A5
S PORTS
THE BULLETIN • MONDAY, MAY 3, 2021
bendbulletin.com/sports
NFL DRAFT
Triple Crown
Baffert mulling Medina Spirit’s
next step after the Derby win
BY GARY B. GRAVES
Associated Press
L
OUISVILLE, Ky. — Medina
Spirit’s surprising Kentucky
Derby victory gave Bob Baf-
fert a good problem to have — fig-
uring out where to hang another
sign on his barn’s already crowded
wall of glory.
As the Hall of Fame trainer di-
gests a record seventh Derby win
that caught even him off guard,
he and the horse’s connections
must determine whether the
dark brown colt will turn around
quickly for the 146th Preakness
on May 15 in Baltimore, where a
collection of rested horses and re-
venge-minded competitors await.
“He came out of it well,” Baffert
said Sunday morning at Churchill
Downs. “It takes about a week to
determine, so I’m going to come
back next weekend and see. I don’t
see anything that would discour-
age me right now.”
Similar wait-and-see decisions
loomed on the backside a day af-
ter the 147th Derby returned to its
traditional first Saturday in May
date.
Shorter than the Derby at 1 3/16
miles, the Preakness sets up well
for horses that skipped Churchill
Downs for the sprint at Pimlico
Race Course. Not to mention a
chance for redemption for com-
petitors that fell short to Medina
Spirit.
Trainer Doug O’Neill said third-
place finisher Rock Your World
would not be among them, look-
ing instead to run the 1 1/2-mile
Belmont Stakes on June 5 in New
York.
See Medina Spirit / A6
Jeff Roberson/AP
Trainer Bob Baffert hands the winner’s trophy to jockey John Velazquez
after their victory with Medina Spirit in the 147th running of the Kentucky
Derby at Churchill Downs on Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky.
John Velazquez riding Medina Spirit leads Florent Geroux on Mandaloun
and Flavien Prat riding Hot Rod Charlie to win the 147th Kentucky Derby.
PGA TOUR
NASCAR CUP SERIES
Burns pulls away at Innisbrook
and claims his first PGA title
Busch celebrates
birthday with
win at Kansas
Speedway
BY DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Eight
times this season, Sam Burns has
been atop the leaderboard after ev-
ery round except the one that mat-
tered. That changed, finally, at the
Valspar Championship.
Burns got some help from Kee-
gan Bradley hitting into the wa-
ter on the 13th hole, and then the
24-year-old from Louisiana took it
from there with two big birdies that
led to a 3-under 68 and a three-shot
victory Sunday.
Burns won for the first time on
the PGA Tour after twice failing to
convert 54-hole leads in the Hous-
ton Open last fall and the Genesis
Invitational at Riviera in February.
The victory moves him into the
top 50 in the world and all but as-
sures a spot in the U.S. Open, along
with his first trip to the Masters
next spring.
Burns was wiping away tears
when he tapped in for a meaningless
bogey on the final hole, especially to
see his wife, parents and other fam-
ily members pour onto the green to
celebrate the moment with him.
“I’ve worked so hard for this mo-
ment,” Burns said. “They’ve all sac-
rificed so much.”
He had reason to believe this
moment could have come sooner.
Burns wasted a good start at the
season-opening Safeway Open. He
closed with a 2-over 72 to tie for
seventh in the Houston Open. He
BY DAVE SKRETTA
Associated Press
Burns was three shots ahead
through 13 holes on Saturday and
he struggled to retain a share of the
lead, so he knew what was possible.
This time, though, Bradley had no
chance.
Burns followed with a wedge that
stopped next to the hole for a tap-in
birdie on the par-5 14th. He put
Bradley away with a 7-iron to 18
feet and a birdie putt that brought
the most emotion he showed all
day, a hard fist slam.
He had a four-shot lead with two
holes to play, the water and worst
hazards behind him.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kyle Busch cel-
ebrated his 36th birthday Sunday by win-
ning a two-lap sprint to the finish at Kansas
Speedway, becoming the 10th different win-
ner through the first 11 races of the NA-
SCAR Cup Series season.
Busch had stalked Kyle Larson all day be-
fore beating him on a late restart to take the
lead. Then, after another caution in the clos-
ing laps, Busch followed up his Truck Series
win Saturday night with another trip to vic-
tory lane.
“That’s a Kyle Busch win right there,” he
said.
Kevin Harvick overcame a tire mishap
on a late pit stop and took advantage of
some chaos on the final restart to finish sec-
ond. Brad Keselowski dominated the early
laps before following his win at Talladega
last weekend by finishing third, and Matt
DiBenedetto and Chase Elliott rounded out
the top five.
Kyle Larson led a race-high 132 laps be-
fore his day ended in 19th place — and bit-
ter disappointment.
Even after he was beaten by Busch on that
late restart, he had another chance when
Christopher Bell got sideways in Turn 4 to
bring out another caution. But on the re-
start with two laps to go, Larson got trapped
behind Ryan Blaney and wound up getting
him sideways while trying to give him a
push, taking both of them out of contention.
See PGA / A6
See NASCAR / A6
Phelan M. Ebenhack/via AP
Sam Burns watches his tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the
Valspar Championship tournament on Sunday in Palm Harbor, Florida.
lost a two-shot lead at Riviera, com-
ing up one shot short of a playoff.
“Those moments in the past, you
really learn a lot,” Burns said. “This
week coming down the stretch, I
tried to stick to our process.”
Bradley and Burns were tied
through 36 holes and 54 holes,
and they stayed that way through
12 holes on another blistering day
at the Copperhead course. That
changed with one swing.
Bradley came up well short on
the par-3 13th and went into the
water, leading to double bogey.
Burns saved par with an 8-foot putt
for a two-shot lead.
17 players with
Oregon links
selected or signed
The 2021 NFL draft
ended Saturday with a
number of players con-
nected to Oregon hear-
ing their names called
among the 259 players
who were selected during
the three-day draft. For
others who weren’t se-
lected, some of those
players signed undrafted
free agent contracts.
Here’s a list of play-
ers with Oregon ties
who joined NFL teams
through the 2021 NFL
draft or by signing a
UDFA (Undrafted Free
Agent) contract following
the draft.
• John Bates, TE
(Lebanon HS)
Bates, who played at
Boise State, was selected
by the Washington Foot-
ball Team in the fourth
round (No. 124 overall).
• Brady Breeze, S
(Oregon)
Breeze was selected by
the Tennessee Titans in
the sixth round (No. 218).
• Isaiah Dunn, CB
(Oregon State)
Dunn reportedly
signed with the New York
Jets as an undrafted free
agent.
• Austin Faoliu, DT
(Oregon)
Faoliu reportedly
signed with the Dallas
Cowboys as an undrafted
free agent.
• Thomas Graham, CB
(Oregon)
Graham was selected
by the Chicago Bears in
the sixth round (No. 228).
• Jevon Holland, S
(Oregon)
Holland was selected
by the Miami Dolphins
in the second round (No.
36).
• Talanoa Hufanga, S
(Crescent Valley HS)
Hufanga, who played
at USC, was selected by
the San Francisco 49ers in
the fifth round (No. 180).
• Jermar Jefferson, RB
(Oregon State)
Jefferson was selected
by the Detroit Lions in the
seventh round (No. 257).
• Hunter Kampmoyer,
TE (Oregon)
Kampmoyer signed
with the Los Angeles
Chargers as an undrafted
free agent.
• Deommodore Lenoir,
CB (Oregon)
Lenior was selected by
the San Francisco 49ers in
the fifth round (No. 172).
• Elijah Molden, CB
(West Linn HS)
Molden, who played at
Washington, was selected
by the Tennessee Titans in
the third round (No. 100).
• Osa Odighizuwa, DT
(David Douglas HS)
Odighizuwa, who
played at UCLA, was se-
lected by the Dallas Cow-
boys in the third round
(No. 75).
• Hamilcar Rashed, Jr.,
Edge (Oregon State)
Rashed, Jr. reportedly
signed with the New York
Jets as an undrafted free
agent.
• Jordon Scott, DT
(Oregon)
Scott reportedly
signed with the Minne-
sota Vikings as an un-
drafted free agent.
• Penei Sewell, OT
(Oregon)
Sewell was selected by
the Detroit Lions in the
first round (No. 7).
• Marlon Tuipulotu, DT
(Central HS)
Tuipulotu, who played
at USC, was selected by
the Philadelphia Eagles in
the sixth round (No. 189).
• Nahshon Wright, CB
(Oregon State)
Wright was selected by
the Dallas Cowboys in the
third round (No. 99).
—The Oregonian