6A — BAKER CITY HERALD
THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2020
Lillard ties
career-high 61
Pac-12, Big 10: No fall football as Blazers nip
Mavericks
By Ralph D. Russo
AP College Football Writer
A crumbling college football
season took a massive hit
Tuesday when the Big Ten
and Pac-12, two historic and
powerful conferences, suc-
cumbed to the pandemic and
canceled their fall football
seasons.
Five months almost to
the day after the fi rst spikes
in coronavirus cases in the
U.S. led to the cancellation
of the NCAA basketball
tournaments, the still raging
pandemic is tearing down
another American sports in-
stitution: fall Saturdays fi lled
with college football.
“This was an extremely
diffi cult and painful deci-
sion that we know will have
important impacts on our
student-athletes, coaches,
administrators and our fans,”
Pac-12 Commissioner Larry
Scott said. “We know nothing
will ease that.”
Despite pleas from play-
ers, coaches and President
Donald Trump in recent
days to play on, 40% of major
college football teams have
now decided to punt on a fall
season, a decision that will
cost schools tens of millions of
dollars and upends traditions
dating back a century.
Both conferences cited the
risk of trying to keep play-
ers from contracting and
spreading the coronavirus
when the programs are not
operating in a bubble like
the NBA and NHL are doing.
They also cited the broader
state of the pandemic in the
United States, which has had
more than 5 million cases of
COVID-19.
“Every life is critical,” fi rst-
year Big Ten Commissioner
Kevin Warren told the AP.
“We wanted to make sure
we continually, not only in
our words but in our actions,
do put the health and safety
and wellness of our student-
athletes fi rst.”
Two smaller confer-
ences, the Mid-American and
Mountain West, had already
announced the uncertain
move to spring football. The
decisions by the deep-pock-
eted Big Ten and Pac-12, with
hundred million-dollar televi-
sion contracts and historic
programs, shook the founda-
tion of college sports.
■ Portland can clinch a berth in
play-in series by beating Brooklyn
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Damian Lillard
is simply willing the Portland Trail Blazers toward the
postseason.
The veteran guard tied a career high with 61
points, leading the Blazers to a 134-131 victory over
the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night that moved
his team into eighth place in the Western Confer-
ence.
“Ain’t nothing I want more,” Lillard said of the
playoffs. “When I came here (to Disney World) I told
them I’m not here to waste my time. Our work ain’t
done yet but we’re fi ghting for it.”
The Blazers will clinch a spot in the play-in series
with a win Thursday against Brooklyn.
“We have to come out with the same mentality,”
Lillard said. “We control our own destiny. That’s the
most important game of our lives.”
Lillard joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only play-
ers with three 60-point games in a season. Coach
Terry Stotts said his guard has been extra focused
since missing two late free throws in a loss to the
Clippers on Saturday.
“He’s showing a lot of resolve,” Stotts said. “No-
body wanted to come into this bubble and make the
playoffs more than Dame. We have one more game to
go, but his leadership and his game speaks for itself.
But he’s bringing the team along with him.”
Kristaps Porzingis scored 36 points before fouling
out late in the game and Luka Doncic had 25 points,
10 assists and eight rebounds for the Mavericks, who
will fi nish No. 7 in the West.
Lillard made nine 3-pointers in his sixth 50-point
game of the season. He’s the 12th player in NBA his-
tory to score 50 points in back-to-back games after
dropping 51 on the 76ers on Sunday.
He scored in every way imaginable, from well
beyond the 3-point line, on blow-by drives, short
jumpers and at the foul line. Lillard fi nished 17 of 32
from the fl oor and 9 of 17 from beyond the arc while
making all 18 free throw attempts.
“Damian played incredible,” Porzingis said. “Made
some unbelievable shots. Hats off to him.”
Sean Meagher / The Oregonian/OregonLive
The Oregon Ducks face the Oregon State Beavers in the 122nd Civil War at Reser Sta-
dium in Corvallis in November 2018. The schools won’t play their annual rivalry game
this fall, as the Pac-12 Conference announced Tuesday that fall sports were canceled.
“We feel good about our
decision.”
— Michael Schill, president,
University of Oregon
expressing cautious opti-
mism. The Big 12 was quiet,
but a person familiar with
the conference’s discussions
told The Associated Press
the league was continuing
to work toward playing in
the fall. The person spoke on
condition of anonymity be-
cause the conference was not
planning to make its internal
discussions public.
Outside the Power Five
conferences, the American
Athletic Conference, Confer-
ence USA and Sun Belt made
no immediate moves.
The Big Ten said it was
postponing all fall sports and
hoping to make them up in
the second semester. An hour
later, the Pac-12, the Big Ten’s
Rose Bowl partner, said all
sports would be paused until
Jan. 1, including basketball.
Players around the country
were stunned. Many had
recently taken to social media
with the hashtag #WeWantto-
Play. Ohio State star quar-
terback Justin Fields was
among those trying to present
a unifi ed front and save their
season.
After the announcement,
Fields simply posted to Twit-
ter: “smh,” short for shaking
my head.
What’s next?
“Our lives are changing
The Southeastern Con-
forever right before our eyes,”
ference and Atlantic Coast
Arizona offensive lineman
Conference released statements Donovan Laie tweeted.
Less than a week ago, the
Big Ten — which includes
perennial powers such
as Ohio State, Michigan,
Nebraska and Penn State
— had released a revised
conference-only football
schedule it hoped would help
it navigate a fall season fi lled
with potential COVID-19
disruptions.
Even after the Big Ten
made its call, there were di-
verging thoughts about how
it should have proceeded.
Ohio State athletic director
Gene Smith said he would
have liked to have pushed
back the season from Sept. 5
to maybe early October.
“Wish we could have had a
little bit more time to evalu-
ate, but we certainly under-
stand this was the time we
had to pull the plug,” Smith
told the Big Ten network.
A statement from Ne-
braska’s president, athletic
director and coach was more
stern: “We are very disap-
pointed in the decision by
the Big Ten Conference to
postpone the fall football
season, as we have been and
continue to be ready to play.”
In the Pac-12, where
Southern California, Oregon,
Washington and Stanford
have won championships in
recent years, there seemed to
more consensus.
“We feel good about our
decision,” Oregon President
Michael Schill said. “We
would have made this deci-
sion independent of the Big
Ten. We’re pleased they are
joining us.”
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Timbers win MLS crown
By Mark Long
AP Sports Writer
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Soaked
in sweat and doused in water, the Portland
Timbers hoisted the MLS is Back trophy at
midfi eld and then headed toward a giant TV
screen fi lled with fans cheering from afar.
It was a huge Zoom party. It might just be
the way to celebrate championships in 2020.
Dario Zuparic’s fi rst goal of the season
gave Portland a 2-1 victory against Orlando
in Major League Soccer’s return tournament
fi nale Tuesday night, capping a month-long
event that showed sports can be played safely
inside a bubble.
“I always think the more diffi cult the fi ght
is the more beautiful the victory is at the end,”
said Portland’s Larrys Mabiala, who scored
the game’s fi rst goal.
Orlando was slow to react to Diego Valeri’s
corner kick in the 66th minute, allowing Eryk
Williamson to collect the ball, change direc-
tion and take a shot that Jeremy Ebobisse
defl ected to Zuparic’s feet. Zuparic didn’t have
to do much to get it by Pedro “The Octopus”
Gallese, who had made two fantastic saves in
the lead-up to the corner kick.
The goal started the celebration on Port-
land’s sideline and sent Orlando into panic
mode. The Lions had a chance in the closing
minutes, but failed to get the equalizer.
“It’s a group of players in a lot of pain
right now,” Orlando coach Oscar Pareja said.
“Things didn’t bounce our way. We made a
couple of mistakes.”
The Timbers, who spent 39 days in the
MLS bubble and remained on West Coast
time, hugged and danced after the fi nal
whistle. They raised the silver trophy while
hooting and hollering. But the lasting image
will be players and coaches waving at a cam-
era and reaching hundreds back home.
It ended a wild month for the MLS, which
managed to play 51 matches in 45 days at
ESPN’s Wide World of Sports complex at
Disney World.
No family. No friends. No fans.
But it was by most accounts a rousing suc-
cess, especially considering how it started. FC
Dallas and Nashville were forced to withdraw
days before the start because of positive coro-
navirus tests.
Players, coaches and support personnel
were tested regularly inside the MLS bubble.
The league reported just two positives out of
nearly 35,000 tests following the initial set-
backs that threatened to derail a tournament
that came with a $1.1 million purse.
“We just told ourselves we need to make it
worth it,” Mabiala said, adding that his son
has been calling, crying and clamoring for him
to come home in recent days.
Portland will get $328,000 in prize money
to split. The Timbers also earned a berth in
the CONCACAF Champions League, their
fi rst since 2016.
The cost of losing football
will be devastating to athletic
departments. The Big Ten
distributed more than $50
million to most of its mem-
bers in 2018, but most of that
came from media rights deals
and a conference TV network
powered by football. Maybe
some can be recouped in the
spring, but there are bills to
pay now.
Wisconsin of the Big Ten
has estimated $100 million in
losses with no football at all.
Michigan said it could be in
the red more than that.
“We do have a reserve that
will take us so far, but we’re
going to have to have some
layoffs,” Wisconsin athletic
director Barry Alvarez said.
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