USA Today - 01.11.2019

USA TODAY z FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2019z SECTION C

Oregon women top preseason poll

For the first time in school history, Oregon is No. 1

in the USA TODAY Sports college women’s basket-

ball preseason coaches poll. National player of the

year candidate Sabrina Ionescu leads the Ducks.

Defending champion Baylor opens at No. 2.

Why Oregon is No 1, plus complete poll 6C

IN SPORTS

SABRINA IONESCU BY JASEN VINLOVE/USA TODAY SPORTS

HOUSTON – The trophy was heavy,

almost listing in the arms of the MLB

official tasked to pass it off to Stephen

Strasburg. But the MVP of the 2019

World Series was not ready for it.

Strasburg earned that trophy in ev-

ery sense of the word, dominating op-

ponents all October, winning five

games, including two in this Series,

capped by an 8^1 ⁄ 3 -inning command per-

formance in Tuesday’s Game 6 against

the Astros.

So after the Nationals claimed their

first championship with a 6-2, Game 7

triumph Wednesday, it was an easy

choice to hand Strasburg the rebooted

trophy, featuring a sprawling Willie

Mays and best described as bulky.

Handing it off was a different story.

Strasburg navigated his 6-5, 230-

pound frame through the sea of giddy

humanity on the Minute Maid Park

grass, not stopping until he gathered a

posse of family members – parents,

children, wife Rachel – around the

pitching mound to pose with the cham-

pionship trophy.

Strasburg is private by nature and

Catcher Kurt Suzuki and pitcher Stephen Strasburg, right, were among the Nationals players and team personnel who

admired the spoils of the franchise’s first World Series title Wednesday in Houston. THOMAS B. SHEA/USA TODAY SPORTS

Series MVP Strasburg

quietly earned esteem

Pitcher won twice in Nationals’ title run versus Astros

Gabe Lacques

USA TODAY

See STRASBURG, Page 4C

ARCADIA, Calif. – Craig Favel sat

down in front of the grandstands at

Santa Anita Park as he looked across

the famed racetrack and into the dis-

tance.

“Sitting here at the foothills of the

San Gabriel Mountains, you can see

why this is such a great venue for the

Breeders’ Cup,” the CEO and president

of the Breeders’ Cup told USA TODAY

Sports this week. “It’s a spectacularly

beautiful place.”

Yet it’s also fraught with tension and

scrutiny as the annual two-day horse

racing event is set to begin Friday.

The 36th running of the Breeders’

Cup, 14 races with purses of no less than

$1 million each that culminate with the

$6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, has at-

tracted many of the sport’s top horses.

It’s also certain to attract protesters de-

crying a string of horse deaths – 36 since

December – at Santa Anita.

The deaths have activated animal

rights groups such as PETA and led to an

investigation by the Los Angeles Dis-

trict Attorney’s Office.

Yet in June, with a chance to move

the Breeders’ Cup to famed Churchill

Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, or an-

other racetrack, the organization’s

Horse deaths hover over Santa Anita

Josh Peter

USA TODAY

SeeSANTA ANITA, Page 4C

LOS ANGELES – Suddenly, the
Warriors are light-years behind the
rest of the NBA.
After winning three titles in five
years, Golden State’s championship
armor has absorbed various dents in
recent months. On Wednesday eve-
ning, the Warriors suffered a signifi-
cant crack that could completely de-
stroy that armor.
Stephen Curry broke his left hand
after falling to the floor following a
hard collision with Aron Baynes in the
loss to the Suns at Chase Center. Curry
landed hard on his left wrist and
Baynes fell on top of him. Curry plans
to receive an MRI and CT scan to deter-
mine whether he needs surgery. Even
the best-case scenario will likely lead
to bad dreams.
Instead of holding out hope they
can remain a playoff contender in the
super-stacked Western Conference,
the Warriors might already begin a re-
building season 4^1 ⁄ 2 months after losing
to the Raptors in the NBA Finals.
Since then, the Warriors’ identity
has changed drastically. Two-time
NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant bolted
to Brooklyn as a free agent. The War-
riors acquired D’Angelo Russell. They
dealt veteran Andre Iguodala to Mem-
phis in a salary dump. Shaun Living-
ston retired.And Klay Thompson will
remain sidelined until at least All-Star
weekend in mid-Februaryafter tearing
the ACL in his right knee in the Game 6
loss to Toronto.
The Warriors did not envision this
when they opened Chase Centerin
San Francisco after spending the pre-
vious 47 seasons at Oracle Arena in
Oakland.
The Warriors believed they could
pivot from mimicking the Bulls’ dynas-
tic run in the 1990s to emulating the
Spurs’ long-term success through the
past two decades. The reason? The
Warriors had two All-Stars (Curry,
Draymond Green), a trusted coach
(Steve Kerr), a respected general man-
ager (Bob Myers) and a deep-pocketed
owner (Joe Lacob).
Instead, the Warriors have labored
through a 1-3 start. Without Curry, the
Warriors no longer have the person
most responsible for their revolution-
ized offense and team-oriented cul-
ture. And unlike past seasons when
Curry became hobbled with ankle and
groin injuries, the Warriors no longer
have the infrastructure to absorb his
absences.
This much we do know: The War-
riors’ fortunes for a successful season
seem as likely as making a 40-foot
shot.
Only Curry can do that.

Mark Medina

Columnist

USA TODAY

Warriors

cannot

afford to

lose Curry

OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Every time
Mark Andrews jogs off the field between
possessions in a game, he slips off his
receiving gloves and pricks his finger.
Then he does it again. And again. And
maybe one more time, just to be sure.
While his teammates are sipping
Gatorade and reviewing film, the Rav-
ens’ tight end has an additional respon-
sibility. As the rare Type 1 diabetic in the
NFL, Andrews pricks his fingers approx-

imately 30 times over the course of

game to monitor his blood sugar levels

and make sure he’s not too high or too

low, striking a careful balance that will

allow him to play at his best.

“It’s one of those things where I’m at

the stage that this is my job, so I can’t let

(diabetes) affect it,” he told USA TODAY

Sports on Wednesday. “And I haven’t.”

Andrews, 23, has become one of the

league’s most reliable tight ends and the

favorite target of MVP hopeful Lamar

Jackson. Andrews leads the team in

catches (36) and receiving yards (449)

and is tied for the team lead in touch-

downs (three) as the Ravens prepare to

host the 8-0 Patriots on Sunday night –

the team’s first game in November,

which is National Diabetes Month.

Andrews has reached those profes-

sional heights while also managing

Type 1, the autoimmune disease that

prevents his pancreas from producing

insulin – unlike Type 2 diabetes, in

which the body produces too little insu-

lin or doesn’t process it effectively.

Diabetes doesn’t slow Ravens’ TE

Mark Andrews: “Diabetes is incredibly

difficult, but I wouldn’t change it for

the world.”TOMMY GILLIGAN/USA TODAY

Tom Schad
USA TODAY

See DIABETES, Page 4C