Stetson Bennett threw two touchdown passes and ran for two scores in the first half as No. 1 Georgia demolished No. 3 TCU 65-7 to become the first team to win consecutive College Football Playoff national championships. The Bulldogs became the first repeat champs since Alabama went back-to-back a decade ago and left no doubt that they have replaced the Crimson Tide as the new bullies on the block. TCU, the first Cinderella team of the CFP era, never had a chance against the Georgia juggernaut and suffered the most lopsided loss in a national title game dating to the start of the BCS in 1998.
Stetson Bennett and Brock Bowers showed off their remarkable partnership one last time in the College Football Playoff championship game. Bowers caught seven passes for 152 yards and a touchdown from Bennett during Georgia's 65-7 demolition of TCU. Bennett walked on at Georgia nearly six years ago and caught a ride for the Bulldogs' remarkable growth into the sport's dominant program. Bowers arrived two years ago from the West Coast, and the tight end has known nothing but championships during his brief tenure. Bowers epitomizes the Bulldogs' present and future in their ability to recruit anywhere and turn anybody into a champion.
Reggie Bush, whose Heisman Trophy victory for Southern California in 2005 was later vacated because of NCAA violations, is among 18 players in the latest College Football Hall of Fame class. Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, who won the Heisman in 2007, was also elected to the Hall by the National Football Foundation, along with Dwight Freeney of Syracuse; Luke Kuechly of Boston College; LaMichael James of Oregon and Michael Bishop of Kansas State. Bush played on two national championship teams with USC and led the Trojans to another title game in 2005.
Georgia is No. 1 in the final Associated Press college football poll, becoming the 12th back-to-back national champion in the history of the rankings after routing TCU. The Horned Frogs were No. 2, their best final rankings since the 2010 season. Michigan was No. 3, followed by Ohio State and Alabama. The Bulldogs won the College Football Playoff national championship game 65-7 to secure their third AP title overall. Their first came in 1980. Georgia also became the 14th school with as many as three AP national titles.
Doctors who treated Damar Hamlin say the Bills safety was moved to a hospital in Buffalo to continue his recovery. It's an uplifting sign of the remarkable progress Hamlin has made a week after going into cardiac arrest and having to be resuscitated on the field during a game in Cincinnati. Hamlin was discharged from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in the morning and flown to Buffalo, where Dr. William Knight said he was "doing well.” Hamlin’s return comes a day after he cheered on the Bills from his hospital bed during their 35-23 win over the New England Patriots. The game proved to be a cathartic outpouring of support for the Bills and Hamlin.
Seven of the 14 teams in this year’s playoffs didn’t make the field last season, giving the NFL’s upcoming wild-card weekend a mix of traditional powerhouses and underdogs. Tom Brady begins his quest for an unprecedented eighth Super Bowl title when his Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Dallas Cowboys next Monday night. Meanwhile, Jacksonville second-year standout Trevor Lawrence and Seattle veteran Geno Smith will be among at least five quarterbacks making their playoff debuts. The Seahawks were the last team to make the playoffs when they got the help they needed from the Detroit Lions, who beat Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
NBA
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and the Milwaukee Bucks used 3-point shooting to wipe out a 17-point deficit in the second half and beat the New York Knicks 111-107. Joe Ingles added a season-high 17 points and Brook Lopez also scored 17 for the Bucks, who made 12 3-pointers after falling behind 70-53 with five minutes remaining in the third quarter. Jalen Brunson scored a career-high 44 points for the Knicks, adding seven assists. Julius Randle had 25 points, 16 rebounds and five assists, but was just 1 for 12 from 3-point range.
Jayson Tatum scored 32 points, Jaylen Brown added 19 as the Boston Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls 107-99 Monday night and reached the midway point of their season with the NBA’s best record. Grant Williams added 20 points and Al Horford had seven rebounds and eight points, including a clutch 3-pointer with 24 seconds to play that helped seal the win for the defending Eastern Conference champions, who are 29-12 after the first 41 games. Zach LaVine led Chicago with 27 points, scoring 15 in the fourth quarter while leading the Bulls’ furious comeback bid. Chicago, which had won three straight, lost DeMar DeRozan in the third quarter with a strained right quadriceps.
Jamal Murray scored a season-high 34 points, Nikola Jokic recorded his 11th triple-double of the season and the Denver Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 122-109 on Monday night in a game where LeBron James sat out due to a sore left ankle. Jokic finished with 14 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 16 assists to help the Nuggets win their 11th straight home game. It’s their longest home streak since capturing 12 in a row in 2018. Russell Westbrook finished with 25 and Thomas Bryant added 17 along with 10 boards. The Lakers saw their five-game winning streak halted.
NHL
Joel Farabee had two points and Samuel Ersson made 28 saves to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Ersson earned his first career NHL shutout against the league’s highest scoring team and gave the Flyers their fifth win in six games. Farabee’s goal and assist came 1:27 apart in the first period. Zack MacEwen, Noah Cates and Wade Allison scored for Philadelphia. Craig Anderson made 34 saves for Buffalo, which was shutout for the first time this season and lost for just the second time in the past 10 games.
Vince Dunn and Eeli Tolvanen each had a goal and an assist, Martin Jones stopped 21 shots for his second shutout of the season as the Seattle Kraken beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-0 for their fifth straight win. Daniel Sprong and Matty Beniers also scored, and Yanni Gourde had two assists in his return to his home province of Quebec. The Kraken have outscored opponents 26-8 during their win streak. Jones had six saves in the first period, nine in the second and six in the third to get his 27th career shutout. Samuel Montembeault had 37 saves for Montreal, which snapped a seven-game skid with a 5-4 win against St. Louis on Saturday.
Filip Forsberg had a goal and an assist and the Nashville Predators beat the Ottawa Senators 3-0 on Monday night. Forsberg beat Cam Talbot in the Ottawa net at 7:30 in the third to give the Predators a fourth straight win. Predators netminder Juuse Saros made 38 saves for his first shutout of the season and the 18th of his NHL career. Roman Josi and Jeremy Lauzon also scored for the Predators. Talbot made 30 saves for the Senators, who have now lost two straight.
SKIING
American alpine skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin will attempt to surpass retired compatriot Lindsey Vonn for most World Cup wins by a woman, targeting an 83rd victory when she competes in the night slalom in Austria today/Tuesday. Shiffrin matched Lindsey Vonn with career win No. 82 in an early morning giant slalom in Slovenia on Sunday.
NWSL
The National Women’s Soccer League has permanently banned four coaches and announced disciplinary action against several other individuals and teams in response to an investigation into alleged abuse and misconduct. Former North Carolina coach Paul Riley, former Chicago Red Stars coach Rory Dames, former Washington Spirit coach Richie Burke and former Racing Louisville coach Christy Holly can't coach in the NWSL again. The league and its players association announced results of their investigation last month. The investigation found “widespread misconduct” directed at players dating back nearly a decade.
