NFL-BRONCOS/BENGALS
Bengals blow lead but beat Broncos to clinch playoff berth
CINCINNATI (AP) β The Cincinnati Bengals have clinched an AFC playoff berth by rallying in the fourth quarter of a 37-28 triumph over the Denver Broncos.
Dre Kirkpatrick grabbed two of Peyton Manning’s four interceptions and sealed the victory by returning the first for a 30-yard touchdown with 2:41 left. It came about five minutes after Mike Nugent put the Bengals back on top with a 23-yard field goal.
Jeremy Hill sparked the Bengals’ offense with 147 yards on 22 carries. Hill scored Cincinnati’s first touchdown on an 85-yard run in the first quarter, 23 seconds after Aqib Talib (ah-KEEB tah-LEEB’) brought back an Andy Dalton interception 33 yards for a score.
Cincinnati watched a 27-14 lead evaporate while Manning hit Emmanuel Sanders for a pair of third-quarter touchdowns. Manning was 28 of 44 for 311 yards as the 11-4 Broncos failed to wrap up a first-round bye.
The Bengals are 10-4-1 and will play the Steelers in Pittsburgh for the AFC North title on Sunday.
NFL-NEWS
Manziel’s season is over
UNDATED (AP) β Johnny Football is now Johnny Benched.
Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel (man-ZEHL’) has been ruled out of the team’s season finale against Baltimore after suffering a hamstring injury in Sunday’s loss to Carolina. It was the second start of the season for the well-hyped rookie, who replaced Brian Hoyer a few days before the Browns’ 30-0 loss to Cincinnati on Dec. 14.
Hoyer will start the season finale Sunday if he can recover from a shoulder injury suffered in Sunday’s loss to Carolina. If he can’t go, rookie Connor Shaw will become the second rookie quarterback to start for Cleveland this season.
In other NFL news:
β Chicago quarterback Jimmy Clausen will miss the season finale against Minnesota because of a concussion, moving Jay Cutler back into the starting role. Cutler was benched in favor of Clausen for Sunday’s loss to Detroit.
β Cardinals coach Bruce Arians says he’s leaning toward starting rookie quarterback Logan Thomas in Arizona’s regular-season finale. Arians insists the decision is not a reflection on how Ryan Lindley played in Sunday’s 35-6 home loss to the Seahawks.
β Court documents unsealed today reveal a woman alleges former San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Ray McDonald sexually assaulted her following a night of drinking and after she injured her head in a fall by his swimming pool. The woman told authorities she has no memory of the sexual encounter, which police say occurred at McDonald’s home Dec. 14, a few hours after the 49ers lost in Seattle. No charges have been filed, and the San Jose police continue to investigate.
β A dozen people are recovering after they were injured by an indirect lightning strike in the parking lot at Raymond James Stadium following Sunday’s game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Green Bay Packers. Rescue crews took seven people to the hospital. All were in stable condition when they left for St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa.
T25 MEN’S BASKETBALL-SCHEDULE
Owls hammer Jayhawks
UNDATED (AP) β The 10th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks had their eight-game winning streak come to an end.
The Jayhawks shot under 33 percent and committed 17 turnovers in a 77-52 loss to unranked Temple. Will Cummings scored 19 points and Quenton DeCosey added 18 in the Owls’ first victory over a ranked team this season.
Perry Ellis had been the Jayhawks’ leading scorer before he was held to five points on 1 of 10 shooting.
Also in top-25 hoops:
β Nigel Hayes had 17 points and 13 rebounds as sixth-ranked Wisconsin handled California 68-56. Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky each added 14 points for the 11-1 Badgers.
β Darius Carter’s 12 points and eight rebounds carried 11th-ranked Wichita State to an easy 80-53 win over Loyola Marymount in the quarterfinals of the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu. The Shockers used a pair of 14-0 runs to pull away.
β Washington is 11-0 after Shawn Kemp Jr. scored 16 points in the 13th-ranked Huskies’ 66-57 win over Tulane. Washington committed a season-high 18 turnovers but used a 14-3 run midway through the second half to take control.
β Pat Connaughton had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 16 Notre Dame to a 91-66 win over Northern Illinois. Zach Auguste added 16 points on 7-for-7 shooting and eight rebounds for the 12-1 Fighting Irish.
β No. 17 St. John’s knocked off Long Beach State 66-49 as Chris Obekpa (oh-BEHK’-pah) provided 16 points, eight rebounds and seven blocked shots. The Red Storm improved to 10-1, their best 11-game start in 24 years.
β Juwan Staten had 17 points and 10 rebounds as 18th-ranked West Virginia trounced Wofford 77-44. The Mountaineers scored 16 unanswered points to lead 18-2 just seven minutes into their fourth straight win.
β The No. 19 Oklahoma Sooners set an NCAA Division I record with 39 straight points in an 89-51 rout of Weber State. Jordan Woodward and Ryan Spangler each scored 15 points for the Sooners.
β Reserve guard Kam Williams scored 18 points and No. 21 Ohio State went on a 26-3 run in the first half to beat Miami-Ohio 93-55.
β Rico Gathers had 16 points with 11 rebounds as 22nd-rated Baylor escaped with a 70-66 triumph over Southern.
β Colorado State is 12-0 for the first time after Daniel Bejarno scored 15 points and John Gillon added 14 to help the 24th-ranked Rams beat Charleston Southern 75-54.
β No. 25 TCU beat Grambling State 80-39 behind Kyan Anderson’s 17 points.
T25 MEN’S BASKETBALL-POLL
Wildcats are unanimous No. 1
UNDATED (AP) β Make it three weeks in a row that Kentucky has been a unanimous pick as No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll. The 12-0 Wildcats got all 65 first-place votes. Kentucky solidified its spot as the top team in the land with a crushing 83-44 win over UCLA Saturday in which the Wildcats rattled off the first 24 points in the game.
Duke, Arizona and Louisville held onto the next three spots.
The Cardinals have a showdown with Kentucky in Louisville on Saturday.
Virginia moves up a spot to No. 5, trading places with Wisconsin.
Villanova, Gonzaga, Texas and Kansas rounded out the top 10 in the same spots they held last week.
NBA-SCHEDULE
Parker rejuvenates Spurs
UNDATED (AP) β San Antonio guard Tony Parker provided a spark after the Spurs went 1-4 while he recovered from a strained left hamstring.
Parker scored 26 points and the Spurs had a season-high 37 assists in a 125-118 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Tim Duncan had 21 points and 12 rebounds as San Antonio ended a four-game skid. Boris Diaw (DEE’-ow) finished with 23 points and Manu Ginobili (MAN’-oo jih-NOH’-blee) added 19 and 10 assists to help the defending NBA champs improve to 18-11.
In other NBA finals:
β Klay Thompson scored 25 points and the Golden State Warriors improved to a league-leading 23-3 by rolling over Sacramento 128-108. Festus Ezeli scored a career-high 15 points and grabbed six rebounds in place of injured center Andrew Bogut (BOH’-gut).
β Chicago ended Toronto’s six-game winning streak as Derrick Rose scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter of the Bulls’ third straight win, 129-120 over Toronto. Jimmy Butler added 27 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls, who set a team record with 49 points in the final period.
β Dennis Schroder scored a career-high 22 points and Atlanta led by as many as 24 in the second half before holding off the Mavericks 105-102 in Dallas. Kyle Korver provided 18 points and Al Horford added 17 in the Hawks’ fourth straight win.
β Memphis suffered its third straight loss as Alec Burks scored 23 points and Gordon Hayward finished with 21 in Utah’s 97-91 win over the Grizzlies. Rudy Gobert had a career-best 16 rebounds to help the Jazz dominate the boards 49-34.
β James Harden scored a season-high 44 points and Houston halted a two-game skid by dropping Portland 110-95. The Trail Blazers snapped a five-game winning streak and played without leading scorer and rebounder LaMarcus Aldridge due to an upper-respiratory illness
β Al Jefferson scored 22 points and Kemba Walker added 18 and nine assists as the Hornets earned their season-high third straight win, ripping Denver 110-82. Jefferson and Walker combined to shoot 15 of 25 from the field and didn’t play in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand.
NBA-PISTONS-SMITH
5-23 Pistons waive Josh Smith
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) β With Detroit sporting a 5-23 record, it was time for a Pistons change.
The Pistons have waived forward Josh Smith, less than halfway through the lucrative four-year, $54 million contract he signed before last season. Smith is averaging 13 points, seven rebounds and 4.7 assists per game this season, but he’s hitting just 39 percent of his shots as part of the Pistons’ collection of poor perimeter shooters.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-MIAMI BEACH BOWL
Memphis outlasts BYU 55-48 as game ends with brawl
MIAMI (AP) β Fans attending the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl also witnessed an aerial show, some extra football and a Pier 6 brawl.
Several fights broke out between Memphis and BYU players moments after the Tigers secured a 55-48 double-overtime win over the Cougars. It took several minutes for order to be restored, but not before several punches had been thrown and tempers flared. The brawl involved many players from both teams after BYU’s Christian Stewart threw an interception on the final play.
As for the game, Paxton Lynch accounted for seven touchdowns, including a scoring pass to Roderick Proctor in the second overtime to win it. Jake Elliott made a 55-yard field goal to force the second OT. Lynch threw for four scores and ran for three more as the Tigers secured their first 10-win season since 1938.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-COLORADO STATE/BOBO
Rams find a coach
UNDATED (AP) β Colorado State has hired Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo as the Rams’ new head coach. Bobo takes over for Jim McElwain, who left for Florida after leading the Rams to one of their best regular seasons in program history. Bobo had been on Mark Richt’s staff since 2001 and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2007.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Preds dominate Jackets
UNDATED (AP) β The Nashville Predators are within two points of the NHL’s Central Division-leading Chicago Blackhawks after cooling off the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Craig Smith scored twice and the Predators won for the fifth time in six games by downing the Jackets 5-1. Colin Wilson and Smith scored 1:38 apart in the second period to put the Predators ahead 2-0. It became a five-goal lead once Seth Jones, Smith and Mike Fisher tallied in a 2:14 span of the third period.
Pekka Rinne (PEH’-kuh REE’-nay) stopped 30 shots against the Blue Jackets, who were 8-0-1 in their previous nine.
Elsewhere on ice:
β Anaheim pulled out a 3-2 victory over San Jose on Ryan Kesler’s goal 58 seconds into overtime. Cam Fowler tied it with 4:16 left in regulation before the Western Conference-leading Ducks moved three points ahead of second-place Chicago.
β Alexandre Burrows scored twice and Ryan Miller made 38 saves in Vancouver’s 7-1 drubbing of Arizona. Brad Richardson and Daniel Sedin (seh-DEEN’) each had a goal and an assist as the Canucks won their second straight since a five-game losing streak.
β Johnny Gaudreau (guh-DROH’) registered his first NHL hat trick before Mark Giordano scored 4:07 into overtime to give Calgary a 4-3 win over Los Angeles, ending the Flames’ eight-game losing streak. The Kings led 3-0 until Gaudreau scored three straight, including the equalizer with 59 seconds left in regulation.
β Florida squandered a 3-1 lead in the last five minutes of regulation before Alexander Barkov scored the lone shootout goal in the seventh round to lift the Panthers over Pittsburgh 4-3. Barkov also assisted on Jimmy Hayes’ second goal of the night.
β Mike Green set up goals by Jay Beagle and Nicklas Backstrom in the second period of Washington’s 2-1 triumph against Ottawa. Braden Holtby turned back 38 shots to help the Capitals beat the Senators for the first time in eight tries since December 2011.
MLB-NEWS
Twins reward Hughes
UNDATED (AP) β Minnesota Twins pitcher Phil Hughes has agreed to a five-year, $58 million contract that adds $42 million in guaranteed money from 2017-19. The 28-year-old right-hander went 16-10 with a 3.52 ERA and led the majors among qualifying pitchers with an 11.63 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He had been scheduled to make $8 million each of the next two seasons as part of a $24 million, three-year contract he signed as a free agent after leaving the New York Yankees.
Also:
β San Francisco Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro (SKOO’-tah-roh) has undergone back surgery that could end his career. Giants general manager Brian Sabean (SAY’-bee-ihn) says Scutaro had the fusion procedure performed by Dr. Michael Wang in Miami on Friday to alleviate the troublesome area at level L-2/L-3 of his spine. It will be four-to-six months before doctors determine whether Scutaro can play baseball again.
β Free agent reliever Sergio Romo has finalized a $15 million, two-year contract with the Giants, keeping a key member of bullpen from three championship runs. The 31-year-old right-hander has spent all seven of his big league seasons with San Francisco, winning titles in 2010, ’12 and this year. He went 6-4 with a 3.72 ERA with 23 saves in 64 outings last season.
