This Day In Sports 1974 — Catfish Hunter, baseball’s first free agent, signs with the New York Yankees. He signs a five- Numbers Game year contract for a record $3.75 million. C4 Antelope Valley Press, Tuesday, December 31, 2019 Morning rush Valley Press news services Odd ball sports quirks in 2019 By FRED LIEF scrambles: Ohio St. star RB J.K. Dobbins leaving Associated Press FREAK FROM RUSSIA, WITH INCIDENT SHOVE: It’s not easy being a to enter NFL draft Sometimes the general man- COLUMBUS, Ohio — Record-breaking Ohio State In May, the Houston referee, especially in Russia. running back J.K. Dobbins is leaving school early to agers and player personnel di- Astros’ Carlos Correa, The soccer club Akhmat Grozny enter the NFL draft. rectors on Mount Olympus look used its public address system Dobbins’ decision was expected. He announced it in down on some lucky soul and de- pictured, fractured a rib while he was to insult the referee with an a Twitter post Monday in which he thanked everyone at clare: This is your moment. expletive, drawing cheers from the university and said “coming to Ohio from Texas has Consider Dale Cohen, a having a massage been nothing short of a dream.” in his home. At the the crowd. … The coach of the 62-year-old shift worker at a hockey team Amur Khabarovsk Dobbins became the first Ohio State player to rush time, the injury was plastics company and a golfer was furious over a penalty-kick for 2,000 yards in a season. He finished with 2,046 yards expected to sideline from Findlay, Ohio. He made call and threatened to set fire to and could have had a lot more but sat for the second half two holes-in-one in the same him from four to six of most regular-season games because they were early the referee’s car. Coach Alexan- round. The Courier newspaper weeks. That’s just der Gulyavtsev was puzzled by blowouts. He was a 1,000-yard rusher in each of his two reports he used an 8-iron both one of the odd sports seasons with the Buckeyes. the response to his comment. “I He ran for 174 yards and a touchdown in Ohio times on a rainy, windy day. The stories from 2019. just said car. It’s not as if I said Associated Press State’s 29-23 College Football Playoff semifinal loss to odds of two aces in the same apartment.” Clemson on Saturday but also dropped two passes that round are estimated at 67 mil- the race is not to the swift; the this is more than metaphor. His RICH MAN, POOR MAN: likely would have been touchdowns on drives that end- lion to 1. world’s No. 1 bridge player was face is to be minted on Swiss The scoreboard clock was not “I hit the lottery but didn’t ed in field goals for the Buckeyes. suspended for failing a drug test; currency. He will be featured on enough for Odell Beckham Jr. get paid,” he said. “That’s OK. All-American defensive end Chase Young had pre- and a French basketball player one side of a 20 franc silver coin In the Cleveland Browns’ open- I’ll take it.” viously announced that he would leave early to enter in China was fined not for tak- hitting a one-handed backhand. er against Tennessee, the star the draft. Young is expected to be a top pick. Then again, the executives ing a knee during the Chinese In 2001, a Canadian Football receiver played while wearing on Mount Olympus are a fickle anthem but for not casting his a watch that retails for a cool Dolphins star cornerback arrested on bunch. Houston Astros short- League fan vowed to wear only eyes on the flag. shorts until his Blue Bombers $250,000. A day later, the league stop Carlos Correa was having a took issue with his accessoriz- domestic battery charge By turns, it was a year that won the championship. Mind FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Miami Dolphins massage in his home and wound could be baffling, enriching and ing, citing a policy “prohibiting you, this team is from Winni- cornerback Xavier Howard was arrested on a do- up with a fractured rib. The icily satisfying. hard objects.” Beckham’s watch mestic battery charge following an argument with massage New England Patriots At the Tour de France, world peg. Chris Matthew withstood would more than pay the rent his fiance over the purchase of a purse, according to owner Robert Kraft was having time trial champion Rohan Den- the prospect of frost bite for for Chicago Cubs minor leaguer a police report. in a Florida shopping mall also nis simply vanished during the nearly two decades. His team Trevor Clifton. He lived this sea- Howard, who made the Pro Bowl in 2018 but didn’t work out so well, although first stage in the Pyrenees. Af- finally won it all this season, son in a 104-square-foot home missed much of this season with a knee injury, faces his ribs remained intact. terward, near his team bus, he and his wife is pleased. “Now,” he and his father built from a a possible suspension to start the 2020 season. Sports in 2019 took us to un- he told CTV News, “if we need The police report from Davie, Florida, said the ar- didn’t want to talk about it. Said $200 camper bought online. But expected venues: The Vatican team director Gorazd Stangelj: to go somewhere where pants it’s got a couch, a fridge and a gument Sunday night became physical when How- are required, we can actually go ard grabbed his fiance’s arm and pushed her against formed a track team, complete “We are also confused.” mattress, and it’s quiet. “I just a mirrored glass in the hallway of their bedroom. He with nuns and Swiss Guards, al- Roger Federer has been the there.” like to be on my own,” he told let her go, causing her to fall to the floor on her right though Scripture reminds that gold standard in tennis. Now There were other scrums and The Des Moines Register. arm, which landed on his crutches, the report said. Howard complained of pain due to his injury and was taken by Davie Fire Rescue to a hospital for NFL COLLEGE FOOTBALL NBA NHL SPORTS ODDS treatment. He was later taken to the jail. AMERICAN CONFERENCE College Football Schedule WESTERN CONFERENCE WESTERN CONFERENCE NBA The woman had scratches and redness on her West Friday, Dec. 13 Pacific Division Pacific Division Today W L T Pct PF PA FCS PLAYOFFS W L Pct GB GP W L OT Pts GF GA FAVORITE LINE O/U UNDERDOG right wrist and forearm. y-Kansas City 12 4 0 .750 451 308 Quarterfinals L.A. Lakers 26 7 .788 — Vegas 42 21 15 6 48 129 123 Boston 6½ (208½) at CHARLOTTE “We’re still gathering information,” Dolphins Denver 7 9 0 .438 282 316 James Madison 17, N. Iowa 0 L.A. Clippers 23 11 .676 3½ Vancouver 40 21 15 4 46 132 119 at INDIANA 1 (211) Philadelphia coach Brian Flores said. “We take situations like Oakland 7 9 0 .438 313 419 Montana State 24, Austin Peay 10 Phoenix 13 20 .394 13 Arizona 41 21 16 4 46 115 107 LA Clippers 7 (221) at Sacramento L.A. Chargers 5 11 0 .313 337 345 Sacramento 12 21 .364 14 Calgary 41 20 16 5 45 111 122 at San Antonio 9 (220) Golden State Weber St. 17, Montana 10 at TORONTO OFF (OFF) Cleveland that very, very seriously. It’s unfortunate.” East Saturday, Dec. 14 Golden State 9 25 .265 17½ Edmonton 41 20 17 4 44 118 129 W L T Pct PF PA Southwest Division at HOUSTON OFF (OFF) Denver Navy 31, Army 7 Ducks 39 16 18 5 37 101 119 at Oklahoma City OFF (OFF) Dallas y-New England 12 4 0 .750 420 225 FCS PLAYOFFS W L Pct GB San Jose 40 17 20 3 37 109 137 COLLEGE BASKETBALL x-Buffalo 10 6 0 .625 314 259 Quarterfinals Houston 22 11 .667 — Kings 41 16 21 4 36 104 129 Today N.Y. Jets 7 9 0 .438 276 359 N. Dakota St. 9, Illinois St. 3 Dallas 21 11 .656 ½ Central Division FAVORITE LINE UNDERDOG Miami 5 11 0 .313 306 494 Friday, Dec. 20 San Antonio 13 18 .419 8 GP W L OT Pts GF GA at FLORIDA ST 12½ Georgia Tech Planner South Bahamas Bowl at Nassau Memphis 13 21 .382 9½ St. Louis 40 26 8 6 58 127 104 Temple 1 at UCF W L T Pct PF PA Buffalo 31, Charlotte 9 New Orleans 11 23 .324 11½ Colorado 39 23 12 4 50 140 112 N. Iowa 5 at ILLINOIS ST y-Houston 10 6 0 .625 378 385 Frisco (Texas) Bowl Northwest Division Dallas 40 22 14 4 48 107 101 at CLEMSON 4 Miami x-Tennessee 9 7 0 .563 402 331 Kent State 51, Utah State 41 W L Pct GB Winnipeg 39 21 15 3 45 118 116 at AIR FORCE 4½ UC Riverside COMING UP IN THE VALLEY Indianapolis 7 9 0 .438 361 373 Saturday, Dec. 21 Denver 23 9 .719 — Minnesota 40 19 16 5 43 125 133 at MISSOURI ST 6 Evansville Jacksonville 6 10 0 .375 300 397 Celebration Bowl at Atlanta Utah 21 12 .636 2½ Nashville 38 18 14 6 42 132 127 at PROVIDENCE PK Georgetown ANTELOPE VALLEY COLLEGE (Junior College) North Oklahoma City 17 15 .531 6 Chicago 40 17 17 6 40 113 129 at DUKE 23½ Boston College NC A&T 64, Alcorn State 44 at BRADLEY 4 Drake ■ M Basketball: Thursday vs.