Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Friday, October 6, 2017
NFL
Seahawks hoping Thomas Rawls can find his role again
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
RENTON, Wash. —
Thomas Rawls still smiles.
He still talks of his determi-
nation and desire to help his
team improve and ultimately
win.
But it hasn’t been an easy
first month of the season for
the Seattle Seahawks running
back. He’s been in the middle
of a backfield rotation that’s
proven more challenging to
balance than first expected.
Rawls has gone from
being the presumptive starter
before the season began, to
being slowed by yet another
injury, to suddenly being a
healthy inactive last week
when the Seahawks thumped
the Colts.
And now, he’s back in a
prominent role with perhaps
a chance to claim his place
again as Seattle’s primary
ball carrier.
With
rookie
Chris
Carson now on injured
reserve because of an ankle
injury suffered last week
that required surgery, it’s
now Rawls’ opportunity to
reclaim a spot he first earned
two years ago as a rookie and
has struggled to keep since.
“It’s part of the game and
all you can do is control what
you can control,” Rawls
said. “Just come out and
practice hard and work hard
and continue to be a leader
and whenever you get these
opportunities they’re so valu-
able because you just never
know how long you’ll play
this game and I’m grateful of
that.”
Rawls will be back in the
rotation along with Eddie
Lacy, J.D. McKissic and
possibly C.J. Prosise for
Sunday’s NFC West show-
down with the improved Los
Angeles Rams.
So far nothing has come
easy this season for Rawls or
much of Seattle’s run game.
Rawls has only been
active for two of the four
games, missing the opener
in Green Bay while still
AP Photo/John Froschauer, File
In this Sept. 17, 2017, file photo, Seattle Seahawks run-
ning back Thomas Rawls (34) rushes against San Fran-
cisco 49ers defensive end Solomon Thomas (94) during
the first half of an NFL football game in Seattle.
recovering from a sprained
ankle in training camp. He’s
carried the ball five times
for all of 4 yards in the two
Men’s College Basketball
Ducks begin work to retool,
reload after record season
By STEVE MIMS
The Register-Guard
EUGENE — The Oregon men’s
basketball team opened practice on
Friday and then tried to impress a
few top 2018 recruits.
The Ducks officially began the
follow-up to their Final Four run
when they took the floor at Matthew
Knight Arena for the first practice
with a roster of 12 players, including
the late addition of walk-on guard
Will Johnson. Three five-star
recruits visited the school over the
weekend when Oregon played host
to Cal in football.
Oregon brings back five players
from last season with sophomore
point guard Payton Pritchard as
the only returning starter. Forwards
Keith Smith and Roman Sorkin
helped the Ducks finish 33-6 while
forwards M.J. Cage and Paul White
each sat out a redshirt year.
Oregon coach Dana Altman
added six scholarship players,
including graduate transfers Elijah
Brown and MiKyle McIntosh.
Five-star forward Troy Brown Jr.
headlines the class of four freshmen
that also includes forwards Abu
Kigab and Kenny Wooten along
with guard Victor Bailey Jr.
The Ducks have six weeks of
work before opening the regular
season at home Nov. 10 against
Coppin State. Oregon hosts North-
west Christian for an exhibition
Oct. 30.
Altman has not been made
available for interviews to preview
the season. He will join the rest of
the Pac-12 Conference coaches at
media day Oct. 12 in San Francisco.
Oregon is likely to start Pritchard
and Elijah Brown, who averaged
18.9 points per game as a junior at
New Mexico, in the backcourt with
Troy Brown Jr. on the wing. The
Ducks have a variety of options
inside with 6-foot-10 Cage and
Sorkin along with 6-9 Wooten and
White. The 6-7 McIntosh averaged
12.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per
game as a junior at Illinois State.
Kigab helped Canada win the
FIBA U19 World Cup by averaging
14.7 points and 10.6 rebounds in
the tournament. Smith was injured
much of his freshman season while
Bailey is expected to come off the
bench at point guard.
Johnson, a 6-1 guard from Pacific
Palisades, Calif., is the grandson
of former UCLA and NBA star
Marques Johnson.
Elijah Brown, Sorkin and McIn-
tosh are the three seniors, leaving
the Ducks with five scholarships
available for next season. The
Ducks recently secured a commit-
ment from five-star forward Louis
King after 6-10 Miles Norris earlier
committed to the Ducks.
Oregon hosted a trio of five-
star prospects over the weekend,
according to 247Sports.com, as it
looks to add players who can sign
when the early recruiting period
opens on Nov. 8.
Bol Bol, a 7-1 center from Mater
Dei High School in Santa Ana,
Calif., ranked as the No. 3 overall
prospect in his class, visited along
with Emmitt Williams, a 6-8 power
forward ranked No. 21. Guard Will
Richardson is the No. 47 overall
player from Oak Hill Academy in
Virginia.
games he was active and then
was unexpectedly scratched
last week.
“I didn’t go into an atti-
tude or funk or anything like
that. It was just one of those
things where it’s a business
decision and I’m OK with
that,” Rawls said.
“I don’t come before this
team, I don’t come before
this organization. I stay in
my place and that’s a players
place, and whenever I touch
the field, when No. 34 is
out there, I’m out there. If
I’m not, I’m not. But you’re
going to know if I’m out
there because I’ll be out there
having fun and working hard
for my team.”
It’s been a trying three
seasons for Rawls. He burst
onto the scene in 2015 as an
undrafted rookie stepping
in when Marshawn Lynch
was injured and electrified
Seattle’s run game.
Rawls was averaging
5.6 yards per carry and had
870 yards when injuries
first started derailing his
burgeoning career. Rawls
suffered a serious broken
ankle late in the 2015 season.
He spent the entire
offseason recovering, then
two games into the 2016
season — in Los Angeles
against the Rams — suffered
a lower leg fracture that
sidelined him another seven
games.
Rawls had two big games
when he returned late last
season, including a franchise
playoff record with 161 yards
in a wild-card round win over
Detroit.
“We haven’t seen him
in a while,” Seattle coach
Pete Carroll said. “We really
haven’t had a chance to see
him on a regular basis. This
is kind of a chance for him
to re-enter. I’m really excited
for him.”
Seattle is likely to spread
the carries around against the
Rams. Lacy is coming off his
best game with 52 yards on
just 11 carries. And McKissic
flashed speed that’s been
missing from the run game
with his 30-yard TD.
“I’m not sure how I felt a
couple of years ago,” Rawls
said. “I feel good today.”
Men’s College Basketball
Beavers motivated to bounce back
By JESSE SOWA
Corvallis Gazette-Times
CORVALLIS — Tres Tinkle
wakes up every morning with a
daily reminder hanging above his
bed: 5-27.
With Tinkle on the sideline for
the final 26 games last season due
to a broken wrist, and two other
players having left the program,
Oregon State’s men’s basketball
team was undermanned and
struggled to keep up in the
Pac-12 Conference.
Those numbers — 5-27, the
Beavers’ record — keep Tinkle
focused on getting better and
determined to not let his team
slide to those depths again.
“It’s in the back of our mind,”
he said. “We don’t bring it up a
lot. But I think we use it as moti-
vation to work even harder and
want to see it fall away this year.”
Tinkle, a talented 6-foot-8
forward, was granted a redshirt
and enters a second straight
season as a sophomore in eligi-
bility. On the court, he rejoins
a team with more experience
that’s added several newcomers
who could be immediate impact
players.
Oregon State opens practice
Wednesday, a little more than
four weeks from its first game.
The Beavers play Pacific in a
Nov. 3 exhibition at Gill Coli-
seum and then host Southern
Utah on Nov. 10 to begin the
regular season.
“Very, very different,” junior
guard Stevie Thompson said of
this year’s squad. “We have a lot
more depth. We have a lot more
people who can score on their
own … a lot of people that can
make plays for each other, so it
should be a fun year.”
Thompson and his brother,
freshman
guard
Ethan
Thompson, are back together
after playing two seasons of
high school basketball with one
another at Bishop Montgomery
in Los Angeles.
Ethan was last year’s Cali-
fornia state player of the year.
With the addition of freshmen
Zach Reichle and Xavier Smith,
the Beavers now have eight
guards on the roster.
Junior post Drew Eubanks
ultimately remained with the
program after gauging potential
interest from NBA teams before
withdrawing his draft entry.
He leads a thin but veteran
group of big men that now
includes Seth Berger, a graduate
transfer from Massachusetts who
was recruited by Wayne Tinkle
when Tinkle was at Montana.
“He runs the floor really well.
He rebounds,” Eubanks said of
Berger. “He’s always talking on
defense and he just plays really
hard to the point where you can
always count on him being where
he needs to be. If somebody gets
beat he’s always there.”
The team gained experience
and life lessons during a trip to
Spain in August.
The players saw firsthand the
devastation of the terrorist attack
in Barcelona, which happened
just outside their hotel. Wayne
Tinkle said the emotional hours
and days following brought
the team unity that he saw
throughout the rest of the trip
and has continued on into the
workouts after the return home.
“It’s night and day the way the
guys are enjoying themselves,
pushing and challenging each
other in everything we do,”
the coach said. “Conditioning,
lifting, workouts … it’s all done
from the right angle in a positive
manner and it’s all helped with
the jelling and chemistry we’re
building. As we get closer to
game time we’ve got to continue
that and carry it over once it
starts for real.”
While seeing the tragedy
take place, Tres Tinkle said he
believes sharing those moments
together will make the team
stronger going forward.
“When you have that team
chemistry and that bond, you’d
like to see others do well,” he
said. “We’re going to be happy
and feed off each other’s success.
Hopefully it will help us win
games and then it’s going to
make us that much closer.”
The Beavers had 10 practices
before the trip and played four
of five games on their original
schedule.
Freshman forward Alfred
Hollins didn’t make the Spain trip
because he needed to complete a
class, but is now cleared to play.
Senior center Cheikh N’diaye
missed the trip in order to finish
his requirements for graduation.
A shoulder injury that’s plagued
him throughout his time at OSU
has kept him on the sideline this
offseason.
He played in just nine games
last season due to injury. Like
Tinkle, he was granted a medical
hardship and an additional year
of eligibility from the Pac-12.
PLAYOFFS: Cleveland picks up Game 1 after impressive outing from Bauer
Continued from 1B
Dallas Keuchel starting for
the Astros against Drew
Pomeranz.
Among the shortest
players in the majors, Altuve
couldn’t be a bigger leader
for the Astros. He’s one of
the few players remaining
who languished through a
rebuilding process that led
to three straight 100-loss
seasons from 2011-13, and is
perhaps the main reason this
team ran away with the AL
West title this year.
“First off, how good
is Jose Altuve?” Houston
manager A.J. Hinch asked.
“It’s incredible to watch him
step up and be every bit the
star that we needed today for
sure. It’s hard to describe in
different ways.”
Altuve hit .346 this year,
his fourth straight 200-hit
season. He had 24 home runs
this year — this was his third
career multihomer game, and
the first time he’d hit three all
at once.
Quite a comeback from
his only previous postseason
— in 2015, he batted just
.154 (4 for 26) without an
extra-base hit.
The crowd of 43,402,
which included Hall of
Famers Nolan Ryan, Jeff
Bagwell and Craig Biggio,
waved bright orange towels
as Altuve trotted around the
bases.
Sale never got into a
rhythm and was chased after
walking Josh Reddick with
no outs in the sixth. The left-
hander was tagged for nine
hits and matched a season
high for most runs allowed.
“Anytime he mislocated,
particularly in the middle of
the plate, they made him pay
for it ... And then his slider
was hit and miss today,”
manager John Farrell said.
“Some were flat, some had
good depth, but the incon-
sistency to the location pitch
to pitch is a difference in
this one against a team that
makes you pay.”
After fanning 308 in the
regular season, Sale struck
out six. But he allowed three
homers and three doubles,
marking just the second time
in his career that he’s given
up six extra-base hits.
“Never really gave my
team a chance to win. Put
them in a hole early,” Sale
said. “They fought back and
they fought back hard and I
gave it right back to them. It
happens (but a) terrible time
for it to happen.”
Verlander, a playoff
veteran who was starting
his 17th postseason game,
yielded six hits, struck out
three and walked two to help
the Astros take the early lead
in the series.
CLEVELAND 4,
NEW YORK 0 —
CLEVELAND (AP) —
Trevor Bauer made Aaron
Judge look silly, and he
made his manager look like
a genius.
Named a surprise starter
for Game 1, Bauer chopped
AP Photo/David Dermer
Cleveland Indians’ Jay Bruce, right, is congratulated
by Edwin Encarnacion after Bruce hit a two-run home
run off New York Yankees starting pitcher Sonny Gray
during Game 1 of the ALDS on Thursday in Cleveland.
Judge and New York’s other
big bats down to size, and Jay
Bruce drove in three runs as
the Cleveland Indians began
chasing their first World
Series title in 69 years with
a 4-0 win over the Yankees
on the Thursday night in the
opener of the AL Division
Series.
Bauer struck out Judge
three times , twice getting
the MVP candidate looking.
He allowed just two hits in 6
2-3 innings before manager
Terry Francona, who chose
to start the right-hander over
ace Corey Kluber, turned to
baseball’s best bullpen, using
Andrew Miller and closer
Cody Allen to finish the
three-hitter.
Allen came in with two
on and two outs in the eighth
to face Judge, who struck
out for the fourth time and
angrily snatched at his bat
frustration, and finished for
a save.
Bruce connected for a
two-run homer in the fourth
off Sonny Gray and added
a sacrifice fly in the fifth as
the Indians began a journey
to try and end the majors’
longest Series title drought.
Eyebrows were raised
when Francona said he was
going with Bauer instead
of Kluber, and the eccentric
right-hander, perhaps best
known for slicing a pinkie
open while repairing a drone
during last year’s postseason,
delivered a performance that
started October just right for
the Indians.
“Trevor from pitch one,
he had his breaking ball
early, and he had a good
one,” Francona said. “He
had his life on his fastball.
He pitched in. I thought he
pitched a terrific game.”
Kluber, an 18-game
winner during the regular
season, will start Game 2 on
Friday against CC Sabathia.
Coming off their win over
Minnesota in the wild-card
game Tuesday, when Judge
homered in his playoff debut,
the Yankees came in with
momentum.
Bauer stopped the Bronx
Bombers in their tracks.
Taking the mound to his
usual thundering warm-up
music, “The Pursuit of
Vikings,” an intimidating
song by Swedish metal band
Amon Amarth, Bauer didn’t
mess around.
He struck out Judge in
the first watching a curveball
before fanning Gary Sanchez
with a pitch way off the plate.
Bauer, who is 11-1 in
his last 14 starts, struck out
Judge again in the fourth,
but the All-Star reached
on a wild pitch. Bauer,
though,
regrouped
by
getting Sanchez to bounce
into a double play before he
freezing Didi Gregorius for
his sixth strikeout.
Bauer got help from
All-Star-second baseman-
turned-center fielder Jason
Kipnis, who made a diving
catch to rob Chase Headley
in the third. As Kipnis slowly
got to his feet, Bauer raised
both arms above his head,
pumped his fist and screamed
to salute his teammate.
“All I’ve been hearing is
that I shouldn’t be playing
center field,” Kipnis said.
“That was a fun one to run
down and be a part of. I had a
good time. I’m very happy.”
Bruce gave the Indians a
3-0 lead in the fourth with a
towering homer to right.
After Edwin Encarnacion
walked, Gray came inside
with a 0-1 fastball and Bruce
got around on it. As his shot
cut through the fall night,
Judge appeared as if he might
be able to make a play near
the wall, but the 6-foot-7
slugger could only watch as
Bruce’s shot sailed into the
seats.
Bruce nearly caught
Encarnacion on the bases,
and as he finished a home-run
trot that was more of a sprint,
Cleveland’s fans hollered
“Bruuuuuuuce” like a crowd
at a Springsteen concert.