B2
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Raiders WR Brown files
grievance over helmet
By JOSH DUBOW
AP Pro Football Writer
ALAMEDA, Calif. —
Oakland Raiders wide receiver
Antonio Brown has reportedly
filed a grievance with the NFL
over a league rule that pre-
vents him from wearing his
10-year-old helmet.
ESPN reported that Brown
had a two-hour conference
call Friday with an indepen-
dent arbitrator to state his
case for why he should be able
to use a helmet that is no lon-
ger certified by the National
Operating Committee on
Standards for Athletic Equip-
ment. League and union rep-
resentatives were also on the
call and ESPN reported a rul-
ing could come as early as
next week.
Brown has not partici-
pated in a full practice for the
Raiders after starting train-
ing camp on the non-football
injury list with injuries to his
feet that reportedly came from
frostbite suffered while get-
ting cryotherapy treatment in
France. Brown was cleared to
practice on July 28 and partic-
ipated in part of two sessions
but hasn’t been around the
team the past few days.
Brown’s Schutt Air Advan-
tage helmet is not allowed to be
AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File
Oakland Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown is shown
during an NFL football minicamp June 11 in Alameda, Calif.
worn because of a league pol-
icy that players must wear hel-
mets that are NOCSAE cer-
tified, a person in the league
said on condition of anonym-
ity because the commission-
er’s office was not talking
publicly about the issue. NOC-
SAE won’t recertify his hel-
met because it is more than 10
years old.
Schutt discontinued mak-
ing the helmet three years ago
because current technology
had moved past it, according
to the company.
Brown was one of 32 play-
ers using one of 11 helmets last
season that are now banned by
the league and players’ associ-
ation. Those players, including
Tom Brady, were able to use
the helmets last season under a
grace period but were required
to make the change in 2019.
Brown has been the game’s
most prolific receiver the past
six years but was able to be
acquired from Pittsburgh for
just a third- and fifth-round
pick in March because of
problems off the field.
Brown had a messy divorce
from the Steelers after averag-
ing more than 100 catches and
1,500 yards receiving per sea-
son over the last six years. He
got in trouble for livestream-
ing from the locker room after
a playoff win over Kansas
City in January 2017 and was
pulled over for doing 100 mph
in the northern Pittsburgh sub-
urbs last fall.
Saturday, August 10, 2019
Rodeo: Peebles 1 of only 3 to
finish bareback with a legal ride
Continued from Page B1
competed in Friday night’s
event, and one of only three
who finished with a legal
ride. Blodgett rider Kirk
St. Clair earned a 73, and
Pendleton’s own Payton
Wright was right behind
him at 72. Kevin Lusk, an
Ellensburg, Washington,
native who stands in the
Columbia River Circuit’s
top five, failed to earn a
score.
“I had a nice horse,” Pee-
bles said of Joker Poker, his
Friday night ride. “I wish I
could’ve broken a little ear-
lier, but we set up nice and I
got a good ride out of him.”
Peebles currently holds
the No. 19 position in the
Pro Rodeo Cowboy Asso-
ciation World Standings
with $49,161.25. After Fri-
day, he’ll be able to add a
$100 bonus and a bottle of
Chute Eight Whiskey to
those earnings.
“This is a great rodeo,”
Peebles said. “The horses
are phenomenal, and so are
the crowds.”
Team roping
Only three teams posted
qualifying rides during Fri-
day’s team roping event,
and in the end, there
was no beating the local
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Steven Peebles holds on to Joker Poker to clinch the night’s
high score in the bareback competition at the Farm-City
Pro Rodeo Friday night.
representation.
Hermiston duo Andy
Carlson and Tyler Smith
lassoed their calf in 5.5
seconds to win the night’s
event. Spencer Mitchell
of Orange Cove, Califor-
nia, and Cody Doescher
of Webbers Falls, Okla-
homa, initially finished at
5.3 seconds to take over the
leader board’s top spot, but
a crossfire penalty nullified
the time.
Smith recently moved
to Hermiston while Carl-
son owns Concrete North-
west, making the victory
in front of an arena packed
with locals all the more
satisfying.
“It’s neat,” Carlson said.
“We work with some of
(Farm-City’s) bigger spon-
sors on a daily basis. It’s
good to do so well in front
of them. I don’t know if this
will be worth much money,
but it is worth the whiskey
and $100.”
EOU: 16 players gone from last season
Continued from Page B1
AP Photo/Jack Dempsey, File
In this October 27, 2018, file photo, Oregon State line-
backer Shemar Smith celebrates a win against Colorado
last season in Boulder, Colo.
Beavers: Bigger,
stronger, heavier
Continued from Page B1
Oregon State. The coach-
ing staff opted to ease
him into camp, gradually
increasing his practice
reps.
“Great size and athlet-
icism,” linebackers coach
Trent Bray said of the 6-4,
242-pound Gumbs. “Just
another quality football
player in there to add to
that competition and add to
that depth so we can play
more people.”
Added Tibesar: “I think
he’s picked up the play-
book very well. … He’s not
getting every rep in prac-
tice, but he’s getting pretty
darn close.”
Gumbs and Roberts are
bonus pieces for a line-
backing corps that was
already one of the team’s
deeper units.
Returning safety Jalen
Moore led the Beavers
with 102 tackles last sea-
son. Right behind him
were linebackers Smith (85
tackles), Doug Taumoelau
(54) and Rashed (52), all of
whom are back. Matthew
Tago, John McCartan, Isa-
iah Tufaga and true fresh-
man Omar Speights could
also be significant contrib-
utors this fall.
“We’re bigger, we’re
stronger,” Bray said.
“We’ve got a little more
weight to us on the edges,
helps us set those edges
better. And then the under-
standing of where to drop,
where to be in the pass
rush. Being that it’s year
two, I think that growth
has happened at all levels
for us.”
from a year ago in former
Southwest Mississippi Com-
munity College teammates
Felipe Madero and Patrick
Larsen. Madero, who is from
Argentina, is one of three
South American athletes on
the roster, which also features
players from England, Mexico
and South Africa.
“What I look for is work
ethic and attitude, and then
after that we look at talent,”
Mills said. “We knew what
we needed. We saw the poten-
tial, provided we have chem-
istry. We search for those
players who are going to be
successful.”
Mills said finding the right
pieces to add was a challenge,
but once they found the play-
ers they wanted, selling them
on EOU was easy.
“It seems like everyone
we showed interest in what
we got,” he said, adding that
what EOU offers — from new
facilities, scenery and educa-
tion to a program on the rise
— shows the players some-
thing they want to get on
board with.
“This place is going some-
where. So when we bring
recruits on campus, they
see that as well,” Mills said.
“(The) players who we bring
in already have that attitude
(to get better).”
Mills also has high hopes
for newcomers like Mike Dias
and Alexander Zuluaga out of
Cal State Dominguez Hills,
and Javier Moran out of LA
La Grande Observer Photo/Ronald Bond
Carlos Solorio, right, and Oscar Munoz, center, battle for posses-
sion during practice Wednesday while Joaquin Bermejillo looks
on. The Eastern Oregon men’s soccer team is coming of an 11-4-4
season that saw it reach the CCC tournament semifinals.
Mission College — the same
school Solorio attended.
“(There are) so many guys
I could talk about,” he said.
The talent level that’s been
brought in is also pushing the
returners to improve.
“With players coming in
like that, they up the inten-
sity. They push each other to
be their best,” Gutierrez said.
Larsen said that’s because,
at the end of the day, there
are only 11 starting spots
available.
“You have to beat out who-
ever is in that position, but
we’re still a team. It’s really
competitive, but it’s a friendly
competitive,” he said. “To me
as a newcomer, I think my
best position is to lift other
players up and challenge them
more. Obviously you want to
have the starting position, but
the main thing is you want
to make the team better as a
whole.”
And Mills believes that
even though mainstays of the
program for its first four years
are gone, the players who are
here now can lift Eastern to
new heights.
“That’s what we keep
talking about. We’re thankful
for the guys who made it pos-
sible, but yes, we expect to be
better than we’ve been in the
past,” he said.
On the field, Mills said, the
emphasis will be on the defen-
sive side of the ball.
“We want to be sound and
strong in the back,” he said.
“We want to focus on shutting
(our) opponents out, and we
know with our talent up top
(in the formation), we’re going
to find the back of the net.”
He also plans to outwork
the opposition, adding, “We
want them to feel like we’re
swarming and overloading
them at all angles.”
Both Solorio and Gutier-
rez pointed out that playing as
a family — a vital component
a year ago — will be a key for
EOU if it wants to realize its
potential this fall.
Larsen said he’s already
seeing that family feel build,
and he noted another piece to
the puzzle for success.
“We need to be a unit and
trust each other,” he said.
“You can have 10 players in
synch, but that one player
not (in synch) can throw it
off.”
EOU will get a good gauge
of where it stands early with a
preseason slate that includes
Vanguard and Marymount
California — ranked 11th and
25th, respectively, in the final
poll of 2018 — on a three-
game California road trip that
begins Sept. 2.
“We’re going to really see
what we’re made of, and then
we’ll adjust,” Mills said of the
nonconference schedule.
The key CCC matches, the
coach said, are at Corban Sept.
21, Southern Oregon Oct. 12
and Rocky Mountain Oct.
18. Those happen to be the
three teams ahead of EOU in
the CCC preseason coaches’
poll, and teams that were all in
the top 15 following the 2018
season.
“I believe the league has
to be aware of us a little bit
more,” Solorio said. “We’re
going to come for those top
three teams.”
SCOREBOARD
BASEBALL
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East
W
L
Pct
GB
New York
76
40
.655
—
Tampa Bay
66
50
.569
10
Boston
62
56
.525
15
Toronto
48
71
.403
29½
Baltimore
38
77
.330
37½
Central
W
L
Pct
GB
Cleveland
70
46
.603
—
Minnesota
70
46
.603
—
Chicago
51
63
.447
18
Kansas City
41
76
.350
29½
Detroit
35
78
.310
33½
West
W
L
Pct
GB
Houston
76
40
.655
—
Oakland
66
50
.569
10
Texas
58
56
.509
17
Los Angeles
56
61
.479
20½
Seattle
48
68
.414
28
———
Thursday’s Games
N.Y. Yankees 12, Toronto 6
Boston 3, L.A. Angels 0
Detroit 10, Kansas City 8
Cleveland 7, Minnesota 5
Friday’s Games
Oakland 7, Chicago White Sox 0
Houston 3, Baltimore 2
Toronto 8, N.Y. Yankees 2
Detroit 5, Kansas City 2
Boston 16, L.A. Angels 4
Cleveland 6, Minnesota 2
Texas at Milwaukee, 5:10 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Seattle, 7:10 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
N.Y. Yankees (TBD) at Toronto
(Waguespack 3-1), 12:07 p.m.
L.A. Angels (Heaney 1-3) at Boston (Por-
cello 10-8), 1:05 p.m.
Kansas City (Montgomery 1-5) at Detroit
(Turnbull 3-9), 3:10 p.m.
Houston (Sanchez 4-14) at Baltimore
(Brooks 2-5), 4:05 p.m.
Cleveland (Plutko 4-2) at Minnesota
(Odorizzi 12-5), 4:10 p.m.
Oakland (Roark 7-7) at Chicago White
Sox (Lopez 6-9), 4:10 p.m.
Texas (Payano 1-0) at Milwaukee (Houser
4-5), 4:10 p.m.
Tampa Bay (Morton 12-4) at Seattle
(Milone 1-6), 7:10 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
Houston at Baltimore, 10:05 a.m.
L.A. Angels at Boston, 10:05 a.m.
N.Y. Yankees at Toronto, 10:07 a.m.
Kansas City at Detroit, 10:10 a.m.
Cleveland at Minnesota, 11:10 a.m.
Oakland at Chicago White Sox, 11:10 a.m.
Texas at Milwaukee, 11:10 a.m.
Tampa Bay at Seattle, 1:10 p.m.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East
W
L
Pct
GB
Atlanta
69 49 .585
—
Washington
61 54 .530
6½
New York
60 56
.517
8
Philadelphia
59 56 .513
8½
Miami
43 72 .374 24½
Central
W
L
Pct
GB
Chicago
63 53 .543
—
St. Louis
59 55 .518
3
Milwaukee
60 56
.517
3
Cincinnati
55 59 .482
7
Pittsburgh
48 67
.417 14½
West
W
L
Pct
GB
Los Angeles
77 40 .658
—
Arizona
58 57 .504
18
San Francisco 57 59 .491 19½
San Diego
53 61 .465 22½
Colorado
52 63 .452
24
———
Thursday’s Games
Chicago Cubs 12, Cincinnati 5
Miami 9, Atlanta 2
San Francisco 5, Philadelphia 0
San Diego 9, Colorado 3
Friday’s Games
Atlanta 8, Miami 4
Cincinnati 5, Chicago Cubs 2
N.Y. Mets 7, Washington 6
St. Louis 6, Pittsburgh 2
Texas at Milwaukee, 5:10 p.m.
Arizona at L.A. Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Colorado at San Diego, 7:10 p.m.
Philadelphia at San Francisco, 7:15 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Philadelphia (Velasquez 4-6) at San Fran-
cisco (Samardzija 8-9), 1:05 p.m.
Atlanta (Soroka 10-2) at Miami (Alcantara
4-10), 3:10 p.m.
Chicago Cubs (Hendricks 8-8) at Cincin-
nati (Gray 6-6), 4:10 p.m.
Texas (Payano 1-0) at Milwaukee (Houser
4-5), 4:10 p.m.
Washington (Corbin 9-5) at N.Y. Mets
(Syndergaard 8-5), 4:10 p.m.
Pittsburgh (Musgrove 8-10) at St. Louis
(Wainwright 7-8), 4:15 p.m.
Colorado (Gonzalez 0-4) at San Diego
(Paddack 7-5), 5:40 p.m.
Arizona (Young 4-1) at L.A. Dodgers
(Maeda 7-8), 6:10 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
Atlanta at Miami, 10:10 a.m.
Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati, 10:10 a.m.
Washington at N.Y. Mets, 10:10 a.m.
Texas at Milwaukee, 11:10 a.m.
Pittsburgh at St. Louis, 11:15 a.m.
Colorado at San Diego, 12:40 p.m.
Arizona at L.A. Dodgers, 1:10 p.m.
Philadelphia at San Francisco, 4:05 p.m.
SOCCER
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
EASTERN
Philadelphia
Atlanta
New York City FC
New York
D.C. United
Montreal
New England
Toronto FC
Orlando City
Chicago
Columbus
Cincinnati
WESTERN
Los Angeles FC
Minnesota United
San Jose
Seattle
LA Galaxy
W L T Pts GF GA
12 7 6 42 46 37
12 9 3 39 41 29
10 4 8 38 40 29
11 9 4 37 41 34
9 7 9 36 32 31
10 12 3 33 34 44
9 9 6 33 34 41
9 10 5 32 38 40
8 11 5 29 32 33
6 10 9 27 35 35
7 14 4 25 25 37
5 17 2 17 23 55
W L T Pts GF GA
16 3 4 52 61 23
11 7 5 38 39 30
11 7 5 38 40 34
11 7 5 38 35 31
12 10 1 37 30 34
Real Salt Lake
10 9 4 34 33 31
FC Dallas
9 9 6 33 31 28
Portland
9 9 4 31 35 33
Houston
9 12 3 30 34 39
Sporting Kansas City 7 9 7 28 36 41
Vancouver
5 11 9 24 25 42
Colorado
6 12 5 23 39 48
NOTE: Three points for victory, one point
for tie.
———
Thursday, August 8
New York City FC 3, Houston 2
Saturday, August 10
New England at Seattle, 1 p.m.
Cincinnati at Columbus, 4:30 p.m.
Orlando City at Toronto FC, 4:30 p.m.
Minnesota United at FC Dallas, 5 p.m.
Real Salt Lake at Sporting Kansas City,
5:30 p.m.
Montreal at Chicago, 6 p.m.
San Jose at Colorado, 6 p.m.
Vancouver at Portland, 8 p.m.
Sunday, August 11
New York City FC at Atlanta, 12:55 p.m.
Houston at Philadelphia, 3 p.m.
LA Galaxy at D.C. United, 4:30 p.m.
New York at Los Angeles FC, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, August 14
Sporting Kansas City at Orlando City,
4:30 p.m.
Colorado at Minnesota United, 5 p.m.
Seattle at Real Salt Lake, 7 p.m.
FC Dallas at LA Galaxy, 7:30 p.m.
Chicago at Portland, 8 p.m.
Saturday, August 17
New England at New York, 4 p.m.
FC Dallas at Montreal, 4:30 p.m.
New York City FC at Cincinnati, 4:30 p.m.
Toronto FC at Columbus, 4:30 p.m.
Orlando City at Minnesota United, 5 p.m.
Philadelphia at Chicago, 5 p.m.
San Jose at Sporting Kansas City,
5:30 p.m.
Colorado at Houston, 6 p.m.
D.C. United at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
Los Angeles FC at Real Salt Lake, 7 p.m.
Seattle at LA Galaxy, 7 p.m.
Sunday, August 18
Atlanta at Portland, 7 p.m.
FOOTBALL
NFL PRESEASON
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
East
W L T
Pct
Buffalo
1 0 0 1.000
New England 1 0 0 1.000
Miami
1 0 0 1.000
N.Y. Jets
0 1 0 .000
South
W L T
Pct
Tennessee
1 0 0 1.000
Houston
0 1 0 .000
Indianapolis 0 1 0 .000
Jacksonville 0 1 0 .000
North
W L T
Pct
Baltimore
1 0 0 1.000
Cleveland
1 0 0 1.000
Pittsburgh 1 0 0 1.000
Cincinnati
0 0 0 .000
West
W L T Pct
Denver
1 1 0 .500
Kansas City
0 0 0 .000
Oakland
0 0 0 .000
L.A. Chargers 0 1 0 .000
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
East
W L T
Pct
N.Y. Giants
1 0 0 1.000
Dallas
0 0 0 .000
Philadelphia 0 1 0 .000
Washington 0 1 0 .000
South
W L T
Pct
Carolina
1 0 0 1.000
Tampa Bay
0 1 0 .000
Atlanta
0 2 0 .000
New Orleans 0 1 0 .000
North
W L T
Pct
Minnesota 1 0 0 1.000
Green Bay
1 0 0 1.000
Chicago
0 1 0 .000
Detroit
0 1 0 .000
West
PF PA
24 16
31 3
34 27
22 31
PF PA
27 10
26 28
16 24
0 29
PF PA
29
0
30 10
30 28
0
0
PF PA
28 32
0
0
0
0
13 17
PF PA
31 22
0
0
10 27
10 30
PF PA
23 13
28 30
37 48
25 34
PF PA
34 25
28 26
13 23
3 31
W L T
Pct PF PA
Seattle
1 0 0 1.000 22 14
Arizona
1 0 0 1.000 17 13
L.A. Rams
0 0 0 .000 0 0
San Francisco 0 0 0 .000 0 0
———
Thursday’s Games
Buffalo 24, Indianapolis 16
Baltimore 29, Jacksonville 0
New England 31, Detroit 3
Cleveland 30, Washington 10
Tennessee 27, Philadelphia 10
Miami 34, Atlanta 27
N.Y. Giants 31, N.Y. Jets 22
Carolina 23, Chicago 13
Green Bay 28, Houston 26
Arizona 17, L.A. Chargers 13
Seattle 22, Denver 14
Friday’s Games
Pittsburgh 30, Tampa Bay 28
Minnesota 34, New Orleans 25
Saturday’s Games
L.A. Rams at Oakland, 5 p.m.
Cincinnati at Kansas City, 5 p.m.
Dallas at San Francisco, 6 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 15
Philadelphia at Jacksonville, 4 p.m.
Green Bay at Baltimore, 4:30 p.m.
N.Y. Jets at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m.
Cincinnati at Washington, 4:30 p.m.
Oakland at Arizona, 5 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 16
Buffalo at Carolina, 4 p.m.
Chicago at N.Y. Giants, 4:30 p.m.
Miami at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 17
Cleveland at Indianapolis, 1 p.m.
New England at Tennessee, 4 p.m.
Kansas City at Pittsburgh, 4:30 p.m.
Detroit at Houston, 5 p.m.
Dallas vs L.A. Rams at Honolulu, Hawaii,
7 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 18
New Orleans at L.A. Chargers, 1 p.m.
Seattle at Minnesota, 5 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 19
San Francisco at Denver, 5 p.m.