PGA-WORLD CHALLENGE
Tiger Woods is within three shots of the lead following the opening round of his first tournament since a 10-month layoff following his fourth back surgery.
Woods shot a 3-under 69 to begin the Hero World Challenge at Nassau.
Tommy Fleetwood is the leader at 6 under, one shot ahead of Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar.
NFL-
New England at Buffalo Bills 1:00 p.m.
Kansas City at NY Jets 1:00 p.m.
Giants at Oakland Raiders 4:25 p.m.
Philadelphia Eagles at Seattle Seahawks 8:30 p.m.
COWBOYS/REDSKINS
The Dallas Cowboys have finally demonstrated that they can win without suspended running back Ezekiel Elliott, although the mistake-prone Redskins certainly helped.
The Cowboys' offense had been sputtering until Dak Prescott and former Redskin Alfred Morris led them to a 38-14 thrashing of Washington.
Prescott threw for two touchdowns, including a 13-yard toss to Dez Bryant that sparked the Cowboys' 21-point fourth quarter. It was Bryant's 72nd career TD reception with Dallas, breaking the franchise record set by Bob Hayes.
Morris finished with 127 yards rushing and scored on a one-yard plunge to put Dallas ahead 31-14 with 4:59 remaining.
The 6-6 Cowboys started quickly thanks to three first-half turnovers and four overall by the 5-7 Redskins. Dallas also outscored Washington 21-7 over the last two quarters after being outscored 72-6 in the second half of their first three games without Elliott.
Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins threw two interceptions and lost a fumble while throwing two touchdown passes. Cousins threw for 251 yards, but the Redskins managed just 56 on 19 carries.
NBA-SCHEDULE
The Philadelphia 76ers appear to have made great strides this season, and they gave the NBA's top team a scare on Thursday despite playing without one of their top players.
Kyrie Irving scored 36 points and the Boston Celtics bounced back from Monday's home loss to Detroit by dumping the Sixers 108-97. Al Horford added 21 points and eight rebounds, while Marcus Morris had 17 points to help the Celts improve to a league-best 19-4.
Boston led by five at the end of the third quarter but started the fourth by nailing seven of its first 11 shots to increase the margin to 95-82.
Dario Saric had a team-high 18 points for the 76ers, who played without center Joel Embiid on the second night of back-to-back games for Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, the Cavs stretched their winning streak to double digits by easing past the Hawks 121-114 in Atlanta. LeBron James had 24 points and 12 assists in his first game since being ejected for the only time in his NBA career. Kevin Love had 25 points and 16 rebounds for the Cavaliers, whose winning streak follows a 5-7 start.
Checking out Thursday's other NBA action:
— Khris Middleton dropped in 26 points and Eric Bledsoe had 25 as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Trail Blazers 103-91, snapping Portland's three-game winning streak. Giannis Antetokounmpo added 20 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots in the Bucks' fourth straight win over the Blazers.
— Alec Burks scored a season-high 28 points off the bench and the Jazz went on a 21-4 run in the fourth quarter to pull away in a 126-107 win over the Clippers. Rookie Donovan Mitchell was among seven Utah players to score in double figures, finishing with 24 points.
— Will Barton capped his career-high 37-point performance by hitting a driving layup with 3.2 seconds left to send Denver past Chicago 111-110. Gary Harris added 21 points as the Nuggets dealt the Bulls their seventh straight loss, which leaves Chicago a league-worst 3-17.
NBA-MAGIC-ROSS OUT
The Orlando Magic say forward Terrence Ross is out indefinitely with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee and a non-displaced fracture of the same leg.
Ross was injured in the second quarter of Wednesday's win over Oklahoma City. The team says an MRI on Thursday showed the extent of Ross' injuries, and that a timetable will likely be determined once he begins responding to treatment.
Ross started 20 of the Magic's first 22 games this season, averaging nine points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists.
Elsewhere in the NBA:
Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert is set to have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Friday morning. Shumpert was not available Tuesday night after playing seven minutes Monday night in a victory at Philadelphia.
TOP 25 MEN'S BASKETBALL-SCHEDULE
Local College Basketball
LIU Brooklyn beat Hartford 79 to 78.
And on the women’s side:
Seton Hall defeated Marist 85 to 60.
St. John’s beat UAlbany 71 to 66.
Third-ranked Michigan State still hasn't lost since dropping an 88-81 decision to top-ranked Duke 2 ½ weeks ago.
The Spartans are 6-1 and winners of five straight after Joshua Langford scored 12 of his 17 points in the first half of an easier-than-expected 81-63 victory against No. 5 Notre Dame. Langford helped Michigan State carry a 20-point advantage into intermission.
Cassius Winston also had 17 points to go with seven assists, while Miles Bridges added 14.
The Fighting Irish cut their big deficit to seven with 13:09 before falling to 6-1. Bonzie Colson provided 11 of his 17 points in the second half.
In other top-25 finals:
— D.J. Hogg and Admon Gilder scored 17 points each and ninth-ranked Texas A&M used a 16-0 start to defeat Texas-Rio Grande Valley 78-60. The Aggies led by seven points with more than seven minutes remaining before pulling away and staying undefeated at 7-0.
— No. 19 West Virginia was a 102-69 winner over NJIT behind Jevon Carter's 25 points, nine rebounds and five steals. The Mountaineers turned it into a laugher by reeling off a 36-16 spurt bridging the two halves.
— Myles Powell scored seven of his 19 points in a span of 45 seconds to lift Seton Hall to an 89-79 victory over No. 22 Texas Tech. Desi Rodriguez finished with 24 points while Khadeen Carrington had 16 for the 6-1 Pirates.
MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL NEWS
— Rick Pitino has sued the University of Louisville Athletic Association for $38.7 million, saying it breached his contract by placing him on unpaid administrative leave without notice and firing him last month with no legally justified "cause."
The ULAA fired the Hall of Fame coach on Oct. 16, weeks after he was placed on leave when Louisville acknowledged it was being investigated in a federal bribery probe of college basketball. Pitino is not named in the federal complaint and has denied participation in and knowledge of alleged payments to a recruit's family.
Pitino's lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court seeks liquidated contract damages of $4.307 million through 2026. It says the ULAA did not give him 10 days advance notice before it "effectively fired" him and insists that he followed suggestions to improve oversight following a sex scandal that has resulted in NCAA sanctions.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-NEWS
Florida State is bracing for the departure of its football coach.
A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that school officials think Jimbo Fisher will leave the Seminoles for Texas A&M and that FSU has started the process of vetting potential candidates.
Fisher reiterated Thursday that he expects to be on the sideline Saturday for the regular-season finale against Louisiana-Monroe.
The Seminoles were ranked third in the AP preseason poll but lost quarterback Deondre Francois in the opener against Alabama. They were 3-6 at one point before winning their last two. Florida State also needs a win on Saturday and in a bowl game to avoid its first losing season since 1976.
On another coaching front, Washington State's Mike Leach met with Tennessee athletic director John Currie on Thursday to discuss the Volunteers' coaching vacancy. That's according to a person with direct knowledge of the meeting.
Leach has been at Washington State for six years and is 38-37, but 26-12 the last three seasons. Before getting to Pullman, he was 84-43 in 10 seasons at Texas Tech.
In other college football news:
— A person familiar with the situation says North Carolina State head football coach Dave Doeren has accepted a five-year deal after talking with Tennessee officials about the school's opening. Financial terms of the deal weren't immediately available, and it is unclear if Doeren was formally offered the Tennessee job to replace fired coach Butch Jones.
— Clemson starting linebacker Tre Lamar will miss the top-ranked Tigers' Atlantic Coast Conference championship game with No. 7 Miami because of continuing shoulder problems. It will be the third straight game he's missed since getting hurt in Clemson's 31-14 win over Florida State on Nov. 11. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney held out hope that Lamar would be healthy enough to return.
— Joe Moorhead has been introduced as the new head football coach at Mississippi State, saying the "foundation is laid" for football success at the school. Moorhead spent the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator at Penn State.
— New Florida coach Dan Mullen has hired Todd Grantham as the team's defensive coordinator, bringing a third assistant with him from Mississippi State. Grantham is a Broyles Award nominee as the nation's top college assistant.
— Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph is the winner of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, which goes to college football's top senior or fourth-year senior quarterback. Rudolph has thrown for 35 touchdowns and leads the nation with 4,553 passing yards for the 18th-ranked Cowboys.
— Texas junior safety DeShon Elliott says he'll skip the Longhorns' bowl game and enter the NFL draft. The Thorpe Award finalist led the Longhorns with six interceptions as the Longhorns became bowl eligible for the first time since 2014.
— Prosecutors in Dallas say they have dismissed a 2016 misdemeanor domestic assault charge against Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel after he completed requirements of a court agreement. The agreement included taking an anger management course and participating in the NFL's substance abuse program after he was accused by a former girlfriend of hitting and threatening her during a night out last year.
NHL-SCHEDULE
The Los Angeles Kings are 2-0 on their current four-game road trip following a victory at Washington.
The Capitals led 2-1 until Jonny Brodzinski and Jussi Jokinen scored nine seconds apart midway through the second period of the Kings' 5-2 victory. Brodzinski knotted the score less than nine minutes after Evgeni Kuznetsov notched his second goal of the night to put Washington ahead.
Marian Gaborik scored his first two goals of the season and Jonathan Quick stopped 27 shots as the Kings won their third in a row.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— Mattias Janmark scored his second goal of the game 51 seconds into overtime to push the Stars past the Blackhawks 4-3. Radek Faksa had a goal and an assist to help Dallas get its third straight win.
— Rookie Brock Boeser had two goals and an assist, while Loui Eriksson tallied twice as the Canucks knocked off the Predators 5-3 at Nashville. Canucks forward Daniel Sedin collected three points to go over 1,000 for his career.
— Toronto squandered leads of 3-1 and 4-3 before Patrick Marleau scored the game-winner with 65 seconds left in the Maple Leafs' 6-4 verdict over the Oilers. Frederik Andersen stopped 41 shots and William Nylander had a goal and an assist for the Leafs.
— Charles Hudon and Andrew Shaw scored 43 seconds apart to put the Canadiens ahead to stay in a 6-3 win at Detroit. Carey Price stopped 28 shots and improved to 3-0 since missing 10 games with a lower-body injury.
— Minnesota earned a 4-2 win over Vegas as Eric Staal scored the go-ahead goal with 7:55 left before supplying an empty-netter. Devan Dubnyk turned back 29 shots as the Wild sent the Golden Knights to their second straight loss since a five-game winning streak.
— Mike Smith stopped 28 shots against his ex-team and Mark Jankowski scored twice as the Flames downed the Coyotes 3-0. Smith was making his first start against Arizona since being acquired by Calgary via trade in June.
NHL-NEWS
Canucks forward Derek Dorsett says he is devastated after deciding to follow medical advice and end his hockey career because of spinal problems. Doctors have recommended he not return to the ice because of "long-term, significant health risks" associated with a cervical disk herniation.
The 30-year-old underwent spinal surgery a year ago and was cleared to play this season. But he recently began experiencing back and neck stiffness.
In other NHL news:
— Rangers center Mika Zibanejad is in concussion protocol after missing the team's most recent game Tuesday against Florida. Zibanejad has been one of the Rangers' best offensive players this season, scoring 11 goals and 22 points in 24 games.
— Lightning forward Cedric Paquette was suspended for one game without pay by the NHL on Thursday for boarding Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug during Wednesday's game.
— The Devils have acquired defenseman Sami Vatanen from the Ducks for center Adam Henrique and forward Joseph Blandisi, a swap that includes draft picks.
—The Wild have claimed defenseman Nate Prosser off waivers from the St. Louis Blues, returning the nine-year NHL veteran to his home-state team for a third stint.
MLB-NEWS
The Angels have picked up bullpen help and given themselves a better chance to sign Japanese star Shohei Ohtani. The Angels have acquired Jim Johnson and the Braves' remaining $1.21 million in international bonus signing allocation for minor league lefty Justin Kelly. Johnson had 22 saves while spending the first four months of last season as the Braves' closer.
The deal raises Los Angeles' possible bonus offer to Shohei Ohtani to $1,315,000. Los Angeles had been 28th among the 30 teams in bonus space for the coveted Japanese pitcher and outfielder.
Also around the majors:
— The Braves have agreed to terms on a one-year, non-guaranteed contract with left-hander Rex Brothers to avoid arbitration. The 29-year-old Brothers was 4-3 with a 7.23 ERA in 27 games in 2017.
— Reliever Yusmeiro Petit has agreed to a two-year, $10 million package with the Athletics, pending a physical. The 33-year-old Venezuelan reliever will return to pitch in the Bay Area after spending the 2012-15 seasons across the bay with the Giants, helping them win World Series in '12 and '14.
— The Diamondbacks have acquired right-hander Brad Boxberger from the Rays for minor league right-hander Curtis Taylor. The 29-year-old Boxberger was an AL All-Star in 2015, when he led the league with 41 saves, but has battled injuries the past two seasons.
— Blue Jays television analyst Gregg Zaun has been fired from Sportsnet for "inappropriate behavior and comments" toward female employees. Sportsnet reported on its website that there were no allegations of physical or sexual assault.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
