North State Journal for Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Carlos Watkins, Clemson visit White House Mooresboro defensive star gets singled out by President Trump By Shawn Krest North State Journal The ACC crowned national champions in football and men’s basketball last season, and both came from the Carolinas. Immediately after the University of North Carolina won the NCAA basketball tournament in early April, Roy Williams was noncommittal about whether he would take his team to the White House. While the visit to D.C. to meet the president is a tradition among title-winning teams, Williams, who had criticized President Trump in the past, said he would have to “think on” it. At the moment, no visit from the Tar Heels is on the White House schedule. That doesn’t mean that college athletes from the state North Carolina will be shut out on White House visits, however. Trump hosted the College Football Playoff champions Clemson on Monday, June 12, and the Tigers had plenty of players from the Old North State. A total of 19 players from North Carolina were on Clemson’s roster last year, second only to Clemson’s home state of South Carolina. In the national title game, Clemson started two offensive linemen — right guard Tyrone Crowder (Marston) and right tackle Sean Pollard (Southern Pines) from North Carolina — as well as two defensive linemen — tackles Dexter Lawrence (Wake Forest) and Carlos Watkins (Mooresboro) — as well as free safety Van Smith (Charlotte). Mark Fields (Charlotte), Tanner Muse (Belmont) and Andy Teasdall (Winston-Salem)
Derek Brunson snaps UFC losing streak Wilmington Middleweight gets quick stoppage in New Zealand By Shawn Krest North State Journal
Rafael Suanes | Usa Today Sports Images
United States President Donald Trump (center) gestures towards Clemson Tigers linebacker Ben Boulware (left) and nose tackle Carlos Watkins (right) during a ceremony to celebrate winning the 2016 NCAA Football National Championship on the White House South Lawn on June 12.
also saw action in the game. Six months later, they joined their teammates in braving the 90-plus degree temperatures to officially close the book on the championship season. “It’s great to be back together, get the chance to reminisce with some of these guys that I haven’t seen in awhile,” coach Dabo Swinney said. “It’s great to be back one more time.” Swinney also took time to thank Houston Texans owner Bob McNair for helping make sure the entire team got back together. Houston drafted a pair of players from the team — quarterback De-
shaun Watson in the first round and Mooresboro’s Watkins in the fourth. Both players were in Houston, training for their rookie season, but McNair flew them both out and accompanied the players on the South Lawn. Watkins earned a mention from President Trump during the South Lawn ceremony, one of six Tigers the president singled out by name, and the only one from North Carolina. “Defensive Tackle Carlos Watkins had an incredible game,” Trump said, “and he’ll be joining Deshaun in Houston. I’m going to be watching that team very closely.”
The president then asked Watkins and defensive MVP Ben Boulware to join him at the podium. “You think I could take these guys in a fight?” Trump asked the crowd. “I don’t know.” Prior to the ceremony, the team had the chance to go on a tour and eat lunch at the White House. After presenting the President with two jerseys — one for him and one for his son, Baron — Swinney took his team to the Capitol to meet with the South Carolina congressional delegation. Some members, including Senator Lindsey Graham, attended the South Lawn event as well.
Splitter to Spoiler
Tradition and youth overlap with Blaney’s Pocono triumph yan Blaney won his first race with Wood Brothers R Racing — the oldest team in
NASCAR — with some old school tactics learned from his owners. Prior to his old school celebration, Blaney and best friend Bubba Wallace rode alongside each other, freaking out the entire way down the backstretch. Blaney, 23, drove the No. 21 Wood Brothers car to its 99th victory. Wallace, 23, was making his first career Monster Energy Cup Series start in the No. 43 for Richard Petty Motorsports. They may have been two kids driving two of the most iconic cars in the sport, but that moment made you forget all of that. “Yeah, we need Bubba in the Cup Series more. The one start he makes, I win the damn race,” Blaney said with a laugh. “I know they had problems on pit road or something like that, but I was behind him a little bit and he seemed to be doing a really great job. But that’s special for him. “Obviously your first win is special, and to do it with the Wood Brothers and at a place where I vividly remember coming and watching my dad race here so much is really special, as well. ... It’s just really neat to be able to get these guys their 99th win and hopefully we can go for 100 here.” Though his age may be deceiving, Blaney is a throwback driver. When his radio went out during the race, Blaney used hand signals from before spotters and crew chiefs could communicate to their drivers like putting his hand on the door meant the car was tight and thumbs up or down for the handling of the car. Those were tactics taught to him by his father, Dave Blaney, along with Wood Brothers owners Eddie and Len Wood. Blaney admitted it probably helped to not have communication — joking his team didn’t hear him complaining as much — there was one other old school part of his victory he couldn’t partake in. “I wanted to pick Eddie and Len up,” Blaney said. “I wanted to find them and pick them up [on the car], but it figures the one race we don’t have radio communication we end up winning it. Maybe we should turn the radio off more often, but I wanted to try to find Eddie and Len. I wanted to give them a ride to Victory Lane. That would have been cool, but maybe if we can get another one we’ll be able to do that.”
B7
R. Cory Smith The Wood brothers now have 99 overall victories. Blaney has one. Before the 2017 season is over, fans of both can expect another win added to both columns.
Wallace collapses after first Cup start Bubba Wallace ran a respectable 26th-place finish on Sunday after several rookie mistakes to start the race. He exited his car, spoke to media then planned to party with his best friend in Victory Lane. That was when he passed out. Filling in for Almirola, Wallace had a lot of weight on his shoulders driving the No. 43 car. He also became the first black driver to get behind the wheel of a Cup car since Bill Lester in 2006. Yeah, that’s a lot of pressure, but Wallace said his fainting spell is unfortunately a regular occurrence. “I was looking at something, set to go to victory lane,” Wallace said. “This is the third time this is happened. I get so pissed off at myself that I just pass out. … Yeah, I’m good.” On the track, Wallace proved he belonged. Had he not made three minor mistakes on pit road that cost him to fall a lap down, Bubba would have easily been on his way to a top-20 finish. Other than a late brush with Matt DiBenedetto, Wallace also stayed out of trouble and didn’t ruin any friendships on the track. “First trip down pit road cost us and put us behind the eight ball the rest of the day,” Wallace said. “I like stage racing, but it just didn’t work out for us. “I was really conservative today. A lot of people said it’s not my job to set the world on fire or do everything under the sun. My job was to do as good as we could and come out with a clean race car.” Look, the legacy of the No. 43 car is one thing, but expectations of Wallace with Richard Petty Motorsports have to be tempered. Even with Almirola behind the
Matthew O’Haren | USA TODAY Sports
NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney celebrates in victory lane after winning the Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Penn. on June 11.
wheel prior to his back injury, he earned two top-five finishes in 11 races, both of which were at crapshoots in Daytona and Talladega. This isn’t Wallace’s permanent seat, and he’s not treating it as such. But what it is, is a proving ground for Wallace as a future driver of any team in the near future as well as his marketability to sponsors. Getting his feet wet for a team that isn’t trying to make the playoffs is a perfect starting point for Wallace. “I knew jumping into this it wouldn’t be easy,” he said. “These guys are good, they’re here for a reason. There’s no more climbing. I’ve been in the ladder runs the last couple years. There’s no higher to go. “This was a bad-ass day. … We’ll just get better.”
Hendrick’s horrific day While both Wood Brothers Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports put together memorable afternoons, one of the winningest programs in the sport did not. In fact, out of four cars for Hendrick Motorsports, only one finished the race with Chase Elliott coming in eighth — his second straight top 10 after a string of bad luck. Dale Earnhardt Jr. missed a shift on Lap 58 and suffered a blown engine. Jimmie Johnson lost his brakes on Lap 95, flew into the grass and slammed into the wall. Kasey Kahne suffered the same fate as Johnson on Lap 140 and headed to the garage early. It’s not a good day when three-fourths of the team finishes
behind the likes of Jeffrey Earnhardt and Derrike Cope. Earnhardt’s issue was also what forced him to swap his engine and start from the back of the field after missing a shift earlier in the weekend. Though several Junior fans immediately placed the blame on crew chief Greg Ives, the driver himself immediately took the blame. “The shifter is not different, the handle is not different, the location, everything is the same,” Earnhardt said. “I don’t know. It’s something about my motion that’s not ... just going in the wrong gear. I wish I could blame it on something else, because this is awful, it feels awful.” On the bright side, Junior did bow out well in advance of potential brake issues that could have possibly ended his career. With both Kahne and Johnson being involved in massive wrecks, that could have been a Molotov cocktail for Junior’s issues with concussions. As for Johnson, the massive hit he took was one of the worst of his career. He sat next to his car at the embankment of a turn trying to collect his breath before he headed to the infield care center. He may have been in pain, but the seven-time champion still had his wits about him before heading back to Charlotte. “I’m fine. Certainly, a big scare I haven’t had a scare like that since 2000 at Watkins Glen,” Johnson said. “So, just want to let my wife and kids and my mom know that I’m okay and I will go change my underwear and get ready to go home.”
Wilmington’s Derek Brunson snapped a two-fight losing streak at UFC Fight Night in Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday night. Brunson made short work of Dan Kelly, who was previously 13-1, recording a first-round knockout and announcing loud and clear that he’s still a factor in the UFC Middleweight division. Brunson’s eight UFC wins since 2012 are tied for the most in the Middleweight division. He moved to the verge of a title shot with a five-fight winning streak, including four straight first-round knockouts from 2014 to 2016.
I was cheated my last fight ... I have to make sure I come out here and finish guys so it won’t happen again.” Derek Brunson, UFC Fighter
The streak was snapped in a TKO loss in Australia last November. That was followed by a controversial judges’ decision loss to MMA legend Anderson Silva in February. “I was cheated my last fight as I’m sure you saw,” Brunson said after Saturday’s win. “I have to make sure I come out here and finish guys so it won’t happen again.” Rated eighth in the latest Middleweight rankings, Brunson was facing the No. 15-ranked Kelly, who had won four straight fights and was fighting close to his home in Australia, the second time in three fights that Brunson has fought someone with a decided home-area advantage. A former judo Olympian, Kelly presented an interesting challenge to Brunson, who often charges in swinging, searching for an early stoppage. Brunson blamed the aggressive strategy for his knockout loss to Robert Whittaker in November. The Wilmington native prepared for the Kelly fight by moving his training camp to Atlanta and working against several Muay Thai champions. “I’ve been working in Georgia,” he explained, “putting in a lot of work to keep getting better every fight. I’m just working on my striking. I worked really hard.” Brunson came out uncharacteristically patient and cautious, spending the first minute faking punches and high kicks, while settling for leg kicks to keep Kelly at bay. In the second minute of the fight, Brunson saw his opening. The southpaw threw a double jab with his right hand, then landed a huge overhand left that caught Kelly flush on the jaw. Kelly went down and Brunson landed a barrage of hammerfists to the downed Kelly before the referee stopped the fight. “I just wanted to go out there and be the old Brunson,” he said. The official time of the win was 1:16 of the first round, Brunson’s fastest win since a 36-second TKO of Ed Herman in January, 2015. Brunson recorded his ninth career knockout, fifth in the UFC, and improved to 17-5, 8-3 in the UFC. “I’m working on winning my way toward that title shot,” Brunson said after the fight. He announced that he’d like a rematch with Silva, and also mentioned a possible fight against Antonio Carlos Jr., an up-and-coming middleweight that Brunson said “called me out” after a June 3 win in Brazil. “Let’s do it, baby,” he said. While waiting to see what his next UFC date will be, Brunson plans to return to Wilmington. “I’m going to come home and kiss my kids,” he said. “It’s been a hard couple months, getting over that Anderson fight.”