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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 To inquire about pricing packages available to memorialize a pet in print, please contact Megan Lewis at 770-535-6371 or mlewis@gainesvilletimes.com Pets at Peace will appear in The Times the last Sunday of each month. 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.
