FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT
B3
S PORTS
THE BULLETIN • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2021
bendbulletin.com/sports
NBA
Lillard snubbed in
All-Star voting
Damian Lillard has
been snubbed yet again.
The Portland Trail Blaz-
ers point guard, despite
all the February MVP buzz
and his otherworldly ear-
ly-season play, has been
denied a starting spot
in the 2021 NBA All-Star
Game after a weighted
vote of fans, media and
NBA players left him off
the list of Western Confer-
ence starters.
Lillard was voted a
starter by media and
NBA players, receiving
the second-most votes
among Western Confer-
ence guards on both bal-
lots. But he finished third
in the fan vote behind
Dallas Mavericks’ Luka
Doncic. The result was a
tie between the two dy-
namic playmakers and, in
the end, Doncic won the
tiebreaker — and start-
ing nod — because he
received more fan votes.
Doncic will join Golden
State Warriors point
guard Stephen Curry, Los
Angeles Lakers forward
LeBron James, Los An-
geles Clippers forward
Kawhi Leonard and Den-
ver Nuggets center Nikola
Jokic as starters from the
Western Conference.
Starters from the East-
ern Conference include
the Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin
Durant and Kyrie Irving,
Milwaukee’s Giannis An-
tetokounmpo, Philadel-
phia 76ers center Joel
Embiid, and Washington
Wizards guard Bradley
Beal.
James and Durant, the
top vote-getters in each
conference, will serve as
team captains and will
draft their teams from
among the pool of start-
ers and reserves on March
4. The game will be held
March 7 in Atlanta.
— The Oregonian
NFL
Eagles trade QB
Wentz to Colts
PHILADELPHIA — Car-
son Wentz helped steer
the Philadelphia Eagles
to the franchise’s only Su-
per Bowl title and later
received the richest con-
tract in team history.
He’s already gone
before that deal even
kicked in.
The Eagles agreed to
trade Wentz to the Indi-
anapolis Colts, according
to a person familiar with
the deal. Philadelphia re-
ceives a third-round pick
in this year’s draft and a
conditional second-round
pick in 2022 that can turn
into a first-round pick if
Wentz plays 75% of the
snaps this year or 70%
and the Colts make the
playoffs.
Wentz is coming off
the worst season of his
five-year career and was
benched for rookie Jalen
Hurts after 12 games. He
finished third in NFL MVP
voting in 2017 when he
led the Eagles to an 11-2
record before a knee in-
jury ended his season and
Philadelphia went on to
win the Super Bowl.
The deal reunites
Wentz with Colts coach
Frank Reich, who served
as Philadelphia’s offensive
coordinator in Wentz’s
first two seasons in the
league. Press Taylor, an
offensive assistant coach
with the Eagles during
Wentz’s tenure, also has
joined Reich’s staff.
Wentz is entering the
first season of a four-year,
$128 million contract ex-
tension he signed in June
2019. The Eagles will ab-
sorb a significant salary
cap hit of $33.8 million
in dead money on their
2021 cap.
— Associated Press
PREP SPORTS
Bend-La Pine AD weighs in on what’s ahead
BY BRIAN RATHBONE
The Bulletin
Patience and flexibility were
musts for nearly an entire year
for those involved in Oregon
high school sports.
Now, with a green light to
start competitions for “fall
seasons,” Dave Williams, the
athletic director of Bend-La
Pine Schools, joined Bulletin
Sports Talk to discuss the cur-
rent landscape of prep sports
in Central Oregon and what
lies ahead the next couple of
months as athletics return.
“There was a lot of anxiety
about getting contact sports
back going, a lot of people were
itching, and frustrated and
excited all at the same time,
which is understandable,” Wil-
liams said. “They opened up a
pathway for the contact sports
with a lot of things in place
on top of the protocols that
we have been adhering to for
seven, eight, nine months.”
Ryan Brennecke/Bulletin file
Dave Williams is the athletic director for Bend-La Pine Schools who will
serve as the AD for Caldera High, a new high school set to open in Bend
in the fall.
One of the protocols in place
by the Governor’s office, the
Oregon Health Authority and
the Oregon School Activities
Association for outdoor con-
tact sports to resume in high-
and extreme-risk counties is
for each school to “opt-in” to
playing by submitting a series
of paperwork and waivers.
Every high school football
team in Central Oregon opted
in, but pushing the paperwork
through caused some delays
in getting to full-contact prac-
tices with gear. Mountain View,
Summit and Bend High are
now cleared for full-contact
practice and have enough time
to meet the minimum number
of padded practices required
to kick off the season on Fri-
day, March 5, the date most
area teams have as their season
opener.
“All four of our high schools
completed all requirements
and responsibilities for the
opt-in and they started with
their helmets (on Tuesday),”
Williams said. “I know there
were some people frustrated
that it wasn’t happening right
away. But just like everything
that we have been doing, things
have to be vetted through …
we had to accomplish it the
right way. When those things
came out our schools got or-
ganized and put everything
in line and got football teams
out there with their protective
equipment.”
Because school athletics
must follow the county’s guide-
lines on indoor and outdoor
crowd sizes, there will be no
spectators initially at the con-
tests. Instead, those who want
to watch will have to subscribe
to the National Federation of
State High School Associations
Network to watch games. The
gyms and football fields in the
district are equipped with cam-
eras to capture the action.
But the rule on spectators
could change if Deschutes
County drops down another
risk level during the season.
“You put two volleyball
teams in there and officials and
all the personnel to run the
events and all the entourage of
what is going on, and we are
right up to our max,” Williams
said.
See Prep sports / B5
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Beavers
are back
Pitching rotation, coronavirus travel,
Kevin Abel on Golden Spikes watch list
BY JOE FREEMAN
The Oregonian
A
fter 11 months of coronavirus
delays and uncertainty, the
Oregon State baseball team will
make its eagerly anticipated return on Friday,
when it plays Kansas State in the opener of
the Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic.
It will be the Beavers’ first game since March 8,
a few days before the college baseball season was
canceled as the first wave of the pandemic swept
through the United States. All but two players are
back from last year’s team, and the Beavers, who
were picked to finish fourth in the Pac-12 in a pre-
season poll of conference coaches, say they are as
deep and talented as ever.
The biggest headline ahead of Friday’s opener,
which is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. in Surprise,
Arizona, is the anticipated return of ace Kevin Abel.
The 6-foot-1 righthander will start for the first time
since undergoing Tommy John surgery 22 months
ago, and he says his stuff is “better” than it was be-
fore his injury. The Beavers’ lineup, which returns
all but one player from last season, also figures to be
improved.
Here are a few things to keep an eye on as the
Beavers open the season in Arizona:
How to watch
The Beavers will play four games in as many days
at the Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic, fac-
Chase Allgood/For The Oregonian
It’s been roughly 22 months since Oregon State right-hander Kevin Abel underwent Tommy John surgery on his mil-
lion-dollar right arm. But time and rehab have only managed to reinforce his resolve and repertoire.
ing New Mexico (twice) and Gonzaga in addition to
Kansas State. The games will not be televised, but all
four will be streamed live on FloSports, an internet
event streaming service. For more information and
to signup, visit flosports.tv.
Next up
Weekend rotation set, 4th starter undecided
The Beavers’ first crack at a weekend rotation has
been settled, as hard-throwing lefthander Cooper
Hjerpe and sophomore righthander Jake Pfennigs
will follow Abe in the first three games, coach Mitch
Canham said.
Hjerpe, a 6-2 freshman, made six relief appear-
ances for the Beavers in 2020, striking out 16 in 12.0
innings. His best outing came at Mississippi State,
where Hjerpe recorded four strikeouts in 3⅓ score-
less innings to earn his only win. He’ll start against
New Mexico on Saturday. Pfennigs, a 6-6 sophomore
who started four games last season and finished 2-3
with a 3.57 ERA, will start Sunday against Gonzaga.
The Beavers’ fourth starter, which remained
undecided two days before they departed for Ari-
zona, is still a mystery, although Nathan Burns and
Will Frisch are likely in the mix.
“We’re going to work through that fourth spot,”
Canham said. “Got an idea, but we’re not there yet.”
What is clear, Canham said, is that pitching coach
Rich Dorman is prepared to go deep into his bull-
pen and won’t shy away from experimentation
during the Beavers’ two-week trip to Arizona. They
will play eight games in 10 days, and 16 pitchers are
on the 35-player travel roster. It’s not out of the ques-
tion that all 16 will toe the rubber at some point.
Canham said he’ll err on the side of caution early
in the season and refrain from extending his start-
ers deep into games, which, as a result, should led to
more work for the bullpen. Ideally, Canham said, his
key relievers will see at least two appearances in each
four-game set.
Oregon State vs. Kansas State
When: 11 a.m. Friday
TV: FLOSPORTS
See Beavers / B4
TENNIS | AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Osaka eyes 4th Slam title against Brady
BY HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Tennis Writer
Whether or not Naomi
Osaka claims the Australian
Open championship — and
make no mistake, she will be
expected to win — this much
seems certain: Tennis has a
new dominant force.
Sure, it’s clearly possible that
Osaka could be beaten by the
22nd-seeded American Jenni-
fer Brady in the title match at
Melbourne Park on Saturday.
Brady is, after all, emerging
as a force on hard courts, too,
thanks to a big serve and big
forehand.
She pushed Osaka to three
sets before losing to her in
the U.S. Open semifinals last
September, then shrugged off
a two-week hard quarantine
in Australia to reach her first
Grand Slam final.
It is the No. 3-seeded Osaka,
though, who overpowered and
overwhelmed Serena Williams
in the semifinals Thursday.
Who is riding a 20-match
winning streak dating to last
season.
Who already has spent time
at No. 1 in the rankings.
Who is seeking her sec-
ond Australian Open title and
fourth Slam trophy — and she
is still only 23.
Like 23-time major cham-
pion Williams, there is a deter-
mination that Osaka manages
to display when the finish line
is near on their sport’s most
important stages: She has run
her record to a combined 11-0
in Grand Slam quarterfinals,
semifinals and finals.
See Tennis / B5
Andy Brownbill/AP
Naomi Osaka celebrates after defeating Serena Williams in their semifi-
nal match at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, on Thursday.