Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 159, Ed. 1 Monday, January 8, 2018 Page: 7 of 14
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INSIDE SPORTS
Denton Record-Chronicle
0
SECTION B
Missouri upsets No. 4
J South Carolina
Page 3B
Sports
X
WHO TO CALL
Larry McBride
940-566-6913
Monday, January 8, 2018
DentonRC.com
Complacency-proof Alabama faces Georgia for title
come Alabama’s annual appearance in
the national title game, the 66-year-old
Saban only knows one approach.
“Well, I think that I’m always
looking for the next challenge,” he said
Sunday. “I don’t know if it’s the way I
was raised or whatever, that you’re kind
of only as good as your last play, as your
last game. I think everyone has heard
me talk a lot about the fact that success
is not a continuum, it’s momentary, and
it’s human nature to get satisfied and
get a little complacent when you have
success.
By Ralph D. Russo
AP College Football Writer
ATLANTA — Nick Saban’s greatest
rival, Ins most persistent foe, is human
nature. So far, Saban is winning that
matchup.
Alabama’s coach has his Crimson
Tide back in the College Football Play-
off national championship game for the
third str aight season. Alabama has won
four national titles since Saban took
over in 2007, and played for another.
Only once since 2008 has Alabama lost
more than a single regular-season
College football
College Football Playoff final
Georgia vs. Alabama, 7 p.m., ESPN
More coverage/4B
the winner of a record five Super Bowls.
Add a BCS championship Saban
won while the head coach at LSU, and
his five poll-era national champion-
ships leave him one short of a record
held by the man who coached Ala-
bama’s first dynasty, Paul “Bear” Bryant.
Saban can match the Bear on Monday
night when No. 4 Alabama faces No. 3
Georgia in an all-Southeastem Confer-
ence national championship game that
President Trump is expected to attend.
Relentlessly driven and motivated
by competition for competition’s sake,
Saban has engineered a complacency-
proof program in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Whether it is lunchtime basketball with
the assistant coaches or what has be-
it
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HI
“But in a competitive business like
were in where there’s always a next
challenge, there’s always a next game,
there’s always a better team to play, if
you have that mindset, you’re not going
to be able to play with any consistency.
Mr
1
game.
e,-
-
There has never been anything quite
like this Crimson Tide dynasty in col-
lege football.
Alabama has been the sport’s equiv-
alent to the NFL’s Patriots during Sa-
ban’s time, fitting since he once worked
for New England coach Bill Belichick,
one*.
_
Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images
University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban, left, and University of Geor-
gia head coach Kirby Smart stand with the College Football Playoff Nation-
al Championship trophy Sunday after a press conference in Atlanta.
See TITLE on 3B
Longtime
official
Conley
retires
/'
i
-
By Brett Vito
Staff Writer
bvito@,dentonrc.com
Scotty Conley has retired after nine
seasons with the North Texas football
program.
j
/
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H
North Texas football
Scotty Conley
4
1
Conley spent the last two seasons as
UNT's director of high school relations.
He was UNT's director of football oper-
ations from 2009-15
and has spent more
than 40 years work-
ing in high school and
college football.
Multiple
sources with knowl-
edge of the situation
confirmed Conleys
departur e Sunday.
Conley served under three head
coaches during his time at UNT after
being hired by former Mean Green
coach Todd Dodge in 2009.
\
Wm
m
Is
UNT
\
X
Conley
Brandon Wade/AP
New York Knicks guard Jarrett Jack (55) battles Dallas Mavericks guard Dennis Smith Jr. for space Sunday in Dallas.
Mavs slip in surge
See CONLEY on 2B
Jaguars
beat Bills
in ugly
game
Dallas suffers third
straight loss at home
the first half. New York took a 56-52 halftime lead on
the strength of 56 percent shooting, despite a se-
quence where Kanter missed a short hook shot and
then four consecutive tips.
New York built its lead to 73-63 midway through
the third quarter before the Mavericks closed the
quarter on an 8-2 run.
But after Harris’ three-point play cut the lead to
77-74 with 11:27 to play, Dallas did not score again for
five minutes as the Knicks built the lead to 13.
Mavericks
New York 100, Dallas 96
their longtime point guard Derek Harper by retiring
his jersey.
Dallas never led in the game, and after coming up
just short in furious fourth-quarter rallies against
Golden State and Chicago earlier in their homestand,
the Mavericks made another run after falling behind
90-77 with 4:48 to go.
Harris hit 3-pointers to start and end a 15-2 run
over a 2:20 span to tie the score at 92. After Porzingis
made two free thr ows and Bames hit a short jumper,
Jack used a screen to penetrate into the lane and drop
in a floater.
J. J. Barea missed a long 3 that would have given
Dallas the lead, and Courtney Lee hit four free throws
in the final 16.6 seconds to seal it.
Kanter and Porzingis combined for 24 points in
By Dave Jackson
Associated Press
DALLAS — Kristaps Porzingis scored 29 points
and Jarrett Jack made the tiebreaking basket with 312
seconds left as the New York Knicks beat the Dallas
Mavericks 100-96 on Sunday night.
Kyle 0’Q.uinn had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and
Enes Kanter added 13 points and 18 boards for the
Knicks, who ended a three-game losing streak and
sent the Mavericks to their third straight loss — all at
home.
Harper honored
The Mavericks retired Harper’s No. 12, the third
Dallas player to be so honored. Harper’s jersey joins
those of his former teammates Brad Davis (No. 15)
and Rolando Blackman (No. 22) in the rafters. Harp-
er played 12 seasons in a 16-year career with the
By Mark Long
Associated Press
Harrison Bames scored 25 points and Devin Har-
ris had nine of his 11 in the fourth quarter as the Maver-
icks made yet another rally on the night they honored
Blake
Bortles put together one decent drive all
day, doing as much with his legs as his
arm, and the defensive-minded Jack-
sonville Jaguars eked out an ugly and
sometimes unwatchable 10-3 victory
against the Buffalo Bills in an AFC wild-
card game Sunday.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.
See MAVERICKS on 3B
Defensive stand helps
Saints survive Panthers
I§f
i
Pro football
AFC playoffs: Jacksonville 10, Buffalo 3
In the postseason for the first time
since January 2008, the third-seeded
Jaguars (11-6) advanced to play at No. 2
seed Pittsburgh next week.
The sixth-seeded Bills (9-8) will
head home after ending the longest,
current playoff drought in North Amer-
ican professional sports.
Bortles was a big reason Jacksonville
won the game and a big reason it was so
close.
By Brett Martel
Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — Drew Brees
passed for 376 yards and two touch-
downs, and the New Orleans Saints
held off Carolina’s late comeback bid to
seal a 31-26 victory in their NFC wild-
card game on Sunday
The Panthers had afirst down on the
Saints 26-yard line with 58 seconds left,
but heavy pressure by All-Pro defensive
end Cameron Jordan a couple plays lat-
er induced an intentional grounding
penalty on Carolina quarterback Cam
Newton, making it third-and-25 on the
Saints 34 and a required 10-second
runoff left 22 seconds on the clock.
After an incompletion in the end
Pro football
NFC playoffs: Saints 31, Panthers 26
!V
zone on third down, Vomi Bell sacked
Newton on a safety blitz, ensuring the
Saints (12-5) swept all three meetings
with Carolina (11-6) this season, in addi-
tion to winning their first playoff game
in four seasons.
“We wanted it more,” Jordan said. “I
mean they’ve been to their Super Bowl,
let ‘em go to another one next year. We
want our ran."
Brees’ touchdowns went for 80-
yards to Ted Gimi and 9 yards to tight
end Josh Hill.
k
f
This was far from a passing clinic. It
was more like a painful exercise in over-
coming poor passing.
Bortles was off most of the day, mis-
firing short and long, but made up for it
Sean Gardner/Getty Images
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) hands the ball off to run-
ning back Mark Ingram (22) Sunday in the NFC Wild Card playoff game
against the Carolina Panthers in New Orleans.
See SAINTS on 3B
See JAGUARS on 3B
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Parks, Scott K. Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 159, Ed. 1 Monday, January 8, 2018, newspaper, January 8, 2018; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1138328/m1/7/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .