FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT
B3
S PORTS
THE BULLETIN • FrIday, FEBrUary 26, 2021
MEN’S COLLEGE
BASKETBALL
Oregon hangs on
to beat Stanford
STANFORD, Calif. —
Chris Duarte had 17 of his
24 points in the final 10
minutes and Oregon held
off Stanford for a 71-68
win on Thursday night.
Duarte’s 3-pointer
with 3:55 left gave the
Ducks (15-5, 10-4 Pac-
12) the lead for good at
65-64. Chandler Lawson
followed 48 seconds later
with a dunk for a three-
point lead and Oregon
made 4 of 6 from the foul
line to hang on.
Oregon kept its con-
ference title hopes alive
with four regular season
games remaining on its
schedule.
L.J. Figueroa added 13
points, Eugene Omoruyi
had 12 points and 10
rebounds, and Eric Wil-
liams Jr. scored 10 for the
Ducks.
Ziaire Williams scored
seven of his 12 points
during a 13-4 run that
gave the Cardinal (14-10,
10-8) their largest lead of
the game at 56-50 with
9:06 to go.
Jaiden Delaire led
Stanford with 15 points.
Daejon Davis scored
13 and Spencer Jones
added 11.
The Cardinal’s leading
scorer and rebounder,
Oscar da Silva, missed the
game due to a lower ex-
tremity injury.
The Ducks visit Califor-
nia on Saturday before
returning to Eugene to
host Arizona on Monday
and UCLA on Wednes-
day.
— Associated Press
bendbulletin.com/sports
NFL COMMENTARY
TRADE
WINDS
Seahawks probably aren’t
trading Russell Wilson,
but here’s a look at his
reported list of teams
BY BOB CONDOTTA
The Seattle Times
SEATTLE —
S
o, we may not really
know if Russell Wilson
Jennifer Stewart/AP file
wants to be traded.
Despite several reports of unhap-
piness with the Seahawks, neither
Wilson nor his agent, Mark Rodgers,
have publicly said he wants out and
the Seahawks have made no comment
one way or the other.
Both of ESPN’s Adam Schefter’s
reports noted that if Wilson were to
be traded he has four preferred desti-
nations — the Dallas Cowboys, New
Orleans Saints, Las Vegas Raiders or
Chicago Bears, a somewhat oddly
specific list considering Wilson re-
portedly says he wants to stay in Se-
attle.
It continues to be worth noting that
it seems really unlikely Wilson will ac-
tually be traded.
The team doesn’t want to trade
Wilson and never has, and it would
also be really cost prohibitive to do so.
Seattle would take a $39 million hit
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson prior to a game against the San Francisco 49ers in January in Glendale, Arizona.
year is March 17), trades cannot be
against its 2021 cap if he is dealt be-
executed earlier but then designated
fore June 1.
as post-June 1.
After June 1, that changes. The $39
So, if Seattle were to
million (which is what is
remaining for Seattle to
The team doesn’t trade Wilson before June
1 — which most logically
account for against its cap
want to trade
is when any trade would
of bonus money Wilson
has already been paid)
Wilson and never probably happen — it
would hugely torpedo the
could then be spread out
has, and it would team’s chances of being
over the last three years
competitive in 2021.
of his contract with Seat-
also be really
With Pete Carroll turn-
tle. So, that would mean
Seattle taking a $13 mil-
cost prohibitive ing 70 in September and
having signed a new five-
lion cap hit for each of the
to do so.
year deal with the team
2021, 2022 and 2023 sea-
sons if Wilson were traded
last fall, the last thing any-
after June 1.
one wants is what could amount to a
However, unlike with cutting play-
resetting or rebuilding year, which the
ers, where two players can be desig-
dead cap hit would make more likely
nated as post-June 1 cuts for salary
than not regardless of the quarterback
cap purposes even if they are cut after Seattle might get in return (and we’re
the new league year begins (which this going on the assumption the Sea-
hawks would definitely want a ready-
made QB in any trade).
Wilson also has a no-trade clause,
something his side asked for when he
signed a four-year, $140 million exten-
sion in April 2019. Seattle put up zero
fight on that, the Seahawks not envi-
sioning having to even think about
trading him at the time.
But it may suddenly be relevant
now as the clause essentially gives
Wilson veto power.
And with Wilson’s side suddenly
naming four preferred teams, we at
least have some names to ponder.
(None of which is Houston, which has
a QB issue of its own with Deshaun
Watson wanting out. But apparently
any possible Watson-for-Wilson deal
is off the table if Wilson doesn’t want
to go there.)
See Wilson / B4
NBA
League suspends
T’Wolves Beasley
MINNEAPOLIS — Min-
nesota Timberwolves
shooting guard Malik
Beasley has been sus-
pended for 12 games
without pay by the NBA
for his recent guilty plea
to a felony charge of
threats of violence.
The league announced
Thursday the punish-
ment, which will begin
with Minnesota’s game
Saturday at Washington.
Beasley is eligible to re-
turn March 27 against
Houston.
Beasley, in his fifth NBA
season, is averaging a ca-
reer-best 20.5 points.
He was sentenced
earlier this month to 120
days in jail for the Sept.
26 incident, when he
pointed a rifle outside
his home in suburban
Minneapolis at a family
on a house-hunting tour.
Police later found weap-
ons and marijuana in the
home.
As part of Beasley’s
plea deal, prosecutors
dropped a felony fifth-de-
gree drug possession
charge. The Hennepin
County Attorney’s Office
said Beasley can serve
his stay in the workhouse
after his season is over;
COVID-19 precautions
could require the county
to release him on elec-
tronic home monitoring
for the duration of the
sentence.
Speaking at his remote
sentencing, he said, “I am
not that person. I humbly
apologize for my actions.”
Timberwolves presi-
dent of basketball opera-
tions Gersson Rosas, in a
statement distributed by
the team, said the organi-
zation fully supports the
NBA’s decision
“As we work together
with Malik to advance
his development as a
player and a person, we
look forward to seeing his
growth,” Rosas said.
— Associated Press
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL | OREGON STATE
GOLF
Phil Mickelson eyeing record 3rd
straight PGA Tour Champions win
BY JOHN MARSHALL
Associated Press
Courtesy Oregon State Athletics
Oregon State’s Ellie Mack (20) looks to pass around UCLA’s Natalie Chou
(23) after grabbing a rebound on Sunday in Los Angeles.
Ellie Mack’s contributions
key to Beavers’ success
BY STEVE GRESS
Albany Democrat-Herald
When Ellie Mack decided to
join the Oregon State women’s
basketball program as a grad
transfer for this season, the
Beavers expected the former
Patriot League player of the
year to be just that, even with
a step up in competition in the
Pac-12.
Mack, a 6-foot-3 forward,
may not be putting up the
same numbers she did at Buck-
nell last season when she was
third in the league in scoring
(15 points) and added 6.5 re-
bounds and 2.1 assists per
game for the Bison, but she is
making her presence known
down the stretch.
And just in time as the Bea-
vers are trying to play their way
into the NCAA tournament.
Mack has started all 14
games and is averaging 7.3
points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5
assists per game. She had what
coach Scott Rueck said was the
“best week of her career here
at Oregon State” last week-
end when she had 20 points,
eight rebounds and five assists
in a road sweep of USC and
then-No. 8 UCLA.
It just took some time, es-
pecially with two pauses for
the better part of six combined
weeks, for Mack to come into
her own at Oregon State.
“We’ve talked about her
previously how she’s very re-
spectful,” Rueck said. “I mean
she’s coming in as a fifth-year
understanding she’s one of the
new people even though she
has all this experience. She’s
kind of deferred and kind of
tried to find her way within
our system and within our pro-
gram.”
See Mack / B5
Phil Mickelson made his-
tory 30 years ago in Tucson,
becoming one of seven am-
ateurs to win a PGA Tour
event since 1940.
Lefty is back in Arizona this
weekend and he has a chance
to stand alone in the record
book.
A winner in his first two
PGA Tour Champions starts,
Mickelson could become
the first player to win his
first three starts on a PGA
Tour-sanctioned tour this
weekend in the Cologuard
Classic at Tucson National.
“I think it’s going to be a
tough challenge for me here
because the course allows
you to play it a lot of different
ways,” Mickelson said Thurs-
day. “Although I’m going to
play it pretty aggressively, I’m
going to bring in a lot of trou-
ble, too. If I can kind of elimi-
nate some of the big misses, I
think I’m going to make a lot
of birdies.”
Mickelson had no trouble
at Tucson National and TPC
Starr Pass in 1991, overcom-
ing a triple bogey in the final
round to win the Northern
Telecom Open as a 20-year-
old amateur. The former Ar-
izona State player is still the
last amateur to win a PGA
Tour event.
Mickelson returns to the
desert with a chance to make
it 3 for 3 on the senior tour.
He won at Ozarks National
in Missouri last August in his
first start after turning 50 and
followed that up with a win at
the Country Club of Virginia
in October.
Should he win in Tucson,
the quest to make more his-
tory might have to wait a
while. The five-time major
Joe Mahoney/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP file
Winner Phil Mickelson gets a pat on the back from Jeff Johnson, the
caddie for Retief Goosen, during final-round play in the Dominion
Energy Charity Classic in Richmond, Virginia, in October. Lefty is back
to the Champions Tour this weekend and has a chance to become the
first player to win his first three career starts on a PGA-sanctioned tour.
champion still believes he can
compete on the PGA Tour
and his upcoming schedule
includes The Players Champi-
onship, Honda Classic, Mas-
ters and possibly the Valero
Texas Open.
Mickelson, who has 44
career PGA Tour wins, has
made four cuts in eight events
this 2021 season.
“I haven’t really looked at
Champions Tour schedule,”
he said. “I want to start play-
ing on the regular tour with
a little bit less stress. I’ve been
really hard on myself when I
make some mistakes and I’ve
got to kind of ease up and play
a little bit more free and a lit-
tle bit lighter. If I can do that, I
think I can shoot some pretty
good scores out there.”
Mickelson will have to put
up some low numbers on
Tucson National’s Catalina
Course with a deep field set to
tee it up starting Friday.
Schwab Cup money leader
Bernhard Langer is still going
strong at 63 and is the defend-
ing champion after coming
from four strokes back to win
last year.
Four-time major cham-
pion Ernie Els is second in
the points standings. Major
champions Davis Love III
and Mike Weir also are in the
field, as is former University
of Arizona player Jim Furyk,
who won his first two senior
starts last year.
“The guys are still compet-
itive and they are still hun-
gry, and that’s what we all
enjoy,” Furyk said. “We enjoy
the competition and maybe
I don’t have to hit 320 yards
anymore to do so. I’m enjoy-
ing it.”
See Mickelson / B4