NFL-PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Panthers stifle Cardinals…Ravens shut down Steelers
UNDATED (AP) β A record-setting defensive performance has helped the Carolina Panthers advance to the NFC’s divisional playoffs.
The Panthers held Arizona to 78 yards, intercepted Ryan Lindley twice and recorded four sacks in a 27-16 triumph over the Cardinals. Carolina broke the NFL playoff record for fewest yards allowed, set by the 1958 Giants against Cleveland. The Panthers didn’t allow a touchdown after Marion Grice scored on a one-yard run to put the Cardinals ahead 14-10 with 2:58 left in the first half.
Cam Newton threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns in his first postseason victory. Jonathan Stewart ran for 122 yards and a TD to help Carolina earn its first playoff win in nine years.
Carolina advanced to the postseason by winning the NFC South with a 7-8-1 record.
Lindley had just 82 passing yards for the Cardinals, who lost five of their last seven games following an NFL-best 9-1 start.
Defense also played a major role in Baltimore’s AFC wild-card win at Pittsburgh. The Ravens surrendered 387 total yards but held the Steelers to one touchdown in a 30-17 victory for Baltimore.
The Steelers had to settle for field goals while the Ravens were building a 20-9 lead. Pittsburgh finally reached the end zone on Ben Roethlisberger’s (RAHTH’-lis-bur-gurz) 6-yard pass to Martavis Bryant with 11:01 remaining. The Ravens regained control of the game on Joe Flacco’s 21-yard scoring pass to Crockett Gillmore with under eight minutes to play, one play after Terrell Suggs picked off Roethlisberger.
Flacco was 18 of 29 for 259 yards and no interceptions as the Ravens earned the right to play the Patriots in New England next weekend. He has seven road playoff victories, more than any quarterback since the 1970 merger.
Roethlisberger passed for 334 yards but had two interceptions and was sacked five times.
T25 MEN’S BASKETBALL-SCHEDULE
‘Nova loses first…Duke dominates…Cavs escape
UNDATED (AP) β It’s been three years since the Seton Hall Pirates have been ranked in The Associated Press men’s basketball poll, but that drought could change on Monday.
The Pirates picked up their second straight win over a top-25 team and improved to 12-2 as Sterling Gibbs scored 20 points and Khadeen Carrington hit a go-ahead layup with 1:38 remaining in overtime to lead a 66-61 triumph over No. 6 Villanova. Carrington finished with a career-high 17 points as Seton Hall ended the Wildcats’ school record-tying 13-game winning streak to start the season.
In other AP top-25 hoops:
β Second-ranked Duke hammered Boston College 85-62 as freshman Jahlil Okafor (jah-LIHL’ OH’-kah-fohr) scored a season-high 28 points. Quinn Cook added 15 points to help the 13-0 Blue Devils win their ACC opener.
β No. 3 Virginia squandered a 19-point first-half lead and had to come from behind in both extra periods to beat Miami 89-80 in double overtime. The 13-0 Cavaliers are off to their best start since 1980-81.
β Kevin Pangos and Prezemek Karnowski scored 21 points apiece in Gonzaga’s seventh straight win, an 87-75 verdict over Portland. The seventh-ranked Bulldogs saw a 21-point lead shrink to five with 1:58 left before improving to 14-1.
β Duane Notice scored 15 points and South Carolina picked up its first win over a top-10 team in nearly five years by holding off ninth-ranked Iowa State 64-60. Notice also had six rebounds and four assists for the 11-1 Gamecocks.
β Javan Felix scored 15 points and Jonathan Holmes added 14 to lead No. 11 Texas over Texas Tech 70-61 in each team’s Big 12 opener. Felix was 3 of 6 from 3-point range.
β Melo Trimble scored 20 points, and No. 12 Maryland used a strong defensive performance to beat Minnesota 70-58. The Terrapins are 14-1 overall and 2-0 in their first Big Ten season.
β Jerian Grant scored 24 points to lead No. 14 Notre Dame to an 83-76 comeback win in double overtime over Georgia Tech. The 14-1 Irish have won 10 straight.
β Kellen Dunham’s season-high 28 points included a pivotal 3-pointer with 2:05 remaining in Butler’s 73-69 win over 15th-rated St. John’s in New York. The Red Storm suffered their second straight loss, three days after falling to Seton Hall.
β No. 17 West Virginia beat TCU 78-67 behind Gary Browne’s 16 points. The Mountaineers forced 18 turnovers and had 12 steals while leading scorer Juwan Staten watched from the bench due to an illness.
β Oklahoma won a matchup of ranked teams as TaShawn Thomas scored 24 points to lead the 18th-ranked Sooners past No. 22 Baylor 73-63. Buddy Hield had 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Isaiah Cousins added 19 points for the Sooners.
β No. 19 North Carolina ripped Clemson 74-50 in its ACC opener as Justin Jackson scored 13 points and Kennedy Meeks delivered 12 points and 12 rebounds. The Tar Heels led by 20 in the first half en route to their seventh straight victory over the Tigers.
β D’Angelo Russell scored eight of his 22 points during a 15-0 run in the second half that pushed No. 20 Ohio State past Illinois 77-61.
β Reserve guard Sam Logwood scored 15 points on 5-for-5 shooting as New Mexico topped No. 24 Colorado State 66-52 in Albuquerque.
β Joshua Smith shook off early foul trouble to score 16 points to lead No. 25 Georgetown over Creighton 76-61.
NBA-SCHEDULE
Rockets clobber Heat
UNDATED (AP) β James Harden and Dwight Howard had great shooting nights to help the Houston Rockets bounce back from Friday’s 28-point loss to New Orleans.
Harden hit three 3-pointers and finished with 28 points on 9 of 17 from the field as the Rockets hammered Miami 115-79. Howard hit nine of his 13 shots and finished with 23 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, helping the Rockets win the battle of the boards 46-33.
The Heat actually carried a 27-23 lead into the second quarter before they were outscored 92-52 the rest of the way.
Also in the NBA:
β East-leading Atlanta is 18-2 in its last 20 after Paul Millsap contributed 27 points to the Hawks’ 115-107 triumph at Portland. Jeff Teague (teeg) added 22 points in the Hawks’ fourth consecutive win overall, and six straight on the road.
β Chris Paul came close to a triple-double in the Los Angeles Clippers 127-91 laugher over Philadelphia, finishing with 24 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds. Paul, JJ Redick and Reggie Bullock each hit three of the Clippers’ 15 3-pointers.
β Chicago made it 12 wins in its last 14 games as Pau Gasol (pow gah-SAHL’) poured in 29 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the Bulls’ 109-104 overtime triumph against Boston. The Bulls also got 19 points from Aaron Brooks.
β Cory Joseph scored 19 points on 8 of 10 shooting as San Antonio dumped Washington 101-92. The Spurs won despite little offense from Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili (MAN’-oo jih-NOH’-blee), who combined to miss 12 of their 16 shots and score just nine points.
β Trey Burke shot 4-for-6 from 3-point range and scored a season-high 28 points to carry Utah past Minnesota 101-89. Rudy Gobert added 13 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks as the Jazz dealt the Timberwolves their 11th straight loss.
β Kemba Walker scored 30 points and Charlotte halted a five-game skid by downing the Magic 99-90 in Orlando. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Hornets, who took control with a 22-0 run in the second quarter.
β Ty Lawson scored 25 points and Denver snapped a three-game losing streak with a 114-85 victory over Memphis. Arron Afflalo added 23 points as the Nuggets improved to 32-5 at home all time against the Grizzlies.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Predators win after blowing late 3-goal cushion
UNDATED (AP) β The Nashville Predators survived a late meltdown and took over first place in the NHL’s Central Division, one point ahead of Chicago.
The Predators blew a 6-3 lead in the last 2:01 of regulation before Roman Josi (YOH’-see) scored 18 seconds into overtime to lift them past Los Angeles 7-6. Josi, Colin Wilson and Ryan Ellis each finished with a goal and an assist to help the Predators withstand Dwight King’s two goals for the Kings.
Nashville improved to 6-1-1 in its last 8 games by winning for the first time in team history when allowing more than five goals.
Also in the NHL:
β Montreal has taken over the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division leads after Tom Gilbert and Max Pacioretty (pash-uh-RET’-ee) each scored a goal and an assist in the Canadiens’ 4-1 triumph over Pittsburgh. Carey Price stopped 30 shots to help the Canadiens move one point ahead of the Penguins and New York Islanders for the conference lead.
β Rick Nash, Dan Boyle and Derick Brassard each had a goal and an assist as the New York Rangers rocked Buffalo 6-1. Brassard, Nash and Chris Kreider scored power-play goals during a 2:32 span of the first period to spark the Rangers in their 10th victory in 11 games.
β T.J. Oshie (OH’-shee) recorded his second career hat trick and had an assist to highlight the St. Louis Blues’ 7-2 romp over San Jose. Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Steen each had a goal and three assists in the Blues’ second victory in eight games.
β Bryan Little supplied a goal and two assists as Winnipeg slammed Toronto 5-1 to end a two-game skid. Dustin Byfuglien (BUHF’-lihn) and Ben Chiarot (chehr-aht) each added a goal and assist to help the Jets hand the Maple Leafs their seventh loss in nine games.
β Ottawa beat Boston 3-2 on Bobby Ryan’s goal 46 seconds into overtime. The Bruins led 2-1 until Mike Hoffman beat Tuukka (TOO’-kah) Rask with 4:15 left in the third period.
β Jaromir Jagr (YAH’-roh-meer YAH’-gur) notched his 15th career hat trick and Scott Gomez had a goal and two assists while New Jersey built a 5-0 lead in a 5-2 triumph over Philadelphia. The nearly 43-year-old Jagr became the oldest player to register a hat trick.
β Martin Hanzal had a productive night in Arizona’s 6-3 pounding of Columbus, collecting a goal and an assist in the Coyotes’ fourth victory in five games. Sam Gagner (GAHN’-yay) added two goals and an assist to the win.
β Vernon Fiddler scored twice and Dallas erupted for five goals in the second period of a 7-1 rout of Minnesota. The Stars are a season-high four games over .500 following their eighth victory in nine games.
β The Sedin (seh-DEEN’) twins accounted for two goals and six points, including Henrik Sedin’s two empty-net goals in Vancouver’s 4-1 triumph over Detroit. Daniel Sedin set up three goals and Alex Edler added a goal and an assist in the Canucks’ fourth victory in six games.
NHL-ALL-STAR GAME VOTING
A who’s-he joins a who’s-who of Blackhawks
NEW YORK (AP) β The big winners in the NHL All-Star voting appear to be the ballot-stuffers.
Buffalo Sabres center Zemgus Girgensons (ZEHM’-guhs GEER’-gehn-suhn) was the leading vote-getter in the six-week campaign with 1,574,896. Girgensons is the lone non-member of the Chicago Blackhawks to crack the initial six selections for the Jan. 25 game in Columbus. He ranked tied for 49th in the NHL with 11 goals, tied for 132nd with 20 points, tied for 208th in assists and tied for 485th with a plus/minus of -2 after Friday’s games.
The Latvian-born Girgensons appears to have benefited by a spike in European voting. Nearly 27 percent were cast by fans outside of North America. That’s a 7,000 percent increase from three years ago, the last NHL All-Star game.
Blackhawks forwards Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews (tayvz), defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, and goalie Corey Crawford earned the other five spots based on fan voting. None of these five players ranked among the league’s top five in goals, assists, points, plus/minus, goals-against average or save percentage through Friday.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-BIRMINGHAM BOWL
Gators knock off Pirates in Birmingham Bowl
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) β Florida’s defense came up with two big interceptions in a 28-20 victory over East Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl.
The Pirates were threatening to tie the game until Vernon Hargreaves III intercepted a pass in the end zone with 80 seconds left. Brian Poole scored on a 29-yard interception return, and Treon Harris threw an 86-yard scoring pass to Ahmad Fulwood that gave the Gators a 28-14 early in the second half.
WORLD CUP-WOMEN’S SLALOM
US skier Shiffrin dominates field to win WCup slalom
ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) β American skier Mikaela (mih-KAY’-luh) Shiffrin won a women’s World Cup slalom by a huge margin on Sunday to continue her recent resurgence.
Cheered by 8,000 spectators in Croatia, the Olympic champion posted the fastest time in both runs to finish in an aggregate 1 minute, 56.66 seconds and lead second-place Kathrin Zettel of Austria by 1.68 seconds, the biggest winning margin in the 10-year history of the event.
Nina Loeseth of Norway was 2.79 back in third for her first career podium finish, while the rest of the field trailed Shiffrin by more than three seconds.
WORLD CUP-LUGE
Felix Loch gets 3rd luge World Cup win of season
KOENIGSSEE, Germany (AP) β Olympic champion Felix Loch of Germany won his third luge World Cup of the season to maintain the host nation’s winning start to the year on Sunday.
The four-time world champion was fastest in both runs for a combined time of 1 minute, 39.716 seconds. He beat compatriot Andi Langenhan by 0.755 seconds and American Chris Mazdzer by 0.809.
Natalie Geisenberger won the women’s competition on Saturday.
