Reemerging Threat Plans, They Attack When You Don’T Expect Them, and They Are Posing a Real Threat to People’S Lives,” ISIS Scrambles to Reassert Its Presence He Said

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Maj. Aram Darawari of the peshmerga commands a force in Kulajo, Diyala, Iraq. “[ISIS] have good military Reemerging threat plans, they attack when you don’t expect them, and they are posing a real threat to people’s lives,” ISIS scrambles to reassert its presence he said. ALICE MARTINS in parts of vast territory it once controlled For The Washington Post Page 4

SEALs described Gallagher’s actions as ‘psychopathic’ in statements to investigators

BY ANDREW DYER to testify in the trial this past summer, but martial of Gallagher, who was charged and gher’s court-martial and did not respond to The San Diego Union-Tribune were never called to the stand. acquitted of war crimes including murder. inquiries Thursday. Their interviews with criminal investi- One of those SEALs — Petty Officer 2nd The case created a national firestorm as SAN DIEGO — Navy SEALs who were gators were made available for streaming Class Ivan Villanueva — told investiga- President Donald Trump intervened again not called to testify in the war crimes trial Friday on Hulu, on “The Weekly” from tors he witnessed the alleged stabbing of a and again on Gallagher’s behalf — and cul- of Chief Petty Officer Eddie Gallagher told minated this week with a visit by Gallagh- naval criminal investigators about behav- The New York Times. It will be broadcast wounded ISIS fighter . on FX on Sunday. “I saw it happen,” Villanueva says dur- er and his wife, Andrea, with Trump and ior they witnessed, including the alleged first lady Melania Trump at the president’s The Naval Criminal Investigative Ser- ing his interview. stabbing of an Islamic State fighter that led Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. to murder charges against Gallagher. vice conducted the SEAL interviews more The Navy has never explained why Vil- The two SEALs were granted immunity than a year before the San Diego court- lanueva was not called to testify at Galla- SEE SEALS ON PAGE 3 PAGE 2 •STARS AND STRIPES• Saturday, December 28, 2019 BUSINESS/WEATHER EXCHANGE RATES Sheriff blasts Amazon for not helping with probe Military rates Switzerland (Franc)...... 0.9755 Euro costs (Dec. 30) ...... $1.1440 Thailand (Baht) ...... 30.15 Dollar buys (Dec. 30) ...... €0.8741 Turkey (Lira) ...... 5.9584 British pound (Dec. 30) ...... $1.34 Associated Press (Military exchange rates are those the package was stolen. from the Polk County Sheriff’s Japanese yen (Dec. 30) ...... 107.00 available to customers at military banking South Korean won (Dec. 30) ...... 1,132.00 Detectives had initially con- Office. Commercial rates facilities in the country of issuance DAVENPORT, Fla. — A for Japan, South Korea, Germany, the Bahrain (Dinar) ...... 0.3769 tacted Amazon at its logistics cen- “I’m not surprised by much Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For sheriff’s office in Florida said it British pound ...... $1.3104 ter in person, but they were told anymore, but this lack of coop- nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., Canada (Dollar) ...... 1.3097 caught an Amazon driver steal- purchasing British pounds in Germany), they needed a subpoena before eration from Amazon floors me,“ China (Yuan) ...... 6.9957 check with your local military banking ing a customer’s package but got Denmark (Krone) ...... 6.6929 the company would help them, said Sheriff Grady Judd. “This is facility. Commercial rates are interbank no help from the company during Egypt (Pound) ...... 16.0363 according to the sheriff’s office. just irresponsible on their part.” Euro ...... $1.158/0.8962 rates provided for reference when buying its investigation. A loss prevention manager told In a statement, Amazon said, Hong Kong (Dollar) ...... 7.7872 currency. All figures are foreign currencies to one dollar, except for the British pound, The Polk County Sheriff’s Of- detectives Amazon would not “We work regularly and closely Hungary (Forint) ...... 296.78 Israel (Shekel) ...... 3.4613 which is represented in dollars-to-pound, fice said Thursday in a statement cooperate with law enforcement with law enforcement across the Japan (Yen) ...... 109.46 and the euro, which is dollars-to-euro.) that it had arrested Jose Campos, and identify their driver unless country and are working to un- Kuwait (Dinar) ...... 0.3033 INTEREST RATES 27, after detectives tracked down Norway (Krone) ...... 8.8332 the sheriff’s office served a sub- derstand what occurred here, to Philippines (Peso)...... 50.80 Prime rate ...... 4.75 the vehicle he was using from ho- poena for their records at their make it right and to reach out to Poland (Zloty) ...... 3.82 Discount rate ...... 2.25 Saudi Arabia (Riyal) ...... 3.7513 Federal funds market rate ...... 1.55 meowners’ association video and corporate headquarters in Dela- Polk County Sheriff’s Office to Singapore (Dollar) ...... 1.3523 3-month bill ...... 1.55 video from the residence where ware, according to the statement apologize.” South Korea (Won) ...... 1,160.38 30-year bond ...... 2.33 WEATHER OUTLOOK SATURDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST SATURDAY IN EUROPE SUNDAY IN THE PACIFIC

Misawa 34/30 Kabul 52/24 Seoul 42/33 Baghdad 62/48 Kandahar 64/39 Osan Tokyo Mildenhall/ Drawsko 43/34 44/32 Lakenheath Pomorskie Busan 45/42 34/31 43/33 Iwakuni 51/46 Kuwait Bahrain Zagan Sasebo City 70/65 Brussels 33/30 Guam 68/55 43/40 Ramstein 50/42 83/80 Lajes, 33/28 Riyadh Doha Azores Stuttgart Pápa 71/51 72/57 65/62 35/31 36/31 Aviano/ Vicenza 40/31

Naples 48/43 Okinawa Morón 73/67 64/47 Sigonella Rota 54/37 The weather is provided by the Djibouti Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 83/68 61/51 53/50 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.

T O D A Y IN STRIPES American Roundup ..... 14 Comics ...... 16 Crossword ...... 16 Movies ...... 11 Opinion ...... 15 Sports ...... 17-24 Video Games ...... 12-13 Saturday, December 28, 2019 •STARS AND STRIPES• PAGE 3 WAR ON TERRORISM Troops honored for ‘everyday badassery’

BY CHAD GARLAND Brown told a formation in Mosul. Stars and Stripes “This individual was right out in the thick of things and extend- MOSUL, Iraq — Some soldiers ing what we do, this individual deployed to northern Iraq got was taking care of our people, more than stocking stuffers this this individual was allowing us to week when senior leaders visited operate.” and recognized their contribu- The medals, which count to- tions to the coalition battling Is- ward promotion points, are an lamic State. important way to recognize sol- Col. Matthew W. Brown, diers who perform beyond what’s commander of the 1st Stryker expected of them, said Maj. Adam Brigade Combat Team, 25th In- Kirschling, executive officer of fantry Division, wished troops in 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Nineveh province happy holidays Regiment, a part of the brigade on Wednesday and Thursday and deployed mainly to Q-West. presented them with awards, Staff Sgts. Bobby Burbank and handed out coins and gathered Robert Carlson of 1st Battalion, feedback. 24th Infantry Regiment, in Mosul The brigade has been in Iraq received Army Commendation and Syria since August, support- Medals for helping a team of Ma- ing U.S. special operations units rine Raiders secure a Syrian oil and advising, assisting and en- field, and assisting a Green Beret abling Iraqi and Syrian partner forces’ counter-ISIS missions. and linguist to maintain good re- Brown and his senior enlisted lations between U.S. forces and soldier, Command Sgt. Maj. Mat- several Iraqi villages. thew E. Ladd, presented achieve- Lt. Col. Travis Tilman, comment or commendation medals mander of the 70th Brigade Engi- to more than a dozen soldiers at neer Battalion within the brigade, Qayara Airfield West, an airbase used the trip to visit some of the CHAD GARLAND/Stars and Stripes near Mosul known as Q-West far-flung members of his battalion, such as Lt. Eric Christiansen, Col. Matthew W. Brown, commander of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, that was retaken from ISIS in pins a medal on a soldier’s chest during a ceremony at a camp in Mosul, Iraq, on Thursday. 2016, and the Nineveh Operations who he said has been an “overall badass.” Command, a small camp on the western Anbar province. sions,” where some soldiers asked official said. eastern bank of the Tigris River, A former art teacher who became an Army medic before Some of the roads spanned about more opportunities for pa- Ladd assured the soldiers in inside Iraq’s second-largest city. dozens of culverts, the 32-year- commissioning, Christiansen trols or to train Iraqi forces, who Mosul that though they may Several others received coins for old said, and each one had to be they think need more help. not hear it enough their efforts spent his first three months in what one official called “everyday checked. U.S. officials have curbed some matter. Iraq leading operations to clear badassery.” “It just takes one,” he said of off-base operations in the coun- “What you’re doing up here is improvised explosive devices “As I walked around and we the IED threat. try due to increased threats from allowing them (the Iraqis) to get from roads and surveying bridg- talked to every single soldier that The brigade command team Iran-backed Shiite militias, who after fighting ISIS,” he said. es in need of repair in the area was recognized here … there also gathered the troops for a se- in the past have targeted U.S. were some common themes,” surrounding al-Asad Air Base in [email protected] ries of closed-door “sensing ses- troops with IEDs and rockets, an Twitter: @chadgarland SEALS: Witnesses accuse Gallagher of ‘medal chasing’ during deployment

FROM FRONT PAGE wounded Islamic State fighter in latore, said Thursday that there died. At trial, however, Scott told Scott all share the same attorney, Trump and other supporters the neck. was nothing new in the videos and a different version of his story — Brian Ferguson. After Scott’s tes- say “warfighters” don’t need These interviews led to the predicted The New York Times one in which he says he killed the timony, prosecutors appeared to their actions questioned by bu- murder charges against Galla- would edit and cherry-pick which fighter after Gallagher stabbed change course in the trial and did reaucrats in the military. gher in 2019 — charges the SEAL parts of the statements to air. him just once. not call Villanueva or Arrington While the accounts of the wit- denied. He “You’re never going to un- In court, Scott said that after to the stand. nesses aren’t new — the San was found derstand these interviews Gallagher stabbed the fighter, A Navy prosecutor at the time Diego Union-Tribune published not guilty in without a trained criminal inves- Scott suffocated him by covering declined to answer a question a summary of their stories on the July of mur- tigator looking at it,” Parlatore his breathing tube. about why Villanueva — who told eve of trial — hearing those ac- dering the said. “Those videos were so help- Audio of Scott’s court-martial investigators he saw the stabbing counts from the witnesses them- wounded ful to me — they gave me a road testimony — and his startling — was never called to testify. selves is. The episode, titled “The fighter and map to acquittal.” admission — is included in “The Ferguson declined to Gallagher Effect,” presents these shooting According to Parlatore, the full Weekly.” comment. The case gained renewed im- SEALs’ stories in their own words civilians. videos revealed flawed NCIS in- Parlatore said he knew Scott portance in November, when and voices, framing their actions Gallagher terrogations that were key to his wasn’t telling the whole story Trump intervened and granted as courageously going against says his men trial preparation. during a preliminary interview Gallagher clemency, restoring the traditional brotherhood of the made up the “No question, these videos when Scott told him the fighter his rank to chief petty officer and Navy SEALs. accusations Gallagher demonstrate all of the failings of had suffocated. undoing a rank reduction ordered In separate interviews, the because they the investigation,” Parlatore said. “His lawyer shut me down by a military jury. SEALs tell NCIS agents that were unhappy with his leadership “They were fantastic — very (during that interview),” Parla- style. tore said. “He wouldn’t let me Although the jury acquitted Gallagher behaved like a “psy- rarely in a case do you have some- Gallagher of the most serious In a written statement sent via ask (more questions) until they chopath” during their 2017 de- thing as great as these videos to charges against him, it found him his attorney, Gallagher said: “My worked out the immunity issue.” ployment to Mosul, Iraq, where help you prepare.” guilty of posing for a photo with first reaction to seeing the videos Also included in the videos are the platoon took on Islamic State. One witness in the videos is the corpse of the fighter he was was surprise and disgust that they One by one, his men tell NCIS Petty Officer 1st Class Corey statements by Villanueva and an- accused of killing. that their platoon served as Gal- would make up blatant lies about Scott, who, along with Gallagher, other witness, Petty Officer 1st After Trump restored Gallagh- lagher’s “personal sniper escort” me, but I quickly realized that was treating the wounded Islam- Class Joe Arrington. Both were er’s rank, the Navy moved to strip and that the chief was “medal they were scared that the truth ic State fighter’s injuries after he granted immunity to testify but Gallagher of his SEAL Trident chasing.” would come out of how cowardly was injured in an airstrike. Part prosecutors never called them to and boot him from the elite com- They also describe his actions they acted on deployment. Soon of the medical treatment involved the stand. munity. The president pushed during the deployment as war after I got to the brig at Miramar, inserting a breathing tube into According to Navy investiga- back in Gallagher’s favor and, be- crimes. one of these guys came to visit me the man to treat what witnesses tion records, Arrington saw Gal- fore all was said and done, Navy “I saw Eddie take a shot at and apologize for what they did said was “blast lung.” lagher shoot civilians. Villanueva Secretary Richard Spencer lost probably a 12-year-old kid,” one but that they had to stick with the Scott told NCIS in his interview told investigators he saw Gallagh- his job over his handling of the says. fake stories or be charged with that he saw Gallagher stab the er stab the wounded Islamic State case. Three SEALs tell investiga- making false statements.” fighter multiple times and that he fighter. Gallagher retired from the tors they saw Gallagher stab a Gallagher’s attorney, Tim Par- remained with the man until he Arrington, Villanueva and Navy in November. PAGE 4 •STARS AND STRIPES• Saturday, December 28, 2019 WAR ON TERRORISM Weakened ISIS works to reassert its control

BY LIZ SLY The Washington Post KULAJO, Iraq — In caves tucked into craggy cliffs and tun- nels dug deep beneath the desert, the remnants of a vanquished army are converging for what they hope will be the next chap- ter in their battle for an Islamic State. Hundreds and perhaps thousands of ISIS fighters have made their way over recent months into a stretch of sparsely populated territory spanning the disputed border between the Kurdistan region and the rest of Iraq, according to U.S. and Kurdish officials. Off-limits to Kurdish and Iraqi security forces because of historic disputes over who should control it, this area of twisting river valleys dense with vegetation has attracted the biggest known con- centration of ISIS fighters since they lost control of the last village of their once-vast caliphate in eastern Syria in March. In recent weeks, they have been stepping up their attacks, focused on an area of northeastern Iraq in the province of Diyala near the border with Iran, carrying out ambushes by night and firing mortars. Grasses taller than men provide cover for snipers who PHOTOS BY ALICE MARTINS/The Washington Post sneak up on checkpoints and out- A man in Kulajo wanders between a peshmerga position and the no man’s land that separates them from Iraqi security forces. The number posts. Government neglect and of Islamic State fighters in the area is estimated to be about 300. long-standing grievances foster a measure of sympathy among Left: Men local residents. accused of “They have good military plans, being part of an they attack when you don’t expect Islamic State them, and they are posing a real sleeper cell are threat to people’s lives,” said Maj. detained in a Aram Darwani, the commander prison in Tabqa, of Kurdish peshmerga military Syria. forces in the area. Across many parts of the vast Right: Along territory it once controlled, ISIS the 150-mile is scrambling to reassert its pres- length of the ence in a setting that is no longer no man’s land as welcoming as it once was. Mil- that separates itant fighters who escaped from the Iraqi army the battlefield are assembling in and the Kurdish ungoverned spaces such as the peshmerga, no man’s land between areas militants are controlled by Kurdish and Iraqi living off the forces. Others are laying low as land. so-called sleeping cells in cities such as Raqqa in Syria, waiting been killed, their leadership has and Syria has declined, by be- allied Syrian Democratic Forces ficials say. for the phone call ordering them been decimated and their self- tween 30% and 40% a year since pulled fighters out of the area to For now, fewer people are being to attack. proclaimed “caliph,” Abu Bakr 2016 in Iraq, according to the confront Turkish troops to the killed in ISIS attacks than in the Recent visits to ISIS’ former al-Baghdadi, is dead, blown up U.S.-led coalition. north, according to an employee anti-government protests in Iraq capital of Raqqa and the viciously after he detonated a suicide belt But the militants have already of a U.S.- backed NGO in the prov- and the battles unleashed by Tur- contested frontier town of Kulajo during a U.S. raid on his hideout proved adept at infiltrating un- ince, who was interviewed during key’s invasion of northeastern revealed the challenges the mili- in October. As many as 30,000 governed spaces, such as the gap a recent trip to the area and spoke Syria in October. tants face as well as the reemerg- suspected ISIS fighters are in between Kurdish and Iraqi army on the condition of anonymity due But these new conflicts illus- ing threat they pose. prison in Iraq and Syria and tens lines, said Maj. Johnny Walker, to safety concerns. trate the danger posed by the So far, this is less a resurgence of thousands of their wives and spokesman for the U.S. Special Over a typical Syrian break- group’s residual presence, ana- than a struggle to survive in the children are detained in dismal Operations forces that conduct fast in one of the towns ISIS once lysts and military officials say. wake of the massive defeat in- camps, according to Kurdish, most of the anti-ISIS operations. ruled, he described having to take ISIS owed its conquest of territo- flicted on the last vestige of their Iraqi and U.N. officials. “While Daesh is at a serious dis- back roads through the desert to ry to the collapse of state author- territorial caliphate, according to The group has struggled to advantage, finding it while it’s avoid a cluster of towns where the ity over a big part of Syria and U.S. military officials. reassert itself in its former city hiding in the complex human and militants still command loyalties. the implosion of the Iraqi army ISIS remains a long way from strongholds such as Raqqa and physical terrain is a complex task The group is now making a stren- in Iraq. Any further deterioration possessing the capacity to retake Mosul, Iraq, where ISIS attacks requiring significant resources,” uous effort to rearm, he said. of security in Iraq or Syria would territory, said Brig. Gen. William have become rare. Memories of he said, using the Arab acronym ISIS fighters have also found create a new opportunity for ISIS Seely, who commands U.S.-led co- its brutal rule and the horrors of for ISIS. refuge in the vast, barely populat- fighters hiding out or laying low. alition forces in Iraq. “These are the airstrikes used to dislodge the ISIS also appears to be gained desert known as Badia that lies The militants have not gone militants deter any desire to see ing momentum in Syria’s east- across the Euphrates River from people who are hiding out. They away and could yet rise again, only come out at night to harass them return, according to Rasha ern Deir al-Zour province, where where U.S. troops are deployed. cautioned Maj. Gen. Eric Hill, and take pot shots,” he said. “You al-Aqeedi, the editor of Irfaa the group made its last stand in The area is nominally under Syri- who commands U.S. Special can’t run a revolution or create Sawtak, an Iraqi newsletter. March and where tribal and ethan government control, and there Forces in Iraq and Syria. your own caliphate if that’s all Since U.S.-led forces began to nic rivalries help sustain support are indications that the militants They are making every effort you do.” roll back the caliphate more than for the militants. Assassinations there have established a measure Over the past two years, tens of four years ago, the number of at- have been on the rise in recent of command over cells elsewhere to do so. thousands of ISIS fighters have tacks carried out by ISIS in Iraq weeks, in part because the U.S.- in the country, Syrian Kurdish of- SEE PAGE 5 Saturday, December 28, 2019 •STARS AND STRIPES• PAGE 5 WAR ON TERRORISM

FROM PAGE 4 paid the zakat.” Over the eight months that Working with two others, he Muawiyah Abdul Khader Akraa embarked on a series of attacks, operated as part of a secret ISIS he recounted. On one day, it was cell in Raqqa, he said he partici- to detonate a bomb in a vegetable pated in 17 attacks. He doesn’t cart near a hospital. On another, know how many people he killed the task was to drive up to the because, he said, he didn’t linger home of a local official on a mo- to find out whether his victims torcycle, knock on his door and died. shoot him when he came to an- “I did it to avenge our brothers swer it. in the battles,” he said, displaying In May, Akraa participated in no remorse during an interview the biggest attack of the year in at the prison in the town of Tabqa, Raqqa, setting off a small bomb where he has been detained by in Naim Square to attract secu- Kurdish security forces since his rity forces, which were then tar- arrest in August. geted in a larger suicide bombing. He and two other self-confessed At least 10 people were killed. members of the cell agreed to be The two other prisoners inter- interviewed in the presence of viewed said they had been re- Kurdish officials, who said they cruited in June, several months had verified the information the after sneaking away from ISIS’ prisoners had provided after last battle. Ibrahim Hassan al- months of interrogations. Their Haji said he received a Telegram accounts offer a rare glimpse message out of the blue telling into the world of the ISIS sleeper him to report to an emir in a PHOTOS BY ALICE MARTINS/The Washington Post cells, which lie at the heart of its Raqqa park, who informed him Women walk by a produce stall in Raqqa, Syria. efforts to reassert its influence he was being activated to be part of a secret cell and offered him in the cities from which it’s been ish intelligence office where ISIS a salary of $80 a month. He said driven out. prisoners were detained. he complied because he had been Akraa, 22, said his missions None of the cell’s emirs have unable to find a job and had no American, Iraqi wounded were assigned at meetings ar- been tracked down, however, said money “and because my ideology ranged during hurried calls over Heval Sharwan, the commander the encrypted Telegram app. He is jihad.” of the unit responsible for round- in Kirkuk rocket attack would be told a time and place to The third man said he was re- ing up the cell. The captives have rendezvous, typically a landmark cruited after he sought the help of told him that two emirs relocated BY CHAD GARLAND for the local outlet Kurdis- such as the clock tower, a park or an ISIS smuggler to free a relative to Turkish-controlled territory in Stars and Stripes tan24, tweeted shortly before Naim Square, where ISIS carried from the al-Hol camp, where tens the Syrian province of Aleppo, 8 p.m. that two mortars had out public beheadings during its of thousands of people related while others are thought to be IRBIL, Iraq — A U.S. con- struck the base. rule over Raqqa. to former ISIS members are de- hiding out in the Badia desert, tractor and an Iraqi federal The U.S.-led coalition did There he would be met by an tained. He said he had no choice where ISIS is believed to coordi- police officer were wounded not immediately respond to an “emir” — a prince or leader — but to follow the group’s orders. nate its sleeper cells throughout in a rocket attack that struck a inquiry on the matter. who picked him up in a car and “They knew where I lived,” he northeastern Syria. munitions storage facility on a U.S. troops have curtailed would deliver the orders, usually said. “We haven’t arrested any of the coalition base in northern Iraq some operations in Iraq in re- to plant a bomb but sometimes to The emirs changed frequently. brains,” said Sharwan, referring on Friday evening, a security cent months over concerns of assassinate a local official. In April, Baraa disappeared, and to the leaders. “So we cannot con- official said. a heightened threat of attack Akraa said he had been fighting a new leader known as “the doc- firm that Raqqa is safe.” Initially, 10 rockets were from Iranian proxy groups with ISIS in Deir al-Zour prov- tor” showed up to arrange the Kulajo, a tiny, drab town of flat- thought to have hit the K1 base who operate in the country. ince when he was approached by bombing of Naim Square, said roofed concrete homes, lies along in Kirkuk, but that number was In early November, a coali- an emir in the area and asked to Akraa. Then “the doctor” van- one of Iraq’s most fraught fault likely incorrect, said the offi- tion base in Iraq’s northern become an undercover operative ished and was followed by two lines in the troubled province of cial, who declined to be named Nineveh province was hit with in Raqqa. Akraa was given a fake more. Diyala. because he was not authorized more than 30 rockets fired ID identifying him as a Raqqa Then Kurdish forces infiltrated Arabs and Kurds have wran- to speak on the issue. Several from a truck about 1 kilometer resident and assigned a smug- the cell, and one day in August, gled over territory here since the of the blasts came from the from a base used by a Shiite gler to escort him across the front they burst into Akraa’s apartment former Iraqi president Saddam stored munitions. militia group, officials at Qa- lines. and detained him. The two others Hussein began settling Arabs in The rockets struck as a major yara Airfield West told Stars After arriving in Raqqa in Jan- were apprehended shortly after, the area in the 1980s, as part of Iraqi mission was preparing to and Stripes this week. uary, Akraa was introduced to the as were eight other members of his campaign to quell the rebel- get underway, the official said. In that incident, the U.S. head of the cell, whom he knew the cell. lious Kurds. Iraqi federal police located a found the source of the attack only as Baraa. He gave Akraa Attacks in Raqqa have fallen Today, Kulajo is populated burning truck with rockets and fired on it with Howitzers, 25,000 Syrian pounds — about off since the cell was cracked. mostly by Arabs but is under the still attached, the security of- officials said. $50 — to rent an apartment, the There hasn’t been an assassina- control of Kurdish peshmerga. ficial said, citing internal co- It is unclear if coalition forc- tion inside the city since June, promise of a $200-a-month salary The Iraqi army mans a check- alition reports. The official did es responded to the attack Fri- according to Raizin Dirki of the and a small bomb, which he was point about a mile farther south. not immediately say where the day night. instructed to plant outside a bak- Raqqa Internal Security Forces, But in some spots along the dis- truck was found. ery whose owner had refused to which is affiliated to the Syrian [email protected] puted Iraq-Kurdistan border, the Barzan Sadiq, a journalist Twitter: @chadgarland pay “zakat,” or tax, to ISIS. Democratic Forces. The only sig- no man’s land between the two The bomb exploded at night nificant bombing came in early forces is as wide as 20 miles. It and caused no casualties. “It was October when three ISIS suicide is in that space that ISIS fighters only a warning,” Akraa said. “He bombers tried to storm a Kurd- mound, Kurdish fighters said they and the Kurdish peshmerga, ac- lurk, Darwani, the peshmerga felt vulnerable, armed only with cording to Gen. Sirwan Barzani, commander, said. the Kalashnikov rifles common who commands Kurdish forces Earlier this month, he escorted across the country. ISIS fight- a Washington Post reporter to farther north, in the Qara Chokh ers, however, have mortars and the town, in his family’s pickup mountains. U.S. military officials sniper rifles with infrared sights truck, because he said a military say they put the number at closer enabling them to strike at night, vehicle would attract unwelcome to 500, strung out in remote ter- said Burhan Nouri Hamasayi, attention. rain and operating in groups of Three nights before, three of one of the post’s guards, pointing around five. his men had been killed in an to the palm groves nearby. “They Barzani said the militants are ambush. could easily kill us all,” he said. living off the land, shaking down Darwani put the number of ISIS Pausing the pickup at the spot the local villagers for food and fighters in his area at about 300 where they died, Darwani de- money. A local television station, but said he believed many more scribed the terrifying event. A Rudaw, has filmed ISIS fighters dense fog had reduced visibility people in the area were sympathetic to them. “These were the clambering down a cliff face in and diminished the ability of the his sector of the no man’s land, U.S.-led coalition to launch air- Arabs supported by Saddam stripping naked and bathing in a strikes in support of his troops. when he was oppressing Kurds. river. ISIS fighters hiding in the palm They will join any group that is groves barely 200 yards away had against us. Even people who say “I don’t think the strategy of first fired mortars into the town. they are with us are secretly with ISIS now is to do big things. They When peshmerga reinforcements Daesh,” he said. need more time,” he said. “They arrived, they were gunned down. As many as 3,000 fighters are reorganizing themselves, At a peshmerga post on the have gathered along the 150- getting weapons and arms. They edge of the town, little more than mile length of the no man’s land don’t have the power now to do a a ring of sandbags atop an earth running between the Iraqi army big attack.” PAGE 6 •STARS AND STRIPES• Saturday, December 28, 2019 MILITARY Pentagon cloud dispute focuses on certification BY AARON GREGG gence agencies typically use air- bested it in a fair fight, although The Washington Post gapped, local computer networks much of the information was re- to store sensitive data rather than dacted. Spokesmen for Microsoft An obscure Defense Depart- the cloud-based systems that most and Amazon declined to comment ment IT certification has become companies now use to harness for this story. the latest flash point in a long- far-off data centers. Previously, In the complaint, Amazon Web running fight over which West Amazon was the only cloud pro- Services criticized the Pentagon Coast tech company is best suited vider trusted with secret data. for failing to recognize its alleged to safeguard America’s secrets. The IT certification could help technical superiority. In late October the Pentagon justify Microsoft’s surprise JEDI And it said Microsoft’s product jilted Amazon when it turned win, which has become the sub- is inferior, arguing that certain to Microsoft for a centralized ject of a high-stakes, politically cyber-vulnerabilities disclosed cloud computing network called charged lawsuit over allegations in a government database raise the Joint Enterprise Defense In- that President Donald Trump questions about its fitness for the frastructure, or JEDI. Analysts meddled in the government pro- contract. Specifically, Amazon’s had widely assumed the contract curement process to steer public lawyers pointed to a type of cyber would go to Amazon Web Ser- funds away from Amazon. attack called a “hypervisor break- vices, the commercial market Before the award to Microsoft, out attack,” in which a hacker can leader, in large part because an Trump directed Defense Secre- hijack the system that manages earlier CIA contract gave it years tary Mark Esper to review the the seams between different cus- RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE/AP of experience handling sensitive Pentagon’s approach to JEDI. tomers using the same server. government data. Trump said on television that he An intercontinental ballistic missile lifts off from a silo at an But on December 12 Microsoft had received “tremendous com- Both companies appear to have undisclosed location in Russia. became the second company to plaints” from companies that their share of security issues. hold the Pentagon’s highest-level compete with Amazon, and pri- A database managed by the IT security certification, called vately expressed concerns that National Institute for Standards Impact Level 6, Defense Infor- the contract would go to Amazon. in Technology includes dozens Russia commissions mation Systems Agency spokes- Trump has long derided Amazon of vulnerabilities involving Mi- man Russ Goemaere told The founder Jeff Bezos, who separate- crosoft’s hypervisor, known as Washington Post in an email. ly owns The Post. Hyper-V, as well as quite a few hypersonic weapon The temporary certification lasts The matter is being litigated that involved Amazon’s, which is three months, after which a lon- in the Court of Federal Claims, called Nitro. Associated Press other prospective weapons sys- ger one will be considered, Go- which handles disputes over fed- However, cloud security ex- tems because of the U.S. efforts to MOSCOW — Russia’s defense emaere said. eral contracts. perts contacted by The Post could develop a missile defense system minister reported to President The certification means that, In its legal complaint, Amazon not point to a known instance that he claimed could erode Rus- Vladimir Putin that a new hyper- for the first time, Microsoft will leaned heavily on its CIA experi- in which such an attack actu- sia’s nuclear deterrent. Moscow sonic weapon of intercontinental be able to store classified data ence to justify the idea that Mi- ally played a role in a major data has scoffed at the U.S. claims that range became operational Friday in the cloud. Defense and intelli- crosoft could not possibly have breach. its missile shield isn’t intended to following years of tests. counter Russia’s massive missile Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu arsenals. informed Putin that the first mis- Earlier this week, Putin em- sile unit equipped with the Avan- phasized that Russia is the only gard hypersonic glide vehicle country armed with hypersonic 2 guardsmen removed over entered combat duty, the Defense weapons. He noted that for the Ministry said. first time in history Russia is now “I congratulate you on this leading the world in developing an landmark event for the military entire new class of weapons, un- link with white supremacy and the entire nation,” Shoigu like in the past when it was catch- said later during a conference ing up with the United States. Associated Press When the report was published, East and Woodward attended a call with the top military brass. In December 2018, the Avan- The military said that the Avan- Woodward was on active duty in 2017 speech by white nationalist gard was launched from the ATLANTA — Two men have Afghanistan. gard is capable of flying 27 times Dombarovskiy missile base in the been kicked out of the Army Na- Richard Spencer at Auburn Uni- faster than the speed of sound. Woodward’s unit returned southern Urals and successfully tional Guard after liberal activ- versity. Photos show the men car- The Strategic Missile Forces from deployment in June and an hit a practice target on the Kura rying signs. chief, Gen. Sergei Karakayev, said ists uncovered their membership investigation into his connections shooting range on Kamchatka, “The existence of our people is during the call that the Avangard in a religious group with white with white supremacy concluded 3,700 miles away. not negotiable,” East’s sign read. was put on duty with a unit in the supremacist ties. in October. The U.S. has mulled new de- Woodward’s sign read, “We have Orenburg region in the southern Brandon Trent East told The The military has struggled in fense strategies to counter hy- Atlanta Journal-Constitution that a right to exist.” Urals Mountains. personic weapons developed by recent years to root out members Putin unveiled the Avangard the Alabama National Guard sent of white supremacist organiza- Both echo the so-called “14 Russia and China. among other prospective weapons U.S. officials have talked about him a separation notice on Dec. tions or sympathizers with white words” motto popular among systems in his state-of-the-nation putting a layer of sensors in space 14. power causes. white supremacists who say address in March 2018, noting to more quickly detect enemy mis- A spokeswoman for the Geor- A spokesman for the Alabama non-white groups are displacing gia National Guard said Dalton that its ability to make sharp ma- siles, particularly the hypersonic National Guard said East has 45 whites. neuvers on its way to a target will Woodward is no longer a member. weapons. The administration also days to contest the findings. East “I just went there because at the render missile defense useless. She declined to comment on the plans to study the idea of basing said the Army recommends a time I heard he was talking about “It heads to target like a me- terms of Woodward’s separation. interceptors in space, so the U.S. general discharge. That’s a step the recent removal of Confeder- teorite, like a fireball,“ he said Woodward didn’t respond to a can strike incoming enemy mis- down from a traditional honor- ate monuments. That’s something then. siles during the first minutes of request for comment left with his able discharge, indicating unac- I wanted to hear,“ East said. “And Putin described the Avangard’s flight when the booster engines friend East. ceptable conduct not in accord it turned into a something a little creation as a technological break- are still burning. Earlier in 2019, the Atlanta with military standards. worse obviously.” through comparable to the 1957 The Pentagon also has been Antifacists group published a re- East contends he is not a racist, Along with his jailer job, East Soviet launch of the first satellite. working on the development of port saying East and Woodward and is just interested in worship- said the resulting attention has The Russian leader noted that hypersonic weapons in recent were leaders of the Norse pagan ing the way his ancestors did cen- Avangard is designed using new cost him other jobs, as well as years, and Defense Secretary group Ravensblood Kindred. The turies ago. composite materials to withstand Mark Esper said in August that friends and family members. He group is part of the Asatru Folk “The whole race thing start- temperatures of up to 3,632 Fahr- he believes “it’s probably a mat- Assembly, which researchers say ed with me finding Asatru or minimized his contact on social enheit resulting from a flight ter of a couple of years” before endorses white supremacy. Odinism or whatever you want media with neo-Nazis and white through the atmosphere at hyper- the U.S. has one. He has called it Haralson County Sheriff Eddie to call it and seeing that as a bet- supremacists. He said he stays sonic speeds. a priority as the military works Mixon earlier forced East to re- ter option than Christianity as a away from those that are “Hitler Putin has charged that Russia to develop new long-range fire sign as a jailer. spirituality,“ he said. worshipy.” had to develop the Avangard and capabilities. Saturday, December 28, 2019 •STARS AND STRIPES• PAGE 7 NATION Courts weighing revenge porn vs free speech

BY DEANNA PAUL survived these legal challenges. The Washington Post Appeals courts in Wisconsin and Vermont rejected the First When Bethany Austin learned BEN MARGOT/AP Amendment challenges and ruled that her fiance had been unfaith- that sexually explicit images de- ful in late May 2016, she ended An inmate looks out a window in his solitary confinement cell, on Dec. 16, at the Main Jail in San Jose, served as much privacy as other the seven-year relationship Calif. Several California counties are drastically restricting their use of solitary confinement with policies forms of sensitive information, that experts say could become national models. and called off their upcoming wedding. such as medical records and fi- He told the couple’s friends that nancial data. Austin was “crazy.” To set the re- In 2015, Texas passed a law re- California jails use kinder approach cord straight, Austin sent their quiring revenge porn images to families a four-page letter that have an identifiable victim and contained text messages between the victim to have had a reason- to curb solitary confinement figures her ex and his mistress and nude able expectation that the pho- photos of the woman. tos would remain private. The BY DON THOMPSON es in state prisons. The state in County’s jail improved markedly Austin was promptly charged legislation was challenged, and Associated Press 2011 began sending less serious with the new policy. with a felony for violating Illi- the case is pending in the state’s offenders to local jails for years at “Think of yourself being in a nois’s revenge porn law, known highest criminal court. SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An a time to ease crowding in state cell the size of a parking space for as “nonconsensual dissemination Two years after Austin’s ar- inmate in solitary confinement at penitentiaries. 23 hours a day,” said Raemisch, of private sexual images.” In re- rest, the Illinois trial court a California jail was refusing to Some jurisdictions nationwide who consulted with county of- turn, she argued that the law was dismissed the charge, but the Il- leave his cell. The jailers’ usual are banning isolation for young ficials. “At a minimum, you’re an unconstitutional restriction of linois Supreme Court, in a 5-to-2 response: Send an “extraction offenders, pregnant women or going to get angry, and when you her freedom of speech. decision handed down in October, team” of corrections officers to those with mental health diag- get angry you’re going to fight Legislation criminalizing non- reversed its decision and ruled burst into the cell and drag him noses. The California counties’ consensual pornography has back.” that distributing private sexual out. approach of generally limiting it gained traction in much of the The California counties’ new images without permission was But not in Contra Costa County, to those who engage in continued policy of restricting its use to con- country. Forty-six states and one of three in the state using a not constitutionally protected violent behavior has dramatically tinued violent behavior could be Washington, D.C., have passed kinder, gentler approach in re- free speech. The state’s revenge reduced the number of inmates seen as a national pilot program, revenge porn laws over the past sponse to inmate lawsuits, a pol- porn law, it said, was aimed not at in isolation and the length of time Sullivan said. decade, and appeals courts icy change that experts say could prohibiting certain speech, but at they stay there. New Jersey’s Middlesex Coun- across the country are begin- be a national model for reducing protecting privacy. Contra Costa started 2019 with ty Adult Correction Center has ning to take up cases involving the use of isolation cells. In strong contrast to the Illi- about 100 people in solitary, most lowered the number of isolated the constitutionality of “revenge So the inmate was asked: “What for more than a year. It had just porn” statutes on First Amend- nois decision, a Minnesota court inmates and the time they spend if we gave you a couple extra three in isolation cells by Decem- ment grounds. of appeals ruled Monday that the there, she said, but with a differ- cookies and another sandwich? ber after officials began using the The U.S. Supreme Court has state’s law against revenge porn ent approach that lets inmates out Would you move?” recalled Don new approach. yet to hear a case on the issue, but was unconstitutional and violated of their cells more frequently. Specter, the nonprofit Prison Law Sacramento County also is fol- Austin’s could be the first. First Amendment rights. The The Hampden County Correc- Office director who negotiated lowing the policy pioneered by The Constitution protects free- only time the state may punish the new policies. “He said yes. ... Santa Clara County, while Fresno tional Center in Massachusetts dom of speech, even when it is increased its use of alternative this behavior, the court said, is They were like, ‘Wow.’” County is considering it. Among “offensive or disagreeable.” But when the perpetrator intended to More than a quarter of U.S. other things, it encourages the use sanctions and positive reinforce- rules have exceptions; the First ment. And Cook County, Ill., no harm his or her victim. states and numerous smaller ju- of low-cost incentives to reward Amendment does not protect According to Mary Anne risdictions are looking for ways to longer keeps troublesome inmates good behavior, like the opportu- certain speech, such as threats, Franks, president of the Cyber reduce the use of solitary confine- in isolation, allowing them to reg- nity to listen to the radio, watch a obscenity, incitement of violence Civil Rights Initiative who draft- ment, according to the Vera Insti- movie or get an extra snack. ularly spend time with about a and public disclosure of private ed a model that has served as a tute of Justice, which encourages Sacramento County has cut its half-dozen other inmates. information. template in most states, there are alternatives to a practice behav- isolated population roughly in “There’s been a decades-long When the government imposes ioral experts say is dehumanizing half, to about 60 inmates, said Lt. effort to reform solitary, especial- a content-based restriction on many variations of these statutes. and can worsen mental illness. Alex McCamy: “It’s a limited time ly in prisons. But what we haven’t a specific statement or image, Some laws have different words; The new policies in California frame and a limited group, but the seen is a paired reform effort for it must satisfy the strictest, and others have varying penalties. came after Specter’s firm sued initial impression is positive.” jails,” said Amy Fettig, director often insurmountable, level of The most significant difference seven of California’s 58 coun- Rick Raemisch, who restricted of the American Civil Liberty legal scrutiny. The restriction in the statutes is that some states ties, alleging that conditions had the use of solitary confinement Union’s Stop Solitary campaign. must serve a “compelling gov- limit revenge porn to situations in grown inhumane as jails ab- when he headed Colorado’s pris- “In Santa Clara what we’re see- ernment interest” and must be as which the perpetrator acts with sorbed inmates who previously on system, said the violent, tense, ing is an attempt to reform the minimal as possible. the intent to harm or harass his would have served their sentenc- dirty conditions in Santa Clara whole process.” Many revenge porn laws have or her target. Police release 14-year-old suspect in Barnard College student’s killing

BY MICHAEL R. SISAK Harrison tweeted that finding the Defender Service confirmed that taking the unusual step last Fri- one has been charged. Associated Press suspect “was a significant devel- the organization is providing the day of releasing photographs of A 13-year-old boy arrested opment in the investigative pro- boy with legal representation but him but not his name or any other Dec. 13 and charged as a juvenile NEW YORK — A 14-year-old cess,” but that the youth had since declined to comment further. identifying information. with felony murder told detec- boy suspected of fatally stabbing been released to the custody of The 14-year-old is one of three Harrison announced in a tweet tives he was at the park with the a Barnard College freshman was his lawyers. Harrison didn’t say other youths but wasn’t the one youths police believe were in- Thursday morning that the boy released from police custody on why the boy was released. who stabbed Majors, police said. Thursday, mere hours after New A police spokesman declined volved in the stabbing of Tessa had been found, but a police Another juvenile suspect was York City police said he had been to provide details, saying “the Majors, 18, as she walked through spokeswoman declined to answer questioned for several hours, also located following a two-week investigation remains active and Manhattan’s Morningside Park questions about where and how on Dec. 13, but police let him go, manhunt. ongoing.” on Dec. 11. he was located. Harrison said. He has declined to Chief of Detectives Rodney A spokesman for Neighborhood Police tracked him down after Of the two other suspects, only say why that boy wasn’t charged. PAGE 8 •STARS AND STRIPES• Saturday, December 28, 2019 NATION Officials get new kind of election training

BY CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY lookout for efforts to disrupt the Associated Press vote and ensure that communications are flowing up from coun- SPRINGFIELD, Va. — Inside ties to the state, down from states a hotel ballroom near the nation’s to the counties, as well as up and capital, a U.S. Army officer with down to the federal government battlefield experience told 120 and across states. state and local election officials “One of the big takeaways was that they may have more in com- just how the lack of one piece of mon with military strategists information moving up from the than they might think. counties to the state or moving These government officials are from the states to counties, if ei- on the front lines of a different ther of those things don’t happen, kind of battlefield — one in which it can have a significant impact,” they are helping to defend Ameri- said Stephen Trout, elections di- can democracy by ensuring free rector for Oregon. and fair elections. Trout said he would move “Everyone in this room is part quickly to acquire, customize and of a bigger effort, and it’s only to- implement the incident track- gether are we going to get through ing system, which would be an this,” the officer said. upgrade from the paper process That officer and other past and currently in use. Dave Tackett, present national security lead- chief information officer for the ers had a message to convey to West Virginia Secretary of State’s officials from 24 states gathered Office, said he will recommend for a recent training held by a some structuring changes at his Harvard-affiliated democracy state operations center, including project: They are the linchpins bringing key personnel into the ALEX BRANDON/AP in efforts to defend U.S. elections room and incorporating elements from an attack by Russia, China Mandy Vigil, of New Mexico, works during an exercise run by national security officials on Monday in of the incident tracking system or other foreign threats, and de- Springfield, Va., for state and local election officials to simulate scenarios for the 2020 elections. like mapping and the ability to as- veloping a military mindset will sign people to specific incidents. help them protect the integrity of the equipment and supplies are nia, who attended the training. for dealing with minor issues. “Events like today are helping the vote. in place. “You only attack things that you The project is also providing of- us zero in on how to structure The need for such training Now, these officials are on the feel are a threat to you, and our ficials with a free state-of-the-art ourselves better, how to really reflects how elections security front lines. The federal govern- democracy is a threat to a lot of incident tracking system. think in a different mindset so worries have heightened in the ment will be on high alert, gath- these nation-states that are get- Eric Rosenbach, co-director of that we can carry out all the dif- aftermath of the 2016 election, ering intelligence and scanning ting involved trying to undermine the Belfer Center and a former ferent tasks that have to be done when Russian military agents systems for suspicious cyber ac- it. We have to fight back, and we U.S. Army intelligence officer with elections,” said Karen Brin- targeted voting systems across tivity as they look to defend the have to prepare.” who served as chief of staff to De- son Bell, executive director of the the country as part of a multi- nation’s elections. Meanwhile, it The project’s latest playbook fense Secretary Ash Carter in the North Carolina Board of Elec- pronged effort to influence the will be the state and county of- focuses on bringing military best Obama administration, told the tions. “(It’s) the importance of presidential election. Until then, ficials who will be on the ground practices to running Election Day group gathered for the training communications, the importance the job of local election officials charged with identifying and operations, encouraging state and that it “shouldn’t be lost on you of having standard operating pro- could had been described as akin dealing with any hostile acts. local election officials to adopt a that this is a very military-like cedures in place so all the i’s are to a wedding planner who keeps “It’s another level of war,” said “battle staff” command structure model.” dotted and the t’s crossed ahead track of who will be showing up Jesse Salinas, the chief elections with clear responsibilities and Instructors stressed the need of time and you are prepared for on Election Day and ensures all official in Yolo County, Califor- standard operating procedures for election officials to be on the the unknown.” Newseum closes after 11 years of free press promotion

BY ASHRAF KHALIL Another problem, organizers winning photographs. Associated Press said, is that the Newseum strug- The museum’s focus evolved gled to attract local residents, over the years, showcasing not WASHINGTON — In 2008, the instead depending on a steady just journalism and historic Newseum — a private museum diet of tourists and local school events, but all manner of free dedicated to exploring modern groups. Actual Washington- speech and civil rights issues history as told through the eyes area residents, who do frequent and some whimsical quirks along of journalists — opened on prime the Smithsonian and elsewhere, the edges. Exhibits during the Washington real estate. mostly came on school trips and Newseum’s final days included Sitting almost equidistant be- rarely returned as adults. an exploration of the cultural and tween the White House and the Claire Myers fits that profile. political influence of Jon Stew- Capitol on Pennsylvania Avenue, The D.C. resident recalls coming art and “The Daily Show,” a look the glass-walled building became to the Newseum in high school in at the history of the struggle for instantly recognizable for its a senior-year class trip. She only LGBTQ rights and a display de- multi-story exterior rendition of returned in late December for a picting the history of presidential the First Amendment. final visit because she heard it dogs. Eleven years later that experi- was closing at the end of the year. Gavankar said the Freedom ment is coming to an end. After “I do think part of the reason years of financial difficulties, was because it’s a paid museum,” Forum, which originally main- the Newseum will close its doors she said. “Why go out of my way tained the Newseum in north- Tuesday. to do this when I could just go to ern Virginia for years, would “We’re proud of how we did continue its mission in different JACQUELYN MARTIN/AP any other free museum?” our storytelling,” said Sonya Ga- The $25 price tag, Myers said, forms. The educational founda- vankar, the outgoing director of The Newseum will close the Pennsylvania Avenue location in creates a pressure to set aside tion maintains a pair of exhibits public relations. “We changed the Washington on Tuesday. the whole day and take in every on the Berlin Wall in both Reagan model of how museums did their exhibit, whereas at one of the and Dulles airports. Next year, work.” Gavankar attributed the fail- building is right across the street free Smithsonian museums, she those displays will be replaced by The building was sold for ure to a variety of factors but ac- from the National Gallery of Art knows she can come back an- exhibits on the women’s suffrage $372.5 million to Johns Hopkins knowledged that the Newseum’s and within blocks of multiple other time to catch whatever she movement. The current Rise Up! University, which intends to con- status as a for-pay private insti- Smithsonian museums. missed. But Myers said she was exhibit on LGBTQ rights will solidate its scattered Washington- tution was a harder sell in a city “Competing with free institu- deeply impressed by the exhibits, move to a new long-term home based graduate studies programs full of free museums. A Newseum tions in Washington was diffi- particularly the Newseum’s sig- in the Museum of Pop Culture in under one roof. ticket costs $25 for adults, and the cult,” Gavankar said. nature gallery of Pulitzer Prize- Seattle. Saturday, December 28, 2019 •STARS AND STRIPES• PAGE 9 NATION Storm drops rain, snow on Southern California

BY STEFANIE DAZIO A truck driver was found unre- ley. Cajon Pass rises to more than AND JOHN ANTCZAK sponsive in a rig stopped along I-5 3,700 feet between the San Ga- Associated Press in Tejon Pass. Kern County fire- briel and San Bernardino Moun- fighters pronounced him dead, tains on I-15, the major connector LOS ANGELES — A cold and according to the California High- between Southern California and blustery winter storm unleashed way Patrol’s online incident log. Las Vegas. downpours and extensive snow- It was not immediately known Snow also stopped or slowed JOHNNY LIM/AP fall on Southern California, trig- if the death was weather-related. traffic on other California roads, gering a tornado and snarling After being stuck for five hours including heavily traveled In- Ssnow covers northbound Interstate-15 in the Cajon Pass between post-Christmas travel on major in Cajon Pass, motorist Johnny terstate 8 in eastern San Diego the San Bernardino Mountains and the San Gabriel Mountains in routes Thursday. Lim wasn’t sure he could reach County, and numerous trees were Southern California on Thursday. Snow shut down vital Inter- Las Vegas, where he hoped to toppled. state 5 in Tejon Pass through the spend time after Christmas. In San Diego County, a 60-year- tornado briefly hopped across to numerous traffic accidents. mountains north of Los Angeles He worried about driving his old woman died Thursday when a Ventura Harbor, the National The town of Wrightwood at the and stopped traffic on Interstate car through the pass when it car veered off a snowy road near Weather Service reported. Gusts eastern end of the San Gabriel 15 over Cajon Pass in the inland reopens. Warner Springs and crashed into downed five trees, according to Mountains had received 25 inch- region to the east. I-15 finally re- “The freeway is full of snow an embankment. The woman the Ventura County Star. Winds es of snow by midday. opened in both directions in the and ice,” he said, adding that his passenger wasn’t wearing a seat- up to 65 to 85 mph also caused Famed Palomar Observatory in afternoon but then authorities car “is not built for conditions like belt and the driver was going too minor damage to nearby build- later shut down about 45 miles of this.” fast to control the car, Califor- ings, forecasters said. the San Diego County mountains the freeway from Baker, Calif., to I-5 rises to more than 4,100 nia Highway Patrol Officer Jeff Localized flooding inundated said it would be closed at least Primm, Nev., on the way to Las feet in Tejon Pass between Los Christy told KSWB-TV. roads and freeway lanes while through the weekend because of Vegas because of snow and ice. Angeles and the San Joaquin Val- On Wednesday night, a small snow fell to low elevations, leading heavy snowfall. Mexico releases woman who took gifts to migrants

Associated Press Wednesday. “God didn’t blink. HOUSTON — A Texas woman He had a plan.” who drove to Mexico to deliver Castellano said she and a group Christmas gifts to a sprawling of volunteers had worked late into refugee camp housing people the night to wrap presents for waiting for U.S. court dates said children at the Matamoros camp, Wednesday she was detained by which consists of hundreds of authorities there for two days. tents pitched on the land next to Anamichelle Castellano said the Rio Grande, the river separat- she and another volunteer for ing the U.S. and Mexico in Texas. her nonprofit group were stopped She said she had car trouble Monday at a bridge crossing from early Monday and ended up driv- Brownsville, Texas, to Matam- ing her husband’s car. Her hus- oros, Mexico. She said authorities band eventually took hers. They discovered a small box of ammu- split about 300 gifts between the nition inside the car she was driv- two. ing, which she said was left inside While her husband drove into by her husband. Matamoros without incident, an Mexico has strict laws against official told Castellano her vehicle entering the country with guns would require extra screening. or ammunition. Those laws oc- When she was told officers would casionally ensnare Americans unwrap all the gifts in her vehicle HENRY TAYLOR, THE TENNESSEAN/AP crossing the border. to check them for anything dan- Castellano said she spent Mon- gerous, she consented to the of- Gavin Sumner opens his new hands after they were fit by Anthony Economos at the Montgomery County day night sleeping on a couch Historic Courthouse in Clarksville, Tenn., on Monday. ficers using an X-ray machine to with her 9-year-old daughter in examine the vehicle. a government office. She gave a That scan uncovered a small statement Tuesday to someone box of ammunition, which she she believed to be a prosecutor, described as about the size of the Boy gets new hands for Christmas then was allowed to leave a few palm of a hand. Castellano said hours later. The prosecutor’s of- Associated Press she didn’t know about the box foot, most of both hands and about printing and prototypes for busi- fice in Mexico’s Tamaulipas state 40% of his tongue. He has mostly nesses decided to fund the entire until the scan and had not intend- CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — A did not immediately respond to a figured out how to work with or project. Economos helped fit the request for comment Wednesday. ed to take it into Mexico. Tennessee boy born without func- around his disabilities, but some She was told conflicting infor- tioning hands asked Santa for a hands to Gavin on Monday. Castellano and her husband, things, like holding a cup with Gavin’s new hands feature five Jehu, operate a nonprofit called mation during the two days about new pair last year, and his com- whether she could leave or if she one hand, escaped him. independent controls to create the Socorro Foundation. They munity came together this Christ- would be imprisoned. She identi- “I always try to push myself tension, allowing him to close are among the volunteers try- mas to make the gift possible. fied officers from at least three to try and see if I can do it,“ said his hands into fists, Economos ing to help thousands of parents Gavin Sumner, 11, was gifted Gavin, a self-identified profes- different agencies who asked her said. The hands are made out of and children waiting in Mexican his new prosthetic hands Monday sional gamer. “But, I do take in questions. specialty silicone because plastic border towns to seek asylum in at the Montgomery County May- the fact that there are some things American immigration courts. Ultimately, she was told that is too slippery to create enough or’s Office in Clarksville during I can’t do, and now I’m having to President Donald Trump’s ad- she and the other volunteer could gripping power. a ceremony he didn’t know was accept that.” ministration has prevented many leave if they paid $8,000. The fee organized just for him, The Leaf- When met with Gavin’s re- On Monday, Gavin’s family asylum seekers from entering the was eventually lowered to about Chronicle reported. quest last year, his mom, Kori watched as he attempted to pick country or removed them from $4,000, and her husband paid “This is a huge leap forward ... Sumner, posted a plea for help up a bottle of water with one hand. the U.S. while their cases are still $3,000. I want to go to school and be in- on Facebook that was ultimately Photos show them cheering as he pending under a policy known as She was told that she may have dependent for the first time,“ he answered by Anthony Economos looks on astonished, the bottle of “Remain in Mexico.” to return to see a judge in Reyno- said. with Bedstone Creative. The local water gripped tightly in his right “Our faith is very strong,“ said sa, which she said she would do as Gavin was born without a left IT company that specializes in 3D hand. her father, Genaro Lopez, on soon as a court date was issued. PAGE 10 •STARS AND STRIPES• Saturday, December 28, 2019 WORLD Extremists on bikes kill security force members Japan to send troops to Mideast NIAMEY, Niger — Islamic extremists on motorcycles killed 14 security force members who were escorting election officials in the West African nation of Niger, the Plan designed to ensure safety of ships transporting oil in area first large attack there since 71 soldiers were killed in a massive ambush earlier this month, au- BY MARI YAMAGUCHI Citing Japan’s heavy dependence Defense Minister Taro Kono Japan, which has friendly ties thorities said Thursday. Associated Press on oil imports from the region, issued an order for the troops to with both Iran and the U.S., also The attack took place Wednes- Suga added that “it is extremely start preparing for the operation, seeks to serve as a mediator be- day night near Sanam, which is TOKYO — Japan on Friday ap- important to secure the safe navi- which is planned for one year between the two and play a greater about 125 miles from the capital proved a contentious plan to send gation of Japan-affiliated ships.“ ginning early next year. role in restoring stability in the of Niamey, according to a govern- its naval troops to the Middle Despite being a U.S. ally, Ja- Kono is to visit Djibouti on the region, officials said. ment statement. East to ensure the safety of Japa- pan’s troop dispatch is not part eastern coast of Africa and Oman The Middle East supplies more The victims were seven mili- nese ships transporting oil to the of a U.S.-led coalition protecting this weekend to discuss Japan’s than 80% of Japan’s oil needs. tary police officers and seven energy-poor country that heav- Middle East waterways, appar- mission. Japanese troops have Sending warships to areas of national guard members, the ily depends on imports from the ently an attempt to maintain neu- been based in Djibouti as part of military tension is a highly sen- statement said. region. trality in a show of consideration an international anti-piracy effort sitive issue in Japan because its The Cabinet’s decision reflects pacifist post-World War II con- tensions that have escalated be- to Iran. off the Somali coast, and a P-3C Christmas protests lead Under the plan, Japan will send unit currently in that operation stitution limits the use of force tween Iran and the U.S. since by the military strictly to self-de- to arrests in Hong Kong about 260 Maritime Self-Defense will be shifted to the new mission President Donald Trump with- fense. Abe, however, has gradu- HONG KONG — Hong Kong drew from Iran’s 2015 nuclear Force personnel with a destroyer in January, he said. ally expanded Japan’s military police arrested 336 people dur- deal. and a pair of P-3C reconnais- Japan will stay away from the role in recent years. ing the Christmas holiday as the ”Taking into consideration the sance aircraft, mainly for intel- Strait of Hormuz, where the U.S.- In June, a Japanese-oper- city’s protest movement contin- escalating tension in the Middle ligence-gathering in the Gulf of led coalition is operating. ated tanker was attacked in the ues to simmer, an official said East, it is necessary to strengthen Oman, the Arabian Sea and the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ex- Gulf of Oman. Washington said our information gathering effort,“ Bab el-Mandeb Strait connect- plained the plan to Iranian Presi- Iran was responsible and urged Friday. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshi- ing the Red Sea and the Gulf of dent Hassan Rouhani when he Japan to join the U.S.-led military Chief police spokesman Kwok hide Suga told a news conference. Aden. visited Tokyo last week. initiative. Ka-chuen told reporters that those detained between Monday and Thursday included 92 women and minors as young as 12. The arrests bring the num- Netanyahu secures ber of people detained over the course of the protests to nearly 7,000, with a large proportion of victory in primary student age. Kwok condemned what he called attacks on ordinary citi- zens at shopping centers and res- BY JOSEPH KRAUSS situation work in his favor.” taurants and vandalism of public Associated Press The Supreme Court is mean- infrastructure including subway while set to meet next week to JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime stations, banks and the electrical consider whether an indicted grid. Minister Benjamin Netanyahu member of parliament is eligible “Their scheme is to silence shored up his base with a land- to become prime minister. It’s those who hold dissenting views slide primary victory announced unclear when a ruling would be and to terrorize the public. Who- early Friday, but he will need a handed down, but if the court ever disagrees with their violence big win in national elections in will be met with violence,“ Kwok March if he hopes to stay in office finds Netanyahu ineligible it told reporters. and gain immunity from prosecu- could precipitate a constitutional tion on corruption charges. crisis. Netanyahu handily defeated Reuven Hazan, a political sci- Indian protests prompt Gideon Saar, a former aide and ence professor at the Hebrew internet shut down Cabinet minister, in a Likud party University of Jerusalem, said the primary held Thursday, winning court is likely to defer any ruling, NEW DELHI — Paramilitary 72% of the vote. potentially even until after the and police forces were deployed “This is the time to unite, to elections. and the internet shut down Fri- bring a sweeping victory to the “They understand that if he EMERGENCY SITUATIONS MINISTRY OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN/AP day in Muslim-majority districts Likud and the right in the Knes- wins big tonight and they turn Police and rescuers work on the site of a plane crash near Almaty in the north Indian state of Uttar set elections,” Netanyahu told around and say he cannot be International Airport, outside Almaty, Kazakhstan, Friday . Pradesh, where more than a dozen reporters Friday. “The final and prime minister, then although people have been killed and more sweeping primary decision was they’ve done their job, which is than 1,000 people arrested in pro- a huge expression of trust in my to make the right legal decision, Airliner crashes on takeoff tests that have erupted nationwide way, in our way.” that they will be in political tur- against a new citizenship law that excludes Muslims. Only around half the party’s moil that could rip the elections Security drones buzzed over 116,000 registered members apart,“ Hazan said Thursday, near Kazakhstan’s capital western Uttar Pradesh as author- turned out to vote, in part because before the primary results were ities sought to head off protests, of stormy weather. They repre- announced. Associated Press the runway twice during takeoff, which turned violent after last sent the most faithful members of Netanyahu is already Israel’s indicating that it struggled to take a party defined by fierce loyalty, ALMATY, Kazakhstan — A week’s Friday prayers. Mobile longest-serving prime minister plane with 98 people aboard off. internet was blocked in about a which has only had four leaders and has cultivated the image of One survivor said that the since it was founded in the 1970s. crashed shortly after takeoff third of the state, including in a veteran statesman with close early Friday in Kazakhstan, kill- plane started shaking less than This time around the stakes parts of the capital, Lucknow, personal ties to President Don- ing at least 12 people, Kazakh of- two minutes after takeoff. are much higher. Netanyahu where one person was killed in a ald Trump, Russian President ficials said. There were 54 people “At first the left wing jolted was indicted last month on seri- protest a week ago. Vladimir Putin and other world hospitalized with injuries, at least really hard, then the right. The ous charges of bribery, fraud and Twenty-three people have leaders. 10 of them in critical condition. plane continued to gain altitude, breach of trust. His best hope of been killed nationwide since the His refusal over the last decade The cause of the crash in the shaking quite severely, and then escaping prosecution is to gain citizenship law was passed in to make any concessions to the Central Asian nation was unclear, went down,” Aslan Nazaraliyev, Parliament earlier this month in a 61-seat majority in parlia- one of the passengers who sur- Palestinians was rewarded after but authorities were looking at protests that represent the first ment that is willing to grant him vived the crash, told The Associ- Trump took office, as the U.S. whether pilot error or technical major roadblock for Prime Min- immunity. failure were factors, Kazakh- ated Press by phone. began openly siding with Israel ister Narendra Modi’s Hindu na- “A candidate for prime minis- stan’s deputy prime minister Government officials said the on several key issues. tionalist agenda since his party’s ter who is under indictment and Roman Sklyar said. plane underwent deicing before landslide reelection earlier this requests immunity for himself Netanyahu has dismissed the The Bek Air aircraft hit a con- the flight, but Nazaraliyev re- year. India’s Supreme Court is is something we’ve never had,” indictment as an “attempted crete fence and a two-story build- called that the wings of the plane Yossi Verter wrote in the Haaretz coup” by hostile media and law ing after takeoff from Almaty, were covered in ice, and passen- set to consider petitions challeng- newspaper. “It’s hard to see how enforcement and has vowed to Kazakhstan’s largest city and for- gers who used emergency exits ing the law’s constitutionality late he, with all his sophisticated cam- battle the charges from the prime mer capital. over the wings were slipping and next month. paigning abilities, can make this minister’s office. Sklyar said the plane’s tail hit falling down. From Associated Press Saturday, December 28, 2019 •STARS AND STRIPES• PAGE 11 MOVIES

Associated Press movie critic Jake Coyle picks 2019’s top ﬂ icks

NEON/AP Living in poverty, the Kim family fold pizza boxes in their basement to make money in “Parasite.”

4. ‘Parasite’ 8. ‘Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood’ There’s not a misplaced moment in Bong Joon Ho’s social Quentin Tarantino has said he aims to retire after satire, a so perfectly and intricately engineered genre making 10 fi lms; he’s disinterested in becoming an old contraption that it’s downright frightening. fi lmmaker or doing anything to dull the vibrancy of his earlier fi lms. He should rethink that. His radiant and LILIES FILMS/TNS poignant 1960s Hollywood fable suggests that Tarantino, when he slows down and soaks up the California sun, can Noemie Merlant and Adele Haenel are pictured in a be even better as he grows older. scene from “Portrait of a Lady on Fire.”

1. ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ In a year deﬁ ned by mammoth masterworks, nothing took my breath away like Celine Sciamma’s exquisite, soul-shattering romance. A female painter (Noemie Merlant) in 18th century France is sent to paint, on the sly, the portrait of a spirited noble woman (Adele Haenel) before her arranged marriage. The movie assembles Netflix itself as a series of stolen glances, as art and love mingle for a blissful but tragically unsustainable moment. The Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver in “Marriage Story” parting shot, a kind of portrait itself, is a devastation I won’t soon recover from. 5. ‘Marriage Story’ Noah Baumbach, too, is working at the very top of his game, telling a delicately, even profoundly constructed tale of divorce — a subject not so easy to be clear-eyed about — with a miraculous steadiness and compassion. For a horror story — and with lawyers breathing ﬁ re and brimstone to go with it — it’s remarkably funny, tender and true. A deeply humane masterpiece.

Netflix Left to right: Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Lucy Gallina are pictured in a scene from “The Irishman.”

2. ‘Rolling Thunder Revue’ A24 & ‘The Irishman’ Jonathan Majors and Jimmie Fails in “The Last Black A simply astonishing double feature from Martin Scorse- Man in San Francisco” se, one consumed with life, the other with death. Scorsese spoke urgently and eloquently about how movies should be more than they often are: a corporate-made prod- 9. ‘The Last Black Man in San Francisco’ uct with little of the humanity that makes fi lms worth An almost-too-beautiful fable of displacement and gentri- SONY PICTURES CLASSICS/AP debating, worth loving. But as well and as passionately as fi cation that ultimately wins you over with the sincerity Scorsese argued for cinema, nothing made his case bet- Antonio Banderas stars in “Pain and Glory.” of its anguish and the soulful performances of Jimmie ter than these two remarkable, colossal fi lms. Fails, Jonathan Majors and Rob Morgan. 6. ‘Pain and Glory’ 3. ‘Honeyland’ A master fi lmmaker looks back, rewarding us with one of 10. ‘Atlantics’ Directors Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov were his richest and most luminous fi lms. Pedro Almodovar’s Writer-director Mati Diop’s feature debut is preternatu- initially commissioned just to make a video about nature warm spirit vibrates throughout this time-skipping rally assured. It’s a ghost story, set in Senegal among conservation in Macedonia, about one of Europe’s last drama of self-refl ection. Almodovar has never felt so grieving women after a boat of emigrating young men wild-beekeepers. Instead, they spent three years and close at hand, and the fi lm’s fi nal image is one of poetic has disappeared into the sea. The fi lm’s mythic power collected more than 400 hours of footage with Hatidze, summation. is heightened by Diop’s already fully-formed cinematic a heroically indefatigably middle-aged woman who lives language. in an abandoned rural village in North Macedonia where 7. ‘Little Women’ she ekes out a meager living for herself and her bedrid- Greta Gerwig’s Louisa May Alcott adaptation is a feast den mother by sustainably harvesting honey. The fi lm- Honorable mentions makers whittled their footage down to a 85-minute fable of a movie. Every frame is alive. By remixing the book’s of startling intimacy (the candle-lit scenes of Hatidze and timelines and expanding Jo’s arc to encompass Alcott’s “Dolemite Is My Name”; “Apollo 11”; “Booksmart”; her mother are among the most stirring you’ll ever see) too, Gerwig hasn’t just made “Little Women” contempo- “Knives Out”; “High Flying Bird”; “Amazing Grace”; that reverberates with larger ecological allegory. rary, she’s made it sing. “Uncut Gems”; “The Nightingale”; “1917” PAGE 12 •STARS AND STRIPES• Saturday, December 28, 2019 VIDEO GAMES

Kojima Productions

‘Death Stranding’ (PlayStation 4) BY CHRISTOPHER BYRD The word “divisive” probably popped into the head of every reviewer who played “Death Stranding” Special to The Washington Post before it launched. It was (and is) easy to wonder who will get behind a AAA game about a delivery man who plies his trade across an arduous landscape overrun with ghostly entities. If the idea of s the gaming industry revs up for making deliveries back and forth sounds a bit grindy, well, it is. But “Death Stranding” rewards the next console cycle — set to begin commitment. Here is a game with an aggressively imaginative storyline, memorable characters (O’ Mama!), an innovative take on co-op and a raft of interesting gameplay systems. Don’t be surprised late next year when Sony and Mi- if, in the years to come, the merits of this game are debated vigorously. crosoft kick off the ninth console Ageneration — economic tallies show ‘Neo Cab’ the industry to be in good shape. According to an (Mac, PC, Nintendo Switch) industry report published by Newzoo, consumers This socially-conscious visual novel will spend more than $152 billion on games this imagines what the future of the gig economy might look like in a world year, an increase of more than 9% over last year. where tech firms hold more sway over Although this year didn’t see the emergence of how we live and work. “Neo Cab” tells the story of Lina, a woman struggling any industry-shaking trends, there were plenty to make ends meet as one of the last of games released in 2019 to cater to a wide vari- human cabdrivers in a city dominated by driverless cars. Though Lina has ety of tastes, from all-ages titles such as “Luigi’s deep misgivings about the tech in- Mansion 3” to games such as “Sekiro: Shadows: dustry, she wears a Feelgrid bracelet, which monitors the fluctuations in her Die Twice,” targeted at challenge-hungry play- body and displays her emotional state to ers. In assembling this year’s Top 10 list, I leaned the world via different colors. Because certain conversational options are toward the titles that surprised me with their linked to Lina’s emotional state, “Neo Cab” encourages artful manipulation. forward-thinking aesthetics, challenges to con- This one’s for anyone revolted by the vention or sheer ability to dazzle. Fellow Traveler exploitative nature of hustle culture.

‘Telling Lies’ (iOS, PC) ‘Disco Elysium’ (PC) Pushing the boundaries of what video games can be, Sam Bar- You’re a wreck, but what kind of wreck are you? That’s one of the things low’s latest live-action game turns players into voyeurs and asks you’ll have to decide if you step into the shoes of the bloated, disheveled, them to comb through a trove of video messages related to an amnesiac cop at the center of this peculiar RPG. In “Disco Elysium,” undercover law enforcement operation that went sideways. This the demands of your body for comfort and stimulation are pronounced unusually intimate game offers a snapshot of our era, where the — literally. As you progress through the game, you’ll have an ongo- boundaries between work and home life have grown increasing conversation with various aspects of your body, including various ingly tenuous and privacy is an illusion. (If you play this and centers of cognition (e.g. logic, perception, empathy). As you plumb your read Edward Snowden’s biography, “Permanent Record,” you character’s psychology and physiology, you’ll investigate a knotty mur- will be chilled.) Excellent performances by Alexandra Shipp, der mystery that thrusts you into a world of clashing political ideologies. Logan Marshall-Green and Kerry Bishe show why awards for “Disco Elysium” proves that you don’t need spells, swords or bullets to best acting in a video game deserve increasing visibility. Annnapurna Interactive anchor a compelling 40+ hour RPG. Saturday, December 28, 2019 •STARS AND STRIPES• PAGE 13 VIDEO GAMES

‘Observation’ ‘Outer Wilds’ (PC, PlayStation 4) (Mac, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One) There are a number of All too often, sci-fi games hew to overly familiar video games that revolve templates, making feelings of genuine wonder hard around space station disaster to come by. The space exploration game “Outer plotlines, but “Observation” Wilds” eludes this fate by cultivating an aura of brings something different to mystery. Embark on a mission to discover the fate the table. Rather than casting of a vanished civilization whose remaining traces players in the familiar role of seem genuinely strange. “Outer Wilds” is very much a distressed astronaut, this a game of the Internet era. Some of its puzzles might sci-fi game with an analog seem too opaque if there weren’t guides a click away. look asks players to assume the responsibilities of a ship’s A.I. computer to help said astronaut. This setup under- Failbetter Games cuts the usual identification with an avatar, which is such ‘Sunless Skies’ (Mac, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One) an important component of If you relish the cadence of a well-turned sentence and delight in the trappings of so much video game design. steampunk genre, then this text-heavy RPG about the ill-fated travels of space-far- Instead, it emphasizes dif- ing adventures should be just the ticket. “Sunless Skies” projects a world where the ference — how dissimilar a British used locomotives to travel the stars and establish trading outposts. The game player is to a machine. Mov- offers a wealth of fantastical tales that will take players to an artist colony built on ing through and outside the a gigantic orchard and beyond. Expect the worst. You will be tricked. You will be spaceship in the Connection cheated. You will be treated to abominable sights. You will die many times. No mat- Sphere, a small floating ex- ter — “Sunless Skies” is hard to let go. tension of the ship’s A.I., may remind movie buffs of those mesmerizing shots in films like “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “Gravity.”

“Gears 5” is the rare ‘Gears 5’ (Xbox One, PC) action game that you Simogo/Annapurna Interactive won’t tire of playing. When Microsoft purchased the rights to the “Gears of War” franchise from Xbox Game Studios Epic Games in 2016, many wondered if ‘Sayonara Wild Hearts’ the series, which popularized cover- (iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4) based shooters, would stagnate. “Gears 5” should lay to rest those concerns for Sail into the night on a skateboard, motorcycle or car the time being. A well-paced campaign, in this hybrid racing and rhythm game. “Sayonara which varies the tempo from firefight Wild Hearts” tells the story of a brokenhearted girl to firefight, coupled with some best-in- who becomes drafted to set things right in another class visuals on the Xbox One X, make universe. Backed by an amazing soundtrack, this this a perfect treat for itchy trigger dreamy, stylish, bite-sized game is meant to be fingers. played over and over.

‘A Plague Tale: Innocence’ (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One) Set during the time of the Black Death in a southern French province, “A Plague Tale: Innocence” tells the story of a sister and brother on the run from a renegade faction of the Church. The young stars of the game are sympathetic figures. They don’t hopscotch from one perilous situation to another. Rather, they take the time to process their circumstances. Featur- ing some of the best use of HDR lighting of any recent game, “A Plague Tale” is visually sumptuous and boasts one of the more memorable final boss fights in recent memory.

Focus Home Interactive PAGE 14 •STARS AND STRIPES• Saturday, December 28, 2019 AMERICAN ROUNDUP Wheelchair-accessible vans were damaged

BETHEL — Police in CT Connecticut are looking for a heartless vandal or vandals who damaged seven wheelchair- accessible vans a nonprofit uses to transport people with disabilities. The vans had their catalytic converters removed last weekend while they were parked at Ability Beyond’s Bethel office, making them undrivable, The News-Times of Danbury reported Tuesday. The vans are used to transport the nonprofit’s clients to and from day and work programs, Ability Beyond’s Alisa Picerno said. The damage to the vans is estimated at around $10,000 and repairs will not be completed until the new year, she said. Man robs bank then throws cash in the air

COLORADO CO SPRINGS — A 65- year-old Colorado man is in jail after witnesses said he robbed a bank in Colorado Springs, walked outside and threw money out of the bag and then said “Merry Christmas.” The man walked to the coffee shop next door, “sat down and waited for the cops,” witness Dion Pascale told KKTV. Bystanders picked up the money and gave it back to the CHRIS DILLMANN, VAIL DAILY (EAGLE COUNTY, COLO.)/AP bank teller, Pascale said. Neighborhood plagued Catching snowflakes by 3 sewer main breaks Raya Ramchand, 5, of McKinney, Texas, catches snowflakes on her tongue on a snowy Christmas Day in Vail, Colo., on Wednesday. The FORT LAUDERDALE town is bustling with holiday tourists, and activities continue through the New Year. FL — A South Florida neighborhood has been plagued said Blackmon and his girlfriend THE CENSUS Highway Patrol said no one was with a toxic and smelly odor for went to meet a teenage boy out- seriously hurt. almost two weeks due to three side the house to buy some shoes. Lt. Kim Montes said Mareo The number of pairs of socks a Missouri couple is donating to back-to-back sewer main breaks. They said Blackmon realized the Cawley, 50, of Chicago, was haul- Sewage flowed for nine days shoes might be fakes, but when homeless people as part of a program in honor of their late son. The Columbia Missourian reported that Janet and Edward Miller ing orange juice when he didn’t in the Rio Vista neighborhood of he tried to get his money back the realize he had left the road before Fort Lauderdale during the first 3K of California, Mo. , started Gentle Ben’s Socks for the Homeless in boy shot and killed him. he smashed into the building. break earlier this month. Two memory of their son, Ben, who died of a brain aneurysm in 2017 According to a 2013 article in days after a repair, the 54-inch at age 34. Janet Miller said socks are the most-needed and least-donated item for Big Apple’s top ’18 baby the Orlando Sentinel, the Desert pipe ruptured in another spot a homeless people. The couple collected 900 pairs of socks in their first year. This block away. names: Liam, Emma year, the goal was 2,000 pairs, but they ended up with 3,100 pairs. Inn dates to 1889 when it was a The South Florida Sun-Sentinel barroom and brothel for cowboys reported the break sent sludge NEW YORK — The and lumberjacks . into the Tarpon River, streets NY most popular baby was arrested Monday on charges as she opened her restaurant . and a neighborhood park. A third names in New York City last year of burglary, theft, criminal dam- Local businesses and commu- Satanists, live Nativity break occurred in the same sewer were Liam and Emma, according age to property and criminal tres- nity members now donate most share space in town line the next day. to data released by city health of- passing, the St. Tammany Parish of the hams, turkeys and side ficials Monday. Crews were working around Sheriff’s Office said. dishes for the meals — which also GEORGETOWN — Of the babies born in New the clock to make repairs needed The theft was discovered feature mashed potatoes, green Two weekend events York City in 2018, there were Dec. 13, when administrators at beans, pies and some of Beasley’s DE to funnel the toxic sludge back recently brought a group of Sa- into the system, but the smell has 779 Liams and 501 Emmas, ac- a Mandeville-area high school homemade caramel cake. tanists and hundreds of Christian infiltrated several homes. cording to the city’s Department found that the glass door to the This year, about 30 volunteers of Health and Mental Hygiene’s band room had been shattered were expected to show up on worshippers together in the mid- Teen shot and killed in birth certificate records. and the three instruments had Christmas morning to help box dle of a Delaware town. The number of births in the city been taken, said Capt. Scott Lee, the meals and deliver them to Hundreds of people attended argument over shoes decreased from 117,013 in 2017 to a police spokesman. about 300 people who don’t have a live nativity Saturday night in 114,296 in 2018, according to the anyone to celebrate with or who Georgetown, while a group of Sa- GRANDVIEW — Au- city’s data. Diner offers free can’t afford a holiday dinner. tanists held a quiet vigil nearby, MO thorities said a man Liam has been the top name for The News Journal reported. has been shot and killed in an ap- Christmas dinners boys since 2016, and Emma has Semitrailer plows into The Satanist organizers said parent fight over shoes in subur- been the top name for girls since their vigil marked the winter ban Kansas City. 2017. ASHLAND CITY — A closed historic inn solstice and celebrated religious Grandview police said an of- TN Tennessee diner serves diversity and equal rights dur- ficer responded Sunday night to up a free Christmas Day meal to YEEHAW JUNCTION ing the holiday season. The group Man accused in theft of anyone who walks into the restau- — A semitrailer plowed a shooting call and found Jaylen FL describes itself as a “non-theistic Blackmon, 20, of Kansas City, school band instruments rant and it delivers to those who into a historic inn south of Orlan- Delaware-based modern Satanic dead on a sidewalk. Witnesses otherwise can’t make the trek. do early Sunday, causing major group.” told police the shooting appeared MANDEVILLE — A O’Brien’s Southern Diner damage but no apparent injuries. to have stemmed from an alterca- LA Louisiana man is ac- owner Candice O’Brien Beasley Photos show that the truck ran “Everybody has the right to cel- tion over a transaction for shoes. cused of stealing two saxophones knows what it’s like to go with- through the wall of the Desert ebrate whatever they celebrate,” Blackmon’s family described and a trombone from a high out food or to have nothing in the Inn and a portion of the build- Georgetown resident Katie Rohlf- his death as “senseless” in a state- school in a New Orleans suburb. house on holidays, she said. So ing collapsed around it. The inn ing said. ment to KSHB-TV. The family Waylin Leon, 40, of Mandeville she started the tradition as soon closed last year and the Florida From wire reports Saturday, December 28, 2019 •STARS AND STRIPES•PAGE 15 OPINION Max D. Lederer Jr., Publisher Lt. Col. Sean Klimek, Europe commander Lt. Col. Richard McClintic, Pacific commander Biden is winning the electability primary Caroline E. Miller, Europe Business Operations Joshua M. Lashbrook, Pacific Chief of Staff BY DOYLE MCMANUS defeating Donald Trump?” Sen. Bernie Sanders, Warren and Pete Los Angeles Times He’s hoping to persuade voters desper- Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Ind. ate to win in 2020 to back him in the pri- “If (Biden) just finishes close to first in EDITORIAL WASHINGTON maries, whether they like his moderate Iowa … I think that he will be well on his n their search for a presidential nomi- positions or not. way to being the nominee,” predicts David Terry Leonard, Editor nee, Democrats have argued about all That pitch appears to have helped stabi- Axelrod, the former strategist for Presi- [email protected] manner of things. lize Biden’s campaign after a series of gaffes dent Barack Obama. “The danger for him Robert H. Reid, Senior Managing Editor I They’ve debated “Medicare for and uninspiring debate performances that is if he drops to fourth or fifth.” [email protected] All” and a “Green New Deal.” They’ve sent voters shopping for alternatives. Biden may get help once the Senate starts Tina Croley, Managing Editor for Content weighed a wealth tax and free college tu- First, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., rose Trump’s impeachment trial, probably in [email protected] ition. They’ve clashed over campaign do- in the polls, only to fall back to Earth and early January. It will tie down Democratic nations from millionaires. withdraw from the race. Sen. Elizabeth senators in the race, including Warren and Sean Moores, Managing Editor for Presentation But their most important dispute isn’t Warren, D-Mass., also soared, only to lose Sanders, for weeks. [email protected] about ideology or policy. It’s about a more altitude after unveiling a big, costly propos- Trump was impeached for trying to mus- Joe Gromelski, Managing Editor for Digital elusive quality: electability. Who is most al for government-run health insurance. cle Ukraine into investigating Biden and [email protected] likely to defeat President Donald Trump in “Warren has fallen because Democrats, his son, Hunter Biden, who took a lucra- November? Many Democratic voters say especially liberal democrats, believe she tive job with a Ukrainian energy company. that’s their top priority — not whether they has an electability problem,” Stanford House Republicans argued that as vice BUREAU STAFF agree with a candidate’s positions. political scientists David Brady and Brett president, Biden intervened inappropriate- So far, the electability primary has a Parker reported last week. ly in Ukraine to protect his son. Democrats Europe/Mideast clear winner: former Vice President Joe Erik Slavin, Europe & Mideast Bureau Chief They suggested that Warren’s proposal have largely ignored the allegation, which [email protected] Biden. for a single, government-run health insur- is not supported by evidence. +49(0)631.3615.9350; DSN (314)583.9350 Biden’s campaign hasn’t been inspiring ance plan cost her some support. Other Biden argues that Trump’s attacks on him or error-free — far from it. He’s clung to surveys have found that many voters, in- prove that he’s the candidate the president Pacific first place in national polls, with support cluding women, fear that female candi- fears most. In other words: electability. Aaron Kidd, Pacific Bureau Chief [email protected] from about 28% of Democratic voters, but dates are less electable than men. Electability is an odd burden for voters +81.42.552.2511 ext. 88380; DSN (315)227.7380 he’s running behind other candidates in Biden turned in his best debate perfor- to assume. It asks them to guess how mil- Iowa and New Hampshire, where the first mance of the year in Los Angeles — crisp, lions will vote in November, and how a can- Washington votes will be cast. Nevertheless, when vot- combative and gaffe-free. For once, he didate will perform in a heated showdown Joseph Cacchioli, Washington Bureau Chief ers are asked who they think is most elect- sounded like Fighting Joe Biden, not Be- with Trump. [email protected] able against Trump, Biden wins. Even fuddled Joe Biden. “I just try to imagine how each of them (+1)(202)886-0033 Brian Bowers, Assistant Managing Editor, News some voters who prefer other candidates Asked about his earlier promise that Re- would do in a debate against Trump,” a [email protected] say Biden has the best shot. publicans would become more moderate if woman in Fort Dodge, Iowa, told me last In a CNN Poll released last week, 40% he were elected — a forecast that seemed month. At the time, Biden was stalled in CIRCULATION of Democrats nationwide said they believe out of sync with political reality — he of- the polls. I wrote that his caravan felt like Biden has the best chance of winning a fered a tougher-sounding formula. a “zombie campaign.” I forgot one thing: Mideast general election, well ahead of his rivals. “If anyone has reason to be angry with Zombies never expire. Robert Reismann, Mideast Circulation Manager Other surveys have shown similar results. the Republicans and not want to cooperate, [email protected] None of this means Biden is on his way [email protected] Polls like that help explain why Biden, it’s me — the way they’ve attacked me, my to the nomination. Iowa caucuses are no- DSN (314)583-9111 who launched his campaign with a soar- son and my family,” he said. “But the fact toriously unpredictable. And he’s still an ing promise to “save the soul of America,” is, we have to be able to get things done. imperfect candidate. Europe now focuses on a blunter, more practical And when we can’t convince them, we go But he doesn’t have to be perfect, espe- Karen Lewis, Community Engagement Manager [email protected] message. out and beat them, like we did in the 2018 cially against Trump. Under this year’s [email protected] “We all have big progressive plans,” he election.” rules, he just needs to appear electable. said at the Democrats’ debate in Los Ange- The real-world test of electability starts +49(0)631.3615.9090; DSN (314)583.9090 Doyle McManus is a Washington columnist for the les on Dec. 19. “The question is … who has with the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 3. Polls Los Angeles Times and director of the journalism Pacific the best chance, the most likely chance, of suggest a tight race among Biden, Vermont program at Georgetown University. Mari Mori, [email protected] +81-3 6385.3171; DSN (315)227.7333 CONTACT US Washington Christmas 1944 saw immense, world-altering heroism tel: (+1)202.886.0003 633 3rd St. NW, Suite 116, Washington, DC 20001-3050 BY ARTHUR I. CYR were defeated. African American soldiers, generally Special to Stars and Stripes Other battles in U.S. history were in cer- prohibited from serving in combat, manned Reader letters tain respects more costly or complicated. the Red Ball Express, a gigantic truck con- [email protected] hristmas season this year falls During the Civil War, Gettysburg and vey system that supplied the front. Under Additional contacts on the 75th anniversary of the other engagements resulted in a higher the enormous pressures generated by the stripes.com/contactus Battle of the Bulge, the largest percentage of casualties among combat- Bulge, they were offered the opportunity Cbattle in the history of the United ants. During the Second World War, such to serve in combat units but had to sacri- OMBUDSMAN States. On Dec. 16, 1944, Nazi Germany enormous amphibious invasions as Nor- fice earned military seniority. launched an enormous offensive through Ernie Gates mandy, Iwo Jima and Leyte Gulf in the Thousands volunteered on these terms, the quiet, thinly defended Ardennes Forest Philippines were inherently more complex and were vital to Allied victory. in Belgium. Adolf Hitler and planners in in logistical terms than the Bulge. In the At the tactical level, Cpl. Henry F. War- The Stars and Stripes ombudsman protects the free flow Berlin achieved total surprise; German European theater, the scale of the war on ner near Dom Butgenbach, Belgium, of news and information, reporting any attempts by the forces rapidly gained ground. military or other authorities to undermine the newspaper’s the eastern front was much greater than in knocked out two German tanks, and then independence. The ombudsman also responds to concerns For Europeans among the Allies, the at- the west. his 57 mm. anti-tank gun jammed. He was and questions from readers, and monitors coverage for fair- tack was reminiscent of the stunning 1940 ness, accuracy, timeliness and balance. The ombudsman Nonetheless, in American history the firing a pistol at a third approaching tank German drive that overran France and welcomes comments from readers, and can be contacted Battle of the Bulge remains our biggest when the German driver backed up and by email at [email protected], or by phone at secured Nazi domination of the continent. single land engagement. Approximately a 202.886.0003. Among Dwight D. Eisenhower’s associates withdrew. quarter of a million U.S. troops were pitted One of Warner’s shots had killed the at Supreme Allied Headquarters, fear was visible along with alarm. against a comparable number of German commander, and the crew was unable to Stars and Stripes (USPS 0417900) is published week- The attack was an enormous risk for forces. proceed, a common reaction of German days (except Dec. 25 and Jan. 1) for 50 cents Monday Basic lessons of the Bulge include per- through Thursday and for $1 on Friday by Pacific Stars and Germany but conceivably could have suc- troops. American, British and other Al- Stripes, Unit 45002, APO AP 96301-5002. Periodicals ceeded. Had a major breakthrough oc- sonnel and materiel. Eisenhower’s skills lied soldiers were much more likely to im- postage paid at San Francisco, CA, Postmaster: Send include remarkable capacity to get dif- provise and continue fighting after their address changes to Pacific Stars and Stripes, Unit 45002, curred, the crucial port of Antwerp and APO AP 96301-5002. nearby fuel and supply reserves could ficult personalities to work together, plus officers were hit. Warner, killed later in This newspaper is authorized by the Department of have been captured. The Western allies constant attention to logistics. Casualties combat, received the Medal of Honor. Defense for members of the military services overseas. on both sides were enormous, in both men However, the contents of Stars and Stripes are unofficial, would have suffered a major setback. Ger- When the Nazi Reich surrendered, and are not to be considered as the official views of, or man hopes of breaking Allied unity were and supplies. The Allies could replace Eisenhower commented the war had not endorsed by, the U.S. government. As a DOD newspaper, them; the Germans at that point could not. yet been won. True victory would require Stars and Stripes may be distributed through official chan- unrealistic, but the war could have ended nels and use appropriated funds for distribution to remote with the Red Army in control of nearly all Flamboyant Patton was controversial Germany to embrace democracy and the locations where overseas DOD personnel are located. of Germany. for harsh discipline and extreme language. rule of law. The appearance of advertising in this publication does Yet he immediately, instinctively recog- Admirable and effective German Chan- not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense The tide of the battle did not clearly turn or Stars and Stripes of the products or services advertised. until Gen. George S. Patton’s Third Army nized the great threat of the Ardennes at- cellor Angela Merkel was selected 2015 Products or services advertised shall be made available for broke through to the 101st Airborne Divi- tack, and Third Army troops performed “Person of the Year” by Time magazine. purchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical sion, surrounded by the Wehrmacht in the with monumental ability, moving rapidly The Allies have won the war, undeniably. handicap, political affiliation or any other nonmerit factor crossroads town of Bastogne, on the day over difficult terrain in terrible winter Honor Merkel. Also honor Ike, who always of the purchaser, user or patron. after Christmas. weather. Patton had led and trained this got the job done. Brutal fighting continued through Janu- army, which fought heroically, and sensed © Stars and Stripes 2019 Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor ary. Nazi hopes of breaking the Western the importance of the German attack beat Carthage College and author of “After the Cold stripes.com Front, and the Anglo-American alliance, fore others did. War.” PAGE 16 • S TARS AND STRIPES• Saturday, December 28, 2019 Saturday, December 28, 2019 •STARS AND STRIPES•PAGE 17 SCOREBOARD

Sports College football Pro football Bowl schedule Redbox Bowl NFL (shoulder), RB Alexander Mattison (an- on AFN Santa Clara, Calif. kle). FULL: S Jayron Kearse (foot), CB Friday, Dec. 20 Illinois (6-6) vs. California (7-5) AMERICAN CONFERENCE Xavier Rhodes (ankle), DT Shamar Ste- Bahamas Bowl Orange Bowl East phen (knee). Nassau Miami Gardens, Fla. W L T Pct PF PA LOS ANGELES CHARGERS at KANSAS Buffalo 31, Charlotte 9 Florida (10-2) vs. Virginia (9-4) y-New England 12 3 0 .800 396 198 CITY CHIEFS — CHARGERS: Practice Not Go to the American Forces Frisco (Texas) Bowl Tuesday, Dec. 31 x-Buffalo 10 5 0 .667 308 246 Complete. CHIEFS: Practice Not Com- Kent State 51, Utah State 41 Belk Bowl N.Y. Jets 6 9 0 .400 263 353 plete. Network website for the most Saturday, Dec. 21 Charlotte, N.C. Miami 4 11 0 .267 279 470 NEW YORK JETS at BUFFALO BILLS up-to-date TV schedules. Celebration Bowl Kentucky (7-5) vs. Virginia Tech (8-4) South — JETS: DNP: G Tom Compton (calf), CB At Atlanta Sun Bowl y-Houston 10 5 0 .667 364 350 Nate Hairston (illness), G Alex Lewis (an- myafn.net NC A&T 64, Alcorn State 44 El Paso, Texas Tennessee 8 7 0 .533 367 317 kle), WR Demaryius Thomas (hamstring/ Florida State (6-6) vs. Arizona State (7-5) Indianapolis 7 8 0 .467 341 335 knee). LIMITED: S Jamal Adams (ankle), New Mexico Bowl DE Henry Anderson (knee/shoulder), WR Albuquerque Liberty Bowl Jacksonville 5 10 0 .333 262 377 North Robby Anderson (calf), OT Kelvin Bea- San Diego State 48, Central Michigan 11 Memphis, Tenn. chum (back/ankles), DT Steve McLen- Kansas State (8-4) vs. Navy (9-2) y-Baltimore 13 2 0 .867 503 272 Deals Cure Bowl Pittsburgh 8 7 0 .533 279 275 don (knee/hip) FULL: LB James Burgess Orlando, Fla. Arizona Bowl Cleveland 6 9 0 .400 312 360 (thumb), WR Jamison Crowder (thumb), Liberty 23, Georgia Southern 16 Tucson, Ariz. Cincinnati 1 14 0 .067 246 397 QB Sam Darnold (knee/left thumb). Thursday’s transactions Boca Raton (Fla.) Bowl Wyoming (7-5) vs. Georgia State (7-5) West BILLS: DNP: DE Shaq Lawson (hamstring), FAU 52, SMU 28 Alamo Bowl y-Kansas City 11 4 0 .733 420 287 OT Ty Nsekhe (ankle), WR Andre Roberts BASKETBALL Camellia Bowl San Antonio Oakland 7 8 0 .467 298 403 (foot). FULL: C Mitch Morse (ankle). National Basketball Association Montgomery, Ala. Texas (7-5) vs. Utah (11-2) Denver 6 9 0 .400 266 301 OAKLAND RAIDERS at DENVER BRON- WASHINGTON WIZARDS — Signed F Arkansas State 34, FIU 26 Wednesday, Jan. 1 L.A. Chargers 5 10 0 .333 316 314 COS — RAIDERS: DNP: G Richie Incognito Johnathan Williams. Las Vegas Bowl Citrus Bowl NATIONAL CONFERENCE (ankle), RB Josh Jacobs (shoulder/ill- FOOTBALL Washington 38, Boise State 7 Orlando, Fla. East ness), S Lamarcus Joyner (calf/quadri- National Football League New Orleans Bowl Michigan (9-3) vs. Alabama (10-2) W L T Pct PF PA cep). LIMITED: C Rodney Hudson (ankle), TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS — Signed Appalachian State 31, UAB 17 Outback Bowl Philadelphia 8 7 0 .533 351 337 G Gabe Jackson (knee), CB Trayvon Monday, Dec. 23 Tampa, Fla. Dallas 7 8 0 .467 387 305 Mullen (neck/concussion). BRONCOS: WR Ishmael Hyman and TE Jordan DNP: T Ja’Wuan James (knee), G Ronald Leggett to the practice squad. Gasparilla Bowl Minnesota (10-2) vs. Auburn (9-3) N.Y. Giants 4 11 0 .267 324 417 At Tampa, Fla. Rose Bowl Washington 3 12 0 .200 250 388 Leary (concussion), OT Elijah Wilkinson TENNESSEE TITANS — Signed LB Nigel (ankle). LIMITED: DE Dre’Mont Jones (an- Harris to the practice squad. Removed UCF 48, Marshall 25 Pasadena, Calif. South Tuesday, Dec. 24 Oregon (11-2) vs. Wisconsin (10-3) y-New Orleans 12 3 0 .800 416 331 kle), LB Joseph Jones (back). FULL: S Will LB Josh Smith from the practice squad. Parks (hand), WR Tim Patrick (shoulder), COLLEGE Hawaii Bowl Sugar Bowl Tampa Bay 7 8 0 .467 436 421 Honolulu New Orleans Atlanta 6 9 0 .400 353 377 DT Mike Purcell (shoulder/knee), LB Ma- PENN STATE — Named Kirk Ciarrocca Carolina 5 10 0 .333 330 428 lik Reed (ankle), DE DeMarcus Walker offensive coordinator and quarterbacks Hawaii 38, BYU 34 Georgia (11-2) vs. Baylor (11-2) Thursday, Dec. 26 Thursday, Jan. 2 North (ankle). coach. y-Green Bay 12 3 0 .800 353 293 INDIANAPOLIS COLTS at JACKSON- WASHINGTON — Junior QB Jacob Ea- Independence Bowl Birmingham (Ala.) Bowl Cincinnati (10-3) vs. Boston College (6-6) x-Minnesota 10 5 0 .667 388 282 VILLE JAGUARS — COLTS: DNP: DT Denico son announced he will enter the NFL Shreveport, La. Autry (concussion), LB Darius Leonard Louisiana Tech 14, Miami 0 Gator Bowl Chicago 7 8 0 .467 259 279 Draft. Detroit 3 11 1 .233 321 400 (back), CB Kenny Moore (ankle), DE Al- Quick Lane Bowl Jacksonville, Fla. Quadin Muhammad (groin), G Quen- Detroit Indiana (8-4) vs. Tennessee (7-5) West x-San Francisco 12 3 0 .800 453 289 ton Nelson (concussion), S Khari Willis Pittsburgh 34, Eastern Michigan 30 Friday, Jan. 3 (shoulder), CB Quincy Wilson (shoulder). Friday, Dec. 27 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl x-Seattle 11 4 0 .733 384 372 College basketball L.A. Rams 8 7 0 .533 363 340 LIMITED: DT Grover Stewart (knee). JAG- Military Bowl Boise UARS: DNP: DE Calais Campbell (back/ Ohio (6-6) vs. Nevada (7-5) Arizona 5 9 1 .367 337 411 Annapolis, Md. x-clinched playoff spot shoulder), C Brandon Linder (knee), WR North Carolina (6-6) vs. Temple (8-4) Saturday, Jan. 4 Michael Walker (hamstring). LIMITED: AP Men’s Top 25 schedule Armed Forces Bowl y-clinched division Pinstripe Bowl Sunday’s games LB Dakota Allen (hamstring), DE Josh Al- Saturday’s games New York Fort Worth, Texas Chicago at Minnesota len (shoulder), CB A.J. Bouye (wrist), DT No. 3 Louisville at No. 19 Kentucky Wake Forest (8-4) vs. Michigan State Southern Miss (7-5) vs. Tulane (6-6) Atlanta at Tampa Bay Taven Bryan (wrist), WR D.J. Chark (an- No. 4 Duke vs. Brown (6-6) Monday, Jan. 6 Miami at New England kle), RB Leonard Fournette (neck), CB D.J. No. 9 Memphis vs. New Orleans Texas Bowl Lendingtree Bowl Green Bay at Detroit Hayden (knee), DT Abry Jones (elbow), No. 12 Butler vs. Louisiana-Monroe Houston Mobile, Ala. Cleveland at Cincinnati QB Gardner Minshew (right shoulder), No. 15 San Diego State vs. Cal Poly Oklahoma State (8-4) vs. Texas A&M (7-5) Miami (Ohio) (8-5) vs. Louisiana-La- L.A. Chargers at Kansas City TE Nick O’Leary (shoulder), OT Cam Rob- No. 17 Florida State vs. North Ala- Holiday Bowl fayette (10-3) N.Y. Jets at Buffalo inson (knee). FULL: WR Dede Westbrook bama San Diego Monday, Jan. 13 New Orleans at Carolina (neck/shoulder). Sunday’s games Iowa (9-3) vs. Southern Cal (8-4) College Football Championship Oakland at Denver ARIZONA CARDINALS at LOS ANGELES No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 22 West Vir- Cheez-It Bowl New Orleans Tennessee at Houston RAMS — CARDINALS: DNP: TE Charles Phoenix Peach Bowl winner vs. Fiesta Bowl Washington at Dallas Clay (calf), TE Darrell Daniels (biceps), ginia G Justin Pugh (back). LIMITED: S Budda No. 5 Kansas at Stanford Air Force (10-2) vs. Washington State winner Indianapolis at Jacksonville (6-6) Saturday, Jan. 18 Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants Baker (quadricep), LB Chandler Jones No. 6 Oregon vs. Alabama State (thumb), QB Kyler Murray (hamstring), S No. 8 Auburn vs. Lipscomb Saturday, Dec. 28 East-West Shrine Classic Pittsburgh at Baltimore Camping World Bowl At St. Petersburg, Fla. Arizona at L.A. Rams Charles Washington (calf). RAMS: DNP: No. 11 Michigan vs. UMass Lowell DE Michael Brockers (knee), RB Darrell No. 13 Maryland vs. Bryant Orlando, Fla. East vs. West San Francisco at Seattle NFLPA Collegiate Bowl Henderson (ankle), CB Troy Hill (thumb), No. 14 Michigan State vs. Western Notre Dame (10-2) vs. Iowa State (7-5) CB Jalen Ramsey (knee), WR Nsimba Michigan Cotton Bowl Classic At Pasadena, Calif. NFL injury report Webster (concussion), OT Andrew Whit- No. 16 Virginia vs. Navy Arlington, Texas American vs. National worth (quadricep). LIMITED: S Eric Wed- No. 20 Penn State vs. Cornell Penn State (10-2) vs. Memphis (12-1) Saturday, Jan. 25 NEW YORK — The National Football dle (groin). FULL: T Bobby Evans (hip). No. 23 Texas Tech vs. Cal State Bakers- Peach Bowl Senior Bowl League injury report, as provided by the TENNESSEE TITANS at HOUSTON field Atlanta At Mobile, Ala. league (OUT - definitely will not play; TEXANS — TITANS: DNP: WR Adam No. 25 Iowa vs. Kennesaw State CFP Semifinal, LSU (13-0) vs. Oklaho- North vs. South DNP - did not practice; LIMITED - limited Humphries (ankle), CB Adoree’ Jackson ma (12-1) Sunday, Jan. 26 participation in practice; FULL - full par- (foot), WR Kalif Raymond (concussion). Fiesta Bowl Hula Bowl ticipation in practice): LIMITED: WR Corey Davis (concussion), AP Women’s Top 25 schedule Glendale, Ariz. At Honolulu Sunday WR Cody Hollister (ankle). FULL: LB Dar- CFP Semifinal, Ohio State (13-0) vs. East vs. West ATLANTA FALCONS at TAMPA BAY en Bates (shoulder), RB Derrick Henry Saturday’s games BUCCANEERS — FALCONS: DNP: DE Allen No. 2 Oregon vs. Corban Clemson (13-0) (hamstring), DT Jeffery Simmons (knee). Monday, Dec. 30 Bailey (hand), DE Adrian Clayborn (knee), TEXANS: DNP: WR Will Fuller (groin), WR No. 5 Stanford vs. UC Davis NCAA FCS playoffs WR Julio Jones (knee). LIMITED: S Ricardo No. 12 Maryland vs. No. 23 Michigan SERVPRO First Responder Bowl DeAndre Hopkins (illness). LIMITED: S Dallas Championship Allen (shoulder/knee), RB Kenjon Barner Jahleel Addae (Achilles), LB Jacob Martin No. 14 Indiana vs. Michigan State (shoulder/hip), G Jamon Brown (illness). Sunday’s games Western Kentucky (8-4) vs. Western Saturday, Jan. 11 (knee), LB Brennan Scarlett (Achilles), Michigan (7-5) At Toyota Stadium FULL: TE Jaeden Graham (knee). BUC- WR Kenny Stills (knee), OT Laremy Tun- No. 3 Oregon State vs. Cal State Ba- CANEERS: DNP: DT Beau Allen (ankle), kersfield Music City Bowl Frisco, Texas sil (ankle), QB Deshaun Watson (back). OT Demar Dotson (not injury related), FULL: LB Benardrick McKinney (concus- No. 7 Louisville vs. Syracuse Nashville, Tenn. North Dakota State (15-0) vs. James WR Chris Godwin (hamstring), LB Jason Mississippi State (6-6) vs. Louisville (7-5) Madison (14-1) sion). No. 8 Florida State vs. Virginia Tech Pierre-Paul (not injury related). LIMITED: PITTSBURGH STEELERS at BALTIMORE No. 9 N.C. State at Boston College K Matt Gay (back), DE William Gholston RAVENS — STEELERS: DNP: LB Mark Bar- No. 10 UCLA vs. Southern Cal (ankle), OT Donovan Smith (ankle/knee), ron (not injury related), RB James Con- No. 11 Texas A&M vs. Texas A&M-Cor- Pro hockey QB Jameis Winston (right thumb/knee). ner (quadricep), G David DeCastro (not pus Christi FULL: G Alex Cappa (elbow), CB Carlton injury related), DT Cameron Heyward No. 15 Mississippi State vs. Little Rock Davis (ankle), TE Tanner Hudson (con- (not injury related), TE Vance McDonald No. 16 DePaul vs. Marquette cussion), C Ryan Jensen (elbow). (not injury related), CB Steven Nelson No. 17 Gonzaga vs. Portland NHL Minnesota at Colorado CLEVELAND BROWNS at CINCINNATI Pittsburgh at Nashville (groin), C Maurkice Pouncey (knee), OT No. 18 Arizona at Arizona State BENGALS — BROWNS: DNP: TE Ricky Alejandro Villanueva (not injury related), No. 20 Arkansas vs. UT Martin EASTERN CONFERENCE St. Louis at Winnipeg Seals-Jones (illness). LIMITED: WR Odell N.Y. Islanders at Chicago LB T.J. Watt (not injury related). RAVENS: No. 22 Tennessee vs. Howard Atlantic Division Beckham (groin), WR Khadarel Hodge Practice Not Complete. No. 24 Miami vs. Wake Forest GP W L OT Pts GF GA Calgary at Edmonton (neck), OT Christopher Hubbard (knee), PHILADELPHIA EAGLES at NEW YORK No. 25 Texas vs. Northwestern State Boston 38 22 7 9 53 130 100 Vegas at Anaheim OT Kendall Lamm (knee), WR Jarvis GIANTS — EAGLES: DNP: WR Nelson Toronto 38 20 14 4 44 133 122 Los Angeles at San Jose Landry (hip), DT Sheldon Richardson Agholor (knee), TE Zach Ertz (ribs), OT Montreal 37 18 13 6 42 121 117 Saturday’s games (back), C J.C. Tretter (knee), DE Olivier Lane Johnson (ankle). LIMITED: WR J.J. Florida 36 18 13 5 41 127 121 Washington at Carolina Vernon (knee). FULL: S Damarious Ran- Arcega-Whiteside (foot), DE Derek Bar- AP sportlight Buffalo 38 17 14 7 41 115 119 Colorado at Dallas dall (foot). BENGALS: DNP: DT Geno At- nett (ankle), G Brandon Brooks (calf), DT Tampa Bay 35 18 13 4 40 124 111 Detroit at Florida kins (not injury related), CB Darqueze Fletcher Cox (triceps), RB Jordan Howard Ottawa 38 16 18 4 36 106 123 Nashville at Pittsburgh Dennard (knee), TE Tyler Eifert (not in- (shoulder), CB Jalen Mills (ankle). GI- Dec. 28 Detroit 38 9 26 3 21 82 150 Montreal at Tampa Bay jury related), CB William Jackson (shoul- ANTS: DNP: CB Corey Ballentine (back), 1944 — Maurice Richard has five goals Metropolitan Division N.Y. Rangers at Toronto der), WR Stanley Morgan (concussion). LB Lorenzo Carter (knee), LB Alec Ogle- and three assists to lead the Montreal Washington 38 26 7 5 57 137 111 Los Angeles at Vancouver LIMITED: CB Tony McRae (concussion), G tree (back), OT Mike Remmers (concus- Canadiens to a 9-1 rout of the Detroit N.Y. Islanders 35 23 9 3 49 105 91 Arizona at Vegas John Miller (concussion). sion). LIMITED: CB Sam Beal (shoulder), Red Wings. Philadelphia 37 21 11 5 47 121 106 Philadelphia at San Jose MIAMI DOLPHINS at NEW ENGLAND TE Rhett Ellison (concussion), G Nick — The Chicago Cardinals, behind Pittsburgh 36 21 11 4 46 120 96 Sunday’s games PATRIOTS — DOLPHINS: DNP: CB Jomal Gates (shoulder), WR Darius Slayton 1947 Wiltz (shoulder). LIMITED: LB Vince Elmer Angsman’s two 70-yard scores and Carolina 37 22 13 2 46 124 102 Winnipeg at St. Louis (knee). Chicago at Columbus Biegel (elbow), DE Taco Charlton (an- WASHINGTON REDSKINS at DALLAS Charlie Trippi’s 44-yard TD run and 75- Columbus 37 17 14 6 40 98 106 kle), WR Allen Hurns (ankle/neck), DT yard punt return, beat the Philadelphia N.Y. Rangers 36 17 15 4 38 114 118 New Jersey at Ottawa COWBOYS — REDSKINS: DNP: LB Ryan Zach Sieler (ankle/thumb), TE Durham Anderson (Achilles/shoulder), S Troy Eagles 28-21 for the NFL title on a frozen New Jersey 36 12 19 5 29 91 128 N.Y. Islanders at Minnesota Smythe (quadricep), LB Andrew Van Gin- Buffalo at Boston Apke (knee), S Landon Collins (shoul- Comiskey Park field. WESTERN CONFERENCE kel (shoulder), DE Christian Wilkins (an- der), QB Dwayne Haskins (ankle), WR 1952 — Doak Walker’s 67-yard third- Central Division Montreal at Florida kle). FULL: RB Chandler Cox (shoulder), Terry McLaurin (concussion), CB Fabian quarter touchdown run leads the Detroit GP W L OT Pts GF GA Detroit at Tampa Bay QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (right shoulder), WR Moreau (hamstring), OT Morgan Mo- Lions to a 17-7 victory over the Cleveland St. Louis 38 24 8 6 54 118 99 Dallas at Arizona Isaiah Ford (knee), C Daniel Kilgore (fin- ses (knee), S Montae Nicholson (neck/ Browns for the NFL championship. Colorado 37 23 11 3 49 134 103 Philadelphia at Anaheim ger), CB Nik Needham (groin). PATRIOTS: ankle), OT Donald Penn (knee). FULL: 1958 — The Baltimore Colts beat the Winnipeg 37 21 14 2 44 113 107 Vancouver at Calgary LIMITED: LB Ja’Whaun Bentley (knee), OT LB Cole Holcomb (thumb). COWBOYS: New York Giants 23-17 in overtime to win Dallas 38 20 14 4 44 100 97 Monday’s games Marcus Cannon (ankle), LB Jamie Collins DNP: DE Demarcus Lawrence (shoul- the NFL championship at Yankee Sta- Nashville 36 18 12 6 42 126 116 Ottawa at Pittsburgh (shoulder), WR Julian Edelman (knee/ der), LB Sean Lee (pectoral/thigh), QB dium. Quarterback Johnny Unitas takes Minnesota 38 18 15 5 41 118 126 Tuesday’s games shoulder), CB Jonathan Jones (groin), CB Dak Prescott (right shoulder), OT Tyron the Colts 80 yards in 13 plays, the last a Chicago 38 15 17 6 36 105 125 Boston at New Jersey Jason McCourty (groin). Smith (back). LIMITED: DE Michael Ben- 1-yard carry by Alan Ameche at 8:15 of Pacific Division N.Y. Islanders at Washington NEW ORLEANS SAINTS at CARO- nett (foot), CB C.J. Goodwin (thumb), S sudden death overtime. The regulation Arizona 39 21 14 4 46 112 99 Anaheim at Vegas LINA PANTHERS — SAINTS: DNP: CB Jeff Heath (shoulder/shoulder), P Chris game ends 17-17 when Baltimore’s Steve Vegas 40 20 14 6 46 122 118 Toronto at Minnesota Eli Apple (ankle), WR Krishawn Hogan Jones (abdomen), LB Joe Thomas (knee). Myhra kicks a 20-yard field goal with 20 Edmonton 40 20 16 4 44 117 124 Tampa Bay at Buffalo (hamstring), S Marcus Williams (groin). FULL: T La’el Collins (knee), G Zack Mar- seconds left in the game. The game is Calgary 39 19 15 5 43 104 116 Montreal at Carolina LIMITED: LB Kiko Alonso (quadricep), S tin (ankle), WR Devin Smith (knee). widely known as “The Greatest Game Vancouver 38 19 15 4 42 124 115 Florida at Columbus Vonn Bell (knee), QB Drew Brees (knee), SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS at SEATTLE Ever Played.” With a national television Anaheim 37 15 18 4 34 96 114 San Jose at Detroit S Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (knee), SEAHAWKS — 49ERS: DNP: DE Dee Ford audience watching, this game is be- San Jose 38 16 20 2 34 101 133 Winnipeg at Colorado G Andrus Peat (forearm), WR Michael (quadricep/hamstring). LIMITED: LB Philadelphia at Los Angeles Thomas (hand), G Larry Warford (knee). Azeez Al-Shaair (knee), G Mike Person lieved to have made the NFL a challenger Los Angeles 39 15 20 4 34 99 124 Practice Not Complete. Two points for a win, one point Chicago at Calgary PANTHERS: (neck), WR Deebo Samuel (shoulder), S to baseball as the national pastime. Note: GREEN BAY PACKERS at DETROIT LI- Jaquiski Tartt (ribs). FULL: CB Tarvarius 1968 — Arthur Ashe leads the United for overtime loss. Top three teams in N.Y. Rangers at Edmonton ONS — PACKERS: Practice Not Complete. Moore (concussion), DT Jullian Taylor (el- States to its first Davis Cup title since each division and two wild cards per St. Louis at Arizona LIONS: DNP: DT A’Shawn Robinson (shoul- bow). SEAHAWKS: DNP: T Duane Brown 1963 with a 4-1 victory over Australia. conference advance to playoffs. der), OT Rick Wagner (knee). LIMITED: T (knee/biceps), S Quandre Diggs (ankle), 2003 — Jamal Lewis becomes the fifth Thursday’s games NHL calendar Taylor Decker (ankle), LB Devon Kennard C Joey Hunt (fibula), G Mike Iupati (neck), player in NFL history to run for 2,000 No games scheduled (shoulder), S Tavon Wilson (hamstring). WR Malik Turner (concussion). LIMITED: yards in a season. He gains 114 yards on Friday’s games Dec. 26-Jan. 5 — World Junior Cham- FULL: DT Damon Harrison (knee/calf). DE Jadeveon Clowney (core), CB Shaquill 27 carries in Baltimore’s 13-10 overtime Boston at Buffalo pionship, Ostrava and Trinec, Czech Re- CHICAGO BEARS at MINNESOTA VI- Griffin (hamstring), LB Mychal Kendricks victory against Pittsburgh, finishing the Carolina at N.Y. Rangers public. KINGS — BEARS: Practice Not Com- (hamstring). FULL: T George Fant (knee), year with 2,066 yards — second-most in Toronto at New Jersey Jan. 1 — Winter Classic, Nashville at plete. VIKINGS: DNP: LB Eric Kendricks OT Germain Ifedi (knee), C Ethan Pocic NFL history. Columbus at Washington Dallas (Cotton Bowl). (quadricep). LIMITED: RB Dalvin Cook (core), LB Bobby Wagner (ankle). PAGE 18 •STARS AND STRIPES• Saturday, December 28, 2019 SPORTS BRIEFS/GOLF Miami fires offensive On the fringe coordinator Dan Enos CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Miami fired offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Dan Enos on Friday, one day after Major champions talk significant shots the Hurricanes were shut out by Louisiana Tech in the Indepen- dence Bowl and finished with a Fans’ most memorable moments 6-7 record. Enos was with Miami for only don’t always align with the pros one season, and to say it didn’t go to plan would be an understatement. BY DOUG FERGUSON The Hurricanes finished the year Associated Press on a three-game losing streak, endured wildly inconsistent quar- rooks Koepka and Shane Lowry terback play and ranked 129th — have a clear memory of one shot out of 130 teams — in third-down from the final round of the majors conversion percentage. B they won that not many would re- Only Akron, which finished the member, and for good reason. season winless, was worse than They each made bogey. Miami in that department. Miami Tiger Woods was two holes away from converted 27.2% of its third downs, becoming a Masters champion again, and Akron converted 26.4%. all he could think about was a shot from 14 The Hurricanes announced years ago. The most memorable shot for Gary the decision with a one-sentence Woodland at Pebble Beach? One of them won statement: “The University of him the U.S. Open. The other is what fans will Miami football program an- remember more. nounced Friday that Dan Enos The four major champions shared what they has been relieved of his duties consider the most memorable shot from their as offensive coordinator/quarter- victory, along with a shot that was significant backs coach.” to them even if it wasn’t shown on TV. Masters Quinn, Dimitroff to Woods took the lead for the first time with remain with Falcons a two-putt birdie on the par-5 15th at Augusta National, but it was the ATLANTA — The Atlanta next hole where he ef- Falcons are keeping coach Dan fectively delivered the Quinn for another season despite game winner. He hit 8- a second straight losing record. iron with just the right /AP The team also announced Fri- distance to the right spot PETER MORRISON day that general manager Thom- on the green, and he Ireland’s Shane Lowry plays a shot from the eighth fairway during the final round of the as Dimitroff will remain in his watched the slope send it British Open Golf Championships at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland in July. Lowry says current role. toward the hole to 3 feet this shot gave him confidence that he could handle any shot in the final round. Owner Arthur Blank made the below the cup for birdie decision two days before the Fal- and a two-shot lead. cons (6-9) close the season with a Ricky Elliott was “super worried” about it. “It Woodland, though, goes back to early Sat- “Almost hooped it,” he was either going in the bunker or through the urday for what he feels was a shot equally im- game at Tampa Bay. Woods said. fairway into the rough. Me and Ricky talked portant. He drove left into a fairway bunker The Falcons will go through an Game over, right? organizational restructuring, re- about it and thought it was better to leave it in on No. 2, leaving him an awkward lie with the Think back to that chip-in on the 16th in the bunker. I thought it was a good shot to get ball above his feet. storing team president and CEO 2005 that went up the slope, down the slope it in the fairway.” “The best swing I made all week,” he said Rich McKay to a bigger role in the and paused at the edge before it tumbled He made par from there to win by two. of his 8-iron into 10 feet. “So much could have football operations. In addition, in for birdie and a two-shot lead. Woods re- It was a bogey he kept from being worse happened there. If I made bogey or double former Tampa Bay coach Ra- membered it well. He followed with a couple that was most meaningful to him. bogey there, I lose my lead early, who knows heem Morris will take over from of wild tee shots, made two bogeys and was Right after his final birdie on No. 10 for a what happens the rest of the week? That shot Quinn as defensive coordinator. forced into a playoff. six-shot lead, Koepka began his run of four gave me confidence that I could hit any shot In other NFL news: “That was one of the reasons why I was so straight bogeys starting at No. 11. He drove under pressure.” Atlanta Falcons rookie cor- focused and I didn’t celebrate after I made left into a bunker, blasted out and then hit a nerback Jordan Miller was sus- that birdie on 16,” Woods said. “Because I’ve poor wedge that came off the green 50 feet British Open pended for four games without been in that situation before.” away. He knocked that 8 feet by the hole and It only seems as though Lowry won the pay Thursday for violating the And that’s why his drive on the 17th this had that left for bogey. Open at Royal Portrush on Saturday when NFL’s policy on performance-en- year was so special, even if it didn’t look that “You drop two shots and everyone goes, he shot 63 to build a four-shot lead. He knew hancing substances. way. ‘Oooh.’ A bogey, you wouldn’t think it,” he better. In his mind, Lowry believes the clinch- Miller, a fifth-round draft pick “That was the best shot I hit all year,” Woods said. “That was a big putt there.” ing shot that most people will remember was out of Washington, will miss Sun- said. “Considering the moment, I needed to on the 15th hole Sunday, right after Tommy day’s season finale at Tampa Bay pipe that ball. I did. I gave it a little more than U.S. Open Fleetwood had made double bogey. Turning and the first three games of 2020. normal and hit a flat fade. And I think that Woodland still doesn’t know what the pub- to caddie Bo Martin, he told him: “Let’s shoot was what allowed me to go on to win.” lic will consider his signature shot at Pebble level par on the last four holes. Shoot level par, Canada tops US in world Beach — the 3-wood from we’re grand.” junior hockey opener PGA Championship 263 yards on the par-5 “I hit 2-iron off the tee about 320 yards, Koepka said that when he gets to the end 14th that set up birdie for flushed it straight down the middle,” Lowry OSTRAVA, Czech Republic — of his career, he will look back on the open- a two-shot lead, or the lob said. “I had 100 yards to the flag, hit lob wedge Arizona Coyotes forward Barrett ing two days at Bethpage wedge across the 17th to 8 feet and holed it. That was it, then, the nail Hayton scored twice to help Can- Black as “the best two green to save par. in the coffin. You can see how much it means ada beat the United States 6-4 on rounds of my career.” “People on the out- at the time. I crouched down and gave it a big Thursday night in their Group B Trouble is, the stron- side will talk about the fist pump. I knew that was it.” opener at the world junior hockey gest memories are the 17th,” he said. “The shot But there were nerves early, and one shot championship. last ones. And at times on 14 won me the golf Sunday that stands out to Lowry to make him Alexis Lafreniere gave Canada on Sunday, it was hard to tournament.” believe he could get the job done. a 5-4 lead with 3:11 left, just 7 sec- look. He had the same shot He drove into the rough on the right on the onds after Shane Pinto tied it for Six shots clear with on the 17th in the open- Woodland par-4 eighth. The wind was howling out of the the U.S. eight holes to play, Ko- ing round and made a 10- right. The rain was lashing. Connor McMichael, Nolan epka nearly lost the lead. footer to save par, but that wasn’t on TV and it “I hit the green with a 5-iron, and that was Foote and Ty Dellandrea also And not even a two-shot was only Thursday. It felt like the whole world the best shot I hit all day,” he said. “I three- Koepka scored for Canada, and Nico Daws lead on the 18th was safe was watching on Sunday. putted from 60 feet, but that had potential to made 28 saves. Lafreniere, the when he pulled his drive “I’ve hit a lot of chip shots off greens, I just be a bit of a disaster. It was a dodgy enough lie. projected No. 1 pick in the June into the native area. He wasn’t in the clear never hit one that far,” Woodland said. “My The ball was way above my feet, the wind was NHL Draft, added three assists. until he managed to hack that out into the whole idea was don’t chunk it or blade. If you howling. Miss left, that could be dead. There Pinto scored twice, and Nick fairway. That shot is what Koepka considers chunk it, you’re screwed. Blade it, I could was a bush on the right if I didn’t carry it.” Robertson and Arthur Kaliyev as memorable as any he hit on the back nine. blade it in the ocean. That chip shot will go The idea that Lowry picked a shot that led to added goals for the Americans. “The one thing I don’t think anyone realizes down as the best chip I’ve ever hit. And the bogey made him smile. Spencer Knight made 26 saves. is that second shot on 18 out of the mess was an swing on 14 will go down as the best swing “I hit some lovely shots that day,” he said. — Associated Press awkward lie,” Koepka said, adding that caddie I’ve ever made.” “But it was a key shot in the final round.” Saturday, December 28, 2019 •STARS AND STRIPES•PAGE 19 NBA Roundup Doncic nets 24, Mavs top Spurs

Associated Press 20 and visiting Memphis held on to the lead this time against Okla- DALLAS — Luka Doncic re- homa City in the second meeting turned to the Dallas lineup after between the teams in eight days. missing four games due to injury Tyus Jones added 15 points on and scored 24 points, helping the 6-for-7 shooting for Memphis, Mavericks beat the San Antonio which blew a 24-point third- Spurs 102-98 on Thursday night. quarter lead during its last visit Doncic finished with 10 rebounds and eight assists and to Oklahoma City on Dec. 18 and barely missed adding to his NBA- lost 126-122. leading total of eight triple-dou- That started a stretch in which bles. He last played on Dec. 14 the Grizzles dropped three out of against Miami, when he sprained four games. /AP his right ankle. Jazz 121, Trail Blazers 115: KATHY WILLENS Donovan Mitchell scored 28 of San Antonio rallied from a New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson, third from left, defends as Brooklyn Nets forward Wilson his 35 points in the second half to 102-85 deficit by scoring the Chandler tries to pass around him during the second half of Thursday’s game in New York. game’s final 13 points. After power host Utah over Portland. Doncic missed two free throws, Rudy Gobert, who had 16 the Spurs’ Derrick White missed points and 15 rebounds, forced Scoreboard a three-point attempt with six Carmelo Anthony into an air ball seconds left and Doncic got the with 22.4 seconds remaining and Knicks hold Nets rebound. blocked Damon Lillard’s driving Eastern Conference The Mavericks (20-10) pulled shot with 5.2 seconds left to quell Atlantic Division the Trail Blazers’ furious fourth- W L Pct GB within half a game of idle first- Boston 21 7 .750 — quarter rally. Philadelphia 23 10 .697 ½ to 26.9% shooting place Houston in the Southwest Toronto 21 10 .677 1½ Division. Lillard scored 34 points, in- Brooklyn 16 14 .533 6 cluding a pair of 30-foot contested New York 8 24 .250 15 BY BRIAN MAHONEY Spencer Dinwiddie scored 25 Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 17 Southeast Division points, Kristaps Porzingis and three-pointers in the final min- Miami 22 8 .733 — Associated Press points but was only 5-for-15 for utes, and CJ McCollum tallied Orlando 13 17 .433 9 Dorian Finney-Smith each had Charlotte 13 20 .394 10½ the Nets, who were held to their 13, and Delon Wright added 12 17 of his 25 points in the fourth Washington 9 21 .300 13 NEW YORK — A local rival- lowest point total of the season. quarter for the Blazers (14-18), Atlanta 6 25 .194 16½ ry was supposed to go national off the bench. Dwight Powell’s 11 Central Division “For us, the target was to keep points all came in the first half. who have dropped two straight Milwaukee 27 5 .844 — Thursday, with the Knicks and them under 100. We also shot 27 Indiana 21 10 .677 5½ Nets scheduled to play on TNT DeMar DeRozan led San An- after winning four in a row. Chicago 12 20 .375 15 percent,” Dinwiddie said. “Maybe Timberwolves 105, Kings Detroit 12 20 .375 15 before the game was recently tonio with 21 points, 16 in the Cleveland 9 21 .300 17 too much eggnog?” second half. Rudy Gay scored 18, 104 (2OT): Andrew Wiggins replaced. The game even lacked the usual LaMarcus Aldridge had 17 and scored the first basket of the sec- Western Conference That turned out to be a wise energy of a matchup between the White finished with 10. ond overtime and then fed Rob- Southwest Division decision because it was anything city rivals, when there’s almost W L Pct GB but must-see TV. Pistons 132, Wizards 102: ert Covington for another score, Houston 21 10 .677 — always noise because both teams Blake Griffin had 14 points and a and visiting Minnesota ended its Dallas 20 10 .667 ½ Julius Randle had 33 points and have plenty of fans in the build- San Antonio 12 18 .400 8½ eight rebounds, and New York season-high 11 rebounds and host 11-game losing streak by beating Memphis 12 20 .375 9½ ing. This time, there were simply Detroit routed Washington in a Sacramento. New Orleans 9 23 .281 12½ forced Brooklyn into the worst too many long spells when there Northwest Division shooting performance in the NBA matchup of short-handed teams. Wiggins finished with 18 Denver 21 9 .700 — was nothing to cheer from the this season in a 94-82 victory. The Pistons were missing Reg- points, 10 rebounds and seven as- Utah 19 12 .613 2½ sellout crowd of 17,732. Oklahoma City 15 15 .500 6 Brooklyn finished 21-for-78 gie Jackson (back) and Luke Ken- sists. Gorgui Dieng had 21 points Portland 14 18 .438 8 The Nets hadn’t played since Minnesota 11 19 .367 10 (26.9%) from the field. Chicago nard (knee), while Griffin, Bruce and 15 rebounds, and Covington Saturday and couldn’t shake off Pacific Division had the previous worst shoot- Brown and Derrick Rose played scored 19 for the Timberwolves. L.A. Lakers 24 7 .774 — their holiday rust. Randle scored L.A. Clippers 23 10 .697 2 ing game this season when it hit through injuries. Minnesota hadn’t won since 12 points in the first quarter, Sacramento 12 19 .387 12 29.9% against Toronto exactly John Wall, Davis Bertans, Nov. 27 before limiting Sacramen- Phoenix 11 19 .367 12½ when his five baskets were as Golden State 8 24 .250 16½ two months earlier. Isaiah Thomas, Thomas Bryant to to 11 points in the fourth quar- Thursday’s games “They just outplayed us. Plain many as the Nets. Brooklyn shot and Rui Hachimura sat out for ter and then outlasting the Kings Detroit 132, Washington 102 New York 94, Brooklyn 82 and simple,” Nets coach Kenny 21% for the period and the Knicks Washington. in two overtimes. The Wolves did Memphis 110, Oklahoma City 97 Atkinson said. “You could sit led 24-15. Grizzlies 110, Thunder 97: it without Karl-Anthony Towns, Dallas 102, San Antonio 98 Minnesota 105, Sacramento 104 there and write and talk about That wasn’t the Nets’ only bad Jonas Valanciunas scored 21 who missed his fifth straight Utah 121, Portland 115 quarter. After they had cut it to Friday’s games missed shots — we did miss lots points, Jaren Jackson Jr. added game with a left knee sprain. Cleveland at Boston 46-41 at halftime, they came out Oklahoma City at Charlotte of open shots — but give them the Philadelphia at Orlando credit. They simply were the bet- for the third and took more than Milwaukee at Atlanta eight minutes to make a basket. Indiana at Miami ter team tonight.“ Phoenix at Golden State Marcus Morris added 22 points That allowed the Knicks to break Saturday’s games it open with an 18-4 burst that ex- Memphis at Denver and eight rebounds for the Knicks, Indiana at New Orleans who snapped a three-game losing tended an eight-point lead to 71- Toronto at Boston 49 on Payton’s layup. Atlanta at Chicago streak. Elfrid Payton scored 13 Brooklyn at Houston points as New York won for the Payton said he could sense the Cleveland at Minnesota New York at Washington first time in three meetings with frustration in the Nets’ body lan- Philadelphia at Miami Brooklyn this season. guage during that third quarter, Dallas at Golden State Detroit at San Antonio “We were just sharp. To hold when the Knicks outscored them Orlando at Milwaukee 33-20. Phoenix at Sacramento that team to 82 points, 14 points L.A. Lakers at Portland in the paint, is just really, really “You could feel it, you could see Utah at L.A. Clippers it,” he said. “And credit to us that Sunday’s games sharp,” Randle said. “We grinded Oklahoma City at Toronto the whole way, played a complete we made some plays to kind of, Charlotte at Memphis Houston at New Orleans basketball game and we got the like, seal the game.” Sacramento at Denver win.” Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot Dallas at L.A. Lakers The Nets’ eight two-point field finally gave the Nets their first Calendar goals were the fewest in an NBA basket with a three-pointer with Jan. 5 — 10-day contracts can be game since 1950, when the Lakers 3:52 to play in the period, and he signed. and Pistons each made four shots hit another later in the quarter, BRANDON WADE/AP Jan. 10 — All contracts guaranteed for rest of season. from the field in a game with a finishing with half of Brooklyn’s Feb. 6 — Trade deadline (3 p.m. EST) baskets in the period as it went San Antonio Spurs guard Dejounte Murray, right, battles Mavericks Feb. 14-16 — All-Star weekend, Chi- final score of 19-18, according to forward Luka Doncic for space during Thursday’s game in Dallas. cago. Elias Sports. 4-for-12. PAGE 20 • S TARS AND STRIPES• Saturday, December 28, 2019 COLLEGE FOOTBALL Independence Bowl Louisiana Tech shuts out Miami

Associated Press conversion percentage, and going 5-for-14 on Thursday won’t help SHREVEPORT, La. — J’Mar that much. The Hurricanes fin- Smith threw a touchdown pass ished the year with three straight and had a late scoring run to losses and averaging only 25.7 help Louisiana Tech beat Miami 14-0 on Thursday night in the points per game. It raises more only shutout in the Independence questions about the future of of- Bowl’s 44-game history. fensive coordinator Dan Enos, Louisiana Tech (10-3) reached whose lone season with the Hur- double-digit victories for the ricanes saw the offense perform first time since 1984 and ran its well below expectations. postseason winning streak to six The teams set the game record — the longest current streak in for punts at 18, with both tying the country. the single-club record of nine. “To have the 10-win season The Bulldogs won 70 miles west and to beat a Power 5 team in a of their campus in Ruston. bowl game, I can’t put into words “I’m really proud of the experience to have that many fans here my feelings and my emotions for PHOTOS BY CARLOS OSORIO/AP what these players have accom- when we ran out of the tunnel — plished,” coach Skip Holtz said. to see all the red and blue in the Pittsburgh wide receiver Taysir Mack, right, catches the game-winning touchdown over Eastern Michigan Miami (6-7) completed its sec- stands was awesome,” Holtz said. defensive back Vince Calhoun in the final minute of Thursday’s Quick Lane Bowl. Pitt won 34-30. ond losing season in 12 years. The Hurricanes have lost nine of 10 The takeaway Quick Lane Bowl bowl games. According to Stats Inc., the Louisiana Tech: The season will Bulldogs became the first Group forever be tainted by “what if” for of 5 program to shut out a Power the Bulldogs. Following a season- 5 school in a bowl game since the opening loss at Texas, Louisiana beginning of the BCS/College Tech rattled off eight straight Football Playoff era in 1998. wins before Smith was suspend- Pitt rallies in final minute “I can’t fault the efforts of our ed two games for violating an players. I’m certainly proud of undisclosed program policy. The the way we played defensively — Bulldogs lost those two games they had their backs against the and won the regular-season fi- wall all night,” Hurricanes coach nale when Smith returned. What to beat Eastern Michigan Manny Diaz said. “Our inability if Louisiana Tech would have to sustain drives on offense gave run the table? Could it have chal- us no chance to win this football lenged Memphis for the Group BY LARRY LAGE game.” of 5 slot in the College Football Associated Press Smith connected with Israel Playoff’s New Year’s Six? Tucker on a 26-yard touchdown Miami: During bowl week, DETROIT — Pittsburgh players took punches, strike on a screen pass in the sec- Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz and one was hit with spit, and the Panthers still kept ond quarter, capping a 13-play, said the “plan” wasn’t to play their cool in critical moments to win a bowl game 91-yard drive. Smith added an 8- three quarterbacks. Sure enough, for the first time in five appearances under coach yard scoring run with 1:15 left. Miami played three quarterbacks Pat Narduzzi. Bulldogs running back Justin — Jarren Williams, Tate Martell Kenny Pickett threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Henderson was selected the Most and N’Kosi Perry — and found no Taysir Mack with 47 seconds left and the Panthers Outstanding Offensive Player success. Perry, who didn’t play held on to beat Eastern Michigan 34-30 in the Quick after rushing for 95 yards on 22 until the fourth quarter, showed Lane Bowl on Thursday night. carries. Smith completed 13 of the most promise through the air, “Our kids held their composure,” Narduzzi said. 28 passes for 163 yards with one although none of the three threw After taking its first lead of the game in the final interception. for 100 yards. The Hurricanes minute, Pittsburgh (8-5) forced Eastern Michigan Miami entered the game with combined to go 15-for-34 for 153 to turn it over on downs from its 40 to seal its first the nation’s worst third-down yards and two interceptions. bowl victory since winning in Detroit six years ago with former coach Paul Chryst. The Eagles (6-7) came up just short in a closely contested game just as they did in three previous Eastern Michigan quarterback Mike Glass III bowls with coach Chris Creighton and the usually completed 28 of 50 passes for 311 yards and disciplined team unraveled at times. two touchdowns before being ejected. Eastern Michigan quarterback Mike Glass was ejected with 10 seconds left after throwing punches The takeaway at two players and inadvertently grazing an official, who was trying keep players separated. Eagles cor- Pitt: Coaching continuity with offensive coordi- nerback Kevin McGill was ejected earlier for un- nator Mark Whipple returning for a second season sportsmanlike conduct. Creighton said officials told should help the program. The offense showed some him McGill spit on an opponent. signs of life in the bowl game after scoring 20 or “There’s absolutely no excuse for any of that,” fewer points in eight games this season. Eastern Michigan: Creighton said. “They’re embarrassed by it. They The program is on solid foot- ing, earning consecutive bowl bids for the first time apologized to the team. I’m embarrassed. I apolo- and three in four years after previously doing it only gize to anybody’s who’s watching.” once as a Division I team. The Eagles will just have Glass was 28-for-50 for 311 yards with two touch- to hope they can keep Creighton away from Power downs and an interception. The senior also ran for Five conference schools. 83 yards and a score. He was not made available for comment after the Record books game, but was contrite on Twitter. “I let God and my family down!” Glass posted on Ffrench had 96 receptions this season, breaking his account. Larry Fitzgerald’s school record of 92 set in 2003. Pickett completed 27 of 39 passes for 361 yards “That’s with missing a couple games,” Narduzzi and three scores, including a school-record, 96-yard said. “He fought back with that broken jaw.” HENRIETTE WILDSMITH, THE SHREVEPORT TIMES/AP TD pass to Maurice Ffrench that tied the game in Glass surpassed Charlie Batch’s single-season Louisiana Tech quarterback J’Mar Smith celebrates with teammates the second quarter. Ffrench finished with 12 catch- records of 3,390 yards of total offense and 23 touch- after beating Miami on Thursday in the Independence Bowl. es for 165 yards. down passes set in 1997. Saturday, December 28, 2019 •STARS AND STRIPES•PAGE 21 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF MATCHUPS

Peach Bowl Fiesta Bowl No. 1 LSU (13-0) No. 2 Ohio State (13-0) vs. No. 4 Oklahoma (12-1) vs. No. 3 Clemson (13-0) AFN-Sports AFN-Sports 10 p.m. Saturday CET 2 a.m. Sunday CET 6 a.m. Sunday JKT 10 a.m. Sunday JKT When LSU has the ball: Coaches When Ohio State has the ball: QB like to talk about being aggressive of- Justin Fields (40 touchdown passes fensively. That’s how Heisman Trophy and one interception) was a Heisman winner Joe Burrow and the Tigers finalist, but J.K. Dobbins might be the play. Buckeyes’ offensive MVP. “Whether it’s by tempo or by play “He is the catalyst,” Cincinnati coach design, they maintain their aggressive- Luke Fickell said of Dobbins. ness from play one until the last play of Dobbins is tough inside and out and the game,” Mississippi State coach Joe ran for 1,829 and 20 touchdowns. He Moorhead said. is also effective as a receiver with 17 The Tigers often have five receivers catches for 200 yards and two scores. on the field, relying on their front five Dobbins will be attacking a Clemson to pass protect and Burrow’s decision- defense that has been overhauled by co- making and mobility to avoid pressure. ordinator Brent Venables this year. The LSU’s top three wide receivers (All- Tigers don’t dominate with their front American Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jeffer- four as they did last year. The back end son and Terrace Marshall Jr.) each have of the defense is where the stars are, at least 10 touchdown catches. especially versatile All-American Isaiah Versatile running back Clyde Ed- Simmons. He is listed as a linebacker wards-Helaire (50 catches and 1,290 but shows up all over the field. yards rushing) is used frequently in the “They’ve evolved to kind of a three- passing game as more than just an out- safety defense,” Wake Forest coach let for Burrow. Dave Clawson said. “They blitz a lot “Even when you include the tight more. They pressure a lot more.” end (Thaddeus Moss), all their guys And they rely on cornerbacks A.J. can win the one-on-one matchups,” Terrell and Derion Kendrick to win on Moorhead said. the outside against receivers. Edwards-Helaire is nursing a ham- The Buckeyes will be the first team string injury and might not play. His this season that can really challenge versatility would be missed, though Clemson up front behind All-America probably not as much as Oklahoma will guard Wyatt Davis and third-team All- miss defensive end Ronnie Perkins. America guard Jonah Jackson. Perkins, who leads the Sooners in Venables is not afraid to commit sacks with six, is reportedly suspended extra defenders to stop the run. That’s for the playoff. where Fields’ running ability can come “The key to their defense is really to in. A sore knee kept the 6-3, 225- get pressure with their front, the line pound Fields (10 touchdown runs) movement and the twists and all the MIKE STEWART, ABOVE, AND PAUL SANCYA, BELOW/AP under wraps in the Big Ten champion- things they do,” Baylor coach Matt ship game against Wisconsin. Rhule said of the Sooners. “I think the Above: Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow can choose from five targets when LSU takes to the air. “I think there’s still a little bit more in loss of (Perkins) is really a big deal.” Below: Ohio State defensive end Chase Young had 16.5 sacks this season in only 11 games. the arsenal,” Fickell said. When Oklahoma has the ball: If fans When Clemson has the ball: The expect a fast-paced Big 12 offense, the Tigers are making their fifth straight Sooners might surprise them. playoff appearance and have won two “They are not a high-flying tempo national titles in the last three years. offense. They are pro-style, substitute Still, this is the best offense Clemson personnel groupings, call two plays, has had entering the playoff. The Tigers getting into the right play at the line. have gone from solid to elite along the As a result they can limit possessions,” line, led by second-team All-America Rhule said. guard John Simpson and sophomore Oklahoma’s offenses under coach left tackle Jackson Carman. Lincoln Riley have always been bal- “If you ever try to lighten the box, anced and among the best in the now you’re dealing with a great of- country on the ground. With Heisman fensive line and Travis Etienne (1,500 runner-up Jalen Hurts, the quarterback yards rushing and 8.24 per carry),” is now the Sooners’ primary ball carrier. Clawson said. The powerful senior ran for 1,255 yards That line, especially Carman, will be behind a huge offensive line. Kennedy tested by college football’s best pass Brooks is the top tailback. Injuries and rusher. Heisman finalist Chase Young suspensions have depleted the depth had 16.5 sacks in 11 games. behind him. Expect a lot of Hurts and Extra attention on Young means de- Brooks, setting up play-action passes fensive linemen Davon Hamilton and to All-America receiver CeeDee Lamb. Jashon Cornell have to be handled The Sooners don’t have much chance one-on-one. The Buckeyes’ challenge of holding down LSU’s offense without will be to get enough pressure to fluster getting a bunch of turnovers. Slowing Trevor Lawrence. the game might be OU’s best bet. Lawrence has pinpoint accuracy and But LSU’s defense is healthier than big targets in Tee Higgins and Justyn it’s been all season and their big bodies Ross, both 6-4. The Buckeyes are up front (Glen Logan, Tyler Shelvin and used to cornerbacks Jeff Okudah, an Rashard Lawrence all weigh over 300 All-American, and Damon Arnette lock- pounds) are hard to move. ing down outside receivers. That might “They play the odd stack (three- be too much to expect against Clem- down linemen), really kind of stuff up son, which has confidence in Lawrence your interior gaps,” Moorhead said. to work the middle of the field. Pick: LSU 45-24. Pick: Clemson 42-35. — Ralph Russo, Associated Press — Ralph Russo, Associated Press PAGE 22 • S TARS AND STRIPES• Saturday, December 28, 2019 COLLEGE FOOTBALL Simmons, Young lead defenses in Fiesta clash

BY PETE IACOBELLI Associated Press ‘ What he brings to the table is unmatched. CLEMSON, S.C. — There is lit- I feel like he’s changing the style of sports tle doubt the nation’s best defen- today. sive player will take the field at ’ the Fiesta Bowl when No 2 Ohio K’Von Wallace State faces No. 3 Clemson for a Clemson safety on linebacker Isaiah Simmons trip to the national championship game. The only debate for some is consin, then had three in a critical lar style for the Tigers (13-0, No. which sideline he’s on. victory against Penn State after 3 CFP), although no offense is Buckeyes defensive end Chase missing the previous two games ever sure if he will line up in the Young and Clemson linebacker due to suspension. secondary or closer to the line of Isaiah Simmons have won plenty Young has done all this despite scrimmage. of awards and shown the skills opponents using extra bodies to “What he brings to the table GERALD HERBERT/AP that will make them high NFL get in his way. is unmatched,” Tigers safety LSU running back Tyrion Davis-Price, right, celebrates his Draft choices, perhaps as soon as “Teams put a lot more focus on K’Von Wallace said. “I feel like touchdown run against Texas A&M on Nov. 30. Davis-Price might this spring. The two juniors are chipping Chase, putting a guard he’s changing the style of sports be called on more often in the Peach Bowl if Tigers leading rusher key cogs for the nation’s top two on Chase, doubling Chase,” said today.” Clyde Edwards-Helaire cannot play. overall defenses, with Clemson Buckeyes freshman defensive Simmons, the 6-foot-4, 230- leading the way. end Zach Harrison. pounder from Kansas, describes Young led Ohio State (13-0, It hasn’t really worked, as himself as a Swiss Army knife, No. 2 CFP) and the nation with Young had 21 tackles for loss and able to fit and excel wherever Ti- 16.5 sacks this season on the way six forced fumbles despite miss- No. 1 LSU could be gers defensive coordinator Brent to winning the Hendricks and ing those two November games. Venables needs him. Bednarik awards. The 6-5, 265- “When a play has to be made, He leads Clemson with 93 tack- pounder from Maryland was a we make it, get off the field for les, but his versatility and cover- missing top rusher finalist for the Heisman Trophy. the offense,” Young said. “I think age skills show up elsewhere on Young had four sacks in Ohio that’s the best thing we can do.” the stat sheet: He also tops the State’s first of two wins over Wis- Clemson’s Simmons has a simi- team with seven sacks and seven against Oklahoma passes broken up this season. His play won him the Butkus Award along with the Atlantic BY CHARLES ODUM second on the team with 289 Coast Conference defensive play- Associated Press yards rushing. Davis-Price ran er of the year. for 270 yards with six touchdowns Venables said Simmons was ATLANTA — Top-ranked and could be the leader of a run- a skinny prospect who never LSU’s leading rusher Clyde Ed- ning back committee if Edwards- stopped moving and developed wards-Helaire is off crutches but Helaire can’t play. himself through hard work and still might miss Saturday’s Peach Center Lloyd Cushenberry III studying the game. Bowl playoff semifinal against said he’s confident LSU’s coaches “I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 100 No. 4 Oklahoma. will “get those guys right. I know times, he plays so hard,” Venables The Sooners, meanwhile, will Clyde is going to be in their ear, said. “His endurance is like noth- be missing starting defensive end trying to get them prepared, and ing I’ve ever been around. That’s Ronnie Perkins and two backups whoever gets carries, it’s on us his best attribute.” due to suspensions. up front to do our job so they can He has a knack, Venables Edwards-Helaire suffered a make plays. ... We’ve got to take hamstring injury in practice last added, for knowing the right gap care of those guys and get the job week. He was only an observer to go through when he’s called on done.” for LSU’s first practice in Atlanta to rush the passer. And he is light- The Sooners (12-1) also will on Monday, and he was a no-show ning fast. be limited. Coach Lincoln Riley at media day on Thursday. Simmons got his first taste of confirmed three Oklahoma play- He leads the undefeated Tigers starting last season in the Tigers’ ers, including Perkins, will be (13-0) with 1,290 yards rushing undefeated run to the national and 16 touchdowns. suspended for the game. Perkins title. LSU coach Ed Orgeron says leads the team with six sacks. With the front four of last year’s Edwards-Helaire is “a little bit “We’re not a one-man show up defense off to the NFL, Simmons better” and he described the run- front,” Riley said. “I’m confident was called to take a larger leader- ning back’s status as day to day. in the guys that we have and the ship role this year. He considered Orgeron said Edwards-Helaire pressure we’ve been able to force the NFL last winter before decid- missed Thursday’s event because this year, and hopefully we can do ing he had more to learn before he was receiving treatment. Ed- it again.” leaving Clemson. wards-Helaire was also a no- Running back Rhamondre Ste- Simmons and Young are found show for Thursday’s practice. venson and wide receiver Trejan in many mock drafts for the up- Based on Orgeron’s comments, Bridges, who are backups, also coming NFL Draft. First, though, it would be a surprise if Edwards- will miss the game. Saturday’s showdown in the play- Helaire plays. The coach spoke Stevenson had a touchdown off semifinals. of the junior first-team All-SEC run in Oklahoma’s 30-23 over- Simmons said he does not see player in the past tense when time win over Baylor in the Big the game as his chance to prove comparing his running backs, in- 12 championship game. he’s every bit the star as Young, cluding freshman backups Tyrion Riley said he wouldn’t detail just the next opportunity for the Davis-Price and John Emery. “dirty laundry” about the cause Tigers to keep their landmark “I think all three of those guys of the suspensions. He said the run going. do different things,” Orgeron three players traveled with the Young “is a great player, a very said. “With Clyde, he did every- team and will join practices in dominant player who affects the thing well. He blocked well. He Atlanta. game,” Simmons said. “But I just ran inside, he ran outside and “I wanted those guys here,” go out there and play my game. caught the football. We’ll have to Riley said. “They’re able to prac- I don’t really worry about things adjust if Clyde doesn’t play to ro- tice and able to help this team SEAN RAYFORD/AP like that.” tate those guys and do what they win in a different way right now. Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons is the Butkus Award winner and AP Sports Writer Mitch Stacy contrib- do best.” ... They give us great preparation was named Atlantic Coast Conference defensive player of the year. uted to this report. Quarterback Joe Burrow was on both sides of the ball.” Saturday, December 28, 2019 •STARS AND STRIPES• PAGE 23 COLLEGE FOOTBALL ‘Outsider’ Sooners enter Peach Bowl as big underdogs No. 1 LSU favored by whopping 13 ½ points

BY PAUL NEWBERRY maintained its place among the Associated Press nation’s elite programs. This will be the third straight year (and ATLANTA — No team in the fourth time in the playoff’s six- College Football Playoff has year history) the Sooners have claimed more national titles than earned an invitation. Oklahoma. Of course, they have yet to clear History, though, doesn’t carry the next big hurdle: winning a much weight in this year’s field. semifinal. MIKE MCCARN/AP The Sooners are the clear In 2015, the Sooners were outsider. blown out by Clemson 37-17 in Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence passes prior to the ACC championship game earlier this month. No. 1 LSU, No. 2 Ohio State and the Orange Bowl. Two seasons No. 3 Clemson have established ago, there was a heartbreaking themselves as the nation’s best 54-48 overtime loss to Georgia in Future: teams over the course of the long the Rose Bowl. A year ago, Ala- Clemson, Ohio State have elite QBs season. All three have 13-0 re- bama built a four-touchdown lead cords. All three have sampled the by early in the second quarter on FROM BACK PAGE top spot in either the CFP or As- the way to a 45-34 triumph in the Fields, who went to Harrison High School in Ken- sociated Press rankings. Orange Bowl. nesaw, Ga., and Lawrence, who attended Carters- Then there’s fourth-ranked Those postseason flops are ville High School, are more friendly than close Oklahoma (12-1), which had to another reason to dismiss the friends. overcome a shocking loss to Kan- Sooners as nothing more than an “It’s funny we have to come across the country to sas State and get a lot of help just interloper. finally play each other,” Lawrence said Thursday at to nab the last spot in the four- Fiesta Bowl media day. team field. “They kind of just forget us,” Motley said. “It’s going to inspire The first connection between Fields and Lawrence The Sooners are whopping is Ron Veal, who played quarterback at Arizona in 13 ½-point underdogs heading us. We’re going to sit in this cor- ner over here and just work on the late 1980s and now lives in the Atlanta area. into their Peach Bowl semifinal Veal started working with young quarterbacks in against LSU on Saturday, one of ourselves and do our job. Y’all don’t need to worry about us.” 2002. He is now part of a group of trainers called the the widest betting lines in CFP Quarterback Collective and he trains up-and-com- history. Oklahoma’s season was on the brink after that 48-41 loss at Kan- ing passers of all kinds as a side gig to firefighting. And, yes, that stings a bit. Veal began working with Fields when he was in “It’s crazy, man, how they’re sas State in late October. The Sooners bounced back to sixth grade and Lawrence when he was in seventh. dogging and looking over us like Mostly, their sessions were one-on-one with Veal, but this,” cornerback Parnell Motley win their last five games, though it was tenuous all the way. They at least once Lawrence came to Fields’ high school said Thursday. “It is so disre- for a joint session before both went off to college. spectful, like we’re not a national held off a furious comeback to edge Iowa State 42-41. They “They work like nobody’s business,” Veal said. contender team.” “You know, when they came to a session there was That’s certainly not the case. pulled off the biggest comeback in school history, overcoming a really no talking between me and the kid. It was self- Oklahoma is the school of correction and correction. They put in the work to 25-point deficit to stun Baylor 34- MICHAEL CONROY/AP Wilkinson and Switzer, of Sims get where they are and then the natural ability and a 31. They barely got by TCU, 28- and Selmon, of Mayfield and natural talent surfaced. But they just work at it.” Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields runs before 24. They beat Baylor again in the Murray — one of the most sto- “They wanted to be different,” Veal added. the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis. Big 12 championship game, sur- ried programs in college football Lawrence was the more advanced of the two head- viving a 30-23 overtime thriller. history. ing into high school. Veal attributed that to Fields with the Pac-12 Network who has been working with Even then, Oklahoma still While the Sooners do have the spending a lot of time playing youth baseball. Elite 11 for 12 years. “They were meticulous in their longest national championship needed some help to get into the Lawrence was a four-year starter at Cartersville, commitment to the craft.” drought of the four teams — their playoff. But everything fell into a 3A high school. Clemson quarterback coach Bran- Fields left Elite 11 with the MVP award. last consensus title came during place when Alabama lost at Au- don Streeter got his first look at Lawrence after the Lawrence committed to Clemson before his junior the 2000 season — they have fin- burn on a missed field goal in the quarterback’s freshman season and could hardly season and never wavered. Fields committed first ished No. 1 in the AP poll seven closing minutes, Utah fell to Or- believe what he saw. to Penn State, then changed his mind and landed at times, a tally topped only by Ala- egon in the Pac-12 championship “No flaws that I could see,” Streeter said. “You Georgia. bama (11) and Notre Dame (8). game, and Georgia was blown out knew at that moment that this kid had something The 6-foot-6, 220-pound Lawrence immediately In recent years, Oklahoma has by LSU for the SEC title. special.” lived up to his billing, leading Clemson to the na- While Lawrence was drawing interest from Clem- tional championship as a freshman last year. Mean- son, Fields’ first offers came from North Carolina, while, the 6-3, 225-pound Fields spent last season Duke and Wake Forest. Fields said going to camps backing up Jake Fromm at Georgia. with players like Lawrence motivated him to want “Facing that adversity and just going through that more. I think it just helped me a lot as a person and also as “He has an offer. How come I don’t have an offer? a football player,” Fields said. I think we’re the same in talent,” Fields said. “I kind Fields transferred to Ohio State and this season of always had a chip on my shoulder.” he, too, has proved worthy of all the hype, throwing Fields broke out his junior season at Harri- 40 touchdown passes and only one interception. son, a 6A high school in Georgia’s second-largest Fields and Lawrence each have at least one more classification. season of college football left, but it’s not hard to see By the summer heading into their senior seasons, where this could lead. Lawrence and Fields had become the top two quar- They will head into next season as Heisman Tro- terback recruits in the country. They were selected phy front-runners and then — if they both skip their for Elite 11, a camp where top prospects train and senior seasons for the NFL — into draft season com- compete on the field, spend time in the film room peting to be the first quarterback and maybe even and are taught how to become a leader. first player selected. Lawrence and Fields weren’t just the top two play- It is not far-fetched to envision Lawrence and ers in their Elite 11 class but two of the most impres- Fields leading NFL teams for more than a decade as RAY CARLIN/AP sive in the 22-year history of the competition. two of the league’s biggest stars. Oklahoma cornerback Parnell Motley and quarterback Jalen Hurts, “When they showed up, they had a factor we “I don’t think that’s an oversell,” Roth said. “I right, celebrate with fans after beating Baylor in November. hadn’t seen very often,” said Yogi Roth, an analyst think that’s real.” S TARS AND STRIPES Saturday, December 28, 2019 Too much eggnog? Nets at a loss after shooting just 26.9% against Knicks » Page 19

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

‘Future of the NFL’ on display when QBs Lawrence, Fields meet in Playoff semifinal

BY RALPH D. RUSSO Associated Press SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. ustin Fields and Trevor Lawrence went to high school about 20 miles from each other in the suburbs northwest of Atlanta. They have worked out since middle school with the same quarterback trainer, a former JPac-12 QB and full-time firefighter who is more well-re- spected than well-known in the business. Lawrence and Fields were the Nos. 1 and 1a recruits in the class of 2018, com- peted at the same Elite ‘ They work like 11 camp and have been linked for most nobody’s business. of their young lives ... They wanted to despite never playing in the same football be different.’ game. Ron Veal The rivalry be- Longtime quarterback trainer for comes real Saturday both Ohio State’s Justin Fields when Fields and No. and Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence 2 Ohio State take on Lawrence and No. 3 Clemson in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl. It could be the start of something big. “This is the future of the NFL playing in this game,” said Ohio State defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, who spent seven years as an NFL assistant. “For the next 10 years you have, God willing they both stay healthy, you have these two guys leading the way.”

SEE FUTURE ON PAGE 23

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, top, and Ohio State QB Justin Fields, Inside: bottom, were the Nos. 1 and 1a Pitt tops Eastern Michigan, Page 20 recruits in the class of 2018. AP photos Sooners unlikely outsiders, Page 23

Major champions hit some memorable shots in 2019 » Golf, Page 18