INSIDE: COMICS, OPINIONS & CLASSIFIEDS
B
S PORTS
THE BULLETIN • SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2021
WOMEN’S
COLLEGE HOOPS
Beavers thump
the Trojans 77-52
Oregon State domi-
nated USC in nearly ev-
ery statistical category,
thumping the Trojans 77-
52 Friday afternoon in Los
Angeles.
The Beavers outscored
USC in every quarter on
the way to an unexpected
rout. Oregon State (7-6,
5-6 Pac-12) won for the
fourth time in five games.
Freshman Talia von
Oelhoffen hit three
3-pointers and scored 19
points off the bench to
lead the Beavers. Aleah
Goodman scored 17
points and Ellie Mack 13
for OSU.
OSU shot 54.2% (26 of
48) from the floor, and 9
of 14 from 3-point range.
Conversely, the Beavers
held USC to 31.7% (20 of
63) shooting. The Bea-
vers limited USC’s leading
scorer, Endyia Rogers, to
eight points.
Oregon State pounded
USC (10-9, 8-8) on the
glass, out-rebounding
the Trojans 44-25. Taylor
Jones led the way with 13
rebounds for the Beavers.
Friday’s win sets up
a Sunday showdown
against No. 8 UCLA. A
high-profile win over the
Bruins would enhance the
Beavers’ bid for a spot in
the NCAA tournament.
The Bruins routed No.
13 Oregon 83-56 Friday
night.
Oregon State led 37-
23 at halftime after hold-
ing USC to 29% (9 of 31)
shooting. The Beavers
never trailed during the
opening half, jumping to
an 18-9 lead. OSU led 21-
16 after the first quarter
after Goodman hit a buzz-
er-beating 3-pointer from
10 feet behind half court.
The Beavers’ defense
smothered USC during
the second quarter, lim-
iting the Trojans to only
seven points on 2 of 17
shooting.
Alissa Pili hit back-to-
back 3-pointers early in
the third quarter as USC
eventually cut the deficit
to nine points. The Trojans
never got any closer.
— The Oregonian
MLB
Mariners ink
reliever Ken Giles
The Seattle Mariners fi-
nalized a $7 million, two-
year contract with reliever
Ken Giles on Friday that
includes a club option for
the 2023 season.
Seattle signed Giles
knowing he won’t pitch
for the Mariners this sea-
son while recovering
from Tommy John sur-
gery. Manager Scott Ser-
vais stressed that no mat-
ter how far along Giles
gets in his recovery, he
won’t pitch in the majors
in 2021.
“There is no chance
of that happening,” Ser-
vais said. “We will not let
that happen. That’s not
the agreement and ev-
erybody understood you
to do the right thing and
taking our time getting
him back.”
When healthy, Giles
has been one of the top
relievers in the American
League. He had 34 saves
and a 2.70 ERA in 63 ap-
pearances in 2017 for
Houston. He had another
23 saves and a 1.87 ERA
in 53 games for Toronto in
2019. Giles had 83 strike-
outs and just 17 walks in
53 innings pitched for the
Blue Jays.
But arm trouble
emerged last season.
Giles appeared in just
four games before de-
ciding in late September
to undergo Tommy John
surgery.
— Associated Press
bendbulletin.com/sports
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Kansas State edges Oregon State 3-2 in season opener
BY JOE FREEMAN
The Oregonian
It was a quintessential good
news, bad news kind of day for
the Oregon State Beavers base-
ball team on Friday.
Kevin Abel made his long-
awaited return from Tommy
John surgery, pitching 4⅔
strong innings in the opener
of the Sanderson Ford College
Baseball Classic in Surprise,
Arizona.
But his feel-good homecom-
ing was spoiled by the Kan-
sas State Wildcats, who used
timely hitting and the dom-
inance of left-hander Jordan
Wicks to beat the Beavers 3-2
in the season opener for both
teams.
Abel allowed just one earned
run and one hit in his first start
since March 2019. But he was
upstaged by Wicks, a first-
round Major League Baseball
draft prospect who was virtu-
ally unhittable Friday at Sur-
prise Stadium.
The preseason All-American
surrendered just three hits and
struck out 10 for Kansas State,
baffling Beavers batters with
a low-90s fastball and nasty
changeup.
Wicks allowed just five balls
out of the infield and grew
stronger as the game went on,
Next up
Oregon St. vs.
New Mexico
When: 11 a.m.
Saturday
TV: FLOSPORTS
retiring 20 of the last 22 hitters
he faced. When he struck out
Justin Boyd to end the bottom
of the seventh, Wicks cele-
brated with a fist pump as he
strolled to the dugout, punctu-
ating his final out.
The Beavers’ offense only
threatened Wicks once, load-
ing the bases in the bottom
of the second inning with no
outs after Troy Claunch and
Kyler McMahan drew walks
and Joe Casey followed with a
bunt single. But Wicks effort-
lessly worked out of the jam,
striking out Boyd and Wade
Meckler before inducing an in-
ning-ending groundout from
Andy Armstrong.
Abel matched Wicks
through four innings, striking
out six of the first 16 batters he
faced. But he ran into trouble
in the top of the fifth, when he
beaned No. 8 hitter Kamron
Willman to lead off the inning.
Caleb Littlejim followed with
a sacrifice bunt to first, but
Boyd misplayed the ball and,
suddenly, the Wildcats had
runners on first and second
with no outs. Two batters later,
things unraveled, as freshman
Nick Goodwin lined a 1-2
pitch down the left field line to
score two.
It was the first hit of Good-
win’s career — and the first hit
allowed by Abel in the game.
Abel responded by striking out
Zach Kokoska for the second
out, but was promptly pulled
from the game.
Abel’s final line: 4⅔ innings,
one hit, one earned run, two
walks, seven strikeouts and 79
pitches.
See Baseball / B2
TENNIS | AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Experience
vs. youth
Novak Djokovic seeking 18th
Grand Slam title and Daniil
Medvedev his 1st when they face
each other in the final on Sunday
BY HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Tennis Writer
N
ovak Djokovic lost his first career
Grand Slam final at the U.S. Open.
Then he won his second, which
came at the Australian Open.
And look where he is now, more than a
Andy Brownbill/AP
Novak Djokovic celebrates after defeating Aslan Karatsev in their semifinal match at the Australian Open in Mel-
bourne, Australia, on Thursday.
dozen years later:
One victory from a ninth championship at Mel-
bourne Park and his 18th major title overall, which
would put him two behind rivals Roger Federer and
Rafael Nadal for the most by a man in tennis his-
tory.
Daniil Medvedev also lost his first career Grand
Slam final at the U.S. Open. And now he will try to
win in his second try, which comes at the Australian
Open on Sunday (at 7:30 p.m. local time, 12:30 a.m.
PST) — against Djokovic.
“I know that to beat him, you need to just show
your best tennis, be at your best physically, maybe
four or five hours, and be at your best mentally,
maybe for five hours,” Medvedev said.
“I would say to win a Slam, especially against
somebody (like) Novak, is already a big motivation,
and I don’t think there is anything that can make it
bigger.”
It is an intergenerational showdown — Serbia’s
Djokovic turns 34 in May; Russia’s Medvedev just
“I know that to beat (Djokovic), you need to just
show your best tennis, be at your best physically,
maybe four or five hours, and be at your best
mentally, maybe for five hours.”
— Daniil Medvedev
turned 25 — and another in the simmering standoff
between the Big Three and the next wave of up-and-
coming players hoping to supplant the group that
has dominated for more than 15 years.
Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have combined to
win 14 of the past 15 majors (Dominic Thiem at last
year’s U.S. Open was the exception), and 57 of the
last 69.
“Spice it up a little bit,” by adding a new name to
the list of Slam champs, suggested Stefanos Tsitsi-
pas, the 22-year-old who came back from two sets
down to eliminate Nadal in the quarterfinals before
losing to Medvedev 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 in the semifinals.
“Wouldn’t be bad.”
Here’s part of what makes this final intriguing: It
pits one of the greatest ever to play the sport, and at
a site he’s dominated, against a player who currently
is playing better than anyone in men’s tennis.
The No. 1-seeed Djokovic is 17-0 in Australian
Open semifinals and finals, making him nearly
as much of a lock on the blue hard courts of Mel-
bourne Park as Nadal is on the red clay courts of
Roland Garros.
“The more I win, the better I feel coming back
each year,” Djokovic said. “I think it’s kind of also
logical to expect that. The love affair keeps going.”
No. 4 Medvedev, meanwhile, is on a 20-match
winning streak dating to last season, a run that fea-
tures 12 victories against members of the Top 10
(one against Djokovic).
See Tennis / B2
NHL
Tahoe hosting outdoor games this weekend
BY JOSH DUBOW
Associated Press
STATELINE, Nev. — Some
players snapped pictures of
Lake Tahoe and the majestic
Sierra Nevada mountains as
they came out for their first
look at the picturesque out-
door rink that will host a pair
of NHL games this weekend.
Others just soaked in the
environment before taking
the ice for a practice that took
them back to their childhood,
when many got started playing
hockey on frozen ponds and
lakes.
It’s fair to say none of those
makeshift rinks was quite like
the one that will be used for the
games this weekend between
Vegas and Colorado and Phil-
adelphia and Boston in one of
the most scenic settings imag-
inable.
“Anywhere where they can
build outdoor rinks, there’s
always a competition on the
street whose dad can build a
better rink,” Vegas coach Peter
DeBoer said Friday after his
team practiced in preparation
for Saturday’s game against the
Avalanche.
“Every year you come back
and someone adds lights or
a scoreboard. This is a drop
the mic type outdoor rink. It’s
the nicest I’ve ever seen. The
guys really, really enjoyed it
today. It’s awe-inspiring when
you walk out there and see the
mountains and the lake in the
background. The only thing
we’re missing is fans.”
With the COVID-19 pan-
demic limiting attendance at
games, the NHL took the op-
portunity to hold a pair of out-
door games at a unique setting
unlike the 30 previous outdoor
games at stadiums.
They built a rink on the
18th fairway of the golf course
of the Edgewood Tahoe Re-
sort, which is located on the
shores of Lake Tahoe and
surrounded by trees with the
snow-covered Sierra Nevada
mountain range towering in
the background.
“It’s a really cool feeling,”
Avalanche captain Gabriel
Landeskog said. “The sur-
roundings speak for them-
selves. You can see that in pic-
tures. But it still doesn’t really
do it justice.
See NHL / B2
Rich Pedroncelli/AP
Workers put the finishing touches on the temporary ice rink on Friday,
built at the Edgewood Tahoe Resort, that will host two NHL games this
weekend in Stateline, Nevada. The Colorado Avalanche will play the
Vegas Golden Knights Saturday and the Philadelphia Flyers will face
off against the Boston Bruins Sunday.