SPORTS
East Oregonian
Page 2B
Saturday, August 26, 2017
Boxing
Golf
Mayweather, McGregor ready to rumble Johnson, Spieth,
By TIM DAHLBERG
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — Conor
McGregor has been kept
pretty much under wraps
ever since his fi ght with
Floyd Mayweather Jr. was
announced, emerging occa-
sionally to trash Mayweather
only to disappear again
behind the closed doors of
the UFC training center.
It’s not by accident. The
biggest selling point of the
spectacle that is Saturday
night’s 154-pound fi ght is the
unknown.
Is McGregor good enough
to land a big punch on
Mayweather? Did he acquire
enough boxing skills in just
a few short months to make
what should be a lopsided
fi ght competitive?
Inquiring minds want to
know, and there are enough
of them to make this the
most watched fi ght in history.
Some 50 million people in
the U.S. alone are expected
to gather with friends and
family to see it all unfold.
“I will be the king of both
sports,” McGregor crowed.
“I’m already the king of
fi ghting, I’ll soon be the king
of boxing.”
Not
so
fast,
said
Mayweather, who comes
from a boxing family and
famously began throwing
punches before he could
walk.
“After 21 years I’ve been
hit with everything and I’m
still right here,” Mayweather
said. “If you give it you must
be able to take it.”
It’s a fi ght that really
makes no sense other than
millions of people want to
watch it. But the economics
of the fi ght wouldn’t make
any sense, either, if people
saw McGregor — the UFC
star who has never boxed
professionally — in action
and decided he just wasn’t
good enough to be in the
ring with a fi ghter like
Mayweather.
No mystique, no 5 million
buys on Showtime pay-per-
view. That’s why there
was never any chance of
AP Photo/John Locher
Floyd Mayweather Jr., left, and Conor McGregor face
off during weigh-ins Friday in Las Vegas for their Satur-
day boxing bout.
McGregor having a tuneup.
And that is why the only
boxing anyone outside
McGregor’s inner circle
has seen was him hitting
the heavy bag in a comical
media day performance and
a few seconds of a UFC clip
purportedly showing him
knocking down Showtime
announcer and former fi ghter
Paulie Malignaggi.
No
worries,
said
McGregor, who says his
boxing talents shouldn’t be
underestimated.
“I’ve been lacing up the
gloves my entire existence,”
McGregor said. “Of course,
we will come with a different
approach than people are
used to, we will paint many
pictures inside the ring. It’s
not going to end well for
Floyd. It’s not going to end
well for all the people who
are doubting me and are so
convinced that this is what it
is.”
McGregor weighed in at
153 pounds Friday to 149
½ for Mayweather. A crowd
that nearly fi lled the T-Mo-
bile arena — many waving
Irish fl ags — cheered loudly
for McGregor while booing
Mayweather.
McGregor’s fan base is
driving this fi ght, united in
their fervent hope that the
Irish UFC champion can
muscle Mayweather around
the ring and deliver knockout
punches to his head. Sports
books in this gambling city
have taken so many long-
shot wagers on McGregor
winning by a knockout early
that they will suffer their
worst loss ever should it
actually happen.
What should be a 100-1
fi ght began as 11-1 in
Mayweather’s favor. Now
it’s 5-1, though a lot of big
money — including a few
million dollar bets — has
been wagered on Mayweather
in recent days.
“I don’t see him lasting
two rounds,” McGregor
said. “He messed up with the
8-ounce gloves. Keep your
hands up, keep them down. I
don’t care. I’m going to break
through whatever is in front
of me.”
For
the
fl amboyant
McGregor the fi ght is a
chance to make money he
couldn’t dream of in the UFC
and gain a fan base outside of
mixed martial arts. Estimates
vary, but he could take home
$100 million for a challenge
of Mayweather that seemed
improbable when he fi rst
started talking about it two
years ago.
He’s got youth on his side
(he’s 29 and Mayweather
is 40), and he’ll probably
go in the ring much heavier
than Mayweather after rehy-
drating following Friday’s
weigh-in. He’s also got a
reputation as a big puncher
and the prevailing wisdom is
he’ll try to maul Mayweather
much like Marcos Maidana
did in their 2014 fi ght.
Other than that, every-
thing favors Mayweather.
He’s unbeaten in 49 fi ghts
as a pro and has a chance
to pass Rocky Marciano
on the perfect record list
with win No. 50. Not only
has he beaten every fi ghter
put in front of him but he’s
found ways to deal with big
punchers like Miguel Cotto,
Diego Corrales and Canelo
Alvarez.
He’s also a pure boxer
with an innate ability to adapt
to any fi ghter put in front of
him.
Mayweather
is
so
confi dent of his chances
that he’s spent much of the
week before his fi ght having
meet-and-greets in the early
morning hours at the strip
club he owns not far from the
T-Mobile arena where they
will fi ght.
Though
he’s
made
hundreds of millions in the
ring, Mayweather has a tax
lien of $22 million to the IRS,
so the lure of $200 million
to come out of a two-year
retirement and face a novice
boxer was great. But he said
this will be defi nitely be his
last fi ght, and he wants to
go out with a dominating
performance.
“I gave my word to my
children and once I did that it
came to an end,” Mayweather
said. “What better way to go
out than with a bang.”
The fi ght is expected to
match or surpass the 4.6
million pay-per-views sold
for Mayweather’s 2015 fi ght
with Manny Pacquiao at
$99.95 a household. Industry
observers say people across
the country will use the
telecast as an excuse to party
in tense times and 10 people
could watch each pay-per-
view.
Tickets in the arena
haven’t done nearly as well,
largely because promoters
wildly overestimated what
people would pay to watch
in person. Ringside seats
were $10,000 and nosebleed
tickets started at $2,500,
though prices have been
dropping rapidly.
SCOREBOARD
Local slate
VOLLEYBALL
Saturday
Hermiston at La Grande, 8 a.m.
Pendleton at Lewiston (ID) Tournament,
8 a.m.
Weston-McEwen at Grant Union Tourna-
ment, 8 a.m.
Irrigon at Stanfi eld, 10 a.m.
Echo vs. Enterprise (at Stanfi eld), 10 a.m.
Ione vs. Hosanna Christian (1A Preview),
10 a.m.
Ione vs. Willamette Valley Christian (1A
Preview), 5 p.m.
Tuesday
Heppner at Dufur, 2 p.m.
Enterprise at Helix, 4 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Helix, 4 p.m.
Elgin at Umatilla, 5:30 p.m.
Weston-McEwen vs. Enterprise, 6 p.m.
PREP BOYS SOCCER
Monday
Hermiston at Mac-Hi, 5 p.m.
Tuesday
La Grande at Riverside, 4 p.m.
Pendleton at Lewiston (ID), 4:30 p.m.
Umatilla at Mac-Hi, 4:30 p.m.
PREP GIRLS SOCCER
Monday
Mac-Hi at Hermiston, 3 p.m.
Tuesday
Baker at Riverside, 4:30 p.m.
Mac-Hi at Umatilla, 6 p.m.
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Saturday
EOU vs. Montana-State Northern (Big Sky
Invite), 11 a.m.
Blue Mountain vs. Umpqua (at Spring-
fi eld), 11:30 a.m.
Blue Mountain vs. Pierce (at Springfi eld),
2 p.m.
EOU vs. Grand View (Big Sky Invite), 3
p.m.
Blue Mountain vs. Skagit Valley (at Spring-
fi eld), 3:15 p.m.
Blue Mountain vs. Chemeketa (at Spring-
fi eld), 5:45 p.m.
Sunday
Blue Mountain vs. Edmonds (at Spring-
fi eld), 9 a.m.
Blue Mountain vs. Tacoma (at Springfi eld),
1 p.m.
Tuesday
Blue Mountain at Walla Walla University,
6 p.m.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S SOCCER
Monday
EOU at Vanguard (Calif.), Noon
Tuesday
EOU at Hope International (Calif.), Noon
COLLEGE MEN’S SOCCER
Today
EOU vs. Embry-Riddle (AZ) (at Caldwell,
ID), 11 a.m.
Blue Mountain vs. Southwestern Oregon
(at Tukwila, WA), 2 p.m.
Prep scores
VOLLEYBALL
Irrigon 3, Umatilla 0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-12)
Irrigon 3, Condon/Wheeler 0 (25-11,
25-12, 25-15)
North Douglas 2, Ione 0 (25-12, 25-22)
College Scores
VOLLEYBALL
Lane 3, Blue Mountain 0
EOU 3, Rocky Mountain 0
EOO 3, Montana Tech 0
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Pierce 5, Blue Mountain 0
MEN’S SOCCER
EOU 3, Embry-Riddle (AZ) 2, 2 OT
Blue Mountain 2, Southwestern Oregon 1
Baseball
MLB
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East Division
W
L
Boston
73 55
New York
68 59
Tampa Bay
64 66
Baltimore
63 65
Toronto
60 68
Central Division
W
L
Cleveland
71 56
Minnesota
66 62
Kansas City
64 63
Detroit
Chicago
West Division
55
51
72 .433
76 .402
W
78
66
65
64
56
L
50
63
64
64
72
16
20
Pct GB
.609 —
.512 12½
.504 13½
.500 14
.438 22
Houston
Seattle
Los Angeles
Texas
Oakland
———
Friday’s Games
Seattle 2, N.Y. Yankees 1, 11 innings
Minnesota 6, Toronto 1
Baltimore 16, Boston 3
Cleveland 4, Kansas City 0
Chicago White Sox 3, Detroit 2
Tampa Bay 7, St. Louis 3
Oakland 3, Texas 1
Houston 2, L.A. Angels 1
Saturday’s Games
Seattle (Gallardo 5-9) at N.Y. Yankees (Gray
7-8), 10:05 a.m.
Minnesota (Gee 1-0) at Toronto (Estrada
5-8), 10:07 a.m.
Baltimore (Gausman 9-9) at Boston (Rodri-
guez 4-3), 1:05 p.m.
Texas (Hamels 9-1) at Oakland (Manaea
8-8), 1:05 p.m.
Detroit (Farmer 2-1) at Chicago White Sox
(Rodon 2-4), 4:10 p.m.
Kansas City (Hammel 6-9) at Cleveland
(Clevinger 6-5), 4:15 p.m.
Tampa Bay (Snell 2-6) at St. Louis (Leake
7-12), 4:15 p.m.
Houston (Peacock 10-2) at L.A. Angels
(Skaggs 1-4), 6:07 p.m.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East Division
W
L Pct GB
Washington
76 50 .603 —
Miami
64 63 .504 12½
Atlanta
57 69 .452 19
New York
56 71 .441 20½
Philadelphia
47 80 .370 29½
Central Division
W
L Pct GB
Chicago
68 59 .535 —
Milwaukee
66 63 .512
3
St. Louis
64 64 .500 4½
Pittsburgh
61 68 .473
8
Cincinnati
55 74 .426 14
West Division
W
L Pct GB
Los Angeles
91 36 .716 —
Arizona
71 58 .550 21
Colorado
69 59 .539 22½
San Diego
57 71 .445 34½
San Francisco
52 78 .400 40½
———
Friday’s Games
N.Y. Mets 4, Washington 2
Philadelphia 7, Chicago Cubs 1
Cincinnati 9, Pittsburgh 5
Miami 8, San Diego 6
Atlanta 5, Colorado 2
Tampa Bay 7, St. Louis 3
Arizona 4, San Francisco 3
L.A. Dodgers 3, Milwaukee 1
Saturday’s Games
N.Y. Mets (Gsellman 5-5) at Washington
(Gonzalez 12-5), 1:05 p.m.
Pittsburgh (Cole 10-8) at Cincinnati (Castil-
lo 2-6), 3:40 p.m.
Chicago Cubs (Hendricks 4-4) at Philadel-
phia (Lively 1-4), 4:05 p.m.
Colorado (Freeland 11-8) at Atlanta (New-
comb 2-7), 4:10 p.m.
San Diego (Lamet 7-5) at Miami (De-
spaigne 0-1), 4:10 p.m.
Tampa Bay (Snell 2-6) at St. Louis (Leake
7-12), 4:15 p.m.
San Francisco (Bumgarner 3-5) at Arizona
(Walker 6-7), 5:10 p.m.
Milwaukee (Davies 14-7) at L.A. Dodgers
(Stripling 3-4), 6:10 p.m.
Wild Card Standings
American League
W
New York
68
Minnesota
66
Seattle
66
Los Angeles
65
Kansas City
64
Texas
64
Tampa Bay
64
Baltimore
63
L
59
62
63
64
63
64
66
65
Pct GB
.535 +2½
.516 —
.512
½
.504 1½
.504 1½
.500
2
.492
3
.492
3
L
58
59
63
63
64
Pct GB
.550 +1½
.539 —
.512 3½
.504 4½
.500
5
National League
Pct GB
.570 —
.535 4½
.492 10
.492 10
.469 13
Pct GB
.559 —
.516 5½
.504
7
Arizona
Colorado
Milwaukee
Miami
St. Louis
W
71
69
66
64
64
MiLB
NORTHWEST LEAGUE
North Division
W
L Pct GB
x-Vancouver
17 13 .567 —
Tri-City
Spokane
Everett
South Division
Fowler part of logjam
at Northern Trust
By DOUG FERGUSON
Associated Press
OLD
WESTBURY,
N.Y. — Two swings cost
Dustin Johnson the lead. It
wasn’t long before Jordan
Spieth and Rickie Fowler
caught up to him in The
Northern Trust, setting up
a weekend of star power
in the opening FedEx Cup
playoff event.
Johnson, fi nally looking
like the No. 1 player who
looked unstoppable in the
spring, appeared on the
verge of building a big
lead at Glen Oaks Club
until consecutive tee shots
wound up on the wrong
holes and forced him to
scramble just to escape
with bogey.
Fowler made up a fi ve-
shot defi cit in six holes
playing alongside Johnson,
making a 15-foot birdie
on the last hole for a 66 to
join Johnson and Jhonattan
Vegas (65) atop the leader-
board. And then Spieth put
together a stretch Friday
afternoon reminiscent of
his British Open victory,
minus a shot from the
driving range, in a 65.
Spieth began the back
nine with fi ve straight
birdies,
matching
his
longest birdie streak on the
PGA Tour. It ended with
a bogey on the par-3 15th
when his tee shot nearly
found the water, but then
he answered with a 40-foot
birdie putt up the slope on
the 16th.
Even without his best
year with his best club,
Spieth has won three times
and captured the third leg
of the Grand Slam. But his
putter doesn’t leave him for
long.
Spieth made pars from
the bunkers on the last two
holes to join the others at
6-under 134.
He wasn’t alone in
running off a string of
birdies.
Matt
Kuchar
looked as though he might
miss the cut until his caddie
encourage him to try to get
back to even par. Kuchar
ran off four straight birdies
and kept right on rolling,
ending his round of 64 with
eight birdies on the last 10
holes.
Kuchar and two-time
Masters champion Bubba
Watson (68) were one shot
out of the lead.
Watson is at No. 113
in the FedEx Cup, and
only the top 100 after The
Northern Trust advance to
the next playoff event at the
TPC Boston. Watson says
he won’t play the rest of the
year once he is eliminated.
A big fi nish this week could
delay that another month, a
nice problem to have.
Jon Rahm, who played
with Johnson and Fowler,
had a 68 and was two shots
behind along with Justin
Rose (68) and Russell
Henley (72).
Seventy players made
the cut at 2 over par. That
included Geoff Ogilvy, who
went bunker-to-bunker-to-
bunker on his fi nal hole and
had to make a 4-foot putt
for double bogey. If he had
missed, then it would have
let 11 players back into the
tournament. Among those
missing the cut were Hideki
Matsuyama, the No. 1 seed
going into the playoffs,
who three-putted the last
hole and missed by one.
The cut ended the season
of 13 players, a group that
included Presidents Cup
captain Steve Stricker and
former PGA champion
Jimmy Walker.
Fowler,
meanwhile
stuffed it on No. 4 and
rolled in an 8-footer on the
par-3 sixth over water, and
just like that they were tied.
Rory McIlroy chipped
in for birdie on the tough
par-3 second and shot 68.
He was seven shots behind.
- EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY -
17
16
15
13 .567
14 .400
15 .500
—
1
2
W
L Pct GB
x-Hillsboro
16 14 .533 —
Eugene
14 16 .467
2
Boise
13 17 .433
3
Salem-Keizer
12 18 .400
4
x-first-half champions
————
Friday’s Games
Hillsboro 2, Boise 1
Tri-City 4, Spokane 0
Eugene 8, Salem-Keizer 3
Everett 11, Vancouver 4
Saturday’s Games
Tri-City at Hillsboro, 5:03 p.m.
Spokane at Salem-Keizer, 6:35 p.m.
Boise at Vancouver, 7:05 p.m.
Eugene at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
LITTLE LEAGUE
World Series
At South Williamsport, Pa.
All Games Broadcast on ESPN
Saturday’s Games
International Championship
Game 27: Tokyo vs. Tamaulipas (Mexico),
9:30 a.m.
United States Championship
Game 28: Greenville (N.C.) vs. Lufkin
(Texas), 12:30 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
At Lamade Stadium
Third Place
Game 29: Loser Game 27 vs. Loser
Game 28, 7 a.m.
Championship
Game 30: Winner Game 27 vs. Winner
Game 28: Noon
Soccer
MLS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W L
Toronto FC
15 3
New York City FC 14 7
Chicago
12 8
Columbus
12 12
New York
12 10
Montreal
10 8
Atlanta United FC 10 8
Orlando City
8 10
Philadelphia
8 12
New England
8 11
D.C. United
7 15
T
8
5
5
3
3
6
5
7
6
5
4
Pts
53
47
41
39
39
36
35
31
30
29
25
GF GA
52 25
48 35
46 34
40 41
38 33
41 38
42 30
26 37
34 36
39 40
21 44
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W L T Pts GF GA
Seattle
11 7 8 41 40 33
Sporting K.C.
10 5 10 40 31 19
Portland
11 9 7 40 47 44
Houston
10 8 8 38 46 37
FC Dallas
9 6 9 36 36 31
Vancouver
10 9 5 35 35 34
San Jose
9 11 6 33 28 44
Real Salt Lake
9 13 5 32 36 47
Los Angeles
6 13 5 23 32 44
Minnesota United
6 14 4 22 30 51
Colorado
6 14 4 22 23 34
NOTE: Three points for victory, one point
for tie.
———
Friday’s Game
New York City FC 1, New York 1
Saturday’s Games
Atlanta United FC at Philadelphia, 4 p.m.
New England at D.C. United, 4 p.m.
FC Dallas at Columbus, 4:30 p.m.
Vancouver at Orlando City, 4:30 p.m.
Minnesota United at Chicago, 5:30 p.m.
Sporting Kansas City at Houston, 6 p.m.
Colorado at Real Salt Lake, 7 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
Toronto FC at Montreal, 1:30 p.m.
San Jose at Los Angeles, 4 p.m.
Portland at Seattle, 6:30 p.m.
Football
NFL Preseason
Friday’s Games
New England 30, Detroit 28
Seattle 26, Kansas City 13
Saturday’s Games
Buffalo at Baltimore, 4 p.m.
Arizona at Atlanta, 4 p.m.
N.Y. Jets at N.Y. Giants, 4 p.m.
Cleveland at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m.
Indianapolis at Pittsburgh, 4:30 p.m.
Houston at New Orleans, 5 p.m.
L.A. Chargers at L.A. Rams, 5 p.m.
Oakland at Dallas, 5 p.m.
Green Bay at Denver, 6 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
Chicago at Tennessee, 1 p.m.
Cincinnati at Washington, 4:30 p.m.
San Francisco at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Administrative Support / Inside Sales
Basketball
WNBA
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W
L Pct GB
x-Connecticut
20 11 .645 —
x-New York
19 12 .613
1
x-Washington
17 13 .567 2½
Chicago
12 18 .400 7½
Atlanta
11 20 .355 9½
Indiana
9 22 .290 11½
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W
L Pct GB
x-Minnesota
24
6 .800 —
x-Los Angeles
23
8 .742 1½
Phoenix
15 16 .484 9½
Seattle
14 17 .452 10
Dallas
14 17 .452 10
San Antonio
7 24 .226 17
x-clinched playoff spot
———
Friday’s Games
Minnesota 89, San Antonio 70
Chicago 96, Connecticut 83
New York 74, Washington 66
Saturday’s Games
Indiana at Atlanta, 3 p.m.
Dallas at Washington, 4 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
Chicago at New York, Noon
Minnesota at Los Angeles, 4 p.m.
(ESPN2)
Phoenix at Seattle, 6 p.m.
Great work environment. Super
awesome team. Good base pay
PLUS commissions. Retirement plan.
Weekends off. Interested?
We are looking for a motivated,
confident individual to join our team at
East Oregonian in Pendleton. This full-
time position will do inside sales and
provide administrative support to the
advertising director and publisher.
No media or sales experience? No
problem, as long as you understand
the importance of great customer
service, working hard and a desire to
enjoy your job.
Golf
PGA Tour
Northern Trust
Friday
At Glen Oaks Club
Old Westbury, N.Y.
Purse: $8.75 million
Yardage: 7,346; Par 70
Second Round Leaderboard
Jhonattan Vegas
69-65—134
Dustin Johnson
65-69—134
Rickie Fowler
68-66—134
Jordan Spieth
69-65—134
Matt Kuchar
71-64—135
Bubba Watson
67-68—135
Jon Rahm
68-68—136
Justin Rose
68-68—136
Russell Henley
64-72—136
Patrick Reed
70-67—137
Paul Casey
69-68—137
Patrick Cantlay
67-70—137
Chez Reavie
69-68—137
Xander Schauffele 71-66—137
Daniel Berger
69-68—137
Justin Thomas
68-69—137
Camilo Villegas
66-71—137
Harold Varner III
67-70—137
Martin Laird
69-69—138
Pat Perez
70-68—138
Other notables
Phil Mickelson
72-68—140
Jason Day
69-71—140
Brooks Koepka
72-68—140
Rory McIlroy
73-68—141
-6
-6
-6
-6
-5
-5
-4
-4
-4
-3
-3
-3
-3
-3
-3
-3
-3
-3
-2
-2
E
E
E
+1
LPGA
Canadian Pacifi c Women’s Open
Friday
At The Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club
Ottawa, Ontario
Purse: $2.25 million
Yardage: 6,419; Par 71
Second Round Leaderboard
In Gee Chun
67-67—134
Mo Martin
69-67—136
Brittany Lincicome
68-68—136
Marina Alex
66-70—136
Cristie Kerr
70-67—137
Nicole Broch Larsen
69-68—137
So Yeon Ryu
69-68—137
Stacy Lewis
69-68—137
S. Santiwiwatthanaphong 68-69—137
Holly Clyburn
67-70—137
Sarah Jane Smith
71-67—138
Sung Hyun Park
70-68—138
Jennifer Song
70-68—138
Beatriz Recari
69-69—138
Shanshan Feng
68-70—138
Michelle Wie
71-68—139
Mirim Lee
71-68—139
Caroline Hedwall
71-68—139
Austin Ernst
70-69—139
Amy Yang
70-69—139
-8
-6
-6
-6
-5
-5
-5
-5
-5
-5
-4
-4
-4
-4
-4
-3
-3
-3
-3
-3
Auto Racing
NASCAR
Monster Energy Cup Series
Points standings
Through Aug. 20
1. Martin Truex Jr.
2. Kyle Busch
3. Kyle Larson
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Denny Hamlin
6. Brad Keselowski
951
850
845
824
753
728
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Come work with us!
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Send resume and letter of interest to
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