Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Pro Hockey
NHL wants Seattle, but is the Emerald City a hockeytown?
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
KENT, Wash. — They
showed up on a Tuesday
night in early January to
enjoy the 2-for-1 beers and
hot dogs, the free parking,
the $15 tickets a few rows
off the ice and the chance to
chant “Portland sucks,” for
three hours.
Some of the more than
5,000 people in attendance
wore the jerseys of the
Islanders, Sharks, Rangers,
Maple
Leafs,
Bruins,
Canucks, Golden Knights
and of course, the hometown
Seattle Thunderbirds of the
junior-level Western Hockey
League. Someday it may
be the Sasquatch, Totems
or Sockeyes or whatever
a potential future NHL
franchise in Seattle ends up
adopting as its nickname.
This scene plays out
regularly inside the ShoWare
Center, about 20 miles south-
east of downtown Seattle.
Junior hockey in Seattle has
a storied history. Hockey’s
history in the Emerald City
dates back more than a
century to when the Seattle
Metropolitans hoisted the
1917 Stanley Cup.
All indications are that the
NHL and Seattle are on the
verge of a marriage sometime
in 2018. The arrival of an
NHL franchise — likely in
2020 or 2021 depending on
construction of a remodeled
Seattle Center arena — will
fill a void in the gloomy
months of the sports calendar
and drop the NHL into the
biggest market in the country
without a winter sports team.
But can a booming Seattle
eventually become a hockey-
town?
“It’s the last place in the
United States in my opinion
to catch on to hockey,” said
former Philadelphia Flyers
general manager and current
Thunderbirds GM Russ
Farwell.
“Everyone
assumes
that because we’re close to
Canada we’re into hockey
and that’s not the case,”
Farwell continued. “There is
no reason this can’t be a good
hockey town and I think there
is a lot of pluses.”
The first test of Seattle’s
willingness to embrace
the NHL will arrive in the
coming months when the
prospective NHL ownership
group begins a season-ticket
drive, the same way the
league tested Las Vegas.
But finding a foothold in
Seattle will be an examina-
tion of how starved fans are
for another team. Basketball
is embedded in the DNA of
the region thanks to 41 years
of the SuperSonics until
2008 and a lengthy history of
producing NBA talent. When
the rain of the fall and winter
drive young athletes inside,
they grab a basketball and
head for the nearest gym to
play pickup games.
Basketball courts and
coffee shops seem to be on
every corner, but ice rinks
are scarce.
“The chance to participate
and stay involved and play
the game needs ice rinks
and that’s all it would take,”
Farwell said. “There’s no
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
In this Jan. 9 photo, fans cheer at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash., about 20
miles south of Seattle, after the Seattle Thunderbirds scored a goal during a West-
ern Hockey League game against the Portland Winterhawks.
reason this couldn’t be
grown to be a good hockey
city and center and stuff but
it’s not automatic and it’s not
just going to happen.”
Any NHL team in Seattle
would find a completely
different landscape than a
decade ago when the Sonics
and NBA moved to Okla-
homa City and the city lost
its winter sports outlet.
Seattle’s skyline is filled
with as many construction
cranes as snowcapped peaks
in the surrounding moun-
tains. Amazon has taken over
an entire section of the city,
joined nearby by satellite
offices of Google and Face-
book. The amount of wealth
now in the Seattle market
is part of the reason Oak
View CEO Tim Leiweke
has regularly called Seattle
“a brilliant marketplace”
and one of the most enticing
expansion opportunities in
pro sports history.
Seattle has become a city
of transplants due to the
booming local economy.
A hockey franchise would
provide those newcomers a
team to rally around, much
like what happened when the
Sounders of the MLS arrived
in 2009.
But it’s a different sports
marketplace than a decade
ago, when ticket sales and
television revenues were
driving franchise success.
The globalization of sports
due to technology has
become a challenge for
all leagues, said Jennifer
Hoffman of the College of
Education at the University
of Washington.
“I think the question about
our population is what sports
are they interested in? And
that’s going to be a challenge
for all of our franchises, our
big franchises and our smaller
ones,” Hoffman said. “It’s
not a Seattle phenomenon
but we’re a good case for this
point in history where digital
transition is really occurring
and it’s really hard to know
who your fans are and where
they are.”
John Barr believes there
are plenty of potential hockey
fans in the Seattle market. A
Bay Area transplant, Barr has
become the voice of hockey
fans with his NHLtoSeattle.
com website and social
accounts. Barr got hooked
on the sport while attending
San Jose games when the
Sharks arrived the Bay
Area. He’s regularly makes
trips to Boston, Minnesota,
Montreal, Nashville and Las
Vegas for games.
“The Seahawks run this
town and I think a lion share
of people obviously want the
Sonics back,” Barr said. “I
totally understand the hier-
archy there, but I just think
this is a great opportunity for
the area to have the NHL and
have a winter sport.”
Season tickets are just
one of several significant
obstacles. Arena construction
won’t begin until later this
year with an ambitious goal
of completion in late 2020.
There are also transportation
issues near the arena site.
And the franchise needs
to be awarded in the first
place. NHL Commissioner
Gary Bettman wouldn’t even
entertain discussion about
Seattle recently.
“The application has not
yet been filed so any specu-
lation about Seattle is, at this
point, a little premature,”
Bettman said.
In the corner of his office,
Thunderbirds Vice President
Colin Campbell has a photo
of Wayne Gretzky in the
foreground with Campbell
behind the glass. He grew
up in Edmonton and was a
Zamboni driver for the Oilers
in his younger years. Now he
ponders the future of hockey
in Seattle with the NHL on
the horizon.
“It always amazed me
when I first got here that
people didn’t even know
there was a hockey team in
town. Well, that’s still the
case,” said Campbell, who
moved to Seattle in 1995.
“It’s still out there, and yet
we’re doing very well in
this building and everything
is going good. But it’s a big
market, it’s a tough market
to reach ... so with an NHL
team coming in and working
together it will create new
opportunities to grow.”
USA Gymnastics
Ex-sports doctor’s victims draw strength from each other
By TAMMY WEBBER AND
DAVID EGGERT
Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. —
Clasina
Syrovy
would
change the subject whenever
someone asked if she knew
former sports doctor Larry
Nassar or mentioned news
coverage of the unfolding
scandal over his sexual abuse
of young gymnasts.
She didn’t want to be
“another Jane Doe on the
list,” said Syrovy, who
competed for 15 years. She
certainly didn’t want to
reveal herself publicly as a
victim.
“But
as
everything
unfolded before my eyes
like a really bad ‘Lifetime’
original movie based on
true events, I gained some
courage,” Syrovy said in
court Monday, confronting
Nassar at his sentencing
hearing. “After watching a
few of my former teammates
step up and say that this had
happened to them also, I
gained a little more.”
In an extraordinary scene
unfolding in a Michigan
courtroom, almost 160
women and girls are coming
forward — far more than
originally expected — to
confront
the man who
molested them when they
were vulnerable girls told to
trust the doctor who could
help them achieve their
dreams.
Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal via AP
Clasina Syrovy takes a moment to regain her com-
posure Monday during the fifth day of victim impact
statements against Larry Nassar in Ingham County
Circuit Court in Lansing, Mich.
Nassar, 54, has admitted
sexually assaulting athletes
under the guise of medical
treatment when he was
employed by Michigan
State University and USA
Gymnastics, which as the
sport’s national governing
organization trains Olym-
pians. He already has been
sentenced to 60 years in
prison for child pornography.
Under a plea bargain, he
faces a minimum of 25 to
40 years behind bars in the
molestation case. The ulti-
mate sentence imposed could
be much higher.
The sentencing has taken
on a #MeToo momentum,
though the case predates
the uproar over Hollywood
producer Harvey Weinstein.
It began with a 2016 Indi-
anapolis Star investigation
of how USA Gymnastics
handled sexual abuse allega-
tions against coaches. That
prompted former gymnast
Rachael
Denhollander
to alert the newspaper to
Nassar’s abuse.
“I knew this was the time,”
Denhollander said. “One
anonymous, quiet voice was
not going to be enough. I was
100 percent confident there
were other victims speaking
up and being silenced.”
From there, the number
of victims coming forward
continued to grow, getting
another jolt with the
sentencing that began last
week. Originally, fewer than
90 women and girls were
expected to give statements.
Although they can choose
to remain anonymous, many
of the accusers — some of
them minors — have opted
to make their names public.
Some have had others read
statements on their behalf.
On Friday, Olympians
Aly Raisman and Jordyn
Wieber made a surprise
appearance in court, allowing
their names to be used.
“My dream is that one day,
everyone will know what the
words ‘Me too’ signify, but
they will be educated and
able to protect themselves
from predators like Larry,”
Raisman, 23, said.
On Monday, physical
therapist and former gymnast
Marta Stern said she origi-
nally wanted to remain anon-
ymous “out of fear of how
it would affect my life, my
loved ones and my career.”
“However, I will no longer
let you have control over me.
I will not let you win,” she
told Nassar.
Ingham County Circuit
Judge Rosemarie Aquilina
addresses each victim after
she speaks, serving almost
as a therapist. She calls the
group of victims an “army,”
and the courtroom often
breaks into applause.
“You’re sister survivors
and you are going through
incomprehensible lengths,
emotions and soul-searching
to put your words together
... to make people listen,”
the judge told Syrovy. “He’s
the one that needs to be
ashamed. Release the shame,
embarrassment, guilt that
you said you have here and
now.”
The case has triggered
calls for the resignation of
Michigan State University
President Lou Anna Simon,
while the state’s attorney
general has agreed to review
how the university handled
complaints against Nassar.
And three key members
of the board that oversees
USA Gymnastics resigned
Monday, 10 months after
former President Steve
Penny quit after critics
said the organization failed
to protect gymnasts from
abusive coaches and Nassar.
USA
Gymnastics
also
announced the suspension
of former women’s national
team coach John Geddert,
the owner of a gymnastics
club where Nassar sexually
abused girls near Lansing,
Michigan.
Longtime Detroit defense
attorney David Steingold,
who isn’t involved in the case,
supports the judge’s decision
to let so many victims testify,
even if the crimes for which
he is being sentenced involve
only seven.
“It’s the least we can
do for these women,” said
Steingold, noting that women
often are afraid of being
made to feel responsible for
allowing abuse to happen.
Harvard
psychiatry
professor Dr. Judith Lewis
Herman said she has never
seen so many victims of one
perpetrator come forward,
and the #MeToo movement
almost certainly played a
role.
“When powerful celebri-
ties come forward years later
and admit how intimidated
and shamed they were for so
many years, I think that has
been enormously empow-
ering to other survivors,” she
said, adding that the expe-
rience of knowing they’re
being heard is “enormously
healing.”
Even so, victims will pay
a price for coming forward,
said victim Marion Siebert.
“Every time someone
Googles them, for the rest
of their lives, they will see
the sickening things we’re
talking about here today,”
she said. “When they apply
for a job, when they go on a
first date, they won’t be able
to be the ones to fully make
the choice on when to talk
about what happened. This
terrible part of their past is
exposed to all.”
Syrovy said that speaking
up will allow her to move
forward.
“After today, I will not cry
anymore,” she told Nassar.
“I am done. ... You are a
disaster.”
Pro Tennis
Injured Nadal out of Australian Open; Cilic advances to semis
By JOHN PYE
Associated Press
MELBOURNE, Australia
— One point after his medical
timeout in the fourth set,
Rafael Nadal went to the rear
of the court to squat
and do a knee-raise,
trying to stretch out
his injured right leg.
Three
games
later — one point
after his subsequent
visit from the trainer
— Nadal had to
delay Marin Cilic’s
serve while trying to
walk out the pain at
the start of the fifth Nadal
set.
After limping and wincing
through two more games,
and after failing to fend off a
sixth break point, the 16-time
major champion was out of
the Australian Open.
The sixth-seeded Cilic
advanced to his first semi-
final in Australia since 2010
with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2,
2-0 victory Tuesday. He will
next play 49th-ranked Kyle
Edmund, who beat third-
ranked Grigor Dimitrov 6-4,
3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach a Grand
Slam semifinal for the first
time.
“ T o u g h
moments
—not
(for) the first time
here,” Nadal said.
“I’m a positive
person, but today is
an opportunity lost
to be in a semifinal
for a Grand Slam
and fight for an
important title for
me.
“It’s really tough
to accept.”
Injuries to star
players dominated headlines
before the tournament. Five-
time Australian Open finalist
Andy Murray withdrew so
he could have surgery on
his hip. Nadal (right knee),
six-time champion Novak
Djokovic (right elbow)
and 2014 champion Stan
Wawrinka (left knee) left
their fitness decisions to the
eve of the tournament — it’s
no surprise they are all out of
the tournament.
There are limits to human
endurance, and Nadal found
his on Tuesday.
“Somebody
who
is
running the tour should think
(a) little bit about what’s
going on. Too many people
getting injured,” said Nadal,
who was still limping and
grimacing at a post-match
news conference. “I don’t
know if they have to think a
little bit about the health of
the players.
“I don’t know if we keep
playing in this very, very
hard surfaces what’s going to
happen in the future with our
lives.”
Nadal said the timing and
the number of tournaments
on the schedule and the
proliferation of hardcourts
are concerns. Other players
have expressed similar
views.
Last year’s Australian
Open was one for the ages,
with Roger Federer returning
from a six-month injury
layoff and beating Nadal
in five sets in the final, and
Serena Williams beating her
sister, Venus, for the women’s
title. Serena opted not to
defend her title, deciding she
hadn’t had enough time to
recover from giving birth to
her first child in September.
Venus Williams lost in the
first round.
This year’s Australian
Open is shaping up more
as one of discovery. On the
women’s side, Angelique
Kerber was the only major
champion to reach the quar-
terfinals.
No. 35-ranked Elise
Mertens upset fourth-seeded
Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-0 to
extend her winning streak
to 10 matches, becoming
the first Belgian since Kim
Clijsters in 2012 to reach the
semifinals.
Up next for her is second-
ranked Caroline Wozniacki,
who finished off a 6-0, 6-7
(3), 6-2 win over Carla
Suarez Navarro after 1:30
a.m.
Wozniacki, who is still
chasing her first Grand Slam
title, can also return to No.
1 for the first time in six
years depending on results in
Melbourne.
The
second-ranked
Federer is still in contention
for his 20th major, with a
quarterfinal against Tomas
Berdych on Wednesday. On
Federer’s side of the draw,
58th-ranked Hyeon Chung
and 97th-ranked Tennys
Sandgren are playing for a
spot in the semifinals.
Cilic against Edmund was
an unlikely pairing on the
top half of the men’s draw.
Edmund had never played
in a major quarterfinal, had
never won five consecutive
matches at tour level, had lost
both of his previous matches
against Dimitrov and had
never beaten a top-five
player.
He checked all those
boxes on Rod Laver Arena.
“I am loving it right now,
just the way I’m playing,”
Edmund said. “My first
Grand Slam semifinal. First
time I played on one of the
biggest courts in the world.
To beat a quality of player
like Grigor. They’re great
feelings. So, yeah, I just try to
enjoy it as much as possible.”
Nadal left dejected. It was
the second time he had had
to retire during an Australian
Open quarterfinal — the
previous time was against
Murray in 2010.
He said he felt muscle
pain in his upper right leg
in the third set against Cilic
but played through it. In the
fourth set, chasing a drop
shot, he felt the pain get
worse “but didn’t realize how
bad.”
He had an injury timeout
at 4-1 down in the fourth set,
and another at the end of the
set.