A Perfect Season

For NE, anyway, who had a record-breaking finale in the 38-35 win over the Giants. The game could not have been scripted better. What a treat.

A big thank you to Roger Goodell of the NFL Network. This game was on their schedule, meaning a lot of people would not have seen it without going to a sportsbar. Goodell decided that a game of this magnitude should be seen everywhere, and as a result, it was simulcast by CBS and NBC. Thanks to Goodell, some 34.5 million viewers watched this game.

Thanks also to Tom Coughlin, without whom this game would have been a bore (yes, Tony Dungy, I'm thinking about you and Peyton Manning). Neither team had any real stake in the game, except for the records that the Pats stood to break (and they keep reminding us they don't care about those). The Giants weren't even going to play their first string team, according to the pundits. But Coughlin didn't listen to the pundits, and the Giants played like it was the Super Bowl, not a game that didn't really matter for them. Eli Manning had the game of his life for three quarters. He played like a kid who just enjoys playing, not the machine he too often becomes, and he completed some really impressive passes, including four for touchdowns. As long as they threw the ball, they owned the Pats defense for the first half.

By the second half, the Pats defense was starting to click and had better control of the game. They had taken away the Giants running game in the first half, and in the second they started pressuring Manning. By the fourth quarter, it was easy to see that the Giants were out of surprises; the Pats were all over them. And I can't be the only person who just *knew* that Randy Moss was going to run that exact same pattern again and get his record 23rd touchdown catch on Brady's record setting 50th touchdown pass. I can't believe the Giants didn't see that one coming.

I noticed something that happens on the sidelines that may help account for the Pats success. When the Pats offense were off the field, they were watching the play of the Giants and Tom Brady has them huddling up to discuss things. Not with the coaches, just the guys who would be back on the field momentarily. They did this a lot, all season. I didn't see the Giants doing that. Eli Manning sat on the bench and rested, watched the game, but didn't engage his teammates. Brady is a leader, the other guys really want to play with him. I don't see that in Manning and the Giants. And he's running out of time, imo, to change his teammates' opinions.

Brady has had some year. In this game he went 32-42 passing for 356 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. For the season he had an NFL-record 50 touchdowns, eight interceptions, 4,805 yards (third all-time for one season), 68.9 percent completion rate and a 117.2 rating this season. Brady's previous high for touchdowns passes in a season was 28, which he eclipsed four hours before the Red Sox won the World Series. He's only the fourth quarterback to average 300 passing yards per game for a season.

The Patriots traded second-, fourth- and seventh-round picks (the 60th, 110th and 238th overall choices) in the draft last spring to Miami (60 and 238) and Oakland (110) for Wes Welker and Randy Moss, respectively. Between them, they got 210 receptions for 2,668 yards with an average of 12.7 ypc, and 31 touchdowns. That's some good trading.

There are those who say the Pats offense isn't playing as well now as they did at the beginning of the season. In the last five games of the year, three played with weather a factor, New England scored 27, 34, 20, 28 and 38. We'll take that kind of a slump any day.

I hope the Super Bowl is this good. I doubt it will be.

Everyone else in the NFL

From disarray and heartache to confidence and dominance, the Washington Redskins will enter the playoffs as the hottest team in the NFC after Sunday's 27-6 win over the Dallas Cowboys with a hot quarterback and maybe the hottest running back. And with a defense coming off a game in which it allowed exactly 1 yard rushing. And, perhaps most importantly, on a mission for the teammate who wore No. 21. It's been four weeks since the Redskins attended the funeral of their best defensive player, and they haven't lost since. "Win for Sean" was as strong Sunday as it was when the four-game winning streak began Dec. 6, reinforced by everything from the fiery speech given by kick returner Rock Cartwright on the field before the game to the white "21" on the front of the black baseball cap worn by coach Joe Gibbs at his postgame news conference. The Redskins (9-7) will travel to Seattle on Saturday for a 4:30 p.m. game, a rematch of a 2005 division playoff won 20-10 by the Seahawks. Washington will be riding the longest current winning streak in the NFC, including three straight victories by double digits. It's a remarkable renaissance for a team that stayed afloat with close, ugly games before losing four straight, the last defeat coming the day before Taylor's funeral.

Kerry Collins waited all season to prove his value in Tennessee. The Titans wouldn't have been celebrating Sunday night without him. Collins rescued his teammates in the most precarious circumstances, leading them to three straight second-half field goals in relief of injured Vince Young and helping Tennessee rally for a 16-10 win at Indianapolis that drew cheers from Nashville and moans from Cleveland. The final piece of the AFC playoff picture came down to the final game on the final weekend of the regular season. Tennessee had to win to make the postseason for the first time since 2003, while an Indy win would have sent the Browns to the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Inside the RCA Dome, you could almost hear the groans coming from the shores of Lake Erie when Peyton Manning traded his helmet for a headset early in the second quarter. To the Browns' chagrin, that was how the Colts chose to play.

Three teams finished the season 11-3; Indianapolis, Dallas and Green Bay. I'm rooting for Green Bay to meet NE in the Super Bowl.

Wild Card Weekend	Game
Sat, 1/5, 4:30pm	Washington Redskins at Seattle Seahawks
Sat, 1/5, 8pm	Jacksonville Jaguars at Pittsburgh Steelers
Sunday, 1/6, 1pm	New York Giants at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sun, 1/6, 4:30pm	Tennessee Titans at San Diego Chargers
Divisional Playoffs	Game
Sat, 1/12, 4:30pm	Seahawks/Bucs/Giants at Green Bay Packers
Sat, 1/12, 8pm	Steelers/Jags/Titans at New England Patriots
Sun, 1/13, 1pm	Chargers/Steelers/Jags at Indianapolis Colts
Sun, 1/13, 4:30pm	Bucs/Giants/Redskins at Dallas Cowboys
Conf. Championships	Game
Sun, 1/20, TBA	AFC Championship Game
Sun, 1/20, TBA	NFC Championship Game
Super Bowl XLII	Game
Sun, 2/3, TBA	University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.

Finally, farewell to Vinny Testaverde, who announced his retirement on Saturday after a 21-year NFL career. I was sad to see him leave NE, and Tom Brady said Testaverde was "one of the best teammates I've ever had". Testaverde was a class act who battled through a horrible first six years in Tampa Bay to have a good NFL career. Maybe he'll end up coaching quarterbacks somewhere.

NFL Football

A simple slant pattern to his favorite receiver gave Brett Favre yet another record in a milestone season. It's been a pretty big year for his team, too. The Green Bay Packers secured a first-round playoff bye for the first time since 1997. Favre threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns, eclipsing Dan Marino to become the NFL career leader in yards passing, in a 33-14 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. Greg Jennings and Donald Lee caught scoring passes and kicker Mason Crosby was 4-for-4 from 44, 50, 25 and 46 yards for Green Bay, which needed only to win for the first-round bye after the Seahawks lost 13-10 to the Panthers. Green Bay (12-2) also kept pace with the Cowboys for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, and is one victory off the franchise record.

After Baltimore's Matt Stover missed a 44-yard field goal in the extra period, Miami's Greg Camarillo turned a short completion into a 64-yard touchdown, and the Dolphins beat the Baltimore Ravens 22-16. With the 1972 perfect-season Dolphins cheering them on, the woebegone 2007 team rallied from a 10-point third-quarter deficit and snapped a 16-game losing streak. Camarillo broke over the middle on third down and had two steps on the secondary when he caught a pass from Cleo Lemon near midfield. Finding himself in the clear, Camarillo sprinted to the end zone for his first NFL touchdown. The Miami bench quickly emptied as Holliday and his teammates ran after Camarillo and mobbed him in the corner of the stadium. With their first victory since Dec. 10, 2006, the Dolphins (1-13) avoided matching the worst start in NFL history. Cam Cameron finally earned his first victory as an NFL head coach, 11 months after taking the job.

The Patriots found another way to stay unbeaten - with a running game. Facing rain, wind and chilly gusts above 20 mph, New England relied on Laurence Maroney 's rushing instead of Tom Brady 's passing and beat the New York Jets 20-10 Sunday in the Spygate rematch to clinch home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. After the Patriots became the second team in NFL history to go 14-0, Bill Belichick broke into a broad grin at his sideline and kept it until he met Eric Mangini, his former protege and defensive coordinator. Mangini had angered Belichick when he left to become coach of the Jets last season. Most of their previous four midfield meetings were colder than Sunday's weather. Mangini had turned Belichick in for having a video assistant use a sideline videocamera in violation of NFL rules after the season opener in which the Patriots beat the Jets (3-11). The NFL fined Belichick $500,000 and the team $250,000 and took away their first-round draft choice next year for the illegal taping. He said there was no extra meaning to Sunday's win because of that. Video helped the Patriots when they challenged a call of a 7-yard touchdown pass from Chad Pennington , who was in for the injured Kellen Clemens , to Justin McCareins with 2:32 left. Replay officials ruled he didn't get both feet in the back of the end zone. Then Mike Nugent missed a 35-yard field goal attempt.

NFL scores

PGA Golf

"Doesn’t help us, does it?" Colin Montgomerie said. "If he took a bloody year off, it would help. Never mind 10 weeks."

He's talking about Tiger Woods, of course, who won the Target World Challenge with a seven-shot victory, receiving a $1.35 million check that goes to his Tiger Woods Learning Center. Woods has had quite a year in 2007. He became a father for the first time. After winning, he walked over to his 6-month-old daughter, dressed in a red fleece top, for a kiss on the cheek and a pat on the head. Then came the presentation on the 18th green at Sherwood Country Club, where Woods collected his eighth trophy of the year.

Jim Furyk cut a six-shot lead down to two at the turn and was poised to get even closer on the 10th hole. Woods holed a 12-foot birdie putt up the slope, and Furyk three-putted for bogey from 4 feet above the hole. It was a stunning two-shot swing, and Woods soon restored his margin and coasted to victory.

He closed with a 4-under 68 to tie the tournament record at 22-under 266, making him the first player to win consecutive titles at this year-end tournament for an elite, 16-man field.

Masters champion Zach Johnson won the B-flight and a load of Christmas cash. Johnson birdied the last hole for a 68 to finish second, worth $840,000. Furyk, who hit another tee shot in the water for double bogey on the 15th, shot a 71 to finish third and won $570,000.

The margin of victory was the largest at this tournament in its nine-year history, and it was the third time this year that Woods won a tournament by seven shots or more. And this after taking a 10-week break.

MLBaseball

The Mitchell Report names names, including Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. Pettitte admits using HGH twice in 2002 while recovering from an injury. Clemens has not commented.

Ok, show of hands...who thinks this will be a turning point in MLB?

The NY Times has a good breakdown, name by name, of the players in the report. They also have a couple interesting articles, including one that tracks two players to see how many of their teammates were also in the report.

NFL Football

Motivated to the extreme by the garden-variety guarantee of victory issued by second-year Steelers safety Anthony Smith at mid-week, the Patriots made beating the Steelers seem like the most urgent, most desperate task ever put before them. Guarantees, though, had a rough day Sunday when the New England Patriots stayed unbeaten with a 34-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tom Brady threw four touchdown passes, Randy Moss caught two and Steelers safety Smith, who guaranteed his team would win, was burned on two long scoring throws. The lopsided victory followed a two-game struggle in which the Patriots (13-0) needed late comebacks to beat teams with losing records, Philadelphia and Baltimore. They had a short week to prepare for the Steelers (9-4) after beating the Ravens on Monday night on a touchdown catch by Gaffney with 44 seconds left.

Tony Romo and Jason Witten put mistakes behind them well enough to connect on a game-winning touchdown that gave the Dallas Cowboys the NFC East title. Romo threw a 16-yard pass to Witten with 18 seconds left, lifting Dallas to a 28-27 win over deflated Detroit on Sunday. The quarterback fumbled near midfield on the drive and the bouncing football was recovered by a teammate after going through a linebacker's hands. The tight end lost the football on the previous possession, less than 1 yard from a go-ahead score. Dallas (12-1) clinched the NFC East for the first time since 1998 and moved a step closer to earning home-field advantage in the conference playoffs.

The Green Bay Packers are going back to the playoffs. And maybe they're bringing a running game with them. Green Bay didn't need Brett Favre to throw the ball all over the field to clinch the NFC North on Sunday, relying on the rushing of Ryan Grant and a pair of special teams touchdowns from Will Blackmon in a 38-7 victory over the Oakland Raiders. The Packers (11-2) assured an end to their two-year absence from the postseason with three games left.

Matt Hasselbeck threw four touchdown passes - the most of his soaring season - and Seattle clinched its fourth consecutive NFC West title with an emphatic 42-21 victory over Arizona on Sunday, ending the Cardinals' quest for their first division title since 1975. The Seahawks (9-4) stormed to a 24-0 lead midway through the second quarter, intercepted Kurt Warner five times and sacked him five times while cruising to their fifth consecutive victory. It's their longest streak since a team-record 11-game run two seasons ago that helped them reach their first Super Bowl. This current streak has come since coach Mike Holmgren declared he was ditching most of a stalled running game and relying on Hasselbeck's passing.

NFL scores

NHL Hockey

Rick DiPietro kept the Islanders in the game, and Mike Sillinger made sure it resulted in a win. Sillinger scored a power-play goal with 27.7 seconds left in overtime to help the New York Islanders snap a five-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night. Sillinger scored from the left circle during New York's second power play in overtime. DiPietro made 32 saves, and captain Bill Guerin snapped his 16-game goal drought for the Islanders. Andy Hilbert had the other New York goal.

Jordin Tootoo did it all, despite being on the ice for less than 4 minutes. Tootoo recorded a "Gordie Howe hat trick" with a goal, assist and a fight in the Nashville Predators' 4-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night. The Predators snapped a two-game losing streak and ended Anaheim's two-game winning run. Tootoo broke a scoreless tie at 5:52 of the first period with his sixth goal of the season. Vernon Fiddler won a faceoff back to Tootoo, who was stationed above the right circle. Tootoo quickly snapped a wrist shot that beat goalie Jonas Hiller high to the glove side.

Alex Auld's new Boston Bruins teammates barely know him, but they cheered loudly when, with sweat dripping off his brow, he made his way into the dressing room. Auld won his first start for the Bruins, 2-1 over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, two days after they acquired him from Phoenix to fill in for the injured Tim Thomas. Auld finished with 25 saves, allowing only Jason Blake's goal. Chuck Kobasew and Dennis Wideman scored goals for the Bruins. Vesa Toskala played well for the Maple Leafs, making 18 saves in the loss. The checking was so tight that each team recorded only one shot during the first 10 minutes.

NHL scores

NBA Basketball

Ray Allen was shaky, Kevin Garnett was quiet, and Paul Pierce flat out struggled. Trouble for the Boston Celtics? No. On a night when the three superstars were less than super, Rajon Rondo matched a season-high with 18 points, and the Celtics continued their torrid pace by holding off the Chicago Bulls 92-81 on Saturday night. Sure, Allen scored 21 points, but Rondo was the difference. Boston was leading 86-70 after James Posey threw a behind-the-back pass to Allen with 5:23 remaining, but instead of cruising to a win, the Celtics had to hang on. The Bulls scored the next 11 points, culminating with a three-point play by Andres Nocioni that made it 86-81 with just under a minute left. Garnett then hit a fadeaway jumper, and the Celtics won their sixth straight. At 17-2, they own the league's best record.

Maybe the Phoenix Suns were a little tired after scoring all those points on this road trip. Maybe on the second game of a back-to-back, and the finale of a five-game trip, the NBA's offensive juggernaut took the league's worst team a little too lightly. Or maybe the frigid Minnesota winter chilled Steve Nash and the red-hot Suns on a day when temperatures dipped well below zero. Whatever the reason, the success-starved Timberwolves will take any win they can get, any way they can get it. The magnificent Suns' offense fell flat in the second half and Al Jefferson tied a career-high with 32 points to go with 20 rebounds to carry the Timberwolves to a 100-93 victory on Saturday night.

LeBron James consistently hit jumpers. He looked good on drives to the basket and wowed the crowd with a couple of dunks. Too bad for the Cleveland Cavaliers that was before the game. When James shed his basketball gear for street clothes just before tipoff, he could only watch helplessly Saturday night as the reigning Eastern Conference champions extended their slide. Gerald Wallace scored 22 points and Raymond Felton went 8-for-8 from the foul line in the final 16 seconds as the Charlotte Bobcats snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 96-93 win over the slumping Cavaliers. As James missed his fifth straight game with a sprained left index finger, the Cavaliers couldn't hold onto a three-point lead early in the fourth quarter, then missed several chances down the stretch in their sixth straight loss.

NBA scores

Heisman Trophy

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow made history Saturday night by becoming the first sophomore ever to win the 73-year-old Heisman Trophy. Even before Tebow pledged his services to the Gators, as a high school senior, the bar had been set exceedingly high not only by the notoriously rabid Gator Nation but by his future coach. Urban Meyer, college football's most relentless text-messager (before the NCAA banned them), reportedly wrote the following in one of his near-daily texts to Tebow that year: "TT: ... National Championship, Heisman, it's all waiting for you." Two years later, just as Meyer predicted, Tebow has both his national championship and his Heisman -- and he's still got two more seasons to add to the trophy collection.

NFL Football

Peyton Manning is adjusting to being without Marvin Harrison. Tony Dungy is finally adjusting to instant replay. So the Indianapolis Colts are on the verge of their fifth straight AFC South title. Manning, hampered by a lack of receivers for the past six weeks, threw four touchdown passes, two after the Colts won replay challenges, to beat Jacksonville 28-25 Sunday and take a two-game lead with four games to go. It was the second victory by the Colts (10-2) over Jacksonville (8-4) this season, essentially giving them a three-game lead with four games left in a division they've controlled since Tennessee won it the first year of the current configuration.

JaMarcus Russell made his NFL debut for the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, entering the game in the second quarter against the Denver Broncos. Russell, the No. 1 overall draft pick in April, had been brought along slowly after missing all of training camp and the exhibition season in a contract dispute. He signed a deal that guaranteed him at least $29 million three days after the season opener. Russell has been working mostly with the scout team and in extra practice sessions designed to help him catch up. Russell got some work with the first team this week because of a quadriceps injury to starter Daunte Culpepper. Coach Lane Kiffin said recently that he wanted to use Russell for a few series at a time at first, to keep him out of difficult situations like the two-minute drill. By making him the second-string quarterback this week, Kiffin was able to make that happen this week. Russell entered to a standing ovation with 13:48 remaining in the second quarter and completed a 16-yard pass to Jerry Porter on his first play. By NFL rules, if the No. 3 quarterback plays before the fourth quarter, the first two quarterbacks aren't allowed back into the game. Andrew Walter was the third quarterback.

A few thousand spectators remained when the Miami Dolphins called timeout with 10 seconds left, triggering the most emphatic boos of a miserable afternoon. For Miami fans, this is not a season to be prolonged. Sunday's game was touted as the Dolphins' best remaining chance to avoid the first 0-16 season in NFL history. Instead, they sustained their most lopsided defeat of the year. Rookie quarterback John Beck threw three interceptions and lost two fumbles, and Miami fell to 0-12 by falling to the New York Jets 40-13. The loss represented a big step - or stumble - toward a winless season. Despite the Dolphins' woeful record, they were favored by 1 1/2 points. Miami extended a franchise-record losing streak to 15 games, and Cam Cameron remained winless as an NFL coach. Beck's turnovers were the biggest problem. They led to a touchdown and three field goals for the Jets.

NFL scores

NHL Hockey

It came down to a showdown between a gifted scorer and a likely Hall of Fame-bound goalie. Martin Brodeur made a glove save on Ilya Kovalchuk in the shootout and the New Jersey Devils beat the Atlanta Thrashers 3-2 on Sunday for their seventh straight victory. Brian Gionta , second up for the Devils, had the only goal in the shootout. After Gionta beat Johan Hedberg with a backhander, Kovalchuk squared off against Brodeur with the win hanging in the balance. Brodeur, who had 23 saves in regulation, snared the puck after Kovalchuk tried to maneuver him out of position.

Roberto Luongo saw his 3 1/2-game shutout streak end, but it wasn't his fault as the Vancouver Canucks lost 2-1 to the Minnesota Wild on Sunday. Aaron Voros and Eric Belanger scored for Minnesota, which won its fourth straight and moved into sole possession of first place in the Northwest Division. Mike Brown scored for Vancouver, which lost in regulation for just the second time in 13 outings to fall two points behind the Wild. The Canucks managed just 20 shots on goal - four with Luongo pulled for an extra attacker in the final minute.

It was certainly not flashy, but Dustin Penner gave the Anaheim Ducks a reminder of what they lost when they let him go in the offseason. While the Ducks continued to struggle to find their scoring touch, Penner set up in the crease and scored a first period goal when the puck deflected off his mouth, as Edmonton completed a sweep of a home-and-home series against Anaheim with a 4-0 victory Sunday. Raffi Torres, Joni Pitkanen and Tom Gilbert also scored for the Oilers who have won four of their last five games.

NHL scores

NBA Basketball

LeBron James watched from the bench in street clothes. The show he saw wasn't very pretty. Boston plodded to an 80-70 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. But the NBA's leading scorer was sidelined with a sprained finger, the NBA's best team had little energy, and the crowd that showed up for the rare 12:30 p.m. start was subdued. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce each scored under 10 points. Garnett had only nine in 26 minutes two games after his streak of 435 games, including playoffs, of scoring in double figures ended when he had eight points in 23 minutes of a 104-59 win over the New York Knicks. Boston improved to an NBA best 14-2 and was led by Ray Allen with 20 points and Rajon Rondo with 12. Cleveland was led by Zydrunas Ilgauskas with 12 points and 13 rebounds and Sasha Pavlovic with 11 points. Gooden had a double-double at halftime and finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The Orlando Magic are playing so well that they even found a way to beat the Lakers in Los Angeles. Hedo Turkoglu sparked a pivotal 9-0 run with a 3-pointer that put Orlando ahead to stay, then added a layup with 55 seconds left to lead the Magic to a 104-97 victory Sunday night. The victory was Orlando's first on the road against the Lakers after 10 straight losses, including their last two visits to the Forum. They have won only three of the last 18 meetings overall and nine of 30 since joining the NBA in 1990.

Happy and healthy, Grant Hill delivered a reminder that he can still be an elite NBA player. Down the hall, there was nothing but more misery for the New York Knicks, with the loss compounded by news that Stephon Marbury's father died during the game. Hill scored a season-high 28 points, nine during a fourth-quarter flurry that broke open a close game, and the Phoenix Suns pulled away to beat the Knicks 115-104 on Sunday night. Amare Stoudemire added 28 points and 12 rebounds to help the Suns win for the 10th time in 12 games. Phoenix, opening a five-game road trip, also got 15 points from Shawn Marion and Leandro Barbosa, and nine points and 15 assists from Steve Nash. Hill shot 13-of-17 in his highest-scoring game in nearly two years. He went to the bench for good midway through the fourth quarter, possibly all that prevented him from his first 30-point game since he scored 34 for Orlando against Miami on Feb. 27, 2005, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

NBA scores

NCAA Football

No. 10 Hawaii was rewarded for being the nation's only unbeaten team with an at-large bid to the Sugar Bowl to face No. 4 Georgia. The roar from the chanting, green-clad crowd at Stan Sheriff Center was deafening. The Aloha State has been in a football frenzy for the past two weeks, starting with Hawaii's win over last year's BCS buster Boise State to win its first outright Western Athletic Conference title. On Saturday night, the Warriors (12-0) completed their perfect season with a dramatic come-from-behind 35-28 victory over Washington.

LSU has a ticket to the title game. Everyone else has a pretty good gripe. The latest chapter in this crazy, unpredictable college football season was written Sunday when LSU won the sport's version of the lottery, being picked to play Ohio State for the championship and leaving about a half-dozen other candidates with plenty to complain about. The Tigers (11-2), ranked second in the latest Associated Press poll, will be the first team to play in the BCS title game with two losses. No. 1 Ohio State goes into the game, Jan. 7 at the Superdome in New Orleans, at 11-1.

Organizers decided to stick with their historical Pac-10-Big Ten matchup Sunday, picking 13th-ranked Illinois to play Southern California on New Year's Day after Ohio State got upgraded to the national championship game. It is the first trip to Pasadena for the Illini (9-3) since 1983, and their first bowl game since the 2001 season. For the sixth-ranked Trojans (10-2), the Rose Bowl is getting to be like their own New Year's tradition. This is their third straight trip, fourth in the past five seasons and 32nd overall.

The Fiesta Bowl will pair the 11th-ranked Mountaineers against the third-rated Sooners in a match-up of teams that had their national title hopes dashed in the last three weeks. The Mountaineers (11-2) were still stinging from a 13-9 loss to arch rival Pittsburgh on Saturday night -- a defeat that knocked them out of the Bowl Championship Series title game. The Fiesta has played host to two representatives of non-BCS conferences -- Utah and Boise State -- but decided it would rather have Big East champion West Virginia instead of Hawaii, pride and champ of the Western Athletic Conference. Oklahoma and West Virginia will meet for the fourth time, and the first in the postseason. Oklahoma leads the series 2-1.

A week later than it wanted, Kansas beat Missouri. An Orange Bowl bid is the surprising Jayhawks' reward. The eighth-ranked Jayhawks (11-1) got their first Bowl Championship Series berth Sunday and will meet No. 5 Virginia Tech (11-2) in Miami on Jan. 3. The Hokies got their Orange Bowl spot by beating Boston College for the Atlantic Coast Conference title. Kansas, which set a school record for wins, was an at-large pick and benefited greatly from Missouri's 38-17 loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship. "A two-loss team compared to a one-loss team was probably the most pressing thing that we looked at," Orange Bowl CEO Eric Poms said. Never mind that both of Missouri's losses were to Oklahoma, that the Tigers were two slots ahead of Kansas in the final BCS standings and beat the Jayhawks head-to-head on Nov. 24 to doom Kansas' national-title hopes. The Orange Bowl simply didn't like what it saw Saturday night, and Kansas reaped the benefits.

NCAA Football

NBA

The New York Knicks' brief winning streak is history, and the Boston Celtics nearly made history ending it. The Celtics cruised to their biggest victory since Larry Bird was in high school, beating New York 104-59 on Thursday night to send the Knicks to their third-worst loss and their second-worst scoring performance of the shot-clock era. It was the sixth-biggest win in Celtics history and the biggest since a 153-107 victory over the Baltimore Bullets in 1970 - five NBA titles ago. Only Nate Robinson's 37-foot 3-pointer at the final buzzer saved the Knicks from scoring the fewest points in franchise history. That might not be enough to save coach Isiah Thomas from getting fired: He was all-but-gone during an eight-game losing streak before earning a reprieve with two straight wins. And, unlike the Boston area's NFL team, the Celtics didn't even try to run up the score. Kevin Garnett played just 22 minutes, scoring eight points before leaving the game midway through the third quarter with Boston ahead 69-34. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen also sat out the fourth quarter and played 29 minutes apiece. Rajon Rondo dribbled out 24 of the final 26 seconds, turning the ball over on purpose rather than go for a 50-point win. Robinson followed with long jumper off the inbound pass to save the Knicks from their lowest-scoring game in the shot clock era. The exchange kept Boston from threatening it's biggest-ever win, a 153-102 victory over Philadelphia on March 7, 1962.

Sasha Vujacic did his best impersonation of Kobe Bryant, dominating the fourth quarter with his perimeter shooting. Bryant scored 24 points, but remained on the bench during the final 12 minutes while Vujacic scored 19 of his career-high 22 points to power the Los Angeles Lakers to a 127-99 rout of the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night. The victory was completed just hours after coach Phil Jackson received a two-year contract extension. Andrew Bynum had 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Luke Walton added a career-high 14 points in 27 minutes. Los Angeles' much-improved second unit played so spectacularly and efficiently down the stretch that Bryant was reduced to spectator status - despite the fact that Los Angeles led by only six points after three. The Lakers' reserves outscored their Denver counterparts 63-29.

Al Harrington gives up 9 inches and 60 pounds to Yao Ming. Yet by using his quickness to front and harass the 7-foot-6 Yao, Harrington is somehow able to shut down Houston's All-Star center. Harrington outplayed Yao for a second straight meeting, shutting him down at one end and scoring 18 points on the other to help the Golden State Warriors beat the Rockets 113-94 on Thursday night for their eighth win in nine games after an 0-6 start. Yao shot 4-for-12 and had five turnovers, finishing with a season-low 10 points. Andris Biedrins started the game guarding Yao but coach Don Nelson quickly changed to Harrington. In two games against the Warriors since Harrington joined the team last season, Yao has only 19 points on 6-of-16 shooting.

NBA scores

NFL - Cowboys now 11-1

Tony Romo took a knee, sealing a playoff-clinching, record-setting victory over the team he grew up rooting for and the quarterback he's obviously patterned himself after. So when it was time for hugs and handshakes, the kid from Wisconsin went looking for Brett Favre. He had to settle for Aaron Rodgers. Favre was already in the locker room getting treated for a banged-up right elbow and a separated left shoulder. Besides, the graying icon already had seen enough from Romo and the Dallas Cowboys.

For all his denials about Favre's influence on him, Romo sure played a lot like a young No. 4 Thursday night - full of moxie and joy, but needing a bit of a high-wire act to send the Cowboys past the Green Bay Packers 37-27 and into the lead for home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. Romo led Dallas to two field goals, then three touchdowns on his first five drives. He finished with four TD passes, giving the Cowboys (11-1) their sixth straight win and guaranteeing a spot in the playoffs. They also have a leg up on avoiding a trip to Lambeau Field should these teams meet again in the NFC championship.

It sounds like it was a great game. I wouldn't know, since I didn't see it. Neither did most NFL fans across the country, because it was shown on the NFL Network, a pay-to-watch cable channel. I hope someone gets this situation resolved soon. I can't see paying for a package that includes all of eight regular season games, and then whatever rehashes they show to use the time. Football isn't like baseball or basketball or even hockey, where they play a ton of games in the course of a season. What were they thinking? I guess if they piss off enough fans, they think big cable will cave. We'll see.

Sean Taylor shot

Holy crap, what is wrong with people? If you have to be a greeter at WalMart, or pump gas, or ask would you like fries with that?, so be it, but get a job. Don't go shooting people while you're trying to rip off what they've worked for. From SI:

Washington Redskins star safety Sean Taylor was in critical condition Monday after he was shot during what police are investigating as a possible armed robbery at his home.

The 24-year-old player was in the intensive care unit following several hours of surgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital, said family friend Richard Sharpstein, his former lawyer. He remained unconscious early Monday evening.

Taylor lost a "significant" amount of blood because the bullet damaged his femoral artery, and doctors are worried about blood flow to the brain, added Sharpstein, who was at the hospital with the player's family and friends.

Taylor has had several problems on and off the field, including an incident two years ago in which he was accused of brandishing a gun.

The shooting came eight days after another invasion was reported at his home. According to police records, someone pried open a front window, rifled through his drawers and left a kitchen knife on a bed...

Not that Taylor is a beacon of light in the greater scheme of things, but still...I suppose I won't be surprised when the news breaks that this was a revenge thang. What goes around comes around, right?

addendum: Sean Taylor died early this morning.

Saskatchewan wins Grey Cup

James Johnson set a Grey Cup record with three interceptions to help the Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23-19 on Sunday night for their first Canadian Football League title in 18 years. The former Arkansas State player, selected the MVP of the game, returned his first interception 30 yards for a second-quarter touchdown, and sealed the game in the final minute with his third.

Kerry Joseph threw a 29-yard TD pass to Andy Fantuz in the fourth quarter, and Luca Congi added three field goals for the Roughriders, also CFL champions in 1966 and 1989. Joseph was 13-of-34 for 181 yards and an interception and ran for 101 yards on 10 carries. Dinwiddie was 15-of-33 for 225 yards.

The Blue Bombers, playing without star quarterback Kevin Glenn, failed in a bid to win their first title since 1990. Ryan Dinwiddie, making his first CFL start after Glenn broke his arm last week, threw a 50-yard scoring pass to Derick Armstrong. Troy Westwood made two field goals, and Winnipeg scored six points on three conceded safeties.

NFL Football

I'd say Donovan McNabb's job is in jeopardy. The Philadelphia Eagles gave the rest of the NFL a smidgen of hope Sunday night: they showed that the New England Patriots can be vulnerable. Asante Samuel returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown and had a second pick to shut off a late Philadelphia drive as the Patriots beat the Eagles 31-28 Sunday night to run their record to 11-0. It was only the second truly competitive game of the season for New England, which trailed 28-24 midway the fourth period. A 69-yard drive, capped by Laurence Maroney's 4-yard run, put the Patriots ahead of the 22-point underdog. Then Samuel's second interception finished the job. James Sanders added an interception in the final seconds to officially close it out. But at least the Eagles were competitive against a team which had won its first 10 games by an average of 25 points. The Patriots had a seven-point lead twice, 7-0 and 14-7 but that was as large as either team led all game. And the Eagles led for much of it in a contest in which A.J. Feeley, a career backup replacing the injured McNabb at quarterback for the Eagles, outplayed Tom Brady for most of the game. Philadelphia cornerback Lito Sheppard turned Randy Moss, moving in on Jerry Rice's single-season mark for touchdown receptions, into nothing more than ordinary. It was the Patriots' smallest margin of victory this season, and it comes just a week after a huge blowout of the Buffalo Bills and their largest victory margin.

LaDainian Tomlinson reached another milestone and the Chargers got a much-needed win. Philip Rivers quieted the boo-birds and rediscovered Antonio Gates, throwing two of his three touchdown passes to the All-Pro tight end and leading San Diego to a 32-14 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. Tomlinson had a quiet day until his 36-yard run early in the third quarter pushed the reigning league MVP past 10,000 career rushing yards, making him the 23rd player in NFL history to reach the milestone and the third in less than a month. The Chargers (6-5) won for the fifth time in seven games following their shocking 1-3 start. This was the first time in a while that so many things went right for the Bolts. The Ravens (4-7) lost their franchise-record fifth straight game. Quarterback Kyle Boller was sacked four times.

The Minnesota Vikings know how to make Eli Manning look bad, and this time they did it in front of big brother, Peyton. With Peyton watching in the stands, Darren Sharper, Dwight Smith and Chad Greenway picked off passes by Eli and returned them for touchdowns in leading the Vikings to a 41-17 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday. The Vikings (5-6) have picked off Manning eight times in the two games, scoring on four of those picks and coming close on another. Sharper scored on a 20-yard return, Smith rumbled 93 yards and Greenway followed from 37 yards just a few plays later as the Vikings set a team single-game record for interception returns for touchdowns. Sharper's interception came after Manning and tight end Jeremy Shockey had a miscommunication on a blitz read. It seemed Sharper was the only one who knew where the pass was going. Smith's score came on a tipped pass and Greenway's TD came with Manning under pressure.

NFL scores

NBA

Stan Van Gundy coached his 200th NBA game Saturday night and Orlando stomped his former mentor and boss Pat Riley's team, the Miami Heat, 120-99. With the win the Magic improved to 12-3. Hedo Turkoglu scored 27 points, Rashard Lewis added 19 and Dwight Howard had 17 points and 13 rebounds to hand the Heat its Eastern Conference-leading 10th loss. Wade had 32 points, Shaquille O'Neal added 20, and Ricky Davis had 23 points and seven assists, but Miami trailed for all but the opening minutes. Orlando shot 56 percent from the field but 8-of-22 from the line, while Miami shot 47 percent from the field.

While winning has become routine for the new-look Boston Celtics, this victory was different. It had the players huddled around the locker room TV, giggling like school kids as they watched it again. And the replay was just as sweet. Ray Allen made a 3-pointer at the buzzer after Eddie House knocked away Jason Richardson 's inbounds pass with 4.7 seconds left, and the Celtics stunned the Charlotte Bobcats 96-95 on Saturday night. If there's any doubt Boston is ready to put their struggles of recent years in the past, this was another indication. The leprechaun returned to the Celtics' side. Allen had missed 11 of his previous 14 shots in a flat performance for the Celtics, yet hit nothing but net on the jumper from the left wing, setting off a wild celebration for the Celtics, who won their third straight game and improved to 11-1.

The Atlanta Hawks have won two in a row on the road. That those wins have come against the teams with two of the worst records in the NBA matters not to these Hawks. Sure they trailed by double digits in the fourth quarter of both of them, but after losing the previous 17 away from home, the Hawks will take them wherever and however they can get them. Josh Smith scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to help Atlanta erase a 21-point deficit in a 94-87 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.

NBA scores

NHL

Daniel Briere hasn't let the absence of linemate Simon Gagne hurt his production. Briere had a goal and two assists to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night. Briere, signed by the Flyers to a multiyear deal in the offseason, redirected a perfect pass from Scott Hartnell in front of the Senators net for his 12th goal of the season. Gagne was Briere's linemate at the beginning of the season, but has missed the past eight games, and 12 of the past 14, with a concussion. Briere hasn't missed a beat, posting six goals and six assists during Gagne's eight-game absence. R.J. Umberger, Scott Hartnell and Mike Richards also scored for the Flyers, while Antero Niittymaki stopped 29 shots in a rare start. Playing without Daniel Alfredsson , their captain and leading scorer, the Senators got goals from Wade Redden, Dany Heatley and Christophe Schubert.

The Nashville Predators' failure to control the Minnesota Wild in the final two minutes could come back to haunt them. Branko Radivojevic scored the go-ahead goal with 1:53 remaining, leading the Wild to a 4-3 victory Saturday night. Aaron Voros, Matt Foy and Marian Gaborik also scored for Minnesota, which took a 3-2 lead into the third period. Vernon Fiddler scored the tying goal for the Predators in third period at 10:16 when Alexander Radulov found him low in the slot and Fiddler shot the puck between Niklas Backstrom's legs. Radivojevic scored what proved to be the winning goal when he beat Chris Mason high over his left shoulder on a 3-on-2 breakaway at 18:07.

Nikolai Zherdev made sure the Columbus Blue Jackets earned a full two points in another strong performance against Detroit. Zherdev scored the winning goal in a shootout to give the Blue Jackets a 3-2 victory over the Red Wings on Saturday night. Michael Peca and Rick Nash also scored in the shootout for Columbus, which won after Detroit tied it with two goals in a team-record 5 seconds. The game was the second shootout in a week between the teams, with Detroit winning Sunday. Manny Malhotra and Zherdev scored in regulation to help Columbus win its second straight game. Pascal Leclaire made 23 saves, and also made a big stop on Henrik Zetterberg in the shootout. Pavel Datsyuk had a goal and an assist, and Tomas Holmstrom also scored for Detroit, which has lost five of seven. Chris Osgood made several spectacular saves to keep the Red Wings in the game.

NHL scores

NCAA Football

College football isn't normally big on second chances, but in this historic season of attrition at the top of the polls, Missouri has been dealt a second chance of epic proportions. Beating Kansas on Saturday night in front of the largest Arrowhead Stadium crowd (80,537) in 35 years earned the Tigers their first-ever Big 12 North title and will more than likely send them to the top of the polls Sunday for the first time since 1960. That's nothing, however, compared to the potential windfall awaiting 11-1 Missouri if it can avenge its only loss of the season next week against 10-2 Oklahoma: a conference championship and a berth to the BCS national championship game.

Boston College ended a 15-game losing streak against Miami to head into the Atlantic Coast Conference title game with a victory, and the 15th-ranked Eagles didn't even need Doug Flutie to do it. Matt Ryan threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns Saturday to lead BC to a 28-14 win, BC's first victory over Miami since the 1984 'Hail Flutie' pass that ended one of the greatest games in college football history. Boston College (10-2, 6-2 ACC) will play for the conference championship in Jacksonville, Fla., on Dec. 1 against Virginia Tech, which beat Virginia 33-21 Saturday for the Coastal Division title. BC already clinched the Atlantic Division with last week's victory over Clemson. But they wanted the win, anyway. The Hurricanes (5-7, 2-6) failed to qualify for a bowl game for the first time in 10 years.

Under coach Tom Osborne, Nebraska was one of the bullies of college football, a program to be feared. Under coach Bill Callahan, the Cornhuskers were too often the ones getting pushed around. After watching Callahan's Huskers for five games, Osborne, in his new role as interim athletic director, decided it was time for change. He fired Callahan during a five-minute meeting Saturday. Callahan left the football complex without speaking to reporters. The move was expected after the Huskers finished 5-7 with Friday's 65-51 loss at Colorado, a game in which they squandered an 11-point halftime lead by allowing 34 consecutive points.

NCAA Football

Way to go, Pete!

Sampras never faced a break point and converted one of two against his opponent as he handed Federer a 7-6 (8), 6-4 defeat at the Venetian Macao arena, wrapping up a three-match Asian exhibition series between the two tennis greats. Sampras downplayed his victory, noting Federer was coming off a long season and that he was helped by his big serve and the fast indoor carpet surface. He had only aimed to win one set during the three-match series.

"Let's not get carried away," he said at a news conference. Sampras ruled out a comeback from retirement, telling the audience after the match, "I had my time in the '90s."

Federer tried to put on a positive spin on the loss, saying he wasn't embarrassed to lose to his idol, but still showed some disappointment. "It's been tough beating my idol the last two times. I'm happy that he got me at least once," he said, but adding, "I hope we can do it again in the future. I'd like to get him back."

The two players have won a combined 26 Grand Slam titles, but Sampras, 36, retired five years ago after winning the U.S. Open in 2002. Twenty six-year-old Federer is fresh from another stellar season as he won three Slams and last week's Masters Cup in Shanghai in compiling a 68-9 winning record.

NFL Football

Brett Favre set a Green Bay record with 20 consecutive completions and finished with a season-high 381 yards and three touchdowns in the Packers' 37-26 victory over the slumping Detroit Lions. The three-time MVP put together another sensational performance that made the 38-year-old quarterback look as if he's back in his prime. Favre's seventh 300-yard game of the season matched a team mark he set in 1995. Green Bay (10-1) matched its best 11-game record since 1929 and the NFC North leaders took a four-game lead with five games left in the regular season. The Packers can improve their chances of earning home-field advantage if they win next week at Dallas - also 10-1 after manhandling the New York Jets 34-3 later Thursday. Detroit (6-5) lost its third straight game, making its playoff picture bleak because it would lose wild-card tiebreakers against the New York Giants, Washington, Philadelphia and Arizona.

Of all the great players and great teams the Dallas Cowboys have had, Tony Romo, Terrell Owens and the 2007 club are the first to start 10-1. And if 10-1 Green Bay wasn't up next, the Cowboys might be able to savor such an accomplishment. Dallas kept the stakes up for the next big matchup next Thursday night with a 34-3 victory over the New York Jets on Thursday that was as lopsided as it seems. Romo led the Cowboys to a touchdown on the game-opening drive, then threw for another touchdown soon after. Once Terence Newman returned an interception 50 yards for another score midway through the second quarter, the only question left was whether Romo would throw another TD to tie the club single-season record.

Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts are still trying to recapture their Super Bowl-winning groove. But they sure looked a whole lot more like themselves Thursday night. Manning threw three touchdown passes, Anthony Gonzalez had 105 yards receiving and the defending champs, after getting stunned with 10 quick points by the Falcons, rebounded for a 31-13 victory. Indianapolis (9-2) had struggled the past three weeks, losing twice and pulling out a lackluster home win over Kansas City. The Colts' malaise carried over the first quarter at the Georgia Dome, with the Falcons striking for Morten Andersen's 34-yard field goal and Joey Harrington's 48-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White. But any thoughts the Falcons (3-8) had of pulling off a huge upset were quickly wiped out by Manning. He threw all three of his TD passes in the second quarter, going 23 yards to Reggie Wayne, 8 yards to Dallas Clark and 5 yards to Ben Utecht.

NFL scores

The Crime Report

Michael Vick has turned his sorry ass over to get a head start on serving his sentence. I believe he is employing the Martha Stewart maneuver and hoping for leniency and sympathy. From SI:

Michael Vick surrendered to U.S. marshals Monday and will remain in jail until his sentencing on a dogfighting charge in three weeks.

The Atlanta Falcons quarterback is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 10 but turned himself in because he anticipates a prison term on the federal dogfighting conspiracy charge, according to a court document. Vick could be sentenced to up to five years in prison.

"From the beginning, Mr. Vick has accepted responsibility for his actions, and his self-surrender further demonstrates that acceptance," Billy Martin, one of Vick's lawyers, said in a statement. "Michael wants to again apologize to everyone who has been hurt in this matter, and he thanks all of the people who have offered him and his family prayers and support during this time."

Vick is being held at Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw until his sentencing, U.S. marshals told The Associated Press. The mixed-gender facility houses about 450 inmates...

Mr. Vick has accepted responsibility for his actions...are you kidding? He lied and loudly proclaimed his innocence until his cohorts turned on him. Now we're supposed to accept him as an upstanding citizen? Please. I maintain he should be dropped into a pit of vipers. See if they give him any more sympathy than he gave his loser dogs. Asswipe.

Barry Bonds is under indictment. Also from SI:

The home run king wasn't home free after all.

Barry Bonds was indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice Thursday and could go to prison instead of the Hall of Fame for telling a federal grand jury he did not knowingly use performance-enhancing drugs.

The indictment came just three months after the San Francisco Giants star broke Hank Aaron's career home run record, and it culminated a four-year investigation into steroid use by elite athletes.

But for all the speculation and accusations that clouded his pursuit of Aaron, Bonds was never identified by Major League Baseball as testing positive for steroids, and personal trainer Greg Anderson spent most of the last year in jail for refusing to testify against his longtime friend.

Then came the indictment -- four counts of perjury, one of obstruction of justice; a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison -- and Bonds' lawyers seemed caught off guard.

The 10-page report mainly consists of excerpts from Bonds' December 2003 testimony before a grand jury investigating the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO. It cites 19 occasions in which Bonds allegedly lied under oath...

Seriously, didn't everyone with two brain cells see this one coming? Why do *stars* continue to believe they are above the law? Ok, perhaps because we put them on pedestals and are willing to pay crazy amounts of money to watch grown men PLAY GAMES. It won't end until the fans insist it ends. Need proof?

Mike Tyson was sentenced Monday to 24 hours in jail and three years' probation for drug possession and driving under the influence.

The former heavyweight champion had pleaded guilty in September to a single felony count of cocaine possession and a misdemeanor DUI count.

Tyson had faced a possible maximum sentence of four years and three months in prison.

The charges stemmed from a traffic stop in Scottsdale last December.

Police pulled Tyson over after the boxer had spent the evening at Scottsdale's Pussycat Lounge. An officer said he saw Tyson wiping a white substance off the dashboard of his black BMW, and that his speech was slurred.

Authorities said they found bags of cocaine in Tyson's pocket and in his car.

Tyson told officers later that he used cocaine "whenever I can get my hands on it," and that he preferred to smoke it in Marlboro cigarettes with the tobacco pulled out, according to court documents. He also told police that he used marijuana that day and was taking the antidepressant Zoloft, the documents state.

Since his arrest, Tyson checked himself into an inpatient treatment program for what his lawyer called "various addictions."..

What kind of sentence do you suppose YOU would get for a similar offense? How is this guy getting away with this? Isn't he a known quantity by now? Sheesh. And let's not forget the twenty Ole Miss players mentioned earlier. May as well start 'em early, right?

NFL Football

It was a comeback victory in every sense of the word. The Cleveland Browns literally had to come back onto the field to complete a 33-30 overtime win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday after it appeared the game ended with a missed field goal by Phil Dawson. The Browns trailed 30-27 on the final play of regulation when Dawson attempted a tying 51-yard kick. The ball hit the left upright and seemingly bounced off the crossbar before bounding into the end zone. The officials called the kick no good. The Ravens ran off the field, celebrating a victory in which they scored 16 straight points in the fourth quarter, the last three on a 47-yard field goal by Matt Stover with 26 seconds left. Many of the Browns walked off in stunned silence after Dawson's kick. Several Cleveland players, however, insisted Dawson's kick hit the curved center support behind the crossbar. They gathered in the end zone, pointing at the spot where the football struck before bouncing back. They were right. After a lengthy discussion, the officials ruled the kick passed through the uprights and called the teams back onto the field. NFL rules dictate that a field goal is not reviewable by replay. Referring to the initial call, referee Pete Morelli said, "It was a ruling by one of the officials. The other official informed me that the ball hit the back of the extension of the goal post. ... We determined that was what it struck. Therefore, it made the field goal good."

As the ball left Mike Nugent 's foot and floated through the uprights, the New York Jets stormed the field and celebrated their first win in nearly two months. With thousands of Pittsburgh fans at Giants Stadium waving their yellow Steelers towels, Nugent kicked a 38-yard field goal 5:03 into overtime to give the Jets an unlikely 19-16 victory Sunday. The kick broke a six-game losing streak for the Jets (2-8), who celebrated their first win since Week 3 against Miami in a huge circle around Nugent. In front of a crowd that sometimes looked as if it was a home game for the Steelers (7-3), with fans decked out in black and gold waving their Terrible Towels, the Jets hung tough. Thomas Jones was a huge reason, running for 117 yards on 30 carries and becoming the first running back in 35 games to reach 100 yards against the top-ranked Steelers defense.

Tom Brady. Randy Moss. Even Kyle Eckel. The New England Patriots are showing no mercy to any opponent, not even the Buffalo Bills, a team for which coach Bill Belichick has publicly expressed affection. Scoring touchdowns on their first seven offensive possessions and getting the eighth on a turnover, the Patriots won their 10th straight game, routing Buffalo 56-10 Sunday night. Brady and Moss, ready to rewrite the NFL record books, led the romp. Brady was 31-for-39 for 373 yards with five TD passes, four to Moss, as New England became the 10th team since 1970 to start a season 10-0. The way they played, they appear unbeatable, and barring injury are an excellent bet to become the NFL's first perfect team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins. It was the ninth time in 10 games New England won by more than 17 points and the ninth time it scored more than 34 points. The Patriots did it coming off a bye week after their only close game of the season, a 24-20 win in Indianapolis in which they came back from a 10- point deficit with less than 10 minutes left. They also did it against a Buffalo team that came in 5-4 with four straight wins. Brady, who has yet to throw fewer than three touchdown passes in a game, increased his TD passes to 38, just 11 short of Peyton Manning 's single-season record, set in 2004. Moss' four TD catches gave him 16 for the season, six short of the record set by Jerry Rice in 1987.

NFL scores

MLS Cup

Make it two in a row for the Houston Dynamo, the first MLS team to repeat in a decade. The men in orange rallied with two goals in the second half Sunday to beat the New England Revolution 2-1 in the MLS Cup, securing the win with Dwayne De Rosario's powerful 12-yard header in the 74th minute.

The Dynamo have won the championship both years since the team disbanded as the San Jose Earthquakes and was reborn in Texas last year, beating the Revolution both times. The Earthquakes also won the title in 2001 and 2003, which makes for a dominant run of four championship rings in six years for several Houston players. The Dynamo became MLS' first repeat champions since D.C. United won the league's first two titles in 1996 and 1997.

The Revolution, meanwhile, fell at the final hurdle for the fourth time. New England lost the 2002 and 2005 MLS Cups in overtime and was beaten in a penalty kick shootout following overtime last year. The Revolution were hoping to capture some of the sports fervor that has overrun Massachusetts this year. The Red Sox won the World Series, and the Patriots and Celtics began the day undefeated. But the MLS trophy will go to Houston again.

MLS

NHL

The Vancouver Canucks are losing top defensemen, yet keep winning games. Markus Naslund and Henrik Sedin each had a goal and an assist, and Roberto Luongo made 29 saves as the Canucks overcame a suspension to top defender Mattias Ohlund to beat the Calgary Flames 4-1 on Sunday night. Willie Mitchell and Brad Isbister both scored their first goals of the season, and Daniel Sedin added two assists as the Canucks improved to 5-0-1 since losing top-four defensemen Kevin Bieksa and Sami Salo to serious injuries on Nov. 1. Vancouver had lost four of five and was three games below .500 before the injuries, which forced the Canucks to tighten up in their own zone.

Matt Foy and Aaron Voros filled in well for Minnesota's missing offensive threats. Foy scored for the first time in more than two years, Voros and Brent Burns added goals for the second time in two games, and the Wild beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-1 Sunday. Stephane Veilleux also scored for Minnesota, which won for the fourth time in 12 games and moved past the Avalanche atop the Northwest Division. The Wild did it without injured forwards Pavol Demitra and Mikko Koivu. James Sheppard , who centered a line with Foy and Voros in the Wild's makeshift lineup, had two assists for his first career multipoint game. The fourth-line trio logged the three lowest ice-time totals for the Wild, combining for just 23 minutes, 26 seconds of action.

Johan Franzen scored the winning shootout goal in the fifth round of the tiebreaker and the Detroit snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-4 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday. Chris Osgood stopped Sergei Fedorov to keep the Red Wings in the game and then he gloved David Vyborny's shot to end it. Nicklas Lidstrom had a goal and two assists for the Red Wings , who rallied late to tie it. Tomas Holmstrom and Pavel Datsyuk each had a goal and an assist, and Brett Lebda also scored. Brian Rafalski added two assists for the Red Wings, who improved to 7-3-1 on the road.

NHL scores

NCAA Football

All that stands between a Kansas-LSU matchup in the BCS national championship game are some tough opponents. LSU was first and unbeaten Kansas was second in the Bowl Championship Series standings Sunday and the chances of another team catching either without the Tigers and Jayhawks losing seems remote. The Tigers are No. 1 in the polls and the computers ratings and have BCS average of .990. The Jayhawks are No. 2 across the board with a BCS average of .949. Kansas moved up two spots this week, taking advantage of losses by Oregon and Oklahoma.

Hoping for Kansas or LSU to slip up are third-place West Virginia (.888), Missouri (.871), Ohio State (.860) and Arizona State (.802). LSU faces Arkansas at home on Friday before playing in the Southeastern Conference championship game against either Georgia or Tennessee on Dec. 1 in Atlanta. Kansas and Missouri meet Saturday in Kansas City for the 116th time, and never has it been more important. The winner goes to the Big 12 title game with national championship hopes in tact. If Kansas gets by Missouri, either Oklahoma or Texas awaits in the Big 12 title game. Ohio State (11-1) finished its regular season with a 14-3 victory over Michigan and is locked into at least a Rose Bowl bid as the Big Ten champion.

Mississippi put 20 players on probation Sunday after they twice stole items from hotels. A news release said the players have paid for the items, which included radios and pillows. Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron said in the release that the players will be on probation indefinitely. Officials said the items stolen cost between $15 and $40. "Any actions similar to this will result in more severe penalties which may include dismissal from the team," Orgeron said in the release. The action comes a day after the Rebels lost 41-24 to No. 1 LSU in Oxford. It appears the players will be allowed to play Friday at Mississippi State in the final game of the season. A spokesman said a list of disciplined players was not available. Neither Orgeron nor athletic director Pete Boone immediately returned messages Sunday. Boone is scheduled to attend Orgeron's weekly news conference Monday to answer questions about the disciplinary action.

NCAA Football

NBA

So much for the Celtics' 82-0 season. The NBA's best-shooting team, the Celtics found themselves uncharacteristically down 20 points and still trailing after three quarters. They came back and made it close, but Paul Pierce missed an off-balance jumper with time running out and Orlando dealt Boston (8-1) its first loss, 104-102. Garnett, Ray Allen and Pierce were each averaging 20 points. Only Pierce topped the mark Sunday, scoring 28 points and keying several quick runs that brought Boston back. Allen finished with 19, but had just eight points on 4-of-12 shooting before the fourth quarter. It was a chance for Orlando (9-2) to show it deserved the conference's second-best record. The Magic forced 20 Boston turnovers, shot 50.8 percent and won despite the Celtics' 41-28 rebounding edge. Perhaps more importantly, they didn't collapse when Boston made a late run. It was the first time a team shot better than 50 percent against the Celtics and the first time Boston trailed at the half and entering the fourth quarter.

The Denver Nuggets thought they were pretty good. Then two weeks ago along came the Boston Celtics, who humiliated the Nuggets in a blowout win and put Denver in its place. The Nuggets haven't lost since. Carmelo Anthony had 24 points, Allen Iverson added 23 and Denver won its fifth straight game with a 115-83 win over the New York Knicks on Saturday night. The winning streak traces back to the humbling 119-93 loss to the Celtics on Nov. 7. The Nuggets trailed by 39 points at halftime in that game. But they found their identity in that drubbing. The Knicks might want to take note. New York dropped its sixth straight game. The Knicks went 0-4 on their five-day road trip through the West.

Unwanted in San Antonio, Beno Udrih appears to have found a home with the Sacramento Kings. Udrih had 23 points and six assists to help the Kings beat the Detroit Pistons 105-95 on Sunday night. Udrih, a late preseason cut by San Antonio who came to the Kings as a backup when Mike Bibby was injured just prior to the season, has quickly become a starter. He showed why against the Pistons, hitting 9 of 13 shots from the field and all five of his free throw attempts and fueling a strong second half by the Kings.

NBA scores

Barry Bonds lying through his teeth

"This record is not tainted at all. At all. Period," Bonds said.

Yeah, right.

Barry Bonds, baseball's soon to be asterisked home run king, was indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice Thursday and could face prison instead of the Hall of Fame for telling a federal grand jury he did not knowingly use performance-enhancing drugs. The indictment, culminating a four-year investigation into steroid use by elite athletes, charged Bonds with four counts of perjury and one of obstruction of justice. If convicted, he could be sentenced to a maximum of 30 years in prison. Shortly after the indictment was handed up, Bonds' personal trainer, Greg Anderson, was ordered released after spending most of the past year in prison for refusing to testify against his longtime friend.

Barry Bonds bulks up

And lucky for Boston, it looks like A-Rod is staying in NY.

Sabathia wins the AL Cy Young award

Josh Beckett was robbed.

Ok, ok, it was close if you didn't take the postseason into account, and the voting takes place before the postseason. If they had, Beckett was a lock for this year's Cy Young award. As it is, the AL Cy Young goes to C.C. Sabathia. The Indians ace received 19 of 28 first-place votes and finished with 119 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Boston's Beckett was second with eight first-place votes and 86 points, while John Lackey of the Los Angeles Angels got the other first-place vote and came in third. Cleveland's Fausto Carmona was fourth.

It's hard to feel too badly about Sabathia's award. He went 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA and 209 strikeouts, pitching a major league-high 241 innings. Beckett (20-7) became the only big league pitcher to win 20 games since 2005, compiling a 3.27 ERA in 200 2-3 innings. Lackey led the AL in ERA at 3.01, going 19-9 and tossing 224 innings. Carmona was 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA. After being sidelined by injuries the previous two seasons, the 6-foot-7, 290-pound left-hander stayed healthy all year and made 34 starts to Beckett's 30. That helped account for their wide gap in innings pitched. The 27-year-old Sabathia also walked only 37 batters, giving him a remarkable strikeout-to-walk ratio that took pressure off his defense all season. Beckett had 194 strikeouts and 40 walks.

Things changed in the postseason. Beckett beat Sabathia twice in the AL championship series and went 4-0 with a 1.20 ERA in four postseason starts, striking out 35 and walking two. Sabathia was 1-2 with an 8.80 ERA and 13 walks in three playoff outings.

AL and NL Manager of the Year will be announced Wednesday and then the NL Cy Young Award on Thursday, with San Diego ace Jake Peavy considered the favorite.

NFL - Indy goes down again

The Cleveland Browns appear to be closing the gap between themselves and the rival Steelers. They're not there yet, though, not with Ben Roethlisberger able to beat teams two different ways in the same week. Roethlisberger scrambled 30 yards for a key touchdown during Pittsburgh's second-half comeback, then set up his own go-ahead 2-yard TD pass to Heath Miller with an important third-down run as the Steelers rallied from a 15-point deficit to beat Cleveland 31-28 Sunday. Roethlisberger's big second half, with two TD passes and some important scrambles, overcame Cleveland quarterback Derek Anderson 's huge first half and two long Joshua Cribbs kickoff returns. Pittsburgh (7-2) beat Cleveland (5-4) for the ninth consecutive time. Barely. Phil Dawson could have tied it, but was short on a 52-yard field goal attempt with 6 seconds remaining.

His teammates thought he might be faking it to draw a penalty. His coach was more concerned and started calling for backup. Brett Favre was feeling woozy after taking an elbow to the head in the third quarter. That didn't stop him from driving the Packers to yet another touchdown in a 34-0 rout of the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. Favre passed another milestone Sunday, joining Dan Marino as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for more than 60,000 career yards. But unlike the last two weeks, the Packers (8-1) didn't need a thrilling home-run heave from Favre at the end of the game to win.

Peyton Manning was poised to atone for those franchise-record six interceptions. He'd moved the Indianapolis Colts well within Adam Vinatieri's range with 1:31 left on a crazy, rainy night. Snap, hold and ... miss! After nearly blowing all of a 23-7 fourth-quarter lead, the Chargers could exhale. Vinatieri, who'd won two Super Bowls for New England with last-second field goals, pushed a 29-yard attempt wide right and the San Diego Chargers escaped with a wild 23-21 win over the defending Super Bowl champions on Sunday night.

NFL scores

NHL

The resurgent Chicago Blackhawks have the NHL's top two rookie scorers - and the Detroit Red Wings' number. NHL rookie scoring leader Patrick Kane had a power-play goal and an assist to help Chicago beat Detroit 3-2 on Sunday night, ending the Red Wings' franchise record-tying winning streak at nine games. Jonathan Toews, second in rookie scoring, also had a power-play goal, Yanic Perreault connected at even strength, and Jason Williams and Robert Lang each had two assists for Chicago in its third straight victory and third of the season over Detroit. Jiri Hudler and Nicklas Lidstrom scored for the Red Wings, 13-3-1 overall. Anaheim is the only other team to have beaten Detroit so far. The Blackhawks, who have missed the playoffs in eight of the previous nine seasons, improved to 10-7-0 and show signs of having turned the corner.

Paul Stastny and Wojtek Wolski were in perfect step in the Colorado Avalanche's 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Sunday night. Stastny scored twice and assisted on Wolski's empty-net goal with a second left. Stastny's two goals in the second period, along with his assist, gave him 100 points in 99 career games. He's just the sixth player in franchise history to reach 100 points in 100 or fewer contests. Stastny's father, Peter, needed 73 games to reach 100 points. His uncles, Marian and Anton Stastny, took 82 and 95 games, respectively, to reach the mark.

Tim Thomas made 45 saves and Chuck Kobasew scored the tiebreaking goal by batting a puck out of the air to lead the Bruins to a 2-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night in a matchup of struggling offensive teams. The Bruins, held to two goals or fewer in eight of their last 10 games, snapped a four-game losing streak. Marco Sturm scored Boston's other goal. Each of the Bruins' last seven games have been decided by one goal. Daniel Paille scored a short-handed goal for Buffalo and Ryan Miller made 20 saves. The Sabres were shut out in two of their previous three games.

NHL scores

Veterans' Day

I suppose it isn't really appropriate to say "Happy Veterans' Day", as the day is surely not a happy day for everyone. Nevertheless, it is the one day of the year we formally acknowledge our debt to the men and women who epitomize the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. To them, and to their families, I say thank you.

Celtics 5-0

The Boston Celtics won one for Doc Rivers and sent the New Jersey Nets a message in the process. Hours after attending the funeral of his father in Illinois, Rivers saw the new-look Celtics remain the NBA's only undefeated team and personally show the Nets they are the team to beat in the Atlantic Division with an impressive 112-101 win on Saturday night. Boston's new big three of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen put on another impressive performance against the Nets (4-2). The victory was the fifth straight for Boston, which is off to its best start since winning six in a row to start the 1987-88 season. That was the last time the trio of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish got to the Eastern Conference finals.

Brandon Roy scored a career-high 32 points and added seven assists and the Portland Trail Blazers ended a 13-game losing streak to the Dallas Mavericks with a 91-82 victory Saturday night. LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 points and eight rebounds for the Blazers (3-3), who extended their modest winning streak to three games after dropping the first three of the season. Josh Howard had 20 points for Dallas (4-2), which had won its last three. Dallas had won the previous 13 games against the Trail Blazers , a streak dating to the 2003-4 season, including a six-game winning streak at the Rose Garden.

Denver Nuggets coach George Karl wouldn't reveal the contents of his motivational halftime speech on Saturday night. Whatever he said appeared to have the desired effect, though. The Nuggets, who trailed by 25 points in the first half, used Carmelo Anthony 's 32 points and 10 rebounds to pull out a 113-106 victory over the stunned Indiana Pacers. Denver shot 41 percent from the field and committed 13 turnovers before the break, leading to Karl's unpleasant lecture. The Nuggets (4-3) outscored Indiana 57-32 in the second half to win their second straight game following three losses.

NBA scores

NCAA Football

Top-ranked Ohio State's national title hopes teetered on a timeout, the ball inches from a first down for Illinois. Illini coach Ron Zook changed his mind, decided to go for it on fourth down and that was the beginning of the end for the Buckeyes' hopes of redeeming themselves in this season's national championship game. Juice Williams provided the big plays on the ground and through the air, spurring the Illini to a stunning 28-21 victory on Saturday night and throwing open the national title race for a bunch of teams that needed the Buckeyes to lose. It was the first time Illinois (8-3, 5-2 Big Ten) had beaten a No. 1 since 1956, and the first time it had done it away from home. The defeat also ended a conference and school streak of 20 Big Ten wins in a row by Ohio State (10-1, 6-1).

Marcus Henry was an under-appreciated underdog who turned into something special, the epitome of No. 5 Kansas' remarkable run from nowhere to a legitimate national title contender. Henry had a career-high 199 yards receiving and three touchdowns, Brandon McAnderson ran for 142 yards and two scores, and the Jayhawks stayed unbeaten with a 43-28 victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday night. A skinny receiver who no one else wanted, Henry turned in the game of his career in his return to his home state as Kansas (6-0 Big 12) moved to 10-0 for the first time since 1899. The senior from Lawton had the fourth-highest receiving total in school history and caught more than one touchdown pass in a game for the first time in his career. The Jayhawks are now the only unbeaten team left in the six conferences with an automatic bid to the BCS after top-ranked Ohio State was upset by Illinois earlier in the day.

Chauncey Washington 's first step was a doozy. The USC tailback slipped, tripped and tumbled to the waterlogged turf without being touched the first time he got the ball at California. Between an insistent rain and the Golden Bears ' sturdy defense, Washington could have been in for a long day. It turned into the greatest night of his college career, and the long-struggling senior kept his Trojans in the Rose Bowl hunt. Washington ran for a career-high 220 yards and a touchdown, and No. 12 USC beat No. 24 Cal 24-17 on Saturday night in a matchup that was much more tantalizing before both schools blew their national title hopes last month. John David Booty passed for 129 yards and a score for the Trojans (8-2, 5-2 Pac-10), who stayed in the conference and BCS races by faring slightly better in the steady precipitation that drenched Strawberry Canyon all night, causing both teams to flounder with footing, execution and tackling.

NCAA Football

What next for A-Rod?

This from Sports Illustrated:

The baseball players' union is worried commissioner Bud Selig is trying to hold down the price of Alex Rodriguez's next contract and that teams might be sharing information about their free-agent plans.

General managers, in an innovation, each spoke at their annual meeting Tuesday about their offseason goals, and many mentioned what players they were making available. The idea was suggested by this year's co-chairs, Boston's Theo Epstein and Florida's Larry Beinfest, and many GMs said they found it to be useful.

"Over the past few days, press reports coming out of the general managers' meetings relating to the sharing of information between clubs as to their plans regarding players potentially raise serious questions concerning the fairness and integrity of the free-agent market," the union said in a statement Thursday night after the four-day session ended. "Such questions are amplified by reports stating that the commissioner is attempting to influence the market for at least one player."

A person familiar with the union's statement said the player in question was Rodriguez. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the statement didn't refer to A-Rod by name...

Yeah, right, it couldn't possibly have anything to do with wanting a ridiculous and exorbitant amount of money for the next ten years, when A-Rod will be, what, 42 years old? Has anyone ever played third base, nevermind shortstop, into their forties? He sure isn't manager or coach material, since he's never shown any interest in being a team member or of any value in the clubhouse.

Would the GMs even have to have a meeting for the common sense light to dawn on all of them, that this is asking way too much? Does the union think the GMs are stupider than Scott Boras? Maybe the union execs, who are management in their own way despite trying to look like they represent the little guys (which A-Rod isn't close to being anyway), are trying to protect their own jobs. Boras and A-Rod have been all over the news thanks to their exquisite sense of timing and overdeveloped sense of A-Rod's value to any team. It wouldn't be a stretch for the owners and GMs to all be thinking at the exact same time, no way he's worth that much.

I can see some team paying him $200 million for five years, and that is $75 million more than what he would have made in the last five years of the 10-year $250 million contract with the Yankees that he declined to serve out. But that isn't enough, he wants another 10-year deal and a $100 million raise? I think not. I sure as hell hope not.

Philadelphia Phan represents

I found this comment on Curt Schilling's blog:

411 1993phillies

Philadelphia disowns you. I hate you and I’m burning my Schilling jersey. Thanks for the memories, oh wait, never mind.

Put a towel over your head now buddy.

And you painted your sock. You are pathetic. I hope the Yankees throttle the Red Sox and you guys finish behind the Devil Rays. Curt Schilling you are a TRAITOR.

PHILADELPHIA DISOWNS CURT SCHILLING.

Way to represent, jerk-off. I lived outside of Philadelphia for many years, and was born there, and let me tell you about the phans of Philly. They suck. They've had some great teams in Philadelphia and they were unappreciated by the majority of people who claim to be phans. Real fans recognize the ups and downs, but not in Philadelphia. Philly phans are a bunch of whining crybabies. The "athletes" they deserve would be like their ace quarterback from the Buddy Ryan days, Randall "omg I stubbed my toe, I need two weeks off" Cunningham. Pathetic. Philly phans wouldn't know what to make of Ol' Bloody Sock. For that matter, neither did his teammates when he was there. One thing is sure, they don't deserve him.

Opposing teams don't like playing in Philadelphia because of the boorish behavior of the phans. Ask them. You want to see real fans? Take a look at St. Louis. Or Green Bay. Now those are fans.