The Washington Post - 12.11.2019

D2 eZ su the washington post.tuesday, november 12 , 2019

quotable

“I was so fired up, man.

I was shaking,

I was so mad.”

hoyt hutchinson,

the man accused of slashing

a giant “Baby trump” balloon with a

knife outside the Lsu-alabama

football game saturday in

tuscaloosa, said while discussing his

motives on the “rick & Bubba show.”

Hutchinson was charged with

first-degree criminal mischief.

hockey

BY BEN STRAUSS

AND MATT BONESTEEL

Longtime NHL commentator

Don Cherry will leave Canadian

broadcaster Sportsnet after mak-

ing divisive comments about im-

migrants on the air Saturday

night.

“Sports bring people together

— it unites us, not divides us,”

Sportsnet President Bart Yabsley

said in a statement Monday. “Fol-

lowing further discussions with

Don Cherry after Saturday

night’s broadcast, it has been

decided it is the right time for

him to immediately step down.

During the broadcast, he made

divisive remarks that do not rep-

resent our values or what we

stand for.”

On the broadcast of “Hockey

Night in Canada,” Cherry, an of-

ten controversial commentator,

criticized immigrants in Canada

for not recognizing Remem-

brance Day, the country’s equiva-

lent to Memorial Day. The re-

marks started a firestorm in Can-

ada that ended with Monday’s

announcement that Cherry

would “immediately step down.”

Many Canadians wear small

artificial poppies in the days lead-

ing up to Remembrance Day to

commemorate military person-

nel who died during war. Speak-

ing Saturday night during

“Coach’s Corner,” his intermis-

sion segment during the Canadi-

an Broadcasting Corporation’s

“Hockey Night in Canada,” Cher-

ry noted that he rarely sees any-

one wearing poppies in Missis-

sauga, the To ronto suburb where

he l ives, or in downtown To ronto.

Both areas have sizable ethnic

populations.

“You people love — you, that

come here, whatever it is — you

love our way of life, you love our

milk and honey,” Cherry said. “A t

least you could pay a couple of

bucks for poppies or something

like that. These guys paid for your

way of life, that you enjoy in

Canada.”

After his firing, Cherry stood

by his words in an interview with

the To ronto Sun: “I know what I

said, and I meant it,” he said.

“Everybody in Canada should

wear a poppy to honor our fallen

soldiers.

“I speak the truth, and I walk

the walk. I have visited the bases

of the troops, been to Afghani-

stan with our brave soldiers at

Christmas, been to cemeteries of

our fallen around the world and

honored our fallen troops on

‘Coach’s Corner.’ To keep my job, I

cannot be turned into a tamed

robot.”

Ron MacLean, Cherry’s long-

time broadcast partner, apolo-

gized Sunday for not pushing

back on Cherry’s remarks.

“Don Cherry made remarks

which were hurtful, discrimina-

tory, which were flat-out wrong,”

MacLean said. “... We were

wrong, a nd I sincerely a pologize.”

[email protected]

[email protected]

Cherry

fired after

immigrant

comments

BY STEVEN GOFF

Christian Pulisic, Chelsea’s
American standout, had been in
great form heading into U.S. na-
tional soccer team duty for two
critical Nations League matches.
But shortly after scoring his fifth
English Premier League goal in
three outings Saturday, the at-
tacker left the 2-0 victory over
Crystal Palace with a hip injury.
And because of that ailment, he
had to withdraw from consider-
ation for must-win games against
Canada on Friday in Orlando and
Cuba next Tuesday in the Cayman
Islands.
“Christian is officially at this
stage ruled out,” Coach Gregg
Berhalter said. “This was a collab-
orative decision with [Chelsea],
looking after the best interest of
the player. These decisions are
always difficult because this
group and the coaching staff want
nothing more than to have Chris-
tian here, but it was a risk we
weren’t willing to take at this
time.”
Pulisic’s absence is a massive
setback for the U.S. squad, which
must win both games to win the
lightly regarded, three-team
group, avoid further internation-
al embarrassment and advance to
the semifinals of the Concacaf
event next year.
Pulisic, 21, solidified his start-
ing role in recent weeks for Chel-
sea, which, despite fielding a
young lineup, has won six
straight in league competition to
rise to third behind Liverpool and
Leicester City.
From Chelsea’s standpoint, the
time off will allow Pulisic to avoid
making the situation worse and
increase his chances of returning
to health in time for the Premier
League visit to two-time defend-
ing champion Manchester City on
Nov. 23 and a UEFA Champions
League game four days later at
Valencia.
Pulisic was not the first U.S.
starter affected by injury:
G erman-based goalkeeper Zack
Steffen is using the international
window to rest a right knee af-
flicted with tendinitis. Brad
G uzan, the most experienced
keeper in the U.S. player pool, is
expected to start instead.
[email protected]

soccer

Pulisic gets

ruled out

for critical

U.S. games

pro football: analysis

darron cummings/associated Press

With Brian Hoyer filling in for the injured Jacoby Brissett on Sunday, the Colts lost at home to the woeful Dolphins.

BY JOHN CLAYTON

On the 10th Sunday of the 2019

season, coaches, general managers and

fans were reminded that the NFL is a

quarterback-driven league.

That truth has taken on different

forms this season, which has in many

ways been the Year of the Backup QB.

More than half of the league’s teams

have played a second- or third-string

passer. O f 21 backups who h ave started,

just 10 have won a game.

But there were other reminders

throughout Sunday’s games, including

the struggles of a former No. 1 draft

pick and transcendent play by a few of

the game’s young stars.

The margin for error is a lot

thinner for teams playing backup

QBs. The Indianapolis Colts had

already undergone one quarterback

change this year, with Jacoby Brissett

leading them to a 5-2 start after

Andrew Luck’s surprise August

retirement.

But the absence of Brissett because

of a knee injury has proved to be too

much to overcome in back-to-back

losses, including Sunday’s home defeat

to the woeful Miami Dolphins.

Brian Hoyer posted a quarterback

rating of 38.8 against Miami, and the

Colts are losing ground in the AFC

South to the Houston Te xans and

Te nnessee Titans, who improved to 5-5

behind backup Ryan Ta nnehill’s

comeback win over the Kansas City

Chiefs.

Kyle Allen of the Carolina Panthers,

one of the more successful fill-in

passers, came up just short Sunday in a

loss to Aaron Rodgers and the Green

Bay Packers, and it’s going to take a lot

for Carolina to sneak into the playoffs

in the NFC. Still, Allen deserves credit

for leading a team that is averaging 26

points with him under center instead

of the injured Cam Newton.

The margin for error is also slim for

the Mason Rudolph-led Pittsburgh

Steelers, who squeaked out a 17-12

victory over the Los Angeles Rams for

their fourth straight win. Rudolph isn’t

being asked to be Ben Roethlisberger,

but he is playing well enough and is

aided by a defense that is getting better

by the week. The Steelers are in the

wild-card mix in the AFC.

Jared Goff just isn’t the same QB

he was last season. It’s unfair to put

all of this on Goff; defenses have been

solving the Rams’ run-heavy offense

since December. The running game is

the driver of Sean McVay’s offense,

and running back To dd Gurley II is

clearly limited by an arthritic knee

and is no longer a top-level back. He is

averaging roughly 13 carries per game.

The offensive line is also clearly a

problem, with Goff getting sacked

four times and hit nine times in the

loss to Pittsburgh. But Goff doesn’t

look at all like the two-time Pro Bowl

pick who led his team to the Super

Bowl last season.

H e didn’t generate an offensive

touchdown against the Steelers, was

intercepted twice and never

connected with top wide receiver

Cooper Kupp. The Rams, at 5-4, are in

danger of missing the playoffs, and

Goff ’s regression is a big reason.

The AFC features a pair of very

dynamic QBs. Lamar Jackson is

outdoing what Michael Vick did in the

early 2000s to get the Atlanta Falcons

to the playoffs. In the Baltimore

Ravens’ blowout win over Cincinnati,

he completed 15 of 17 passes for 233

yards and three touchdowns — good

for h is s econd perfect p asser rating t his

year. He also had a touchdown run that

Coach John Harbaugh rightly said

would be watched for decades.

Not only has he clearly emerged as

the best quarterback from the 2018

draft, but he is a top candidate for

MVP honors.

Last year’s MVP, Patrick Mahomes,

was up to his old tricks against the

Titans, but the Chiefs’ defense again

folded in a 35-32 loss. Mahomes

completed 3 6 of 50 passes f or 4 46 y ards

and three touchdowns, and it’s clear he

and the Chiefs have enough firepower

to hang with any team in a playoff

matchup. But even if Mahomes is good

enough to get the Chiefs to the Super

Bowl, their defense could again be

their playoff downfall.

Around the NFL

Several teams are worried about

their kickers. That includes the Colts;

Adam Vinatieri has missed three extra

points in the past three games, as well

as two field goals. The Buffalo Bills are

also concerned: Stephen Hauschka has

missed his past five kicks from beyond

50 yards dating from l ast season, w hich

was a problem in Sunday’s close loss to

the Cleveland Browns.

Dan Quinn validated the support

of Arthur Blank. In perhaps the

week’s most surprising result, Quinn’s

Atlanta Falcons beat the New Orleans

Saints, 26-9, after team owner Blank

chose not to fire Quinn during the bye

week. All of a sudden the NFL’s worst

defense came to life, sacking Drew

Brees six times and limiting New

Orleans to 52 rushing yards.

The Falcons’ season may be a lost

cause, but the players showed they still

want to play for Quinn.

Kareem Hunt helped the Browns’

offense in his debut. He ran only four

times in Cleveland’s 19-16 victory, but

he caught seven passes. The Browns’

offense is still a work in progress,

failing to score after eight plays at the

Buffalo goal line. Still, Cleveland’s

end-of-season schedule is friendly.

Seven wins is still a real possibility.

[email protected]

John clayton has covered the nFL for more

than 40 years. He writes a weekly column

for the Washington Post that publishes

online monday mornings.

Unneeded reminder: QBs are key

If Week 10 told us anything,

it’s that quarterback play

is still crucial to NFL success

washingtonpost.com/sports

tennis

Zverev defeats Nadal

for the first time

Defending champion
Alexander Zverev p ulled off
another big w in a t the ATP Finals,
beating t op-ranked Rafael Nadal,
6-2, 6-4, on Monday in London for
his first career v ictory over the
Spaniard.
Nadal h ad a 5-0 r ecord a gainst
Zverev before h e had a n
uncharacteristically mistake-
filled performance at O 2 Arena in
his first match s ince pulling out of
the Paris Masters semifinals with
an abdominal injury nine days
ago.
The match was over i n 84
minutes, and the outcome meant
Zverev h as beaten e ach of tennis’s
Big T hree in h is past three
matches at t he O2. The German
defeated six-time champion
Roger Federer in l ast year’s
semifinals and five-time winner
Novak Djokovic in the f inal.
Earlier Monday, Stefanos
Tsitsipas earned his first career
win o ver Daniil Medvedev —
prevailing, 7-6 ( 7-5), 6-4, in his
ATP Finals d ebut.
On Tuesday, Federer faces
Matteo Berrettini, and D jokovic
takes on Dominic Thiem.

college s occer

A day after l osing f or the first

time this s eason, Virginia

received one of four No. 1 seeds in

the N CAA women’s s occer

tournament. T he C avaliers

( 16-1-3) w ill host Big S outh

champion Radford (16-5-0) on

Saturday a t Klöckner Stadium.

Three o ther teams from t he

region — Georgetown, Navy and

Virginia Te ch — earned p laces in

the 6 4-team t ournament. T he

Hoyas (13-4-3), the B ig E ast

runners-up, will host West

Virginia (10-7-2) in the first round.

In i ts first NCAA appearance i n 12

years, Patriot League champion

Navy (16-2-3) will visit N.C. State

( 10-6-4). Virginia Te ch (12-4-2)

will host Xavier (16-3-2).

Stanford ( 18-1-0), North

Carolina (19-1-1) and reigning

champion Florida State ( 15-5-0)

received the tournament’s other

No. 1 seeds.

— S teven Goff

college football

LSU C oach Ed Orgeron said

his boisterous a nd s ometimes

profane locker room s peech after

the T igers beat A labama w as not

meant f or public consumption

and n ot meant to hurt anyone.

An LSU p layer p osted a bout

14 s econds of t he s peech o n social

media after S aturday’s 4 6-41

victory in Tuscaloosa, A la.

Orgeron can be heard y elling

that LSU is g oing to beat Alabama

in recruiting and “every time they

see u s.” Orgeron a lso used an

expletive t o mock Alabama’s “Roll

Tide” r allying c ry.

“The things that I say o utside,

to the m edia, those are things I

want to get out, and if I wanted

that to get out, I would have said

that outside,” Orgeron said

Monday when asked about t he

social media post. “You g et

emotional. You talk to your team

— it’s your family. Just l ike we all

talk to our family.”

The social m edia p ost was

taken d own, and L SU declined to

identify the p layer. Orgeron said

he spoke to the p layer who posted

the c lip, and h e “felt b ad.”

baseball

Dustin Pedroia h opes to

return to the B oston Red Sox next

year after playing just nine g ames

over the past two seasons b ecause

of an injured l eft knee.

“Every indication I’ve g otten is

that he’s f eeling good a nd

intending o n playing,” Chaim

Bloom, Boston’s new chief

baseball officer, said at t he annual

general m anagers m eetings in

Digest

teleVision anD raDio

nba

7 p.m. cleveland at philadelphia » nBa tV

10 p.m. portland at sacramento » nBa tV

nhl

7:30 p.m. pittsburgh at new york rangers » nBc sports network

college football

6 p.m. eastern michigan at akron » esPnews

6:30 p.m. Western michigan at ohio » esPn2

men’s college basketball

6 p.m. pittsburgh at robert morris » esPnu

6:30 p.m. creighton at michigan » Fox sports 1

7 p.m. north alabama at indiana » Big te n network

7 p.m. missouri at Xavier » cBs sports network

7 p.m. new hampshire at st. John’s » Fox sports 2

7 p.m. evansville at kentucky » sec network

7 p.m. central arkansas at Duke » acc network

8 p.m. alabama state at houston » esPnu

Scottsdale, Ariz.

soccer

Raheem Sterling w ill not b e

considered for E ngland’s

European C hampionship

qualifier against Monte negro on

Thursday after emotions ran high

when the team gathered Monday

following Manchester C ity’s loss

to Liverpool.

A day after t he English Premier

League top-of-the-table match at

Anfield, where S terling clashed

with Liverpool defender Joe

Gomez near the end, both p layers

apparently became involved in

another exchange w hen the

England s quad convened at t he

national training c enter at B urton

upon Trent.

The English Football

Association said i n a statement

that Sterling will n ot be

considered for t he Monte n egro

match in London “as a result of a

disturbance i n a private team

area at S t. G eorge’s Park today. He

will remain w ith the squad.”

horse racing

Two horses w ere e uthanized

after s uffering injuries S unday

during races a t Del Mar, C alif.

The deaths were t he f irst in

competition a t Del Mar since the

2018 f all meet. Santa Anita h as

had 3 7 deaths since December,

including s even at i ts recently

concluded fall meet.

— F rom news services

and s taff r eports

8 p.m. louisiana lafayette at tcu » masn2

8:30 p.m. minnesota at butler » Fox sports 1

9 p.m. miami at central florida » cBs sports network

9 p.m. mount st. mary’s at Washington » Pac-12 network

9 p.m. memphis vs. oregon » esPn

9 p.m. murray state at tennessee » sec network

11 p.m. unlV at california » Pac-12 network

11 p.m. oklahoma vs. oregon state » esPn2

tennis

7 a.m. atp finals, doubles round robin » tennis channel

9 a.m. atp finals, singles round robin » tennis channel

1 p.m. atp finals, doubles round robin » tennis channel

3 p.m. atp finals, singles round robin » tennis channel

soccer

10 a.m. under-23 africa cup of nations, group b: ivory coast vs. south africa »

bein sports

1 p.m. under-23 africa cup of nations, group b: Zambia vs. nigeria » bein sports