SPORTS
THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2017
1B
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NFL
Falcons’ Jones gets playoff
rematch with Seahawks’ Sherman
Sherman got last laugh
in October battle
By CHARLES ODUM
Associated Press
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Julio
Jones simply shrugged instead of
screaming and shouting following a
costly no-call against Richard Sherman
three months ago.
By contrast, Sherman had a melt-
down in the same Falcons-Seahawks
game when things didn’t go his way.
On Saturday, the two stars will meet
again in a high-profi le matchup when
Seattle visits Atlanta in a NFC divisional
playoff game.
Seattle beat the Falcons 26-24 on
Oct. 16. The Falcons’ hopes for a late
comeback ended on an incompletion
from quarterback Matt Ryan to Jones.
Sherman hooked Jones’ right arm as
he was draped over the receiver, but
there was no call on the apparent pass
interference.
Jones, who had seven catches for
139 yards and a touchdown, explained
Wednesday why he quickly moved past
the play.
“At the end of the day, one play
doesn’t defi ne a game,” Jones said. “It’s
everything. ... My job is to go out there
and compete for the ball and it’s the
referee’s job to call whatever they see.
“That’s how I get over it. I went
See REMATCH/2B
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File
In this Oct. 16, 2016, fi le photo, Seattle Seahawks cor-
nerback Richard Sherman, right, and Earl Thomas (ob-
scured) break up a pass intended for Atlanta Falcons
wide receiver Julio Jones (11) in the second half of an
NFL football game, in Seattle.
NBA
Trail Blazers heat up, ice Cavaliers
McCollum, Crabbe
lead Portland to win
over Cleveland
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
PORTLAND — CJ McCollum had
27 points and the Trail Blazers shook
of fatigue caused by weather-related
travel delays to beat the defending NBA
champion Cleveland Cavaliers 102-86
on Wednesday night.
Allen Crabbe added 24 points off
the bench for the Blazers, who have
won four straight
regular-season games
against the Cavs at the
Moda Center. Portland
Cleveland
led by as many as 24
points.
LeBron
James
had 20 points and 11
rebounds for Cleve-
land, which has lost
Portland
just 10 games this
season.
McCollum,
who
had 21 points in the
second half, hit a 3-pointer that put
Portland up 85-69 with just under nine
minutes left in the game, then gestured
for the crowd to stand as the Cavaliers
called a timeout.
McCollum has had seven straight
games with 25 points or more.
A snowstorm that dumped as much
as 14 inches on parts of Portland caused
travel problems for both teams late
Tuesday.
See TRAIL BLAZERS/2B
86
102
AP Photo/Steve Dykes
Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum celebrates after hitting a shot, next to Cleveland Cavaliers forward Richard Jefferson
during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland on Wednesday.
MLB
Seattle keeps wheeling and dealing, acquires Smyly from Rays
Also pick up pitcher Shae
Simmons from Atlanta
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
SEATTLE — Jerry Dipoto’s 11th
trade this offseason rounded out the
Seattle Mariners roster with his top
target.
“I’ve probably spent more time
through the course of our offseason
trying to acquire Drew Smyly than
any other thing that we’ve done,” the
general manager said Wednesday.
Seattle made pair of deals on
Wednesday that ultimately landed
Smyly, a pitcher Dipoto thinks will
fi ll out the Mariners starting rotation.
Seattle also landed a potential key
reliever, getting right-hander Shae
Simmons from the Atlanta Braves.
The Mariners acquired outfi elder
Mallex Smith from Atlanta, then sent
him to Tampa Bay along with infi elder
Carlos Vargas and left-hander Ryan
Yarbrough for Smyly. Smith was also
an offseason target for the Mariners but
when Seattle acquired Jarrod Dyson
from Kansas City last week, Smith
instead became the conduit in helping
to obtain Smyly.
“It became apparent to us over the
last two or three days that we were
able to access Drew Smyly by making
the deal with Atlanta that tapped into
Mallex Smith,” Dipoto said. “So effec-
tively these were two deals that were
interlinked.”
Smyly is the centerpiece of what
Seattle was trying to accomplish as
the Mariners seem to have rounded
out a starting rotation that appeared to
be a major question at the start of the
year. The acquisitions of Smyly and
Yovani Gallardo from Baltimore last
week appear to have fi lled out a rota-
tion where Felix Hernandez, Hisashi
Iwakuma and James Paxton were the
only certainties.
Smyly, 27, made 30 starts last season
for Tampa Bay, throwing a career-high
175 1/3 innings and striking out 167.
He was 7-12 with a 4.88 ERA, but
starting pitching is one of Tampa Bay’s
strongest assets, and Rays senior vice
president of baseball operations and
general manager Erik Neander felt
comfortable making the deal because
of the depth the Rays have in that area.
Smyly was 15-15 with a 3.95 ERA
in 49 starts for Tampa Bay after being
acquired from Detroit in the 2014 trade
deadline deal that sent David Price to
the Tigers. He is arbitration eligible
The Mari-
ners have
made a
pair of
trades,
landing
most
notably
left-hand-
ed starter
Drew
Smyly,
pictured
here, from
the Tam-
pa Bay
Rays on
Wednes-
day, Jan.
11, 2017.
AP Photo/Steve
Nesius, File
See MARINERS/2B
Sports shorts
Broncos pick Vance Joseph as coach
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — A runner-up
two years ago, Vance Joseph is John Elway’s
pick this time around.
“It’s offi cial. Excited to announce Vance
Joseph as head coach of the Denver Broncos!”
Elway tweeted early Wednesday
afternoon.
Joseph impressed Elway in
2015 when Gary Kubiak got the
job. He was on Elway’s short list
when Kubiak, 55, stepped down
last week over health concerns
Joseph
after Denver (9-7) missed the
playoffs a year after winning Super
Bowl 50.
Joseph, the 44-year-old ex-Colorado quar-
terback, spent last season as Miami’s defensive
coordinator after building a reputation as one of
the league’s top secondary coaches.
Joseph was also set to interview with San
Diego and Los Angeles before accepting the job.
“How could you be
a four-time scoring
champion, 11-time All-
Star and MVP in the
league if you didn’t
practice?“
— Allen Iverson
Retired NBA player during a press
conference announcing a new 3-on-
3 league founded by entertainer
Ice Cube. Iverson will serve as a
player-coach for one of the league’s
eight teams and was responding to
a reporter who asked if the reason
he agreed was because he wouldn’t
have to practice — a reference to
his famous “practice” rant while
playing for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Report: Chargers plan to move
NEW YORK (AP) — The deadline for the
San Diego Chargers to exercise their option
to relocate to Los Angeles has been extended
for two days, although a media
report surfaced Wednesday night
that the team plans to move.
The Chargers have called a
staff meeting for 8 a.m. Thursday,
a team employee said Wednesday night. The
employee spoke on condition of anonymity
because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Team chairman Dean Spanos didn’t immedi-
ately return a message left at his home.
Citing league sources, ESPN.com reported
Wednesday night that the Chargers plan to
announce as early as Thursday that they
are moving to Los Angeles. According to
the report, the Chargers have notifi ed NFL
Commissioner Roger Goodell, and the owners
of other teams, of their intent to move to Los
Angeles for the 2017 season.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1958 — The NCAA rules
committee makes the fi rst
change in football scoring
rules since 1912 by adding
the two-point conversion.
1969 — New York Jets
quarterback Joe Namath
“guarantees” a victory
before the game against the
17-point favorite Baltimore
Colts, then leads the AFL to
its fi rst Super Bowl victory,
a 16-7 triumph over Balti-
more.
2001 – Minnesota defen-
seman J.J. Daigneault ties
an NHL record by playing
for his 10th team when he
appears in a 5-0 loss to the
Avalanche.
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