INSIDE: CLASSIFIEDS, MARKET RECAP & WEATHER
B
S PORTS
THE BULLETIN • SUNday, aprIL 18, 2021
bendbulletin.com/sports
NFL
Rams’ Donald
gets an apology
PITTSBURGH — The
attorney for a man who
accused NFL star Aaron
Donald of assaulting him
at a Pittsburgh nightclub
last weekend has apolo-
gized, saying it was a case
of mistaken identity.
Attorney Todd Hollis,
who represents DeVin-
cent Spriggs, told Pitts-
burgh reporters Friday
that his client mis took
someone else for Don-
ald dur ing the al ter ca-
tion. He said his client
had believed Donald was
responsible, but after re-
viewing the tapes, “I real-
ized that it was not Aaron
Donald.”
“I certainly extend an
apology to Aaron for any
problems this may have
caused him,” Hollis said.
”Aaron has certainly been
through enough so we
want to put this to rest.”
Earlier, an attorney for
the Los Angeles Rams de-
fensive lineman said wit-
nesses and surveillance
video refuted the accu-
sation. Attorney Casey
White told WPXI-TV that
the video indicated that
Donald did not assault
anyone but was trying to
save Spriggs.
The incident occurred
around 3 a.m. Sunday
in the city’s South Side.
White said the men were
at a private party in an
apartment, and that after
the initial confrontation,
Donald and another per-
son encountered Spriggs
in a back alleyway.
Donald, 29, was
named the Associated
Press NFL defensive
player of the year in Feb-
ruary and played college
football at the University
of Pittsburgh.
— Associated Press
FOOTBALL
Tight training schedule
High Desert Storm has under 3 weeks to prepare for 1st season
players came ready to play and
those of whom might not be
physically ready to help the
team.
“We got 18 practices before
we go to Idaho, and the goal
is to get that win,” said Evans
at the Deschutes County fair-
grounds Friday evening. “I
have 18 practices to first see
who is in shape, who is going
to start. If you aren’t in shape
and I see that you can’t get in
shape in a couple of days. I
BY BRIAN RATHBONE
The Bulletin
REDMOND — Keith Evans,
the head coach of the Oregon
High Desert Storm, made one
guarantee as the indoor pro-
fessional football team opened
training camp in preparation
for its quickly approaching
opening game.
For the first couple of days,
there would be no football, he
said. Instead the first part of
training camp is to see which
Former Mariner
gets shot at majors
CHICAGO — Sean Ka-
zmar Jr. returned to the
major leagues after an 13-
year absence, pinch hit-
ting for the Atlanta Braves
and grounding into a
double play on Saturday
against the Chicago Cubs.
The 36-year-old in-
fielder’s contract was
selected by the Braves
from their alternate train-
ing site before the game.
He pinch-hit in the fifth
inning grounded into a
4-6-3 double play.
Kazmar last played
in the major leagues on
Sept. 23, 2008, with the
San Diego Padres. He ap-
peared in 19 games that
season for his only previ-
ous major league action,
and had since played in
Triple-A for the Padres,
Seattle Mariners, New
York Mets and Braves,
plus Double-A for the
Mets — a total of 1,106
minor league games.
“That was probably
one of the greatest mo-
ments I’ve had as a man-
ager at all the levels, quite
honestly,” Braves man-
ager Brian Snitker said of
informing Kazmar of his
return. “It’s amazing. You
go from ’08 to 2021, in
between, you’ve got to
be kidding me, to have
the perseverance and the
dedication and the drive.”
The gap between big
league appearances was
the greatest since that of
right-hander Ralph Wine-
garner, according to Elias
Sports Bureau. Winegar-
ner played on June 23,
1936, for the Cleveland
Indians and did not re-
turn to the majors until
July 7, 1949, with the St.
Louis Browns— a span of
13 years, 14 days.
— Associated Press
Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin
William Crest Jr. runs sprints during an Oregon High Desert Storm foot-
ball practice at the Deschutes County fairgrounds on Friday.
football, Chuck Jones, who
has been in the league for nine
seasons and has been part of
championship teams through-
out his career.
See Storm / B3
SKIING
Racing
reflections
Bend’s Laurenne Ross looks back at her
World Cup skiing career, and ahead to her
next chapter, after winning her final race
BY MARK MORICAL
The Bulletin
L
aurenne Ross is officially
retired from ski racing, but
no one should be surprised to
find her on the slopes of Mount
Bachelor over the next year.
MLB
can’t do anything for you.”
The inaugural season for the
Desert Storm kicks off May
8 at the Ford Idaho Center
against the Idaho Horsemen.
As much as getting into
playing shape is important, the
next couple of weeks will be
vital to take a group of players
from around the country and
gel them into a team that can
contend for a title.
One of the players the Storm
brought is a veteran of arena
The longtime World Cup skier and two-time
Olympian from Bend — who announced her retire-
ment last week before winning the downhill at the
U.S. Championships in Aspen, Colorado, on April
10 — plans to take a year off before jumping into
her next career, possibly in sustainable architecture.
During that year, she plans to give back to the
Central Oregon ski community that gave so much
to her.
“I’ll get up and coach some kids at MBSEF
(Mount Bachelor Sports Education Foundation),
and spend time with kids who are getting into ski
racing, or who are just wanting to free ski,” Ross
said. “I feel like that’s really important, and really
had a big impact on me as a skier.”
Ross, 32, ended her 13-year racing career in style,
claiming her third national title with her parents
and longtime boyfriend Tommy Ford, also a World
Cup skier, in attendance.
Hugh Carey/AP
Bend’s Laurenne Ross smiles after winning the women’s downhill competition at the U.S. Alpine Championship ski
races on April 10 in Aspen, Colorado.
“It was just a long four years of injury after
injury, and this slew of recoveries. It was just
starting to get old, and I am getting older and
having aches and pains, and I want to be able
to ski the rest of my life and enjoy the outdoors.
That was a big part of my decision, for sure.”
— Laurenne Ross
Ross said it was “wonderful” to win her last race.
“It was a pretty sweet day — bittersweet,” Ross
said.
On Tuesday at the U.S. Championships, Ross
took a sort of victory lap in the super-G, rather than
actually racing, according to usskiandsbowboard.
org. Dressed in a black Spyder onesie with a blue
tutu and a rainbow unicorn horn, Ross made her
way down the course, stopping to hug and high-five
coaches. At the bottom, she was greeted by Ford and
her father, Rob Ross.
Ross was born in Edmonton, Alberta, but grew
up in Klamath Falls and raced for the Bend-based
MBSEF as a youth. She moved to Bend about 10
years ago, and recently earned her bachelor’s degree
in art from the University of Oregon.
Ross overcame several major knee injuries
throughout her career, as well as a shattered pelvis,
shoulder dislocations, a hip tear, bulging discs and
severe ankle sprains.
She raced the downhill at both the 2014 and 2018
Winter Olympics, her top finish 11th at the Sochi
Games. She also made two World Cup podiums and
was fifth in the downhill at the World Champion-
ships in 2017.
See Skiing / B2
MLS
NFL DRAFT
Timbers open season at Vancouver
after Champions League test
Pro days key for NFL hopefuls
with no combine this year
BY JOEL ODOM
The Oregonian
BY ARNIE STAPLETON
AP Pro Football Writer
Although the MLS regular
season begins this weekend
for the Portland Timbers, it
would be a stretch to describe
the 2021 season as regular.
Safety protocols will remain
in place amid the coronavirus
pandemic. Crowds for Port-
land home games will be far
below capacity for the time
being.
Yes, there will be a 34-game
schedule, but nearly all of
the Timbers’ matches will be
against Western Conference
opponents.
And even though the Tim-
bers will play their first game
Sunday night on the road
against the rival Vancouver
Whitecaps, the match won’t
be held in Vancouver but in
Salt Lake City.
After using Portland as
its home base for part of last
BOULDER, Colo. — As
an underclassman, defensive
end Mustafa Johnson always
enjoyed rubbernecking at the
University of Colorado’s an-
nual pro day.
He’d cheer on his older
teammates as they were get-
ting sized up by NFL scouts in
preparation for that year’s draft
— and he’d envision getting ev-
eryone’s encouragement when
it was his turn.
The pandemic rendered that
long-awaited capstone to his
college career a much different
experience than he’d imagined.
Campus and county
COVID-19 restrictions meant
that no teammates could watch
Johnson and Will Sherman,
the only other Buffaloes pros-
pect who participated in Colo-
rado’s scaled-down pro day last
month.
Sean Meagher/The Oregonian
Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri blows a kiss to the crowd after his
goal in the 66th minute against C.D. Marathón in a CONCACAF Cham-
pions League match with limited fans in attendance at Providence
Park in Portland on Tuesday night.
season, coach Marc Dos San-
tos’ team is playing its home
games in Salt Lake for at least
the first part of the season as
travel restrictions still make
frequent trips between the
U.S. and Canada impractical.
See Timbers / B3
“We didn’t have our team-
mates there saying, ‘You got
this! Keep pushing!’” Johnson
lamented.
Johnson and Sherman were
left to cheer on each other as
NFL personnel scrutinized
their every move.
“In the past, you have a
crowd there. But today it was
just me and Mustafa and a
bunch of scouts,” Sherman
said. “So, to have someone else
over there cheering me on, it
was definitely big. I appreci-
ated that. I was doing the same
for him.
“We helped each other out
on this weird COVID pro day.”
At least they had each other.
Forty-five miles up Interstate
25, Colorado State wide re-
ceiver Warren Jackson was the
only participant at the Rams’
pro day, a fact he insisted didn’t
take away from the experience.
See NFL Draft / B3