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2 THE BALTIMORE SUN SPORTS TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2020 SCOREBOARD EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC PCT GB Toronto 46 18 .719 Boston 43 21 .672 3 Philadelphia 39 26 .600 Brooklyn 30 34 .469 16 New York 21 45 .318 26 SOUTHEAST Miami 41 24 .631 Orlando 30 35 .462 11 Washington 24 40 .375 Charlotte 23 42 .354 18 Atlanta 20 47 .299 22 CENTRAL Milwaukee 53 12 .815 Indiana 39 26 .600 14 Chicago 22 43 .338 31 Detroit 20 46 .303 Cleveland 19 46 .292 34 WESTERN CONFERENCE SOUTHWEST PCT GB Houston 40 24 .625 Dallas 40 27 .597 Memphis 32 33 .492 New Orleans 28 36 .438 12 San Antonio 27 36 .429 NORTHWEST Denver 43 22 .662 Utah 41 23 .641 Oklahoma City 40 24 .625 Portland 29 37 .439 Minnesota 19 45 .297 PACIFIC L.A. Lakers 49 14 .778 L.A. Clippers 44 20 .688 Sacramento 28 36 .438 Phoenix 26 39 .400 24 Golden State 15 50 .231 35 NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC OT Pts GF GA Boston 44 14 12 100 227 174 Tampa Bay 43 21 6 92 245 195 Toronto 36 25 9 81 238 227 Florida 35 26 8 78 231 228 Montreal 31 31 9 71 212 221 Buffalo 30 31 8 68 195 217 Ottawa 25 34 12 62 191 243 Detroit 17 49 5 39 145 267 METRO. OT Pts GF GA Washington 41 20 8 90 240 215 Philadelphia 41 21 7 89 232 196 Pittsburgh 40 23 6 86 224 196 Carolina 38 25 5 81 222 193 Columbus 33 22 15 81 180 187 N.Y. Islanders 35 23 10 80 192 193 N.Y.

Rangers 37 28 5 79 234 222 New Jersey 28 29 12 68 189 230 WESTERN CONFERENCE CENTRAL OT Pts GF GA St. Louis 42 19 10 94 225 193 Colorado 42 20 8 92 237 191 Dallas 37 24 8 82 180 177 Winnipeg 37 28 6 80 216 203 Nashville 35 26 8 78 215 217 Minnesota 35 27 7 77 220 220 Chicago 32 30 8 72 212 218 PACIFIC OT Pts GF GA Vegas 39 24 8 86 227 211 Edmonton 37 25 9 83 225 217 Calgary 36 27 7 79 210 215 Vancouver 36 27 6 78 228 217 Arizona 33 29 8 74 195 187 Anaheim 29 33 9 67 187 226 Los Angeles 29 35 6 64 178 212 San Jose 29 36 5 63 182 226 NHL MLS Eastern PT GF GA Atlanta 2 0 0 6 4 2 N.Y. Red Bulls 1 0 1 4 4 3 Montreal 1 0 1 4 4 3 Toronto FC 1 0 1 4 3 2 Columbus 1 0 1 4 2 1 D.C. United 1 1 0 3 3 3 Chicago 0 1 1 1 2 3 New England 0 1 1 1 2 3 Orlando City 0 1 1 1 1 2 Philadelphia 0 1 1 1 3 5 Cincinnati 0 2 0 0 3 5 Inter Miami CF 0 2 0 0 1 3 N.Y. City FC 0 2 0 0 0 2 Western PT GF GA Sporting KC 2 0 0 6 7 1 Minnesota 2 0 0 6 8 3 Colorado 2 0 0 6 4 2 FC Dallas 1 0 1 4 4 2 Los Angeles FC 1 0 1 4 4 3 Seattle 1 0 1 4 3 2 Portland 1 1 0 3 2 3 Vancouver 1 1 0 3 2 3 Real Salt Lake 0 0 2 2 1 1 LA Galaxy 0 1 1 1 1 2 San Jose 0 1 1 1 4 7 Houston 0 1 1 1 1 5 Nashville SC 0 2 0 0 1 3 3 points for victory, 1 point for tie Tentative date for the MLS All-Star Game July 29 vs.

La Liga MX All Stars Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles SOCCER DRAFT PROPS Top overall draft pick Joe Burrow, QB, LSU Chase Young, DE, Ohio State Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon Jeffrey Okudah, CB, Ohio State Andrew Thomas, OT, Georgia Jacob Eason, QB, Washington Jake Fromm, QB, Georgia CeeDee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma Isaiah Simmons, LB, Clemson Derrick Brown, DT, Auburn Jordan Love, QB, Utah State Exact Outcome of first 3 Overall Picks 1 Burrow 2 Young 3 Okudah 1 Burrow 2 Young 3 Brown 1 Burrow 2 Young 3 Herber 1 Burrow 2 Young 3 Tua 1 Burrow 2 Young 3 Simmons 1 Burrow 2 Tua 3 Young 1 Burrow 2 Tua 3 Herbert 1 Burrow 2 Tua 3 Brown 1 Burrow 2 Tua 3 Love 1 Burrow 2 Tua 3 Okudah 1 Burrow 2 Tua 3 Simmons 1 Burrow 2 Young 3 Love 1 Tua 2 Burrow 3 Young 1 Tua 2 Young 3 Burrow 1 Tua 2 Burrow 3 Herbert 1 Tua 2 Burrow 3 Okudah 1 Tua 2 Young 3 Okudah 1 Tua 2 Young 3 Herbert Most players selected in first round Offensive Defensive source: sportsbook.ag NFL WORLD RANKINGS RK. GOLFER COUNTRY Avg 1. Rory McIlroy Ireland 9.45 2. Jon Rahm Spain 8.48 3. Brooks Koepka U.S.

7.73 4. Justin Thomas U.S. 7.41 5. Dustin Johnson U.S. 6.45 6.

Adam Scott Australia 5.97 7. Patrick Reed U.S. 5.87 7. Patrick Cantlay U.S. 5.87 9.

Webb Simpson U.S. 5.84 10. Tommy Fleetwood England 5.58 11. Tiger Woods U.S. 5.44 12.

Xander Schauffele U.S. 5.38 13. Bryson DeChambeau U.S. 5.15 14. Justin Rose England 5.02 15.

Marc Leishman Austria 4.79 16. Tony Finau U.S. 4.62 17. Matt Kuchar U.S. 4.43 18.

Gary Woodland U.S. 4.38 19. Louis Oosthuizen Africa 4.33 20. Shane Lowry Ireland 4.27 21. Tyrrell Hatton England 4.23 22.

Hideki Matsuyama Japan 4.14 23. Sungjae Im Korea 4.04 24. Paul Casey England 3.99 25. Matt. Fitzpatrick England 3.79 26.

Bernd Wiesberger Austria 3.77 27. Rickie Fowler U.S. 3.50 28. Francesco Molinari Italy 3.46 29. Abraham Ancer Mexico 3.13 30.

Kevin Na U.S. 3.11 31. Lee Westwood England 3.07 32. Henrik Stenson Sweden 3.06 33. Danny Willett England 2.86 34.

Billy Horschel U.S. 2.73 35. Cameron Smith Australia 2.72 36. Kevin Kisner U.S. 2.70 37.

Chez Reavie U.S. 2.69 38. Sergio Garcia Spain 2.62 39. J. Janewattananond Thailand 2.60 40.

Victor Perez France 2.60 PGA TOUR MONEY LEADERS RK GOLFER EARNINGS 1 Justin Thomas $4,214,477 2 Sungjae Im $3,862,168 3 Rory McIlroy $3,832,721 4 Patrick Reed $3,226,531 5 Marc Leishman $2,996,025 6 Webb Simpson $2,751,300 7 Hideki Matsuyama $2,729,322 8 Lanto Griffin $2,621,112 9 Brendon Todd $2,561,615 10 Tyrrell Hatton $2,460,479 11 Xander Schauffele $2,394,130 12 $2,376,998 13 Bryson DeChambeau $2,362,266 14 Kevin Na $2,100,945 15 Adam Scott $2,086,829 16 Cameron Smith $2,062,515 17 Tiger Woods $1,956,312 18 Joaquin Niemann $1,932,504 19 Jon Rahm $1,895,143 20 Nick Taylor $1,802,626 21 Danny Lee $1,795,574 22 Byeong Hun An $1,793,819 23 Tom Hoge $1,716,865 24 Scottie Scheffler $1,667,813 25 Harris English $1,667,586 26 Cameron Champ $1,657,424 27 Abraham Ancer $1,626,814 28 Gary Woodland $1,534,825 29 Carlos Ortiz $1,488,104 30 Patrick Cantlay $1,476,955 31 Sung Kang $1,453,948 32 Tony Finau $1,449,225 33 Joel Dahmen $1,435,930 34 Kevin Streelman $1,402,151 35 Mark Hubbard $1,388,415 36 Tyler Duncan $1,384,620 37 Andrew Landry $1,323,250 38 Adam Long $1,288,958 39 Adam Hadwin $1,220,961 40 Matt Kuchar $1,190,106 GOLF head injuries, according to his family. Cur- tiswas 77. Likemost you first hear such news, there is silence for a fewmin- utes. But you eventually smile because Curtis left the image hewanted people to remember about him. Hewas direct and gentle whenneeded but surlywhen the situation called for it.Hewas smart, articulate and had that unconventional sense of humor often filledwith one-liners.

Andhehad that glare, the one that could pierce armor. Itwas always there on Sunday after- often themost vicious player on the field. Curtis did not just tackle a person, he exploded throughhim like the textbook formyouwere taught in PopWarner. As the lateGreenBay quarterbackBart Starr once said, Butkuswas scary, Curtiswas forte, and there should be a bust of him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. At 6-foot-3 and 232 pounds, the onlymiddle linebacker faster during his timewasLanier.

Curtiswas named to the ProBowl four times during his14-year career andwas anAll-Pro at both outside andmiddle linebacker. He could cover any running back or tight iswhyhe had 25 intercep- tions, but also rush the is whyhe had 22 sacks. Curtiswas theAFC Defensive Player of theYear in1970. Thenwhy he in theHall of Fame? Amajor reason is that Curtis did not caremuch for themedia and a lot of sports journalistsmake up the selection commit- tee. Curtis, though, connectedwith fans in his family is planning to have amemorial service.

After games at Memorial Stadium, hewould go to Spar- rowsPoint orHighlandtown to hang out with fans because he thought theywere down to earth people like himself. When theColts left Baltimore for India- napolis in1984, Curtis still hung around the Baltimore-Washington area and appeared at functions. In1996, I satwith himat a RavensRoost Banquet inHagerstown. I was scared because he looked like he could still play. His body looked firm and tight.

AsCur- tiswas sitting, hewas stretching his neck andhands as if hewere getting loose. I wanted someone to do something silly to him sohe could tackle them, like he did that fanwhenhe tried to steal the ball at Memorial Stadium in1971. The kid inmewill never die. I know if Curtis hadmany regrets in life, but therewas at least one.He never got over theColts losing SuperBowl III to theNewYork Jets in1969. A fire in his eyes would reappearwhenever he talked about that game, a16-7Colts loss.

Curtis had been battlingwithCTE for several years, but fanswill not forget him. The extent of his legacywas evidentMon- young childrenwere talking aboutwhat their parents and grandparents thought of Curtis. According to his two caretakers, Vivian Wright andVictoriaGates, there is a table house about a foot highwith letters and gifts from fans. Gates said that Curtis always hadher andWright read them, andhewould autograph each one beforemailing the letters back. Whilewatching filmonMonday, I saw Curtis running out on the field during pregame introductionswith theColts fight song playing in the background.

Therewere timeswhenhewould crush MiamiDolphins running back and tough guyLarryCsonka or nearly rip the head off LosAngeles Rams quarterbackRoman Gabriel. Curtis once threatened to punch out Unitas as a rookie fullback andwarnedhis teammates that if they did notwin their last six games of the1970 season, they had to dealwith himone-on-one. TheColts thenwon the SuperBowl. ImissedCurtis after the11seasons he played inBaltimore.Hewent on to play for the expansion Seattle Seahawks in1976, where hewas named the first defen- sive captain, and theWashingtonRedskins for two years. But you cannot forget the intensitywith whichhe played, or hisNo.

32, or that nickname, That stuff is legend. PRESTON From page 1 Colts center Bill Curry, who also played with Nitschke in Green Bay. really missed the thrill of getting to see a great NFL linebacker if you get to see him play. It was like watching a guywith the muscularity of a defensive tackle who could run like a corner. Itwas incredible to see him run people down.

How could he do that? But he did it every Curtis was known as one of the nastiest players in the NFL, so committed to performing his work with furious passion that he would regularly spar with team- mates during practice. Curry was his roommate for five years but as the center, those weekday sessions. knew Sunday was going to be my easiest day of the he said, recalling his relief at lining up against lessermiddle linebackers. Another former Colts linebacker, Stan White, said Curtis earned his nickname. was hilarious to see him go at it with his White recalled.

remember we were scrimmaging one time and he and TomMitchell got into it, and I think Mike put his thumb into tried topull his teeth out, soMitchell put his thumb eye and tried to pull his eye out. It was crazy stuff, because with Mike, it takemuch to get Other teammates foundCurtis inscruta- ble off the field. adifferent kindof recalled flanker Jimmy Orr. stayed to himself when we were out of practice.Hewas Once, an acquaintance of halfback Tom Matte approached a table of Colts as they dined inNewOrleans. the man said upon meeting the All-Pro linebacker.

Curtis turned to Matte and said: himout of here, or going towhip But Curry glimpsed a more tender side when his wife went into labor with the first child during training camp. As Curry paced nervously in the wee hours, Curtis normally protective of his him to ask coachDon Shula for permission to fly home. When Curry could not find a ride to the airport, Curtis tossed him the keys to his new Ford Thunderbird, which had been strictly off-limits to everyone at camp. basically just took charge and took care of Curry said. hears stories like that about rememberedhowCur- tis took him under his wing.

of the guys stayedaway somehow I developed a nice relationship with he said. really helped me learn about being a professional linebacker, which Curtiswas born inWashingtonD.C. and grew up in Rockville, where he played at Richard Montgomery High School and earned All-Metro recognition from the Washington Post in 1960. He went on to Duke, where he earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors as a fullback in 1962 and 1964. He also threw the javelin for the Blue Devils and earned Academic All- American in history.

TheColts draftedhim in the first round, 14th overall, in1965. Curtisquicklyestablished thathewould back down from no man, even All-Pro quarterback Johnny Unitas. When Curtis was a rookie, still playing fullback, Unitas plunkedhim in the back of theheadwith a pass. Curtis told idol that if it happened again, fight. hit me in the back of my head with the ball and I told him have to counsel himifhedid later saidof the incident.

career took off after the Colts made him a full-time linebacker in his second season. He was selected first-team All-Pro in 1968, when the Colts led the league in scoring defense and rolled through 15 of their first 16 games before they ran into a cocky young quarterback named Joe Namath in Super Bowl III. Curtis and his teammates suffered one of the most famous upsets in NFL history that day, but the disappointment did nothing to derail the star career. He made the Pro Bowl each of the next three seasons after switching from outside to middle linebacker, and in 1970, he intercepted five passes as the Colts worked toward SuperBowl redemption. With Ted Hendricks and Ray May, he formed a trio of linebackers who made brilliant plays all over the field.

The team hit a wayward patch in the middle of that season, tying the Buffalo Bills and losing to the Miami Dolphins by 17 in consecutive weeks. Curry recalled what Curtis, who usually speak up in teammeetings, said at that juncture. have all thesemeetings andwe say, gonna do this and gonna do he told teammates. a lot of times do what we say. But gonna be watching and gonna make sure that every single one of you does your job.

If you gonna make sure you Sure enough, the Colts won their last four regular-season games and swept through the playoffs. In 1971, the 6-foot-3, 232-pound Curtis left adifferentkindof imprintby flattening an intoxicated fan run on the field and scooped up the game ball during a Dec. 11 home victory over the Dolphins. TheColtshadplayedbrilliantlyondefense that day, holding an excellentMiami team to three points, and Curry said Curtis had no patience for an interloper besmirching theirmasterpiece. When Curry and defensive end Bubba Smith expressed concern that the fan might sue, Curtis replied that simply enforced a city ordinance.

way I see it, he was invading my place of he explained. Video clips of the incident have lived on, endearing him to newgenerations of fans. With all the focus on his ferocity and quirkiness, teammates said intelli- gencewas underappreciated. was interesting withMike, butMike was a smart guy. He moved the defensive fronts.

He called all the slants and pinches and everything we needed up said former Colts safety Bruce Laird. tackler. In my humble opinion, he should have made it into the Hall with other people of his caliber who are in there. deeply saddened that the committee get him in. He was a Curtismade his fifth and final Pro Bowl in 1974.

The Colts left him unprotected in the 1976 NFL expansion draft after a 1975 season inwhich played just six games because of a knee injury. The Seattle Seahawks selected him and he became a co-captain for the new franchise. He then finished his career with the Washington Redskins in1977 and1978. Curtis struggledwithmemory loss later in life, and his family donated his brain to the Brain Injury Research Institute to aid doctors investigating chronic traumatic encephalopathy, orCTE. survived by his sons, Clay Curtis of Florida and Ryan Curtis of Connecticut; his daughter, Caitlin Ehlke of Virginia; his sister, Karen Norris ofMassachusetts, and sevengrandchildren.Detailsofamemorial servicewere still being finalizedMonday.

Baltimore Sun columnists Mike Preston and Peter Schmuck contributed to this article. Mike Curtis, pictured at practice in 1975, was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time All-Pro with the Baltimore Colts. RICHARD SUN CURTIS From page 1 SPORTS.