The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
SPORTS
2B Saturday, January 4, 2020
NBA
Atlanta stays close but
falls to Boston 109-106
Associated Press
Jaylen Brown had 24 points and 10
rebounds to help the Boston Celtics over
come an 18-point, first-quarter deficit
against the NBA’s worst team and beat the
Atlanta Hawks 109-106 on Friday night.
Marcus Smart started in place of the flu-
ridden Kemba Walker and scored 15 points,
adding nine assists and hitting a 3-pointer
that gave Boston a four-point lead with
43 seconds left. Gordon Hayward scored
18, and Enes Ranter had 14 points and 11
rebounds.
Trae Young scored 28 points with 10
assists for the Hawks, who beat Orlando on
Monday to snap a 10-game losing streak. But
Daniel Theis blocked his potential game-
winner in the final seconds, setting off a
scramble for the loose ball that resulted in a
brief shoving match.
Smart and Alex Len were given matching
technical fouls, then Smart made one of two
free throws with 0.3 seconds left to ice the
game.
EARLY LEADS: John Collins had nine
points and six rebounds in the first quarter,
when Atlanta opened a 29-11 lead.
ELISE AMEND0LAI The Associated Press
Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36)
drives against Atlanta Hawks guard Trae
Young (11) in the first quarter of Friday’s
game in Boston.
The Celtics erased almost all of it by half
time, scoring the last five points of the first
quarter and the first six of the second before
heading into the break trailing only 55-53.
Hayward hit a 3-pointer at the end of the
third quarter to give Boston an 82-80 lead.
The Hawks never led again, though they
had a half-dozen chances to do so in the final
minutes.
NFL
Legendary
Dolphins coach
Shula turns 90
Don Shula has been about
longevity for, well, a long
time. He entered the NFL
as a player in 1951 and
retired in 1995 after coach
ing the Miami Dolphins for
26 years.
He won more games than
any coach in league history,
a record that has stood for,
coincidentally, 26 years.
And now he’s turning 90.
Shula’s birthday is Satur
day. Anderson and others
who played for the coach
threw a surprise party for
him last month, and about
100 people attended.
“He said, ‘Where were all
of you when I turned 89?’”
Pro Football Hall of Fame
quarterback Bob Griese
said.
“It was the first time in
the entire time I’m known
him where he was genuinely
surprised,” Hall of Fame
fullback Larry Csonka said.
“I think he was very happy. ”
By comparison, Satur
day’s celebration will be
low-key, said Shula’s wife,
Mary Anne.
“He’s a little tired from
all the things going on dur
ing the holidays,” she said
Friday. “But he’s doing
fantastic.”
Associated Press
RED
■ Continued from 1B
of 7-0 runs separated by a
couple made shots from
Donsha Gaither to briefly
threaten the Red Elephant
advantage, but 6 quick
points from Dixon in the
post through the middle of
the period put Gainesville
back up by double digits and
put the comeback bid to rest.
Late dunks from Dixon
and Gaither put the finish
ing touches on the team’s
successful start to the region
slate.
“I just like the cohesive
ness right now, and the
scoreboard is taking care
of itself,” Graham said of
Gainesville’s current win
ning streak. “One thing has
remained constant: the guys
have never wavered on
their effort level in practice.
Believing in what we do is
half the battle. Now we’ve
got them believing in them
selves. We’re on the way.”
GAINESVILLE GIRLS
60, HABERSHAM CEN
TRAL 53: Freshman guard
Zaria Williams scored 22 for
the Lady Red Elephants and
Lauren Teasley added 18 to
lift Gainesville to the win in
its first region game of the
year.
The Lady Red Elephants
struggled early in the con
test, as Habersham Central
jumped out to a 19-5 lead in
the first quarter, but 3s from
Williams and Shya Martin
right before the end of the
period helped to slow the
Lady Raiders’ momentum.
Gainesville battled into
the lead right before half
time thanks in large part to
3-pointers from Williams,
Teasley and Sadie Roach
had an 18-6 run that spanned
the bulk of the frame.
The two teams exchanged
a couple of big runs in the
third quarter, but a pair of
traditional 3-point plays
from Teasley and Williams
early in the fourth helped to
widen the gap. Gainesville
finished off the game 4 for
6 from the free throw line in
the final minute to close the
door on the region win.
“The whole level of our
play went up tonight,”
Gainesville coach Alan
Griffin said. “I feel like we
played probably our best
all around game. Our team
defense was so good. I felt
like that was really the dif
ference for us.”
Football/NFL
Basketball/NBA
Basketball/college
Wild-card Playoffs
Today’s games
Buffalo at Houston, 4:35 p.m. (ABC/ESPN)
Tennessee at New England, 8:15 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday’s games
Minnesota at New Orleans, 1:05 p.m. (FOX)
Seattle at Philadelphia, 4:40 p.m. (NBC)
Divisional Playoffs
Today’s games
Philadelphia, Seattle or Minnesota at San
Francisco, 4:35 p.m. (NBC)
Houston, Buffalo or Tennessee at Baltimore,
8:15 p.m (CBS)
Sunday’s games
New England, Houston or Buffalo at Kansas
City, 3:05 p.m. (CBS)
New Orleans, Philadelphia or Seattle at Green
Bay, 6:40 p.m. (FOX)
Transactions
BASEBALL
National League
WASHINGTON NATIONALS — Agreed to terms
with RHP Will Harris on a three-year contract.
FOOTBALL
National Football League
MIAMI DOLPHINS — Signed CB Rashard
Causey to a futures contract.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS — Signed CB Marcus
Sherels. Placed CB Mike Hughes on IR.
Canadian Football League
MONTREAL ALOUETTES — Fired president
and chief executive officer Patrick Boivin.
Named CFL COO David Goldstein the interim
president and chief executive officer.
COLLEGE
CALIFORNIA — Named Bill Musgrave offen
sive coordinator.
GEORGIA — RB DAndre Swift announced he
will enter the NFL draft.
MICHIGAN — C Cesar Ruiz announced he will
enter the NFL draft.
MINNESOTA — Announced wide receiv
ers coach Matt Simon will also assume the
duties as co-offensive coordinator. Named Mike
Sanford Jr. co-offensive coordinator and quar
terbacks coach.
NEBRSKA — Dismissed RB Maurice
Washington.
NEW JERSEY CITY — Promoted Danielle
Beam to associate director of athletics for
student development/SWA.
OHIO STATE — DE Chase Young announced
he will enter the NFL draft.
WAKE FOREST — Suspended men’s sopho
more basketball Sharone Wright Jr. and Michael
Wynn one game each for “failing to uphold the
standards of Wake Forest Basketball.”
WASHINGTON — Announced RB Salvon
Ahmed will enter the NFL draft.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
W
L
Pet
GB
Boston
24
8
.750
—
Toronto
23
12
.657
2 1 / 2
Philadelphia
23
13
.639
3
Brooklyn
16
17
.485
8 1 / 2
New York
10
24
.294
15
Southeast Division
W
L
Pet
GB
Miami
25
10
.714
—
Orlando
16
19
.457
9
Charlotte
14
23
.378
12
Washington
10
24
.294
14 1 / 2
Atlanta
7
28
.200
18
Central Division
W
L
Pet
GB
Milwaukee
31
5
.861
—
Indiana
22
13
.629
8 1 / 2
Chicago
13
22
.371
17 1 / 2
Detroit
12
23
.343
18 1 / 2
Cleveland
10
24
.294
20
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Southwest Division
W L Pet GB
Houston 23 11 .676 —
Dallas 22 12 .647 1
San Antonio 14 19 .424 8 1 / 2
Memphis 13 22 .371 10 1 / 2
New Orleans 11 23 .324 12
Northwest Division
W L Pet GB
Denver 24 10 .706 —
Utah 22 12 .647 2
Oklahoma City 19 15 .559 5
Portland 15 21 .417 10
Minnesota 13 21 .382 11
Pacific Division
W L Pet GB
L.A. Lakers 27 7 .794 —
L.A. Clippers 25 11 .694 3
Phoenix 13 21 .382 14
Sacramento 13 22 .371 14 1 / 2
Golden State 9 27 .250 19
Friday’s Games
Boston 109, Atlanta 106
Orlando 105, Miami 85
Portland 122, Washington 103
Philadelphia at Houston, late
New York at Phoenix, late
New Orleans at L.A. Lakers, late
Today’s Games
Memphis at L.A. Clippers, 3:30 p.m.
Toronto at Brooklyn, 6 p.m.
Utah at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Indiana at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.
Boston at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Denver at Washington, 8 p.m.
Charlotte at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Detroit at Golden State, 8:30 p.m.
San Antonio at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.
New Orleans at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Top 25 standings
Friday’s games
1. Gonzaga (15-1) did not play. Next: vs.
Pepperdine, Saturday.
2. Duke (12-1) did not play. Next: at Miami,
Saturday.
3. Kansas (10-2) did not play. Next: vs. No. 16
West Virginia, Saturday.
4. Oregon (11-3) did not play. Next: at Utah,
Saturday.
5. Ohio State (11-3) lost to Wisconsin 61-57.
Next: at No. 15 Maryland, Tuesday.
6. Baylor (10-1) did not play. Next: vs. Texas,
Saturday.
7. Louisville (11 -2) did not play. Next: vs. No.
18 Florida State, Saturday.
8. Auburn (12-0) did not play. Next: at
Mississippi State, Saturday.
9. Memphis (12-1) did not play. Next: vs.
Georgia, Saturday.
10. Villanova (10-2) did not play. Next: at
Marquette, Saturday.
11. Butler (13-1) did not play. Next: vs.
Creighton, Saturday.
12. Michigan (10-3) did not play. Next: at No.
14 Michigan State, Sunday.
13. San Diego State (14-0) did not play. Next:
at Utah State, Saturday.
14. Michigan State (11-3) did not play. Next:
vs. No. 12 Michigan, Sunday.
15. Maryland (11-2) did not play. Next: vs.
Indiana, Saturday.
16. West Virginia (11-1) did not play. Next: at
No. 3 Kansas, Saturday.
17. Kentucky (9-3) did not play. Next: vs.
Missouri, Saturday.
18. Florida State (12-2) did not play. Next: at
No. 7 Louisville, Saturday.
19. Virginia (10-2) did not play. Next: vs.
Virginia Tech, Saturday.
20. Dayton (12-2) did not play. Next: at Saint
Joseph’s, Sunday.
21. Penn State (11 -2) did not play. Next: vs.
No. 23 Iowa, Saturday.
22. Texas Tech (9-3) did not play. Next: vs.
Oklahoma State, Saturday.
23. Iowa (10-3) did not play. Next: at No. 21
Penn State, Saturday.
24. Wichita State (12-1) did not play. Next: vs.
Mississippi, Saturday.
25. Arizona (10-3) did not play. Next: vs.
Arizona State, Saturday.
Today’s games
No. 6 Baylor at Oklahoma, 5 p.m.
No. 17 Gonzaga at San Diego, 5 p.m.
No. 24 Minnesota at Nebraska, 6 p.m.
TODAY ON TV
FOOTBALL
BASKETBALL
■ Armed Forces
Bowl: Southern
Mississippi vs.
Tulane, 11:30 a.m.,
ESPN
■ All-American
Bowl: From San
Antonio, 1 p.m.,
NBC
■ NFL Playoffs: Bills
vs. Texans, 4:30
p.m., ABC
■ NFL Playoffs:
Patriots vs. Titans,
8 p.m., CBS
■ Indiana at Maryland, noon, Fox
■ Oklahoma State at Texas Tech, noon, ESPN2
■ LSU at Tennessee, noon, ESPNU
■ Creighton at Butler, noon, Fox Sports 1
■ Villanova at Marquette, 2 p.m., Fox
■ Florida State at Louisville, 2 p.m., ESPN2
■ Connecticut at South Florida, 2 p.m., ESPNU
■ Notre Dame at Syracuse, 4 p.m., ESPN2
■ Mississippi at Wichita State, 4 p.m., ESPNU
■ Alabama at Florida, 6 p.m., ESPN2
■ Iowa State at TCU, 6 p.m., ESPNU
■ Duke at Miami, 8 p.m., ESPN
■ Texas at Baylor, 8 p.m., ESPN2
■ Bradley at Northern Iowa, 8 p.m., ESPNU
■ Pepperdine at Gonzaga, 10 p.m., ESPN2
■ Air Force at UNLV, 10 p.m., ESPNU
NFL
McCaffrey makes history
MICHAEL CONROY I The Associated Press
Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey (22) is tackled by Indianapolis Colts’
Clayton Geathers (26) and Anthony Walker (50) during the first half of the game Dec. 22 in
Indianapolis.
Carolina RB also picked
as All-Pro at flex position
Associated Press
Christian McCaffrey’s ver
satility and superb statistics
helped him to a rare double:
The Carolina Panthers run
ning back has made The
Associated Press NFL All-
Pro Team at two positions.
McCaffrey rushed for
1,387 yards and 15 touch
downs while catching a phe
nomenal 116 passes for 1,005
yards and four TDs.
He became the third
player in NFL history to fin
ish with 1,000 yards rushing
and 1,000 yards receiving
in the same season, join
ing Hall of Famer Marshall
Faulk and Roger Craig, who
is on the senior ballot for the
hall this year.
That so impressed the 50
members of a nationwide
media panel who regularly
cover the NFL for McCaf
frey to be voted the first-
team running back and the
top flex player.
The flex position was cre
ated in 2016 to reward play
ers who epitomize the way
offense is now played in pro
football.
Not one fits that descrip
tion better than McCaffrey,
whose terrific season came
for a 5-11 team.
“It means a lot,” says
McCaffrey, a third-year pro.
”It is a big honor and that
is something that you don’t
work hard for it, but when it
comes you are really grate
ful and appreciative.”
McCaffrey’s achieve
ment was complemented
by the unanimous selections
of New Orleans receiver
Michael Thomas and New
England cornerback Ste-
phon Gilmore.
It’s the second straight
season both made the squad,
Thomas doing it with an
NFL-record 149 catches,
Gilmore anchoring the
league’s top-ranked defense.
Ravens sensation Lamar
Jackson, who in his second
season led Baltimore to a
league-best 14-2 mark, was
chosen as quarterback.
Jackson and McCaffrey
were among 14 first-time
All-Pros. Rams safety Eric
Weddle, who witnessed the
jukes and jaunts of Jackson
firsthand in a 45-6 Ravens
romp.
“When you get on the field
and you get to the speed of
what they run, it’s tough,”
says Weddle, a former
All-Pro.
”1 mean, some of the plays
I didn’t know who had the
ball because they run it so
efficiently.”
This special class includes
several multiple All-Pros:
Rams DT Aaron Donald and
Seahawks LB Bobby Wag
ner, each for a fifth time;
Cowboys right guard Zack
Martin and Ravens kicker
Justin Tucker for a fourth
time.
Bears kick returner Cor-
darrelle Patterson made his
third All-Pro roster, as did
Eagles center Jason Kelce
and Texans receiver DeAn-
dre Hopkins.
All-Pros for the second
time included Thomas,
Gilmore, Cardinals edge
rusher Chandler Jones,
Steelers DT Cam Heyward,
Patriots special teamer Mat
thew Slater, Colts left guard
Quenton Nelson, and Ravens
defensive back Marcus
Peters, who shared that spot
with the teammate Marlon
Humphrey and the Chiefs’
Tyrann Mathieu (second
appearance).
Thomas, Gilmore, Nel
son, Hopkins, Kelce, Martin,
Donald, Wagner and Tucker
repeated from 2018.
The other newcomers
were Humphrey; 49ers
tight end George Kittle;
Ravens left tackle Ronnie
Stanley; Saints right tackle
Ryan Ramczyk; Steel
ers edge rusher T.J. Watt;
Saints linebacker Dema-
rio Davis; Vikings LB Eric
Kendricks; Bills cornerback
Tre’Davious White; safeties
Jamal Adams of the Jets
and Minkah Fitzpatrick of
the Steelers; Titans punter
Brett Kern; and Saints punt
returner Deonte Harris, the
only rookie on the team.
“When you got here and
people start talking about
All-Pro and that’s the best
of the best, you’re like ‘Pro
Bowl is cool, but I need to get
the best of the best.,” says
Wagner, who led the NFL
in tackles this season. “As
you get older you kind of
understand how hard these
things are to get. And so you
don’t take any of them for
granted and are very grate
ful for your health, grateful
for your teammates. As you
get older you reflect and you
appreciate things differently
that you might not have had
when you were young.”
Ramczyk once played
Division III college ball.
Now look at him.
“It’s just pretty crazy that
I was at a little D-3 school
and I’m like, ‘If I’m going
to play this game, I’m going
to play to be the best I pos
sibly can be,” he says, add
ing the All-Pro designation is
“pretty awesome. It’s pretty
cool.”
Not surprisingly, Balti
more led the All-Pro Team
with five selections, while
New Orleans had four, Bal
timore and Pittsburgh each
had three.
League’s TV ratings get a
spike second straight year
Associated Press
The NFL goes into the
playoffs with its regular-sea-
son ratings having gone up
for the second straight year,
the first time the league has
seen back-to-back increases
since 2010.
The league’s 100th season
was its most viewed in four
years as games averaged
16.5 million viewers on tele
vision. That is a 5% increase
over 2018, according to
Nielsen.
Neal Pilson, the former
president of CBS Sports who
now runs his own sports tele
vision consulting company,
attributes the continued
increases to the emergence
of younger players as well as
the league becoming year-
around programming.
“The league is quite for
tunate with young players
who have had tremendous
publicity in college doing
quite well. They’ve also had
some good games and have
largely avoided off-field
controversy,” he said. “The
NFL has also learned from
the NBA’s playbook of stay
ing on the sports page and
being relevant during the
offseason with the combine
and draft keeping them on
the front pages for several
months.”
The NFL said in a release
that female viewers were up
5 % over last season and that
women have accounted for
at least 35% of the audience
for each of the past three
years. Digital streaming
continues to see significant
gains with a 51% jump. The
league reported an average
of 487,000 online viewers via
different packages.
One constant is that Dallas
continues to be a big draw.
The Cowboys had three
of the five most-watched
games and they had the
top game on every pack
age except “Monday Night
Football.”
Dallas’ Thanksgiving Day
game against Buffalo on
CBS was the top game at 32.6
million.
ESPN’s “Monday Night
Football” once again saw
the biggest gains with an
8% increase for the second
straight year. The 17-game
package over 16 weeks aver
aged 12.57 million viewers.
The most-watched Mon
day night game was Seat
tle’s overtime win over San
Francisco on Nov. 11 (16.73
million). That was also the
highest viewership for a
Monday night game since
Dallas vs. Detroit in 2016.
Fox Sports - which has
this year’s Super Bowl
-- averaged 19.24 million
viewers for its Sunday
games, a 7% increase. The
“America’s Game of the
Week” continues to be the
top window, averaging 24.36
million. Fox had this sea
son’s most watched Sunday
afternoon game as the Nov.
24 matchup between Dallas
and New England drew 29.9
million.
NBC’s “Sunday Night
Football” had its best sea
son since 2015, averaging
20.5 million (5% increase).
The Sept. 29 game between
Dallas and New Orleans led
the way at 24.2 million. Last
week’s matchup between
San Francisco and Seattle
averaged 22.8 million, mak
ing it the most viewed game
in the package’s 14-year his
tory between a pair of West
Coast teams.
CBS and the Fox/NFL
Network Thursday night
package each had 4%
increases. The Thursday
night package averaged
15.4 million with Dallas vs.
Chicago on Dec. 5 being
the most-viewed game (18.8
million).
CBS averaged 17.22 mil
lion for its best regular sea
son since 2016.
The league’s packages
don’t begin to expire until
after the 2021 season, but
negotiations on extensions
with all of the league’s
broadcast partners could
begin soon.
“The NFL continues to
be the Tiffany of sports
programming. It is such an
important property for the
networks and carriers that
the competition will be just
as strong even if the ratings
were flat,” Pilson said. “The
major sports properties have
become even more efficient
in delivering audiences to
advertisers. More efficient
is more valuable.”
