East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, August 27, 2019, Image 10

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Newspaper Page TextB2 SPORTS East Oregonian Tuesday, August 27, 2019 Luck finds cost of football too pricey to continue career By MICHAEL MAROT Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS — Andrew Luck was unique. He loved football. He loves life even more. So when the 29-year-old Luck thought another long, laborious comeback jour- ney jeopardized his future, he believed walking away from the sport and poten- tially hundreds of millions of dollars was the only logi- cal choice. “For the last four years or so, I’ve been in this cycle of injury, pain, rehab — injury, pain, rehab — and it’s been unceasing, unre- lenting, both in season and off season,” Luck said fol- lowing Saturday night’s loss to the Chicago Bears. “I felt stuck in it, and the only way I see out is to no longer play football. It’s taken my joy of this game away.” The announcement and the timing — two weeks before the Indianapo- lis Colts’ season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers — shocked the football world. But this was not a spur- of-the-moment decision. After three inju- ry-plagued seasons, Luck returned last year with a new perspective about the physical pain, men- tal fatigue and emotional agony it took to keep fight- ing his way back. Late last summer, he described his state of mind throughout the continual rehab with words such as “sad,” “mis- erable” and “scared.” Last month, as the lin- gering pain in his lower left leg forced him off the prac- tice field yet again, Luck told reporters that he prom- ised himself after playing through the shoulder pain in 2016 and missing the entire 2017 season, he would be honest with himself, his coaches, teammates and the organization about how his body felt. At the time, Luck said he thought even limited prac- tices were detrimental to himself and the team. “It took great courage to make his decision to walk away from the game, but no matter how difficult he did what his heart told him and I am proud of him for being honest with himself and the team,” said former Colts coach Chuck Pagano, now the defensive coordi- nator for the Bears. “With Andrew it was always about more than football.” While some fans booed Luck as he left the field Sat- urday night, other players Championship: Chris Godby and Anais Garcia won titles in sparring Continued from Page B1 and padded weapons, and Samuel Godby, 9, placed first in padded weapons. Watson said his team’s showing at the recent Richland tournament was a display of the progress the team had made since the beginning of the year. “I don’t get a lot of kids at the beginning of the year who want to go out to these tournaments,” he said. “But when they see other kids come home with medals, it boosts their interest. Now these kids are ready for the next tour- nament. They got the taste of it. Now they know what it feels like to be winners. They’re hooked on it. It’s great.” Watson, who co-owns the Stanfield-based tae- kwondo program along- side his wife Lorry, said that his team’s tournament turnouts have doubled since the start of the year. “I’m so proud of these kids,” he said. “I was impressed with every sin- gle one of them.” The Watsons and their team will have a bit of a break until their next com- petition, which is sched- uled for November, and will take place at Mount Hood Community College in Portland. AP Photo/Michael Conroy Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck shakes hands with Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay on Saturday after a news conference following the team’s NFL preseason game against the Chicago Bears in Indianapolis. The oft-injured star is retiring at age 29. supported him. They under- stand how dangerous and debilitating the sport can be, which is why some are quitting at earlier ages. Luck just happens to be the biggest name yet on that expanding list. “I think it takes an immense amount of cour- age, an immense amount of self-reflection and a lot of guts to do what he is doing,” Houston defensive end J.J. Watt said. “I am sure people have their ways of looking at it and their ways of trying to say what they would do in his shoes. But the truth is, no one is in his shoes. Nobody has to go through what he has had to go through. Nobody has been through the rehab and the injuries. ... I respect the hell out of it. I think it takes a whole lot to walk away from a ton of money like that.” Colts owner Jim Irsay estimates Luck could have made as much as $500 mil- lion if he lasted as long as Brett Favre, Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, Luck’s predecessor. But Luck was never in it for the money or the fame — like others who left the game on their terms and in their prime. Barry Sanders retired at age 31 after winning four NFL rushing titles and within reach of break- ing Walter Payton’s career rushing record. At age 30, Calvin Johnson called it quits after his sixth straight Pro Bowl appearance. Jim Brown walked away at age 30 for a budding movie career, less than a year after winning his third and final MVP award. They never came back, and Luck said he doesn’t anticipate a return, either, though he’s young enough to do it. Many others, such as Hall of Famers Gale Say- ers and Terrell Davis, were forced out by injuries or age. Luck seems to be a com- bination of the two, largely the result of a porous offen- sive line that allowed the top overall draft pick in 2012 to take more hits than any quarterback in the league during his first five seasons. He was good enough to lead the Colts to play- off appearances in each of his first three seasons, the 2014 AFC Championship game and orchestrate the second-largest comeback in playoff history. And when he returned healthy last sea- son, he took the Colts back to the playoffs and was a runaway winner in the league’s Comeback Player of the Year award balloting. It just wasn’t enough for Luck. “We all expect we’re going to play this game for- ever,” Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson said. “The reality is for most players, it’s not very long. No matter how good we are, or what- ever it may be, there’s life after this game, too. I think that’s a thing we always have to balance and always have to weigh.” Luck is the sixth quar- terback of the 11 selected in 2012 out of football. Wilson and Nick Foles, both third-round picks that year, own Super Bowl rings. Kirk Cousins, a fourth- rounder, is the starter in Minnesota. The other two still around — Robert Griffin III and Ryan Tannehill — had promising careers derailed by injuries, too. Griffin, the No. 2 pick who played high school football in Texas like Luck and beat Luck out for the 2011 Heisman Trophy award, is fighting for a ros- ter spot in Baltimore. Tan- nehill, the No. 8 pick, is the backup to Marcus Mariota in Tennessee. Basketball: U.S. rebounds from loss to Australia skill execution takes time.” Continued from Page B1 Kajami-Keane (ankle) both returned for Canada, while Brady Heslip, a late arrival for the Canadians, played his first game in Australia. The last time the Ameri- cans — counting major inter- national tournaments and exhibitions with NBA play- ers on the floor — lost a game was the semifinals of the 2006 world championships. The American program has won gold in every competition since, including three straight in the Olympics and two con- secutive World Cup titles. Still, Monday’s perfor- mance by the Americans was far from perfect. The U.S. made 19 turnovers — six more than Canada. It has now had double-digit numbers in turnovers in each of their exhibition games. TIP-INS AP Photo/ Rick Rycroft Canada’s Kevin Pangos, right, hooks his arm through Unit- ed States’ Jayson Tatum’s arm during their exhibition bas- ketball game Monday in Sydney, Australia. “’Tonight was another good lesson for them to real- ize what the mindset has to be going into these games,” U.S. coach Gregg Popo- vich said. “There’s a lot of improvement we can make I think. We’ve got good potential there if we con- tinue to execute better than we are now. We competed, that wasn’t a problem but Canada: It was the third head-to-head meeting between Canada coach Nick Nurse and Popovich. They went 1-1 against each other in NBA play last season, Nurse’s Toronto Raptors losing in San Antonio on Jan. 3 but beating Popovich’s Spurs in Canada on Feb. 22. Canada finished 4-3 in its pre-World Cup exhi- bitions, starting with a split of a two-game series with Nigeria before five games in Australia. USA: The Americans finished their four-game World Cup warm-up tour 3-1 after beating Spain and splitting two games with Australia. The U.S. is plan- ning to stay in Sydney until mid-week, then arrive in Shanghai early Thursday. SCOREBOARD FOOTBALL TENNIS NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE U.S. OPEN AMERICAN CONFERENCE East W L T Pct New England 3 0 0 1.000 Buffalo 3 0 0 1.000 Miami 2 1 0 .667 N.Y. Jets 1 2 0 .333 South W L T Pct Tennessee 1 2 0 .333 Houston 1 2 0 .333 Indianapolis 0 3 0 .000 Jacksonville 0 3 0 .000 North W L T Pct Pittsburgh 3 0 0 1.000 Baltimore 3 0 0 1.000 Cleveland 2 1 0 .667 Cincinnati 1 2 0 .333 West W L T Pct Oakland 3 0 0 1.000 Kansas City 1 2 0 .333 Denver 1 3 0 .250 L.A. Chargers 0 3 0 .000 Monday At USTA Billie Jean King National Ten- nis Center New York Purse: $57,238,700 Surface: Hardcourt outdoor NEW YORK (AP) — Results Monday from the U.S. Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (seedings in parentheses): Men’s Singles First Round Novak Djokovic (1), Serbia, def. Roberto Carballes Baena, Spain, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4. Juan Ignacio Londero, Argentina, def. Sam Querrey, United States, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3), 7-5. Denis Kudla, United States, def. Janko Tipsarevic, Serbia, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5), 6-1. Dusan Lajovic (27), Serbia, def. Steve Darcis, Belgium, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3. Stan Wawrinka (23), Switzerland, def. Jannik Sinner, Italy, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3. Jeremy Chardy, France, def. Hubert Hur- kacz, Poland, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4. Miomir Kecmanovic, Serbia, def. Laslo Djere, Serbia, 6-2, 6-1, 7-5. Paolo Lorenzi, Italy, def. Zachary Sva- jda, United States, 3-6, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-2. Reilly Opelka, United States, def. Fabio Fognini (11), Italy, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3. Dominik Koepfer, Germany, def. Jaume Antoni Munar Clar, Spain, 6-4, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 7-5. Jenson Brooksby, United States, def. Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. Nikoloz Basilashvili (17), Georgia, def. Marton Fucsovics, Hungary, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Feliciano Lopez Diaz-Guerra, Spain, def. Taylor Fritz (26), United States, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. Yoshihito Nishioka, Japan, def. Marcos Giron, United States, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Hugo Dellien, Bolivia, def. Soon Woo Kwon, Republic of Korea, 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 2-3, ret. Daniil Medvedev (5), Russia, def. Pra- jnesh Gunneswaran, India, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2. Damir Dzumhur, Bosnia-Herzegovina, def. Elliot Benchetrit, France, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-0. Daniel Evans, Britain, def. Adrian Manna- rino, France, 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. Lucas Pouille (25), France, def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, Germany, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Pablo Carreno-Busta, Spain, def. Guido Pella (19), Argentina, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3. Gregoire Barrere, France, def. Cameron Norrie, Britain, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 4-6, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (2). David Goffin (15), Belgium, def. Corentin Moutet, France, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0. Borna Coric (12), Croatia, def. Evgeny Donskoy, Russia, 7-6 (7), 6-3, 6-0. Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgaria, def. Andreas Seppi, Italy, 6-1, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-3. Pablo Cuevas, Uruguay, def. Jack Sock, United States, 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (5). Kamil Majchrzak, Poland, def. Nico- las Jarry, Chile, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6), PF 63 75 70 57 PA 23 50 50 69 PF PA 50 50 56 85 51 72 17 75 PF PA 65 41 81 28 63 41 63 76 PF 69 62 49 45 PA 50 61 66 59 NATIONAL CONFERENCE East W L T Pct PF PA N.Y. Giants 3 0 0 1.000 88 58 Dallas 2 1 0 .667 57 27 Washington 1 2 0 .333 42 60 Philadelphia 1 2 0 .333 49 63 South W L T Pct PF PA Tampa Bay 2 1 0 .667 57 56 New Orleans 2 1 0 .667 72 64 Carolina 1 2 0 .333 40 50 Atlanta 0 4 0 .000 54 89 North W L T Pct PF PA Minnesota 3 0 0 1.000 79 53 Green Bay 1 2 0 .333 62 74 Chicago 1 2 0 .333 53 72 Detroit 0 3 0 .000 46 85 West W L T Pct PF PA San Francisco 3 0 0 1.000 68 41 Seattle 2 1 0 .667 64 54 L.A. Rams 1 2 0 .333 23 34 Arizona 1 2 0 .333 52 66 ——— Thursday, Aug. 29 Indianapolis at Cincinnati, 4 p.m. Minnesota at Buffalo, 4 p.m. Atlanta at Jacksonville, 4 p.m. Philadelphia at N.Y. Jets, 4 p.m. Pittsburgh at Carolina, 4 p.m. Baltimore at Washington, 4:30 p.m. N.Y. Giants at New England, 4:30 p.m. Detroit at Cleveland, 4:30 p.m. Kansas City at Green Bay, 5 p.m. Miami at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Tampa Bay at Dallas, 5 p.m. Tennessee at Chicago, 5 p.m. L.A. Rams at Houston, 5 p.m. Arizona at Denver, 6 p.m. Oakland at Seattle, 7 p.m. L.A. Chargers at San Francisco, 7 p.m. 1-6, 6-4. Cristian Garin (31), Chile, def. Christopher Eubanks, United States, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-3. Alex de Minaur, Australia, def. Pierre-Hu- gues Herbert, France, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 7-5. Bradley Klahn, United States, def. Thiago Moura Monteiro, Brazil, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. Kei Nishikori (7), Japan, def. Marco Trun- gelliti, Argentina, 6-1, 4-1, ret. Women’s Singles First Round Elina Svitolina (5), Ukraine, def. Whitney Osuigwe, United States, 6-1, 7-5. Venus Williams, United States, def. Saisai Zheng, China, 6-1, 6-0. Rebecca Peterson, Sweden, def. Monica Puig, Puerto Rico, 6-3, 6-3. Dayana Yastremska (32), Ukraine, def. Monica Niculescu, Romania, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2. Sofia Kenin (20), United States, def. Coco Vandeweghe, United States, 7-6 (4), 6-3. Laura Siegemund, Germany, def. Magda- lena Frech, Poland, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. Lin Zhu, China, def. Xinyu Wang, China, 6-3, 6-4. Johanna Konta (16), Britain, def. Daria Kasatkina, Russia, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2. Margarita Gasparyan, Russia, def. Pris- cilla Hon, Australia, 7-6 (4), 6-4. Ekaterina Alexandrova, Russia, def. Samantha Stosur, Australia, 6-1, 6-3. Shuai Zhang (33), China, def. Viktorija Golubic, Switzerland, 6-2, 6-1. Ons Jabeur, Tunisia, def. Caroline Garcia (27), France, 7-6 (8), 6-2. Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Belarus, def. Jen- nifer Brady, United States, 6-1, 4-6, 6-0. Mariam Bolkvadze, Georgia, def. Ber- narda Pera, United States, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. Karolina Pliskova (3), Czech Republic, def. Tereza Martincova, Czech Republic, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (3). Serena Williams (8), United States, def. Maria Sharapova, Russia, 6-1, 6-1. Caty McNally, United States, def. Timea Bacsinszky, Switzerland, 6-4, 6-1. Karolina Muchova, Czech Republic, def. Elena Rybakina, Kazakhstan, 6-4, 6-4. Su-Wei Hsieh (29), Chinese Taipei, def. Jana Cepelova, Slovakia, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. Petra Martic (22), Croatia, def. Tamara Zidansek, Slovenia, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1. Ana Bogdan, Romania, def. Harriet Dart, Britain, 6-3, 6-1. Iga Swiatek, Poland, def. Ivana Jorovic, Serbia, 6-0, 6-1. Anastasija Sevastova (12), Latvia, def. Eugenie Bouchard, Canada, 6-3, 6-3. Kristina Mladenovic, France, def. Angeli- que Kerber (14), Germany, 7-5, 0-6, 6-4. Fiona Ferro, France, def. Daria Gavrilova, Australia, 6-3, 6-4. Alison van Uytvanck, Belgium, def. Vik- toria Kuzmova, Slovakia, 6-4, 6-4. Qiang Wang (18), China, def. Caroline Dolehide, United States, 6-4, 6-4. Maria Sakkari (30), Greece, def. Camila Giorgi, Italy, 6-1, 6-0. Shuai Peng, China, def. Varvara Lep- chenko, United States, 6-2, 7-6 (5). Lauren Davis, United States, def. Johanna Larsson, Sweden, 7-5, 6-2. Ashleigh Barty (2), Australia, def. Zarina Diyas, Kazakhstan, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2. 3234 S.W. Nye Pendleton, OR Join us at 5 August 29th for our Annual ROUND-UP BBQ! • Round-Up Queen & Court • Happy Canyon Princesses • Main Street Cowboys • Side Saddlers • Good Food • Great Entertainment With VENUES INSIDE AND OUT.