THE BULLETIN • SUNDAY, JANUARY 24, 2021 B3
NFL PLAYOFFS | AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
College hoops
Chiefs’ Reid, Bills’ McDermott match wits
Continued from B1
AFC championship game
BY DAVE SKRETTA
Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Ten
years after firing Sean McDer-
mott as his defensive coordina-
tor, Kansas City Chiefs coach
Andy Reid will stare across
the field inside Arrowhead
Stadium on Sunday and see
his protégé trying to spoil his
hopes of a Super Bowl repeat.
Funny thing: Even after fir-
ing him, Reid suspected deep
down that McDermott was
destined for big things.
“Very organized, very smart
and very tough,” he explained
this week. “He came from a
coaching family — his dad was
a heck of a coach. Sean just
kind of picked up right from
there. Very solid, very good.”
In fact, downright excep-
tional.
McDermott has the
long-suffering Buffalo Bills
playing in their first AFC
championship game since
beating Kansas City on Jan.
23, 1994, when they advanced
to their fourth straight Super
Bowl.
They have won 11 of their
past 12 games since losing to
the Chiefs in Week 6, beat-
ing the Colts in the wild-card
round and the Ravens in last
week’s divisional round.
“He deserves coach of the
year, man. He’s taken a fran-
chise there, both he and his
general manager, have put this
thing together with some bold
moves and production now,”
Reid said.
“I think he’s done a tremen-
dous job. What a great thing
for the NFL and for Buffalo.
They love football in Buffalo
and he’s really done a nice job
with that whole program.”
Not surprisingly, the job
McDermott has done with the
Bills neatly parallels the job
Reid has done in Kansas City.
Both took over downtrod-
den organizations and quickly
built them into juggernauts.
Both have bright young quar-
terbacks in the Bills’ Josh Allen
and the Chiefs’ Patrick Ma-
homes. Both have surrounded
them with playmakers, such as
the Bills’ Stefon Diggs and the
Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill and Travis
Kelce. And both have built de-
fenses to not only complement
two of the best offenses in the
NFL, but capable of clinching
NFL
Buffalo at Kansas City
When: 3:40 p.m. Sunday
TV: CBS
Reed Hoffmann/AP
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes walks on the side-
line during the divisional round game against the Cleveland Browns
on Jan. 17 in Kansas City. Mahomes, who was ruled out for most of
the second half with concussion symptoms, cleared protocol and is
set to play Sunday against the Buffalo Bills .
wins under pressure, as each
did last weekend.
Mahomes, who sustained a
concussion last week against
Cleveland, is poised to play af-
ter practicing all week.
McDermott never harbored
any animosity toward Reid
when he was fired from the
Eagles on Jan. 15, 2011. In-
stead, he went to Carolina and
over the next five years honed
his craft and built his reputa-
tion to the point the Bills —
who at the time had not made
the postseason since 1999 —
were willing to give him a shot
in charge.
Buffalo reached the wild-
card round in 2017 and again
last year before reaching the
brink of a Super Bowl this sea-
son.
“It’s always an honor to go
up against great coaches, and
Andy will be a Hall of Fame
coach here in the future some-
time down the road,” McDer-
mott said. “I’ve learned a lot
from Andy in my time with
him in Philadelphia, so I have
a tremendous amount of re-
spect for him and his family,
the way they helped guide me
then and still do today.”
Moment on Mahomes
The Chiefs’ quarterback,
who was knocked out of last
week’s game against Cleveland
with a concussion, was cleared
to practice on Wednesday
and took the majority of first-
team reps Thursday. Mahomes
still needed clearance from
team doctors and an indepen-
dent neurologist, but all signs
pointed to him being under
center on Sunday.
“The goal is to have Patrick,”
Hill said, “but I really don’t
know. I feel like it doesn’t mat-
ter who is out there. Whoever
steps in at quarterback, we’re
going to put our confidence
behind them in the same way.”
Other Chief concerns
Chiefs cornerback Bashaud
Breeland, who also sustained a
concussion last Sunday, prac-
ticed this week while awaiting
clearance from doctors and
neurologists. Running back
Le’Veon Bell was held out
Thursday because of a swollen
knee.
On the flip side, Clyde
Edwards-Helaire could re-
turn for the first time since a
high-ankle sprain in Week 15
and Sammy Watkins could be
back from a calf injury that he
sustained the following week.
The rookie running back and
the veteran wide receiver both
practiced this week and moved
around well in the portion of
practice open to reporters.
Grounded game
The Bills don’t run often
— in fact, they called just one
running play in the first half
against the Ravens last week.
They finished with 16 carries,
including four kneel-downs
by Allen, for 32 yards in their
lowest rushing output since a
game in Minnesota in 2002.
The Bills’ total of 1,482 yards
this season was their fewest
NFC championship game
Turnover watch
Green Bay has committed
a league-low 11 turnovers this
season, including only two
during its current seven-game
winning streak. The Bucs have
scored 27 points off five take-
aways during their two playoff
victories.
Long time coming
Tampa Bay ended a 12-
year playoff drought this sea-
son. The journey to the NFC
championship game has been
especially gratifying for ninth-
year linebacker Lavonte Da-
vid, eighth-year defensive line-
men William Gholston and
seventh-year receiver Mike
Tampa Bay at Green Bay
When: 12:05 p.m. Sunday
TV: FOX
Evans. They’ve spent their en-
tire careers with the Bucs.
“It just goes to show
throughout the hard times,
the people upstairs and
around the building believed
in me,” David said. “Obvi-
ously, I believed in them, as
well. It’s just an honor to still
be here, to still be able to live
out my dream as a Tampa Bay
Buccaneer.”
Protecting Rodgers
The Packers have allowed
just 21 sacks all season and
didn’t give up any sacks last
week against the Los Angeles
Rams, who had 53 sacks during
Meet
Continued from B1
Doyle has assembled a star-packed
field of mostly North Americans.
There’s Cunningham, the bronze med-
alist at the 2019 world championships,
along with De Grasse, a three-time
Olympic medalist for Canada. There’s
also 2016 Olympic shot put champion
Ryan Crouser, who trains at Arkan-
sas, and Omar McLeod, the Olympic
110-meter hurdles champion repre-
senting Jamaica who once starred at
Arkansas.
There will be plenty of exposure,
with all four competitions — held on
consecutive Sundays — televised on
ESPN networks. The lineup of events
changes, too, with a few — men’s and
women’s 60 meters — contested all
four weeks.
The amount of support for the meet
has astonished Doyle. From fellow
agents to athletes to coaches, everyone’s
Star struck
Though the Bills would
love to have Star Lotulelei
enjoy this playoff run with
them, cornerback Tre’Davious
White and several teammates
continued backing the starting
defensive tackle’s decision to
opt out because of COVID-19
concerns.
“You can’t make a wrong
decision in this thing,” said
White, who contemplated
opting out before signing a
$70 million, four-year exten-
sion in September and earn-
ing second-team All-Pro hon-
ors. “Obviously he chose his
family over a game and the
things that he had going on. I
don’t think that he’s necessar-
ily missing out on anything.”
Sleeping on Bieniemy
One of the hottest names
on the coaching carousel was
Chiefs offensive coordinator
Eric Bieniemy, who inter-
viewed with just about every
team with an opening. But the
only job left after the Eagles
hired Nick Sirianni on Thurs-
day was with the Houston
Texans, where the Bills’ Les-
lie Frazier is also among the
front-runners for the job.
“It’s always good to be men-
tioned and have an opportu-
nity to pursue your dreams,”
Bieniemy said. “I want to be a
head coach, but when it’s said
and done, I have to make sure
I’m not taking away from the
goals were trying to accom-
plish.”
regular season and ran for 99
more against the Rams, but
he was held to 15 yards on 10
carries when the Packers lost
to Tampa Bay in mid-Octo-
ber.
Tampa Bay’s Ronald Jones
rushed for 113 yards and two
touchdowns in that Oct. 18
victory over Green Bay. He
split carries with Leonard
Fournette in Tampa Bay’s tri-
umph at New Orleans last
week.
Continued from B1
“I think that would cer-
tainly cement his legacy as one
of the greatest to ever play the
game in my opinion. Not that
he needs it, but I’m just telling
you that’s probably how he’s
wired.”
since 2014, which they bal-
anced out by setting a fran-
chise record with 4,786 yards
through the air.
“We’re not going to change
who we are,” Allen said. “It’s
the biggest game because it’s
the next one, but we under-
stand that we don’t have to
be anyone different that who
we are.”
Brynn Anderson/AP
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quar-
terback Tom Brady (12) warms
up before the divisional round
playoff game against the New
Orleans Saints on Jan. 17 in New
Orleans.
the regular season. But they al-
lowed five sacks in their regu-
lar-season loss to Tampa Bay.
Jones vs. Jones
Green Bay’s Aaron Jones
rushed for 1,104 yards in the
on board.
“Athletes that would typically be get-
ting $20,000 to $30,000 to show up and
race are coming just because they want
to race,” Doyle said. “They’re actually
thankful for the opportunity, which
blows my mind and makes me really
humbled.”
Doyle hoped to line up enough
sponsors to reward the winners be-
cause it’s “never the intention to have
athletes run for free.” But in this econ-
omy, it didn’t pan out.
To save on expenses, he’s actually
hauling track and field equipment
from Atlanta to Fayetteville, Arkansas,
in his camper.
Anything to stage a meet.
Usually around this time, athletes
are starting to prepare their calendars
for European meets and the Diamond
League series. Given the travel restric-
tions, lining anything up has been in-
creasingly difficult.
This meet also provides good expo-
Road back home
Tampa Bay is seeking to be-
come the first team in league
history to advance to a Super
Bowl that will be played in its
home stadium.
“We don’t play that game
this week. That’s the message
to everybody,” coach Bruce
Arians said. “We play the
Packers in the NFC cham-
pionship game. If you start
thinking about the Super
Bowl, you get beat and (will)
be packing your bags on Mon-
day.”
sure for the athletes’ sponsors — and
potential sponsors.
“A lot of athletes are in limbo, with
contracts that ended,” explained
Crouser, who renewed a deal with
Nike. “They’re wanting to compete
and show sponsors, ‘Hey, I haven’t just
been sitting on the couch for the last 10
months. I’ve been working hard.’”
It’s also a chance to “dust these cob-
webs off,” said American sprinter/hur-
dler Keni Harrison, especially with the
Olympic Trials just five months away.
This will be Harrison’s first competi-
tion since July.
She’s looking forward to racing in
the 60- and 300-meter events Sunday
to test her new sprint technique, the
one she’s been honing during the pan-
demic.
“I’ve been putting in some great
work and it will be nice to finally see
where we’re at and then get ready for
the outdoor season,” said Harrison, the
world record holder in the 100 hur-
While Gov. Kate Brown has
granted exceptions for Oregon’s
four Division I basketball pro-
grams to compete during the
pandemic, the rest of the state’s
programs remain grounded,
their sport deemed a “high-risk
activity” and unsafe to play .
The measure is designed to
keep college students and Ore-
gon residents safe and curb the
spread of the virus. But for the
student-athletes and coaches
at Bushnell and the rest of the
state’s small schools, they can’t
help but wonder why it’s safe for
Division I programs to play but
unsafe for them.
“It’s been so frustrating,”
Bushnell sophomore Aspen
Slifka said. “We’re right across
the street from UO, literally less
than a mile away, and it’s been
hard to watch them practice
and play. It feels like we are be-
ing discriminated against be-
cause we’re a small school. And
that’s really tough. It’s like our
coach says: ‘If it’s safe for some,
it’s safe for all.’”
For months, Bushnell admin-
istrators and players have been
pushing Brown and the Oregon
Health Authority for the same
rights as their peers at Oregon,
Oregon State, Portland State
and the University of Portland.
“Oregon’s exception for col-
legiate sports currently ap-
plies only to NCAA Division I
schools,” Charles Boyle, Brown’s
deputy communications di-
rector, told The Oregonian in a
statement. “No other collegiate
institutions are eligible to sub-
mit protocols to OHA for re-
view at this time.”
So while the state’s largest
programs play on, emboldened
by influential regional confer-
ences and buoyed by the power
of lucrative television contracts,
Bushnell and its peers have
been relegated to bystanders,
forced to watch with envy from
the sidelines. But they refuse to
watch quietly.
‘This has been our lives for over
10 years’
It takes only a few moments
of a chat with Slifka to grasp
how passionate she is about
fighting for the season. For the
Beacons’ seniors. For the sanity
of her and her teammates. For
the basic tenet of fairness.
“We understand there are a
lot more important things than
sports right now,” said Slifka,
who is from Banks. “But this
has been our lives for over 10
years. It’s part of who we are .”
The Beacons and the Cas-
cade Collegiate Conference
submitted a return-to-play pro-
posal to the OHA on Oct. 8,
including enhanced safety mea-
sures, regular COVID-19 test-
ing and other protocols similar
to those submitted by Oregon’s
four Division I schools. The
OHA, according to school and
conference officials, reviewed
the proposal and passed it along
to Brown’s office. Weeks passed
with no movement and little in-
put. Around this time, UP and
PSU ran into similar hurdles
with Brown’s office.
On Nov. 13, Brown ordered
a statewide holiday “freeze” in
hopes of stemming the spread
of COVID-19. Nine days later,
near the end of the two-week
restrictions, Brown granted UP
and PSU exceptions to resume
all basketball activities and,
within days, the schools played
their first games. Shortly there-
after, Brown’s office told Cas-
cade officials the state would
not be accepting any more re-
turn-to-play proposals.
“The severity of this virus
and the challenges of life right
“It feels like we are being
discriminated against
because we’re a small school.
And that’s really tough. It’s
like our coach says: ‘If it’s
safe for some, it’s safe for all.’”
— Bushnell sophomore Aspen
Slifka
now are not lost on us, and
we’ve said this from the very be-
ginning,” said Robert Cashell,
the conference commissioner.
“We recognize there’s a lot go-
ing on. But the frustrating thing
has really been the lack of over-
all communication and just
the understanding of the basic
guidelines. We all would have
been better served had we been
told, ‘Look, here are the thresh-
olds you need to meet to par-
ticipate. If you can meet these,
go forth. If you can’t, you can’t.’
We’ve been offering up solu-
tions, but not really knowing if
it’s what they’re looking for.”
The loudest voices in the
push to play have come from
Slifka and other Bushnell play-
ers. They’ve touched base with
news organizations and writ-
ten op-eds pleading their case.
They’ve sent letters — and a
signed basketball — to Brown
asking for clarification. They’ve
emailed government officials for
information. Slifka even reached
out to 12 members of the Ore-
gon House who hail from dis-
tricts that include small colleges
to lobby for help. She’s heard
back from only two: Raquel
Moore-Green and Paul Holvey.
Brown, who did not respond
to Bushnell’s signed basketball,
has remained unmoved.
Boyle told The Oregonian in
that statement:
“Governor Brown under-
stands that this is a difficult
time for all of Oregon’s athletes,
from the youth level to college
sports. But to expand Oregon’s
sports exception would put
more communities at risk. In
the meantime, the best way we
can all work together to bring
back youth and more college
sports in Oregon is to drive
down the spread of COVID-19
by continuing to wear masks,
maintain physical distance,
avoid indoor social gatherings,
stay home when sick, and get
vaccinated when it is our turn.”
Athletes and activists
Meadors has watched with
amazement as his players have
turned into activists to fight for
their cause, and he applauds
that they’ve done so in a “real
positive … and civil way at a
time when many people aren’t
really civil.”
But while students at Bush-
nell continue to fight and hope,
the conference has effectively
accepted defeat. At this point
in the season, Cashell said, it
would be difficult for Oregon
teams to squeeze in the min-
imum number of conference
games required to qualify for
the national tournament. So
conference officials are instead
focusing on non-contact sports
like baseball and softball, which
are preparing for seasons, and
keeping their fingers crossed
that the virus will wane enough
to allow for some kind of trun-
cated exhibition basketball sea-
son in March or April. But that’s
little consolation for Slifka and
the women at Bushnell .
“Aside from the mental
health aspect — and that’s
big — this is their identity,”
Meadors said. … If it’s safe for
some, it should be safe for us. If
it’s not safe for some, it’s not safe
for anybody, and they shouldn’t
be playing.”
Vashti Cun-
ningham
won the
women’s
high jump
at the
2016 in-
door world
champi-
onships in
Portland.
Elaine
Thompson/
AP file
dles who trains in Texas. “It’s really im-
portant to get back to the competition
again.”
Her goal: To win, of course.
Crouser’s staring at a number: 22.66
meters , which happens to be the long-
standing world indoor shot put record.
The 28-year-old threw 22.58 meters
at a meet in Manhattan, Kansas, on
Dec. 5.
“I’m in good shape to throw far,”
Crouser said. “For me and the other
athletes, we’re all just happy to compete
and showcase the diligence and ded-
ication we have through this difficult
time.”