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By Kent Larsen
Sports: NFL Draft Nabs 3, NHL Player Identified, 5 Possible in WUSA
NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- At least three Mormon football players were
drafted into the National Football League this past weekend and
several others signed as free agents soon after as the teams looked
for players that might be good backup players. Drafted were Arizona
State's Todd Heap and BYU's Owen Pochman and Tevita Ofahengaue, who
had the distinction of being chosen last in the draft and named "Mr.
Irrelevant." Meanwhile, Mormon News' sources identified the NHL
Minnesota Wild's Aaron Gavey as an LDS Church member. Research also
indicates that five players in the new WUSA may also be Mormon.
The draft came just as the NBA finished its regular season and began
the first round of its playoffs. All five Mormon players in the
league are on playoff teams. Veteran player Shawn Bradley is in the
playoffs for the first time, and he has apparently taken the occasion
to heart so far, scoring 16 points last week in just 45 minutes of
play over three games.
In Baseball, both position players, Jeff Kent and Wally Joyner,
managed little offense during the week. Kent was just 3 for 20,
picking up only a single RBI, while Joyner managed an abysmal 1 hit
in 12 at bats. The four Mormon pitchers active in the majors did much
better this past week, especially relief pitchers Mike Fetters, who
gave the Dodgers two scoreless innings, and Kyle Farnsworth, who gave
up a single run in four innings.
Meanwhile, in golf, the only two PGA players to play in last
weekend's Shell Houston Open, Keith Clearwater and Dan Forsman, were
both cut after the second round. Richard Zokol tied for 33rd in the
Buy.com Arkansas Classic while Senior PGA Tour member Bruce
Summerhays tied for 14th at the Las Vegas Senior Classic, earning
another $25,900 to bring his total earnings so far this year to over
$200,000.
Please help us identify other Mormon players in professional leagues!
With the advent of the new women's soccer league, the WUSA, we have
identified the following players as possibly Mormon:
Staci Reynolds Carolina Courage [played for BYU]
Maren Hendershot Carolina Courage [played for BYU]
Sarah Reading Atlanta Beat [played for BYU]
Staci Burt Carolina Courage [played for Utah]
Becky Hogan Boston Breakers [from Salt Lake City]
Baseball
Major League Baseball
Position Players:
| Brian Bean | Catcher | Chicago Cubs |
| [Playing in Minors for Iowa Cubs] |
| McKay Christensen | Center Field | Chicago White Sox |
| [Playing in Minors for Charlotte] |
| Wally Joyner | First Base | Anaheim Angels |
| | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | Avg |
| This Week | 4 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .083 |
| Year to date | 14 | 38 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 | .158 |
| Jeff Kent | Second Base | San Francisco Giants |
| | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | Avg |
| This Week | 6 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .150 |
| Year to date | 18 | 66 | 9 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 12 | .212 |
Pitchers:
| Shawn Estes | Starting Pitcher | San Francisco Giants |
| | G | W-L | S | ERA | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| This Week | 2 | 1-0 | 0 | 4.09 | 11.0 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 12 |
| Year to date | 4 | 1-1 | 0 | 5.57 | 21.0 | 24 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 21 |
| Kyle Farnsworth | Relief Pitcher | Chicago Cubs |
| | G | W-L | S | ERA | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| This Week | 4 | 0-0 | 0 | 2.25 | 4.0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Year to date | 9 | 0-0 | 0 | 2.61 | 10.3 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 13 |
| Mike Fetters | Relief Pitcher | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| | G | W-L | S | ERA | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| This Week | 2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Year to date | 6 | 0-0 | 0 | 1.50 | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Omar Olivares | Starting Pitcher | Pittsburg Pirates |
| | G | W-L | S | ERA | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| This Week | 1 | 0-0 | 0 | 6.75 | 4.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Year to date | 3 | 0-2 | 0 | 7.80 | 15.0 | 18 | 14 | 13 | 3 | 8 |
| Garret Stephenson | Starting Pitcher | St Louis Cardinals |
| [Currently on the Disabled List] |
| | G | W-L | S | ERA | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| This Week | 1 | 0-1 | 0 | 4.50 | 6.0 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| Year to date | 1 | 0-1 | 0 | 4.50 | 6.0 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
Basketball
NBA
| Shawn Bradley | Center | Dallas Mavericks |
| | G | Min | FG/FGA | Reb | Pts | Ppg | Pp60min |
| This Week | 3 | 45 | 5/ 7 | 15 | 16 | 5.3 | 21.3 |
| Year to date | 83 | 2018 | 220/449 | 613 | 581 | 7.0 | 17.3 |
| Travis Knight | Center | New York Knicks |
| | G | Min | FG/FGA | Reb | Pts | Ppg | Pp60min |
| This Week | 2 | 17 | 1/ 4 | 5 | 2 | 1.0 | 7.1 |
| Year to date | 45 | 256 | 10/ 53 | 53 | 29 | 0.6 | 6.8 |
| Mark Madsen | Forward | Los Angeles Lakers |
| | G | Min | FG/FGA | Reb | Pts | Ppg | Pp60min |
| This Week | 2 | 24 | 2/ 9 | 4 | 4 | 2.0 | 10.0 |
| Year to date | 71 | 644 | 55/115 | 153 | 137 | 1.9 | 12.8 |
| Scot Pollard | Forward | Sacramento Kings |
| | G | Min | FG/FGA | Reb | Pts | Ppg | Pp60min |
| This Week | 3 | 75 | 13/ 20 | 28 | 26 | 8.7 | 20.8 |
| Year to date | 77 | 1640 | 187/407 | 466 | 496 | 6.4 | 18.2 |
| Mark Pope | Center | Milwaukee Bucs |
| | G | Min | FG/FGA | Reb | Pts | Ppg | Pp60min |
| This Week | 2 | 29 | 2/ 5 | 4 | 4 | 2.0 | 8.3 |
| Year to date | 64 | 956 | 63/140 | 150 | 153 | 2.4 | 9.6 |
WNBA
The WNBA's season begins May 28.
Football
NFL
The NFL season has ended.
CFL
Wide receiver Ben Cahoon of the Montreal Alouettes is LDS, but I don't
yet have a source for statistics on him.
XFL
Offensive Line
Eric Bateman - Las Vegas Outlaws
Juan Johnson - San Francisco Demons
[No statistics available]
We have also identified the following possible Mormon players and
would appreciate if anyone can confirm either that they are or are
not Mormon. Letting us know if any other player is Mormon is also
appreciated.
Blaine Berger - Las Vegas Outlaws - Played for Utah, from Idaho Falls
Richard O'Donnell - San Francisco Demons - Played for Weber State
Hockey
NHL
The NHL's regular season has ended, and the only Mormon player we
know is not on a team playing in the playoffs.
| Aaron Gavey | Center | Minnesota Wild |
| | GP | G | A | Pts | SOG |
| Year to date | 75 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 100 |
Golf
PGA Tour
| Jay Don Blake | Event | Results | | |
| This Week: | Idle | | | |
| Year to date: | | Entered 12 events, made cut 9 times, earned $222,418.66 |
| Keith Clearwater | Event | Results | | |
| This Week: | Shell Houston Open | Cut | 78-71 | |
| Year to date: | | Entered 6 events, made cut 0 times, earned $0 |
| Dan Forsman | Event | Results | | |
| This Week: | Shell Houston Open | Cut | 75-74 | |
| Year to date: | | Entered 7 events, made cut 5 times, earned $68,492.16 |
| Mike Reid | Event | Results | | |
| This Week: | Idle | | | |
| Year to date: | | Entered 2 events, made cut 1 times, earned $15,566.66 |
| Mike Weir | Event | Results | | |
| This Week: | Masters Tournament | T27 | 74-69-72-72 | earned $40,600 |
| Year to date: | | Entered 9 events, made cut 8 times, earned $1,255,540 |
| Richard Zokol | Event | Results | | |
| This Week: | Buy.com Arkansas Classic | T33 | 68-75-69-77 | earned $2,655 |
| Year to date: | | Entered 5 events, made cut 4 times, earned $17,985.00 |
Senior PGA Tour
| Billy Casper | Event | Results | | |
| This Week: | Idle | | | |
| Year to date: | | Entered 2 events, earned $6,568.50 |
| Johnny Miller | Event | Results | | |
| This Week: | Idle | | | |
| Year to date: | | |
| Bruce Summerhays | Event | Results | | |
| This Week: | Las Vegas Senior Classic | T14 | 73-71-71 | earned $25,900 |
| Year to date: | | Entered 10 events, earned $202,267.00 |
Soccer
WUSA
We have identified the following possible Mormon players and
would appreciate if anyone can confirm either that they are or are
not Mormon. Letting us know if any other player is Mormon is also
appreciated.
Staci Reynolds Carolina Courage [played for BYU]
Maren Hendershot Carolina Courage [played for BYU]
Sarah Reading Atlanta Beat [played for BYU]
Staci Burt Carolina Courage [played for Utah]
Becky Hogan Boston Breakers [from Salt Lake City]
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