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INSIDE: COMICS, OPINIONS & CLASSIFIEDS B S PORTS THE BULLETIN • SaTUrday, JULy 24, 2021 bendbulletin.com/sports GOLF Lee6 ties majors record with 61 EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France — Jeongeun Lee6 tied the golf majors re- cord for the lowest round ever when she carded a 10-under-par 61 at the Evian Championship on Friday. Her bogey-free second round equaled country- woman Hyo Joo Kim, who shot the lowest score by a female or male in a major in the first round in 2014 also at the picturesque Evian Resort on the shore of Lake Geneva. Lee6’s 36-hole score of 127 was also the low- est total in a women’s or men’s major, beating the 128 by Brooks Koepka at the 2019 U.S. PGA Cham- pionship. After her 10 birdies in the second round, Lee6 led at 15 under, three shots clear of Thai players Pajaree Anannarukarn — the co-overnight leader — and Ariya Jutanugarn, who shot an 8-under 63. “I had a lot of birdie chances,” Lee6 said. “I could play easily. My putting was really, really good.” She made four straight birdies on holes 6-9, in- cluding a chip from the greenside rough on the par-3 8th. Pajaree shared the overnight lead with American teenager Yealimi Noh, who posted a 3-under 68 and was tied with Lydia Ko (65) of New Zealand in fourth at 9 under. New world No. 1 Nelly Korda recovered from her 3-over 74 on Thursday to post a 4-under 67 and join defending champion Jin Young Ko at 1 under. — Associated Press Local football Parker Lapsley finds home with Storm Former Crook County High running back helps lead High Desert Storm into the playoffs BY BRIAN RATHBONE • The Bulletin R EDMOND — Parker Lapsley was headed to Pasco, Washington, to play arena football for the Tri- City Rush of the America West Football Conference — then a couple of weeks after signing he received some welcoming news regarding his football career that Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin would keep him closer to home. Oregon High Desert Storm’s Parker Lapsley catches a pass while running plays with his teammates during practice on Thursday. A new team in the same conference would be starting up in the same area where he grew up. In February, the 2016 Crook County High grad tried out for and made the Oregon High Desert Storm squad as a running back. “It is an amazing experience,” Laps- ley said. “I was ready to figure out life in Washington but this is where I live. I got my friends, family and girl- friend here. So I came and tried out for the team and played my heart out for them.” As the Storm (6-3 overall) have al- ready earned a playoff berth with two games left in the regular season, Laps- “It is an amazing experience. I was ready to figure out life in Washington but this is where I live. I got my friends, family and girlfriend here. So I came and tried out for the team and played my heart out for them.” — Parker Lapsley, Oregon High Desert Storm football player ley has emerged as a weapon for the Storm offense, averaging more than five yards per carry with 12 touch- downs. “He has a unique running style,” said Storm coach Keith Evans. “He has good speed. As fast as he runs, it doesn’t look like he is running very fast. He is a sprinter so it looks differ- ent when he runs.” A talented athlete during his time competing for the Cowboys, Laps- ley went on to play football and run track for the College of the Siskiyous in Weed, California. But when he en- tered the professional ranks with a whole new style of football amid play- ers with more experience, he had to wait a couple of games to make an im- pact on the field. “This was my first year in the arena league so I was just hoping to make the team and support them anyway that I could, no matter what role that would be,” Lapsley said. “I’m glad I have gotten the opportunity to play, and have been patient with it.” Lapsley and the rest of the Storm will play what could be their final home game of the season 7 p.m. Sat- urday at First Interstate Bank Center in Redmond when they host fellow playoff team and reigning AWFC champions the Idaho Horsemen. See Football / B2 NFL 80% of players in vaccination process The number of NFL players in the COVID-19 vaccination process has reached 80%, with nine teams having 90% or more of their players in that category. Dr. Allen Sills, the league’s medical director, said Friday that nearly all Tier 1 and Tier 2 team employees — those who deal directly with players — have been vaccinated. Five teams are at less than 70% of players who have either received one vacci- nation shot or both. “I think we are off to an excellent start,” Sills said. “Those numbers are much higher than what we’re seeing in society as a whole. ” On Thursday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to the 32 teams warning that forfeited regular-sea- son games could occur for a COVID-19 outbreak caused by nonvaccinated players. Minnesota has an assis- tant, Rick Dennison, who is not vaccinated. After ESPN reported that Dennison has been ousted from his role as offensive line coach and run game coordina- tor, the Vikings released a statement confirming they were in discussions with him regarding league pro- tocols for training camp and preseason games. As of Friday afternoon, Den- nison remained a team employee. “At this time, coach Dennison does not have an exemption to the vac- cination requirements of those protocols. We will adhere to the require- ments of the protocols and of applicable law,” the Vikings said. — Associated Press TOKYO OLYMPICS MLB Cleveland goes from Indians to Guardians BY TOM WITHERS Associated Press David J. Phillip/AP Naomi Osaka lights the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony in the Olympic Stadium at the Summer Olympics Friday in Tokyo. ‘The greatest honor’: Osaka lights cauldron BY ANDREW DAMPF Associated Press TOKYO — What a moment for Naomi Osaka. For the new Japan. For racial injustice. For female athletes. For tennis. The four-time Grand Slam winner lit the cauldron at the opening ceremony of the To- kyo Olympics on Friday. It was a choice that could be appreciated worldwide: In Japan, of course, the country where Osaka was born and the nation that she plays for; in embattled Haiti because that’s where her father is from; and surely in the United States, be- cause that’s where the globe’s highest-earning female athlete lives and where she has been outspoken about racial injus- tice. Plus, everywhere in between, because Osaka is a superstar. But she has often received an uncomfortable welcome in Japan because of her race, with her family having moved to the U.S. when she was 3. Her emergence as a top tennis player has challenged public attitudes about identity in a ho- mogeneous culture that is be- ing pushed to change. It’s always a mystery until the last moment who gets the honor of lighting the cauldron. Sadaharu Oh, Shigeo Na- gashima and Hideki Matsui were among the baseball greats who took part in bringing the flame into the stadium. And in a country where baseball is the No. 1 sport, Osaka was not necessarily expected to be given the ultimate honor. See Olympics / B3 CLEVELAND — Known as the Indians since 1915, Cleveland’s Major League Baseball team will be called Guardians. The ballclub announced the name change Friday — ef- fective at the end of the 2021 season — with a video on Twitter narrated by actor and team fan Tom Hanks. The de- cision ends months of inter- nal discussions triggered by a national reckoning by institu- tions and teams to drop logos and names considered racist. The choice of Guardians will undoubtedly be criticized by many of the club’s die-hard fans, some of whom quickly went on social media to vent. The organization spent most of the past year whittling down a list of potential names that was at nearly 1,200 just over a month ago. But the process, which the club said included 140 hours of inter- views with fans, community leaders, front office personnel and a survey of 40,000 fans. Owner Paul Dolan said last summer’s social unrest, touched off by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapo- lis, spurred his intention to change the name. Dolan was expected to provide more details on the choice and background on the change at a news conference at Progressive Field before the Indians host the Tampa Bay Rays. Dolan said the new name mirrors the city and its people. “Cleveland has and always will be the most important part of our identity,” he said in a statement. “Therefore, we Tony Dejak/AP file Cleveland Indians’ Triston McKenzie pitches against the Kansas City Royals on July 9 in Cleveland. wanted a name that strongly represents the pride, resiliency and loyalty of Clevelanders. ‘Guardians’ reflects those at- tributes that define us.” “It brings to life the pride Clevelanders take in our city and the way we fight together for all who choose to be part of the Cleveland baseball family. While ‘Indians’ will al- ways be a part of our history, our new name will help unify our fans and city as we are all Cleveland Guardians.” The change comes as the Washington Football Team continues to work toward a similar makeover. The fran- chise dropped its Redskins name before the 2020 season. Washington recently said it will reveal a new name and logo in 2022. Cleveland’s new name was inspired by two large land- mark stone edifices near the downtown ballpark — re- ferred to as traffic guardians — on the Hope Memorial Bridge over the Cuyahoga River. The team’s colors will re- main the same, and the new Guardians’ new logos will in- corporate some of the archi- tectural features of the bridge. In 2018, the Indians stopped wearing the conten- tious Chief Wahoo logo on their jerseys and caps. However, the team contin- ues to sell merchandise bear- ing the smiling, red-faced car- icature that was protested for decades by Native American groups. Numerous Native Amer- ican groups have protested Cleveland’s use of the Wahoo logo and Indians name for years, so the latest develop- ment brought some comfort. “It is a major step towards righting the wrongs com- mitted against Native peo- ples, and is one step towards justice,” said Crystal Echo Hawk, executive director and founder of IllumiNative, a group dedicated to fighting misrepresentations of Native Americans. See MLB / B2