FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT
A5
S PORTS
THE BULLETIN • TUESDAY, JUNE 15, 2021
LOCAL
MOUNTAIN
BIKING
Bend racers fare
well at Enduro Cup
Youth mountain bik-
ers from Bend competed
in the esteemed North
American Enduro Cup at
Silver Mountain in Kel-
logg, Idaho, on Saturday
and Sunday.
Racers from across the
country competed in the
event, which included
more than 6,000 vertical
feet of climbing, followed
by a test of speed and
technical abilities while
descending the slopes at
Silver Mountain Resort.
Bend’s Tanner Wescott
finished third place
overall in the Junior Ex-
pert Boys 17U class, and
Adeline Dishman, also of
Bend, finished third place
in the Sport Girls 17U
class. Her twin brother,
Elliott Dishman, finished
19th place in the Sport
Boys 17U. At just 11 years
old, the Dishmans were
the youngest competitors
at the North American
Enduro Cup.
Wescott plans to com-
pete at the U.S. Mountain
Bike Championships in
Winter Park, Colorado,
next month.
For more informa-
tion on the North Amer-
ican Enduro Cup, visit
naenduro.com.
bendbulletin.com/sports
TOKYO GAMES
NBC banks on Olympics
continuing as expected
BY MEG JAMES
Los Angeles Times
After a yearlong delay, the
Tokyo Summer Olympics are
just six weeks away — despite
concerns about whether it is
safe to bring thousands of in-
ternational athletes and crowds
together in the middle of a
pandemic.
Medical professionals have
warned that they may not be
able to handle another surge in
COVID-19 cases or contend
with virus variants. As of last
month, only about 2% of the
Japanese public was fully vac-
cinated against COVID-19. In
recent polls, more than 80%
of Japanese residents said they
would prefer to have the Sum-
mer Games canceled or once
again postponed.
But for NBCUniversal, tele-
vising the Games is a marquee
moment for its TV networks
and a huge moneymaking
event.
Underdog ?
No, Paul is the
favorite now
COLLEGE
FOOTBALL
OSU aims for 100%
stadium capacity
— The Oregonian
See NBC / A7
Tony Gutierrez/AP photo
Simone Biles competes on the uneven bars during the U.S. Gymnastics
Championships on June 6 in Fort Worth, Texas. The reigning Olympics
gymnastics champion, Biles is set to perform during the first week of
the Games, which should help drive viewership interest in the Games.
NBA | COMMENTARY
— Bulletin staff report
CORVALLIS — Ore-
gon State athletic direc-
tor Scott Barnes said it is
his “hope and wish” that
Reser Stadium will be at
full capacity this fall for
Beavers football games.
Gov . Kate Brown has
said once 70 % of adults in
Oregon have at least one
COVID-19 vaccination
shot, most safety restric-
tions will terminate. That
includes limits on capac-
ity for spectators at sport-
ing events.
“We’re planning to go
back to a normal year,”
Barnes said.
The fan experience,
however, has yet to be
determined. Roughly
three months from the
Sept. 11 home opener
against Hawaii, Barnes
doesn’t know if masks will
be optional or required.
Tailgating, Barnes be-
lieves, will be an experi-
ence closer to what it was
before the pandemic.
Last year, Oregon
State was close to selling
14,000 season tickets be-
fore the pandemic took
over. Barnes said he antic-
ipates more than a 90%
renewal rate. He expects
the school will sell more
than 14,000 season tick-
ets for OSU’s six home
game schedule.
A breakout season is
the fan base’s anticipa-
tion for coach Jonathan
Smith’s fourth year at Or-
egon State. The Beavers,
who last played in a bowl
game in 2013, are looking
to participate in postsea-
son play in 2021.
That’s where Barnes’
mind is as well.
“A realistic expectation
is a bowl game,” Barnes
said. “Or more.”
Barnes believes the
OSU program has shown
growth over Smith’s first
three years, to a point
where “I don’t think you
can argue we’ve been
more competitive. …
That competitiveness that
we’ve seen is now going
to quantify itself in terms
of wins.”
The company had built
much of last year’s business
plan around its coverage of the
2020 Olympics — so NBCU-
niversal took a hit when those
Games were postponed to July
2021. Five years ago, NBCU-
niversal generated $1.6 billion
in revenue from the Rio de Ja-
neiro Games, including $1.2
billion in ad revenue, accord-
ing to S&P Global Market In-
telligence’s Kagan unit.
Point guard has helped take the Phoenix Suns
to levels few thought the team could reach
BY TIM REYNOLDS
AP Basketball Writer
It seems like Chris Paul relishes the
notion of being the underdog.
That’s why, when the Western Con-
ference semifinals were over and the
Phoenix Suns had swept their way
into the NBA’s final four, he talked
about how he felt written off a cou-
ple of seasons ago. Why he talked
about spending two years on his high
school’s junior varsity team. How he
wasn’t, in his words, “necessarily sup-
posed to be here.”
It’s a neat narrative. But it’s not re-
ality.
Fact is, this is exactly where Paul and
the Suns are supposed to be. He’s still
elite at what he does. He’s helped take
the Suns to levels few thought they
could reach in Year 1 of his tenure in
the valley. They’re headed to the West
finals against the Utah Jazz or the Los
Angeles Clippers, a matchup that’ll
start early next week, and there will be
no shortage of experts picking the Suns
to go from there to the NBA Finals.
“I’ve always had to grind, and I like
that mentality, and that’s always been
who I’ve been, and I’m going to stay
that way,” Paul said. “If you like it,
cool. If you don’t, it’s cool too.”
He’s a grinder, yes, but make no
mistake — he’s a wildly successful
grinder.
It is true that Paul spent two years
on the JV team at West Forsyth High
in Clemmons, North Carolina. It’s also
true that he became a McDonald’s
All-American and a five-star recruit
there before signing with Wake Forest,
was a top-five draft pick and then ulti-
mately an NBA rookie of the year.
His is not exactly an out-of-no-
where success story.
And again, to be fair, there were
questions whether Paul’s realistic win-
dow for winning a championship had
closed after his hamstring betrayed
him and the Houston Rockets couldn’t
win Games 6 or 7 of the 2018 West fi-
nals against Golden State. He was also
in Year 1 of a four-year, $159.7 million
contract — the third max deal of his
career — at that time, so it’s not like
everyone had given up on him. He’s
earned more in NBA salary than any-
one other than LeBron James, Kevin
Garnett and Kobe Bryant.
Consider this line from Denver
coach Michael Malone, offered up
Sunday night after Paul scored 37
points to help Phoenix finish off its
sweep of the Nuggets, the first 4-0 se-
ries win of Paul’s career: “Chris Paul
could arguably be the greatest point
guard of all time.”
Paul is no underdog.
The Suns, now they’re the under-
dog story.
See Paul / A7
David Zalubowski/AP
TENNIS | COMMENTARY
Give Djokovic his due as he paves his ‘own path’
BY HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Tennis Writer
The question put to Novak
Djokovic after he won the
French Open for his 19th
Grand Slam title, moving
within one of rivals Roger Fed-
erer and Rafael Nadal for the
men’s record, was whether he
ever was resigned to not being
able to catch them.
The context: Entering the
2011 season, Federer owned 16
major championships, Nadal
nine and Djokovic one.
And while Djokovic began
by offering a direct answer
Sunday night following his 6-7
(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory
over Stefanos Tsitsipas, saying
he didn’t consider it “a mission
impossible” to bring his trophy
collection in line with the other
members of the Big Three,
what followed was instructive.
“I’ll keep on going. I’ll keep
on chasing,” Djokovic said
about the Slam standings that
everyone has been tracking for
a while now as each surpassed
the benchmark of 14 estab-
lished by Pete Sampras.
In the very next breath,
Djokovic added: “At the same
time, I’ll keep on paving my
own path, which is my own au-
thentic path. We — all three of
us — have our own journeys,
and that’s it.”
So true. So important to
remember. Because what
Djokovic seemed to be say-
ing was: Judge me on my own
merits. Look at what I am ac-
complishing. Let’s not worry
about the Grand Slam total.
Please don’t just view me in
comparison to Federer and
Nadal.
He’s right. Give him his due.
Instead of analyzing the con-
siderable amount of achieve-
ment attained by Djokovic
through the prism of how he
stacks up with the other two,
take stock of his path.
This is not to imply that
Djokovic’s reputation or legacy
would suffer when the trio is
grouped together.
If anything, the exact oppo-
site is true. Consider:
• His semifinal win over Na-
dal at Roland Garros increased
Djokovic’s lead in their series
to 30-28, and he leads Federer
head-to-head, too, 27-23.
• Djokovic is the only man to
beat 13-time champion Nadal
twice at the French Open and
is 3-1 against eight-time cham-
pion Federer at Wimbledon
(3-0 in finals, including saving
championship points in 2019).
See Djokovic / A7