SPORTS
Saturday, January 5, 2019
East Oregonian
B3
COWBOYS, PRESCOTT VS WILSON, SEAHAWKS
“We’re feeling great,” Elliott said. “I
believe we have the best defense in foot-
ball and a pretty good offense, a lot of
weapons. I think we have the right rec-
ipe to make some noise.”
By SCHUYLER DIXON
AP Pro Football Writer
A
RLINGTON, Texas — Russell
Wilson won a wild-card game
with Seattle as a rookie, a Super
Bowl in his second season and another
NFC championship the third time
around.
The best Dak Prescott can hope for
with the Dallas Cowboys is to join Wil-
son on that list of title winners in his
third year, a quest that will start with
the fi rst playoff meeting of quarterbacks
with quite a bit in common.
Both were mid-round draft picks who
became instant NFL success stories. The
difference is that Prescott lost his fi rst
playoff game after guiding the Cowboys
to the top seed in the NFC two years
ago, then had to wait two years for his
second chance. It comes in a home wild-
card game Saturday night.
“When you say success of a quarter-
back or a quarterback’s success depend-
ing on what they do in the playoffs, I
think that’s where the checks are written
and they make their money,” Prescott
said. “Our job is to win no matter what
happens, no matter how you played indi-
vidually. At the end of the day, it’s to get
the job done.”
When Wilson fi nally missed the play-
offs in his sixth season last year, the
Seahawks were eliminated on the fi nal
weekend — after they bounced Prescott
and the Cowboys from contention with a
road win in Week 16.
Seattle was 0-2 this year when the
season turned on a 24-13 win over the
visiting Cowboys (10-6), with the Sea-
hawks following a familiar formula
from their Super Bowl days: an effi cient
Wilson, strong running game and play-
making defense.
The Seahawks (10-6) kept it up
despite overhauling the roster, mostly
Wild-card streak
DAK PRESCOTT
RUSSELL WILSON
Original line
AP Photos/File
notably dismantling key pieces of the
“Legion of Boom” defense. An import-
ant exception has been linebacker Bobby
Wagner, who was just selected an All-
Pro for the fourth time in fi ve seasons.
“The great thing about this team is
the fact that everybody was telling us
we couldn’t,” Wilson said. “It shows
the heart of this team and it shows the
mindset of this team to be able to think
the way that you want to think and the
places that you want to go. To think big,
to believe big.”
Wilson was a third-round pick out
of Wisconsin in 2012 and won the job
in his fi rst training camp. Prescott was
drafted in the fourth round out of Missis-
sippi State four years later and became
the starter after preseason injuries to
Tony Romo and backup Kellen Moore.
In his fi rst three years, Wilson won
more games than any other NFL quarter-
back with 36. Prescott just fi nished tied
for fi fth on that list with 32. Two quar-
terbacks have an NFL-leading 24 games
with at least a 100 passer rating in their
fi rst three seasons: Wilson and Prescott.
Now it’s time for their third — and
most meaningful — meeting, with
Prescott looking to beat Wilson for the
fi rst time.
“Dak had a phenomenal year to get
started and get rolling and has just been
solid since,” Seahawks coach Pete Car-
roll said. “I think it’s the dynamics of the
mobility that when you add that together,
and of course they can both throw the
ball way down the fi eld. You’ve got the
same kind of problems.”
Run fi rst
Both teams fi gure to try to control the
pace with their running games. Ezekiel
Elliott just won the NFL rushing title for
the second time in his three seasons, and
Chris Carson heads a group of Seattle
backs that led the NFL in rushing. The
Cowboys were 10th, fueled by Elliott,
and have had a top-10 defense most of
the season led by pass rusher DeMar-
cus Lawrence and young playmaking
linebackers Jaylon Smith and Leighton
Vander Esch. Dallas was fi fth against the
run.
George has 37 and Thunder hold off Blazers 111-109
Associated Press
PORTLAND — Paul
George scored 37 points and
the Oklahoma City Thunder
snapped a six-game losing
streak to the Portland Trail
Blazers with a 111-109 vic-
tory on Friday night.
Russell Westbrook added
31 points for the Thun-
der, who had also lost eight
straight games at the Moda
Center dating to February
2014.
Damian Lillard led the
Trail Blazers with 23 points
and eight assists.
The Thunder trailed by
as many as 11 points in the
fi rst half but pulled in front
late in the third quarter and
pushed the lead to 107-97
with just over 4 minutes
to go on a basket by West-
brook, who scored 20 points
came in the second half.
CJ McCollum’s jumper
got Portland within 109-
105 and Lillard made two
of three free throws to cut
the defi cit with 42.8 seconds
left.
George made free throws
with 4.3 seconds left and the
Blazers fell short on Al-Fa-
rouq Aminu’s basket at the
buzzer.
Oklahoma City, sitting in
second place in the Western
Conference behind the Nug-
gets, has won three straight,
including a 107-100 vic-
tory over the Lakers on
Wednesday.
The Blazers had won two
straight overall and were
coming off a 113-108 over-
time victory in Sacramento
on New Year’s Day. The
game against the Thunder
was the fi rst of a fi ve-game
homestand.
George got off to a fast
start with 13 points in the
opening quarter, including
a pair of free throws that
pulled the Thunder into a
28-all tie.
The Blazers went up
47-39 after Jake Layman’s
3-pointer, and extended the
lead to 58-47 after Maurice
Harkless’ 3.
Jusuf Nurkic had 16 fi rst-
half points and Portland
went into the break with a
62-57 lead.
The Thunder closed
within 80-78 on Steven
Adams’ layup then took
an 83-82 lead on George’s
3-pointer. Aminu answered
with a 3 for the Blazers but
George made another 3 and
the Thunder went into the
fi nal period with a 93-87
lead.
Nurkic fi nished with 22
points and eight rebounds.
SCOREBOARD
LOCAL SLATE
SATURDAY, JAN. 5
Boys Basketball
Mac-Hi at Baker, 3 p.m.
Stanfi eld at Knappa, 3:30 p.m.
Heppner at Weston-McEwen, 4 p.m.
Enterprise at Pilot Rock, 4 p.m.
Columbia Basin at Blue Mountain, 4 p.m.
Ione at Echo, 5:30 p.m.
Helix at Elgin, 5:30 p.m.
Wallowa at Nixyaawii, 5:30 p.m.
Hermiston at Kamiakin, 7:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball
Stanfi eld at Knappa, 2 p.m.
Columbia Basin at Blue Mountain, 2 p.m.
Ione at Echo, 4 p.m.
Helix at Elgin, 4 p.m.
Wallowa at Nixyaawii, 4 p.m.
Baker at Mac-Hi, 4:30 p.m.
Enterprise at Pilot Rock, 5:30 p.m.
Heppner at Weston-McEwen, 5:30 p.m.
Hermiston at Kamiakin, 5:45 p.m.
Boys Wrestling
Hermiston at Gut Check Invite (Seattle)
TUESDAY, JAN. 8
Boys Basketball
La Grande at Pendleton, 6:30 p.m.
White Swan (WA) at Nixyaawii, 7 p.m.
Arlington at Ione, 7:30 p.m.
Irrigon at Umatilla, 7:30 p.m.
Walla Walla at Hermiston, 7:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball
Walla Walla at Hermiston, 5:45 p.m.
White Swan (WA) at Nixyaawii, 5 p.m.
Arlington at Ione, 6 p.m.
Irrigon at Umatilla, 6 p.m.
Pendleton at La Grande, 7 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 9
Boys Basketball
Blue Mountain at Treasure Valley,
6:30 p.m.
Mac-Hi at Hood River Valley, 6:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball
Blue Mountain at Treasure Valley,
4:30 p.m.
THURSDAY, JAN. 10
Boys Basketball
Riverside at Irrigon, 7:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball
Riverside at Irrigon, 6 p.m.
Boys Wrestling
Hermiston at Hanford, 6 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 11
Boys Basketball
Weston-McEwen at Pilot Rock, 6 p.m.
Enterprise at Heppner, 6 p.m.
Stanfi eld at Union, 6 p.m.
La Grande at Mac-Hi, 6 p.m.
Umatilla at Burns, 6:30 p.m.
Pendleton at Hood River Valley, 6:30 p.m.
Ione at Mitchell/Spray, 7:30 p.m.
Echo at South Wasco County, 7:30 p.m.
Imbler at Helix, 7:30 p.m.
Nixyaawii at Cove, 7:30 p.m.
Kennewick at Hermiston, 7:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball
Umatilla at Burns, 5 p.m.
Kennewick at Hermiston, 5:45 p.m.
Ione at Mitchell/Spray, 6 p.m.
Echo at South Wasco County, 6 p.m.
Nixyaawii at Cove, 6 p.m.
Helix at Imbler, 6 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Pilot Rock, 7:30 p.m.
Stanfi eld at Union, 7:30 p.m.
Enterprise at Heppner, 7:30 p.m.
La Grande at Mac-Hi, 7:30 p.m.
Hood River Valley at Pendleton,
6:30 p.m.
Girls Wrestling
Hermiston at Othello, 5 p.m.
SATURDAY, JAN. 12
Boys Basketball
Horizon Christian at Ione, 3 p.m.
Wenatchee Valley at Blue Mountain,
4 p.m.
Union at Heppner, 4 p.m.
Grant Union at Weston-McEwen, 4 p.m.
Enterprise at Stanfi eld, 4 p.m.
Nixyaawii at Helix, 5:30 p.m.
Condon/Wheeler at Echo, 5:30 p.m.
Hermiston at Chiawana, 7:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball
Wenatchee Valley at Blue Mountain,
2 p.m.
Condon/Wheeler at Echo, 4 p.m.
Nixyaawii at Helix, 4 p.m.
Union at Heppner, 5:30 p.m.
Enterprise at Stanfi eld, 5:30 p.m.
Grant Union at Weston-McEwen,
5:30 p.m.
Boys Wrestling
Farm City Invitational (Hermiston)
Pendleton at Wilsonville, 10:30 a.m.
Girls Wrestling
Hermiston at Othello, 10 a.m.
NBA STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic
W
L
Toronto
28
12
Philadelphia 25
14
Boston
23
15
Brooklyn
19
21
New York
10 29
Southeast
W
L
Miami
19
18
Charlotte
18
19
Orlando
17
21
Washington
15
24
Atlanta
11
27
Central
W
L
Milwaukee
27
10
Indiana
26
12
Detroit
17
19
Chicago
10 29
Cleveland
8
31
Pct
.700
.641
.605
.475
.256
Pct
.514
.486
.447
.385
.289
Pct
.730
.684
.472
.256
.205
GB
—
2½
4
9
17½
GB
—
1
2½
5
8½
GB
—
1½
9½
18
20
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Southwest
W
L
Houston
22 15
San Antonio
22 17
Memphis
18 20
Dallas
18 20
New Orleans
17 22
Northwest
W
L
Denver
25 11
Pct
.595
.564
.474
.474
.436
Pct
.694
GB
—
1
4½
4½
6
GB
—
Oklahoma City 25 13 .658
1
Portland
22 17 .564
4½
Utah
19 20 .487
7½
Minnesota
18 21 .462
8½
Pacifi c
W
L
Pct
GB
Golden State
25 14 .641
—
L.A. Clippers
22 16 .579
2½
L.A. Lakers
21 18 .538
4
Sacramento
19 19 .500
5½
Phoenix
9 31 .225 16½
———
Thursday’s Games
San Antonio 125, Toronto 107
Denver 117, Sacramento 113
Houston 135, Golden State 134, OT<
Friday’s Games
Utah 117, Cleveland 91
Boston 114, Dallas 93
Brooklyn 109, Memphis 100
Indiana 119, Chicago 116, OT
Miami 115, Washington 109
Minnesota 120, Orlando 103
Milwaukee 144, Atlanta 112
L.A. Clippers 121, Phoenix 111
New York 119, L.A. Lakers 112
Oklahoma City 111, Portland 109
Saturday’s Games
Charlotte at Denver, 2 p.m.
Utah at Detroit, 4 p.m.
Dallas at Philadelphia, 4:30 p.m.
New Orleans at Cleveland, 5 p.m.
Memphis at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m.
Toronto at Milwaukee, 5:30 p.m.
Golden State at Sacramento, 7 p.m.
Houston at Portland, 7 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
Brooklyn at Chicago, 12:30 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Minnesota, 12:30 p.m.
Orlando at L.A. Clippers, 12:30 p.m.
Miami at Atlanta, 3 p.m.
Washington at Oklahoma City, 4 p.m.
Indiana at Toronto, 4:30 p.m.
Charlotte at Phoenix, 5 p.m.
Monday’s Games
San Antonio at Detroit, 4 p.m.
Brooklyn at Boston, 4:30 p.m.
Denver at Houston, 5 p.m.
Memphis at New Orleans, 5 p.m.
Utah at Milwaukee, 5 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Dallas, 5:30 p.m.
New York at Portland, 7 p.m.
Orlando at Sacramento, 7 p.m.
NHL STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Tampa Bay
41 32 7 2 66 174 119
Toronto
40 26 12 2 54 147 113
Boston
41 23 14 4 50 120 109
Buff alo
41 22 13 6 50 119 118
Montreal
41 22 14 5 49 130 128
Florida
39 17 16 6 40 127 138
Detroit
43 16 20 7 39 122 148
Ottawa
41 15 21 5 35 129 163
Metropolitan GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Washington 40 24 12 4 52 141 119
Pittsburgh
41 23 12 6 52 144 117
Columbus
40 23 14 3 49 131 123
N.Y. Islanders 39 22 13 4 48 117 104
Carolina
N.Y. Rangers
New Jersey
Philadelphia
Seattle has won six straight wild-card
games, a streak that started when Romo,
a fi rst-year starter and still the holder,
fl ubbed the snap on a potential go-ahead
fi eld goal in the fi nal two minutes of the
Seahawks’ 21-20 home win during the
2006 season. Oddly enough during this
streak, Seattle has lost every time in the
divisional round.
40 18 17
40 17 16
40 16 17
40 15 20
5
7
7
5
41 103 114
41 114 136
39 120 134
35 114 145
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Central
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Winnipeg 40 25 13 2 52 134 115
Nashville
42 24 15 3 51 127 108
Dallas
42 22 16 4 48 115 111
Colorado
42 20 14 8 48 144 129
Minnesota 39 19 17 3 41 114 111
Chicago
43 15 21 7 37 123 156
St. Louis
38 16 18 4 36 107 125
Pacifi c
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Calgary
42 25 13 4 54 150 121
Vegas
44 25 15 4 54 133 117
San Jose
42 22 13 7 51 145 133
Anaheim
42 19 16 7 45 104 123
Vancouver 44 20 20 4 44 128 138
Edmonton 40 19 18 3 41 114 127
Arizona
41 17 21 3 37 103 118
Los Angeles 42 16 23 3 35 94 127
NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for
overtime loss. Top three teams in each
division and two wild cards per confer-
ence advance to playoff s
Thursday’s Games
Minnesota 4, Toronto 3
Carolina 5, Philadelphia 3
Buff alo 4, Florida 3
Boston 6, Calgary 4
N.Y. Islanders 3, Chicago 2, OT
Montreal 2, Vancouver 0
St. Louis 5, Washington 2
Tampa Bay 6, Los Angeles 2
Friday’s Games
Pittsburgh 4, Winnipeg 0
Detroit 4, Nashville 3, OT
Carolina 4, Columbus 2
Dallas 2, Washington 1, OT
New Jersey 3, Arizona 2, SO
Colorado 6, N.Y. Rangers 1
Vegas 3, Anaheim 2<
Saturday’s Games
Calgary at Philadelphia, 10 a.m.
Minnesota at Ottawa, 10 a.m.
Columbus at Florida, 4 p.m.
Vancouver at Toronto, 4 p.m.
Nashville at Montreal, 4 p.m.
Buff alo at Boston, 4 p.m.
N.Y. Islanders at St. Louis, 5 p.m.
Edmonton at Los Angeles, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay at San Jose, 8 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
Carolina at Ottawa, 10 a.m.
N.Y. Rangers at Arizona, 1 p.m.
New Jersey at Vegas, 1 p.m.
Washington at Detroit, 2 p.m.
Dallas at Winnipeg, 2 p.m.
Edmonton at Anaheim, 5 p.m.
Chicago at Pittsburgh, 5 p.m.
Monday’s Games
Nashville at Toronto, 4 p.m.
St. Louis at Philadelphia, 4 p.m.
Minnesota at Montreal, 4:30 p.m.
Calgary at Chicago, 5:30 p.m.
Los Angeles at San Jose, 7:30 p.m.
With left guard Xavier Su’a-Filo
listed as doubtful because of an ankle
injury, the Cowboys are likely to have
this season’s original starting offensive
line before Su’a-Filo replaced injured
rookie Connor Williams and kept the
job.
The starters are left tackle Tyron
Smith, Williams, center Joe Looney, All-
Pro right guard Zack Martin and right
tackle La’el Collins. Looney has fi lled
in all year for four-time Pro Bowler Tra-
vis Frederick, who was diagnosed with a
nerve disorder during the preseason.
Settled in Week 3
The Seahawks settled their offensive
line in the fi rst Dallas meeting with their
best rushing game to that point. A key
addition was right guard D.J. Fluker,
who sat out Week 17 to nurse a nag-
ging hamstring injury but will play. Left
guard J.R. Sweezy is questionable with
a sprained foot.
Both teams have had issues protect-
ing their mobile quarterbacks. Prescott
(56 sacks) and Wilson (51) were among
the four QBs dropped at least 50 times
this season.
Woodland birdies his
way into lead at Kapalua
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
KAPALUA,
Hawaii
— Gary Woodland wasn’t
making any putts until he
chipped in for birdie, and
then he couldn’t miss.
Woodland broke away
from a fi ve-way tie for
the lead Friday by run-
ning off fi ve straight bird-
ies, and then fi nishing
with one more for another
6-under 67 that gave him a
three-shot lead going into
the weekend at the Sentry
Tournament of Champions.
None of his birdie putts
were longer than 10 feet,
which helped. But this was
more a measure of his con-
fi dence, which dates to his
work with putting guru Phil
Kenyon during the Brit-
ish Open last summer at
Carnoustie.
“The big deal was just
staying patient on the
greens,” Woodland said.
“It’s very tough putting
with the crosswinds and I
didn’t see anything go in
early, but nice to see the
chip go in on 11 and kind of
got me going, propelled me
for the rest of the round.”
Woodland
was
at
12-under 134.
Rory McIlroy had
another good fi nish with
three birdies over his
last fi ve holes for a 68,
leaving him three shots
behind along with Bryson
DeChambeau (68) and
Kevin Tway, who didn’t
make his fi rst bogey at
Kapalua until the 17th hole
of the second round. He
shot a 71.
Defending champion
Dustin Johnson had a 74,
the fi rst time in 33 rounds
at Kapalua that he was over
par. He could think of one
shot he’d like to have back,
out of the hazard left of the
fourth fairway. The shot
was fi ne. The trouble was
it wasn’t his ball, and John-
son was assessed a two-
shot penalty.
It was a bit of a fl uke,
as most things are with
Johnson. A volunteer mar-
shal marked where his ball
had gone into the hazard,
and Johnson could see it
was his brand. Only when
he walked about 20 yards
toward the green did he see
another ball, and the light
came on.
It didn’t involve the
new rules, although they
might have played a role.
If the ball moves while try-
ing to identify it, there is no
penalty.
U.S. women to open camp
ahead of World Cup
CHICAGO (AP) —
Two goals away from
reaching 100 for her career,
forward Alex Morgan is
on the roster for the U.S.
women’s national team
as it opens training camp
ahead of the World Cup in
France this summer.
Morgan was among 26
players named to the roster
by coach Jill Ellis on Fri-
day. The defending cham-
pions leave for Portugal on
Saturday and will play a
pair of exhibition matches
against France and Spain
later in the month.
Tierna Davidson, Kel-
ley O’Hara and McCall
Zerboni have returned to
the team following inju-
ries. Davidson broke her
ankle in September while
playing for Stanford. Zer-
boni fractured her elbow
in a match for the U.S.
team against Chile, and
O’Hara is coming off ankle
surgery.
Ellis brought four goal-
keepers in the camp,
including Adrianna Franch,
of the Portland Thorns.
Franch is still looking for
her fi rst cap.
Three other Thorns
players made the roster.
ROSTER BY POSITION,
WITH CLUB AFFILIATION
GOALKEEPERS: Jane Campbell
(Houston Dash), Adrianna Franch
(Portland Thorns), Ashlyn Harris
(Orlando Pride) and Alyssa Naeher
(Chicago Red Stars).
Defenders: Abby Dahlkemper (NC
Courage), Tierna Davidson (Stanford),
Crystal Dunn (NC Courage), Emily Fox
(North Carolina), Kelley O’Hara (Utah
Royals), Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Roy-
als), Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars)
and Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns).
MIDFIELDERS: Morgan Brian (Chi-
cago Red Stars), Danielle Colaprico
(Chicago Red Stars), Julie Ertz (Chicago
Red Stars), Lindsey Horan (Portland
Thorns), Rose Lavelle (Washington
Spirit), Samantha Mewis (NC Courage)
and McCall Zerboni (NC Courage).
Forwards: Tobin Heath (Portland
Thorns), Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue), Jessica
McDonald (NC Courage), Alex Morgan
(Orlando Pride), Christen Press (Utah
Royals), Mallory Pugh (Washington
Spirit), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign).