NFL-RAY RICE APPEAL
Rice wins appeal, suspension lifted
NEW YORK (AP) β Ray Rice can play football again, as soon as he finds a new team.
The Ravens running back has won the appeal of his indefinite suspension by the NFL. Former U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones decided commissioner Roger Goodell’s (guh-DEHLZ’) demonstrated abuse of discretion by altering Rice’s two-game suspension after video surfaced of him punching his fiancee, who’s now his wife. Jones ordered the suspension vacated immediately, allowing Rice to sign with any NFL team.
Rice was released by the Ravens before Goodell extended the suspension. It’s unclear how many teams might be interested in Rice with only about a month left in the regular season.
The National Organization for Women again called for Goodell’s resignation and an independent investigation into the NFL’s response to domestic violence incidents.
NFL-NEWS
Manziel: Fan was very aggressive
CLEVELAND (AP) β Johnny Manziel (man-ZEHL’) says he tried to avoid an altercation with a fan who was “very aggressive” when the Browns quarterback was approached in the lobby of his apartment building last week. Speaking for the first time since the incident, Manziel says Chris Gonos was “very intoxicated” when he confronted the quarterback. Police responded to the 2:30 a.m. skirmish.
According to a police report, Chris Gonos told police he was assaulted by “Johnny Football and his entourage.”
Manziel didn’t have any marks on his face and would not say if he threw any punches. He added he does not have an entourage.
In other NFL news:
β Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald practiced on a limited basis and coach Bruce Arians says the eight-time Pro Bowl wide receiver’s participation will be a game-time decision Sunday in Atlanta. The Pro Bowl receiver sprained his left MCL two weeks ago.
T25 FOOTBALL-SCHEDULE
Arizona wins Pac-12 South…Thundering Herd lose a wild one
UNDATED (AP) β Nick Wilson ran for 178 yards and three touchdowns and No. 12 Arizona claimed the Pac-12 South title by holding on for a 42-35 victory over No. 13 Arizona State.
Arizona needed to beat its biggest rival and have Stanford knock off No. 9 UCLA to win the Pac-12 South.
The Cardinal took care of that part by rolling over the Bruins 31-10. The Wildcats handled their end with a stream of big plays and a final defensive stand.
Arizona moves on to face No. 3 Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship game on Dec. 5 at Levi’s Stadium in the Bay Area.
In top-25 finals:
β Kevin Hogan passed for 234 yards and two touchdowns, and Stanford crushed No. 9 UCLA’s hopes for the Pac-12 South title and a College Football Playoff spot with a 31-10 victory over the Bruins.
β Newcomer Missouri is going to the SEC championship for the second straight year. Marcus Murphy scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 12-yard run with 4:38 left and Markus Golden recovered a fumble to seal No. 17 Missouri’s 21-14 victory over Arkansas.
β Brandon Doughty threw a Conference USA-record eight touchdown passes to lead Western Kentucky to a 67-66 overtime win over previously unbeaten and No. 19-ranked Marshall. Doughty’s last scoring pass was followed by a game-winning 2-point conversion pass to Willie McNeal. Marshall’s Rakeem Cato had seven touchdown passes but threw four interceptions. Marshall dropped to 11-1 and likely lost its chance to earn a place in the New Year’s bowls.
β Will Conant booted a 39-yard field goal as time expired after backup quarterback Nate Romine completed a long pass to help Air Force upset No. 21 Colorado State 27-24. That ends the Rams’ nine-game winning streak.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-UNLV
Rebels coach to resign after Saturday’s game
UNLV football coach Bobby Hauck will step down after coaching the team’s season finale against Nevada on Saturday.
Athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy says Hauck and his staff “have worked tirelessly in trying to achieve the results we all want to see but it unfortunately has not happened.”
The Rebels are 2-10 this season and 15-48 in five seasons under Hauck, including 11-27 in the Mountain West Conference.
T25 FOOTBALL-OHIO STATE-PLAYER MISSING
Buckeyes player reported missing
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) β A search is underway for Ohio State defensive tackle Kosta Karageorge, whose family has reported him missing. The 22-year-old left his apartment, then uncharacteristically missed two practices and didn’t check in.
Sophia Karageorge says her brother apparently was upset, and roommates say he went for a walk, dressed in all black.
His sister says he didn’t take his wallet or motorcycle. She says he has a history of sports-related concussions, including one a month ago. The family is concerned that he might have become disoriented.
NBA-SCHEDULE
Eight straight for Golden State…Westbrook shines in return…So does West for Pacers
UNDATED (AP) β Marreese Speights (muh-REES’ spaytz) scored 16 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Charlotte Hornets 106-101 for their eighth straight win. Stephen (STEH’-fihn) Curry finished with 26 points and Klay Thompson added 17 points for the Warriors, who are 13-2 in the young NBA season.
In other NBA action:
β Russell Westbrook scored 32 points in his first game back from a broken right hand, and the Thunder steamrolled the Knicks 105-78. Westbrook was injured in the second game of the season and hadn’t played since. He returned in grand fashion, making 12 of 17 shots, including 3 of 4 3-pointers, and adding eight assists and seven rebounds in just 23 minutes.
β Marc Gasol (guh-SAWL’) had 26 points and nine assists as the Memphis Grizzlies held off the Trail Blazers 112-99 to snap a nine-game Portland winning streak. Mike Conley added 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who have the NBA’s best record at 14-2.
__ Tony Parker had 27 points and the San Antonio Spurs held on to beat the Sacramento Kings 112-104 in their second straight victory without Gregg Popovich, who missed his second straight game following a recent undisclosed minor medical procedure.
β Rodney Stuckey scored a season-high 24 points and David West had 18 points in his first game of the season to lead Indiana to a 98-83 win over Orlando. West had missed the first 18 games with an ankle injury.
β Ersan Ilyasova (eel-yah-SOH’-vah) scored 22 points and Jared Dudley added 16 points as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the slumping Detroit Pistons 104-88. The Pistons have lost seven in a row.
β Monta Ellis hit for 30 in the Dallas Mavericks’ 106-102 victory over Atlantic Division-leading Toronto. Chandler Parsons added 16 for the Mavs.
β Blake Griffin had 30 points and 10 rebounds and Jamal Crawford added 21 points to help the Los Angeles Clippers coast to a 102-85 win over Houston.
β The Minnesota Timberwolves rallied to nip the L.A. Lakers 120-119 behind Zach LaVine’s 28 points. That drops the Lakers to 3-13.
β Jimmy Butler scored 22 points and Derrick Rose added 21 as Chicago rallied for a 109-102 win over Boston. The Bulls outscored the Celtics 24-11 in the fourth quarter to pull out the win. Pau Gasol (POW guh-SAWL’) scored 15 to go with 15 rebounds.
β Jeff Teague scored 26 points, DeMarre Carroll added 19 and the Atlanta Hawks held off the New Orleans Pelicans 100-91.
β Arron Afflalo (AHF’-ah-loh) hit for 22 points in the Denver Nuggets’ 122-97 win over Phoenix.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Rangers post another shutout…’Canes post rare road win.
UNDATED (AP) β Martin St. Louis (mahr-TAN’ san loo-EE’) reached 1,000 career points with a goal and an assist in the New York Rangers’ 3-0 win at Philadelphia. Cam Talbot stopped 26 shots as the Rangers blanked the Flyers for the second time in nine days. New York improved to 10-8-4 and dropped the Flyers to 1-6-1 in their last eight games.
In other hockey:
β The Carolina Hurricanes earned a rare road win by beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2. Nathan Gerbe’s (GEHR’-beez) power-play goal broke a third period tie. The ‘Canes are 3-9-and-2 on the road this season.
β Gustav Nyquist scored the only goal in the shootout, and the Detroit Red Wings rallied for a 5-4 win over the New Jersey Devils.
β Boston rallied for a 2-1 overtime win over Winnipeg. Dougie Hamilton’s goal at 3:39 of OT ended it.
β Buffalo got a power-play goal from Matt Moulson with 1:18 left to give the Sabres a 2-1 win over Montreal.
β Washington outscored the New York Islanders 5-2. Alex Ovechkin (oh-VECH’-kin) scored the go-ahead goal, his 12th of the season.
β Chicago beat Anaheim 5-1. Patrick Kane scored two goals and Andrew Shaw and Brad Richards each had a goal and an assist.
β Vladimir Tarasenko scored at 4:20 of overtime to lift the St. Louis Blues over the Edmonton Oilers 4-3.
β Vancouver blanked Columbus 5-0. Ryan Miller gets his second straight shutout with 31 saves.
__ Minnesota beats Dallas 5-4 in overtime. Marco Scandella’s goal in OT won it.
__ Jimmy Hayes scored the winning goal to lift the Florida Panthers over the Ottawa Senators 3-2.
T25 BASKETBALL-SCHEDULE
Badgers win title the Bahamas…’Zags win NIT Tip-Off
UNDATED (AP) β Tournament MVP Frank Kaminsky scored 17 points to lead five Wisconsin players in double figures, and the second-ranked Badgers beat Oklahoma 69-56 on Friday to win the Battle 4 Atlantis championship. Duje Dukan and Traevon Jackson each added 13 for the 7-0 Badgers.
Kaminsky grabbed eight rebounds and Jackson handed out eight assists for the Badgers.
In AP Top 25 finals:
β Kennedy Meeks scored 18 points and tied a career high with 13 rebounds, Marcus Paige added 16 points and fifth-ranked North Carolina built a big early lead and beat No. 18 Florida 75-64 in the fifth-place game at the Battle 4 Atlantis. __ Eighth-ranked Virginia improved to 6-0 by beating LaSalle 64-56 to reach Saturday night’s Barclays Center Classic final against Rutgers. Malcolm Brogdon scored a career-high 20 points.
β Domantas Sabonis had 14 points and eight rebounds to help No. 10 Gonzaga beat St. John’s 73-66 in the NIT Season Tip-Off championship game.
β No. 11 Kansas got 24 points from Perry Ellis in an 82-67 win over Tennessee in the Orlando Classic semifinal. The Jayhawks improved to 4-1, marking the 10th time they’ve started with that record or better in coach Bill Self’s 12 seasons with the program.
β No. 16 Ohio State topped James Madison 73-56 as D’Angelo Russell scored 14 points and Sam Thompson added 13. Amir Williams had seven points and nine rebounds for the Buckeyes.
__ Sheldon McClellan had 17 points and the No. 17 Miami Hurricanes scored the first 23 points in an 87-75 victory over South Alabama.
β Denzel Valentine had a career-high 25 points and No. 20 Michigan State beat Marquette 79-68 in a semifinal at the Orlando Classic. The Spartans will play No. 11 Kansas in Sunday’s title game.
__ No. 22 UCLA captured seventh place in the Battle 4 Atlantis by beating UAB 88-76. The Bruins led by as many as 22 as Isaac Hamilton scored 21 .
__ Mississippi knocked off previously unbeaten No. 23 Creighton (KRAY’-tuhn) 75-68. Jarvis Summers scored 23 points and Mississippi closed with a 12-3 run.
__ Michael Qualls scored a career-high 22 points and No. 25 Arkansas improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2006 with an 89-73 victory over North Texas.
MLB-HOT STOVE LEAGUE
A’s ship Donaldson to Blue Jays…Marlins get Crow
UNDATED (AP) β β The Oakland Athletics traded All-Star third baseman Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays for third baseman Brett Lawrie, left-hander Sean Nolin, right-hander Kendall Graveman and minor league shortstop Franklin Barreto.
The 28-year-old Donaldson hit .255 with 29 home runs and 98 RBIs in 158 games last season.
In another trade, the Kansas City Royals have shipped former first-round draft pick Aaron Crow to the Miami Marlins for left-hander Brian Flynn and right-hander Reid Redman.
The 28-year-old Crow didn’t play in the postseason after going 6-1 with a 4.12 ERA and three saves in 67 relief appearances this year.
