NFL-GIANTS-MCADOO FIRED
The New York Giants have made a midseason coaching change for the first time in 41 years following a 2-10 start that also cost their general manager his job.
Head coach Ben McAdoo and GM Jerry Reese have been fired less than a year after the team made the playoffs. The decision follows Sunday's 24-17 loss at Oakland, five days after McAdoo benched two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning in favor of Geno Smith.
Defensive coordinator and former St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo will serve as interim coach for the final four games and will decide whether to put Manning back in the starting lineup. Co-owner John Mara admits he wished the quarterback switch had been handled better.
The Giants' woes have been fueled by a porous offensive line, an inconsistent running game, injuries to their top wide receivers and an underperforming defense.
McAdoo is the first coach to be let go by the Giants at midseason since Bill Arnsparger was replaced by John McVay seven games into the 1976 season. McVay's grandson currently is head coach of the Rams.
ALBANY AFL
Tuesday evening, Albany's newest Arena Football League incarnation will host an open house for fans at the newly renovated Times Union Center.
The event runs from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
Fans will have the opportunity to buy and score free tickets.
Along with owners and staff, dignitaries such as former Firebirds legend and AFL Hall of Fame wide receiver "Touchdown Eddie Brown," head coach Rob Keefe, Ron Jaworski and Marques Colston will also be on hand.
via WNYT
NFL-STEELERS/BENGALS
Chris Boswell started and completed the Pittsburgh Steelers' rally from a 17-0 deficit against the Bengals on Monday.
Boswell drilled a 38-yard field goal as time expired to give the Steelers a 23-20 victory at Cincinnati. Boswell hit two field goals in the fourth quarter after nailing a 30-yarder on the final play of the first half.
The winning kick came less than four minutes after Antonio Brown caught a 6-yard touchdown pass while taking a hit to the head while landing in the end zone.
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 290 yards and Le'Veon Bell had 182 total yards as the 10-2 Steelers extended their best start since 2004. They remain tied with New England and Philadelphia for the NFL's best record.
Pittsburgh stormed back after A.J. Green's second touchdown reception of the night put the 5-7 Bengals ahead by 17 with 31 seconds left in the first half.
The Steelers lost leading tackler Ryan Shazier to a back injury in the first quarter. Shazier was carted off the field and taken to a hospital for evaluation.
Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict was carted off in the fourth quarter after JuJu Smith-Schuster leveled him with a high hit, then taunted him by walking over him.
NFL-GRONK SUSPENDED
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has been given a one-game suspension by the NFL for his late hit to the head of Buffalo defensive back Tre'Davious White on Sunday.
White had just intercepted a pass and was lying face down on the sideline when Gronkowski body-slammed him, driving his forearm into White's back and head.
Bills coach Sean McDermott says White has entered the concussion protocol.
Gronkowski plans to appeal a suspension that would keep him from playing next Monday at Miami.
In other NFL news:
— Bills quarterback Tyrod Tylor has a bruised patellar tendon in his left knee, leaving his status uncertain for Buffalo's game against Indianapolis on Sunday. Taylor was injured on the first play from scrimmage in Sunday's 23-3 loss to the Patriots, but he played into the fourth quarter before being sidelined in favor of rookie Nathan Peterman.
— The upper deck of the Pontiac Silverdome finally came down on Monday following a second attempt to implode the facility. The upper section was scheduled to fall on Sunday, but it stayed up after some explosive charges failed to detonate.
NBA-SCHEDULE
The NBA's top team earned another victory on Monday. So did the league's hottest club, along with the defending champs
The Boston Celtics are 21-4 after Kyrie Irving scored 19 of his 32 points in the second half of a 111-100 win against the Bucks. Al Horford added 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists to help the Celts avenge one of their two home losses of the season.
Jayson Tatum chipped in 17 points as Celtics won for the fifth time in six games since their 16-game winning streak ended on Nov. 22.
The Bucks lost despite 40 points from Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers easily won their 12th in a row as Kevin Love provided team-highs of 24 points and 13 rebounds in a 113-91 rout of the Bulls in Chicago. LeBron James had 23 points and hit three of the Cavs' 13 3-pointers.
The Bulls are a league-worst 3-19 following their ninth consecutive loss.
The Warriors' win was trickier as they turned a 21-point deficit into a 125-115 triumph over the Pelicans at New Orleans. Stephen Curry had 31 points and 11 assists but sprained his right ankle late in the game. Klay Thompson added 22 points to Golden State's fourth straight win, while Kevin Durant and Draymond Green each added 19.
Checking out Monday's other NBA action:
— The Grizzlies ended their 11-game losing streak as Marc Gasol scored 21 points and Tyreke Evans added 16 in a 95-92 verdict over the Timberwolves. Evans hit a pair of free throws with 12.7 seconds remaining before Jimmy Butler's 26-footer glanced off the rim on Minnesota's final possession.
— LaMarcus Aldridge had 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Spurs held off the Pistons 96-93. Rudy Gay furnished 12 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for San Antonio, which trailed by nine before handing Detroit its third straight loss.
— Devin Booker nailed four 3-pointers and poured in 46 points on 17 of 32 shooting to lead the Suns past the 76ers 115-101. Booker supplied 32 points in the second half, including three treys in the final period after Phoenix saw a 17-point lead shrink to five.
— Utah picked up its sixth straight win by getting 27 points from Alec Burks in a 116-69 thrashing of the Wizards. Donovan Mitchell added 21 points for the Jazz, who shot 57 percent in taking a 64-30 halftime lead.
— The Pacers were 115-97 winners over the Knicks as Thaddeus Young scored 20 points to lead seven Indiana players in double figures. Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 19 points and Victor Oladipo added 16 for the Pacers, who led by 30 entering the fourth quarter.
— The Mavericks posted their second consecutive wire-to-wire win behind Harrison Barnes' 22 points and Dennis Smith Jr's 20 in a 122-105 rout of Denver. Dallas built a 21-point first-quarter lead and were up by 25 before the Nuggets got within 88-80 late in the third period.
— The Hornets' four-game losing streak ended as Kemba Walker delivered 29 points and seven assists in a 104-94 victory against Orlando. Dwight Howard had 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds to move into 19th place on the league's all-time list.
— The Nets avenged Saturday's loss to the Hawks by scoring 17 straight points in the third quarter of a 110-90 win in Atlanta. Caris LaVert scored a season-high 17 points and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson added 16 in Brooklyn's most lopsided victory of the season.
NBA-NEWS
Point guard Derrick Rose has returned to the Cavaliers, two weeks after the former NBA MVP left the team to attend to a personal matter.
Rose has been dealing with a sprained left ankle that had him contemplating retirement, but the team says he has rejoined the team to resume treatment and rehabilitation. There is no timetable on his return to the court.
Rose was averaging 14.3 points in seven games with Cleveland after signing a one-year package in July.
In other NBA matters:
— The Pelicans say an MRI performed on forward Anthony Davis revealed no structural damage to his pelvic area. The club says Davis has been diagnosed with an abductor strain and is day to day.
— Jazz center Rudy Gobert had four points and 10 rebounds in 21 minutes against the Wizards Monday after missing 11 games with a bone bruise in his lower right leg. Gobert went down late in the third quarter on Nov. 10 when Miami Heat guard Dion Waiters fell into his legs.
— The NBA has punished both guard Shaun Livingston and official Courtney Kirkland following their altercation in Sunday's game at Miami. Livingston was suspended for Monday's game at New Orleans and Kirkland was pulled from the officiating rotation for a week. Livingston was assessed a technical foul and ejected for making contact with Livingston, but a league review determined that the referee moved toward the player and shared responsibility for the contact.
— Former NBA player Kermit Washington has pleaded guilty to spending thousands of dollars on jewelry, vacations and other personal items with money donated to an African charity he organized.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-HEISMAN FINALISTS
Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, Louisville signal-caller Lamar Jackson and Stanford running back Bryce Love are the finalists for the Heisman Trophy, which will be presented Saturday in New York.
Mayfield has led the Sooners to the CFP semifinals after a 12-1 regular season. He has thrown for 4,340 yards, 41 touchdowns and just five interceptions this season.
Jackson's 2017 stats include 3,489 passing yards, 25 TDs and six interceptions for the 8-4 Cardinals. Love has averaged 8.3 yards per carry for the Cardinal, running for 1,973 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Mayfield comes in as the clear front-runner, and Jackson is trying to join former Ohio State tailback Archie Griffin as the only players to win two Heisman trophies. Mayfield finished fourth in the voting two years ago and was third last season.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-TEXAS A&M-FISHER
Jimbo Fisher has been introduced as the new football coach at Texas A&M after working out a 10-year, $75 million contract.
Fisher comes to College Station after going 83-23 in eight seasons at Florida State, leading the Seminoles to three ACC championships. He takes over for Kevin Sumlin, who was fired Nov. 26 after the Aggies finished the regular season 7-5 and 4-4 in the SEC.
TOP 25 MEN'S BASKETBALL-SCHEDULE
Fifth-ranked Florida couldn't stop Terance Mann on Monday.
Mann scored 25 points on 11 of 17 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds as unranked Florida State knocked off the Gators 83-66 to remain unbeaten at 7-0. CJ Walker had 17 points for the Seminoles, who have won four straight from Florida for the first time in the 68-game history of the series.
The other top-25 team in action Monday was Baylor, and the 23rd-rated Bears cruised to an 84-56 win over Sam Houston State. Jo Lual-Acuil had 15 points and 11 rebounds for Baylor, which reeled off 12-0 runs in each have in bouncing back from consecutive losses last week.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Women’s College Basketball
Siena defeated Hofstra 70 to 60.
The father of suspended UCLA guard LiAngelo Ball says he plans to withdraw his son from school out of concerns related to the player's indefinite suspension for a shoplifting incident in China last month.
LaVar Ball told the Los Angeles Times and ESPN that he's going to explore other options for LiAngelo because "I'm not going to let him sit back and not practice."
UCLA coach Steve Alford says he respects the Ball family's decision and wishes LiAngelo all the best in the future.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-POLLS
The Duke Blue Devils remain the unanimous No. 1 team in the latest Associated Press men's basketball poll.
Kansas, Michigan State and Villanova still hold the next four spots, but Notre Dame fell from fifth to ninth following its loss to the third-ranked Spartans.
Florida is fifth, followed by Wichita State, Texas A&M, Kentucky, the Fighting Irish and Miami.
No. 19 Seton Hall, No. 21 Purdue and No. 22 Nevada all moved into the poll.
Connecticut continues its reign as the unanimous No. 1 team in the AP women's basketball poll, with the top seven remaining the same. Second-ranked Texas is followed by Notre Dame, Louisville and South Carolina.
MLB-YANKEES-BOONE
The New York Yankees have finalized Aaron Boone's managerial contract and will introduce him at a news conference on Wednesday.
Boone received a three-year deal with a one-year option to replace Joe Girardi, who was dismissed after leading the team within one victory of the World Series. Owner Hal Steinbrenner called Boone a polished communicator who possesses the ability to cultivate and grow relationships.
NHL-SCHEDULE
The Washington Capitals had dropped 14 of their 17 meetings with the San Jose Sharks since superstar Alex Ovechkin made his NHL debut in the fall of 2005. Ovechkin helped the Caps get a rare win over the Sharks on Monday by netting his league-high 20th goal and collecting an assist in a 4-1 win in Washington.
Ovechkin moved into the NHL top-20 in goal-scoring with his 578th, which also proved to be the game-winner. He also set up Brett Connolly's power-play goal later in the second period.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— The Flyers ended their club record-tying 10-game losing streak as Scott Laughton, Michael Raffl and Wayne Simmonds scored in a 1:11 span of the second period to lead a 5-2 verdict over the Flames in Calgary. Laughton finished with two goals and Brian Elliott made 43 saves for the winners.
— Predators right wing Craig Smith scored twice and had an assist in a 5-3 win against the Bruins. Kevin Fiala had a goal and an assist in helping Nashville improve to 12-2-1 in its last 15 games.
— Anders Lee notched his 100th career goal and Mathew Barzal scored the lone shootout goal as the Islanders won for the eighth time in 10 games, 5-4 at Florida. The Panthers finished the game without goaltender Roberto Luongo, who appeared to suffer a right leg injury while making a save late in the second period.
NHL-SABRES-MOVES
The Buffalo Sabres have placed Matt Moulson on waivers and acquired fellow forward Scott Wilson from the Red Wings.
Moulson was waived for the purpose of being demoted after scoring no points in 14 games.
The Red Wings get a fifth-round pick in the 2019 draft for Wilson, who is scoreless in 20 games this season.
COLLEGE SPORTS-ARKANSAS
Arkansas has ended its nearly three-week search for an athletic director by naming Houston's Hunter Yurachek as the replacement for Jeff Long.
Yurachek's first task will be finding a football coach to replace Bret Bielema, who was fired after the season.
Yurachek signed a five-year contract worth $850,000 annually after earning a base salary of $450,000 as athletic director at Houston.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
