January 14, 2020 3:49 am
UNDATED (AP) – Baylor climbed to No. 2 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll after resounding road wins over Texas Tech and Kansas last week. Gonzaga maintained the top spot after breezing to a pair of victories while Duke dropped to third and unbeaten Auburn rose to fourth. Butler rounded out the first five, followed by the Jayhawks and another unbeaten in San Diego State. Oregon, Florida State and Kentucky rounded out the top 10. WVU is ranked 12th.
January 14, 2020 3:45 am
UNDATED (AP) – Joe Burrow’s latest virtuoso performance has turned the LSU Tigers into CFP champions. The Heisman Trophy winner threw for 463 yards and five touchdowns as the boys from Baton Rouge whipped the defending-champion Clemson Tigers, 42-25. Burrow also ran for 58 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries while guiding LSU to its third national championship since the 2003 season. The five TD passes and 463 yards passing are the most for a BCS or College Football Playoff title game as are his six total touchdowns. Burrow is the first major college quarterback to throw 60 touchdown passes in a season. Ja’Marr Chase was Burrow’s favorite target with nine receptions for 221 yards and two scores. Thaddeus Moss also had two touchdown grabs as LSU completed a 15-0 season while ending Clemson’s 29-game winning streak. Clyde Edwards-Helaire logged 164 yards of offense for LSU, including 110 on the ground. Clemson’s offense stalled after taking a 17-7 lead in the second quarter. Trevor Lawrence finished with 234 yards passing, but he completed just 18 of his 37 throws and had just 58 yards in the second half. Lawrence also ran for a one-yard score in the opening half. Clemson tailback Travis Etienne ran for 78 yards and one touchdown while LSU held Tee Higgins in check. Clemson’s top wideout was held to three catches for 52 yards, but he also scored on a 36-yard run. It’s the 10th national championship for an SEC school since 2006.
January 13, 2020 3:48 am
UNDATED (AP) – Kevin Stefanski was the runner-up for the Cleveland Browns’ head coaching position last winter. He finally got the gig. A person familiar with the decision says the Browns have chosen the Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator to replace Freddie Kitchens, who was dismissed after one season and a 6-10 record. The hiring came a day after Minnesota lost to San Francisco in the NFC divisional round. The 37-year-old Stefanski has been with the Vikings since 2006 and oversaw an offensive attack that flourished this season, headed by quarterback Kirk Cousins, running back Dalvin Cook and receiver Adam Thielen. Stefanski is the sixth coach hired by Browns owner Jimmy Haslam since he bought the team in 2012.
January 13, 2020 3:42 am
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Teddy Blueger scored the deciding goal in the eighth round of the shootout and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-3. Jared McCann, Patric Hornqvist and Brandon Tanev scored in regulation for the Penguins, who swept a three-game Western road trip. Evgeny Malkin had two assists and Tristan Jarry had 25 saves. Taylor Hall had a goal and an assist, and Conor Garland and Derek Stepan also scored for the Coyotes, who had been shutout in its previous two games. Adin Hill made 30 saves.
January 12, 2020 7:48 am
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Miles McBride took over when the shots weren’t falling for West Virginia. McBride scored a season-high 22 points, fellow freshman Oscar Tshiebwe added 17 rebounds and No. 17 West Virginia beat 22nd-ranked Texas Tech 66-54 on Saturday night. It marked the second time in two weeks that McBride gave West Virginia a huge lift. The Cincinnati native scored 21 points in a win over No. 11 Ohio State on Dec. 29. He also scored a team-high 18 points in a Nov. 26 win over Northern Iowa.
January 12, 2020 7:46 am
BALTIMORE (AP) — The Lamar Jackson who ran with abandon and thew 36 touchdown passes for the best team in the league failed to show up in the playoffs — again. During his marvelous second season in the NFL, Jackson was an All-Pro quarterback who carried the Baltimore Ravens to the best record in the league. Jackson amassed the most yards rushing by a quarterback in league history and was the catalyst of an offense that led the NFL in scoring. He put up some gaudy numbers on Saturday night against Tennessee — running for 143 yards and amassing 365 yards through the air — but Jackson also threw two interceptions, lost a fumble and failed twice on fourth-and-1 carries and led Baltimore to just one touchdown in a 28-12 upset loss.
January 11, 2020 3:58 am
DENVER (AP) – Jared McCann scored at 3:19 of overtime and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 for their fourth straight road win. Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust each had a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh, which recovered from blowing a late lead to pick up the two points. Matt Murray made 28 saves, Teddy Blueger also scored and Dominik Kahun had three assists. The Avalanche tied the game with 30.4 seconds left in regulation when Matt Calvert tipped in a shot by Cale Makar. Both teams had chances in overtime before McCann beat Pavel Francouz from the slot for his 12th goal of the season.
January 9, 2020 3:38 am
CLEVELAND (AP) – The Cleveland Browns are interviewing Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz for their coaching job. Schwartz brings head coaching experience to the meeting. He spent five seasons with the Detroit Lions from 2009-13. Schwartz is the sixth candidate to meet with the Browns. They are again looking for a coach after another losing season. Owner Jimmy Haslam promised a “disciplined” and “thorough” search last week and there’s no reason for the Browns to rush since they’re the only team still without a coach. They will interview Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski on Thursday and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels on Friday.
January 9, 2020 3:37 am
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) – Trey McGowens scored 24 points and Pittsburgh ended a 22-game losing streak in conference road games with a 73-65 victory against North Carolina. Justin Champagnie added 22 points for the Panthers (11-4, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who rallied from a 14-point deficit late in the first half.Pittsburgh won on the road in league play for the first time since it defeated Boston College 83-72 on Feb. 8, 2017. McGowens snapped a 56-56 tie by scoring eight consecutive points in a 90-second span, giving the Panthers the lead for good with seven minutes remaining.Garrison Brooks had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead North Carolina (8-7, 1-3).
January 8, 2020 3:48 am
UNDATED (AP) – Major League Baseball says it will investigate allegations the Boston Red Sox illegally used their video replay room to steal signs between opposing pitchers and catchers during their 2018 World Series championship season. The claims were made Tuesday in a report by The Athletic. The website cited three anonymous sources it said were with the Red Sox during the 2018 season who said some players visited the replay room during regular-season games to get information on sign sequences. The Red Sox say they will cooperate with MLB’s investigation into the allegations.
