USA Today - 03.04.2020

4C ❚ FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2020 ❚ USA TODAY SPORTS

WEATHER ONLINE

WEATHER USATODAY.COM

PR ECI PITATI O N FO R EC A S T

FRIDAY’S HIGH TEMPERATURES

SATURDAY’S HIGH TEMPERATURES

WEEKEND FORECAST

Below 10 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s 110+

T-storms Rain Snow Ice/mix

U.S. CITIES

c Cloudy

h Haze

sf Snowflurries

t Thunderstorms

i Ice

s Sunny

w Windy

f Fog

pc Partly cloudy

r Rain sn Snow

sh Showers

dr Drizzle

Washington

60

Cheyenne

38

Casper

38

Jackson

Hole

33

Milwaukee

53

Madison

57

Charleston

64

Seattle

Olympia 49 48 Spokane

45

Richmond

65

Burlington

(^52) Montpelier
50
Salt Lake City
53
St. George
67
Dallas/Ft. Worth
66
Brownsville
88
Lubbock
61
Midland-
Odessa
69
El Paso
80 Austin 78
San Antonio
80 Houston
81
Nashville
71
Memphis
73
Knoxville
69
Rapid City
(^35) Pierre
33
Sioux Falls
35
Charleston
75
Columbia
75
Harrisburg
57
Philadelphia
55
Pittsburgh
55
Burns
46
Bend
47
Portland
Salem 52
52
Oklahoma
City
45
Tulsa
57
Cincinnati
67
Cleveland
51
Columbus
61
Fargo
27
Bismarck
33
Raleigh
Charlotte^68
73
Buffalo
47 Albany
53
New York
52
Albuquerque
67
Santa Fe
61
Reno
60
Elko
Carson City^53
55
Las Vegas
73
Omaha
40
North Platte
44
Billings
45
Miles City
46
Helena
43
Kansas City
41
Jefferson City
63
St. Louis
65
Jackson
78
Mpls-St. Paul
36
Duluth
38
Detroit
59
Marquette
50
Lansing
58
Grand
Rapids
60
Boston
46
Annapolis
58
Bangor
47
Augusta
47
Baton Rouge
81
Shreveport
77
New
Orleans
82
Louisville
69
Topeka
42
Wichita
46
Dodge City
48
Des Moines
42
Indianapolis
66
Chicago
63
63
Boise
52
Idaho Falls
44
Atlanta
75
Savannah
77
Tallahassee
81
Jacksonville
79
Tampa
83
Miami
83
Hartford
52
Denver
Aspen 44 42
San Francisco
60
Palm Springs
84
Los Angeles
70
Sacramento
68
Fresno
70
Eureka
53
San Diego
68
Little Rock
71
Phoenix
84
Flagstaff
55
Birmingham
77
Montgomery
79
Mobile
Honolulu^80
81
San Juan
87
Anchorage
38
Juneau
35
Fairbanks
37
Puerto Rico
Hawaii
Alaska
Washington
63
Cheyenne
52
Casper
49
Jackson
Hole
39
Milwaukee
48
Madison
52
Charleston
67
Seattle
Olympia 52 51 Spokane
47
Richmond
63
Burlington
(^53) Montpelier
50
Salt Lake City
63
St. George
74
Dallas/Ft. Worth
58
Brownsville
89
Lubbock
55
Midland-
Odessa
59
El Paso
81 Austin 62
San Antonio
66 Houston
73
Nashville
74
Memphis
73
Knoxville
73
Rapid City
(^53) Pierre
49
Sioux Falls
46
Charleston
74
Columbia
75
Harrisburg
62
Philadelphia
59
Pittsburgh
60
Burns
47
Bend
46
Portland
Salem 54
50
Oklahoma
City
55
Tulsa
56
Cincinnati
66
Cleveland
57
Columbus
62
Fargo
36
Bismarck
42
Raleigh
Charlotte^69
73
Buffalo
55 Albany
59
New York
56
Albuquerque
71
Santa Fe
65
Reno
53 Elko 59
Carson City
49
Las Vegas
78
Omaha
48
North Platte
54
Billings
49
Miles City
49
Helena
47
Kansas City
53
Jefferson City
54
St. Louis
55
Jackson
78
Mpls-St. Paul
46
Duluth
42
Detroit
57
Marquette
41
Lansing
56
Grand
Rapids
52
Boston
44
Annapolis
59
Bangor
48
Augusta
48
Baton Rouge
79
Shreveport
71
New
Orleans
81
Louisville
71
Topeka
54
Wichita
54
Dodge City
55
Des Moines
50
Indianapolis
61
Chicago
51
52
Boise
56
Idaho Falls
50
Atlanta
76
Savannah
77
Tallahassee
86
Jacksonville
82
Tampa
84
Miami
84
Hartford
55
Denver
60
Aspen
52
San Francisco
60
Palm Springs
83
Los Angeles
69
Sacramento
56
Fresno
68
Eureka
55
San Diego
67
Little Rock
Phoenix 85 67
Flagstaff
56
Birmingham
79
Montgomery
82
Mobile
Honolulu^80
81
San Juan
86
Anchorage
41
Juneau
44
Fairbanks
39
Puerto Rico
Hawaii
Alaska
Albany, N.Y. 53/42sh 59/42c
Albuquerque 67/43s 71/48s
Amarillo, Texas 55/28s 58/39s
Anchorage, Alaska 38/29sn 41/33c
Atlantic City, N.J. 52/47r 52/44pc
Augusta, Ga. 77/48s 77/48s
Austin, Texas 78/53t 62/55r
Baton Rouge, La. 81/61c 79/60c
Billings, Mont. 45/27pc 49/26pc
Birmingham, Ala. 77/52pc 79/56pc
Bismarck, N.D. 33/11pc 42/20pc
Boise, Idaho 52/31pc 56/40c
Buffalo, N.Y. 47/38c 55/42pc
Burlington, Vt. 52/37r 53/37pc
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 51/26sh 51/31s
Charleston, S.C. 75/50s 74/52s
Charleston, W.Va. 64/35s 67/44pc
Cheyenne, Wyo. 38/20pc 52/31s
Cincinnati 67/43c 66/50pc
Cleveland 51/34s 57/44pc
Columbia, S.C. 75/47s 75/49s
Columbus, Ohio 61/35s 62/49pc
Corpus Christi, Texas 85/70c 80/65c
Daytona Beach, Fla. 77/54pc 81/61s
Des Moines, Iowa 42/26r 50/32pc
Duluth, Minn. 38/17r 42/22s
Durham, N.C. 69/44s 67/46pc
El Paso, Texas 80/56s 81/59c
Fairbanks, Alaska 37/21sf 39/31sf
Flagstaff, Ariz. 55/29s 56/34s
Fargo, N.D. 27/4sn 36/22pc
Fort Myers, Fla. 86/66s 86/66s
Fort Wayne, Ind. 62/41pc 59/43sh
Fresno, Calif. 70/46s 68/53pc
Green Bay, Wis. 57/39pc 48/31pc
Harrisburg, Pa. 57/45c 62/46pc
Hartford, Conn. 52/41r 55/40c
Indianapolis 66/47c 61/46sh
Jackson, Miss. 78/56pc 78/57c
Jacksonville, Fla. 79/52s 82/58s
Jefferson City, Mo. 63/39t 54/40pc
Kansas City 41/30sh 53/36s
Key West, Fla. 82/72s 82/73s
Knoxville, Tenn. 69/46c 73/50pc
Lincoln, Neb. 42/22sn 49/30s
Little Rock, Ark. 71/57t 67/54t
Louisville, Ky. 69/48c 71/54pc
Manchester, N.H. 48/40r 53/36pc
Memphis, Tenn. 73/57c 73/57c
Milwaukee 53/40c 48/35sh
Mobile, Ala. 80/55pc 80/58c
Montgomery, Ala. 79/53pc 82/57pc
Myrtle Beach, S.C. 70/49s 67/52s
Nags Head, N.C. 58/48s 52/46s
Nashville, Tenn. 71/48pc 74/53pc
Newark, N.J. 54/46r 58/44pc
Norfolk, Va. 62/48pc 57/44pc
Oakland, Calif. 63/47s 62/51r
Oklahoma City 45/34c 55/40s
Omaha, Neb. 40/25c 48/32s
Palm Springs, Calif. 84/58s 83/58s
Pittsburgh 55/36s 60/45pc
Portland, Maine 48/37r 49/34pc
Portland, Ore. 52/36r 54/41r
Providence, R.I. 48/40r 48/37pc
Raleigh, N.C. 68/45s 69/47s
Rapid City, S.D. 35/17s 53/22s
Reno, Nev. 60/34s 53/41c
Richmond, Va. 65/44pc 63/43pc
Rochester, N.Y. 47/39c 54/40pc
Sacramento, Calif. 68/44s 56/50r
San Antonio 80/56t 66/58r
San Jose, Calif. 66/45s 63/51c
Savannah, Ga. 77/52s 77/56s
Shreveport, La. 77/58t 71/57c
Sioux Falls, S.D. 35/16sn 46/28s
South Bend, Ind. 64/44c 53/36sh
Spokane, Wash. 45/28w 47/32c
61/38t 51/42c
63/41c 52/38t
St. Louis 65/45t 55/44t
Syracuse, N.Y. 49/38c 54/38pc
Tallahassee, Fla. 81/54pc 86/58pc
Tampa, Fla. 83/63s 84/65s
Topeka, Kan. 42/29sh 54/35s
Tucson, Ariz. 83/51s 84/53pc
Tulsa, Okla. 57/38t 56/43s
Wichita, Kan. 46/29c 54/37s
Wilmington, Del. 56/46w 60/45pc
Winston-Salem, N.C. 70/44s 70/47pc
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
FRI SAT
EXTREMES
Note: For contiguous
48 states through
3 p.m. Thursday
HOTTEST:
89°
Zapata, Texas
COLDEST:
-14°
Stanley, Idaho
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather Inc. ©
WEATHER ONLINE
WEATHER USATODAY.COM
A storm nagging New
England with gusty winds,
cold rain and even wet snow
on Friday will move away
this weekend and allow
milder weather.
Most areas from the
eastern Great Lakes to the
middle and southern
Atlantic coasts will be dry
and a bit warmer. A swath of
showers and thunderstorms
will advance slowly
eastward and weaken over
the Midwest and South
Central states, except for
Texas. Storms can be locally
severe on Friday and rain
from Friday to Saturday can
lead to flooding in parts of
the Lone Star State.
Most of the High Plains
will be dry and showers will
dot the Northwest into the
weekend. A potent storm
will push onshore into
California , Nevada and
Arizona this weekend with
rain and mountain snow.
Upgrade your news. Install the free app.
Amid the ongoing concerns with the
novel coronavirus pandemic, NBA play-
ers will not be able to play basketball un-
til further notice. They can still play
games, though, and this one involves a
joystick instead of a basketball.
The NBA and its players association
will host an “NBA 2K Players tourna-
ment” featuring 16 current players com-
peting in a single-elimination tourna-
ment on Xbox One, beginning 7 p.m., ET
Friday on ESPN. Additional match-ups
will air through April 12. The winner will
select a charity to receive $100,000 from
2K, the NBA and NBPA in support of co-
ronavirus relief efforts.
Every player will choose from eight
NBA teams, each of which can only be
used once. If a mirror match is set, the
away team is awarded the first choice.
Rounds one and two will be single elim-
ination, with the semifinals and finals
running best of three.
The first game will feature top-seed-
ed Kevin Durant against Derrick Jones
Jr., with both players choosing a pre-se-
lected team. Durant can choose his cur-
rent team (Brooklyn), his former teams
(Golden State, Oklahoma City) or others
(Dallas, Houston, Utah or the L.A. Clip-
pers). Jones can choose from Boston,
Brooklyn, Dallas, the Clippers, Miami,
Milwaukee, Philadelphia or the Los An-
geles Lakers. The players’ seeding is
based on the NBA 2K rating and tenure.
Given those parameters, here are our
picks for each head-to-head matchup.
First round
(1) Kevin Durant-Derrick Jones Jr.
(16): Durant
Durant unleashes his pent-up energy
from staying sidelined this season due
to Achilles injury.
(8) Montrezl Harrell-Domantas Sa-
bonis (9): Harrell
Just like he does on the court, Harrell
relies on the pick-and-roll with Lou Wil-
liams to dominate this game.
(5) Devin Booker-Michael Porter Jr.
(12): Booker
As an NBA 2K ambassador, it was al-
ready part of Booker’s job description to
excel at this game.
(4) Donovan Mitchell-Rui Hachimura
(13): Mitchell
After testing positive for COVID-19,
Mitchell says he spent most of his time
playing video games. So it’s not surpris-
ing he breezes through the first round.
(2) Trae Young-Harrison Barnes (15):
Young
Young has a quick handle both with
the ball and the control stick.
(7) Zach LaVine-DeAndre Ayton (10):
LaVine
LaVine knows all the button combi-
nations to throw down a few dunks.
(6) Andre Drummond-DeMarcus
Cousins (11): Cousins
After spending more time in the
training room than on the court the past
two seasons, Cousins keeps himself
sane partly by excelling as a gamer.
(3) Hassan Whiteside-Patrick Bever-
ley (14): Beverley
Beverley’s persistent trash-talking
throws Whiteside off his game.
Semifinals
(1) Durant-Harrell (8): Durant
While Harrell calls too many pick-
and-roll plays, Durant wins by matching
his versatile approach between isola-
tion plays and ball movement.
(5) Booker-Mitchell (4): Mitchell
Mitchell wins because he relies more
on facilitating, while Booker relies too
much on scoring.
(2) Young-LaVine (7): Young
Just like real life, their head-to-head
matchup goes into quadruple OT. But
unlike what happened on the court,
Young hits a game-winning shot.
(11) Cousins-Beverley (14): Beverley
Beverley’s yapping eventually
prompts a frustrated Cousins to throw
his controller.
Conference finals
(1) Durant-Mitchell (4): Durant
Since scoring isn’t enough in this
matchup, Durant relies on his defensive
length and shot-blocking ability to win.
(2) Young-Beverley (11): Young
Young ignores Beverley’s antics, of-
fering yet another sign this young point
guard can become special.
Finals
(1) Durant-Young (2): Durant
Durant shows he still can win a young
man’s game, an encouraging sign for his
expected return next season.
How we see NBA 2K Players tournament
Mark Medina
USA TODAY
Nets forward Kevin Durant is top seed
for the NBA 2K Players tournament.
BRAD PENNER/USA TODAY SPORTS
Other members of the team will be
featured in future episodes, and they
might include their own children.
“Some of my teammates have young-
er kids, so they might work them into
these,” Franklin says.
“They’ll each put their own unique
spin on them depending on their
strengths and what they want to teach.
We’re at home like everyone else, but
you know the creative juices never stop.
We’re all just trying to create.”
Franklin, who played college ball at
Lock Haven (Pennsylvania) and has
The Harlem Globetrotters had to sus-
pend their touring schedule, but the
world-renowned basketball entertain-
ers are still around to help kids and fam-
ilies pass the time constructively while
waiting out the coronavirus pandemic.
The Globetrotters are sharing a reg-
ular video series on the team website
featuring educational and motivational
tips for young fans, with team highlights
and, of course, some of their legendary
trick shots and ball-handling dexterity
for the family to enjoy.
The first three episodes feature Chris
“Handles” Franklin, who says he’s been
living his lifelong dream of being a
member of the Globetrotters for the last
13 years.
“It’s pretty much an extension of our
roles as ambassadors of goodwill,” says
Franklin of the video series. “There are
millions of people at home right now,
practicing social distancing while trying
to find things to do. That was definitely
our goal.”
bachelor’s and master’s degrees in so-
cial work, emphasizes teamwork and
the importance of studying in his first
couple of offerings. But he also recreates
one of his signature moves, a kneeling,
back-to-the-basket shot for which he
holds the world record for distance.
Franklin and the Globetrotters are
coping with last week’s death of one of
the team’s most iconic figures – Fred
“Curly” Neal. Franklin said Neal was a
mentor when “Handles” joined the or-
ganization and became a great friend to
him.
Harlem Globetrotters off tour, still entertaining
Eddie Timanus
USA TODAY