Newspaper Page Text
2B Wednesday, October 31,2018
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
SPORTS
FRINGE
■ Continued from 1B
everyday job,” Strange said.
“It would be more fun and
engaging if you won. In his
case and mine, you put your
heart and soul into this. The
second-guessing bothers
you a bit. You know deep
down you did your very
best. It’s a great honor, but
it’s also a responsibility and
somewhat of a negative if
players don’t play well. But
you know that going in. It’s
all good.”
Paul Azinger also
returned at Las Vegas after
his Ryder Cup captaincy
in 2008 — his team won at
Valhalla — and missed the
cut. He played nine times
the following year and
made one cut, once in 2010
and that was the last time
he played.
“My competitive edge
got blown out after that,”
Azinger said.
Hal Sutton played 10
times the year after his cap
taincy at Oakland Hills in
2004 and missed the cut in
all but three events.
Tom Lehman was a
rarity. He was No. 58 in
the world when he was
appointed captain and No.
38 in the world when the
2006 Ryder Cup ended. He
withdrew from his first
event back — a World Golf
Championship in England
— because Byron Nelson
died and he wanted to be
at the funeral. The follow
ing year, Lehman ended
a streak of 15 consecutive
years inside the top 75 on
the money list.
Furyk doesn’t have any
expectations for Las Vegas
this week. History would
suggest he shouldn’t have
big expectations going for
ward. Time isn’t on his side.
Then again, Furyk has been
bucking the odds since that
unusual swing first showed
up on the PGA Tour some
25 years ago.
Las Vegas is where Furyk
won for the first time in a
career marked by a high
level of consistency that
eventually will take him
into the Hall of Fame. He
moved into the top 100 in
the world in October 1995
and stayed there for 23
consecutive years, reach
ing as high as No. 2 behind
Tiger Woods. He qualified
for the Tour Championship
13 out of 14 years, missing
only when he had surgery
on his wrist and missed five
months in 2004.
He has amassed $68.4
million, fourth on the
career list.
“Jim is still very rel
evant,” Strange said. “He’s
an interesting personality.
I’ve said for a number of
years, he’s arguably the
most consistent player of
his generation. He’s still got
the game to come back and
play. And that’s his peaceful
existence.”
NBA | Cavs 136, Hawks 114
Rookie Young scores 24 in loss
Associated Press
CLEVELAND - Rod
ney Hood scored a season-
high 26 points, Cedi Osman
added 20 and Cleveland
ended its six-game
losing streak to start
the season, beating
the Atlanta Hawks
136-114 on Tuesday
night in the Cava
liers’ first game
since coach Tyronn
Lue was fired.
The Cavs came
in as the NBA’s only
winless team, and Lue paid
the price for club’s slow
start.
But with Larry Drew serv
ing as Cleveland’s “acting”
coach while he tries to get
the team to restructure his
contract, the Cavs played a
complete game — Cleveland
had seven players in double
figures — and avoided their
first 0-7 start since 1995-96.
George Hill and rookie
Collin Sexton scored 17
apiece, and Tristan Thomp
son had 13 rebounds
for Cleveland.
Rookie Trae Young
scored 24 and Alex Len 22
for the Hawks. Young scored
a season-high 35 against the
Cavs on Oct. 21, wrecking
their home opener.
The Cavs played
their third straight
game without for
ward Kevin Love,
who could miss
several weeks with
a painful left toe
injury that has both
ered him since the
preseason opener.
The five-time All-
Star said doctors are still try
ing to decide the best course
of treatment, and to this
point he has not been told
he’ll need surgery.
Until Love’s back, the
Cavs will have to replace his
19 points and 13.5 rebounds
per game. Someone needs
to pick up the scoring slack,
and Hood could be the guy.
He struggled after com
ing over to Cleveland at the
trading deadline from Utah
and never found his groove.
But against the Hawks, he
attacked the basket and
Hawks vs. Kings
When: 7:30 p.m.
Thursday
TV: Fox Sports
Southeast
knocked down all four
3-pointers. He came in 2 for
15 behind the arc.
For the first time this
season, Cleveland had a
halftime lead and the Cavs
never let up, scoring 41 in
the third quarter and 78
after halftime.
TIP-INS
Hawks: F Taurean Prince
fouled out with six min
utes left. ... Atlanta made
15 3-pointers. The Hawks
dropped a franchise-record
22 shots from deep on their
previous visit. ...Young
entered the game second
among rookies in scoring
average (18.3) and first in
assists (7.0). Young became
the eighth first-year player
to record 35 points and have
11 assists when the teams
met earlier.... Played back-
to-back games for the first
time this season.
Young
SCOREBOARD
Football/high school
The Top Ten teams in the Georgia Sports
Writers Association High School Football Poll
of the 2018 season with first-place votes in
parentheses, total points and position last week
at right:
Class AAAAAAA
Pts
Prv
1. Colquitt County (13)
130
1
2. Parkview
108
3
3. Grayson
105
5
4. Hillgrove
81
4
5. North Gwinnett
78
6
6. Walton
60
2
7. Roswell
54
8
8. Archer
43
7
9. Lowndes
20
10
10.Milton
13
NR
Others Receiving Votes:
: Marietta
i 10,
McEachern 7, Westlake 4.
Dropped Out: Marietta.
Class AAAAAA
Pts
Prv
1. Lee County (13)
130
1
2. Creekview
114
2
3. Tucker
101
3
4. Harrison
75
7
5. Stephenson
67
8
6. Allatoona
59
9
7. Sequoyah
47
4
8. Douglas County
36
5
9. Valdosta
35
10
10.Coffee
28
NR
Others receiving votes: Northside Warner
Robins 19, Dacula 7, John’s Creek 3.
Dropped out: Northside Warner Robins.
Class AAAAA
Pts
Prv
1. Rome (13)
130
1
2. Buford
110
2
3. Warner Robins
99
3
4. Dutchtown
86
T4
5. Wayne County
85
T4
6. Stockbridge
67
6
7. Jones County
52
7
8. Southwest Dekalb
40
8
9. Ware County
26
9
10.Kell
15
10
Others receiving votes: Carrollton 7.
Dropped Out: None.
Class AAAA
Pts
Prv
1. Blessed Trinity (13)
130
1
2. Cartersville
109
2
3. Mary Persons
105
3
4. St. Pius X
89
4
5. Eastside
78
5
6. Troup County
65
6
7. Marist
50
7
8. Pickens
42
8
9. Flowery Branch
30
9
10.Ridgeland
7
10
Others receiving votes: Cairo 6, North Oconee
5, Burke County 2.
Dropped Out: None.
Class AAA
Pts
Prv
1. Calhoun (12)
129
1
2. Cedar Grove
114
2
3. Monroe Area
102
3
4. Peach County
87
4
5. Benedictine
75
5
6. Greater Atlanta Christian
69
6
7. Dawson County
41
7
8. Westminster
39
8
9. Pierce County
35
9
10. Jefferson
19
10
Others receiving votes: SE Bulloch 3, Pace
Academy 3, Westside-Macon 3.
Dropped Out: None.
Class AA
1. Hapeville Charter
Pts
(8)
2. Rabun County (3)
105
3. Rockmart
101
4. Bremen
85
5. Callaway
65
6. Dublin
62
7. Brooks County
44
8. Dodge County
42
9. Heard County
39
10.Washington County
25
Prv
124 1
2
4
3
5
6
7
8
10
9
Others receiving votes: Union County 10,
Douglass 6, Jefferson County 3, Swainsboro
3, Vidalia 1.
Dropped Out: None.
Class A
Pts Prv
1. Eagle’s Landing Christian (9) 126 1
2. Irwin County (3) 117 2
3. Athens Academy 108 3
4. Prince Avenue Christian 84 4
5. Clinch County 83 5
6. Pelham 55 7
7. Mount Zion-Carroll 35 8
8. Fellowship Christian School 28 9
9. Calvary Day 19 10
10. Commerce 18 NR
Soccer/MLS
MLS Playoff Glance
All Times EDT
Knockout Round
Eastern Conference
Today’s Games
Philadelphia at New York City FC, 7 p.m.
Portland at FC Dallas, 9:30 p.m.
Western Conference
Thursday, Nov. 1
Columbus at D.C. United, 8 p.m.
Real Salt Lake at Los Angeles FC, 10:30 p.m.
Conference Semifinals
Home-and-home
First leg
Eastern Conference
Sunday, Nov. 4: New York at TBD
Sunday, Nov. 4: Atlanta at TBD
Western Conference
Sunday, Nov. 4: Sporting Kansas City at TBD
Sunday, Nov. 4: Seattle at TBD
Second leg
Eastern Conference
Sunday, Nov. 11: TBD at New York
Sunday, Nov. 11: TBD at Atlanta
Western Conference
Thursday, Nov. 8: TBD at Seattle
Sunday, Nov. 11: TBD at Sporting Kansas City
Others receiving votes: Savannah Christian
15, Mount Paran 6, Marion County 6, Greene
County 6, Aquinas 5, Mitchell County 4, North
Cobb Christian 1.
Dropped Out: None.
Participating Publications: The Covington
News, Times-Georgian, Oconee Enterprise,
Lake Oconee News, Dalton Citizen, 92.9FM The
Game, Marietta Daily Journal, Gwinnett Daily
Post, Savannah Morning News, The Athletic,
Newnan Times-Herald, Augusta Chronicle,
Walker Messenger.
Football/college
2018 College Football Playoff Rankings
Record
1. Alabama
8-0
2. Clemson
8-0
3. LSU
7-1
4. Notre Dame
8-0
5. Michigan
7-1
6. Georgia
7-1
7. Oklahoma
7-1
8. Washington St.
7-1
9. Kentucky
7-1
10. Ohio St.
7-1
11. Florida
6-2
12. UCF
7-0
13. West Virginia
6-1
14. Penn St.
6-2
15. Utah
6-2
16. Iowa
6-2
17. Texas
6-2
18. Mississippi St.
5-3
19. Syracuse
6-2
20. Texas A&M
5-3
21. NC State
5-2
22. Boston College
6-2
23. Fresno St.
7-1
24. Iowa St.
4-3
25. Virginia
6-2
The playoff semifinals match the No. 1 seed
vs. the No. 4 seed, and No. 2 will face No. 3.
The semifinals will be hosted at the Cotton Bowl
and Orange Bowl on Dec. 29. The championship
game will be played on Jan. 7, 2019 at Santa
Clara, Calif.
Transactions
BASEBALL
American League
BALTIMORE ORIOLES — Selected the con
tract of RHP Branden Kline from Bowie (EL).
Reinstated OF Colby Rasmus from the restricted
list. Signed OF J’Rudjeanon Isenia to a minor
league contract.
BOSTON RED SOX — Exercised their 2019
option on LHP Chris Sale.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX — Reinstated RHP
Miguel Gonzalez from the 60-day DL.
CLEVELAND INDIANS — Exercised their 2019
option on RHP Carlos Carrasco. Reinstated OF
Lonnie Chisenhall from the 60-day DL. Declined
their 2019 contract option on OF Brandon Guyer.
DETROIT TIGERS — Reinstated SS Jose
Iglesias, RHP Michael Fulmer and 1B John
Hicks and Miguel Cabrera from the 60-day DL.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS — Declined mutual
option with RHP Jason Hammel.
LOS ANGELES ANGELS — Reinstated OF
Chris Young and RHPs Blake Wood and Garrett
Richards from the 60-day DL.
MINNESOTA TWINS — Reinstated 1B Logan
Morrison, LHP Adalberto Mejia, C Jason Castro
and RHPs Ervin Santana and Michael Pineda
from the 60-day DL. Declined their 2019 options
on RHP Ervin Santana and 1B Logan Morrison.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS — Reinstated RHPs
Andrew Triggs, Daniel Gossett, Jharel Cotton
and Paul Blackburn from the 60-day DL.
SEATTLE MARINERS — Reinstated RHP David
Phelps from the 60-day DL. Reassigned hitting
coach Edgar Martinez to organizational hitting
adviser. Declined OF Denard Span contract
option for 2019.
TEXAS RANGERS — Reinstated RHP Tony
Barnette from the 60-day DL.
National League
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS — Reinstated RHP
Clay Buchholz from the 60-day DL.
ATLANTA BRAVES — Reinstated RHPs Peter
Moylan and Brandon McCarthy from the 60-day
DL.
LOS ANGELES DODGERS — Reinstated RHP
Daniel Hudson from the 60-day DL.
MILWAUKEE BREWERS — Selected the con
tract of OF Tyrone Taylor from San Antonio
(TL). Announced 3B Mike Moustakas and RHP
Joakim Soria declined mutual contract options.
NEW YORK METS — Reinstated RHP AJ
Ramos from the 60-day DL.
TODAY ON TV
Basketball
■ Pacers vs. Knicks,
8 p.m., ESPN
■ Spurs vs. Suns,
10:30 p.m., ESPN
Soccer
■ MLS Soccer
Playoff: New York City
FC vs. Philadelphia
Union, 7 p.m.,
Fox Sports 1
Other
■ Women’s College
Volleyball: Florida vs.
Kentucky,
7 p.m., ESPNU
■ Women’s Volleyball:
Texas A&M vs. Auburn,
8 p.m., SEC Network
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
DAVID GOLDMAN I Associated Press
Charley Green buffs the college football championship trophy before a coaches news
conference on Jan. 7 in Atlanta.
Bama, Clemson, LSU, Notre
Dame top first CFP rankings
BY RALPH D. RUSSO
Associated Press
If you don’t like the first
College Football Playoff
selection committee rank
ings, don’t worry. Satur
day’s slate of huge games
guarantees major changes
are coming next week.
Alabama, Clemson, LSU
and Notre Dame were the
top four teams in the ini
tial CFP rankings Tuesday
night.
After meeting for a day
and a half at a hotel out
side Dallas, the 13-mem-
ber selection committee
released the first of its five
weekly top 25s before the
four-team field is set for the
semifinals on Dec. 2.
Michigan was fifth, fol
lowed by Georgia and Okla
homa. Washington State
was eighth, the highest-
ranked Pac-12 team. Ken
tucky was ninth.
Of course, the final rank
ings are the only ones that
matter, but the playoff
picture will be reshaped
this weekend. Four games
matching top-20 teams are
on tap Saturday, including
Alabama at LSU and Geor
gia at Kentucky.
West Virginia, 13th in the
CFP, is at Texas, which is
17th. Michigan hosts Penn
State, which came in at 14.
The first top four teams
were no surprise. The same
teams are Nos. 1-4 in the
latest Associated Press poll,
except with Notre Dame
third and LSU fourth.
Oregon athletic direc
tor Rob Mullens, who is in
his first season as commit
tee chairman, said LSU’s
FBS-leading six victories
against teams with winning
records gave the Tigers
the edge over undefeated
Notre Dame. The Irish play
at Northwestern (5-3) on
Saturday.
UCF was the highest
ranked team from outside
the Power Five confer
ences at 12th. The highest
ranked team from the so-
called Group of Five con
ferences at the end of the
regular season is guar
anteed a spot in the New
Year’s Six bowls. The
Knights, riding a 20-game
winning streak, earned
that spot last year, beat
Auburn in the Peach Bowl
and proclaimed themselves
national champions.
UCF has yet to beat a
team that currently has
a winning record. The
strength of schedule held
the Knights back, Mullens
said. “But you balance that
against what you see when
you watch the games,” he
added.
Last season, UCF started
18th and rose to 12th by the
final rankings.
HISTORY LESSON
If form holds, two of the
top four teams in the first
CFP ranking of the season
will go on to play in the
national semifinals.
Coaches began down
playing the significance of
the rankings even before
they were revealed on
national television.
“I didn’t even know that
was tonight. I didn’t realize
that was going on,” Geor
gia coach Kirby Smart told
reporters.
“But I should have talked
to my team about that. I
didn’t bring it up to them.
So who knows what they’ll
be thinking tonight.”
Ranking teams is a time-
honored tradition in col
lege football, going back to
first Associated Press poll
in 1936. But what, if any
thing, can be learned from
the first four years of CFP
rankings?
Of the 16 teams the com
mittee ranked in the top
four of its initial rankings
from 2014-17, half made the
playoff. No team ranked
third in the first CFP rank
ings has ever made the
playoff.
The very first committee
rankings, in 2014, had just
one eventual playoff team.
They included three teams
from the Southeastern Con
ference (though not the one
that eventually made the
playoff) along with Florida
State.
That year, the commit
tee first showed its willing
ness to rank a team that
had lost a game ahead of
an unbeaten team, like it
did Tuesday with LSU and
Notre Dame.
In 2014, unbeaten defend
ing champion Florida State
dropped to No. 3 behind
once-beaten Oregon in the
committee’s third rankings.
It seemed to send a signal
the committee would be
different from traditional
polls that tended to honor
win-loss record above all.
The second-to-last rankings
had Florida State at fourth,
behind three teams that
had already lost. The Semi-
noles went into the Rose
Bowl semifinal as the No. 3
seed and lost to Oregon.
Among the eight teams
over the past four seasons
that were part of the initial
committee top four but did
not make the playoff, only
one was unranked on selec
tion Sunday. Texas A&M
in 2016 was somewhat of a
surprising No. 4, and then
proceeded to lose three of
its final four games.
RODRIGO
■ Continued from 1B
“Being able to see impor
tant things, like the play
clock on a field goal or a
kickoff, I need my specs
to be able to see that,” said
Blankenship, who is near
sighted. “To see
the uprights from
50 yards away,
that’s helpful to
be able to have a
really nice, sharp
image. I don’t think
they hold me back
in any other way.
They just help me
see as clearly as I
can and be the best
kicker I can be.”
Smart doesn’t mind how
Blankenship looks, as long
as he keeps kicking like
he has over the past three
seasons.
“I know one thing, he
sees that ball on the ground,
and he gets his toe on the
leather real well,” the
coach said. “So they must
work for him.”
On Saturday, Blanken
ship returns to Lexington,
Kentucky — the spot where
the legend of “Hot Rod”
really all began — as the
Bulldogs (7-1, 5-1) take on
No. 11 Kentucky (7-1, 5-1).
The stakes couldn’t be any
higher: the winner earns
a spot in the Southeastern
Conference championship
game.
Two seasons ago, Blan
kenship was a largely
obscure walk-on who didn’t
even claim the starting
job until the fourth game
of the season, after then-
No. 1 kicker William Ham
missed four of his first
seven field-goal attempts.
Then, against Kentucky,
Blankenship connected
on the first game-winning
kick of his career. It wasn’t
really that dramatic — the
chip-shot from 25 yards was
little more than an extra
point, and neither team did
anything special that sea
son — but it was the post
game interview
that propelled his
popularity.
Blankenship left
both his helmets
and his glasses on
as he faced the
camera, which
immediately blew
up into compari
sons to Andy Sam-
berg in the movie
“Hot Rod” (the kicker also
had a mustache at the time)
and the bespectacled Char
lie “Wild Thing” Sheen in
“Major League.”
A social media hashtag,
#respectthespecs, became
Blankenship’s calling card.
He did nothing to dissuade
the image of the quirky
placekicker, also going with
pink cleats as his preferred
footwear (though he’s since
added some silver to his
collection). He even got
a shout-out from Jimmy
Kimmel.
“He did a great job in
that game two years ago,
and I think that certainly
gave him the confidence,
gave us the confidence in
him that he was a pressure
player and enjoyed the
moment,” Smart said.
Blankenship propelled
himself to even greater
heights in 2017, converting
20 of 23 field goals and all 63
of his extra points, as well
as finally earning a scholar
ship. He was at his best on
the biggest stages, setting
a Rose Bowl record with a
55-yarder in the national
semifinal victory over
Oklahoma, and putting
himself in position to be
the hero of the national
championship game when
he knocked one through
from 51 yards in overtime
against Alabama.
Of course, the Crim
son Tide threw a winning
touchdown pass on second-
and-26 to ruin the ending
to Blankenship’s storybook
season. But he’s picked
right up where he left off,
hitting 14 of 18 field goals
and remaining perfect
on extra points (he’s now
made 125 in a row over his
career).
“He’s automatic,” said
defensive back Tyrique
McGhee. “I’d be surprised
if he ever missed one the
rest of his life. The guy’s
clutch.”
Blankenship still remem
bers that last trip to Lex
ington as the game where
he really took a giant leap
forward as a kicker, even
though it wasn’t a very dif
ficult kick.
“It was a special moment
to go out and do that for that
team,” he said.
Blankenship could play
another big role in Sat
urday’s game. The Wild
cats have allowed only 13
points a game, fewest in
the nation, and no team
has scored more than 20
against their stingy defense.
If that trend continues,
it very well could come
down to a kick in the clos
ing seconds.
Blankenship will be
ready.
Complete with all his
accessories.
Smart
