COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Jim Harbaugh and No. 1 Michigan completed a three-year climb to a national championship by beating No. 2 Washington 34-13 last night in the College Football Playoff title game. Blake Corum ran for 134 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns for the Wolverines. Michigan was undeterred by suspensions and a sign-stealing case that shadowed the program much of the season. The Wolverines sealed their first national title since 1997 when Corum blasted in from the 1-yard line with 3:37 left. Harbaugh delivered the title so many expected when he took over a struggling powerhouse in 2015.
Now the Wolverines and their fans wait and see if Jim Harbaugh stays or goes. Harbaugh deflected all questions about his future, but decision time is drawing near as NFL franchises begin or consider searching for new coaches. Harbaugh looked into NFL jobs the last two years before deciding to stay at Michigan. It’s possible he won’t this time.
Michael Penix Jr. couldn’t complete the final chapter in his storybook season. The quarterback with two surgically repaired knees threw for 255 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions as No. 2 Washington fell to top-ranked Michigan 34-13 in the College Football Playoff title game. Penix returned for a sixth season to try and help the Huskies to a title, but his performance wasn’t enough to overcome a terrible start by his team’s defense.
Michigan looked like it would run away from Washington early in the College Football Playoff championship game. But the Wolverines mostly plodded along until they put together the game-defining, 71-yard drive that put them up two touchdowns midway through the fourth quarter. Blake Corum, Donovan Edwards and the linemen in front of them were poised to make fast work of the Huskies. The pair led a ground game that generated 174 yards in the first quarter alone. The first three possessions netted 235. The next seven produced just 115 yards and three three-and-outs.
NBA
Bennedict Mathurin scored 26 points, including the deciding free throws with 0.6 seconds remaining, and the Indiana Pacers rallied after losing All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton to a hamstring injury to beat the Boston Celtics 133-131. Haliburton suffered a left hamstring strain after he slipped and did the splits on a drive in the second quarter. He was carried to the locker room by two teammates. Mathurin was fouled by Kristaps Porzingis on a 3-pointer just before time expired. The call was reviewed and upheld. Mathurin sank the first two free throws and missed the third on purpose. Jaylen Brown scored 40 points for the Celtics with Jayson Tatum sitting out.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points, Chet Holmgren added 31 and the Oklahoma City Thunder led most of the way in a 136-128 victory over the Washington Wizards. Jalen Williams added 21 points and 10 assists for the Thunder, who avoided a third loss following defeats at Atlanta and Brooklyn to begin a four-game road trip. Oklahoma City went 59.1% from the floor and 50% from 3-point range, narrowly missing season highs in both categories. Holmgren spearheaded that effort, making 11 of 14 shots and going 4 of 5 from beyond the arc. Jordan Poole scored 24 points, and Kyle Kuzma added 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in Washington’s fifth-straight defeat.
Coby White scored 27 points, Andre Drummond added 21 points and 15 rebounds and the Chicago Bulls overcame a 39-point performance from Terry Rozier to beat the Charlotte Hornets 119-112 in overtime. Nikola Vucevic added 21 points and nine rebounds in his second game back from an injury for the Bulls, who defeated the Hornets. Rozier had seven 3-pointers was 12-for-12 from the foul line for Charlotte. Miles Bridges added 24 points for the Hornets, who remain without starters LaMelo Ball, Mark Williams and Gordon Hayward and key reserves P.J. Washington and Cody Martin due to injuries. Charlotte has lost 13 of its last 14 games.
Tyler Herro scored 28 points, Bam Adebayo finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and the Miami Heat topped the Houston Rockets 120-113 on Monday night. Kevin Love scored 15 points for Miami, while Duncan Robinson and Jaime Jaquez Jr. each had 14 for the Heat. Josh Richardson finished with 12 for Miami. Adebayo had 10 of his points in the fourth quarter. Fred VanVleet led all scorers with 32 points for the Rockets, who opened a six-game road trip. Alperen Sengun scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Houston, which got 11 points apiece from Cam Whitmore and Jalen Green. Houston was without Dillon Brooks (right oblique strain) for the seventh consecutive game.
Jordan Clarkson and Lauri Markkanen had 21 points apiece and the Utah Jazz staved off a second-half rally for a 132-116 victory over Milwaukee, the Bucks fourth loss in five games. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists for the Bucks. John Collins, Collin Sexton and Keyonte George each had 19 points for Utah, which has won five of its last six and is 11-4 over its last 15 games. Milwaukee was without guard Damian Lillard, averaging 25.1 points per game, who was out for personal reasons. The Bucks, who trailed 77-46 at the half, scored 44 points in the third quarter to pull within 100-90 entering the final period.
Paul George scored 25 points, Ivica Zubac added 19 and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Suns 138-111 for the second time in five days. James Harden had 19 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists for the Clippers. They won 131-122 in Phoenix last Wednesday and have won six of seven overall. Kevin Durant scored 20 of his 30 points in the first half for the Suns. Devin Booker added 20 points. The Clippers shot a season-best 67% in the first half. They ran away from the Suns in the fourth, opening with a 17-5 run including 15 in a row to go up 118-96.
Ja Morant’s season is over, with the Memphis Grizzlies announcing that their star guard needs surgery to repair a tear in his right shoulder. Morant got hurt in practice on Saturday, the Grizzlies said. He was in a sling for the Grizzlies’ game against Phoenix on Sunday, and then the news came a day later about how serious the issue us. Morant missed the first 25 games of the season while serving an NBA suspension for displaying a gun on social media. He returned and averaged 25.1 points in nine games, with the Grizzlies going 6-3 in those contests.
NHL
Elias Pettersson and Nils Hoglander each scored twice, Thatcher Demko made 39 saves and the Vancouver Canucks defeated the New York Rangers 6-3 in battle of first-place teams. JT Miller and Brock Boeser also scored goals while and Pettersson, Boeser and Filip Hronek had two assists for Vancouver, which won for the third time in four games. Vincent Trocheck had two goals and Artemi Panarin also scored for the Rangers, who lost their second straight for just the second time this season. Alexis Lafreniere had two assists.
Valeri Nichushkin scored the only goal in the shootout to give the Colorado Avalanche a 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins. The first five shooters couldn’t convert but Nichushkin beat Jeremy Swayman with a shot under his glove. Sam Malinski, Mikko Rantanen and Logan O’Connor had goals and Alexandar Georgiev had 24 saves through overtime and three more in the shootout for the Avalanche. Brad Marchand had two goals, John Beecher also scored and Swayman stopped 33 shots for Boston, which opened a four-game road trip with a loss.
Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in a scrappy contest on Monday night. Rickard Rakell, Erik Karlsson and Chad Ruhwedel also scored for Pittsburgh. Alex Nedeljkovic made 36 saves for the Penguins. Owen Tippett scored for the Flyers, who have lost seven of nine. Carter Hart made 36 stops.
Matt Murray stopped 23 shots for his first career NHL shutout, and Dallas scored two short-handed goals to snap a three-game losing streak with a 4-0 win at Minnesota. Murray earned his second NHL victory in his fourth career game. The undrafted 25-year-old from Alberta played five years of college hockey at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, winning a national championship in 2021. Tyler Seguin and Roope Hintz each had a goal and an assist for Dallas. Radek Faksa also scored short-handed and Jason Robertson added a goal.
GOLF
Tiger Woods is no longer a Nike athlete after 27 years, ending a partnership between the swoosh and golf’s biggest star and raising questions about the future of both in the sport. Woods in a social media post thanked Nike co-founder Phil Knight for his “passion and vision” that brought Nike and the Nike Golf partnership with Woods together. Mark Steinberg, his agent at Excel Sports, confirmed the end of the deal that began in 1996. Nike also posted to social media, saying in a photo, “It was a hell of a round, Tiger.”
NFL
It was a slow “Black Monday” across the NFL while everyone waits on Bill Belichick’s future with the New England Patriots. The Washington Commanders, as expected, fired coach Ron Rivera after his fourth straight losing season. The Carolina Panthers fired general manager Scott Fitterer after finishing an NFL-worst 2-15. The Atlanta Falcons didn’t even wait until Monday to fire Arthur Smith, releasing him late Sunday night, hours after a dismal 48-17 loss at New Orleans on a day that began with a division title still within grasp if Tampa Bay had lost. The Commanders and Falcons join the Panthers, Raiders and Chargers in a search for a new head coach. Whether the Patriots join that list is the big question.
Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys made sure they’ll start the playoffs at home, where they’re undefeated. Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills are going home with a division title instead of heading back to Miami for a rematch. The NFL playoff field is set. Fourteen teams will compete for a trip to Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas next month. The postseason starts with six games across three days over wild-card weekend. The Bills rallied for a 21-14 win over the Dolphins to clinch their fourth straight AFC East title and the No. 2 seed. The Packers and Buccaneers got in with wins earlier in the day. The Steelers secured their spot when the Jaguars collapsed in Tennessee.
Saints coach Dennis Allen is taking a nuanced view of his players’ decision to go against coaches' wishes by orchestrating a 1-yard touchdown run by Jamaal Williams in the final minute of a season-ending 48-17 victory over Atlanta. Allen stuck by his comments immediately after Sunday’s game that players were wrong to overrule coaches. But he also painted his players’ conduct in that moment as an isolated incident stemming from an opportunity to help Williams score his only touchdown this season. Allen says he judges the staff's relationship with players more by the effort he witnessed in the Saints' four convincing victories in their last five games.
© 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
