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SPORTS
Bill Murphy Sports Editor | 770-718-3415 | sports@gainesvilletimes.com
Unties
gainesvilletimes.com
Thursday, December 6, 2018
HIGH SCHOOL BASKCTBALL
Tourney brackets set
AUSTIN STEELE I The Times
East Hall’s Alexis Bruce takes the ball down court with North Hall’s Macy Clark close behind during Tuesday’s game In Gainesville.
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Lesville boys, Flowery Branch girls
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HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
Nominations for Gainesville
High’s inaugural Hall of
Fame class due by Jan. 1
The deadline to nominate players for the
Gainesville High athletics Hall of Fame is
Jan. 1. The eight-member inaugural class
(six athletes, one team and one athletic sup
porter) will be inducted during a ceremony
April 20 at Scott’s Downtown in Gainesville.
To be eligible, a candidate must have gradu
ated from either Gainesville High School
or the former E.E. Butler and Fair Street
high schools no less than 10 years before
induction.
Candidates will be considered for either
their athletic achievements or “outstanding
service to athletics in Gainesville.” Each
inductee class will also include a team that
“achieved and performed at the highest
level of competition.”
Nomination forms are available at
the school’s athletics website: www.
gainesvilleredelephantathletics.com.
For more information, contact Gaines
ville athletics director Adam Lindsey at
adam.lindsey@gcsskl2.net.
Compiled by Bill Murphy
GEORGIA BULLDOGS
Defensive coordinator
Tucker takes Colorado job
Mel Tucker doesn’t shy away from setting
the expectations high.
Because lately that’s the only level he’s
known.
Colorado hired the Georgia defensive
coordinator as its football coach Wednesday
after he helped rebuild the
Bulldogs into a national
contender. He wants to
bring that same sort of
swagger to Boulder.
Not down the road,
either, but pronto.
“Colorado should be
a ‘no excuse’ program,”
Tucker said in a state- Tucker
ment. “There’s absolutely
no reason we can’t achieve success at an
extremely high level.”
Tucker receives a five-year, $14.75 mil
lion contract under a deal that’s pending
approval from the board of regents. He
starts immediately and won’t coach Geor
gia in the Sugar Bowl against Texas on New
Year’s Day.
The 46-year-old Tucker replaces Mike
MacIntyre, who was fired with a game
remaining in the season and the team mired
in a six-game skid. The Buffaloes lost their
final game under interim coach Kurt Roper
to miss a bowl berth for a second straight
season. After several stints as an NFL defen
sive coordinator, Tucker became an assis
tant head coach for Nick Saban at Alabama
in 2015. He spent a season with the Crim
son Tide — capturing a
national title — before fol
lowing coach Kirby Smart
to Georgia to build a feisty
defense. The Bulldogs lost
to Alabama last weekend
in the SEC championship
contest and in overtime
last season in the champi
onship game.
Tucker has never been
a head coach on the colle
giate level, but has learned under some big
names. He helped Ohio State and Jim Tres-
sel to a national title as a defensive backs
coach in 2002 and was brought on board by
Saban on three different occasions.
“I’ve known Mel for well over 20 years
and he is one of the brightest coaches in our
profession,” Saban said.
Associated Press
It’s December, and you know what that
means: Lanierland is returning to Hall
County.
The 59th installment of Georgia’s
longest-standing invitational basketball
tournament is back, this time with more
teams and — as always — plenty of
intrigue.
Tournament play will commence Dec.
20, with two play-in games between the
No. 8 and No. 9 seeds for the boys and
girls at Chestatee High. The winners of
Lanierland schedule
Play-in games
Dec. 20
at Chestatee High
■ Cherokee Bluff girls vs. Johnson,
6 p.m.
■ Cherokee Bluff boys vs. Chestatee,
7:30 p.m.
those games advance to face Lanierland’s
top-seeded squads when play resumes
Dec. 27-29.
The Dec. 27 games will be held at Ches
tatee High before tournament play shifts
gears to West Hall for the semifinal and
final games Dec. 28-29.
The Flowery Branch girls and Gaines
ville boys are the reigning Hall County
champions, and look to defend their titles
against a slightly bigger field of compe
tition. The bracket pool on both sides
First-round games
Dec. 27
at Chestatee High
■ Chestatee girls vs. West Hall,
9:30 a.m.
■ West Hall boys vs. Lakeview
Academy, 11 a.m.
■ Lakeview Academy girls vs. North
Hall, 12:30 p.m.
include first-year Cherokee Bluff High
and Lanier Christian. The Lady Falcons
seek to become the first girls team since
West Hall (1997-2000) to secure four-
straight Lanierland titles.
And then you have the Gainesville
boys, which secured the repeat at Lani
erland last year and look to be the first
boys program to capture three-straight
championships since East Hall won six in
a row (2002-2007).
Both the East Hall boys and girls are
still the winningest programs with 24 and
17 titles, respectively.
Riverside Military is the lone school in
Hall County not taking part in Lanierland.
Compiled by Sarah Woodall
■ North Hall boys vs. Flowery Branch,
2 p.m.
■ Gainesville girls vs. East Hall,
3:30 p.m.
■ Johnson boys vs. East Hall, 5 p.m.
■ Cherokee Bluff/Johnson girls winner
vs. Flowery Branch, 6:30 p.m.
■ Cherokee Bluff/Chestatee boys
winner vs. Gainesville, 8 p.m.
Tickets $7 per day
Smart
Atlanta United’s
Martinez named
the league MVP
Associated Press
Josef Martinez choked up
a bit when he saw his grand
parents in the front row.
On most days, he’s not sus
ceptible to tears.
This time, he couldn’t help
himself.
A teary eyed Martinez
claimed the MVP award
from Major League
Soccer on Wednes
day after shattering
the record for goals
in a season and lead
ing Atlanta United
to the championship
game.
While he nor
mally speaks
through a translator,
the 25-year-old Ven
ezuelan gave the first part
of his acceptance speech in
English.
“This is a special day for
me, for my family, for my
teammates, for the city,”
Martinez said, without the
benefit of notes. “I want to
say thank you to the fans
for the amazing support this
year.”
In just two years, Atlanta
United has established itself
as a flagship franchise in
MLS, setting numerous
attendance records and
achieving immediate suc
cess on the field with a
high-scoring, attacking style
spearheaded by its 25-year-
old Venezuelan striker.
Another record crowd of
more than 70,000 is expected
for Saturday night’s MLS
Cup final against the
Portland Timbers.
Martinez already
claimed the Golden
Boot for scoring 31
goals in 34 games
this season, break
ing the MLS mark
of 27 shared by Roy
Lassiter, Chris Won-
dolowski and Brad
ley Wright-Phillips.
“He wears his heart on his
sleeve,” United president
Darren Eales said. “You can
see it in his hunger for goals.
That drive is part of his skill
set.”
Martinez joins a very
select club in Atlanta.
During the ceremony, he
received video congratula
tions from the city’s other
■ Please see MARTINEZ, 2B
Martinez
NFL
Latest losing streak for the Falcons
results from offensive line struggles
SARAH WOODALL
swoodall@gainesvilletimes.com
The Atlanta Falcons’ 2018 season
continues to spiral out of control.
Since rattling off three-straight
wins to get back to .500, Atlanta has
dropped four-straight. As the seats
began to empty during an under
whelming loss to Baltimore this past
Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium,
any modicum of hope to make the
playoffs ended.
So who’s the culprit behind the Fal
cons being caught in a tailspin? It can
no longer be pinned to injuries; that
narrative has been exhausted by now
Is leadership in question with Dan
Quinn? I don’t think so. You can let
Quinn off the hook, given his proven
track record leading a franchise to
the Super Bowl and what he’s done
with a decimated (here I go again
playing the injury card) defense.
What about the play calling?
Offensive coordinator Steve Sarki
sian, who after leading the Falcons
on an upward trend — due in large
DANNY KARNIK I The Associated Press
Atlanta Falcons center Alex Mack prepares to snap to quarterback Matt Ryan
during Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens in Atlanta.
to Matt Ryan’s MVP-caliber numbers
— during a 4-4 start has now stalled.
The Falcons have failed to put up 20
points in the last four weeks.
But Sarkisian’s not fully to blame
either.
Quinn wouldn’t be the first head
coach to identify the line of scrim
mage as the key to success in most
matchups. And a lack of physicality
along the line of scrimmage, I feel,
has been to blame for the Falcons’
latest blunders. Atlanta lost both
starting guards (Andy Levitre and
Brandon Fusco) for the year, sure.
But that’s no longer an excuse for the
poor display of blocking from others
to step in their place.
There has been inconsistent play
in multiple areas, but the trenches is
■ Please see WOODALL, 2B