B2 The BulleTin • SaTurday, March 27, 2021 ON THE AIR SCOREBOARD SATURDAY FIGURE SKATING ISU World Championships, Men’s Free Skating HORSE RACING Dubai World Cup Undercard Dubai World Cup America’s Day at the Races America’s Day at the Races America’s Day at the Races Florida Derby GOLF PGA Tour, WGC - Dell Technologies Match Play PGA Tour, WGC - Dell Technologies Match Play PGA Tour, Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship LPGA Tour, Kia Classic MOTOR SPORTS Formula 1, Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying NASCAR Truck Series, Bristol (Tenn.) qualifying NASCAR Cup Series, Bristol (Tenn.) qualifying NASCAR Truck Series, Bristol (Tenn.) TENNIS ATP/WTA, Miami Open BASKETBALL Men’s Division II Championship, Northwest Missouri St. vs. W. Texas A&M Men’s NIT semifinal, Memphis vs. Colorado St. Women’s NCAA, Iowa vs. Connecticut Men’s NCAA, Oregon St. vs. Loyola-Chicago Women’s NCAA, Michigan vs. Baylor Men’s NIT semifinal, Mississippi St. vs. Louisiana Tech Men’s NCAA, Villanova vs. Baylor Women’s NCAA, Indiana vs. NC State Men’s NCAA, Oral Roberts vs. Arkansas Women’s NCAA, Arizona vs. Texas A&M Men’s NCAA, Syracuse vs. Houston LACROSSE College, Virginia at Notre Dame SOFTBALL College, Auburn at Missouri College, Georgia at Ole Miss SOCCER World Cup 2022 qualifying, Norway vs. Turkey Men’s college, Providence at Georgetown FA Women’s Super League, Manchester City vs. Reading Men’s college, Indiana at Michigan World Cup 2022 qualifying, Czech Republic vs. Belgium Men’s college, Maryland at Northwestern BASEBALL MLB preseason, Toronto at N.Y. Yankees College, Ole Miss at Alabama MLB preseason, Chicago White Sox at Colorado College, Oregon at Arizona College, Kentucky at Auburn College, UCLA at USC MLB preseason, San Francisco at Seattle HOCKEY Men’s NCAA, St. Cloud State vs. Boston University Men’s NCAA, Bemidji St. vs. Massachusetts NWHL, Isobel Cup final, Boston vs. TBD Men’s NCAA, Minnesota-Duluth vs. North Dakota Men’s NCAA, Minnesota vs. Nebraska-Omaha Time 5 a.m. TV NBCSN 5 a.m. 9 a.m. 11:30 a.m. noon 1:30 p.m. 3 p.m. FS1 FS1 FS2 FS1 FS2 NBCSN 7 a.m. 11 a.m. Golf NBC 11 a.m. 3 p.m. Golf Golf 7:55 a.m. 1:30 p.m. 3 p.m. 5 p.m. ESPN2 FS1 FS1 FS1 8 a.m. Tennis 9 a.m. 9 a.m. 10 a.m. 11:40 a.m. noon noon 2:15 p.m. 3 p.m. 4:25 p.m. 5 p.m. 6:55 p.m. CBS ESPN ABC CBS ABC ESPN CBS ESPN2 TBS ESPN2 TBS 9 a.m. ESPNU 9 a.m. 2 p.m. SEC SEC 9:50 a.m. 10 a.m. ESPN2 FS1 10:30 a.m. 11 a.m. NBCSN Big Ten 12:30 p.m. 1 p.m. ESPN2 Big Ten 10 a.m. 11 a.m. 1 p.m. 3 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m. 6:30 p.m. MLB SEC MLB Pac-12 SEC Pac-12 MLB 10 a.m. 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 7 p.m. ESPNEWS ESPNU NBCSN ESPNU ESPNU ON DECK SATURDAY Football: Vale at la Pine, 1 p.m. Volleyball: crook county at Summit, TBd; ridgeview at Pendleton, 11 a.m.; crook county at redmond, 2 p.m. Boys soccer: central linn at la Pine, 4 p.m. Girls soccer: Mountain View at Summit, 1 p.m. PREPS Football Thursday’s Late Game colton 20, culver 14 Friday’s Games Summit vs. Mountain View, late redmond vs. Pendleton, late ridgeview vs. hood river Valley, late Madras vs. crook county, late Sisters vs. Siuslaw, late Volleyball Thursday’s Late Games Sisters 3, Philomath 0 (25-15, 25-3, 25-11) Friday’s Games ridgeview 3, The dalles 0 (25-14, 25-10, 25-15) Boys soccer Thursday’s Late Games ridgeview 6, The dalles 1 Friday’s Games Bend 5, Mountain View 1 Girls soccer Thursday’s Late Games The dalles 1, ridgeview 0 GOLF PGA Tour Dell Match Play Results Friday in Austin, Texas Yardage: 7,108; Par: 71 Justin Thomas (2), united States, def. louis Oosthuizen (22), South africa, 3 and 2. Shane lowry (38), ireland, def. Sebastian Munoz, colombia, 3 and 2. Tony Finau (12), united States, def. Jason Kokrak (29), united States, 2 up. Will Zalatoris (40), united States, def. dylan Frittelli (64), South africa, 2 up. Tommy Fleetwood (21), england, def. Bryson dechambeau (5), united States, 1 up. antoine rozner (58), France, def. Si Woo Kim (45), South Korea, 3 and 1. Viktor hovland (13), norway, def. abraham ancer (27), Mexico, 1 up. Kevin Streelman (53), united States, def. Bernd Wiesberger (43), austria, 1 up. Billy horschel (32), united States, def. collin Morikawa (4), united States, 3 and 2. Max homa (35), united States, def. J.T. Poston (63), united States, 3 and 2. Webb Simpson (9), united States, halved with Paul casey (17), england. Mackenzie hughes (48), canada, halved with Talor Gooch (59), united States. lee West- wood (18), england, def. Tyrrell hatton (8), england, 4 and 3. Matt Wallace (51), england, def. Sergio Garcia (39), Spain, 3 and 2. Victor Perez (31), France, def. Sungjae im (16), South Korea, 2 and 1. Marc leishman (36), halved with russell henley (50), united States. Kevin na (28), united States, def. dustin Johnson (1), united States, 1 up. Bob Macintyre (41), Scot- land, halved with adam long (61), united States. rory Mcilroy (11), halved with cameron Smith (25), australia. ian Poulter (60), england, def. lanto Griffin (46), united States, 2 and 1. Xander Schauffele (6), united States, halved with Scot- tie Scheffler (30), united States. Jason day (44), australia, def. andy Sullivan (57), england, 2 and 1. daniel Berger (14), united States, def. harris english (19), united States, 4 and 2. erik van rooyen (62), South africa, def. Brendon Todd (47), united States, 2 and 1. Jon rahm (3), Spain, halved with ryan Palmer (24), united States. hideki Matsuyama (23), Japan, def. Patrick cantlay (10), united States, 4 and 2. Brian harman (54), united States, def. carlos Ortiz (42), Mexico, Joaquin niemann (26), chile, def. Patrick reed (7), united States, 5 and 4. Bubba Watson (55), united States, def. christiaan Bezuidenout (33), South africa, 5 and 3. Matt Fitzpatrick (15), england, def. Matthew Wolff (20), united States, 3 and 2. Jordan Spieth (49), united States, def. corey conners (37), canada, 3 and 2. Matt Kuchar (52), united States, def. .Kevin Kisner (34), united States, 2 and 1. Corales Puntacana Resort Championship Scores Friday in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic Yardage: 7,670; Par: 72 Second Round rafael campos 68-69—137 Fabrizio Zanotti 69-68—137 Justin Suh 68-69—137 Tyler duncan 69-69—138 Joel dahmen 67-71—138 Graeme Mcdowell 70-69—139 Michael Gligic 73-66—139 andrew yun 67-72—139 roberto castro 70-69—139 Thomas Pieters 69-70—139 Stephan Jaeger 66-73—139 Sam ryder, 68-72—140. Thomas detry, 70-70—140. Mark anderson, 68-72—140. Tim Wilkinson, 71-69—140. chesson hadley, 70-70—140. Sepp Straka, 72-68—140. danny Willett, 70-70—140. Peter uihlein, 70-70—140. aaron Baddeley, 70-70—140. Ben Martin, 71-70—141. alex cejka, 70-71—141. Troy Merritt, 72-69—141. charles howell iii, 70-71—141. roger Sloan, 71-70—141. charley hoffman, 69-72—141. Martin Trainer, 71-70—141. adam Schenk, 68-73—141. hudson Swafford, 70-71—141. Tyler Mccumber, 72-69—141. rich- ard S. Johnson, 72-69—141. Bronson Burgoon, 70-72—142. Patrick rodgers, 71- 71—142. Brice Garnett, 70-72—142. Greyson Sigg, 72- 70—142. Sebastian cappelen, 69-73—142. alex Smalley, 73-69—142. eric cole, 72-70—142. Pat Perez, 72-70—142. Joseph Bramlett, 69-73—142. BASKETBALL NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct Phila. 32 13 .711 Brooklyn 31 15 .674 Milwaukee 29 15 .659 charlotte 23 21 .523 new york 23 22 .511 atlanta 22 22 .500 Boston 22 23 .489 Miami 22 24 .478 indiana 21 23 .477 chicago 19 24 .442 Toronto 18 27 .400 cleveland 17 27 .386 Washington 15 28 .349 Orlando 15 30 .333 detroit 12 32 .273 WESTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct utah 32 11 .744 Phoenix 30 14 .682 l.a. clippers 30 16 .652 l.a. lakers 28 17 .622 denver 27 18 .600 Portland 27 18 .600 dallas 23 20 .535 San antonio 22 20 .524 Memphis 21 20 .512 Golden State 22 23 .489 Sacramento 20 25 .444 new Orleans 19 25 .432 Oklahoma city 19 25 .432 houston 12 32 .273 Minnesota 11 34 .244 Thursday’s Late Games Sacramento 141, Golden State 119 Phila. 109, l.a. lakers 101 Friday’s Games Phoenix 104, Toronto 100 Brooklyn 113, detroit 111 Boston 122, Milwaukee 114 denver 113, new Orleans 108 Portland 112, Orlando 105 Minnesota 107, houston 101 charlotte 110, Miami 105 indiana 109, dallas 94 Memphis at utah, late atlanta at Golden State, late cleveland at l.a. lakers, late Saturday’s Games detroit at Washington, 5 p.m. houston at Minnesota, 5 p.m. new york at Milwaukee, 5 p.m. chicago at San antonio, 5:30 p.m. Boston at Oklahoma city, 6 p.m. dallas at new Orleans, 6 p.m. Memphis at utah, 6 p.m. cleveland at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Phila. at l.a. clippers, 7 p.m. GB — 1½ 2½ 8½ 9 9½ 10 10½ 10½ 12 14 14½ 16 17 19½ GB — 2½ 3½ 5 6 6 9 9½ 10 11 13 13½ 13½ 20½ 22 Friday’s Box Score Trail Blazers 112, Magic 105 PORTLAND (112) covington 4-6 4-4 15, Jones Jr. 2-4 1-2 7, nurkic 3-6 1-4 8, Mccollum 8-26 4-4 22, Powell 7-13 3-5 22, ca.antho- ny 4-9 0-0 8, little 0-4 0-0 0, Kanter 7-10 1-1 15, Simons 5-7 0-1 15. Totals 40-85 14-21 112. ORLANDO (105) ennis iii 6-10 2-2 18, Okeke 9-15 0-0 22, Birch 6-15 2-2 14, Bacon 7-19 2-4 17, randle 4-8 0-0 10, Bamba 5-12 0-2 11, carter-Williams 4-13 3-7 11, Mane 1-3 0-0 2. To- tals 42-95 9-17 105. Portland 35 30 15 32 — 112 Orlando 32 23 22 28 — 105 3-Point Goals—Portland 18-40 (Powell 5-7, Simons 5-7, covington 3-5, Jones Jr. 2-3, Mccollum 2-11, nurkic 1-2, little 0-2, ca.anthony 0-3), Orlando 12-27 (ennis iii 4-6, Okeke 4-6, randle 2-4, Bacon 1-3, Bamba 1-6). Fouled Out—none. Rebounds—Portland 46 (Kanter 15), Orlando 40 (Birch 15). Assists—Portland 21 (Mc- collum 7), Orlando 29 (Bacon, carter-Williams 6). Total Fouls—Portland 18, Orlando 18. A—3,827 (18,846) Men’s college NCAA TOURNAMENT SWEET 16 SCHEDULE All Games in Indianapolis Saturday’s Games MIDWEST REGIONAL Oregon St. vs. loyola chicago, 11:40 a.m. (cBS) Syracuse vs. houston, 6:55 p.m. (TBS) SOUTH REGIONAL Villanova vs. Baylor, 2:15 p.m. (cBS) Oral roberts vs. arkansas, 4:25 p.m. (TBS) Sunday’s Games WEST REGIONAL creighton vs. Gonzaga, 11:10 a.m. (cBS) Oregon vs. Southern cal, 6:45 p.m. (TBS) EAST REGIONAL Florida St. vs. Michigan, 2 p.m. (cBS) ucla vs. alabama, 4:15 p.m. (TBS) Women’s college NCAA TOURNAMENT SWEET 16 SCHEDULE All Games in San Antonio, Tex. Saturday’s Games RIVER WALK REGIONAL iowa vs. uconn, 10 a.m. (aBc) Michigan vs. Baylor, noon (aBc) MERCADO REGIONAL indiana vs. nc State, 3 p.m. (eSPn2) arizona vs. Texas a&M, 5 p.m. (eSPn2) Sunday’s Games HEMISFAIR REGIONAL Georgia Tech vs. South carolina, 10 a.m. (aBc) Texas vs. Maryland, 6 p.m. (eSPn) ALAMO REGIONAL Missouri St. vs. Stanford, noon (aBc) Oregon vs. louisville, 4 p.m. (eSPn) HOCKEY NHL East GP W L OT Pts GF GA Washington 33 22 7 4 48 114 95 n.y. islanders 34 22 8 4 48 102 76 Pittsburgh 34 21 11 2 44 109 90 Boston 29 16 8 5 37 80 70 n.y. rangers 32 15 13 4 34 102 85 Philadelphia 32 15 13 4 34 100 119 new Jersey 32 12 16 4 28 78 101 Buffalo 32 6 22 4 16 66 115 Central GP W L OT Pts GF GA Tampa Bay 33 24 7 2 50 120 78 carolina 32 22 7 3 47 108 81 Florida 33 20 9 4 44 107 94 chicago 34 16 13 5 37 101 108 columbus 34 13 13 8 34 89 110 nashville 34 16 17 1 33 86 104 dallas 30 11 11 8 30 85 80 detroit 34 10 20 4 24 72 113 West GP W L OT Pts GF GA Vegas 31 22 8 1 45 101 72 colorado 32 21 8 3 45 111 72 Minnesota 32 21 10 1 43 94 78 St. louis 34 16 13 5 37 98 110 arizona 33 14 14 5 33 83 101 los angeles 32 13 13 6 32 91 90 San Jose 31 13 14 4 30 89 106 anaheim 35 10 19 6 26 78 116 North GP W L OT Pts GF GA Toronto 33 21 10 2 44 110 85 Winnipeg 33 20 11 2 42 109 92 edmonton 34 21 13 0 42 116 97 Montreal 31 14 8 9 37 100 87 Vancouver 37 16 18 3 35 100 120 calgary 34 15 16 3 33 89 102 Ottawa 36 12 20 4 28 94 135 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. The top four teams in each division will qualify for playoffs under this season’s temporary realignment. Friday’s Games Washington 4, new Jersey 0 anaheim 4, St. louis 1 edmonton at Montreal, ppd. San Jose at arizona, late Winnipeg at calgary, late Saturday’s Games Buffalo at Boston, 10 a.m. n.y. rangers at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. columbus at detroit, noon Vegas at colorado, noon edmonton at Toronto, 4 p.m. n.y. islanders at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m. Tampa Bay at carolina, 4 p.m. Florida at dallas, 5 p.m. nashville at chicago, 5 p.m. San Jose at arizona, 7 p.m. Winnipeg at calgary, 7 p.m. DEALS Transactions BASEBALL Major League Baseball American League lOS anGeleS anGelS — released OF Jon Jay and rhP Jesse chavez from minor league contracts. SeaTTle MarinerS — Optioned rhP ljay newsome, lhP aaron Fletcher and OF Braden Bishop to alternate training site. reassigned rhPs Brady lail, Paul Sewald, OFs Jarred Kelenic and Julio rodriguez to minor league camp. TaMPa Bay rayS — Placed rhP nick anderson on the 60-day injured list. Selected the contract of rhP andrew Kittredge from durham (Triple-a east). National League San FranciScO GianTS — reassigned rhPs yunior Marte and Jimmie Sherfy to minor league training camp. BASKETBALL National Basketball Association cleVeland caValierS — Waived c andre drum- mond. MeMPhiS GriZZlieS — Waived c Gorjui dieng. SacraMenTO KinGS — Waived Fs Mifondu Kabengele and Jabari Parker. FOOTBALL National Football League ariZOna cardinalS — Signed Te darrell daniels. BuFFalO BillS — Signed Wr Brandon Powell to a one-year contract. Signed dB levi Wallace. chicaGO BearS — Signed rB damien Williams and dB artie Burns to one-year contracts. cincinnaTi BenGalS — Signed Wr Mike Thomas. cleVeland BrOWnS — Placed de Trevon young on waivers. deTrOiT liOnS — Signed Wr Kalif raymond. Green Bay PacKerS — re-signed rB aaron Jones and cB Kevin King. JacKSOnVille JaGuarS — Signed OT derwin Gray. KanSaS ciTy chieFS — Signed Wr demarcus rob- inson. laS VeGaS raiderS — Signed Wr Willie Snead. lOS anGeleS charGerS — Signed lB Kyler Fackrell. lOS anGeleS raMS — Signed Wr deSean Jackson and lB Travin howard. neW enGland PaTriOTS — Signed rB James White. neW OrleanS SainTS — Signed QB Jameis Winston. neW yOrK JeTS — Signed rB Tevin coleman. PhiladelPhia eaGleS — Traded the no. 6 overall pick along with no. 156 overall to the Miami for no. 12, no. 123 and a 2022 first-round pick. San FranciScO 49erS — acquired the no. 3 overall draft pick in 2021 from Miami in exchange for 2021 first- round, along with the 2022 and 2023 first-round picks and a 2022 compensatory third-round draft pick. re-signed cB K’Waun Williams to a one-year contract. Signed dB K’Waun Williams. SeaTTle SeahaWKS — Signed de Benson Mayowa, OG Jordan Simmons and OT cedric Ogbuehi. WaShinGTOn FOOTBall TeaM — Signed cB darryl roberts and adam humphries. SUNDAY SOCCER FA Women’s Super League, Chelsea vs. Aston Villa 6:30 a.m. NBCSN International friendly, U.S. at Northern Ireland 9 a.m. FOX Women’s college, Rutgers at Wisconsin 9:30 a.m. Big Ten Women’s college, Villanova at Georgetown 10 a.m. FS1 Women’s college, Indiana at Michigan noon Big Ten Women’s college, Illinois at Michigan St. 2 p.m. Big Ten Men’s college, Stanford at UCLA 2 p.m. Pac-12 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship semifinal, teams TBD 3 p.m. FS1 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship semifinal, teams TBD 6 p.m. FS1 GOLF PGA Tour, WGC - Dell Technologies Match Play 7 a.m. Golf PGA Tour, Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship 11:30 a.m. Golf PGA Tour, WGC - Dell Technologies Match Play noon NBC LPGA Tour, Kia Classic 3 p.m. Golf MOTOR SPORTS Formula 1, Bahrain Grand Prix 7:55 a.m. ESPN2 NASCAR Cup Series, Bristol (Tenn.) 12:30 p.m. FOX TENNIS ATP/WTA, Miami Open 8 a.m. Tennis BASEBALL College, Florida at South Carolina 9 a.m. SEC MLB preseason, Minnesota at Boston 10 a.m. MLB College, Oregon at Arizona noon Pac-12 (Ore) College, Arkansas at Mississippi St. noon SEC MLB preseason, Arizona at Chicago White Sox 1 p.m. MLB College, UCLA at USC 4 p.m. Pac-12 MLB preseason, L.A. Dodgers at L.A. Angels 6 p.m. MLB BASKETBALL Men’s NIT final, teams TBD 9 a.m. ESPN Women’s NCAA, Georgia Tech vs. South Carolina 10 a.m. ABC Men’s NCAA, Creighton vs. Gonzaga 11:10 a.m. CBS Women’s NCAA, Missouri St. vs. Stanford noon ABC Men’s NIT, 3rd-place game, teams TBD noon ESPN Men’s NCAA, Florida St. vs. Michigan 2 p.m. CBS Women’s NCAA, Oregon vs. Louisville 4 p.m. ESPN NBA, Portland at Toronto 4 p.m. NBCSNW Men’s NCAA, UCLA vs. Alabama 4:15 p.m. TBS Women’s NCAA, Texas vs. Maryland 6 p.m. ESPN Men’s NCAA, Oregon vs. USC 6:45 p.m. TBS HOCKEY NHL, N.Y. Rangers at Washington 9 a.m. NBC NHL, Columbus at Detroit noon NBCSN College, TBD vs. Boston College 2:30 p.m. ESPN2 NHL, New Jersey at Boston 2:30 p.m. NBCSN College, West Regional Final, teams TBD 5 p.m. ESPN2 NHL, Nashville at Chicago 5 p.m. NBCSN Listings are the most accurate available. The Bulletin is not responsible for late changes made by TV stations. MEGA MILLIONS The numbers drawn Friday night are: 4 25 37 46 67 15 x 3 Oregon Lottery results The estimated jackpot is now $137 million. As listed at www.oregonlottery.org and individual lottery websites Sisters Continued from B1 The Outlaws’ lone blemish on the sea- son is a loss to 6A Bend High in the second game of the season. “That is an advantage we have in Central Oregon,” said Rush. “Even though we are the small school, we aren’t seen as a small school here. Some of the bigger schools (around the state) don’t want to play smaller schools, but not here.” This year’s high school sports season is unlike years past due to COVID-19. League play is less prioritized (Newport High, a OWC team for example, is not playing a conference schedule this season), there is no state-wide postseason that spans all six classifications, and regional scheduling be- came an emphasis. Not that the mid-major program minds punching above its weight class in Central Oregon. “Being a 4A school we are the under- dogs,” said senior setter Ellie Rush, who added the team takes a what-do-we-have- to-lose mindset into each match against bigger schools. “That then helps us when we play our 4A schools, because we have the experi- ence and the toughness, which I think has helped us with our league.” Despite not being a tall team by volley- ball standards, Rush said, this year’s squad Transgender Continued from B1 Reeves said Mississippi had to act after President Biden signed an executive order on the day he took office banning discrim- ination based on gender identity in school sports and elsewhere. Reeves claimed that Biden’s order “en- courages transgenderism amongst our young people” — as though it’s nothing more than a lifestyle choice. Of course, none of the debate has in- cluded any actual examples of transgender athletes gaining a dishonest edge in wom- en’s sports. Last year, Idaho became the first state to pass one of these discriminatory statutes, which has since been challenged in court. That hasn’t stopped a slew of other states Reporter: 541-383-0307, brathbone@bendbulletin.com Sour seeds Four of the 16 remaining teams in this most unpredictable of NCAA tournaments are double-digit seeds, but Syracuse may be the best example of a program that throws that number next to its name out the win- dow regularly this time of year. The No. 11 seed Orange, who already knocked off San Diego State and West Vir- ginia, were also 11-seeds when they reached the Sweet 16 in 2018. Two years before that, coach Jim Boeheim’s club reached the Final Four as a 10 seed. “We’d like to be good in the regular season and the tournament,” he said, “but if you’re not as good as you’d like to be in the regu- lar season, then let’s play well in the tourna- ment. That’s what these guys have done.” from taking up a crusade that was clearly snatched out of thin air. Which brings us to Tennessee, the latest state to join the shameful list when Gov. Bill Lee signed yet another of these hurtful, unnecessary bills into law Friday. Lee had already signaled where he stood with his ludicrous claim that allowing transgender girls to play on middle and high school sports teams would “destroy women’s sports.” OK, back to reality. Did you know the NCAA has had policies in place for a full decade that allow for transgender partici- pation in sports? As far as we can tell, that hasn’t led to the demise of women’s athletics, which has plenty of far more serious issues on its plate. (Again, we’ll refer you to the glaring inequities between the NCCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.) We applaud a group of more than 500 college athletes who fired off a letter to the NCAA asking that it not hold any cham- pionship events in states that pass laws discriminating against transgender girls and women — a tactic the governing body turned to before to address the Confeder- ate flag and those bathroom laws. Knowing that money talks louder than a group of college athletes, we call on For- tune 500 companies and other major busi- nesses to get on board by withdrawing their financial might from states that head down this hateful path. Meanwhile, we grieve for the real vic- tims. You see, transgender athletes are not the problem. It’s those who want to keep them off the playing fields. Continued from B1 Jack Dempsey/NCAA Photos via Getty Images e e First time’s the charm With so many bluebloods out of the running there’s a good chance a first-time champion will be crowned from the field of 16 in the next two weeks. Nine of the remaining schools, who have a combined 13 trips to the Final Four, have never won a title: Alabama, Bay- lor, Creighton, Florida State, Gonzaga, Houston, Oral Roberts, Oregon State and Southern California. Then there are the three that have never made the final weekend. Creighton has the fifth-most NCAA appearances (22) without a Final Four to its credit, while Alabama (21) is right behind. Oral Roberts also has never made a Fi- nal Four. “It’s a big milestone in our program, the first Sweet 16 since 2004,” said the Crim- son Tide’s Jaden Shackelford. “We like to soak up our accomplishments.” Oregon State Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle. is “the complete package with no weak links.” Sisters is an experienced team with an athletic rotation of four seniors and two juniors. Since taking over the program in 2016, Rush has led the Outlaws to the state tournament each year and has claimed two state titles, but have yet to reclaim the title since 2017. Now, they have a chance they did not think they were going to get. “I won my freshman year, that was a goal to leave with a bang, win state my senior year,” said Ellie Rush. “We are ready to work knowing that this is how we leave our mark on the program.”