T25 BASKETBALL-SCHEDULE
Wildcats top Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) β Top-ranked Kentucky remains unbeaten and boasts the state bragging rights.
The Wildcats got 12 key second-half points from Tyler Ulis to pull away from No. 4 Louisville and win the game 58-50. The victory ups the Kentucky record to 13-0.
Ulis shook off a bloody cut by his right eye to score the points.
Fellow freshmen Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker joined in to help stake Kentucky to a 50-38 lead with 4:43 left.
Towns had 10 points and nine rebounds, while Booker added nine points for Kentucky, which held 11-1 Louisville to 26 percent shooting.
NFL-BROWNS-GORDON SUSPENDED
Browns suspend Gordon
CLEVELAND (AP) β The Browns have suspended troubled wide receiver Josh Gordon for a violation of team rules one day before the season finale at Baltimore.
Gordon served a 10-game league suspension for repeated drug violations earlier this season. It was not immediately known what Gordon did to warrant the suspension from the club.
He was late getting onto the practice field Friday.
Gordon led the NFL with 1,646 yards receiving last season despite being suspended for the first two games. Since returning from his league ban this year, Gordon had caught 24 passes for 303 yards.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-BOWLS
Hokies scuttle Bearcats
UNDATED (AP) β J.C. Coleman ran for 157 yards and a touchdown, and Virginia Tech harassed and ultimately injured Cincinnati quarterback Gunner Kiel while rolling to a 33-17 victory in the Military Bowl.
The 7-6 Hokies knocked Kiel out of the game in the third quarter after being sacked and losing the ball. Kiel remained down for several minutes and was helped off the field before being taken to the locker room.
The 6-foot-4 sophomore did not return, and without him 9-4 Cincinnati had little chance to mount a comeback.
Virginia Tech posted a winning record for the 22nd consecutive season.
The Sun Bowl, matching Arizona State and Duke is underway, as is the Independence Bowl featuring South Carolina and Miami.
The Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium matches a pair of Eastern grind-it-out teams– 6-6 Penn State against 7-5 Boston College. Penn State is back in the bowl game business after the NCAA rescinded penalties levied in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal. The Nittany Lions are trying to win their first bowl game since the 2010 Capital One Bowl. The Boston College Eagles are in their second straight bowl and trying to win for the first time under coach Steve Addazio (uh-DAH’-zee-oh).
β The Holiday Bowl in San Diego matches 9-3 Nebraska out of the Big Ten and 8-4 Southern California out of the Pac-12 in what could be a high-scoring affair. This is the first bowl meeting between the two storied programs. USC owns a 3-0-1 edge in the series. This is the first appearance in the Holiday Bowl for USC, which made the two-hour trip by bus from Los Angeles down Interstate 5. Nebraska interim coach Barney Cotton will handle the bowl game assignment following the firing of Bo Pelini.
NHL-DEVILS-COACH
Three replaces one
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) β The New Jersey Devils will replace fired coach Pete DeBoer with an odd coaching-by-committee approach.
General manager Lou Lamoriello (lam-uh-RIHL’-oh) has announced the arrangement a day after dismissing DeBoer.
Former Washington Capitals coach Adam Oates will handle forwards, ex-Devils assistant Scott Stevens will oversee the defense and split bench duties with Lamoriello.
The system gets its first test when the Devils visit the Rangers tonight.
New Jersey is currently nine points out of the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference at 12-17-7.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Back in action
UNDATED (AP) β Following its three-day Christmas break, the NHL resumes with a 13-game schedule tonight. Arizona hosts Pacific Division-leading Anaheim, which leads the league with 51 points.
Elsewhere on ice, Minnesota hosts Winnipeg, Ottawa is home against Detroit, Boston is at Columbus, Tampa Bay hosts Carolina, the New York Islanders visit Buffalo, New Jersey crosses the Hudson River to play the Rangers, St. Louis hosts Dallas, Philadelphia visits Nashville, Chicago is at Colorado, Calgary hosts Edmonton and the L.A. Kings host San Jose.
NBA-SCHEDULE
Clippers test Toronto
UNDATED (AP) β Two of the top teams in the NBA meet this afternoon at Staples Center when the 20-10 L.A. Clippers host the Atlantic Division-leading Toronto Raptors, who enter today with a 22-7 mark. The Clippers are coming off an impressive 100-86 victory over Golden State on Christmas night.
The Boston Celtics are on the second half of a back-to-back as they travel to play the Washington Wizards, who are coming off their 102-91 win over the New York Knicks on Christmas Day. The Celtics dropped a 109-107 decision yesterday to Brooklyn.
Elsewhere tonight in the NBA, Orlando visits Charlotte, Miami hosts Memphis, Brooklyn is home against Indiana, New Orleans visits Chicago, Atlanta is at Milwaukee, Utah hosts Philadelphia, Sacramento hosts the 5-26 Knicks and Golden State tries to rebound against Minnesota.
MLB-DOMINICAN REPUBLIC-STARLIN CASTRO
Cubs Castro questioned in shooting
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) β Authorities in the Dominican Republic say they have questioned Chicago Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro after a nightclub shooting in which several people were injured.
Police spokesman Jacobo Mateo said Castro was one of six people initially detained and has been released. He said police searched Castro’s house and that the investigation is ongoing.
Police are investigating allegations that the early Saturday shooting occurred after an argument between Castro’s brother and the assistant of a government official.
