E AST O REGONIAN
THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2019
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A8
STANFIELD TAEKWONDO
Three area players invited to football showcase
Youths take
home plenty
of gold at
Lynnwood
tournament
Hermiston’s Coughlin
and Bradshaw, and
Pendleton’s McGee
will show their skills
Sunday
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
HILLSBORO
—
Three
area football players have been
Bradshaw
Coughlin
invited to the Oregon Best Coast
Football Showcase on Sunday at
Hare Field.
Hermiston’s Dustyn Cough-
lin and Chase Bradshaw, along
with
Pendle-
ton’s
Travis
McGee, will be
put through the
paces by former
NFL and college
players.
McGee
The purpose
of the showcase is to provide
exposure through interviews,
photos and videos through
media
partners
247sports.
com, Battle Prep West, Rivals
and more.
All three players received an
invitation via Twitter at the end
of June. All three have regis-
tered to participate.
“When you are from Eastern
Oregon, you have to put your
name out there,” McGee said.
“Playing in college is something
I have wanted to do since ele-
mentary school.”
See Football, Page A9
By BRETT KANE
East Oregonian
LYNNWOOD, Wash. —
Eight Stanfi eld kids recently
proved that a small town can still
bring big competition.
On June 28, Stanfi eld’s East-
ern Oregon Family Taekwondo
school sent a group of their
younger athletes to the Grand
Master Pierce’s Memorial Tour-
nament at Edmonds Community
College in Lynnwood, Washing-
ton. All eight kids medaled in
their respective events.
Abel Garcia, 11, won fi rst in
forms and board breaking, and
third in sparring. Anna Garcia,
7, took fi rst in forms and board
breaking, and second in spar-
ring. Anna Rivera, 13, also got
top honors in forms and board
breaking, and second in spar-
ring. Kiona Idris, 15, won fi rst in
sparring and second in forms and
board breaking.
Isaiah Diaz, 4, the youngest in
the class, won fi rst in forms and
board breaking and second in
sparring in the 4-year-old divi-
sion. In the 6-year-old division,
he placed fi rst in padded weap-
ons, and third in forms, sparring,
and board breaking.
J.T. Rowden, 9, won sec-
ond in forms and third place in
both board breaking and pad-
ded weapons. Jordan Velasco, 6,
won second and third prizes in
both of his padded weapons con-
tests. Amauri Black, 6, won sec-
ond in forms, third in sparring,
and fourth in board breaking.
She also won second and third
place awards in padded weapons
bouts.
Eastern Oregon Family Tae-
kwondo welcomes all aspiring
athletes, aged 2 and older. Prac-
tices are held Monday through
Thursday every week, unless
there is an upcoming tournament
— then the week gets busier.
“We practice, practice, prac-
tice,” said Erwin Watson, who
co-owns and instructs the classes
with his wife Lorry. “You just
can’t practice enough. It showed
(in Lynnwood). Some of these
bigger schools bring in over a
hundred students. We dominated
for such a small group.”
The team’s showing in Lyn-
wood was their fi rst ever in the
city. Their skills have earned
them plenty of outside attention,
Watson said.
“It was a big thing for these
kids,” Watson said. “I’ve had
masters come up to me and say,
‘Wow, these kids are amazing.’”
The gym, which typically
houses Stanfi eld athletes, will
soon open its doors to those from
MARTINEZ PREPS
FOR COOPERSTOWN
MOMENT JUST
LIKE CAREER
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File
In this Oct. 2, 2004, fi le photo, Seattle Mariners’ Edgar Martinez is greeted by fans as he jogs a lap around the stadium in Seattle
after the team’s 10-4 loss to the Texas Rangers in a baseball game on the eve of his fi nal game before retirement.
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
S
EATTLE — Edgar Martinez
trained for every aspect of his
career.
As a player, he spent nearly
two decades doing daily eye exercises
to overcome strabismus, a condition
that prevented his eyes from seeing in
tandem. Rather than letting that become
an excuse that kept him out of baseball,
Martinez became arguably the best
right-handed hitter of his generation
and the prototype for what a designated
hitter can be.
As a coach, he was a meticulous
planner, often one of the fi rst in the
clubhouse daily. Before taking swings
during batting practice — more than
a decade after his last game — Marti-
nez spent a week taking BP. He wasn’t
about to be unprepared before putting
on a show players and fellow coaches
wouldn’t forget.
Why should his training and prepara-
tion be any different for his fi rst speech
as a Hall of Famer?
“I think it’s like anything if you want
to do it right and do well you have to
practice,” Martinez said. “In a way it’s
true, it’s like that. You’re preparing for
some performance, whether it’s hitting
in a game or a speech.”
Martinez will go into the Baseball
Hall of Fame on Sunday, the fi rst player
to spend his entire career with the Seat-
tle Mariners — 18 seasons in all — and
fi nd his way into Cooperstown.
His numbers are staggering yet often
overlooked. Most of his career was
spent tucked away in the Pacifi c North-
west on a team that until the magical
1995 season, when the franchise made
its fi rst playoff appearance in dramatic
fashion, got little notice on the national
stage.
Martinez hit .312 with 309 home runs
in 2,055 career games with the Mari-
ners. His numbers would be even more
impressive if he had broken into the
majors earlier. Martinez never played
more than 100 games in the majors until
he was 27.
“Day in and day out, he was pre-
pared,” teammate Ken Griffey Jr.
said. “Thirty, 40 years ago a DH was
an older guy who was on his way out,
but a fan favorite, they wanted to keep
him around. Now, it’s guys who can fl at
hit and get a chance to go out and play
every day.
“And he made that all possible.”
Whether it’s the pride of joining the
fraternity of Puerto Rican players or his
affection for the only franchise he’s ever
been associated with, Martinez is grate-
ful to those who helped along the way.
“A lot of people play a role in my
success and just keep it condensed and
within 12 minutes. I’m close to having
it just right,” Martinez said of his induc-
tion speech.
Tom Davidson was one of those who
helped.
“We told him, ‘Give us 10 days and
let’s see what you think of it,’” David-
son recalled.
Nicknamed the “eye guy” by team-
mates, Martinez started working with
Davidson in the late 1990s. For nearly
a decade, Martinez had been doing
See Martinez, Page A9
See Taekwando, Page A9
SPORTS SHORTS
Ensan, 55, becomes oldest world poker champion in 20 years
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Germany’s
Hossein Ensan outlasted Italy’s Dario
Sammartino and Canada’s Alex Liv-
ingston to claim the $10 million title
early Wednesday at the 50th World
Series of Poker Main Event in Las
Vegas.
The 55-year-old native of Iran who
immigrated to Germany 30 years ago
became the oldest world poker cham-
pion in 20 years when he won the
301st hand at the fi nal table to fi n-
ish off Sammartino after nearly eight
hours of play.
It’s the fi rst time since 2014 the win-
ner has come from outside the United
States and third time ever the title has
gone to an Iranian-born competitor.
“Unbelievable,” said Ensan, who
now lives in Greven, Germany. He
was making his fi rst appearance in the
Main Event with a previous total of
$2.67 million in career earnings.
“I am so happy. I thank my fans at
home in Germany, also in Iran and my
fans, my buddies here. This is the best
feeling in my life,” he said after claim-
ing the winning hand when Sammar-
tino pushed his chips all in at 1:24 a.m.
Wednesday at the Rio All-Suite Hotel
& Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
Ensan, wearing a white crew neck
T-shirt with poker sponsor patches,
and Sammartino in a black tuxedo
exchanged numerous smiles and a
congratulatory fi st bump at one point
in the good-natured contest down the
stretch.
Esan became the oldest champion
since Noel Furlong won the title in
1999 at age 62.
AP Photo/John Locher
It was the fi rst time in 27 years a
native Iranian has won. Mansour Mat- Hossein Ensan, of Germany, poses with the bracelet after
loubi won in 1990 and Hamid Dast- winning the World Series of Poker main event on Wednes-
day in Las Vegas.
malchi in 1992.