The BulleTin • Sunday, June 20, 2021 B3
NWSL
COLLEGE SPORTS
Thorns ramp back up for home matchup against Kansas City
“I think the sport is all
about the fans, all about
the connection, all about
the experience, it’s why I
fell in love watching this
game. Being able to see
stadiums and people,
seeing my family, seeing
my friends feel like they’re
on top of the world because
the team won.”
BY TYLER TACHMAN
The Oregonian
For the better part of the
last two weeks, a handful of
Portland Thorns players have
been in Austin, Texas, train-
ing with the U.S. women’s na-
tional team ahead of the 2021
Summer Olympics. In tem-
peratures nearing triple digits,
Sophia Smith, Lindsey Horan,
Crystal Dunn, AD Franch and
Becky Sauerbrunn have all
been competing to earn a spot
on the U.S. squad.
Meanwhile, the rest of the
Thorns have been practic-
ing in Portland, preparing for
Sunday afternoon’s matchup
against Kansas City in a much
more manageable climate.
Around noon on Friday, the
temperature in Portland was
72 degrees.
During the game on Sun-
day?
The high in Portland is
forecast for the low-90s.
“Half of our team will be
ready,” defender Meghan
Klingenberg said with a smile.
“The other half will be taking
IVs at halftime.”
Sunday’s match will be the
Thorns’ first since June 5.
Despite currently sitting in
second place in the NWSL
standings, the first leg of the
Thorns’ season hasn’t come
without its bumps.
After winning the first
game of the season, the
Thorns lost two consecu-
tive games for the first time
in more than a year. It was
part of three games in seven
days that Thorns coach Mark
Parsons called “probably the
worst type of scheduling I’ve
seen in nine years.”
After flying from Portland
to Orlando and then to New
Jersey, the Thorns proceeded
to rally, gutting out a 1-0 win
over Gotham FC and then
a 3-0 domination of Racing
Serena Morones/The Oregonian via AP, file
Portland Thorns’ Lindsey Horan goes up for a header against NJ/NY
Gotham FC’s Gina Lewandowski (12) during the NWSL Challenge Cup
final at Providence Park in May in Portland.
Louisville as they headed into
their two-week layoff.
“This schedule we had was
wild,” Parsons said. “It was just
sprinting to the next game and
to the next game and to the
next game.”
For those not vying for a
spot on the national team, the
break has offered a chance to
recharge.
Parsons gave the team some
time off before integrating
them back into low-intensity
training, where they focused
on the fundamentals. Specif-
ically, Klingenberg worked
on passes that set up scoring
chances.
With the smaller group
in Portland, the time off has
also given Parsons a chance
to work with his players in an
individualized setting. Parsons
held meetings with players,
updating them on their soccer
“identity” and reflecting on
where they stand as leaders.
In the past, Parsons has given
them projects to evaluate their
intangible qualities on the
pitch.
“Hopefully, we’ve been de-
veloping some minds, devel-
oping some soccer players,”
Parsons said. “More impor-
tantly, you bond, you con-
nect, you build relationships,
you made the relationships
even stronger. … That’s what
makes our team special, our
team unique. We invest in
each other.”
Mental focus is important
as the season continues be-
cause the Thorns could lose
players for an extended period
of time on international duty,
leaving an evolving rotation.
Recently, the team has
picked up the intensity in
practice as Sunday’s matchup
nears. The squad was set to
be back in full Saturday for a
training session to rekindle its
chemistry.
The Thorns already de-
feated KC NWSL 2-1 in the
preseason Challenge Cup
in April behind goals from
Rocky Rodriguez and Tyler
Lussi. But Sunday’s game will
come with a recent change in
the Thorns’ favor as Provi-
U.S. Open
Continued from B1
Oosthuizen made next to
nothing until he holed 80 feet
worth of putts over the final
three holes, a 30-foot birdie on
the 16th and his big eagle at
the last.
“The only thing you see is
… you can actually putt this in
the water,” Oosthuizen said.
Woods is recovering from
his February car crash that
badly injured his legs and is
not back at Torrey Pines. In
his absence were replays of the
eagles he made on the 13th
and 18th hole in the third
round in 2008 that gave him
the 54-hole lead.
It took two players to do
that this time, but it was
equally spectacular.
“I know Tiger’s was fur-
ther right, but halfway there,
I loved it,” Hughes said. “The
charge that goes through your
body when the ball goes in
the hole and the crowd erupts
is why we play. It gives me
goosebumps now thinking
about it.”
And he’ll have plenty of
nerves Sunday playing in the
final group with Oosthuizen,
who has had five runner-up
finishes in the majors — two
in playoffs — since winning
the 2010 British Open at St.
Andrews.
Henley holed a bunker shot
Shiffrin
Continued from B1
She also carries around a fes-
tive holiday gnome, who has
a big beard. It was a present
she got for him (along with a
matching one with braids for
her mom, Eileen) on their last
Christmas before his death.
The 2020-21 World Cup sea-
son was emotionally exhaust-
ing for the 26-year-old Shiffrin.
There were good days (three
World Cup wins) and plenty
of sad days that had nothing to
do with racing. Like after that
January event in Zagreb, Croa-
tia, when she finished fourth in
the slalom.
“People thought it was be-
cause I got fourth and they
were like, ‘I’m so sorry. You’ll
do better next time,’ ” Shiffrin
recounted. “I didn’t care about
Gregory Bull/AP
Louis Oosthuizen plays his shot from the seventh tee during the third
round of the U.S. Open on Saturday at Torrey Pines in San Diego.
on the par-3 11th for birdie
for a two-shot lead and made
a great par save from the cab-
bage behind he 12th green.
But he showed signs of crack-
ing over the last hour, drop-
ping shots on the 15th and
having to escape with par on
No. 18.
Thirteen players remained
under par going into the fi-
nal round. Eight players were
separated by three shots on a
tough course that might not
be as accessible as it was Satur-
day, when all three par 5s were
set up to be reachable in two.
McIlroy started the day six
shots behind and did his best
that. But I didn’t want to be
like, ‘No, it’s because of my dad.
It’s not because I got fourth.’ ”
Focus.
That’s the word she hears on
days she’s feeling blue or hav-
ing rough training sessions.
Focus.
It was always his way of get-
ting her back to herself. Back in
the zone of being the ski racer
who has won 69 World Cup
events, three overall titles and
six world championships.
“I kind of yell at myself and
he used to say, ‘You know, I
wonder if when you yell that’s
actually adding more of a dis-
traction than just staying fo-
cused,’ ” Shiffrin said.
Music was part of their
bond. Her dad loved the Beach
Boys, Fleetwood Mac, Buffett
and Simon. But he also appre-
ciated the newer artists like
work to save bogey. He ran
off three birdies in four holes
to start the back nine, only to
pull his tee shot into a ravine.
He took a penalty drop in-
stead of going into the ravine
— a smart decision consider-
ing television showed a large
rattlesnake in the area — and
limited the damage to a bogey.
A birdie on the 18th for a
67, matching the low score of
the week, gave him a chance
to win a major for the first
time since the 2014 PGA
Championship. McIlroy hasn’t
had many of those opportuni-
ties lately.
“This is the only tourna-
— Mark Parsons,
Portland Thorns head coach
dence Park’s capacity was in-
creased to 80%.
“I think the sport is all
about the fans, all about the
connection, all about the ex-
perience, it’s why I fell in love
watching this game,” Parsons
said. “Being able to see stadi-
ums and people, seeing my
family, seeing my friends feel
like they’re on top of the world
because the team won.”
Up to this point in the sea-
son, even with limited atten-
dance, Klingenberg has been
trying to soak up her time
on the pitch. Now 32, Klin-
genberg was once one of the
young stars on the Olympic
stage.
But now she’s trying to
stay present and help lead the
Thorns to another title.
“There’s not often times in
life where you can get 11 peo-
ple all on the same page, do-
ing the same thing, pulling all
in the same direction at the
same pace,” Klingenberg said.
“When you do get to find an
opportunity like that, I like
to dive right in because who
knows how many other times
in life you’ll be able to have
that.”
ment in the world where you
fist-pump a bogey,” McIlroy
said. “Only losing one there
was a big deal, and getting it
up-and-down out of the bun-
ker on 16 and making that
birdie on 18 just to get that
shot back that I lost, really
big.”
DeChambeau played it big,
too, going with driver just
about everywhere and missing
some fairways by such a wide
margin that he had good lies
in fan-trampled grass. It led
to his first time in 67 rounds
at the majors without a bogey
on his card, and his 68 gave
him a chance to join Koepka
and Curtis Strange as the only
back-to-back Open winners
in the last 50 years.
Koepka, meanwhile, was
among those who lost a good
opportunity. He shot 71 and
was only five shots behind, but
with 13 players ahead of him.
Jon Rahm, slowed by a dou-
ble bogey on No. 14 and not
nearly enough birdies, had
a 72 and was in the group at
2-under 211 along with Scot-
tie Scheffler (70) and Matthew
Wolff (73).
Dustin Johnson shot a 68
and was among those at 1-un-
der 212, four behind and very
much in the game in this ma-
jor and on this golf course.
“It’s a golf course where
anything can happen,” Oost-
huizen said.
Nathan Bilow/AP file
First-place finisher Mikaela Shiffrin, left, poses with her father Jeff Shif-
frin after a women’s World Cup slalom ski race in Aspen, Colorado, in
2015. Olympic gold medalist Shiffrin constantly thinks of her dad, who
died in February 2020 after an accident at his home in Colorado.
Taylor Swift. He would drum
along to the beat on the steer-
ing wheel before turning and
asking the name of the song.
“Sometimes, I download
music because I think that he
Sue Ogrocki/AP file
James Madison’s Odicci Alexander pitches in a Women’s College World
Series game against Oklahoma on June 7 in Oklahoma City.
Women’s college sports get
boost in ratings, visibility
OKLAHOMA CITY —
Odicci Alexander became
an overnight sensation at the
Women’s College World Series.
James Madison’s dynamic,
endearingly humble pitcher
was well known among die-
hard softball fans, but she
introduced herself to a na-
tional audience by throwing
a complete game to help her
unseeded squad stun tourna-
ment favorite Oklahoma in
the opening game earlier this
month. She threw another
complete game the next day in
a victory over Oklahoma State
and a star was born.
As her team was being elim-
inated in the semifinals, Alex-
ander drew a standing ovation
when she left the field. Fans
watching on TV and streaming
devices were sorry to see her go
— and so was ESPN, which has
been broadcasting the WCWS
since 2000.
Nick Dawson, ESPN’s vice
president of programming
for college sports, called her
emergence and her battles with
Oklahoma “the overarching
story of the event.”
“It just so worked out that
she, as a dominant pitcher,
ended up paired against argu-
ably the greatest offensive soft-
ball team in the history of the
sport in the opening game of
the Women’s College World
Series,” Dawson said. “To me,
a lot of that’s luck. It just falls in
your lap. The win is that we’re
positioned based on our com-
mitment to the coverage of the
event.”
Coverage of Division I wom-
en’s sports has been in a partic-
ularly bright spotlight in 2021
and the record-setting WCWS
was just the latest example of
growing interest — and grow-
ing demands for a more equi-
table playing field when com-
pared with men’s events.
ESPN’s has been experi-
menting in recent years with
showing more women’s sports
on its various platforms, and
good numbers have led the
network to become more ag-
gressive. Television viewership
was up significantly compared
to 2019 in the four most pop-
ular women’s college sports —
basketball, softball, gymnastics
and volleyball. The network
expanded its volleyball cover-
age this year to include every
match of the championship on
an ESPN platform.
The Walt Disney Co. owns
ABC and ESPN, and Daw-
son said ESPN is pushing to
get more sports program-
ming onto Saturday afternoon
spots on ABC. This year, ABC
broadcast women’s basketball
games and a women’s softball
game for the first time.
The women’s gymnastics fi-
nal on ABC averaged 808,000
viewers, a 510% increase over
the 2019 final on ESPNU.
Ripples of the increased ex-
posure are being felt. According
to the Social Blade social media
analytics site, Alexander gained
more than 50,000 Instagram
followers within a week of her
win over Oklahoma. She has
since signed a professional con-
tract with the United States Spe-
cialty Sports Association Pride.
“There were enough places
where that story was told this
time around that she’s reached
a certain critical masse,” said
Robert Thompson, professor
of popular culture. “She’s pen-
etrated the culture. That is the
important part of that story.”
Alexander’s story resonated
on various levels. She’s a Black
player in a largely white sport
who knocked off the eventual
national champion while play-
ing for an upstart school.
“I’m sure there have been
great stories filled with all of
these great narrative flourishes
like hers that have been going
on in women’s sports for years,”
Thompson said, “but people
who would have loved those
stories never hear them be-
cause there hasn’t been a lot of
space given.”
The average number of view-
ers for the three championship
final games between Oklahoma
and Florida State was a record
1,840,000, up 15% over 2019.
The average for the 17-game
WCWS was 1,203,000, up 10%
over 2019 and numbers com-
parable to those from the men’s
College World Series in 2019.
“Finally, there is this recogni-
tion that if you show it, people
will watch it,” Thompson said.
“And there’s been a lot of resis-
tance to that to women’s sports.”
Ratings also were high for
the women’s basketball Final
Four. The championship game
drew 4,077,000 viewers — the
highest total since 2014 and up
9% from 2019. The semifinals
averaged 2,850,000 viewers, the
best numbers since 2012 and a
20% jump from 2019.
The volleyball championship
match between Kentucky and
Texas averaged 696,000 view-
ers, up 28% from 2019. Ken-
tucky’s victory was the most-
viewed telecast on ESPN2 for
the month of April.
Dawson said ESPN will re-
main aggressive about expand-
ing programming opportunities
for women’s sports. Thompson
said that makes sense.
“For women’s sports, there
is lots and lots and lots of
room for lots and lots and lots
of growth,” he said. “If I were
looking to invest in a genre of
futures of American entertain-
ment, women’s sports would be
close to the top of my list.”
would like it even more than I
might like it,” Shiffrin said.
Shiffrin recently finished a
giant slalom and slalom train-
ing session on snow at Copper
Mountain in Colorado. After
all, it’s a big upcoming sea-
son with the Winter Olympics
in Beijing around the corner.
She’s thinking big, too — pos-
sibly competing in four or five
events. The one up for discus-
sion may be the downhill.
“I just want to see how
things are going as we get
closer, because the last thing I
want to do is compete just for
the sake of competing when I
know that I have teammates
who are dying for that spot,”
said Shiffrin, who captured
slalom gold at the 2014 Sochi
Olympics and the giant slalom
title during the 2018 Pyeongc-
hang Games along with silver
in the Alpine combined.
This will be an Olympics,
though, without dad. Her par-
ents groomed her and her
brother, Taylor, to be skiers —
to have fun on the slopes. The
gold medals for Mikaela Shif-
frin just followed.
The fund set up in his honor
could pave the way for more
golds, by other athletes.
Through the money raised
on behalf of Jeff Shiffrin — and
support from the Shelby Cul-
lom Davis Charitable Fund —
the organization was able to
make a COVID-19 hardship
payment of $1,300 each to its
’20-21 national team members.
“My dad loved all sports,”
Shiffrin said. “He just loved to
see the work that athletes put
into it, and the success they
have from that work. He found
it inspiring.”
BY CLIFF BRUNT
Associated Press