About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 4, 2018)
2B Sunday, November 4, 2018 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com SPORTS HORSE RACING Accelerate charges late to win Breeders Cup BY GARY B. GRAVES Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Accelerate took the lead at the top of the stretch and held off Gunnevera to win the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic by a length Sat urday, strengthening his bid for Horse of the Year over Triple Crown winner Justify. The race lacked the retired Justify and left a wide-open field, which the chestnut 5-year-old horse eventually overtook after breaking from the No. 14 post as the favorite. Acceler ate made a sweeping move in the far turn and was in charge at the top of the stretch, then held off Gunne vera for his fifth consecutive Grade 1 victory and sixth of seven overall this year. That gave trainer John Sadler his first Breeders’ Cup win since his initial starter 30 years ago. As for Accelerate being named this year’s top thor oughbred, Sadler said he’d leave that up to the sports writers who vote on the Eclipse Awards. He noted his own bias, though. “To me, he’s the Horse of the Year, no doubt,” Sadler said. “He’s won all those great races. To win the Santa Anita Handicap (in March) was for me probably one or two on my bucket list. “The Classic is a newer race but a great race, and he won that so smashingly. He’s just a great horse and had a great year.” Ridden by Joel Rosario, Accelerate covered 1 % miles in 2:02.93 and paid $7.40, $6 and $4.40. “He broke really well,” Rosario said of Accelerate. “I was on the outside and had to use him a little bit. I just wanted to get a position because I was way out there. I know I had a long run to the turn but I wanted to be not too wide. “When I got to the back side I tried to be in the clear, which is what he likes to do. ” The Classic triumph capped a successful Breed ers’ Cup for the jockey, who also rode Game Winner and Jaywalk to victories on Friday in the Juvenile and Juvenile Fillies Turf, respectively. Gunnevera returned $21.80 and $11.80, while Thunder Snow paid $8 in redeeming himself at Churchill Downs after a last- place finish in the 2017 Ken tucky Derby. Off the board were Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s duo of West Coast and McK- inzie. They finished seventh and 12th, respectively, after projections of challenging Accelerate in the marquee race of the season-ending championships. Gunnevera, Thunder Snow and early pace set ter Mendelssohn made things interesting in a wide- open field, an upside to the absence of horse racing’s 13th Triple Crown winner from the Classic. Justify’s ankle issue led Baffert to retire the 3-year-old in July, eliminating the opportunity to follow 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in pursuit of a rare grand slam. Accelerate claimed his fourth race in a row and answered the question of if he could continue his roll after beating West Coast by 2 y 4 lengths in the Awe some Again Stakes at Santa Anita. And it followed other notable performances on the second day of the $30 million championships. Monomoy Girl bolstered her case as the top 3-year- old filly by winning the $2 million Distaff. The antici pated duel between the reigning Kentucky Oaks winner and her 2017 prede cessor Abel Tasman never materialized, as Monomoy Girl made her move at the final turn and held off Wow Cat by a length for her sixth victory this season. Peter Miller made Breed ers’ Cup history as the first trainer to saddle two repeat winners in the same Breed ers’ Cup races. Soon after Stormy Liberal outdueled favorite World of Trouble to retake the Turf Sprint by a neck, 6-year-old Roy H swept past Promises Fulfilled and flew to a 3 l / 4 -length win in the Sprint. Jockey Paco Lopez earned his first Breed ers’ Cup victory. Enable followed up last month’s Arc de Triomphe victory by winning the $4 million Turf by % lengths over Magical. The 4-year-old British filly became the first horse to win both prestigious races in the same year. She earned her 10th win from 11 career starts. Football/NFL Hockey/NHL AMERICAN CONFERENCE East W L T Pet PF PA New England 6 2 0 .750 239 185 Miami 4 4 0 .500 174 219 N.Y Jets 3 5 0 .375 192 200 Buffalo 2 6 0 South .250 87 200 W L T Pet PF PA Houston 5 3 0 .625 197 167 Tennessee 3 4 0 .429 106 127 Jacksonville 3 5 0 .375 134 170 Indianapolis 3 5 0 North .375 231 213 W L T Pet PF PA Pittsburgh 4 2 1 .643 204 172 Cincinnati 5 3 0 .625 221 237 Baltimore 4 4 0 .500 197 137 Cleveland 2 5 1 West .313 169 210 W L T Pet PF PA Kansas City 7 1 0 .875 290 205 L.A. Chargers 5 2 0 .714 195 163 Denver 3 5 0 .375 188 194 Oakland 1 7 0 .125 141 252 NATIONAL CONFERENCE East W L T Pet PF PA Washington 5 2 0 .714 146 134 Philadelphia 4 4 0 .500 178 156 Dallas 3 4 0 .429 140 123 N.Y. Giants 1 7 0 South .125 150 205 W L T Pet PF PA New Orleans 6 1 0 .857 234 183 Carolina 5 2 0 .714 178 152 Atlanta 3 4 0 .429 190 212 Tampa Bay 3 4 0 North .429 201 233 W L T Pet PF PA Chicago 4 3 0 .571 194 144 Minnesota 4 3 1 .563 197 195 Green Bay 3 3 1 .500 175 173 Detroit 3 4 0 West .429 171 186 W L T Pet PF PA L.A. Rams 8 0 0 1.000 264 155 Seattle 4 3 0 .571 171 131 Arizona 2 6 0 .250 110 199 San Francisco 2 7 0 .222 Thursday’s Games San Francisco 34, Oakland 3 207 239 Today’s Games N.Y. Jets at Miami, 1 p.m. Atlanta at Washington, 1 p.m. Detroit at Minnesota, 1 p.m. Kansas City at Cleveland, 1 p.m. Tampa Bay at Carolina, 1 p.m. Pittsburgh at Baltimore, 1 p.m. Chicago at Buffalo, 1 p.m. L.A. Chargers at Seattle, 4:05 p.m. Houston at Denver, 4:05 p.m. L.A. Rams at New Orleans, 4:25 p.m. Green Bay at New England, 8:20 p.m. Open: Indianapolis, Arizona, N.Y. Giants, Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Cincinnati Monday’s Games Tennessee at Dallas, 8:15 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8 Carolina at Pittsburgh, 8:20 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 11 Arizona at Kansas City, 1 p.m. Buffalo at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m. Detroit at Chicago, 1 p.m. Jacksonville at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. Washington at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. New Orleans at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. New England at Tennessee, 1 p.m. Atlanta at Cleveland, 1 p.m. L.A. Chargers at Oakland, 4:05 p.m. Miami at Green Bay, 4:25 p.m. Seattle at L.A. Rams, 4:25 p.m. Dallas at Philadelphia, 8:20 p.m. Open: Minnesota, Denver, Baltimore, Houston Monday, Nov. 12 N.Y. Giants at San Francisco, 8:15 p.m. Associated Press EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Tampa Bay 12 8 3 1 17 42 34 Boston 12 7 3 2 16 37 29 Montreal 12 7 3 2 16 40 33 Toronto 13 8 5 0 16 43 39 Buffalo 14 7 5 2 16 42 41 Ottawa 13 5 6 2 12 42 55 Detroit 13 4 7 2 10 34 49 Florida 11 3 5 3 9 34 41 Metropolitan Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Pittsburgh 11 6 2 3 15 45 35 N.Y. Islanders 12 7 4 1 15 39 30 Columbus 12 7 5 0 14 43 44 Carolina 13 6 5 2 14 39 38 Washington 11 5 4 2 12 43 43 Philadelphia 13 6 7 0 12 40 50 New Jersey 10 5 4 1 11 34 32 N.Y. Rangers 13 5 7 1 11 35 43 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Nashville 13 10 3 0 20 46 30 Winnipeg 14 8 5 1 17 41 38 Colorado 14 7 4 3 17 52 40 Minnesota 12 7 3 2 16 35 35 Chicago 14 6 5 3 15 43 51 Dallas 12 7 5 0 14 36 31 St. Louis 11 4 4 3 11 41 42 Pacific Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Vancouver 15 9 6 0 18 47 50 Calgary 14 8 5 1 17 47 47 Edmonton 12 7 4 1 15 36 34 San Jose 13 6 4 3 15 42 40 Arizona 12 7 5 0 14 35 24 Anaheim 14 5 6 3 13 34 40 Vegas 13 5 7 1 11 30 39 Los Angeles 12 3 8 1 7 24 44 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Top three teams in each division and two wild cards per conference advance to playoffs. Friday’s Games Florida 4, Winnipeg 2 Vancouver 7, Colorado 6, OT Arizona 4, Carolina 3, OT Saturday’s Games Buffalo 9, Ottawa 2 Edmonton at Detroit, 7 p.m. Tampa Bay at Montreal, 7 p.m. New Jersey at N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m. Toronto at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. Dallas at Washington, 7 p.m. Minnesota at St. Louis, 8 p.m. Boston at Nashville, 8 p.m. Chicago at Calgary, 10 p.m. Carolina at Vegas, 10 p.m. Columbus at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m. Philadelphia at San Jose, 10:30 p.m. Today’s Games Buffalo at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m. Tampa Bay at Ottawa, 7 p.m. Columbus at Anaheim, 9 p.m. Monday’s Games New Jersey at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. Dallas at Boston, 7 p.m. Montreal at N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m. Edmonton at Washington, 7 p.m. Philadelphia at Arizona, 9 p.m. Tuesday’s Games Dallas at Columbus, 7 p.m. Vegas at Toronto, 7 p.m. Montreal at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m. New Jersey at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m. Vancouver at Detroit, 7:30 p.m. Edmonton at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m. Carolina at St. Louis, 8 p.m. Minnesota at San Jose, 10:30 p.m. Anaheim at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m. Associated Press Transactions BASEBALL American League TEXAS RANGERS — Named Chris Woodward manager. National League WASHINGTON NATIONALS — Agreed to terms with RHP Trevor Rosenthal on a one-year con tract. FOOTBALL National Football League NFL — Fined Patriots WR Julian Edelman $26,739 for an unnecessary roughness penalty; Giants S Sean Chandler was fined $20,054 for unnecessary roughness; Raiders LB Kyle Wilber also was fined $20,054 for unnecessary rough ness; Vikings WR Laquon Treadwell, $13,369 for unsportsmanlike conduct; Ravens DL Brandon Williams, $10,026 for unnecessary roughness; Eagles LB D.J. Alexander, $10,026 for unneces sary roughness; Jaguars WR Dede Westbrook, $10,026 for unsportsmanlike conduct; Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt, $10,026 for a crack-back block; Broncos DE Derek Wolfe, $10,026 for unnecessary roughness; Cardinals LB Haason Reddick, $10,026 for unnecessary rough ness and Redskins LB Josh Harvey-Clemons, $10,026 for a chop block. ARIZONA CARDINALS — Released QB Sam Bradford. Placed OL John Wetzel on injured reserve. CHICAGO BEARS — Placed OL Kyle Long on injured reserve. Signed RB Taquan Mizzell from the practice squad. DETROIT LIONS — Activated WR Andy Jones from the PUP list. Waived CB Cre’Von LeBlanc. GREEN BAY PACKERS — Signed P Drew Kaser. MINNESOTA VIKINGS — Signed WR Chad Beebe. Waived 0T Storm Norton. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS — Signed OL James Ferentz. Canadian Football League TORONTO ARGONAUTS — Fired coach Marc Trestman. HOCKEY National Hockey League ANAHEIM DUCKS — Reassigned C Kalle Kossila to San Diego (AHL). LOS ANGELES KINGS — Recalled Fs Michael Amadio and Matt Luff from Ontario (AHL). Assigned F Austin Wagner and D Sean Walker to Ontario. NEW JERSEY DEVILS — Placed RW Stefan Noesen on injured reserve. Activated RW Drew Stafford from injured reserve. ECHL ECHL — Suspended Idaho’s Kale Kessy three games and fined him an undisclosed amount for his actions in a Nov. 2 game at Toledo. Suspended Worcester’s Kyle McKenzie one game and fined him an undisclosed amount for his actions in a Nov. 2 against Adirondack. Fined Allen’s David Makowski an undisclosed amount for his actions in a Nov. 2 game against South Carolina. Fined Rapid City’s Michael Turner an undisclosed amount for his actions in a Nov. 2 game at Tulsa. Soccer/MLS MLS Playoff Glance Conference Semifinals First Leg Eastern Conference Sunday, Nov. 4: New York at Columbus, 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 4: Atlanta at New York City FC, 7:30 p.m. Western Conference Sunday, Nov. 4: Seattle at Portland, 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 4: Sporting Kansas City at Real Salt Lake, 10 p.m. Second leg Times TBA Eastern Conference Sunday, Nov. 11: Columbus at New York Sunday, Nov. 11: New York City FC at Atlanta Western Conference Thursday, Nov. 8: Portland at Seattle Sunday, Nov. 11: Real Salt Lake at Sporting Kansas City Associated Press TODAY ON TV SOCCER ■ Bundesliga Soccer: Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Fortuna Dusseldorf, 9:30 a.m., Fox Sports 1 ■ Premier League Soccer: Manchester City vs. Southampton, 9:55 a.m., NBC Sports ■ Premier League Soccer: Chelsea vs. Crystal Palace, noon, NBC Sports GOLF ■ PGA Tour Golf: Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, 3:30 p.m., Golf Channel FOOTBALL ■ Steelers vs. Ravens, 1 p.m., CBS ■ Falcons vs. Redskins, 1 p.m., Fox ■ Rams vs. Saints, 4 p.m., Fox ■ Packers vs. Patriots, 8:20 p.m., NBC VOLLEYBALL ■ Women’s College Volleyball: Texas A&M vs. Tennessee, 5 p.m., ESPNU RACING ■ Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: AAA Texas 500, 3 p.m., NBC Sports HAWKS 123, HEAT 118 JOHN BAZEMORE I Associated Press Atlanta Hawks forward Vince Carter (15) goes up for a shot as Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) defends Saturday in Atlanta. Atlanta sneaks by Miami at home BY CHARLES ODUM Associated Press ATLANTA — Trae Young had 24 points and a career-high 15 assists, and the Atlanta Hawks beat Josh Richardson and the Miami Heat 123-118 on Sat urday night. Taurean Prince and Dewayne Dedmon each scored 15 points for the Hawks, who had dropped four in a row. Young also had six rebounds in his ninth NBA game. Richardson scored 32 points, setting a career high for the second time this week, but Miami lost its third straight game. The Heat trailed by 15 in the third quarter before rallying to a 111-110 lead in the fourth. The game was tied at 118 when Vince Carter’s jumper gave Atlanta the lead for good. Carter had 12 points. Players on each team were quick to launch 3-pointers in the fast-paced game. The Hawks made 13 of 32 3s, and the Heat connected on 16 of 40, including 6 of 10 by Richardson. Before Miami allowed more than 120 points for the third straight game, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra made a pregame appeal for better defense. “We’re coming off two poor defensive efforts,” Spoelstra said. “We just need to com mit better, harder, for 48 minutes.” Spoelstra may have repeated his plea at half time. The Hawks led 74-68 at the break after making 60 percent of their shots from the field. The Hawks shot 52.3 percent for the game. A 12-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer and pullup jumper by Young, gave Atlanta its biggest lead at 86-71. Young dribbled through traffic and made a short floater at the buzzer to give Atlanta a 102-93 lead enter ing the final period. Richardson’s jumper tied it at 116. Following a flagrant foul against Justise Winslow, Young’s two free throws got the lead back for Atlanta. Miami held out point guard Goran Dragic due to persistent pain in his right foot. Dragic, second on the team with 17.7 points per game, had a cortisone shot earlier in the week. Dwyane Wade had 19 points for the Heat. TIP-INS Heat: Wayne Ellington made his season debut after returning from a left ankle injury. He finished with five points. Winslow had 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in his first start of the season. Richard son had 31 points against Sacramento on Monday. Hawks: Rookie F Omari Spellman had seven points in his first start. G Kevin Huerter had 12 points after spraining his right ankle in Thursday night’s loss to Sacramento. MLB Chris Woodward hired as Rangers manager BY STEPHEN HAWKINS Associated Press Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach Chris Woodward was hired as man ager of the Texas Rangers on Sat urday, six weeks after Jeff Banister was fired. He received a three-year contract with a club option for 2022. He will be introduced at a news con ference Monday. Woodward inherits a team that went 67-95 and finished last in the AL West, with the focus turning to the development of younger players. Texas had its first consecutive losing seasons since 2005-08. The hiring ended a pro cess during which general manager Jon Daniels and the Rangers interviewed more than 10 candidates, including bench coach Don Wakamatsu after he served as interim coach the final 10 games of the season. Woodward was inter viewed this week after the Dodgers finished their second straight season in which they advanced to the World Series, losing both times. The last team before Los Angeles that appeared in consecutive World Series without winning the title was Texas in 2010 and 2011. “We interviewed a number of strong candidates during an extensive inter view process for our managerial role and believe we have found the right fit in Chris Woodward,” Daniels said in a statement released by the team. “We look forward to working with him and everyone on the baseball staff to develop and grow a culture that will lead to success for many years to come.” Daniels has hired three managers in his 13 seasons as the Rangers GM, and all were first-time MLB man agers. Texas won its only American League pennants during Ron Washington’s eight seasons before Banis ter won two AL West titles in his four seasons. Two candidates Texas interviewed were hired last month as managers by other teams, David Bell in Cincinnati and Rocco Baldelli in Minnesota. The hiring of Woodward left the Baltimore Orioles, who fired Buck Showalter after the season, as the only MLB team with a managerial vacancy. The 42-year-old Wood ward spent the past three years on the staff of man ager Dave Roberts, after working for Seattle the previous three years. He started his coaching career as minor league infield coordinator for the Mari ners in 2013, then joined their big league staff later that year. “Chris brings high energy, outstanding leadership and commu nication skills, a strong knowledge of the game and its evolving strategies, and great integrity — attributes that we feel are vital for our next manager,” Dan iels said. “We believe these traits will resonate with our players, our staff, and our fans.” As a player, Woodward spent 12 seasons (1999- 2011) with five teams. He hit .239 with 33 home runs and 191 RBIs while playing every position except pitcher and catcher. Woodward STATE ■ Continued from 1B Class A Riverside Military Acad emy’s boys team finished 13th in Class A Private. The Eagles were paced by Vito Knoop and Adamu Aliyu, who finished less than a second apart from each other to take 56th and 58th individually. Class AAAA The Flowery Branch boys team came in 11th overall, thanks in large part to Collin Kilgore’s top 10 performance. Kilgore finished with a time of 17:01.35 to take seventh. On the girls side, the Fal cons were led by Hannah Grainger’s 17th-place fin ish en route to taking eighth overall as a team. Chestatee’s Luke Gaddis raced individually, finish ing 12th. Class AAAAA The Buford boys team placed 11th behind Bayley Hunters 35th-place effort. Johnson finished close behind the Wolves at 13th thanks in large part to Louis Alvarado and Juan Gomez, who finished 25th and 49th respectively. The Johnson girls team came in 21st, with Taylor Farmer leading the way at 68th individually. Class AAAAAA Gainesville’s boys team got a top 20 finish from Miguel Lopez — who came in 17th — and finished sev enth as a team. The girls were led by Ashley Thomp son’s 23rd individual finish, coming in 12th place as a team.
