About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 2018)
2B Friday, November 16, 2018 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com SPORTS HIGH SCHOOL SCOREBOARD Sticker carries Dawson County girls to win Kaylee Sticker had a monumental night with a 31 points to lead the Dawson County girls basketball team to a 65-57 win over Flowery Branch in the team’s season opener on Thursday in Flow ery Branch. Flowery Branch led 33-28 at the half, but the Lady Tigers (1-0) used good defen sive stops while outscoring the Lady Falcons 15-10 to take a 46-40 lead by the end of the third period. Fighting back, Flowery Branch tied the game at 53-all, but Dawson County made 10 of 13 free throws in the fourth quarter to hold on. Also for Dawson County, Sophia D’Oliveira chipped in nine points, while Mariah Benson scored eight in her first varsity game. DAWSON COUNTY BOYS 72, FLOWERY BRANCH 25: Jasper Gibson racked up a full stat line of 20 points, five assists, five steals and four rebounds for the Tigers. Also for Daw son County, Campbell Reed tossed in 18 points, Luke Chism (six rebounds) added 14 and Eli Burruss was not far behind with 10 points. Tate Adkins dished a team-high assists with seven for the Tigers (1-0). Compiled by Diana Lewis NORTH ■ Continued from 1B tackle, said. “We’re really getting after it, getting dirty in the trenches as they say.” The constant time spent in close proximity at practices has forged lasting friend ships among each member of the Trojan offensive line. According to Jackson, the unit is together as much off the field as it is on it. “We’re like brothers,” Jackson added. “It’s just like a big family.” The close relationships between each offensive line man has led to better com munication on the field, and increased offensive produc tion has been a direct result of that according to Bishop. The Trojans are going to need that group meshing at a high level to have a chance against the second-ranked Saints Friday night. Cedar Grove (10-1) has been a dominant force all season long, pitching shut outs in four of its last six games to close out the regu lar season while scoring at least 30 in each of those con tests. The team’s only loss on the season has come against McEachern — a one-score defeat on the road to a 7A squad ranked in the top 10 for its classification. “Truth be known, they do just about everything well,” Bishop said of the Saints. “They’re big and strong up front. They play technique. They stunt well. Coverages are solid. And when it comes down to it, it’s a situation where you’ve got to at times just be more physical than they are.” It’s going to be a tall order for a North Hall squad that will be at a size disadvantage at nearly every position. The physical battle is at its most important in the trenches. And for the offen sive line that has taken the Trojans this far and led the team to its first ever road playoff win in program his tory, being intimidated by a larger and more highly ranked opponent is simply not an option. “We’ve just got to block them like any other team really and just make sure we play physical,” Jackson said. “We’ve been working for it all season.” LANIER ■ Continued from 1B topwater plugs 5 to 1. A one- half ounce SPRO Buck Tail, Rooster Tail or a SPRO McStick are great lures for catching schooling strip ers. Also, try an Alabama or Mack’s Mini Rig. These sub surface lures are all better choices than your normal top water plug. Other methods that will catch fish are trolling umbrella rigs over long points and humps. Both flat lines and down lined herring are producing fish all over the lake. Target the mud lines where the off-colored rain wash off meets the clearer lake water. Probably the best method that deserves mention is throwing Bomber Long A’s and McSticks to windy banks after dark. If you found the fish schooling towards dark then locate the closest banks and cast up shallow with these long, herring imitating lures. Trout fishing has been good, but expect that your favorite trout waters may be blown out by recent rains. Depending on where you fish, the water may be high and muddy. One of the best producers after heavy rains is a good, old fashioned earth worm. Check to make sure local regulations allow live bait. Store bought red wigglers are a good choice, but if you can dig up your own that’s even better. Thread your worms over small Gamakatsu Aberdeen hook tied directly to your main line. Don’t use snaps or swivels as trout can see these. Make sure your worm completely covers the hook. Bank fishing: Just because you don’t own a boat doesn’t mean you can’t catch stripers from the shore. These hard fighting fish move shallower in the late fall where bank anglers can target them. Live bait will be your best choice during the day. A 5-gallon bucket with a small aerator and stone will keep baits lively all day long. Buy some medium shiners and trout. You need to secure your rods well as even a small striper can pull your whole rod into the lake. You can buy rod holders or make some out of PVC pipe. You will want to fish from banks that have deep water close to the shore. It will help greatly if you can position your rods with the wind at your back. There are many parks where you can catch stripers. Mary Alice Park, River Forks and Holly Park are just a few of the many parks we have on Lake Lanier. You can use as many rods as you like but four is a good, manageable number. You can use a slip bobber and set your bobber stop at 10-to-15 feet deep or you can take a Carolina Rig (a swivel and hook on your leader with a one-ounce weight attached to your main line) and fish on the bottom. Equip your rods with 12 or 14-Pound Sniper Natural Monofilament. Eric Aldrich is an outdoor writer, marketing specialist and bass angler. Reports are based on personal experience and permission from a close network of friends. He would love to hear from his readers, so please email him at esaldrich@yahoo.com Remember to take a kid fishing. Football/NFL AMERICAN CONFERENCE East W L T Pet PF PA New England 7 3 0 .700 280 236 Miami 5 5 0 .500 199 256 Buffalo 3 7 0 .300 137 251 N.Y Jets 3 7 0 .300 208 254 South W L T Pet PF PA Houston 6 3 0 .667 216 184 Tennessee 5 4 0 .556 168 151 Indianapolis 4 5 0 .444 260 239 Jacksonville 3 6 0 .333 160 199 North W L T Pet PF PA Pittsburgh 6 2 1 .722 279 209 Cincinnati 5 4 0 .556 235 288 Baltimore 4 5 0 .444 213 160 Cleveland 3 6 1 .350 218 263 West W L T Pet PF PA Kansas City 9 1 0 .900 353 240 L.A. Chargers 7 2 0 .778 240 186 Denver 3 6 0 .333 205 213 Oakland 1 8 0 .111 147 272 NATIONAL CONFERENCE East W L T Pet PF PA Washington 6 3 0 .667 176 175 Dallas 4 5 0 .444 181 171 Philadelphia 4 5 0 .444 198 183 N.Y. Giants 2 7 0 .222 177 228 South W L T Pet PF PA New Orleans 8 1 0 .889 330 232 Carolina 6 3 0 .667 241 232 Atlanta 4 5 0 .444 244 254 Tampa Bay 3 6 0 .333 232 291 North W L T Pet PF PA Chicago 6 3 0 .667 269 175 Minnesota 5 3 1 .611 221 204 Green Bay 4 4 1 .500 223 216 Detroit 3 6 0 .333 202 244 West W L T Pet PF PA L.A. Rams 9 1 0 .900 335 231 Seattle 4 5 0 .444 219 192 Arizona 2 7 0 .222 124 225 San Francisco 2 8 0 .200 230 266 Thursday’s Games Green Bay at Seattle, late Sunday’s Games Houston at Washington, 1 p.m. Pittsburgh at Jacksonville, 1 p.m. Tampa Bay at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m. Dallas at Atlanta, 1 p.m. Cincinnati at Baltimore, 1 p.m. Carolina at Detroit, 1 p.m. Tennessee at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. Denver at L.A. Chargers, 4:05 p.m. Oakland at Arizona, 4:05 p.m. Philadelphia at New Orleans, 4:25 p.m. Minnesota at Chicago, 8:20 p.m. Open: Buffalo, San Francisco, Miami, New England, Cleveland, N.Y. Jets Monday’s Games Kansas City at L.A. Rams, 8:15 p.m. Football/college Top 25 schedule Today’s game No. 23 Boise State at New Mexico, 9:30 p.m. Saturday No. 1 Alabama vs. The Citadel, Noon No. 2 Clemson vs. Duke, 7 p.m. No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 12 Syracuse, Bronx, N.Y., 2:30 p.m. No. 4 Michigan vs. Indiana, 4 p.m. No. 5 Georgia vs. UMass, 4 p.m. No. 6 Oklahoma vs. Kansas, 7:30 p.m. No. 7 West Virginia at Oklahoma State, 3:30 p.m. No. 8 Ohio State at Maryland, Noon No. 9 Washington State vs. Arizona, 10:30 p.m. No. 10 LSU vs. Rice, 7:30 p.m. No. 11 UCF vs. No. 19 Cincinnati, 8 p.m. No. 13 Texas vs. No. 18 Iowa State, 8 p.m. No. 14 Utah State at Colorado state, 2 p.m. No. 15 Florida vs. Idaho, Noon No. 16 Penn State at Rutgers, Noon No. 17 Washington vs. Oregon State, 4:30 p.m. No. 20 Kentucky vs. Middle Tennessee, Noon No. 21 Utah at Colorado, 1:30 p.m. No. 22 Boston College at Florida State, 3:30 p.m. No. 24 Northwestern at Minnesota, Noon No. 25 Mississippi State vs. Arkansas, Noon FCS Top 25 Record Pts Pvs 1. North Dakota State (155) 10-C 13875 1 2. Kennesaw State 9-1 3677 2 3. Weber State 8-2 3502 3 4. Eastern Washington 8-2 3415 5 5. South Dakota State 7-2 3262 6 6. Jacksonville State 8-2 2822 8 7. James Madison 7-3 2806 9 8. Colgate 9-0 2691 10 9. UC Davis 8-2 2635 4 10. Stony Brook 7-3 2379 12 11. Princeton 9-0 2099 13 12. North Carolina A&T 8-2 1989 14 13. Wofford 7-3 1838 15 14. Elon 6-3 1794 7 15. Towson 7-3 1784 20 16. Maine 7-3 1728 16 17. Delaware 7-3 1572 11 18. Nicholls 7-3 1528 17 19. ETSU 8-2 1315 19 20. Dartmouth 8-1 776 25 21. San Diego 8-2 495 NR 22. McNeese 6-4 447 18 23. Southeast Missouri State 7-3 412 21 24. UIW 6-4 378 NR 25. Montana State 6-4 152 NR Others: Indiana State 124, Idaho State 112, Lamar 99, Alcorn State 90, Montana 89, UNI 81, Furman 74, North Dakota 72, Monmouth 56, Abilene Christian 47, Illinois State 37, Duquesne 34, Chattanooga 25, Western Illinois 16, Sam Houston State 13, Rhode Island 12, Central Arkansas 10, Murray State 6, Southern University 4, Florida A&M 3. Transactions BASEBALL MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL — Voted to extend the contract of commissioner Rob Manfred for five years, through the 2024 regu lar season. American League TEXAS RANGERS — Signed C Jett Bandy and RHP Walker Weickel to minor league contracts. National League NEW YORK METS — Signed LHP Ryan O’Rourke to a minor league contract. BASKETBALL National Basketball Association NBA — Promoted NBAGL referees Mousa Dagher, Ashley Moyer-Gleich, Matt Myers, Phenizee Ransom and Natalie Sago to full-time NBA staff officials. WASHINGTON WIZARDS — Assigned G Thomas Bryant to Capital City of th e NBA G League. NBA G League CAPITAL CITY GO-GO — Waived G Devin Sweetney. Reacquired G Chasson Randle through returning rights. FOOTBALL National Football League GREEN BAY PACKERS — Activated WR Trevor Davis from injured reserve. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — Released QB Phillip Walker from the practice squad. Signed CB Jalen Collins to the practice squad. NEW YORK GIANTS— Designated RB Jonathan Stewart for return/returned to prac tice from injured reserve. HOCKEY National Hockey League ARIZONA COYOTES — Named Lyndsey Fry special adviser to the president and CEO. Recalled D Dakota Mermis from Tucson (AHL). DALLAS STARS — Recalled D Gavin Bayreuther from Texas (AHL). EDMONTON OILERS — Recalled RW Patrick Russell from Bakersfield (AHL). NEW YORK ISLANDERS — Recalled Fs Michael Dal Colle and Stephen Gionta from Bridgeport (AHL). NEW YORK RANGERS — Recalled F Dawson Leedahl from Maine (ECHL) to Hartford (AHL). TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING — Recalled G Eddie Pasquale from Syracuse (AHL). VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS — Assigned G Zach Fucale from Chicago (AHL) to Fort Wayne (ECHL). SOCCER Major League Soccer MLS — Named Dr. Margot Putukian chief medical officer, Dr. Bert Mandelbaum associate chief medical officer and John Gallucci assis tant to the chief medical officer. Announced for mer chief medical officer Dr. Lawrence Lemak will become chief medical officer emeritus. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION — D Chris Tierney announced his retirement. COLLEGE NCAA — Granted an immediate eligibil ity waiver to Vanderbilt men’s basketball F Matthew Moyer. TODAY ON TV BASKETBALL ■ NBA:Raptors at Celtics, 7 p.m., ESPN ■ NBA:Bulls at Bucks 9:30 p.m., ESPN ■ Arkansas at Nevada, 11:00 p.m., ESPNU GOLF ■ PGA RSM Classic, second round, 1:30 p.m. RACING FOOTBALL ■ Monster Energy Homestead qualifying, ■ Memphis at SMU, 9 p.m., ESPN2 6 p.m., NBC Sports MLB DAVID J. PHILLIP I Associated Press The Boston Red Sox’s Mookie Betts runs the bases after hitting a solo home run against Los Angeles Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw, right, during the sixth inning in Game 5 in the World Series on Oct. 28 in Boston. Betts, Yelich named MVP Award winners Associated Press Mookie Betts is ready to become an ambassador for baseball, now that he’s won a batting title, World Series and Most Valuable Player award with Boston. “I enjoy being kind of a face around the game. I’ve kind of used this pedestal or whatever you want to say to spread knowledge that the game is fun,” he said Thurs day after his runaway vic tory for the AL MVP award. Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich was close to a unani mous pick for the NL honor. A 26-year-old outfielder just like Betts, Yelich also won a batting championship and led his team to a division title. But while Betts has been with the Red Sox since he signed after the 2011 ama teur draft, Yelich didn’t join the Brew ers until he was dealt to Milwaukee last Jan uary by the payroll-paring Miami Marlins. “I’m thankful it all worked out because being traded, you never know how it’s going to be,” Yelich said. “Luckily for myself, it all went amazing.” Yelich is signed through 2021 and his deal includes a team option for the fol lowing season. Betts didn’t want to speculate whether he would be a Red Sox lifer, like former Boston MVPs Ted Williams, Carl Yastr- zemski and Jim Rice. Betts can become a free agent after the 2020 season. “Right now I’m just focus ing on the 2019 season com ing up,” he said. Betts received 28 first- place votes and 410 points from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Los Angeles Angels out fielder Mike Trout, a two- time MVP, followed with one first-place vote and 265 points. Trout tied the record of four second-place finishes shared by Stan Musial, Wil liams and Albert Pujols. Trout won in 2014 and 2016, finished second in ’12, T3 and ’15, and was fourth in 2017. Cleveland third baseman Jose Ramirez was third with 208 points, and Red Sox des ignated hitter J.D. Martinez was next with one first and 198 points. Betts hit a major league leading .346 with 32 homers, 80 RBIs, 42 doubles and 30 stolen bases as the leadoff hitter for the Red Sox, who won a team-record 108 games and their fourth World Series title in 15 seasons. Votes were sub mitted before the postseason. Betts, second to Trout in the 2016 vote, raised his profile when he fed home less people on the steps of Boston’s Public Library after the second game of the World Series. Unlike some baseball players, he doesn’t eschew off-the-field lime light. Commissioner Rob Manfred criticized Trout during the All-Star Game for not making enough of a mar keting effort. “I definitely think it’s pretty cool in some settings,” he said, “and in some setting settings I just kind of want to be with my family.” Both batting champions won MVP awards for the first time since San Fran cisco’s Buster Posey and Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera in 2012. Yelich got 29 first-place votes and 415 points, and the other first-place vote went to New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom, the NL Cy Young Award winner, who finished fifth. Chicago Cubs infielder Javier Baez was second with 250 points, fol lowed by Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado with 203. Yelich won the first bat ting title in Brewers history with a .326 average. He set career highs with 36 homers and 110 RBIs and had a 1.000 OPS. Yelich nearly became the NL’s first Triple Crown win ner since Joe Medwick in 1937, finishing two homers shy of Arenado and one RBI back of Baez. Yelich was especially impressive in the second half, hitting .367 with 25 homers and 67 RBIs — including 11 homers in August and 10 in September. Milwaukee reached the playoffs for the first time in seven years, swept Colorado in the Division Series then lost to the Los Angeles Dodg ers in a seven-game League Championship Series, fall ing one win short of its first World Series appearance since 2002. Yelich gets a $100,000 bonus for winning, and the price of the 2022 team option in his contract increased by $1 million to $16 million. Yelich celebrated in Southern California with family and friends, includ ing Heisman Trophy winner and Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield. Yelich is from Westlake Village, California, near the site of a recent mass shooting and the Southern California wild fires. He wore a Los Angeles Fire Department cap during TV interviews. Yelich OWNERS MEETINGS New contract for commissioner, TV deal with Fox Baseball owners have locked down their commis sioner and their main broad cast partner, too. Any decisions on speeding up the game and perhaps making it more enjoyable to watch will have to wait. After wrapping up two days of meetings at a hotel next to the Atlanta Braves’ SunTrust Park, the owners announced a new contract for Commissioner Rob Manfred, keeping him on the job at least through the 2024 regular sea son. The 60-year-old started a five-year term in January 2015. “It seems like about 15 minutes ago I was spending a really dreadful day in a not-very-nice hotel suite in Baltimore waiting to see if I could get vote number — what was I looking for, 23 right?” quipped Manfred, who won the vote to suc ceed Bud Selig in August 2014 after beating out two other contenders. “It seems almost impossible that four years have gone by. ” The owners also signed off on a new television deal with Fox, which still has three seasons to go on its current eight-year contract that pays baseball an average of $525 million per season. The seven-year extension, which runs through 2028, will be worth just over $5 bil lion to MLB — roughly a 36 percent increase to an aver age of about $715 million per season. Manfred was asked whether the owners had any reservations to making such a long-term commit ment, especially giving the rapidly changing dynamics of the broadcast and online industries. “I’m a huge believer in the idea that when you have a good partner, even when you’re looking at an uncer tain landscape, that good partners find a way to navigate that uncertain land scape,” the commis sioner said. The relationship with Fox, which began in 1996, will continue to include the World Series and All-Star Game, as well as extensive playoff cover age on both the network and its all-sports cable channel, FS1. The new agreement also commits Fox to show ing more games from the League Championship Series on its main network, beginning in 2019. It was criticized for televising all but Game 2 in this year’s seven-game NLCS between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers on FS1, which has a narrower distribution. Starting next year, two of the first four games and Game 7 will be on Fox. In addition to the extension with Fox, MLB also approved a $300 mil lion, three-year with DAZN, a subscription video stream ing service run by former ESPN president John Skip per. Manfred called it a key part of baseball’s strategy to reach a new generation of fans. DAZN will co-produce a nightly highlight show at the MLB Network in Secau- cus, New Jersey, and do live cut-ins to games Monday through Friday, an arrange ment that steers clear of national broadcast slots held by Fox and ESPN on the weekend. “The owners have shown courage, because we are new,” Skipper said. “We will make sure that young fans have a whip-around show (similar to NFL’s Red Zone) that shows every home run, every highlight. We will get them interested in the game.” While the deals with Man fred, Fox and DAZN were expected , baseball has yet to come to a consensus on the best ways to improve a sport that suffered a 4 per cent dip in attendance this season to 69.6 million, plung ing to its lowest level since 2003. Manfred and the owners continue to look at ways to speed play . Nine-inning games averaged 3 hours, 4 minutes in 2018. While that was 4 minutes lower than the previous season, it still matched the third-highest average in baseball history. Associated Press Manfred
