SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2018
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CHAMPIONSHIP
2B
1B
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NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Colon beats
Hernandez,
gets record
246th win
Passes Dennis Martinez
for winningest Latin
American pitcher
By STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas — Bar-
tolo Colon became the top-win-
ning pitcher born in Latin Amer-
ica, punctuating his 246th career
victory with a
nifty snag as
MLB
the Texas Rang-
ers
roughed
up Felix Her-
nandez and the
Rangers
Seattle Mariners
11-4 on Tuesday
night.
The 45-year-
old Colon, from
Mariners
the Dominican
Republic, made
his sixth start
since earning his
245th win on June 30 that matched
the mark held by Dennis Martinez
from Nicaragua.
Colon (6-10) gave up four runs
and eight hits in seven innings. The
portly and popular right-hander
walked none and struck out one.
Colon retired 14 of the last 16
batters he faced after Seattle had
two triples in the third, an inning
after back-to-back homers by Nel-
son Cruz and Kyle Seager.
After throwing his 94th and
last pitch, Colon reached out and
snagged Dee Gordon’s comeback
liner while slipping into a squat on
the mound, but managing to stay
upright on the inning-ending play.
Adrian Beltre, Jurickson Profar
and Rougned Odor all homered off
Hernandez (8-10), who allowed
a career-high 11 runs — seven
earned — in six innings. Odor also
had a two-run double.
When Beltre struck out in the
first against his old friend and for-
mer teammate, Hernandez laughed
while playfully pointing him
back toward the dugout. Beltre
grounded into a double play in the
third, but his 468th career homer
was a solo shot to straightway cen-
ter in the sixth that made it 11-4.
Hernandez, whose 168 career
wins are the most by a Venezue-
lan-born pitcher, struck out two
11
4
AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton, File
In this Jan. 7, 2018, file photo, Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, right, draws a penalty by hitting Buffalo
Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor with helmet-to-helmet contact during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game
in Jacksonville, Fla. The NFL’s new rule making it a penalty when a player leads with his helmet is generating plenty of
grumbling about taking the football out of the sport, but more practically it’s led to confusion about how it’ll be enforced.
Head-to-head
While some players, coaches question new NFL helmet rule, others eager to see game change
By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Sports Writer
isceral blowback to the NFL’s
updated rule that players can’t lead
with their helmets to make contact
is straight out of tough-guy football 101.
Hard-hitting defensive backs say the league
is destroying the physical element of the
game or lament that it’s changing the sport
entirely.
“Do they want us to play flag football?”
Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard said.
“It’s crazy.”
Beyond the criticism from old-school
players bristling at another rule change or
point of emphasis is legitimate confusion as
V
to how the enhanced regulations will actu-
ally be enforced. No longer can a player
initiate contact with his head anywhere on
an opponent’s body, penalized 15 yards or
possibly by ejection in egregious cases, and
players and coaches — offensive guys, too
— are bracing for how it will be applied.
“You just hope it’s not called as fre-
quently, because if they are going to call
it on every single offensive and defensive
lineman, the game is going to be played
at a snail’s pace,” 49ers cornerback Rich-
ard Sherman said. “It seems like they are
neglecting the impact it is going to have
on the game, and I don’t think they fully
understand the scope and how huge it will
be.”
Contact to a player’s head and neck has
been a penalty for some time now, but this
rule was ramped up to take it a step fur-
ther. A ball carrier or an offensive lineman
can’t lower his head into a defender, and a
defensive player can’t make any part of his
helmet the primary point of contact when
attempting to tackle.
It’s similar to the NCAA rule that has
been in place since 2013, though at the col-
lege level, “targeting” carries an automatic
ejection, reviewable by replay. The league
estimated that just two plays last season
would’ve led to an ejection under the new
rule that’s forcing players to adjust their
See NFL/3B
“You just hope it’s not called as frequently, because if they are going to
call it on every single offensive and defensive lineman, the game is going
to be played at a snail’s pace.”
— Richard Sherman, 49ers cornerback
See MARINERS/3B
HERMISTON
Catch a local at the Farm-City Pro Rodeo
By BRETT KANE
East Oregonian
Local cowboys and cowgirls
will take to the Farm-City Pro
Rodeo arena to defend their home
turf — or dirt — this week.
Several local competitors are
currently ranked within the top 20
on the 2018 Columbia River Cir-
cuit and will perform throughout
the week’s rodeo events.
You can catch steer wrestlers
Dalton Massey and Ryan Bothum
of Hermiston on Friday at 2 p.m.
during that day’s slack. Massey
is currently ranked at No. 8 and
Bothum at No. 13. Bothum will
also compete that night at 7:45 p.m.
Team ropers Andy Carlson and
Jake Stanley of Hermiston, cur-
rently holding down the No. 6 and
9 spots, respectively, will compete
in the slack matinee on Saturday at
2 p.m. and the rodeo’s fourth night
at 7:45 p.m. Other local team rop-
ers include B.J. Roberts of Herm-
iston and Phoenix Everano of
Pendleton.
Brad Goodrich and Michael
Pederson of Hermiston will com-
pete in the rodeo’s tie-down com-
petitions on Friday and Saturday.
Goodrich is ranked at No. 3 in the
event, and Pederson is at No. 9.
Seth Hopper of Stanfield stands
at No. 10 and will perform for the
slack on Thursday, and during the
second night at 7:45 p.m.
Other local athletes include bar-
rel racers Jordan Minor, currently
ranked at No. 4, Mary Shae Hays,
and Jami Erwert of Hermiston,
and Amy Coelho and Libby Gib-
son of Echo, bull rider Clay Hall,
and Stanfield steer wrestler Travis
Taruscio.
“The idea of this rodeo is to
attract the best contestants for the
fans to watch,” said director Jon
Gill. “We have the best contestants
and livestock out there. It’s a pretty
good draw. We’re honored to have
them.”
EO file photo
Ryan Bothum turns his steer in 5.1 seconds in steer wrestling at
the 2016 Farm-City Pro Rodeo in Hermiston. He will compete Friday.
Go see it
The Farm-City Pro Rodeo is Wednesday through Saturday at the
Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center in Hermiston.
• Start: 2 p.m. slack, 7:30 p.m. main performance
• Cost: $17 for general admission
Sports shorts
Yankees OF Ellsbury
out after hip surgery
NEW YORK (AP) — New York
Yankees outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury is
out for the season after surgery on his
left hip.
The Yankees said Tuesday that
Ellsbury had arthroscopic surgery to
repair a torn labrum the previous day.
The expected recovery time is about
six months.
The 34-year-old Ellsbury, a
Madras native and Oregon State Uni-
versity graduate, has been out all sea-
son with a number of injuries, includ-
ing an oblique strain and sore back.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
Luck to start, play most of quarter at Seattle
(AP) — Andrew Luck spent two
straight offseasons contemplating how
it would feel to play football again.
He’ll find out Thursday night.
Coach Frank Reich announced
Tuesday that Luck would start and
could play most of the first quarter
in the Indianapolis Colts’ preseason
opener at Seattle.
“I’ll be excited and a little ner-
vous,” Luck acknowledged after prac-
tice. “There were one or two moments
where I wondered if, ‘Am I ever going
to be able to do this again?’”
He wasn’t the only one asking that
question during a nearly 600-day wait
between starts. And he’s not the only
one who will be nervous lining up
against the Seahawks’ traditionally
strong defense.
Much has changed since Luck per-
formed in a televised game.
There’s a new general manager and a
new coach in town. There’s been another
new offense installed and Luck is still
trying to learn everybody’s names.
1936 — At the Berlin Olympics,
the United States finishes 1-2-3 in
the men’s decathlon.
1984 — Carl Lewis sets the
Olympic record in the 200 meters
with a 19.80 clocking.
2001 — Damion Easley goes
6-for-6 with a home run and three
RBIs as Detroit routs Texas 19-6.
The Tigers tie a modern major
league record by scoring 13 runs in
the ninth inning.
2006 — Roger Goodell is chosen
as the NFL’s next commissioner.
Contact us at 541-966-0838 or
sports@eastoregonian.com