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SPORTS Wednesday, November 22, 2017 East Oregonian NFL Everything seems to be on Wilson as Seahawks try to move forward By TIM BOOTH Associated Press SEATTLE — When he was in the early stages of his professional career, the Seattle Seahawks asked Russell Wilson just to do his part. At that time, Seattle’s defense was elite. Their roster was young and ambitious and the depth they amassed could overcome seem- ingly any loss. That’s not the case anymore, putting the bulk of the responsibility on Wilson now as the Seahawks try to make something out of this season and find their way into the playoffs. “He was a huge factor in the game,” coach Pete Carroll said after Monday’s 34-31 loss to Atlanta. “He was all over the place.” Numerous issues arose from Seattle’s second straight home loss. Most centered on a couple of ques- tionable special teams decisions by Carroll, including his call to go for a fake field goal late in the first half rather than attempt a 35-yard kick. The fake was blown up by Atlanta’s Grady Jarrett and Luke Willson was thrown for a 4-yard loss. Carroll defended the decision after the game and again Tuesday morning on his radio show. “I like being aggressive when we have our chances. That was an opportunity to score a touchdown and we thought we had a good one,” Carroll said on KIRO-AM in Seattle. Aside from the special teams issues is how dependent the Seahawks have become on Wilson offensively. It’s one thing to ask the quarterback to be a leader, an efficient passer and occasionally run when the opportunity presents itself. It’s another to do what Seattle has asked of Wilson through the Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) is tripped up by Atlanta Falcons middle linebacker Deion Jones (45) as he scrambles in the second half of Mon- day’s game in Seattle. The Falcons won 34-31. AP Photo/Ted S. Warren first 10 games. Seattle’s three currently healthy running backs — Eddie Lacy, Thomas Rawls and J.D. McKissic — have combined for exactly one more yard rushing (377) than Wilson has run for this season (376). And it doesn’t help that Seattle’s stellar defense has been devastated by injuries to starters Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril. It’s all been on Wilson’s shoul- ders, and likely will continue to be going forward. Between passing and rushing, Wilson has been responsible for 81.9 percent of Seattle’s total offensive yards this season. Impressive? Yes. Too much for Seattle’s desire to be balanced and have an established run game? Yes. “I don’t think that it’s a lack of talent at running back. We have some great running backs, we just have to do a little bit better, that’s all,” Wilson said after the loss. Part of the problem has been the inconsistency. Seattle started the season sharing carries between its running backs. When they decided to have Lacy be the primary ball carrier, he suffered a groin injury. Seattle then went back to Rawls, but he appeared to be missing open holes and was a healthy scratch from Monday’s loss. Mike Davis brought a jolt to Seattle’s run game on Monday night, but he left early in the third quarter with a groin injury. Because of the constant changes at running back, Wilson and his scrambling have been Seattle’s most consistent running threat. Wilson is averaging 6.5 yards per attempt, which would lead the league if Wilson had enough carries to qualify. “We just need to see our guys get out there, stay out there, let them show what they can do,” Carroll said on his radio show. “Everybody keeps coming in and out and we can’t get a good feel for it. It’s been unfortunate. Nobody’s really jumped out. Some of that is the (offensive) line and how we’ve played. But it’s just been unfortu- nate it’s been so changing.” NOTES: Seattle made a surprise roster move Tuesday by waiving veteran DE Dwight Freeney after just four games. Freeney had three sacks in his first two games but didn’t record a sack or tackle in the past two games. Freeney is in his 16th season and Seattle was his fifth team. ... Carroll said on his radio show that G Oday Aboushi will miss Sunday’s game at San Francisco due to a dislocated shoulder and that it’s unlikely Davis will make it back after leaving with a groin strain. MLB Braves lose 13 international players in MLB sanctions By CHARLES ODUM Associated Press ATLANTA — The Braves lost 13 prospects and former general manager John Coppolella was banned for life by Major League Baseball on Tuesday for circum- venting international signing rules from 2015-17. Former Atlanta special assistant Gordon Blakeley, who was the team’s international scouting chief, was suspended from baseball for one year by Commissioner Rob Manfred. Sanctions imposed by Manfred will leave the Braves unable to bargain at full strength for a top Latin American prospect until 2021. Manfred said MLB’s investiga- tion determined the Braves moved international signing bonus pool money from one player to boost another player’s contract. Most notable among the players the Braves will lose is Kevin Maitan, an infielder from Vene- zuela who signed for $4.25 million in 2016. Other “high-value” players the Braves will lose include Juan Contreras, Yefri del Rosario, Abrahan Gutierrez, Juan Carlos Negret, Yenci Peña, Yunior Seve- rino, Livan Soto and Guillermo Zuniga. Three more international signees — Brandol Mezquita, Angel Rojas and Antonio Sucre — were declared free agents. The team’s contract with prospect Ji-Hwan Bae, which was not yet final, was disapproved. Finally, the Braves were banned from signing prospect Robert Puason in the 2019-20 signing period. The 13 players will be free to negotiate as free agents with other teams. Also, the Braves will forfeit their third-round selection in the 2018 draft as punishment for offering “impermissible benefits” to an unnamed draft pick in an effort to convince him to sign for a lower bonus. The investigation showed the players signed by the Braves in 2016-17 would have been unavail- able if the team had not circum- vented the rules by moving bonus pool money. Manfred said stripping the Braves of the 13 players was not sufficient punishment. He said “additional sanctions are warranted to penalize the club for the viola- tions committed by its employees.” Therefore, the Braves will be prohibited from signing any international player for more than $10,000 during the 2019-20 signing period. Also, the team’s international signing bonus pool for the 2020-21 signing period will be reduced by 50 percent. The Braves already cannot give an international signing bonus of more than $300,000 for 2017-18 and 2018-19 as penalties for exceeding their signing bonus pools under baseball’s previous labor contract. And there is still more discipline to be handed down. Manfred said he intends “to discipline other Braves international baseball operations employees who participated in the misconduct.” Coppolella was forced to resign after the season. Former team president John Hart was moved to a senior adviser role when a new general manager, Alex Antho- poulos, was hired on Nov. 13. Hart left the team on Friday. “The senior baseball operations officials responsible for the miscon- duct are no longer employed by the Braves,” Manfred said. He also said the Braves “cooperated throughout the investigation.” The Braves braced fans for the sanctions when team chairman Terry McGuirk apologized to fans “on behalf of the entire Braves family” for the rules violations at the news conference to introduce Anthopoulos. The Braves said in a statement released Tuesday they “understand and accept the decision regarding the penalties that have been handed down. “As we expressed last week, our organization has not lived up to the standard our fans expect from us and that we expect from ourselves. For that, we apologize. We are instituting the changes necessary to prevent this from ever happening again and remain excited about the future of Braves baseball.” Manfred said he is confident the Braves management team led by McGuirk, Anthopoulos and vice chairman John Schuerholz “have and will put in place procedures to ensure that this type of conduct never occurs again and which will allow the club to emerge from this difficult period as the strong and respected franchise that it has always been.” SCOREBOARD Local slate PREP FOOTBALL Saturday No. 3 Hermiston vs. No. 4 Churchill (5A championship at Hillsboro Stadium), 6 p.m. COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Friday EOU vs. Lewis-Clark State (at Caldwell, ID), 5 p.m. Saturday EOU vs. Montana Western (at Caldwell, ID), 3 p.m. Prep Football OSAA Playoffs Friday’s Games 6A Semifinals No. 1 Lake Oswego (11-1) vs. No. 5 South Medford (11-1), 5 p.m. (at Hillsboro Stadium) No. 2 Clackamas (12-0) vs. No. 6 Tigard (10-2), Noon (at Hillsboro Stadium) Saturday’s Games 5A Championship No. 3 Hermiston (10-2) vs. No. 4 Chur- chill (12-0) (at Hillsboro Stadium), 6 p.m. 4A Championship No. 1 Cottage Grove (11-0) vs. No. 3 Marshfield (11-0) (at Hillsboro Stadium), 2:30 p.m. 3A Championship No. 2 Santiam Christian (10-2) vs. No. 4 Cascade Christian (11-1) (at Cottage Grove HS), 4 p.m. 2A Championship No. 2 Monroe (10-1) vs. No. 5 Santiam (11-1) (at Hillsboro Stadium), 11 a.m. 1A Championship No. 2 Dufur (11-0) vs. No. 5 Hosanna Christian (11-1) (at Cottage Grove HS), Noon Football NFL AMERICAN CONFERENCE East W L T Pct PF New England 8 2 0 .800 290 Buffalo 5 5 0 .500 208 Miami 4 6 0 .400 157 N.Y. Jets 4 6 0 .400 201 South W L T Pct PF Jacksonville 7 3 0 .700 245 Tennessee 6 4 0 .600 222 Houston 4 6 0 .400 267 Indianapolis 3 7 0 .300 179 North W L T Pct PF Pittsburgh 8 2 0 .800 227 Baltimore 5 5 0 .500 213 PA 203 250 254 222 PA 141 253 262 280 PA 165 171 Cincinnati Cleveland West 4 6 0 10 0 .400 169 199 0 .000 150 259 W L T Pct PF PA Kansas City 6 4 0 .600 262 220 L.A. Chargers 4 6 0 .400 221 196 Oakland 4 6 0 .400 204 247 Denver 3 7 0 .300 183 259 NATIONAL CONFERENCE East W L T Pct PF PA Philadelphia 9 1 0 .900 320 188 Dallas 5 5 0 .500 242 242 Washington 4 6 0 .400 238 266 N.Y. Giants 2 8 0 .200 162 247 South W L T Pct PF PA New Orleans 8 2 0 .800 302 196 Carolina 7 3 0 .700 213 180 Atlanta 5 4 0 .556 197 179 Tampa Bay 4 6 0 .400 203 228 North W L T Pct PF PA Minnesota 8 2 0 .800 241 172 Detroit 6 4 0 .600 271 234 Green Bay 5 5 0 .500 204 230 Chicago 3 7 0 .300 174 221 West W L T Pct PF PA L.A. Rams 7 3 0 .700 303 186 Seattle 6 3 0 .667 211 165 Arizona 4 6 0 .400 176 254 San Francisco 1 9 0 .100 174 260 ——— Week 12 Schedule Thursday’s Games Minnesota at Detroit, 12:30 p.m. L.A. Chargers at Dallas, 4:30 p.m. N.Y. Giants at Washington, 8:30 p.m. Sunday’s Games Tennessee at Indianapolis, 10 a.m. Carolina at N.Y. Jets, 10 a.m. Cleveland at Cincinnati, 10 a.m. Tampa Bay at Atlanta, 10 a.m. Miami at New England, 10 a.m. Buffalo at Kansas City, 10 a.m. Chicago at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. Seattle at San Francisco, 1:05 p.m. Jacksonville at Arizona, 1:25 p.m. Denver at Oakland, 1:25 p.m. New Orleans at L.A. Rams, 1:25 p.m. Green Bay at Pittsburgh, 5:30 p.m. Monday’s Game Houston at Baltimore, 5:30 p.m. NCAA AP Top 25 Poll Week 14 1. Alabama (58) 2. Miami (3) 3. Oklahoma 4. Clemson 5. Wisconsin 6. Auburn 7. Georgia 8. Ohio State 9. Notre Dame 10. TCU 11. USC 12. Penn State Record Points Pv 11-0 522 1 10-0 433 2 10-1 370 3 10-1 355 4 11-0 328 5 9-2 203 6 10-1 157 7 9-2 064 8 9-2 023 9 9-2 906 11 10-2 891 12 9-2 888 13 13. UCF 10-0 833 14 14. Washington St. 9-2 697 15 15. Washington 9-2 613 16 16. Mississippi St. 8-3 573 17 17. Memphis 9-1 496 18 18. Oklahoma St. 8-3 422 10 19. LSU 8-3 415 21 20. Stanford 8-3 407 20 21. Michigan St. 8-3 366 22 22. South Florida 9-1 247 23 23. Northwestern 8-3 232 - 24. Virginia Tech 8-3 136 - 25. Boise State 9-2 96 - Others receiving votes: Michigan 49, Iowa St. 47, South Carolina 30, NC State 9, San Diego St. 8, Wake Forest 7, Texas A&M 1, Fresno St. 1 Top 25 Schedule Thursday Ole Miss at No. 14 Mississippi State, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN) Friday No. 2 Miami at Pittsburgh, 9 a.m. (ABC) Baylor at No. 12 TCU, 9 a.m. (FS1) South Florida at No. 15 UCF, 12:30 p.m. (ABC) No. 25 Virginia Tech at Virginia, 5 p.m. (ESPN) Saturday No. 7 Georgia at Georgia Tech, 9 a.m. (ABC) No. 9 Ohio State at Michigan, 9 a.m. (FOX) Kansas at No. 19 Oklahoma State, 9 a.m. (FS1) East Carolina at No. 20 Memphis, 9 a.m. (ESPNU) No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 6 Auburn, 12:30 p.m. (CBS) No. 5 Wisconsin at Minnesota, 12:30 p.m. (ABC) No. 10 Penn State at Maryland, 12:30 p.m. No. 23 Boise State at Fresno State, 12:30 p.m. (CBSSN) West Virginia at No. 4 Oklahoma, 12:45 p.m. (ESPN) No. 16 Michigan State at Rutgers, 1 p.m. (FOX) No. 22 Northwestern at Illinois, 1 p.m. (FS1) No. 3 Clemson at No. 24 South Caroli- na, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN) Texas A&M at No. 18 LSU, 4:30 p.m. No. 8 Notre Dame at No. 21 Stanford (ABC) No. 13 Washington State at No. 17 Washington, 5 p.m. (FOX) Pac-12 Schedule Friday Cal at UCLA, 7:30 p.m (FS1) Saturday Oregon State at Oregon, 4 p.m. (ESPN2) Arizona at Arizona State, 1:30 p.m. No. 8 Notre Dame at No. 21 Stanford, 5 p.m. (ABC) No. 13 Washington State at No. 17 Washington, 5 p.m. (FOX) Colorado at Utah, 7 p.m. (FS1) Hockey NHL Tuesday’s Games Vancouver 5, Philadelphia 2 St. Louis 8, Edmonton 3 Dallas 3, Montreal 1 Wednesday’s Games N.Y. Rangers at Carolina, 4 p.m. Minnesota at Buffalo, 4 p.m. Toronto at Florida, 4 p.m. Vancouver at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m. Calgary at Columbus, 4 p.m. Philadelphia at N.Y. Islanders, 4 p.m. Ottawa at Washington, 4 p.m. Boston at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Edmonton at Detroit, 4 p.m. Chicago at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m. Montreal at Nashville, 5 p.m. Dallas at Colorado, 6 p.m. San Jose at Arizona, 6 p.m. Winnipeg at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. Vegas at Anaheim, 7:30 p.m. Basketball NBA Tuesday’s Games L.A. Lakers 103, Chicago 94 Wednesday’s Games Brooklyn at Cleveland, 4 p.m. Portland at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Washington at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Boston at Miami, 4:30 p.m. L.A. Clippers at Atlanta,47:30 p.m. Toronto at New York, 4:30 p.m. Dallas at Memphis, 5 p.m. Denver at Houston, 5 p.m. Golden State at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m. Orlando at Minnesowta, 5 p.m. San Antonio at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Chicago at Utah, 6 p.m. Milwaukee at Phoenix, 6 p.m. L.A. Lakers at Sacramento, 7:30 p.m. NCAA Men’s Basketball Top 25 Schedule Tuesday’s Games No. 19 Louisville 84, Southern Illinois 42 No. 16 Texas A&M 98, Penn State 87 No. 14 Minnesota 100, Alabama A&M 57 No. 25 Alabama 77, UT Arlington 76 No. 23 UCLA 72, Wisconsin 70 No. 12 Cincinnati 75, Richmond 48 No. 6 Wichita State 80, Marquette 66 No. 3 Kansas 114, Texas Southern 71 No. 13 Notre Dame 82, LSU 53 No. 22 Baylor 65, Creighton 59 Wednesday’s Games Tennessee at No. 18 Purdue, 9 a.m. (ESPN2) Western Kentucky at No. 5 Villanova, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN2) La Salle at No. 11 Miami, 3 p.m. No. 2 Arizona at NC State, 4 p.m. Fort Wayne at No. 8 Kentucky, 5 p.m. Lehigh at No. 10 USC, 7 p.m. (PAC12) Thursday’s Games Portland at No. 9 North Carolina, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN) No. 21 Saint Mary’s at Harvard, 1 p.m. (ESPNN) Portland State at No. 1 Duke, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN) No. 15 Xavier at George Washington, 2 p.m. (FS1) Rhode Island at No. 20 Seton Hall, 3 p.m. (ESPNU) No. 23 West Virginia at Marist, 5:30 p.m. (ESPNN) No. 7 Florida at Stanford, 7 p.m. (ESPN2) No. 4 Michigan State at DePaul, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN) No. 17 Gonzaga at Ohio State, 8:59 p.m. (ESPN2) Women’s Basketball Top 25 Schedule Tuesday’s Games No. 10 Oregon 81, Eastern Washington 40 No. 15 Maryland 111, Howard, 49 No. 1 Connecticut 78, No. 5 UCLA 60 Wednesday’s Games No. 18 Oregon State at NC Central, 11 a.m. Morehead State at No. 22 Kentucky, 11 a.m. No. 16 Duke at Old Dominion, 4 p.m. Little Rock at No. 19 Texas A&M, 4 p.m. Oakland at No. 25 Michigan, 4 p.m. Thursday’s Games Butler at No. 11 West Virginia, 9 a.m. No. 24 Arizona State at No. 7 Mississip- pi State, 10:30 a.m. Missouri State at No. 8 Baylor, 12 p.m. No. 9 Ohio State at Memphis, 3 p.m. No. 20 Marquette at No. 12 Tennessee, 3:30 p.m. Kent State at No. 14 Stanford, 5:30 p.m. Soccer MLS Playoffs Conference Championships Eastern Conference Tuesday: Toronto 0, Columbus 0 Nov. 29: Columbus at Toronto, 4:30 p.m. Western Conference Tuesday: Seattle 2, Houston 0 Nov. 30: Houston at Seattle, 7:30 p.m. MLS CUP Dec. 9: at highest seed, 1 p.m. Page 3B Cougars bring improved defense into Apple Cup By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS Associated Press Washington State has been turning heads with its offense for years and this season the defense has been doing the same. The 14th-ranked Cougars are hoping that improved stopping power will help them flip the script in the Apple Cup, where Wa s h i n g t o n State is playing for a spot in the Pac-12 championship game while No. 15 Washington is merely hoping to play spoiler. Archrival Washington has used a superior defense to win the past four Apple Cups. The Huskies outscored Washington State by an average of 39-14 in those four games. This year might be different with the Cougars (9-2, 6-2 Pac-12) boasting a much better defense than in years past, including a line that coach Mike Leach said is the most improved unit on the team. “We’re older for one,” Leach said. “Our pad level is lower. We transition quicker. We are better with our hands.” The Cougars rank 11th in the nation in total defense, allowing 303 yards per game, and lead the nation with 94 tackles for loss. They’re anchored by Hercules Mata’afa, Daniel Ekuale and Nnamdi Oguayo. “Daniel is a big, thick, tradi- tional defensive tackle,” Leach said. “He’s playing some of his best football right now.” The 6-foot-2, 252-pound Mata’afa is a unique player, Leach said. “He’s smaller and quicker than most guys who play that posi- tion,” Leach said. “But he’s strong enough to hold up.” The combination of the two “gives you a fastball/change-up quality,” Leach said. Mata’afa has been a revelation this season. He leads the Pac-12 with 21.5 TFL and 9.5 sacks. The junior from Lahaina, Hawaii, was named Pac-12 defensive player of the week for his performance at Utah, where he recorded five tackles for loss, including three sacks, plus one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. “Hercules Mata’afa is probably the best in the league,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said after the game. Other Washington State defen- sive players are fans of Mata’afa’s play. “He’s a beast, man,” linebacker Justus Rogers said. “He makes this whole defense a lot better,” safety Robert Taylor added. Of course, Washington (9-2, 6-2) remains pretty stout on defense itself. The Huskies rank No. 4 in total defense (271.3 yards per game). They give up just 168.4 passing yards per game. But Washington hasn’t faced a passing offense quite like the Cougars’ this season, Leach said. “Schematically, the teams they’ve played haven’t thrown it a lot this year,” said Leach, whose offense is No. 3 nationally and averages 375.3 yards per game, “They hadn’t played a lot of teams that are real determined to throw it a lot.” Utah’s 293 passing yards were the most Washington has given up this season. Washington is a nine-point favorite to win the Apple Cup in Seattle. If Washington State wins, the Cougars advance to the confer- ence title game against Pac-12 South winner Southern California. A Washington win would send Stanford to the title game. POLL BUSTERS: The Cougars have a chance to finish the regular season unbeaten against Top 25 opponents. Washington State has beaten No. 11 Southern California, No. 20 Stanford and No. 25 Boise State this season. TURKEY AND TEN-PINS: Washington State will hold a traditional Thanksgiving feast at a bowling alley in Pullman. As is their custom, the Cougars will go bowling Thursday then board a charter flight for Seattle the next day. “If you want to see some of the finest bowlers on earth, go to Zeppoz on Thursday,” Leach said. “You’ll see some big old people thundering down the bowling alley tossing balls.”