NFL:
The Minnesota Vikings won another close game as they try to stay in the NFC playoff hunt.
Dalvin Cook rushed for 205 yards and two touchdowns in his faster-than-expected return from a shoulder injury, leading the Vikings to a 36-28 triumph over the Steelers. The Vikings had a 300-66 advantage in total yards in the first half and led 29-0 before allowing Pittsburgh to get back into the game.
Kirk Cousins was picked off twice in the second half, but he also threw a 62-yard scoring pass to K.J. Osborn that put Minnesota ahead, 36-20 with 11 minutes remaining.
Ben Roethlisberger rallied the Steelers with three touchdown passes over the final 17-plus minutes. He almost had a fourth on the final play, but the Vikings knocked the ball out of the hands of Pat Freiermuth.
The outcome leaves the Vikings 6-7 and drops the Steelers to 6-6-1.
Former Denver Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas has been found dead in his suburban Atlanta home, according to local police.
The public information officer for the police department in Roswell, Georgia, says preliminary information is that Thomas' death stems from a medical issue, and investigators currently have no reason to believe otherwise.
Thomas earned five straight Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl ring. He last played in the NFL in 2019, playing 11 games with 10 starts for the New York Jets.
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb has a core injury that will prevent him from playing Sunday against the Bears and could keep him out for much longer.
The 31-year-old has caught 28 passes for 375 yards and five touchdowns this season. That is Cobb’s highest single-season total for touchdown receptions since having six for Green Bay in 2015.
In other NFL news:
The Browns have placed starting linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. and punter Jamie Gillan on the reserve-COVID-19 list Thursday, making it unlikely they’ll be able to play Sunday against the Ravens. Earlier this week the Browns placed tight end David Njoku, who leads the team in yards receiving, on the COVID-19 list.
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy returned to practice on Thursday after a 10-day absence because of a positive COVID-19 test. McCarthy lit up social media by saying the Cowboys would beat Washington on Sunday, saying he’s confident in that.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL:
Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is The Associated Press college football player of the year, giving the Crimson Tide their second consecutive winner.
Young passed for 4,322 yards and 43 touchdowns, leading the top-ranked Tide to the Southeastern Conference championship and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. The sophomore received 42 of 53 first-place votes from AP Top 25 voters and 137 points to easily finish ahead of Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson.
Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett was third, followed by Alabama linebacker Will Anderson Jr. and Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Young, Huchinson, Pickett and Stroud are the finalists for the Heisman Trophy, which will be presented Saturday in New York.
Young also received the Maxwell Award as the best all-around player and the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award.
Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker III came away with the Walter Camp National Player of the Year and the Doak Walker Award as the outstanding running back.
Georgia lineman Jordan Davis won the Chuck Bednarik Trophy as the best defensive player, and the Outland Trophy as the outstanding interior lineman. Bulldogs teammate Nakobe (nah-KOH’-bee) Dean took the Dick Butkus Award as the best linebacker. And Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell is the Coach of the Year.
Also around college football:
Southern California receiver Drake London has declared his eligibility for the upcoming NFL draft after three seasons with the Trojans. London was named the Pac-12′s offensive player of the year this week after racking up 88 catches for 1,084 yards and seven touchdowns despite playing in only 7 1/2 games for USC.
NBA:
The Utah Jazz are on one of their hot streaks right now as they continue to dominate the NBA’s Northwest Division standings.
Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert carried the Jazz to their sixth straight win, a 118-96 trouncing of the 76ers in Philadelphia. Mitchell delivered a team-high 22 points and Gobert furnished 17 with 21 rebounds in his matchup against Joel Embiid.
Hassan Whiteside added 14 points and 10 rebounds for Utah.
Embiid contributed 19 points and nine rebounds for the 76ers, who lost for the second time in six games.
Checking out Thursday’s other NBA action:
Jaren Jackson Jr. dropped in 25 points and Desmond Bane added 23 in the Grizzlies’ sixth win in seven games, 108-95 versus the Lakers. Memphis pulled away by opening the final period on a 9-2 run, giving them the first double-digit lead for either team. Anthony Davis had a team-high 22 points for the Lakers and LeBron James had a triple-double with 20 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
Derrick White had 23 points and Lonnie Walker IV added 21 for the Spurs in their first victory in three games, 123-111 over the Nuggets. Dejounte Murray added 20 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for San Antonio. Denver center Nikola Jokic had 22 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his fifth triple-double of the season.
The Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors canceled their Thursday practices, citing an abundance of caution with COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
Pacers guard Justin Holiday has not played since entering the health and safety protocols on Nov. 30. Indiana is scheduled to host Dallas on Friday.
The Raptors haven’t had any positive COVID-19 tests since the season began. Team officials have said all players are fully vaccinated.
Bulls forward Derrick Jones Jr. also entered the protocol Thursday, the fifth Chicago player in nine days to join the list.
And the Raptors announced that team president Masai Ujiri had tested positive for COVID-19 and is isolating at home.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL:
Expect another change atop the AP men’s basketball poll following Purdue’s 70-68 loss at Rutgers.
Ron Harper Jr. won it by draining a halfcourt shot at the buzzer, leaving him with a career-high 30 points and 10 rebounds in the Scarlet Knights’ first win ever against a top-ranked team. Harper had eight points during a 12-0 run that put the Knights ahead, but the Boilermakers eventually led by as many as 10.
Jaden Ivey had a team-high 15 points for Purdue, which is ranked No. 1 for the first time in program history.
Also in top-25 action:
Fifth-ranked Gonzaga pounded Merrimack, 80-55 as Drew Timme furnished 22 points on 8 of 8 shooting. Freshman center Chet Holmgren had 15 points and 15 rebounds in the Bulldogs’ 57th consecutive home win. Julian Strawther added 15 points for the 8-2 Bulldogs.
Seton Hall has defeated a top-10 men’s basketball team for the second time this season. Jared Rhoden scored 18 points and hit the go-ahead basketball to lead the 23rd-rated Pirates past seventh-ranked Texas, 64-60. Bryce Aiken scored five of his 10 points in down the stretch as the Pirates improved to 8-1.
Izaiah Brockington had 29 points and 10 rebounds as No. 17 Iowa State dominated rival Iowa in a 73-53 victory. Brockington made his first nine shots and finished 11 for 14 from the field to help the surprising Cyclones remain undefeated after going 2-22 last season.
Sunday’s scheduled game between fifth-ranked Gonzaga and Washington has been canceled due to COVID-19 protocols within the Huskies program.
It’s the third straight Washington game to be postponed or canceled since a COVID-19 outbreak hit the Huskies last week.
Both schools say they will be working to find a date for the game to be played in Spokane next season.
In women’s college basketball, George Tech defeated UConn, 57-44.
NHL:
The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to struggle since losing Mitch Marner to a shoulder injury last Friday.
Steven Stamkos provided a goal and three assists as the Tampa Bay Lightning earned their fifth straight win, 5-2 in Toronto. Ondrej Palat scored twice in support of Andre Vasilevskiy, who turned back 35 shots in sending the Leafs to their third loss in four games since Marner got hurt.
Ondrej Kase had two goals for the Maple Leafs.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
The Wild's winning streak is up to eight games after Jordan Greenway scored twice in their 5-2 decision over the Sharks. Kevin Fiala, Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov also scored for the Wild, who took over the NHL lead with 39 points. Cam Talbot made 33 saves to improve to 15-5.
Matt Grzelcyk scored his first goal of the season in the final minutes of the third period to push the Bruins past the Oilers, 3-2. Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk also scored as Boston ended a two-game skid. Leon Draisaitl had two goals for the Oilers, who dropped their fourth straight game.
Sebastian Aho scored his second goal of the game 4:07 into overtime to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 victory at Calgary. Frederik Andersen made 26 saves in the win, including a stop on Noah Hanifin’s penalty shot early in the game. Hanifin had the Flames’ lone goal.
Nathan Walker recorded his first career hat trick and fourth-string goaltender Charlie Lindgren made 29 saves in leading the Blues’ 6-2 win over the Red Wings. The Blues recalled Walker from their AHL affiliate under emergency conditions Wednesday, and Lindgren made his first NHL start since March 2020.
Jonathan Quick made 27 saves for his second shutout of the season and 56th of his career, highlighting the Kings' 4-0 win over the Stars. Adrian Kempe and Arthur Kaliyev scored before Los Angeles added a pair of empty-netters.
The Jets came away with a 3-0 win over the Kraken as Kyle Connor furnished two goals and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 25 shots. Dominic Toninato also scored for the Jets, winners in four of their last six games.
The Ducks pulled out a 2-1 win at Columbus on shootout goals by Trevor Zegras and Rickard Rakell. Isac Lundestrom scored in regulation and John Gibson stopped 33 shots as Anaheim handed the Blue Jackets their sixth loss in seven games.
Eeli Tolvanen scored with 11.5 seconds left in the third period to complete the Predators’ third-period comeback in a 4-3 victory over the Islanders. New York has lost all seven of its home games at brand new UBS Arena.
Marc-Andre Fleury became the third goaltender with 500 career wins as he made 27 saves in the Blackhawks’ 2-0 shutout of the Canadiens. Jonathan Toews and Henrik Borgstrom scored for Chicago.
The Arizona Coyotes have paid off their overdue bills a day after receiving word the city of Glendale was going to lock them out of Gila River Arena if they didn’t get caught up. Glendale city manager Kevin Phelps sent a letter informing the Coyotes they owe $1.3 million, including $250,000 to the city. The Coyotes issued a statement saying the unpaid bills were an unfortunate human error and they would rectify the situation quickly.
Also around the NHL:
The Canucks hired veteran NHL executive Jim Rutherford as team president. Rutherford will also serve as interim general manager while leading the search for a permanent replacement. The Canucks cleaned house on Sunday, firing GM Jim Benning, head coach Travis Green and other front-office staff.
COLLEGE ATHLETICS:
Florida State has hired Michael Alford as vice president and athletic director to succeed David Coburn, who is retiring.
Alford will begin his new duties on Jan. 3. He had served as president and CEO of Seminole Boosters since last year and has extensive experience in collegiate and pro sports with fundraising, hiring and managing in athletics.
Meanwhile, Vince Tyra has resigned as Louisville’s athletic director. That ends a challenging four-year tenure in which he shepherded the Cardinals’ men’s basketball program through several NCAA investigations in between hiring head coaches for that sport and football.
SOCCER:
Brazilian soccer great Pelé said Thursday he will remain in a hospital in Sao Paulo “for a few days” to undergo new exams on his colon tumor.
The 81-year-old Edson Arantes do Nascimento was brought to the Albert Einstein hospital this week for chemotherapy sessions to treat the tumor found during routine exams at the end of August. Pelé was hospitalized for almost one month due to the surgery to remove it.