2B Wednesday, November 28, 2018
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
SPORTS
BRAVES
■ Continued from 1B
of Pensacola, Florida who
played his college baseball
at Auburn — about a two-
hour drive from SunTrust
Park.
“I was a huge Braves fan
coming up,” he said.
“My very first favorite
player was Ron Gant. It’s a
very full circle from com
ing to my very first Braves
game, my first major league
baseball game, when I was
about 12 years old to now
being 32 years old (next
week), being able to wear
this jersey and wear it with
pride.”
By only com
mitting to Donald
son for a year, the
NL East-winning
Braves addressed
their top priority
while leaving them
selves with plenty of
financial flexibility
beyond 2019. They
have some of the
most talented young play
ers in the game, led by NL
Rookie of the Year Ronald
Acuna Jr., and didn’t want to
make a move that impeded
their long-term progress.
“I think it’s a win-win
across the board,” Antho-
poulos said. “We love Josh.
We’re thrilled to have him.
But it’s a one-year deal.
Beyond one year, we don’t
know what’s going to hap
pen, other than we hope
we’re pouring champagne
over each other’s heads and
he’s had an MVP year again.
It would be a good problem
to have.”
Donaldson was AL MVP
in 2015 after hitting 41 hom
ers and leading the league
with 123 RBIs in his first
year with the Blue Jays. He
was acquired from Oakland
in a blockbuster deal engi
neered by Anthopoulos, who
was then Toronto’s general
manager.
While Donaldson followed
up with two more 30-plus-
homer seasons, a hip injury
in 2016 and a strained right
calf in 2017 cut into his pro
duction. This past season,
Donaldson was limited to 52
games by shoulder inflam
mation and more calf issues,
hitting .246 with just eight
homers and 23 RBIs. He was
dealt to Cleveland on Aug.
31 and played 16 games with
the Indians, enough to per
suade the Braves that he’s
fully recovered from myr
iad health issues.
“The sample size
was small, but he
looked fantastic,”
Anthopoulos said.
“He looked like the
Josh we’ve always
known, one of the
best players in the
game.”
After taking over
at the Braves’ GM,
Anthopoulos brought along
much of the training staff
that worked for him in
Toronto. That was another
factor in Donaldson’s deci
sion to sign with the Braves.
“They know how to keep
me on the field,” he said.
Donaldson is not look
ing beyond 2019, but he
doesn’t consider himself a
rent-a-player.
“I’m not somebody who
wants to bounce around,”
he said. “I would hope that
this could be the last place
that I play. That being said,
that’s not what I focus on.
I’ve never really focused on
free agency and any stuff
like that. I’ve focused on
going out there and helping
my team win ballgames and
helping my team become
better.”
What about Johan
Camargo, who had 19 hom
ers and 76 RBIs in his first
full season as the Braves’
third baseman?
Anthopoulos wants to turn
Camargo into a super sub
who plays all four infield
positions, serves as the top
pinch-hitter and maybe even
gets some time in the out
field. The bench was a major
shortcoming for Braves in
2018, which was especially
apparent in the postseason
when light-hitting Ryan Fla
herty was included on the
25-man roster.
“We’re going to give
guys more days off,” said
Anthopoulos, who described
Camargo as “a big part of
our lineup. He’s going to con
tinue to play.”
Even though the Braves
will continue to pursue addi
tional pitching for both the
rotation and the bullpen,
Anthopoulos was most con
cerned about bolstering an
offense that ranked ninth in
the NL with 175 homers and
tailed off significantly in the
second half.
The Braves averaged
just over 5 runs per game
through the first half, but
that dipped to 4.35 over the
final 81 games. The offen
sive woes were especially
apparent in the NL division
series, when Atlanta was
shut out twice and scored
just eight runs in a four-
game loss to the Los Angeles
Dodgers.
“It’s not something
we wanted to announce,
because we can still improve
in the bullpen and in the
rotation,” Anthopoulos said.
“But the offense, more than
anything else, we wanted to
protect.”
Anthopoulos
SCORE
■ Continued from 1B
with 31 points on Tuesday in Jefferson.
Johnson visits Chestatee on Friday at 8:30
p.m.
RIVERSIDE MILITARY ACADEMY
58, WEST HALL 48: Isaac Teasley led the
Eagles with 17 points. Shad Dabney added
11 points, while Michael Poteat scored 10 for
the Eagles (4-1). For the Spartans, Sawyer
Passmore scored 16 and Noah Edmondson
chipped in 11.
On Friday, Riverside Military visits Chero
kee Bluff in Flowery Branch.
BUFORD GIRLS 62 MORGAN COUNTY
36: Tate Walters scored 14 points for the
Wolves (4-0). Also for Buford, Preston Reid
scored 10 points.
Buford faces Parkview at 5 p.m. Saturday
at the Wesleyan Showcase in Norcross.
COMMERCE GIRLS 59. SOCIAL CIR
CLE 37: Bryanna Sanders scored 15 points
for the Lady Tigers, while Autumn Mathis
had 12 points.
Commerce hosts Providence Christian on
Friday
Compiled by Diana Lewis
High school scores can be reported by 10:30
p.m. each night by calling 770-718-3415 or
email sports@gainesvilletimes.com.
SCOREBOARD
Football/college
2018 College Football Playoff Rankings
Record
1. Alabama
12-0
2. Clemson
12-0
3. Notre Dame
12-0
4. Georgia
11-1
5. Oklahoma
11-1
6. Ohio St.
11-1
7. Michigan
10-2
8. UCF
11-0
9. Florida
9-3
10. LSU
9-3
11. Washington
9-3
12. Penn St.
9-3
13. Washington St.
10-2
14. Texas
9-3
15. Kentucky
9-3
16. West Virginia
8-3
17. Utah
9-3
18. Mississippi St.
8-4
19. Texas A&M
8-4
20. Syracuse
9-3
21. Northwestern
8-4
22. Boise St.
10-2
23. Iowa St.
7-4
24. Missouri
8-4
25. Fresno St.
10-2
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
LOS ANGELES ANGELS — Released RHP
Alex Meyer.
TAMPA BAY RAYS — Assigned LHP Hoby
Milner outright to Durham (IL). Signed C Anthony
Bemboom and LHP Ryan Sherriff to minor
league contracts.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS — Designated RHP
Mark Leiter Jr. for assignment. Claimed RHP
Oliver Drake off waivers from Tampa Bay.
National League
PITTSBURGH PIRATES — Designated RHP
Alex McRae for assignment. Agreed to terms
with OF Lonnie Chisenhall on a one-year con
tract.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS — Assigned RHP
Derian Gonzalez outright to Memphis (PCL).
Promoted Randy Flores to assistant general
manager/director of scouting, Ernie Moore to
director of team travel and Mark Walsh to
clubhouse manager.
SAN DIEGO PADRES — Assigned SS Allen
Cordoba outright to El Paso (PCL).
American Association
CHICAGO DOGS — Sold the contract of RHP
Taylor Grover to the Cincinnati Reds.
GARY S0UTHSH0RE RAILCATS — Signed UT
Gavin Blodgett and RHP/OF Sean Watkins.
LINCOLN SALTD0GS — Signed RHP Shairon
Martis.
SIOUX CITY EXPLORERS — Sold the contract
of LHP Ian McKinney to the Seattle Mariners.
WINNIPEG GOLDEYES — Released INF Matt
McCann.
Frontier League
EVANSVILLE OTTERS — Exercised options
on RHPs Mitchell Aker, Tyler Beardsley, Tanner
Cable, Taylore Cherry, Garrett Harris, Ty Hensley,
Tyler Vail and Randy Wynne; LHPs Kyano
Cummings, Jake Davis and Austin Nicely; INFs
David Cronin and J.J. Gould; 1B Austin Bush;
1B/C Carlos Castro; OFs Hunter Cullen, Zach
Welz and Jeff Gardner; 0F/3B Travis Harrison
and Ryan Long; 3B Taylor Hillson, UT Taylor Lane
and C Michael Rizzitello.
FLORENCE FREEDOM — Signed RHP Ryan
Colegate and 2B Caleb Lopez to contract exten
sions. Signed OF Brandon Pugh.
JOLIET SLAMMERS — Sent RHP Taylor
Goshen to Schaumburg to complete an earlier
trade.
RIVER CITY RASCALS — Signed RHP Jason
Zgardowski to a contract extension. Exercised
options on Cs Jake Henson and Mike Jurgella,
INF Stephen Kerr, LHPs Dan Ludwig and Jonny
Ortiz and OF Kevin Suarez.
WINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS — Signed
RHPs Eddie Avila and Jake Welch, OF David
Oppenheim and 1B/3B Tyler Straub to con
tract extensions. Released LHP Colton Follett, C
Ronnie Healy and OF Will Krug.
FOOTBALL
National Football League
NFL — Placed Washington Redskins’ LB
Reuben Foster on the commissioner exempt
list.
ARIZONA CARDINALS — Released CB Chris
Jones. Released DGT Vincent Valentine from the
practice squad. Signed CBs Dontae Johnson
and Quinten Rollins. Signed WR Jalen Tolliver to
the practice squad.
BUFFALO BILLS — Released P Colton
Schmidt. Signed P Matt Darr.
CHICAGO BEARS — Signed WR Cyril Grayson
to the practice squad.
DENVER BRONCOS — Placed TE Jeff
Heuerman on injured reserve. Designagted
0T Andreas Knappe practice squad/reserve
injured. Signed TE Temarrick Hemingway from
the practice squad and DL Caushaud Lyons,
TE Tim Semisch and 0L Dan Skipper to the
practice squad.
GREEN BAY PACKERS — Signed 0T Gerhard
de Beer to the practice squad.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS — Placed S Andrew
Sendejo on injured reserve. Waived DE
Jonathan Wynn from practice squad/injured.
Signed CB Craig James. Signed CB Jalen Myrick
to the practice squad.
OAKLAND RAIDERS — Placed DE Jacquies
Smith on injured reserve. Signed G Chaz Green
and TE Darren Waller.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS — Placed DB Jimmie
Ward on injured reserve. Claimed CB Godwin
Igwebuike off waivers from Tampa Bay. Signed
LB James Onwualu from the practice squad and
LB Tyrell Adams and WR Max McCaffrey to the
practice squad.
WASHINGTON REDSKINS — Claimed LB
Reuben Foster off waivers from San Francisco.
HOCKEY
National Hockey League
ARIZONA COYOTES — Recalled G Hunter
Miska from Tucson (AHL).
LOS ANGELES KINGS — Assigned G Peter
Budaj and F Gabriel Vilardi to Ontario (AHL).
Placed F Trevor Lewis on injured reserve, ret
roactive to Nov. 16. Activated G Jonathan Quick
from injured reserve.
OTTAWA SENATORS — Assigned G Marcus
Hogberg from Belleville (AHL) to Brampton
(ECHL).
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING — Assigned F Mitch
Hults from Syracuse (AHL) to Orlando (ECHL).
American Hockey League
STOCKTON HEAT — Returned G Ryan
Faragher to Idaho (ECHL).
UTICA COMETS — Returned F Alex Kile to
Maine (ECHL).
SOCCER
Major League Soccer
CHICAGO FIRE — Exercised options on M
Brandt Bronico, F Diego Campos, G Stefan
Cleveland, D Jorge Corrales, M/D Raheem
Edwards and D/M Nicolas Hasler.
FC CINCINNATI — Signed M Emmanuel
Ledesma.
LOS ANGELES FC — Exercised options on G
Tyler Miller, F Shaft Brewer Jr. and Ms Mark-
Anthony Kaye, Lee Nguyen and Josh Perez.
MINNESOTA UNITED — Exercised options
on G Bobby Shuttlesworth, Ms Collin Martin
and Rasmus Schuller and Ds Michael Boxall,
Carter Manley and Wyatt Omsberg. Returned
M Maximiano to Fluminense (Serie A-Brazil)
and F Alexi Gomez to Universitario de Deportes
(Torneo Descentralizado-Peru).
MONTREAL IMPACT — Exercised options for
D Victor Cabrera; Gs Jason Beaulieu, Maxime
Crepeau and James Pantemis; and Ms Micheal
Azira, Ken Krolicki and Jeisson Vargas.
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION — Signed M
Nicolas Firmino.
ORLANDO CITY SC — Fired general manager
of soccer operations Niki Budalic.
PHILADELPHIA UNION — Named David
Pettican youth general manager.
TORONTO FC — Declined options on G Clint
Irwin and F Tosaint Ricketts. Agreed to termi
nate the contract of M Ager Aketxe.
TODAY ON TV
Hockey
■ St. Louis Blues
at Detroit Red
Wings, 7 p.m.,
NBCSN
Basketball
■ Miami (Ohio) at Xavier, 6:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1
■ Syracuse at Ohio State, 7:15 p.m., ESPN2
■ Rutgers at Miami, 7:15 p.m., ESPNU
■ Virginia at Maryland, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
■ Montana at Creighton, 8:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1
■ Purdue at Florida State, 9:15 p.m., ESPN2
■ Georgia Tech at Northwestern, 9:15 p.m., ESPNU
■ North Carolina at Michigan, 9:30 p.m., ESPN
■ NBA: Hawks at Hornets, 7 p.m., Fox Sports Southeast
Other
■ UEFA Champions League: Atletico Madrid vs. Monaco, 12:55 p.m., TNT
■ UEFA Champions League: Paris Saint-Germain vs. Liverpool, 2:50 p.m., UNI
■ UEFA Champions League: Tottenham vs. Inter Milan, 3 p.m., TNT
■ Australian PGA Championship, 9:30 p.m.,
Golf Channel
COLLEGE FOOTBALL I ACC Championship
BOB LEVERONE I Associated Press
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, center, links arms with players as they march on
the field before the 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference championship game against Miami
in Charlotte, N.C. The second-ranked Tigers will face Pittsburgh for the ACC title on
Saturday night.
Familiar territory
No. 2 Clemson settles into
same ACC title game routine
BY PETE IAC0BELLI
Associated Press
CLEMSON, S.C. — Clem
son safety Denzel Johnson
is very familiar with the
routine leading up to the
Atlantic Coast Conference
championship game. Like
most of his Tiger team
mates, he’s been through it
before.
No. 2 Clemson (12-0, CFP
No. 2) is seeking its fourth
consecutive ACC crown and
the Atlantic Division champ
has a big edge in experi
ence over first-time Coastal
Division winner Pittsburgh
(7-5) on Saturday night.
Johnson, a redshirt junior,
said players know exactly
the effort needed at drills
and meetings this week
to be primed to play for
another ACC title.
There’s a difference,
Johnson said, between well-
prepared and comfortable.
“As far as comfort, not at
all, we’re never satisfied,”
Johnson said. “We’re just
treating this like any other
game, just the next game.”
A game in which the
Tigers have feasted on first
time opponents.
The Panthers are the
fourth different Coastal
team Clemson has faced
since its ACC title streak
began in 2015. The Tigers
topped North Carolina that
year, Virginia Tech in 2016
and Miami a year ago.
Clemson co-offensive
coordinator Tony Elliott
often doesn’t have to tell
players what’s next as the
week progresses.
“They know what to
expect out of each other,”
he said.
The consistency in rou
tine is something Clem
son coach Dabo Swinney
has built into his program
since he got the fulltime
job after the 2008 season.
Players can’t perform at
their best each game if they
think some games are big
ger than others, Swinney
believes. So he’s kept the
focus on the Tigers and
not on opponent, the start
time or how high the stakes
might be.
All of that, though, is
magnified for Clemson in
this one.
A victory over Pitt would
make Clemson the ACC’s
first ever with four consec
utive championship game
victories. It would also pro
pel them back into the Col
lege Football Playoff for
a fourth straight year and
give them a chance at their
second national title since
2016.
“I think experience is
definitely the best teacher
than you can have for
sure,” Swinney said. “We
have a very veteran team.
We got a lot of great lead
ers. We got a lot of guys, a
bunch of guys on this team
that have won three confer
ence championships. That
certainly doesn’t hurt.”
Elliott thinks players
appreciate knowing how
the week’s preparation is
going to unfold. He’s also
confident that if adversity
arises during the title game,
Clemson’s veterans can call
on how the team has han
dled it in past games.
“I think the guys have
confidence in the routine,”
Elliott said. “Obviously,
they’ve got to go out and
execute four quarters and
play at a high level. But I
think they understand what
our week’s going to look
like.”
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi
may be one of the few in
his program to have been
through a conference
championship game expe
rience. He was Michigan
State’s defensive coordi
nator when the Spartans
played and won the Big Ten
title in 2011 and 2013. He
accepts the Panthers can’t
match Clemson’s past ACC
experiences.
“Clemson has obviously
been there before. This
will be nothing new to
them,” Narduzzi said. “I
think it’s going to be impor
tant for our football team
to obviously stay focused
and locked into why we’re
there, what our job is.”
A big part of that job is
slowing down Clemson’s
surging offense. The Tigers
gained 744 yards in a 56-35
win over South Carolina
this past Saturday, the sev
enth straight game where
they’ve won by 20 or more
points. The ACC honored
left tackle Mitch Hyatt
with the Jacobs Blocking
Trophy given to the top
offensive lineman. Three
Tigers were honored in the
league’s weekly awards,
receiver Tee Higgins, cen
ter Justin Falcinelli and
rookie quarterback Trevor
Lawrence.
Clemson running back
Adam Choice is a fifth-year
player who was part of the
team in 2014 before its run
of ACC championship suc
cess. He’ll spend part of this
week reminding younger
teammates not to take play
ing for an ACC crown for
granted.
“We know what it’s like
not to be in the ACC cham
pionship game,” he said.
“It’s definitely not some
thing to be taken lightly.”
NBA
Hawks snap
7-game road
skid in win
over Miami
Taurean Prince scored
18 points, Trae Young fin
ished with 17 points and
10 assists and the Atlanta
Hawks held off the Miami
Heat 115-113 on Tuesday
night to snap a
seven-game road
slide.
John Collins
scored 16 points,
Omari Spellman
had 14 and Kent
Bazemore finished
with 12 for the
Hawks, who are 2-0
against Miami this
season and 3-16
against everyone else.
Josh Richardson led
Miami with 22 points, but his
potential winning 3-pointer
with 3 seconds left — a
wide-open look — bounced
off the rim. Dwyane Wade
scored 18 and Wayne Elling
ton added 15 for the Heat,
who have lost six straight at
home. It’s only the 10th time
in the 31 years of Heat bas
ketball that Miami has lost
so many consecutive games
at home.
Bam Adebayo scored
12 for Miami, which got 11
apiece from Justise Win
slow and Hassan Whiteside.
Atlanta led by 19 early
in the second half and was
still up by 13 with 8:50 left,
before Miami went on its
best run of the night.
The Heat needed less
than four minutes to go on a
14-0 run. Richardson scored
seven of those points,
including the last basket of
the spurt with 5:04 remain
ing, to go up 109-108 — their
first lead since early in the
second quarter.
And then it was Atlanta’s
turn for a run, this one a 7-0
spurt for a six-point lead as
the Heat missed six con
secutive shots. Back came
Miami, with a 3-pointer by
Olynyk and a follow shot by
Richardson to get the Heat
within one.
Prince made
the second of two
free throws with 14
seconds left, giving
Atlanta a 115-113
lead. Miami took its
final timeout, and
Richardson’s last
shot bounced away
as time expired.
Miami scored a
season-high 38 points in the
first quarter, and followed
that up with its lowest-scor
ing quarter of the season —
a 14-point clunkfest in the
second, as the Hawks took
control.
COLLEGE
BASKETBALL
Georgia
dominates
Kennesaw State in
84-51 home win
Sophomore Nicolas Clax-
ton scored 16 points and
claimed a career-high 15
rebounds in Georgia’s 84-51
win over in-state foe Ken
nesaw State Tuesday night.
Rayshaun Hammonds
added 14 points for Georgia
(4-3). Jordan Harris came
off the bench to score 10.
Kennesaw State (1-7) got
12 points from Ugo Obineke,
11 from Tyler Hooker and
10 from Bryson Lockley.
The Bulldogs won the
rebounding battle, 53-35,
and limited the Owls to
an abysmal 28 percent
shooting.
The Owls were able to
stay close the first seven
minutes, trailing 11-10 at
13:02 after a short jumper
by Lockley. But the Bull
dogs went on a 13-1 run over
the next 4:51, stretching the
lead to 24-11 after two Tur
tle Jackson free throws.
Georgia had another 15-0
run near the end of the half,
featuring a pair of 3-point-
ers by Tyree Crump.
If it seemed like time was
standing still for the strug
gling Owls, it was. Crump’s
second 3-pointer came with
2:18 showing on the clock.
Moments later Hammonds
scored on a layup, and the
clock still showed 2:18. Offi
cials had to stop the game to
reset the clock to 1:39, based
on the electronic scorebook
kept at courtside.
Another 19-2 run by the
Bulldogs in the middle
second half settled the out
come. It also stirred the
Georgia crowd after a quiet
first half.
The attendance was
announced at 5,947, the
smallest yet during Tom
Crean’s first season as the
Bulldogs’ head coach.
Associated Press
Prince
