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SPORTS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2018 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS NCAA penalizes Oregon for violations Mens and womens basketball and track and field penalized By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer The NCAA has imposed two years of probation on Oregon after finding the school violated rules related to the men’s and women’s basketball teams and the track and field program. The decision issued Wednes- day said women’s basketball coach Kelly Graves failed to “moni- tor and promote an atmosphere of compliance in his program.” He must serve a two-game suspension this season. The team is 7-0 and ranked No. 3 in the country. That infraction stemmed from an assistant strength coach’s par- ticipation in on-court activities during and after practices, which caused the team to exceed the number of allowable coaches. The NCAA found men’s coach Dana Altman failed to properly monitor his director of basket- ball operations, who took part in or observed at least 64 individual voluntary workouts in violation of NCAA rules. Also, the NCAA said an adjunct instructor changed a grade for a track and field athlete, allowing the competitor to remain eligible. The decision said the football program improperly used an elec- tronic reader board in the team’s facilities for recruiting purposes. The team immediately stopped after being told it may be out of compliance. In a statement, the school said it disagreed with some of the findings. “The University of Oregon’s athletic program is committed to integrity, the highest ethical stan- dards and compliance with NCAA bylaws,” athletic director Rob Mullens said. “In all of these cases, our compliance monitoring pro- gram identified the issues and they were self-reported to the NCAA. As we noted several months ago, we have addressed the matters with the responsible employees and enhanced compliance training within the department. These cases do not merit the level of charges or sanctions issued by the NCAA.” Oregon received notice of the allegations last December. At that time, the university said it self-re- See NCAA/2B Garcia has Umatilla off to a good start Brazile to slow down Vikings will host Columbia River Clash this weekend By ANNIE FOWLER East Oregonian This month’s National Finals will mark end of full schedule By ANNIE FOWLER East Oregonian R odeo fans knew this time would eventu- ally come. Trevor Brazile, King of the Cowboys, will scale back his schedule quite a bit after the National Finals Rodeo to spend more time with his wife Shada and their three children. “Everything that I have, has come through rodeo,” Brazile said. “My family, friends and the great fans. With the kids being in public school now, I don’t want to miss anything. I haven’t yet, and it’s my goal to make sure I don’t.” Son Treston, 11, and daughter Style, 8, both compete in several sports, while youngest daughter Swayi, 3, is not too far behind. “Treston ropes, but right now he’s concen- trating on basketball and jiu jitsu,” said Bra- zile, who said he played basketball and ran track in high school. “And they both play base- ball year around. They don’t miss practice or games. They have their goals and dreams and we have to help them get there.” The Braziles home-schooled their children for years to accommodate his rodeo schedule. He said the kids have mixed emotions about the decision. “The experiences we have had with our kids traveling with us were great,” Brazile said. “There’s a lot of down time and we’ve gotten to do things across the United States because of rodeo, but it’s time to be home.” Brazile, 42, who hails from Decatur, Texas, will compete in his 19th NFR starting Thurs- day in Las Vegas. He has a record 52 NFR qualifications, and has won an unrivaled 68 NFR go-round victory laps. He will compete in tie-down roping, an event in which he has won three world titles, but none since 2010. He does have a chance to win another all- around title — he’s won a record 13. Ty Mur- ray is second with seven. Brazile inched a bit closer to the all-around title last month after earning $45,000 in the steer roping finals in Kansas. The earnings helped pull him within $5,702 of the leader — his brother-in-law Tuf Cooper. Brazile, who has made just shy of $6.5 mil- lion in the sport, will have 10 more chances to catch Cooper at the NFR. Both will be compet- ing in tie-down roping, which begins Thursday Trevor Brazile, of Decatur, Texas, poses with the All-Around trophy on Sept. 15, 2018, at the Pendleton Round-Up. See BRAZILE/2B Trevor Brazile ropes his mark in 8.6 seconds on Sept. 13, 2014, in tie-down roping at the Pendleton Round-Up. EO file photo EO file photo Efficient. That’s the word coach Scott Bow uses to describe Uriel Garcia’s play this season for the Umatilla Vikings. T h e 5-foot-9 senior is averag- ing 14 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 3.3 steals and just one turn- Garcia over a game for the 2-1 Vikings. He also can play every posi- tion on the court, which endears him to Bow. “I love that about him,” Bow said of Garcia’s versatility. “He rebounds like a post, steals like a guard, and can go to the hoop. He has not had bad game in those categories. We have had him guard 6-8 guys before, and 5-6 guys. He gets the job done.” The Vikings will put Garcia’s skills to work this week as they host the Columbia River Clash, starting Thursday and running through Saturday. The Vikings will open against Joseph at 7 p.m. Thursday. Garcia is confident Umatilla can take the tourney title once again. Class 1A power Nixyaawii is in the opposite side of the bracket. The Vikings beat the Golden Eagles 61-57 last year in a nonleague game. “We played them last year and struggled,” Garcia said. “In the fourth quarter, we held them to zero points and got the win. I’m not expecting us to lose this tournament.” That’s because Garcia knows the weapons the Vikings have in their arsenal — 6-7 post Jakob Cook, toughness inside with 6-2 Trent Durfey, and the capable Sebastian Garcia (no relation to Uriel Garcia) running the show out front. “I’m a senior and I feel com- fortable with my team,” Uriel Garcia said. “I have been play- ing with most of these guys since the third grade. We have height, we have size and speed. We each have our role. We are See GARCIA/2B Sports shorts THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1992 — Jerry Rice becomes the NFL’s career leader in touchdown receptions with his 101st scoring pass during the fourth quarter of the San Francisco 49ers’ 27-3 vic- tory over Miami. Rice surpassed Steve Largent’s mark of 100. 2008 — Southern California beats UCLA 28-7 to win its record seventh straight Pac-10 champi- onship. The Trojans (11-1) also have won 11 or more games in seven straight seasons — another record. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com Cardinals strike gold, get Goldschmidt PHOENIX (AP) — The St. Louis Car- dinals have struck gold in their search for a big hitter, getting All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt from the Arizona Dia- mondbacks in a multiplayer trade. The Cardinals sent pitcher Luke Weaver, catcher Carson Kelly, minor league infielder Andy Young and a 2019 draft pick to Ari- zona in the deal Wednesday. A six-time All-Star at 31, Goldschmidt was among the top players available in the trade market. He hit .290 with 33 home runs and 83 RBIs last season and has often fin- ished high in the NL MVP voting. St. Louis has missed the playoffs for three straight years, its longest absence since 1997-99. Goldschmidt has a $14.5 million salary next year, receives a $1 mil- lion assignment bonus for the trade and will be eligible for free agency after next season. The Cardinals believed they needed a boost in the middle of their lineup to compete with the likes of Milwaukee and the Cubs in the NL Central.
