INSIDE: COMICS, OPINIONS & CLASSIFIEDS
B
S PORTS
THE BULLETIN • SaTUrday, May 1, 2021
bendbulletin.com/sports
NFL DRAFT
UO’s Holland 1st
safety selected
MIAMI — Oregon
safety Jevon Holland was
drafted in the second
round Friday by the Mi-
ami Dolphins after the
Denver Broncos leap-
frogged them to take a
running back.
The Dolphins needed
a ball carrier, but Denver
moved one spot ahead
of them by trading up to
select North Carolina’s
Javonte Williams.
Miami then chose Hol-
land, a native of Canada,
with the 36th overall pick.
The Dolphins traded
up from 50th to 42nd to
take 6-foot-6, 306-pound
Liam Eichenberg, a three-
year starter at left tackle
for Notre Dame.
Holland, who grew up
in British Columbia, was
coached by former NFL
back Napoleon Kaufman
in high school in Oak-
land, California. Holland’s
father, Robert, played
Sacramento State and
in the Canadian Football
League.
“Football is super pop
across all of Canada,” Hol-
land said. “My dad and
brother both played foot-
ball. It’s me just trying to
follow in their footsteps. I
think it turned out to be a
pretty good choice.”
Holland had five inter-
ceptions as a freshman in
2018 and four as a soph-
omore, when he also av-
eraged 15.3 yards on 16
punt returns. He opted
out last year.
“I played receiver in
high school,” he said, “and
that’s where I developed
a lot of my ball-hawking
ability.”
Eichenberg adds fur-
ther youth to an offensive
line that included a fran-
chise record three rookie
starters last year.
— Associated Press
PREP SOFTBALL
A true ‘gamer’
for Lava Bears
Young pitchers duel in budding rivalry
between Bend High and Ridgeview
BY BRIAN RATHBONE • The Bulletin
REDMOND —
B
efore the first pitch between Ridgeview and Bend High
on Thursday evening, coaches Tom Mauldin and Sandy
Fischer met and forecasted that their two teams would be
in for a classic.
commit errors and don’t play together,
“I joked that the two coaches have
that is when you get beat. Somebody
100 years combined coaching expe-
is going to lose, and we lost,
rience, so it should be a good
INSIDE
but we didn’t get beat.”
game,” Mauldin said. “I have
The Ravens were probably
a lot of respect for her and her • High school
hoping that Bend freshman
program.”
scores in
Scoreboard,
pitcher Addisen Fisher was
The prediction came true.
B2
one of the 700 Bend-La Pine
In a contest between argu-
students forced into quaran-
ably the two best softball
tine on early Thursday.
teams in Central Oregon, with a pair
Unfortunately for the Ravens,
of freshmen in the pitching circles,
Fisher was in the circle doing what she
the 6A Lava Bears rallied in the sev-
has done all year — mowing down
enth and eighth innings to knock off
batters.
the defending Class 5A state champi-
The right-hander fanned 13 Ra-
ons 2-1 in extra innings at Ridgeview
vens hitters, including eight in the
High School.
final four innings. This was after a
“There is a difference between los-
17-strikeout, no-hit performance
ing and getting beat,” Fischer said.
against Pendleton last Saturday.
“We lost today but we didn’t neces-
sarily get beat. When you play poorly,
See Softball / B2
HORSE RACING | KENTUCKY DERBY
COVID-19
How sporting events will be affected as
15 Oregon counties shift to ‘extreme risk’
HOCKEY
Seattle Kraken
officially join NHL
SEATTLE — The Seattle
Kraken are free to make
trades and sign players
after making their final
expansion payment to
the NHL.
Seattle owners paid
$650 million to become
the 32nd franchise. The
Kraken begin play next
season.
“On behalf of the
Board of Governors, I am
delighted to officially wel-
come the Seattle Kraken
to the NHL as our 32nd
member club,” Commis-
sioner Gary Bettman
said on Friday. “Congrat-
ulations to David Bond-
erman, the Bonderman
family, their partners, the
entire Seattle Kraken or-
ganization, the city of Se-
attle and Kraken fans as
the club continues on its
exciting journey towards
puck drop in October.”
General manager Ron
Francis has been able to
talk to colleagues around
the league, and he and
his staff have been scout-
ing and planning for the
expansion draft July 21.
The final payment by
ownership allows him to
make official transactions,
such as signing college
free agents.
“Today is another mo-
mentous day on the jour-
ney to puck drop,” Bond-
erman said. “We have an
incredible few months
ahead of us.”
— Associated Press
Women’s hockey —
The National Women’s
Hockey League raised the
salary cap on Thursday in
a move that some saw as
an olive branch to the Pro-
fessional Women’s Hockey
Players Association, B3.
Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin
Bend’s Addisen Fisher (11) delivers a pitch during the first inning against Ridgeview on
Thursday.
BY JOEL ODOM
The Oregonian
Charlie Riedel/AP
Fans watch race six before the 147th running of the Kentucky Oaks at
Churchill Downs on Friday in Louisville, Kentucky.
With flowery hats and
fans, the Derby is back
at its old home in May
BY BETH HARRIS
AP Racing Writer
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The
bourbon is flowing again, flow-
ery hats and humans are on
the scene and 19 horses are
ready to run the most chaotic
race of their lives. After being
disrupted by a pandemic, the
Kentucky Derby is back with
many of its traditions intact.
America’s longest continu-
ously held sporting event re-
turns to its traditional spot on
the calendar — the first Satur-
day in May. The 147th edition
comes less than eight months
after it was run without spec-
tators last September because
of COVID-19, making it the
shortest time between Derbies
in history.
“I was hoping to enjoy my
Derby win a little longer,”
joked trainer Bob Baffert, who
earned his sixth last year with
Authentic.
The eerie silence that set-
tled over Churchill Downs last
year when no spectators were
allowed is being replaced by
attendance of about 45,000 —
some 100,000 less than usual.
Masks are required. Food
and drinks are all-inclusive to
lessen long lines and separate
payments for every transac-
tion.
With the Derby restored to
its usual day, last year’s upside
down Triple Crown has been
righted. The Preakness follows
on May 15 and the Belmont,
which kicked off the series a
year ago, concludes it on June
5.
Essential Quality is the early
2-1 favorite on Saturday and
has the bona fides. The striking
gray colt was last year’s 2-year-
old champion. He comes in
undefeated in five career starts.
The last unbeaten colt to win
the Derby was Justify in 2018,
and he went on to sweep the
Triple Crown.
Essential Quality is owned
and bred by Godolphin Rac-
ing, the stable of Dubai Sheikh
Mohammed al Maktoum, who
is 0-for-11 in his decades-long
quest to win America’s great-
est race.
See Derby / B3
The move of 15 Oregon
counties to “extreme risk”
level for COVID-19 restric-
tions on Friday means some
tightened regulations for
sporting events in the affected
counties.
Although outdoor full-con-
tact and noncontact sport-
ing events can continue at
the youth, high school, col-
lege and professional levels,
the extreme-risk label means
crowds will be capped at 100.
That compares with capac-
ity limits of 15% in coun-
ties deemed high risk, 25%
in counties at moderate risk
and 50% in counties deemed
lower risk.
The counties that moved
to extreme risk Friday were:
Baker, Clackamas, Colum-
bia, Crook, Deschutes, Grant,
Jackson, Josephine, Klamath,
Lane, Linn, Marion, Mult-
nomah, Polk and Wasco.
Counties could shift to a
lower risk level as soon as
next Friday if cases dip or if
statewide hospitalizations ei-
ther fall below 300 or don’t
continue to increase at 15%
or more each week, Gov. Kate
Brown’s office said.
Here’s a quick look at how
various sports and teams
across the state will be af-
fected:
Portland Timbers and
Portland Thorns: The Tim-
bers and Thorns don’t have
any home matches on their
respective schedules in the
next week. But both could be
in action at Providence Park
the weekend of May 8-9. The
Thorns have clinched a spot
in the NWSL Challenge Cup
championship match, sched-
uled for May 8, though the
site has not been determined.
The Timbers are set to play
Amanda Loman/AP file
Spectators at a Portland Thorns FC match swing their scarves during
the national anthem prior to an NWSL Challenge Cup match against
Kansas City on April 9 in Portland. It was the first time fans were al-
lowed at Providence Park in 545 days.
host to the Seattle Sounders
on Sunday, May 9.
If Multnomah County re-
mains at extreme risk, and
unless the Timbers and
Thorns were to get an exemp-
tion, they would go down
from about 3,800 fans to
100 for home matches at the
25,000-seat Providence Park.
“The Timbers and Thorns
have safely hosted five
matches this season at 15%
capacity, and we have re-
ceived overwhelmingly pos-
itive feedback from our fans
as to how safe they felt and
how effectively our protocols
were implemented,” the clubs
said Thursday in a statement.
“Masked, outdoor gatherings
with social-distance measures
in place are widely consid-
ered safe, and we fully expect
to continue hosting fans at a
reduced capacity by the week-
end of May 8-9.”
Portland Trail Blazers: The
Blazers have not yet hosted
fans at Portland’s Moda Cen-
ter this season, but they had
submitted a proposal to the
governor and the Oregon
Health Authority to host fans
at 10% capacity, or about
2,000 fans. That plan is on
hold, however. The Blazers
are on a six-game trip and
don’t play at home again until
next Friday’s matchup against
the Los Angeles Lakers.
Oregon Ducks: There will
be no spectators allowed at
the Ducks’ spring football
game on Saturday after Lane
County’s move to extreme
risk. The Ducks had hoped
to welcome about 8,000 fans
(15% capacity) to Autzen Sta-
dium for the spring showcase.
Oregon State Beavers:
With Benton County in the
high-risk category, the Bea-
vers are planning for about
6,000 fans (15% capacity) at
Reser Stadium for the Oregon
State football spring game on
Saturday, May 8.
Hillsboro Hops: The Hops,
a High-A affiliate of Major
League Baseball’s Arizona Di-
amondbacks, are set to open
the 2021 season with an eight-
game homestead that starts
Tuesday.
See COVID-19 / B3