Sunday, February 25, 2018
Curry scores 44, Warriors hold off late rally by Clippers
Curry scores 44, Warriors hold off late rally by Clippers
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Draymond Green wants the Golden State Warriors to be rolling into the playoffs again this spring.
Steve Kerr is looking for ways to spark the defending NBA champions to make sure that happens, to bring the high-flying Warriors back to playing superb basketball on both ends.
He returned from a Hawaiian family getaway over the All-Star break and changed starting centers. It worked well enough for him to stick with JaVale McGee over Zaza Pachulia for another night.
Stephen Curry swished a beautiful buzzer-beater from way back early and hit another timely 3-pointer late on the way to scoring 44 points, and the Warriors held off the Los Angeles Clippers 134-127 on Thursday night.
”We’re a championship team. We’re not about to sit here and act like we’re this battered team that had a horrible season and we’re looking for any glimmer of hope,” Green said. ”I understand we haven’t been as great as most people expect. We’re still a damn good basketball team so we don’t need no `but it’s a step in the right direction.’ You may get that out of someone but I don’t really roll like that.”
Kevin Durant had 21 points and eight assists, Klay Thompson added 19 points, and Green contributed 13 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals.
”It takes a full effort. It’s not easy to win an NBA game, it’s really not,” Kerr said. ”It takes the full 48. We’re not there yet.”
Curry shot 14 for 19, including 8 of 11 from deep, and made all eight of his free throws in his third 40-point game of the season. Curry also had 10 assists, six rebounds and two steals.
The buzzer-beater was sweet, giving Golden State ”a good vibe.”
”Obviously I feel every one I take has a chance to go in,” he said. ”Not really worrying about shooting percentages, just chuck it and see what happens.”
Kerr challenged his superstar roster to begin games better on the defensive end, which the Warriors did. Then the Clippers nearly came back with a surge down the stretch in what became an entertaining back-and-forth in the closing minutes.
Golden State led 104-93 on David West’s two free throws with 11:31 to play before a 9-0 Clippers run cut it to two.
Curry let it fly from nearly halfcourt to end the first quarter, both his furthest 3 of the season and first as time expired. Those have been his signature shots in recent seasons, so the sellout crowd went crazy.
The two-time NBA MVP made another 3 just before halftime, then Los Angeles’ Danilo Gallinari drained a 47-footer at the buzzer to get the Clippers within 70-58 at the break.
”Steph was incredible as he always is,” Clippers guard Austin Rivers said.
Tobias Harris scored 22 points, Gallinari wound up with 15 and DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 14 rebounds for Los Angeles, which had won five of six.
McGee earned his fifth start of the season and had six points and four rebounds in nearly 14 minutes.
The Warriors are now 7-1 this season in the next game against an opponent after losing the first meeting. The Clippers beat Golden State 126-106 on Jan. 10 at Oracle Arena.
Thompson made two quick 3s to become the 10th Warriors player to reach 10,000 career points in the regular season, and his first 3 moved him past Joe Barry Carroll (9,996 points) for 10th place on the franchise’s career scoring list.
Golden State lost at Portland before the break but improved to 13-1 following a loss this season.
TIP-INS
Clippers: Gallinari had an X-ray on his R hand and it was negative. … Williams had a season-high 11 assists. … Los Angeles shot just 11 for 31 from 3-point range. … The Clippers lost for only the sixth time in their last 19 games.
Warriors: West added 10 points. … Patrick McCaw missed his second straight game with a sprained left thumb, while Jordan Bell sat out a 13th in a row with inflammation in his left ankle.
ANALYTICS ASSIST
Kerr used the resources of analytics guru Sammy Gelfand throughout the break to determine the Warriors aren’t defending nearly as well in the first five minutes of games than a year ago.
”Sammy Gelfand did not get an All-Star break,” Kerr said, explaining the biggest issue as, ”We’re just not trying hard enough.”
SHOOTAROUND NO-SHOW
Clippers guard Tyrone Wallace, on a two-way contract, had to fly into the Bay Area on game day. And the driver brought him straight to Oracle Arena, but the Los Angeles shootaround was not there.
”I told him to just go lay on the couch in my office back there,” coach Doc Rivers said. ”The car took him to the hotel and he got there after shootaround.”
UP NEXT
Clippers: Visit Phoenix on Friday.
Warriors: Host Oklahoma City on Saturday after the Thunder won at Golden State 125-105 on Feb. 6.
—
More AP NBA: apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball
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Spring Game #2: Another A’s win, but another injury too
Spring Game #2:
Another A’s win, but another injury too
Renato Nunez arrived at spring training with something to prove and a roster spot to earn, and through the first two games of the Cactus League he was off to a great start. Unfortunately, he strained a hamstring during Saturday’s tilt and “could be out awhile,” reports Susan Slusser of the S.F. Chronicle. On the bright side and for what it’s worth, the A’s won the game 8-3 over the Padres.
San Diego jumped out to an early lead against A’s starter Andrew Triggs, with a two-run homer by Franchy Cordero in the 1st inning. Triggs was able to record two outs in the 2nd before hitting his limit for the day, but minor league teammate Ben Bracewell allowed one inherited runner to score before escaping the frame. All told, three runs were charged to Triggs, but they were the only ones allowed by Oakland all day.
Meanwhile, the A’s got some early offense as well. Whereas the Padres’ third batter of the game had homered, it only took Oakland until their second batter of the day to get a dinger from Franklin Barreto. Then in the 2nd, the usually sluggish, free-swinging Nunez put together an eye-opening sequence when he walked, stole second, and scored on a hit by fellow prospect Sheldon Neuse. Later, in the 4th, Nunez once again walked and stole second, though this time he was stranded.
Oakland put together its next rally in the 5th inning, thanks to poor Padres defense. An error sent Boog Powell all the way to third, and Barreto knocked him in with a sac fly. A pair of singles and another San Diego error plated another run to give the A’s a 4-3 lead. Yet another botched grounder in the 6th helped Oakland score three more on just a pair of singles, a HBP, and a Slade Heathcott sac fly, and in the 7th they added one final tally with a double by catching prospect Beau Taylor and a single by outfield prospect Ramon Laureano.
On the pitching side, the A’s staff went the final seven innings without allowing a run. Jharel Cotton led the charge with two quick frames, striking out five of the seven batters he faced. Chris Hatcher, Blake Treinen, Danny Coulombe, Chris Bassitt, and Simon Castro each chipped in an inning as well, totaling seven Ks, three walks, and one hit between them.
Nunez injury
The pulled hammy is a tough blow for Renato Nunez, a prospect who was starting strong in a make-or-break spring with the team. We’ll know more about the severity in the next couple days, but such injuries often take at least a couple weeks to fully recover from.
Nunez is out of minor league options and doesn’t have an obvious fit on the roster, but he came to camp in noticeably better shape and had reached base in all four plate appearances so far (2-for-2 in Friday’s opener). Missing multiple weeks would cost him a lot of valuable audition time, though Melissa Lockard has an optimistic take to offer.
If Renato Nunez’s hamstrung strain keeps him out for much of the spring, the A’s could DL him to start the year and that would give him at least a month of rehab games in Triple-A before they’d have to 25-man roster him.
— Melissa Lockard (@melissalockard) February 25, 2018
After seeing catcher Bruce Maxwell exit Friday’s game due to a knock on the noggin, the A’s have now suffered an injury in both spring games so far. Maxwell turned out to be fine, but let’s hope the streak doesn’t continue tomorrow with any more health problems arising. (Well, it already kind of did, as pitcher Daniel Gossett has been scratched from Sunday with back tightness.)
Key lines
A few notable performances in the box score:
- Triggs: 1⅔ ip, 3 runs, 2 Ks, 1 BB, 1 HR, 3 hits
- Cotton: 2 ip, 0 runs, 5 Ks, 1 BB, 0 hits
Cotton utilized his changeup effectively today and says, “I felt like last year the confidence wasn’t there throwing the pitch and this year I told myself, good or bad, I’m throwing that pitch, and it’s going to be good no matter what.”
— Jane Lee (@JaneMLB) February 25, 2018
- Bassitt: 1 ip, 0 runs, 1 K, 0 BB, 0 hits
- Barreto: 1-for-2, HR, sac fly, 2 RBI
- Nunez: 2 BB, 2 SB, run
- Laureano: 1-for-1, HBP, RBI, run
- Nick Martini: 1-for-1, BB, run
The A’s play again on Sunday, against the Royals at noon. Oakland will start A.J. Puk on the mound, and Dustin Fowler in CF. Full lineup here.
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Frances Tiafoe reaches first ATP final at Delray Beach
Frances Tiafoe reaches first ATP final at Delray Beach
American Frances Tiafoe will face Peter Gojowczyk of Germany in the final. (AP)
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Peter Gojowczyk of Germany has beaten the last eight American opponents he’s faced in ATP tour-level matches and will have a chance to defeat another Sunday when he faces Frances Tiafoe in the Delray Beach Open final.
The 91st-ranked Tiafoe, a wild-card recipient this week, journeyed to his first career ATP final by ousting Denis Shapovalov of Canada 7-5, 6-4 in his first career ATP semifinal Saturday night.
Earlier, the 64th-ranked Gojowczyk beat American Steve Johnson 7-6 (3), 6-3.
Gojowczyk has beaten three Americans already this week: sixth-seeded John Isner in the second round, Reilly Opelka in the quarterfinals and Johnson.
“No, I don’t have something about Americans, I like you,” said Gojowczyk, laughing. “I don’t have a preference, but maybe one more American guy.”
If counting tour and non-tour level matches, Gojowczyk has beaten the last 14 Americans he’s played since he lost the 2016 Winnetka, Illinois Challenger semifinal to none other than Tiafoe.
In the 20-year-old Tiafoe’s mind, Gojowczyk’s run against Americans needs to draw to a conclusion.
“He’s been taking out all the Americans, but I’m not going to let him take me out, though,” said a hopeful Tiafoe. “It’s a joke. It’s got to stop. I’m going to try to shut that down.”
Tiafoe raced to a 3-0 lead in the second set before Shapovalov steadied, but the Canadian was only able to recoup one of the two service breaks he suffered.
The semifinal was Tiafoe’s second time on court on Saturday.
In the afternoon, Tiafoe finished off eighth-seeded Hyeon Chung of South Korea 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 on an eighth match point in a rain-delayed quarterfinal. Tiafoe failed to take advantage of three match points Friday night before the match was stopped.
Gojowczyk said he saw a number of the student survivors from last week’s mass shooting at nearby Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the crowd during his match.
The tournament invited any student from the school to attend the tennis on Saturday.
Gojowczyk won his first career title as a qualifier at the Metz, France, tournament last year.
Gojowczyk served up an ace on his first set point at 6-3 in the first set tiebreaker.
Gojowczyk double-faulted to go down 30-40 in the fifth game of the second set, but saved that one break point he faced in the match.
He broke Johnson’s serve on a second break point in the eighth game of the second set when the American sailed a forehand long.
“It was a great match from myself,” Gojowczyk said. “It’s just a great week for me here.”
This Week on Tennis Channel Plus
ATP Acapulco (Feb. 26-28)
– Watch all the action from the Mexican Open on the Tennis Channel App starting February 26 at 5:00 p.m. ET, including extended coverage of three outer courts only available on Tennis Channel Plus.
ATP Dubai (Feb. 26-28)
-Don’t miss outer court coverage of The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship live on Tennis Channel Plus beginning February 26 at 5 a.m. ET
ATP Sao Paolo (Feb 26-Mar. 4)
-Live Brazil Open coverage begins February 26 at 10:30 a.m. ET on Tennis Channel Plus, featuring Gael Monfils, Pablo Cuevas and Fabio Fognini
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Saturday, February 24, 2018
How USA Men’s Curling Went From a ‘Team of Rejects’ to Olympic Gold
How USA Men’s Curling Went From a ‘Team of Rejects’ to Olympic Gold
About a week ago, John Shuster’s United States men’s curling team was struggling to a 2-4 start in the Olympic tournament. America stood on the verge of a third straight Olympic disaster with Shuster as skip (team captain). Shuster’s wife, Sara, tried to give him a pep talk. “I let my wife say everything she could possibly say to me to try to talk me off the ledge,” says Shuster. “I didn’t respond much to her however.”
Shuster then walked, alone, to a grassy knoll near the curling venue in Gangneung, South Korea. He sat down, stared at the venue, then decided he was sick of feeling pain at the Olympics. “I’m getting my heart broken by this sport,” Shuster said to himself. “And this is silly.”
After that quiet moment in the grass in South Korea, Shuster wrote one of the great turnaround stories in U.S. Olympic history. The men’s curling team won its last five games, capping off their improbable run with a 10-7 upset victory over Sweden at the Gangneung Curling Centre on Saturday.
John Shuster of the United States lines up a shot against Sweden during the Curling Men’s Gold Medal game on day fifteen of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Curling Centre on February 24, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea
Dean Mouhtaropoulos – Getty Images
With the score tied at 5-5 in the eighth end — Olympic curling games consist of 10 ends, which are kind of like innings — Shuster knocked two Swedish stones out of the scoring area on the last shot of the end, leaving a remarkable five U.S. stones in the dartboard-looking house. The clutch throw gave the U.S. five points and an insurmountable 10-5 lead.
Swedish skip Niklas Edin had thrown a poor shot to set Shuster up for the gold-clinching takeout. Even before Shuster threw, Edin knew the game was gone. Still, Shuster had missed easy attempts in the Olympics before. Couldn’t he choke again?
No chance. “I can’t tell you how unnervous I was,” says Shuster. The American fans erupted when he grabbed the five points. Watching back in the U.S., America’s foremost Twitterin’ curling fan, Mr. T, jumped off his couch. “And I don’t like to get off my couch,” Mr. T tells TIME in a 2:30 a.m. telephone interview after the game.”It’s real comfortable.”
Edin, the Swedish skip, would have conceded the match right there, but his team played out the last two ends in order to calm down a little. Otherwise, Edin says, he would have thrown the silver medal “in the sea.”
Team USA may have fallen short of its medals target at the PyeongChang Games, but thanks to Jessie Diggins and Kikkan Randall taking American’s first-ever cross-country skiing gold on Wednesday, the women’s hockey shootout win over Canada on Thursday, and especially the underdog curlers — the U.S. had never reached an Olympic curling final — America’s Olympics couldn’t have possibly ended on a more surprising, delightful note.
Team United States reacts after defeating Sweden 10-7 to win the Curling Men’s Gold Medal game on day fifteen of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Curling Centre on February 24, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea
Richard Heathcote – Getty Images
Team USA played loose in Thursday’s semifinal against Canada and played the same away against Sweden. Their opponents took notice. “They had nothing to lose,” says Edin. “And we had everything to lose.”
Mr. T called in for a pre-game speech. “I love what you’re doing,” he said over the phone. “I understand the athletic ability that it takes.” The players laughed when their cheering section shouted “Box of beers! Box of beers!” whenever someone brought a round back from the concession stand. Shuster’s son Luke, 4, led “USA!” chants.
“I love your mustache!” a fan yelled to American curler Matt Hamilton, who thanks to his red hat, stocky build and trimmed upper lip, could pass for a 1980s backup catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. Hamilton glanced up to the crowd and tussled his stache. “Believe it or not,” says Hamilton. “I don’t hate attention.”
While Hamilton and teammates Tyler George, who manages a liquor store, and John Landsteiner, a corrosion engineer, all came up big in the gold medal game, the win really belongs to Shuster, a four-time Olympian who’s seen his fair share of derision. After leading the Olympic team to a last place finish in Vancouver, and a second to last effort in Sochi, fans knocked Shuster, a former bartender who now works part-time at Dick’s Sporting Goods, online. His physique — or lack of it — made him an easy target. USA Curling started a high-performance program after Sochi to improve America’s fortunes on the curling sheet.
Initially, Shuster didn’t make the cut. So he recruited Hamilton and George and Landsteiner, a member of the 2014 team in Sochi, to try to play their way into USA Curling’s good graces. “I don’t think ‘team of rejects’ is the right term,” says Shuster, 35. “I think it was just Team Reject.”
“Somebody put a bee under his bonnet,” says Shuster’s father, Tom. “He knew it was possible.”
Shuster bought into the high-performance ethos. He met with sports psychologists. When officials asked him to lose 30 pounds, he did. “I’d lie if I didn’t say I wanted it badly for him,” says George. “I couldn’t be happier for John that he never has to make another shot the rest of his life to love the game.”
Shuster’s mom, Jackie says “this is our miracle on ice.”
Let’s just leave it to America’s curling conscience, Mr. T, to put it all in perspective. He compared the U.S. team to Rocky, who pounded his own character, Clubber Lang, in Rocky III. “Aw man, what a show, what a show,” says Mr. T. “John Shuster, he’s the greatest, man. The pressure was on, it didn’t phase him. No one thought they could do it. They’re what we really need right now during tough times. They can bring us all together, put a smile on our faces. They’re like a good medicine.”
Mr. T’s right. For Team USA, the curlers have already cured the Olympic blues.
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Thursday, February 22, 2018
John Shuster to skip the US men’s curling team at the Olympics again
John Shuster to skip the US men’s curling
team at the Olympics again
John Shuster led his rink to victory at the U.S. Olympic Curling Trials and punched his ticket to a fourth Olympics
John Shuster will skip the U.S. Olympic men’s curling team for a third straight Olympics after leading his team to a second straight playoff victory at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for curling.
Despite his long and decorated resume–Olympic bronze medal from the 2006 Torino Winter Games, where he played lead, plus experience skipping his current team into the top five at the last three world championships and winning bronze in 2016–the Olympic berth didn’t come easy for 35-year-old Shuster.
Curler John Shuster on his hidden talent, personal motto and how being a parent made him a better athlete
His team lost the first game of the best-of-three playoff series to Heath McCormick’s rink, then won the second game with help from a piece of errant ice that threw McCormick’s final stone of the ninth end off course. Shuster was able to capitalize on the other team’s bad luck by claiming four points and ending the game 9-4.
In tonight’s third and final game, Team Shuster grabbed a big lead by scoring three points in the first end. They held on to the lead throughout but McCormick and his teammates were never too far behind.
Team Shuster had a one-point lead and the hammer, the term for the advantage that comes from throwing the last stone of each end, going into the tenth end. But that invaluable hammer came within a few inches of rolling too far away from the button, which would have tied the score and forced the game to an extra end. Luckily for Team Shuster, the stone stopped rolling just in time and they won the game 7-5.
Two of Shuster’s teammates are already Olympians: John Landsteiner played with Shuster at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, and alternate Joe Polo earned a bronze alongside Shuster in Torino.
The other two teammates, Tyler George and Matt Hamilton, will be first-time Olympians in PyeongChang.
After the match, Shuster told Trenni Kusnierek of NBC Sports that he wasn’t focusing on himself during the Trials competition.
“What this is about and what I’m about is about getting my teammates there,” he said. “I have two new Olympians on my team and I know how special that is, and now they know how special that is.”
Hamilton added, “[Shuster] just believes in us and just reminds us all the time there’s a reason he plays with us.”
Shuster will be looking to erase some bad memories when he returns to the Winter Games; his rink finished last in Vancouver and next-to-last in Sochi. After the 2014 Olympics, Shuster got cut from the national team because he performed poorly at the first combine held by USA Curling’s High Performance Program.
At the Team USA Winterfest event in early November, Shuster said that he took that moment as a wake-up call.
“I was like ok, if these people are going to be putting the work in and making changes then that’s something I need to do,” he said, “because this is something I still want to be part of.”
He started working out and successfully lost 30 pounds. Another big change came when he became a father for the second time; he said it made him more fearless on the ice.
“Making or missing a shot in the grand scheme of my life is now a lot less life or death,” Shuster said, “because I know that my life or death, the most important part to me, is being a dad and a husband. My kids make it a lot easier to step into the hack and throw an important shot.”
Appropriately, his two sons were the first people out on the ice to hug him after he made that oh-so-important shot that earned him and his teammates a ticket to PyeongChang.
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2018 NBA All-Star Game score, highlights: Team LeBron squeaks past Team Stephen
2018 NBA All-Star Game score, highlights:
Team LeBron squeaks past Team Stephen
The 2018 NBA All-Star Game is in the books.
Featuring a new format, the game pitted Team LeBron against Team Stephen. The teams, as has been well documented, were picked playground style a few weeks ago by the two captains, LeBron James and Stephen Curry.
The night got off to a bizarre start, with a lengthy sketch comedy routine featuring Kevin Hart and a number of other celebrities. Then, following the player introductions, it was time for the national anthems. And, well, the American rendition did not go so well. Not only was everyone on social media clowning Fergie for her ridiculous rendition, but so too were the players on the court, who could be seen laughing.
But finally, the game got underway, and it was far more competitive than the past few editions. Of course it wasn’t playoff intensity or anything, but the guys were certainly out there playing some defense — especially in the fourth quarter. Speaking of the fourth quarter, it was a fantastic finish, as Team LeBron battled back from a double-digit deficit in the final frame to tie the game at 144-144 in the final minutes.
With just over a minute remaining, there was even a refereeing controversy, when it appeared that a ball went out of bounds off of Joel Embiid, but after review, Team Stephen kept the ball. LeBron was pretty upset, but Team Stephen didn’t convert on the extra possession.
Team LeBron ended up taking the lead in the final minute on a connection between none other than Kyrie Irving and James. Irving dished it to his old teammate in the paint, and he put up a bucket to take the lead. Russell Westbrook then got a layup with 10.7 seconds remaining to put Team LeBron up by three.
On the final possession, Curry tried to play hero, but was locked up by some impressive defense from Team LeBron. Kevin Durant and LeBron James helped prevent Curry from even getting a shot off.
Team LeBron was victorious, 148-145 (box score). LeBron James had 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists and was named the game’s MVP for the third time in his career.
(Relive All-Star Game commentary below)
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These 5 cities could host NFL Draft in 2019, 2020 | Is New York or Philadelphia in the running?
These 5 cities could host NFL Draft in 2019, 2020 |
Is New York or Philadelphia in the running?
Remember when the NFL Draft was a staple of the spring calendar at Radio City Music Hall?
Well, it isn’t coming back anytime soon.
The NFL put the draft in New York in 1965 and held it there until 2015, when scheduling conflicts at Radio City Music Hall prompted the league to leave the Big Apple entirely and go to Chicago in back-to-back years.
Philadelphia hosted in 2017, Dallas will host in April and now there are five franchises who are finalists after submitting bids for hosting the 2019 and 2020 drafts.
The NFL is considering Tennessee (the Titans play in Nashville), Denver, Kansas City, Las Vegas and Cleveland/Canton, according to multiple reports.
2018 NFL mock draft: Full 32-team first-round picks
The Raiders are scheduled to move from Oakland to Las Vegas possibly as soon as 2019.
The NFL will announce a host city for both the 2019 and 2020 drafts at the league meetings in May.
In 2017, the draft was held outdoors for the first time. In 2018, it will be held inside a football stadium for the first time.
The NFL will mark its 100th season in 2019 and its centennial anniversary in 2020, which makes Cleveland/Canton an interesting choice. The league was established in Northeast Ohio in 1920 (Cleveland and Canton had two of the NFL’s original 11 franchises) and Canton has been home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame since 1963.
Los Angeles was in the running for the 2015 NFL Draft at a time when it had no franchise. Since then, both the Chargers and Rams have moved into the city.
Ryan Dunleavy may be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook.
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Tuesday, February 20, 2018
Olympic Ice Dance Skating Sets New Records, While Hitting Emotional Highs and Lows
Olympic Ice Dance Skating Sets New Records,
While Hitting Emotional Highs and Lows
Olympic records were being broken all over the rink at the ice dance free skate in Gangneung Ice Arena. Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir earned gold, their second Olympic title, which makes them the most decorated Olympic athletes in their discipline, earning five Olympic medals in their three appearances at the Games (in addition to the two golds, they own another gold from the team event in PyeongChang and two silvers from the ice dance and team event in Sochi). In the short program part of the event in Korea, they set a new record for the highest overall score recorded.
France’s Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron skated a haunting program to Moonlight Sonata, winning the free skate portion and setting a new record for the highest free dance score (breaking their own record set a few months earlier) which gave them a total score of 205.28 when combined with their short program scores, just behind Virtue and Moir’s 206.07.
The U.S. sister-brother team of Maia and Alex Shibutani clinched bronze, their first Olympic medal in two Olympic appearances, while teammates Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue finished in fourth. After an uncharacteristic fall, the other U.S. team of Madison Chock and Evan Bates finished in ninth place.
“We skated our asses off and we’ve got to be proud of that,” says Moir of their gold-medal winning effort. Beyond effort, the winning pair have chemistry. “After twenty years together,” says their coach, Marie-France Dubreuil, “with eyes closed they each know what the other is doing.”
The podium in ice dance is becoming a home-coming of sorts, since so many teams currently or used to train together. Virtue and Moir now train with Papadakis and Cizeron in Montreal with Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Romain Haguenauer, and the Canadians used to train with the Shibutanis in Detroit.
The top three teams were a demonstration in how diverse and stylistic the sport of ice dance has become. In the days when eastern European teams dominated the discipline, most teams were indistinguishable from the other, trying to outdo one another on outlandish costumes but still sticking to the same formula of moves and music.
Virtue and Moir, Papadakis and Cizeron, and the Shibutanis couldn’t be more different. Virtue and Moir, known for their precision and sharpness, skated two high energy programs that capitalized on Moir’s outgoing personality and Virtue’s quiet power, while Papadakis and Cizeron’s free skate highlighted their remarkable ability to glide silently across the ice as if they were floating on air rather than on 4 mm wide blades. The Shibutanis showed that romantic chemistry isn’t a necessity for winning an ice dance medal, despite what many had told them throughout their career.
“Along the way in our career there have been a lot of people who told us that maybe siblings shouldn’t be a team,” says Maia as she tears up. “But we believed in ourselves and we accomplished this together and are so proud of all the work we have done.”
The Shibutanis were disappointed with their fourth place finish after the short program, but returned to the Olympic Village and watched old family videos of themselves when they were younger, “just dancing around together, having a good time,” says Alex, as both he and Maia become emotional over the memory. “The family bond we have, it’s a strength no other team in this event has. For all the people who think it’s a deficit to skate as siblings, we’ve made it our strength.”
The Shibutanis, who are the first skaters of Asian descent to win Olympic medals in ice dance, hope that their example breaks down some of the stereotypes against sibling teams in ice dance, and opens the sport up to new types of partnerships and more creative ways of growing the discipline. “It’s so limiting to be labeled as one thing,” says Alex. “It’s almost insulting to the discipline of ice dance where it’s grouped into ‘oh it’s romantic or oh it’s sensual.’ That’s not fair to ice dance, and probably hurting ice dance’s feelings. Ice dance wants to be whatever it can be. We are all put here to hopefully find something we are passionate about and hopefully connect in some way to the people around us.”
The Shibutanis coach, Marina Zueva, agrees that the passion ice dancers express — and judges reward — doesn’t always have to be of the romantic variety. “There are different forms of passion,” she says. “Passion does not have to be like love passion. Passion can be between them and their warmth, and how they reach their goal.”
Papadakis and Cizeron, who earned two world championship titles since the 2014 Olympics, train with the Canadian team in Montreal, and credited the proximity with their strongest rivals with improving their skating. “It’s never been easy. Looking back [training with Tessa and Scott] really made us improve in a way that wouldn’t be possible if we trained alone,” says Cizeron. “We kept pushing each other and we think that was for the best.”
Papadakis agreed, admitting to a wave of emotions after the skate. “We knew it was possible and we wanted [the gold]. But we did our best and we have nothing to regret. I am very moved right now and think I’d start to cry if you tell me that the dog of your grandmother died. There are lots of emotions coming out right now. But we couldn’t have skated better. It was amazing to deliver what we did today for our first Olympics.”
While the Shibutanis relished their first Olympic medal, snapping selfies with their coach and running their hands along the Olympic ice before leaving the rink, their teammates Madison Chock and Evan Bates were struggling to make sense of a fluke mistake that left both of them tumbling during their routine. As the pair entered a combination spin, somehow they clicked blades and fell sprawling to the ice.
“As soon as it happened I couldn’t believe that our butts were on the ice where our skates were supposed to be,” says Chock, holding back tears. Igor Shpilband, their coach, says the entry into the spin is challenging, since Chock is required to jump into it, but it’s not something they have ever tripped up on in their training — ever. “When you go for a difficult element there is a chance you can mess up, but this is not something they ever made a mistake on ever. It’s the last place you expect a mistake to happen,” he says.
As grand a stage as the Olympics are, for competitors it is, after all, just another competition. And while for some the Games represent a culmination of a career, for Chock and Bates it’s just the beginning. They are already planning to redeem themselves at next month’s world championships in Milan, Italy. “We will go home, train and put out the performances we wanted to put out here,” says Chock.
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Athletics Nation presents 2017 Player Awards
Athletics Nation presents 2017 Player Awards
Baseball has completed its 2017 award season, and the Oakland A’s were deservedly shut out. The last-place squad was almost completely absent from the proceedings, scoring only a couple down-ballot votes for Matt Olson as Rookie of the Year — he finished a distant fourth place overall.
The closest thing to a snub was Matt Chapman being left off the Gold Glove ballot entirely, due to eligibility rules that are just stupid enough for me to angrily tweet about but not important enough to warrant an entire article. Fortunately the far superior Fielding Bible award exists, and in that voting Chapman finished runner-up at 3B behind Nolan Arenado. That’s a fair result for this year, and since Arenado plays in the NL it also means Chapman effectively “won” in the American League. And anyway, we all know this is the last time we’ll need to have a debate about Chapman’s hardware.
At a time like this, we’ll need to create our own fun. Nobody on the A’s was the best in the league, but somebody had to be the best on the A’s, or in some cases the least bad. The Athletics Nation staff has submitted their votes, and here is what we came up with.
Voters were asked to rank their Top 3 for each award, scored on a 3-2-1 point system. There were 11 ballots submitted, by: 510SportsTake, bernie_till_i_die, Billy Frijoles, Duncan Morrow, Frederic_Henry, JosephTDeClercq, Matt Doan, praunlinde, Tim Eckert-Fong, Torrey Hart, and myself. Well, Nico turned in a ballot as well, but … we’ll get to that later.
Here are the five awards we gave out.
MVP: Khris Davis
This was a close race between Davis and Jed Lowrie, but Khrush came out ahead to win his second straight A’s MVP award. Lowrie enjoyed a significant lead in WAR, by more than a full win on each scale — 1.5 in bWAR, and 1.2 in fWAR — but we chose to go our own way in this vote.
First and foremost, there are the dingers. Even in an era of allegedly juiced balls, and a season in which the league set a new record for jacks, Khrush’s performance was impressive. His 43 homers tied for fifth-most in Oakland history, and in terms of 2017 he was fourth in MLB and second in the AL. He also showed improved discipline by chasing less and lowering his whiff rate, helping him to a career-high walk rate (11.2%) that added hints of a new dimension to his offensive game.
Khrush, 2017: .247/.336/.528, 128 wRC+, 43 HR, 110 RBI, 11.2% BB, 29.9% Ks
Also: 2.5 bWAR, 2.3 fWAR
His production wasn’t just empty stats, either. He led the team in Win Probability Added by a wide margin (10th in MLB), and edged out Lowrie in all the various derivative versions thereof. He gave back a lot of value on defense, but the highs he offered at the plate were worth it on a team that needed all the bright spots it could find.
Shout out to Lowrie, though. Last winter, did anybody have him leading the team in both versions of WAR? Much less putting up the highest marks for an Oakland position player since Josh Donaldson in 2014? Jed was the epitome of a solid, consistent, reliable veteran, delivering quality offense and competent defense at an up-the-middle position. He even stayed healthy, something he’s only ever been able to do when he’s on the A’s. Congrats on a career year at age 33!
When it came to this year’s MVP, though, the voters chose the allure of Khrush’s shiny strengths over the quiet stability of Lowrie’s all-around contributions. Salute!
Nico’s ballot: Trevor Plouffe, Rajai Davis, John Axford, “all for leaving.”
The voting
Note: A couple voters didn’t go beyond a first choice for each award, which is why the 2nd/3rd columns don’t add up fully.
| Player | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khrush | 7 | 3 | 1 | 28 |
| Lowrie | 4 | 4 | 1 | 21 |
| Chapman | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Olson | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
Cy Young: Sean Manaea
The Cy race was nowhere near as close as MVP. Manaea was the only A’s starter to reach 150 innings, or even 130, so he gets this nod as the top pitcher mostly on the fact that he actually, like, pitched. He was only around league-average and managed Quality Starts in only half his outings, but at least he took the mound 29 times. That’s honestly what passed for good news on Oakland’s beleaguered staff in 2017.
Manaea, 2017: 4.37 ERA, 158⅔ ip, 140 Ks, 55 BB, 18 HR, 4.10 FIP
Also: 1.7 bWAR, 2.3 fWAR
Of course, Sonny Gray would likely have been an easy pick here if he’d stayed the full season. But he didn’t, and none of the top relievers spent the whole year here either — Blake Treinen, Sean Doolittle, and Ryan Madson all got votes but couldn’t sniff Cy contention on partial campaigns.
Manaea was our Rookie of the Year in 2016, so he’s already racking up the Athletics Nation hardware. Hopefully next year his teammates can give him more competition to defend his Cy Young title against.
Nico’s ballot: Jharel Cotton, Daniel Gossett, Chris Smith, “HRs are good, right?”
The voting
| Player | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manaea | 8 | 1 | 1 | 27 |
| Treinen | 0 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| Sonny | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| Doolittle | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Blackburn | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Madson | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Hendriks | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Rookie Of The Year: Matt Chapman
Olson got the recognition in real-life ROTY voting thanks to his headline-grabbing power display, but our electorate went with the other Matt in the tightest race of them all.
Chapman didn’t go off at the plate like Olson did, but he still contributed double-digit dingers and an above-average batting line. Meanwhile, his defense was otherworldly. He utterly broke the Defensive Runs Saved metric, leading the American League and nearly doubling the runner-up (Gold Glover Evan Longoria) despite playing only half the season after a mid-June MLB debut. As previously mentioned, that performance nearly earned him a Fielding Bible award — again, in half a season. Unreal.
Chapman, 2017: .234/.313/.472, 108 wRC+, 14 HR, 9.8% BB, 28.2% Ks
Also: 3.6 bWAR, 2.7 fWAR … Defense: +19 DRS, +9.2 UZR
Of course, Olson also flashed his share of leather at first base, but just on a normal human level of good. His ROTY case was based on his 24 homers in 59 games, which helped him to an elite 162 wRC+ mark. It wasn’t enough for this award, but there’s every chance that these two Matts will be competing again next year … for A’s MVP.
Nico’s ballot: Sam Moll (“I think he got an out once”), Franklin Barreto (“the dude practically hit .200”), Jaycob Brugman (“the dude practically slugged .200”)
The voting
| Player | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chapman | 7 | 3 | 0 | 27 |
| Olson | 4 | 6 | 0 | 24 |
| Pinder | 0 | 0 | 9 | 9 |
Gold Glove: Matt Chapman
I mean, duh. Did you read the ROTY section? There were 11 ballots for Gold Glove, and they all placed Chapman first. There are no words left to add here, so instead I’m embedding a few of my favorite highlights to show off his wide range of incredible skills. Enjoy!
U CAN’T TOUCH THIS
Nico’s ballot: Josh Phegley (“I swear his glove is made of gold or some other very hard substance”), Matt Joyce (“he never bobbled the balls he couldn’t get near”), Ryon Healy (“tremendous defense at DH”)
The voting
| Player | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chapman | 11 | 0 | 0 | 33 |
| Olson | 0 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| Pinder | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| Boog | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Semien | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Gossett | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Team Captain: Matt Chapman
It’s a hat trick for Chap! This one took me by surprise for a moment, until I remembered the following video. The Angels were chattering at the A’s with accusations of sign-stealing, and Chapman kept talking back until he got ejected (and publicly humiliated by an umpire who left his professional pants at home that day). This was his interview after the fact.
“[Umpire Mike Everitt] said that it had already been handled, and I guess if I thought it had been handled already I wouldn’t have said anything. If it had been handled [Graterol] wouldn’t have been continually staring at us still while we’re getting into the box.”
Yup, those are the words of a team captain. The A’s are in a state of transition, having shed most of the long-time fan favorites and recent clubhouse leaders, and from the fan perspective it looks like Chapman is a prime candidate to take the reins on the budding young squad. According to runner-up Khris Davis, regarding Chapman’s leadership: “He may be a rookie but he’s a natural at it.”
Nico’s ballot: Stubing, Tennille, Korach
Dammit Nico.
The voting
| Player | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chapman | 5 | 0 | 4 | 19 |
| Khrush | 0 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| Lowrie | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Vogt | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Semien | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Healy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Doolittle | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Alonso | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| C. Smith | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
All-time winners
We started voting on these awards in 2012, so here’s a look back at AN Awards history. Full disclosure: We didn’t get around to it in 2014-15, so I went back and retroactively filled those in to make this table. Also, in 2016 I picked the winners myself instead of a staff vote, because making everyone relive that season would have been cruel.
| Award | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MVP | Cespedes | Donaldson | Donaldson | Reddick | Khrush | Khrush |
| Cy Young | Parker | Colon | Sonny | Sonny | Graveman | Manaea |
| ROTY | Cespedes | Sonny | N/A* | Burns | Manaea | Chapman |
| Gold Glove | Reddick | Reddick | Donaldson | Fuld | Alonso | Chapman |
| Captain | Gomes | Coco | Doolittle | Reddick | Vogt | Chapman |
* Note: There were actually no rookies in 2014 except a couple brief cameos. Billy Burns and catcher Bryan Anderson combined for seven plate appearances, and that was it. And Burns won the next year.
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Monday, February 19, 2018
WWE Survivor Series 2017: AJ Styles Defeating Brock Lesnar And 5 Smart Booking Decisions
WWE Survivor Series 2017: AJ Styles Defeating
Brock Lesnar And 5 Smart Booking Decisions
WWE Survivor Series 2017 has undergone many changes to its card in recent weeks, but the pay-per-view’s final lineup is a tremendous one that includes a dream match between AJ Styles and Brock Lesnar and in-ring appearances from Kurt Angle, John Cena and Triple H.
Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
Viewership on the road to the pay-per-view has been up and down a bit, with Raw at one point losing nearly 600,000 viewers between hours one and three, while SmackDown recently generated its lowest viewership since June. That may have been the result of a constantly changing card, but with the Survivor Series card now set in stone and viewership back on track, it’s up to all of the performers on the show to deliver the goods at this "Big Four" pay-per-view.
After all, WWE is reportedly cutting back on the number of pay-per-views in 2018, meaning that there will be fewer chances for the stars of Raw and SmackDown to shine on Sunday nights. Of course, Survivor Series is also the last dual-branded show we’ll get until The Royal Rumble in 2018, so WWE will need to ensure that whatever happens this Sunday is good enough to keep fans interested in the happening on both brands going forward.
Once Survivor Series is in the books, this temporary hiatus of the brand split will be over and done with, making it absolutely critical that Survivor Series sets the stage for brand-specific feuds after the PPV. So, how should this pay-per-view be booked? Well, let’s take a look at five smart booking decisions WWE must make at the oh-so important Survivor Series.
Bobby Roode Turns On Team SmackDown Or Jason Jordan Betrays Team Raw
Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
The Bobby Roode as a babyface experiment hasn’t worked, and it’s time for him to go back to his more natural heel roots.
Likely because of the incredible popularity of his entrance song and John Cena’s switch to Raw, WWE pigeonholed Roode into a babyface role on SmackDown that never really fit him, and the only notable thing his face run has produced is an awkward and rather forgettable rivalry with Dolph Ziggler. That’s a shame because Roode was one of NXT’s biggest attractions, having headlined sellout NXT TakeOver shows and carrying the brand as its top heel for the better part of a year.
Notice that last sentence said top heel and not a top babyface. The former is a role much more suited for Roode, who will join a star-studded squad at Survivor Series that consists entirely of babyfaces, which sets the perfect stage for him to turn on Team SmackDown. There is still no clear-cut No. 1 heel on the blue brand, and that’s a spot that Roode could easily take because he’s proven in the past to be such an incredible villain.
WWE reportedly has big plans for Roode on the main roster, viewing him as a potential top star for the foreseeable future, but the company is looking for a way to ignite his push to the main event scene. Survivor Series is the ideal time and place to do that when infighting with his SmackDown teammates causes Roode to turn on his squad and cement him as a heel in the process.
Likewise, the stage is obviously set for Jason Jordan, who was replaced by Triple H and then pedigreed by "The Game" in front of his father Kurt Angle, to cost Team Raw the match and ignite a heel turn that would lead to a feud between Angle and Jordan. WWE may choose to go the slow burn route with that rivalry, but having Jordan cost Angle and Team Raw the match could catapult him to instant heel stardom.
In fact, that may be the plan.
Braun Strowman Is The Sole Survivor
Credit: WWE.comStephanie McMahon let Kurt Angle know that he will lose his job as Raw General Manager if he doesn’t lead Team Raw to victory over Team SmackDown, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he has to win the match himself.
In fact, the best candidate to do that is Braun Strowman, who should be the soul survivor for the red brand. WWE recently pulled the trigger on a full-fledged babyface turn for "The Monster Among Men," so it’s imperative that he continue his streak of dominance but do so for the first time as a fan favorite. There’s no better way for him to do that than to be the one who saves the beloved Angle from his losing his job.
There is evidence that Strowman may very well be the biggest draw WWE currently has, but his success thus far has all come as a heel. The crowd reactions forced an organic face turn, but now, it’s up to the creative team to ensure that he continues to be a well-liked wrecking machine rather than someone who "always buries his opponents," like fans used to say about Roman Reigns and John Cena. The great thing about Strowman is that fans expect him to defeat and destroy just about everyone who steps in his path, so he should still be massively over as a fan favorite.
Survivor Series will be a great way to test that by having Strowman emerge from the 5-on-5 match as the last man standing and the savior of Raw and its GM, which could go a long way toward Strowman becoming a top draw as a face like he was as a heel.
WWE Survivor Series 2017 has undergone many changes to its card in recent weeks, but the pay-per-view’s final lineup is a tremendous one that includes a dream match between AJ Styles and Brock Lesnar and in-ring appearances from Kurt Angle, John Cena and Triple H.
Credit: WWE.comViewership on the road to the pay-per-view has been up and down a bit, with Raw at one point losing nearly 600,000 viewers between hours one and three, while SmackDown recently generated its lowest viewership since June. That may have been the result of a constantly changing card, but with the Survivor Series card now set in stone and viewership back on track, it’s up to all of the performers on the show to deliver the goods at this “Big Four” pay-per-view.
After all, WWE is reportedly cutting back on the number of pay-per-views in 2018, meaning that there will be fewer chances for the stars of Raw and SmackDown to shine on Sunday nights. Of course, Survivor Series is also the last dual-branded show we’ll get until The Royal Rumble in 2018, so WWE will need to ensure that whatever happens this Sunday is good enough to keep fans interested in the happening on both brands going forward.
Once Survivor Series is in the books, this temporary hiatus of the brand split will be over and done with, making it absolutely critical that Survivor Series sets the stage for brand-specific feuds after the PPV. So, how should this pay-per-view be booked? Well, let’s take a look at five smart booking decisions WWE must make at the oh-so-important Survivor Series.
Bobby Roode Turns On Team SmackDown Or Jason Jordan Betrays Team Raw
Credit: WWE.comThe Bobby Roode as a babyface experiment hasn’t worked, and it’s time for him to go back to his more natural heel roots.
Likely because of the incredible popularity of his entrance song and John Cena’s switch to Raw, WWE pigeonholed Roode into a babyface role on SmackDown that never really fit him, and the only notable thing his face run has produced is an awkward and rather forgettable rivalry with Dolph Ziggler. That’s a shame because Roode was one of NXT’s biggest attractions, having headlined sellout NXT TakeOver shows and carrying the brand as its top heel for the better part of a year.
Notice that last sentence said top heel and not top babyface. The former is a role much more suited for Roode, who will join a star-studded squad at Survivor Series that consists entirely of babyfaces, which sets the perfect stage for him to turn on Team SmackDown. There is still no clear-cut No. 1 heel on the blue brand, and that’s a spot that Roode could easily take because he’s proven in the past to be such an incredible villain.
WWE reportedly has big plans for Roode on the main roster, viewing him as a potential top star for the foreseeable future, but the company is looking for a way to ignite his push to the main event scene. Survivor Series is the ideal time and place to do that when infighting with his SmackDown teammates causes Roode to turn on his squad and cement him as a heel in the process.
Likewise, the stage is obviously set for Jason Jordan, who was replaced by Triple H and then pedigreed by “The Game” in front of his father Kurt Angle, to cost Team Raw the match and ignite a heel turn that would lead to a feud between Angle and Jordan. WWE may choose to go the slow burn route with that rivalry, but having Jordan cost Angle and Team Raw the match could catapult him to instant heel stardom.
In fact, that may be the plan.
Braun Strowman Is The Sole Survivor
Credit: WWE.comStephanie McMahon let Kurt Angle know that he will lose his job as Raw General Manager if he doesn’t lead Team Raw to victory over Team SmackDown, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he has to win the match himself.
In fact, the best candidate to do that is Braun Strowman, who should be the soul survivor for the red brand. WWE recently pulled the trigger on a full-fledged babyface turn for “The Monster Among Men,” so it’s imperative that he continue his streak of dominance but do so for the first time as a fan favorite. There’s no better way for him to do that than to be the one who saves the beloved Angle from his losing his job.
There is evidence that Strowman may very well be the biggest draw WWE currently has, but his success thus far has all come as a heel. The crowd reactions forced an organic face turn, but now, it’s up to the creative team to ensure that he continues to be a well-liked wrecking machine rather than someone who “always buries his opponents,” like fans used to say about Roman Reigns and John Cena. The great thing about Strowman is that fans expect him to defeat and destroy just about everyone who steps in his path, so he should still be massively over as a fan favorite.
Survivor Series will be a great way to test that by having Strowman emerge from the 5-on-5 match as the last man standing and the savior of Raw and its GM, which could go a long way toward Strowman becoming a top draw as a face like he was as a heel.
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Afghan Youth Team Beats Pakistan to Win Asian Cricket Championship
Afghan Youth Team Beats Pakistan to Win Asian
Cricket Championship
ISLAMABAD —
Afghanistan defeated Pakistan Sunday, winning their first under-19 cricket Asia Cup final in Kuala Lumpur, offering a rare opportunity for celebrations in a country desperate for a break from relentless rounds of deadly violence.
Batting first, the Afghan team scored 248 runs in their allotted 50 overs. The opposition Pakistani side while chasing the target was dismissed within 23 overs for just 63 runs, enabling Afghans to win the match by a massive margin of 185 runs to lift the championship trophy.
The win demonstrated significant improvement in Afghan cricket, which spread in the war-torn country from refugee camps in neighboring Pakistan and has become one of Afghanistan’s most popular sports in recent years.
The International Cricket Council in this year inducted Afghanistan as its 12th full member, recognizing the strides the Afghan national side has made in the game.
The other full ICC members are traditional cricket-playing nations: England, Australia, Bangladesh, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan, the West Indies, India, Ireland, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
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Sunday, February 18, 2018
Football Coach, AD Killed in Florida School Shooting
Football Coach, AD Killed in Florida School Shooting
An assistant football coach, who is being called a hero, was killed during the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
Aaron Feis was one of the 17 people killed after a former student opened fire at the school on Wednesday.
Head football coach Willis May told the Sun-Sentinel that Feis, who was also a security guard at the school, died Thursday morning.
The school’s athletic director Chris Hixon also died in the attack.
“We had an athletic director, a campus monitor who responded immediately when there was signs of trouble in the school,” Broward County Superintendent of Schools Robert W. Runcie said Thursday. “Unfortunately those two heroes gave their lives for our kids and probably helped prevent this from being a worse tragedy than it is today.”
“Big ol’ teddy bear,” May said of Feis. “Hardcore – he coached hard. Real good line. He did a great job with the [offensive] line. He took pride with working with those guys. Loyalty – I trusted him. He had my back. He worked hard. Just a good man. Loved his family. Loved his brother – just an excellent family man.”
The school’s Twitter account said that Feis shielded students from the shooter when he was shot.
One of the student victims, Alyssa Alhadeff, played soccer for a local youth club.
The shooter, identified as 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, was booked on Thursday morning and faces charges of premeditated murder.
Feis played football for Douglas and graduated from the school in 1999. According to his bio, he leaves behind a wife and a daughter.
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Tennis Hits Road For Eight Matches
Tennis Hits Road For Eight Matches
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University tennis team hits the road for its longest road trip of the season, taking on eight opponents in a span of six days, beginning with the University of Central Oklahoma Sunday, Feb. 18, at 12 p.m.
EMU takes on an OCU squad that has started the spring campaign with a 1-1 record, having most recently swept Southern Nazarene, 9-0, for its first win of the season. The Bronchos are a NCAA Division II school in Edmond, Okla., that has already played Division I schools Wyoming and Missouri State in exhibitions during the 2018 season, falling in both. The Green and White’s stop in the Sooner State is brief, however, as the Eagles head south to Texas for the remainder of their trip.
Eastern is set to play a pair of matches Tuesday, Feb. 20, starting with a matchup against Incarnate Word at 10 a.m. The Cardinals are off to an 0-3 start to the season, having lost to Houston, Texas San Antonio, and Louisiana-Lafayette. At 3 p.m., the Eagles are set to take on St. Mary’s, a NCAA Division II school in San Antonio. The Rattlers are off to a 4-0 start to the season and are the No. 8 ranked program in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) DII rankings. The match against Eastern Michigan will be their first against a Division I opponent this season.
The Eagles return to the court Wednesday, Feb. 21, for a single match against Texas State at 10 a.m. The Bobcats have faced a gauntlet to start the season, going 0-3 on the young season with losses to TCU, Texas A&M, and No. 12 Texas. TSU hosts EMU at its home facility in San Marcos, Texas.
Next up on the roadtrip, Eastern Michigan takes on both McNeese State and Lamar Thursday, Feb. 22, in Beaumont, Texas. The Green and White’s match against McNeese State, who has a 1-0 record on the season, is set to begin at 10 a.m., while the match against host Lamar, who is 0-2 on the campaign, will start at 3 p.m.
Finishing up the tour of Texas is another pair of matches in San Antonio Friday, Feb. 23. The Eagles will take on Texas San Antonio at 10 a.m. The Roadrunners have a record of 3-2 on the season, having defeated the likes of Stephen F. Austin, Prarie View A&M, and Incarnate Word, while falling to Sam Houston State and UT Rio Grand Valley. Eastern’s final match of the six-day journey is against Trinity at 3 p.m. The Tigers are a NCAA Division III school that has just one win on the season, with losses to three ITA Top 25 schools.
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With Skiing Gold, Ester Ledecka Earns New Respect—for Snowboarders
With Skiing Gold, Ester Ledecka Earns New Respect
for Snowboarders
Photo:
stringer/Reuters
JEONGSEON, South Korea—When Ester Ledecka of the Czech Republic won the women’s Alpine skiing Super G on Saturday, she was so shocked that she stood, staring, at the leaderboard waiting for her time to be corrected. It never was.
“I thought this was a mistake,” she said.
Ledecka was so unprepared to win a medal that she hadn’t worn makeup because she hadn’t imagined she’d be doing international TV interviews. That’s why, she said, she conducted a news conference still wearing her race goggles.
Her gold medal was surprising not only because she’d never won a ski race on the World Cup circuit, or because she beat medal favorites American Lindsey Vonn and Germany’s Viktoria Rebensburg. It was stunning because skiing isn’t her main sport, even at the Olympics.
“Mega-sensation!” blared a headline in the German newspaper Bild. “Snowboarder shocks Vonn and Rebensburg!”
Ledecka, 22 years old, is the first athlete to compete in both snowboarding and Alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics. She tops the World Cup rankings in snowboard parallel giant slalom, and will compete in the event starting Thursday at these Games. She was a much longer shot in skiing, but now she has a gold medal.
How is it possible to be so good at two things?
“I don’t really think that I’ve got the talent,” she said. “I’m just riding down a hill and having very much fun with it since I was a little child.”
Little was expected of Ledecka in this race. She had skied a total of eight Super G races in the World Cup, with her highest finishes being two 19th places. She raced from the 26th position on Saturday, just one group ahead of skiers from Mexico and Kenya—not exactly ski-racing hotbeds.
A story for the Agence France-Presse service called Ledecka’s win “one of the biggest shocks in Winter Olympic history.”
Ledecka skied an aggressive and clean race, speeding up through the bottom section and finishing 0.01 second ahead of Austria’s Anna Veith. Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein was third and 0.11 second back. Vonn tied Federica Brignone of Italy for sixth, 0.38 out of the lead.
One of Ledecka’s coaches, American Justin Reiter, said she’s worked hard to manage the energy and time it takes to master two sports.
“You guys are finally paying attention to that,” Reiter said. “All it took was an Olympic gold medal.”
Reiter knows about Alpine snowboard racers being overlooked. While competing in Sochi in 2014 as a slalom snowboarder, he complained of meager support from governing body U.S. Ski and Snowboard. He finished far behind gold medalist Vic Wild, another frustrated American who had become a Russian citizen and gained funding for his training.
For decades, snowboarding has been Alpine skiing’s stoner cousin. Snowboard racing has suffered especially, earning neither the respect of skiers nor the lucrative sponsorships of the flipping-and-jumping athletes of snowboard halfpipe or slopestyle.
Ledecka’s victory was seen as vindication by athletes like
Seth Wescott,
who won gold medals at the 2006 and 2010 Olympics in the rollicking side-by-side racing event of snowboard cross.
He wrote on an Instagram post Saturday about a common sight for years at ski bars: a ski-company sticker saying, “If it was easy it would be called snowboarding.”
“I guess the ultimate irony of ski companies prejudice towards all of my ‘type’ might have been that they had it backwards all along,” Wescott wrote. “Skiing, get out there and try it. You just might win the Olympics.”
Ledecka started snowboarding on the World Cup circuit in 2014 and added skiing, which she’d raced at lower levels since her teens, in 2016. In 2017, she became the first athlete to compete in world championships in both skiing and snowboarding. She won a gold and silver at the snowboard championships but didn’t come close to a ski podium—until Saturday.
Ledecka might not stop at taking over the Winter Olympics. Someone at the news conference asked her if she plans to windsurf in Tokyo at the 2020 Summer Games. She does windsurf, after all.
“Ah, yeah,” she said. “Sure, why not?
The post With Skiing Gold, Ester Ledecka Earns New Respect—for Snowboarders appeared first on HD Sports News.
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WWE Has Backed Itself in a Corner with Asuka vs. Nia Jax at Elimination Chamber
WWE Has Backed Itself in a Corner with
Asuka vs. Nia Jax at Elimination Chamber
Credit: WWE.com
At Elimination Chamber 2018, Asuka will face one of her greatest challenges yet in Monday Night Raw’s most powerful woman, Nia Jax.
Not only does The Empress of Tomorrow have to worry about her undefeated streak’s endangerment, but Jax is also on the prowl to hurt Asuka and make a statement.
If Jax is successful in winning this match, she will be added to the Raw Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania 34, making it a Triple Threat with Asuka and the winner of the first Women’s Elimination Chamber contest.
This sounds all well and good with an exciting set of circumstances, but there are myriad problems with how this match can possibly go down that will either render it pointless very fast or just plain bothersome for certain fans to watch.
Before explaining why that’s the case, it’s important to be reminded of the possible outcomes of how this singles match can go down.
Who will win this tug-of-war?Credit: WWE.com
Either Asuka wins by pinfall, submission, disqualification or count-out, Jax is victorious through one of those methods or there is something of a draw or no-contest.
In the latter example, everything is thrown out the window and none of it mattered at all—a finish that rarely satisfies the audience since it becomes obvious WWE couldn’t figure out a better way to protect all the parties involved and pulled a metaphorical “never mind” card to bail it out of a more creative solution.
However, there are problems with the stipulation that Jax could be given a title opportunity, as it has been stated numerous times that the end result would be a Triple Threat match with Asuka involved.
Why is that a guarantee that is being advertised at this point when there was a purposeful avoidance of having Asuka choose the Raw Women’s Championship to fight for at WrestleMania 34?
Shinsuke Nakamura immediately called his shot for the WWE Championship against AJ Styles, who could still lose the title at Fastlane against any of his four opponents there. But the winner of that match will assuredly be fighting Nakamura in any case.
Asuka, on the other hand, has been treated differently, with the fact she hasn’t chosen to compete for either championship at this point being a plot element that shouldn’t be glossed over.
This segment specifically addressed this issue and left it open-ended.Credit: WWE.com
If we assume, like what WWE has done with its wording while advertising this match, that Asuka is going to challenge the winner of the Raw Women’s Championship Elimination Chamber match, then that has already been spoiled for us and in a lackluster fashion when it could have been a moment to enjoy.
Also, that would mean Asuka is fighting this match to keep her undefeated streak alive and to ensure her title shot will be a one-on-one affair rather than allowing the possibility that she loses without getting pinned, as that could happen in a Triple Threat.
That is OK, but it puts Jax in a tough position.
If Jax loses, her chances of competing at WrestleMania are slim, as there just isn’t enough room for two women’s title matches, Ronda Rousey’s proposed mixed tag team match and then something for Jax to be highlighted in.
That would also mean there is less interest in seeing Jax face Asuka in the future since The Empress of Tomorrow will have already proved herself to be the better of the two in multiple affairs.
If Jax wins, though, that means she’s conquered the undefeated streak at an event that doesn’t mean as much as it would if it were to happen a little more than one month further down the line at WrestleMania—or even later this year or next year, for that matter.
Asuka’s streak should end in a way that helps put somebody over and doesn’t get swallowed up by other storylines, especially in an environment where Rousey recently upstaged her Royal Rumble.
That would hurt Asuka’s momentum going into WrestleMania.
WWE could try to cop out of a commitment to the streak ending by having Jax defeat Asuka by disqualification or count-out, but that is less than desirable.
Any time that has happened in the past, WWE commentators have become glued to the specific phrasing of saying someone “has never been pinned or made to submit” since they can’t quite say the Superstar in question is undefeated anymore.
This repetitive phrasing is exasperating, just like it was frustrating to hear how Survivor Series is the one time in the year when Raw and SmackDown Live go head-to-head for three months in the fall season.
In a way, that is WWE attempting to have its cake and eat it too. Jax wins and can say she beat Asuka, who can say she didn’t lose in the conventional sense.
That tactic would see WWE’s creative team try to get away with a fake deal. Fans are supposed to be buzzing about something they didn’t quite get so they can be just as happy when it happens later.
With Asuka losing her streak either legitimately or through these shenanigans, the two Elimination Chamber matches and Rousey’s signing segment will still overtake some of that spotlight and make it less of a story, so that isn’t fair to her, either.
All of this isn’t taking into account the possibility Asuka doesn’t elect to fight for the Raw Women’s Championship after this match.
There is a solid chance Asuka uses her Royal Rumble victory to challenge Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship instead, which would create all sorts of other problems.
If that happens and Asuka beats Jax here, why did she have to take out Raw’s top contender to Alexa Bliss’ belt and make her look weaker just to jump ship?
An Asuka loss ahead of a move to SmackDown would seem like she were dodging a fight and running scared, which is not the type of character she has been built up as.
There seems to be no way this match can go down without feeling like a bit of a cheat or a disappointment unless you have no problem with either Asuka or Jax taking a big hit to their credibility or you’re OK with non-endings that mean WWE avoids having to make a proper decision.
How WWE decides to go about booking this match is up for speculation, but we will find out when Elimination Chamber hits the air February 25.
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Luongo returns, Matheson scores 2 as Panthers beat Flames
Luongo returns, Matheson scores 2 as Panthers
beat flames
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) The Florida Panthers have been on quite a roll since the All-Star break.
Mike Matheson scored twice, Aleksander Barkov had a goal and two assists, and the Florida Panthers beat the Calgary Flames 6-3 Saturday night for their seventh win in eight games.
”We’ve been doing a lot better job of playing within our systems,” Matheson said. ”Early on in the year we were trying to get used to it a little bit. Since having a bit of time off at the All-Star break, I think we’ve been able to come back hard knowing we really can’t afford to be leaving points out there.”
Roberto Luongo stopped 30 shots in his first appearance since a groin injury on Dec. 4, and picked up his first win since Nov. 27.
”Still not quite as sharp as I want to be, but for the first game back I thought it was pretty good,” Luongo said.
Evgenii Dadonov and Vincent Trocheck each had a goal and an assist, and Jared McCann also scored to help the Panthers get their fifth straight road win.
Florida went into the league’s four-day break 12 points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They’ve cut the margin in half, now trailing the New York Islanders for the second wild card spot by six points.
”Guys are playing like it’s our playoffs right now,” Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. ”We’ve got to just keep digging in and getting as many points as we can right now. We’re still in the thick of it and we have some games at hand.”
Dougie Hamilton scored three goals for his first career hat trick for the Flames, who are 0-3-3 in their last six at home. It was the first three-goal game by a Flames defenseman since Al MacInnis in 1992.
”Obviously a cool thing to do, but tough in a game like that,” said Hamilton, playing in his 400th NHL game. ”I’ve had two goals before and you always say to yourself, well maybe there’s a chance you can score a hat trick, but never did it. The last one I had that I remember was minor hockey. It’s been a while.”
David Rittich started and gave up four goals on 15 shots before he was pulled early in the second period. Jon Gillies came on and stopped 13 of the 15 shots he faced.
The Flames, the league’s second-best road team, just completed a 4-2-0 trip. However, they couldn’t carry that over in their return home.
”What happened tonight is what everybody fears and talks about,” coach Glen Gulutzan said. ”You come home from a road trip, you have a successful road trip, your first game back and every guy didn’t have enough to get us through this game.”
Tied 1-1 after the first period, Florida blew the game open in the second with three goals in the opening 6:03.
Trocheck completed a nifty give-and-go with Barkov by slipping a shot past Rittich at 58 seconds to put Florida ahead. With Barkov providing the screen, Dadonov deflected Keith Yandle’s shot past Rittich at 3:09 to make it 3-1. Barkov then gave the Panthers a three-goal lead at 6:03 as he redirected Dadonov’ shot between Rittich’s shot. Gillies came on after that.
”We just weren’t executing,” Flames captain Mark Giordano said. ”It felt like we were a little bit off right from the start of the game.”
Calgary pulled to 4-2 with 7:45 left in the second on Hamilton’s second power-play goal of the night.
Matheson got his second of the game at 3:41 of the third, and McCann made it 6-2 just more than two minutes later.
Hamilton capped the scoring with 8:05 left when he banked in a shot from the corner off the leg of Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad.
NOTES: It was Rittich’s first start at home. His previous nine starts all came on the road. … Injured starting goalie Mike Smith (lower body) skated before the Flames’ game-day skate Saturday morning, but didn’t face any shots. His status remains day-to-day. … Hamilton played in his 400th NHL game. … Flames F Johnny Gaudreau snapped an eight-game scoring streak (four goals, seven assists). … Ekblad extended his point-streak to six games (three goals, five assists).
UP NEXT
Panthers: At Winnipeg on Sunday night.
Flames: Host Boston on Monday.
The post Luongo returns, Matheson scores 2 as Panthers beat Flames appeared first on HD Sports News.
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CHANGZHOU, China (AP) Andrey Sidorov scored in the last minute of extra time as Uzbekistan beat Vietnam 2-1 to win the final of the AFC U2...
