FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT
A5
S PORTS
THE BULLETIN • WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 2021
bendbulletin.com/sports
FOOTBALL
COLLEGE FOOTBALL | OREGON DUCKS
Former star Hawaii
QB Brennan dies
QB JOB IS
BROWN’S
Colt Brennan, a star
quarterback at the Univer-
sity of Hawaii who finished
third in the 2007 Heisman
Trophy balloting, died
early Tuesday, his father
said. He was 37.
Brennan, who has had
public struggles with al-
cohol, died at a hospital in
California, his father, Terry
Brennan, told The Associ-
ated Press.
“He just spent one too
many times on the dark
side of life, and it caught
up with him,” Terry Bren-
nan said of his son.
Brennan transferred to
Hawaii after stints at Colo-
rado and Saddleback Col-
lege in California. A certain
pro prospect, he bypassed
the NFL draft in order to
play his senior year for Ha-
waii coach June Jones.
Brennan led the War-
riors to their finest season
ever, going 12-0 in the
regular season. Georgia
ended Hawaii’s hopes for
an unblemished record,
defeating the Warriors 41-
10 in the Sugar Bowl.
He returned, in part, to
pay back to a school and a
coach that gave him a sec-
ond chance, and he had
no regrets.
“Hawaii has inspired me
to do a lot of great things,”
he told The Associated
Press in 2007.
Brennan was drafted by
Washington in the sixth
round of the NFL draft in
2008, but he never played
a regular season game in
two seasons.
Brennan had been
living at an addiction
treatment center in Costa
Mesa, California. His father
said he took him to a hos-
pital emergency room on
Sunday because his son
had been drinking. “I could
tell he was not well and
needed help,” Terry Bren-
nan said.
But the detox facility
was full, so without his
family realizing it, Colt
Brennan was released. He
was unconscious when he
was taken back to the hos-
pital, where he later died,
his father said.
—Associated Press
HORSE RACING
Medina Spirit
allowed to race
Preakness officials said
Tuesday they are allow-
ing Kentucky Derby win-
ner Medina Spirit to enter
Saturday’s race, subject
to additional testing and
monitoring, following the
colt’s failed drug test after
the Derby.
Medina Spirit and two
other horses trained by
Bob Baffert will be under
extra scrutiny in the days
leading up to the second
jewel of the Triple Crown.
The Maryland Racing Com-
mission and Baffert have
agreed to the conditions
for Medina Spirit, fellow
Preakness runner Concert
Tour and Beautiful Gift,
who is expected to run
in the Black-Eyed Susan
Stakes on Friday.
“We reached an agree-
ment with Mr. Baffert and
his lawyers that allows for
additional testing, addi-
tional monitoring — es-
sentially a watchlist to
ensure the integrity of the
sport leading up to the
race,” Maryland Jockey
Club lawyer Alan Rifkin
said. “We’re very pleased to
have that and we appre-
ciate Mr. Baffert’s patience
and the way in which his
lawyers went about it.”
Medina Spirit drew the
No. 3 post in a field of 10
horses as the 9-5 morn-
ing-line favorite. Concert
Tour drew the outside 10th
post and is the second
choice in the wagering
at 5-2.
—Associated Press
TO LOSE
After spring practices, Anthony
Brown figures to be the Ducks’
starting quarterback come fall
BY JAMES CREPEA
The Oregonian
ar and away the most signif-
icant change to Oregon’s ros-
ter from 2020 to 2021, Tyler
Shough’s transfer to Texas Tech
took what was an open door at quar-
terback and blew it off the hinges. An-
thony Brown has all but closed it at this
point though.
The only quarterback with any game
experience on the roster, Brown entered
spring as the starter and left it as the
starter, much as Shough did a year ago.
The difference of course is the Ducks
aren’t linked to a graduate transfer this
offseason and the three freshmen, Jay
Butterfield, Ty Thompson and Robby
Ashford, battling for the backup spot
have never taken a snap in a college
game.
Mario Cristobal will wait until fall
camp to formalize Brown as the starter
but it’s hard to envision a realistic sce-
nario in which he loses the job before
the season opener.
“We think Anthony is the one, he’s
the one that’s leading, but we’re not go-
ing to let that die,” Cristobal said. “We’re
going to keep that engaged and rolling
as we get into the summer. But that bat-
tle for the two spot has really tightened.”
By all accounts, Brown got all the
first team reps during the spring. He
certainly did during the first scrimmage
and spring game, when he was 17 of 26
for 208 yards and a touchdown and had
a fumble.
F
Oregon quarterback
Anthony Brown throws
during practice at Autzen Stadium in
Eugene in April. Eric Evans via UO Athletics
See Ducks / A7
BASEBALL
GOLF | COMMENTARY
MLB tells Athletics to explore
relocation if no new ballpark
It’s hard to
keep score
when paying
for popularity
BY JANIE MCCAULEY
AP Baseball Writer
OAKLAND, Calif. — Major
League Baseball instructed the
Athletics to explore relocation op-
tions as the team tries to secure a
new waterfront ballpark it hopes
will keep the club in Oakland long-
term.
MLB released a statement Tues-
day expressing its longtime deter-
mination that the current Coliseum
site is “not a viable option for the
future vision of baseball.”
“MLB is concerned with the rate
of progress on the A’s new ballpark
effort with local officials and other
stakeholders in Oakland,” MLB said.
“The A’s have worked very hard to
advance a new ballpark in down-
town Oakland for the last four years,
investing significant resources while
facing multiple roadblocks. We
know they remain deeply commit-
ted to succeeding in Oakland, and
with two other sports franchises re-
cently leaving the community, their
commitment to Oakland is now
more important than ever.”
A’s President Dave Kaval re-
mains hopeful of a stadium deal,
but there’s beginning to be a time
crunch.
“We’re going to immediately start
working with the league on explor-
ing other markets and working
BY DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
C
In November 2018, the A’s an-
nounced they had found a water-
front location for their new ballpark
that would cost more than $1 bil-
lion, with picturesque views toward
San Francisco, the Bay Bridge and
Port of Oakland. The goal had been
to open in 2023, but now, even if
approved by Oakland’s City Coun-
cil this summer, it would not be
ready until 2027.
HARLOTTE, N.C. — The PGA Tour
is giving away $40 million to the lead-
ing 10 players who move the needle,
a term that’s been around for some 60 years
because it’s a simple way to define popularity.
It’s part of the “Player Impact Program,”
a title that doesn’t necessarily move the nee-
dle.
But it figures to be popular, at least with
10 players.
Some players knew about it more than a
year ago when the tour was getting ready to
roll out the program until the coronavirus
pandemic got in the way. Others said they
didn’t know until a month ago. One player
found out on Twitter. He probably won’t
make the top 10.
It goes against the ideal of golf being the
ultimate meritocracy. But it has merit, es-
pecially with groups backed by Saudi riches
trying to lure away golf’s top players to a
team-based league.
“I don’t think it’s going to be perfect,”
Rory McIlroy said. “But again, I think it was
a prudent move on the tour’s part to try to
appease some people that were getting their
heads turned by other things.”
See Oakland / A7
See Ferguson / A7
Ben Margot/AP file
The Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics during the national anthem at the
Oakland Coliseum prior to an opening day MLB baseball game in Oakland, Cali-
fornia, in March 2018.
hand in hand with them to identify
which ones make the most sense
and pursuing that right away,” A’s
President Dave Kaval told The As-
sociated Press in a telephone inter-
view. “We need to keep our options
open. People know, we can’t even
keep the lights on here at the Coli-
seum.”
The A’s previously proposed and
withdrew plans for ballparks in Fre-
mont and San Jose.