The Washington Post - USA (2020-12-02)

D4 EZ M2 THE WASHINGTON POST.WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2 , 2020

FROM NEWS SERVICES AND STAFF REPORTS

Rocket Watts scored 20 points and Julius Marble had a career- high 12 to help No. 8 Michigan State beat No. 6 Duke, 75-69, on Tuesday night in the Champions Classic in Durham, N.C. The Spartans (3-0) trailed by 10 early in the game but closed the first half with a 13-4 surge to take a 37-33 lead at halftime. Michigan State maintained control in the second half, leading by as many as 16, with balance on offense to go with aggressive defense and rebounding. The Blue Devils (1-1) rallied late and pulled within five in the final minute. They started strong and led 13-3 before struggling to make shots or get stops. Duke shot just 32 percent from the field and al- lowed five Spartans to score in double figures. Matthew Hurt had 21 points and 13 rebounds to lead Duke. l WISCONSIN 82, GREEN BAY 42: Micah Potter scored 14 points, Tyler Wahl had 11 points and 15 rebounds, and the fourth- ranked Badgers (3-0) breezed to a rout of the Phoenix in Green Bay Coach Will Ryan’s return to Madi- son, Wis. Ryan is the son of former Bad- gers coach Bo Ryan. Will Ryan and current Badgers coach Greg Gard worked together on Bo Ryan’s Wisconsin staff from 2002 to 2007. l CREIGHTON 94, OMAHA 67: Christian Bishop scored 18 points, one of six Bluejays to score in double figures, and No. 9 Creighton (2-0) routed the Maver- icks (1-3) in Omaha. l VILLANOVA 87, HART- FORD 53: J ustin Moore led a bal- anced scoring attack with 15 points, and the 12th-ranked Wild- cats (3-1) bounced back from their first loss of the season to rout the Hawks in Uncasville, Conn. Traci Carter had 13 points for Hartford (0-2). l NORTH CAROLINA 67, STANFORD 63: L eaky Black had a big driving basket at the 1:02 mark followed by a clinching free throw with 5.5 seconds left to help the 14th-ranked Tar Heels (3-0) hold off the Cardinal (1-1) in the semifinals at the relocated Maui Invitational in Asheville, N.C. Freshman Caleb Love scored 16 points to lead the Tar Heels, who did just enough down the stretch to stay unbeaten. UNC shot 50 percent after halftime and won despite committing 24 turnovers, which led to 22 Stanford points. l TEXAS 66, INDIANA 44: Shaka Smart saw the aggressive and relentless edge he wanted from his defense. And that has the 17th-ranked Longhorns in the championship game of the Maui Invitational. Matt Coleman III scored 16 points while Texas (3-0) held Indi- ana (2-1) to its lowest point total in more than a decade in Tuesday’s semifinal game. l HAMPTON 82, GEORGE WASHINGTON 78: Davion War- ren scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half, and the Pirates opened their season with a victory over the Colonials at Smith Center. James Bishop scored a career- high 22 points for GW (0-2).

No. 4 Baylor women survive DiDi Richards scored four points and added seven assists in her return from a scary spinal cord injury five weeks ago, Queen Egbo had a game-high 25 points, and fourth-ranked Baylor held off South Florida, 67-62, in Tampa. The Lady Bears (2-0) became the 15th women’s program in Divi- sion I history to reach 1,000 wins. Baylor Coach Kim Mulkey im- proved to 606-101 in her 21 seasons at the school. South Florida fell to 1-1. l VIRGINIA TECH 92, GEORGE WASHINGTON 57: Aisha Sheppard (St. John’s College High) scored a game-high 22 points, and four Hokies scored in double figures in a trouncing of the Colonials in Blacksburg, Va. Sheppard hit 7 of 12 shots from the field, including 5 of 10 from beyond the arc, and Virginia Tech (3-0) raced to a 49-27 halftime lead. Ali Brigham and Jasmine Whit- ney (Paul VI Catholic) each had 13 points for GW (2-1). l GEORGE MASON 77, LONGWOOD 65: Marika Kor- pinen had 19 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Patri- ots (2-1) to a victory over the Lanc- ers (0-3) at EagleBank Arena.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP

Spartans

take down

Blue Devils

in Durham

MICHIGAN STATE 75, DUKE 69

horror films, it’s about a moral void in a culture gone badly wrong with carelessness. Zombies don’t have to be bat- bitten, red-eyed raveners, sinister and recomposed. They can be stalkers, sleepers. Perfectly normal-seeming executives, colleagues, neighbors. And they can be real. The only tell is their utter smugness as they stare through evidence of exponential infections, ICUs at capacity and skyrocketing death rates, and yet blithely go on trying to colonize your lungs. Don’t just avoid them. Call them out, so others can see them. [email protected]

For more by Sally Jenkins, visit washingtonpost.com/jenkins.

related breathing issues, and 25-year-old Buffalo Bills tight end Tommy Sweeney, who developed myocarditis. Zombies, as we know, are highly unemotional and unimaginative, so they are incapable of projecting themselves into a hospital bed. The zombies inside the locker rooms suppose themselves pre- inoculated by their physical superiority and their privileged habitations, fortified by private laboratory tests. Maybe the scariest thing of all about zombies is their vacancy. They have a blank recklessness, with their assumption that no plague can touch them, and it matters not the least if it touches others. If there is a meaning to the zombie metaphor in all those

highly evasive. Saunders of the Ravens and the four Broncos quarterbacks reportedly ditched their league-issued tracking devices, making it harder to trace infections. For the Ravens, that meant nine straight days of positive tests across the Thanksgiving holiday. Defensive end Calais Campbell, who has asthma, got sick enough to tweet: “This virus is brutal! I pray no one else has to go through this.” But then, a classic hallmark of zombies is that they are unaffected by injuries to themselves or to others. They’re unmoved by cases such as those of Jacksonville Jaguars running back Ryquell Armstead, who is just 24 yet has been hospitalized twice with covid-

to be run entirely by zombies. Back in May, the company’s vacant-minded managers directed staffers not to wear face masks, to the point that a Dallas-based employee had to sue for the right to don protective gear at work. A local Arizona coronavirus model now predicts a new viral surge will be “a major forest fire without an evacuation order” unless the state mandates masking. Hillstone’s restaurants are reluctant to enforce masks — but they forbid guests from wearing hats, tank tops, flip flops and team athletic attire. Another thing about zombies is they tend to be super belligerent, yet they howl with outrage at any act that might impede them, and they are

their names out loud. It’s unclear
whether this can stop a zombie,
because they are such inherently
sightless, deaf, selfish and
oblivious organisms: Saunders
reportedly went to work with
symptoms and left fevered
handprints all over the Ravens’
facility, and now the infections
are at 30 people, from
quarterback Lamar Jackson to a
nutritionist. Perhaps loud public
shaming might at least give the
zombies pause, long enough for
folks to run in the other
direction.
As Pittsburgh Steelers
cornerback Joe Haden tweeted
last week: “They always got our
names blasted across the TV
screen when we break the rules!
Put a face on it.”
There has been evidence of
zombielike incursion into the
NFL’s main office in the Park
Avenue headquarters, despite all
those hermetic doors that make
a hissing noise. The league’s
determination to make the
Ravens and the Pittsburgh
Steelers play on a Wednesday at
3:40 p.m., after three
postponements, is purely
unsettling. There is something
about it that feels forced,
involuntary, creepily so. It’s as
though league officials mistake
frenzied activity for winning
against the virus. But then, they
just reflect their audience in
that.
Because zombie-ism is not
restricted to those teams or
solely to the NFL. There are
signs of zombification in lots of
Americans lately. They may come
on as rugged individualists, but
the giveaway is they’re always in
shambling mobs looking for
something to eat.
Speaking of zombie meals, the
San Francisco 49ers should
beware of eating in Arizona,
where they will now be playing
because virus hospitalizations at
home have tripled in a month.
The 49ers would do well to avoid
Phoenix-area restaurants such
as Houston’s and Bandera,
because they’re owned by the
Hillstone Group, which appears

JENKINS FROM D1

SALLY JENKINS

For those who ignore protocols, shame on them. And shame them.

DAVID ZALUBOWSKI/ASSOCIATED PRESS The Broncos were without a true quarterback this past Sunday, thanks to the actions of Jeff Driskel (9), Brett Rypien (4) and Drew Lock.

“Unfortunately,” she said, “they didn’t want to negotiate” unless the back-pay issue was resolved first. Most of the players’ claims are tied to prize money for winning the World Cup, which they ac- complished in 2015 and 2019. However, prize money is con- trolled by FIFA, soccer’s global

more security in the form of negotiated annual salaries, child-care benefits and sever- ance. The women’s collective bar- gaining agreement is due to expire in early 2022. Cone said the federation has offered the women’s team a contract similar to the men’s.

recoup what they claimed was about $67 million in back pay. The dispute is complicated because the U.S. men’s and women’s teams have different com- pensation systems. The men are paid for individu- al appearances and perform- ances, while the women opted for a pay structure that includes

governing body. In 2018, FIFA awarded $38 million to France for winning the men’s tournament. A year later, the U.S. women re- ceived $4 million. Since then, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has suggested doubling the overall prize money for the women’s tournament and the organization’s investment in women’s soccer globally. However, Cone said, agreeing to the U.S. players’ back-pay claim “just isn’t possible from [the USSF’s] standpoint. Even pre-covid, this would be devas- tating to our budget, our pro- gramming. With covid, it would likely bankrupt the federation.” Cone said she hopes the women’s players will agree to negotiate rather than continue legal action. Multiple attempts at me- diation have failed. “We are 100 percent committed to equal pay,” Cone said. “Moving past this litigation is not only important for soccer in the U.S. but for soccer globally. “We have the best women’s team in the world, and we are leaders in a lot of ways. Working together we can amplify our efforts to make a larger impact across the world. I would love to join forces with the women’s team and help push FIFA to equalize not only World Cup prize money but equalize their investment in the game at all levels.” [email protected]

claims by the women’s team of
wage discrimination, which were
dismissed in May.
The players have said they
planned to appeal that decision
after the issue of working condi-
tions was resolved. An appeal
probably would not be heard for
several months.
With Tuesday’s agreement,
Levinson said, “we now intend to
file our appeal to the court’s
decision, which does not account
for the central fact in this case
that women players have been
paid at lesser rates than men
who do the same job....
“We remain as committed as
ever to our work to achieve the
equal pay that we legally deserve.
Our focus is on the future and
ensuring we leave the game a
better place for the next genera-
tion of women who will play for
this team and this country.”
After years of acrimony be-
tween the players and past USSF
leadership, “I hope the women
and their lawyers see we are
taking a new approach,” said
Cone, who in March became
USSF president after Carlos Cor-
deiro resigned amid criticism of
the federation’s handling of the
case.
In May, a judge in the U.S.
District Court for the Central
District of California granted
summary judgment in favor of
the federation, dealing a severe
blow to the players’ efforts to

SOCCER FROM D1

U.S. women’s team settles with federation on working conditions

DEAN MOUHTAROPOULOS/ASSOCIATED PRESS An appeal by the U.S. women’s team over equal pay probably will not be heard for several months.

BY STEVEN GOFF

The Washington Spirit ac-
quired U.S. World Cup defender
Kelley O’Hara in a trade with the
Utah Royals, two people close to
the situation said Tuesday.
It’s the first major roster move
by the Spirit since star U.S. mid-
fielder Rose Lavelle left to play in
England in August. Trade details
were not immediately known. The
teams did not want to comment.
The deal fulfilled O’Hara’s wish
to play in the Washington area,

where she has a home. The teams engaged in trade talks over the summer, but Utah’s request for one of the Spirit’s young starters — defender Tegan McGrady, 23, or forward Ashley Hatch, 25 — was too steep. Because of injuries and national team commitments, O’Hara, 32, appeared in just 14 matches over three seasons with Utah. This year, she played just two matches in the Challenge Cup in greater Salt Lake City in the summer and did not play in the seven-week fall series. Previously, O’Hara played five seasons with New Jersey- based Sky Blue FC. The Georgia-born Stanford graduate will provide experience and leadership to a Washington squad built around a young nucle- us, including national team pros-

pect Andi Sullivan. O’Hara has been with the national team for more than 10 years, making 132 appearances, including six starts at right back during the 2019 World Cup in France. She is seventh among active U.S. players in international appearances. At the 2011 and 2015 tourna- ments, O’Hara was primarily a substitute. She was a starter on the 2012 squad that won the Olympic gold medal in London. A forward in her early years, O’Hara is also adept in an ad- vanced position on the flanks. On Friday, she played 76 minutes in the Americans’ 2-0 victory at the Netherlands, a rematch of the 2019 World Cup final. This year, O’Hara appeared in seven of the nine U.S. matches, starting five. The trade comes three months

after Lavelle decided to continue her career overseas. In anticipa- tion of her signing with Man- chester City, the Spirit dealt her National Women’s Soccer League rights to OL Reign of Tacoma, Wash., for a 2022 first-round draft pick and at least $100,000 in allo- cation money. Lavelle’s departure left Wash- ington without a U.S. World Cup player on the roster. The Spirit does have several players in the national team pool, including Hatch, Sullivan, goalkeeper Au- brey Bledsoe and forward Ashley Sanchez. In a letter to fans this month, Spirit owner Steve Baldwin said the team will “compete to sign the best available international players in the world” ahead of the 2021 season. Late Tuesday, the team

announced the acquisition of Japanese World Cup forward Saori Takarada, 20. The team also owns the No. 2 and No. 9 picks in the NWSL draft Jan. 13. O n Monday, the team re-signed co-captain Tori Huster, 31, to a two-year contract. The NWSL plans to open train- ing camp Feb. 1 and begin compe- tition in mid-April with another Challenge Cup. It would take place in multiple bubble environments, in local markets or some combina- tion of the two. The regular season is slated to start in May. After years at Mary- land SoccerPlex in Montgomery County, the Spirit will play h ome games at Audi Field in Washing- ton and Segra Field in Leesburg. [email protected]

S pirit acquires U.S. national team veteran O’Hara from R oyals

Versatile 32-year-old helps replace the loss of Lavelle going abroad

The Washington Post - USA (2020-12-02)

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