B4 THE BULLETIN • FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2021 ON THE AIR SCOREBOARD FRIDAY FOOTBALL College, Peach Bowl, Georgia vs. Cincinnati College, Citrus Bowl, Auburn vs. Northwestern CFP Semifinal at the Rose Bowl, Notre Dame vs. Alabama CFP Semifinal at Sugar Bowl, Ohio St. vs. Clemson SOCCER Premier League, Everton vs. West Ham United Premier League, Manchester United vs. Aston Villa Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur vs. Leeds United BASKETBALL Women’s college, California at Arizona St. Men’s college, Kent St. at Akron Women’s college, Stanford at Arizona Women’s college, USC at Oregon NBA, Portland at Golden State HOCKEY College, Colorado College at Denver Time 9 a.m. 10 a.m. TV ESPN ABC 1 p.m. 5 p.m. ESPN ESPN 9:25 a.m. 11:55 a.m. NBCSN NBCSN 4:25 a.m. (Sat) NBCSN 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m. 7:30 p.m. Pac-12 CBSSN Pac-12 Pac-12 NBCSNW 6 p.m. CBSSN 6:55 a.m. NBCSN SATURDAY SOCCER Premier League, Crystal Palace vs. Sheffield United Premier League, Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers Italian Serie A, Inter Milan vs. Crotone Premier League, Burnley vs. Fulham FOOTBALL College, Gator Bowl, NC State vs. Kentucky College, Outback Bowl, Indiana vs. Ole Miss College, Fiesta Bowl, Oregon vs. Iowa St. College, Orange Bowl, Texas A&M vs. North Carolina BASKETBALL Men’s college, Missouri at Arkansas Men’s college, Creighton at Providence Men’s college, Texas at Kansas Men’s college, Memphis at Temple Men’s college, Louisville at Boston College Men’s college, DePaul at St. John’s Men’s college, Duquesne at George Washington Men’s college, LSU at Florida Men’s college, Iowa at Rutgers Men’s college, TCU at Kansas St. Men’s college, Clemson at Miami Men’s college, Davidson at VCU Men’s college, Ohio at Ball St. Men’s college, Auburn at Texas A&M Men’s college, Colorado St. at San Diego St. Men’s college, West Virginia at Oklahoma Men’s college, Utah at USC Men’s college, Butler at Seton Hall Men’s college, George Mason at Dayton Men’s college, St. Bonaventure at Richmond Men’s college, Purdue at Illinois Men’s college, Alabama at Tennessee Men’s college, Wichita St. at Ole Miss Men’s college, California at Oregon St. Men’s college, Kentucky at Mississippi St. Men’s college, Arizona St. at Washington Men’s college, Marquette at Georgetown Men’s college, Michigan St. at Nebraska Men’s college, Duke at Florida St. Men’s college, Colorado at UCLA Men’s college, Boise St. at San Jose St. Men’s college, Nevada at New Mexico Men’s college, San Francisco at Gonzaga Men’s college, Stanford at Oregon Men’s college, Arizona at Washington St. 9:30 a.m. NBC 3:25 a.m. (Sun) ESPN2 4 a.m. (Sun) NBCSN Men’s college BASKETBALL NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct 4 1 .800 4 1 .800 4 1 .800 3 1 .750 3 2 .600 3 2 .600 3 2 .600 2 2 .500 2 2 .500 2 3 .400 2 3 .400 2 3 .400 1 3 .250 0 5 .000 0 4 .000 WESTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct L.A. Clippers 4 1 .800 Phoenix 3 1 .750 Utah 2 1 .667 New Orleans 3 2 .600 Sacramento 3 2 .600 L.A. Lakers 3 2 .600 Minnesota 2 2 .500 San Antonio 2 2 .500 Portland 2 2 .500 Golden State 2 2 .500 Houston 1 2 .333 Dallas 1 3 .250 Denver 1 3 .250 Memphis 1 3 .250 Oklahoma City 1 3 .250 Wednesday’s Late Game L.A. Clippers 128, Portland 105 Phila. Indiana Orlando Atlanta Brooklyn Cleveland Boston Charlotte Miami New York Chicago Milwaukee Toronto Washington Detroit GB — — — ½ 1 1 1 1½ 1½ 2 2 2 2½ 4 3½ GB — ½ 1 1 1 1 1½ 1½ 1½ 1½ 2 2½ 2½ 2½ 2½ Wednesday’s Late Boxscore 9 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 1 p.m. 5 p.m. 9 a.m. 9 a.m. 9 a.m. 9 a.m. 9 a.m. 9 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 11 a.m. 11 a.m. 11 a.m. 11 a.m. 11:30 a.m. noon 12:30 p.m. 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. 2 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 5 p.m. 5 p.m. 5 p.m. 5:30 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 7:30 p.m. ESPN ABC ESPN ESPN CBS FOX ESPN2 ESPNU Root FS1 NBCSN CBS ESPN2 ESPNU Root NBCSN CBSSN SEC CBS ESPN2 Pac-12 FS1 NBCSN CBSSN Big Ten ESPN2 ESPNU Pac-12 SEC FS1 CBSSN Big Ten ESPN2 Pac-12 FS1 CBSSN ESPN2 ESPNU Pac-12 Listings are the most accurate available. The Bulletin is not responsible for late changes made by TV stations. SPORTS BRIEFING BASKETBALL Clippers shred Blazers by 23 points on Wednesday night — Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points in his return from a two-game absence, Paul George added 23 points, and the Los Angeles Clippers breezed past the Portland Trail Blaz- ers 128-105 on Wednesday night. It was the Clippers’ second straight blowout win to close out the year. They beat Min- nesota by 23 points a night earlier after bouncing back from an ugly 51-point defeat against Dallas last weekend. Leonard wore a clear plastic mask held in place by two white straps around his head to protect his mouth, where he had eight stitches after getting elbowed by teammate Serge Ibaka a week ago. Six Clippers scored in double figures. C.J. McCollum scored 25 points, making seven 3-pointers, to lead the Blaz- ers, whose two-game winning streak ended. Damian Lillard made 14 of 15 free throws to finish with 20 points after miss- ing 11 of 14 shots from the field. He was 0 of 8 from 3-point range. Carmelo Anthony pitched in 15 points and five re- bounds off the bench. Clippers 128, Trail Blazers 105 PORTLAND (105) Covington 3-4 0-0 8, Jones Jr. 2-6 1-2 6, Nurkic 2-4 0-0 4, Lillard 3-14 14-15 20, McCollum 8-17 2-2 25, Anthony 3-5 9-10 15, Giles III 3-4 1-2 7, Elleby 1-3 0-1 2, Hood 1-3 0-0 3, Kanter 4-9 2-2 10, Blevins 1-3 0-0 2, Simons 1-4 0-0 3. Totals 32-76 29-34 105. L.A. CLIPPERS (128) Batum 4-6 1-2 11, Leonard 9-17 7-8 28, Ibaka 4-11 0-0 11, Beverley 3-6 0-0 7, George 8-15 3-4 23, Coffey 2-4 1-1 6, Mann 0-1 0-0 0, Patterson 1-5 0-0 2, Kabengele 0-2 0-0 0, Oturu 1-2 0-0 2, Zubac 2-2 3-4 7, Jackson 4-6 1-3 11, Kennard 2-5 0-0 5, Williams 7-13 0-0 15. Totals 47-95 16-22 128. Portland 26 31 28 20 — 105 L.A. Clippers 37 39 31 21 — 128 3-Point Goals—Portland 12-38 (McCollum 7-11, Cov- ington 2-3, Hood 1-2, Jones Jr. 1-3, Simons 1-4, Antho- ny 0-2, Blevins 0-2, Elleby 0-2, Lillard 0-8), L.A. Clippers 18-38 (George 4-9, Ibaka 3-5, Leonard 3-5, Batum 2-2, Jackson 2-4, Beverley 1-2, Coffey 1-2, Williams 1-4, Patterson 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Port- land 41 (Kanter 10), L.A. Clippers 47 (George 10). As- sists—Portland 14 (Lillard 4), L.A. Clippers 30 (George, Leonard 7). Total Fouls—Portland 17, L.A. Clippers 25. Thursday’s Games Indiana 119, Cleveland 99 Chicago 133, Washington 130 Phila. 116, Orlando 92 Houston 122, Sacramento 119 Toronto 100, New York 83 New Orleans 113, Oklahoma City 80 Phoenix at Utah, late Friday’s Games Boston at Detroit, 4 p.m. Memphis at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Miami at Dallas, 4 p.m. Atlanta at Brooklyn, 4:30 p.m. Chicago at Milwaukee, 5 p.m. L.A. Lakers at San Antonio, 5 p.m. Washington at Minnesota, 5 p.m. L.A. Clippers at Utah, 6 p.m. Phoenix at Denver, 6 p.m. Portland at Golden State, 7:30 p.m. PAC-12 CONFERENCE Conference All Games W L Pct W L Pct UCLA 2 0 1.000 6 2 .750 Washington St. 1 0 1.000 8 0 1.000 Oregon 1 0 1.000 6 1 .857 Stanford 1 0 1.000 5 2 .714 Arizona St. 1 0 1.000 4 3 .571 Arizona 2 1 .667 8 1 .889 Utah 1 1 .500 4 2 .667 Southern Cal 0 0 .000 5 1 .833 Colorado 0 1 .000 6 2 .750 Oregon St. 0 1 .000 4 3 .571 California 0 2 .000 5 4 .556 Washington 0 3 .000 1 7 .125 Thursday’s Games Arizona St. at Washington St., ppd. Stanford at Oregon St., ppd. UCLA 72, Utah 70 Arizona 80, Washington 53 California at No. 21 Oregon, late Colorado at Southern Cal, late Saturday’s Games Utah at Southern Cal, 1 p.m. California at Oregon St., 3 p.m. Arizona St. at Washington, 3:30 p.m. Colorado at UCLA, 5 p.m. Stanford at No. 21 Oregon, 7 p.m. Arizona at Washington St., 7:30 p.m. Thursday’s Top 25 Games No. 6 Wisconsin 71, No. 21 Minnesota 59 No. 16 Michigan 84, Maryland 73 Women’s college PAC-12 CONFERENCE Conference All Games W L Pct W L Pct Arizona 5 0 1.000 7 0 1.000 Oregon 5 0 1.000 7 0 1.000 Stanford 4 0 1.000 7 0 1.000 Washington St. 2 1 .667 4 1 .800 UCLA 3 2 .600 5 2 .714 Arizona St. 2 2 .500 6 2 .750 Washington 1 3 .250 4 3 .571 Oregon St. 1 3 .250 3 3 .500 Colorado 1 3 .250 3 4 .429 Southern Cal 1 4 .200 3 4 .429 Utah 1 4 .200 2 4 .333 California 0 4 .000 0 7 .000 Friday’s Games Washington St. at Utah, 11 a.m. California at Arizona St., 2 p.m. Washington at Colorado, 2 p.m. No. 1 Stanford at No. 6 Arizona, 4 p.m. Southern Cal at No. 8 Oregon, 6 p.m. No. 11 UCLA at Oregon St., ppd. Thursday’s Top 25 Games No. 2 Louisville at Duke, ccd. No. 3 NC State 84, Georgia Tech 75 No. 5 South Carolina 75, Florida 59 No. 9 Texas A&M vs. Tennessee, ppd. No. 13 Kentucky 75, No. 10 Arkansas 64 No. 12 Mississippi St. 69, Georgia 62 No. 14 Maryland 96, Penn St. 82 Nebraska 65, No. 15 Northwestern 63 No. 16 Michigan 92, Wisconsin 49 No. 17 Ohio St. vs. No. 25 Michigan St., ppd. No. 20 Indiana 79, Illinois 56 No. 22 Syracuse vs. North Carolina, ppd. FOOTBALL College BOWL SCHEDULE THURSDAY’S GAMES Armed Forces Bowl — Fort Worth, Texas Mississippi St. 28, No. 24 Tulsa 26 Arizona Bowl — Tucson, Ariz. Ball St. 34, No. 22 San Jose St. 13 Liberty Bowl — Memphis, Tenn. West Va. 24, Army 21 Texas Bowl — Houston TCU vs. Arkansas, ccd. FRIDAY’S GAMES Peach Bowl — Atlanta No. 8 Cincinnati vs. No. 9 Georgia, 9 a.m. (ESPN) Citrus Bowl — Orlando, Fla. No. 14 Northwestern vs. Auburn, 10 a.m. (ABC) Rose Bowl — Arlington, Texas No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Notre Dame, 1 p.m. (ESPN) Sugar Bowl — New Orleans No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Ohio St., 5 p.m. (ESPN) SATURDAY’S GAMES Gator Bowl — Jacksonville, Fla. No. 23 NC State vs. Kentucky, 9 a.m. (ESPN) Outback Bowl — Tampa, Fla. No. 11 Indiana vs. Mississippi, 9:30 a.m. (ABC) Fiesta Bowl — Glendale, Ariz. No. 10 Iowa St. vs. No. 25 Oregon, 1 p.m. (ESPN) Orange Bowl — Miami Gardens, Fla. No. 5 Texas A&M vs. No. 13 North Carolina, 5 p.m. (ESPN) MONDAY, JAN. 11 College Football Championship Miami Gardens, Fla. Alabama-Notre Dame winner vs. Clemson-Ohio St. winner, 5 p.m. (ESPN) NFL AMERICAN CONFERENCE East W L T Pct yx-Buffalo 12 3 0 .800 Miami 10 5 0 .667 New England 6 9 0 .400 N.Y. Jets 2 13 0 .133 South W L T Pct Indianapolis 10 5 0 .667 Tennessee 10 5 0 .667 Houston 4 11 0 .267 Jacksonville 1 14 0 .067 North W L T Pct yx-Pittsburgh 12 3 0 .800 Baltimore 10 5 0 .667 Cleveland 10 5 0 .667 Cincinnati 4 10 1 .300 West W L T Pct *zyx-Kansas City 14 1 0 .933 Las Vegas 7 8 0 .467 L.A. Chargers 6 9 0 .400 Denver 5 10 0 .333 NATIONAL CONFERENCE East W L T Pct Dallas 6 9 0 .400 Washington 6 9 0 .400 N.Y. Giants 5 10 0 .333 Phila. 4 10 1 .300 South W L T Pct yx-New Orleans 11 4 0 .733 x-Tampa Bay 10 5 0 .667 Carolina 5 10 0 .333 Atlanta 4 11 0 .267 North W L T Pct yx-Green Bay 12 3 0 .800 Chicago 8 7 0 .533 Minnesota 6 9 0 .400 Detroit 5 10 0 .333 West W L T Pct yx-Seattle 11 4 0 .733 L.A. Rams 9 6 0 .600 Arizona 8 7 0 .533 San Francisco 6 9 0 .400 x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division z-clinched first round bye *-clinched home-field advantage Sunday’s Games Atlanta at Tampa Bay, 10 a.m. Baltimore at Cincinnati, 10 a.m. Dallas at N.Y. Giants, 10 a.m. Miami at Buffalo, 10 a.m. Minnesota at Detroit, 10 a.m. N.Y. Jets at New England, 10 a.m. Pittsburgh at Cleveland, 10 a.m. Arizona at L.A. Rams, 1:25 p.m. Green Bay at Chicago, 1:25 p.m. Jacksonville at Indianapolis, 1:25 p.m. L.A. Chargers at Kansas City, 1:25 p.m. Las Vegas at Denver, 1:25 p.m. New Orleans at Carolina, 1:25 p.m. Seattle at San Francisco, 1:25 p.m. Tennessee at Houston, 1:25 p.m. Washington at Phila., 5:20 p.m. PF 445 378 298 229 PF 423 450 346 292 PF 394 430 384 308 PF 452 402 346 292 PA 349 282 339 429 PA 348 401 423 464 PA 288 300 397 386 PA 324 447 405 414 PF 376 315 257 320 PF 449 448 343 369 PF 474 356 393 342 PF 433 354 403 353 PA 450 315 338 398 PA 330 328 369 370 PA 353 335 440 482 PA 348 289 349 364 Continued from B3 Chris O’Meara/AP file Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart (30) moves between Las Ve- gas Aces center A’ja Wilson (22) and forward Cierra Burdick (11) during Game 3 of the WNBA Finals in Bradenton, Florida, in October. The WNBA and its union announced a tentative eight-year labor deal allow- ing top players to earn more than $500,000 and raising the average an- nual salary to $130,000 a year. by at least five other teams over the past 15 years. Ng started her baseball ca- reer as a Chicago White Sox intern in 1990 and for the past nine years was a senior vice president for MLB. Her hiring came 10 months after Alyssa Nakken became the first fe- male coach on a major league staff when she was named an assistant for the San Francisco (Home team in CAPS) ——— NFL Favorite Open Current O/U Sunday Washington +1 2 43½ COLTS 13½ 14 50 Packers 5½ 5½ 51½ Cowboys 2 1½ 44½ BROWNS 6 9 42½ Titans 7½ 7½ 56½ Saints 5 6½ 47½ PATRIOTS 3 3 39½ Vikings 6 6½ 54½ BUCS 5½ 7 50½ Ravens 11½ 12 44½ BILLS 4½ 3 43 Chargers 1½ 3½ 44 g-Seahawks 4 6½ 46½ Raiders +1 2½ 50½ Cards +4½ 3 40½ g-Game to be played in Glendale, Ariz. Underdog EAGLES Jaguars BEARS GIANTS Steelers TEXANS PANTHERS Jets LIONS Falcons BENGALS Dolphins CHIEFS 49ERS BRONCOS RAMS COLLEGE Open Current O/U Underdog FRIDAY Peach Bowl — Atlanta, GA Georgia 6 7 51½ Cincinnati Citrus Bowl — Orlando, FL Northwestern 3½ 4 43½ Auburn Rose Bowl — Arlington, TX Alabama 20 20 65½ Notre Dame Sugar Bowl — New Orleans, LA Clemson 7 7½ 67½ Ohio State SATURDAY Gator Bowl — Jacksonville, FL Kentucky 3 2½ 49½ NC State Outback Bowl — Tampa, FL Indiana 7 8 65½ Mississippi Fiesta Bowl — Glendale, AZ Iowa St 4 4 58 Oregon Orange Bowl — Miami Gardens, FL Texas A&M 6 7½ 65½ N Carolina Favorite Women “Becky Hammon is an enor- mously talented coach and it was outstanding to see her reach such a truly significant milestone,” NBA Commis- sioner Adam Silver said. “She continues to be an inspiration to so many people, especially countless young women and girls.” Fuller was the goalkeeper on Vanderbilt’s Southeastern Conference championship soc- cer team before she rose to na- tional prominence in Novem- ber when she became the first woman to play in a Power Five conference football game. She was on the field once that day, driving a low kickoff to open the second half as the Commo- dores got shut out at Missouri. Two weeks later, Fuller kicked two extra points in a loss to Tennessee, with the sec- ond ball she put through the uprights sent to the College Football Hall of Fame. In November, the Miami Marlins made Ng the first fe- male GM in baseball, a feat accomplished after she was turned down for a similar job America’s Line Giants. On the business side, there were several notable strides made in 2020. The WNBA and its union announced an eight-year la- bor deal allowing top players to earn more than $500,000 and raising the average annual salary to $130,000 a year. The agreement also guarantees full salaries for players who are on DEALS Transactions FOOTBALL National Football League ARIZONA CARDINALS — Placed S Chris Banjo on the reserve/COVID-19 list. ATLANTA FALCONS — Placed C Alex Mack on the re- serve/COVID-19 list. BALTIMORE RAVENS — Agreed to terms to a one-year contract extension with CB Jimmy Smith. CINCINNATI BENGALS — Placed C B.J. Finney on the reserve/non-injury list. CLEVELAND BROWNS — Activated WRs Donovan Peoples-Jones, Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, KhaDarel Hodge and LB Jacob Philips from the reserve/COVID-19 list. Placed LB Malcolm Smith and CB Denzel Ward on the reserve/COVID-19 list. DENVER BRONCOS — Placed DE Shelby Harris on in- jured reserve. GREEN BAY PACKERS — Claimed DL Damon Harri- son off waivers from Seattle. Released DL Anthony Rush. HOUSTON TEXANS — Activated S Geno Stone from the exempt/commissioner list. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — Signed T Jared Veldheer to the practice squad. Released TE Andrew Vollert from the practice squad. MIAMI DOLPHINS — Signed QB Jake Rudock and WR Isaiah Ford to the active roster from the practice squad. Placed QB Ryan Fitzpatrick on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Placed LB Elandon Roberts on injured reserve. Ac- tivated WR Kirk Merritt as a COVID-19 replacement for Sunday’s game. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS — Placed T Tashawn Bower and LB Josh Uche on injured reserve. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS — Signed P Matt Wile to practice squad. SAN FRANCISCO 49ers — Activated QB Josh Johnson and WR Kevin White from the COVID 19 list. WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM — Signed RB Jona- than Williams to practice squad. Released RB Javon Leake from practice squad. maternity leave and provides enhanced family benefits. National Women’s Hockey League games will be televised live in the United States for the first time when NBC Sports Network airs playoff games in early February. In international soccer, Chelsea signed Denmark cap- tain Pernille Harder from Wolfsburg after paying what the German club said was “a record transfer fee for the women’s game.” The clubs did not disclose the fee — the amount paid when a team sells a player to another team, with a portion typically going to the player — but media reports said it was about $355,000. In the United States, the women’s national team players and the U.S. Soccer Federation settled their long-running law- suit over inequitable working conditions compared with the men’s team. The deal with the world champion American women calls for charter flights, hotel accommodations, venue selection and professional staff support equitable to that of the men’s team. The women’s dispute over pay remains unsettled. FOOTBALL Ducks DE Thibodeaux voted 2nd team All-American by FWAA — Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux earned his second All-America honors. The Ducks sopho- more was voted a second-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America. Thibodeaux and Colorado linebacker Nate Landman were the only Pac-12 players rec- ognized, both as second-team honorees. Thibodeaux, who has 32 tackles with 7.5 for loss including three sacks and three pass breakups this season, earned third-team honors from the AP last week. Dolphins place QB Fitzpatrick on reserve/COVID-19 list — Any debate about who should start for the Miami Dolphins this week at quarterback ended Thursday with backup Ryan Fitzpatrick’s positive test for COVID-19. Fitzpatrick, who came off the bench to rescue his team last week, is expected to miss Sunday’s regular-season finale at Buffalo as Miami tries to clinch an AFC wild-card berth. The Dolphins placed Fitzpatrick on the reserve-COVID-19 list. Coach Brian Flores had already said rookie Tua Tagovailoa will start his ninth game in a row Sunday, to the consternation of many Miami fans who prefer Fitzpatrick. The 38-year-old veteran replaced Tagovailoa last week in the fourth quarter and orchestrated an improbable comeback win at Las Vegas that allowed the Dolphins (10-5) to retain control of their playoff chances. Mi- ami signed Jake Rudock as Tagovailoa’s new backup. Rudock has thrown five passes in the NFL, all in 2017. — Bulletin wire reports “I love to spread love and hope for our country and our world. We should all love one another and bring hope and inspiration to other people.” Olympian Continued from B3 The followers soared when Tank brought his message to Twitter. Tank posts daily messages of love, hope and inspiration that have attracted the attention of celebrities like Mark Hamill, Marlee Matlin, Maureen Mc- Cormick, Rachel Maddow, for- mer NBA player Rex Chapman — a social media juggernaut in his own right — and NFL player J.J. Watt He’s thanked doctors and nurses, comforted those who have suffered losses, offered {a}congratulations for accom- plishments{/a} and encourage- ment to others with disabilities. “I love to spread love and hope for our country and our world,” Tank said. “We should all love one another and bring hope and inspiration to other people.” It’s turned him into a celeb- — Derek “Tank” Schottle Gary Schottle/via AP Derek “Tank” Schottle competes in the shot put as part of the Pen- tathlon at a Special Olympics track meet in Rosenburg, Texas, in 2017. rity. Tank has been featured on local TV and in newspaper sto- ries, and is regularly asked to serve as the announcer on the first tee at golf tournaments. Tank was such a popular batboy for the Sugarland Skee- ters, the minor league baseball team honored him with a bob- blehead night. Fans lined up to take pictures with him after the game. The mayors of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Con- cord, Massachusetts, declared Dec. 12 and 13 Derek “Tank” Schottle Day when he received awards there. “It’s interesting because you never know what the next day is going to bring,” Gary Schot- tle said. The exposure does occasion- ally make him a target. Twitter can be a vitriolic place, and keyboard bullies have tried to attack Tank and his message. Sometimes he gets down or doesn’t understand when peo- ple say mean things to him. Most of the time, he over- whelms them with love and quickly dissolves the situation. He’s also armed with a legion of defenders. Anyone who dares to take a virtual shot at Tank faces the wrath of his 101,800 followers. The haters almost always back down. “There’s always negative people on Twitter and a lot of people do protect me,” Tank said. “I’m just an athlete who wants to spread love on social media who wants to make this a better world someplace down the line.” A protector being protected. The perfect message.