COLLEGE FOOTBALL-BOWLS
Ohio State, Oregon College FB title finalists
UNDATED (AP) β The Oregon Ducks and Ohio State Buckeyes have one more football game to play, and it’ll be for the national championship on Jan. 12 in Arlington, Texas.
The third-ranked Ducks extended their season and ended Florida State’s 29-game winning streak by scoring the last 35 points in a 59-20 rout of the second-ranked Seminoles at the Rose Bowl. Marcus Mariota (mar-ee-OH’-tah) threw for three touchdowns and ran for another while accounting for 400 total yards of offense. Thomas Tyner ran for 124 yards and two TDs, Royce Freeman had a pair of rushing touchdowns and Tony Washington returned a fumble 58 yards for a score.
Oregon scored touchdowns off three Florida State turnovers, two by quarterback Jameis (JAY’-mihs) Winston in the second half. Tony Washington padded the Ducks’ lead by returning Winston’s fumble 58 yards for a touchdown with 1:36 left in the third quarter. Winston also threw an interception on the Seminoles’ next series to set up Mariota’s 23-yard scoring run with 13:56 left.
Winston threw for 348 yards, but his two turnovers proved costly in what likely was his final college game.
The Buckeyes were 42-35 winners against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl as Ezekiel Elliott ripped through the Crimson Tide defense for 230 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. Elliott put the Buckeyes ahead 42-28 by scoring on an 85-yard run with 3:24 remaining. He also sparked a string of four straight Ohio State touchdowns with a three-yard scoring run late in the second quarter after Alabama build a 21-6 lead.
Wide receiver Evan Spencer threw a 13-yard TD pass to Michael Thomas just before halftime to get the Buckeyes within a point. Quarterback Cardele Jones was effective, throwing for 243 yards and a touchdown and running for 43 yards.
Tide quarterback Blake Sims passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, but he also threw an interception that Steve Miller returned 41 yards for a touchdown that put the Buckeyes ahead 34-21. Sims also was picked off in the end zone on the game’s final play, his third interception of the night.
In other New Year’s Day bowls:
β Connor Cook threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Keith Mumphery with 17 seconds to give seventh-ranked Michigan State a 42-41 victory over No. 4 Baylor in the Cotton Bowl. Jeremy Langford ran for 162 yards and three touchdowns for the Spartans, who trailed 41-21 entering the fourth quarter before ending the season 11-2. Bryce Petty completed 36 of 51 passes for a Cotton Bowl-record 550 yards and three touchdowns for the 11-2 Bears.
β Melvin Gordon ran for an Outback Bowl-record 251 yards and three touchdowns, and Rafael Gaglianone kicked a 25-yard field goal in overtime to give 17th-ranked Wisconsin a 34-31 victory over No. 19 Auburn. Gordon finished with 2,587 yards in 14 games, second most in FBS history and 41 yards fewer than Barry Sanders’ mark in 1988. Nick Marshall threw for two touchdowns for Auburn, which also got a pair of TDs on the ground from Cameron Artis-Payne. Wisconsin finishes 11-3, while the Tigers end up 8-5.
β No. 16 Missouri rolled to a 33-17 triumph over Minnesota in the Citrus Bowl as Marcus Murphy ran for 159 yards. Russell Hansbrough added 114 rushing yards, including a 78-yard scoring run that put the Tigers ahead 26-17 in the fourth quarter. Maty Mauk settled down to throw two TD passes after interceptions on the Tigers’ first two possessions. Missouri winds up 11-3 with its third straight bowl game. The Gophers are 8-5.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Caps nip Blackhawks outdoors in DC…Kings rally
UNDATED (AP) β The Washington Capitals are the winners of the seventh edition of the NHL’s Winter Classic.
The Caps blew a 2-0 lead before Troy Brouwer (BROW’-ur) scored on a power play with 12.9 seconds left to lead Washington’s 3-2 triumph over the Chicago Blackhawks. Goals by Eric Fehr (fehr) and Alex Ovechkin (oh-VEHCH’-kihn) put the Capitals ahead 2-0 after 12 minutes, but Patrick Sharp and Brandon Saad (sahd) countered to tie the game before Brouwer tallied against his former team.
The NHL considered delaying the start due to the sun’s glare on the white ice, making it difficult to see the puck. The team captains and goalies mutually decided the game should start on time, although Caps netminder Braden Holtby admitted it was tough to track the puck in the first period.
It’s the second Winter Classic victory in two games for the Capitals, who also beat Pittsburgh at Heinz Field four years ago. The Blackhawks are 0-2 in the classic.
Chicago failed to move into a tie with Anaheim for the Western Conference lead.
Washington is six points behind the Penguins and New York Islanders, the Metropolitan Division co-leaders.
Also in the NHL, Justin Williams and Jarrett Stoll scored in the final 2:07 to rally the Los Angeles Kings past Vancouver 3-2. The Canucks led 2-0 until Dwight King tallied late in the second period.
NHL-NEWS
Banged-up Leafs recall McKegg
TORONTO (AP) β The Toronto Maple Leafs are placing forward Joffrey Lupul (LOO’-pul) on the injured list due to the lower-body injury sustained in a shootout victory over Boston on New Year’s Eve.
The Maple Leafs recalled forward Greg McKegg from the Toronto Marlies of the AHL.
NBA-SCHEDULE
Bulls hold off Nuggets…Kings down slumping Wolves
UNDATED (AP) β The Chicago Bulls have padded their lead in the NBA’s Central Division by winning for the 11th time in their last 13 games.
Derrick Rose provided a late spark in the Bulls’ 106-101 triumph over Denver, scoring 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter after missing his first eight shots of the game. Rose was scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting in the first half.
Jimmy Butler scored 26 and Pau Gasol (pow gah-SAHL’) just missed a triple-double as the Bulls stretched their division lead to 4 1/2 games over Cleveland. Gasol finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and a career-high nine blocks.
Thursday’s other NBA game had Rudy Gay contributing 21 points, six rebounds and five assists in Sacramento’s 110-107 triumph at Minnesota. DeMarcus Cousins had 19 points and seven rebounds as the Kings handed the Timberwolves their 10th consecutive loss.
NBA-CAVS-JAMES
James out 2 weeks with knee, back problems
CLEVELAND (AP) β The slumping Cleveland Cavaliers are expected to spend another two weeks without LeBron James.
The NBA’s No. 2 scorer this season has been diagnosed with strains in his left knee and lower back. He underwent an MRI on Wednesday after missing two straight games. The Cavs say he will be treated with “anti-inflammatories, rehabilitation, training room treatments and rest.”
James is averaging 25.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 7.6 assists a game this season.
The Cavaliers have a three-game losing streak and are just 5-7 since an eight-game winning streak.
T25 MEN’S BASKETBALL-EVANSVILLE/NORTHERN IOWA
Northern Iowa falls
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) β Evansville has opened its Missouri Valley Conference schedule by knocking off a ranked team.
D.J. Balentine scored 17 points and the Purple Aces stormed back from 16 down to beat No. 23 Northern Iowa 52-49. Jaylon Brown made four free throws in the last seven seconds to seal it.
Seth Tuttle had a game-high 18 points for Northern Iowa before fouling out in the final minute.
NFL-LIONS-FAIRLEY
Fairley back at practice
ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) β Detroit defensive tackle Nick Fairley practiced Thursday as he tries to return in time for Sunday’s NFC wild-card game against Dallas. Fairley hasn’t played since injuring his right knee in a win over Atlanta on Oct. 26.
The Lions listed Fairley as limited Thursday, but he looked trim and active during the portion of practice open to reporters.
NFL-BILLS-POLIAN
Polian to Bills: Thanks but no thanks
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) β Bill Polian has confirmed to The Associated Press that he has taken himself out of the running for a proposed front-office job with the Buffalo Bills and will remain at ESPN. Polian’s announcement comes a day after Bills head coach Doug Marrone left the Bills by exercising the opt-out clause in his contract. Polian previously had been the Bills’ general manager.
MLB-YANKEES-BRAVES TRADE
NEW YORK (AP) β The New York Yankees have picked up bullpen help by acquiring David Carpenter and Chasen Shreve from the Atlanta Braves for minor league left-hander Manny Banuelos.
Carpenter went 6-4 with three saves and a 3.54 ERA in 65 games with Atlanta last year. Shreve made his major league debut in July, and the left-hander allowed one earned run in 12 1/3 innings covering 15 games.
WINTER SPORTS
Jacobsen wins ski jump World Cup
GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (AP) β Anders Jacobsen of Norway defeated four-time Olympic champion Simon Ammann to win the second ski jumping World Cup of the Four Hills tour.
Jacobsen, who also won Wednesday’s qualifying event, soared 135.5 meters for the first-round lead and held his nerve with a second jump of 136.5.
