USA Today - 03.03.2020

Nightengale: Angels skipper Joe Maddon faced

his former team in spring training. Page 3C

No longer Cubs manager but

still loved by Chicago players

❚Defensemen impress at NFL combine. Page 4C

❚Tampa Bay Vipers among XFL winners. Page 5C

Football lessons learned

from on and off the field

USA TODAY | TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2020 | SECTION C

SPORTS

FIRST WORD

I like (Paul Azinger) a lot. And

get on with him great. But

Paul please do not condescend or

disrespect the (European Tour) and

our players like that. We have

slapped your arse in Ryder Cup for

so long. I know you captained a win

but seriously that was embarrass-

ing today.”

England’s Ian Poulter on Twitter, call-

ing out Paul Azinger after the NBC

analyst’s comments about Brit Tommy

Fleetwood, who held the Honda Clas-

sic lead after 54 holes and was seek-

ing his first PGA Tour win but finished

two strokes behind winner Sungjae Im

after carding a final-round 71 that

included a wet bogey on the par-

18th hole. “I wasn’t trying to be ma-

licious. I didn’t mean to disrespect

anyone,” Azinger told Golfweek. “But

professional golfers choke for two

things: cash and prestige. And the

PGA Tour has the most of both.”

Among what Azinger said was, “These

guys know, you can win all you want

on the European Tour, the interna-

tional game and all that, but you have

to win on the PGA Tour.”

NOTABLE NUMBERS

707

Wins for Georgia men’s

tennis coach Manuel Diaz,

one more than mentor Dan Magill and

the most in Southeastern Conference

history. In 31 seasons since succeed-

ing Magill (for whom the Georgia ten-

nis center is named), Diaz has won

four NCAA team titles.

14

Wins in a row for Kansas, which

retained the No. 1 ranking for a

second week in the USA TODAY col-

lege basketball men’s coaches poll.

The Jayhawks had 32 first-place votes

after Baylor lost to TCU. (Complete

poll, 7C)

LAST WORD

I kind of gave it a little too

much right-hand and left it

short left. I turned around because

I was disappointed at first because

I thought someone did it on pur-

pose. Once I finally understood it

was a middle-aged man with spe-

cial needs, that changed the whole

thing because obviously he didn’t

mean to do that.”

Brandon Matthews, who will make his

PGA Tour debut this week in the Ar-

nold Palmer Invitational on a sponsor’s

exemption. Matthews, 25, a Penn-

sylvania native like Palmer, lost the

2019 Visa Open de Argentina title in a

playoff after a fan with Down syn-

drome made a loud noise, distracting

him as he attempted a 12-foot putt to

extend the playoff.

From staff and wire reports

POULTER BY IAN RUTHERFORD/USA TODAY

SPORTSLINE

The Olympics golf tournament has

its first confirmed no-show: Dustin

Johnson. The world No. 5 plans to fo-

cus on the FedExCup Playoffs rather

than pursue a gold medal in Tokyo in

July.

Johnson’s manager, David Winkle,

confirmed the decision to Golfweek on

Monday. “Dustin gave the Olympics a

great deal of thought and we discussed

the pros and cons of him participating

at length,” Winkle wrote in an email.

“At the end of the day, it’s

a matter of personal pref-

erence and priority. As

much as he would be

honored to be an Olym-

pian, the FedExCup Play-

offs are also very impor-

tant to him.

“Having had a few close calls in the

Playoffs, he really wants to win them be-

fore his time is done and feels that he

wouldn’t be giving himself the best op-

portunity to do so if he added a lengthy

international trip just prior to their be-

ginning.”

Johnson will compete in the British

Open July 16-19 at Royal St George’s,

where he almost won in 2011. The first

round of the Olympics at Kasumigaseki

Golf Club is July 30. The first Playoff

event begins 11 days after the Olympics

with the Northern Trust in Boston.

Four Americans will qualify for the

Games based on the world golf ranking.

Currently Johnson is in the third team

spot behind Brooks Koepka and Justin

Thomas. Koepkarecently downplayed

the importance of the Olympics, saying

he views the four majors and the FedEx-

Cup as more important.

With Johnson confirmed out and

Koepka sounding ambivalent, two men

not currently in the top four Americans

might qualify to join Thomas and Pat-

rick Cantlay in Japan: Webb Simpson

and Patrick Reed, who are the fifth and

sixth-ranked U.S. players. The seventh-

ranked American: Tiger Woods.

Dustin Johnson won’t go for gold

American prioritizing

British Open, Playoffs

Eamon Lynch

Golfweek | USA TODAY Network

Johnson

It’s too early to say whether the Lak-

ers would face the Pelicans in a first-

round NBA playoff matchup. It’s not

too early to say that is what both fran-

chises, their fan bases and the league

office would want.

After experiencing a nearly season-

long decline in television ratings, the

NBA would get a ratings spike. The

Lakers are a natural draw anyway be-

cause of their global popularity and

stars LeBron James and Anthony Da-

vis. But so are the Pelicans because of

rookie Zion Williamson, whose 44-

game absence to open the regular sea-

son partly explains the NBA’s ratings

crunch.

Five ways a Lakers-Pelicans first-

round matchup would be must-see TV:

1. LeBron versus Zion

In two head-to-head matchups,

James demonstrated his superiority

while Williamson showed he is not

afraid of the showdown. While James

appeared more inclined to score in

these games, Williamson seemed

more determined to play aggressively

against the NBA’s biggest star.

Both players have publicly praised

each other before and after games, and

the two embraced after Sunday’s con-

test in New Orleans.

Yet James and Williamson also

seem a bit frosty toward each other.

Last week, James revealed he has

had zero interactions with Williamson

while he expressed mild annoyance

over numerous Williamson-related

questions. Unlike other young players,

such as Ja Morant, James has not ac-

tively sought out Williamson to offer

any advice.

Meanwhile, Williamson has not

asked for it, either.

2. Davis faces his former team

AD has made it clear he holds zero

grudges against the Pelicans. He de-

manded a trade because he became

Mark Medina

Columnist

USA TODAY NETWORK

See MEDINA, Page 2C

Rooting for

LeBron-Zion

NBA playoff

matchup

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Thank good-

ness college basketball is the sport

where second, third and fourth

chances abound. That’s for the big

boys only, of course.

Opportunities to wipe away early-

season sins are always waiting around

the next pick-and-roll if you live in the

game’s upper echelon. Opportunities

to take down a big boy in January or

February can help pave the way to a

spot in the big show in March. That’s

certainly the tune that Mick Cronin

and Shaka Smart and Ed Cooley and

many, many other coaches are singing

these days.

After stepping in one mess after an-

other for the first month or two of the

season, teams like UCLA, Texas and

Providence can now see the light of the

NCAA tournament coming into view.

The calendar flipped to March over

Tyger Campbell and UCLA have had much to celebrate as they sit atop the

Pac-12 standings at 12-5 in league play. RICHARD MACKSON/USA TODAY SPORTS

See MCNAMARA, Page 2C

Kevin McNamara

Columnist

The Providence Journal

UCLA closing fast

on bid for NCAA