Hall of Fame broadcaster Dick Enberg has died at age 82, according to his daughter, Nicole.
Enberg retired in October 2016 after a 60-year career — and countless calls of "Oh my!" in describing a play that nearly defied description. He got his big break with UCLA basketball and went on to call Super Bowls, Olympics and Final Fours, along with Angels and Padres baseball games.
His daughter said the family became concerned when he didn't arrive on his flight to Boston on Thursday, and that he was found dead at his home in La Jolla, a San Diego neighborhood, with his bags packed.
NBA-SCHEDULE
It was a pretty good day for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They ran their home winning streak to 12 games, improved to 19-2 in their last 21 overall and moved Isaiah Thomas a step closer to being activated.
LeBron James scored 11 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter and hit a pair of free throws with 11.1 seconds left as the Cavs got by the Bulls 115-112. Kevin Love added 27 points and seven rebounds for the Cavaliers, who played without head coach Tyronn Lue due to an undisclosed illness.
Chicago's Denzel Valentine was short with a tying 3-pointer in the final second, ending the Bulls' seven-game winning streak. Rookie Lauri Markkanen scored 25 points and Valentine had 18 for the Bulls.
Cleveland's win came hours after Thomas was assigned to the team's G-League affiliate at Canton to participate in full-court scrimmages. Thomas has missed the entire season as he recovers from a hip injury suffered with the Celtics during the Eastern Conference finals last spring.
Checking out last night's other NBA action:
— Michael Beasley scored 28 of his season-high 32 points in the second half to lead the Knicks past the Celtics 102-93. New York won for the fifth time in six games despite a poor performance from Kristaps Porzingis, who was 0 for 11 from the field and finished with one point after missing two games with a sore left knee.
— Toronto picked up its fifth straight win as DeMar DeRozan set career highs with six 3-pointers and 45 points as the Raptors rallied to beat the 76ers 114-109. Kyle Lowry had 23 points for the Raptors, who trailed by 22 in the third quarter before dealing the Sixers their eighth loss in nine games.
— Rodney Hood scored nine straight points during a 13-2, fourth-quarter run that put the Jazz in control in a 100-89 triumph over the Spurs. Hood finished with 29 points and Ricky Rubio added 11 with 11 rebounds as Utah halted San Antonio's three-game winning streak.
— Former Memphis guard Troy Daniels hit a 3-pointer with 17 seconds to play to give Phoenix the lead in a 97-95 win over the Grizzlies. T.J. Warren finished with a team-high 27 points and Daniels added 14 off the bench in the Suns' third win in four games.
MLB-NEWS
The Cleveland Indians have filled a vacuum at first base, while the Milwaukee Brewers completed the back end of their rotation.
The Indians have worked out a two-year, $16 million contract with Yonder Alonso, pending a physical that would finalize the deal. Alonso was selected to the All-Star game for the first time last season before finishing with a .266 average, a career-high 28 home runs and 67 RBIs in time spent with the Athletics and Mariners.
He replaces Carlos Santana, who accepted a free-agent package with the Phillies earlier this month.
Meanwhile, the Brewers have finalized contracts with free agent right-handers Jhoulys Chacin and Yovani Gallardo Chacin was 13-10 with a 3.89 ERA in 32 starts for the Padres this year. Gallardo is back with Milwaukee after going 5-10 with a hefty 5.72 ERA for the Mariners in 2017.
Also in the majors:
— The Washington Nationals have finalized their two-year, $10 million package with reliever Brandon Kintzler. The 33-year-old right-hander went 2-1 with a 3.46 ERA, 10 holds and one save in 27 games with the Nationals after being acquired from Minnesota at the July 31 trade deadline. Kintzler had 28 saves in 32 chances for the Twins and was a first-time AL All-Star.
— The Rangers have signed right-handed pitchers Shawn Tolleson and Paolo Espino to minor league contracts with invitations to major league spring training.
NHL-SCHEDULE
The Pittsburgh Penguins were able to turn around their recent struggles while preventing the Columbus Blue Jackets from moving into a three-way tie with New Jersey and Washington for the NHL's Metropolitan Division lead.
Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang scored in the shootout as the Pens knocked off the Blue Jackets 3-2. Malkin also scored a go-ahead goal with 4:57 left in regulation, but the Jackets earned a point in the standings on Artemi Panarin's goal 71 seconds later.
Patric Hornqvist also scored and Matt Murray stopped 30 shots as the Penguins won for the second time in their last six games.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— The Lightning won for the eighth time in nine games behind shootout goals by Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos in a 4-3 decision over the Senators. Vladislav Namestnikov tied it midway through the third period before Tampa Bay improved to a league-best 25-7-2.
— Brian Boyle scored the tying goal in the third period and the game-winner in a shootout against his former team as the Devils nipped the Rangers 4-3. John Moore and Blake Coleman also scored for New Jersey, which fired 48 shots on Henrik Lundqvist and earned its third straight win to pull even with the Capitals atop the Metropolitan Division.
— Tuukka Rask turned back 37 shots and Charlie McAvoy scored the deciding shootout goal on his 20th birthday to lift the Bruins over the Jets 2-1. Torey Krug opened the scoring 8:16 into the third period, but Patrik Laine tied it 57 seconds later before Boston won for the sixth time in its last seven games.
— Winnipeg is in a first-place tie with Nashville and St. Louis in the Central Division after Drake Caggiula's goal with 50 seconds left gave the Oilers a 3-2 win over the Blues. Michael Cammalleri and Connor McDavid also scored for the Oilers, who won for the fourth time in five games and dealt the Blues their third consecutive loss.
— The Predators were 4-1 losers to Carolina as Noah Hanifin provided a goal and two assists in the Hurricanes' fourth win in five games. Cam Ward made 28 saves and was perfect following Kevin Fiala's goal late in the first period.
— Dustin Brown scored 44 seconds into overtime to send the Kings past the Avalanche 2-1. Alec Martinez tied it midway through the third period before Brown gave Los Angeles a two-point lead over Vegas in the Pacific Division.
— San Jose remains eight points off the Pacific lead after Kevin Labanc capped his four-point night by netting the game-winner in the Sharks' 5-4 victory over Vancouver. Labanc set up Joe Thornton's two goals and finished with three assists as the Sharks won for the first time in three games.
— Tyler Seguin scored twice in the second period and Ben Bishop earned his 22nd career shutout by handling 24 shots to lead the Stars past the Blackhawks 4-0. Jamie Benn and Antoine Roussel also tallied in Ken Hitchcock's 800th win as an NHL head coach.
— Ryan Getzlaf set up the tying and winning goals in the Ducks' 5-4 overtime win against the Islanders. Hampus Lindholm scored the game-winner after Rickard Rakell tied it with 1:15 left in regulation.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-GASPARILLA BOWL
The Temple Owls have completed a winning season in Geoff Collins' first year as head coach.
Frank Nutile threw for 254 yards and a touchdown to lead Temple to a 28-3 victory over Florida International in the Gasparilla Bowl. Nutile teamed with Isaiah Wright on 45-yard TD play in the fourth quarter after scoring on a 4-yard run to give the 7-6 Owls an early lead.
NFL SCHEDULE
Matchups to watch this weekend:
On Sunday, Dec. 24, The Buffalo Bills will take on the New England Patriots at 1:00 p.m., Los Angeles Chargers will play the New York Jets at 1:00 p.m., and the New York Giants face the Arizona Cardinals at 4:25 p.m.
On Monday, Dec. 25, the Pittsburgh Steelers will play in Houston against the Texans at 4:30 p.m., and the Oakland Raiders take on the Philadelphia Eagles at 8:30 p.m.
NFL-NEWS
The NFL says Jerry Richardson made his own decision to sell the Carolina Panthers.
NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart said during a conference call that "there was no pressure from the league on Mr. Richardson" to sell his team. Lockhart added that Richardson "came to the conclusion over that weekend that putting his team up for sale was what he wanted to do. We found out about it shortly before the announcement came out."
Lockhart says the NFL will hire an outside counsel to conduct the Richardson investigation, but a final decision has not been made on which firm.
Checking out other NFL news:
— The Seahawks have been fined $100,000 for not properly following concussion protocol with quarterback Russell Wilson during a game in November. A league investigation determined that Wilson was allowed back on the field before a required evaluation was performed on the sideline, making Seattle the first team fined for such a violation.
— The New York Giants say ESPN analyst and former player Louis Riddock has interviewed for their general manager vacancy, meeting with co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch along with former GM Ernie Accorsi. The team has interviewed two others since firing Jerry Reese and head coach Ben McAdoo on Dec. 4.
— Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon denies he sexually harassed a former assistant. Wendy Haskell filed the lawsuit in Orange County, California, this month, asserting that Moon made "unwanted and unsolicited" sexual advances while she worked for Sports 1 Marketing. Moon said in an interview with KIRO-FM that he had a friendship with Haskell prior to her being hired as his assistant last summer and that their relationship was never sexual.
— Papa John's says its founder John Schnatter will step down as CEO next month, about two months after he publicly criticized the NFL leadership over national anthem protests by football players. The company says Schnatter remains chairman but be replaced as chief executive by Chief Operating Officer Steve Ritchie on Jan. 1.
— The NFL has told its officials not to use index cards or any other paper to aid in measurements after veteran referee Gene Steratore did that in Sunday's Cowboys-Raiders game. NFL officiating chief Alberto Riveron admitted that using a piece of paper was very unusual but added that Steratore made the decision strictly on visual affirmation that the ball made the line to gain.
T25 MEN'S BASKETBALL-SCHEDULE
Second-ranked Michigan State remains perfect since a close loss to Duke last month.
Miles Bridges scored 17 points and had nine rebounds as the Spartans won their 11th in a row 102-60 against Long Beach State. Nick Ward added 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting, while Joshua Langford contributed 17 points.
The surprise of the night occurred in Southern California as San Diego State upset No. 12 Gonzaga 72-70. Senior Trey Kell scored 10 of his 14 points in the final 2:56. Redshirt freshman Jalen McDaniels provided 10 of his 15 points in the second half as the Aztecs dropped the Bulldogs to 10-3.
In other top-25 finals:
— Duane Wilson scored 23 points and Savion Flagg added 21 as No. 8 Texas A&M whipped Buffalo 89-73. The Aggies improved to 11-1 despite playing without three suspended players, including leading scorer D.J. Hogg because of a violation of university policy. Freshman guards J.J. Caldwell and T.J. Starks missed the game because of violations of team rules.
— Udoka Azubuike scored his team's initial 10 points and dunked seven times on the way to 24 points as 14th-ranked Kansas thumped Stanford 75-54. Svi Mykhailiuk and Devonte' Graham each added 14 points in the Jayhawks' third straight win since back-to-back losses to Washington and Arizona State.
— Carsen Edwards poured in 26 points and P.J. Thompson contributed 17 in leading No. 16 Purdue to an easy 97-48 win over Tennessee State. The 12-2 Boilermakers outscored the Tigers 20-0 in the paint and shot 15-for-26 from beyond the 3-point arc.
— Rawle Alkins delivered 20 points and 18th-rated Arizona made 14 of 23 shots in the second half to earn its 47th straight non-conference home win 73-68 over UConn. Dusan Ristic's 18 points and 10 rebounds helped the Wildcats improve to 10-3 and beat the Huskies for the first time in six tries all-time.
— Gary Clark scored 18 points and No. 20 Cincinnati extended its home winning streak to 33 games with an 81-62 victory against Cleveland State. Jarron Cumberland added 16 points for the 11-2 Bearcats, who didn't shake the Vikings until a game-closing 21-8 run.
— PJ Savoy and M.J. Walker each hit five of Florida State's 19 3-pointers as the 24th-ranked Seminoles ripped Southern Mississippi 98-45. Savoy finished with a team-high 17 points and Walker had 15 as FSU improved to 11-1.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-NOTRE DAME-SUSPENSION
No. 14 Notre Dame has suspended a third player for the Citrus Bowl against 16th-ranked LSU.
Coach Brian Kelly says junior tight end Alize Mack will miss the Jan. 1 game against the Tigers because of an internal team matter. Kelly did not disclose details but said the punishment is limited to the game in Orlando, Florida.
Previously, wide receiver Kevin Stepherson and freshman running back C.J. Holmes were suspended for the bowl game after being arrested on shoplifting charges at a mall last week.
OBIT-HORSE RACING-JOLLEY
Two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer and Hall of Famer LeRoy Jolley has died at 79.
Jolley won the 1975 Run for the Roses with Foolish Pleasure in 1975 and took the Derby with Genuine Risk five years later. He was also involved in the 1975 match race between Foolish Pleasure and Ruffian, an unbeaten filly that was leading the race before breaking two bones in her right front leg, causing her to be euthanized.
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