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SPORTS THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2018 TIMBERS FALL TO DC UNITED 2B 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS MARINERS BASEBALL Gordon’s homer helps Seattle avoid sweep MLB By MICHAEL WAGAMAN Associated Press OAKLAND, Calif. — Dee Gordon doesn’t have many home runs this season. Two to be exact. So when Seattle’s light-hitting util- ity player muscled up in the 12th inning, he celebrated by kissing both biceps as he stood in the dug- out after crossing home plate. It was a good-natured gesture toward a few of Gordon’s team- mates who were ribbing him as he rounded the bases. It was also an expression of relief for the Mariners, who lost the first two Mariners Athletics 2 0 games of this series after sweeping first-place Houston on the road. Gordon homered off Yusmeiro Petit to break a scoreless tie, and the Mariners beat the Oakland Ath- letics 2-0 on Wednesday to avoid a three-game sweep. “I got lucky,” Gordon said. “It’s evening out. I’ve been lining out so much the last month.” Jean Segura had four hits to help the Mariners close within 2½ games of the A’s for the second AL wild-card spot. “We needed to get this ballgame today,” Seattle manager Scott Ser- vais said. “It’s not going to get any easier, but we’re starting to play with our confidence again and have some swag to our team.” Seattle’s Mike Leake pitched eight innings of two-hit ball with six strikeouts and one walk. Oak- land’s Brett Anderson went 7 2/3 innings without allowing a run in See MARINERS/3B AP Photo/Jeff Chiu Seattle Mariners’ Dee Gordon, right, celebrates with Jean Segura after hitting a two-run home run that scored Mike Zunino against the Oakland Athletics during the 12th inning. HERMISTON College football Boise State leads way as Mountain West begins season No. 20 By PAT GRAHAM Associated Press to get better every day, it’s an awesome thing,” Hermiston coach David Faaeteete said. As Hermiston begins its journey into a new confer- ence and a new state ath- letic association, the team will also have plenty of new faces on the field this fall. On offense, Hermiston returns only four starters overall with senior quarterback Andrew James, senior receiver Jor- dan Ramirez, senior offen- sive lineman Jacob Liebe and junior offensive tackle Chase Bradshaw. And while the coaches feel pretty confident with the new guys on the line, there are a lot of unknowns at the skill positions still to be figured out in camp. With the likes of Dayshawn Neal, Joey Guti- errez and Jonathan Hinkle lost to graduation, Hermis- DENVER — Boise State could very well make this a memorable 20th season for the Mountain West Conference. Extremely memorable, perhaps. Because if things go just right and break just so, the Broncos may be in the conver- sation for the College Football Playoff. That’s big preseason talk, but not out of the realm of feasibility given the return of seasoned quarterback Brett Rypien, a stalwart offensive line and a formida- ble defense. The strength of schedule is favorable as well, with games at Troy and Oklahoma State. They look like a major contender for the New Year’s Six bowl spot that’s saved for the best conference champion from outside the Power Five. Boise State earned that during the first year of the CFP when it went to the Fiesta Bowl and beat Arizona. Still, Broncos coach Bryan Harsin is tapping the brakes on all the expectations surrounding his squad, which is the favor- ite to win the Mountain side of the divi- sion. There are plenty of potential pitfalls in the way, including resurgent Fresno State — the pick to win the West half of the league. Bulldogs coach Jeff Tedford orchestrated quite a turnaround in 2017, taking a 1-11 Bulldogs team and turning it into a 10-4 squad that beat Houston in the Hawaii Bowl. “From what I see and the competition we play and the league we’re in and the success our teams have, if you’re fortu- nate to win those games, you probably have a good shot,” Harsin said of an MW team reaching a big-time bowl game. “It’s exciting. We’re trying to compete in this league, in this division and make sure we take care of business here. “If you do, you probably have a good shot at being mentioned in one of those games.” How times have changed over the last two decades in the Mountain West: The Broncos weren’t in the conference pic- ture when the league played its first game on September 16, 1999, with Brigham Young beating Colorado State 34-13. There were eight teams in those days. Now, it’s expanded to a dozen. A constant: Rocky Long. He’s still coaching in the conference, going from head coach at New Mexico to defensive coordinator at San Diego State to taking over as the Aztecs’ head coach See HERMISTON/2B See BOISE/3B Staff photo by Eric Singer Hermiston’s Jordan Ramirez, right, prepares for a defensive drill against teammate Andrew James, left, during Wednesday’s practice. The team was forced to practice indoors due to the smoke from Northwest wildfires. A NEW ERA BEGINS Hermiston begins practices for inaugural season as WIAA members By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian ERMISTON — A new era in Hermiston High School football offi- cially began this week, as the Bulldogs began their first full- team practices as members of the Washington Interscholas- tic Activities Association. Wednesday marked the first day of sanctioned prac- tices for WIAA members, and all kids on Hermiston’s 2018 roster strapped on their helmets and stepped out on the Kennison Field turf for the first time in the morning for the first practice of the day. The Bulldogs met back H Staff photo by Eric Singer Hermiston head coach David Faaeteete, center, instructs his players during a drill at Wednesday’s practice at Hermiston High School. on the field later in the after- noon, though that session ended indoors in the gym- nasium as the smoke from Northwest wildfires contin- ued to roll in and made the air unsafe to continue outdoors. But the Bulldogs did not let the change of scenery dampen their excitement to be back playing football as they begin preparation for their Week 1 meeting with Pasco in just 16 days. “Any time you can get a group of young men that want Sports shorts Manziel placed under concussion protocol MONTREAL (AP) — Johnny Manziel was placed under the Canadian Football League’s con- cussion protocol Wednesday. The Montreal Alouettes quar- terback was hit at the goal line last weekend, leading to a fumble that a teammate recovered for a touch- down in a 24-17 loss at Ottawa. Manziel completed the game, but missed practices Tuesday and Wednesday as the team prepares to play at Edmonton on Saturday night. THIS DATE IN SPORTS Seattle ace James Paxton placed on DL OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Seattle Mariners have placed ace James Paxton on the disabled list with a fore- arm bruise, one day after the left-hander was struck by a line drive. Paxton was facing the third batter in the first inning Tuesday night when Jed Lowrie lined a ball back up the middle, hitting the pitcher hard. After the game, Paxton told reporters he felt tight- ness in his arm and could not grip a baseball. X-rays were negative. Paxton is 10-5, including a no-hitter against Toronto, and a 3.68 ERA. Felix Hernandez, who allowed two runs over 5 2/3 innings, is likely to take Pax- ton’s turn in the rotation. Right-hander Christian Berg- man was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma to fill Paxton’s roster spot. 1954 — The first Sports Illus- trated magazine is issued with a 25-cent price tag. The scene on the cover was a game at Milwaukee’s County Stadium. Eddie Mathews of Braves was swinging with Wes Westrum catch- ing and Augie Donatelli umpiring. 1998 — Jeff Gordon drives into the record book, becoming the sev- enth driver in modern NASCAR history to win four straight races as he comes from far back to take the Pepsi 400. 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