SPORTS
Bill Murphy Sports Editor | 770-718-3415 | sports@gainesvilletimes.com
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gainesvilletimes.com
Tuesday, December 11,2018
NFL
JEFFREY PHELPS I Associated Press
Green Bay Packers’ Clay Matthews sacks Atlanta Falcons’
Matt Ryan during the game Sunday in Green Bay, Wis.
Falcons’ latest
loss guarantees
losing season
BY CHARLES ODUM
Associated Press
A five-game losing streak
has assured the Atlanta
Falcons of their first losing
season since 2014, and the
usually upbeat coach Dan
Quinn said he’s alarmed by
the ugly results and looking
for fixes.
Quinn said all players and
coaches are in the
spotlight after Sun
day’s 34-20 loss at
Green Bay locked in
the losing season for
the Falcons (4-9).
It is a bitter real
ity for an Atlanta
team only two years
removed from a
Super Bowl appear
ance. The Falcons
would have to win two of
their last three just to match
their last losing record, a 6-10
finish in 2014.
Quinn has turned up the
heat on his team as Atlanta
prepares for a visit from Ari
zona on Sunday.
“Some of you may have
questions regarding the pro
gram and staff and players,”
Quinn said. “As we’re sitting
here in week 15, we have four
wins. So you better believe
we’re evaluating everything
and doing anything to get it
right.”
Quinn complained about
“self-inflicted wounds,”
including 13 penalties and
two turnovers in the loss to
the Packers.
“I thought our toughness
was right but our focus is
not,” he said.
He said the errors and
lack of focus are not new
concerns.
“It hasn’t been to the
level that we needed to for a
while,” he said. “... To have
some of these inconsisten
cies show up over a period
of time has definitely been
something that has been at
the forefront of my mind.”
Quinn doesn’t have an
answer to why the focus has
become an issue, saying, he
“can’t tell you the amount
of sleep” he has lost “on that
question alone.”
Matt Ryan’s second-quar
ter pass for Austin Hooper
was intercepted by Bashaud
Breeland and returned
22 yards for a touchdown.
The Falcons also botched a
Falcons
vs. Cardinals
When: Sunday, 1 p.m.
TV: Fox
shotgun snap in the red zone
that was recovered by Green
Bay.
Quinn said those were
among the mistakes “that
made me think lack of focus.”
It was a mixed
weekend for team
owner Arthur Blank,
who also owns the
MLS Atlanta United.
One day after watch
ing Atlanta United
win the MLS Cup
at Mercedes-Benz
Stadium, Blank was
in Green Bay for
another Falcons loss.
Blank gave Quinn a post
game hug one week after say
ing he still has confidence in
the coach and general man
ager Thomas Dimitroff.
Quinn is 36-30 in his fourth
season in Atlanta, including a
3-2 postseason mark.
For the second straight
week, Quinn tweaked his
starting offensive line,
inserting Ty Sambrailo at
right tackle ahead of Ryan
Schraeder. Zane Beadles
made his second straight
start at right guard.
“I’ve been waiting for the
opportunity to go out and
show what I can do,” Sam
brailo said Monday. “The
opportunity came and I felt I
did all right.”
The line helped produce
a much-needed boost in the
running game. Atlanta ran
for 107 yards, only its third
100-yard game of the sea
son. Rookie Ito Smith had
11 carries for 60 yards as he
continued to have a more
prominent role. Tevin Cole
man ran for 45 yards on 10
carries.
There were other person
nel moves. Rookie Isaiah
Oliver shared time with cor-
nerback Robert Alford. Brian
Hill played at running back
and fullback while fullback
Ricky Ortiz was inactive.
Defensive end Steven Means
also returned to the playing
rotation.
More changes could come.
“Nobody is OK with this
record,” Quinn said.
vr~M
Quinn
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL I Athletes of the Week
Big Red’s dynamic duo
Times file photo
Gainesville guard Tia Shelton (3) dribbles downcourt during the first round game of the 58th annual Lanierland
Tournament between Gainesville and East Hall in Gainesville, Dec. 28, 2017.
Gainesville guards Blackwell and Shelton have led the
way for Lady Red Elephants in 5-3 start to season
For The Times
Gainesville’s Tija Blackwell shoots during a Lady Red
Elephants practice on Monday, Dec. 10, in Gainesville.
BY SARAH WOODALL
swoodall@gainesvilletimes.
com
Looking at the skillsets
of Gainesville shooting
guards Tija Blackwell and
Tia Shelton, one doesn’t
really work without the
other, according to their
coach.
Together, this senior
duo always seems to
match one
another in terms
of intensity, lead
ership and scor
ing prowess on
the floor. And so
far, it has trans
lated into big
things for Alan
Griffin’s Lady
Red Elephants
basketball team
this season.
They are two guards
who just make each other
better, said Griffin. But on
some nights, their connec
tion is almost telepathic.
“We just read off each
other,” said Blackwell,
who is a four-year starter
for the Lady Red Ele
phants and has shared the
court with Shelton for the
last three seasons.
The two have shined
the most in critical
moments when Gaines
ville has really needed
a spark. Shelton and
Blackwell know when it’s
their cue, and last week’s
thrilling victory over then
seventh-ranked Greater
Atlanta Christian made
that clear.
In a tag-team effort,
the pair combined for 57
points, including Black
well’s career-high 33
points and game-winning
stepback jumper in the
closing seconds to lift the
Lady Red Elephants to
a 76-73 win on Dec. 4 in
Gainesville.
Shelton (15 points per
game), who poured in 24
points behind Blackwell,
totaled 16 for the second
half against GAC. She
drained a 3-pointer to put
Gainesville back out front
by two early in the fourth
period. Minutes later,
Blackwell took the reins
to score the final seven
points for Gainesville,
with the game-winning
loft rolling off her finger
tips from just inside the
right corner of the arc
and down through the net
with 22 seconds
left.
“Both of them
can shoot the
lights out of the
ball, but you
don’t know how
they’re gonna
react in the
fourth quarter in
a big game until
it happens,” Grif
fin said. “They wanted
the ball in their hands
because of the confidence
of their game.
“I knew they had it in
them. It was really excit
ing to see it come out.”
Last Friday night, it
was Shelton’s turn to steer
the ship. She racked up a
game-high 25 points as
the Lady Red Elephants
rolled to an 84-21 rout of
Southwest Atlanta Chris
tian. Blackwell chipped
in 15 points as Gainesville
(5-3) captured its fifth win
of the young season.
It’s been a common
theme for the two return
ing starters. For those
reasons, they are this
week’s Times co-Athletes
of the Week.
On and off the court,
Blackwell and Shelton
are cornerstones for a
program in revival. Grif
fin first noticed their
obvious aptitude for hon
ing their skills on the
court when they took part
in 4-on-l workouts this
summer. But it was their
dedication to the smaller
details — outside the
scorebooks — that really
won over their coach.
“They are the first
ones in and the last ones
out (at practice). Both of
those kids are just such
good leaders for us,” Grif
fin said. “They are the
ones helping the coaches
out — picking up a water
bottle here or there. Aca
demically, they are never
on my radar for strug
gling in the classroom.
They are just really high-
quality kids.”
Blackwell certainly
takes some of that weight
off the shoulders of the
coaching staff. The first
to spring out of the locker
room on practice days,
Griffin spots Blackwell
— one of three seniors on
the varsity team — lead
ing a drill on the proper
technique of shooting
form.
Blackwell wants this
year to be a memorable
one. So far it has been for
the staple who is just 46
points shy of 1,000 for her
career.
“(The seniors) just
came in thinking, ‘Alright,
this is our senior year. We
gotta go out with a bang
... might as well play bet
ter as a group, as indi
viduals,”’ said Blackwell,
who averages 22 points,
six rebounds and five
steals for the Lady Red
■ Please see ATHLETE, 2B
Griffin
ATT\NTA UNITED FC
Five Stripes’ MLS Cup victory parade draws thousands
BY PAUL NEWBERRY
Associated Press
ATLANTA — Despite cold,
drizzly weather, thousands of fans
turned out Monday for a down
town parade and rally to celebrate
the city’s first championship since
1995.
The revelry won’t last long.
Atlanta United must find a coach
to replace Tata Martino and likely
cope with the loss of star mid
fielder Miguel Almiron before
returning to the field in February
for their first appearance in the
CONCACAF Champions League.
“That puzzle exists every year
in professional sports,” team
owner Arthur Blank told report
ers after the rally outside Mer
cedes-Benz Stadium. “The great
organizations, the great teams find
a way to respond to that. What
we’ve built here is a sustainable,
winning organization, so
we’re looking forward
to being back — not just
competing, but being back
on this stage a year from
now.”
In just its second sea
son since entering Major
League Soccer as an
expansion team, Atlanta
United won the champion
ship with a 2-0 victory over
the Portland Timbers on Saturday
night.
Less than 48 hours later, the city
toasted its first championship team
since the Atlanta Braves won the
1995 World Series.
“We did it! We broke the curse!”
said rapper Archie Eversole,
whose song “We Ready” became a
popular theme at home games.
The players rode a
double-decker bus on the
1-mile-long parade route,
holding up the cup for the
cheering crowd as they
passed the Georgia Aquar
ium, College Football Hall
of Fame and Centennial
Olympic Park. Blank,
team president Darren
Eales and Atlanta Mayor
Keisha Lance Bottoms
revved up fans in convertibles at
the front of the procession.
The parade ended in a grassy lot
alongside Mercedes-Benz Stadium,
where some 15,000 turned out for
a lunchtime rally also attended by
outgoing Gov. Nathan Deal.
“We’ve won a championship
in only our second season,” Eales
said. “That’s pretty incredible.”
In probably his last appearance
with the team, Martino hammered
in the golden spike while the crowd
roared. The Argentine coach is
reportedly headed to Mexico to
become that country’s national
team coach.
“Coach Martino is one of the
great coaches in the world,” Blank
said. “He saw the vision, he bought
into the vision, and he executed the
vision with this incredible group of
players.”
That group will be changing.
Atlanta already made several
moves, announcing the day after
the game that it declined contract
options on five players includ
ing captain Michael Parkhurst,
though the 34-year-old defender
is expected to return in 2019. The
team said it has already begun
negotiations on a new contract
with Parkhurst, who finally won
the MLS Cup after playing on four
runner-up teams.
The biggest moves are still to
come. Almiron, who was runner-
up in the MVP voting to teammate
Josef Martinez, is expected to fol
low through on his desired move to
Europe, which should bring United
a hefty transfer fee.
The team seems to have already
lined up a replacement.
Argentine star Gonzalo “Pity”
Martinez, who scored the clinch
ing goal in River Plate’s victory
Sunday in the Copa Libertadores
■ Please see UNITED, 2B
Blank
