keep rolling,” coach Pete
Carroll said Monday.
Carroll chose not to go into
specifi cs, but indicated that
Odhiambo will likely be the
fi rst option. The second-year
See SEAHAWKS/2B
AP Photo/
Todd Kirkland
Alonso drives in three to help Seattle keep pace in Wild Card race
By PAUL NEWBERRY
Associated Press
ATLANTA — Andrew Albers is
making up for lost time.
After going 1,463 days between
big league victories, he now has
two wins in less than a week.
“I try not to count that high,”
Albers quipped after working into
the sixth inning to lead the Seattle
Mariners past the Atlanta Braves
6-5 on Monday night.
“I knew it had been a
while.”
The 31-year-old
Seattle
left-hander sounded
more excited about
the fi rst hit and RBI
of his career — in his fi rst big
league at-bat, a bouncer off the
pitching hand of Atlanta’s Mike
Foltynewicz that wound up being
an infi eld hit.
6
Atlanta
5
After
admiring
the ball in his locker,
Albers (2-0) quickly
pointed out he also
has two sacrifi ce
bunts, leaving him
with a career average
of 1.000.
“I better sit on that one as long
as I can,” he said. “It’s only gonna
go down from there.”
Albers beat his former organi-
zation, having spent most of the
season at the Braves’ Triple-A club.
He went 12-3 but never got a call to
the big leagues.
Instead, Albers was dealt to the
Mariners for cash on Aug. 11. He
was called up by Seattle to make
a start four days later, working six
strong innings in a 3-1 win over
Baltimore.
This time, he surrendered six
See MARINERS/2B
NFL
Trevor Siemian outduels Paxton Lynch to win Broncos QB job again
By ARNIE STAPLETON
Associated Press
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. —
Vance Joseph was admittedly
enamored of the idea of a
towering, chuck-it-or-tuck-it
quarterback with fi rst-round
pedigree and a lightning bolt
for a right arm leading the
Denver Broncos in 2017.
Even more captivating for
the rookie head coach was
the notion of his egghead
seventh-rounder with the
sneaky fastball and penchant
for making the right decisions
calling the signals.
that’s just 18
So, it’s Trevor
months removed
Siemian and not
from a champion-
Paxton Lynch who
ship parade and so
will start for the
good on defense,
Broncos.
he had to think
Joseph
made
about today, not
the announcement
tomorrow.
So, Siemian is
Monday following
his guy.
a
fi ve-month
Just as he was
audition that repre- Siemian
Gary
Kubiak’s
sented the biggest
choice a year ago.
position battle in
“It’s all about perfor-
the NFL this offseason.
Joseph suggested Lynch mance, not potential,” Joseph
may still represent the future said. “And Trevor is ready to
in Denver, but with a team lead our football team. We’ve
got two receivers that are
All-Pro caliber, we’ve got a
great backfi eld, we’ve fi xed
the offensive line. So, we
need a guy who can operate
at a high level all the time.”
The book on Lynch
coming out of Memphis’
spread offense was that he
needed multiple years of
seasoning at the pro level and
Joseph said what’s holding
Lynch back is “probably
experience.”
“It’s tough to play quarter-
back in this league. A lot goes
into it and it’s not simply
about how tall you are or
your arm strength, how fast
you run,” Joseph said.
Joseph demurred when
asked if he felt Lynch was
right where he should be on
his developmental arc.
“I can’t say that. But he
is a guy that again has rare
talent and he works at it. He
does work at it,” Joseph said.
“Some guys need more time.
He’s a young player. So in
a year or two, he might be
ready to take over the reins.
But right now he’s not.”
Siemian beat out veteran
Mark Sanchez last summer
then went 8-6, throwing for
3,400 yards with 18 touch-
downs and 10 interceptions
in 2016 despite playing
three-fourths of the year with
a sprained left shoulder that
required offseason surgery.
Siemian found himself
fi ghting for his job again after
Kubiak retired from coaching
in January and was replaced
by Joseph, who brought in
Mike McCoy to author the
Broncos’ new playbook.
“Honestly, I think you
See BRONCOS/2B
Sports shorts
Azarenka withdraws from U.S.
Open amid child custody battle
NEW YORK (AP) — Two-time Australian
Open champion Victoria Azarenka withdrew
from the U.S. Open on Monday because she
was unable to resolve a custody dispute with her
infant son’s father.
The 28-year-old star from
Belarus gave birth to her fi rst child
in December and she returned to the
tour in June.
“I am sadly unable to compete
in this year’s U.S. Open due to my
Azarenka
ongoing family situation that I am
working through,” Azarenka said in a statement.
“The way things stand now is that the only
way I can play in the U.S. Open this year is if I
leave Leo behind in California,” Azarenka wrote,
“which I’m not willing to do.”
Azarenka has not played since Wimbledon,
and the former No. 1 player is now ranked 204th.
“Football is a meritocracy,
and our team has worked
hard throughout this
offseason and training camp.
Our coaches appreciate
and respect that effort. The
team deserves a day away
from the fi elds and meetings,
and an opportunity to spend
some time together away
from the facility.“
— John Harbaugh
The Baltimore Ravens head coach
canceled Monday’s practice and
instead took the team on a trip
to Washington D.C. where they
toured the Pentagon and
Arlington National Cemetery.
NFL, Goodell working on fi ve-
year contract extension
(AP) — Commissioner Roger Goodell is
on track to maintain his prominent place at the
table for the next round of collec-
tive bargaining between NFL
owners and players, a process
that’s sure to be contentious.
The league is working on a
fi ve-year contract extension for
Goodell, a person with knowl-
edge of the negotiations told The
Associated Press. Sports Business Journal fi rst
reported the contract negotiations.
Goodell’s contract is up after the 2019
season. The new deal would go through 2024.
The current collective bargaining agreement
expires after the 2020 season.
Goodell replaced Paul Tagliabue as
commissioner in 2006. He earned just over
$31 million for the 2015 season, down from
about $34 million in 2014.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1989 — Nolan Ryan of
the Texas Rangers becomes
the fi rst pitcher to strike out
5,000 career batters in a 2-0
loss to the Oakland Athletics.
Ryan fans Rickey Henderson
swinging on a 3-2, 96 mph
fastball for No. 5,000.
2005 — Maria Sharapova
is the 15th player and the fi rst
Russian to be No. 1 since the
WTA tour began its computer
rankings in 1975.
2007 — The Texas Rangers
becomes the fi rst team in 110
years to score 30 runs in a
game, setting an American
League record in a 30-3 rout
of the Baltimore Orioles in the
fi rst game of a doubleheader.
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