Evansville rallies past No. 16 Northern Iowa
B4 Friday, January 2, 2015
FINANCIAL / SPORTS
Yanks acquire bullpen help from Braves
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Yankees have bolstered their bullpen by acquiring David Carpenter and Chasen Shreve in a trade with the Atlanta Braves. Carpenter went 6-4 with three saves and a 3.54 ERA in 65 games with Atlanta last year. Shreve made his major league debut in July, and the left-hander allowed one ear ned run in 12 1⁄3 innings covering 15 games. The Braves received minor league left-hander Manny Banuelos in the deal. Banuelos went twothirds an inning with a 4.11 ERA in 26 games over three stops last season, finishing with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
BY GREG BEACHAM ASSOCIATED PRESS Jon Jones’ feud with Daniel Cormier started with a fleeting moment of perceived disrespect four years ago. It boiled over last August in a casino lobby brawl, which escalated from stares to shoves to punches to a thrown shoe. With the light heavyweight champion and his undefeated challenger finally fighting for money Saturday night at UFC 182 in the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, all those years of sniping and disrespect at last have a singular focus. Jones (20-1) and Cormier (15-0) are eager to stop talking and start swinging in their highly anticipated title bout. “The heat between us, I don’t think that’s gone any-
MOSCOW (AP) — At the vast skating rink in Moscow’s Gorky Park, Russians say they’re looking forward to a 2015 that will be as smooth as the ice, despite the country’s economic and political difficulties. The ruble has sunk, tensions with the West are up, but the troubles seem to have produced a surge in national pride. “Russians are a nation of optimists,” said Ivan Kasyanov, a skater in his 20s. “The worse things get, the better we develop.” Kasyanov brushed of f concerns about the stunning decline of the ruble — which lost about half of its value against Western currencies in 2014 — and the Western sanctions imposed over Russia’s annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in easter n Ukraine. He doubts these factors would deal a serious blow to an economy that in recent years has soared on oil and gas income. “We will put more (effort) on our industrial development,” he said, echoing the spin promulgated on statecontrolled TV.
Roswell Daily Record
Evansville’s Mislav Brzoja drives the ball around Northern Iowa’s Marvin Singleton in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday in Evansville, Ind.
BY NATHAN BLACKFORD ASSOCIATED PRESS EVANSVILLE, Ind. — D.J. Balentine scored 17 points and Evansville came all the way back from 16 down to beat No. 23 Northern Iowa 52-49 on Thursday night. Egidju Mockevicius added 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Purple Aces (11-2, 1-0 Missouri Valley Conference). Jaylon Brown made four free throws in the last 7 seconds to seal it. Seth Tuttle led UNI with 18 points, but fouled out in the final minute. Nate Buss added nine for the Panthers (11-2, 0-1). For one half, Northern
Iowa’s swarming defense completely frustrated Evansville, holding the Purple Aces to 20 points in the first 20 minutes as the Panthers built a lead as large as 16. But the second half was a different story. UNI led 28-12 late in the first half following Tuttle’s one-handed shot as he drifted across the lane, but Evansville pulled to 30-20 at halftime. The Purple Aces shot 7 of 23 from the field in the first period, including 0 of 7 on 3-pointers. Evansville never did find its shooting touch, ending the game at 32.7 percent (16 for 49), but used offen-
sive rebounding to get numerous second chances. The Purple Aces finished with 14 offensive rebounds to three for UNI. Evansville pulled to 3635 with 10:57 to play on Duane Gibson’s bank shot, and it was back and forth from there. Tuttle’s 3-pointer with 6:12 left briefly pushed the Panthers’ lead back to 41-35, but Evansville hit 13 of 14 free throws in the second half to make up the difference. Northern Iowa’s bench came in as the eighth-leading scoring group in the country. Despite the loss, the Panthers’ reserves outscored the Purple Aces’ bench 22-8.
where,” Cor mier said. “(But) what’s the point in us screaming and yelling at each other now? That’s done. Before, it was all we could do to try and get to each other, because we were so far away from the fight. All the arguing, all the yelling, all the namecalling, it motivated me through my training. What’s the point anymore?” Jones, the gifted champion widely considered the world’s top pound-for pound mixed martial artist, has been thinking about this matchup since Cormier reacted angrily to an apparent backhanded comment from Jones backstage at a UFC event in 2010. The two then exchanged words at an awards show in 2012, and they’ve been talking about each other ever since. Jones realizes he is per-
ceived as the villain in most of those conversations — cast as the arrogant, naturally gifted champion against Cormier, the likably undersized former Olympic wrestler. If Jones hopes for a victory that changes the public’s perception of him, he isn’t acknowledging it. “I have been pretty resistant,” Jones said. “I mean, no one wants to be the bad guy. But at the same time, people tag me to be the bad guy, and I’ve totally learned to just let it go.” After Saturday night, he might actually be able to do that. This matchup has been high on most fans’ wish lists since Cormier joined the UFC from Strikeforce in 2013 with a vow that he wouldn’t fight heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, his good friend and training
partner. Although Cormier was a dominant heavyweight in both promotions, he moved down to 205 pounds last year and locked in on Jones, who has usually looked unbeatable while defending his title seven times. “I think it boils down to belief, man,” Cormier said. “Believe that this can be done. A lot of times, people don’t believe when they’re staring at a hill that may be higher, or a mountain that seems that it can’t be climbed. I think it’s belief — believing in yourself, believing in your skills, believing in your team, believing in everything that you’ve done to this point, believing that it’s all enough. It all was done to get this job done Saturday night.” When injury forced Alexander Gustafsson out
of his rematch with Jones, the UFC decided not to wait any longer to match Jones and Cormier. Their bout was initially scheduled for September, and the fighters’ promotional shenanigans claimed headlines for three weeks in the summer. The anticipation got even worse when Jones injured his leg in training Aug. 12. The UFC postponed the fight to its traditional yearend show in its hometown. The Nevada Athletic Commission fined both fighters after that brawl in the MGM Grand lobby — yet the centerpiece of the UFC’s promotions for UFC 182 is the footage of Cormier and Jones toppling a promotional banner and tumbling into the crowd. The UFC also has endlessly replayed Jones and Cormier profanely sniping at each other during a joint inter-
view. Jones was initially offended by the promotional slant, but he has made peace with it. “For people to see that side of me, it was kind of a relief,” Jones said. “Because it’s like, I am a Christian and I do try to carry my image in a certain light because I think it’s important for the people I inspire, and for endorsement. But at the same time, this is who I am. I will swear. I will tell a guy who told me he will spit in my face that I’d kill him. I would call him the names I called him. “It was a bad hit in a way, but also relieving for people to see, whoa, Jones actually has a little bit of ratchetness in him.”
A recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll showed that Russians who rely on state TV for their news think significantly more highly of President Vladimir Putin than those who tap other news sources. Still, the poll showed that in both sectors the support for Putin is resoundingly strong — 84 percent and 73 percent respectively. Gorky Park itself is a place to encourage optimism. After becoming rundown following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, the park in recent years has undergone an impressive restoration, helped along by the money and influence of Roman Abramovich, one of Russia’s richest and most politically compliant men. The skating rink is its stunning centerpiece, a happy labyrinth of ice-coated lanes festooned with colored lights that stretches over 18,000 square meters (about 4 1/2 acres). But the view is different in other quarters of the Russian capital, even in the ostentatious corridors of
the GUM department store, where only the well-heeled can afford to shop. “Here, everything changes so often. So I would like stability,” shopper Olga Mozalyova said. Concern is also strong where stock traders anxiously monitor their screens. The ruble’s fall, the plunge in world oil prices and the sanctions’ denial of access to Western credit have all dealt a blow to the Russian economy. “Maybe if Russia doesn’t give cause for the strengthening of sanctions, we can get a positive result in that case,” said Sergei Romanchuk at Metallinvestbank. The chances of that are not promising. In his televised New Year’s Eve message to the nation, Putin hailed the annexation of Crimea as a historic achievement and the rightful return of the peninsula’s people to the bosom of Russia. Although the fighting between proRussian separatists and government forces in easter n Ukraine has eased since September, there has been little progress on
Associated Press
Jones, Cormier finally settle feud in UFC 182
Russians optimistic for 2015 despite it all
AP file photo
In this Dec. 26 file photo customers pass by the Christmas decorations in the Moscow GUM State Department store. Although Russia faces a challenging year as the ruble takes a sharp fall and tensions with the West soar, many Russians appear to be taking the troubles as a call to pull together and redouble their energies.
ensuring a stable ceasefire, much less withdrawing heavy weapons or resolving the complicated and inflammatory question of the region’s political status. In the offices of Russia’s opposition groups, who endure constant pressure from authorities and struggle to find public support, the view of 2015 is ominous. “The end is near, the country is at the brink of going down,” said Mikhail Kasyanov, who was Putin’s first prime minister but is now firm opponent. “That’s
why I’m saying that people will take to the streets demanding a change of the situation ... 2015 is a very important year, I would say it may be a historic year.” The opposition, usually all but invisible to ordinary Russians, made a brief show of protest two days before New Year’s. A couple thousand demonstrators defied police and gathered near the Kremlin to protest the conviction of opposition stalwart Alexei Navalny and his brother on fraud charges. But the demonstration was far smaller
than the anti-Putin protests that broke out two winters ago. New Year’s Day begins an extended holiday for most Russians that stretches through Orthodox Christmas until Jan. 12. The winter break is so beloved by most Russians that engaging in any serious actions like protests seems almost sacrilegious. A survey this month by the state pollster VTsIOM showed that Russians plan to spend about 20 percent more on holiday feasts and presents than they did two years ago.
Colorado boosts minimum wage for 2015 to $8.23
DENVER (AP) — Minimum wage workers in Colorado are getting a small raise in 2015 because of annual adjustments required by state law. As of Thursday, Colorado’s minimum wage is $8.23 an hour, up 23 cents from last year. Restaurant servers and other tipped workers must be paid a minimum of $5.21 an hour in the new year. Colorado is one of over a dozen
states increasing their minimum wages. The hike comes as Boulder explores raising its minimum wage above the state’s and as fast-food workers campaign nationally to gain $15 an hour pay. The minimum wage here is now over $3 more than it was in 2006, when Colorado voters backed raising it and tying future increases to inflation. According to some estimates, about 80,000
Coloradans earn minimum wage. The Colorado Constitution requires the state’s minimum wage to be adjusted annually for inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index used by the state. The federal minimum wage has remained unchanged at $7.25 since 2009. Under Colorado law, employers will have to pay employees covered by federal law the higher Colorado minimum
wage. If an employee’s tips combined with the employer’s cash wage of at least $5.21 per hour do not equal the minimum hourly wage, employers are required to make up the difference. Another new law allows the Colorado Department of Labor to pursue employers accused of wage theft, Colorado Public Radio reported. State Rep. Jonathan Singer, a co-sponsor of the Wage Protection
Act, said complaints can be filed with the department. “Now (the department will) be able to mediate situations that are just misunderstandings, investigate when there’s actual wrongdoing and bring justice,” Singer said. The new law requires employers to keep records of their payrolls for three years. If a business fails to keep those records, it could be subject to fines.