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4B Friday, December 28, 2018
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
SPORTS
AP MALE ATHLCTE OF THE YEAR
LeBron picked for his accolades
on and off the basketball court
MARK TERRILL I Associated Press
The Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James, right, drives
toward the basket as Houston Rockets’ Clint Capela
(15) defends during the first half of the game Dec. 13 in
Houston.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
ROGELIO V. SOLIS I The Associated Press
Duke quarterback Daniel Jones (17) sets to pass against
Temple during the first half of the Independence Bowl on
Thursday in Shreveport, La.
Jones lifts Duke
to Independence
Bowl victory
Associated Press
LeBron James went to
the NBA Finals for the
eighth consecutive year. He
changed addresses again,
leaving his Cleveland home
for the second time to join
the Los Angeles Lakers in
the biggest move of free
agency over the summer.
He remained arguably the
dominant player in the
basketball, adding even
more glitz on a legacy that
reached epic status long
ago.
It was, by any measure, a
fantastic year for James.
And even without a title,
it may have been his most
significant year.
For the third time, James
has been selected as The
Associated Press Male Ath
lete of the Year — after
2018 saw him continue to
excel on the court, open
the “I Promise” school
for at-risk children in his
hometown of Akron, Ohio,
and further use his voice as
an activist who bristled at
being told to “shut up and
dribble.”
“I would describe it as a
success because I was able
to inspire so many people
throughout the year,”
James said. “I got to go back
to China, to Paris, to Berlin,
I opened up a school. And
all these kids I was able to
see, all over the world and
in my hometown, I was able
to inspire, to make them
think they can be so much
more than what they think
they’re capable of being.
That was my outlook for
2018.”
James received 78 points
in balloting by U.S. edi
tors and news directors
announced Thursday, while
Boston Red Sox star Mookie
Betts was second with 46.
Every year Julio Jones
puts up big numbers while
the Atlanta Falcons fall
short of a championship.
And every year he puts
a positive spin on what
went wrong and what looks
promising heading into next
season.
The two-time All-Pro and
six-time Pro Bowl receiver
has towed the company
line since he arrived from
Alabama as the NFL’s sixth
overall draft pick in 2011.
That’s not going to change
even though the Falcons
(6-9) are out of the playoffs
as they prepare for the sea
son finale at Tampa Bay
(5-10).
“Without a doubt in our
mind, we should be one of
those teams playing in the
postseason year in and year
out,” Jones said Thursday.
“We have the talent. We
have the coaching staff. We
have everything to do so. It
was just one of those years.
We’re not trying to come
out here and make excuses
and things like that. It just is
what it is.”
Atlanta missed the play
offs for the fourth time
with Jones on the roster.
At 29, he’s still in his prime,
leading the league in yards
receiving for the second
time in four years and fin
ishing no lower than third
since 2013.
“I’m in a great place
emotionally,” Jones said.
“Physically, I’ll be ready
.. recover and get my body
right. Just go to work.”
At least he knows the Fal
cons have promised him a
new contract in 2019. He’s
expected to get a deal that
will make him among the
highest paid receivers in
the NFL. Jones lost that sta
tus heading into this season
and considered holding out
of training camp.
But Atlanta general man
ager Thomas Dimitroff
adjusted his base salary,
and Jones joined the team
on time knowing that he
will be taken care of long
term.
“That hasn’t even
crossed my line, but T.D.
— we’re at the hip,” Jones
Alex Ovechkin of the Wash
ington Capitals was third,
Kansas City Chiefs quarter
back Patrick Mahomes was
fourth and Triple Crown
winner Justify was fifth.
On the court, James
remained dominant. He
averaged 28.7 points, 8.8
rebounds and 8.4 assists
in 2018 between his time
with the Cavaliers and Lak
ers, playing in 102 games
through Thursday.
“In addition to being
on everyone’s short list as
one of the league’s all-time
greatest players, LeBron is
among the hardest working
players and is a thought
ful and impactful leader,”
NBA Commissioner Adam
Silver said. “He serves on
the executive committee
of the Players Associa
tion even as he builds an
impressive media company
of his own. And what’s most
inspiring, and no surprise
given his talent and focus,
said of this general man
ager. “He’s been doing a
phenomenal job for us and
things like that here, so
they’ll get something done.
That’s not my place to dis
cuss or anything like that.
That’s more so for the team
and my agency.”
There hasn’t been much
for the Falcons to get
excited about since they
entered Week 9 with a
chance to move one-half
game back in the NFC
wild-card race. The ground
attack was nearly nonex
istent during a five-game
losing streak that followed.
The offense struggled with
running back Devonta
Freeman and both starting
guards out for the season
with injuries.
Fox has changed
landscape of
broadcasting
Terry Bradshaw thought
his career as a football ana
lyst was over in 1993 when
CBS lost the NFL rights to
Fox. But instead of going
back to cattle ranching, he
is how he’s done all of this
while embracing his unique
opportunity to positively
impact communities in
need.”
James becomes the third
man to win the award at
least three times, joining
Lance Armstrong (a four
time winner from 2002
through 2005), Tiger Woods
(1997,1999, 2000 and 2006)
and Michael Jordan (1991,
1992 and 1993).
Armstrong won the Tour
de France in each of his
years as the AP recipi
ent, — though he was later
stripped of the titles in a
doping scandal. Woods won
at least one major and was
the PGA’s Player of the
Year in all four of his AP-
winning years. Jordan’s
three awards coincided
with his first three NBA
championships in Chicago.
And James’ first two times
getting the award were in
2013 and 2016, years where
has had a front-row seat to
the biggest sports broad
casting startup of the past
quarter-century.
“It seems like an eter
nity. We all have occasion
ally talked about where we
started. We’ve had all of
these innovations that has
transformed broadcasting
on television,” Bradshaw
said.
It was Bradshaw who
helped usher in Fox’s cov
erage of the NFL in 1994
riding a horse around Los
Angeles before arriving at
the Fox set in Hollywood.
That entrance helped set
the tone that still drives the
network’s coverage and has
included eight Super Bowls.
“Terry is what Fox atti
tude is all about,” said Joe
Buck, who has gone from
one of the announcers for
regional games to the voice
of Fox’s major properties.
“They played that during
the preseason seminar this
year and I got choked up.”
David Hill, who built Fox
Sports and came up with
many of its innovations, still
considers Bradshaw his
most important hire.
his fingerprints mussed up
the Larry O’Brien Trophy
in a title celebration.
And James’ closest rivals
in the AP balloting this year
— Betts and Ovechkin —
also won titles in 2018.
James’ year included no
championship, no scoring
title, no MVP award. But
some of the people closest
to James still considered
2018 to be his finest year
yet.
“I like to talk about gen
erations,” said Miami guard
Dwyane Wade, one of
James’ best friends. “There
will never be another
Michael Jordan because he
was the first to be a global
superstar, the first to take
the NBA to another level.
There will never be another
LeBron James, and a lot of
it is from what he’s done
away from the game. Him
understanding his voice
has been so refreshing and
so important to the culture
and his friends.”
The “I Promise” school
is perhaps James’ most
prized accomplishment yet.
It opened in July for 240
third- and fourth-graders, a
public school in Akron that
is perhaps like none other.
Families — not just the
kids — get support there,
whether it’s by helping put
food on the table or provid
ing adult education or even
legal assistance.
And this is just the start.
James and his LeBron
James Family Founda
tion have enormous plans
for the school in the years
ahead.
“It is already such a suc
cess,” James said. “And
it’s something that I never
thought was possible until
we made it happen. So
yes, it’s been a pretty good
year.”
“He is the core of what
Fox Sports is — he’s funny,
self-deprecating, but gets
the job done,” Hill said.
That core was put in
motion 25 years ago this
month when Fox won the
rights to broadcast NFL
games for $1.6 billion over
four years.
Besides its personalities,
the network has given us
the scorebox, audio that
brings viewers closer to
the game, the one-hour
pregame show, and a big
production feel for sporting
events.
The fact that Hill was
able to build a sports divi
sion from scratch in eight
months remains incredible
considering most networks
now take two to three years
to build.
“It was so intense that it
stays with you. Thinking
back, though, we never had
a chance to second guess
anything because every day
was important,” he said.
Temple was making big
special-teams plays, return
ing interceptions for touch
downs and looking like a
team that might crush Duke
for a big postseason win.
But the Owls had one
problem that couldn’t be
overcome: Coach David
Cutcliffe doesn’t lose in
Shreveport.
Daniel Jones threw for
423 yards and five touch
downs, T.J. Rahming caught
12 passes for 240 yards and
two scores, and Duke recov
ered from a slow start to
blow past Temple 56-27 in
the Independence Bowl on
Thursday.
Cutcliffe is now 4-0 in the
Independence Bowl dating
back to 1998.
“When we come to
Shreveport,” Cutcliffe
said with a grin. “Don’t bet
against us.”
Duke (8-5) snapped a
two-game losing streak
by putting on an offensive
show. The Blue Devils
scored touchdowns on seven
straight drives, flipping a
27-14 deficit in the second
quarter to a 56-27 lead by
midway through the fourth.
“We kind of hit a lull for
a second, but I don’t think
we ever lost confidence,”
Jones said. “We knew we
had some good stuff and if
we caught a few breaks we
could catch momentum and
keep it rolling.”
Jones’ five touchdown
passes and 423 yards pass
ing both set Independence
Bowl records. So did Duke’s
56 points.
Cutcliffe wasn’t surprised
by the offensive success
because he felt the team’s
WEDNESDAYS LYTE
BOWL GAME
TCU knocks off Cal
10-7 in overtime
Jonathan Song kicked a
27-yard field goal in over
time after being replaced
for a potential winning kick
at the end of regulation, lift
ing TCU to a wild 10-7 vic
tory over California in the
Cheez-It Bowl on Wednesday
night.
TCU (7-6) had a chance to
win it in regulation, sending
out Song for a 44-yard field
preparation was excellent.
“It was very evident in
Durham what their inten
tions were,” Cutcliffe said.
“We didn’t have a bad min
ute of practice.”
This was Cutcliffe’s first
Independence Bowl win at
Duke. He led Ole Miss to vic
tories in Shreveport in 1998,
1999 and 2002 and is already
enshrined in the bowl’s Hall
of Honor.
PINSTRIPE BOWL:
Jonathan Taylor ran for
205 yards and a touchdown
and topped the 2,000-yard
season mark to help Wis
consin rout Miami 35-3 in
a chilly Pinstripe Bowl on
Thursday night. Taylor, just
a sophomore, ripped off
runs of 39 and 41 yards and
was sensational at Yankee
Stadium and combined with
a defense that forced five
turnovers to help a Wiscon
sin (8-5) team ranked fourth
in the first AP Top 25 poll
salvage its fifth straight bowl
victory.
The loss had to seem like
a rerun for Miami: Taylor
ran for 130 yards in Wiscon
sin’s 34-24 win over the Hur
ricanes last season in the
Orange Bowl.
Both teams were ranked
inside the top 15 last
December.
A year later, Wisconsin
and Miami (7-6) both showed
at times why two teams that
opened the season inside the
top 10 were stuck playing in
a ho-hum bowl game with
temperatures in the 30s and
a sparse crowd in the Bronx.
Miami’s Malik Rosier
threw three interceptions
before he was replaced late
in the third quarter; Wis
consin’s Rafael Gaglianone
whiffed on two field goals.
goal. After Cal (7-6) called a
timeout, the Horned Frogs
switched kickers and Cole
Bunce hooked the kick wide
left.
TCU’s Juwuan Johnson
intercepted Chase For
rest’s pass to open overtime
and nearly returned it for
a touchdown. The Horned
Frogs were called for side
line interference on the play
and had to start their over
time possession at the 40.
TCU worked its way down
the field and Song was sent
out for the winner.
Associated Press
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NFL
Despite missing playoffs, Julio
high on the future for Falcons
DANNY KARNIKI Associated Press
Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) makes a
touchdown catch against Dallas Cowboys cornerback
Chidobe Awuzie (24) during the second half of the game
Nov. 18 in Atlanta.
