COLLEGE FOOTBALL-BAHAMAS BOWL
Central Michigan goes for broke, loses a wild one
NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) β A miracle comeback for Central Michigan on a record-setting day by quarterback Cooper Rush fell just short at the inaugural Bahamas Bowl as Western Kentucky prevailed 49-48 when Rush’s two-point conversion pass fell incomplete.
Down by 35 points with 12 minutes remaining, Central Michigan scored the final five touchdowns of the game, including a three-lateral, 75-yard dazzler on the final play.
Rush led a frenetic comeback by the 7-6 Chippewas who trailed 49-14 entering the fourth quarter. He threw four of his seven touchdown passes in the final minutes.
Titus Davis dove into the pylon for a touchdown with no time remaining after three laterals. Central Michigan elected to go for two and the win, only to have the pass drop incomplete.
Brandon Doughty threw five first-half touchdown passes for 8-5 Western Kentucky.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-HAWAII BOWL
Rice, Fresno State meet
HONOLULU (AP) β Two teams that started the season 0-3 got rewarded with a trip to the Hawaii Bowl. Rice and Fresno State are trying to put a better ending onto the season. Only 19 other FBS teams out of 496 dating to 1980 have started 0-3 and played in a bowl game that year.
The 7-5 Owls are playing in a bowl game for a school record third straight year.
Fresno State has the distinction of being the only bowl team this season with a losing record. They dropped to 6-7 with a loss to Boise State in the Mountain West championship game. The Bulldogs have lost their last five bowl games.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-AP COACH OF THE YEAR
TCU’s Patterson tops coaching vote
UNDATED (AP) β TCU’s Gary Patterson has been named The Associated Press college football coach of the year.
It’s the second time the Horned Frogs coach has won the honor. He was coach of the year in 2009 as well.
And it was quite a turnaround this time. Patterson guided the sixth-ranked Horned Frogs to an 11-1 record after going 4-8 in 2013.
He joins Nick Saban as the only two time winner of the award that has been presented since 1998.
Patterson, who’s in his 14th season at TCU, received 27 of 54 votes from the AP poll media panel. Urban Meyer of Ohio State was the runner-up with 14 votes. Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen received six votes.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-PITTSBURGH-NARDUZZI
AP Source: Narduzzi to coach at Pitt
PITTSBURGH (AP) β Pittsburgh is hoping Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi can bring some stability to a program trying to find its footing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
A person familiar with the decision has told The Associated Press that Narduzzi has reached an agreement with the Panthers to replace Paul Chryst. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the school had not yet made an announcement. A press conference is scheduled for Friday.
The 48-year-old Narduzzi has spent the last eight seasons building the Spartans into one of the nation’s top defenses.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-ARKANSAS-WILLIAMS
Star running back returning for ’15 season
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) β Arkansas running back Jonathan Williams says he’s returning for his senior season.
The junior led 6-6 Arkansas with 1,085 yards rushing this season, helping the Razorbacks rebound from a 3-9 record last year to reach their first bowl game in three seasons. Arkansas will face Texas in the Texas Bowl on Monday. The Texas native has 2,216 yards rushing in his three seasons for the Razorbacks.
Williams and teammate Alex Collins each topped the 1,000-yard rushing mark this season. Williams had said he would wait until hearing back from the NFL on his draft prospects before deciding whether to leave school.
NFL-BRONCOS-MANNING
Manning coming back next season
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) β Here’s the best Christmas present that Denver Broncos fans could receiver — Peyton Manning says he plans on coming back for his 18th NFL season.
Manning was asked during his weekly news conference Wednesday if there was a set of circumstances that would lead him to retire.
He said he hadn’t given thought to those circumstances and plans to be back if the Broncos will have him. The 38-year-old Manning says he continues to enjoy playing.
NFL-INJURIES
Dalton ill, RG III hurting
UNDATED (AP) β Quarterback Andy Dalton has been sent home from practice after coming down with the flu. He was one of four Bengals players to miss practice because of illness.
The Bengals say they expect Dalton to be fully recovered by the time they go to Pittsburgh for a Sunday night game that will decide the AFC North title. The loser gets a wild card berth.
They also expect to have receiver A.J. Green back. He bruised his upper right arm during a win over Denver on Monday night and failed to make a catch.
Elsewhere;
β Robert Griffin III is dealing with a sprained right shoulder as he prepares for Washington’s season finale against Dallas. Griffin was limited in practice, but appeared to be throwing normally during the portion of the workout open to reporters. Coach Jay Gruden says Griffin is sore but doesn’t think the injury is serious enough to bring in another quarterback. The Redskins have only one other QB, Kirk Cousins, on the 53-man roster.
β Running back Ryan Mathews was among those not practicing for the Chargers Wednesday and he could miss his third straight game Sunday. He hasn’t played or practiced since injuring his ankle against the Patriots on Dec. 7. If the Chargers win at Kansas City this weekend, they’ll advance to the playoffs for the second straight season.
β Benched Chicago QB Jay Cutler says he’s ready for just about any scenario next week after the Bears’ dismal season comes to an end. He understands changes could be coming. The question is how sweeping. “Coaches could leave,” Cutler says “Players could leave. I could leave. That’s part of it.”
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-SETON HALL
Pirates’ star guard sidelined
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. (AP) β Highly touted Seton Hall freshman Isaiah Whitehead is going to be sidelined with a stress fracture in his right foot. No timetable was given for his return.
An MRI found that the shooting guard has a stress fracture of the second and third metatarsal bones. Doctors will evaluate Whitehead’s foot weekly. The school said the injury did not occur at any specific point, but was caught early, preventing further damage.
The Big East Conference’s preseason choice for rookie of the year, Whitehead has averaged 11.9 points and 4.3 rebounds, starting all 11 games. He has a team-high 37 assists.
NBA-CAVALIERS-VAREJAO
Cavs lose Varejao for season
CLEVELAND (AP) β Cleveland Cavaliers starting center Anderson Varejao (VAR’-eh-zhow) has torn his Achilles tendon and will miss the rest of the season, dealing a blow to the Cavs’ hopes for an NBA title in LeBron James’ first season in his return to Cleveland.
Varejao was injured in Wednesday night’s win over Minnesota. An MRI confirmed the tear.
Varejao signed a three-year, $30 million contract extension in October. He’s averaging 9.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in 26 starts.
Tristan Thompson will likely move into a starting role and the Cavs will sharpen their pursuit of another big man.
NBA-ROCKETS-McHALE EXTENSION
Rockets extend McHale
HOUSTON (AP) β Coach Kevin McHale has agreed to a three-year contract extension with the Houston Rockets. The 57-year old is in his fourth season in Houston, where he has compiled a 153-104 record.
McHale led the Rockets to the playoffs in the last two seasons before they were eliminated in the first round. The Rockets are 20-7 and in second place in the Southwest Division.
NBA-SUNS-PISTONS TRADE
Suns send Tolliver to Detroit
PHOENIX (AP) β Phoenix has traded forward Anthony Tolliver to the Detroit Pistons for forward Tony Mitchell.
The Suns are expected to release Mitchell to create an additional $2.2 million in salary cap space, giving the team a total of $6.2 million available and an open roster spot.
Phoenix signed Tolliver to a two-year, $6 million contract in the offseason, but he played sparingly and was not part of the regular rotation as the season went on.
GOLF-STRICKER SURGERY
Stricker on the mend from back surgery
MADISON, Wis. (AP) β Steve Stricker has had surgery on a bulging disk in his lower back to alleviate recurring issues in his hip area. The successful one-hour surgery was performed on Tuesday and has been termed successful. The 47-year-old Stricker will be away from golf for at least eight weeks.
Stricker rested for nearly four months before playing the Hero World Challenge and Franklin Templeton Shootout. While he felt good, tests showed Stricker would continue to have problems with his hip and quadriceps without surgery.
