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Wednesday, November 25, 2020 SECTION B Paul Farmer . Sports Editor . 427.6926

Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson, Ohio State top first College Football Playoff rankings

The WAShingTon PoST

The first College Football Playoff rankings of 2020 succeeded Tuesday night in a crucial area of college football life: the stoking of grumbling. You couldn’t hear the grumbling from Provo to Ames to Bloomington to Huntington to Conway to Lafayette and back to Provo, but you might have thought you could.

With No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Clemson

Kelly Oubre Sr. calls his son, Kelly Oubre Jr., a journeyman.

In NBA parlance, that title is typically reserved for older players who ping-pong between teams in hopes of extending their careers. But two weeks shy of his 25th birthday, Oubre Jr. reckons that he deserves the “journeyman” label because, outside of 3½ seasons with the Wizards, he has been on the move the vast majority of his life.

Now on his third NBA team in less than a week, Oubre hopes to find a true home with the Warriors. This is an organization whose luxury-tax bill spiked by nearly $70 million LOS ANGELES TIMES

But is the GOAT also the SLOAT (Sorest Loser Of All Time)?

It certainly seems that way following his latest apparent snub of an opposing quarterback following a loss.

After the Rams’ 27-24 win over the Bucs on “ Monday Night Football,” the ESPN cameras showed L.A. quarterback Jared Goff heading toward midfield, where QBs usually meet after games for a handshake and possibly Star Tribune file (2019) on by the Golden State Warriors to take the place of injured Klay Thompson. and No. 4 Ohio State leading the way, the list had the feel of the usual royalty amid a season deeply unusual. The presence of a twice-routed Georgia at No. 9 not only gave the SEC four of the top nine teams; it also gave the rankings a backroom, boys’ club kind of feel.

Five spots behind Georgia and six spots beneath its Associated Press ranking sat BYU (9-0), a victim of a weak schedule cobbled together on the fly and a win over a Boise State team the CFP committee deemed “shorthanded” when it played BYU on Nov. 6, according to chairman Gary Barta, the athletic director at Iowa. On ESPN, BYU Coach Kalani Sitake called it “great motivation.” The Cougars have one scheduled game left against San Diego State on Dec. 12 but might play other games in the chaotic scheduling hunt of 2020. That all made BYU a louder snub than Indiana (4-1), which placed a program-high No. 12 but might have craved higher after four heady wins and a thrill ride of a loss at Ohio State; or No. 13 Iowa State (6-2), which beat Oklahoma (6-2) but wound up two slots below same; or No. 20 Coastal Carolina (8-0) of Conway, S.C., which has gone far into being unbeaten while other teams have just gotten started; or No. 21 Marshall (7-0) of Huntington, W.Va., and see Coastal Carolina; or Louisiana Lafayette (7-1), which won at Iowa State but went unranked even below undistinguished seasons from richer ports such as No. 17 Texas (5-2) and No. 24 Iowa (3-2).

In a season of uneven starts and stops in which it’s hard to figure out anything, the 13-member committee met in North Texas to try to figure out something. When it placed Alabama (7-0) at No. 1 with its wins over No. 5 Texas A&M and No. 9 Georgia, that meant the Crimson Tide has held that spot in precisely half of the

Phoenix Suns forward Kelly Oubre Jr. shoots over Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns. Oubre is being called

Kelly Oubre Jr. hopes to find long-term home with Warriors

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

See Rankings, Page B2 when it acquired him to help replace the injured Klay Thompson this season. Just as Golden State is committed to maximizing Oubre’s physical tools, Oubre is intent on making good on his new franchise’s investment.

During his five NBA seasons, he has been in only 18 playoff games. Stops in Washington and Phoenix were clouded by coaching changes, dysfunctional ownership and a nagging sense that Oubre was even better than his production indicated. In the Warriors, he sees a stable franchise with a winning pedigree that can allow him to put an end to his nomadic ways.

Referencing Golden State majority owner Joe Lacob, Oubre said in a radio interview Monday, “I can play for an owner, somebody who actually cares about the organization – not just the perception of the organization on the media end of it.”

Before Oubre hits free agency next summer, he wants to impress enough this season that the Warriors are willing to bring him back on a longterm deal. It’s no secret that they acquired Oubre from Oklahoma City for a 2021 conditional first-round pick and a 2021 second-round pick largely as a one-year fill-in as Thompson recovers from a torn right Achilles tendon.

But if Golden State was concerned only with its immediate void along the wing, it might have used its $17.2 million trade exception to absorb the salary of someone with more playoff experience, such as Eric Bledsoe or Eric Gordon. The Warriors are shouldering such a significant financial burden for Oubre because they believe he can blossom into a franchise building block.

Assuming Thompson returns for the 2021-22 season, Oubre could provide value as a versatile, high-energy sixth man for a team trying to vault back into contention. Perhaps Oubre could develop into the Warriors’ small forward of the future if they decide to deal Andrew Wiggins and his massive contract for an AllStar-caliber player.

See Oubre, Page B12

Hawks claim Bogdanovic after Kings decline to match offer

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SACRAMENTO — After two days of internal deliberation and public debate, Kings general manager Monte McNair made up his mind Tuesday, choosing to let restricted free agent Bogdan Bogdanovic start the next chapter of his career with the Atlanta Hawks.

McNair decided not to match Bogdanovic’s offer from the Hawks, allowing the 28-yearold shooting guard to leave Sacramento without compensation after three seasons with the Kings, sources told The Sacramento Bee, confirming a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnaroski. Bogdanovic signed an offer sheet with the Hawks on Sunday for a fouryear, $72 million deal with a 15% trade kicker and a player option in the final year.

League sources indicated Bogdanovic wanted to move on, saying he felt “de-prioritized” by the Kings. Coach Luke Walton moved Bogdanovic into the starting lineup last season, but the organization was reluctant to meet his side’s salary demands after signing Harrison Barnes, Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox to much bigger contracts.

Bogdanovic joins a Hawks team that has brought in reinforcements in hopes of making the Eastern Conference playoffs this season. In addition to Bogdanovic, the roster will feature Trae Young, John Collins, Clint Capela, De’Andre Hunter, Kevin Huerter and Cam Reddish as well as newcomers Danilo Gallinari, Rajon Rondo and rookie first-round draft pick Onyeka Okongwu. Bogdanovic will likely start alongside Young, who was an NBA All-Rookie First Team

Is Tom Brady the Sorest Loser Of All Time?

ChuCk SChilken

Tom Brady is considered by many to be the Greatest Of All Time.

See Kings, Page B12 ANALYSIS a brief chat.

Brady, though, was shown trudging off in a different direction, most likely the locker room. The broadcast then cut back to Goff, who appeared to wait at midfield for a second or two before heading off the field.

A similar scene unfolded last month when Brady didn’t bother to shake hands with Chicago Bears quarterback Nick Foles following a 20-19 Bucs loss on “Thursday Night Football.”

So maybe the six-time

‘Remember the Titans’ school T.C. Williams to change name

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The Alexandria, Va., school board voted unanimously Monday to change the name of T.C. Williams High, the school featured in the movie “Remember the Titans,” because of the segregationist views held by its namesake.

Denzel Washington portrayed coach Herman Boone of T.C. Williams High, which was in turmoil in the wake of integration. The movie told the story of how the football team came together to win a state championship after previously segregated campuses were merged, forming a pow-

The school board took action after a survey found that 75% of respondents supported a name change.

erhouse program that also won state titles in 1981 and ‘87.

The school board took action after a survey found that 75% of respondents supported a name change. Matthew Maury Elementary School, named for a Confederate admiral, will also have its name changed, following a trend across many school districts in the Southern states to no longer honor Confederate leaders.

Williams was the superintendent of Alexandria public schools until 1963 who opposed desegregation following the 1954 Supreme Court ruling on Brown vs. the Board of Education.

The school district estimates that it will cost about $330,000 to change the names of T.C. Williams High and Maury Elementary, primarily because of uniforms.