Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
NBA
Trail Blazers set to open season against Suns
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
2017 Season Opener
PORTLAND — The season
opener for the Portland Trail Blazers
has come with an unexpected twist:
The absence of starter CJ McCollum,
who is suspended for Wednesday’s
game at Phoenix.
The suspension was handed down
Saturday. McCollum was disciplined
for leaving the bench when Port-
land’s Caleb Swanigan and the Suns’
Alex Len tussled in the fourth quarter
of a preseason game last Wednesday
night — coincidentally in Phoenix.
McCollum didn’t engage anyone
after taking a few steps onto the floor,
but leaving the bench area merited
the penalty under NBA rules. So he
will be a spectator when the Blazers
open the season against the Suns.
He’ll also lose some $164,000 in
salary.
Some — including McCollum
— questioned the suspension, given
that he isn’t a brawler at all, it was
a preseason game, and the action
wasn’t menacing.
Nonetheless, he took full respon-
sibility for his actions.
“You never want to miss games,
especially like that to start the
Portland
Phoenix
Trail Blazers
Suns
(0-0)
(0-0)
• Wednesday, 7 p.m.
• at Phoenix, Arizona
season. You work so hard to prepare
for the season, you go through a
lot of preseason games that don’t
mean anything and then you miss
a regular-season game because of
an incident that you weren’t even
involved in,” he told reporters
following practice Monday. “There’s
nothing I can do about it now but
more forward and learn from it.”
McCollum averaged a career-best
23 points per game on 48 percent
shooting last season as half of a
formidable backcourt duo with
Damian Lillard, who had a career-
best average of 27 points per game,
along with 4.8 rebounds and 5.9
assists
The Blazers beat the Suns
113-104 in last Wednesday’s game,
finishing the preseason 5-1.
Phoenix is in rebuilding mode,
with coach Earl Watson guiding
BRIEFLY
Hermiston High golf
teams holding fundraiser
HERMISTON — The Hermiston
High School Golf Association is
holding its annual golf tournament
fundraiser next month.
The 13th annual turkey shoot will
be held on Nov. 18 at Big River Golf
Course in Hermiston. The shoot is
a four-person scramble event that
costs $50 per person, which does not
include the cost of a golf cart.
The scramble check in is set for 9
a.m. and event will begin at 9:30 a.m.
Contact Big River Golf Course by
Nov. 1 to reserve a cart. All proceeds
will benefit the Hermiston High boys
and girls golf teams.
For more information contact Bob
Brinkley at 567-0248 or 571-4647 or
Josh Browning at 720-4542.
AP Photo/Steve Dykes, file
In this Oct. 5 file photo, Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard,
right, speaks with center Jusuf Nurkic during the first half of a
preseason game against the Toronto Raptors in Portland.
the development of 20-year-old
burgeoning star Devin Booker and
promising rookie Josh Jackson,
alongside steady point guard Eric
Bledsoe. The Suns went 24-58 last
season, second-worst in the league.
Celebrating the franchise’s 50th
season this year, the Suns haven’t
made the playoffs in six years, the
longest drought in franchise history.
The Blazers went 41-41 last
season and made the playoffs, where
they had the unfortunate luck of
facing the eventual champion Golden
State Warriors in the first round.
Portland got off to a poor start
last season but saw improvement
with the arrival of center Jusuf
Nurkic, who was able to quickly
develop chemistry with the rest of
the team. He averaged 15.2 points,
10.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 20
games with the Blazers, who were
14-5 with him in the starting lineup.
Nurkic was injured at the end
of last season, and appeared in just
one of the playoff games against the
Warriors.
The 7-footer, known as the
Bosnian Beast, shed about 35
pounds in the offseason to become
more agile. He suggested that in the
talented Western Conference, the
Blazers could become the NBA’s
Bad Boys, drawing inspiration from
the Detroit Pistons of years past.
McCollum said it will be tough
for the Blazers in a loaded Western
Conference topped by the Warriors.
But Portland could draw inspiration
from two seasons ago, when the
young squad of underdogs surprised
the league after the departure of four
starters.
“We need to be competitive, we
need to have a chip on our shoulder,
we need to be accountable for our
actions, our words and our prepara-
tion each day,” he said. “Everybody
has gotten better in the Western
Conference, especially in our divi-
sion. There aren’t going to be any
easy nights.”
House Democrats question safety efforts in youth football
By BEN NUCKOLS
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — After
hearing from brain trauma
researchers who said playing foot-
ball at a young age is unsafe even
for kids who don’t suffer obvious
injuries, members of Congress
on Tuesday asked the nation’s
governing body for the sport’s
amateurs to detail efforts to make
the game safer for children.
Democrats on the Energy and
Commerce Committee sent a letter
to USA Football seeking details
on how it evaluates the safety of
tackle football programs for kids.
USA Football recently launched
a pilot program called Rookie
Tackle for younger kids that uses
smaller teams and fields plus rules
intended to reduce contact.
Researchers at Boston Univer-
sity found in a study published
last month that playing tackle
football before age 12 can more
than double the risk of behavioral
problems and depression later in
life.
A senior author of that study,
Robert Stern, told the committee at
a forum last week that researchers
have not yet determined at what
age it may be safe, or at least
safer, to start playing football.
He recommended young kids
avoid the sport because routine
collisions can cause brain damage.
“There is not necessarily a safe
time for the head to be hit and
for the brain to be moved around
... over and over again. It’s just
not made to do that,” Stern said.
“To do whatever can be done to
reduce the overall number of hits
is critical.”
The letter seeks details on what
USA Football is doing to deter-
mine whether Rookie Tackle is
any safer than conventional tackle
football. It also asks whether USA
Football believes there is an age
where tackle football is inappro-
priate.
A previous study commis-
sioned by USA Football about its
Heads Up Football program made
claims about safety that were
later found to be misleading. The
program was ultimately found to
have no effect on the number of
concussions or head injuries.
USA Football
executive
director Scott Hallenbeck told
AP the organization is focused on
developmental aspects of Rookie
Tackle and is not necessarily
claiming it is safer.
“I don’t have any information
that otherwise would say this form
of football is safer than another
form,” Hallenbeck said. “We
sort of learned that’s a very, very
challenging space. You need a lot
of research. It takes a long time.”
Melinda Whitemarsh, a spokes-
woman for the organization, said
it will respond to the letter.
“We welcome the members’
interest in our Rookie Tackle pilot
program,” she said, “and look
forward to providing them with
the information requested.”
PLAYOFFS: Yankees make late charge to even series with Astros
Continued from 1B
time since Hall of Famer
Tommy Lasorda managed
Kirk Gibson, Orel Hershiser
and Co. to the club’s last
championship 29 years ago.
Jake Arrieta, eligible for
free agency after the season,
pitches for the Cubs in what
could be his final start with
the team.
Los Angeles was elim-
inated by Chicago in the
NLCS last year, but this is a
different group of Dodgers.
Their patient lineup is
coming up big in key spots
and their pitching staff is
much deeper, especially
since Darvish was acquired
in a trade with Texas in the
final minutes before the July
31 deadline.
Not even a return to
Wrigley could get the Cubs
back on track after a rough
stay in Los Angeles. Chicago
manager
Joe
Maddon
juggled his lineup, inserting
Kyle Schwarber into the No.
2 slot and benching slumping
second baseman Javier Baez,
but the defending World
Series champions were shut
down by another Dodgers
starter and more stellar relief
from the NL West cham-
pions.
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Chris Taylor (3) celebrates his
home run with Cody Bellinger (35) during the third in-
ning of Game 3 of the National League Championship
Series against the Chicago Cubs, Tuesday in Chicago.
“I really didn’t change
much approach-wise from
first inning until the end of
the game,” Darvish said
through a translator. “I just
kept pitching the same way.”
Making their third straight
appearance in the NLCS,
the weary Cubs also hurt
themselves with a couple of
big mistakes. Carl Edwards
Jr. walked Darvish on four
pitches with the bases loaded
and two outs in the sixth,
continuing a rocky post-
season for the reliever and
leading to a round of boos
from a frustrated crowd of
41,871.
A passed ball brought
home another run in the
eighth, and pinch-hitter Kyle
Farmer hit a sacrifice fly to
make it 6-1.
Darvish departed after
striking out Addison Russell
in the seventh, pausing for
congratulations from his
whole infield before heading
to the dugout. The Japanese
right-hander allowed six
hits, including Schwarber’s
first-inning homer, in his
second career playoff win —
both this year. He struck out
seven and walked one.
Tony Watson got two outs,
Brandon Morrow worked the
eighth and Kenley Jansen
closed it out after Ross
Stripling gave up two hits
in the ninth. With manager
Dave Roberts pushing the
right buttons, Los Angeles’
bullpen has yet to allow a run
in the series.
The Cubs finished with
eight hits, one more than in
the first two games combined.
The only four-game
postseason sweep for the
Dodgers came in the 1963
World Series against the New
York Yankees. If Los Angeles
can finish off Chicago on
Wednesday, the Dodgers
would have five days off
before hosting the Yankees or
Houston Astros in the World
Series opener.
Schwarber’s sixth career
postseason
homer
got
Chicago off to a fast start,
but Jon Jay struck out with
two on to end the inning.
The Dodgers responded with
Ethier’s leadoff drive in the
second and Taylor’s second
homer of the series in the
third, a mammoth shot to
center off losing pitcher Kyle
Hendricks.
“We had a chance obvi-
ously, early,” Maddon said.
“We hit some balls well early
in the game, and then he
settled in.”
Ethier had two hits in
his first start of this year’s
playoffs after he missed most
of the season with a herniated
lumbar disk. Taylor also had
two hits and is 4 for 14 for the
series, helping make up for
the loss of All-Star shortstop
Corey Seager to a back injury.
YANKEES 6, ASTROS
4 — With a soaring shot
headed for Yankee Stadium’s
Monument Park, Aaron
Judge got New York back on
track for another memorable
October.
Judge ignited a rousing
rally with a home run, then
doubled during a four-run
eighth inning to spur the
unflappable
New York
Yankees over the Houston
Astros 6-4 Tuesday night
and tie the AL Championship
Series 2-2.
The Baby Bombers trailed
4-0 against starter Lance
McCullers Jr. until Judge
homered leading off the
seventh. He tied it with a line
drive that nearly left the park
in the eighth and scored when
Gary Sanchez hit a go-ahead
two-run double off loser Ken
Giles.
The Yankees overcame
three errors and have roared
back from a second straight
0-2 series deficit — they beat
Cleveland in the Division
Series by winning three in a
row to take that best-of-five
matchup.
Aroldis Chapman struck
out two in a perfect ninth to
cap a three-hitter. New York
improved to 5-0 at home
in the playoffs and won for
the 18th time in their last 21
home games.
Yankee Stadium will be
rocking again when Masahiro
Tanaka pitches for New York
against Dallas Keuchel in
Game 5 Wednesday. It’s a
rematch of the series opener,
when Keuchel outdid the
Japanese right-hander in a
2-1 Astros win.
“Once we’re within
striking distance like that,
anything can happen,” Judge
said.
Houston manager A.J.
Hinch pulled McCullers after
81 pitches, Didi Gregorius
tripled off Chris Devenski
and Sanchez brought Grego-
rius in with a sacrifice fly.
“I thought Aaron’s home
run just lit a little spark,”
Yankees manager Joe Girardi
said.
SCOREBOARD
Local slate
PREP FOOTBALL
Friday
Redmond at Hermiston, 7 p.m.
Pendleton at Bend, 7 p.m.
Baker at Mac-Hi, 7 p.m.
Nyssa at Riverside, 7 p.m.
Irrigon at Umatilla, 7 p.m.
Heppner at Stanfield, 7 p.m.
Pilot Rock at Dufur, 7 p.m.
Echo at Cove, 7 p.m.
Arlington at Sherman, 7 p.m.
PREP VOLLEYBALL
Thursday
Pendleton at Baker, 6:30 p.m.
Sherman at Condon/Wheeler, 5 p.m.
Saturday
Condon/Wheeler vs. TBD (Big Sky District
tournament at The Dalles), 10 a.m.
Ione vs. TBD (Big Sky District tournament
at Sherman), Noon
Echo vs. TBD (Old Oregon League dis-
tricts at La Grande), TBD
PREP BOYS SOCCER
Thursday
Pendleton at Baker, 4 p.m.
Saturday
Mac-Hi at Baker, 1:30 p.m.
Umatilla at Irrigon, 3 p.m.
Riverside at Nyssa, 3 p.m.
PREP GIRLS SOCCER
Thursday
Baker at Pendleton, 6 p.m.
Mac-Hi at The Dalles, 4 p.m.
Saturday
Mac-Hi at Baker, Noon
Umatilla at Irrigon, 1 p.m.
Riverside at Nyssa, 1 p.m.
PREP CROSS COUNTRY
Thursday
Pendleton, Hermiston, Mac-Hi, Heppner,
Helix, Weston-McEwen, Umatilla, Stanfield
at Wildhorse Invite (Pendleton), 3 p.m.
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Wednesday
Big Bend at BMCC, 6 p.m.
Friday
Northwest at EOU, 7 p.m.
Saturday
BMCC at Grays Harbor Tournament, TBA
Evergreen at EOU, 5 p.m.
Sunday
BMCC at Grays Harbor Tournament, TBA
COLLEGE MEN’S SOCCER
Friday
EOU at College of Idaho, Noon
Saturday
BMCC at Wenatchee Valley, 2:15 p.m.
Sunday
EOU at Rocky Mountain, Noon
COLLEGE WOMEN’S SOCCER
Friday
EOU at College of Idaho, 2:30 p.m.
Saturday
BMCC at Wenatchee Valley, Noon
Sunday
EOU at Rocky Mountain, 2 p.m.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Saturday
EOU at Montana-Western, 1 p.m.
Baseball
MLB Postseason
LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
(Best-of-7; x-if necessary)
American League
Houston 2, New York 2
Oct. 13: Houston 2, New York 1
Oct. 14: Houston 2, New York 1
Oct. 16: New York 8, Houston 1
Tuesday: New York 6, Houston 4
x-Wednesday, Oct. 18: Houston at New
York, 2:08 p.m. (FS1)
x-Friday, Oct. 20: New York at Houston,
5:08 p.m. (FS1)
x-Saturday, Oct. 21: New York at Houston,
5:08 p.m. (FS1)
National League
Los Angeles 3, Chicago 0
Oct. 14: Los Angeles 5, Chicago 2
Oct. 15: Los Angeles 4, Chicago 1
Tuesday: Los Angeles 6, Chicago 1
Football
NFL
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
East
W L
T Pct PF
New England 4 2
0 .667 172
Buffalo
3 2
0 .600 89
Miami
3 2
0 .600 61
N.Y. Jets
3 3
0 .500 109
South
W L
T Pct PF
Jacksonville 3 3
0 .500 156
Houston
3 3
0 .500 177
Tennessee
2 3
0 .400 110
Indianapolis 2 3
0 .400 97
North
W L
T Pct PF
Pittsburgh
4 2
0 .667 118
Baltimore
3 3
0 .500 114
Cincinnati
2 3
0 .400 84
Cleveland
0 6
0 .000 94
West
W L
T Pct PF
Kansas City 5 1
0 .833 177
Denver
3 2
0 .600 108
L.A. Chargers 2 4
0 .333 116
Oakland
2 4
0 .333 124
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
East
W L
T Pct PF
Philadelphia 5 1
0 .833 165
Washington 3 2
0 .600 117
Dallas
2 3
0 .400 125
N.Y. Giants 1 5
0 .167 105
South
W L
T Pct PF
Carolina
4 2
0 .667 128
New Orleans 3 2
0 .600 145
Atlanta
3 2
0 .600 121
Tampa Bay 2 3
0 .400 118
North
W L
T Pct PF
Minnesota
4 2
0 .667 122
Green Bay
4 2
0 .667 147
Detroit
3 3
0 .500 161
Chicago
2 4
0 .333 105
West
W L
T Pct PF
L.A. Rams
4 2
0 .667 179
PA
159
74
84
130
PA
110
147
142
159
PA
102
124
83
157
PA
130
97
131
126
PA
122
113
132
132
PA
122
116
109
121
PA
103
135
149
148
PA
138
Seattle
3 2
0 .600 110 87
Arizona
3 3
0 .500 119 158
San Francisco 0 6
0 .000 113 146
———
Week 7
Thursday’s Game
Kansas City at Oakland, 5:25 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
Tampa Bay at Buffalo, 10 a.m.
New Orleans at Green Bay, 10 a.m.
Baltimore at Minnesota, 10 a.m.
Tennessee at Cleveland, 10 a.m.
N.Y. Jets at Miami, 10 a.m.
Jacksonville at Indianapolis, 10 a.m.
Arizona vs L.A. Rams at London, UK, 10 a.m.
Carolina at Chicago, 10 a.m.
Dallas at San Francisco, 1:05 p.m.
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, 1:25 p.m.
Seattle at N.Y. Giants, 1:25 p.m.
Denver at L.A. Chargers, 1:25 p.m.
Atlanta at New England, 5:30 p.m.
Open: Detroit, Houston
Monday’s Game
Washington at Philadelphia, 5:30 p.m.
NCAA
Top 25 Schedule
Thursday
No. 25 Memphis at Houston, 5 p.m.
(ESPN)
Saturday
No. 1 Alabama vs. Tennessee, 12:30 p.m.
(CBS)
No. 2 Penn State vs. No. 19 Michigan,
4:30 p.m. (ABC)
No. 4 TCU vs. Kansas, 5 p.m. (FOX)
No. 5 Wisconsin vs. Maryland, 9 a.m.
(FOX)
No. 8 Miami vs. Syracuse, 12:30 p.m.
(ESPN)
No. 9 Oklahoma at Kansas State, 1 p.m.
(FOX)
No. 10 Oklahoma State at Texas, 9 a.m.
(ABC)
No. 11 USC at No. 13 Notre Dame, 4:30
p.m. (NBC)
No. 14 Virginia Tech vs. North Carolina,
12:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
No. 15 Washington State vs. Colorado,
7:45 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 16 South Florida at Tulane, 4 p.m.
(ESPN2)
No. 18 Michigan State vs. Indiana, 12:30
p.m. (ABC)
No. 20 UCF at Navy, 12:30 p.m.
No. 21 Auburn at Arkansas, 4:30 p.m.
No. 23 West Virginia at Baylor, 5 p.m.
No. 24 LSU at Mississippi, 4:15 p.m.
Hockey
NHL
EASTERN CONFERENCE
GP W
L OT Pts GF GA
Tampa Bay 7 5
1
1 11 27 23
Columbus
6 5
1
0 10 21 13
Toronto
6 5
1
0 10 28 19
New Jersey 6 5
1
0 10 26 17
Pittsburgh
7 4
2
1 9 25 29
Detroit
6 4
2
0 8 20 15
Philadelphia 6 4
2
0 8 26 16
Ottawa
6 3
1
2 8 20 13
Washington 7 3
3
1 7 23 24
Carolina
4 2
1
1 5 12 11
N.Y. Islanders 6 2
3
1 5 15 18
Boston
5 2
3
0 4 14 18
Florida
5 2
3
0 4 17 20
Buffalo
7 1
4
2 4 18 28
Montreal
6 1
4
1 3 10 22
N.Y. Rangers 7 1
5
1 3 17 26
WESTERN CONFERENCE
GP W
L OT Pts GF GA
Vegas
6 5
1
0 10 20 15
Los Angeles 5 4
0
1 9 16 9
Chicago
6 4
1
1 9 25 13
St. Louis
6 4
2
0 8 18 16
Calgary
6 4
2
0 8 17 17
Colorado
7 4
3
0 8 20 17
Nashville
6 3
2
1 7 18 17
Dallas
6 3
3
0 6 14 14
Winnipeg
6 3
3
0 6 18 23
Vancouver
5 2
2
1 5 12 14
Anaheim
6 2
3
1 5 12 17
Minnesota
4 1
1
2 4 15 16
San Jose
5 2
3
0 4 13 16
Edmonton
5 1
4
0 2 11 19
Arizona
6 0
5
1 1 12 25
NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for
overtime loss.
————
Tuesday’s Games
Philadelphia 5, Florida 1
Pittsburgh 5, N.Y. Rangers 4, OT
Toronto 2, Washington 0
Vancouver 3, Ottawa 0
New Jersey 5, Tampa Bay 4, SO
Nashville 4, Colorado 1
Columbus 5, Winnipeg 2
Dallas 3, Arizona 1
Carolina 5, Edmonton 3
Vegas 5, Buffalo 4, OT
San Jose 5, Montreal 2
Wednesday’s Games
Detroit at Toronto, 4:30 p.m.
Chicago at St. Louis, 5 p.m.
Montreal at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m.
Soccer
MLS
Sunday’s Games
Chicago at Houston, 1 p.m.
Colorado at Seattle, 1 p.m.
Columbus at New York City FC, 1 p.m.
Los Angeles at FC Dallas, 1 p.m.
Minnesota United at San Jose, 1 p.m.
New England at Montreal, 1 p.m.
New York at D.C. United, 1 p.m.
Orlando City at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
Sporting K.C. at Real Salt Lake, 1 p.m.
Toronto FC at Atlanta United FC, 1 p.m.
Vancouver at Portland, 1 p.m.
Basketball
NBA Regular Season
Tuesday’s Games
Cleveland 102, Boston 99
Houston 122, Golden State 121
Wednesday’s Games
Brooklyn at Indiana, 4 p.m.
Charlotte at Detroit, 4 p.m.
Miami at Orlando, 4 p.m.
Philadelphia at Washington, 4 p.m.
Milwaukee at Boston, 4:30 p.m.
New Orleans at Memphis, 5 p.m.
Atlanta at Dallas, 5:30 p.m.
Denver at Utah, 6 p.m.
Minnesota at San Antonio, 6:30 p.m.
Houston at Sacramento, 7 p.m.
Portland at Phoenix, 7 p.m.