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THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 2021
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A10
EOU SOCCER
2 Mac-Hi
soccer
players
headed to
EOU
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian, File
Calf roper Trevor Brazile, of Decatur, Texas, competes Sept. 11, 2019, at the Pendleton Round-Up. The seven-time winner of the Round-Up’s all-
around crown plans to remain retired and not defend the title.
End of an era
Brazile will
not defend
Pendleton
all-round title
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
P
ENDLETON — Trevor
Brazile likes to go
to rodeos that get his
blood pumping. Put the
Pendleton Round-Up
on that list.
The Texas cowboy has been a
regular at Pendleton since 1997,
and his last trip to Pendleton
in 2019 resulted in his seventh
all-around title.
Fans better have enjoyed the
show, because Brazile will not be
making a run for an eighth title this
fall.
Brazile, who has 26 world titles
to his credit, said July 30, 2021, that
he would not be competing for an
eighth all-around title, leaving the
door open for the likes of Stetson
Wright, Tuf Cooper and others.
“It will be the hardest one not
to go to,” Brazile said of the Pend-
leton Round-Up. “Since I’ve not
gone to any others, it doesn’t make
sense to go now.”
Brazile, who announced his
semi-retirement in December
2018, has not competed at all this
year. He limited his rodeos to a
few favorites in 2019, and only
decided to compete at the Pend-
leton Round-Up in 2019 after he
found out he was being inducted
into the Pendleton Round-Up and
Happy Canyon Hall of Fame.
The King of Cowboys is at
peace with his decision to retire.
“There are times I miss it, but I
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian, File
Trevor Brazile takes a victory lap Sept. 14, 2019, after winning All-Around
Champion Cowboy at the Pendleton Round-Up for the seventh time.
think I got my fi ll,” Brazile said. “I
don’t have any withdrawals.”
Retirement from competing
does not mean Brazile, 44, gets
to kick back every day and binge
watch television.
“I ride 10 to 12 horses a day,”
he said. “I have been training a lot
of young horses. I rope every day.
Not much has changed. I just don’t
compete.”
Brazile tended to borrow
horses from other cowboys on the
road, but he did have a few qual-
ity horses of his own. He has sold
some of his stock.
“It wasn’t terrible liquidating,”
he said. “It would be worse for me
to go to the barn and see them not
doing what they were trained to
do.”
Brazile has been a member of
the Professional Rodeo Cowboys
Association since 1995, and the
long rodeo season can take its toll
on the best of cowboys. Brazile
said it has been nice to take the
long drives out of his schedule.
“My body feels better,” he
said. “I’m not sitting in a truck for
12-hour drives. It has been a lot of
fun to be home.”
Brazile and his wife Shada
have three children — Treston,
13, Style, 11, and Swayzi who is 5.
Treston and Style both play
basketball, and Treston also plays
football and baseball.
Brazile said his son is starting to
take an interest in roping, but it is
not something he pushes.
“He didn’t have anything to do
with it for a while,” Brazile said.
“I’m leaving it to him.”
Over his lengthy career, Brazile
qualifi ed for the National Finals
Rodeo 31 times between tie-down
roping and team roping, and the
National Finals Steer Roping 23
times.
He won 26 world titles between
all-round, tie-down, team roping
and steer roping (AA 2002-04,
2006-15, 2018; TD 2007, 2009-10;
TR 2010; SR 2006-07, 2011, 2013-
15, 2019-20).
He’s won more titles and earned
more money in his career than any
other cowboy, with more than $7
million.
Most of his accomplishments
are lost on his kids except one —
being a dad.
“The kids were all pretty
young,” he said of his career.
“They just like going to see
friends and going to the water
parks and rodeos.”
MILTON-FREEWATER
— Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity men’s soccer coach
Jessy Watson pulled in quite
a haul this summer, signing
16 players to his team.
Of the group, five are
transfer students and 11 are
true freshmen, including
Hector Castillo and Rolando
Castillo of McLoughlin
High School.
Hector Castillo, a 6-foot,
155-pound defender, was
a first-team all-Greater
Oregon League pick in 2020,
and a second-team pick
in 2019. He also competed
and lettered in basketball,
football and track for the
Pioneers.
In the classroom, he was
named a scholar-athlete
twice in soccer and basket-
ball, and once in football. He
plans to major in business at
Eastern.
“We are going to be in
a lot of trouble with him
gone,” Mac-Hi coach Jose
Garcia said. “He did a lot
of work for us in the back.
He led our defenders, and
when we needed to attack,
he made that happen. I’m
hoping he does well there.
It’s totally diff erent, but once
he adapts, he can be an asset
to that team.”
The 5-10, 160-pound
Rolando Castillo (Hector’s
cousin) was an all-GOL
midfi elder for the Pioneers,
but he can also play defense.
He was a multiple letter
winner in soccer and plans
to major in physical activity
and health.
“When we would have
good st r i kers playi ng
against us, we would move
him back to defense,” Garcia
said. “He was one of our
leading scorers last year.
He’s a hard worker and he
has gotten a lot better than
when I got him as a sopho-
more.”
Garcia said both play-
ers received scholarships at
EOU.
“They are getting a big
chunk of money, which is a
plus,” Garcia said. “Get an
education and play the game
you love.”
G a r cia h a s k now n
Watson for years, and said
the former Pioneers will be
put to work.
“Jessy is a very tough and
demanding coach,” Garcia
said. “He demands more than
you can give. He pushes his
players to be successful, and
he cares about his players.”
SPORTS SHORT
Carmelo joins LeBron’s Lakers to seek ring
LOS ANGELES — Carmelo
Anthony and LeBron James have
dreamed about teaming up in
the NBA since they entered the
league together 18 years ago.
They’re finally getting the
chance on the remarkably mature
new roster of the Los Angeles
Lakers.
The 37-year-old Anthony
agreed to a one-year deal with
the Lakers on Tuesday, Aug. 3,
agent Aaron Mintz confi rmed to
The Associated Press.
The 10th-leading scorer in
NBA history will join James,
the third-leading scorer, along-
side eight-time All-Star Anthony
Davis and former MVP Russell
Westbrook for what should be a
fascinating season in Los Ange-
les.
If the Lakers don’t win
another NBA title, they’ll at
least be strong candidates for
gold medals in London: They’ll
have one-third of the 2012 U.S.
Olympic team’s roster in purple
and gold, with fellow Olympian
Kobe Bryant’s retired numbers
watching from above the Staples
Center fl oor.
Anthony, a 10-time All-Star,
essentially told the world about
the deal earlier on social media
by posting a video with his nick-
name, “Melo,” and the Lakers
logo. Free agent deals can’t
become offi cial until Friday, but
Anthony can’t wait to get started
on what might be his last, best
chance to win an NBA title.
Anthony and James have been
friends since high school, and
they were part of the star-studded
2003 draft class. James went fi rst
overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers
out of high school, while Anthony
was the third pick by the Denver
Nuggets after leading Syracuse
to its fi rst NCAA title.
Jack Dempsey/The Associated Press, File
Portland forward Carmelo Anthony points to a teammate during a
game against the Denver Nuggets on May 22, 2021.